Investment opportunities: ‘Govt’s economic policies bringing in foreign investors’

Canadian high commissioner says Canada wants to promote cooperation with Pakistan in energy and several other sectors. PHOTO: FILE

LAHORE: 

The dream of progress and prosperity cannot be realised without economic security, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said while talking to Canadian High Commissioner Greg Giokas on Tuesday.

Sharif said Pakistan’s economy was becoming stronger by the day as a result of the government’s economic policies and there were vast opportunities of investment in energy, livestock and agriculture.

The chief minister and the Canadian high commissioner also discussed bilateral relations. Sharif said the government’s priority was to end the energy crisis.

Sharif said several countries friendly to Pakistan were helping it set up power generation projects using traditional and alternative resources.  He said the Nandipur Power Project near Gujranwala had been revived after a long hiatus under the previous federal government…its first turbine will start operating in two month. The project would be completed within the year, he said.

Giokas said Canada wanted to promote cooperation with Pakistan in energy and several other sectors. He also invited Sharif to visit Canada.

A delegation of China’s Shandong Ruyi Group also met the chief minister on Tuesday. They expressed an interest in investing in energy, mining and textile sectors in the province. The delegation included Ruyi Group Senior Vice President Jerry Liu, Executive President Arie Qiu, Vice President Li Aiying, Executive Director Zhang Liuzhang and Masood Textile Chief Executive Officer Shahid Nazir.

Sharif said that foreign investors had shown willingness to invest in Pakistan due to the government’s economic policies. He said the Punjab Minerals Department and the Shandong Ruyi Group had reached an agreement to set up two coal power plants in Salt Range…to produce up to 135MW. He said local coal would be used for the plants. He said the government was going to set up an “apparel park” and garment zones to promote the textile sector.

The chief minister said that the government was working on drafting comprehensive reforms to increase the tax to Gross Domestic Product ratio. Sharif met with the country head of McKinsey Pakistan, Salman Ahmad, on Tuesday. They discussed possibilities of cooperation in agriculture and livestock sectors.

Sharif acknowledged McKinsey’s experience and expertise as a consultancy in industrial, agriculture and mining sectors. The chief minister constituted a committee headed by Metro Bus Authority Managing Director Sibtain Fazl Haleem to oversee areas of cooperation between the Punjab government and McKinsey in agriculture, livestock and other revenue generating sectors. The committee and senior officials of McKinsey will develop a roadmap for this purpose.

Ahmad said that McKinsey wanted to promote cooperation with the Punjab government. He said that McKinsey wanted to open an office in Lahore

Economic governance: ‘Technology can improve farm yields’

UAF VC says it is important to understand the seasonal nature of the trade. PHOTO: APP/FILE

FAISALABAD: 

Bilateral trade between India and Pakistan can be enhanced while protecting the interests of stakeholders especially farmers, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Iqrar Ahmad Khan said on Monday.

He was speaking at a conference on Improving Economic Governance in Agriculture Sector through Trade Liberalisation between Pakistan and India organised by the UAF.

Khan said it was important to understand the seasonal nature of the trade. “For example, the peak season of potatoes is August and September in India. In Pakistan, it is October and November,” he said.

He said the trust deficit between the two countries should be bridged through dialogue.

Praising India for its agricultural policies, the UAF VC said farmers in the Indian Punjab were being given a subsidy on tube-wells.

Lahore University of Management Sciences (Lums) Pro-Chancellor Syed Baber Ali said technology should be used to improve farm production.

He said 70 per cent of Pakistan’s population was directly or indirectly involved in agriculture. Ali said an entrepreneurship cell should be set up at the UAF to help the youth translate knowledge into better goods and services.

MNA Rana Afzal said the government was doing its best to strengthen the agriculture sector. He said the recommendations made at the seminar would be sent to the government. “Agriculture is the backbone of our economy accounting for 21 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP),” he added.

Pakistan Farmers’ Association President Tariq Bucha asked the government to address farmers’ issues.  “At least 10 per cent of the budget must be reserved for agriculture,” he said.

He said the farmers must be taken on board when trade policies were formulised.

Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialisation (ORIC) Director Asif Ali, Abdul Ghafoor, Waseem Ahmad, Mubashar Mehdi, Ayub Agriculture Research Institute Director Abid Mehmood and Aiwan-i-Zaraat president Siddique Naseem were also present on the occasion.

Governance priorities: What use are youth festival records, asks Imran Khan

The protesting nurses rallied from Cooper Road and tried to march to the Punjab Assembly. PHOTO: ZAHOOR UL HAQ/EXPRESS

LAHORE: 

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan joined the Young Nurses Association (YNA) at a protest rally on Tuesday to slam the Punjab government for their indifference.

Following an eight-hour long sit-in in front of the Lahore Press Club on Monday, the protesting nurses had announced plans to stage a sit-in in front the Chief Minister’s House on Tuesday.

However, after being turned away by a heavy police contingent at the GOR entrance, the protesting nurses chose Egerton Road for their ‘sit-in’.

Addressing the protesters, Khan said it was unfortunate that while the Punjab government was spending billions of taxpayers’ money on useless record breaking at the Punjab Youth Festival, many of the people serving the humanity were on the streets protesting.

“What’s the use of making a record of eating 100 naans? The government should spend this money on education and health,” he said. He said the government should meet the legitimate demands of the nurses, because hospitals could only work smoothly, if nurses were all looked after.

Earlier in the morning, the protesting nurses rallied from Cooper Road and tried to march to the Punjab Assembly. A heavy police contingent, however, did not let them enter the area. The nurses then decided to stage a sit-in on Egerton Road, resulting in long queues on the adjoining roads.

Nurses at several government hospitals also observed a partial strike to show solidarity with them.

Dr Rana Sohail Ahmad, a surgeon at Mayo Hospital, told The Express Tribune that he had had only one nurse working for four operation theatres. He said in most cases, doctors had to perform their (nurses’) duties during surgeries. He said several surgeries had been postponed. He urged the government to resolve the issue at the earliest, saying doctors would not be able to work without nurses for long.

Health Director General Zahid Pervaiz, who tried to negotiate with the protesting nurses, said that the Health Department had forwarded a summary to the Finance Department to extend the arrangements with the ad hoc nurses. He said that nurses having contract jobs should report back on duty. “We are trying our best to solve the problems at the earliest,” he said.

Later, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif formed a committee headed by Chief Secretary Naveed Akram to resolve the issue. Other members of the committee are Advisor to Chief Minister on Health Khwaja Salman Rafique, Parliamentary Secretary on Health Khwaja Imran Nazir, Health Secretary Babar Hayat Tarrar and Law Secretary Abul Hasan.

The YNA had not called off the protest till the filing of this report.

Sanaullah’s reaction

Reacting to Imran Khan’s remarks, Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said that Khan should refrain from seeing political capital from the nurses’ protest. He said that Khan’s politics was limited to protest rallies and demonstrations. He said the PML-N government had taken unprecedented steps for the improvement of service structure of doctors and nurses.

Azad Kashmir turns to water to solve power crisis

Families in Kashmir's upper Neelum Valley set up small-scale hydro projects to produce electricity for few hours/day. PHOTO: FILE

NEELUM VALLEY: As Pakistan grapples with a crippling energy crisis, people in one corner of Kashmir have taken matters into their own hands, using small-scale turbines to generate electricity from streams and rivers.

The country is plagued by power cuts, lasting up to 22 hours a day in the blistering summer in parts of the country, blighting ordinary people’s lives and hampering the economy.

Government moves to tackle the problem have so far yielded little success and have largely focused on moving from expensive imported oil to cheaper coal.

But in Kashmir’s upper Neelum Valley – part of the disputed Himalayan territory known to locals as “Heaven on Earth” for its unspoilt beauty – hundreds of families have chosen a more environmentally friendly option, setting up small-scale hydro projects to produce electricity for a few hours a day.

“The turbine was paid for with contributions from 50 families and cost us Rs300,000 in total,” said Rahimullah, 35, who operates a turbine machine.

Some were moved by necessity – less than half of the Neelum Valley’s 200,000 inhabitants have access to electricity from the grid.

Small turbines are driven by the flow of water to work generators to produce power, and the 200-kilometre Neelum river that forms the picturesque valley, as well as its tributaries, give the area great potential for hydroelectric generation.

Shafiq Usmani, the deputy director of the Hydro Electric Board of Neelum Valley, says up to 3,000 MW could be generated, while the area’s demand is only 15 to 20 MW.

The growth in hydropower has an important knock-on effect – with an electricity supply, there is less reason for residents to cut down trees for cooking and heating.

“All the beauty of the Neelum Valley is dependent on those forests and streams, and this can only be sustained if we give them clean energy,” Usmani told AFP.

One local, Mushtaq Ahmad, said the move to electricity had made a huge difference to his family’s health.

“When we had no electricity for lighting there was always smoke in our house, as we used wood for heating and cooking which causes different kind of diseases,” he told AFP.

“Since we installed this small hydro project for the past three years, thanks be to God, we have got rid of these diseases and also got some other benefits.”

He also called on the government to expand hydro projects in the region so that more people could enjoy their benefits.

Pakistan faces an electricity shortfall of around 4,000 megawatts in the summer, leading to lengthy blackouts, that have strangled economic growth.

To combat the crisis, Pakistan has sought Chinese help in building power generation projects across the country, including coal, nuclear and hydro.

Chinese engineers are also busy in the construction of a Neelum Jhelum hydropower project in Kashmir, estimated to be complete in November 2016, which will generate 969 MW of electricity.

Chaudhry Latif Akbar, the territory’s finance and hydroelectric power minister, said the long-term plan was to export power to the rest of Pakistan on a large scale.

“The total identified hydro energy potential in Kashmir is approximately 8200 MW and we are currently producing 1130 MW,” he said.

“The total need is approximately 400 MW. We will try to use our resources to produce electricity to help out Pakistan to overcome its ongoing energy crisis.”

Kashmir, divided between India and Pakistan upon independence from Britain in 1947, has been a continual thorn in relations and the countries have fought two wars over the territory.

Hydropower has also been a source of friction between the two sides, with India objecting in the past to major dam projects on the Pakistan side

The 10 Most Exotic Pools On Earth…

Summer is right around the corner and I’m sure you’ll want to jump into a swimming pool soon to celebrate. We’ve compiled a list of some of the most awesome swimming pools on earth for you.

#1. Infinity pool in Singapore at Marina Bay Sands resort

Chia Ming Chien photography.nationalgeographic.com

#2. The pool at Belmond Jimbaran Puri resort in Bali, Indonesia

jimbaranpuribali.com

#3. The pool at Hanging Gardens Ubud Hotel in Bali, Indonesia

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#4. Gold energy pool at St. Regis in Lhasa, Tibet

starwoodhotels.com

#5. Chongwe River House pool in Zambia, Africa

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#6. Pool at the Velassaru Resort in the Maldives

velassaru.com

#7. The San Alfonso del Mar Seawater Pool in Algarrobo, Chile is the world’s largest pool. The pool is 1 kilometer(0.62 miles) long, covers 20 acres and holds 66 million gallons of water.

sanalfonso.cl

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#8. Golden Nugget pool in Las Vegas, Nevada

Jerry Alexander lonelyplanet.com

#9. Neptune pool at the Hearst Castle in San Luis Obispo, California

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#10. The Library pool in Koh Samui, Thailand. This pool gets its color from a base of mosaic glass tiles in orange, yellow and blood red.

#11. The pool at the Cambrian in Switzerland

An Emotional Shah Rukh Khan Grieves For Bobby Chawla

It isn’t everyday that somebody comes into your life, and touches it so deeply, leaving an indelible mark that it cannot be eradicated, even by death. Such is the case of the impact the late Sanjiv aka Bobby Chawla had on Bollywood Superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

At the prayer meet organised for Bobby Chawla, former Chief Executive Office Of Red Chillies Entertainment, and Juhi Chawla’s brother, on Tuesday, March 11, 2014 at Taj Lands End, Mumbai, Shah Rukh Khan displayed just how deep his bond with Bobby ran.

When requested by Juhi to share a few words about her brother Bobby at the prayer meet, Shah Rukh Khan spoke completely from the heart.

Taking a walk down memory lane, Shah Rukh Khan reminisced about the first time he came into contact with Bobby Chawla. “First time, I saw Bobby, I completely fell in love with his simplicity and honesty. He is remembered as someone who was very particular about money but I never blame him looking at the flops Juhi, Aziz Mirza and I together churned out under Dreamz Unlimited.”

Overcome by grief, Shah Rukh Khan went on to add: “I have stopped loving anyone. I lost my parents whom I loved the most. They all end up going away. And now, I hate to know that Bobby you have gone away too.”

Juhi Chawla’s brother, Bobby Chawla had been in hospital since April 2010. Bobby Chawlabreathed his last at the Jaslok Hospital at around 06:30 am, on March 09, 2014.

The moment Shah Rukh Khan, who was in Chennai for the music launch of Kochadaiiyaan, got to know about it took on to twitter and wrote, “When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure. May Allah bless my friend’s soul.”

We pray that wherever Bobby’s soul is, he is aware of the mark he has left upon Shah Rukh Khan, and that his soul can rest in peace.

Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Madhuri Dixit, Ritiesh Deshmukh, Dalip Tahil, Saroj Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Abbas-Mustan, Genelia D’Souza were among other celebrities who attended the prayer meet and were seen in tears along with Juhi Chawl

Thiago Silva happy to stay with Paris Saint-Germain

The Brazilian defender says he is happy in the French capital and has no desire to leave before his current contract with the Ligue 1 champions runs out

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Paris Saint-Germain defender Thiago Silva has reiterated his desire to stay at the club, despite speculation linking him with a move elsewhere.

The Brazilian's impressive displays have caught the eye of many this season as PSG romp towards the Ligue 1 title, as well as securing a place in the Coup de la Ligue final and looking certain to reach the last eight of the Champions League.

However, the centre-back has moved to rule out any possibility of a move away from the French capital in the near future, with his current deal not due to expire until 2018.

"I feel good, I feel appreciated by what is said about me in the press," he told Marca.

"I am happy, and my work is being recognised.

"But I am happy in Paris and hope to see out my contract."

PSG thumped Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 in the first-leg of their last-16 tie and look assured of their quarter-final berth, and Silva believes that if they continue in their current vein of form they could go all the way to the final.

"If we continue playing like this, we are also in with a good chance of winning the Champions League," he said.

"I think that the toughest rival at the moment is Bayern [Munich].