TomCat
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Another thing, New Industry for Bribery, But formally.
“Agar bachna hai to cash le aao warna machinery aur Chief Justice apke khilaf”
Pakistan News & Discussions
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“Agar bachna hai to cash le aao warna machinery aur Chief Justice apke khilaf”
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THINK TANK
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Sir Do you have seen the Stock market news. 2200 points loss.PSX nose dive.
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China-Pakistan Belt and Road Initiative hits buffers
Disagreements, terrorism and COVID-19 stymie CPEC projectsADNAN AAMIR, Contributing writer
November 30, 2021
ISLAMABAD -- In Gwadar, a developing port town in southwest Pakistan, Adam Qadir Baksh had been hoping for a major leap forward in his automobile spare parts business since 2015, but it has not happened in the absence of the vital Chinese tailwind once promised.
"There has been no benefit from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor for local parts vendors and other suppliers," Baksh said.
His unhappiness goes back six years to President Xi Jinping's visit to Pakistan and the official launch of bilateral infrastructure development projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Baksh said Pakistan has not benefited because for CPEC projects virtually everything is imported from China.
"China only procures sand and gravel locally for construction projects," said Nasir Sohrabi, president of Gwadar's Rural Community Development Council. "All other raw materials are imported from China leaving very little for local industry."
CPEC is a $50 billion flagship BRI component that includes power plants, industrial clusters, and road and rail upgrades. About half the money pledged by China has already flowed in with investments and intergovernmental lending, pushing Pakistan's economic growth above 5% in 2017 and 2018. But those who have yet to benefit from Chinese largesse are losing hope and becoming restive.
The main road leading to Gwadar Port has been blocked since Nov. 15 by thousands of locals in a sit-down protest demanding basic amenities, including water and power, as well as access to the sea for fishermen. "If our demands are not met, we will close down CPEC," said Molana Hidayat, a local leader, during one bellicose address.
Pakistan has seen a decline in direct investment from China. According to the State Bank of Pakistan, the central bank, Chinese FDI in the quarter that ended in September was just $76.9 million compared to $154.9 million in the same quarter last year.
FDI in the fiscal year that ended in June was also markedly down. Excluding fiscal 2019, which included a general election, the inflow totaled $757 million -- the least seen since 2015. In most years, Chinese FDI is 30-50% of the total, so the downward turn is a warning light for the economy.
The Chinese slowdown is also evident in Pakistan's trade figures. United Nations' data shows that China's exports to Pakistan have been declining since a $15 billion peak in 2017. There is a clear downward trend in manufactured goods and materials; iron and steel -- both crucial to infrastructure development -- fell steadily by 40% overall between 2016 and 2020.
Touted as a "game changer" by Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister, CPEC helped address Pakistan's critical power generation shortfall. Mosharraf Zaidi, chief executive of Tabadlab, a think tank based in Islamabad, said CPEC has also had a profound impact on urban and highway transport, and helped in the construction of numerous roads connecting villages.
"No bilateral partner of Pakistan has been as central to the economic story of the country as China and the CPEC framework," he told Nikkei Asia.
However, there are a number of projects that have stalled, including the Main Line-1 railway project -- the costliest CPEC component at $6.8 billion to upgrade the Karachi-Peshawar rail link. China was meant to lend $6 billion, but unresolved differences between the two governments have lasted over a year, leaving the project untouched.
The discord is not new, but generally kept behind closed doors. China's displeasure has, however, occasionally been leaked.
Around early 2019, Yao Jing, the Chinese ambassador, met in Quetta with officials from the Balochistan provincial government. Although it was never officially confirmed, he was extremely critical. "You people are not taking seriously the delays in the issuance of permission to a Chinese company to start working on a coal-fired power plant in Gwadar," he said.
Such rifts between the two sides have become more evident, and led to reduced Chinese investment and exports to Pakistan.
Islamabad is alarmed by the costliness of Chinese projects. Tabish Gauhar, Pakistan's special assistant to the prime minister on power and petroleum, stated in cabinet in August that a CPEC power project is 25% more expensive than the international norm.
Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan's former prime minister, speaking at a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor inauguration at Gwadar Port in November 2016. © Reuters
"The Chinese ambassador has complained to me that you have destroyed CPEC, and that no work was done in the past three years," Saleem Mandviwalla, chairman of Senate Standing Committee on Planning and Development, said at a September committee meeting after Chinese diplomats and officials defended the 135 Chinese companies operating in Pakistan.
"China has become more cautious in general and with regard to Pakistan," James M. Dorsey, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore told Nikkei. "As many investors do, they look more at the return on investment than they did before."
Dorsey believes the turning point for China came in early 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic and continuing trade disputes. He believed another significant reason to be the growing number of foreign governments failing to keep up with repayments.
Other factors may be playing into the slowdown, power generation being a good example. With its new plants online, Pakistan's installed capacity has reached almost 40,000 megawatts while peak electricity demand is 25,000 MW.
Terror attacks on Chinese interests have also had a chilling effect on economic cooperation. Most recently, nine Chinese nationals were killed by terrorists near the Dasu hydropower project in northwest Pakistan.
Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia program at the Wilson Center in Washington, is in no doubt that Beijing's security concerns have affected investment. "The fact of the matter is that Chinese targets keep getting hit, even after Beijing expresses its concern and calls for better security," he told Nikkei.
Pakistan's lack of responsiveness dampens China's appetite for fresh projects. The messy U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August, and the return of the Taliban to Kabul, could worsen the uncertainty.
CPEC facilitated development of the road link between Gwadar and Quetta, the capital of Balochistan Province. That reduced travel time and should have offered transport companies business opportunities in Gwadar.
"The passenger transport business to Gwadar has done well over the years," said Muhammad Arif, general manager Al Safeer Public Transport Company in Quetta. "However, none of us have taken advantage of goods transport opportunities because Gwadar Port has failed to kick-off so far."
"There have only been occasional opportunities to transport cargo, mainly for Afghanistan transit trade, but the transporters have not got any major business out of the port's cargo operations," said Ilyas Khan, who works at another local transport company.
"We were expecting that a lot of cargo would need to be transported out of Gwadar, and we were banking on that to grow our business, but those expectations have not translated into reality," he said.
Jeremy Garlick, an associate professor of international relations and China studies at Prague University of Economics and Business, confirms that China is becoming increasingly cautious about investing in Pakistan. "Given current global tensions and the consequences of the COVID pandemic, I would say it is likely that we will see an ongoing slowdown in the pace of Chinese investments in the next few years," he told Nikkei.
Since the inception of CPEC in 2015, Chinese investments have been crucial to the Pakistani economy. Beyond alleviating power and connectivity problems, Pakistan has used Chinese money to pay off other lenders, including Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E.
Observers are meanwhile concerned that Chinese money inflows could encourage economic dependency on ever more CPEC projects.
The reduction in Chinese FDI in the quarter ended in September coincided with an increase in FDI from the U.S. In the three months, it jumped fourfold to $100.9 million just as China's halved to $76.9 million.
Experts thinks it is too simplistic to interpret this as simply the U.S. stepping in to replace China. Jeremy Garlick sees no sign of the U.S. being prepared to invest more in Pakistan because of its past experience and Pakistan's long-term cooperation with China. "Pakistan is going to have to search elsewhere for funds if it is unable to secure them from Beijing," he said.
"U.S. officials have long sought to project U.S. investment in Pakistan as a more equitable and sustainable alternative than Chinese projects," said Kugelman. He nevertheless believes that China can deliver investment and lending more quickly, plentifully and with fewer conditions than the U.S.
"Let's be clear, it beggars belief to assume that the U.S. can replace Chinese capital in Pakistan," he said.
Kugelman believes Washington also knows it can't alter the China-Pakistan nexus. "It can't wean Pakistan off China," he said. "Pakistan is deeply allied with China, unlike many countries in the region and beyond that seek Chinese economic support but are not firmly in China's camp."
China and Pakistan remain bonded by their perception of India as a common enemy. China wants a friendly neighbor to its south, while Pakistan seeks the blessing of a global power that is not transactional like the U.S.
Can Pakistan re-energize Chinese interest and investment? One Pakistani official believes not.
"With the end of the early harvest phase of CPEC, China-led infrastructure development has peaked in Pakistan," a government official told Nikkei on condition of anonymity.
"CPEC is not over yet, but in the remaining nine years, we can't expect to see even a fraction of the infrastructure development that took place between 2015 and 2020," he said.
China-Pakistan Belt and Road Initiative hits buffers
Disagreements, terrorism and COVID-19 stymie CPEC projects
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Punjab governor criticises Pakistan-IMF agreement
PTI's Aneel Musarrat dismisses reports of differences with Punjab Governor Mohammad SarwarDecember 02, 202
LONDON: Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar Wednesday criticised the agreement signed by the Pakistani government with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying that the money lender has demanded everything we own (as collateral) against the loans being given to us.
Talking to reporters in London, Chaudhry Sarwar said the party has not told him to step down from his position and the impression being given that he has been sidelined is also not correct.
Meanwhile, UK-based PTI leader Aneel Musarrat has also dismissed rumours of Mohammad Sarwar’s differences with the party.
When asked about the displeasure of the Punjab governor with the PTI, Aneel Mussarat said even siblings quarrel frequently.
“There is no such thing here, Muhammad Sarwar is an old comrade, he does not seem angry and will be with us in the next elections as well,” he said.
Aneel Mussarat said that Imran Khan would fight to fulfil his promises in the last two years.
Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar had raised eyebrows earlier this week when he spoke out against the PTI.
“I never asked for the governor's position but had been asked by the party's leadership to accept it,” he had said.
"When you are in a party, you have to accept the party's decision and you cannot rebel against it. This was our party’s unanimous decision," Sarwar had said.
When he was asked by a reporter whether this was done to sideline him, the Punjab governor had agreed, saying that he realised the same later. Criticising the government, he had said the outdated system had failed to address the needs of the people.
Sarwar said he could have delivered for the masses if he was given another role, adding that he was doing his best to fulfil his duty in areas where he could exercise his domain.
The Punjab Governor had said, “so far we have failed to bring judicial and police reforms”.
"A tragedy of Pakistan that we have not strengthened our institutions. Successive governments have failed. We run after the personalities and don’t think about strengthening institutions."
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Twitter of Pakistan's embassy in Serbia criticises PM Imran over inflation, FO says account hacked
December 3, 2021The official Twitter account of Pakistan's embassy in Serbia tweeted criticism targeting Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday, citing rising inflation and alleged non-payment of salaries for three months. Two hours later, the Foreign Office issued a statement, saying social media accounts of the embassy had been hacked.
The tweets have since been deleted.
"The Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts of the Embassy of Pakistan in Serbia have been hacked. Messages being posted on these accounts are not from the Embassy of Pakistan in Serbia," the Foreign Office spokesperson tweeted.
Later, Pakistan's embassy in Serbia also said the account had been hacked and a "baseless" tweet was posted on it from a device in Karachi.
"The Twitter account of the Embassy of Pakistan [in] Belgrade, Serbia (@PakinSerbia) was hacked and logged in from a Chrome desktop on a Windows device in Karachi, Pakistan at 05:59 hours local time (09:59 PST)," a statement issued by the embassy said, adding that a message was posted from the hacked account at 6:59am local time (10:59 PST), which was not from the embassy.
"After the hacking of the Twitter account, a baseless and unfactual post was [...] made regarding the non-payment of salaries. This was totally false and far from reality."
The tweet from the embassy's verified account stated: "With inflation breaking all previous records, how long do you expect @ImranKhanPTI that we [government] official will remain silent & keep working for you without been paid for past 3 months & our children been forced out of school due to non payment of fees. Is this #NayaPakistan ?"
The tweet along with the text critising the premier included a parody song with the "Ghabrana nahi hai (we do not have to worry)" catchphrase.
Under the above tweet, the account posted another tweet saying: "I am sorry @ImranKhanPTI, am not left with another option."
According to the embassy's statement, all of its employees are paid their salaries regularly, "and there is no disruption in the education of the children of [its] officers and staff."
"The embassy is receiving funds from Islamabad on a regular basis," the statement read.
It added that the embassy "does not take any responsibility for the above-mentioned posts and deeply regrets the frivolous activity generated through the hacked account", and that "baseless" posts were deleted from the embassy's social media account.
The statement further said the embassy's Facebook and Instagram accounts were also hacked apparently using the same device from which its Twitter account was hacked.
"The Twitter account was retrieved at 09:11 hours local time (13:11 PST)," it said, adding that the IP address of the device used for hacking it was being shared with relevant quarters in Pakistan for further investigation into the matter.
Earlier this week, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed inflation edged up to 11.5pc from 9.2pc, the highest increase noted in the past 20 months influenced by a record hike in fuel prices in October.
The massive rupee depreciation fuelled import-led inflation. Inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased to its highest level in 20 months — the period when global oil prices kept rising steadily undermining earlier gains.
At the same time, prices of fresh vegetables, fruits and meat also posted a persistent increase in major urban and rural centres.
The average inflation during the July-November period rose to 9.32pc on a yearly basis.
capricorn5192
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Chai? or something else?
rhinosqdn
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Clarification & understanding before releasing new hardware?
rhinosqdn
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Pakistan wants ‘productive ties’ with regional players: COAS
Army chief tells US senators coordinated efforts were needed for economic uplift of Afghan peopleKamran Yousaf
December 11, 2021
ISPR said that the visiting US dignitaries appreciated Pakistan’s role in Afghan situation. PHOTO: ISPR
ISLAMABAD:
The army chief on Saturday told a delegation of US senators that Pakistan wished to maintain "productive bilateral relations" with all the regional players, suggesting that Islamabad did not want to join any bloc in an increasingly bipolar world where the Americans were desperately making efforts to counter the rise of China.
Members of the US Senate committees on armed services and intelligence, headed by Senator Angus King, are on a visit to Pakistan amid concerns that the Americans may once again ditch Islamabad after its exit from Afghanistan.
The delegation also includes Senator Richard Burr, Senator John Cornyn and Senator Ben Sasse.
The senators are visiting Islamabad at a time when US-Pakistan ties have been strained because of a number of reasons.
The China-US tussle has further complicated the relationship between the two countries.
Earlier this week, Pakistan turned down a US invitation to a summit on democracy in a decision that seemed to be linked with its close ties with China. China was not invited to the summit and strongly reacted to the US initiative.
However, despite skipping the summit, Pakistan is trying to convey a message that it is not going to join any bloc politics.
When the four-member US Senate delegation met Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood, they were told that Pakistan valued its ties with the US but that did not mean the country would ignore regional players.
According to a statement issued by the military’s media wing, the army chief and the US delegation discussed matters of mutual interest, the current security situation in Afghanistan and bilateral cooperation in various fields.
As per the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army chief said Pakistan wanted to maintain productive bilateral engagement with all the regional players and wished for peaceful, diversified, sustained relations.
He also reiterated the urgency for global convergence on Afghanistan to avoid the looming humanitarian crisis and need for coordinated efforts for economic uplift of the Afghan people.
The COAS thanked the senators for their efforts in forging mutual understanding of geo political and security situation in view of challenges ahead.
The visiting dignitaries appreciated Pakistan’s role in the Afghan situation, special efforts for border management, role in regional stability and pledged to play their part for furthering diplomatic cooperation with Islamabad at all levels.
Separately, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood welcomed the delegation to Pakistan and underscored that Islamabad valued its long-standing relationship with Washington. He added that the country wanted to further deepen bilateral ties with US based on shared interests.
He emphasised that deeper engagement between the two countries was pivotal for peace, security and development in the region.
Highlighting Pakistan’s significance to geo-economics, the foreign secretary said Pakistan welcomed enhanced bilateral trade and greater investments from the US.
He hoped that US companies would reap dividends from Pakistan’s emerging market status.
The foreign secretary briefed the senators on the serious humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. He underscored that the international community must help the Afghan people avert the crisis through immediate support and financial assistance.
He stressed the importance of release of Afghanistan’s frozen financial resources. The secretary also informed the visiting delegation about Pakistan’s efforts to mobilise international support through multiple regional and international mechanisms and in this context, mentioned the extraordinary session of the OIC council of foreign ministers being hosted in Islamabad.
The secretary also briefed the delegation about unabated gross human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and underscored that the US Congress must play its due role in this regard.
The senators, acknowledging the importance of long-standing Pakistan-US ties, affirmed the desire to further strengthen the bilateral relationship in its myriad dimensions.
The senators appreciated Pakistan’s role in the evacuation of US nationals and others from Afghanistan post-15 August this year. They stressed the importance of closer cooperation to support the objectives for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan.
@Khafee Sahab kuch roshni farmiyaien iss mouzo par.
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Mushkil daaman ko churaana lagta hai
Pindi boys ka dil, deewana lagta hai
Mushkil daaman ko. churaana lagta hai
Palbhar mein kaise badalte hain rishte
Ab to har apna, begaana lagta hai
rhinosqdn
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PM Imran says Pakistan to make ‘independent decisions’ now
Breaks ground for 23 development projects worth Rs36 billion in MianwaliDecember 11, 2021
Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Saturday that Pakistan would never bow before anyone from now onwards, rather would make independent decisions that would be better for its own people.
Excrepts only
Counter-Errorist
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I will drive my own car, says the quadriplegic
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@rhinosqdn Check out Abdul Aziz bhai
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