DAWN WIRE SERVICE
Week Ending : [sic APRIL] March 06 1995 Issue : 01/13
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(c) Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan - 1995
CONTENTS
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Opposition
..........Nawaz's proposals : PM offers talks after US visit
..........PM's approach painful, says Nawaz
Karachi & MQM
..........PML-MQM teams formed to promote co-operation
..........4 held for 31 deaths in city
..........5 involved in city killings named
..........Leghari, MQM talks end without progress
Kashmir
..........Shift in German stand on Kashmir
..........US wants Kashmir issue to be resolved
Benazir's US visit
..........Benazir meets Congress leaders today
..........Benazir to seek Congress support
..........PM's visit: progress on key issues unlikely
The ruling Alliance
..........Mistrust plagues PDF alliance
..........PPP bags Frontier seats
Drug baron's extradite
..........Drug barons' extradition challenged in SC
..........2 drug barons extradited to US
..........Drug baron's extradition stayed till 12th
Case against Ramzi registered
Govt asks President to summon assembly
JI splits into two groups
SHC to have nine more judges
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Karachi Stock Exchange
.........Recovery on the horizon
Rs 88bn power plan for Karachi
OGDC made limited company
Monetary bodies to have IMF consultants
Coal power plant to be set up at Keti Bandar
PS to buy Chinese technology
3 companies shortlisted in PTC sell-off
+++The Business & Financial Week
----------------------------------------
Proposed law disturbs many
Contempt of court
Front-line state syndrome
ANP-PML allegations say nothing new
Leghari's effort to solve Karachi issue
Beyond exchanging letters
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Pressure on Pakistan captain
A welcome gesture by Wasim
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950404
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Nawaz's proposals : PM offers talks after US visit
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, April 3: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has welcomed
opposition leader Nawaz Sharif's offer of co-operation to resolve the
Karachi crisis and informed him that she would meet him on her return
from the United States.
"I will be leaving for the United States shortly and would like to meet
you on my return at a mutually convenient time so that we can together
can examine your offer of co-operation", Ms Bhutto said in a letter
written to Mr Sharif on Sunday and released on Monday.
Ms Bhutto is leaving on a nine day trip to the United States on Tuesday.
Mr Sharif, who recently met MQM chief Altaf Hussain in London, had
written a letter to the Prime Minister on Saturday, offering his co-
operation to resolve the Karachi crisis.
In his letter, released by the PML on Monday, Mr Sharif asked Ms Bhutto
to bring the MQM back into the national political mainstream to remove
the sense of political and psychological alienation of the people of
Karachi.
He had also expressed his disappointment at the speech of the Prime
Minister made over radio and television in which she had asked Mr Sharif
to adopt a political approach for resolving the Karachi crisis.
Mr Sharif had also referred to his meeting with Mr Hussain and asked the
government to hold local bodies elections in Sindh, withdraw 'false
cases' against Mr Hussain and provide general amnesty to the MQM
workers. "We owe it to the people of Pakistan to rise above narrow,
partisan considerations and make a fresh beginning with new policies and
initiatives on the Karachi crisis," Mr Sharif wrote in his letter.
So far the two leaders have exchanged many similar letters but a meeting
between them has yet to materialise.
Ms Bhutto, replying to Mr Sharif's letter, expressed her gratification
over the offer of co-operation extended by the opposition leader on the
issues of national interest.
The Prime Minister, however, politely reminded the opposition leader
that while on one hand he was offering his co-operation to the
government, on the other hand he was making plans with the MQM to hold
protest meetings in the United States during her visit.
"We have received reports that the Nawaz League, in tandem with Altaf
group of MQM, is seeking to get time on TV Cable News, organise protest
meetings and deluge US Congress with negative material," she said.
s"While recognising the right of the opposition to protest as it deems
fit, I wonder if it would not be more befitting, considering the
national interest, not to do so on US soil," Ms Bhutto said.
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950405
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New letter to Benazir : PM's approach painful, says Nawaz
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, April 4: Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif has expressed
disappointment over Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's reply to his earlier
letter and said her approach towards Karachi was painful.
"As your letter makes clear, Karachi obviously does not command the
attention of your government that the grave situation in that city
warrants," Mr Sharif said in a new letter sent to the Prime Minister on
Tuesday.
"Your somewhat casual approach to events at home, particularly the
alarming situation in Karachi, has pained me since it reflects a lack of
seriousness in tackling vital national issues," the opposition leader
said, apparently disturbed by Ms Bhutto's reply that she would meet him
on her return from the United States.
He said Ms Bhutto instead of discussing the Karachi situation in her
letter focused on her US trip. "This shows the absence of concern or
commitment towards Karachi."
Mr Sharif criticised the Prime Minister's visit to the United States and
said the country could ill afford luxuries of such expensive visits,
particularly when the revenues were fast depleting.
Referring to Ms Bhutto's charge that the PML in collusion with MQM was
planning to stage protest demonstrations in the US cities on her
arrival, Mr Sharif said Pakistanis living in foreign countries were
equally concerned about the dismal state of affairs in their country and
were free to express their sentiments.
The opposition leader took strong exception to the phrase of "Nawaz
League" used by the Prime Minister while referring to the opposition
Pakistan Muslim League in her letter.
"Your reference to the country's largest party, the Pakistan Muslim
League, as Nawaz Group typifies a mentality devoid of basic etiquettes,
manners and all norms of decency governing relations between political
forces in a civilised democratic society," Mr Sharif said. "It is this
intolerant attitude towards the opposition that lies at the root-cause
of the crisis in the country."
He hoped that on her return from the United States, Ms Bhutto would find
some time to pay attention to pressing domestic issues facing the
nation. He said the government's wrong policies had pushed Karachi to a
virtual point of no return. "Further callousness and negligence will
only aggravate matters, deepening the crisis," he said.
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950402
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PML-MQM teams formed to promote co-operation
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By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 1: The MQM and the PML-ANP alliance have announced four-
member teams to promote understanding and good relations between their
parties.
The MQM team comprises Ajmal Dehlavi and MPAs Shoaib Bokhari, Ghazi
Khalid and Tariq Javed.
The PML-ANP team is composed of ANP chief Mohammad Ajmal Khattak, PML
vice-president Illahi Bakhsh Soomro and Karachi MNAs Dost Mohammad Faizi
and Capt Haleem Siddiqui.
Both the teams would meet shortly to finalise the line of action in the
light of understanding reached between MQM chief Altaf Hussain and PML
chief Mian Nawaz Sharif during the two-day talks held last month in
London.
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950401
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4 held for 31 deaths in city
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By Ghulam Hasnain
KARACHI, March 31: After a week-long extensive search operation, police
arrested four activists of Mohajir Qaumi Movement (Haqiqi) and Sipah-i-
Sahaba Pakistan who had allegedly killed at least 31 people in four
attacks during the last two months.
Informed sources told Dawn the four were the members of a single gang
which had carried out most of the killings in the city since December
last.
The four, who the investigators claimed were operating on the orders of
the top leadership of Sipah-i-Sahaba and MQM Haqiqi killed four
brothers, including a police officer, in their New Karachi house on Feb.
18, gunned down 20 people in attacks on Mehfil-i-Murtaza and Abul Fazil
Abbas Mosque on Feb. 25 and shot dead seven members of three families in
the PECHS area on March 2.
Besides, the gang carried out the killings of MQM workers, orders of
which were allegedly issued by the Haqiqi leadership.
The provincial Secretary-General of Sipah-i-Sahaba, Hafiz Ahmed Bakhsh,
who has been under detention since March 10 explosion at a Shia mosque
in Malir, is now being jointly investigated by the personnel of top
intelligence agencies after disclosures that he was the main SSP leader
who was giving the killing orders.
Officials hinted that following the arrests of 11 activists allegedly
involved in the city killings, moves are afoot to arrest the central
leaders of Sipah-i-Sahaba and Sipah-i-Mohammadi who had ordered the
killing of their rivals.
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950403
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5 involved in city killings named
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By Ghulam Hasnain
KARACHI, April 2: The names of five activists of Mohajir Qaumi
Movement (Haqiqi) and Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan who had allegedly
killed at least 68 people, including some Sunnis and a Christian, in
the city since February last, were officially released on Sunday.
They are: Mansoor Babar, Dr Umer Hayat, Mohammad Fazil, Karimullah
Sharif and Syed Asif Ali.
Officials said the five, who were the members of a team of over two
dozen hired guns, were taking orders from the central leadership of
Haqiqi and SSP.
According to sources, record seized by the police and the
interrogation of the suspects revealed that Haqiqi chief Afaq Ahmed;
provincial secretary general of SSP, Hafiz Ahmed Bakhsh; its
information secretary Tariq Madni and other central leaders of both
the parties not only were aware of the activities of the gang but
were also allegedly issuing death warrants.
The sources said SSP leader Hafiz Ahmed Bakhsh, who was investigated
by a top team of intelligence personnel, not only revealed the entire
network but also helped police find some clues.
But the main problem for the police, the sources said, was that they
were not yet given permission to arrest Haqiqi leadership and other
members of his party, for their alleged participation in all these
killings.
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950331
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President flies back today : Leghari, MQM talks end without progress
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By A Correspondent
KARACHI, March 30: President Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari held talks with
the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) leaders on Thursday in a bid to restore
peace in the city and urged them to cooperage with the government in
realising this objective.
"The President urged them (MQM leaders) to join hands with the
government to restore peace and normalcy in the city which was the basic
minimum requirement for further talks," said the spokesman for the
President.
The talks were held at the initiative of the President at the State
Guest House.
Official circles did point out that President in his meeting with MQM
leaders underlined the need for co-operation among all sections of the
people in the city to bring peace.
Highly placed informed sources said that MQM delegation presented a list
of its grievances to the President. The President is understood to have
told them that he would require time to go through them before making
any observation.
Till press time MQM Rabita Committee was still deliberating on the pros
and cons of the talks.
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950406
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Shift in German stand on Kashmir
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, April 5: German President Roman Herzog, while supporting
plebiscite for the Kashmiri people, categorically stated on Wednesday
that the right to self-determination must not be won by "force."
In a major policy departure from last year when German Foreign Minister
Klaus Kinkel declared the UN resolutions on Kashmir to be "irrelevant",
the German president, at a Press conference here, told newsmen: "The
resolutions are still valid, and both Pakistan and India must find new
solutions to resolve the Kashmir conflict peacefully." However, he was
quick to point out that Germany retains its "neutrality" on the Kashmir
conflict between Pakistan and India.
On his first state visit since his assuming office of President, Mr
Herzog said that during his talks with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and
President Farooq Leghari, he raised "sensitive" questions on NPT,
Pakistan India relations, alleged attempt to smuggle fissile material
into Pakistan from Germany, human rights and the change in a paragraph
on blasphemy law.
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950401
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US wants Kashmir issue to be resolved
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*From Muhammad Ali Siddiqi
WASHINGTON, March 31: Secretary of State Warren Christopher on Thursday
referred to Kashmir as "a long-standing problem" and said there was some
need for "a resolution or near-resolution" of it.
Answering Congressman James Moran's question about Kashmir and South
Asia, where "the situation is not getting better," Secretary Christopher
told the House International Relations Committee the United States had
been trying "to work constructively with both Pakistan and India" to see
if they could have some resolution of the conflict.
There was no reference to Kashmir or South Asia in Secretary
Christopher's prepared statement when he surveyed the world scene while
defending the State Department's 21.2 billion dollars budget.
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950406
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Benazir meets Congress leaders today
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*From Mohammad Ali Siddiqi
WASHINGTON, April 5: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto arrived here on
Wednesday on a nine-day tour that includes a first-ever meeting with
President Clinton for talks considered crucial to the future of US-
Pakistan relations.
The Prime Minister reached the US capital a day after President Clinton
admitted for the first time that the half-a-decade-old sanctions policy
toward Pakistan had failed and said America should "seriously review"
its policy toward Islamabad.
The talks with President Clinton are scheduled for April 11.
The visit has been preceded by the extradition to the United States of
two of Pakistan's most wanted drug barons - Iqbal Baig and Anwar Khattak
- an issue on which the US has been sensitive.
State Department acting spokesman David Johnson said on Tuesday the
extradition of the two was "the type of action that we like to see in
the positive relationship that we're building with the government of
Pakistan."
The Prime Minister will utilise the period between now and the White
House event to drum up congressional support for Pakistan for changes in
if not a repeal, of the Pressler amendment.
Among the congressional leaders the Prime Minister will meet Thursday
are Senate majority leader Senator Bob Dole, Senator Jesse Helms, the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman who is opposed to all aid,
Representative Benjamin Gilman, chairman of the House international
Relations Committee, besides individual senators like Reid and members
of the House and Senate foreign relations committees.
In the afternoon, the Prime Minister will also meet Senator Hank Brown,
chairman of the Senate subcommittee on Near East and South Asia. Last
month, Senator Brown surprised everybody by questioning Administration
officials on the utility of the Pressler amendment.
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950403
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Repeal of Pressler law : Benazir to seek Congress support
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, April 2: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's forthcoming nine-
day visit to the United States signals significant developments that
augur well for the future of Pakistan-US relations, Foreign Secretary
Najmuddin Shaikh said here on Sunday.
Pakistan must not expect any dramatic results, such as the repeal of
Pressler law, during Ms Bhutto's interaction with the Americans. The
Foreign secretary Mr. Najmuddin Shaikh, however, struck a note of
hope, saying: "We expect Ms Bhutto to establish a rapport with the
top Congressmen at the Hill and succeed in securing the support of
the Congress for Pressler's repeal."
While the Clinton administration has already denounced the
discriminatory law as a "blunt instrument," the test of Ms Bhutto's
persuasive skills will be her success in convincing the Congressmen
to review the Law.
"There is already a wave of sympathy vis-a-vis Pakistan's position
pervading on Capitol Hill, and many voices are being raised against
the country-specific Pressler Law. Besides, the US now wants a
peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute and has spoken against the
current human rights violations and systematic repression of the
struggle of Kashmiri people by India," Mr Shaikh told a group of
newsmen, while quoting the US Secretary of State, Mr Warren
Christopher, and the resolution tabled in the House of
Representatives on the conflict in Kashmir.
Ms Bhutto is expected to brief Congress heavy weights like Speaker of
the House Newt Gingrich, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, Chairman of
the House International Relations Committee Benjamin Gilman, Chairman
of the Senate Sub-Committee on South Asia Hank Brown, Chairman of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jesse Helms and a host of other
important Congressmen like Lee Hamilton.
To a question whether Ms Bhutto was offering any quid pro quo to the
Congress in lieu of Pressler's repeal, the foreign secretary was
categorical in stating that there was no question of a shift in
Pakistan's principled position on the nuclear issue.
Giving a detailed history of bilateral relations since the
enforcement of Pressler, Najmuddin Shaikh said while Pakistan has
refused to sign the NPT unilaterally until India did so, "It makes
good sense for India not to agree to any nuclear proliferation
measures because it wants a status 'quo in US-Pakistan relations, it
does not want the restoration of pre 1990 relations."
He said efforts by the US to pressure Pakistan to accept the NPT
unilaterally failed. Now the American businessmen had blamed Pressler
for blocking and damaging their business prospects with Pakistan due
to the denial of insurance by Overseas Private Investment Corporation
(OPIC) and the Trade Development Assistance Fund which were barred
under Pressler.
Asked if Ms Bhutto would return "empty handed" from the US, given
that Pressler would not disappear overnight nor the F-16s delivered
on a platter, Najmuddin Shaikh said, "We expect to sign some aid
agreements for the social sector, the money for which will be given
to the non-governmental organisations under PL 480. But the scale of
such US assistance will be quite small," he warned, adding that
Pakistan did not believe in aid, but wanted trade instead.
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950405
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PM's visit: progress on key issues unlikely
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*From Muhammad Ali Siddiqi
WASHINGTON, April 4: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto files in here on
Wednesday on a much awaited nine-day tour to establish what would be the
first high-level contact between Pakistan and the United States since
the end of the Cold War. There is an excess of unresolved issues, and
Pakistan diplomatic sources have been careful not to raise expectations
as to the outcome of the visit, the second by Ms Bhutto as Prime
Minister.
The visit has been preceded by what to Prime Minister were some highly
embarrassing developments that at one stage seemed to cast a shadow on
talks with her American hosts and appeared even to threaten the visit
itself. Thanks, however, to skilful diplomacy, and the understanding
shown by sections of the responsible media and Administration officials,
the damage has been contained.
In fact, on the killings of the two American consulate employees in
Karachi and the arrest and extradition of Ramzi Yousef, tables have been
turned, and the attempt by the Indian lobby to arraign Pakistan has not
only failed; President Clinton, State Department officials and the media
have hailed Pakistan's co-operation with the United States in combating
terrorism.
The First Lady's swing through South Asia also helped matters a great
deal. Non-political and basically symbolic, the Hillary visit,
nevertheless, served to focus media attention on Pakistan and on the two
ladies and helped inject a lightness of touch in what at times appeared
a grim scenario.
Nevertheless, symbolism matters little when it comes to brass tacks, and
for that reason no one in the State Department or the embassy here tries
to underrate the difficulties ahead, given the complexities of the
issues begging serious tackling and attention for half a decade.
*From the Pakistani perspective, the challenge lies in crafting a new,
multifaceted relationship, now that the old bonds revolving round the
military axis have been buried once and for all.
To the Pakistan side, the issues that merit attention are Indo-Pakistan
problems (Kashmir, rights abuses in the valley, the missile race), the
F-16 affair and the Pressler amendment; to the US side, basically two
issues matter, nuclear proliferation and terrorism.
This is not to say that the Americans are not aware of the many other
issues on which the two sides tend to draw closer. But so devastating
has been the impact of the Pressler amendment on their bilateral
relationship that progress has not been achieved even in areas where
this was possible.
That is where the truth and the challenge lie: both sides believe a new
relationship must be developed, and are eager to do so. But progress is
blocked because neither side knows precisely how to go about it.
The Pakistani formula for breaking the impasse is pedestrian, meant more
as political rhetoric. It knows that Congress - more so the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee headed by Senator Jesse Helm - now hates the
very word "aid." So it believes in strengthening the non-military, non-
aid side ... trade and investment, to be more specific. But this can
hardly be a doctrine on which to base foreign policy at a time when
trade barriers are vanishing throughout the world in any case, and
almost every Third World country is seeking, and receiving, foreign
capital.
On the other issues, terrorism and narcotics, the government of Pakistan
is serious only to the extent Americans are watching. Otherwise, no
government of Pakistan, whatever its political hue, has the courage or
the inclination to crack down on the powerful drug mafia or on the even
more powerful and sacrosanct post Afghanistan fundamentalist militias
they are waiting in the wings. Nevertheless, the GoP is paying attention
to these issues to keep the Americans happy.
In one respect, however, the GoP has shown robust common sense, for
there is one policy constant that overrides all other considerations:
Islamabad must not only be an the right side of the United States, it
must appear to be Washington's good friend and provide New Delhi with no
opportunity to get closer to the world's only superpower at Pakistan's
expense.
This policy entails, often a one sideness that remains unreciprocated.
The American side is not unaware of the root-cause of the problem, the
Pressler amendment. As the last few months have shown Administration
officials, beginning with Defence Secretary Perry, have criticised the
law and called it counter-productive. The gist of what Perry, Energy
Secretary O'Leary, Assistant Secretary Robin Raphel Assistant Defence
Secretary Joseph Nye and others have said was this: the Pressler
amendment has failed to dissuade Pakistan from pursuing its nuclear
programme; America now has no leverage with Islamabad, the amendment is
punishing US business rather than Pakistan, because the GoP is doing its
purchases elsewhere.
This, then, is the only hint of the line the American side is thinking
along for the benefit of a state located in a region where the US has
vital economic and geopolitical interests.
The one commodity the Gulf and the south-west Asian region lacks is
goodwill for America. With Afghanistan in debris, Central Asia in
turmoil, and Iraq and a fundamentalist Iran hostile to the US more than
ever before, "moderate," democratic Pakistan still retains a certain
value for the United States. To put it negatively, the US would not be
the gainer if it loses the only potential friend it has in the area. Not
for nothing did Perry say after his return from South Asia, "Pakistan is
the key to peace in the region."
Non-proliferation, undeniably, is one of the major planks of American
foreign policy. But, as the last five years have shown, it has achieved
no successes in South Asia. India would not curtail its nuclear
programme because of its China concerns, while Pakistan would take no
unilateral steps if India did not follow suit.
The bait the US offered to Pakistan - F-16s for a capping and rollback -
failed to tempt Islamabad. In fact, over the last couple of years,
Pakistan has been bold enough to take the veil off its nuclear mystique
and, instead of repeating the "peaceful purposes" line, now openly
declares that it views its nuclear plans in the security context.
This, then, is another constant in Pakistan's negotiating strategy. Come
what may, Pakistan will not give up its nuclear plan - and there is
nothing the US with the lame duck Pressler amendment, can do about it.
It is against a background of these realities - a mix of wide areas of
agreement and disagreement, challenges and opportunities - that the
Benazir visit is taking place.
The State Department official said it would be first meeting between
President Clinton and Prime Minister Bhutto and affirmed that the US
side would concentrate on how to improve the relationship. But, he made
it clear an improvement in the bilateral relationship would be within
the context of the US desire to improve relations with all states of
South Asia.
Clearly, it is Congress and not the Administration that holds the trump
card, for it is the legislature that will decide whether to resume aid
by repealing or modifying the Pressler amendment. While there is a
strong pro-Pressler lobby here, Pakistan is not without friends. Last
month, there have been hints from Congressmen - among them Senator Hank
Brown, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Sub-Committee on Near
East and South Asia, and Congressman Lee Hamilton, former chairman of
the House International Relations Committee, that the Pressler sanctions
needed changes.
These were the only points' on which the legislators agreed with
officials. What precise form an amendment to amendment would take, if at
all, is not clear.
There would be plenty of gestures and symbols, besides the signing of
memorandums of understanding on American investments in new sectors. But
a breakthrough on such key issues as the release of the F-16s, a greater
American commitment to pressure India to improve its human rights
records, or an active US mediatory role in Kashmir do not appear to be
on the cards.
In ultimate analysis, the visit would be the end in itself, for it would
have demonstrated that Pakistan and America were on speaking terms.
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950401
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Mistrust plagues PDF alliance
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By Mahmood Zaman
LAHORE: Mistrust between the PDF parties continues to plague the
alliance. Differences have now surfaced between the two over the issue
of filling as many as 42,000 vacancies in Grades 1 to 16 in Punjab
government departments.
Most People's Party MPAs want a quota of 70 per cent to be allotted to
PDF MPAs, with only the remaining vacancies being filled on merit. But
legislators of the PML (Junejo) are said to be in favour of filling all
the vacancies on merit.
The vacancies are to be filled by April-15. The date was extended from
March 31 as a merit policy and procedure had not been evolved and also
because no decision was taken on the PPP MPAs' demand for a quota.
PPP MPAs believe that if their demand for a quota for all PDF MPAs is
conceded, it will help the ruling alliance by aiding unemployed youth
and giving a political boost to the alliance parties.
But PML(J) leaders think that it will be a dangerous game to play. Since
the number of unemployed educated youth far outstrips the jobs
available, "we may he doing a disservice rather than a good deal to our
government if we insisted o a quota for ourselves", one PML(J) activist
said.
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950331
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PPP bags Frontier seats
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*From A.S. Yousufi
PESHAWAR, March 30: Pakistan People's Party won by-elections of Bunder
and Swat on Thursday.
According to unofficial results, in PF-63 Buner the PPP candidate, Sher
Akbar Khan advocate, managed a lead of 508 votes over his only ANP rival
Karim Babar. Whereas the PPP candidate had secured 12,590 votes, his ANP
rival could secure only 12082 votes.
In PF-70 Swat, the PPP candidate Dr Afsarul Mulk secured 13960 votes
against his PML(N) rival Haji Mohammad Zahir Shah's 6155. Independent
candidate Dr Fateh Mohammad, a PML dissident, secured only 3700 votes.
Polling in all the 54 stations both of Buner and Swat had been brisk and
peaceful by and large. The turnout at PF 70 was sizeable where
approximately 55 per cent of the registered voters cast their votes.
Meanwhile, ANP and PML leaders in Peshawar have accepted their defeat in
both the constituencies though they at the same time accused the
Government of engineering the results.
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950405
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Drug barons' extradition challenged in SC
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Nasir Malik
ISLAMABAD, April 4: The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Wednesday
about the admissibility ) of three petitions filed by the wives of
alleged drug lords Mirza Iqbal Baig and Anwar Khattak against the Lahore
High Court decision that cleared the way for their extradition to the
United States.
The Lahore High Court on Sunday allowed the extradition of seven drug
barons, including Baig and Khattak. The two were immediately flown to
the United States in a US military plane.
Though apparently the petitions will make little difference for Baig
and Khattak who have already been sent abroad, they can affect the
remaining five accused who are in Adiala Jail.
One of the five accused, Nasrullah Hanjera has applied to the Supreme
Court to grant an order blocking his possible extradition.
Khawaja Haris, lawyer for the accused, has maintained in his petitions
that the extraditions are in isolation of Section 5 (2) of Extradition
Act 1972 which bars extradition until an accused has been acquitted or
completed a sentence in his own country.
Interior Minister Naseerullah Babar told reporters on Monday that the
alleged drug barons were handed over to the US authorities after
completing all legal requirements.
But constitutional experts say the government acted in haste by
immediately parcelling the two accused thus denying them of their
constitutional right to appeal before the Supreme Court. They also point
out that the extradition was also contrary to Article 4 of the
Extradition Agreement signed between the two countries.
Article 4 says: The extradition shall not take place if the person aimed
has already been tried, discharged or punished or is still under trial
in the territories of the high contracting party (applied to in this
case Pakistan) for the crime or offence for which his extradition is
demanded. If the person claimed would be under examination or under
punishment his extradition shall be deferred until the conclusion of the
trial or the full execution of any punishment awarded to him."
Haris told reporters that Baig and Khattak were still serving their
five-year jail term awarded to them by a Karachi magistrate. Besides,
two cases were also pending against them.
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950403
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2 drug barons extradited to US
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Nasir Malick
ISLAMABAD, April 2: The government on Sunday extradited two notorious
drug barons to the United States after Lahore High Court (Rawalpindi
bench) rejected their petitions against their extradition orders, an
official said here.
Haji Iqbal Baig and Anwar Khattak were taken to PAF Base, Chaklala
from where they were flown to the United States in a US naval
aircraft, the official who asked not be named said.
"It is clear from the evidence produced by the prosecution in support
of the allegation that Mirza Mohammmad Iqbal Baig received $250,000
($2.5 million) for six tonnes of hashish in 1983, $400,00,00 ($4.0
million) in September 1993 and $120,000,000 ($120 million) through
his partner Akber Sheikh for 20 tons of hashish," the court order
said, rejecting the petitions of seven drug barons, including Baig
and Khattak.
The other five are Tariq Butt, Ghulam Mohammad, Umar Khan Afridi,
Iqbal Parvez Durrani and Nasrullah Khan Hanjera.
The fate of the remaining drug barons whose applications against
their extradition were rejected by the court was not known.
Baig, came into limelight during the military rule of Gen Zia-ul-Haq
when his people beat up a foreign media team which had come to make a
film on him secretly.
Patronised officially during the martial law period, a hunt for Baig
who was began after the restoration of democracy in 1985.
He kept in hiding for several years fearing his extradition to the
United States. Finally he surrendered before the authorities in 1989
when Ms Bhutto came to power.
Soon after he filed an appeal against his extradition and had been
challenging the lower court decisions.
This time, he had opposed his extradition on the ground that the
inquiry conducted by a magistrate suffered serious technical defects.
Nine people have been extradited since the caretaker government of
Moeen Qureshi in 1993. He was the first to extradite four people
wanted by the United States on drug smuggling charges.
Those extradited in the past include Zulqarnain Khan, Misal Khan,
Khalid Khan, Taweez Khan, Shahid Hafeez Khawaja, Mohammad Saleem
Malik and Mian Mohammad Azmat.
Of these three - Misal Khan, Khalid Khan and Taweez Khan - were
acquitted by a US court and have since returned to Pakistan.
The remaining have either been awarded long terms of imprisonment or
are facing trial.
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950406
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Drug baron's extradition stayed till 12th
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, April 5: The Supreme Court on Wednesday provided temporary
relief to an alleged drug baron, wanted in the United States on a drug
trafficking charge, by stopping his possible extradition until April 12.
Nasrullah Hanjera had appealed to the Supreme Court against a decision
of Lahore High Court regarding the extradition of seven drug lords. Two
of them, Haji Iqbal Baig and Anwar Khattak, were extradited a few hours
after the court decision.
The wives of Baig and Khattak had also filed petitions in the Supreme
Court but the three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Sajjad Ali
Shah, did not take up the petitions for technical grounds.
The bench was of the opinion that there was no urgency involved in their
appeals as the two had already been extradited to the United States.
Besides, it was also to be seen whether the petitions can be accepted in
their absence. These petitions would come up on their term in routine.
However, the court accepted the application of Nasrullah Hanjera, one of
the five drug barons at Adiala Jail, and granted him interim stay order
until April 12. "Issued notice to the respondents and also to the
Attorney General for 12.4.95. Till then, the petitioner may not be
removed from Pakistan," a short court order said.
Hanjera has made Interior Secretary, Superintendent Adiala Jail and
Magistrate who conducted the preliminary inquiry, respondents in the
case.
Baig's petition has been filed by Abid Hasan Minto, Khattak's petition
by Ijaz Batalvi and Butt's petition by Dr Abdul Basit, all
constitutional experts. The three lawyers have invoked the fundamental
rights in their petitions.
Baig and Khattak were extradited to New York two days before Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto embarked on a visit to the United States.
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950403
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Case against Ramzi registered
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By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 2: Police on Saturday registered a case under the
Explosives Act against the New York's Wor1d Trade Centre bombing
accused, Ramzi Yousef.
They claimed that on July 23, 1993, Ramzi Yousef was wounded while
making some explosives in a flat in Nadia Towers in Nanakwara.
The explosives, they alleged, were to be used to assassinate Pakistan
People's Party Chairperson Bhutto during her 1993 election
campaigning.
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950404
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Govt asks President to summon assembly
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, April 3: The government has sent a summary to President
Farooq Ahmad Leghari to summon the next National Assembly session on
April 9 to discuss a number of political and economic issues including
some ordinance promulgated recently.
According to the detail the Ministry of law and Parliamentary Affairs
has prepared an agenda for the next session which included legislation
on number of issues including the ordinance related to the
disqualification of the parliamentarians in case they were defaulters of
bank loans and other government utilities.
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950405
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JI splits into two groups
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Abdul Sattar Qamar
.MULTAN, April 4: Jamaat-i-Islami has been divided into two groups and
Majlis-i-Shoora members opposed to the policies of Qazi Hussain Ahmed
have decided to convene a convention on April 14 and 15 in Lahore under
the leadership of Maulana Naeem Siddiqui, a close associate of the late
Maulana Maudoodi.
Sources in the group told Dawn here on Tuesday that the breakaway
faction would be called Tehrik-i-Islami.
He claimed that 16 members of Majili-i-Shoora, provincial Nazima Amira
Ehsan, divisional Nazima Rawalpindi Talat-Habib, Nayyar Bano, Ummi-
Zubair, Bilqees Soofi, Qamar Jalil, and Yasmin Hameed had decided to
quit the Jamaat and join the Tehrik accusing Qazi Hussain violating the
party programme.
The Tehrik sources said a manifesto and constitution of new party had
already been finalised and a large number of workers would take part in
the convention from all over the country. Maulana Gauhar Rehman would
take part in the convention with a large group of workers from the NWFP.
However, Mian Tufail Mohammad and Professor Ghafoor Ahmed are reluctant
to join hands with the dissidents, but they did not oppose the formation
of new party.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-i-lslami sources told Dawn that a number of
delegations were visiting the different cities to contact the dissident,
and convince them against joining the tehrik. If they refused to stop
opposing Qazi Hussain Ahmed, their membership would be terminated. They
said disciplinary action had been taken against six members for plotting
against the party. Those expelled are Mukhtar Salim, Hafeez-ur-Rehman
Ahsan, Nasar Ahmed Zahid and Abdus Salam Khan from Lahore, Ch Abdul-
Rehman from Islamabad and Hakim Mehmood Saharanpuri from Rawalpindi.
The Jamaat sources further said all those attending the Tehrik
convention would lose their JI membership.
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950405
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SHC to have nine more judges
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 4: Nine more judges are being appointed to the High Court
of Sindh, increasing the number of those appointed by the present
government to 18, excluding the acting chief justice.
Their appointments will increase the number of Sindh High Court Judges
to 27, which will be highest at any one time.
Four judges are due to retire between May and November. They are: Mr
Justice M. Aslam Arain (May 11), Mr Justice Salahuddin Mirza (Sept 22),
Mr Justice Abdul Rahim Kazi (Oct 3), and Mr Justice G.H. Malik (Nov.
10).
===================================================================
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950401
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Recovery on the horizon
-------------------------------------------------------------------
SIGNS of recovery were visible on the Karachi Stock Exchange last week
thanks to active short-covering by both the institutional traders and
the leading brokerage houses but analysts doubted the market's ability
to sustain any technical rally until and unless it was backed by peace
in the city.
Doubts are still lurking in investors' mind about the duration of that
the current pause in the city killing to entertain the idea that peace
has returned to the hostage city.
However, some recent positive developments on the political front,
notably the initiatives taken by the President to talk to the warring
groups have raised hopes and a major breakthrough might be imminent,
with peace not being distant possibility.
The Karachi Stock exchange index of share prices after several weeks
persistent decline finally managed to stage a good recovery, up 41.65
points at 1,655.26 as compared to 1,613.61 a week earlier, reflecting
the relative strength of the base shares.
State Bank's quick monetary steps including uncapping of lend rates and
two per cent increase in bank credit ceiling could be some of the
financial positive development.
Although new buying is still to re-emerge even on the relative safe
havens, technically short dealers and brokers were active on selected
counters and made covering purchases at the lower levels.
"The market derived its main strength from active buying in the bank
shares after the news of removal of lending rate cap but there were some
other aiding factors too," said and analyst.
Most analysts believer the current political initiatives taken by the
Opposition leaders despite rigid official stance could attain the
cherished goal of peace in the city.
"The sentiment in part is also boosted by the clarification by the army
that it did not oppose talks with the MQM for peace in the city as it
has a role to play," they added.
However, most analysts doubted the market's ability to sustain the rally
on the strength of the bank shares.
Volume soared to a new peak level of about 24 million shares, surpassing
its previous all-time record of 23.3 million shares some days back, bulk
of which, more than 15 million shares, went to the credit of PTC.
Floor brokers doubted the market's ability to extend the current rally
as heavy foreign selling in PTC shares could take its toll.
They said a record single session volume of 15 million shares in any
listed share is unprecedented and amounts to panic selling.
Bulk of the activity, therefore, was confined to about half a dozen
current favourites, as investors were not inclined to move out of the
safe havens until the market stabilises on certain viable levels.
Floor brokers were, thus divided over the direction of the market with
the start of the new account, although most agreed that selling pressure
could dominate the trading scene in the sessions to come.
Even some of the bank shares which the led the market advance could not
sustain the overnight gains as some leading among them ran into selling
and ended partially reacted.
The market advance was led by the bank sector where prices recovered in
unison on strong covering purchases at the attractive lower level,
leading gainers among them being Citicorp, MCB Bank of Punjab, Soneri
Union Fidelity and Askari bank.
They were followed by most of the cement, and synthetics shares under
the lead of Mustehkam Cement, which rose by Rs 10 followed by Cherat
Cement and Bengal Fibre and Ibrahim Fibre in the Synthetics.
Energy shares did not follow the market's general line of action and
fell further under the lead of PSO, Shell Pakistan, but Sui Southern and
some others rose appreciably.
Among the auto shares, Pak Suzuki Motors, and Balochistan Wheels rose
modestly but Al-Ghazi Tractors, and some others fell.
Most of the MNCs played on both sides of the market amid brisk rolling
of positions from the high-risk areas to the relative safe haven.
While Philips, Fauji Fertiliser and ICI Pakistan showed good gains
ranging from Rs 2 to 8, Siemens, and Parke-Davis fell sharply on selling
at the higher levels.
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950406
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Rs 88bn power plan for Karachi
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From I.H. Rashid
LAHORE, April 5: The Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) has
drawn up an ambitious Rs 88 billion power development plan for Karachi.
The plan, which forms part of the Prime Minister's Karachi package, was
discussed here by KESC chairman and managing director S.T.H. Naqvi with
WAPDA during a recent visit to Lahore. It provides for investment of Rs
83 billion in the private sector and Rs 5 billion in the public sector.
According to the plan the KESC's present installed capacity of four
power stations is 1738 mW while its firm capacity is 1500 mW which is
equal to the present requirement of the city. During summer and in
emergencies, the KESC buys power from WAPDA, Pakistan Steel and the
Karachi power plant. With its annual load growth rate up to 8 per cent,
Karachi's actual power need will go up to 2200 mw by the year 2000.
The KESC has plans to purchase about 2500 mw power from the private
sector which is setting up thermal power stations in the vicinity of the
city. The new power plants are expected to start production by the end
of 1997. In addition, the KESC is adding a sixth unit at its Bin Qasim
power station at an estimated cost of Rs 5 billion. The unit which will
produce 210 MW will start operating in July next year. Transmission
lines of 220 kv capacity are being laid at an estimated cost of Rs 4.5
billion. The Korangi thermal power station will be renovated and a 300
mW unit would be added.
Letters of support have been issued by the private power Cell, ministry
of water and power, to the Fauji Electric Power Company for setting up a
350-mW power project at Hub, to Wakgas for setting up an 800-mw barge-
mounted diesel power station at Bin Qasim, half of which will be
connected to the KESC grid, and to Messrs Gul Ahmad for setting up a 125
mW diesel power plant in the Korangi industrial area.
According to the KESC chief, work on the fifth power project has been
launched for expansion and rehabilitation of Karachi's old and
inadequate power transmission and distribution system. The work, which
is estimated to cost $245 million, is expected to be completed by the
middle of next year with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank,
the Export and Import Bank of Japan and the World Bank.
With the completion of the programme, the KESC's transmission capacity
will increase to about 900 mVA.
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950405
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OGDC made limited company
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, April 4: The federal government on Tuesday converted the
state-run Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC) into a limited
company.
The decision was taken by amending the Oil and Gas Development
Corporation Ordinance 1961 through a presidential ordinance.
The government had announced last year to privatise the OGDC by offering
49 per cent of its shares in the market and retaining the rest with it.
All assets, properties, installations, plants, machinery, rights and
liabilities of the Corporation shall be transferred to the new company
and the employees of OGDC shall also stand transferred to the new
company.
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950405
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Monetary bodies to have IMF consultants
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Sabihuddin Ghausi
KARACHI, April 4: The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are
appointing consultants in the State Bank of Pakistan, Corporate Law
Authority, Controller of Insurance office, Privatisation Commission and
in financial institutions under a 1.01 billion dollars Finance Sector
Opening and Intermediation Project.
Designed to consolidate and further expand the reforms process now
underway in the country under the IMF's Financial Sector Adjustment Loan
(FSAL) the World Bank will provide 216 million dollars, which is 21
percent of the entire project outlay and is spread over a period of five
years. Another 100 million dollars is reported to have been committed by
the Asian Development Bank (ADB), while six Pakistani banks and
financial institutions will arrange 300 million dollars in local.
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950402
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Coal power plant to be set up at Keti Bandar
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Ihtasham ul Haque
ISLAMABAD, April 1: The PPP government has resolved the long outstanding
differences with the Hong Kong-based business tycoon Gordon Wu to invest
massive six billion dollars in Pakistan and the agreement to this effect
is expected to be signed in a day or so.
Official sources told Dawn here on Saturday that Gordon Wu has finally
agreed to use the indigenously produced coal at Thar for its proposed
thermal power plant at Keti Bandar in Thatta District.
"With the Hong Kong-based business tycoon agreeing to invest six billion
dollars, the government has succeeded in arranging 4500 mw of power
needed for the country," said an high official of the Ministry of Water
and Power.
Ministry of Water and Power, Private Power and Infrastructure
Board(PPIB) and Sindh Coal Development had been engaged in negotiations
with a three-member team of Consolidated Electric Power of Asia (CEPA)
for the last one week.
The government had offered to CEPA that it may start its power plant on
the imported coal but then it should be switched over to local coal as
and when coal extraction started from Thar. The CEPA delegation was not
ready to accept the proposal. But now CEPA has agreed and plans to set
up four power plant of which one at Keti Bandar.
The issue of site selection was another impediment which had also
been resolved in the negotiation concluded here on Thursday.
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950401
-------------------------------------------------------------------
PS to buy Chinese technology
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, March 31: Finding it difficult to raise Rs 70 billion
required for the proposed expansion of Pakistan Steel Mills, the
Ministry of Industries and Production has suddenly decided to go for the
Chinese technology against the time tested Russian steel technology,
Dawn learnt here on Friday.
The expansion programme has already created a stir in the higher
quarters with many officials of the Ministry of Industries and
Production opposing the deal that has just been struck with China during
Minister Brig (Retd) Asghar's visit to Beijing.
According to the programme, the expansion plan envisaged increasing
production from 1.5 million tonnes to 3 million tonnes annually. Rs 37
billion were estimated for the programme in August 1993 which has now
surprisingly increased to Rs 70 billion.
The expansion programme, which was earlier discussed with the former
USSR and then with the Russian Federation, has been stopped, and a
decision was taken all of a sudden to approach the Chinese for the
purpose. "How could we support the obsolete Chinese technology for the
expansion of Steel Mills, knowing that it is inferior and cannot do good
to the organisation," an official said, who vehemently opposed the
Minister's decision to go for the Chinese technology.
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950403
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3 companies shortlisted in PTC sell-off
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Ihtasham ul Haque
ISLAMABAD, April 2: The Privatisation Commission has shortlisted
three international companies, to finally select a Financial Adviser
for privatising 26 per cent strategic shares of the billions of
dollars Pakistan Tele-communication Corporation (PTC). The
shortlisting of three companies were made out of nine companies which
were earlier shortlisted out of total of 26 companies of the
international repute.
"Now one company to act as a financial adviser will be selected
through bids to facilitate the early privatisation of the PTC,
chairman of the Privatisation Commission Syed Naveed Qamar told Dawn
here on Sunday.
He said the formal announcement for the selection of these three
companies would be made in a day or so. The three international
companies shortlisted are: Morgen Stanley (USA), Goldman Sachs(USA)
and Morgen Grenfell (UK).
It is expected that within this month the PTC will be converted into
a Pakistan Tele-communication Corporation Limited (PTCL). This will
be followed by the registration of the organisation as public holding
company in June and the entire process of selling 26 per cent
strategic shares will be completed by December.
The Privatisation Commission expects to get 2.5 billion dollars to 3
billion dollars from the sale of 26 per cent shares. It has already
received about Rs 30 billion on account of about 9.8 per cent of the
total share capital of the proposed company.
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950401
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Business & Financial Week
-------------------------------------------------------------------
+++IRAN has been seriously wooing Indian businessmen to use its Bandar
Abbas Port in the Persian Gulf for trading with the newly formed central
Asian countries.
+++THE Federal Government is understood to be considering a proposal to
set up a 'Market Support Fund,' for injecting some vigour into the stock
market which has been sluggish for many months.
+++SBP has announced the removal, of its 17.5 per cent cap or tending
rates with immediate effect, thereby allowing commercial banks to charge
market-based rates.
+++A comprehensive portfolio of projects of major economic sectors have
been identified for foreign investment is Balochistan for the PM's trip
to the US next month.
+++THE Pakistan-Kuwait Investment Company will soon sponsor an Islamic
investment bank called Al Meezan Investment Bank with a paid up capital
of Rs 1 billion.
+++FOREIGN Minister of the Republic of Zambia has invited Pakistani
businessmen and industrialists to invest in his country and have joint
ventures with their Zambian counter-parts.
+++THE Board of Investment (BOI) will hold an investment conference in
New York during the PM's visit to attract American private investment
into Pakistan.
+++THE monthly drain between December and February from the KSE by has
been in the range of $50 million as foreigners are pulling out from the
market.
+++THE Punjab Government will spend Rs 1.42 billion on the improvement
of services and facilities in the agricultural sector by the end of the
current fiscal year.
+++ALL Pakistan Gem Merchants and Jewellers Association have expressed
the apprehension that smuggling of gold into the country will shoot up
as a result of the revised policy of depositing $ 1,00,000 with the
government for importing gold.
+++ABOUT 30 Canadian firms are interested in the field of thermal and,
hydel power, telecommunications, oil and gas in a bid to streamline a
positive interaction between the Canadian and Pakistani business firms.
+++NDFC has become the first DFI to voluntarily adopt the Prudential
regulations of the SBP, thereby enabling it to become financially a
strong and profitable institution.
+++PAKISTAN steel mills has earned a profit of Rs 870 million during the
current fiscal year, while its sales surpassed the target of 100 per
cent in the first two months of the second half of the current fiscal
year.
+++ADB has provided a loan of Rs 941.028 million to meet 80 per cent of
the cost of the Sindh forest development project. The remaining 20 per
cent will be provided by the government of Sindh.
+++THE KCCI has urged the CBR to direct the pre-shipment inspection
companies to assess the value of goods according to the GATT code of
valuation instead of the Brussels Nomenclature.
+++THE government is formulating a fresh hydrocarbon policy with the
assistance of the ADB infusing into it major changes to make the policy
investor friendly to foreign investors.
+++THE government has decided not to provide any physical or monetary
subsidy to the industries in the country but, instead will provide all
the necessary infrastructure to make them competitive in the
international markets.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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950331
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Proposed law disturbs many
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By Izharul Hasan Burney
KARACHI: Government's decision to make law for the disqualification of
legislators defaulting in payment of bank loans and credits, utility and
service bills, and taxes, duties, levies and charges for more than three
months has left many parliamentarians high and dry and anxious inquiries
are being made on the scope and implications of the move.
Querries have been referred to constitutional experts and lawyers
specialising in financial matters as the promised details of the
proposed law are awaited.
Knowledgeable sources however feel that if the aim is to launch the
"moral crusade" from where law-making takes place, it will have to be a
well diagnosed prescription that leaves no loopholes unplugged.
The need for removing lecunae in the existing laws has been felt all
along and this newspaper, for one, has pinpointed some of these since
the first move by the caretaker government of Mr Moeen Qureshi on the
eve of Election-93.
The first ordinance on the subject came on August 19, 1993. It inter-
alia provided that candidates for general election shall file
declaration to the effect that no bank loan or credit was outstanding
against him or in the name of his spouse or dependent (parents or
children) for more than one year, and (ii) that no such loan or credit
had been written off.
As part of this exercise, the nomination papers determined the amount of
unpaid for loans at Rs one million in both cases, and the cut off point
was set as the partyless elections of 1985.
The addition of arrears of the unpaid for bills of the utility and
service agencies was on the eve of the Senate elections which took place
in March 1994, and the period of default was six months "of an amount as
may be prescribed."
On the eve of the filing of the nomination papers, Pakistan Banking
Council released voluminous lists of bank defaulters. Certain nomination
papers were rejected, while many others were withdrawn.
But PBC lists were neither complete nor flawless, and several leading
politicians went to courts which upheld their plea. They contested, won
and are now members of the assemblies.
FIRST LESSON: The first lesson of the maiden exercise was that even the
DFIs were not infallible. Experience also showed that not all the
returning officers got the PBC lists and it was left to the objectors to
raise the issue and prove the point. A third was that neither the
objectors nor the ROs had time to pool information to challenge the
nomination papers.
During the course of the election process, another ordinance was
promulgated requiring the successful candidates to file a return of
their assets and liabilities and those of their spouse and dependents
(parents and children). The winners did it; their election was duly
notified by the Election Commission to pave way for taking oath as MNA
or MPAs.
The lecunae in this particular matter was, and is to this day, that no
proforma was prescribed for such a declaration. Instead, the winners
were asked to write it on a piece of plain paper and deliver it to the
Election Commission.
The other flaw was that the Election Commission was neither empowered to
examine nor scrutinise the return. The document was placed securely in
the vault and the keys remain in the custody of the Chief Election
Commissioner.
On an application of Malik Mohammad Qasim, Chairman of the Federal Anti-
Corruption Committee, the Election Commission delivered a detailed
judgement on the confidentiality of this document, restricting its
availability only to the contestants from the constituency to which the
winning legislator belonged. It is not a public document.
LECUNAE LISTED: To sum up, the lacunas in the law may be listed as
under:
(a) Unreliability of bank loans and credits with particular reference to
the period of default;
(b) Absence of clarification to the effect that the default covered
repayment of loan instalments rather than the full amount which the
borrower may have obtained;
(c) Non-fixation of the amount of arrears of over six months bills of
the utility and service agencies;
(d) Immunity from disqualification clauses once a person takes oath as
legislator, and until he seeks a fresh election; In the case of returns
of assets and liabilities, the lecunae could be summarised as under:
(a) Non-prescription of any proforma for the filing of the returns;
(b) Debarring the Election Commission or any other authority to study,
examine or scrutinise the returns or hold inquiry or investigations as
to their' correctness or otherwise;
(c) Confidentiality of the returns except in the case of rival
candidates;
(d) No requirement of follow-up returns in each completed year of tenure
as legislator.
GOVT MEASURES: Announcing the decision of the Federal Cabinet on March
27 last, Information Secretary Hussain Haqqani, inter-alia listed the
following measures "to end the culture that has developed in Pakistan
that influential people do not pay their bank loans or taxes because of
their political influence"
(i) Yearly returns of assets and liabilities to the Chief Election
Commissioner at the end of June;
(ii) Scrutiny of the returns by the CEC and follow-up action, if
necessary;
(iii) Three months grace period to legislators to clear the arrears of
loans, taxes, utility and service bills etc;
(iv) Returns to be filed both by winners and losers of Election-93; and
(v) Procedure for disqualification to be prescribed.
Relevant circles assume that the proposed law would also plug the
remaining holes to cover matters such as-
(1) Proforma for filing returns of assets and liabilities (Election
Commission had proposed one on the eve of Election-93. Another option is
to adopt the Income Tax form for Wealth Tax returns, and yet another is
the form devised by the authorities during the martial law).
(2) Declaring the returns as a public document and its availability to
any citizen of Pakistan on demand (as is the case with any other court
document), instead of treating it as a highly classified document;
(3) Empowering the Election Commission to scrutinise the return through
a firm of chartered accountant or any government agency like the Auditor
General of Pakistan.
(4) Citizens right to question the correctness of the return at any time
during the tenure of the legislators, instead of only 45 days prescribed
for filing of appeal by a rival candidate before the Election Tribunal;
(5) Arrangements in each bank, co-operatives, DFls etc to keep an
uptodate record (on monthly basis) on an all-Pakistan basis so that,
like the Electoral Rolls, the list of defaulters is made available
promptly in the event of a by-election or snap elections.
PROBLEM AREA: The most problematic area, however, will be the host of
public sector organisations and utility and service agencies which would
need to upgrade their accounting procedures for a correct and uptodate
record of arrears of taxes, levies and duties on the one hand and the
bills of electricity, gas, telephone etc on the other.
These taxes are collected by federal agencies like Income Tax, Customs.
Provincial governments collect the taxes like irrigation water, land
revenue, Zakat and Ushr, land rent and host of other items. Local bodies
taxes relate to water supply, sewerage, fire tax, general tax, property
tax etc.
Barring major agencies like Customs, Income Tax etc, accounts elsewhere
are in a pathetic state. It is poorer still in the provincial
government, and in a worst shape in the local bodies.
Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation is improving; gas distribution
companies are in good shape; but WAPDA and KESC remain far from public
expectations.
In the given situation, one wonders how the government expects honest
enforcement of the disqualification law.
Any slip or default on the part of the banks or the tax collecting
agencies would of course be rectified when disqualification proceedings
start, but by that time it would have already caused all kinds of
misgivings including vendetta and political victimisation and will
grossly undermine the credibility of the government.
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950402
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Contempt of court
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By Ardeshir Cowasjee
MY long entries (barring comments):
Friday November 25, 1994: Column headed "The Defection Case" (case
concerning the NWFP government and its defectors that had been heard and
decided by the Supreme Court of Pakistan) published in Dawn.
December 8, 1994: Received a notice (also sent to the editor, printer
and publisher of this newspaper):
"In the Supreme Court of Pakistan (Contempt Jurisdiction). Crl. Original
No.... of 1994. Syed Masroor Ahsan, petitioner versus Mr Ardeshir
Cowasjee and Others, Respondents. Registered Notice... Please take
notice that I have today filed petition under Article 204 of the
Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 before the Supreme
Court of Pakistan at Islamabad on behalf of the petitioner, in the above
cited case. [signed by] Raja Abdul Ghafoor, Advocate on Record, Supreme
Court of Pakistan, Islamabad, for the peititioner, 4-12-94."
Prayer clause of this Petition: "Under the circumstances, it is
therefore prayed that the respondents may kindly be punished for
committing the contempt of this Court so that such irresponsible
tendency is curbed in future."
March 22: The 6 p.m. English news and 9 p.m. Khabarnama broadcast by the
government controlled television, told viewers that contempt proceedings
had been initiated against me, and the editor, printer and publisher of
Dawn. Heard from the Dawn offices that a Press Note had been received by
fax, issued by the Registrar of the Supreme Court:
"Islamabad March 22- In the contempt petition filed by Syed Masroor
Ahsan a Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan comprising Mr Justice
Manzoor Hussain Sial, Mr Justice Muhammad Munir Khan, and Mr Justice Mir
Hazar Khan Khoso has initiated contempt proceedings against Mr Ardeshir
Cowasjee, Ahmad Ali Khan, Editor, and Mr Ghulam Ali Mirza, Publisher,
daily 'Dawn', Karachi directing them to appear on 9.4.95 before the
Court and answer the charge....."
March 23, March 25, March 27: News items regarding contempt proceedings
published in the Press.
March 29: Notice issued by the Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court
at Karachi to Raja Abdul Ghafoor, AOR, to me, to Ahmad Ali Khan and to
Ghulam Ali A. Mirza:
"In the Supreme Court of Pakistan (Appellate Jurisdiction ) Crl.
O.P.5/95. Syed Masroor Ahsan vs Ardeshir Cowasjee and Others.
"Take Notice that the above noted case came up for hearing before the
Court on 22.3.95 and the Court has been pleased to pass the following
order:- 'After hearing Raja Mohammad Anwar, Sr. AOC learned counsel for
petitioner and going through the article written by Mr Ardeshir
Cowasjee, respondent, under the caption of "Defection Case" published in
daily "Dawn" dated 25.11.1994, edited and published by Ahmad Ali Khan
and Ghulam Ali A. Mirza, respondents respectively, it appears to us that
there is sufficient ground for believing that the respondents have
committed the contempt of court and it is necessary in the interest of
effective administration of justice to proceed against them. The
substance of the charge against them is that they, by writing and
publishing the aforesaid article which tends to bring the authority of
this Court into disrespect and disrepute, scandalises Judges in relation
of their office and disturbs the decorum of the Court, have, prima-
facie, committed offence punishable under Section 4 of the Contempt of
Court Act read with Article 204 of the Constitution of the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan 1973.
"Let notice to issue directing the aforementioned respondents to appear
before the Court on 9.4.1995 and answer the charge."
"Take further notice that the above noted case is now fixed for hearing
before the Court on 9.4.95 at 9.00 a.m. or soon thereafter as may be
convenient to the Court in the Court House at Islamabad.
"Islamabad 27.3.1995. "C.A. (Fixture)".
Article 204 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,
1973:
"(1) In this Article, "Court" means the Supreme Court or a High Court.
"(2) A Court shall have power to punish any person who"
(a) abuses, interferes with or obstructs the process of the Court in any
way or disobeys any order of the Court;
"(b) scandalises the Court or otherwise does anything which tends to
bring the Court or a Judge of the Court into hatred, ridicule or
contempt;
"(c) does anything which tends to prejudice the determination of a
matter pending before the Court:
"(d) does any other thing which, by law, constitutes contempt of the
Court.
"(3) The exercise of the power conferred on a Court by this Article may
be regulated by law, and subject to law, by rules made by the Court."
Section 4 of the Contempt of Court Act:
"Punishment: Whoever commits contempt of Court or abets the commission
of contempt of Court may be punished with simple imprisonment for a term
which may extend to six months or with a fine which may extend to five
thousand rupees or with both.
"Provided that, on being satisfied that the accused, whether after
defending himself or without offering any defence, has purged himself of
the contempt of Court, the Court may discharge the accused or remit this
sentence."
March 31: My column headed 'Freedom of the Press' was considered by
Dawn's editor to be inappropriate for publication that day and was not
printed.
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950403
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Front-line state syndrome
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By M.B. Naqvi
PRIME MINISTER Benazir Bhutto's Washington visit, beginning on April
5, has suddenly become extraordinarily controversial.
In an interview to American media, she has visualised a new
relationship between America and Pakistan based on American
recognition of this country as a front-line state in the fight
against Islamic fundamentalism and related causes.
She is clearly aiming at American aid the way it was available during
the 1980's for the Islamic Jihad against communism in Afghanistan.
Americans are being urged to help her government as a matter of duty
in the holy war against 'terrorism, militancy, extremism,
fundamentalism and narcotics trade', in Pakistan - that are the
fallout from the Afghan war (for which presumably the Americans bear
some responsibility).
There is no doubt that Pakistan is in a difficult and confusing
situation. No one can doubt the importance of having good working
relationship with America, the only superpower with overwhelming
presence around us. These ties should be based on adequate
understanding of each other's position, interests and purposes; areas
of convergences - and consequent cooperation - should be as clearly
spelled out just as those of divergences should be mapped out for
agreeing to differ. That requires their working together with honesty
to extend areas of convergence on the basis of equality and mutual
goodwill. But it does not require the kind of helpless beseeching for
aid that the Prime Minister has reduced herself to.
She may have gravely damaged the cause she implicitly is espousing:
human rights, democracy and modernism by asking the Americans for aid
in fighting religious extremism and related evils in the domestic
sphere. The force described as Islamic fundamentalism that takes
extremist shapes, including sectarianism, is basically a home-grown
thing, though the Afghan war may have exacerbated it. But the primary
responsibility for dealing with it is Pakistan's own. It is not,
fundamentally, for foreigners to fight the implications or
consequences of religious fanaticism in a Muslim society. Calling it
a fallout of Afghan war is only partially true. Americans only
exploited existing sentiments and illusions and no more; they
certainly did not create the passion that gives birth to holy
warriors of any kind.
Americans paid good money to the basically mercenary fighters, both
of whom had their own axes to grind, not to mention Islamabad's own.
Both were satisfied with each other at the time. By asking for
American aid PM Bhutto would make fundamentalists the only champion
of anti-imperialist sentiment and that would politically strengthen
them no end. Clarity of thought is the primary need in order to
establish a mutually beneficial relationship with the only superpower
there is. That, however, ought not to compromise Pakistani state's
sovereign equality despite its being relatively small and weak.
Conduct of the present government has already compromised Pakistan's
sovereignty by concedings privileges to official American agencies
that are reminiscent of the "capitulations" granted by Ottoman Empire
to, or "extra-territorial rights" that were imposed by, European
colonial powers on India and China among others. Examples are
multiplying: The way fugitives from American justice have been
rounded up and hustled out of the country without so much as a token
presence before a Pakistani court is a tell-tale; the way FBI is
'exclusively' investigating and interrogating suspects and witnesses
in the murder of two American nationals in Karachi in which local
police has not the slightest say is the latest example.
Then, Ambassador John Monjo has propounded a doctrine that needs to
be rejected about the American law being enforceable on Pakistani
soil by American law enforcement agencies (such as has already begun
to happen). This is a theory that implicitly assumes America,
American law and Americans to be somehow superior to all; American
interests override those of others. The Pakistan government has to
clarify its position on this subject, unless, of course, we are happy
to become and remain a vassal state.
It is saddening to watch the misconceived pleadings by the Prime
Minister about Pakistan emerging as a 'front-line state' against
terrorism and in the vanguard of the 'movement to uncover militant
groups that have been operating in different Muslim countries'. Her
message to the Americans sounds pathetic: "One of the messages I will
be taking to the US (is) that you are a fair nation, we have been
allies, so help me strengthen the forces of moderation within
Pakistan by taking away the factor that fuelled fanaticism".
What it comes to is Islamabad's endeavour to join the glittering
fraternity of King Hasan of Morocco, present regimes in Algeria and
Tunisia, President Hosni Mobarak of Egypt and other moderates Gulf
Shaikhs and Amirs. What these regimes can get away within their
countries would scarcely be possible in Pakistan. Pakistan is not
like any other country of West Asia. Islamabad may think it is the
only feasible way of seeking American military or military-related
economic aid. It is cold war thinking: it is the syndrome of front-
line states being bolstered to remain in the front-line against a
common enemy.
We had better be realistic and look at the Pakistan-American ties
from other angles. Some one should exercise his mind to visualise how
American administration would view its ties with Pakistan in the
light of its own priorities and purposes. Then, there might be a
second exercise of looking at Pakistan's own long-term and immediate
interests, without forgetting elementary truths such as preserving
its own freedom of action.
It is possible to sympathise with the predicament of the PPP
government. But this can only be up to a point. It may have no option
but to carry on a Kashmir policy that displeases Americans, Indians
and some others and maintaining a nuclear stance that fails to
satisfy the Americans and the West. The endeavour to please the
Americans in other spheres - fighting religious extremist groups and
their narcotics-loving friars - may be understandable but is fraught
with bigger dangers than joining the anti Soviet Islamic Jihad in
Afghanistan was.
Islamabad's predicament lies in having, an over-sized military
establishment, with commitments in Kashmir and Afghanistan that are
beyond the financial capacity of the economy. But few outsiders can
sympathise with this: not even all Pakistan is agree with the need to
obtain American aid on no matter what terms or bases. Invoking the
'front-line state' syndrome is possibly the most dangerous line of
least resistance that will land the country in God knows what
troubles and where.
This is not to say that those in Pakistan who see religious
fanaticism and all its works to be destructive, not only of human
freedoms of Pakistanis but also of Pakistan. State in a primary
sense. They do need to galvanise themselves for a supreme effort
against it. But religious bigotry cannot be fought with armies and
para-military forces, even if its by-products might require to be
tackled physically. But the latter is not the main war. Primary
theatre of this war is the human mind; and knowledge, scientific mode
of thinking and spirit of relaxed tolerance - born of the values of
freedom and human equality - constitute the ammunition. Maybe the
Americans will help in this all-important war by suitable means.
Maybe they won't. Let us leave it to them.
Who can forget that Pakistan is the main intellectual centre of all
kinds of Islamic revivalist ideas. The Islamic Ideology that was
propounded by Jamaat-i-Islami here has had a big impact on the rest
of the Islamic world and has in fact furthered the work of Akhwanul
Muslimeen in the Arab world. This has had, however, its own
vicissitudes and now Islamic Ideology faces its own come uppance in
the shape of a multiplicity of religious orthodoxies staking out
their own exclusivist claims on the allegiance of the faithful. This
proliferation of internally-quarrelling Islamic extremist movements
may be dangerous to others as well. But it is primarily a danger to
our own state and society: it is basically our business.
If there are outsiders who sympathise with those Pakistanis who are
countering religious fundamentalist movements, let them come and ask
what help they can render. Their help should be tailored to the task
in hand. It is primarily a political and theoretical task and not one
of finance or military strength or even better policing, though they
might be important for other purposes. Tackling Islamic extremism
does not entitle Islamabad to a flow of dollars that would only
fatten the elite groups.
The Americans and others know their own minds, they are unlikely to
be impressed by clever talking points. Let Islamabad worry over the
issues that keep South Asia divided and at war with itself. Local
solutions, rather than alliance-seeking with the US (under whatever
nomenclature) should be our quest. If we can do that, ties with
America can be expected to change in a radical fashion.
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950403
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ANP-PML allegations say nothing new
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From A.S. Yousufi
PESHAWAR: True to the age-old habit of Pakistan politicians the
defeated candidates of the ANP and PML and local leaders of the two
parties have refused to accept the people's verdict in the two by-
elections on PF-63 and PF-70 and have called upon the Election
Commission to withhold the results and order recounting of the votes.
The charges levelled against the government party and its candidates
are just usual. They said nothing new when they claimed at their
Press conferences that the results were manipulated during counting
and that bogus votes were cast in large numbers. There was no third
argument which they could advance.
In one of the Press conferences addressed by the ANP-PML office-
bearers Farid Toofan and Haji Mohammad Javed, both former ministers
and both holding responsible offices of provincial general secretary
of their respective parties as well as the two defeated candidates
made some irresponsible statements which not only tarnish the image
of the country's judiciary but also of the government the provincial
administration and the Election Commission. Such sweeping remarks
should have been avoided for the sake of parties credibility. How
easily they forgot the results of the earlier two by-elections in
Kohat and Nowshera in which the ANP candidates defeated those of the
PPP was amusing. At that time the elections for them were transparent
and the results correct; and it was so because the opposition ANP had
emerged victorious.
It goes to the credit of the PPP that despite losing the by-elections
of Kohat and Nowshera its leadership did not indulge in invectives
and accusations and accepted the results though it had lost the
Nowshera seat which it had captured in the election.
At the Press conferences on Saturday the two general secretaries and
their defeated candidates from Buner and Swat justified their claim
that results were manipulated during counting on the ground that
announcement of results was delayed till about 2 am because in
earlier countings the opposition candidates had an edge over the
PPP's. The argument does not hold good because results of both the
constituencies had landed in newspaper offices in Peshawar by 10.30
pm and correspondents of national dailies had filed their reports
latest by 11.15 pm after due verification from various sources.
As regards the charge of bogus voting this too does not stand to
reason. To avoid ghost votes and to maintain complete peace during
polling the local administration in Buner and Swat had taken some
very effective precautionary measures. All the roads to Buner had
been blocked by law-enforcers and even journalists from outside Buner
found it impossible to cross any of the barriers. There were no
skirmishes at the polling stations and no hot words were exchanged
between the candidates or their supporters. Both at Buner and in Swat
the ANP and PML along with the PPP had posted hundreds of their
workers some of whom had been brought from outside the constituency
before the blockade was enforced on the morning of March 30.
The agents of the candidates were present at the counting counters in
Buner and Swat. None of them raised any objection and everything went
on smoothly till the following day the ANP and PML had second
thoughts and changed their posture. To put the record straight
leaders of both the parties had accepted defeat on the evening of the
polling day. So at least they told the newsmen who rang them up on
the evening of March 30.
The most unfortunate aspect of the negative approach of the
opposition leadership is that even a straightforward Begum Nasim Wali
Khan who is party leader in the Provincial Assembly could be
influenced to express her doubts about the polling results suspecting
manipulation in counting.
Another unfortunate aspect is that at the Press conference the ANP's
Toofan was for the first time joined in by the PML's Haji Javed when
both of them passed defamatory remarks against the judiciary. While
Mr Toofan has been in the habit of maligning the judiciary for his
own good reasons he found another person in PML's Haji Javed to the
his line. At the Press conference both reportedly ruled out moving
the courts in this regard as they were of the view that they did not
expect justice from such courts where jialas were appointed as
judges."
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950404
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Leghari's effort to solve Karachi issue
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From M. Ziauddin
ISLAMABAD: On the last Thursday of March in the morning President Farooq
Ahmed Khan Leghari resumed, on behalf of the government, the on-again
and off-again negotiations with the MQM in Karachi while in the evening
on the same day, Prime Minister Ms Benazir Bhutto addressing the nation
over TV and radio reiterated her resolve to punish terrorists and wipe
out terrorism from the country.
The seeming contrast in the approach of the two towards the Karachi
problem, however, is said to be part of a single policy with two-tracks
which it is learnt was approved on March 27 at a meeting of the
President, the Prime Minister and the Chief of the Army Staff General
Abdul Waheed-the troika.
With the unfolding of this two-track policy, things are expected now to
move rapidly on the Karachi front. While keeping the pressure on the
terrorists, possibilities are likely to he probed to make arrangements
under which the MQM would be allowed, say within the next 90 days, to
test their representative character at the local level and also join the
provincial government.
But all this is easier said than done. Look at the predicament of PML
which has recently developed an understanding with the MQM. A stormy
scene ensued as soon as the Central Working Committee of the party was
informed of the decision to ask National Assembly members from urban
Sindh to resign to enable MQM to return to the political mainstream
through by-elections.
The Karachi MNAs of the PML were afraid that the move would wipe out the
Party from Pakistan's largest city, while the CWC members from the
interior of the province were certain that such a step would adversely
affect the growing popularity of the party in rural Sindh. And Nawaz
Sharif who does not draw his political clout from Sindh as much as the
prime minister does, had had to postpone a decision on the matter.
Nawaz has the support of Punjabi settlers in the province. With the help
of the MQM, he can in any future elections give Ms Bhutto a run for her
money in her home province. But still, he would fall short of the
numbers needed to make a government in the province if he fails to take
rural Sindh with him. So the last minute dithering by Nawaz on the issue
of translating the understanding reached with the MQM into a political
reality.
By contrast the political price Ms Bhutto will have to pay in rural
Sindh for accomodating the MQM at the local and provincial levels would
be much more devastating for her. Sindhis live in the perpetual fear of
being turned into Red Indians by the never ending migration into urban
part of the province from not only up country but also from India,
Bangladesh, Burma, Iran, Afghanistan and many such places. Sindhis have
also come to believe that if they concede political dominance of Karachi
to the MQM today, tomorrow the ethnic organisation would stake its claim
over the entire province. The MQM has not done anything so far to
assuage the dread of Sindhis. In fact, their irresponsible members have
done everything to reinforce these fears by loose talk of turning
Karachi into a Hong Kong and demanding the holding of census under the
UN.
Therefore it is almost certain that the nationalist Sindhis would make a
successful bid to oust Ms Bhutto from her base the minute she is
perceived to be making some concessions to the MQM.
So, the troika probably thought that the President rather than the prime
minister was better placed politically to talk the MQM back into the
country's mainstream politics while getting, in return ,the MQM to allay
the fears of Sindhis by publicly renouncing the drivel of dividing the
province on ethnic lines and the gibberish of getting urban Sindh to
secede from Pakistan.
The office of the President does not empower Mr Leghari to play a role
in this particular matter. But he can perhaps without seeming to be
interfering in the provincial matters, help turn the administrative
Babel there into a single authoritative voice to be obeyed by all the
agencies and departments now working at cross purposes and coming in
each other's way.
While the political track is to be followed by the President, the prime
minister probably has been given a totally free hand by the troika to
pursue the criminal track and deal sternly with the terrorists and
terrorism. It was, therefore, necessary that while the President was
trying his hand at healing the political wounds, the terrorists, lest
they get the wrong signal, were told at the same time in unambiguous
terms that they cannot hide behind their political affiliations any
longer. And it was also necessary perhaps to clear off the distracting
impression that the army had given Nawaz Sharif some kind of assignment
vis-a-vis the MQM. The prime minister's address to the nation took care
of these two things effectively.
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950405
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Beyond exchanging letters
-------------------------------------------------------------------
IF the letters that Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mian Nawaz Sharif have written
to each other are even published, it will be an anthology unlikely to
set the oceans on fire. Petty point-scoring and empty rhetoric are the
most outstanding characteristics of these literary exchanges. Do their
latest letters regarding the situation in Karachi contain the promise of
anything different? Mian Nawaz Sharif, it will be remembered, wrote to
the Prime Minister after returning from London where he had held talks
with the MQM chief, Mr Altaf Hussain, offering to cooperage with the
government in finding a solution to the problems of Karachi. In his
letter he had suggested that the government should withdraw all 'false'
cases against Mr Altaf Hussain, announce an amnesty for his colleagues
and facilitate the MQM leader's early return to the country. In her
reply the Prime Minister, without committing herself to anything
specific, has welcomed Mian Nawaz Sharif's offer of co-operation and
said that she would like to meet him at a mutually convenient time on
her return from the United States. What Mr Nawaz Sharif makes of this
reply remains to be seen. If past experience is any guide, he could well
lament the fact that Ms Bhutto has said nothing about the specific
points he had raised. It would be unfortunate, however, if he were to
make this an excuse for ridiculing or rejecting Ms Bhutto's offer of
talks. Regardless of whether the Prime Minister and the principal
opposition leader are capable of behaving in a statesmanlike manner, it
is imperative that they should meet and talk about important national
issues. Mr Sharif must, therefore, give a positive response to the Prime
Minister's letter.
To expect that both would be able to agree on a common set of proposals
for Karachi, or on a common approach to the MQM, would under the
circumstances be too much to expect. Their widely differing perceptions,
as much as their mutual animosity, preclude such a possibility. Even so,
the mere fact that they get together, if only to be photographed smiling
at each other, will be a positive development. It can also hopefully set
a precedent for the future. The tendency of throwing bricks at each
other and adopting a confrontationist stance on every matter has harmed
the political system and also brought both leaders into public
disrepute. It is high time this tendency was checked and new standards
of political behaviour established. Regardless of the agenda, therefore,
a meeting between the Prime Minister and the opposition leader is called
for. Who knows after they have shed some of the loathing that they bear
for each other they might go on to tackle substantive issues.
But it is the situation in Karachi which forms the backdrop to the
current exchange of letters and since this also happens to be the most
important issue confronting the nation, it is on this that their
attention must be focused. Their public positions on this issue are
widely divergent, with Ms Bhutto, as in her recent speech, vowing to
give no quarter to criminal elements and Mr Nawaz Sharif advocating a
policy of conciliation with the MQM leadership. But it is not too far-
fetched to visualise common ground emerging between them if Ms Bhutto
could be persuaded to temper some of her rigidity and Mr Nawaz Sharif
persuaded to tone down some of the demands he has made on behalf of the
MQM. It is clear that the MQM must be brought back into the political
mainstream and its victimisation brought to an end. At the same time,
there is the question of the criminal cases against Mr Altaf Hussain and
his followers not all of which are a figment of the government's
imagination. What is to be done about them? Mr Nawaz Sharif should have
a realistic answer to this question as well. In any event, the important
thing is for them to meet. Once that happens other things can follow.
===================================================================
950406
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Pressure on Pakistan captain
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Special Representative
SHARJAH, April 5: If the pressure on him was not so obviously known to
the world, one could never have guessed it from Moin Khan's manner. The
new captain of Pakistan, only 23, is unafraid to smile, and does not
mind answering prickly queries either.
"My understanding is that this team has been chosen purely on form and I
see no reason to think otherwise," he said, looking relaxed in his hotel
room this morning, when he could have actually been fretting and fuming.
Only the previous night, star all-rounder Wasim Akram had threatened to
pull out of the tour, and before that Pakistan have lost the services of
Salim Malik, Ijaz Ahmed Sr, Basit Ali and Rashid Latif. Most young
players would have forsaken the captaincy to preserve sanity. But Moin
looks and talks tough.
"He will certainly come," he said of Akram, "it's only a minor
misunderstanding which will be resolved." By the end of the day, Moin
had been proved right.
On the other issues, Moin was circumspect, but not silent. "I don't know
whether Malik and a few others were not selected for any reason apart
from cricketing form. If they shape up well, they can make a comeback."
Moin, who had been out of favour for a couple of years, also sees this
appointment as a chance to redeem his career. " If the selectors see me
as a stop-gap captain, it is their prerogative. I know that if I perform
well, then I am here to stay."
He has, of course, a challenging task ahead of him. Pakistan have
never come here under so much pressure. He leads a side shorn of some
key players, and also obviously in turmoil. "But that's the way this
game is played," he states bravely, "Pressure adds to the thrill and
satisfaction. I am convinced that Pakistan will win this Asia Cup."
Most critics are not. Moin Khan's biggest challenge yet begins on
Friday.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
950406
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A welcome gesture by Wasim
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By Our Sports Reporter
KARACHI, April 5: The Pakistan Cricket Board, under its active Chief
Executive known for his diplomatic skills, finally resolved the Wasim
Akram dilemma.
Wasim Akram, had earlier decided to opt out of the Asia Cup after the
PCB informed him that he would not be allowed to share his hotel room
with his wife, although she could otherwise accompany the team. Wasim
had consequently dropped out of the team and hence had not left with the
Pakistani squad.
It was early Wednesday morning that Mr Arif Ali Abbasi, was able to
convince Wasim Akram, the Pakistani speedster, of the need to reverse
his decision in the interest of the country and the team. Pakistan has
to be a forceful side, especially in bowling, if at all it has to at
through the batting line-up of rich-rivals, India, in their match on
Friday.
Wasim, a former captain of the national squad, had to accede to the
request of the board after further talks with Mr Abbasi in Karachi.
He flew on to the Gulf sheikhdom on Wednesday to rejoin the team on
what was the last day for submitting the names of the squad to the
management of the Asia Cup.
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