Cellphone banking to take Pakistan by storm

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is working closely with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to develop a unified regulatory framework to connect all banks with cellular operators for mobile transactions.Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, PTA Chairman Dr Mohammed Yaseen said the two sides were finalising a draft of ‘Third party mobile banking regulations’ that would allow mobile phone operators and banks to work together.

Dr Yaseen said the telecommunication sector of Pakistan had shown phenomenal growth in the past few years, resulting in the expansion of subscriber base which opened new doors of business opportunities in the sector.

He said currently Pakistan had overall 63 per cent teledensity, while it had significant potential for broadband proliferation. Presently, there were an insignificant 500,000 broadband subscribers in Pakistan. The broadband subscriber base grew by 146 per cent in the last fiscal year.

‘For the first time, broadband connection charges for 1mbps connection dropped below Rs1,000, providing unusual incentive to new broadband customers,’ Dr Yaseen stated.

In response to a question about 3G Services, he said the Ministry of Information Technology and Tele-communication was working on the policy for 3G licensing. The PTA had completed groundwork and would initiate the licensing process soon after it received policy from the ministry.

Commenting on the study named ‘Connectivity Scorecard 2009’ commissioned by Nokia Siemens Networks and written by Prof Leonard Waverman, a fellow of the London Business School and the consulting group LECG, Dr Yaseen underscored that it was always important to have a reference point in order to measure the growth and performance needed to enhance the working strategies of any sector.

Dr Yaseen emphasised the need and importance of local content and applications for information and communication sectors of Pakistan.

He said the PTA was trying to motivate current telecommunication market players to focus on this aspect of the telecommunication sector to take maximum advantage of the given opportunities.

He quoted the example of Bangladesh where the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) had recently launched an English-learning mobile application, which was now popular within the masses.

‘Pakistan also needs such applications with local content, especially in the fields of education and agriculture. The telecommunication sector is ranked at top levels in different categories in several studies carried out by international telecommunication organisations,’ he informed the gathering.

Head of sub-region Gulf and Pakistan for Nokia Siemens Networks, Vaqarul Islam, and Nokia Siemens Pakistan Country Head Saad Rafique, speaking on the occasion, called on the government to stimulate a return to growth with investment in the infrastructure for the 21st Century.

‘The key to improving the economy and productivity performance of every country in the world lies with the greater and better-focussed use of information and communications technology, according to the Prof Waverman study,’ they saidLINK.

Tags: pta,sbp,mobile transactions,Dr Mohammed Yaseen,Cellphone banking.

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The Value of Trade Balance to Local Economy

The balance of trade also referred as trade balance, which sometimes is symbolized as NX, is the difference of the monetary value of imports and exports in one economy in a given period of time. The balance of trade is considered the biggest part of a country’s balance of payments.

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International trade is important so in order to sustain the balance of trade. A country should be totally self sufficient without international trade. Through international trades, each country will have the opportunity to produce specialize goods efficiently. In relation, when a nation specializes in producing these goods, the total production increases instead of trying to be self sufficient. Nations will benefit from international trades and also meets their needs. Generally, nations will trade to other nations when they gain from the trade. But the gains are not usually equal in terms of benefits and profit.LINK

US should take Pakistan into confidence on Afghan policy’

MULTAN: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said the United States must take Pakistan into confidence before making any decision on its Afghan policy.

The premier said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was already informed in this regard during her recent visit to Pakistan.

Speaking to reporters in Multan, Gilani said Pakistan's nuclear assets were safe and secure, adding that the US also acknowledged that.

He also ruled out the possibility of any military operation inside Balochistan.

The premier refused to give any time frame for the completion of Operation Rah-i-Nijat in South Waziristan. He said the country's army was fighting the militants with full responsibility and that should be supported by the people. — DawnNewsLINK

At least seven killed in suicide car blast in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber blew up his explosives-filled car Saturday at a police checkpoint in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least seven people, officials said.

'At least seven people have been killed and more than 20 others wounded,' Peshawar police chief Liaqat Ali Khan told AFP.

'There are two policemen among the dead,' Khan said.

Peshawar district administration chief Sahibzada Anis said that the bomber detonated when policemen asked him to stop for the search.

'A suicide bomber exploded his car when police tried to search his car at a checkpoint at a big crossing at the outskirts of Peshawar,' Anis said.

Senior police official Mohammad Alim Shinwari also said that it was a suicide bombing.

Live television footage showed a huge cloud of smoke above the Pushta Khara neighbourhood of Peshawar and the wreckage of several cars.LINK

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Gone with the grin?

a in Featured Articles, Pakistan, Politics on 11 6th, 2009 | 18 responses

Could it be that President Asif Ali Zardari is finally ready to part with his power? Reports this week state that the president is ready to hand over some of the authority given under Article 58-2b to the parliament – sounds familiar? Perhaps it reminds you of the time Zardari first stated this well over a year ago. Since then Prime Minister Gilani has often spoken about restoring the parliament’s powers and the president himself has gone before the parliament and vowed to give away his powers but maybe he just isn’t good with keeping promises.

In May 2008, President Zardari was harping on a very different note. He was deeply troubled by the power former president Musharraf held and was very vocal on the ‘core issue’ of 58-2b.

Zardari said he was ‘the servant of the people, not the master of the people. There’s no point in me working hard, giving my life, fighting terrorism, asking the parliament and the Pakistani people to make sacrifices if you’re going to be sent home in two years.’

No one has been sent home yet but where are the president’s sacrifices…. Or where is his governance for that matter?

After the retreat on the National Reconciliation Ordinance, Gilani said the government would seek earliest restoration of parliament’s powers and has already asked for recommendations for key constitutional amendments. So does this mean that it’s actuallygoing to happen this time? Or will we see history being repeated, since our country does have a tendency to repeat the same mistakes over and over again? As once written centuries ago, ‘but men are men; the best sometimes forget’

The self-assured grin our president wore has now lost its gleam. Voices have already been raised over how Zardari desperately needs to do some damage control – reiterating a verbal commitment to the Charter of Democracy will no longer be enough to silence the public.

As pointed out in a recent Dawn Editorial, ‘Given the lay of the political land, the only thing that comes to mind that the president could do to improve his position immediately is the very thing he appears deeply reluctant to do: give up his superior powers vis-à-vis the prime minister and parliament.’

Will he? Will he not? And while we are speculating, will he do it with a smile or a creased forehead? As we debate over this, it is also important for me to point out that during the meeting between the president and Aitzaz Ahsan at the presidency on Thursday, the picture that sat framed between the two was not of late Benazir Bhutto, but instead of our very own leader of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam! Could it be the beginning of us finally turning into Jinnah’s Pakistan?! Far-fetched thought, hoping for the restoration of parliament’s powers is more realistic for now.

Shyema Sajjad is a Desk Editor at Dawn.comLINK

Iran Guards say Pakistan released Jundallah leader

TEHRAN: The deputy head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards charged on Friday that Pakistan arrested and then released the leader of Jundallah a few days before a suicide bombing claimed by the Sunni rebel group.

'We have precise information about the movement and places where terrorists are hiding,' the Fars news agency quoted Brigadier General Hossein Salami as saying.

'On September 26, Abdolmalek Rigi was arrested in one of the streets of Quetta but after one hour he was released following the intervention of the intelligence service of our neighbouring country,' Salami said.

Quetta is the capital of Pakistan's Baluchistan province, which borders Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province where Jundallah is active. Ethnic Baluchis, the community the rebel group says it is fighting for, straddle the border.

Some 42 people, including 15 Revolutionary Guards members, died in the October 18 bombing in the Sistan-Baluchestan town of Pisheen.

'How is it possible that this guy can move freely (unless he is) under the protection of the intelligence services?' the Guards number two said, according to Fars.

Iran has said those responsible for the bombing were based in Pakistan and has demanded that Islamabad hand Rigi over.

Islamabad has strongly denied that Jundallah (Soldiers of God) launched the attack from its territory.

On Thursday, Pakistani police said three Iranians arrested for illegally entering Pakistan may have been linked to the Pisheen bombing.LINK

New Zealand bats first in second ODI

DUBAI: New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori won the toss and had no hesitation in batting first on what appeared to be a pancake-like wicket.

Both teams made changes, with Pakistan leaving out promising batsman Umar Akmal for the experienced Shoaib Malik, while the Kiwis opted for Kyle Mills and Niel Broom in place of Ian Butler and Nathan McCullum.

Pakistan:

Salman Butt, Khalid Latif, Younis Khan (capt), Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wk), Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer, Saeed Ajmal

New Zealand:

AJ Redmond, BB McCullum (wk), MJ Guptill, LRPL Taylor, SB Styris, NT Broom, DL Vettori(capt), JDP Oram, TG Southee, KD Mills, SE BondLINK

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