ISLAMABAD: The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has appointed eunuchs as Data Entry Operators for the first time in the history of the country, The Express Tribune learnt on Tuesday.

A senior official in the Ministry of Interior said three eunuchs will be designated as NADRA officials on the post of data entry operators. He said those selected will be appointed in provincial headquarters of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.

The official said the appointment has been made on merit through proper screening, following the announcement of jobs in newspapers. The authority will also provide proper training of database processing to the people employed.

The authority has planned to initially appoint seven people at the provincial level to help members of the gender specific community in processing Computerised National Identity Cards (CNICs), he added.

The official said NADRA has received a good response from applicants from Sindh and KP. Eunuchs did not show any interest in working in Lahore, he said.

All candidates must have a three months diploma in a computer course and a medical certificate from their district medical superintendent  confirming their gender.

He said that the appointment letters have been prepared and they will be dispatched to their respective addresses soon.

The official added that one of the candidates appointed is doing his LLB, while the other two have a BA and a matriculation degree.

The representatives of eunuchs’ rights associations, including renowned activists Almaas Bobby and Shazia Choudhary have appreciated the matter of registration and related issues of recognition, identification and thereafter employment opportunities for eunuchs.

The Supreme Court had directed the government to issue computerised national identity cards as well as job opportunities to the community.

When contacted, NADRA’s media manager confirmed that eunuchs have been appointed in the authority and an appropriate training course is being arranged for them.

(tribune.com.pk)

ISLAMABAD: International relations can be baffling: A country that has  nothing to do with an issue is playing host to its solution.

Arguably one of the most prosperous countries in the world, Qatar has fast become the centre for the endgame of one of the most impoverished and battered – Afghanistan.

This trend will continue with the visit of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani next week to talk with officials from the Gulf state on the Afghan reconciliation process, a senior government official said on Saturday.

“Yes, the reconciliation process in Afghanistan will  come under discussion during the talks with Qatar’s leadership,” the government official told AFP.

The Afghan Taliban announced last month it would open a political office in Qatar, suggesting the group may be willing to engage in negotiations that would likely give its government positions or official control over much of its historical southern heartland.

Afghanistan has given its blessing to the move, but Kabul, wary of being sidelined in talks between the insurgents and Washington, has insisted on a central role in any negotiations.

Ties between Islamabad and Kabul have been strained in recent months but Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said after a visit to Afghanistan last week that ill will had eased considerably between the two neighbours, and even though Pakistan has not been playing a substantial role in the nascent Afghan peace process, she said, it would encourage militant groups like the Haqqani network or the Taliban to lay down their weapons if asked by Kabul.

“While it is not specifically on the agenda, Afghanistan will be discussed, including briefings from the Qatari leadership on efforts being made for the peace process and the Taliban office,” the official added.

Khar is expected to accompany the prime minister on the February 6-8 Qatar trip.

The foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment.

Gilani’s trip to Qatar precedes a trilateral summit in Islamabad between Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan on February 16. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and Afghan President Hamid Karzai are scheduled to travel to Pakistan for the summit that will discuss the Afghan endgame.

Background

Qatar has been centre stage for not only the Afghan endgame but reportedly US-Pakistan negotiations, as well.

As part of behind-the-scene efforts, Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt General Ahmed Shuja Pasha is also said to have visited Doha, Qatar, a few times – where he was believed to have met senior US military and intelligence officials in the aftermath of the Nato cross-border attacks on Pakistani checkposts along the Afghan border.

The US military has strong presence in Qatar. The US’ Centcom maintains its regional headquarters in what is known as the Arab world’s financial capital.

Trade ties

It’s not all about Afghanistan, though. The prime minister will also hold talks to further promote trade and investment ties.

Oil and gas rich Qatar is considered to have the highest gross domestic product growth rate in the world – a whopping 18.7% – and the lowest unemployment rate at 0.4%.  The peninsula state also has one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world.

Among other things, the prime minister will discuss the import of liquified natural gas (LNG) and also the finalisation of transnational formalities in this regard. The two governments are likely to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority and Qatar’s ministry of energy.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2012.

There is a price to pay for coalition politics, and, sooner or later, the pound of flesh will be sought.

Like the rest of the smaller partners in the ruling alliance, Muttahida Qaumi Movement is also pressing the Pakistan Peoples Party for an ambitious share in the upcoming Senate elections.

With less than a month left for the Senate elections, scheduled for March 2, bickering on seat allocations within the ruling alliance has burgeoned – though, thus far, behind closed doors.

The smaller parties are expecting an embattled PPP to be generous – something the party feels it cannot afford. The MQM, on its part, has its own expectations: One of which involves a return gesture for its support back in 2009 to make Interior Minister Rehman Malik a senator on an upper house seat reserved from Sindh.

Of the 12 senators to be elected from the Sindh Assembly come March, the MQM is reported to be demanding four seats while the PPP has so far agreed to two.

“According to our strength in the provincial assembly, our share is minimum three seats … but we also want the PPP to return the gesture by giving an additional seat from the province on technocrat quota,” an MQM central leader told The Express Tribune.

Elections for 54 Senate seats will be held next month: Four provincial assemblies electing 12 senators each, Fata MNAs electing four and the rest of the National Assembly electing two for the federal capital quota.

The PPP has a simple majority in the 168-seat Sindh Assembly with 91 members followed by MQM’s 51. The breakaway PML-Q has 11, PML-Functional eight, National Peoples Party three and the Awami National Party two. These smaller parties are either divided internally or have a covert understanding with the PPP to support nominees for the Senate. In exchange, the PPP will either ‘accommodate’ them in terms of posts or seats in another province or in the centre.

Under this scenario, the ruling PPP is eying 10 of the 12 seats from Sindh – a target that would help its larger ambition to secure a large presence in the Upper House after the Senate elections.

However, achieving this target will not be an easy task. After all, every coalition partner has its own ambitions as well.

Aside from the MQM’s four-seat demand, the PML-Q also wants either a seat from Sindh or wants the PPP to accommodate it in one of the two seats allocated to the federal capital.

PML-Q information secretary Kamil Ali Aga went a step further. He claimed that the PPP had agreed to give his party a share in the Senate elections according to the number of seats it had won in the national and provincial assemblies at the time of 2008 elections. “We were promised a senate share according to our original count. We expect PPP to follow that formula,” he said.

In a meeting last month, parties of the ruling alliance had agreed to bring “consensus candidates”. In such a case, only the candidates allocated a party ticket will file their nominations and they would get elected unopposed.

The PPP is also negotiating with PML-N and JUI-F to adopt this procedure, which, it says, would save everyone from horse trading.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2012. 

NEW DEHLI: Actor Akshaye Khanna says it wasn’t a conscious decision not to sign too many films at one time. The actor adds that he can’t think of associating himself with anything and everything. “It’s not that I avoid signing many films in a year but, yes, I don’t want myself to associate with anything and everything,” says Khanna, whose forthcoming film Gali Gali Mein Chor Hai is releasing this weekend.

“Gali Gali Mein Chor Hai happened because the script attracted me and I didn’t stop myself from giving the nod to the movie. It was a spontaneous decision and now I can confidently admit that this role is so far my best role.

“People from the lower middle class to high officials will relate to my character, who is a middle-class family man. This is what makes this role one of the benchmarks in my career,” the actor states, who was last seen in Farah Khan’s directorial venture Tees Maar Khan.

The theme of Gali Gali Mein Chor Hai is corruption in the Indian system. However, the actor claims there is hardly any scope for such illegal practices in filmdom. “In today’s time, there is no place where there’s no corruption, but I feel proud to be part of the industry where there is no scope for corruption. We wake up, go to work, finish it off and then come back, where is the time to think about shortcuts?” Khanna says.

The movie grabbed headlines when Anna Hazare, who has been pioneering the anti-corruption movement in the country, watched Gali Gali… “Since I always keep a low profile and avoid getting into the limelight, I feel fortunate that I’m not part of any corruption-related issue,” he adds.

In the movie, the problem of corruption is told through the eyes of bank cashier Bharat, played by Khanna, who accidentally gets caught in the corrupt system and the more he tries to wriggle out, the deeper he sinks into it.

The 36-year-old has films like Taal, Border, Dil Chahta Hai, Hungama, Hulchul, Gandhi — My Father and Race to his credit. His next will be Chand Bhai with Vidya Balan.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2012.

Lives of hundreds of mine workers is at risk as the mineral department and contractors have failed to ensure mandatory occupational safety in mines in Abbottabad district, The Express Tribune observed on Sunday.

According to an estimate, over 5000 workers are engaged in extracting minerals like gypsum, talc, chromite, coal and phosphate from mines in Hazara division. But almost all the mines lack safety measures which are mandated by labour laws.

Mine owners are supposed to provide safety equipment like gloves, hats, goggles and uniform to every miner before they enter a mine, said Zahoorul Haq, a labour leader. Miners are required to enter coalmines with oxygen masks. “Labour laws do not permit owners to engage workers without ensuring occupational safety.

However, owing to lack of proper safety measures mine-related accidents are common in phosphate mines. Last year, six casualties were reported in the district. The death of 11 miners in Batkinala Tarnawai village last week was proof of violation of law by officials and lease owners.

Nine workers and two contractors were having lunch on the mouth of an illegally developed phosphate mine, when a heavy mass of rock collapsed on them. Their bodies, recovered after an effort of 50 hours, were beyond recognition.

Villagers and police said the mine was developed unscientifically which caused the accident. There are only 10 to 15 legally developed phosphate mines in the Tarnawai range while over 50 were made illegally in connivance with mineral department officials who demand Rs500 per ton.

Contractors pay Rs3000 to the police for each truckload at check posts for allowing us to take minerals to our warehouses for transportation to Haripur, said a miner.

For legalising illegally excavated rock phosphate, private lease owners of other mines issue a receipt of royalty for Rs300 and then the rock is taken to Haripur, where fertilizer factories purchase raw material for Rs2500 to Rs3500 per ton.

Sources said 1235 acres given on lease by the mineral department and 80% contractors are involved in illegal excavation. Illegal mines are not inspected by officials. 50 truckloads of rock phosphate is transported from the mines every day and each truck carries 20 tons, out of which 70% of the consignment is illegal, said Sher Bandi Khan, president Mine Workers’ Association.

The mineral department routinely trains mine workers but safety measures are rarely applied. Under the law, a mines inspector is supposed to visit mines every month to check whether safety rules are being applied and if mines were developed in the prescribed way, said an informed source requesting anonymity.

The mines were discovered by a British company in 1974 and were under the control of Sarhad Development Authority till 2002. The mineral department auctions the leases annually. A 3600% increase in lease charges by the government has encouraged illegal excavation, said Khan. Illegal excavation is causing a loss of millions to the national exchequer and exposing hundreds of mine workers to danger. He said that the minister was awarding contracts to favourites while applications of dozens of contractors were pending since 2007.

When approached for comments, Inspector Mines Irfanullah rejected the allegation that officials of his department were involved in supporting illegal extraction. He accused the police of non-cooperation and said over 10 criminal cases of assault on his staff by illegal excavators were pending with the police. “Whenever they tried to stop illegally mining phosphate, they were attacked.

After District Coordination Officer Abbottabad banned illegal mining in the limits of Abbottabad district last Sunday, several vehicles carrying phosphate and gypsum were impounded by the police.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2012.

It’s light. It’s frothy. It looks like a perfectly sculptured twirl of snow and it’s the next big thing to hit the food industry in Pakistan. With international brands like Tutti Frutti, the local Berrylicious and yet another global chain Snog on its way, it’s safe to assume that summer 2012 shall be the season of the frozen yogurt frenzy. Saad Akhtar, who frequently visits Tutti Frutti says, “It’s not the ‘it’ thing as yet, but it’s an important addition to the Pakistani market. It’s something that had been missing from the Pakistani market and it’ll work because it’s new, not widespread and considered healthier than ice cream.”

A weighty matter

Undoubtedly, it is the perception of frozen yogurt having low calories that is driving women and health conscious individuals towards this new dessert. “It is fat-free, is lighter then ice cream and has a huge variety of toppings,” spoke Tasmia, who is a huge fan of Berrylicious yogurt. Even Natasha, another loyal customer of the brand says, “It’s going to pick up. At least it’s low in calories, or claims to be anyway.”

Surprisingly it’s not only the fairer sex, but men too are getting hooked onto frozen yogurt.“Health conscious people are the market most food brand wants to target,” explains Salman Yasin, a regular at Tutti Frutti in Lahore. “I like the fact that it tastes like ice cream but it’s actually yogurt. Previously, yogurts available in Pakistan had too much of artificial flavouring.”

When asked if the popularity of frozen yogurt would affect the market of ice cream, both local and international brands of frozen yogurt concur that ice cream will not get affected by their entry into the market. “Frozen yogurt is not a dessert, it’s more of a meal. People living abroad have it for breakfast, lunch and even for dinner,” says Dr Naeem Niazi, the regional franchise owner for Tutti Frutti. He adds that, “This is the best food for people like us who eat a lot of meat and masalas which the probiotic ingredients in yogurt neutralises.”

Bakery-cum-food joint, Upper Crust — located in the serpentine lanes of Zamzama Karachi — however, has experienced a drop in the sales of the ice cream. “Frozen yogurt is extremely popular amongst patrons who are diabetic and generally health conscious, we sell about six pounds a day,” said manager Irfan Wasti.

Do-it-yourself or be pampered

While Tutti Frutti in Lahore has the unique concept of self-service, whereby patrons can fill their own cups with yogurt and then pay for it according to the weight, Berrylicious is served over the counter. “I believe the over the counter technique comes out cheaper for the consumers who are unable to estimate how much they pour into the cup from the self-service machines,” says Dure Sameen Akhund, the pioneer of frozen yogurt in Karachi with her brand Berrylicious. For Niazi, the ability to create your own variation and the multiple variety of flavours such as red velvet and pomegranate, give his brand Tutti Frutti an edge in the market.

Did you know?

•  Frozen yogurt helps to overcome lactose intolerance

•  Frozen yogurt prevents and combats digestive tract infections

•  A half cup of fat-free, sugar-free frozen yogurt only has 80 calories

•  One scoop of regular frozen yogurt has about four g of fat. (Source: yogurt.com/nutrition

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2012. 

A chill ran through the twin cities as it continued to rain for the second day on Saturday, with Murree the choice for many.

The rain started on Friday morning, and continued till the filing of this report on Saturday evening. Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Director General Dr Arif Mehmood said that 13mm of rain was recorded in Islamabad and 18mm in Rawalpindi, with more rain expected in the next 24 hours.

The continuous rain coupled with cold and a public holiday resulted in many people choosing to stay indoors.

Others, with a sense of adventure, had something else in mind. “I have two options, either to stay at home and watch movies, or go to Murree and see the snow. I chose Murree,” said Jalil Hassan as he refuelled his car in Shamshabad while preparing to drive up to the hill station.

Over a foot of snow fell in Murree and Nathia Gali till Saturday evening, PMD said.

Long queues of vehicles on Murree Road were seen heading to the hill station.

All was not well, however, as many vehicles were stuck in the snow in Lower Topa.

Traffic DSP Rana Tahir said his team of a dozen traffic wardens with four mobile vans were doing their best. “Whenever snowfall starts huge numbers of people come to Murree and it becomes difficult to maintain smooth traffic flow,” he admitted.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2012. 

Socialism has failed, capitalism is under stress and the only way to get out of the current morass is to come up with self-sustaining business models for those segments of society that the free-market economy has failed to serve, Acumen Fund Pakistan (AFP) board chair Zaffar Khan said while addressing AFP’s annual community gathering on Saturday.

AFP is a global non-profit venture capital fund that uses entrepreneurial approaches to address problems of water, healthcare, housing, agriculture, energy and education by raising philanthropic capital and investing in social enterprises.

“It’s a question of economic inclusiveness. We need a paradigm shift that seeks to blend commercial with compassion. Charity alone won’t solve our problems,” he said while emphasising the need for social entrepreneurship that uses innovative business models to provide low-income groups with basic services at affordable prices.

AFP works with different companies, including Citigroup, Abraaj Capital and JS Group and has approved investments of $15 million in 13 organisations in Pakistan since 2002.

In his keynote address, Engro Corporation CEO Asad Umar disagreed with Khan over the ability of the government and the free-market economy to lift a huge number of people out of poverty. He said social entrepreneurship could not end poverty by itself, which made the task of reforming the state unavoidable.

“Social entrepreneurs should work to improve the focus, quality and delivery of state institutions to address the unmet needs of the poor, which do not have market-based solutions,” Umar said.

Highlighting the benefits of public-private partnership in the fields of healthcare, housing, agriculture, energy and education, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) Chairman Hussain Dawood, who also serves as AFP partner, said people had been relying too much on the government to come to their aid.

“Civil society should step in and work with the government to solve these issues,” he said, adding PPAF was the best example of public-private partnership, as it operated in 87,000 villages and was run by a small group of 220 professionals only.

He said professionals working in the social sector deserved remuneration in line with the going market rate. “If you pay peanuts, you’ll get monkeys.”

Attributing the dismal state of education in Pakistan to the nationalisation policy of the 1970s, Dawood asked the government to declare the education sector tax-free. “The best way to attract investors to a sector is to make it tax-free. Funds come in and the sector gets developed.”

Besides a panel discussion on building the social enterprise space in Pakistan, the community gathering also included several presentations by organisations, which have received funding from AFP.

One such social enterprise is NRSP Microfinance Bank, which provides crop and livestock loans and savings and insurance products in addition to working capital to farmers at financing rates up to three times cheaper than those available from informal moneylenders. It has disbursed over $30 million in credit to more than 127,000 borrowers.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2012. 

ISLAMABAD: Encouraged by National Assembly’s resolution against increase in oil prices, the compressed natural gas (CNG) dealers have asked the government to withdraw the infrastructure development cess — a type of tax — on CNG, as the industry is already paying high gas prices compared to other consumers.

The demand came after the NA adopted a resolution on Thursday, pressing the government to withdraw the recent increase in petroleum product prices that took effect from February 1.

“We also request the parliamentarians to take up the issue of rise in CNG prices following imposition of cess and that should be immediately withdrawn,” Abdullah Ghayas Paracha, Chairman of All Pakistan CNG Association told The Express Tribune.

The government in January imposed cess at the rate of Rs84.60 per million British thermal units (mmbtu) in Zone-I comprising Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Potohar region and Rs47.40 per mmbtu in Zone-II comprising Sindh and Punjab (excluding Potohar).

At present, the CNG industry is paying gas price of Rs699.20 per mmbtu in Zone-I and Rs736 per mmbtu in Zone-II, which are higher when compared with other consumers.

The commercial sector pays Rs600.19 per mmbtu, industry including captive power plants Rs507.86 per mmbtu, power sector (Wapda and KESC) and independent power plants Rs507.86 per mmbtu, cement industry Rs694.22 per mmbtu, old fertiliser plants Rs313.27 per mmbtu and new plants Rs60.67 per mmbtu. Bulk domestic consumers are paying Rs496.21 per mmbtu.

“Allegations of higher profits in the CNG sector are unjustified and the increase in gas prices by imposing the cess should be immediately withdrawn to provide relief to people,” Paracha said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2012.

Pakistan as a nation, without a doubt, can be considered one of the bravest. The situation in the country refuses to improve, plagued with issues ranging from poverty, illiteracy, political uncertainty to distrust amongst our international peers and even natural disasters, but we, as a people, continue to fight. We, as a people, continue to move forward.

It is these attempts to improve our situations, these successes, which we need to celebrate. Engro Corporation has a vision of “enabling excellence,” and keeping in line with this vision, the first Annual Engro Excellence Awards took place last year in 2011. The goal was and continues to be to present Pakistan to the world as a nation of talented people who are capable, knowledgeable and innovative.

The objective behind which is to honour those individuals who serve as inspiration to us all, and thus enable excellence by encouraging our youth to the follow in the footsteps of the outstanding Pakistanis that we distinguish.

The aim is to establish a feeling of goodwill in the people of Pakistan, especially the younger generation, who seem to have dampened spirits and a decreasing sense of patriotism with every passing day. This effort has been brought forward in the hope to inspire the youth of today to do something big and gain the same respect and benefits that are being bestowed upon these winners who have been chosen by their fellow countrymen.

Even the physical memento awarded to the winners is designed to inspire and is very different from a usual trophy. Each category has its own medallion which doesn’t only honour the recipient but also pays tribute to posthumous contributors of the said category. We recognise the past as well as the present, in an attempt to encourage the future.

The first Engro Excellence Awards recognised the contributions of three worthy recipients, one each from the fields of Social and Humanitarian Services, Literature and Physical and Applied Sciences. This year the categories of Literature and Physical and Applied Sciences will be alternated with Art and Social Sciences respectively and vice versa, thereon, year on year.

These awards recognise the services of eminent Pakistanis who have excelled and made outstanding contributions in their respective fields. The hope is that each year these awards will inspire many younger Pakistanis to dedicate themselves to hard work so that they can excel in their professional lives. In a general atmosphere of negativism and cynicism prevailing in the country, this endeavour deserves our gratitude. Only those nations who recognise and revere their meritorious citizens can succeed, make headway and prosper.

The writer is former governor SBP and currently Dean and Director IBA and chairperson of the Engro Excellence Awards jury

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2012.