Archive for June, 2013
Loud Thinking June 20, 2013 at 10:04PM
June 20th, 2013 | 
Author: Well played India.
India has won the ICC Cricket Champions Trophy semi final by defeating Sri Lanka in style. It was a truly professional and surgical performance. Perhaps, we are watching best ever Indian cricket team in history. Best of luck for the finals to be played on Sunday 2.30PM PST.
Loud Thinking June 20, 2013 at 06:59PM
Mentoring is to support and encourage others to become better.
Loud Thinking June 20, 2013 at 06:58PM
“Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way.”
Donald Miller (born 1971);
Author
Loud Thinking June 20, 2013 at 01:15PM
Write a Better Business Memo
It may feel like all work is done via quick email these days but there is still a need for longer memos and reports to get people up to speed on an issue, to induce action, or both.
With longer writing it’s critical to be well organized and structured, and to respect your reader’s time.
This means making it immediately clear what you want readers to learn about or do.
Start by choosing a concise title or subject line that tells them the topic and why they should care.
Begin your document by summarizing your main points and outlining the issue, your solution, and the reasoning behind it.
Refer to this summary when drafting the body of the message.
When you’re done, check the summary one more time to make sure it reflects how the rest of the memo has evolved.
Today’s Management Tip was adapted from the HBR Guide to Better Business Writing.
Loud Thinking June 20, 2013 at 01:10PM
“Approach life knowing there will be plenty to go around. Be
generous.”
— Frank McKinney
Loud Thinking June 20, 2013 at 10:00AM
IMF and the West are treating Pakistan like a conquered country.
An Urgent Open Letter to the PM Pakistan
H’able Mian Nawaz Sharif Sahab
Salaam.
As has been reported in the media, now a days, an IMF delegation is visiting Pakistan to offer fresh loan of $5 billion, to be mostly utilised by Pakistan, for the repayment of old IMF loan.
It is very surprising that your government is NOT working on the lines, to ask the IMF to have a heart and be patient with our loan repayments, considering the fact that Pakistan has been totally destroyed, during the last 15 years of war on terror, jointly fighting with 49 NATO countries, as a major non NATO ally. Moreover, this war has inflicted more men and material losses on Pakistan than the combined losses of the 49 NATO countries. As such, Pakistan has a right to be given some moratorium in its repayment of IMF loan. Even otherwise, Pakistan has already repaid more than the entire amount of the loan by partnering the West in its WOT; and also by not demanding any penny from the NATO for the military overflights to and from Afghanistan.
Mr. Prime Minister, every student of economics knows that never to use good money to recover bad money. Hence, there is no logic in seeking fresh loan to repay the old loan. This is a sure shot recipe for disaster. IMF should be clearly told that Pakistan was well within its rights, to have asked for the write off, of the remaining unpaid amount of their loan. However, what we are seeking is just a moratorium.
Pakistan can not afford to pay IMF’s remaining loan, over the peril of its economic demise.
In this regard, you may also order the foreign office to contact all the 49 NATO governments, to extend moral and financial support to Pakistan, so that we are also able to strongly look after their interests, in providing all the necessary facilities to their troops in Afghanistan. The USA and the NATO should also be reminded that Pakistan is not charging a penny for their military overflights, for which they offered $20 billion to Turkey, during the last Iraq war.
As such, Pakistan’s whole hearted cooperation in the WOT, deserves matching reciprocal response, in the shape of using their influence in IMF, to facilitate Pakistan, by way of at least 20 years moratorium, in the IMF loan repayments.
Just for your information, I am reproducing below my 6 questions to the then finance minister of Pakistan, which remained un-replied till date, but are an eye opener, that how Pakistan was plundered by the past government.
Sir, I apprehend that Pakistan is being forced to pay back the loan with PENALTIES for NOT utilising the sanctioned amount of $11.3 billion IMF loan.
Remember, we got only $7.6 billion from the sanctioned amount. As such, IMF and the West are treating Pakistan like a conquered country, rather than a major non-NATO ally in the world war on terror (WWOT).
My un-replied email of 14 October, 2012
Subject: Mr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh Sahib Kindly Provide the Information About IMF Loan & Etisalat Overdue Payment
1. Pakistan is repaying $7.6 billion to the IMF. Did we receive exactly this much amount or the total sum was less than this figure?
2. How much amount of interest Pakistan will be paying over the principle sum of this loan of $7.6 billion from the IMF? Or the IMF will be charging interest on the whole sanctioned amount of $11.3billion?
3. Did Pakistan pay and what was the total bill for the traveling, boarding and lodging of IMF delegations’s recent visit to UAE, for discussions with our economic team?
4. Besides the interest, how much service, handlers commission and or other charges were deducted by the IMF, on its loan of $7.6 billion to Pakistan? V V important question.
5. How much service charges or penalty was charged by the IMF to Pakistan, for not utilizing or obtaining the remaining $3.7 billion amount, from the originally sanctioned loan amount of $11.3 billion; because Pakistan got only $7.6 billion from IMF?
6. When will Pakistan get its overdue payment of $800 million from the Etisalat Telecom, which is controlling the whole PTCL management and other affairs, with a minority share holding?
——————————————————
Mr. Prime Minister, while concluding, I must say that as a statesman, you have to keep in mind, the impact of your current decisions and actions, on the future generations of Pakistan; so that the posterity remembers you as leader, who pulled this country from the abyss, like Mao tse tung and Kemal Ataturk, rescued their nations from much worse situations.
Wishing you Godspeed in your endeavours to serve Pakistan, in a befitting manner, so that you will be remembered in the annuls of history, as a saviour of Pakistan.
With Best Wishes and Kind Regards,
Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad
Lahore.
Sent from my iPad3 4G LTE
Loud Thinking June 19, 2013 at 11:51PM
My un replied email of 14 October, 2012
Subject: Mr. Abdul Hafeez Sheikh Sahib Kindly Provide the Information About IMF Loan & Etisalat Overdue Payment
1. Pakistan is repaying $7.6 billion to the IMF. Did we receive exactly this much amount or the total sum was less than this figure?
2. How much amount of interest Pakistan will be paying over the principle sum of this loan of $7.6 billion from the IMF? Or the IMF will be charging interest on the whole sanctioned amount of $11.3billion?
3. Did Pakistan pay and what was the total bill for the traveling, boarding and lodging of IMF delegations’s recent visit to UAE, for discussions with our economic team?
4. Besides the interest, how much service, handlers commission and or other charges were deducted by the IMF, on its loan of $7.6 billion to Pakistan? V V important question.
5. How much service charges or penalty was charged by the IMF to Pakistan, for not utilizing or obtaining the remaining $3.7 billion amount, from the originally sanctioned loan amount of $11.3 billion; because Pakistan got only $7.6 billion from IMF?
6. When will Pakistan get its overdue payment of $800 million from the Etisalat Telecom, which is controlling the whole PTCL management and other affairs, with a minority share holding?
Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad
Sent from my iPad3 4G LTE
Loud Thinking June 19, 2013 at 09:53PM
An open letter to the PM Pakistan
Mr. Prime Minister Please Don’t Allow to Open the Corruption Flood Gate
SALARY
[Section 149]
The responsibility for withholding tax from salary has now been extended to any “person
responsible for” paying salary. Previously, it was only the “employer” who was
responsible for the withholding.
It is now proposed not to consider the following, whilst determining tax to be withheld
from salary payments:
a) Charitable donations;
b) Tax credit for investment in shares and insurance;
c) Contribution to an “Approved Pension Fund”; and
d) Profit paid on loan utilized for construction of a new house or acquisition of a house.
As a result, the salaried individuals will claim the above tax credits in their returns, which
may result in refund.
H’able Mian Nawaz Sharif Sahab
Salaam.
Above is the extract of relevant section on income tax proposing change in the method of availing tax rebate on investments by salaried class of tax payers.
This may look very innocent apparently, but is a clear cut reminder that the bureaucracy has tricked the PMLN government in opening a big flood gate of corruption. Who does not know in Pakistan that receiving legitimate claim from FBR require payment of at least 40% to its functionaries. With this amendment, all law abiding tax payers will be put on the mercy of FBR for claiming rebate on investment. Knowing how FBR functions, this rebate will take years, not months, to realize. And that too after paying at least 40% of rebate amount as bribe to FBR.
By allowing this change, Mr. Ishaq Dar will be remembered (although he is not in the knowledge of this trick, which was confirmed with his statement today on 17 June, 2013, in Geo TV program “Capital Talk” of Hamid Mir, when he said at 8.35 PM that people can deduct allowed rebate from the taxable amount at the time of submitting yearly I.T returns), as one, who has provided superb and golden opportunity to FBR officials for grabbing money from salaried class of income tax payers.
There is still time for PMLN to protect its image and restore the true self-assessment scheme in letter and spirit for salaried class of income tax payers. FBR can always scrutinize any suspicious returns, if they want to catch cheaters. Why penalize a huge lot of good people for the fault of few bad people. FBR should set its own house in order first and catch non-filers, instead of harassing honest tax payers.
They can design many methods to confirm legitimacy of investment but the goal should be to minimize contact between FBR officials and honest tax payers.
Justice delayed is justice denied. If tax payer cannot take rebate of investment when investment is made (same year), then it is no rebate. It is then much better to announce withdrawal of all rebates on income tax. Period.
Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad
Lahore.
Sent from my iPad3 4G LTE
Loud Thinking June 19, 2013 at 09:27PM
Karzai boycotts US-backed talks with Taliban because of Pakistani hand. A TOI news.
(In my opinion, India is pulling the strings of Karazi, because Pakistan’s help in bringing the USA and Taliban on negotiations table, has helped the US and Pakistan come closer with each other, which is hurting India very badly. Well done Pakistan, keep up your good work).
WASHINGTON: The wheels are coming off the US-initiated “peace” talks with Taliban even before it has begun. A furious Afghan President Hamid Karzai suspended negotiation with Washington on Wednesday over a bilateral security agreement, angered by the perceived betrayal of Kabul by the Americans, who in turn appeared to have been suckered by Taliban. The terrorist group, given political stamp of approval by the Obama administration on Tuesday, killed four US soldiers in an attack hours after the talks agreement, despite expectations in Washington that it would abjure violence.
A statement from Karzai’s office in Kabul spoke of the “messages of a continuation of war and bloodshed” contained the Taliban statement issued at the opening of a new political office in Doha, Qatar, where US-sponsored talks were to take place between Afghan representatives, US interlocutors, and Taliban. But Karzai said the Afghan government no longer plans to send envoys to the talks over the Taliban’s statement, but remains willing to consider joining those talks should they be moved from Doha to Kabul.
“The opening of Taliban office in Qatar, the way it was opened and messages it contained, contradicts the guarantees given by the US to Afghanistan,” the statement said after a meeting at President Hamid Karzai’s palace.
Karzai’s ire was provoked in particular by Taliban arrogating for itself representation for all of Afghanistan by presenting itself as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which was the official name of the Taliban-led government when it ruled from Kabul before it was routed after 9/11. Karzai’s government heads the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Kabul was also enraged by the Taliban’s use of its flag at the opening of the Doha office.
“The president is not happy with the name of the office. We oppose the title the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ because such a thing doesn’t exist,” Aimal Faizi, a Karzai spokesman, told a news agency. “The US was aware of the president’s stance.” In Washington, US officials were said to have been surprised by the Taliban’s show of its insignias and its statement.
They needn’t have. The Taliban statement referred to the jihad it was waging against occupiers as lawful, and in effect pledged to continue fighting to evict them, while making no reference to cutting ties with Al Qaeda, respecting the Afghan constitution, or guaranteeing rights of women and minorities, all conditions the U.S had initially demanded but later abandoned.
Karzai saw a sell-out to Pakistan and its proxies in the US backing down on the conditions, although he did not directly name the country that polls show most Afghans despising. “The latest developments show that foreign hands are behind the Taliban’s Qatar office and, unless they are purely Afghan-led, the High Peace Council will not participate in talks,” his statement said in an indirect reference to Pakistan.
The US needs Pakistan’s help to exit from land-locked Afghanistan, and evidently Pakistan is extracting a price for this by projecting its Taliban proxies into Kabul via recognition in Doha as a virtual government in exile, virtually forcing U.S to dump the Karzai dispensation in the process. “There is a contradiction between what the US government says and what it does regarding Afghanistan peace talks,” a Karzai aide said.
While Washington projected the proposed Doha talks as a breakthrough and began preparing to send officials for the first round of talks later this week, Taliban responded in its usual style, attacking the American base outside Kabul, killing four soldiers in a rocket attack, and bragging about it, suggested nothing had changed in its outlook.
“The mujahideen of the Islamic emirate from the other side also have taken all the preparations that will be effective for the destruction of America’s nests,” said a Taliban statement, elaborating on the Doha statement which indicating it will continue to fight the US.
