Increasing Drone Attacks on Pakistan
From the Blog pakspectator - > Increasing Drone Attacks on Pakistan pakspectator.com — The Drone attacks on Pakistan are increasing with rise of every new day. Actually this is the real... Read More at http://www.pakspectator.com . Read Full Post
In Karachi for Two Days
From the Blog greenwhite - > In Karachi for Two Days greenwhite.org — I will be in Karachi for a couple of days, any one wanting to connect meetup is welcome, during day time (probably till 5 pm ) could be found in FAST City Campus. Leave a comment or send an email if you want to drop by, Ohh bye the way will be Handling the Registrations . Read Full Post
Real Afghan peace talks can only begin after Saudia, Pakistan, UEA join in
From the Blog pakistanledger - Real Afghan peace talks can only begin after Saudia, Pakistan, UEA join in November 3rd, 2010 Image via Wikipedia Saudi Arabia seen edging cautiously into Afghan talks Riyadh wants Afghans to show seriousness in talks first Doesn't want to put reputation at risk by backing a peace project that may not work RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is being drawn into efforts to reach a settlement to the Afghan war , despite its reluctance to become too embroiled with militants it once backed, diplomats and analysts say. But they say Saudi Arabia would be unwilling to formally mediate in any peace talks. Like other countries involved, it wants Afghans to take the lead with outside players acting more as facilitators. "Everybody has a very bad experience in their efforts to mediate between Afghans," said a senior diplomat in Kabul . "It's very simple, if you try to mediate between them, both sides will push their luck and it will fall, believe me it will fall. The third party cannot hold it," he said. Saudi Arabia has made no public comment on an appeal from Kabul to help mediate in talks with insurgents to try to bring an end to the nine-year war in Afghanistan. But analysts and diplomats say the kingdom, which hosted secret talks with the Taliban in Makkah in 2008, is expected to come under pressure from the United States to help Washington find an exit strategy from an increasingly unpopular war. Official sources have cited Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates as potential intermediaries, along with Pakistan , in what are as yet very preliminary "talks about talks". "Saudi Arabia, UAE, Pakistan can make the right kind of noises saying: 'we support it' and I think that will make a difference," said the diplomat in Kabul. One source with knowledge of talks about Afghanistan said Riyadh might be more willing to help than before since peace efforts now have the backing of Washington – missing in 2008. Diplomats say Western visitors have been lobbying the kingdom since last year to help mediate but it remains wary after the 2008 talks came to nothing. "The Saudis might intermediate but they want to hear from the Afghan factions first in public that they are serious about talks this time," said a senior Western diplomat. "They don't want to put their reputation at risk by backing a peace project that may not work." Diplomats and analysts say Saudi Arabia will be heavily influenced by the approach of Pakistan, with which it shares close military and intelligence cooperation. "If Pakistan supports peace talks then the Saudis will help but they don't want to get too involved," said Haroun Mir, an Afghan analyst. reuters . Read Full Post
Pakistan pays $30m to ADB for default
From the Blog Pak1stanfirstcom - Pakistan pays $30m to ADB for default November 2nd, 2010 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, mired in poor governance and rampant corruption, has paid almost Rs 2.6 billion ($30 million) as commitment charges to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for not using efficiently, timely and in a transparent manner the credit lines amounting to $4 billion. The ADB approved a whopping $4 billion for 30 projects some years ago, but the government has failed to utilise the facility efficiently and timely due to which Pakistan has to pay the commitment charges every year. "The country paid $8 million in 2007 as commitment charges to the ADB and $22 million during two-and-a-half years of the PPP government. If the trend continues, then these charges could swell by 100 per cent by the time this government completes its term," a senior official of the finance ministry told our sources. The official explained that the PPP government paid $7 million in 2008, $9 million in 2009 and $6 million in September 2010. "The ADB reckons that some 30 projects for which it has approved loans, are moving slowly and their monitoring and management is not up to the mark, which is why these projects are not only delayed but the government also had to pay huge commitment charges as penalty." There are some projects for which the government, he said, had failed to avail the credit line, as the concerned authorities were unable to fulfil the criterion agreed with the bank. To a question, the official said the road sector project in Balochistan, the barani area project in the Punjab, the coastal community project in Sindh and the second generation capital reforms project in the Ministry of Finance are included in 30 projects infested with inefficiency and bad governance. On the other hand, the Manila-based bank has indicated to the government that it will not extend any additional monetary assistance to Pakistan in cash grants disbursement programme, as desired by Pakistan, for relief and early rehabilitation of 20 million flood-affected people. The bank is said to have communicated that Pakistan could instead generate the additional funding by saving the $30 million currently being paid to it as penalty charges, through introduction of efficiency, transparency and good governance in projects management. It is to be mentioned here that Pakistan has refused the reprioritised loans of $3 billion earlier offered by the World Bank and ADB for the reconstruction of flood-hit areas, saying it needs additional monetary supplies for the cash grant disbursement programme under which the flood-affected people will be given Rs 20,000 as immediate relief and Rs 80,000 to Rs 100,000 for construction of their houses. The sources in the EAD confided to our sources that both banks had refused to extend any additional financing to the government, saying they advanced loans, not grants. When contacted, EAD spokesman Zafar Hasan Raza confirmed that Pakistan had paid $30 million to the ADB as commitment charges on 30 projects from 2007 to September 2010. He offered no comments when asked if the ADB had asked Pakistan to generate additional funding for the rehabilitation of the flood-affected people through better project management and save the huge amount that it pays as commitment charges. Raza said that Pakistan had asked the ADB for additional funding to this effect. "The ADB is providing funds under three heads that include grants; $500 million for projects under Trust Fund and $2 billion reprioritised loan," he said and added Pakistan had refused to take reprioritised loan of $2 billion for reconstruction projects in the flood-hit areas. However, the bank has given $3 million in the head of grants, which has been deposited in the Prime Minister's official account. Pakistan has not received any loan from the ADB under $500 million trust fund, as the proposal of trust fund has not yet materialised. End. Source: paktribune.com Pakistan First
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