Anti-judiciary programme case to be decided as per law: SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled for deciding the case regarding anti-judiciary programme aired by ARY TV in accordance with law instead of getting emotional.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and comprising Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry and Justice Mushir Alam, resumed hearing into Civil Miscellaneous Application (CMA)- 3096/2014 in CMA-2774/2014 in Constitutional petition. No 51 of 2010, filed by Independent Media Corporation on behalf of Geo TV.

The court directed its office to provide transcripts of the programme aired by ARY TV on May 21, 2014 against the judiciary by next Tuesday and adjourned the hearing.During the course of the hearing Taufeeq Asif advocate drew the attention of the court towards the banners and posters, displayed in Rawalpindi against the judiciary. He informed the court that a conspiracy is being hatched to defame the judiciary saying that he had already filed a petition and requested for taking up the matter at the earliest.

He informed the court a banner was displayed in the Katchery, Rawalpindi, against Justice Jawad S Khawaja and his family. Taufeeq Asif claimed that the lawyer’s community has made sacrifices for the independence of judiciary however some elements were bent upon defaming the judiciary.

Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan however told the lawyer that when the petition came before them, they will hear it but at present the court is hearing another issue.Sheikh Ahsanuddin advocate, another lawyer also came hard on the programme, aired by ARY Television against the judiciary saying that Mubashir Luqman, the anchor of ARY TV has crossed all the limits while criticising the judiciary.

He further said that it is on record that Mubashir Luqman was caught red handed while conducting a live programme wherein he was taking dictation for posing questions. He also requested the court to take up the petition in which he had filed a CMA, praying to become a party.

Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan however, also asked the lawyer that let his petition come before them and listed, they will hear it.

Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry, another member of the bench observed that they will decide the case in accordance with law instead of getting emotional. He further said that the lawyer’s community has made valuable sacrifices for the independence of judiciary and they lauded the role of the legal fraternity.

“But we will decide the case in accordance with law as it is their responsibility to decide in accordance with law”, Justice Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry remarked adding that they will not get emotional even if it relates to their fellow judge but would decide the matter in accordance with law.

He further said that this bench has been constituted for a limited time to hear the matter. Meanwhile, the court directed its office to separate the clips of the programme which were referred to them and provide them by next Tuesday.

Earlier, On June 2, 2014, the court had summoned CDs of the programme, aired by ARY TV against the judiciary on May 21, 2014 and had directed its office to arrange multimedia so that it may be benefited to watch the clips of programme, aired by ARY TV.

On Wednesday, the court watched some clips of ARY programme in the courtroom and thereafter directed its office to separate those clips of the programme which had been referred to the bench by the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

It is pertinent to mention here that Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Tassaduq Hissain Jillani on May 31, 2014 constituted a three-member special bench in pursuance of the order of a two-member Bench headed by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja and comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed, dated May 26, 2014 wherein the Bench had directed Registrar, Supreme Court that order dated May 22, 2014 and May 26, 2014 be brought to the notice of the CJP for further appropriate orders.The CJP had also sent to the bench, Para 4 order of the apex court of May 22, 2014 with a transcript having two clips of the ARY programme.

State institutions should act as per law: Mamnoon

 

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Monday said that the state institutions must work within the parameters laid down in law and the Constitution as political likes and dislikes should be made a yardstick in the discharge of respective responsibilities.
He said that the spirit of democracy is reconciliation, forgiveness, tolerance and mutual cooperation and not confrontation, conflict and revenge.“With our experience and observations, we have realised that democracy is not the name of confrontation, conflict, opposition for the sake of opposition or revenge but the spirit of democracy is reconciliation, forgiveness, tolerance and mutual cooperation,” said President Mamnoon Hussain in his maiden address to the joint sitting of the two houses of parliament at the start of the new parliamentary year.

The three services chiefs, chairman joint chiefs of staff committee, chief ministers of Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh and foreign envoys also heard the speech of the president from the visitors galleries.

He maintained that it was the peak of democracy to respect the opinion of majority, to give precedence to national institutions over individuals, and national interests should be given priority over the interests of the respective parties.

The president pointed out that the government did not believe in any restrictions on the media, however, it also expected of the media to formulate a code of conduct for itself and implement it in letter and spirit. This would enhance national honour and people would consider the media as true representative of their hopes and aspirations.He said that the media in Pakistan was also playing a role as a watchdog and in monitoring and no doubt it was free and its example was an example for many countries.

President Mamnoon Hussain observed that cooperation and understanding among the state institutions was critically needed at this juncture of time. “At a time when our enemies are actively working to create conflict and discord among us, we need to maintain unity and confidence among our lives,” he said.

Mamnoon especially accosted the state institutions saying that they should perform their duties according to the country’s laws and they should not make political likes and dislikes as their standard. “In the eyes of law and the Constitution, people of all areas are equal as their language, race, political inclination and family connections have secondary importance,” he said.

He said, “Every citizen of sacred homeland is Pakistani first and any secondary identity comes later. The lesson of equality taught by Islam is universal and the eternal message should be practically visible in Pakistan,” he said.

The president said in Pakistan, supremacy of Constitution and progress of democracy had become inter-dependent and solution to all the problems had to be sought while remaining within the established constitutional framework and that it was the Constitution which allocated the role for all the parliamentary and political forces. “This is the constitutional framework through which Federation and all federal constituents have to collectively find solution to their problems and have to work together for the people’s progress and prosperity,” he said.

He said it was a matter of satisfaction that all the state institutions were performing their duties with consummate harmony and devotion.

He said the armed forces were defending and protecting borders of the country very proficiently and other defence institutions were working diligently day and night while the whole nation was proud of them.

He said the armed forces were not only protecting the frontiers but they now were also performing important functions to ensure internal security. “They rendered matchless sacrifices for securing our future and we honour their sacrifices,” he said.

He also paid tribute to the sacrifices given by the people especially of Fata who had always been in the forefront for the defence of the country.

The president said the supremacy of the Constitution had become inter-dependent and solution to all the problems had to be sought while remaining within the established constitutional framework.

He said democratic transition and sustainability was not only a national requirement, but also important for national security, dignity and political identity. He stressed further promotion of reconciliatory approach to move the country forward.

The president lauded the vibrant role of civil society and called upon it to give consideration to the law of the country, national tradition, temperament of society and feelings of the masses while performing their role.

He said it was a matter of satisfaction that minorities were enjoying equal rights in Pakistan and they were not facing any discriminatory attitude, observing the role of minorities in the development and construction of the country was really laudable.

Mamnoon Hussain lauded the efforts of the government in strengthening the national economy and its efforts to overcome the energy crisis. He hoped that the government would be successful in overcoming these challenges soon.

The president said the government also took a bold initiative and launched a dialogue with the Taliban to bring peace and hoped this process would lead the country to the logical end.

Referring to Pakistan’s relations with other countries, the president said that they wanted brotherly and friendly relations with all the neighbours on the principle of sovereignty and equality. He said the visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to New Delhi was also a step forward to normalise relations with the neighbour to bring peace and stability in the region.

The president said Pakistan wanted a negotiated settlement of Kashmir dispute according to the UN Security Council resolutions and aspirations of the people of Kashmir.

He said Pakistan gave priority to its relations with China and realised that friendship between two countries was not merely a traditional diplomatic bond but in present times it had become a live metaphor of exemplary and eternal relationship. In reality, the whole global community realised that Pakistan and China were like two bodies and one soul in the real sense.

He said Pakistan was grateful to the European Union for providing it access to their markets.

President Mamnoon Hussain said realistic and pragmatic policies of the government for the development and prosperity of the country had enhanced the country’s esteem and respect in the international community. “Owing to these policies, statesmen from various countries besides representatives of international organisations and investors from all over the world are expressing their desire to work with Pakistan and invest here in various sectors,” he mentioned.

President Mamnoon said today observers and analysts from all over the civilised world were looking to Pakistan because, for the first time in 66 years of history, one democratic government completed its constitutional term and now another democratic government had completed its one year successfully.

He highlighted various schemes and projects launched by the government to generate employment for the youth. He appreciated the government for launching various schemes to help the youth and educate them which would help improve their skills and ultimately would benefit the country.

He said during the last one year, the government’s achievements were extremely impressive which included an increase in gross national production, continuous decrease in budget deficit, successful launch of Euro Bond, European Union grant of GSP Plus status to Pakistan, increase in remittances and increase in export of textile products.

The president said to continue the economic growth and development, ending of loadshedding was inevitable and lauded the steps taken by the government to solve this issue.

Electricity consumers to pay Rs5 per unit more: ECC

 

ISLAMABAD: The Nawaz government has taken a decision under which consumers will now pay for debt servicing of the loans of inefficient Gencos and Discos that are already exposed to huge line losses, resulting in a huge increase in tariff of up to Rs5 per unit.
The startling decision has been taken in the ECC (Economic Coordination Committee) meeting held here on Wednesday with Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar in the chair while approving the summary of the Ministry of Water & Power.

The summary was to issue policy guidelines to Nepra (National Electric Power Regulatory Authority) to incorporate debt servicing on actual basis in revenue requirements of distribution companies, which would be adjusted in tariff of Discos on an annual basis.

The ECC also approved the summary of the Ministry of Water & Power for issuance of policy guidelines to Nepra to rationalise the T&D loss target of 12.82 percent to 15.75 percent on the same analogy as was done for tariff for the financial year 2012-13.

The Discos claim that the T&D losses remained at 17.55% for the year 2013-14. The minister for water and power informed the ECC that the government in the last one year had improved in recovery and containing the line losses up to the extent of 2% and will continue to make progress in this regard.

The decision, the official in the Ministry of Water and Power said, factually negates the Sector 31 of Nepra Act and verdict of the Supreme Court which appeared in December 2013 in which it was clearly said that no policy guideline could be issued to the regulator which directly affected the consumers who paid the electricity bills regularly. The apex court had said that losses and inefficiencies should not be passed on to consumers.

However, DG Media, Ministry of Finance, Nadeem Kiani said that it would have a zero impact on the tariff of consumers, but sources in the Ministry of Water and Power argued that the government had cleverly played by approving the policy guidelines under which debt servicing had been included in the tariff of Discos.

The sources said that Nepra, while toeing the directives of the Supreme Court, has factually reduced the line losses of Discos, which are now permissible in the tariff owing to which consumers will be having a benefit of Rs30-35 billion a year. The government has included the debt servicing component in the tariff to bridge the loss the power sector will be sustaining because of the reduction of permissible losses in the tariff by Nepra.

Nepra has reduced the permissible losses from 16.5 percent to 12.82 percent. The Nepra spokesmen, Safeer, said that in the past Nepra had disallowed the inclusion of mark-up in the tariff and if the government gives its new policy guidelines, including debt servicing component in the tariff of Discos, the authority will assess as to whether the policies are prudent and if they are found not prudent, then Nepra will reject the said policies.

To a question about the impact of the ECC decision on tariff, he said that he was right now not in a position to work out the impact on the tariff as it was the job of tariff department of the regulator.

The sources said that with the reduction in permissible losses, the tariff will be reduced by Rs3 per unit, but with inclusion of debt servicing component in the tariff of Discos under the approved policy guidelines by the ECC, the tariff will surge by up to Rs5 per unit and the government will give subsidy for Rs2 per unit and pass on Rs3 per unit to consumers to bridge the loss to be incurred on account of reduction in permissible losses.

The ECC also approved allocation of gas from Sara and Suri gas fields, located in district Ghotki, Sindh, to Genco-II at mutually agreed terms and conditions. It may be mentioned here that the gas fields remain dormant due to lack of investment.

The meeting also approved the summary of the Revenue Division for exemption from income tax to profits and gains derived by coal mining projects in Sindh supplying coal to power generation projects only.

Up to Rs4.51 per litre decline in POL prices on the cards

 

ISLAMABAD: The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has asked the government to decrease the price of petroleum products by up to Rs4.51 per litre from May 1, 2014.
As per the summary Ogra has sent to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, prices in the international markets have surged considerably owing to which a lower reduction in POL prices has been proposed.

The reduction in the price of petrol has been proposed by Re0.34 per litre, which is very nominal. However, decrease in the price of High Speed Diesel has been proposed at Rs4.51 per litre, which will provide a reasonable solace to the masses as most of the transportation of all kinds of goods, including kitchen items, takes place on diesel-fired vehicles.

The reduction in the price of diesel will help reduce the prices of daily use items. The price of kerosene oil is proposed to be decreased by Rs3.08 per litre, Light Diesel Oil Re0.94 per litre and High Octane Blending Component (HOBC) Rs1.94 per litre.

Though dollar depreciated against the Pak Rupee yet consumers will not get the required relief just because of the fact that the price of petrol has surged to a reasonable level in the global market and this has deprived the consumers of petrol Rs1.20 per litre relief.

According to official sources, the Ministry of Finance is already collecting revenue from taxes on petroleum products and petroleum levy as per the current budget due to which relief in the POL prices recommended by Ogra will be passed on to consumers of all categories.

This means that the new price of petrol (motor gasoline) will be Rs107.97 per litre from May 1, 2014, High Speed Diesel Rs109.34 per litre, Light Diesel Oil Rs 94.13 per litre and kerosene oil Rs 98.07 per litre.

Nepra increases power tariff by Rs2.24 per unit

ISLAMABAD: The Nepra first announced an increase in power tariff by Rs2.24 per unit on Tuesday and shortly afterwards reduced it by 27 paisas. The decision will be applicable to all except the consumers of Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC). However, the decision will also not be effective on the lifeline consumers who utilise only 50 units a month.

However, Nepra (National Electric Power Regulatory Authority) right after elapse of one hour decreased the power tariff by Re0.27 per unit showing it also takes care of masses.In the notification, Nepra says, the tariff has been raised because of the increase in fuel cost incurred for thermal generation in the month of January.

As per the notification, the electric power distribution companies will fleece additional amount of Rs12 billion from the electricity consumers in the month of April. The regulator says that the government produced the electricity in the month of January by using the costly fuel of furnace oil and high speed diesel.

However, one hour later, Nepra issued the notification about raise in tariff by Rs2.24 per unit, another order was issued and the tariff was slightly reduced by Re0.27 per unit for the electricity consumed in February during the hearing on petition of Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA).

The CPPA pleaded during the hearing that the factual fuel cost on electricity production in the month of February remained at Rs7.58 per unit against the reference fuel cost of Rs7.84 per unit. The total cost incurred for production of electricity in February remained at Rs44.49 billion. The electricity of 5.8680 billion units was sold out in February. No electricity was generated on high speed diesel in the month of February. However, cost of electricity based on coal in the month of February remained at Rs4.49 per unit and on furnace oil Rs15.96 per unit, on gas Rs4.33 per unit, on nuclear Rs1.33 per unit, and the cost for electricity imported from Iran remained at Rs10.55 per unit.

Ukraine expects gas price of $368.5 per 1,000 cubic metres from Russia

KIEV: Russia's Gazprom is likely to increase the price Ukraine pays for its gas supplies to $368.5 per 1,000 cubic metres in the second quarter of this year, Interfax news agency quoted the Ukrainian energy minister as saying on Sunday.
Russia agreed in December to cut gas prices for Ukraine to $268.50 per 1,000 cubic metres from around $400, as part of a bailout package following Kiev's decision to reject closer ties with the European Union and turn to Russia instead.
The overthrow of Moscow-backed Viktor Yanukovich as Ukraine's president and the new government's pro-Western policies have put that deal in doubt.
"From Russia we expect to pay about $368.5 in the second quarter," Fuel and Energy Minister Yuri Prodan was quoted as telling reporters.