Friday, July 25, 2008
By Asim Yasin
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Q on Thursday outright rejected the Trade Policy 2008-09 and announced that the opposition would take the business community into confidence so as to launch a countrywide strike against the policy which, in its view, was a covert move to give India the "Most Favoured Nation" status.
"This trade policy is 'India-centric' and a bid to appease the Indian government. The PML thinks that all trade routes with India pass through Kashmir, so we would not allow 'loot sale' of our natural resources for Indian businessmen and all such bids would be resisted with the support of the Pakistani business community," said PML-Q leader, MNA Sheikh Waqas Akram, along with MNAs Marvi Memon and Ayaz Shah Shirazi, while addressing a press conference here on Thursday at the Parliament House.
He said the opposition had given a vote of confidence to the prime minister but this confidence was fast turning into no-confidence.
"The India-obsessed Trade Minister Ahmad Mukhtar, who also holds the Defence Ministry charge, has announced a policy that allows massive Indian imports while Pakistani exports have been totally ignored and no country allows its adversary an open access to its natural resources," he said.
Waqas Akram was particularly bitter about the Thar Coal Project which, he said, has potentially more energy value than the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia and the Central Asian States taken together. He was bitter as according to him it had been covertly decided to award the Thar Coal Project to "Reliance Company" of India.
He said that on the one side India was active in its efforts to destabilise Pakistan through its 13 consulates in Afghanistan while, on the other, the federal minister for commerce was in love with India.
He said that a conference will be held in the US during prime minister's visit regarding the "Thar Coal Project" while it had already been decided in Dubai to give this project to the Indian Reliance Company.
He also alleged that the government had launched an attack on its own people with unprecedented price hike of almost all the essential commodities. Inflation is skyrocketing and the poor are groaning under the unbearable burden of rising prices. "The highly alarming state of affairs is driving the poor to commit suicide or to sell their children," he said.
He said that almost 60 percent raise in prices within four months was nothing less than political terrorism. "We demand that the government should immediately stop the terrorism of inflation against the nation. We also demand of an urgent parliament session to debate the situation," said Waqas Akram.
The PML leader further alleged that the government had been paralysed and parliament was almost suspended. "It is an ineffective, dysfunctional and semi-exiled government," he added. Akram expressed his concern over Pakistan's economic situation, saying that flight of capital from Pakistan had posed a huge challenge to our economy. "Due to 'Dollar Theft', the rate of dollar in Pakistan has climbed to unprecedented heights while the rates of property in Dubai and London are increasing while people here are running from pillar to post to get flour to feed their children.î
He said the government of so-called well-wishers of the poor had raised petrol prices from Rs 57 per litre to Rs 87 despite the fact that in international market, the rates of oil were on the decline.
He regretted that while the European Parliament had already passed a resolution condemning the unmarked mass graves in Kashmir, our government did not allow PML's condemnation resolution in the assembly.
Marvi Memon termed the trade policy ridiculous, saying that this policy would make Pakistan a "dumping ground" for substandard Indian commodities. She said the prime minister had not taken the opposition into confidence on his US visit.
She said the local government system was good and was serving the masses at the grassroots level. PML-Q MNA from Sindh Syed Ayaz Shah Shirazi alleged that the Sindh government had launched a victimisation drive against the PML leaders and workers. "Three false cases have been registered against me, two each against my father and younger brother," he added.
He alleged that more cases were also being instituted against the PML workers across Sindh. "I fear that I would be involved in some fake case as I am receiving threats from the Sindh government officials," he added. |