1- Define and explain the geographic inertia and its role in the development of Pakistan?

2005 2- Geo-Political position of Pakistan (short note 2003) 3- Political map of Pakistan is outcome of its geo-strategic location. Give a reasoned account for the statement? 2006 1. Introductory remarks: Geo strategic means the importance of a country or region as by virtue of its geographical location. Geo political is defined as, stressing the influence of geographic factors on the state power, international conduct and advantages it derives from its location. Geographically, Pakistan is situated between 2437 degrees north latitude 6175 degrees east longitude, the country at crossroads. Pakistan is a junction of South Asia, West Asia and Central Asia, a way from resource efficient countries to resource deficient countries. Moreover, it has been a battle field for great game and still playing a vital role in the war against terror. Pakistan stands as guardian amidst chaos of capitalism. Stephen Cohn describes the importance While history has been unkind to Pakistan, its geography has been its greatest benefit. It has resource rich area in the northwest, people rich in the north-east. 2. Geographical Importance Pakistan enjoys a unique geographical position because it lies between the landlocked central Asian republics and the warm water of Arabian oceans. It Bridges between South Asia and South West Asia. China finds a way to Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea through Karakoram. China, with its fastest economic growth rate of 9%, is developing its southern province because of its own port is 4500 km away from Sinkiang but Gwadar Port is 2500 km away. Pakistan offers to CARs the shortest route of 2600 km as compared to Iran (4500 km) or Turkey (5000 km). Gwadar port, with its deep water, attracts the trade ships of China, CARs and South East Asian Countries. 3. Economic significance SAARC, ECO and Iran are struggling to export their surplus gas and oil to eastern countries such as Qatar, Pakistan etc. and Turkmenistan Pipeline projects highlights the position. Due to this project, Pakistan would get 400 million dollar annually if IPT gets success. Mountain Ranges such as Himalayas and Hindu Kush in the north are plentiful in providing water and natural resources. 4. Political importance US interests in the regions aim at containing the emerging China, negotiating nuclear Iran, stabilizing terrorist Afghanistan, and benefiting from the market of India. Security and business are two main US interests in the region while Pakistan is playing a front line role against war on terror. Today, the political scenario of the region is tinged with pre-emption policy of the US by invading Iraq and Afghanistan. Irans nuclear programme and Indias geopolitical muscles (new strategic deal with US) are to gain the hegemony and to counter the The Rise of China which has earned all the qualities to change unipolar world into bipolar world. In all these issues, Pakistan is directly or indirectly involved, especially after Al-Qaeda operations. The American think tanks have repeatedly accepted that war against terror could never be won without the help of Pakistan. On the other side, Pakistan has rigorously fought terrorists and ongoing military operation in Waziristan is also targeting the suspected Taliban in the bordering area.

5. Main threats to Pakistan Baluchistan and Waziristan conflicts are posing threats to any economic project like IPI gas pipeline. Negative role of India, the US and Iran in this conflict-ridden area. Unstable governments in Pakistan have contributed in weakening the strong position. Economic crisis is making Pakistan more dependent on the US like accepting Kerry-Lugar Bill.

AGRICULTURE Summarize the government measures to improve the agricultural productivity in the light of introducing new irrigation projects (2006) In spite of strong research base, rich lands, reasonable water resources and various land reforms why agriculture remained less developed in Pakistan. (2009) Pakistan is an agricultural country; it has rich lands, reasonable water resources and various land forms. Importance of this sector is manifold as it feeds people, provides raw material for industry and is a base for foreign trade. Foreign exchange earned from merchandise exports is 45% of total exports of Pakistan. It contributes 26% of GDP and 52% of the total populace is getting its livelihood from it. 67.5% people are living in the rural areas of Pakistan and are directly involved in it. But beside all these facts the agriculture sector of Pakistan has remained less developed. Firstly, No mechanism has been adopted to eradicate the soil erosion and even after harvesting nothing is done to improve or restore the soil energy. Therefore, the fertility of soil is decreasing day by day. The thickness of fertile layer of soil in Pakistan is more than 6 inches but the average yield is lower than other countries where layer of fertile soil is only 4 inches. Secondly, water wastage is very high in our country. The archaic method of flood irrigation is still in practice in whole of the country which wastes almost 50 to 60 percent of water. A new irrigation system called drip irrigation system has been introduced in many parts of the world. This not only saves water but also gives proper quantity of water according to the needs of plants. Thirdly, owing old methods of cultivation and harvesting, Pakistan has low yield per acre that means the average crop in Pakistan is just 1/4th of that of advance states. Whereas Nepal, India and Bangladesh are using modern scientific methods to increase their yield per acre. For this purpose, these states are using modern machines to improve their yield. Fourthly, the small farmers are increasing in our country as the lands are dividing generation by generation. So, there is a large number of farmers who own only 4 acres of land. These small farmers do not get credit facilities to purchase seeds, pesticides, fertilizers etc. Additionally, a large area of land is owned by feudals and the farmers, who work on their lands, are just tenants. This uncertain situation of occupancy neither creates incentive of work nor does attract capital investment. Fifthly, water logging and salinity is increasing day by day. No effective measures have been taken to curb it. As the storage capacity of the dams is decreasing so the water availability per acre is also decreasing. Therefore, the farmers are installing more and more tube wells to irrigate their crops. This is why salinity is becoming the major issue in most parts of Punjab and Sindh. Sixthly, focusing more on land, crops and yield problems the man behind the plough is always ignored. While formulating the 5 or 10 years plan, no emphasize has been laid on the importance of solving the problems of farmers. Most of the farmers are illiterate, poor and ignorant. In this wake the loans issued by ADBP or other banks are used by them in other fields like repayment of debts, marriage of daughters etc., in spite of its befitting use in agricultural sector. Lastly, the only mean of communication in rural areas is T.V or radio so it is urgently needed on the part of these mass communication resources to air the programmes related to the new agricultural techniques and allied sciences. But these programmes should be telecast in regional or local languages. Because lack of guidance is the main reason of farmers backwardness. The communication gap between well qualified experts and simple farmers have not been bridged. Availability of these experts is not ensured in rural areas as they are reluctant to go there.

Pakistan is rich in fertile land yet the land is being wasted in different ways. 79.6% million hectors of land is cultivable whereas only 20.43% million hectors is cultivated. The reason can be described in two points. A) A major area is owned by feudals. It is difficult to manage such a huge area so only that part is cultivated which is easy to manage, the rest is left ignored. B) The rise of industrialization has given threat to this sector. People are migrating to cities and cities are expanding, thus new towns and colonies are constructed on fertile lands. Non-comprehensive Policies Of Pakistan: 18 billion in budget was allocated for agricultural sector of Pakistan but the withdrawal of subsidy on pesticides and electricity on the conditions of IMF has done serious damage to this sector. Whereas America and European Union are giving a huge amount of subsidy to their farmers and that is a greatest hurdle in the implementation of W.T.O rules.

A new Agricultural policy must be framed in which following steps should be focused on.
- Small farmer must be focused. The major problems of small farmers should be solved first. - Consumer friendly policy must be projected. - Productivity enhancement programme must be constituted to adjust and support prices. - Corporate farming like giving lands to Mitehels, Nestle and Multinational companies is also a good idea that will also help those who own a large area of fertile land but cant manage it. Latest machinery should be provided to the farmers to increase the per acre yield. This provision should be on easy installments so that the farmers can avoid the burden of loans. If possible subsidy should be given by the government of modern machinery. - Modern techniques of irrigation can solve the problems of irrigation in Pakistan. This includes drip irrigation and sprinkle irrigation methods. By using this technique the farmers can save a huge sum of money which he pays for irrigation through tube wells and tractors. More dams should be constructed on Indus, Jhelum and Chenab rivers. This will enhance the storage capacity of water and reduce the per acre cost of all the crops. This step will also reduce the salinity chances of the lands as less tube well water will be flooded to the lands which cause salinity.

Government
The Government has taken several significant steps to boost agricultural production over the last five years. 1. To bring more land under cultivation a project titled Land and Water Resources Development Project for Povert y Reduction in Pakistan envisaging providing 300 bulldozers (200 bulldozers Balochistan and 100 units to Khybe r Pakhtunkhwa) is under implementation. 2. The canal head withdrawals in Kharif 2009 (AprilSptember) have increased by 1.0 percent and stood at 67.3 Mil lion Acre Feet (MAF), as compared to 66.93 MAF during the same period last year. During the Rabi season 200910 (OctoberMarch), the canal head withdrawals shows a slight change, as it remained at 25.02 MAF compared t o 24.9 MAF during the same period last year. 3. In order to bridge the gap between demand and supply position of tractors in the country, the Federal Govern ment has decided to launch Accelerated Agricultural Mechanization for Productivity Enhancement, Benazir Tractor Scheme through ZTBL.

This Project is initiated to provide credit assistance for dairy, poultry, sheep & goat farming in the rural areas of AJ&K state especially in Earthquake affected areas.

1. 2. 3. 4.

INDUSTRY What are the problems of industrialization in Pakistan? How they can be solved? (2002) Account for the initial concentration of agro based industry in the manufacturing belt of Pakistan (2005) Describe the distribution of Iron and Steel industry of Pakistan. Evaluate its role in the industrial development of the country (2006) What are principal industries of Pakistan and what problems Government of Pakistan is facing for its industrial development? (2008)

1: Importance: Industrialization is the key to economic development and overall prosperity. Without it no economy can grow. It is the backbone of a strong and stable economy. It is the basis of modernization and development of the state. . Textile Industry The textile industry is the largest industry of Pakistan. At the time of partition, Pakistan received only 17 textile units in its share. Now, Pakistan is a prominent country for the production of textile. The textile industry accounts for 17.3% of value added, 32.2% of industrial employment and 60% of total exports. There were 354 mills operating in the textile industry in 2001-02. The production of cloth was 558 million square meters by the organized mills sector. 2. Vegetable Ghee and Cooking Oil Industry At the time of independence oil industry was very poor. Now there are 150 vegetable ghee and cooking oil factories in Pakistan. Out of these 26 are in the public sector with an installed capacity of 500 thousand tons of ghee and cooking oil. Total production of ghee and cooking oil was 774 thousand tons in 2001-02. 3. Sugar Industry In 1947, there were only 2 sugar factories in Pakistan, but at present there are 77 sugar factories in the industry. During the year 2001-02 total production of sugar was 3247 thousand tons. 4. Fertilizer Industry There are 10 fertilizer units (6 in the public sector and 4 in the private sector) in the country, having an installed capacity of 42, 98,000 N. Tones. Total production of fertilizers in 2001-02 was 5012 thousand tons. 5. Cement Industry At present 24 cement factories are operating in the country, out of these 4 factories are in public sector and 20 are in private sector. The installed capacity of cement is 16,300 thousand tons out of which 9935 thousand tons of cement was produced in 2001-02. This industry has been allowed duty free import of plant and machinery. 6. Chemical Industry There are 12 chemical factories in the country producing, soda ash, sulphuric acid, caustic soda, chlorine gas and other 8. Engineering Goods Industry The engineering goods and capital goods produced domestically are very helpful for economic development of a country. This industry was given importance in the 3rd five year plan. Now we have 4 heavy engineering industries. There are

9. Ship Building Industry Ships are constructed at Karachi. A number of small and large ships are made by Karachi yard and Engineering works. This factory was established by PIDC. Now Pakistan is selling ships and boats abroad. In all the five year plans, this industry is given much importance. 1. Severe electricity load shedding and disconnection of Sui Gas supply for industries in winter season is the biggest problem faced by SME sector in the country. Small and medium size manufacturing units are badly affected to the power crises as they do not have alternative resources as corporate sector have, like their own power generation houses. Due to power crises prevailing for last many years, unemployment in the country has also increased to considerable extent. In majority of sectors work force works on daily wages basis and in constant power break downs they are deprived of even basic necessities of life which is least desirable in any civilized society. 2. Increasing trend in the cost of inputs has become common practice in our Country due to which SME Industries cannot compete in the markets. Due to increase in prices of inputs used in manufacturing process like Electricity, Sui Gas etc., our SME sector is not able to compete/sell their products at higher prices due to multiplied cost of production. On the other hand imported/smuggled goods are commonly available in the markets at much cheaper prices. Chinese Goods are one of the best examples, which are available throughout the country at much lower prices. 3. Deteriorating political, law and order situation in the Country is one of the major reason of Industrial down turn. Industrial activity cannot flourish in an atmosphere of disturbances and fear. Sincere corrective measures 4. Textile crisis is becoming severe in the Country due to overall recession and slow down of economies around the globe. Our Textile sector is heavily export oriented and International sales in Textile Markets suffered a lot as a consequence of which manufacturer and traders who supply goods & services to exporters have suffered heavy losses. 5. Pakistan is a country where policies are rapidly changed even in days and weeks. In the past, aim of the monetary was credit expansion. All types of lending were made at very nominal rates. Quite liberal atmosphere of lending was created where purpose of finance was not properly monitored at Banks level as well as SBP has also shown lenient view of the situation in the past. In recent past we have observed vertical shift in the monetary policy and KIBOR rates along-with spread of the Banks have been increased to multiple extent.

WATER 1. What do you know about water crisis in Pakistan? Also suggest concrete steps for its solution. (2004) 2. Using as much evidence as possible, outline a case for the development of water resources in the Indus Basin. Examine also polity in this phenomenon. (2005) Introductory remarks: Water is the most essential commodity for the survival of all living creatures on planet earth. It makes 70 % mass of human body and 85 % of human cell. Being an agricultural country, water means so much for Pakistan as 70% of our population relies on agriculture. The agriculture sector not only provides food to 180 million people in Pakistan, but it also contributes above 20% to GDP and provides 47% of the total employment opportunity in the country. It is also the main source of raw materials for major domestic industries, particularly textile, which accounts for 60% of all exports. SOURCES OF WATER SURFACE WATER

In surface water we have three hydrologic units. First one is Indus Basin River. (a) Indus Basin River At the time of independence, we had about 67 maf water available for diversion; this amount increased to about 85 maf by 1960. In 1960 Pakistan signed a water treaty Indus water treaty with India, which brought major changes in the sources of water for Pakistan. In that treaty the right of three eastern rivers i.e. Beas, Sutlej and Ravi was given to India. Now the Indus river basin constitutes of the mountain basins Indus plain, Karachi plains and desert areas of Sindh. Its principle rivers and tributaries are Indus, Shyok, Gilgit, Astor, Siran, Kabul joined by Jhelum, Chenab and Sutlej. It covers an area of 516,600 sq. km. its source of water are snowing, glacier melting and rainfalls. From this annually 141.67 maf of water is being received. (b) Closed basin Kharan desert It consists of areas of mountain basins of Quetta and basins of tributaries draining in to Kharan desert. its main rivers are Pishin Lora, Baddo Rakhshan, Mashkhel and many other streams. It covers an area of 120,100 sq. km. its main sources of water are rainfall and nominal snow. Here we are getting approximately 4.5 maf of water. (c) Makran coastal basin Makran coastal basin constitutes of streams of Malir, Hub, Porali, Kud, Hingol, Nai, Mashhai, Dasht, Nihing and Kech. It covers an area of 122,400 sq. km and its main source of water is rainfall. From this basin 0.78 maf of water. Now coming towards groundwater sources. Ground water:The Indus plains constitute about 34 million hectors (over 85 million acres) of cultivable land. The recharge or absorption to the ground is around 72 maf, out of which about 48 maf is in the command of Indus basin irrigation system (ibis). Ground water is also found in some rain-fed (barani) lands and inter-mountain valleys at depths varying from 100 to 200 feet.

After pointing out the main sources of water, lets have a glance of the water available to us through them. We receive an average of 141.67 maf of water from western rivers. Eastern rivers contribute 8.47 maf of water. About 4 maf of water is received from outside Indus plains. Water available above rim stations is 5.28 maf whereas rainfalls below rim also contribute about 14 maf of water. Also about 66.89 maf ground water is available to us. In other words a total of 240.22 maf of water is available to us from the present sources. For controlling the water resources and for its effective utilization lets have a glance at the present storages and its capacities. Water reservoirs / capacities:(a) Terbela dam reservoir Worlds largest earth and rock filled dam was built at Terbela on river Indus in 1976 with a gross capacity of 11.62 maf and a live storage capacity of 9.68 maf. With the passage of time, due to silting, 24.6% of the storage has been lost and now it has a live storage of 7.295 maf. (b) Mangla dam reservoir Mangla reservoir is the second major storage of Pakistan. It was built in 1967 on river Jhelum with a gross capacity of 5.882 maf and live storage of 5.41 maf. Again due to siltation it has lost 13.2% of its storage and presently can store 4.636 maf of water. (c) Chashma barrage reservoir Chashma barrage is situated on river Indus and was built in 1972 with a gross storage of 0.870 maf and live storage of 0.717 maf. It has also reduced its storage capacity by 39.3% and is left with a storage capacity of 0.435 maf. Water Crisis: However, the water resources of Pakistan are diminishing with an alarming rate. In 1950 Pakistan was a water abundant country with above 5000 cubic meter per capita and which is now sunk to a merely 1100 cubic meter per capita. In 2006 a World Bank report stated that Pakistan is moving fast from being a highly water-stressed country to a water scarce country. According to a UNDP survey, Pakistan is the worlds most water limited nation among the worlds 25 most populous countries after South Africa and Egypt. The Government expects a shortfall of 11 million tons of grain this year and 16 million tons by 2020, which is a direct result of water scarcity. Reasons: 1. India has embarked upon the construction of a huge network of water storage facility, the national river linking project at an estimated cost of $120 bn likely to be completed by 2016. It includes construction of Basrur multipower project, Siwalkot dam and Pakot Dul dam on Chenab, in addition to the already constructed Baglihar dam. 2. In the past, the public leadership did not succeed to develop a consensus on construction of huge water reservoirs, particularly the Kalabagh dam that could have addressed many of the power and water problems which are being faced today. 3. The capacity of present reservoirs and dams is insufficient as well because silt was decreasing their storage capacity.

Recommendations The national water strategy must be based upon two essential elements covering Water developments and Water management. The water development strategy is largely based upon construction of new storage reservoirs whereas the water management strategy will help in reducing the present losses. Water management Managing water resources is the need of hour. Presently the losses occur due to seepage, infiltration and leakages etc. seepage results in water logging and these losses can be reduced or eliminated by lining the canals. In addition, people should be educated to conserve water by cooperation. Furthermore government should make laws on water conservation, like many western countries. Efforts be made to convert the present rotation based irrigation system to demand oriented system. The modern irrigation techniques, that is trickling, sprinkling etc., which have a potential to improve water distribution and its utilization. Authorities should take appropriate steps to curb the illegal extraction of water and ensure its equitable distribution. Presently irrigation department has failed to stop the illegal theft and extraction; thus irrigation distribution system needs to be privatized through water user associations. In addition, water, now-a-days is supplied to farmers at a very negligible cost and that is why they do not treat water as a precious resource; therefore there is a need to increase the water prices to make irrigators realize the importance of this asset. Farmers organizations, water user association, and private sector be involved in construction, operation, and maintenance of the irrigation system. Such associations are conceived as a mechanism for creating a cooperative frame work for improvement of watercourses.

Short Note: Problems of Educational System in Pakistan Education is considered as the cheapest defence of a nation. But the down trodden condition of education in Pakistan bears an ample testimony of the fact that it is unable to defend its own sector. Though 62 years have been passed and 23 policies and action plans have been introduced yet the educational sector is waiting for an arrival of a saviour. In Human development Report Pakistan is placed at 136th position for having just 49.9% educated populace. The primary completion rate in Pakistan, given by Date Center of UNESCO, is 33.8% in females and 47.18% in males, which shows that people in the 6th largest country of the world are unable to get the basic education. Firstly, the educational system of Pakistan is based on unequal lines. Medium of education is different in both, public and private sector. This creates a sort of disparity among people, dividing them into two segments. Secondly, regional disparity is also a major cause. The schools in Baluchistan (The Largest Province Of Pakistan By Area) are not that much groomed as that of Punjab (The Largest Province Of Pakistan By Population). In FATA, the literacy rate is deplorable constituting 29.5% in males and 3% in females. Thirdly, the ratio of gender discrimination is a cause which is projecting the primary school ratio of boys & girls which is 10:4 respectively. For the last few years there has been an increase in the growth of private schools. That not only harms the quality of education but create a gap among haves and have nots. Fourthly, the lack of technical education is a biggest flaw in the educational policy that has never been focused before. Therefore, less technical people mean less. Fifthly, the allocation of funds for education is very low. It is only 1.5 to 2.0 percent of the total GDP. It should be around 7% of the total GDP. Sixthly, the teachers in government schools are not well trained. People who do not get job in any other sector, they try their luck in educational system. They are not professionally trained teachers so they are unable to train a nation. Finally, Poverty is also another factor that restricts the parents to send their children to public or private schools. So, they prefer to send their children to madrasahs where education is totally free. Solutions 1. Increasing funding for education by allocating a minimum of 7% percent of the GDP at least during the next 10 years 2. Introduction of a uniform curriculum and provision of equal facilities by bridging the gap between various types of public, private schools and Madrassass in the country. 3. Introducing Urdu as medium of instruction in all the public and private sector schools at least in case of fundamental compulsory education (from 5 to 16 years students) 4. Offering free and compulsory fundamental education to all children in Pakistan, and achieving 100% Enrolment in fundamental education by the year 2015. 8. Eradication of political interference and favoritism in education department and ensuring transparency in appointments, postings, and transfers of teachers and other education officials. 9. Addressing disparity in progress towards Education For All among various provinces, areas and districts in Pakistan. Since policies and plans take time to produce results, more so in the case of Literacy and Education, there is a pressing need to have a continuity of policies and consistency of approach in a broad sense.

10. Provincial governments should take initiatives to improve the quality of the basic education. To ensure the quality education to fix the appropriate ratio between students per class. Its nearly impossible to carry good results from class of 200 students.

Energy crisis Energy is the lifeline of a nation. The economic engine and the wheels of industry, agriculture and business need energy to move forward. On the social aspect, energy consumption per capita is a key indicator of the quality of life of the citizens and community. Electricity constitutes one of the most important components of infrastructure and plays a vital role in national progress and economic development. Still, today in this most modern and developed age, per capita energy consumption in Pakistan is only 15 MBTU compared to 54 in China, 104 in Malaysia and 106 in Iran. Causes of Energy Crisis No Major Projects Undertaken by Previous Government The basic cause is the utter failure of the government to increase the supply of electricity to keep pace with the growing demand. While the installed generation capacity had increased by 53 per cent between 1994 and 1999 (from 11,320 MW to 17,400 MW), it increased by only 12 per cent between 1999 and 2007, to 19,420 MW. Problem of Circular Debt One of the main reasons for the serious shortfall in the generation of thermal electricity is the problem of the circular debt which the present government inherited from the previous regime. In 2007, the government did not compensate the power companies for the subsidy that was being provided to consumers. The power companies in turn could not pay the oil and gas companies, reducing their liquidity to import the furnace oil that was needed to generate electricity. Losses in Transmission and Distribution Very heavy line losses in transmission and distribution because of old and poorly maintained transmission systems, estimated at over 20 per cent compared to eight to 10 per cent in other countries. Large scale theft of electricity as clearly revealed by the growing difference between units generated or purchased and those paid for. Wastage of Energy Wastage of energy by the industry which consumes 30 per cent of total electricity due to less efficient systems and other practices. For example, the Chinese consume 30 per cent less electricity in textile mills because they use water partially heated by solar panels in their boilers. Overuse of energy by the transport sector (consuming 28 per cent of total energy) due to old and poorly tuned engines. Domestic and Household Consumption Domestic and household consumption which uses 45 per cent of total electricity also depicts wasteful and unnecessary uses of lights, air-conditioners and large-scale illuminations on different occasions. The problems outlined above reveal many structural flaws in our energy system. These include over-dependence on imported energy, inadequate political will, limited financial support and very weak implementation capacity. Effects of Energy Crisis Industrial units which do not have their own generating capacity are closing down by the thousands. In fact most of the enterprises cannot operate economically when power is available for only a few hours in a day. Thousands of workers have been laid off in the face of high food prices, unprecedented inflation and growing unemployment. This will also have a very negative impact on the countrys exports which are needed desperately to overcome the financial crisis.

The power outages have increased generator sales - and their price tags - but have also cooled sales of fans, air conditioners and other appliances with consumers asking why have such devices without the electricity to run them. Of Pakistan's 19,500 megawatts of production capacity, a little more than 60 per cent is from imported oil and domestic natural gas power plants. Hydropower generated from the country's two major dams accounts for about 30 per cent, and its one nuclear power plant produces less than. Solution Resolving The Circular Debt Problem The quickest, though fiscally difficult, way to reduce load-shedding is to resolve the circular debt problem on a priority basis. With the decline in oil prices, this drain on budget has declined but the past amounts payable to oil companies, Pepco, gas companies and Wapda, should be settled as early as possible to clean the books. Building Small Power Plants Many new power generation and power conservation projects have been identified but their implementation is behind schedule and costs relatively high. These include a) additions of rented and barge mounted power plants (950 MW); b) new IPPs thermal plants under installation (375 MW); c) quick rehabilitation of Wapdas power plants (200 MW); and energy conservation and loss reduction measures (980 MW) Capital Cost of New Plants The capital cost of about 1,500 MW of new plants is reported to be $3bn. That means about $2,000 per MW, which is twice as large as the cost of IPP projects in the 1990s and three times the cost of many Wapda power plants. By adding such expensive electricity to the system at Rs12-14 per unit, more electricity will be added but will not be affordable. IPI Project Similarly, the agreement to import 1,000 MW electricity from Iran has been discussed for some time, but it is difficult to determine its implementation deadline. New Gas Power Plant In the next three to five years, all gas-based and inefficient Wapda plants should be replaced by new and more efficient combined cycle plants. Many of the old plants are running on gas but since they are inefficient, they produce only 60 to 70 per cent as much electricity as a new and more efficient plant will produce with the same quantity of gas. This will not only reduce the cost per unit but also be more cost-effective than setting up a new power plant at a new location in the public or private sector. Update The System of Transmission And Distribution The distribution companies should also be provided adequate resources to modernise the overloaded transmission and distribution system. The required investment can be recovered in less than three years through savings in transmission losses. Mega Dams The longer term solution of the energy crisis will be to restore the hydro-thermal mix to 60:40 or at least 50:50 in the next five years. The Water Accord of 1991 had opened the way for constructing many dams to store water and generate

electricity. But the continuing controversy over the Kalabagh Dam became a major obstacle. Surprisingly, even many smaller and non-controversial hydroelectric projects have been delayed without any justification. Regional Gas And Oil Pipelines There are also many possibilities of regional cooperation in building gas and oil pipelines. These include the IranPakistan-India gas pipeline; the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan gas pipeline; an oil, gas and electricity corridor from Gwadar to Western China, the import of 1,000 MW electricity from Ragun hydro station in Tajikistan for which an agreement was signed in March 1992 at the rate of 3.3 cents per unit. Alternative Sources of Energy Internationally, much greater attention is being paid to new and renewable sources of energy such as wind power, solar energy, Biofuel, tidal energy etc. Pakistan should enhance its capacity to follow research in these fields and promote much greater use of renewable energy for light, heating, agriculture and small scale enterprises.