Govt has taken bigger begging bowl: Khursheed

 

ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Syed Khursheed Shah, on the government’s one-year performance, said on Friday that the government had taken up even a bigger begging bowl.
While kickstarting a debate on the budget in the lower house on Friday, he termed the one-year performance of the Nawaz Sharif-led government “poor” and gave it zero marks. The opposition leader described the budget documents as a jugglery of words and statistics.

He was more critical of the government for obtaining foreign loans at high interest, saying, rather than breaking the begging bowl, the government had raised the size of the begging bowl. “What the PPP government did not obtain in its five-year rule, the PML-N government obtained it in the form of foreign loans in their first year,” he said.

He said the finance minister had delivered a lengthy budget speech that made not only the parliamentarians worried but the media also who were guessing what was in the budget.He said every child was born in the country with a debt of Rs84,000 in comparison to Rs74,000 during the PPP’s tenure.He said the dictatorship and martial laws played havoc with the country as the people were still facing the outcome of the policies of dictators.

“One-man rule and dictatorships proved more destructive for the country. It is the beauty of parliament that we are sitting, making criticism that is being tolerated in the House,” he said while opening the budget debate in the National Assembly.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif kept the parliamentary tradition alive while sitting there during the speech of the opposition leader.The soft-spoken Khursheed Shah, in his speech that remained incomplete due to the Friday prayer and would now be completed on Monday evening, was more critical of the government in his usual soft tone rather than following the past practice of an aggressive tone of the previous opposition leaders.

The opposition leader said during its five-year tenure, the PPP-government was facing terrorism in Swat and faced unprecedented floods in 2010 but kept the prices of flour and sugar in control.

Criticising the economic policies of Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar in a soft tone, the opposition leader said Dar might have many arguments to reject the opposition’s point of view on the budget. He said that Dar could prove them wrong with arguments but if he would be asked to make a speech against the bill from his seat, Ishaq Dar would find out 1,000 faults in the budget. “I want to be his student as he could turn dirt into gold with his arguments,” he said in a lighter tone.

He taunted those who claimed to make a new Pakistan saying that some parties raised such slogans but they should know that Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had given us already the gift of Pakistan and those claimed to make a new Pakistan should know it was already a reality.

The Leader of the Opposition, Syed Khursheed Shah, said that the budget should be in accordance with aspirations of the people. He suggested that inputs from the opposition should have been taken in preparation of the budget.

He pointed out that the government had fixed Rs2,475 billion as revenue collection target in the outgoing fiscal year but reduced it twice on the insistence of the IMF to Rs2,275 billion.He said the government had collected Rs1,950 billion till 30th May, 2014 and still needed Rs325 billion to achieve this target.

Shah stressed that the budget should focus on the deprived areas and improve the backward provinces to meet the requirements of the new concept of Federation after the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

The leader of the opposition advocated for proper shares for the provinces. He appreciated the unprecedented legislation carried out in the House on Friday and criticised the government for poor performance on legislation in the first year. However, he hoped that performance of the government in this regard would be better next year.

He expressed serious reservations over the government’s issuance of the Euro Bond at a higher interest at 8 percent, saying, on the one hand, the government was claiming that the economy of the country was stabilising and, on the other hand, it was issuing the Euro Bonds with such a high interest that created confusion about the government’s policy. “The government claims to break the begging bowl but it has pushed the country into a stronger debt trap,” he observed.

Samsung sees Tizen phone as gateway for bigger things

SAN FRANCISCO: Samsung on Tuesday unwrapped its new smartphone using the Tizen platform, a move aimed at breaking away from Google's Android and staking a claim to the "Internet of Things."

The South Korean consumer electronics colossus showed off the Samsung Z, its first Tizen-powered smartphone, in a major shift away from the ubiquitous Android operating system used in the majority of its devices.

Samsung touted Tizen as a platform not just for phones, but for a range of connected devices from home appliances to door locks and watches which may communicate with one another in the future.

The unveiling came a day after Apple -- a few blocks away in San Francisco -- unveiled a coming new version of its iOS mobile operating system with capabilities that could have iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices vying for that same spot in the middle of a what is billed as the booming Internet-of-Things.

The world's biggest smartphone maker made its pitch at the Tizen Developer Conference, a forum that aims to help the platform become a rival to Android and Apple's iOS.

Samsung showed off a line of Tizen-powered devices ranging from Tizen-Android cameras to its freshly announced smartphone powered entirely by the South Korean technology firm's open-source operating system.

Samsung even teased a prototype smart television that connects to rich online content using Tizen.

- Cash prizes for apps -

Along with being enticed with contests offering cash prizes for winning applications, the approximately 1,000 developers at the keynote presentation were urged to check out an Open Smart Home project for "monitoring and controlling devices in the home or on the body all together" whether from one's living room or from half a world away.

"The goal of this project is to have it evolve into services for the entire Internet-of-Things," Samsung executive vice president and Tizen technical steering committee co-chair Jong-Deok Choi said during an on-stage presentation.

"We plan to have this project implemented through Tizen."

Samsung announced Monday the launch of a new smartphone based on its own operating system, in a step towards independence from the Google Android platform that dominates its popular handsets.

The Samsung Z, which has been specially developed to run on the Tizen platform, will go on sale in Russia in the third quarter of this year before reaching other markets.

The vast majority of Samsung's devices, including its flagship Galaxy S smartphones, use the Android operating system.

- Exploding 'IoT' -

International Data Corporation (IDC) on Tuesday forecast that the global Internet-of-Things market will grow from $1.9 trillion last year to $7.1 trillion in the year 2020.

People are embracing the "IoT" in their homes, vehicles and elsewhere, while businesses are being lured by promises of efficiency and revenue, according to IDC.

"The worldwide IoT market is exploding," said IDC mobile services vice president Carrie MacGillivray.

California-based Google has long pitched the potential for its free Android operating to be used to power broad arrays of devices in homes in a vision that goes far beyond smartphones and tablet computers.

Developer Henry Yu of Silicon Valley-based RGB, which specializes in streamlining video formats, was among those at the Tizen conference and suspected that no single platform would rule the IoT.

"At the end of the day, they will have to work together," Yu said of rivals such as Samsung, Apple and Google vying to be at the center of the IoT.

"The Internet-of-Things has been around, but it is hodgepodge. People will want to get along because they want each other's market."

Disney eyes bigger plans with Shanghai

WASHINGTON: American entertainment giant Disney is set to pour an additional USD 800 million into its Disney Shanghai, its first theme park on the Chinese mainland, officials said today.

CEO Bob Iger said the deal, with Shanghai Shendi Group, will total an investment of USD 5.5 billion, and the additional funds will be to boost the park's capacity and attractions.

"Since we first broke ground in Shanghai we've been very impressed with the growth of China's economy, especially the rapid expansion of the middle class and the significant increase in travel and tourism," Iger said in a statement.

"Our accelerated expansion, including additional attractions and entertainment, will allow us to welcome more guests for a spectacular Disney experience on opening day."

Disney says it is decidedly upbeat about 330 million people being within a three-hour range of the park in Shanghai, the economic capital of the world's second largest economy.

Under terms of their deal, Shanghai Shendi Group will continue to hold a 57-per cent stake and Disney the other 43.

Started in 2011, Disneyland Shanghai will be the company's fourth theme park outside the United States after Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Provision of quality education is a bigger challenge: Governor

ABBOTABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Engineer Shaukatullah has said providing quality education is a bigger challenge and the government is trying its level best to make the opportunities of learning available to the youngsters.
He expressed these views while speaking as chief guest at ground breaking ceremony of the New Campus of University of Haripur Friday. The Vice chancellor of the University, Dr. Nasir Ali Khan also spoke on the occasion and highlighted activities, achievements and future plans of the institution.
Engr. Shaukatullah said that provision of quality education following the guidelines set by the father of the nation, all available resources were being mobilized in an organized manner to address the grave issues confronting us.
The Governor said that since acquisition of knowledge always enables the students, researchers and scholars to explore the magnificent and vast treasures of nature, therefore, they must harness their own potentials and abilities to make other human beings a productive and beneficial asset of the society.
The Governor observed that the University of Haripur has achieved big milestones from academic development point of view in a very short span of time.
Praising the management for its contribution for making the university a success, he added that provision of scholarship facilities to undergraduate and PhD scholars was indeed an impressive achievement.
On this occasion, he announced grant of 25 split air conditioners for the university and asked the management to ensure completion of the building of the New Campus within one year instead of earlier stipulated time of one and a half year.
In his address welcome, the Vice Chancellor Dr. Nasir Ali Khan told that the KP government has disbursed an amount of 1.2 billion rupees during the last one year for infrastructure and faculty development program of the university.
He further said that under this program construction of the New Campus building would commence very soon while 150 PhD scholarships would be granted to deserving and eligible faculty members.
He further informed that Rs. 30 million financial aid initiatives were taken for the students while NBP students' loan scheme has also been extended to the University of Haripur.