ISLAMABAD, Dec 25: The banking sector of the country was not capable of financing the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline but the State Bank could raise funds for the project by launching bonds, Adnan Adil Hussain, senior vice-president for consumer and retail banking at the National Bank, said on Tuesday. Talking to reporters, he said his bank entered such ventures only on the basis of commercial viability. “We are already in a consortium to finance the Neelum-Jhelum…
Posts published in December 2012
‘Don’t give provincial status to GB’ Mirwaiz tells Pakistan ISLAMABAD – APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Friday urged Pakistan not to give provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) as such a move would pave way for India to make Ladakh one of its provinces. “When we talk about Kashmir we talk of 1947 Jammu and Kashmir. Our movement is indigenous and Kashmiris have sacrificed a lot during last 20 years. We urge Pakistan not to give…
‘Don’t give provincial status to GB’ Mirwaiz tells Pakistan ISLAMABAD – APHC Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Friday urged Pakistan not to give provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) as such a move would pave way for India to make Ladakh one of its provinces. “When we talk about Kashmir we talk of 1947 Jammu and Kashmir. Our movement is indigenous and Kashmiris have sacrificed a lot during last 20 years. We urge Pakistan not to give…
QUETTA: Eleven illegal immigrants were reportedly killed on Friday in a firing incident in Pothan area, near Pakistan-Iran border and some 80 kilometres northwest of Gwadar. Balochistan Home Secretary told Dawn that special teams had been dispatched for confirmation of the incident. Reports suggested that the illegal immigrants included Tajiks, Uzbeks and Pakistanis, and they wanted to cross the border through illegal channels when they were fired upon by unknown persons. Earlier this year, 11…
Mirwaiz`s concerns: edit in Dawn, Dec 21 LOOKING at it from the Kashmiri point of view, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq`s concerns can be understood. Speaking at a seminar in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, the chief of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference couldn`t help saying that, after 2008, Pakistan was not playing the role expected of it. Similar sentiments were voiced by another APHC leader, Abdul Ghani Bhat, who felt that, instead of prioritising other bilateral matters, the…
Neelum Jhelum project: Funding up to $1b from China, UAE in jeopardy By Shahbaz Rana in The Express Tribune, Dec 18 ISLAMABAD: China and Abu Dhabi have stopped processing roughly $1 billion worth of funding – including some approved and some yet to be approved loans – for the Neelum Jhelum hydropower project following decisions made by the Pakistan government which hit interests that the UAE and China had stakes in. China was apparently annoyed…
Passengers block KKH in Mansehra MANSEHRA, Dec 16: A convoy of 30 vehicles was allowed to proceed to Gilgit-Baltistan after angry passengers blocked Karakoram Highway in protest against stopping of vehicles for days here in Mansehra on Sunday. “We have spent whatever money we had, as the district administration in Mansehra is stopping us from proceeding en route Karakoram Highway to Gilgit-Baltistan since December 12,” said Fazalur Raheem while speaking at the protest gathering. The…
Indian Kashmiri separatist demands opening of border MUZAFFARABAD: A separatist leader from Indian administered Kashmir urged rivals India and Pakistan Sunday fully to open the border in the disputed Himalayan region to let the peace process move forward. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said the current limited opening of the Line of Control, the de facto frontier in Kashmir, was not enough. Farooq, a leader of the moderate Hurriyat Conference, is leading a seven-member delegation to Pakistan…
Hurriyat leaders on Islamabad swing from Dec 15 ISLAMABAD: A delegation of Kashmiri leaders from across the Line of Control (LoC) will visit Pakistan later this week for the first time in four years, indicating a gradual improvement in ties between Islamabad and New Delhi. According to a foreign ministry statement issued Monday, leaders from Indian-held Kashmir will be embarking on a week-long trip to Pakistan from December 15. Even though the statement did not…
Section 144 imposed in Gilgit: By Shabbir Mir in The Express Tribune, Dec 14 GILGIT: The people of Gilgit were once again confined to their homes on Thursday when Section 144, which bars the assembly of five or more people in one place, was imposed in the city. The restriction was put in place following a sectarian clash between two student groups on Wednesday that left two dead and seven others injured. Locals faced a…
By Shabbir Mir In The Express Tribune, Dec 14 GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) government suspended six jail officials and ordered a judicial inquiry on Thursday, a day after two under-trial prisoners, including a key suspect in a high-profile murder case, escaped from a prison. “The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mehdi Shah and attended by the G-B Scouts commander, home secretary, DIG police, and senior officials of Rangers and…