Thursday, May 26, 2011
Islamabad Tonight 25th May 2011
TOPIC- BUDGET 2011
GUESTS- SHAHID JAVED BURKI, ABDULLAH YOUSAF, SARTAJ AZIZ
SHAHID JAVED BURKI AN ECONOMIST said that Pakistan's tax GDP is only ten percent which is lowest in the world. He said that more than 70 million people are living at below poverty line. He said that the growth rate this year is not going to be more than 2 percent. He stressed the need to impose agriculture and wealth tax soon as possible. He said that In Pakistan a person pays only Rs-15000 in tax on a house worth more than two billion rupees. He said that eighteenth amendment is a beam of hope. He said that eighteenth amendment gives provinces authority to collect taxes of their own. He said that the province of Punjab and Sindh can do very well in that regard and contribute in the economy significantly. He said that we also need political will to put the economy on the straight path. He said that VAT should be imposed at once and in steps otherwise it will create lot of confusion. He said that one of the main problems is that rich people use their political influence to get away with taxes. He said that because of it all the burden of taxes is put on the shoulders of poor. He said that now poor people are denying having any more burden of taxes on their shoulders.
ABULLAH YOUSAF AN ECONOMIST said that we start programme to for the betterment of economy but we never complete them. He said that taxes should be imposed across the board. He said that we impose taxes on few and let others get away with it because of political interests. He said that there are serious economic issues but not as serious that we can not resolve them. He said that we should impose VAT step by step so we could educate people about it.
SARTAJ AZIZ AN ECONOMIST said that there is a huge gap between earning and expenses of the government. He said that government needs to narrow the gap between the two. He said that we need to decrease the interest rate to bring improvement in the economy. He said that another step we can take is to improve the growth rate of commodities. He said that if provinces can share some in the economy after eighteenth amendment it will contribute a great deal for the country. He said that so far government has not shown any leadership to improve the precarious situation of the economy. He said that he is not hopeful that coalition government can have consensus on economic issues of the Pakistan.-
US Thinks anti-Americanism rife in NDU
NadeemMalik | 2011 at 12:28 pm | Categories: CURRENT AFFAIRS | URL: http://wp.me/p28Dn-hD
US Thinks anti-Americanism rife in NDU
The 9/11 attack was a Jewish conspiracy, the CIA runs the American media, MI-5 runs the BBC: commonplace conspiracy theories on the Internet and, as a U.S. military officer found out while he attended a course at one of Pakistan's premier military education institutes, common too among senior officers of the Pakistan military.
"The elite of this crop of colonels and brigadiers are receiving biased NDU training with no chance to hear alternative views of the US. Given the bias of the instructors, we also believe it would be beneficial to initiate an exchange program for instructors," the ambassador noted. Ms Patterson also considered the Pakistani military officials attending a senior course at the NDU to be 'naïve' and biased against America.
KARACHI: The US ambassador to Pakistan had expressed concern about the distance between Pakistan military officials and the Americans that had crept in following the discontinuation of the IMET (International Military Education and Training) programmes during the “sanction years” and had recommended specifically targeting the generation that was lost during this period, internal US documents have revealed.
The comments are part of a confidential cable by then Ambassador Anne Patterson in 2008. A year earlier, Ms Patterson notes, she had given an address at the National Defence University and “received astonishingly naive and biased questions about America.”
The cable added that Ms Patterson had been working to dramatically increase IMET opportunities for officers and NCOs (Non-Commissioned officers). “We need, in particular, to target the ‘lost generation’ of Pakistan military who missed IMET opportunities during the sanctions years,” Ms Patterson wrote. The reference to the ‘sanctions years’ appears to be to the period following the Pressler sanctions in October 1990 and further tightened after the 1998 nuclear tests.
“The elite of this crop of colonels and brigadiers are receiving biased NDU training with no chance to hear alternative views of the US. Given the bias of the instructors, we also believe it would be beneficial to initiate an exchange program for instructors,” the ambassador noted. Ms Patterson also considered the Pakistani military officials attending a senior course at the NDU to be ‘naïve’ and biased against America.
The cable primarily documents the account of a US army officer, Col Michael Schleicher, who attended a course at NDU. The comments by Col Schleicher partly appear to corroborate the views expressed by Ms Patterson, but in many places also evince a great of naivety about Pakistani society and the security apparatus.
“The senior level instructors had misperceptions about US policies and culture and infused their lectures with these suspicions, while the students share these misconceptions with their superiors despite having children who attended universities in the US or London,” the cable recorded Col Schleicher as having shared with the embassy’s political officer
“One guest lecturer – who is a Pakistani one-star general – claimed the US National Security Agency actively trains correspondents for media organisations. Others thought the CIA was in charge of US media (and that MI-5 was in charge of the BBC). Some [participants] did not believe the US used female pilots overseas; they were convinced female pilots were restricted to flying within US borders.”
Students in the junior course, too, shared “many of the biases prevalent in the Muslim world, including a belief the US invaded Iraq for its oil and that 9/11 was a staged ‘Jewish conspiracy,’” according to Col Schleicher. In contrast to criticism of the US, students and instructors were adamant in their approval of all things Chinese, the cable adds.
The confidential cable also includes comments by Col Schleicher on the NDU curriculum, his course mates and instructors. The colonel was of the view that the scripts used by the directing staff and guest speakers to provide lectures were usually meticulously vetted in advance.
“Lecturers often ‘teach’ their students information that is heavily biased against the United States,” the cable said and added that throughout the course only a handful of non-Pakistanis were invited to speak as guest lecturers.
Of his professional and personal interactions with the students, Col Schleicher noted: “Of the 135 senior course students, only two openly drank alcohol.” The colonel added that he “believed the secular students felt peer pressure to appear more religious than they actually were.”
Commenting on the overall atmosphere of the NDU, Col Schleicher is quoted as saying, “The Pakistani military students appeared to come from wealthy families or from military families and were proud they received amenities, including private-quality schools and good health care, as an incentive to stay in the military. Officers at the brigadier rank touted their privileges, including a house, car, and a driver. The NDU students also obtained financial perks, such as a free trip for a pilgrimage that could be taken at the end of the class’ official travels.”
2008: Students and instructors at NDU have anti-US bias
1. (C) Summary: Pakistan’s National Defense University’s
curriculum is designed to foster national pride, but many of
its students and instructors have an anti-American bias.
Their attitudes demonstrate why we should continue our
efforts to increase IMET opportunities, especially those
aimed at the generation of Pakistani military who were
ineligible for IMET during the sanctions years. We should
also consider an exchange program of instructors to broaden
understanding of the U.S. End summary.
2. (C) On April 29, Poloff met with U.S. Army Colonel Michael
Schleicher, who currently is attending the Senior Course at
National Defense University (NDU). The following cable
details his perceptions of the course, his classmates, and
his instructors.
NDU Overview
3. (C) Pakistan’s National Defense University (formerly
National Defense College) currently is lead by Lieutenant
General Hamid Khan, the former 11th Corps Commander. NDU has
two courses: students at the colonel and brigadier rank
attend the Senior Course and obtain the equivalent of a
master’s degree; the Junior Course is for students at the
lieutenant colonel and colonel rank.
Course Curriculum
4. (C) Instruction for the Senior Course centers around three
pillars that emphasize national pride. Students are first
instructed on classic nation state development, which
includes use of Islamic texts. The second pillar uses
Pakistan’s foundation documents–such as the works of
Mohammad Ali Jinnah (the George Washington of Pakistan) and
the country’s first constitution–to discuss why Pakistan was
created and how this legacy should impact the country’s
future policies. Economic courses–the third pillar–make up
approximately half of course lectures, with particular focus
on macroeconomics and regional water and energy issues.
5. (C) The Directing Staff–along with guest
speakers–provide lectures that are read from scripts usually
meticulously vetted in advance. Lecturers often “”teach”"
their students information that is heavily biased against the
United States. Throughout this year’s course, only a handful
of non-Pakistanis were invited to speak as guest lecturers.
Student Demographics
6. (C) The Senior Course this year includes 135 classmates,
approximately 25 of whom are military officers from
Pakistan’s allies (including the U.S., Britain, Canada,
China, Islamic Countries, South Africa, Nigeria, and Libya).
Pakistani senior civil servants are also allowed in the
class.
7. (C) Most of the Pakistani students in this year’s class
are approximately 50 years old; almost all had parents who
were born in British-India. During his professional and
personal interactions with the students, Col. Schleicher
estimated that approximately a third of his class was
religiously devout, a third of his class was moderately
religious, and less than a third of his class was overtly
secular. Of the 135 Senior Course students, only two openly
drank alcohol. Col. Schleicher believed the secular students
felt peer pressure to appear more religious than they
actually were.
8. (C) The Pakistani military students appeared to come from
wealthy families or from military families and were proud
they received amenities, including private-quality schools
and good health care, as an incentive to stay in the
military. Officers at the brigadier rank touted their
privileges, including a house, car, and a driver. The NDU
students also obtained financial perks, such as a free trip
ISLAMABAD 00001825 002 OF 002
for a pilgrimage that could be taken at the end of the class’
official travels.
9. (C) There is one woman in this year’s Senior Course; last
year there were two women in the class. During all trips and
visits, the separation of men and women is strictly observed.
For example, there are separate buses for the female student
and the officers, wives. The Directing Staff includes a
woman member, Ambassador Raanan, who previously represented
Pakistan in Turkmenistan.
10. (C) Although the class is conducted in English, few
students are truly fluent. Some of the foreign students are
functionally illiterate in English.
Misperceptions
11. (C) Course instructors often had misperceptions about
U.S. policies and culture and infused their lectures with
these suspicions. For example, one guest lecturer–who is a
Pakistani one-star general–claimed the U.S. National
Security Agency actively trains correspondents for media
organizations. Some students share these misconceptions
despite having children who attended universities in the U.S.
or London. For example, some did not believe the U.S. used
female pilots overseas; they were convinced female pilots
were restricted to flying within U.S. borders. Others thought
the CIA was in charge of U.S. media (and that MI-5 was in
charge of the BBC). Students in the Junior Course shared
many of the biases prevalent in the Muslim world, including a
belief the U.S. invaded Iraq for its oil and that 9/11 was a
staged “”Jewish conspiracy.”" In contrast to criticism of the
U.S., students and instructors were adamant in their approval
of all things Chinese.
12. (C) Comment: When Ambassador addressed NDU last year,
she received astonishingly naive and biased questions about
America. With Washington’s support, post is working to
dramatically increase IMET opportunities for officers and
NCOs. We need, in particular, to target the “”lost
generation”" of Pakistan military who missed IMET
opportunities during the sanctions years. The elite of this
crop of colonels and brigadiers are receiving biased NDU
training with no chance to hear alternative views of the U.S.
Given the bias of the instructors, we also believe it would
be beneficial to initiate an exchange program for
instructor
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