Finance ministry challenges figures given in report by The News

ISLAMABAD: The finance ministry has issued a rebuttal to the report in The News titled “GDP Growth Worked Out?” written by Khalid Mustafa, published on June 23, and called it misleading and based on an ignorance of the system of computation of GDP estimates followed in Pakistan as well as internationally.

It said the reporter is harping on the issue that the GDP growth number for 2013-14 are much lower than those estimated by the PBS.

This issue has already been responded by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) in different newspapers.“It is clarified that annual estimates of GDP as well as GFCF for the year 2011-12 (Final), 2012-13 (Revised) and 2013-14 (Provisional) were approved by the National Accounts Committee (NAC) Meeting on 15th May, purely on the basis of data available up to that point of time and not in accordance with the desires of any one in the government hierarchy. The data for the balance of the year is projected, which is the reason that these numbers are provisional and remain provisional till full data becomes available over the following months.

The correspondent has also commented on the quarterly GDP estimates.

The first quarter growth and the second quarter/mid-year growth, both were released by PBS; one is acceptable to the writer while the other is not. The IMF accepted the figure of PBS which should be ample proof of the reliability of the statistics released by PBS.

As far as the question of withholding the information of large scale manufacturing is concerned, it is completely baseless. The Quantum Index Manufacturing Industries (QIM), the indicator being used to measure the performance of this sector, is compiled on the basis of information received from three major sources including Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC), Ministry of Industries and Provincial Bureau of Statistics which takes time and is published after certain time lag. The latest available information was up to the month of February, 2014 was used to derive the estimates of large scale manufacturing which were approved by the NAC. Further, the writer has completely misstated the facts by quoting that the budgeted PSDP of Rs1150 billion has been used in the compilation of value addition of construction. The fact is that total value addition of construction sector even at current prices is Rs494.3 billion; therefore, the question of inclusion or exclusion of these PSDP figures is not relevant.

The correspondent has also mistakenly attributed the profits of commercial banks with the value addition of finance and insurance sector. The value addition of this sector, being compiled through Financial Intermediaries Services Measured (FISM), is based on the amount of advances and loans and not on profits of banks.

The correspondent gives his verdict that the GDP growth is 3.5 %. He has not given any analysis to support his claim but has picked up a number that is being bandied about in the press. The commentators need to familiarise themselves with the methods of GDP computation before commenting on technical issues.

In connection with his view on budget number to show lower budget deficit; it is stated that writer’s view is not correct. PTA is a government authority responsible to collect the licensing / auction fees on behalf of the federal government and such auction fees on behalf of the federal government and such auction fees are always form part of the Federal Consolidated Fund. Similarly, the non-tax revenues receipts are revenue of the federal government administered by various ministries/divisions/departments and comprise of following main sources: i) Income from property and enterprise, ii) Receipts from civil administration and other functions, iii) Miscellaneous receipts.

The income from property includes the mark up recovered from the provinces and public sector enterprises, dividend and other receipts of the regulatory bodies. The receipts from civil administration comprise of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Profit, Defense Receipts, Law & Order Receipts etc.

The foreign grants are reflected under non-tax receipts according to the Chart of Accounts, as per International Best Practices. These are always form part of the federal government and the actual receipts under these heads can be verified from the historical data disseminated on the Website of the finance division.

Khalid Mustafa adds: I am grateful that the Ministry of Finance has given me the opportunity to further highlight the mistakes the government has committed in calculating the provisional GDP growth of current financial year 2013-14 at 4.1 percent. The article I wrote in Money Matters — the magazine of The News International which was published on June 23, is not misleading, rather it mirrors the manipulations done to show better GDP growth.

Some of the issues the finance ministry has raised in the clarification I have factually not mentioned in my article. For example, I have not mentioned anything about the revised GDP growth targets; rather I kept my focus on provisional GDP growth which the government has worked out based on the numbers of first 9 months of the current fiscal which suit the government.

Coming to paragraph three of the clarification, I know very well that PBS came out with the work-in-progress quarterly estimates of GDP and according to PBS calculations, as per the work in progress, the real GDP grew by 5.1% in the first quarter of 2013-14. The officials of PBS went to show this number to finance minister; because that was the first time they calculated quarterly GDP. The finance minister got excited knowing the fact that this is a work in progress and went ahead and informed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and leaked the number to the press.

It attracted widespread criticism from professional economists because the number was beyond their expectations. After that the finance minister started saying, “I don’t own this number, but at the same time I don’t disown this number.”

In the paragraph 4 of the clarification, finance ministry claimed that it has not withheld the information about Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM). I do not agree with the ministry as it has withheld the information of large manufacturing scale for the month of March that shows negative growth of 2.7% and for July-March period, the number was down to 4.3% as opposed to 5.3% used in calculation of the GDP keeping in view of the number of first 8 months not the 9 months. Here the government has visibly played the foul.

About the 11% growth in construction sector the government has worked out is highly questionable as there is no one-to-one correspondence between PSDP and value added in construction. It is known to everyone that construction growth is derived from the cement production and growth in cement production has alarmingly stayed at 0.13% which is almost flat. When there is flat growth in cement production, then how construction sector can grow by 11%. The 11% growth in construction sector becomes more controversial when the PSDP has already been slashed to Rs393 billion. Here I would appreciate if the government shares with the masses and with me the methodology of calculating value added in construction as the 11% growth in construction sector is not understandable. If the cement is not utilised, then what’s the rationale of 11% growth in construction? Here I’ll be happy to see the methodology used by the government.

In the clarification, the ministry has criticised the author of the article saying he had given his verdict that the GDP growth is 3.5% without any analysis to support his claim. Here I want to clarify that I have mentioned 3.5% growth with supporting facts by stating both saving and investment have declined sharply compared to last year. How on the earth, GDP growth can accelerate in the midst of declining saving and investment rate. I will appreciate if the government clarifies this anomaly.

In the clarification the ministry stated that writer’s view is not correct on government’s intention to show the better growth arguing that PTA is a government authority responsible to collect the licensing / auction fees on behalf of the federal government and such auction fees on behalf of the federal government and such auction fees are always form part of the Federal Consolidated Fund. Similarly, the non-tax revenues receipts are revenue of the federal government administered by various ministries/divisions/departments and comprise of following main sources.

Here I clearly want to mention that I did not raise the said issue what clarification says. However, I did mention about the utilisation of Universal Services Fund (USF) for which cellular companies contribute a certain portion of their profits. USF is meant for infrastructural development in telecommunication sector and the huge amount in the fund was accumulated over the last several years and how can the government use the resources accumulated over the years in just one year. To the best of my knowledge, cellular companies have already gone to Supreme Court and challenged the taking over of this amount as non-tax revenue.

In the last paragraph of the clarification, the finance ministry says that the foreign grants are reflected under non-tax receipts according to the Chart of Accounts, as per International Best Practices. If this is the best international practice, then why does IMF treat fiscal deficit separately with and without foreign grants.

The Finance Division is best advised to look at the IMF program document. By treating foreign grants as revenue, the government has eliminated the difference and readers can see in the IMF document, particularly in fiscal table that foreign grants appear as separate line item and has never been treated as part of non-tax revenue.

Therefore, the author stands by its article.

Australia offers asylum-seekers $10k to return home: report

SYDNEY: Australia is offering asylum-seekers in its Pacific immigration camps up to $10,000 (US$9,400) if they voluntarily return to their home country, a report said Saturday, prompting outrage from refugee campaigners.

Fairfax Media reported that those returning to Lebanon from detention centres on Papua New Guinea´s Manus Island and the tiny Pacific state of Nauru were offered the highest amount of $10,000.Iranians and Sudanese were given $7,000 if they dropped bids for refugee status, Afghans $4,000 and those from Pakistan, Nepal and Myanmar $3,300, the report in The Sydney Morning Herald said.

The Herald said under the previous Labor administration -- in office until last September -- the payments were much lower, ranging from $1,500 to $2,000.Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said "return packages" were standard practice but would not reveal what the maximum payments had been.

"It has been the standard practice for more than a decade for settlement packages to be offered to those who voluntarily return home," Morrison told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The packages are tailored individually for every person who decides to voluntarily return home, he said.

"The packages range (in terms of) value and it´s not just in terms of any financial element, but also training, support and other issues to assist people to get on their feet when they return," he added.

Labor´s immigration spokesman Richard Marles said the government should be ensuring that asylum-seekers´ claims were being properly processed, not issuing "blank cheques".

"When Scott Morrison was in opposition, he opposed Labor´s own reintegration packages and now he is offering sums which are triple the amount," Marles told the ABC.

Australia has toughened its policy on asylum-seekers in recent years, with those arriving on unauthorised boats now refused residency in Australia even if they are deemed refugees.

Instead they are held in detention camps on Manus and Nauru and are expected to be resettled in those countries if their claims are valid.

Since the policy was introduced, more asylum-seekers have chosen to voluntarily return to their country of origin while the number of people attempting to reach Australia by boat has dried up, with no vessels arriving for six months.

Morrison´s office said 283 people had voluntarily returned home from offshore processing centres since shortly after the conservative government of Prime Minister Tony Abbott won power in September.

Refugee campaigners criticised the idea of the payments, and said returning asylum-seekers could still face persecution back home.

"The idea that you would put people in a hell-hole like Manus Island, treat them abysmally and then try to bribe them to go back to the appalling circumstances they left shows just how morally bankrupt this government is," Greens party leader Christine Milne said.

Ian Rintoul from the Refugee Action Coalition said he had spoken to detainees in PNG who had accepted the money to return home, adding the amounts had risen several times after an Iranian asylum-seeker died in riots on Manus in February. "The money that´s being offered to some people... it´s straight out bribery," he told.

But he added: "Relatively few people are taking the money."

More than 400 US military drones lost in crashes: report

WASHINGTON: The United States has lost more than 400 military drones in major crashes worldwide since 2001, The Washington Post said Friday in a report questioning the safety and reliability of the unmanned aircraft.

Citing 50,000 pages of accident investigation reports, the Post said military drones have since the 9/11 attacks "malfunctioned in myriad ways," including mechanical breakdowns, human error and foul weather.

"Military drones have slammed into homes, farms, runways, highways, waterways and, in one case, an Air Force C-130 Hercules transport plane in midair," it said.

Of the 418 known crashes between September 11, 2001 and the end of 2013, the Post said it had identified 194 so-called Class A crashes that resulted in either the total loss of a drone or damages in excess of $2 million.

The total figure is almost equal to the number of major crashes involving US Air Force fighter jets and attack planes during the same period -- even though the drones flew far fewer missions and hours.

Sixty-seven drone crashes occurred in Afghanistan, and 41 in Iraq, but 47 occurred within the United States during test and training flights, the Post said on its website.

One army drone crashed near an elementary school playground in Pennsylvania in April, while a Reaper belonging to the air force disappeared into Lake Ontario in upstate New York in November.

The hefty Predator -- arguably the best-known American military drone -- was involved in 102 Class A crashes, followed by the smaller Hunter and larger Reaper models with 26 and 22 losses respectively.

The Post´s investigation comes as the Federal Aviation Administration drafts a set of regulations to govern an expected surge in the use of commercial drones in the coming years.

The United States owns about 10,000 drones, from the one-pound (0.5-kilogram) Wasp drone that combat troops can deploy in a firefight to the huge Global Hawk high-altitude reconnaissance platform.

Terrorists wanted to destroy all planes, report to PM reveals

KARACHI: The initial report of the attack on the Karachi airport has been presented to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The findings of the report revealed that terrorists wanted to destroy all airplanes and paralyse entire air traffic operations but the Airport Security Force (ASF) blocked their march towards Jinnah Terminal.

Meanwhile, DG ISPR Major General Asim Bajwa tweeted that the final clearance of the entire airport had been completed. He added that the airport had been handed over to CAA/ASF and would likely open at 2:00 PM.

The prime minister’s adviser Shujaat Azeem said flight operations would resume at the Karachi airport from 4:00 PM.


Heavily armed militants launched an assault on Pakistan´s busiest airport in Karachi, leaving at least 30 dead including 10 militants in a six-hour siege that the army quelled at dawn on Monday.

Explosions and gunfire rang out as the attackers, equipped with suicide vests, grenades and rocket launchers, battled security forces in one of the most brazen attacks in years in Pakistan´s biggest city.

Authorities said all 10 militants were killed and that the bodies of 18 victims, including security personnel and four airport workers, had been identified at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has accepted the responsibility of the attack.

Justice Jawwad Khawaja denies report

ISLAMABAD: Justice Jawwad S Khawaja on Wednesday showed dismay over the reporting of the missing person case in newspapers, saying some media houses believed that national institutions should not deliver in accordance with their mandate because of wrong reporting.

A two-member bench of the apex court, comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Mushir Alam, heard the case of the Independent Media Corporation on behalf of Geo Network against the negative propaganda by other channels, and a civil miscellaneous application filed on display of posters and banners in Islamabad against the judiciary.

The court in its order said that it had given clips of a television programme to the Attorney General (AG) for Pakistan, Salman Aslam Butt, on May 27, 2014 in order to probe as to why a television channel was disseminating irresponsible kind of programme. The AG informed the court that that matter was being probed.

Justice Jawwad said that the issue of the TV programme was not being resolved and another statement was published against him in an English newspaper — The News.The bench reproduced the news item in its order, “Who peddles ideas about clash of institutions, SC asks govt; Justice Khawaja says banners pop up when court hears missing persons case – Islamabad: Justice Jawwad S Khawaja has observed banners against the court were hanged when it took up the missing persons case. He said these banners were like explosives, which could cause an irreparable loss.”

Justice Jawwad said the same news was carried by the Urdu Daily Jang and ruled that no word was uttered during the missing person case which both the papers published.He referred the hearing of a constitutional plea 104-105 of 2012 saying it was emphasised during the proceedings that media freedom was not meant for irresponsible deliveries in journalism, adding that the court had suggested to work out a code of conduct with implementation, so that electronic or print media could avoid irresponsible reporting.

The court directed the AG to bring the matter relating to the code of conduct for reporting in the government knowledge so that serious efforts could be made to develop the code.Khudayar Mohla, President of the Press Association of the Supreme Court (PAS), however, informed the court that the association had worked out a draft code of conduct for reporting which had been circulated among its members and would be finalised after consultative process.

He further submitted that court directives to the government for the code of conduct for media reporting could be misinterpreted. At this, Justice Jawwad observed that no colourable interpretation would be allowed.

Matiullah Jan, a member of the PAS, urged the court to take all the institutions and persons into consultative process for developing the code of conduct, adding that without hearing all the concerned persons, no code of conduct could be finalised.

Meanwhile, the government informed the bench that three persons allegedly involved in displaying posters and banners in the federal capital against the judiciary had been arrested.In compliance with the court’s order of May 26, 2014, the AG submitted the reports of the interior secretary and DG Intelligence Bureau (IB).

He informed the court that three persons namely Shafique Butt, Muhammad Nazar and Muahmmad Waqar were being interrogated by the police after registeration of an FIR No.234/14. The AG, however, sought time to investigate the matter after apprehending more accused of displaying the anti-judiciary banners and posters in Islamabad, saying that the investigation would be completed as early as possible.Later, the court adjourned the hearing till June 10.

Editor’s note: The News regrets the publication of remarks not made by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja. It is being investigated how it happened. The remarks were, however, creeded by news agencies and also carried by other newspapers.

Nisar debunks Reuters report on NWA as ‘nonsense’

 

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has termed as “nonsensical and farcical” the contents of a Reuters report about the proceedings and content of the recently held security meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army chief General Raheel Sharif.
In a statement issued here today, he said this is not the first time that this news agency has come up with whimsical and distorted reports about civil-military relations.

Clarifying the situation, the minister said the meeting was held in a highly congenial and positive atmosphere in which wide ranging issues pertaining to national security, including the situation on our borders, was discussed.

“No decision for a full-scale military operation in North Waziristan was taken. There was no decision to call off the dialogue process, nor was any such demand made from either side as reported by the news agency, he added.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the current state of air strikes and limited military action is in continuation of the already taken decision that any act of violence or terrorism against civilian or military targets will meet a calibrated and measured response.

The minister also clarified that no decision has been taken to hand over the security of Islamabad and other major cities to the army nor is Nacta involved in this whole matter in any manner as has been reported in a section of press. What is being misconceived and misinterpreted is an effort by the government to strengthen the capacity of the police and other civilian law enforcing agencies through the support, input and coordination with the armed forces, he added.

He said this is in no way a recent decision, and the whole process is being fine-tuned for quite some time. Since this entire exercise is still under consideration and discussion, it is too early to pass judgments as a press report has done, as to what form and ultimate formulation this coordination will take.

Military sources in Rawalpindi, commenting on the news story by Reuters, said that the aerial strikes on Wednesday in North Waziristan Agency, in which 60 terrorists were killed, were carried out after approval of the political government, in response to terrorists acts of the last few weeks in Fata, KP and Karachi in which several civilian and military personnel embraced shahadat. When The News asked Reuters for a response to the statement by the Interior Minister and military sources, a Reuters reporter said they will do a new story on the subject on Sunday and respond to all the points.

Al-Qaeda weakened in Pakistan: US report

WASHINGTON: The world-wide terror threat is evolving as Al-Qaeda linked groups and other militants become increasingly violent and a new generation of global terrorists is spawned in Syria, said the State Department’s 2013 Country Reports on Terrorism.

US counter-terrorism efforts focused on Al-Qaeda have “degraded” the core leadership, but “subsequently 2013 saw the rise of increasingly aggressive and autonomous AQ affiliates and like-minded groups in the Middle East and Africa.

Al-Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Punjabi Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi carried out terrorist activities in Pakistan. The report said that the activities were carried out by planting locally made bombs in bicycles, motorcycles, rickshaws and other vehicles.

The report pointed that al-Qaeda has weakened in Pakistan as communications between the leadership and militants were cut.

The report, however, said that al-Qaeda and Haqqani Network posed a great risk to US interests in 2013.

Treason case: Court reserves verdict on FIA report plea until May 8

ISLAMABAD: The Special Court, hearing high treason case against former President Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, reserved its verdict over the Defence Counsel's demand for provision of inquiry report of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) until May 8, Geo News reported.

The Special Court headed by Justice Faisal Arab comprising Justice Tahira Safdar and Justice Yawar Ali resumed hearing of the case.

During the course of proceedings, counsel for Pervez Musharraf, Barrister Farogh Nasim withdrew the two petitions relating to section 6-A of the Special Court Act-1976. He submitted that section 6-A of Special Court Act-1976 has expired and his petitions in this regard may kindly be returned and added he would be presenting his reservations verbally.

At his moment, prosecutor Akram Sheikh on objection said that the defence counsel on the one hand was taking back the petitions and on the other continuing his arguments.

Barrister Farogh Nasim prayed to the court not to further proceed in the case until the ruling on the handing over to him a copy of the FIA report announced. He said he would finalize his future strategy in the light of the court’s decision and hastily added that it should not be perceived that the trial proceeding being delayed because of him. The court fixing the date for the announcement of ruling over FIA report plea adjourn the hearing, he submitted.

Later, the court approved the withdrawal of petitions that stated the law under which the accused indicted was superseded by 1981 Ordinance.

The court adjourned further hearing of the case until May 8.

Special court reserves judgment on Musharraf’s plea seeking FIA inquiry report

 

ISLAMABAD: The Special Court hearing the high treason case on Friday reserved the decision on the accused Pervez Musharraf’s plea seeking copies of the inquiry and investigation report of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) regarding the action taken on November 3, 2007.
A three-member Special Court, headed by Justice Faisal Arab and comprising Justice Tahira Safdar and Justice Yawar Ali, resumed hearing in the high treason case against former military dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharaf for imposing the emergency rule in the country on November 3, 2007.

Continuing his arguments in rebuttal to the prosecution, Barrister Farogh Naseem, counsel for Pervez Musharraf, questioned as to whether the court and prosecution did not want that the instant trial should be conducted in a fair manner, adding that in order to ensure a fair trial, all the material including inquiry and investigation report of the Federal Investigation Agency had to be provided to the accused so that he could plead his case effectively.

The learned counsel contended that if all this material was not provided to the accused, then the trial could be restarted. He further submitted that the investigation report of FIA does not fall in the ambit of the Official Secrets Act that could be concealed from the defence.

At this, Dr Tariq Hassan from the prosecution side told the court that the investigation report of FIA does fall in the ambit of the Official Secrets Act and that was why it was being kept secret.

Justice Faisal Arab, however, observed that if the investigation report was secret, it would not have been released to the media.Farogh Naseem further contended that he was not asking the investigation report of FIA only but also seeking the whole record pertaining to the instant case, adding that without these, there would not be a fair trial.

He requested the court to issue directives for providing all the record pertaining to the case to the accused so that he could plead the case in an effective manner.Meanwhile, the court reserved the decision on the application and adjourned the hearing till April 28. The court ruled that it would take up other two applications, filed by the accused including seeking the trial of other persons under Article 6 of the Constitution who advised the accused to impose the emergency rule on November 3, 2007.

Treason case: Court reserves order on providing FIA report to accused

ISLAMABAD: The Special Court on Friday resumed hearing the petitions seeking treason case against former president General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf and reserved the order on providing the investigative report of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to the accused, Geo News reported.

The three-judge bench headed by Justice Faisal Arab and comprising Justice Syeda Tahira Safdar and Justice Yawar Ali Khan heard the case today.

During today’s hearing, lawyer of former president Farogh Nasim argued that there is an official secret act in the country. Tariq Hassan said that he is not claiming that the investigative report is secret under the official secret act.

Justice Faisal Arab remarked that had it been a secret, the report would not have broadcasted on the media.

Barrister Farogh Nasim said demanded that not only the FIA report should be handed over to him, but all the relevant documents should also be provided.

He, then, challenged the complete process of the proceedings under Article 6 and questioned that how the inquiry was initiated, who ordered the inquiry and what were the findings of the investigation.

The court, later, saved the order on providing the FIA report to the accused and adjourned the hearing till April 28.

On Thursday, Barrister Farogh Nasim had requested the court to order government to provide him with the FIA report. He had told the court that he will submit his reply on prosecutor Akram Sheikh’s arguments and requested the court to use its authority and order the government to provide him the investigative report submitted by the FIA.

Prosecutor Akram Sheikh, however, denied to hand over the investigative report to the accused party.

Barrister Farogh Nasim argued that the Special Court Act is not comprehensive and that is why the Supreme Court had ordered for criminal proceedings in the case.

On March 31, Musharraf was formally charged for subverting the Constitution by imposing emergency on November 3, 2007. Musharraf had rejected all the charges levelled against him.

Body found of boy who made first call from Korea ferry: report

SEOUL: The body of a high school student who made the first distress call from a sinking South Korean ferry was recovered from the submerged vessel on Thursday, news reports said.

The student, identified by his surname Choi, had called the emergency 119 number at 8:52am on Wednesday last week, three minutes before the crew of the 6,825 tonne Sewol sent their first distress signal.

The timing of his terrified message -- "Save us. The ship is sinking" -- has fuelled anger over the slow response of the Sewol´s captain and crew as the disaster unfolded.

The confirmed death toll stood at 162 on Thursday, with 140 still unaccounted for -- their bodies believed trapped in the ship that capsized in circumstances that have yet to be fully explained.

Yonhap news agency said divers had retrieved the boy´s body from inside the ferry on Thursday morning and it had been identified by his parents.

A DNA test was being carried out to formally confirm his identity, Yonhap said.

The boy was one of 325 students from the same high school who were on the ferry, bound for the southern resort island of Jeju, when it capsized.

During his 119 call, Choi was bombarded with questions about the ferry´s coordinates and the number of people on board.

A coastguard official later told reporters that emergency services had mistaken him for a crew member.

The captain and 11 crew members have either been arrested or taken into police custody awaiting charges.

Oil prices rise ahead of US stockpiles report

SINGAPORE: Oil prices inched higher in Asian trade Wednesday on hopes that a key US stockpiles report would beat bearish forecasts, easing concerns about tepid demand in the world´s top crude consumer.

New York´s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for May delivery, was up two cents at $101.77 a barrel in mid-morning trade while Brent North Sea crude for June rose 14 cents to $109.41."Prices are holding steady as investors are hoping that US inventories out Wednesday would not be as bearish as expected," Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, told.

"But investors remain nervous over concerns overall US stockpile levels seem to be pretty high, and that the upcoming summer driving season may not do enough to boost demand," he said. The Department of Energy´s weekly report on US crude-oil supplies is expected to show an increase of 2.4 million barrels, according to the consensus of analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswire.

In the week ending April 11, crude supplies swelled to a record 394.1 million barrels, the highest level since the DoE began the weekly report in 1982.Crude supplies jumped 10 million barrels, much higher than the 1.5 million expected.

Investors continue to "keep a watching brief" on developments in crisis-hit Ukraine, Spooner said. The ex-Soviet state on Tuesday relaunched military operations against pro-Kremlin separatists, hours after US Vice President Joe Biden ended a two-day Kiev visit in which he warned Russia over its actions in the former Soviet republic.

Oil prices rise ahead of US stockpiles report

SINGAPORE: Oil prices inched higher in Asian trade Wednesday on hopes that a key US stockpiles report would beat bearish forecasts, easing concerns about tepid demand in the world´s top crude consumer.

New York´s main contract, West Texas Intermediate for May delivery, was up two cents at $101.77 a barrel in mid-morning trade while Brent North Sea crude for June rose 14 cents to $109.41.

"Prices are holding steady as investors are hoping that US inventories out Wednesday would not be as bearish as expected," Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, told AFP.

"But investors remain nervous over concerns overall US stockpile levels seem to be pretty high, and that the upcoming summer driving season may not do enough to boost demand," he said.

The Department of Energy´s weekly report on US crude-oil supplies is expected to show an increase of 2.4 million barrels, according to the consensus of analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswire.

In the week ending April 11, crude supplies swelled to a record 394.1 million barrels, the highest level since the DoE began the weekly report in 1982.

Crude supplies jumped 10 million barrels, much higher than the 1.5 million expected.

Investors continue to "keep a watching brief" on developments in crisis-hit Ukraine, Spooner said. The ex-Soviet state on Tuesday relaunched military operations against pro-Kremlin separatists, hours after US Vice President Joe Biden ended a two-day Kiev visit in which he warned Russia over its actions in the former Soviet republic.

Ukraine is a major conduit for Russian natural gas to Western Europe and traders are concerned that a full-scale armed conflict in the region will disrupt supplies and send prices rocketing.

"The Ukraine situation continues to provide broad support to oil prices and is curbing losses when there is downside pressure," Spooner said. (AFP)

More dead pigs found in China river: report

BEIJING: At least 170 dead pigs have been found in a Chinese river, state media reported Thursday -- the latest in a string of similar incidents that have raised fears over food safety.

The animals were found floating in a tributary of China´s second-longest waterway, the Yellow River, in northwestern Qinghai province, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The grim discovery follows a series of scandals involving dead pigs in Chinese rivers. Last year 16,000 carcasses were found drifting through the main waterway of the commercial hub of Shanghai.

In Qinghai -- the furthest west such an incident has been reported -- "the source of the dead pigs is still under investigation," Xinhua said, citing local authorities.

Industry analysts say sick pigs are sometimes dumped in rivers by farmers hoping to avoid paying the costs of disposing of the animals by other means.

Around 500 dead pigs are recovered every month from a Chinese reservoir in the southwestern province of Sichuan, state-run media reported in March.

Authorities also found 157 dead pigs last month in a river in central Jiangxi province. China is a major producer of pork, which surveys have found to be the country´s most popular meat.

 

SC seeks report on court martial of army officers

 

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday sought a report from the Ministry of Defence on the proceedings being initiated against military officers under the Army Act for their involvement in enforced disappearances.
The court summoned by May 6 the DNA test report from the Punjab government forensic laboratory of the bodies recovered from the Khuzdar mass grave.Justice Nasirul Mulk remarked: “Why is a long period of time being spent on the DNA tests of the bodies? Maintaining law and order in the province is the legal and constitutional obligation of the state. The occurrence of such incidents daily is alarming and these cannot be overlooked. We cannot see the chaos in Balochistan. The elements involved in enforced disappearances should be punished as per the law.”

Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali remarked: “The recovery of bodies from mass graves is a matter of grave concern. The problems will not be solved unless the rule of law and Constitution prevails in the country. Balochistan is burning and no one cares for it.”

A two-member SC bench, led by Justice Nasirul Mulk, took up the Balochistan violence case for hearing on Tuesday.The court was told that the government had decided to try under the Army Act the FC and army officers found involved in enforced disappearances in Balochistan.

The court inquired what action had been taken so far. “Details in this regard be presented before us,” the court remarked.The report on the recovery of bodies from mass graves in Khuzdar was presented before the court wherein it was said that the DNA test could take four to five months as 7 to 8 weeks were required for DNA test of one body.

The court showed its annoyance and asked why such a long period was needed for the purpose. “Present the DNA test report by May 6 and the court be apprised about the army officers who are being tried under the Army Act.”The court adjourned the hearing till May 6.

CIA’s Pakistan drone campaign carried out by US air force: Report

LONDON: A report published in ‘The Guardian’ reveals that a US air force unit in the Nevada desert is flying the CIA’s drone strike programme in Pakistan.

The report published in ‘The Guardian’ is based on a documentary ‘Drone’ in which former drone operators claimed that personnel from the US air force were flying the CIA’s Predator missions in Pakistan.

The documentary identifies the 17th Reconnaissance Squadron operating from a secure compound in Creech air force base in the Mojave Desert as the unit conducting CIA drone strikes in Pakistan.

The National Security Council and CIA declined to comment when approached by ‘The Guardian’ while the Pentagon did not respond.

A former US Predator operator, Brandon Bryant told the film he had decided to speak out after senior officials in the Obama administration gave a briefing last year in which they wanted to “transfer” control of the CIA’s secret drones programme to the military.

Bryants claims were corroborated by six other former drone operators who worked alongside the unit but none of them were prepared to go on the record.

F-8 Kachehri report presented in SC

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Tasadduq Hussain Jillani on Monday said that the investigation report on the Islamabad District Court (F-8 Kachehri) incident has been received, adding that he would not read it in the court as it is a confidential document.

A three member bench of the Supreme Court headed by the Chief Justice was hearing the F-8 Kachehri suo motu case.

During proceedings the Chief Justice directed the presidents of the District and High court Bars to submit their rejoinders on the next hearing.

The Chief Justice in his remarks added, that he could not make the investigation report public due to its confidential nature, however he add, that presidents of the Bars could review the document in the Registrar office and submit their rejoinders on Wednesday at the next hearing.

Tax ombudsman office clarifies report

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Tax Ombudsman office has clarified a news item published in ‘The News’ on March 30, titled, ‘Textile iron companies using FTO office to break tax queue”.

In a press release on Friday, the Registrar of the Federal Tax Ombudsman Secretariat termed the report incorrect.

He said that the observation that Advisers in the Regional Office Lahore, routinely summon Commissioners Inland Revenue during Complaint Proceedings and pressurize them to issue refunds of tax to Complainants, “Whether Lawful or Not” is false and is categorically denied.

The fact is that neither Commissioners nor Additional Commissioners are asked to appear before the Advisers unless special circumstances require their personal appearance to render explanation on specific points in particular cases through lawful exercise of powers conferred upon the F.T.O and delegated to the Advisers.

In not a single case, has any Adviser issued instructions unilaterally to FBR officers for issuance of tax refunds. Any correspondence between the Regional Office and FBR officials in the context of tax refunds is, invariably, directly related to implementation of the recommendations made by the Federal Tax Ombudsman when disposing of complaints. Advisers are duty bound to get all the recommendations approved by the FTO, fully implemented within the time frame stipulated in the order/statute.

In the cases referred to in the news item namely (i) C.No.80/2013 M/s. Black Gold Industry, (ii) C.No.1123/2013 M/s. Irfan Textile Mills (iii) C.No.337/2013 M/s. Siddique Iron Industry (Pvt) Ltd. and (iv) C.No.1399/2013 M/s. US Demin Mills (Pvt) Ltd., the FBR/Inland Revenue Department neither filed Review Petitions before the FTO nor preferred Representations before the Hon’ble President of Pakistan against the recommendations issued by the FTO.

In such an eventuality, the recommendations have attained finality. The FBR, therefore, is bound under the law, to fully implement the recommendations before taking any other action. In complaint No.1398/2013 M/s. US Apparel (Pvt) Ltd., the department gave a written undertaking to issue refund, as per law, but subsequently filed a Representation before the Hon’ble President of Pakistan which is still sub-judice.

The Hon’ble President of Pakistan when disposing of departmental representations against FTO’s recommendations for issuance of due refund, has invariably directed that no action may be taken by FBR before first implementing the FTO’s recommendations. FBR too has strictly directed field formations, in writing, to fully implement the FTO’s recommendations in such cases within the time given in the FTO’s order and not to take any other action without first doing so. The Advisers take cognizance of any violation of the President’s decision and the FBR instructions by the field officers and draw their attention to the serious lapses whenever the same occur.

As regards the observation that Advisers pressurize FBR officers to ‘break the queue’ and issue refund ‘out of turn,’ this again is a patently misleading statement.

The fact is that the FTO makes time bound recommendations in his order disposing of a complaint and Advisers monitor implementation of the same.

Again, the FBR has also directed FBR field officials, in writing, not to delay issuance of refund under any pretext in cases where the FTO or any competent Court, has directed that refund be issued even if that entails ‘breaking the queue.’

The observation that the Advisers in the Regional Office Lahore were taking undue interest in issuance of tax refunds in Steel and Textile sector cases is bereft of any objective basis whatsoever. The fact is that almost 80% of the complaints received in the FTO Office from all categories of taxpayers pertain to unwarranted delay by departmental officers in issuance of refund and the Advisers monitor implementation of the FTO’s recommendations in all the complaints disposed of requiring speedy administrative justice.

The statement that an Adviser employed in the Regional office Lahore was also working as a Tax Consultant is malicious and scandalous and conduct of Advisers is closely/analytically monitored.

Senate panel votes to release CIA torture report

 of the Bush administration's record when it comes to waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques." The panel voted 11-3 to order the declassification of almost 500 pages of the 6,300-page review, which concludes the harsh methods employed at CIA-run prisons overseas were excessively cruel and ineffective in producing valuable intelligence.
Even some Republicans who agree with the spy agency that the findings are inaccurate voted in favor of declassification, saying it was important for the country to move on.

"The purpose of this review was to uncover the facts behind the secret program and the results, I think, were shocking," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the committee chairwoman, said. "The report exposes brutality that stands in sharp contrast to our values as a nation. It chronicles a stain on our history that must never be allowed to happen again. This is not what Americans do."

The intelligence committee and the CIA are embroiled in a bitter dispute related to the three-year study. Senators accuse the agency of spying on their investigation and deleting files. The CIA says Senate staffers illegally accessed information. The Justice Department is reviewing competing criminal referrals.

As a result of Thursday's vote, the CIA will start scanning the report's contents for any passages that could compromise national security. That has led to fears in the committee that a recalcitrant CIA might sanitize key elements of their investigation, and demands for President Barack Obama to ensure large parts of the report aren't blacked out.

Obama, said Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., should "hold onto the redaction pen himself."

White House press secretary Jay Carney on Thursday restated Obama's support for declassifying the document and said intelligence officials would be instructed to conduct the work quickly. CIA spokesman Dean Boyd said his agency would "carry out the review expeditiously," but suggested the process may be difficult.

"We owe it to the men and women directed to carry out this program to try and ensure that any historical account of it is accurate," Boyd said.

The report was produced exclusively by Democratic staffers. It concludes among other things that waterboarding and other harsh techniques provided no key evidence in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, according to congressional aides and outside experts familiar with the document.

Feinstein and other senators also have cited a series of misleading claims by the CIA over the years about the effectiveness of the program, including in statements the agency made to President George W. Bush and Congress.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the intelligence committee's top Republican, joined the vote in favor of declassification despite criticizing the report as a "waste of time." He said the U.S. public should be able to see the report alongside reservations among the GOP members of the committee.

"This is a chapter in our past that should have already been closed," Chambliss told reporters. He said Republicans would dispute some of the conclusions in their own report and insisted the CIA interrogations "led not only to the takedown of bin Laden, but to the interruption and disruption of other terrorist plots over a period of years."

Members of the intelligence community have criticized the investigation for failing to include interviews from top spy agency officials who authorized or supervised the brutal interrogations. They questioned how the review could be fair or complete.

"Neither I or anyone else at the agency who had knowledge was interviewed," said Jose Rodriguez, the CIA's chief clandestine officer in the mid-2000s, who had operational oversight over the detention and interrogation program. "They don't want to hear anyone else's narrative," he said of the Senate investigation. "It's an attempt to rewrite history."

Rodriguez himself is a key figure in the Senate report, not least for his order in 2005 to destroy 92 videotapes showing waterboarding of terror suspects and other harsh techniques.

Senate investigators were unable to talk to relevant CIA officials because of legal constraints posed by a separate investigation ordered by Attorney General Eric Holder. At Holder's direction, John Durham, an independent prosecutor, conducted several criminal probes related to interrogation methods and evidence destruction before dropping them altogether in 2012 - shortly before the Senate panel wrapped up its work.

Congressional aides said the CIA's own field reports, internal correspondence, cables and other documents described day-to-day handling of interrogations and the decision-making and actions of Rodriguez and others.

Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Dan Coats of Indiana and Jim Risch of Idaho voted against releasing the report.

"Too much time, energy and too many resources have been spent investigating a CIA program that ended more than six years ago," Coats said.

Bad blood between Senate aides and the CIA ruptured into the open last month when Feinstein took to the Senate floor to accuse the agency of improperly monitoring the computer use of Senate staffers and deleting files, undermining the Constitution's separation of powers.

Thus far, both senators and the agency have tried to keep the declassification issue separate from their ongoing dispute.

Feinstein expressed hope that most of the summary and findings would escape CIA censors and reach the public within 30 days.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said the report's public release is "the only way we can get this relationship with our intelligence agencies right again."

Maxwell released report to expose Nehru’s mistakes that forced war on China

Veteran Australian journalist Neville Maxwell has said he chose to make public the classified 1962 Sino-Indian war report to “rid Indian opinion of the delusion” that the war had been the result of “an unprovoked Chinese aggression” and to expose mistakes made by Jawaharlal Nehru that “forced the war on China.”

In his first comments following his decision to make public last month the still classified Henderson Brooks war report, the release of which was first reported by The Hindu and subsequently triggered wide debate on the legacy of the war, Mr. Maxwell told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post that by doing so he had “deprive[d] the Government of India the excuse they’ve used to keep it secret, the false claim that it was to preserve national security”.

He said: “I hope to achieve what I have been trying to do for nearly 50 years! To rid Indian opinion of the induced delusion that in 1962 India was the victim of an unprovoked surprise Chinese aggression, to make people in India see that the truth was that it was mistakes by the Indian government, specifically Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, that forced the war on China.”

Mr. Maxwell said in the interview he had been trying “for years” to make the report public, including by making it available to several newspapers in India in 2012. The newspapers chose not to publish. His website has, however, been inaccessible in India after The Hindu reported that the war report had been made public. He said the website “collapsed under its own weight” and “not because of government censorship” as some Indian media reports suggested.

Mr. Maxwell repeated his long-held view that “all that talk about China’s ‘unprovoked aggression’ is utterly false, the truth is that India was the aggressor in 1962” — views he expressed in his 1970 book India’s China War.

Mr. Maxwell’s conclusions that China was all the while focussed on peaceful settlement and that India was to blame entirely for the war have, however, been questioned by other scholars, including John W. Garver.

Even in China, many scholars today see many factors, beyond Nehru’s mistaken “forward policy,” at play in China’s decision to launch an attack, from domestic turbulence in the wake of the 1958 Great Leap Forward famine to unrest in Tibet.