Tag Archives: Policy

pakistan

The 2020-25 Textile Policy is sluggish | Instant News



ISLAMABAD: Even after the approval given by Prime Minister Imran Khan twice, the 2020-25 Textile Policy approval is still sluggish as many important economy ministers, the Special Assistant to PM (SAPM) shows defiance by opposing dental and policy policies. aptly, the top official source with knowledge of the development’s secrets told The News.

“The Ministry of Trade has put Textile Policy on the ECC agenda many times, but some ECC members are not ready to agree on a Textile Policy which guarantees electricity rates of 7.5 cents per unit for five years and an RLNG supply of $ 6.5 per MMBTU. The same members played an important role on the Cabinet Committee for Energy (CCOE) in making the decision to cut off gas supply to the capture power plant (CPP) intended for the export industry from March 1, 2021. “

This means that starting March 1, 2021, no local and imported gas will be available for the export sector and the 7.5 cents electricity tariff mentioned in the 2020-25 textile policy which also received approval from the prime minister is now being rejected. “Now the export sector has to rely solely on unexpected electricity from the national grid at 9 cents per unit from March 1 onwards.”

According to official sources, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Trade and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood has reportedly been left out by several economic ministers in various ECC meetings. They pleaded that the export sector had a big incentive and under that incentive, the export industry got electricity from the national grid at 9 cents per unit.

Plagued by severe opposition, the sources said that Razak Dawood had decided to tell the prime minister that he faced a lot of opposition to the textile policy and he would not take him to the ECC until the PM chaired a meeting on the matter.

Dawood’s guess, said the source, is that the export industry will lose its market if it continues to be deprived of regional electricity and gas tariffs, which are given to industrial sectors in India, Bangladesh and Vietnam. The country’s recent surge in exports will subside if the textile policy is not approved.

“Dawood seems worried saying that the newly escalating industrialization process at home will subside. And if that happens, it will be a great tragedy, “the source said, quoting the trade adviser.

“The demand for 7.5 cents per unit of electricity tariffs stated in the proposed 2020-25 Textile Policy cannot be accepted by several ministers. A top minister was also reported to have overstepped the limit, saying that businessmen enjoy a luxurious life in spacious villas. This shows the minister’s particular type of resentment towards the business community. “

Shahid Sattar, Executive Director of the All Pakistan Mills Association (APTMA), when contacted, criticized the government for cutting off gas supplies to the export sector starting March 1, 2021 on the grounds that the energy ministry’s move would prove to be detrimental to industrial activities which have recently increased momentum, while the RLNG moratorium and The supply of local gas to the power plant will cause a 50 percent increase in production costs as export products in the international market are no longer competitive. This will result in a decrease in the country’s exports.

Sattar said that the export industry is in the process of expansion and the country is now heading towards industrialization, which was in a de-industrialization mode about two and a half years ago and more importantly the industry is now starting to import high power plants. efficiency, but unfortunately the government will impose a gas ban for captive power generation.

He also argues that electric power generation is indispensable for the export industry because the electricity generated from the CPP does not fluctuate, which is very important for fine textile machinery. However, he said the electricity coming from the national grid was not in accordance with the quality required by the textile industry, on the grounds that the national grid electricity fluctuated too much, so production suffered greatly. He also referred to the NEPRA report which also mentions one fluctuation causing 4-5 hours of closing of textile product production.

He further argued by saying that given the past performance of the electricity sector and frequent breakdowns and variations, the industry did not have confidence that the electricity sector would be able to provide sustainable stability and competitiveness.

Sattar explained, the latest machines used in industry are equipped with electronic devices (electronic cards / chips) which are very sensitive to electrical fluctuations. The card or chip installed in the machine catches fire or trips if there are variations in frequency / voltage / power supply, stopping the entire production line. Industry experience in utilizing grid electricity has not been productive so far.

Apart from production losses, the capacity and performance of the machines installed are also affected, he said, adding to further maintenance and repair costs. Losses in production and investment in addition to production losses will jeopardize the industry and ultimately Pakistan’s credibility in executing orders; there will be negative consequences from the decline in exports, unemployment and losses on investments that have been made. The negative impact of the gas supply moratorium would be much greater than providing 150 MMCFD of natural gas for use in the power sector.

Sattar also said that a large number of factories have recently invested millions of rupees in new gas / RLNG generating equipment based on efficiency criteria that the government complies with. Sudden and misunderstood policy changes will bankrupt these companies

“The factory has started receiving calls from banks to verify how they will fulfill orders based on the gas / RLNG supply and repayment facilities requested,” he said.

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pakistan

The 2020-25 Textile Policy is sluggish | Instant News


ISLAMABAD: Even after the approval given by Prime Minister Imran Khan twice, the 2020-25 Textile Policy approval is still sluggish as many important economy ministers, Special Assistant to PM (SAPM) show defiance by opposing dental policies. and to be exact, the top official source with knowledge of the secrets of the development told The News.

“The Ministry of Trade has put Textile Policy on the ECC agenda many times, but some ECC members are not ready to agree on a Textile Policy which guarantees electricity rates of 7.5 cents per unit for five years and an RLNG supply of $ 6.5 per MMBTU. The same members played an important role on the Cabinet Committee for Energy (CCOE) in making the decision to cut off gas supply to the capture power plant (CPP) intended for the export industry from March 1, 2021. “

This means that starting March 1, 2021, no local and imported gas will be available for the export sector and the 7.5 cents electricity tariff mentioned in the 2020-25 textile policy which also received approval from the prime minister is now being rejected. “Now the export sector has to rely solely on unexpected electricity from the national grid at 9 cents per unit from March 1 onwards.”

According to official sources, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Trade and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood has reportedly been left out by several economic ministers in various ECC meetings. They pleaded that the export sector had a big incentive and under that incentive, the export industry got electricity from the national grid at 9 cents per unit.

Plagued by severe opposition, the sources said that Razak Dawood had decided to tell the prime minister that he faced a lot of opposition to the textile policy and he would not take him to the ECC until the PM chaired a meeting on the matter.

Dawood’s guess, said the source, is that the export industry will lose its market if it continues to be deprived of regional electricity and gas tariffs, which are given to industrial sectors in India, Bangladesh and Vietnam. The country’s recent surge in exports will subside if the textile policy is not approved.

“Dawood seems worried saying that the newly escalating industrialization process at home will subside. And if that happens, it will be a great tragedy, “the source said, quoting the trade adviser.

“The demand for 7.5 cents per unit of electricity tariffs stated in the proposed 2020-25 Textile Policy cannot be accepted by several ministers. A top minister was also reported to have overstepped the limit, saying that businessmen enjoy a luxurious life in spacious villas. This shows the minister’s particular type of resentment towards the business community. “

Shahid Sattar, Executive Director of the All Pakistan Mills Association (APTMA), when contacted, criticized the government for cutting off gas supplies to the export sector starting March 1, 2021 on the grounds that the energy ministry’s move would prove to be detrimental to industrial activities which have recently increased momentum, while the RLNG moratorium and The supply of local gas to the power plant will cause a 50 percent increase in production costs as export products in the international market are no longer competitive. This will result in a decrease in the country’s exports.

Sattar said that the export industry is in the process of expansion and the country is now heading towards industrialization, which was in a de-industrialization mode about two and a half years ago and more importantly the industry is now starting to import high power plants. efficiency, but unfortunately the government will impose a gas ban for captive power generation.

He also argues that electric power generation is indispensable for the export industry because the electricity generated from the CPP does not fluctuate, which is very important for fine textile machinery. However, he said the electricity coming from the national grid was not in accordance with the quality required by the textile industry, on the grounds that the national grid electricity fluctuated too much, so production suffered greatly. He also referred to the NEPRA report which also mentions one fluctuation causing 4-5 hours of closing of textile product production.

He further argued by saying that given the past performance of the electricity sector and frequent breakdowns and variations, the industry did not have confidence that the electricity sector would be able to provide sustainable stability and competitiveness.

Sattar explained, the latest machines used in industry are equipped with electronic devices (electronic cards / chips) which are very sensitive to electrical fluctuations. The card or chip installed in the machine catches fire or trips if there are variations in frequency / voltage / power supply, stopping the entire production line. Industry experience in utilizing grid electricity has not been productive so far.

Apart from production losses, the capacity and performance of the machines installed are also affected, he said, adding to further maintenance and repair costs. Losses in production and investment in addition to production losses will jeopardize the industry and ultimately Pakistan’s credibility in executing orders; there will be negative consequences from the decline in exports, unemployment and losses on investments that have been made. The negative impact of the gas supply moratorium would be much greater than providing 150 MMCFD of natural gas for use in the power sector.

Sattar also said that a large number of factories have recently invested millions of rupees in new gas / RLNG generating equipment based on efficiency criteria that the government complies with. Sudden and misunderstood policy changes will bankrupt these companies

“The factory has started receiving calls from banks to verify how they will fulfill orders based on the gas / RLNG supply and repayment facilities requested,” he said.

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pakistan

Rashid ruled out changes in prophetic law, policies in Kashmir, Israel | Instant News


By Azeem Samar

KARACHI: Home Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed emphatically ruled out any changes in the law on Prophetic Finality (SAW) and added that there would be no compromise on Islamabad’s stance on Kashmir or on the recognition of Israel.

Speaking at a press conference here in a hotel on Friday, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed predicted that the Spreadsheet Scandal would emerge as the Panama-2 from Pakistan in the next two to three months and claimed that the Nawaz family’s $ 100 million worth of property will be revealed from the Broadsheet investigation. . Rasheed said the findings of the Broadsheet case would have a negative impact on the Opposition in the next election. He also dismissed the Opposition’s objections to the appointment of Hakim (right) Shaikh Azmat Saeed as head of the Broadsheet investigation and said “If you wait for Judge (R) Qayyum to replace Hakim (right) Sheikh Azmat. [to investigate the scandal] then you made a mistake. That will not happen, “he added. The minister said Prime Minister Imran Khan was taking a bold step by asking for live coverage of the Foreign Funding case. He said the Election Commission was an independent body and decisions should be made by him based on these recommendations.

He said the Opposition parties except the People’s Party protested outside the ECP office while PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was in Umerkot celebrating his party’s mid-election victory. He said opposition parties would take part in the upcoming Senate elections because their lawmakers would not resign from the assembly. “The opposition has nothing more to say and will do nothing but rally (protests) and we are waiting for this demonstration,” said the interior minister. He stressed that the Opposition was a waste of time and clarified that no debate could be held on political and constitutional issues. Rashid said the government would not interfere with any upcoming opposition protests from the Opposition as long as it was conducted in accordance with the law and the constitution. But he warned the Pakistan Democratic Movement would face the same embarrassment in the upcoming march as they experienced recently in protests outside the Pakistan Election Commission offices in Islamabad. The Interior Minister said the Opposition must explain the motive for agitation in front of democratic institutions which are only aimed at defaming the court and the armed forces. He asked the Opposition to only want to slow down the progress of the domestic industry.

Ruling out any changes in the law on Prophetic Finality (SAW), Sheikh Rashid added that there would be no compromise on Islamabad’s stance on Kashmir or on the recognition of Israel. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s services to highlight the Kashmir issue around the world were not comparable to the work done by Maulana Fazlur Rehman as chairman of the Kashmir committee several times. He said that Fazlur Rehman had no future role in state politics and his (Maualana) alliance with PML (N) would be useless. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan will complete his five year term. The interior minister said that people have sacrificed their lives to restore peace in Karachi and to respect that politics must be put aside and everyone must work together to raise Karachi. The minister urged the Sindh government to install 10,000 surveillance cameras in Karachi to carry out the Safe City project. He also advised the Sindh government to give full support to the Rangers to become a great para-military institution. He said 143 Rangers personnel had given their lives to restore peace in the country’s largest city. Answering a question about the relationship between Police and Rangers, he said that they are like two-wheelers and enjoy a good relationship. He said the government would take action to eradicate oil and narcotics smuggling from the city. For a question, he said an investigation was underway into the Machh tragedy and underlined that strong international elements were trying to harm Pakistan and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Home Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed also visited the Pakistan Coast Guard (PCG) and praised the force’s professional role. The PCG Director General welcomes federal ministers at the PCG Headquarters in Karachi. He was briefed on the professional work of the PCG, operations against smuggling and its mandate. The minister said that the PCG is committed to carrying out its work on land and sea against smuggling, drugs and other heinous crimes. He said that the PCG played an important role not only in times of peace but also in times of war. He was also convinced to strengthen and function PCG. According to a PCG spokesperson, the federal interior minister laid wreaths on the martyrs’ monument and gave tribute.

APP added: Answering another question, he said that 88-90 percent of the fence has been completed on the Pak-Afghanistan border while 30-40 percent of the work on the Pak-Iran border fence has also been completed while the rest will be completed by the end of this year. He also appreciated the Pakistan Army, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Rangers and other law enforcement agencies for their efforts to improve the law and order situation in the country. Answering a question about the new US government under President Joe Biden, he said that it looks better for Muslim countries.

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Australia

For Australia, classified documents raise important questions about US foreign policy | Instant News


While Donald Trump stunned Washington – and much of the world – when he was elected President of the United States four years ago, the message from diplomats and foreign policy analysts in both Australia and the US was one of calm assurance.

No matter how fragile the president appears (and, remember, this was in the days before anyone realized he might not only be fragile but at times dangerous), government institutions and diplomacy will work hard to plan a steady course. through a dangerous world.

Due to what appeared to be an endless turnover of senior staff at the White House, and the open warfare with agency heads continuing, it is hard to believe that is possible, let alone the case.

Now, the chaos – at least in the White House itself – will end with Joe Biden’s inauguration as 46th President on Thursday morning Australian time.

The shock of the events of the past few weeks and the role of the US President sitting in them, culminating in the US Capitol Building under siege by an angry mob, still frame nearly everything that is written about America today.

And the focus over the next week will be on the ongoing bickering over impeachment, and what Biden’s stimulus package means for the US and the global economy.

Very unusual declassification

But for Australia, the question of where the new government takes on foreign policy, particularly the Indo-Pacific, will be very important.

That’s what makes this week’s highly unusual declassification of the Trump administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy, unveiled in early 2018, so compelling.

The documents were previously classified as “confidential” and “not for foreign nationals”. It was not officially classified last week – 30 years earlier than usual.

That 7.30 ABC’s program gets early access into a document that is clearly a strategy by White House officials to ensure the message in the document – which, frankly, may have been missed in previously occupied Washington – reaches US allies in the region.

Sources said Australia, led by Malcolm Turnbull, had significant influence over the documents formulated by the US.(AP: Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Those who have been involved in carrying out US policy want to ensure the strategic architecture is explicit and on the public record, no matter how President Trump’s more colorful actions may have dominated the headlines, and that is a starting point for the Biden Administration.

A source closely involved with the policy told me that the release was a sure sign to US alliance partners, including Australia, that “we are not fading away but doubling” in the Indo-Pacific.

If you think about the time trajectory involved in this policy, it provides a high ground for seeing how the region’s views, and actions within, have changed since 2017.

When the policy was formulated across the US administration in 2017, there are still some analysts who believe that Chinese President Xi Jinping will not adopt the aggressive approach he has, which illustrates the end of every semblance of observing the goodness of democracy in Hong Kong, and the movement that increasingly aggressive in the South China Sea.

Meanwhile, the US has also developed a much clearer focus and robustness on how to deal with China – both in trade and in strategic terms. The need not to blink with China has become a bipartisan position.

And Australia is bound more intricately in US strategy than ever before.

Sharp ends of the ‘alliance driven’ strategy

A Washington source familiar with the strategy’s progress said Australia had a significant influence on the document, as did Japan. They talk about how alliances in the region have evolved over the past four years from a network of “hubs and spoke” built around the US, to a grid of relationships centered on the so-called “quad” in the US, Japan, India and Australia.

Rory Medcalf, head of the National Security College at ANU, said one “interesting conclusion that we can draw from this strategic framework is that it is an alliance-driven strategy”.

“In some ways, the strategy is an American follower vision, not American leadership,” said Medcalf.

The professor is standing in the dark storage unit.
Professor Rory Medcalf, Principal of the College of National Security at the Australian National University.(Provided: ANU)

The sharp end of this strategy concerns Taiwan.

Recall that President Xi said several years ago that Taiwan “must and will” be reunited with China. He warned the island’s elected leaders that “independence will only bring difficulties” and that union with the mainland was “an inevitable condition for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people”.

And now we see unfolding in simple terms a US strategy under development around the same time committed to “designing and implementing a defense strategy capable of, but not limited to: (1) denying China’s continued air and sea dominance in the ‘chain of islands’. first ‘in conflict; (2) defending the first island chain countries, including Taiwan, and (3) dominating all domains outside the first island chain ”.

The so-called first island chain refers to the islands stretching from the Kurils, the main islands of Japan, and the Ryukyu to Taiwan, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

The tension increased

If there is any question about whether the US will, or could even, counter China’s attack on Taiwan, Rory Medcalf said the language in the document is “very clear code for America to maintain its position with Taiwan, with partners and allies in the South China Sea, with Japan. , with Korea, really keeps the relationship intact and protects them from Chinese assertiveness and Chinese aggression “.

But as the Japan Times noted this week, “China has effectively organized military operations to penetrate the first island chain, including activities that send warplanes and warships close to Taiwan and Japanese territory”.

It continues: “Last year alone, Chinese warplanes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait several times, while Chinese ships also approached the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands more than 300 times, another record.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian stood in front of a pulpit
Zhao Lijian reportedly said “the document deliberately distorted China’s environmental policies” and created a sensation of the “Chinese threat” theory.(Provided: Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Just to put more emphasis on escalating tensions, the US goal in India, according to the US strategy document, is to “accelerate India’s rise and capacity to become a net security provider” by building “a stronger foundation for defense cooperation and interoperability; expand our defense trade and the ability to transfer defense technology “, and to” offer support to India through diplomatic, military and intelligence channels – to help address continental challenges such as border disputes with China “.

Needless to say, Beijing was unhappy about much of this, saying the document exposed “the United States’ sinister motives to contain China and sabotage regional peace and stability”, according to the China Daily.

The newspaper said Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a daily press conference on Wednesday that “the document deliberately distorts China’s environmental policy” and sensationalizes the “Chinese threat” theory, adding that it “highlights the Cold War mentality and military confrontation” .

He urged the US to “refrain from sending the wrong signals” to “Taiwan independence” forces.

US diplomacy may have a stronger grip on events under the new president. But they will be negotiating much more dangerous territory.

Laura Tingle is the 7:30 pm chief political correspondent.

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Australia

The Melbourne family plans to fly a private jet to New Zealand to get an Australian visa | Instant News


A Melbourne family plans to charter a private jet to fly from Australia to New Zealand in a desperate bid to get an Australian visa.

Chinese couple Dong Liu and Lixia Wang, both in their 60s, want to live permanently in Australia with their son, Can Liu, his wife, Julie Jin, and their two-year-old granddaughter.

But because they applied for a parent visa abroad, they had to be abroad when issued.

The Federal Government announced last year that it would lift this requirement during the pandemic of multiple visas, in a move celebrated as “common sense”.

But the Coalition refuses to extend concessions to more categories, including parent visas, leaving people feeling pressured to leave Australia and at risk of catching COVID-19 abroad.

“I am so desperate,” said Ms. Jin.

“I will do whatever it takes to meet government requirements.”

The couple had reached the final stages of the application process and paid tens of thousands of dollars for visas.

Ms Jin said an official from the Ministry of Home Affairs last year told her in-laws that they had to leave Australia within three months to activate their visas, or risk being revoked.

Other families also told the ABC they had been pressured to fly overseas to activate their visas.

The number of parent visas issued is limited, with only 3,730 approved last fiscal year and waiting times over the years.

Lixia Wang wants to settle down permanently in Australia with her son, wife and their two-year-old grandson.(Supplied)

“The whole situation is very difficult for them,” said Jin.

“They just really wanted… just to stick together as a family.”

Ms Jin has begun arranging an $ 88,000 trans-Tasman flight to allow her in-laws and others in similar situations to leave Australia without spending weeks abroad and undertake hotel quarantines on return.

He believes flights will be able to land at Auckland Airport and passengers will be allowed into the terminal on a New Zealand transit visa 24 hours before flying back.

At that time, officials from the Australian Department of Home Affairs can issue permanent residency visas.

Madame Jin admitted thinking the idea was “crazy” at first, but said she was determined to secure her family’s future “whatever it takes”.

‘Just change the rules’

Federal Labor MP Julian Hill plans to introduce a private members bill when Parliament returns next month allowing all visas to be issued on the ground during the pandemic.

“Families don’t have to be Googling, ‘how do I rent a private jet’,” he said.

“This is not a council of pots; this is not a banana republic: this is the Australian Government.

“The minister should change the rules so that visas can be granted on the ground and stop this nonsense.”

Dong Liu and Lixia Wang with their son Can Liu, his wife Julie Jin, and their son Emma Liu in Lixia's arms.
Ms. Ms. Jin and her husband, Can Liu, were pregnant with their second child in August.(Supplied)

Former senior immigration department official Abul Rizvi said it would be easy to grant exceptions to other groups.

“There are no costs to the Government, no fees for taxpayers, it saves quarantine places, and saves unnecessary costs and risks for the people involved,” he said.

Australian permanent residents have access to many services which are not available to short-term visa holders.

In a statement, the Ministry of Home Affairs said applicants for visas, such as parent visas, were informed of ways they could remain in Australia during the pandemic.

On Thursday evening, after the ABC raised their case at the office of the Minister of Immigration, Liu and Wang were granted six-month tourist visas.

The department on Wednesday told Melbourne families their parents’ visa applications would not be revoked if they had not traveled abroad during the pandemic.

Nonetheless, Jin said he was still investigating private jet rentals.

Jin and her husband Can Liu were pregnant with their second child in August and said they needed their Australian parents to support them at the time.

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