HYDERABAD, Aug 20: The general secretary of the Jamaat-i- Islami, Sindh, Rashid Naseem, has said that the people of the world considered the US as the enemy of humanity due to its imperialistic designs.

Speaking at a workers' convention at the Markaz-i-Tabligh-i- Islami on the Makki Shah Road here on Friday, he said the US considered Pakistan a great threat because it was the only Muslim country which possessed nuclear bomb.

He said it was for this reason that the pro-American press had launched a campaign against religious places of Muslims. He said even those people who were defending the shrine of Hazrat Ali (RA) were being dubbed terrorists.

He said the three-day All-Pakistan Ijtema (congregation) being organized by the Jamaat-i-Islami at the Minar-i-Pakistan from Oct 1 to 3 would infuse a new blood into the veins of Ummah.

He said Muslims from all schools of thought world over would attend the congregation. He criticized the government and blamed that it could not protect the country. The district president of the party, Maulana Waheed Qureshi and others also spoke on the occasion.

HCCI: The president of the Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Emad Siddiqui, has expressed concern over the directives to flour and Daal mills to return all loans by Sept 30 at the latest.

He was speaking at a seminar organized by the State Bank of Pakistan on policies and operation of the Small and Medium Enterprises on Thursday. He said 80 per cent jobs were provided by small and medium industry, its share in country's exports was 25 per cent and its contribution to the GDP was 30 per cent.

He said the government should pay more attention to the development of small and medium industries. He said those enterprises which employed 250 workers with total assets of Rs100 million, fall within the definition of small and medium enterprises.

Mr Siddiqui regretted that small entrepreneurs were not being given loans by banks for more than Rs75 million and stressed the need for enhancing this ceiling upto Rs100 million.

The director of the State Bank of Pakistan, Qasim Nawaz, and the chief manager Sher Alam Khan also spoke on the occasion. Heads of local banks and officials of the State Bank attended the seminar.