MFN status to India if trade hurdles removed: Mukhtar
LAHORE: Pakistan can give India the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status provided the problems of tariff, non-tariff and quality of products are resolved, Federal Defence and Commerce Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar said on Friday. Talking to reporters after announcing the Trade Policy 2008-09 in Islamabad, the minister said it would make no difference if the trade equilibrium inclined towards India as a result of its exports to Pakistan, as Pakistan already had trade imbalances with various countries including China and Japan. daily times monitor
Highlights of Trade Policy 2008-09
* Allows import of 136 more items from India
* Indian CNG bus manufacturers wishing to establish factories allowed to send 10 buses to Pakistan as test consignment
* Payment of customs duty, sales taxes on precious gems abolished
* Overseas Pakistanis allowed to re-export imported vehicles
* Import of academic, scientific and reference books allowed from India
* New Halal Certification Board to be set up
Saudi conference urges global anti-terror pact
By Sajjad Malik
MADRID: Terrorism is an international issue and there should be a global agreement to address the root causes, said the document issued by the World Inter-faith Conference on Dialogue that ended here on Friday.
“Terrorism is a universal phenomenon that requires international efforts to combat it in a serious, responsible and just way,” said the document called the Madrid Declaration.
The Islamic, Christian and Jewish leaders also appealed for a United Nations special session to promote dialogue and prevent “a clash of civilisations”.
The declaration said the main objective of all religions and cultures should be efforts for achieving peace, honouring agreements and respecting traditions of people and their right to security, freedom and self determination.
The conference also called for more “ways of enhancing understanding and co-operation among people despite differences in their origin, colour and language”, and a “rejection of extremism and terrorism”.
The statement was read to the closing session by Muslim World League Deputy Secretary General Abdul Rahman al-Zaid, which had organised the conference through an initiative by Saudi King Abdullah.
More than 300 delegates attended the gathering in Madrid, aimed at bringing the world’s great monotheistic faiths closer together.
Among them were World Jewish Congress Secretary General Michael Schneider, and Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who is responsible for the dialogue between the Vatican and Muslims.
The participants called on the UN General Assembly to call a special session to support the recommendations of the conference “in enhancing dialogue among the followers of religions, civilisations and cultures”.
Three ‘US spies’ killed in South Waziristan
Staff Report
WANA: Unidentified gunmen killed four people on Friday, three on suspicion of spying for NATO forces, and one head of a local madrassa.
The bodies of the three suspected spies were found in the Karwan Manza area of South Waziristan. A note, written in Pashto, was also found near the bodies, accusing the dead of spying for the United States. It warned that other “US spies” would face the same fate.
Separately, unidentified militants shot dead a madrassa head in the Mir Ali subdivision of North Waziristan. The attackers shot at Maulana Abdullah while he was standing in front of his madrassa before escaping in a car with tinted glasses.
NATO, US forces withdraw from Pakistan border
By Haji Mujtaba
MIRANSHAH: NATO and US-led forces in Afghanistan have begun moving back to their compounds after massing on the border with Pakistan to locate attacking Taliban militants inside Pakistan, eyewitnesses here told Daily Times on Friday.
“US and NATO troops are not to be seen outside their compounds now and have also moved tanks, artillery and heavy weapons inside their bases,” Afghan locals said. US-led coalition forces amassed on the Pak-Afghan border on Tuesday, threatening to strike militant posts inside Pakistan. They (US-led forces) have stepped back from our border after they saw that the tribal people have joined hands with Taliban to safeguard the country’s border,” said tribal elders in Miranshah bazaar.
LHC suspends Elahi’s arrest warrant
* Wants case record produced in court on 21st
Staff Report
LAHORE: Justice Maulvi Anwarul Haq of the Lahore High Court on Friday suspended proceedings and order of arrest warrants of former Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi, former Punjab chief secretary Salman Siddique and others for their non-appearance before the court.
The order had been issued by Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad Bakhsh Masood Hashmi on July 16, in a criminal case filed by Mayo Hospital ex-surgeon Dr Maqsood Hussain.
Case record: Justice Haq, holding suo motu proceedings on the issue, directed that the case’s record should be produced before the court on July 21.
He also directed Additional Advocate General Tahir Munir Malik to assist the court on the issue.
King Edward Medical University ex-vice chancellor Dr Mumtaz Hasan has also filed a petition against the order of warrants.
Petitioner’s counsel Aftab Bajwa submitted that the trial court had proceeded in gross violation of the procedure prescribed by law in the matter of a private complaint and also in violation of the Qazf (Enforcement of Hadd) Ordinance 1979.
Dr Maqsood Hussain is seeking registration of a Qazf case against Elahi and others.
Pakistan, India discuss Kashmir CBMs
* Meeting focuses on modalities of implementing decisions on cross-LoC travel and trade
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Indo-Pak Technical Working Group on Kashmir-related confidence building measures (CBMs) met at the Foreign Office (FO) on Friday and discussed methods to facilitate travel and trade across the Line of Control (LoC).
The one-day meeting was headed by South Asia and South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) Director General Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry from Pakistan and Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary TCA Raghvan from India.
Modalities: According to a statement issued after the meeting, the two sides discussed modalities of implementation of the decisions on cross-LoC travel and trade taken during a May 21 ministerial meeting.
“The meeting was held in a cordial and constructive atmosphere. They also reviewed measures to ensure the effective implementation of the existing cross-LoC measures. Raghvan also called on the foreign secretary of Pakistan,” the statement added.
During the fourth round of composite dialogue, both countries decided to initiate bus services between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar and Rawalakot and Poonch. They also decided to open five entry points along the LoC to facilitate meetings between divided families living on either side.
However, both countries have thus far only been able to start one fortnightly bus service between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar. They have only opened three entry points on a weekly basis instead of the agreed-upon five. Residents living on either side of the border have also complained of difficulty in obtaining travel documents to cross the LoC. The first meeting of the working group was held in New Delhi in May 2006. The meeting was the first one between Pakistan and India since New Delhi blamed a bombing on India’s Kabul embassy on a Pakistani intelligence agency, AFP reported. Pakistan has rejected the allegations. New Delhi often accuses Islamabad-backed militants of waging an insurgency in the disputed territory of Kashmir and of triggering attacks in other parts of the country. Pakistan strongly denies it arms or trains the militants.
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