The News tnemational, Karacht, Saturday, July 11, 2008

NATIONAL 5


JI stages protests,
demands major cut.
in petrol prices

“By cur correspondent      Real Khan said that intema- and gas tariffs alongside
‘al petroleum prices have petroleum prices, arguing
ISLAMABAD; On the appeal  fallen considerably follow. that the public should ben-
of Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami ing the easing of tensions efit from declining intema-
GD) Hafiz Nacemur Rehman, between Iran and the United tional energy prices.
Protests were held across States, but the government —_ He added that rising util-
the district headquarters has continued to treat petro! ity costs and indirect taxa-
of Northom Punjab against and diesel as major sources tion have placed an unbear>
what the party described ofrevenue instead ofpassing able financial burden on
a3 the government's failure the bonefil on to the people. ordinary citizens,
to provide substantial relief He demanded that the —Criticising the govern-
in petroseum prices despite. price of petrol be imme. ment’s economic policies,
dectning global oil prices. diately reduced to Rs225 he said that while the rulers
~ The protests were ongan- per litre, stating that minor frequently cite conditions
ised in Rawalpindi, Gujrat, reductions of Rs10 or Rs20_ imposed by the IMF tojustify
Mandi Bahauddin, Talagang, would not provide meaning- higher taxes and fuel prices,
Khushab, Chalowal, Jhelum, ful relief to citizens already they have shown little will-
Attock, Mianwali, and Sar. burdened by Inflation and ingness to reduce thelr own
godha under the leadership rising living costs.          ~ expenditures, official privi-
of central, provinelal, and He also called for the leges, and luxury spending,
district leaders of Jamaate- complete abolition of the He called upon the gov-
Island                                 petroleum levy and proposed ernment to immediately
Secretary General that fuel prices be frozen for abolish or substantially
Jamaatelslami Punjab Iqbal the next three years to help reduce petroleum levy, adopt
Khan addressed the protest- control inflation and provide austerily measures, and pro-
ers and reiterated the party's  fongterm stability to con  vide meaningful relief to the
demand for immediate eco- sumers, ~~                               * people instead of shifting the
nomic relicf for the public.        Iqbal urged the govern- burden of economic chal-
Addressing the gathering, ment to reduce electricity lenges onto the public.


Experts discuss development
budget with lens of human
~ consequences

By Myra iniran = Quences: Pakistan's Devel. of devolution after the 18th
opment Budget in Focus,” Amendment, with education,
ISLAMABAD: Experts at a hosted by the Globesight. —_health, and population dis-
dialogue on development — The discussion was held cussed as priority sectors,
budgets and its human con- against the backdropofPaki- Opening the discussion,
sequences stressed the need stan’s recently announced Hasan Hanif, moderator
to move beyond traditional F¥2026-27 budget, which and partner of Globesight,
approaches of measuring prioritizes strict fiscal con- said that Pakistan appears
Progress through financial solidation as a roadmap to caught in a brick-and-mor-
allocations and instead short-term economic stabil. tar trap: too much devel-
focus on the real impact of ty amid debt servicing overs opment spending remains
public spending on people's hangs, With development tied to infrastructure, old
lives.                                  spending sustaining signif- throw-forward liabilities, and
_« They called for introduc. icant cuts under this man-
ing district-level develop. date, the roundtable raised a
Tent competition by allo- fundamental question, “How
cating performance-based docs Pakistan mect its soar
funds to focal governments, ing demand for investments.
alongside comprehensive inhuman development when
civil service reforms to fiscal space ls compressed?”
strengthen transparency, The takeaway was clear
accountability and perfor- that “Pakistan's develop.
‘mance. Highlighting the ment model needs to move
need for a shift from invest. towards  outcome-based
ment-focused budgeting accountability.” ~~
to outcome-based plan- —_ Participants examined
ning, experts underscored current trends and exe>
stronger federal-provincial cution challenges within
coordination and greater various sectoral programs;
investment in human whether the country's per-
resource development,         sistent development gap is
Senior representatives driven primarily by resource
from the government, lead- misallocation, spending inef-
ing economic think tanks, ficiency, or institutional frag-
multilateral organizations mentation; and what reforms
inchiding the World Bank, could better align federal
and Pakistan's wider devel- and provincial development
opment community joined budgets to strengthen human
the closed-door policy capital and long-term resil- tive expenditures, not Just
roundtable titled “Fiscal fence. The roundtable also welfare or development

Bank, sald,

everyone looks at the alloca-
tons for their favored sector.
What we should do instead
of looking at allocations is
build accountability around
- outcomes.” °°

Senior Economist Dr.
Kaiser Bengali said that
Pakistan needs to follow a
growth-centered approach
for its development strategy.

Dr. Khadija Bari, Asso-
clate Professor at IBA,
highlighted the need to
treat education, health, and
nutrition programs as social
spending, “We need to move
away from this paradigm
and treat these as produc:

allocations that are not fully | ing all personnel to perform

ayer Askari, Senior| of vigilance and profession
Economist at the World| alism. He instructed officers
“When the|to tighten security measures
Rational budget comes out, | by conducting comprehen-

NDMA reaffirms coordinated strategy to protect public life during monsoon’

By Jamila Achakzal

video link. Climate change reviewed the national coor- cicg across the country,
minister Musadik Malik, the dination and timely response ~ » The meeting underscored dination among all relevant

. measures and effective coor’

ISLAMABAD: The National NDMA chairman and repro: mechanism for dealing with the importance of advance institutions to minimise the
Disaster Management sentatives of relevant federal monsoon-related emergen: planning, timely preventive impact of potential disasters,

Authority on Friday sald it Institutions also attended the
was committed to implee meeting. .

menting a coordinated The committee reviewed
national stralegy to protect the preparedness and emer-
lives, property and critical gency response measures
national infrastructure dur- undertaken by the relevant
ing the 2026 monsoon. . . departments for the 2026

The commitment was monsoon season.
reaffirmed during the sec- . The provincial authorities
ond mecting of the Emer- briefed participants on their
gency Response Committee, preparedness to deal with
held at the National Disaster potential monsoon-related
Management Authority head- hazards and the arrange-
quarters here to review the ments made to ensure safe
country’s preparedness for tourism in the northem
the 2026 monsoon season, areas,

The committee wascon- The meeting was
stituted on the directives Informed that there are
of Prime Minister Shehbaz risks of glacial lake outburst
Sharif.                                 . floods, tandstides and debris

Planning’ “and develop: flows in thenorthem regions
ment minister Ahsan Iqbal during the monsoon scason.
chaired the meeting via, The participants also


IGP reviews Police.
Lines security

By our crime correspondent  and police personnel to pres:
ent their issues directly to
ISLAMABAD: Inspector Gen-_ the police chief, who issued
eral of Police (GP) Islam- immediate orders to relevant
abad, Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, officers for prompt, mer
conducted an official visit to ftbased resolutions,        .
the Potice Lines Headquarters __ Reiteraling the depart-
entry point to review prevail ment’s priorities, the IGP
ingsecurity arrangements and emphasized Uhat addressing
subsequently held an open public complaints transpar-
court session at the Central ently and within prescribed
Police Office to address public timelines remains a core mis-
grievances,                             sion of the Islamabad Potice.
During his security inspeo- He encouraged citizens to
tion, IGP Rizvi was accome attend the daily open courts
panied by DIG Headquarters without hesitation, noting that
Muhammad Atiq Tahir, AIG these sessions have greatly
Logistics Abdul Haq Umrani, enhanced the thmely reso-
and other senior police offi- lution of public grievances,
clals, The AIG Logistics To ensure accessibility at
briefed the police chief on the grassroots level, the IGP
current securily protocols, the ordered all Sub-Divisional
entry Management system, Police Officers and Station
and overall monitoring meas- House Officers to strictly
uresenforced at the headquars maintain their designated pub-
ters’ primary entry point.     lic meeting hours and resolve
Following the briefing, the local grievances fairly and
IGP tssued strict directives efficiently,
to ensure foolproof security


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