Munter says Pakistan’s concern over Indian ceasefire violations is legitimate

Corporate Ambassador/KARACHI: Former US ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter said Pakistan’s concerns over India’s ceasefire violations are legitimate. He was speaking at a seminar in Karachi “One Belt One Road”. He said the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will elevate Pakistan’s importance in the region.

He said that not only Pakistan but the entire region will benefit from the corrido as the Pakistan’s economic future could be very bright if the blueprint for the corridor is executed and managed properly.

When asked about India-Pakistan relations, the former ambassador said, “both countries have an enormous stake in good relations and I hope they realise that the success of one is the success of the other.”

“At this time, I hope that the leaders of both countries can listen to the people who are interested in working together. It is really up to the people of these countries and the business communities to see where their business interests are.”

The seminar was attended by Federal Minister Muhammed Zubair, former Governor State Bank of Pakistan Dr. Ishrat Hussain as well as other notable personalities.

UN observers visit Sialkot Working Boundary to see glimpses of Indian firing

Corporate Ambassador/ISLAMABAD: Once again a 3-member team of the United Nations (UN) observers visited the Working Boundary at Kundanpur village in Sialkot on Saturday to look into the damage caused by the Indian firing at the border.

Eight Pakistanis were killed and several others wounded on Friday in unprovoked shelling of Indian forces on Pakistani border villages near Working Boundary in Sialkot’s Charwah, Harpal, Chaprar and Sucheetgarh sectors.

Punjab Rangers spokesman Major Waheed Bukhari, the United Nations Military Observers group in Pakistan observed damages and losses caused by the Indian firing. Yesterday, the UN observers had visited the Thathi Khurd village in Sucheetgarh and had met locals affected by Indian shelling. During that visit, they had sought details from them about fresh hostilities on part of the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had expressed concerns over firing along the Working Boundary. He had also expressed condolence over the loss of eight civilian lives and injuries to 47 others during the firing. Following yesterday’s firing, the Foreign Office had summoned Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan T.C.A. Raghavan and had lodged a strong protest with him “over continued LOC/working boundary violations”. Raghavan was told that India had to honour the ceasefire agreement of 2003 between the two countries.

Last week, the first high-level peace talks in years between the two country’s national security advisers were cancelled after a dispute over the agenda for those talks. In December 2013, the two countries had pledged to uphold the 2003 ceasefire accord which had been left in tatters by repeated violations that year. The truce breaches had put the nascent bilateral peace dialogue on hold.

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Pakistani Mango Festival sways Turkish elite in Ankara

Pakistan’s Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, holds Mango Festival

 

ANKARA:  A large number of Turks had a firsthand experience of the taste, juiciness and aroma of the famous Pakistani mango varieties as they converged at Pakistan House in Ankara on Friday evening to feast on a wide spread of mango delights made out of freshly-arrived mangoes from Pakistan. Guests also enjoyed selected Pakistani music and specks of Pakistani cuisine.

Guests included key political figures, representatives of the food and beverage industry, food importers, diplomats and media representatives. Briefing the guests about the ‘King of Fruits,’ a popular name for Pakistani mangoes, Ambassador Sohail Mahmood said though Pakistani Mangoes are well-known in Turkey, but are not available to mango-lovers on a regular basis. It is our endeavour to popularize the mangoes even more, and to facilitate their easier marketing in Turkey, he added.

“There are over 110 varieties of high quality mangoes in Pakistan and the country is the 5^th largest producer and 6^th largest exporter in the world,” informed Ambassador Sohail Mahmood.

Chairman of Pakistan-Turkey Cultural Association and Member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Mr. Burhan Kayaturk was the chief guest on the occasion. In his speech Mr. Burhan Kayaturk referred to the special flavor of Pakistani mangoes and said Pakistan may be the 5^th largest producer of mangoes, but the flavor of Pakistani mangoes is number one in the world. He said no one can forget the special aroma and flavor of Pakistani mangoes once it is tasted. He encouraged Turkish entrepreneurs to consider importing Pakistani mangoes from the next season.

Embassy of Pakistan in Ankara in collaboration with the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and Swissotel Ankara organized the event. Pakistan Mango Festival included a wide spread of mango delicacies, including mango ice cream, mango soufflé, mango mousse, mango trifle, mango tart, mango pudding, mango salad, mango milkshake, mango lassi, and mango cake.

Pakistan exports the fruit to over 40 countries including the United States, Canada, many EU member countries, Middle East, and Far East while new markets for Pakistani mangoes are Japan, Korea, and Australia. _ Courtesy: Abdul Akbar, Press Attache, Pakistan’s Embassy in Ankara, Turkey.

Three Al-Jazeera reporters given 3-year jail in Egypt

CAIRO: An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced three Al-Jazeera English journalists to three years in prison, the last twist in a long-running trial criticized worldwide by press freedom advocates and human rights activists.

The case against Canadian national Mohammed Fahmy, Australian journalist Peter Greste and Egyptian producer Baher Mohammed embroiled their journalism into the wider conflict between Egypt and Qatar following the 2013 military ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

The case began in December 2013, when Egyptian security forces raided the upscale hotel suite used by Al-Jazeera at the time to report from Egypt. Authorities arrested Fahmy, Greste and Mohammed, later charging them with allegedly being part of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which authorities have declared a terrorist organization, and airing falsified footage intended to damage national security.

Since Morsi’s ouster, Egypt has cracked down heavily on his supporters, and the journalists were accused of being mouthpieces for the Brotherhood. Al-Jazeera and the journalists have denied the allegations, saying they were simply reporting the news. However, Doha has been a strong supporter of the Brotherhood and other Islamist groups in the greater Mideast, TOI reported on Saturday.

At trial, prosecutors used news clips about an animal hospital with donkeys and horses, and another about Christian life in Egypt, as evidence they broke the law. Defense lawyers ” and even the judge ” dismissed the videos as irrelevant. Nonetheless, the three men were convicted on June 23, 2014, with Greste and Fahmy sentenced to seven years in prison and Mohammed to 10 years.

The verdict brought a landslide of international condemnation and calls for newly elected President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, who as military chief led the overthrow of Morsi, to intervene. Egypt’s Court of Cassation, the country’s highest appeals court, later ordered their retrial, saying the initial proceedings were marred by violations of the defendants’ rights.

Egypt deported Greste in February, though he remained charged in the case. Fahmy and Mohammed were later released on bail.

Fahmy was asked to give up his Egyptian nationality by Egyptian officials in order to qualify for deportation. It’s not clear why he was deported, though Fahmy said he thinks Canada could have pressed Cairo harder on the matter.

Angered by Al-Jazeera handling of the case, Fahmy has filed a lawsuit in Canada seeking $100 million from the broadcaster, saying that it put the story ahead of employee safety and used its Arabic-language channels to advocate for the Brotherhood. Al-Jazeera has said Fahmy should seek compensation from Egypt.

India facing $140 billion plus trade deficit a year, China earning $500b profit

Special Report by J. Choudhry/ISLAMABAD: Indian economy appears under serious pressure that is evident from a huge trade deficit of more than $140 billion a year to India. The monthly imports of India are 34 to 36 billion dollars. In July 2015 the imports hit $36 billion mark while exports remained at $23 billion dollars _ $13 billion trade deficit in a month. On an average India is sustaining 11 to 13 billion dollars per month deficit in the external trade. The annual trade deficit of India remains in the range of above 140 billion dollars even the monthly deficit in trade remains around 12 billion dollars. If the deficit exceeds this limit, the overall size of trade deficit would certainly be higher.

India is heavily dependent on crude oil imports, with petroleum crude accounting for about 34 percent of the total inward shipments. The country also imports: gold and silver (12 percent of the total imports), machinery (10 percent), electronic goods (7 percent) and pearls, precious and semi-precious stones (5 percent). India’s main import partners are China (10.7 percent of the total shipments), United Arab Emirates (8 percent), Saudi Arabia (7 percent), Switzerland (7 percent) and the United States (5 percent). This page provides the latest reported value for – India Imports – plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Content for – India Imports – was last refreshed on Saturday, August 29, 2015.

India has been recording sustained trade deficits since 1980 mainly due to the high growth of imports, particularly of crude oil, gold and silver. In recent years, the biggest trade deficits were recorded with China, Saudi Arab, Iraq, Switzerland and Kuwait. India records trade surpluses with US, Singapore, Germany, Netherlands and United Kingdom. This page provides the latest reported value for – India Balance of Trade – plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Content for – India Balance of Trade – was last refreshed on Saturday, August 29, 2015.

India with world’s second largest population of 1.25 billion is losing about 150 billion dollars a year in the external trade, whereas, China, the world’s number population power (1.27 billion) is earning a huge surplus of hundreds of billion dollars.

Trade Surplus of China

Since 1995, China has been recording consistent trade surpluses which from 2004 to 2009 has increased 10 times. In 2014 as a whole, China’s trade growth reached only 3.4 percent, below the 7.5 percent target, as exports rose at a slower pace and imports almost remained unchanged. In 2014, the biggest trade surpluses were recorded with Hong Kong, the United States, Netherlands, Vietnam and the United Kingdom. China recorded trade deficits with Taiwan, South Korea, Australia and Germany. This page provides – China Balance of Trade – actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. Content for – China Balance of Trade – was last refreshed on Saturday, August 29, 2015.

China trade surplus increased to USD 46.54 billion in June of 2015 from USD 31.8 billion reported a year earlier but below market forecasts, as exports unexpectedly grew while imports declined at a slower pace.

In June, exports picked up 2.8 percent year-on-year to USD 192.01 billion, compared to a 2.5 percent drop in the previous month. Imports fell by 6.1 percent year-on-year to USD 145.48 billion as a result of declining commodity prices and following a 17.6 percent decline in May. In the previous month, the country registered a downwardly revised USD 58.86 billion trade surplus.

Considering the first six months of 2015, exports grew 1.0 percent, driven by rice (+35 percent); crude (+436.2 percent); mineral fertilizer (+68.9 percent); ceramic products (+34.2 percent); steel (+0.1 percent), unwrought aluminium & aluminium (31.6 percent); IC (+4.2 percent); lamps, lighting fixtures (+24.3 percent); ceramic products (34.3 percent) and furniture & parts (+11.0 percent). In contrast, sales declined for: coal and ignite (-38.3 percent); rare earths (-15.9 percent), refined oils (-31.6 percent) and LCD panel (-5.7 percent). Shipments increased to India (+10.8 percent), South Korea (+0.6 percent), Taiwan (+3.8 percent), the US (9.3 percent), South Africa (11.4 percent) and Australia (+5.3 percent) but were down to Japan (-10.5 percent), Hong Kong (-8.3 percent), Russia (-36.2 percent), Brazil (-8.0 percent).

Imports shrank 15.5 percent as purchases from all of the country’s trading partners declined except Vietnam. Those from the US decreased by 7.7 percent, India (-24.7 percent), Japan (-10.6 percent), Hong Kong (-18.9 percent), the ASEAN countries (-8.3 percent), South Korea (-7.1 percent), the EU countries (-12.9 percent), Russia (-23.9 percent), South Africa (-41.6 percent), Australia (-29.0 percent) and New Zealand (-39.2 percent). In contrast, imports from Vietnam rose by 22.2 percent.

Imports shrank 14.6 percent as purchases from all of the country’s trading partners declined except Vietnam. Those from the US decreased by 7.4 percent, India (-23.0 percent), Japan (-11.1 percent), Hong Kong (-13.4 percent), the ASEAN countries (-7.1 percent), South Korea (-7.2 percent), the EU countries (-12.3 percent), Russia (-20.7 percent), South Africa (-40.2 percent), Australia (-25.7 percent) and New Zealand (-37.2 percent). In contrast, imports from Vietnam rose by 22.4 percent.

China trade surplus decreased to USD 43.03 billion in July of 2015 from USD 47.30 billion reported a year earlier and below market consensus, as both exports and imports fell.

In July, exports slumped 8.3 percent year-on-year to USD 195.10 billion, compared to a 2.8 percent increase in the previous month. Imports fell by 8.1 percent year-on-year to USD 152.08 billion as a result of declining commodity prices and following a 6.1 percent drop in June. In the previous month, the country registered a USD 46.54 billion trade surplus.

Considering the first seven months of 2015, exports slightly dropped by 0.8 percent, driven by coal & ignite (-34.9 percent); coke & semi coke (-2.9 percent); refined oil (-30.6 percent); clothing accessories (-6.2 percent); precious metals (-63.5 percent); steel (-2.5 percent); LCD panel (-6.6 percent) and furniture & parts (-7.2 percent). In contrast, outbond shipments increased for: rice (+11.9 percent); crude (+531.6 percent); mineral fertilizer (+62.9 percent); ceramic products (+26.8 percent); handheld wireless (+14.5 percent) and lamps, lighting fixtures and parts (+20.6 percent).

Sales increased to India (+9.8 percent), Taiwan (+0.9 percent), the ASEAN countries (+8.0 percent), the US (7.3 percent), South Africa (+9.6 percent), Australia (+4.2 percent) and New Zealand (+11.5 percent). In contrast, exports  were down to Hong Kong (-10.1 percent), Japan (-11.0 percent), South Korea (-0.8 percent), the EU countries (-4.3 percent), Russia (-36.1 percent), Brazil (-9.6 percent).

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Over 5 million Filipino expats teach lesson to their govt in just one-day

RIYADH: Over five million Overseas Filipinos Workers (OFWs), including more than one million in Saudi Arabia, observed “zero remittance day” on Friday, in protest against the random checking of boxes sent by them to their families back home by the Customs department.
According to customs officials, some smugglers could use such boxes for their business to evade tax on imported goods. But the strong reaction from Filipinos across the world prompted the Philippines President Benigno Aquino to order the Customs chief to withdraw the random check order.
The protest call went viral on social media networks, prompting the country’s Senate house to order its own investigation.
The incident happened even as the administration began its campaign for the 2016 presidential election, Arab News reported on Saturday. The OFWs’ outrage against the government could have an adverse effect on the prospects of current administration’s nominee at the polls, say veteran OFWs.
The OFWs were offended by a palace statement discrediting the almost $23 billion remittances of the Filipino workers abroad, that goes directly to their family not to the government, according to a Palace official.

Indian foreign exchange reserves increase above $355 billion, ours at $18.6b

MUMBAI: Country’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $920.6 million to $355.353 billion in the week to August 21, on account of higher foreign currency assets.

In the previous reporting week, the reserves had increased by a healthy $1.086 billion to touch $354.433 billion. The reserves had touched an all-time high of $355.46 billion in the week to June 19.

Foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of overall reserves, were up by $894.3 billion to $331.731 billion in the reporting week, according to the latest Reserve Bank data.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves are around $18.6 billion which, we our government is claiming to be the highest in the history of Pakistan. Earlier in July 2008, the record of highest reserves was $18.2 billion in Pakistan.

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Two Lakh Indian farmers quit agriculture, 5,650 farmers commit suicide

KOLHAPUR: As many as one lakh families of farmers in the Maharashtra state opted out of agriculture, their sole profession, in the last five years, according to the latest agriculture Census figures.

“The biggest factor behind farmers being discouraged to leave agriculture is poor irrigation facilities. The irrigation cover in the state is not more than 18%, of which a huge area is used for sugarcane cultivation. A cash crop like cotton is largely rainfed putting pressure on the farmers for making irrigation arrangements. Besides, foodgrain cultivation is also largely dependent on monsoon, which is adding to farmers’ frustration. Unless these issues are tackled, the sector will continue to remain in poor light,” said Sangeeta Shroff, associate professor at Pune-based Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics.

Experts expressed fears that the trend might continue with the availability of other income sources and tolerance level of the farmers reaching its peak. The final figures of agricultural land holdings for 2015-16 will be released later.

According to the agriculture Census of 2010-11, there were 136 lakh agricultural land holdings in the state. State agriculture and revenue minister Eknath Khadse said the figure has now shrunk to 135 lakh. The minister said land acquisition for industrialization, road widening and creation of new roads have eaten up the agricultural land.

As per the agriculture Census of 2005-06, there were 137 lakh farmers’ families in Maharashtra. It means that the number of farmers quitting agricultural activities between 2005-6 and 2010-11 reduced by one lakh. Similarly, another one lakh farmers opted out of the profession from 2011-12 till today.

Speaking to TOI, Khadse said, “There are 135 lakh land holding families in the state at present. As may 90 lakh of them are marginal farmers, who own less than one hectare land. The fact is alarming as agricultural land is getting divided further into small pieces, which directly affects production. Remaining 45 lakh people are small, medium and large farmers, who actually have the capacity of producing foodgrains at large scale, which can be traded. The marginal farmers are mostly into vegetable or small scale foodgrain production, which has little role in the trade.”

Over the last five-six decades, the state has witnessed a successive trend of increase in the number of farmers in terms of land division and population growth. However, the number of farmers in the state started shrinking from 2010-11. The number was 1.37 crore in the state in 2010-11, but went down to 1.36 crore by 2013-14. During the same period, the area of operational holding and average size of operational holding also went down.

In 2010-11, altogether 2,00,05,000 hectares of land was under cultivation in the state, which has now declined to 1,97,67,000 hectares. The average size of operational land holding also dipped from 1.46 hectares to 1.44 hectares.

Sangeeta Shroff, associate professor at Pune-based Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, said the situation is far more serious. “Of the total labour force in the state, 52.7% are in the agriculture sector. Further division shows that 25.4% are cultivators (land owners), while 27.3% are agricultural labourers. It means that there are more labourers in the state than land owners. If labour force figures from Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik and Aurangabad are removed, the employment number through agriculture sector stands at 81.36%. It means there are hardly any means of employment in the rural areas barring agriculture,” she said.

She said encouraging agro-processing industries in the rural areas and infrastructure development should be undertaken on priority to control the overall downfall in the sector.

5,650 Indian farmers committed suicide in 2014

A total of 5,650 farmers committed suicide in 2014, with the maximum deaths being reported from Maharashtra, Telangana and Chhattisgarh, official data has revealed.

According to the “Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India 2014” report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on Friday evening, of the 5,650 farmers’ suicides, 5,178 were men and 472 were women, Times of India reported on Friday.

“The highest incidents of 2,568 farmers’ suicides were in Maharashtra (45.5 per cent), followed by 898 suicides in Telangana (15.9 per cent) and 826 in Madhya Pradesh (14.6 per cent),” the data revealed.

“Telangana reported the maximum cases of female farmer suicides at 31.1 per cent followed closely by Madhya Pradesh (29.2 per cent), and Maharashtra (14.1 per cent),” it added.

Bankruptcy or indebtedness and family problems were major causes behind the suicides, accounting for 20.6 per cent and 20.1 per cent of the deaths respectively. Other causes included crop failure (16.8 per cent) and illness (13.2 per cent).

The report revealed that 65.75 per cent of the farmers who committed suicide were in the age group of 30 to 60 years, while 59 were below 18 years of age.

Even though 15 people took their lives every hour in 2014, the overall suicide figures witnessed a drop from 1,34,799 in 2013 to 1,31,666 in 2014, the NCRB said.

Here again, Maharashtra reported the maximum suicides (16,307), followed closely by Tamil Nadu (16,122) and West Bengal (14,310).

In addition, Bhopal reported a significant increase in the number of suicides – from 384 in 2013 to 1064 in 2014, an increase of 177 per cent, while suicides declined by 78.7 per cent in Kanpur – from 648 in 2013 to 138 in 2014.