ISLAMABAD, June 12: Taxation proposals in the budget appear to have been dictated by political considerations. The focus of tax proposals is to facilitate industrialists one of the PML-N`s key support groups rather than ordinary citizens. For instance, the increase in the rate of sales tax from 16 to 17 per cent will affect the poor the most because it will fuel inflation. SLAMABAD, June 12: In line with the government`s austerity measures, expenses of President House and Prime Minister`s Secretariat (PMS) have been reduced drastically while discretionary funds of ministers have been withdrawn. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said in his budget speech that expenses of the PMS had been slashed down from Rs725 million to Rs396m. `We are passing through difficult times and it is incumbent on us that we reduce our expenditures as much as possible,` the minister said. `The budget of Prime Minister`s Office was Rs725m during 2012-13 and now it is estimated Rs396m for 2013-14, showing a decrease of 45 per cent,` he said. ISLAMABAD, June 12: The Supreme Court declared on Wednesday as illegal all transfers and postings of senior government officers made by the caretaker government and set criteria for future appointments to top positions. It asked the new government to constitute a commission to ensure transparency in appointments to statutory, autonomous and semiautonomous bodies, regulatory authorities as well as all public sector corporations. QUETTA, June 12: Lamenting lack of efforts to control child labour, speakers at a seminar on Wednesday revealed the high prevalence of the menace in mining sector. The seminar was held to mark the World Day Against Child Labour by the Labour Welfare Department of Balochistan in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO). ISLAMABAD, June 12: The government has removed the inspector general of Motorway Police, Zafar Abbas Luk, and made him an officer on special duty (OSD). Sources in the Ministry of Communications told Dawn on Wednesday that the action against Mr Luk had been taken for issuing an advertisement to newspapers congratulating the PML-N on its victory in the general elections. ISLAMABAD, June 12: In an apparent bias and legal deviation, new Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, in his budget speech on Wednesday, deleted the name of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto from the title of an income support programme for millions of poor, provoking the first protest in the new National Assembly by the opposition Pakistan People`s Party (PPP). LONDON, June 12: Three Court of Appeal judges in London on Wednesday rejected an appeal by disgraced Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif against his conviction for spot-fixing. In their ruling, the judges said they were `not persuaded that there are any grounds, arguable or otherwise, for attacking the safety of the convictions of this applicant [Asif]`. ISLAMABAD, June 13: Pakistan has sought explanation from the United States over reports that its citizens have been a major target of intelligence surveillance and asked thelattertorespectthe privacy of its citizens. `We have taken up the matter with the US to ascertain veracity of the news and obtain facts of the matter. We are awaiting their response, Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Chaudhry said at the weekly briefing on Thursday. A Guardian report earlier this week claimed that information obtained from the US National Security Agency`s data-mapping tool `BoundlessInformant` had shown that Pakistan was second among the countries most subjected to US intelligence surveillance with almost 13.5 billion reports in just one month March. QUETTA, June 13: The Tethyan Copper Company, previously involved in exploring gold and copper deposits in Reko Dig area of Balochistan, has decided to seek damages for what it sees as breach of contract allegedly committed by the federal and provincial governments. It will no longer seek grant of a mining lease, it has emerged. The company has announced that it had withdrawn the case it had filed against the country and the province for `specific performance` in the international forums meant for arbitration. `As a result... Tethyan would no longer seek the grant of a mining lease at Reko Dig,` said a statement issued recently by the company in London. MUSHAF AIR BASE, June 13: With an olive green headscarf poking out from her helmet, Ayesha Farooq flashes a cheeky grin when asked if it is lonely being the only warready female fighter pilot in the country. Ms Farooq, from Bahawalpur, is one of 19 women who have become pilots in the Pakistan Air Force over the last decade there are five other female fighter pilots, but they have yet to take the final tests to qualify for combat. KARACHI, June 13: Before the end of his tenure as chief executive of the country, interim prime minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso approved the establishment of a welfare fund for journalists targeted in conflict zones, it emerged on Thursday. A notification issued for the purpose on May 15 said death of a journalist, or a disability suffered by him/her, created all sorts of financial and social problems for his/her family. `It is imperative to reduce the agony of the family and to provide financial assistance [to them],` it added. Seed money of Rs10 million for the fund has to be provided by the information ministry through the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority QUETTA, June 13: Mohammad Khan Achakzai was sworn in as the governor of Balochistan at a ceremony held at the Governor`s House here on Thursday. Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa administered the oath to Mr Achakzai. QUETTA, June 13: The MCC Resources Development Limited (MRDL) working on the Saindak Cooper and Gold mining project said on Thursday it had paid $39.8m to the Balochistan government on account of royalty over the past 10 years from the Saindak project. A spokesman for the MRDL owned by the Chinese government, said the company had provided Rs10 million for restarting the Saindakproject and Rs15 million as the working capital. ISLAMABAD, June 13: At a time when the parliament has yet to approve the Finance Bill 2013-14, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday implemented revenue measures to raise sales tax and federal excise duty from end users of several products to pocket extra money for reaching closer to the revised Rs2,050 billion target for the outgoing fiscal year KARACHI, June 13: The State Bank of Pakistan on Thursday reported growth in real GDP at 3.6 per cent while the budget deficit would range between 7 to 7.5pc of the GDP in the outgoing fiscal year 2012-13. The State Bank issued its third quarterly report on state of economy on Thursday which said that key challenges to macroeconomic management emanated from fiscal as well as external sectors. The report noted some positive developments, including a significant decline in inflation and some signs of recovery in large-scale manufacturing. Revival in large scale manufacturing was supported by loans disbursed by banks to private sector businesses, and higher production of sugar, POL, cement, fertiliser, and cotton yarn, said the report. DUBAI: Dubai has inaugurated the world`s tallest twisted tower built at a cost of $272 million, setting a yet another record for skyscrapers and other engineering marvels. The 310-metre, 75-storey residential Cayan Tower is twisted at 90 degrees from top to bottom and was inaugurated earlier this week in Dubai Marina a man-made canal overlooking the Gulf. BEIRUT, June 13: Nearly 93,000 people have been confirmed killed in Syria since an uprising against President Bashar Assad began more than two years ago, the UN said on Thursday, a sharp rise in the death toll as the fighting turns increasingly sectarian and the carnage gripping the country appears unstoppable. The grim benchmark came as Assad`s regime has scored a series of battlefield successes against the rebels seeking his ouster and international efforts to forge a round of peace talks have stalled. KARACHI, June 13: Pakistan women`s bridge team captain Rubina Agha said on Thursday that beating India on their soil in the final of the 17th Bridge Federation of Asia and Middle East (BFAME) Bridge Championship is a dream come true. `We really feel proud having beaten India in Ahmedabad and bringing honour and glory to our country,` she told reporters at the Quaid-i-Azam International Airport upon the team`s return from India. ISLAMABAD, June 13: Zaka Ashraf, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, will not attend the annual general meeting of the International Cricket Council (ICC) scheduled in London later this month after the Islamabad High Court on Thursday further restrained him from functioning as the PCB chief till the disposal of the petition against his appointment. An IHC bench comprising Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui has directed the ministry of Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC) to appoint an acting PCB chairman, fully qualified for the job and capable of representing the country at the forthcoming ICC annual meeting.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:20:19 +0000
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