Gas loadshedding a conspiracy against Punjab: Shahbaz Sharif

CM Sharif says he will protest with unemployed workers if gas loadshedding issue not resolved.

LAHORE:?Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif on Wednesday said that the closure gas for industries is a conspiracy against the province.

Speaking to the media after meeting with industrialists in Lahore, Sharif said that it had earlier been decided, in a meeting with Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Naveed Qamar, that equal loadshedding would be carried out in all provinces for two days, but it was only Punjab that was experiencing the loadshedding.

Sharif said that he will visit Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani with traders and industrialists from Punjab and ask him to help resolve the issue.

He said that thousands of workers were unemployed because of the loadshedding and that he would protest alongside them if the issue was not resolved.

In a report published in The Express Tribune,?Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) had announced that industries would face one to three days and CNG stations two days per week without Sui gas this winter, but there would be no gas load shedding for domestic consumers. SNGPL had said the gas supply management policy would be applicable up to March 15.

According to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry the suspension has already caused the closure of over 1,300 industrial units and that around 40 per cent of industrial units in Punjab run on gas, which could mean no production by almost half of the industry if regular supply of gas is not resumed.

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Motorola Wages Uphill Battle To Gain Share Against Apple, RIM

Tough fight on MOT's hands

The mobile phone industry is a highly competitive industry with players like Motorola, Apple, Research in Motion and Nokia each fighting for market share. We believe that Motorola’s declining market share, ^[] coupled with potentially greater marketing expense, could produce downside to our $8.30 price estimate for Motorola’s stock.

We estimate that Motorola generates roughly 29% of its stock value from mobile phones. Motorola’s mobile phones have benefited from notable support from Verizon in the recent past, with Verizon reportedly spending $100 million on an ad campaign for Motorola’s first smartphone Droid in 2009. ^[]

However, the situation could change once Apple’s iPhone launches on Verizon’s network, which could occur as early as Q1 2011. Not only could Motorola incur greater marketing expenses, but its already dwindling market share could come under more pressure from increasing competitive dynamics.

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Gauging the Impact of Market Share Loss

Verizon has openly supported Google’s Android operating system, as Apple has an exclusive contract with AT&T for Apple’s iPhone. Motorola has been the leading manufacturer of mobile phones on the Android platform this year, and is aiming to launch over 20 smartphones in 2010. ^[]

Verizon’s support for Android could soften as it gears up for the potential iPhone launch, putting downward pressure on Motorola’s market share. More importantly, Motorola would likely incur higher marketing expenses in an effort to sustain its market share.

Motorola’s selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expense as percentage of gross profits is expected to decline from a peak of 51% in 2007 to 41% in 2010, ^[] and could continue to decline to around 31% by the end of Trefis forecast period.

However, as Motorola is forced to spend more to promote its smartphones on Verizon, our base case SG&A estimates could prove conservative. There could be a downside of more than 15% to our price estimate if the company’s SG&A expense as a percentage of gross profits remains constant at 41% through the Trefis forecast period, instead of the decline that we currently forecast.

Increasing marketing spend is also no guarantee to Motorola’s ability to sustain market share. Motorola could face higher competition once the iPhone launches on Verizon as Verizon’s loyal users might choose to trade in their Motorola phones for an iPhone. Motorola’s market share is expected to decline from a high of 22% in 2006 to 2.8% in 2010, ^[] and could continue to decline to 1.6% by the end of Trefis forecast period.

There could be a downside of around 8% to our price estimate if Motorola’s market share drops to 1% by the end of our forecast period.

Should these two scenarios materialize, there could be a potential downside of roughly 25% to our $8.30 price estimate for Motorola stock.

You can see the complete $8.30 Trefis Price estimate for Motorola stock here

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Torture of students: LHC CJ orders registration of cases against police

Chief Justice inaugurates Lahore Bar Association website.

LAHORE:?Chief Justice Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Ijaz Ahmad Sheikh on Monday ordered?registration of cases?against police personnel involved in the torture?of students outside the Punjab Assembly.

The Chief Justice summoned the secretary education on Tuesday in this regard.

During the hearing of the suo motu case, the government lawyer pleaded that the teachers are protesting against the board of governors?because they run private academies. He assured, on behalf of the Punjab government, that the fee will not increase after the board of governors are established.

Representatives of the Teachers Association said they will not protest if the government does not increase the fee.

The court has also summoned a record of private education institutions.

Protests in Faisalabad

Teachers in Faisalabad have boycotted educational activities for an indefinite period, in protest against the formation of a board of governors.

Students are facing difficulties due to the boycott as the college entry test has also been postponed.

Teachers and students also demonstrated on Sargodha Road where they said that the Punjab government is using delaying tactics in this regard.

They reiterated that they will not accept the formation of a board of governors and the boycott will continue till the acceptance of their demands.

Meanwhile, the administration has deployed police personnel outside all the colleges.

PML-Q condemns privatisation

Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-i-Azam (PML-Q) Chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain condemned the decision of the Punjab government’s decision to form a board of governors for educational institutions.

Talking to the media at his residence in Lahore, Shujaat said his party will support students and teachers in this issue.

He alleged that the only purpose of forming a board of governors is to entertain a few people.

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Hajj scam: Swati submits written evidence against Kazmi

Court says investigations seem an attempt to protect someone.

ISLAMABAD:?Federal Minister for Science and Technology Azam Swati submitted written evidence against Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi during Supreme Court hearings of the Hajj corruption case on Monday.

According to Express 24/7 correspondent, Faisal Shakeel, Swati said the Secretary for the Ministry of Religious Affairs had told him that Hamid Saeed Kazmi was involved in the Hajj corruption episode. He said Kazmi had appointed people who had already been facing corruption charges for the Hajj management.

Shakeel reported that Swati alleged that Ahmed Faiz who had been appointed by Kazmi as the supervisor tasked with hiring buildings was conniving with DG Hajj Rao Shakeel.

Justice Khaleelur Rehman observed that the government of Pakistan should check the credentials of the middle men with whom it enters into contracts for pilgrims’ accommodations. The Chief Justice said that the secretary had been signing agreements with these middle men without checking their credentials.

The counsel for the religious affairs minister, Sardar Latif Khosa said that Azam Swati should have resigned before raising allegations against Hamid Saeed Kazmi.

At this point, Justice Ramday observed that it was strange for a minister to sit in the cabinet despite allegations against him. He said, asking for Swati’s resignation is an irrational demand.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said that the?Supreme Court can constitute an inquiry commission to look into Hajj mismanagement.

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LHC issues stay order against Aasia death sentence

LHC CJ serves notices to federation, governor Punjab for a reply to petition saying president has no right to grant pardon.

LAHORE:?The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday issued a?stay order against the death sentence of the blasphemy convict Aasia Bibi.

A petition had been filed in the Lahore High Court by Advocate Allah Bakhsh Leghari, contending?reports of a?presidential pardon.?The petitioner said?the president?did not have the right to grant a?presidential pardon as the decision was still pending in the court.

The Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court,?Khwaja Sharif has therefore issued a stay order and served notices to the federation and the governor Punjab for a reply.

Meanwhile, religious organisations and civil society members continue countrywide protests and demonstrations, for and against Aasia bibi’s sentence.

Earlier, The Express Tribune had reported that government officials and lawmakers were in agreement that the president cannot pardon Aasia Bibi. ?According to Article 45 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the president has the power to grant pardon, reprieve and respite, and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or other authority. However, a home department official who had spoken to The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity had said that the Punjab government had observed – in its reply to the federal government’s proposal to abolish the death penalty – that the power of the president to grant pardon only extends to Tazir punishments.

A sentence under a Tazir is imposed on the state’s command and not as a right of the individual under Allah’s law, the Punjab government had held.

Muhammad Safdar Shaheen Pirzada, a lawyer, had also said, “The president can grant pardon to a person who has committed any offence against the state. However, the president has no power to extend pardon if an offence is ?omitted against religion, the Holy Prophet (pbuh) or Allah.”

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Sindh Assembly passes resolution against Transparency International

The darkest regions represent the most corrupt countries and the the lighter regions represent the least corrupt countries in the CPI. PHOTO: TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL

KARACHI:?The Sindh Assembly has passed a unanimous resolution against Transparency International for ranking Pakistan 34th in global corruption index.?The resolution was tabled by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Sharjeel Memon.

Transparency International launched a propaganda against the government, provincial minister Muhammad Rafique claimed.

On October 26th, Pakistan was ranked 34th on the Transparency International global list of countries perceived to be the most corrupt, worsening by eight places in one year.

Pakistani politicians also openly expressed their frustration at the country’s presence on the list through posts on social-networking?site, Twitter.

According to Punjab?governor?Salman Taseer:

“Transparency International is neither international nor transparent. One man operation by Asad Gilani JI. Disgraceful stunt to malign the government”.

Hussain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States tweeted:

“How is Perception of Corruption Index a measure of real levels of corruption? Cant the corrupt ‘buy’ positive perceptions?”

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: November 02, 2010

An earlier version of this article duplicated Salman Taseer’s tweet as Hussain Haqqani’s.

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