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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 09 August, 1995 Issue : 01/31
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The DAWN Wire Service (DWS) is a free weekly news-service from
Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, the daily DAWN. DWS
offers news, analysis and features of particular interest to the
Pakistani Community on the Internet.
We encourage comments & suggestions. We can be reached at:
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mail Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Limited
DAWN Group of Newspapers
Haroon House, Karachi 74400, Pakistan
(c) Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan - 1995
CONTENTS
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Karachi
..........Violence claims 62 lives in city
MQM
..........MQM has not set new terms: Dehlavi
..........Most wanted MQM terrorist arrested
..........Altaf warns against launching of new MQM
..........Ajmal explains position on not resuming dialogue
Pressler amendment
..........Perry backs Pakistan stand on arms sale
..........Pressler seeks tougher sanctions
..........Intense lobbying hinders change in Pressler law
..........US govt has hidden facts on M-11s: Post
..........Pakistan suffers setback on Pressler
..........PM brushes aside setback in US senate
..........Brown attempt flop called 'just a pause'
..........Showdown between Democrats, Republicans on bill likely
Agha Hasan Abedi passes away
Salma Tasaddaq passes away
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Poor response forced Japan to levy duty
Stock Exchange : Best gains of the year
Govt to approach WTO over Japanese anti-dumping duty
Rupee weakens
Japan to import quality rice from Pakistan
The Business & Financial Week
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No deadlocks, please A letter from Lahori
Anti-dumping duties Editorial column
Cutting the gordian knot Mazdak
Creeping censorship? Omar Kureishi
Police excesses Editorial column
Islamabad diary : Working with Zia Ayaz Amir
Agha Hasan Abedi Editorial column
The cult syndrome Ardeshir Cowasjee
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Of politics, expediency and prudence A.H. Kardar
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Mushtaq, Majid confirmed as managers
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950804
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Violence claims 62 lives in Karachi
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By Ghulam Hasnain
KARACHI Aug. 3: Twenty five people were killed after being kidnapped on
Thursday as terrorists struck several places in the city with a
vengeance.
Among the dead were a father and his three young children, a sub-
divisional magistrate and his guard, two policemen, a ranger, a lawyer
and scores of innocent people, who according to the police, were victims
of revenge by the MQM in protest against the killing of Farooq Dada and
his three accomplices in an "encounter" on Wednesday morning.
The most ghastly act of terrorism was carried out in Orangi Town where
12 kidnapped people were killed, one by one, in a hijacked minibus some
time early in the morning. The victims who were shot only in the back of
the head had been blind-folded with their hands tied behind their backs.
950805
KARACHI, Aug. 4: A former student activist, a police officer and a naval
personnel were among the eight people killed in Friday, raising the four
day's death toll to 47.
KARACHI, Aug. 5: Nine more people fell victim to the targeted killings
in the city on Saturday, raising the five days death toll to 56.
The rangers and police cordoned parts of Korangi and Federal B-area and
carried out house to-house searches. Reportedly, hundreds of people
were arrested during raids but rangers refused to give the number.
KARACHI, Aug. 6: Twelve more people, including two MQM men and a Haqiqi
worker, were killed in the city on Sunday, raising the month's death
toll to 68.
KARACHI Aug 8: Eight people, including the young son of a PPP leader, an
activist of MQM and a police constable, fell victim to unabated violence
in the city raising the month's death toll to 79.
950806
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MQM has not set new terms: Dehlavi
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FromOur Correspondent
KARACHI, Aug. 5: The MQM chief negotiator, Mr Ajmal Dehlavi, said here
on Saturday that his side had not set new conditions for resuming the
stalled talks and accused the government of deliberately creating new
obstacles.
Demanding immediate removal of the ban on foreign travel by the MQM
negotiating team, Mr Dehlavi contended that the government had made a
"mockery of the negotiations" and was using all sort of pressure tactics
for the resumption of talks.
Mr Ajmal Dehlavi said that by this action the government had tried to
convey the message that if the MQM did not resume talks on the
government's terms and conditions, more stringent measures against the
MQM leaders could not be ruled out. These measures, he added, might
include arrest of the members of negotiating team.
"We don't understand why the government took steps to further aggravate
the climate and put the talks in jeopardy," said Mr Dehlavi. He said
that if Mr Shoaib Bokhari, a member of the MQM who was detained at the
airport from travelling to London to consult with Altaf Hussain, was
wanted in some cases then why wasn't the travelling ban not imposed at
the time of registration of these cases.
"To get this illegal ban removed is the democratic right of the MQM and
it will adopt all democratic means for realising this objective", he
added.
Referring to N. D. Khan's suggestion to send someone else to London for
consultation with Mr Hussain, Mr Dehlavi said: "We are not prepared to
take dictation from anyone about whom we should send to London and what
method should we adopt for communicating and consulting with Mr Altaf
Hussain." We are free to take our own decisions and any member of the
negotiating team could be called to London by Mr Hussain for
consultation, said Mr Dehlavi.
He said the MQM negotiating team needed to consult its leader in London
and it was imperative for the government to remove the ban if it was
really serious in pursuing the process of negotiations.
DWS
950807
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Most wanted MQM terrorist arrested
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FromOur Staff Reporter
KARACHI Aug. 6: According to Police claims, the most sought-after MQM
militant, Fahim Farooqi alias Fahim Commando, was arrested with his
three companions during a raid on a Nazimabad house on late Saturday
night.
The four, they said, were wanted for the killings of inspectors,
policemen, rangers and most notably, the murder of the ex-finance
secretary of MQM, S. M. Tariq. They were also wanted in 15 other cases
of murder, dacoity and sniper firing which were already registered
against them at different police stations.
During initial interrogation the police said, Fahim Farooqi and his
companions told them that they were MQM workers and had "killed people"
at the behest of Altaf Hussains' political secretary, Nadeem Nusrat.
Police found guns and ammunition on all four of the suspects.
DWS
950808
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Altaf warns against launching of new MQM
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FromOur Staff Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Aug. 7: The Benazir government is to launch a "pro-
government" MQM on Aug. 14, exiled MQM leader Altaf Hussain said in a
satellite address to 17 units of his MQM in United States and Canada on
Sunday night. "Some MQM leaders, many arrested workers and others are
being tortured, persuaded, pressured to join this break-away faction,"
he said.
"The Mohajir nation has been degraded and insulted and its women have
been dishonoured," Altaf Hussain said narrating the story of Farzana
Sultan who, he alleged, had been gang-raped in Karachi by PPP workers
and hoodlums.
In Washington, the address was heard by only eight persons, including
the host in the basement of his Alexandria home. A couple of
journalists, who had been invited, walked out when the organisers
stopped them from recording the speech.
He said Mohajirs in Pakistan were being treated "worse than prisoners of
war" and Benazir Bhutto was behaving with them as if "we are a conquered
nation."
The US chief of the MQM, Yunus Suleman, told the multi-city conference
that the MQM had alerted all stations to work against the government
move to create a new breakaway MQM faction. "They are trying to crush
the MQM through state terrorism but the sacrifices and struggle of
Mohajirs will reach its logical end," he said. He said-the journey of
Mohajirs would continue and soon the time to heal and rebuild would
come.
DWS
950809
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Ajmal explains position on not resuming dialogue
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By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Aug 8: The chief MQM negotiator, Ajmal Dehlavi, reiterated on
Tuesday that their only condition for resumption of talks with the
government was that they should be addressed as MQM and not as the Altaf
group.
The following is the text of the letter he addressed to Federal Minister
for Law N.D. Khan, leader of the government negotiating team:
"Zohair Akram Nadeem, a member of the government negotiating team,
contacted us by phone today (Wednesday) and conveyed your message that
we should inform you about our point of view so that the impasse created
in the talks since 3uly 24 could be overcome and the dialogue could
restart. However, it goes without saying that our point of view has been
fully well conveyed to the government as well as the public during the
various rounds of the talks.
"Our only condition to restart the dialogue is, as we have repeatedly
been insisting, that the government should address our party only as MQM
and not by any other name. It should be borne in mind that in all the
joint communique issued after every round of the talks our party was
described as the MQM and not as the Altaf group or any other name. It
is, therefore, our view that the nomenclature of a representative party
that enjoys a popular mandate should in no way be distorted or be
changed and the party ought to be identified by its original name. The
MQM will not accept any change in its nomenclature since we do not
represent any group and our only identity is MQM. If the government is
willing to recognise the MQM only as MQM, then we are ready to fix the
date and place to resume the talks.
"You have been insisting that if the MQM replies to the six points of
the government negotiating team, then you (the government) can address
the MQM as MQM. As to this point, we have made it clear that since the
jurisdiction of the negotiating teams are limited, they should be
contacted only on those points which lie within their jurisdictions and
desist from raising such points and issues as are beyond their
jurisdictions.
"However, the MQM coordination Committee would have replied to these
points if they were addressed to the MQM and if they were within the
jurisdiction of the party. Nonetheless, the MQM has replied to a number
of points, including the points pertaining to the two-nation theory and
confederation, raised by the government. These explanatory replies have
been published in the Press.
"Unfortunately, the government side has also included such issues in its
six points as have nothing to do either with restoration of peace or
with the 18-point charter of demand of the MQM. However, whenever the
government negotiating team will issue its six points to the MQM, they
could be considered and reply could be given.
"We also would like to inform you that on Aug 3 the federal government
imposed a ban on foreign travel by the members of the MQM; negotiating
team, for which no reason was given. The government order came to be
known when Shoaib Bokhari, a member of the MQM negotiating team, who was
proceeding to London to exchange views with MQM chief Altaf Hussain on
the situation arising out of the deadlock in the negotiations, was not
allowed to board the plane at Quaid-i-Azam International Airport,
Karachi. This kind of ban on foreign travel and to prevent the MQM
negotiating team members from exchanging views with their leader is in
complete violation of international norms and principles of political
dialogue.
"This is also to bring to your notice that the federal government had
decided to provide security and protocol to the members of MQM
negotiating team, although we had never demanded this. First, the
protocol was withdrawn, then a ban was imposed on foreign travel and now
it is also learnt that the ministry of interior has asked the government
to order the arrest of Shoaib Bokhari and Tariq Javed, two members of
the MQM negotiating team. Such behaviour on the part of the government
is totally incomprehensible. If the government desists from such
behaviours and gives an undertaken address the MQM only as MQM, then the
deadlock can end and the talks can be resumed."
DWS
950804
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Perry backs Pakistan stand on arms sale
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FromShaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Aug. 3: US Defence Secretary William Perry has strongly
urged Congress to approve the release of blocked military equipment to
Pakistan, arguing that "these items would not disturb the conventional
arms balance in South Asia which overwhelmingly favours India."
Perry wrote a long letter to Senator Strom Thurmond, chairman of the
armed services committee of the Senate on Wednesday, pleading that the
release of the blocked Pakistani equipment was "in no way an effort to
ensure a military supply relationship", but it was "an effort to resolve
issues involving fairness that had become a major irritant in Pak-US
relationship."
The Perry letter was an attempt by the Clinton administration to
persuade the members of the Senate to vote for the Hank Brown amendment
which was to come up for vote in the senate on Thursday.
The defence secretary also gave details of the administration proposal
and clarified a number of points and objections raised by the Pressler
and the Indian lobbies against the proposal.
The total package to be released to Pakistan has a value of 368 million
dollars and not 700 million as had been reported, Perry clarified.
Replying to the Indian charge that the P-3C naval aircraft would create
an imbalance in Indo-Pakistan military power, the defence secretary said
"although the P-3C provide a long range offensive capability, three
aircraft would hardly disturb India's nearly two to one advantage over
Pakistan in naval systems."
Perry said the P-3C aircraft would be no threat to India, they could not
hit long range targets in India, they did not represent a new weapons
system in the region as India had two squadrons of similar maritime
patrol aircraft.
He told the Senate committee leader that the other equipment to be
released to Pakistan, including night vision for Cobra helicopters,
radars for F-16 aircraft's, sidewinder missiles, howitzers, MK-46
torpedoes and 2.75 rocket, was all defensive in nature and posed no
threat to the Indian 2 to 1 advantage in the region. Perry also
confirmed to the Senate that President Clinton was seeking to sell the
F-16 aircraft to a third country and deposit the proceeds in the
Pakistan Trust Fund to reimburse Pakistan.
Perry said the Clinton administration was trying to build up a "stronger
more flexible relationship" with Pakistan which he described as "an
important, moderate Islamic democracy in a troubled region which has
been a long-time friend and has become a major partner in peace-keeping
operations." He said the US ability to work with Pakistan to achieve
non-proliferation goals was eroding and the status quo, unfortunately,
offered few incentives for future co-operation restraint by Pakistan, or
by India, whose nuclear and missile programmes were also of concern to
the United States.
DWS
950805
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Pressler seeks tougher sanctions
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FromOur Staff Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Aug. 4: Senator Larry Pressler, the South Dakota Republican
who is fighting hard to maintain sanctions against arms delivery to
Pakistan, has moved another amendment in the Senate laying down new and
tough conditions for release of these arms.
In association with Senator John Glenn, Pressler is to make his new move
when Senator Hank Brown presents his amendment seeking a one time waiver
for release of equipment worth 370 million dollars to Pakistan.
Under the new amendment, Pressler wants President Clinton to certify
that Pakistan would not use any of the equipment to upgrade any
potential nuclear weapon delivery system and Pakistan would not a share
any equipment with a country which supports international terrorism.
Pressler wants the Government of Pakistan to give "reliable written
assurances" that it would not use American arms for delivery of nuclear
weapons or to support terrorism.
In his latest argument to block delivery of equipment purchased by
Pakistan, Pressler says the F-16 aircraft could be used for delivery of
nuclear weapons and hence no spare parts or support equipment to
maintain these aircraft be handed over to Pakistan. The Pressler move
also forbids the Administration to make up for any loss if F-16 aircraft
are sold to a third party at a price less than what Pakistan had paid.
DWS
950805
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Intense lobbying hinders change in Pressler law
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FromShaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Aug. 4: The Clinton administration on Friday threw its full
weight behind the Republican move in the Senate to change the
controversial Pressler law as intense lobbying continued on the Capitol
Hill for and against the move to release Pakistan's blocked weapons.
"We strongly believe that this proposal strikes the proper balance and
gives us the best chance of achieving our goals of non-proliferation,"
Acting Secretary of State Peter Tarnoff said in a letter sent to the.
Senate Armed Service Committee and other important senators. "I urge
you to provide the President the authority he needs to move forward in
our relationship with this important country, Pakistan," Tarnoff said as
the Indian lobby appeared to be getting desperate and turning its anger
towards the Indian embassy in Washington.
"The fate of the Brown Amendment would be an acid test for the Indian
embassy which is well connected on the Hill," the Hindustan Times
correspondent said in a despatch to his newspaper, as Indian ambassador
Siddharta Ray sent feverish letters to senators to oppose the move.
The latest move from the administration for the Pakistani case came from
Acting Secretary of State, Peter Tarnoff, who sent a letter to Senator
Sam Nunn, the Democratic leader in the Armed Services Committee, stating
the position of the administration on- the issue and asking for strong
support for the Brown Amendment. "The bulk of it is spare parts and
items already in Pakistani inventory, such a Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
It also includes three P-3C Orion anti-submarine aircraft which would
supplement the other planes Pakistan uses to patrol and defend its
coasts. Even after the delivery of this equipment, India would retain
overwhelming conventional military superiority in the region," the
Acting Secretary of State said.
Tarnoff also allayed the fears of senators that the release of the
military equipment would in any way help Iran, "Contrary to a specific
concern that has been raised, release of this equipment would in no way
help Iran," Tarnoff said. "Pakistan and Iran are not strategic allies.
We do not believe that Pakistan has transferred or would transfer
defence equipment or military intelligence to Iran," he pleaded.
He went on to stress that it was "untrue that we have evidence of
Pakistani assistance to Iran's nuclear weapons programme, despite recent
Press reports to the contrary".
He repeated the argument given by Defence Secretary Perry that
Washington's ability to work with Pakistan to achieve non-proliferation
and other policy goals was steadily eroding. The status quo,
unfortunately, offers few incentives for future co-operation or
restraint by Pakistan, or by India, whose nuclear and missile programmes
are also of concern and are the chief impetus for Pakistan's programme,"
Tarnoff said.
The exact wording of Pressler's new amendment was not available but
sources said it was a move to counter the Brown Amendment and a vote
could be held on the second Pressler Amendment before the Brown
Amendment. But the worst fear of Pakistan lobbyists is that the heavy
agenda of the Senate and the 185 amendments proposed in the Defence
Authorisation Bill could delay the Brown Amendment indefinitely,
throwing the matter back by weeks and possibly months.
DWS
950804
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US govt has hidden facts on M-11s: Post
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FromOur Staff Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Aug. 3: The White House had deliberately suppressed the fact
from Congress that China had transferred M-11 missiles to Pakistan in
violation of the MTCR, the Washington Post claimed on Wednesday. The
disclosure came as the Senate was preparing to vote on the crucial Hank
Brown Amendment which would modify the Pressler Amendment and allow
release of military equipment, naval planes and missiles to Pakistan.
"After months and months of bickering about the wording of the report,
the Clinton Administration at the last minute omitted or altered several
sentences that starkly described apparent treaty violations or other bad
behaviour by China..."
Post staff writer R. Jeffrey Smith claimed in an investigative report.
"The changes had the effect of suppressing official confirmation of U.S.
concerns that China may have sold M-11 ballistic missiles to Pakistan,"
the report said. Pakistani officials said it was part of the continued
campaign by the Pressler lobby to defeat the Brown amendment in the
Senate by raising doubts about Pakistan's nuclear and missile
programmes.
The Pakistan Embassy here also denied the Post report. It said "we find
it most regrettable that despite repeated and emphatic denials by the
Government of Pakistan and in the absence of any credible evidence, the
writer continues to peddle the allegation that Pakistan has received the
so called M-11 missiles from China. We would like to reaffirm once
again that Pakistan has not acquired the M-11 or any other missile from
China that violates the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).
Pakistan has advocated the creation of zero missile zone in South Asia
and supports the American efforts to avoid a missile race in the
region."
DWS
950806
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Pakistan suffers setback on Pressler
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FromShaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Aug. 5: Pakistan suffered a major embarrassment in the U.S.
Senate on Friday night when a feeble attempt was made by pro-Pakistan
Senator Hank Brown to push through an amendment which would have
slightly diluted the Pressler sanctions but would have retained the ban
on release of all military equipment to Pakistan.
After a 45 minute helter-skelter debate in which no rules were observed,
the sponsor of the amendment and Republican Party leader Bob Dole beat a
retreat and requested the Chair to set aside the motion as they
described it as a very complicated and a very controversial issue.
Congressional observers said Pakistan had tried to push through its case
on the vehicle of the Defence Authorisation Bill but after having been
thwarted it will have to wait for the Foreign Operations Bill which may
not come up for discussion in the Senate until September. Some even
speculated that the issue may have been killed for good.
The climax to the months long Pakistani effort came not as a bang but as
a whimper. Brown only offered a much watered-down version of what the
Clinton Administration wanted - Congressional permission to release non-
F-16 military equipment worth 370 million dollars - but even that was
unpalatable for angry anti-Pakistan hawks sitting on both sides of the
aisles in the Upper House.
The skipper of the Pakistani team, Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, for whom
the setback was serious which could even cost her job, put up a brave,
fighting face and told Dawn: "This marked the opening salvo in the
battle for ending the Pressler sanctions." "The fact that the opponents
used delaying tactics and did not want a vote shows that they are unsure
of their support. This augurs well for the fight ahead," she said.
Brown's amendment, apparently moved in a confusing situation created as
result of a deadlock in the Senate between Majority leader Bob Dole and
Democratic minority leader Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota, tried to
exclude assistance for Pakistan on anti-narcotics, anti-terrorism,
humanitarian and peacekeeping purposes.
Brown emphasised the non-military aspects of Pakistan-U.S. relations and
said he wanted the Pressler Amendment to exclude these areas of mutual
interest but his opponents, led by South Dakota Senator Larry Pressler,
virtually pounced on a lonely Brown.
Brown found support in only one Senator, Republican Bill Cohen of Maine,
but by that time Bob Dole had made up his mind that the issue was too
controversial and would need a very lengthy debate, delaying the already
delayed Defence Authorisation Bill further, which he could not afford as
60 amendments were already pending to that bill and the Senate was going
into a week-end session.
"There are members that feel very strongly that any compromise on the
shipment of military hardware is inappropriate so I have not chosen to
offer that aspect," Brown said in his opening statement. "All that I
have offered in this amendment is the exact language that came out of
the Foreign relations committee. It passed 16 to 2. We have been assured
by the interested parties. They do not object to it," he said.
But that assurance was misplaced as Brown soon found out. Not only did
the opponents object to his move, they launched a frontal attack with
one Senator demanding that Pakistan return the three billion dollars it
received in aid during 1985 to 1990 because it had lied to the United
States and developed nuclear weapons secretly.
Brown said two things in his amendment were worth emphasising. "This
amendment does not in any way deliver the disputed arms and it does not
in any way repeal the Pressler amendment and its restrictions on
military sales," he said.
"But it does in the economic area try and allow discourse between the
countries that we think is important. OPIC is allowed to operate,
suppression of narcotics is allowed to operate in co-operative
programmes. Efforts to suppress terrorism is allowed to operate with
those programmes. It was considered in depth by the foreign relations
committee and passed by a vote of 16 to 2." Larry Pressler said
Pakistan had supported the amendment in 1985. "This was a compromise put
by the Reagan administration. George Bush was very much involved in it
and Pakistan supported the original so-called Pressler amendment. Now at
that point they began buying planes knowing that they were developing
nuclear weapons while they were telling George Bush just the opposite,"
he said.
The most vicious attack came from Sarbanes who started off by saying
that the Pressler amendment at its time was a special exception for
Pakistan. "The consequence of it was to enable the United States
government to send aid to Pakistan which otherwise would have been
prohibited, since the non-proliferation law said that there is no US aid
to country that delivers or receives nuclear materials or technology
except under IAEA supervision and safeguards."
"What Pakistan did is they accepted this aid and they continued their
nuclear programme anyhow. They in effect flouted our laws, took our
money and then complained when we finally said enough is enough and
President Bush said I can't certify this anymore. Now people come in and
say that this was a terrible unfairness to Pakistan. The unfairness if I
may say so was to the American taxpayers," he attacked.
Carl Levin (D-Michigan) introduced the M-11 issue in the debate and
asked the sponsors of the amendment whether such a delivery would
violate the MTCR and if so whether or not sanctions should then be
applied to Pakistan rather than a resolution such as this?
"We recently had a briefing on this issue (by the CIA). That document is
very clear on this subject," Levin said without disclosing its contents
but he clearly implied that the CIA had shown evidence that M-11s may
have been transferred to Pakistan from China. "It is very important
that the transcript of that briefing be made available to this senate in
a executive session (closed session)," he demanded.
The final blow to the Pakistan effort came when Senator Strom Thurmond,
Chairman of the Armed Services Committee got up and said this amendment
should not have come as part of the Defence Bill which was already
overloaded with amendments.
Bob Dole agreed with Thurmond and observers said it was an indication by
Dole that the issue, which he described as "very controversial" had been
set aside by the Republican leader for some time to come.
DWS
950807
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PM brushes aside setback in US senate
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Bureau Report
LAHORE, Aug. 6: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto indicated in Lahore on
Sunday that she did not attach much importance to the setting aside of
an amendment in the US senate which would have diluted the Pressler
sanctions against Pakistan and that she did not think that the
development meant a failure of Pakistani diplomats in the United States.
The U.S., the prime minister argued, was a sovereign state and no one
should expect that their senators could be influenced or won over. If
somebody believed this was possible, then Pakistan's legislators could
also be won over by others she said.
DWS
950808
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Brown attempt flop called 'just a pause'
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 7: Secretary foreign affairs Najmuddin Sheikh said here
on Monday that the deferment of voting in the US Senate on an amendment
moved by Senator Brown did not pose a setback to the ongoing efforts to
repeal the Pressler Amendment and was "merely a pause caused by the
particular difficulties attending the adoption of legislation in
Congress this year".
In a press briefing, the foreign secretary informed newsmen about the
"intricacies involved in the peculiar law making process of the US". He
emphasised that the present hurdles were not intrinsic to Pakistan-US
relations but that "Pakistan was simply caught in the legal grind".
He said there was a possibility of the Brown Amendment's being voted
upon, if, as expected Senate majority leader Bob Dole may seek to apply
'cloture'. The secretary was confident that the Brown amendment would
easily carry the day if it came down to voting in the house. Earlier, it
had been passed by a vote of 16-2 in the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee.
Cloture is a legislative mechanism by which all amendments or other
proposals in legislation are voted upon without a debate. The cloture,
however, would apply to a large number of other amendments as well on
which no agreement has been reached between the two sides and therefore
its application remains a slim possibility.
The secretary said in the event of the non-application of a cloture
Senator Brown and the American administration "intend moving the
amendment as a whole i.e. both parts through another legislative
vehicle. It is understood that tentative agreements have already been
reached with the concerned legislators on the procedures for this
exercise". He did not divulge the exact nature of this third legislative
vehicle'.
He also insisted that the Brown initiative had been purely that of the
US administration "supported by senators sympathetic to the
administration" and that "Pakistan was only supplementing the efforts".
He, however, praised Senator Brown calling him a staunch friend of
Pakistan.
According to proposals adopted earlier by the House International
Relations Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the
legislators had agreed to seek exemption from the Pressler Amendment to
allow Pakistan with economic assistance, military training, return of
its spare parts without being repaired and a waiver of storage charges
on the equipment purchased but never delivered to Pakistan.
To another question he said India was involved in hectic campaigning
against the lifting of the highly unfair Pressler amendment but "India's
facts weren't holding water". He pointed out to the letters sent out by
the US Defence Secretary William Perry confirming that the awarding of
exemptions would not effect the military superiority enjoyed by India
over Pakistan.
The defence secretary, he said, had also highlighted the fact that while
Pakistan had not made any substantive military purchases in the last
five years, the Indian authorities in the meanwhile had been constantly
beefing up their military prowess.
Mr Sheikh also drew attention towards Indian defence minister
Mukharjee's recent statement regarding India's intended purchase of
armaments worth Rs 4.2 billion. He said Pakistan was doing "the maximum"
to negate the Indian propaganda.
Responding to other questions, he said that if the amendment was voted
in on the basis of being moved under Cloture then there would be the
House approved version which does not include equipment. The next step
would then be for the representatives of both Houses to reconcile the
two versions.
Conceding the complexities of the American legislative process, he
reiterated Pakistan's firm belief of eventually carrying the day.
"The overwhelming majority of legislators believe that this
inequitable position cannot be maintained," he said.
DWS
950808
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Showdown between Democrats, Republicans on bill likely
-------------------------------------------------------------------
FromShaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Aug. 7: Pakistani strategists and their supporters on the
Capitol Hill were waiting with their fingers crossed on Monday after
their abortive bid late Friday night to get an innocent-looking
amendment through the Senate in a huff - an amendment which would only
have lifted economic sanctions against Pakistan and kept the ban on
military deliveries.
Pakistani diplomats were tight lipped, but Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi was
quoted by Washington Times as saying: "This is an acid test on the
future of U.S.-Pakistan relations," and "the Indians have no business
trying to determine what U.S. policy should be towards Pakistan."
What looks apparent is that the Defence Authorisation Bill, which was
used by Senator Hank Brown to move his Amendment to dilute the Pressler
sanctions, is now heading for a major showdown between the Republicans
and the Democrats, with the latter trying to filibuster and delay the
bill as provisions like scrapping the ABM Treaty had been added to it.
Some 60 amendments to the bill most of them moved by Democrats, are
pending, and the Senate is already late for its August recess. So Bob
Dole, the Republican Party leader, is now considering to use his
majority and force a "cloture" -which means termination of all debate on
a bill and immediate start of voting on all pending amendments or
passage of the bill.
To get a cloture also needs a two third majority, and whether Dole would
be able to get so many Republicans and Democrats a big question, but
that is the only hope Pakistanis now have to get the Brown amendment
voted upon, if it was to pass in the present prefaces Senate sitting.
But even if the Brown Amendment was passed with the Defence Bill, as it
stands today, President Clinton is saying he will veto it because of the
ABM issue and that would again make the Pakistanis a casualty in the
crossfire.
If no cloture was forced, the Brown Amendment would have died its own
death, and Pakistan will have to re-start the Congressional process all
over again, and the indications are that this time they would try to
attach their amendment not with an "Authorisation Bill" but with an
"Appropriation Bill".
The difference is that all appropriation bills have to be passed by the
Congress before October 1 otherwise the government would have no money
to spend. But to get the amendment into an appropriation bill, the
procedure of first getting it through a Congressional Committee will
have to be adopted.
The problem Pakistanis have is that the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee did pass an Amendment by 16-2 votes, but that amendment only
dealt with issues which are of concern to the American businessmen and
investors. It did not say anything about Pakistan's blocked F-16s or the
other equipment.
This was exactly what Hank Brown moved in the Senate on Friday night,
and almost everybody was surprised because the Pakistanis, as well as
Larry Pressler and his bunch of supporters, were expecting that Brown
would ask for delivery of weapons to Pakistan.
This element of surprise went against Pakistani interests as even such
an innocuous change in the existing situation was strongly objected to
and almost talked out, with Bob Dole himself seeking to set this "very
controversial and complicated issue" aside.
Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi told the Washington Times. "We see this as an
effort to rectify an inequitable situation. It is unfair to hold both
the money and the equipment."
But Washington Times began its "Embassy Row" column with the
observation: "Pakistan's Ambassador has been irritated by the Indian
Embassy's lobbying against a Congressional move that could release some
weapons and refund millions of dollars that have been frozen for five
years."
Pakistanis realise that it was "now or never" type of a situation
because the Clinton Administration is firmly backing them, and if the
matter was delayed for a few months, until the Presidential race began
in February, the whole issue may have to be shelved until after the
Presidential election.
The silver lining is that Larry Pressler would also not be in the
Senate, unless he was re-elected, but many say he would be replaced by
other hawks. In fact, he has already been replaced by hawks like Paul
Sarbanes who is now looking like the replacement of Stephen Solarz and
John Glenn, the astronaut who is against Pakistan because at some point
in history General Zia-ul-Haq "lied to him about the nuclear programme".
=
Glenn does not realise that he was not the only one General Zia lied to,
but 120 Pakistanis were also with him, an observer said.
DWS
950806
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Agha Hasan Abedi passes away
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By H. A. Hamied
KARACHI, Aug. 5: Agha Hasan Abedi, the founder of the collapsed BCCI,
died on Saturday at Agha Khan University Hospital. Mr Abedi was
suffering from multiple ailments, including brain trauma which he
suffered in February, 1988 after a heart attack. He died of a cardiac
arrest.
Agha Hasan Abedi became an international figure in banking when the BCCI
he had founded on Sept. 21,1972, collapsed on July 29, 1991, with
serious monetary ramifications all over the world. The bank collapsed
when Mr Abedi was no longer associated with its operations. After the
collapse of the BCCI, the US authorities wanted him for investigations
but the Nawaz Sharif government declined to extradite him to face
charges in America.
Mr Abedi founded the BCCI with Bank of America NT&SA as one of the major
share-holders and became BCCI's first president. In addition to being a
member of the board of directors, he was a director of BCCI Holdings
(Luxembourg) SA.
Agha Hasan Abedi was born on May 14, 1922 in Lucknow, India and was
educated at the University of Lucknow from where he got his MA in
English Literature and LLB degrees. After completing his education, Mr
Abedi started his career in banking in 1946 with Habib Bank in India, as
a senior selective service officer. During his 12 years with that bank
he held several managerial positions and then as executive responsible
for business development at the head office.
In 1959 he founded United Bank in Pakistan and became its first general
manager in addition to being a director. He was later designated as
president and managing director. He was finally elected chairman of the
board while at the same time holding office of the president.
DWS
950808
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Salma Tasaddaq passes away
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
LAHORE, Aug. 7: Begum Salma Tasaddaq Husain, the well-known political
and social worker, died in a Lahore hospital on Monday after a
protracted illness. She was over 80 and suffered from kidney and gall-
bladder failure.
Begum Tasaddaq started her political career before partition and
contested and won her first election in 1946. She was for a time deputy
minister. She was an active member of the Pakistan Muslim League
throughout her life. Gen. Zia-ul-Haq had nominated her to his Majlis-i-
Shoora. Begum Tassaduq also started several projects to help widows and
the destitute and opened technical schools for girls.
=========================================
=========================================
950804
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Poor response forced Japan to levy duty
-------------------------------------------------------------------
FromIhtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 3: The 9.9% anti-dumping duty imposed by Japan on
Pakistan which will come into effect from Friday is said to have been
levied when the former was left with no option after most of the
Pakistani textile mills had failed to respond to queries from Japanese
trade ministry as well as other trade bodies.
The sources said that only eight of the textile companies have been
exempted from anti-dumping duty and the reasons were that they returned
duly filled timely questionnaire circulated to all the major textile
mills in Pakistan. Seven other mills have reportedly been identified for
levying marginal anti-dumping duty. 'And now these eight companies will
benefit in a big way exporting huge yarn to Japan.' said a source.
Pakistan has earlier successfully escaped anti-dumping duties from some
countries including Mexico, Australia and South Africa. And only Japan
and Taiwan were threatening to levy this duty. Now it is to be seen what
happens in the case of Taiwan, though a Pakistan delegation had also
visited that country and tried to convince their authorities not to
impose this harsh duty.
Pakistan's share of Japanese cotton yarn is estimated to be around $400
million which will be affected by the decision of the anti-dumping duty.
The duty is for five years and would be reviewed at the end of each
year.
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is said have decided to written a letter
to her Japanese counterpart requesting him to revise the decision of
anti-dumping duty. Nevertheless sources said that it was too late to
have the decision reversed and that there was no question of revising it
at least for one year.
DWS
950805
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Stock Exchange : Best gains of the year
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mohammad Aslam
STOCKS showed one of the best gains of the year during the last week as
both the institutional traders and the foreign buyers made massive
covering purchases on selected counters lifting prices substantially
higher from the current lower levels.
However, the rally appeared to have been intercepted halfway as reports
of fresh incidents of violence at the fag-end of the week might not
allow the extension of the current bull-run when the trading resumes
next week.
Investors who did come out of their shells after the advent of the
foreign support are terrified and might hasten to move out of the market
to cash in on the available margin of profits during the next week.
The market appeared to be well set to achieve the 2,200 point mark for
the index but the violence has raised doubts in many minds about the
direction of the market.
"Whether the market could sustain the current bull run or not could be
known on Sunday next when the trading resumes after two official
closures despite hopes of resumption of peace talks between the MQM and
the official teams sometime next week", said an analyst.
The KSE 100 share index after attaining the peak level of well over
1,800 point: on Wednesday again dived to 1801.71 as compared to 1,724.18
a week earlier.
However, in early week trading, the market set new single session
records in many sector and massive activities in most of the current
favourites and low-priced issues was the hallmark of trading.
Nobody could think of a bullrun, propelled, of course, by the foreign
fund managers and the consequent price flare-up amid massive activities
in low-prices shares, notably Faysal Bank, ALICO, Dhan Fibre, Ibrahim
Fibre, Hub-Power, Paramount Leasing and some others.
Even some of the over-valued shares including some MNCS were also
actively traded irrespective of their higher levels and rose sharply
under the lead of Fauji Fertiliser, Dewman Salman, Engro Chemicals and
others.
"The buying euphoria is reminiscent of early last year's boom conditions
and one hopes this tempo of recovery could be sustained in the coming
sessions others", said a leading broker.
"There was a virtual scramble for bank and cement shares and investors
know from the support is originating", another said. Analysts said the
market might not be out of woods, but a strong foundation for a
sustained recovery seemed to have been laid down after a long bearish
spell.
However, it was the worst slump the like of which the market has never
witnessed before even in the most pressing conditions, which eroded the
value of investors money to a minimum possible bottom line.
"The bulk of the support originated from the financial institutions ably
assisted by some of the foreign Fund managers", dealers said. The lead
was actively followed by both the jobbers and the bargain-hunters,
creating a boom conditions on all the counters including ailing textile
ones.
"The current snap rally might not be deceptive as it is based on some of
the positive fact and might not leave investors alone in case of a
retreat by some", dealers said.
The market advance was led by the bank and cement shares, which
virtually raced toward their pre-reaction levels on sustained support at
the attractively lower levels.
Although they rose in unison, top gainers among them were A1-Faysal
Bank, Askari Bank, Bank of Punjab, Fidelity, PICIC, Javed Omer and
Security Bank followed by Cherat, Dadabhoy, ESSA and Pioneer Cement.
Barring Adamjee Insurance, insurance shares rose sharply under the lead
of ALICO, and Dadabhoy Insurance, which spurted by Rs. 25.00 Modaraba,
leasing shares and ICP Mutual funds also rose but modestly as buying
support failed to gather momentum owing to negative reports about
interim earnings.
Textiles, though facing a number of problems came in for strong support
by a section of dealers as leading among them rose sharply under the
lead of Sana Industries, Gadoon Textiles and Olympia Spinning .
Synthetic shares were massively traded under the lead of low-priced
notable among them, Dhan Fibre and Ibrahim Fibre. Leading among them
including Pakistan Synthetics.
Energy and auto shares also followed the general trend but gains were
modest in most cases owing to selective buying. Ebrahim Energy, PSO,
National Refinery and TriStar Power managed to put on good gains and so
did National Motors, Pak-Suzuki, Hino-Pak Motors, and blue chips such as
Pakistan Elektron, PIAC, Lever Brothers, Murree Brewery on other
counters.
Most of the MNCs in the chemical sector showed good gains under the lead
of ICI Pakistan, Dawood Hercules, Engro Chemicals, Pak Gum, Fauji
Fertilisers, which was massively trade, turning out over a million
shares, up Rs. 2.00, Highnoon Lab and Searle Pakistan. '
Trading volume soared to well over 100 million shares from the last
week's 56 million shares thanks to massive activities in some of the
current favourites.
Bulk of the support remained confined to Faysal Bank, Dhan Fibre,
Ibrahim Fibre, Hub-Power, PTC vouchers, and ALICO, which turned out
volume of one million to four million shares daily.
Other actively traded shares were led by LTV Modaraba, Dewan Salman,
Paramount Leasing, Askari Bank, Pioneer, Lucky and Maple Leaf Cement.
But Maple Leaf Cement was traded lower after news of selling of shares
worth $15.2 million to two Danish companies and the International
Finance Corporation (IFC) to raise foreign equity for the expansion
programme. The management plans to raise the current production capacity
by 3,300 tons daily.
DWS
950808
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Govt to approach WTO over Japanese anti-dumping duty
-------------------------------------------------------------------
FromM. Ziauddin
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 7: The government has decided to approach the Geneva-
based Committee on anti-dumping Practices for conciliation with Japan
which has imposed 9.9 percent anti-dumping duty on Pakistan's 20-21
count yarn exports.
The summary approved by the ECC at its meeting held here on Monday has
proposed that, meanwhile the ministry of commerce would endeavour to
accelerate the process for the determination of the status of new
entrants who would be entitled to export yarn without levy of duty;
exporting firms on their part would try to export of yarn of counts
below/higher than 20-21 counts; the exporting firms may consider to
channelise their exports through eight cleared firms and, ministry would
provide all supportive measures to improve marketing of value-added
products like towels, hosiery and bedsheets in the Japanese and other
quota free markets to mitigate the yarn market loss.
The proposal to channelise the yarn export of firms being punished,
through the eight cleared firms is a blind one because so far the
government has no firm information if the Japanese government would
allow this, and even if it did, would there be a limit on how much
additional yarn each of these eight firms would be permitted to export.
And finally the suggestion that exporting firms on their part would try
to export yarn of counts below/higher than 20-21 counts is of little
value because of the total export of yarn to Japan amounting to 363
million dollars, the export of non-20-21 count fetched no more than 40
million dollars last year.
The commerce ministry has passed the entire blame for the unfortunate
development on the Japanese Minister of International Trade and Industry
(MITI). Sources said that this is evidenced by the fact that the MITI
minister who declined to hold ministerial level talks to avoid any
pressure for a compromise solution made it a point to announce the
decision of imposition duty in a Press conference.
According to APTMA, a dramatic surge in the prices of cotton yarn in the
period of 1994-95 by 50% to 80% created an impression in the mind of the
exporting firms that due to the changed circumstances, which had removed
dumping margin if any, the Japanese authorities would not pursue the
anti-dumping investigations. Japanese investigating team at the
investigation stage did not raise any specific objection to the sample
survey, tacit approval on sample survey by the Japanese authorities was
assumed by APTMA.
During the first round of negotiations on the findings of the
investigations with the Japanese authorities in May 1995, the Commerce
Minister in a letter addressed to the Japanese Ministers for Foreign
Affairs, MITI and Finance proposed that a constructive remedy may be
found through negotiations which could help both the Japanese spinning
industry and the Pakistani exporters instead of focusing on the
imposition of duty margins. This point of view was not accepted by the
Japanese authorities.
Later on, it was suggested by the Advisor to the Prime Minister on
Finance and Economic Affairs to the Japanese Charge de Affairs in
Islamabad that the Japanese authorities may receive a Special Envoy of
the Prime Minister or the Commerce Minister to resolve the issue. This
proposal was not accepted by the Japanese authorities. Later on it was
also suggested that the Japanese authorities may defer consideration on
the issue of anti-dumping in the cabinet meeting to be held on August 1,
1995 and another round of consultations may be held at a senior level
i.e. between the Commerce Secretaries of the two countries. This
proposal was also not accepted by the Japanese authorities.
As the political efforts at the level of commerce ministry failed, the
government was left with no option except to make a demarche to the
Japanese authorities on July 31, 1995.
Refusal by the Japanese authorities to accept any proposal to find a
constructive remedy as provided under Tokyo Round anti-dumping Code is
being viewed by the Government of Pakistan as indicative of the fact
that the Japanese authorities had taken a political decision to impose
anti-dumping duty to please the local spinning industry.
In the last two years, Pakistan has successfully defended the dumping
charge levelled by Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Chile etc. on the
export of yarn. Charge of dumping by South Africa on the export of
headline has also been successfully defended. Similarly New Zealand has
also dropped its investigations on the charge of dumping of export of
leather jackets.
DWS
950809
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Rupee weakens
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Our Commerce Reporter
KARACHI, Aug 8: After ruling fairly stable for the last three weeks, the
rupee on Tuesday again weakened against the US currency as its parity
rate was refixed lower by six y to a dollar.
The official spot buying and selling rates were, therefore, quoted at Rs
31.25 and Rs 31.46 respectively.
On the open market, when the rupee has been gaining strength after
hitting the low of Rs 32.70 and 32.73 for buying and selling some days
back, a8ain lost a substantial ground as it jumped up by Five paisa from
the overnight rate of 32.33 ,32.36 to 32.42 and Rs 32.45 respectively.
The central bank official did not give any reason for downward
adjustment but some analysts said 'it a technical adjustment and in no
way reflects the weakness of the rupee.'
After the national budget in June, the rupee has lost 28 paisa against
the dollars in a series of downward revisions, they added. The export
target of $9.2 billion will need a major surgery as far as the value to
the rupee is concerned,' they added.
DWS
950809
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan to import quality rice from Pakistan
-------------------------------------------------------------------
FromIhtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD. Aug 8: Japan will import 7,80,000 tons of quality rice from
five countries including Pakistan during the next three years.
Informed sources said here on Tuesday that the Japanese government has
contacted the United States, Pakistan, Australia Thailand, China and
Uruguay for procuring huge quantity of quality rice.
As a first step, two thousand tons of rice has been imported from each
of the six countries, purpose of which is to dateline the quality of the
commodity. So far Japan has received high quality of rice from these
countries.
Japanese government, it is said, would encourage importers from six
countries to arrange food festivals in Tokyo, Osaka and other big cities
with the help of their respective foreign missions in Tokyo with a view
to familiar their products.
Pakistan has particularly been requested to arrange these food festivals
in Japan because of its good quality of rice.
Sources said that as many as 384 rice exporting companies of the six
countries have sent their samples of rice to Japan, keeping in view the
interest of Tokyo to import huge quantity of quality rice there.
DWS
950805
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Business & Financial Week
-------------------------------------------------------------------
~The Japanese government said recently that it would impose antidumping
tariffs of up to 9.9 per cent on Pakistani-made cotton yarn for five
years, up to the year 2000.
~Pakistan is to challenge Japanese anti-dumping penalties in the World
Trade Organisation, saying Tokyo's import taxes could cut its crucial
cotton yarn exports.
~According to a DAWN survey, an abrupt rise in the prices of pulses and
vegetables pushed up the average prices of 25 food items by 2.44 per
cent during July 1995.
~The leader of the visiting Australian parliamentary delegation,
Geoffrey Connard, said in Karachi that Pakistan and Australia should
have joint partnership and co-operation in the field of foodgrain
production and cattle farming.
~The Secretary, Board of Investment, Syed Mohibullah Shah, has said that
the government was constituting committees of investment which will work
in all four provinces under the umbrella of the Board of Investment.
~The FPCC&I will organise an exhibition on the occasion of the seventh
conference of the G-77 chamber of Commerce & Industry at Lahore from
November 6-8, 1995.
~Paper merchants have decided not to submit their income tax returns
this year as a protest against the requirement to append certain details
along with the returns under the self-assessment scheme.
~A delegation of the IMF arrived at Kiev (Ukraine) on Monday to discuss
awarding a new loan tranche of $350 million to the former Soviet
republic.
~The Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) has granted a three
month extension to five companies on double performance guarantees as
envisaged in the Policy Framework Package of Incentives for private
power generation.
~The National Investment Trust (NIT) recently announced a cash dividend
of Rs 2.35 per unit for fiscal 1994-95, an all-time record despite
terribly depressed stock market conditions.
~The banking committee of the of Chamber of Commerce and Industry is to
take up with the State Bank of Pakistan the issue of margins and options
trading by banking institutions.
~The Sindh Coal Authority (SCA) is actively co-operating with the
concerned agencies for the development of infrastructural facilities in
the Thar area to facilitate the setting up of Coal-fired power plants in
the area.
~The National Investment Trust (NIT) will soon launch the first
Pakistani Unit Trust Fund in collaboration with the Geneva-based Darul
Mall Islami and the Hong Kong based Regional Pacific group.
~The export of sugar from Port Qasim has been halted forthwith following
the seizure of over 726 tonnes of sugar by the Port Qasim Collectorate
of Customs.
~A large US power conglomerate recently threatened to scrap plans to
invest nearly $ 1.5 billion in India because of delays in acquiring
federal approvals. The concern is CMS energy company of Dearborn,
Michigan, USA.
~The Occidental International Exploration and Production Company of the
USA will invest $17 million during 1995-96 in oil and gas exploration
activity in Pakistan.
~Stock and bond prices in the US fell recently after a government report
indicated that the economy was weak.
~Dubai=92s total value of non-oil exports to Asian countries (excluding
the Arab countries) was DH 1.66 billion, 50.6 per cent of the Emirate's
total value of non-oil exports.
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=========================================
=========================================
950805
-------------------------------------------------------------------
No deadlocks, please
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A letter from Lahori
I HAVE been loaded with letters over the last few weeks, all of them
>from Karachi. I am grateful to all correspondents although I know I
don't deserve half the praise they have wasted on me.
Since Karachi is our problem No. 1, let me begin with any correspondents
(who are my eyes and ears) who have dealt with this issue. In a lengthy
letter, a gentleman who would rather like to remain anonymous, says:
"... Neither Altaf Husain nor Benazir Bhutto will be hurt if the talks
(between the government and the MQM) fail. We, the people of Karachi,
will be hurt. Failure of these talks is not acceptable to us. The talks
must succeed at all cost because no cost is higher than the cost of a
single human life.... For the talks to succeed, they must be monitored
by neutral observers ... in order to preclude the possibility of one
side blaming the other for the failure of the dialogue. These neutral
observers could be any or all of the following men of integrity: Hakim
Mohammad Said, Abdus Sattar Edhi, Justice (retd) Dorab Patel, Mr Ansar
Burney, Mr. Ardeshir Cowasji, Nazim Haji, Justice (retd) Channa and Mr
Jamiluddin Aali. There are many others." I would include the name of
Prof. Karrar Husain, if his health permits it, that is.
"... This is an appeal to both: Altaf Hussain and Benazir Bhutto to
please sit across the negotiating table in public interest. We have lost
faith. The government ... must establish its credibility by taking the
following measures:
"1. It must prove that it is fair in dealing with all political parties.
It must clearly denounce the allegations that it is supporting the
Haqiqi group or other groups to get even with its political opponents.
"2. (Chief minister) Abdullah Shah must open his coconuts for public
scrutiny. Many of us believe that the opposition is being constantly
harassed and false criminal cases are being constantly filed against
opponents ... Abdullah Shah must prove us wrong.
"3. The government must ensure that the conduct of its security agencies
is above board. It must prove that these agencies are not involved in
clandestine operations and in supplying ammunition to the outlaws.
"As the head of the most popular party in Karachi, Altaf Hussain should
have no problem in doing the following.
"1. He must denounce terrorist activities.
"2. He must clarify that his party is not fascistic in its approach and
that it welcomes dissent from its followers. A lot of people in Karachi
honestly believe that the MQM represents them. It must honour faith they
have reposed in it..
"3. He must make it clear once and for all that the MQM is not against
non-Mohajirs and that it stands for national integrity.
"Only for national when the above has been done by Benazir Bhutto and
Altaf Hussain, will the common man's faith be restored (in them) and he
will be convinced that he is not being manipulated in a grand scheme
designed to make petty political gains at the cost of thousands of
lives.
"The objectives for which we (the people) are fighting after are:
"1. We are for peace. We want all ethnic groups to live peacefully with
each other in Pakistan. We want Pakistan to have peaceful relations with
all its neighbours. We have no enemy except internal insecurity.
"2. We are for a fair society in which the rule of law is established.
"3. We are for controlled population growth and a population that is
fully accounted for. With unaccounted people and unaccounted for guns,
chaos is an inevitable consequence.
"4. We are for autonomy for small regions. Let the people decide what
they want.
"5. We are for education. More money should be spent on education than
on defence because ultimately, only education is the greatest defence.
"6. We are for meritocracy. All jobs should he awarded on merit. Hiring
incompetent people is responsible for the clumsy performance of
government agencies.
"7. We are for transparency in all government polices.
"8. We are for a gun-free society."
Laudable objectives, all these, everyone will agree, I am sure, and well
worth fighting for.
I appear to have misplaced a few more letters on Karachi. I hope to
trace them soon. In the meanwhile, to relieve the all-pervasive gloom
in your lives and mine, here are a few nuggets from Mr Adam Kakaj from
Karachi.
"The Prime Minister wanted to test the ability of her senior
parliamentarians in spoken English. She asked them to translate the
following sentence into English Ek kunwari ladki nichay khadi heh. One
of them promptly replied: "Misunderstanding." That is how this MNA from
Karachi became our popular law minister.
"Question: When people get disgusted, they say 'Go to hell' what do the
people in hell say? Answer 'Go to Karachi'.
"There was an obstinate jiyala who only believed in the Party and the
Bhutto name. However, on his deathbed, he called Ejazul Haq and Mahnaz
Rafi and requested them to make him a member of the PML(N). The two were
surprised and asked him why this change of heart when they knew him to
be a die-hard Pipliya. He replied that he was joining the PML(N) because
after his death, there would be one leaguer less for the PM to bother
about.
"And so, Lahori Mian, it is another day but we have the same kind of
news." Not entirely, Kakaj Sahib. It may be the same kind of news but it
is getting grimmer and grimmer by the day.
DWS
950805
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Anti-dumping duties
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fromthe editorial column
THAT Japan and Taiwan have clamped anti-dumping duties on Pakistani
cotton yarn is a matter of great concern and of far reaching import is
beyond any shadow of doubt. It is so especially at a time when Pakistan
has fixed a high target of export, and cotton yarn has emerged as the
highest exchange earner. In Japan, the punitive duty which ranges
between 2.1 and 9.9 per cent was due to have come into effect on Aug. 4.
In Taiwan, it ranges between 1.4 and' 5.6 per cent and will be enforced
on Aug. 15 if APTMA's plea at a hearing on that day fails to persuade
Taipei otherwise. In both the countries the lower counts up to 40 are
covered by the punitive action and these counts constitute over 90
percent of the total export of yarn. Japan had initiated action against
all the exporting 268 mills, of which 17 contested the action and only
eight could successfully defend themselves, while nine are subjected to
less than 8 per cent of punitive duty. All others will pay the maximum
(9.9 per cent).
The cause of action - exporting yarn below the cost price - arose in
both Japan and Taiwan in 1994 when Pakistani spinners were complaining
of a serious crisis because of high prices of domestic cotton while
local users of yarn had experienced acute shortage and exorbitantly high
prices of this commodity. It appears strange that at that very time both
Japanese and Taiwanese yarn manufacturers felt hurt by the import of
low-price Pakistani yarn. China and South Korea are said to have similar
complaints under consideration now. Earlier, several other countries,
including Turkey, had made accusations of dumping although on friendly
considerations refrained from pursuing the matter. In the case of Japan,
whose punitive action would last five years subject to annual review,
the Pakistan government is alleged by spinners not to have taken up the
issue at a political level and allowed the matter to drift. Pakistan, it
seems, will now appeal against the Japanese action to the World Trade
Organisation (WTO). With Taipei, Islamabad has no diplomatic relations;
it is also not a member of the WTO. Pakistan was, therefore, officially
unrepresented in the anti-dumping proceedings in Taiwan. For these very
reasons, it may not be able to approach the WTO, in which case the
decision of Taiwan would be final.
Since yarn is a fiercely competitive commodity, the punitive duty would
greatly hurt our exports and may shut Pakistan out of the two most
lucrative and large markets. The government must find ways of getting
over this crisis situation and use all avenues to get the decisions
annulled. As invariably happens, economic interests and business
rivalries prompt people to exaggerate effects of happenings. Since 1994
was a difficult year for the textile industry the world over, yarn
imports from Pakistan must have pinched the Japanese and Taiwanese
manufacturers more actually than in a normal year. Hence they might have
brought strong pressure on the authorities of their countries. A
counter-pressure of sweet persuasion and Japanese yarn users' lobby need
to be mobilised. Towel and hosiery are said to be the sector of the
Japanese textile industry hardest hit by the penal action. Its support
needs to be enlisted.
The APTMA, being the representative organisation of the spinners, must
also do a bit of heart-searching. It needs to explain why of the 268
mills served with notices, only 17 responded to the Japanese queries and
joined the proceedings and how it is that so many countries levelled
accusations of dumping against them, and domestic users complained of
shortages and exorbitant prices of yarn at the same time. Similar
situations had arisen earlier also and these seem to fall into a general
pattern. The APTMA should evolve some formula whereby cut-throat
competition among spinners is constrained. Meanwhile, Pakistani
exporters of towels and hosiery products should explore possibilities of
increasing their exports if the Japanese manufacturers really feel
outpaced in their domestic market.
DWS
950805
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Cutting the gordian knot
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Mazdak
WHILE the Karachi killings have hogged the limelight recently, the rest
of the country is also in the grip of increasing violence. Murders,
armed robberies and gratuitous violence have become commonplace, often
relegated to the inside pages of our newspapers.
What is behind this tidal wave of mayhem, and what needs to be done to
halt it? Clearly, the authority of-and respect for-the state is at its
lowest ebb, and its organs no longer have much deterrent force in
imposing their writ. Thus, gangs and individuals roam the land.
Kalashnikov in one hand and crackpot agenda and/or greedy fingers in the
other. Criminals break into homes with impunity, confident in the
knowledge that they will not get caught, and even if they do, our legal
system will probably let them off on bail. Today, hundreds of armed and
dangerous crooks are running around free with dozens of cases registered
against each of them. Some of them are even sitting in our assemblies.
The causes behind this steep rise in violence have been discussed in
these columns and elsewhere ad nauseam. But how to check this nation
wide mayhem? J.A., a quiet, serious civil servant, has very clear ideas
on the subject. According to him, district officers have virtually
abdicated their law and order responsibilities: they hardly ever go into
the field and seldom make personal visits to police stations and areas
under their charge. Thus, our commissioners, deputy commissioners and
senior police officers are cut off from the lower echelons of the police
force who actually come into contact with the public, and who enforce
the law on the streets. When J.A. was commissioner of Gujranwalla
Division, he made a point of visiting the remotest police stations
without advance warning or escort. He would sit with the SHQ and go
through the record, as well as talk to the people of the area. He was
frequently told that the areas and people he was visiting had not seen a
commissioner since the British left. Soon, the crime rate dropped, and
the entire police force became more effective. The personal example set
by J.A. encouraged his subordinate officers to become more active and
spend more time in the field than they ever had before.
But soon, the inevitable happened and J A. was transferred: in the
process of invigorating the administration and transforming his
division's law and order situation, he had challenged the inertia of the
local officers and caused them intense discomfort. They complained to
the chief secretary and the chief minister that the manner and pace of
their commissioner was abnormal, and very soon, J.A. was cooling his
heels in the Punjab Secretariat.
The point J.A. stressed repeatedly was that while looking at the chaos
and violence in Karachi, we must distinguish between the political tug
of war and the administrative failure. Political and ethnic dissent
often tests its strength by disrupting public order and security. State
authority must stay firm in its primary mandate of ensuring the safety
of life and property, and not allow failures on this count to become the
starting post for political dialogue and democratic accommodation. In
short, it must not let itself be blackmailed, with the public being held
to ransom.
The administrative failure in Karachi is the direct outcome of the
abdication of their field responsibilities by senior officers
responsible for law and order. By not visiting their areas of
jurisdiction, they are out of touch with ground realities, relying
instead on verbal and written reports from junior officials. DCs, SPs
and their superiors have gradually become pen-pushing bureaucrats
instead of active field officers who know their areas like the back of
their hands. This detachment of senior officers from the field has led
to the concentration of power in the hands of subordinates who often
report directly to the top echelon, bypassing their direct superiors,
thus isolating them further from reality.
J.A.'s prescription for Karachi is fairly straightforward: give him a
month there as commissioner without any interference, and he guarantees
that after this period, there will be no random epidemic violence. When
I pointed out that there was a world of difference between a largely
rural division in Punjab and the complex situation in Karachi, he
remained adamant: "It is basically a matter of first restoring the law
and order situation. I have no answers to the 'political problems-
ultimately, these have to be sorted out by the politicians. But I will
ensure that there is no blood on the streets of Karachi."
And what will he do about the untrained and unmotivated police force in
Karachi? "Training is a medium term process and should ideally be
continuous. But motivation comes from success, as well as the knowledge
that the boss is on the spot, sharing the risks the cop on the beat
accepts. Files and meetings can wait, the killings have to stop first,
and to do that, I would make sure that my subordinates spend most of
their time in their areas instead of their offices. But my second
condition would be that I should be allowed to pick my DIG."
What would he do with the Rangers? J.A. is of the view that they should
function as a reserve force to back up the police when necessary. Law
and order is a police function, and the force should not become
dependent on an outside agency to do their work. But the Rangers would
only move when I tell them to, and not on the orders of a general or a
minister. The chain of command has to be absolutely clear If I am
responsible for restoring law and order, I would have to have full
powers within the law."
J.A.'s proposals are so simple that they seem revolutionary. But having
tried just about everything else, how about giving him a month?
DWS
950806
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Creeping censorship?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Omar Kureishi
WHEN Richard Attenborough's film Gandhi was released, it created quite a
predictable furore in this country and there was an equally predictable
demand that a film on the Quaid-i-Azam be made. This seemed to be a
knee-jerk reaction, for in theory, and as a matter of legality, there
were no prints of the film in the country.
I wrote a column on this intriguing fact and pointed out: "this is
evident from a news item that the authorities are sending for a
videocassette of the film from London so that it can be viewed by the
concerned custodians of our well-being with the purpose, presumably, of
determining whether it should be shown here or whatever." I pointed out
that a classic was a book that anyone could discuss without having read
it and something similar was happening with the film Gandhi.
The reality was something else and I wrote: "I am told, however, that
there are several hundred video-cassettes of the film in private
circulation. And the opening gambit in social assemblies (of those who
orbit in 'posh' localities) is: "have you seen Gandhi?" There is about
the question a certain superciliousness. If you have seen Gandhi then
you are a part of a subrosa elite, like belonging to a Masonic Lodge. If
you have not, you are put the question again, this time punctuated not
with a query but with an exclamation point. "You mean you haven't seen
Gandhi!" Pity, indignation, class betrayal, this is the likely
comeuppance. Everybody who is anybody is supposed to have seen Gandhi."
I wrote this a little over twelve years ago. If the case then for
censorship was futile it has become hopeless now. There is no way that
the communications-revolution can be rolled back and there is no way
that information or misinformation (if that is the concern) can be
prevented from circulating. I write this in the immediate context of
rumours that dish antennas were likely to be banned because serious note
had been taken of news reports and features being shown on foreign
television channels that sensationalised the violence in Karachi. I
sincerely hope that there is no basis to these rumours for I cannot
imagine anything more counter-productive. The best way of dealing with
hostile propaganda is to expose it for what it is, to offer an effective
rebuttal, not to drive it underground. We must have confidence in the
good sense of the people and that their hearts are in the right place.
We must not forget that these are the same people who form the
electorate. They are capable on their own of distinguishing between the
truth and falsehood without any official guidance.
There is in anything that smacks of censorship a reverse reaction,
almost an instinctive impulse to believe that which is being withheld.
It is the most natural of reactions. Curiosity alone will drive people
to read or see what has been proscribed. I doubt I would have read Lady
Chatterly's Lover, when I did, had it not been something of a forbidden
fruit. The same goes for Henry Miller and now that I can buy The Tropic
of Cancer from any bookshop, in broad daylight as it were, I have no
interest in it.
But rather than look at the negative aspects of keeping information
away, we should concentrate instead on the positive projection of our
point of view. The first requirement of such a projection is that it
must have credibility. There is, of course, nothing that can be done
about a closed mind. But a closed mind is not the target audience. There
is not much point in preaching to the converted either. Propaganda is
aimed at those who are open to reason or persuasion or are willing to
listen to an alternative set of arguments. Needless to say that it has
become both an art and a science. The world has progressed far beyond
the rough and ready Press release and the amateur way in which we have
handled Khabarnama, for example. It is not that the contents are just
piled up but the presentation is poor.
We have, in fact, done ourselves a disservice in the way we have handled
the electronic media. It has been used, from day one, as a propaganda
tool of the government of the moment. That is fair enough. But we must
be seriously concerned whether anyone believes what is being put out. In
our day to day thinking, we have got used to the idea of a "government
version." Implicit in this is that there is another version. And the
chances are that it is this other version that is likely to be nearer
the truth or what is perceived to be the truth. Even in reporting
causalities caused by some natural calamity or an accident for which no
one can be held responsible, the figures released by the government tend
to be on the conservative side as a matter of habit, in case, the
government is blamed.
There is no doubt that we have at present one of the most free Presses
anywhere in the world. The government must take credit for this and
should get credit for it. I do not think that this freedom has been
abused. There may be some cases where newspapers may have gone over the
top but by and large things are going well. It is a healthy sign and is
an indication that at least in one area, democracy has taken root. Out
of frustration or exasperation, there is the inclination to tighten the
screws occasionally, the banning of the six eveningers in Karachi being
a case in point, but a well-balanced, informed public opinion will in
the end turn out to be a government's best friend provided it is on the
right track and nothing better to keep it on the right track than a
nagging, prodding free Press. And as for the idea that we can prevent
people from seeing or reading items deemed unfriendly or hostile, let
the people be the judge.
DWS
950807
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Police excesses
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fromthe editorial column
A high daily death toll is not the only agony Karachi has to suffer in
these traumatic times when terror reigns supreme. A compounding factor
is the wanton brutality and high-handedness heaped upon the common
citizens in the name of law enforcement. Not that the police in Karachi
were ever known for moderation and responsible conduct or for being
mindful of the welfare and susceptibilities of the people whom they were
supposed to protect. But today things are infinitely worse. What is
more, an apathetic official attitude and the absence of any visible
effort to rein in the police, convey the impression that these harsh and
offensive police methods have the tacit approval of the government. The
political violence unleashed by some factions is being used as a pretext
by the police to harass and humiliate the ordinary citizens most of whom
have nothing to do with either violence or crime. And yet they find
themselves wedged between the primal fury of one side and the criminal
excesses of the other.
Stories of police extortion, torture and high-handedness abound. No
section of society has been spared. In fact, the police's acts of
extracting "bhatta" from petty shopkeepers, water tankers, motorists,
etc., seem minor aberrations when compared to their wrongdoing in other
areas. Their lack of courtesy is proverbial. A common practice these
days is to pick up scores of young boys at random without any warrants
of arrest and lock them up. Their families are then made to pay through
their nose to secure their release. All are not so fortunate, however,
for scores of innocent people are said to be behind bars with little
hope of their being freed soon. Torture at the hands of the police is
another common happening which has at times resulted in the death of
people in custody. In the last two months at least three people have
died in detention allegedly as a result of torture.
It is time the authorities realised the deep alienation being caused by
such a high-handed policy. By now it must be fully obvious that
wholesale and indiscriminate arrests and torture to extract information
are not helping the law enforcement agencies win the war against
terrorism in Karachi. Surely there are more civilised and scientific
investigation methods to trace out criminals and perpetrators of
violence. Excessive reliance on third-degree methods explain why the
police are failing so badly in stemming the tide of violence and crime
in the city. A police force which is badly equipped not just in terms of
modern technology but also investigation methods and crime detection can
hardly be expected to root out crime and violence.
What should prompt the government to give some serious thought to the
issue of police high-handedness in Karachi is the fact that it is badly
alienating the people. One hardly meets anyone who is willing to defend
the police. What is worse is that the popular resentment against the
police is now being directed against the government. This is something
that will have profound and negative impact on the prevailing situation
in Karachi. Obviously, the government's own interest lies in pacifying
the city and rooting out violence. It should be understand that our
police do not have the training or equipment, nor even the honesty of
purpose, to do the job properly. That makes it all the more important
that a genuinely political approach be tried to solve the Karachi
problem. Negotiations, preferably with the help of honest mediators,
will at least reduce the government's dependence on the police to
enforce its writ.
DWS
950807
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Islamabad diary : Working with Zia
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ayaz Amir
HAVING lived and worked in General Zia-ul- Haq's shadow for a long and
crucial period - for seven years as his Chief of Staff and then for a
further three as the deputy head of the army - there is no one better
placed than General K.M. Arif to lay bare the workings of that extended
spell of military rule which can legitimately claim pride of place as
the darkest chapter in our history. But in his book, "Working with Zia",
how well has Arif succeeded in that task?
The value of a memoir of this sort lies primarily in the fascinating
details: who said what at a particular time and how in that tightly knit
group which in command of the nation's destiny for a little over eleven
years did the major players inter-act with each other? That the book has
its share of interesting vignettes is soon apparent. For example, it is
probably for the first time that we have come to know in such detail the
mechanics and modalities of the 1977 coup which had been laid in place
by the then commander of 10 corps, Lt-Gen Faiz Ali Chishti. When General
Zia had finally decided to strike, the principal army officers then
present in GHQ were summoned for a meeting on the afternoon of the 4th
of July, 1977, at a time when the Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,
still thought that he could clinch a deal with the Pakistan National
Alliance which since the ill-fated elections held earlier in March that
year had been agitating for his ouster. This is the stuff of historical
drama. Bhutto with his back to the wall and having lost the political
initiative through a mixture of arrogance and procrastination is still
trying to clutch at straws while Zia is already setting in motion chain
of events which will culminate in Bhutto's grim journey to the gallows.
If the reader is interested in such details as the individual reaction
of the PPP leaders when army contingents came to pick them up he will
find them in this book. Ghulam Mustafa Khar (to no one's surprise
really) proved cleverer than his colleagues. Soon after being taken to
Abbottabad he was asking for a meeting with Chishti and later with Zia.
Zia was not taken in by his protestations but Chishti felt that he could
be trusted to play the military's game. Later in the book Arif recounts
Khar's role in the abortive and, in hindsight, amateurish attempt to
mount a coup against Zia with the help of some junior military officers
in the winter of 1983-84. In the recounting of this affair (about which
the intelligence agencies had prior knowledge) the reference to Khar is
unmistakable but for some reason, rooted in delicacy or discretion, Arif
avoids actually naming him.
There is an authoritative account (the second one that we have after the
book written by Lt.-Col. Rafi who commanded the army detachment guarding
Pindi Jail (during Bhutto's period of incarceration there) about
Bhutto's last moments: his behaviour during those hours when he came
face to face with the reality of imminent death. Fascinating as this
account is, it is devoid of any generosity of spirit on General Arif's
part.
He gives us to understand that on the last day of his life Bhutto was a
broken man in support of which implicit conclusion (implicit because he
never quite comes to use these words) he cites the following items of
distress: that after 9.55 p.m. Bhutto's "conduct then became
increasingly less rational"; a little later he started sweeping his cell
with a piece of paper held in his right hand; he was not composed enough
to write his will; when finally the jail officials arrived to take him
to the gallows he was unable to walk and at one point muttered the
words, "I pity my wife left the jail." What is Arif's judgement on this
scene? "It was a tragic sight," he writes, "an anticlimax to the vibrant
and exuberant life of Mr Bhutto."
Tragic the sight must surely have been but whether it was an anti-climax
depends upon Arif's understanding of the word. If Bhutto had grovelled
before his captors and begged them for mercy, as a lesser man could all
too easily have done, or if he had shown any signs of weakness during
the eighteen months of his imprisonment then perhaps the use of the word
'anticlimax' might have been justified. But Bhutto can be accused of
none of these things. At one point "he cried like a child." So Arif
informs us. He also looked ashen-faced. But these signs in the face of
death are of small account when set against the unblemished record of
his fortitude in prison. A more generous person might have mentioned, if
only in passing, Bhutto's courage. But Arif's careful pen is guilty of
no such weakness.
I have dwelt on this point because of the double standards that we all
too often employ when speaking of the conduct of others. There is a
saying in Punjabi that even the leaves of a tree become yellow if an FIR
for murder is registered against them. Can Arif, with his hand on his
heart, honestly say that he or any of his other blustery colleagues who
held the reins of power in those fateful days - the Sawar Khans and the
Iqbal Khans and the F.A. Chishtis - would have retained their poise and
dignity if they had been through eighteen months of hell? Certainly
Bhutto was no Socrates calmly philosophising about life and the heavens
before drinking his cup of hemlock. But then Bhutto should not be judged
with the Greeks or the Romans. He should be judged with the mortals of
this Republic in which comparison there is nothing for his shade or
spirit to be ashamed of. Indeed, if we only could look at the matter
through unprejudiced eyes, there is nothing in Bhutto's turbulent life
that so became him as the manner in which he faced the prospect of
death.
At several places Arif says that Zia and Bhutto had become irritants for
each other and that there had come to exist an animus between them. But
even while conceding the obvious, he allows a touch of self-
righteousness to enter into his setting down of the motives which
prompted Zia to revive the murder charge against Bhutto. "Justice
outweighs all other considerations," writes Arif. "Human life is
sacrosanct. Its wilful destruction is an abominable and deplorable
act... Justice demanded that his innocence or guilt be proved in a
court: of law." With Bhutto and Zia locked in a struggle whose outcome
meant the axe falling on the neck of one or the other, Arif tests the
intelligence of the reader by his assertion that justice was the only
consideration behind the revival of the murder charge. This becomes the
more apparent if we bear in mind the testimony of other observers, most
notably that of Lt.-Col. Rafi who quotes Chishti as saying that even if
Bhutto was acquitted by the Supreme Court he would still not be set free
because a hundred other charges (or words to that effect) were waiting
for him.
Arif also wishes us to believe that no pressure was exerted on the other
co-accused, or no promises were made to them, to depose against Bhutto.
This is in conflict with what we know through the revelations made
public by the lawyer of one of the co-accused Irshad Qureshi, that
promises were indeed made to his client. As we also know (I personally
having spoken to Mr Sharifuddin Pirzada on the subject) Zia used to be
in frequent contact with both the chief justices in the Bhutto case,
something which by itself - regardless of whether it was on Bhutto's
orders that Nawab Muhammad Ahmed Khan was fired upon - undercuts the
fairness of the legal process which condemned Bhutto to death.
Arif's tone throughout the book is calm and dispassionate. Despite the
admiration and loyalty that he felt for Zia, he does not gloss over his
mistakes or the harm that prolonged military rule did to the country.
Nor does Arif fail to mention Zia's weaknesses of character so much so
that at one or two places he lends credence to the one charge brought
most frequently against Zia: that of hypocrisy which the Quran holds to
be the most cardinal sin of all. All the more reason therefore for Arif
to have been a bit more candid than his discretion probably has allowed
him to be about the considerations of power which led the military
regime to prosecute with so much zeal the murder case against Bhutto.
Arif is revealing about the process which led Zia to hold referendum in
December 1984. In explaining this move he allows us an insight into the
workings of a dictatorial mind. Despite his untrammelled power and the
success that he had in containing the PPP, Zia felt a gnawing sense of
unease because his rule lacked the stamp of popular approval. Hence the
decision to hold a referendum even if the question put before a hapless
electorate was a convoluted one. If the people approved of General Zia's
Islamisation measures it would be taken to mean that he was confirmed as
president for the next five years. Regarding the outcome of the
referendum Arif does not fail to mention the conflicting versions given
by the government and the opposition parties about the percentage of
votes actually polled. But he does not emphasise the total absurdity and
rigged nature of the exercise, with polling staff stuffing the ballot
boxes with votes that had never been cast. Nor does he think fit to
mention Zia's all too visible nervousness when he went before the
cameras to thank the nation and his colleagues for the result of the
referendum. More than once during that performance he was seen to wipe
his nose with handkerchief, a mannerism or a gesture betraying his
unsureness that he had been seldom guilty of before or indeed ever
after.
In "Working with Zia" we perhaps have the most detailed and
authoritative account of the steps which led Zia to choose Mohammad Khan
Junejo as his prime minister. Of the two names that had been short-
listed for the post-that of Junejo and Illahi Baksh Soomro - Zia and his
kitchen cabinet had decided in favour of Soomro. But after meeting Pir
Pagara, and without taking anyone else into confidence, Zia changed his
mind. Of the differences that soon arose between President and Prime
Minister, Arif's intimate account again adds to the public knowledge. As
does the light which he throws on the role played by the respective
staffs of the President and the Prime Minister in fanning the
differences between the two. In this regard the villains that emerge in
Arif's account are General Akhtar Abdul Rehman, between whom and Junejo
no love was lost, and Lt. Gen. Syed Rafaqat, the President's chief of
Staff, the post formerly held by Arif himself.
On some other details Arif is at once revealing and reticent, a
combination which leaves a tantalising thirst behind it which would have
been slaked had he only allowed freer play to his discretion. For
example, he alludes to Chishti's unhappiness and Lt-Gen S.M. Abbasi's
anger when, contrary to their expectations, they were not granted
extensions in their military services. But these passing references
could have been expanded a bit in order to throw greater light on Zia's
ability to command and use the loyalty of his colleagues and then, over
the years, get rid of them when his consolidated position permitted him
to do so. Nor does he have anything to say about his own retirement as
vice-chief of the army staff in 1987. Was he hoping for an extension
and, if he was, did he feel hurt or betrayed when, his term having come
to an end, General Aslam Beg, probably at the insistence of Junejo, was
put in his place?
But these, as anyone can see, are minor reservations. General Arif
easily gives us the best assessment of Zia that has appeared so far. His
strengths which enabled him to rule for so long and outwit his opponents
are clearly set down as are his weaknesses as an individual (his lack of
a high intellect being one of them) and his limitations as a ruler which
worked to the ultimate disadvantage of the country.
But what lessons regarding the future and the army's role in national
politics are there to be gleaned from this unsurpassed account of the
longest spell of military rule Pakistan has had to suffer? The
overriding lesson left unexpressed in this book but perhaps implicit in
its pages is depressing one. As long as the political class is guilty of
greed, corruption, incompetence and short sightedness (as it has proved
to be since the lifting of martial law in 1985) there will remain men in
the army influenced by the notion that they more than their political
masters are best able to guide the nation's wayward destiny.
DWS
950808
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Agha Hasan Abedi
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fromthe editorial column
IF one person could be credited with placing Pakistan on the world
banking map, it was Agha Hasan Abedi, who passed away in Karachi on
Saturday after a prolonged illness. Beginning his career with Habib Bank
before independence, he brought about spectacular changes in Pakistan's
banking culture when he founded the United Bank Ltd (UBL) in 1959.
Starting as its first general manager, he quickly rose to the position
of president and chairman of the board of directors. Under his
stewardship, UBL became the second largest bank in Pakistan. Mr Abedi
introduced a host of professional innovations, including the concept of
personalised service and banking support to trade and industry, paying
particular attention to the bank's overseas operations. One of the first
to comprehend the opportunities offered by the oil boom in the Gulf, Mr
Abedi pioneered close economic collaboration in the private sector
between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE President,
Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, extended his patronage to UBL
operations both in Pakistan and abroad.
When banking was nationalised in Pakistan in 1972, Mr Abedi founded the
Bank of Credit and Commerce (International) with the Bank of America NT
& SA as a major shareholder. Registered in Luxembourg, the BCCI began
its operations from a two-room head office in London. Over the years, it
developed into a world-wide banking operation with branches in 72
countries and 16,000 employees on its payroll. Mr Abedi was personally
responsible for inducting a large number of Pakistanis into the field of
international banking and almost 80 per cent of the BCCI's top executive
positions at the head office and in branches in various countries were
held by Pakistanis. However, for all his pioneering role and successes,
some of the banking practices Mr Abedi followed were questionable and
these eventually led to the collapse of the BCCI in 1991 when an
extensive probe began into its dealings world-wide. Mr Abedi, had,
however, severed his connection with BCCI in 1990 after suffering a
massive heart attack and had since been leading a retired life in
Karachi.
The BCCI's contribution to the promotion of education, science, art and
culture and philanthropic causes merits special mention. The bank
established the Third World Foundation in London, which published the
widely circulated Third World Quarterly and paid special attention to
the promotion of Urdu language and literature through the Urdu Markaz
located in London. Mr Abedi also sponsored the establishment of the BCCI
Foundation (now Infaq Foundation) in Pakistan which provides help and
assistance to writers, scholars, artists and poets. The Foundation once
had branch offices in Delhi and Dhaka. The Infaq Foundation, with its
head office in Karachi, has funds estimated at about Rs 130 crores at
its disposal. The BCCI has also provided assistance to the tune of about
Rs 70 crores to the GIK Institute of Science and Technology located at
Akora Khattak near Nowshera.
The driving spirit behind all this high-minded promotional and
philanthropic work was Mr Abedi himself. This man of many unique
qualities will doubtless be remembered for his dynamism and drive as
a banker as for his unstinted philanthropy and humanitarian spirit.
DWS
950809
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The cult syndrome
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By Ardeshir Cowasjee
ANY man writing the history of Pakistan will perforce have to devote a
couple of chapters to this present Benazir government and relate how it
has manifestly furthered the impairment of the crumbling institutions
through nepotism and the mass installation of cronies and acolytes in
positions of power from which they can do and do much harm. Ironically,
it is we, the people, who pay them to damage and deprive us and
consequently the nation.
The government is highly personalised. It is solely the will of Benazir
and her husband that prevails. "Their will be done, their kingdom come,
the power and the glory for ever and ever" is the daily prayer of the
cult members.
An exception arose the other day. A cult member, who has sworn
unwavering loyalty to his cult, came out in the Press and publicly
chastised the Benazir government in Sindh for its deplorable brutality,
"contrary to the ruling party's professed commitment to human rights."
('Putting a premium on brutality', Khalid Jawed Khan, Dawn, August 2)
Khalid, a young, exceedingly well qualified lawyer, appointed as adviser
to the Attorney General, has very honestly used the adjective
"professed."
Khalid Jawed Khan is the son of our present Minister for Law, Justice &
Parliamentary Affairs, loyalist Nabi Dad Khan and his equally loyal
wife, Shameem, both totally dedicated to the party since its very
inception way back in the late 60s. To their credit, they have stuck to
the Party through thick and thin.
Son Khalid stood first in his LL.B Honours from Queen Mary College,
London University, was called to the Bar from Lincoln's Inn after which
he went to Oxford on a scholarship to do his BCL. All this he did
without much help from his family, and worked to pay his way through his
colleges. He came back to Karachi and worked in the chambers of my
counsel, Barrister Makhdoom Ali Khan, where I first met him. His
manners, intellect and drafting impressed me. He then went off to
Harvard Law School and did his LL.M. He returned to Pakistan to again
work with Makhdoom, from whence he was summoned in 1994 to bigger and
better things in the capital city of Islamabad. Khalid has the ear of
Benazir, he is able, he is hardworking, he is young and he has definite
political ambitions.
He bloated his copybook in November of 1994, when the world and his wife
adamantly avowed that the arrest of Nawaz Sharif's father, Mian Mohammad
Sharif, was politically motivated, ill- timed and downright stupid. He
appeared on PTV and was interviewed by Azhar Sohail (in a programme
acknowledged by all to be the darkest half hour on the box) and publicly
came out in fulsome praise of this despicable action.
However, he has now started thinking. His article of August 2 fairly and
squarely blames the Chief Minister of Sindh and his government for twice
ordering that convicts be publicly flogged in the violence-stricken city
of Karachi and for organising an all-time first in the history of this
sorry country. In the jails at Karachi and Hyderabad, two condemned men
were hanged in front of an audience of prisoners who had been forcibly
rounded up in their chains and fetters and made to witness the execution
of a fellow man.
Khalid is the only mam of this government, with its "professed" concern
for human rights, the only member of the Benazir set-up, who has
condemned the horrific actions of our Chief Minister. There has not been
a single cheep from any other representative of the government, not from
a politician nor a bureaucrat, not from any man of law or of learning.
As for Chief Minister Abdullah Shah, he remains oblivious of the wrong
he and his men have done. Someone should make an effort to penetrate the
thinking of this callous man and point out to him that he has abused his
authority, he has wilfully and deliberately further brutalised hundreds
of helpless men, he is culpable, and he should be punished for having
contravened Rules 360 and 364 of the Prison Rules.
The Attorney-General's adviser is now deeply concerned, as are we all,
with the manner in which justice is meted out. He is against all forms
of capital punishment and is, we hope, working towards amendments in our
laws. Some of us are against flogging and hangins, others believe in
them as being a deterrent. Capital punishment is a hazy field and there
can never be total unanimity on the subject. To abolish or not to
abolish is a question that is not likely to be resolved in this country
for many a year, as it so far has not been resolved in some countries of
the democratic world, including the sole superpower.
But judicial flogging, amputations and lapidation are unacceptable in
all civilised countries, and Khalid has rightly stated that "When some
laws prescribe primitive and inhuman modes of punishment, they should be
amended to bring them into conformity with the modern principles of
jurisprudence."
The government has its constraints, says Khalid, the whiplash from
obscurantism forces and the backlash from the bigots. This I do not
accept. Meekly cowing down before them is only necessary to bring in
votes and secure parliamentary support for a weak government. Otherwise,
the prime minister does precisely what she wants to do, as do all cult
leaders. During 21 months of power this 'democratic' parliamentary
government and its President ("The President is ours," said Asif) have
promulgated as many as 250 ordinances. They only hold back their hand if
there is a danger of losing followers.
Whilst the Prime Minister still has faith in the man she has appointed
to advise her attorney-general, and whilst he has access to her inner
ear, could he not in all honesty convince her that taking vindictive
action against leaders of the opposition and enacting laws to enable her
to so do is not only very short- termed and counter-productive but is
likely to bounce back at her once she is out of power. For whatever she
may believe, she is not political immortal. The day of reckoning will
come.
Worse is the taking of punitive action against judges who do not rule as
she or her husband would wish. This does not go down well either with
the judiciary or with the people. Case in point: Mian Mohammed Sharif
(Nawaz's father) and other members of his family were granted interim
bail on July 31 by Justice Qurban Sadiq Akram of the Lahore Special
Court (Banking), which bail was to be confirmed on August 2. Immediately
after the interim bail had been granted, the government sent Judge Akram
off on forced leave for 78 days. The expiry of this leave will coincide
with the date of his retirement.
Also, what needs to be explained to our inexperienced Prime Minister,
and the cult followers, is that the expression 'the government
established by law' has to be distinguished from the persons for the
time being engaged in carrying on the administration. Elected
representatives (even when 'freely and fairly elected') cannot be
regarded, individually or collectively as 'the government established by
law.' Criticism of the acts and policies of the prime and other
ministers cannot be equated with criticism against the government
established by law. A lawfully established government has nothing to do
with a particular political party which is transiently in charge of the
government.
Now we educate ourselves. Last month, The New York Times came out with a
strongly worded editorial severely critical of recent US Supreme Court
decisions involving minorities and women. Under the heading, "A Court
Running in the Wrong Direction," the paper informed its readers that
"radical change is under way at the Supreme Court... As the term ended
last week a five justice majority was toppling doctrines and precedents
that had held for decades and was looking around for more... More than
politics is involved in this uncertain moment... The five justices also
displayed a new attitude towards Congress, a disrespect bordering on
contempt, a willingness to nullify or misinterpret Congressional laws
designed to redress history's wrongs... This sudden lurch to the right
and backward in time is accompanied by flawed logic and misreading of
evidence,... The sounds of retreat from history and fairness are sadder
for the Court's failures of logic and intellectual honesty." No contempt
notices have been issued.
=========================================
=========================================
950805
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Of politics, expediency and prudence
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(Over the next three issues of DWS, we will printing excerpts from A.H.
Kardars' memoirs "Failed Expectation" in which he gives his impressions
of some of the politicians he worked with in his long public life.)
A. H. Kardar, a graduate of the universities of Punjab and Oxford, was
acclaimed most as the captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team (1950-58).
But he was also the Deputy Educational Advisor, Govt. of Pakistan,
Member Provincial Assembly, Provincial Minister for Food and Co-
operation, Education, Planning and Development, Industries and
Pakistan's Ambassador to Switzerland.
"During Ayub's days it was decided to set up two Boards for the
promotion of Urdu and Bengali languages. The interesting part was that
with regard to Bengali, I was required to convey to the Chairman
designate of the Bengali Development Board, Justice Murshed, that very
effort should be made to eliminate the influence of Tagore from the
Bengali literature of East Pakistan. To my undying shame I repeated this
brief and received the curt reply, "Mr. Kardar, I never thought that you
would speak the language of a Tonga driver of Lahore. How can you think
of English language without Shakespeare and how in the name of God can
you think of Bengali literature without Tagore?" I have never felt more
embarrassed and humble and apologised for the brief I was carrying from
the Federal Government.
It is about this time that I met the leading intellectuals and artists
of East Pakistan. The most remarkable of these were the doyen of
journalists, Zahoor Hussain Chaudhri, the great painter Zain-Ul-Abedein,
=
the eminent poet Jaseem-Ud-Din and the Secretary General of the Bulbul
Academy of Fine Arts, Mahmood Nurul Huda and the patron angel of the
BAFA, Begum Bahar. These friendships gave me still greater insight into
the working of the minds of Bengalis. Another interesting and
stimulating person was the official of the Ministry of Information,
Zain-ul-Abedin, who later became my neighbour in Rawalpindi.
This brings me to the third incident of how utterly unrealistic and
unfriendly attitude was being adopted by West Pakistani officials. It so
inspired that the Bulbul Academy of Fine Art being the prestigious Arts
Academy of East Pakistan named after the great Bengali artist Bulbul,
has its own nationalist characteristics. They were choosy about inviting
guests to their functions and because of a certain misunderstanding they
just refused to invite the then Chief Secretary of East Pakistan to any
of their functions. This West Pakistani official expected no less than
the position of a Chief Guest. When this invitation was not forthcoming
he had the electric connection of the academy cut off which forced the
artists to work in candle light for the preparation for their visit to
the Soviet Union, which was being sponsored by the Ministry of
Education.
Another reason for my being able to understand the Bengalis was that
most of my ministers were from Bengal. Some of the interesting incidents
which follow led me to admire when for their readiness to understand and
appreciate the points of view of others. It all started with my first
Minister, Moulvi Fazal-ul-Haq, the mover of the Pakistan Resolution. For
the brief period that he was our Minister, he was prevailed upon by
sportsmen of East Pakistan to introduce parity to representation in the
national sports organisations. As a result, the Minister recorded a note
desiring that parity should be introduced but gave a finishing touch to
the note by adding, "Please consider." Since I was familiar with the
sports organisations in the country I wrote a note submitting that
instead of parity, for which East Pakistan, lacking at that stage in
organisational capacity and sporting talent, was not ready, only
weightage of representation should be given. When the file was received
by the Minister he was not happy and I was summoned for explanation.
This is how the conversation went:
MFH: "How you dared to write against my orders?"
AHK: "Please see the last line of your minute which invites me to
consider and evaluate. This is all I have done."
MFH: "I am not satisfied, I want your explanation."
Accordingly, I submitted a note of explanation pointing out the
distinction between clear cut orders, which government functionaries are
supposed to carry out as a matter of high-level policy but respectfully
added that since the last sentence invited evaluation, I had done so and
consider any official who does not do so not worth his salt and lacking
in performing his public duty.
The great Fazal-ul-Haq read the note and called me to his office to
congratulate me for my opinion and to express approval of my suggestion.
This was the act of a great man. You do it today and you get dismissed.
We are now ruled by small men.
Another point about East Pakistan I cannot forget is the people's
affiliation and their attachment to their humble background. For
instance, when I went to see Mr. Fazal-ul-Haq with a PWD official on an
errand to find out the kind of furnishing that the Minister wanted for
his residence, this is what transpired:
"Sir, you are entitled to furnishings worth Rs. 24,000. What would you
like us to get for you?"
Fazal-ul-Haq looked around, and replied, "What is wrong with this
furniture?"
Compare this with the next minister, who came from West Pakistan, and
under similar circumstances made the following remarks: "What can you
get with Rs. 24,000? This is too small an amount for furnishing a
Minister's house."
(Next week, A. H. Kardars' impressions of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto)
=========================================
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950802
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Mushtaq, Majid confirmed as managers
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By Samiul Hasan
KARACHI, Aug 1: Former Pakistan captains, Majid Khan and Mushtaq
Mohammad, were confirmed as tour and cricket managers of the Pakistan
cricket team for the 1995-96 season starting with the first Test against
Sri Lanka from Sept 8 The announcement was made by the chief Executive
of the PCB, Arif Abbasi. Adding: "The two will not be awarded long-term
contracts but their tenure will be revived on tour-to-tour basis like
Intikhab who went on to become the longest serving cricket manager of
the Pakistan team."
He said the announcement of the Selection Committee was to be made on
Aug 12 but since the Chairman of the PCB, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah
Bokhari, will not be in Pakistan, the meeting can not be held. "I will
announce the Committee after seeking the Chairman's advice."
On the appointment of the Pakistan captain, Abbasi stated that a few
cricketers were in the running for the job. "But since their fitness has
to be gauged, the board has to wait till the training camp, if held, or
a couple of three-day games before the first Test against Sri Lanka.
Abbasi also confirmed that master batsman Javed Miandad has informed the
board of his availability and has also expressed his willingness to play
in either of the two three-day games against Sri Lanka before the first
Test.
Asked if about Waqar Younis and whether he would be available for the
home series against Sri Lanka, Abbasi said: "Hopefully, but before that,
he has to complete his training with Larsky and then prove his fitness
to the Selection Committee in Pakistan. Waqar is an asset to this
country and he will not be risked. He will be included in the team only
if cent per cent fit."
Dawn Newspaper