Chinese President visit

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif hand shake with Chinese President.

Democracy WINS - Pakistan WINS!

Wall street Journal news about democratic Pakistan

PCEC map

This is the original and only map of PCEC.

Mass Transit Bus Projects

Rawalpindi Metro Project

PM meets King Salman

Pakitan stands beside Saudia for its soverignity

Reduction in fares of public transport

Toll free helpline for compaints

Parliament Gallery

Group Photo| Speaker NA Sardar Ayaz Sadiq with Dr. Cyrill Nunn, Ambassador of Germany and Members of Pakistan-Germany Parliamentary Friendship Group

News reel

Followers

Monday, October 13, 2014

Interview |

Muhammad Sarwar | Governor Punjab


This interview was published in weekly Zindagi, datedMay 18, 2014.

 

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Re: The Untold Wealth of Ishaq Dar

 Truth and Facts in response to the Article titled: “The Untold Wealth of Ishaq Dar”

By: Ali Dar – CEO HDS Group

On 20th September, 2014, an Article was published in an online News Website namely Al Rasub written by a Ms. Sabena Siddiqi. This Article is nothing but a cheap attempt to malign my father Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, my brother Hasnain Dar and me and is replete with distortions and falsehood and is purposefully aimed at discrediting the Dar family. The Author has maliciously attempted to create doubts in the minds of the readers about our lawful business in UAE in which our father has no share or interest as he made us independent more than a decade ago when I completed my professional education in United Kingdom.

It is important to note that both Hasnain and I spent a considerable time of our lives abroad. After finishing our higher education, we got engaged in business activities in UAE and have never been involved in any business or professional activities in Pakistan, under direction of our father who wanted to ensure no conflict of interest in his official public positions and in order for us to avoid the common allegation against families of Politicians on account of having undue favors or business expansions due to their elders in Politics and/or holding Public Offices. When I moved to UAE in 2003 after completing my education, my father, Senator Dar was professionally engaged as Financial Advisor/President of a Fund/Company of Royal Family of UAE and retained this position from February 2002 to March 2008. Senator Dar, after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in England, has experience of working for more than 40 Years in profession, industry and public/private sectors in UK, North Africa, Middle East and Pakistan. Out of his declared lawful professional earnings, Senator Dar had gifted part of these to me and also gave some Qarz-e-Hasna (Interest-free Islamic Loan) for my business career. Importantly, my father has made full declaration of all these transactions in his annual Tax Returns as well as Election Commission Returns (as a Parliamentarian) that are gazetted in Pakistan. On taking oath as Federal Finance Minister in June 2013, he submitted his Statement of Assets, which again reflected the latest status of these transactions which are also correspondingly fully documented in Audited Books of our business in UAE. The Qarz-e-Hasna has since been fully repaid and remitted to him to Pakistan through the official banking channels out of which my father Senator Dar has been financing for last few years an orphanage in Lahore, Pakistan in which around 100 children aged 5-16 years reside and their boarding, lodging, health and education is being fully looked after. He also quietly runs another charitable institution, Hajveri Foundation, which helps the poor for medical, education, mass marriages and other needs of life. Besides, he has been a regular contributor towards other charities and social welfare programs. He topped the list of political donors at the time of the 2010 floods, made the largest individual donation for rehabilitation of the IDPs of Swat and Malakand Division and again gave a personal donation for recent floods; thereby taking total donated amount to Rs. 70 Million for the said three calamities.

My brother and I have been involved in business in UAE under the name of “HDS Group” in which there is no participation or involvement of anyone whosoever. Our business is subject to yearly independent audits as per International Auditing Standards and UAE Laws, Rules and Regulations. One of the World’s top-most Auditors (known as Big 4) happen to be HDS' auditors and, as part of their “Know-Your-Client” procedures and practices, they don’t even sign-up a client until and unless they are 100% satisfied about the source of funds and legitimacy of the business. UAE applies strict legal regime with respect to funding sources for businesses and HDS Group is in full compliance with the UAE laws and regulations and, in particular, abide by the laws pertaining to Government/Banking/Corporate Regulatory Authorities and Master Developers.

HDS Group has mainly been engaged in real estate development business in the UAE for over a decade. The contents of Ms. Siddiqi’s Article are part of a propaganda that is published from time to time to scandalize and defame the Dar family. The assertions in the said Article are untrue, misleading and contrary to the conduct of real estate business of UAE. It is a known fact worldwide that a builder/developer/co-developer is not the owner of a building. The developer only uses funds from its customers/booking-holders/buyers and, after the completion of project, the building stands transferred in the names of such customers/booking-holders/buyers. The strict application of the UAE real estate laws may be evident from the fact that the investors’/owners’ funds are deposited into escrow bank accounts and releases are made to the developers/contractors through regulated process monitored by the Authorities of the Government of UAE. Instructively, the Real Estate Development business is strictly regulated in the UAE by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (“RERA”) that has a complete diligence and oversight of all the Developers. All transactions are undertaken as per the law without any race, cast or creed prejudices.

HDS Group has lawfully acted till date as Developers or Co-Developers in Joint Ventures with other partners in the UAE for development of the following towers mentioned in the Article: -

1. HDS Tower: The whole tower (G+39) was sold out (except for a few units that have been retained by HDS Group for office purpose). There are approximately 300 customers/buyers (which include individuals, corporations, companies and institutions etc) of HDS Tower who are the owners according to the strata laws of Dubai and whose particulars are available with the UAE Real Estate Authorities, Government of Dubai.Therefore, the allegation of the Tower being owned by HDS Group is concocted and a big lie.

2. HDS Business Centre: The whole tower (G+39) was again sold out (except for a few units that remain unsold due to the slow business environment in Dubai since the economic downturn of 2008). There are approximately 250 customers/buyers (which include individuals, corporations, companies and institutions etc) of HDS Business Centre who are the owners according to the strata laws of Dubai and whose particulars are available with the UAE Real Estate Authorities, Government of Dubai. Therefore, the allegation of the Tower being owned by HDS Group is concocted and a big lie.

3. HDS Sunstar 1 and 2: One of these two low rise buildings (G+10) is 100% sold out and the other has some unsold units due to economic downturn of 2008, which have been rented out. The two buildings jointly have 260 individual Unit Occupants, the details of whom are again available with the UAE Real Estate Authorities, Government of Dubai.Therefore, the allegation of the Towers being owned by HDS Group is concocted and a big lie.

4. Sobha Ivory 1 and 2: HDS Group has never had any involvement whatsoever in Sobha Ivory 2 Project. With regards to Sobha Ivory 1, HDS Group did co-develop this Project but all units have long been sold and there are approximately 110 customers/buyers (which include individuals, corporations, companies and institutions etc) of Soba Ivory 1 building who are the owners according to the strata laws of Dubai and whose particulars are available with the UAE Real Estate Authorities, Government of Dubai. Therefore, the allegation of the Tower being owned by HDS Group is concocted and a big lie.

With regards to non-property businesses mentioned in the Article, the item-wise facts are as under: -

5. Take a Break: These are two Coffee Shops in a small area of around 500/950 sq.ft, aimed at catering to part of the food and beverage requirements of the Office Owners and their employees. Coffee shops only employ three individuals, which indicate their negligible size and value.

6. HDS Mini Golf: HDS Mini Golf is a community service for the residents of the community in which this small facility is located. The approximately 500 sq.mt land for the facility was given by the Master Developer of the Community (under control of the Government of Dubai). The facility can hardly recover the rent for the land and it is managed by merely 1 part-time employee, which reflects its negligible size and value.

7. HDS Owners Association Management Company: It is again a service company which only coordinates between the Board Members of the Owners Associations of HDS Tower/HDS Business Center and hundreds of Owners of the said Towers and charges a nominal fee for the said administrative services provided.

8. HDS Rent A Car: The story about car rental business has equally been distorted and is far from reality. It is a usual business in the UAE that owners do place their luxury cars with Rental Companies for renting out because of a considerable demand for such vehicles. Any person may rent out luxury cars through car rental companies, who charge part of the rental as their fee. In addition to that, the Roads and Transport Authority of UAE (“RTA”), Government of Dubai, allows for temporary transfer of Vehicles between Rent-a-Car companies which allows companies like HDS Rent A Car to offer to their clients cars owned not just by them but also by hundreds of other Car Rental companies in Dubai. The car rental business too is well-recorded, properly audited and is carried out according to the laws of UAE. The assertions and inferences made in this case too in the aforesaid Article are outrageously incorrect.

It is worth mentioning that all the above-said activities have already been made public electronically by HDS Group through postings on their websites etc but the writer Ms. Sabena Siddiqi, while copying, only selected part-information and unethically added lies to distort facts in a manner to give the readers a completely false and inaccurate picture, which is most regretful and against the very basic ethics of journalism. It is therefore evident that the sole reason for the said Article is political malice, jealousy and to lower our personal as well as commercial reputation in UAE and Pakistan. The online publishing of this Article and subsequent email and wide social media circulation of the false assertions and baseless assumptions is a defamatory, unlawful and damaging act. Such an act is evidently against the honorable and decent norms of a civilized society and liable to be condemned altogether. In actuality, we worked very hard for years and the present business position is the fruit of only hard work and God’s benevolence and no other source has ever been relied upon. We reserve the right to take legal recourse against the propagandists of such defamatory content.

As a Muslim, we must be wary of what has been ordained in the holy Quran in Surah Hujurat, Verse 6: “O you who have believed, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.”


 

Monday, October 6, 2014

Sharifs acuited from money laundring case

Pakistan court acquits Nawaz Sharif, brother Shahbaz Sharif in money laundering case

 

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his younger brother and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif were on Friday acquitted of all charges in a 14-year-old money laundering case, in a ruling that comes as a major relief to the embattled brothers.
The Sharif brothers were accused of misusing their authority and accumulating wealth beyond their means. Former military dictator Pervez Musharaf, who deposed Sharif in 1999, had instituted the cases in 2000, alleging that the brother-duo used a paper mill as a cover for money laundering during the late 1990s.
The National Accountability Bureau court, however, said the Sharif brothers, along with Nawaz's wife Kulsoom Nawaz, daughter Maryam Nawaz and nephew Hamza Shahbaz, were absolved of all corruption charges, including possession of illegal assets.
Justice Anwar Ahmed termed the charges "politically motivated" and quashed the case, Dawn reported. He said the case was pending for 14 years and not a single witness had appeared in court.
It is a major victory for the embattled prime minister, facing a barrage of corruption andvote rigging charges by cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan and a populist cleric named Tahirul Qadri.
Khan wants Sharif's ouster over alleged rigging in last year's poll which his party lost, while Qadri wants to bring a revolution in the country. They are agitating since August 14.
Meanwhile, another case accusing the Sharif family of defaulting over a bank loan in relation to their Ittefaq Foundries was adjourned by the court to October 2.



Friday, October 3, 2014

Column |

ISB-RWP Metro Bus Project | Athar Ali Khan

 This column was published in Daily Express dated March 26, 2014

Column |

میاں صاحبان کا نیا دور | عبدالقادر حسن



This column was published in daily Express dated 25th March, 2014.



Column | The revolution of progress

The revolution of progress | Ahsan Iqbal

This column was published in Daily Jang dated 06 July, 2014.

 

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

$65m ADB funding likely for power project

$65m ADB funding likely for power project


ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank has agreed to finance a $65 million private sector power project being set up on Poonch river, upstream Mangla Dam.
According to official sources, the project envisages construction and operation of a 102MW run-of-the river hydroelectric generation facility for which the ADB is expected to provide $65m.
The project will be developed in accordance with the Power Policy 2002 under which the ADB has financed several projects and will be undertaken on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis in 30 years since the beginning of the project’s commercial operation.
It will ensure low-cost generation and provide additional electricity supply to the national grid.
According to the project document, the tariff for electricity supplied by the project will be lower than that for plants that use imported fuel and other renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
It will also avoid greenhouse gas emissions of almost 240,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Published in Dawn, September 28th , 2014




Inquiry finds Mashhood scandal video fabricated


Inquiry finds Mashhood Scandal video fabricated

Inquiry finds Mashhood scandal video fabricated
LAHORE: An inquiry committee tasked to probe Punjab Law Minister Rana Mashhood’s video scandal has cleared the accused from charges leveled against him.
According to the committee findings, the video is fabricated and it is made by joining different shots.

The video also failed to define the context, the committee report stated. 

Mashhood had to take back his own money from Asim Malik, it added.

A video was leaked on media which showed that Punjab Law Minister Rana Mashhood allegedly seeking bribe on behalf of the Punjab chief minister.

On the directives of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, a three-member committee was constituted which included Raja Zafarullah Haq, Senator Rafique Rajwana and Begum Zakia Shah Nawaz.

The committee would present its report to the chief minister. -Samaa



 

Saturday, September 27, 2014

White paper on PTI's government in KP (May 2013 – Sept 2014)

A GREAT BETRAYAL IN THE NAME OF CHANGE


PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW OF KP GOVERNMENT (May 2013 – Sept 2014)
Tall claims were made in 2013 elections of a better governance model by PTI based on which it got elected. Since past 14 months we have not seen the “Naya” Pakistan promised neither in D-Chowk nor in KP.

Introduction

  1. Tall claims were made in 2013 elections of a better governance model by PTI based on which it got elected.
  2. Since past 14 months we have not seen the “Naya” Pakistan promised neither in D-Chowk nor in KP.
  3. PTI attracted new segment of youth, women and the educated middle class into voting; but it ended up polluting their minds with hatred and introduced a politics of blames minus proofs.
  4. The idea of WP is not to attract more abuses PTI style but to open the eyes of those who claim to be educated to the failed PTI model in KP where real change could have been a role model for Pakistan.
  5. Whilst PTI has mastered the art of breaking all laws, wanting to be treated VIP by not adhering to any laws, and of conducting failed dharnas and entertaining jalsas it has not learnt how to deliver when blessed with governance in KP.






PM Nawaz Sharif speech in UN General Assembly 2014

PM Nawaz Sharif speech in UN General Assembly meeting 2014

http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/general-assembly/general-debate/69th-session/watch/pakistan-general-debate-69th-session/3808821226001 


Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Pakistan Steel production capacity improving

 Pakistan Steel production capacity improving


ISLAMABAD: The production capacity of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) has risen to 25 per cent from 3pc in May 2014 owing to financial bailout package of Rs18.5 billion.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar chairs a meeting on Pakistan Steel Mills revival on Saturday.This was stated by CEO of Pakistan Steel, Maj-Gen (Retd) Zaheer Ahmed Khan, while briefing the Federal Minister for Finance, Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, here on Saturday.
An official announcement issued after the meeting said that Mr Khan claimed that the production capacity is expected to escalate to 77pc of the total 1.1 million tonnes per annum capacity by end of December 2014 which would be a break-even point, nullifying the losses occurring to the mills.
He apprised the minister that production is expected to touch 30pc mark by the end of September and should touch 40pc in October.
Mr Khan also briefed the minister about some issues faced by Pakistan Steel, including the imposition of 5pc duty on import of iron ore.
The minister responded that the Economic Committee of the Cabinet would consider the issue and take an appropriate decision in its next meeting.
Mr Khan also requested for relaxation in the condition of advance payment of GST on each imported shipment of raw material. He said it would be easier for Pakistan Steel to pay the GST on finished products.
The finance minister gave instructions to FBR to submit the case for decision regarding allowing three months time to PSM for payment of GST.
Other relevant administrative matters were also discussed during the meeting. The minister appreciated the surge in the production at PSM and asked the CEO to keep up the good spirit.
He hoped that Pakistan Steel would achieve the goals and targets that had been set for its complete revival.
Published in Dawn, September 21th, 2014


Friday, September 12, 2014

FAFEN report on elections in NA 110

NA-110 | FAFEN report about PMLN candidate Khawaja Asif



Thursday, September 11, 2014

Remittances up by 12.6pc

 Remittances up by 12.6pc

KARACHI: Overseas Pak­is­­tanis kept increasing their remittances this fiscal year 2014-15 with a growth rate of over 12 per cent.

Pakistanis remitted $2.978 billion in first two months (July-Aug) of current fiscal year.— AFP file photoThe State Bank said on Wednesday that Pakis­tanis remitted $2.978 billion in first two months (July-Aug) of current fiscal year (FY15) as compared to $2.644bn of the corresponding period last year, an increase of 12.6pc.
During FY14, the remittances increased by 13.72pc to $15.832bn as compared to $13.92bn during FY13.
The country’s reliance on remittances has been increa­sing since the exports have failed to meet the size of the imports.
Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2014

 

Projects approved for Ministry of Petroleum

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Interview | Ch Jaffar Iqbal

Interview | Ch Jafar Iqbal


This interview was published in Weekly Nidai Millat dated August 28, 2014




Tuesday, September 9, 2014

School reforms roadmap




LAHORE:  Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Friday that implementation of the Punjab School Reforms Roadmap had revamped the education sector.
He was chairing a meeting held to review the roadmap. Sharif said the target of enrolling four million children in schools would be realised in October. He said the government had recruited 140,000 teachers last year to provide quality education. Adviser to Chief Minister on Punjab Schools Reform Roadmap Sir Michael Barber, briefed the chief minister about the roadmap.
Sharif said the government was spending billions of rupees to provide quality education in the Punjab. He said the government had already released funds for improving facilities in public schools. Sharif said it was imperative to further capacity building and resource utilisation in a competent fashion.
The chief minister said data collection was being digitalised to make the reforms more effective. Sharif said the government was spending billions of rupees to restore missing facilities in schools and to reconcile the number of students with the number of teachers. Sharif said teachers should pay special attention to improving academic standards in public schools.
He directed officials to constitute a committee tasked with formulating proposals regarding the matter. Sharif said the committee would also be tasked with advising the government regarding quality teacher recruitment. He said the committee would have to present its final recommendations seven days after its formation. Sharif directed officials to implement the roadmap in an effective manner. He instructed officials to ensure that solar panels were installed at schools in Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan immediately to provide continuous power to the facilities.
Sharif expressed displeasure over delays in the implementation of some reforms and said zero-tolerance would be shown in this regard. British Department for International Development Country (DFID) Head Richard Montgomery and Barber praised the efforts of the chief minister. They said he was committed to promoting quality education in the province. They said the Punjab had made great strides in education, health and infrastructure under the leadership of Sharif.
They said the provision of quality education in the province had shown an improvement in his tenure. They said the provision of quality education in the province was increasing despite the political situation.
The education minister, Planning and Development Board chairman, Punjab Education Endowment Fund vice-president, schools secretary and the finance secretary were also present on the occasion. Several DFID and World Bank officials also attended the meeting.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 30th, 2014.
 http://74.205.74.128:88/DisplayDetails.aspx?ENI_ID=11201408300335&EN_ID=11201408300132&EMID=11201408300042

http://tribune.com.pk/story/755586/overhauling-academia-school-reforms-roadmap-has-revamped-education/

Monday, September 8, 2014

Column

Shobaz Sharif | Muhammad Bilal Ghauri


This column was published in Daily Jang dated 08 Sept. 2014.