Nepal, Pakistan ties poised for a quantum leap
BHARAT RAJ PAUDYAL
Ambassador of Nepal talks to Centreline and DNA
Ansar Mahmood Bhatti
Let us begin with bilateral relations. How would you describe Pakistan, Nepal relations especially in the fields of trade, tourism and culture?
Nepal and Pakistan enjoy friendly relations. In the front of trade, we have Trade Agreement signed on July 28, 1982 and both the countries are party to the SAFTA. There is good untapped potential for the trade and commerce between the two countries. A Joint Business Council (JBC) was established in November 1996 between the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI). Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) has signed MOUs with Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore Chambers of Commerce and Industry to promote bilateral trade and investment. We expect holding of the third meeting of the JBC between the apex bodies of the private sector soon.
New Security policy: will it do the trick?
The government on February 26 unfurled its new security policy in the national assembly. The document aims at setting guidelines and future roadmap in order to nip the menace of terrorism in the bud. The national security policy mainly deals with internal security of the country and envisages activation and revival of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NECTA), creation of a rapid response force and establishment of an internal security division and an intelligence division in the interior ministry. Giving salient features of the policy the interior minister said it was a 100 page document which had been finalized in a period of five months. It is a wide ranging security policy and each of its aspects including the economic security and curbing terrorism needed to be focused, he added. The policy would have three dimensions including secret, strategic and operational. The first dimension deals with day to day affairs and it is to be kept secret. The second dimension is of strategic nature while third dimension, which is operational explains how appropriate actions shall be taken whenever need arises.
An eye-witness account Of The Khojali Genocide
By Ali Zulfiqaroglu for DNA / Centreline
22 Years past from the day of 26 February 1992 when Armenian forces committed brutal genocide against civilian population of Khojali town of Azerbaijan. This tragedy occupies significant place in the history of humanity with its horror and from the standpoint of actions which contradict the ethics of mankind. It was not only genocide against Turks, but challenge to humanity too.
Pakistan to hold 3G, 4G auctions in April: finance minister
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will hold long-awaited auctions for 3G and 4G telecoms licences this April, the finance minister said on Friday, a step that could help boost the cash-strapped country’s foreign reserves. A 3G licence will cost $295 million and a 4G licence will cost $210 million, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said. He said the government would be looking for full payment, or a 50 per cent payment with the rest to be paid in five equal installments over five years, with an interest rate of three per cent.
Thai PM leaves Bangkok as bombs, gunfire punctuate unrest
BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the target of anti-government protesters who have blocked parts of Bangkok for weeks, has left the city and is staying 150 kilometres away, her office said on Monday, without specifying the location. The protests, punctuated by occasional gunfire and bomb blasts, including one on Sunday that killed a woman and a young brother and sister, are aimed at unseating Yingluck and erasing the influence of her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who is seen by many as the power behind the government.
Thai PM leaves Bangkok as bombs, gunfire punctuate unrest
BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the target of anti-government protesters who have blocked parts of Bangkok for weeks, has left the city and is staying 150 km (90 miles) away, her office said on Monday, without specifying the location. The protests, punctuated by occasional gunfire and bomb blasts, including one on Sunday which killed a woman and a young brother and sister, are aimed at unseating Yingluck and erasing the influence of her brother, ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, regarded by many as the real power behind the government.
Japan to lift part of Fukushima evacuation order: official
TOKYO: Japan will lift an exclusion order on an area around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, allowing some residents to return to live for the first time since the disaster, officials said Monday. “The formal lifting of the evacuation order will come on April 1, affecting around 300 people” whose homes are in part of Tamura city, around 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of the wreaked plant, a Cabinet Office official told AFP. Over the next two years, up to 30,000 people will be allowed to return to their homes in the original exclusion zone, thrown up in a bid to protect people from the harmful effects of leaking radiation, he added.
Govt mulls ‘wide-ranging’ changes in duties, tariffs
KARACHI: Minister for Commerce and Textile Industry Khurram Dastgir Khan has said that wide-ranging adjustments and changes will be introduced in duty and tariff structures in the next budget. Addressing business and industry leaders on Thursday at the Federation House, he said these changes would boost the country’s exports and achieve the target set by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at $36 billion for next two years. He disclosed that the commerce ministry has already submitted a detailed plan with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for the revision in duties and tariffs to be made effective in the new budget.
Arizona lawmakers pass bill to allow faith-based service refusal
PHOENIX: Arizona lawmakers gave final approval on Thursday to a bill that would allow businesses to refuse service to customers when such work would violate the irreligious beliefs, in a move critics describe as a license to discriminate against gays and others. Under the bill, a business owner would have a defense against a discrimination lawsuit, provided a decision to deny service was motivated by a “sincerely held” religious belief and that giving such service would have substantially burdened the exercise of their religious beliefs. “The Arizona legislature sent a clear message today: In our state everyone is free to live and work according to their faith,” said Cathi Herrod, president of the conservative Center for Arizona Policy, which helped write the bill.
