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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
Week Ending : April 13 1995 Issue : 01/14
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.
Extracts from DWS can be used provided that this entire header is
included at the beginning of each extract.
e-mail dws%dawn@sdnpk.undp.org
fax +92 (21) 568-3188 & 568-3801
mail Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Limited
DAWN Group of Newspapers
Haroon House, Karachi 74400, Pakistan
(c) Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan - 1995
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CONTENTS
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Pressler law and Pakistan
..........Top Congressmen denounce Pressler law
..........Changes in Pressler law being sought: Clinton
..........US Congress may evolve options for flexibility
..........Pressler sticks to his stand
..........Assef sees one-time Pressler law waiver
PM's US visit
..........PM asks US to initiate talks on South Asia
..........PM denies Pakistan making bomb
..........Soothsayer in the company of PM
..........Pakistan against forces of extremism: PM
..........Bomb scare in New York before PM's arrival
..........PM seeks Ghali's help on Kashmir dispute
..........MQM, PPP hold rallies
..........MoUS worth $6bn signed
Opposition
..........Altaf, Nawaz discuss Karachi
..........Qazi for change thru revolution
..........Opposition opts for no-trust: Khattak
..........Nawaz's flight delayed
3 cops held for torturing man to death
Ulema demand ban on provocative sermons, graffiti
Contempt case against Dawn : Counsel urge hearing by full court
United Muslim army in Kashmir likely
Govt ready to settle issue of restoring women's seats
Row may lead to aid suspension
Dispute on jobs, LBs system unresolved
Renewed violence claims 8 lives
Briefly
..........Accord in next round likely
..........Oman refuses to invest in Gwadar
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Farm water distribution system to be privatised
Wu to set up port at Keti Bundar
Bids for PTC adviser opened
Trade union ban goes on May 1
Consortium meets on 20th : Pakistan to seek $2.2bn for 95-96
Tax recovery may fall short of target
China offers help for Brotha dam
Feudals escape tax net: urbanites pay more
28,000 bank loans defaulters
Needed: investment friendly laws
Rs 452bn investment during 1995-96 projected
Lenders being informed : GDP growth rate scaled down to 6.5%
World Bank suggests more public share in civic works
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The PM & today's Columbuses
A laugh at our own expense By Ardeshir Cowasjee
Impressions about India By Gen (retd) Khalid Mahmud Arif
A case for deweaponisation By Dr Mohammad Waseem
Morarji Desai
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Sri Lanka upset Pakistan
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950407
Meeting with Benazir : Top Congressmen denounce Pressler law
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*From Muhammad Ali Siddiqi
WASHINGTON, April 6: There was consensus among the Congressmen Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto saw on Thursday morning that the Pressler
amendment should be done away with because it was a discriminatory law
and had failed to advance America's nonproliferation concerns.
Among those who expressed their disillusionment with the results of the
Pressler amendment were some leading Congressmen, including
Representative Benjamin Gilman, the present chairman of the House
Foreign Relations Committee, Congressmen Lee Hamilton, its former
chairman and now a ranking Republican member, and Congressman Robert
Livingston, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
They were among no less than 25 Representatives, members of the foreign
affairs committee and subcommittees whom the Prime Minister and her
party met this morning to brief them on Pakistan's position on the aid
cut-off and its negative impact on relations between the two countries.
Some of the Congressmen agreed with the Prime Minister in her
denunciation of the Pressler law and used strong language.
Representative Dana Rohrabacher, an HIRC member who recently introduced
a resolution on Kashmir in the House, called the Pressler amendment
"outrageous," while Congressman Doug Bereuter, chairman of the
Subcommittee on Near East and South Asia, said he would like to "wipe it
off the statute book."
Several members of the subcommittee agreed with their chairman and said
they realised the amendment had failed to promote nonproliferation and
had become an impediment in relations with Pakistan.
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950412
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Changes in Pressler law being sought: Clinton
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*From Muhammad Ali Siddiqi
WASHINGTON, April 11: President Clinton said here on Tuesday he was
working with Congress to seek changes in the Pressler Amendment because
it was a law directed only against Pakistan.
Even though the President made no firm commitment that the Pressler
amendment would be abolished, he kept no secret of his distaste for the
law under which he said he could not transfer the defence equipment to
Pakistan while the money had already been spent.
The law had placed Pakistan, he said, in "a no man's land."
Prime Minister Bhutto on her turn said she was "deeply encouraged" by
President Clinton's attitude and the understanding he had shown of
Pakistan's position on the Pressler amendment and the security situation
in the area.
Since he had been President, he said he had "done everything possible to
broaden our ties with Pakistan," and deepen cooperation in other fields.
When he became President, the Pressler amendment had already gone into
effect. "That's what I found out when I became President."
He said he was the first President to declare that holding back both the
money and the equipment was wrong. Therefore, he would "do my very best"
to explore possibilities with Congress in a way "that's fair to
Pakistan."
"I have no intention of dumping Pakistan," he replied when a questioner
asked him whether or not the world would get a wrong signal if the
United States dumped Pakistan, a country that had been America's ally
for half a century.
The President said he would not abandon Pakistan, because "the future of
the entire part of the world where Pakistan is depends in some large
measure on Pakistan's success."
On Kashmir, President Clinton said the United states was willing to play
a mediatory role, and he believed many other Indo-Pakistan problems
could be tackled if the Kashmir issue were resolved. He said he
emphasised to Indian Prime Minister Rao when he was here, the need for a
solution to the Kashmir issue.
Prime Minister Bhutto said the Clinton administration regarded Kashmir
as disputed territory and welcomed President Clinton's mediation offer,
but regretted that India was not willing to accept this.
President Clinton made it clear that an improvement in relations with
Pakistan would continue along with a similar movement toward India.
"I am happy to note that the United States recognises Kashmir as
disputed territory and maintains that a durable solution to the dispute
can only be based on the will of the Kashmiri people.
"Pakistan asked for a re-assessment of the Pressler amendment which
places discriminatory sanctions on Pakistan. In our view this amendment
is a disincentive for a regional solution to the proliferation issue.
"I am encouraged by my discussions with the President and the
understanding he has shown for Pakistan's position. I welcome the
Clinton administration's decision to work with Congress to revise the
Pressler Amendment.
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950413
Officials hint at new law : US Congress may evolve options for
flexibility
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*From Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, April 12: New legislation may be required in the US Congress
to show flexibility towards Pakistan, as promised by President Bill
Clinton after talks with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Tuesday, two
senior Clinton administration officials said on Tuesday.
Briefing newsmen at the White House after the joint news conference by
Mr Clinton and Ms Bhutto, US Assistant Secretary of State Robin Raphel
and Director of Near East and South Asian Affairs Ellen Laipson said the
new legislation could go on the various legislative vehicles in Congress
and it would be upto Congress to determine what some of the best options
available might be.
Ms Laipson said the first consultations with Congress were going to be
about flexibility in areas other than the F-16s, such as ability to work
together in economic areas, in counter-terrorism and various aspects of
the relationships that have been adversely affected by the Pressler
amendment.
Ms Raphel said President Clinton was conscious of the range of opinion
on the Hill (Congress) and wanted to work with what was achievable and
"where there is consensus on the Hill that some new flexibility is in
order."
She said the efforts of the administration were part of the continuing
effort started by the Talbott visit to India and Pakistan. "It is all
the part of the same effort to resolve the same problem, how do we move
forward in our relationship with Pakistan in the context of our
regional-global non-proliferation responsibilities," she said.
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950409
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Pressler sticks to his stand
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*From Muhammad Ali Siddiqi
WASHINGTON, April 8: Senator Larry Pressler, who "disclosed" in a recent
interview that Pakistan had nine to ten assembled nuclear bombs, said
here on Friday the transfer of even one F-16 to Islamabad would be
"preposterous".
In a highly anti-Pakistan statement designed to sabotage moves in the
administration and Congress to repeal or modify the amendment named
after him, Senator Pressler listed the "consequences" he feared if the
F-16s Islamabad had paid for, were transferred to it.
These consequences, according to him, were: there would be a nuclear
race in South Asia, Pakistani nuclear weapons could fall into the hands
of terrorists, the world would get a wrong signal about the
administration's nonproliferation policies, and there might even be a
nuclear war between Pakistan and India.
The vituperative statement referred to the Clinton administration's one-
time waiver proposal last year under which the transfer of the planes to
Pakistan was to be "unconditional". It was later modified, he said, with
the condition that Pakistan promise to "cap its nuclear weapons
arsenal".
In recent weeks again, he said, the Clinton administration "has been at
it again, proposing a one billion dollars package of military equipment,
consisting mainly of the F-16s".
Calling the latest plan "unacceptable", the Senator from South Dakota
said, "I am astounded that an administration that pays so much lip
service to the cause of nuclear nonproliferation would consider
providing Pakistan with aircraft capable of carrying a nuclear weapon".
The author of the Pressler amendment welcomed Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto to the United States, recalled visiting "her beautiful country"
last year but added, "I suspect that it is largely due to the visit of
Prime Minister Bhutto that the Clinton administration once again is
publicly questioning the effectiveness of the so-called Pressler
amendment".
No more a member of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
Senator Pressler recalled his non-proliferation moves, and said his
amendment was "a compromise" unlike that offered by former Senator Alan
Cranston that would have cut off all aid to Pakistan immediately. Even
the government of Pakistan, he said, "did not object to the amendment,
because they claimed they were not pursuing a nuclear option".
Despite "claiming to have a strong policy on nuclear nonproliferation",
he said, the Clinton administration consistently had shown hostility
toward the Pressler amendment, the only nonproliferation law "with
teeth."
"Never before in history", he alleged, "has a nation sought to transfer
nuclear delivery vehicles to a country that has nuclear weapons and says
it is doing so in the interest of nuclear nonproliferation".
Alleging that the Clinton plan "defies basic common sense" Senator
Pressler blamed American aerospace firms for the initiative for the
release of the F-16s. "The transfer of F-16s would mean new business,
new contracts, and new jobs here at home. I suspect these firms are
putting tremendous pressure on the Clinton administration to push for
military aid to Pakistan."
He added, "I fear India will be forced to rethink its current military
force structure if Pakistan takes delivery of the F-16s, including
resumption of their nuclear programme, deployment of short-range
weapons, and even development of long-range options".
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950408
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Assef sees one-time Pressler law
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*From Our Staff Correspondent
WASHINGTON, April 7: Foreign Minister Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali said here
on Thursday he was "fairly optimistic" that by year's end the Pressler
amendment would be repealed or changed to Pakistan's advantage. His
comment coincided with a report in the well informed Defence News that
the Clinton administration was working with Congress once again for a
one-time waiver for the Pressler law to end the impasse on the held-up
military equipment, including F-16s.
Told he was being "overly optimistic," the foreign minister said he was
"fairly optimistic".
Defence News quoted Senator Hank Brown, chairman of the Subcommittee on
South Asia as saying, "We have to figure out some way to get those
planes to them."
However, the basis of the foreign minister's observation was the daylong
dialogue Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had with some leading senators,
including majority leader Bob Dole and Senator Jesse Helms, chairman of
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on US-Pakistan relations and the
freeze on the delivery of the arms Islamabad has already paid for.
Senator Dole, who is a presidential contender for the 1996 race, said
after listening to arguments from the Pakistani side that the decision
to hold back both the F-16s and the money was "pretty hard to defend.
"He said, "I'm impressed with her arguments, and I'll try and follow
up."
The remarks by the majority leader came on the heels of the admission by
President Clinton a day before the Prime Minister's arrival that US
policy toward Pakistan had failed and that there was need for seriously
reviewing it.
None of the Senators made a categorical comment about a repeal of the
Pressler law, but the impression the Pakistani side got was that there
appeared unanimity between the administration and Congress on the
question of softening the impact of the sanctions.
Senator Helms showed the unusual gesture of taking the Prime Minister
into the Senate for a meeting with other Senators, including Hank Brown,
Edward Kennedy, Patrick Leahy, Chris Dodd, Arlen Specter (chairman of
the appropriations committee), Strom Thurmond, John Chafee, Paul
Coverdell and others.
Most if not all of them assured the Prime Minister that they would work
for a repeal of the Pressler law when it came up.
Senators present during the meeting with Chairman Helms included
Clairbone Pell, who was chairman of the Senator F.R.C. until Democratic
defeat last November, Richard Lugar and Sam Nunn, who is chairman of the
Armed Services Committee but had come to the Helms office to meet the
Prime Minister.
Senator Helms made a faux pas when he mistakenly referred to Ms Bhutto
as Prime Minister of India but later apologised and requested that the
record be corrected.
On her part, the Prime Minister reviewed Pakistan's foreign policy and
touched upon all major issues, including Kashmir, nonproliferation,
Afghanistan, terrorism, drug trafficking and US-Pakistan relations,
which she said had been "frozen" for the last five years because of the
Pressler sanctions.
There was what Sardar Assef called "a candid discussion" between the two
sides, and the Senators asked "all kinds of questions," including Indo-
Pakistan relations, Pakistan's internal situation and the blasphemy
laws.
On the nuclear question, Sardar Assef said the Prime Minister made clear
there would be no compromise on Pakistan's security.
Briefing Pakistani newsmen on the Prime Minister's visit to Capitol
Hill, the Foreign Minister said the efforts made by Pakistan were now
beginning to bear fruit.
Until now, even though both Congress and the administration had realised
the futility of the Pressler law, none was prepared to act. The big
question was, as he put, "Who will bell the cat?"
But now, as a result of the government's "multi-faceted strategy,"
things were moving both in the administration and in Congress. Pakistan,
he said, was no more having "a single track diplomacy" revolving round
the military relationship.
Since the Pressler law was hurting US business interest, the powerful
corporate sector, which was now investing massively in Pakistan, was
working for a repeal of the sanctions.
There was cooperation with the United States, he said, in many fields,
including combating terrorism and drug trafficking, and interior
minister Naseerullah Babar had had useful dialogues with the FBI and
other American security agencies.
"To our good fortune," the foreign minister said, "a number of factors
have combined" to move things for Pakistan.
Asked how long he thought it would take for the Pressler amendment to
go, Sardar Assef said by the end of 1995 a process would be generated
that should give results.
The usually well-informed Defence News quoted US officials as saying the
administration was not going for a repeal of the Pressler law; instead,
it was working with Congress to seek "a one-time exception as a goodwill
gesture to a long-time Cold War ally with which relations have
deteriorated."
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950410
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PM asks US to initiate talks on South Asia
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*From Masood Haider
NEW YORK, April 9: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Saturday asked the
United States to initiate "multilateral talks on South Asia with the
participation of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council
and other major powers like Germany and Japan", in order to avoid a
missile and nuclear arms race in the region as a result of Indian arms
build-up.
These talks, she said, should focus on three broad areas: the resolution
of regional conflicts and, in particular, Kashmir; conventional arms
control; and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Speaking at the Princeton University campus in New Jersey, on the eve of
her official visit to Washington which begins on April 11, Ms Bhutto
underscored India's arms build-up which threatened peace in South Asia
and would accelerate nuclear and missile arms race in the region.
She said: "America's enormous influence today imposes a responsibility
on Washington to intercede at least actively in South Asia as it has in
the Middle East.
"The multilateral forum should also address the threat posed by the
increasing imbalance in conventional weapons between India and
Pakistan", stressed the Prime Minister, who added that "the
international community must also come together to bring a regional
solution to stem proliferation."
Talking extensively on the Kashmir dispute, Ms Bhutto asserted that
"India has adopted an inflexible and belligerent posture on Kashmir
because it believes that the major powers are unwilling to censure its
human rights violations", in the Valley.
"India", she said, "has the second largest army in the world today,
mostly deployed against Pakistan. During the past decade, India was
world's largest arms importer."
Referring to India's nuclear programme which threatens the stability in
the South Asian region, Ms Bhutto said "India exploded a nuclear device
in 1974 - ironically called the smiling Buddha".
She brought the house down when she added sarcastically: "I wonder if
Buddha was smiling when it happened."
She said: "Now twenty years after its nuclear explosion, India is about
to take another fateful step toward proliferationuthe production and
deployment of Prithvi, a short-range, nuclear-capable missile. Once it
is produced, we must presume that it has been deployed Benazir urge
multilateral talks on S. Asia and we shall have to respond accordingly."
PRESSLER AMENDMENT: Touching on the subject of the infamous Pressler
Amendment, which has stopped all American military and economic aid to
Pakistan since 1990, as the United States suspected that Pakistan has
capability of producing a nuclear device, the Prime Minister declared
unequivocally: "Pakistan has not made a nuclear device, nor tested one,
yet Pressler has been applied to us".
She quoted US Defence Secretary William Perry as telling her recently
that the Pressler Amendment is a "blunt instrument saying, "I saw no
evidence that it has increased the US influence or leverage with
Pakistan. To the contrary, I saw ample evidence that it has undermined
the influence we formerly had there."
She pointed out that India, a country aligned with the former Soviet
Union for full 45-year-long Cold War, had supported the communist regime
in Kabul, detonated a nuclear device, suffered no sanctions.
While saying that, "of course, we want the US sanctions against Pakistan
lifted on economic and humanitarian and development assistance", Ms
Bhutto observed that the "United States should honour its contractual
obligations to us, morally and legally, and release our equipment which
sits in the deserts of Arizona.
"Included amongst this Pakistan property are 28 F-16s defensive
interceptor aircraft, but, she said,
I "if the United States cannot honour its contract with us, we expect
the US to return our money in fairness. The planes, or our money back.
That simple that fair."
During the question answer session, when Ms Bhutto was asked about the
horrendous law and order situation in Karachi, she responded by saying:
"We are doing our best. One dead in Karachi is one too many."
About the women and human rights situation in Pakistan, Ms Bhutto said
that since she assumed power, some 17 months back, women had been
appointed to various positions of authority, including to the posts of
the judges of the higher court.
She drew a big applause when she related the incident about a woman in a
village of Pakistan and her encounter with the First Lady of the United
States, Hillary Clinton, during the latter's visit recently.
Most students and faculty members at the Princeton University were awe-
struck with Prime Minister Bhutto's charm, grace and poise. Her address
was frequently interrupted with applause.
Many said: "We can't believe she's here. It's a great day for us. It's a
great day for Pakistan."
Earlier, the president of the university, Prof R. Sahpiro, welcomed Ms
Bhutto to the campus.
MODERATION: Prime Minister Bhutto said Pakistan was committed to
constitutional rule, independence of judiciary and a free market
economy, and was a force for moderation and stability in the Islamic
world, adds APP.
She said Pakistan, upholding the principle of free markets and economic
liberalisation, wanted to integrate fully into the world economy.
She told the university elite and senior academics that the peaceful
paradigm of Islam prescribed tolerance and accommodation u not extremism
or violence. Islamic leaders had confirmed this at their summit in
Casablanca last December.
Pakistan, she said, was committed to the values of democracy and human
rights, values which had proved their relevance and durability, values
which had triumphed in the Cold War.
She said the new and free whorl could not be mana8ed by conclaves of the
rich and powerful. This would lead to repeated revolts by the
underprivileged.
She said Pakistan was being guided by the realities of communication
revolution and the changes in the concept of sovereignty in its post-
Cold War policy.
She said the communication revolution would change the concept of space
and sovereignty and the nations which could not gear themselves to a
global outlook integrating with the new information superhighway would
be left behind in the race of time. The concept of sovereignty would
undergo changes as economic and financial powers moved from nation-
states to international financial markets.
Ms Bhutto said Pakistan's foreign relations were being geared towards
trade not aid, creating international conditions for increased foreign
investment, and exploiting the country's geostrategic position to have
financial influence as a trading centre.
She said Pakistan was working with friends in the world on democracy,
human rights, the environments, population control, antiterrorists
measures, international peace-keeping and job creation.
The future of the people of Pakistan was not passive Pakistan, but an
activist Pakistan, an active Pakistan in the march of civilisation.
She said she was seeking to establish a politically conscious and
globally aware Pakistan fulfilling its international obligations and
international responsibilities a Pakistan at peace with itself and the
world, a Pakistan reflecting the message of universal humanism,
rejecting religious rigidity but welcoming spiritual strength and
sustenance from Allah. This, she said, was her vision of Pakistan's
international role in the third millennium.
Ms Bhutto said the bipolar world of the Cold War period was supported by
the concept of mutually assured nuclear destruction. This simplistic but
powerful dichotomy maintained a fragile peace by freezing territorial,
ethnic and other disputes in various parts of the world.
She said that in many ways the clarity of the Cold War had been replaced
by the confusion of the post-Cold-War era. Even worse I than confusion,
the world might be on the edge of a new age of cynical exploitation of
the poor by the rich, of the weak by the strong, which characterised the
world from the Congress of Vienna to the Treaty of Versailles.
She said it would be unfortunate if the foreign relations were pursued
through the prism of a new crusade between the Christian and the Muslim
worlds, between the North and the South. It would be equally unfortunate
if the United States disengaged itself from the rest of the world on the
assumption that the chaos characterising this age of transition could
not be controlled or rectified.
A half century struggle for freedom, she emphasised, should not end with
isolationism.
She said Pakistan fully accepted its international role. It had
committed troops to Cambodia, to be Gulf, to Bosnia, and to Haiti.
Pakistan's soldiers had been described as the most professional, the
best trained and highly motivated.
She said it was important to ensure that double standard was not allowed
to define the new era. The defence of human dignity and justice, she
said, was indivisible, and must be pursued universally.
She said that as an original signatory to the ban on biological
weapons, and one of the architects of the chemical weapons collection,
Pakistan's contribution to non-proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction was significant.
Pakistan was now actively engaged in negotiations for a comprehensive
test-ban treaty and a fissile material convention, and, had proposed the
creation of a nuclear-weapons-free zone in South Asia and a zero missile
regime.
She said unfortunately Indian ambitions had cast a long shadow, over its
neighbours: Pakistan Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
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950409
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PM denies Pakistan making bomb
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*From Our Staff Correspondent
WASHINGTON, April 8: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto denied here on
Saturday that Pakistan was quietly building a nuclear reactor that would
produce large quantities of plutonium used in manufacturing nuclear
weapons.
The Washington Post today claimed in a report written by three staggers
that Pakistan was "quietly building" a nuclear reactor that would give
Islamabad "access to substantial quantities of plutonium for more
powerful and compact nuclear weapons than it now possesses".
The report is the latest in an anti Pakistan campaign launched to
coincide with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's highly successful talks
with congressional leaders of Thursday.
In a headline that ran across the top of the back page in the main
section, the paper said the plans were proceeding "to the dismay of some
Clinton administration officials".
The US, it said, had been trying to "persuade several governments,
including China, not to cooperate with Pakistan on the reactor". But
Pakistan "has not publicised the project, which has been under way for
several years and will not be completed until 1996 or later".
The paper said that work on the reactor could "undermine a combined
Pakistani-Clinton administration effort to suspend or alter" the
Pressler amendment.
The six-column headline screamed "Pakistan building reactor that may
yield large quantities of plutonium".
The paper said Prime Minister Bhutto told The Post in an interview she
doubted such a reactor existed. However, she said the project involved,
"a small reactor for an experimental purpose".
The Prime Minister said the reactor, being built near Khushab, was "tied
into our nuclear power plant from China". Besides, Pakistan lacked the
capability eventually to reprocess the reactor's spent fuel, an act that
would separate the plutonium in that fuel and enable it to be used in
unclear weaponary."
The Prime Minister added: "We have no plans to produce plutonium". She
repeated Pakistan's well-known position on the nuclear question that
Islamabad could not give up its nuclear plans so long as India
maintained its own programme and developed ballistic missiles.
According to US officials, the power-generating capacity of the Khushab
nuclear reactor has been rated at 40 megawatts. It is a heavy water-
style reactor, similar to the one used by India in 1970s to produce
plutonium for nuclear weapons.
The paper said since it was going to be a reactor built largely with
indigenous technology, it would not be subject to international
inspections.
According to the newspaper US officials confirmed Prime Minister
Bhutto's statement that Pakistan cannot reprocess the reactor's
plutonium-laden spent fuel, and said the Clinton administration was
"unaware of any Pakistani plans to build such a capability".
But they "noted" that the Chinese-assisted reactor being built near
Chashma could be completed "in several years if Pakistan chose to do
so".
The paper quoted US official as saying Pakistan had "an arsenal of ten
nuclear weapons. The weapons are based on a Chinese design that uses
highly enriched uranium as the fuel for nuclear fission".
Smaller and more powerful plutonium-based weapons could fit more easily
onto ballistic missiles, said the paper, which quoted well informed
officials as saying, "we have been trying for years to stop items" from
going to Khushab in an effort to block its construction.
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950407
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Soothsayer in the company of PM
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*From Shaheen Sehabi
WASHINGTON, April 6: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is accompanied on her
US visit by her revered soothsayer, the man who tells her when to do
what and how. "Ibra", her 'peer' is a young man with a heavy beard and a
nervous denomination. His influence over the PM is telling, next
probably only to husband Asif Ali Zardari.
Ibra is the pet name for Nawab Jehangir Ibrahim from Mianwali, the
soothsayer who is envied by many in the close circle of Benazir Bhutto,
including the cronies and hangers-on who wish he was somehow removed
from her entourage.
He is the latest of the peers Benazir Bhutto has been seeing regularly
to ensure the continuity and longer life for her government. The Oxford
educated Benazir had started believing in these soothsayers after her
marriage to Asif Ali Zardari and had even been travelling to far-off,
forlorn places like the northern parts of Bangladesh, to seek their
divine help.
According to a story going around in Islamabad and circles close to her
in Washington, Benazir even visited the Peer in Kohat who was regularly
visited by her main political opponent Nawaz Sharif. This peer is known
to beat his visitors with a stick and Nawaz Sharif was so fond of him
that he even took his wife Kulsoom for such a divine beating to Kohat.
Both Nawaz Sharif and Benazir have, however, seen bad days after meeting
these peers but their belief has apparently not diminished.
But Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan of PPP recently described Ibra to me as a
"kammi" or the one belonging to the lower caste in the feudal jargon of
Punjab. Aitzaz said Ibra was very well known to him as until recently he
was an ordinary person, not even with a beard who was known for his
mischief and antics.
Yet the fear of the unknown and the search for the knowledge of the
future in Benazir Bhutto has brought Ibra into the small group of people
who are in a position to guide the destiny of the country through their
imaginary or secretly acquired powers in the realm of looking through
the crystal maze.
When I saw Ibra last Wednesday, he was having lunch in the dining room
of the Willard Hotel, the costly abode of the Prime Minister's party in
the heart of Washington D.C., just five minutes of walking distance from
the White House. Sharing his table were the Press Assistant to the Prime
Minister Farhatullah Babar a senior PID official Colonel Ikramullah and
Editor Najam Sethi. Dressed in a simple grey Shalwaar-Kameez, Ibra
looked a misfit in the PM's party which otherwise had smart cookies of
the like of Naheed Khan, Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Shahid Hassan Khan and some
journalists known for their loyalty to whoever occupies the seat of
power in Islamabad.
"He was so scared of eating lest anything that could contain may enter
his pure soul," one of those sharing his meal table later recalled. "He
was just taking potato chips, knowing little that the fat they were
fried in could also contain pork material," Najam Sethi said.
This extra attention to detail as necessary for a public show of
religious devotion, although the "peer" had disappeared later in the
evening from his room, as I kept on knocking at his door to have a few
words with him.
Those who have travelled with Benazir say Ibra was a major factor in
deciding when the Prime Minister would travel abroad, when she would
perform the religious rites and which numbers were lucky or unlucky for
her.
"The size of the official delegation to the United States has been cut
to 29 because Ibra told Benazir Bhutto that 29 was a lucky number for
her," they say. To accommodate the others, an unofficial entourage, and
a large one at that, is accompanying the Prime Minister.
Ibra was said to be shivering in his pants, nay his shalwaar, on arrival
at the Willard as his name was listed in the official list as sharing
the same limousine with Sherry Rehman, the Editor of Herald.
"Who is Sherry, please tell me, what is she like," he is said to have
asked another editor. Sherry was listening when the male editor conveyed
Ibra's concern. She reacted with remarks that are unprintable.
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950407
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Pakistan against forces of extremism: PM
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Our Staff Correspondent
WASHINGTON, April 6: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said here on
Wednesday that US-Pakistan relations had been "frozen by the application
of discriminatory statutes" and she had come to the United States to
"raise the fairness question", either the planes or the money.
Pakistan, the Prime Minister said. was every bit as critical to the
world and to the United States today" as it was in "the hottest days of
the Afghan war" and added. "We remain a central asset, politically,
strategically, culturally and economically, in the post-Cold War
period."
"Although, the enemies have changed," the Prime Minister said, Pakistan
remained a front-line state. We are a front-line state against
international terrorism; we are a front-line state against international
narcotics trafficking we are a front-line state for moderation and
pluralism, against the forces of extremism and ignorance."
Pakistan would remain important she said, "in the new millenniun."
The Prime Minister criticised America's nonproliferation policy and
demanded that the United States honour its contractual obligation. The
Pressler amendment was "a veto in the hands of India, a tool and a club
in the hands of those who stood against America and with the Soviet
Union for fifty years."
It rewarded "Indian intransigence" and punished "Pakistani loyalty and
friendship." It must be changed, she said, "so that normal relations
between our two great countries can be strengthened."
The Prime Minister offered "to go anywhere, at any time" to sign the
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty if her Indian counterpart did the same.
"I will joyfully agree to a treaty to ban nuclear weapons in South Asia,
to create a missile-free zone in South Asia, to stop the production of
fissile material in South Asia, as long as the only proven nuclear power
on the subcontinent adheres to the same treaties."
Nuclear proliferation she said, was "a regional problem. It demands a
regional solution."
Implying that Pakistan was a model for other Muslim countries of the
region, the Prime Minister said the stakes were "terribly high" because
the world's one billion Muslims were at a cross-roads. They must choose,
she said, between "tolerance and bigotry, between "technology and
repression," between "xenophobia and internationalism." Ultimately, they
must choose "between the past and the future."
Pakistan stood ready, she said, "to assist them in their transition to
democracy, in their transition to free market economies, in their
transition into the modern era."
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950408
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Bomb scare in New York before P-M's arrival
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Masood Haider
NEW YORK, April 7: The New York police intelligence and bomb squad units
scrambled into action, scouring the John F. Kennedy airport and other
sites, on reports that a Pakistani-based terrorist group has arrived in
the city and has threatened Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Ms Bhutto was scheduled to arrive here on Friday afternoon.
The New York police department was identifying the so-called terrorist
group as MQM, which had threatened a suicide attack on the Prime
Minister.
The New York city radio and television stations have been reporting on
the incident since early morning.
At around 9:30 am Friday (EST) an ABC programme "live with Kathy Lee"
was suspended when they received a call from a person identifying
himself as an "Islamist" told the host of the show that a bomb would go
off in the studios soon.
It may be pointed out here that many Pakistani opposition groups based
in New York city have announced plans to demonstrate in front of Waldorf
Astoria hotel where the Prime Minister and her entourage are staying.
King Hussain of Jordan and Iraq's deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz, have
also arrived in town to meet United Nations secretary general Boutros
Boutros-Ghali.
The Pakistani officials in New York were not available for comment as
they had already left for the airport to receive Ms. Bhutto.
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950409
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PM seeks Ghali's help on Kashmir dispute
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Four Our Correspondent
UNITED NATIONS, April 8: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto asked the United
Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali on Saturday to increase
his efforts to resolve the Kashmir dispute, which led to three wars
between India and Pakistan in past and continued to threaten peace in
the South Asian region.
According to the Pakistan Ambassador to the United States, Maleeha
Lodhi, Ms Bhutto also discussed with Mr Ghali the UN role in Bosnia and
of Pakistan's peacekeeping forces now in service of the UN.
Mr Ghali thanked the Pakistani leader for providing to UN the largest
peacekeeping force "at this point in time."
He assured Ms Bhutto that he would continue his efforts in helping India
and Pakistan to resolve the dispute peacefully.
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950407
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MQM, PPP hold rallies
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Our Staff Correspondent
WASHINGTON, April 6: The MQM staged its second anti-PPP demonstration on
Wednesday when it held a rally outside Willard Hotel where Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto and her entourage are staying.
PPP supporters, carrying national and party flags and the Prime
Minister's photographs, also demonstrated in favour of their leader.
Holding placards, the MQM workers raised slogans denouncing "atrocities"
by security forces and accusing the PPP government of human right
violations in Karachi.
This was the second day of MQM demonstrations designed to draw attention
to "excesses against Mohajirs" in Karachi.
Tomorrow, a recently formed "save Pakistan Committee" intends to hold a
candle-light vigil outside the residence of the Pakistan ambassador to
protest against what a Press release called "the genocide" in Karachi.
According to the Press release, the demonstrators will include
supporters of the MQM, Pakistan Muslim League, Pakistan Association,
International Mohajir, the Coalition for Concerned Pakistani Americans
and the Council of Pakistani Organisations.
The committee hopes to maintain the candle-light vigil for three
evenings in succession. Demonstrations are also planned by PPP
supporters and anti-PPP organisations in front of the White House on
April 11 when the Prime Minister is to meet President Clinton.
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950408
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Mous worth $6bn signed
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Muhammad Ali Siddiqi
WASHINGTON, April 7: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said here on Thursday
that the massive foreign investment flowing into Pakistan represented "a
fundamental endorsement" of her government's "disciplined macroeconomic
policy".
This endorsement had come, she said, not merely from the US government
but, as the prime minister put it, from "the hardest of all nuts to
crack - corporate America".
Speaking after the Memoranda of Understanding on further US investments
in Pakistan had been signed at the historic National Building Museum in
the presence of a large crowd that also witnessed a lively cultural
show, Ms Bhutto said the two governments had "truly become partners in
building Pakistan."
The MoUs signed represent a potential US investment of six billion
dollars in energy infrastructure and energy delivery in Pakistan.
If Ken Brody, chairman of the US Exim Bank, who has the rank of a
cabinet minister, is included, the glittering ceremony with all the
media razzmatazz was witnessed by five Clinton cabinet ministers
Secretaries for Energy, Commerce and Agriculture and US Trade
Representative Micky Kantor. Also present were executive heads of 62 US
corporations.
Giving what she called 'an amazing statistic", the prime minister said
they had signed that evening agreements for "more foreign investment for
Pakistan than in the full quarter century that preceded my government's
re-election in 1993". This had brought the total foreign investment to
Pakistan over the last 17 months to over 20 billion dollars.
The new ventures showed that the two sides had taken "a major step on
the road to a new Pakistan" which believed in trade not aid partnership,
not dependence. "I assure you," she said, "that some day you will look
back to this signing ceremony as the smartest business decision you have
ever made."
Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary both
paid tributes to Prime Minister Bhutto's leadership in pursuing economic
reforms, and said that economy was going to be the new basis of the US-
Pakistan relationship.
Mr Brown said the signing ceremony signified the future growth of
Pakistan's economy and a foundation upon which to base the bilateral
relationship.
Ms O'Leary said the investments constituted "an extraordinary tribute"
to the Pakistani leadership and showed how the US government and
business had responded "to the call of economic reforms" in Pakistan.
American businessmen now realised, she said, that "business with
Pakistan is good business".
60 Mous SIGNED: A total of 60 MoUs were signed last evening, providing
for US investment in non-energy sectors, including water and
communication. Among Americans who signed the MoUs were Mr Robert
McFarland, former national security adviser to president Reagan now
representing United States Medical International, and Mr John Imle Jr.
head of the Unocal Corporation.
Mr Salman Farooqi, Secretary for Water and Power, signed a number of
related MoUs for Pakistan, and said that they constituted American
companies' "concrete promise to explore for oil, build power plants and
develop our ports and telecommunications infrastructure".
The agreements constitute the second such event between Pakistan and the
US last year. During secretary, O'Leary's visit to Pakistan, the two
sides signed MoUs worth four billion dollars.
The agreements would concretise when international lending agencies come
up with financing. US Exim Bank has already indicated that it is willing
to provide funding to US companies interested in investments in
Pakistan.
Despite the Pressler law, the US companies can invest in Pakistan. But
they are denied insurance cover, and the interest rates go high.
Special Assistant Shahid Hassan told newsmen that he was confident the
funding would be forthcoming because Pakistan's economic reforms had won
wide approval from US public and private sectors. He quoted Exim chief
as saying he was surprised to see "how well-structured" Pakistan's
macro-economic policies were.
Currently, he said, there were three aims behind Pakistan's "economic
diplomacy" to look for finances for the MoUs signed, to sign agreements
for new projects and to launch a new initiative at Los Angeles where the
prime minister is to have a meeting with investors on the west coast.
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950412
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Altaf, Nawaz discuss Karachi
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Our Correspondent
LONDON, April 11: Leader of the opposition Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif
and chief of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement Altaf Hussain had a meeting on
Tuesday lasting 45 minutes, at which the latest developments in Pakistan
and in particular in Karachi came under review.
The MQM leader, with some of his close associates, visited the hospital
where Mr Nawaz Sharif's father is being treated for heart condition. Mr
Hussain had inquired about him by telephone on Sunday.
Mr Sharif, who had reached an understanding with the MQM leader after
two days of talks last month, has come to London mainly for his father's
treatment. He is expected to stay here until Mian Sharif is released
from the hospital. He is said to be in a stable condition after
undergoing angioplasty last week.
An MQM source said no one else was present at the meeting between Mr
Sharif and Mr Hussain on Tuesday. The two coordinating committees, set
up by the MQM and the Muslim League following the accord reached between
their leaders, had begun working and would be monitoring progress in
achieving cooperation between the two parties, the source said. Mr
Hussain was concerned over what he called a fresh wave of "state
oppression" against his party workers, and had drawn Mr Sharif's
attention to the killings of a number of his party's activists in recent
days, the source added.
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950407
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Qazi for change thru revolution
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 6: Chief of Jamaat-i-Islami Senator Qazi Hussain Ahmed
has underlined the need for getting rid of "power-hungry clique" through
a revolutionary process rather than banking on politics of alliances.
Speaking at the conclusion of a high-level meeting of the Jamaat here on
Thursday, he said there was a need for an alternative leadership in the
county having a sound character which should save the people from the
hardships they are faced with.
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950410
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Fresh poll demand dropped : Opposition opts for no-trust: Khattak
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
LAHORE, April 9: The opposition does not intend to demand fresh
elections, and it will, instead, focus its attention on removing the
present government through a noconfidence motion in the assembly, ANP
President Senator Ajmal Khattak said here on Sunday.
Talking to newsmen, he said the 'hawks" in the opposition were of the
view that a no-confidence motion be introduced at the earliest possible
opportunity. However, he said the opposition would strike at what it
considered to be the right moment.
The ANP president said removal of the Benazir government was not the
sole objective before the opposition. The opposition wanted to steer the
country out of the problems currently besetting it. Thus, although the
opposition was in a position "to outvote" the Prime Minister, it was
waiting for a suitable opportunity.
Asked to comment on reports that the opposition did not have a candidate
as a replacement for Ms Benazir Bhutto the ANP leader said, "We have a
candidates."
Answering a question about the possibility of cooperation between the
ANP and the Jamaat-i-Islami, Mr Khattak said his party regarded the
Jamaat as an effective force whose cooperation was required to clear
"the prevailing mess."
Answering a question about the Kashmir issue, the ANP president said the
issue could be resolved through talks between Pakistan and India. He
said the matter would not he resolved if India continued to describe
Kashmir as its integral part and Pakistan termed it as its jugular]ill
vein.
Mr Khattak said Kashmiris should play a pivotal role in solving the
issue.
Replying to a question, the ANP president claimed that his party was not
informed by Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan that he planned to hold a
conference on Kashmir.
It was reported that the ANP had not signed the joint declaration on i
the Kashmir issue. Answering a question about the Kalabagh dam, Mr
Khattak said the energy requirements of the country should be met
without endangering national unity. At present, he said, the NWFP,
Balochistan and Sindh were opposed to this project Energy needs could be
met from other sources, but there was no substitute for national unity.
If the Kalabagh dam was built, it would be simply "disastrous" for
national unity, creating bitterness among the provinces.
Mr Khattak strongly challenged the suggestions that the parliamentary
system had failed in the country, and the presidential system should now
be adopted. He said the presidential system was tried in the past and
had failed.
Answering another question, the ANP president said his party supported
the demand for the status of a province for the Saraiki area. As far as
the Mohajirs were concerned, he said, the ANP was in favour of giving
them a social, cultural and linguistic status.
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950407
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Nawaz's flight delayed
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, April 6: A PIA flight carrying opposition leader Nawaz Sharif
and members of his family was delayed for an hour on Thursday because
the name of opposition leader's father was on the exit control list, PML
sources said.
Mohammad Sharif was leaving for London via Manchester for treatment of
his heart ailment along with his wife, his son Nawaz Sharif, Begum
Qulsoom Nawaz Sharif and Hasan Nawaz.
The Sharif family had arrived here from Lahore on PK 380 and after
staying an hour in the VIP lounge embarked on a PIA flight PK-789 for
London. However, he was told by the Immigration authorities that his
name was on the exit control list because of cases registered against
him. He was informed that he would be allowed to proceed only after
permission was granted from the government.
The airport authorities reportedly contacted senior officials who
cleared Sharif's name on humanitarian grounds.
The whole process delayed the flight for one hour after which it left
for Manchester.
The passengers were, however, told that the delay was due to some
technical problem.
Political analysts said Mr Nawaz Sharif has quietly shifted his entire
family to London which was an indication that he would now return with
free hands to launch a movement against the government.
Opposition leader's elder brother Shahbaz Sharif is already living in
self-exile in London and his son Hussain Nawaz is studying there.
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950407
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3 cops held for torturing man to death
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Aziz Malik
HYDERABAD, April 6: A head constable and two constables, Bhittai Nagar
police were arrest late this evening for having tortured a young man to
death in custody last night. Some other personnel of the police station
were suspended.
The action followed a protest demonstration by the residents of Safar
Sheedi village. The demonstrators, including women and children, marched
in a procession from the village in Qasimabad carrying the young man's
body, to Hyderabad Press Club.
Earlier the police had claimed that the man, 25-year-old Mashooq Ali
Sheedi, had committed suicide.
Mashooq Ali was picked up by Bhittai Nagar Police from Safar Sheedi two
days back with four other persons, for alleged involvement in some
robbery case. He was also reportedly wanted by the Qasimabad police in
some case.
Mashooq was allegedly tortured to death during interrogation by head-
constable Mohammad Khan Lakho and the two constables. Following their
arrest on the orders of SSP Sardar Abdul Majeed, the police released the
other four out of apparent panic. It is believed that the four are eye-
witnesses to the torture-killing of Mashooq.
His body was handed over to his relatives after post-mortem examination
past midnight. In the morning, over 150 people marched to the Press Club
with the body where journalists and others saw that it bore clear marks
of torture.
Later, the villagers tried to take the body to Shahbaz building where a
meeting of the Sindh cabinet was in progress, but the administration
stopped them.
The deceased was a temporary employee of the Hyderabad Development
Authority.
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950410
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Ulema demand ban on provocative sermons, graffiti
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 9: The Milli Yakjehti Council at a meeting of its member
organisations on Sunday adopted a 17-point code of ethics calling d
complete ban on the issuance of recriminatory statements and use of
bandying words at Friday congregations. It also demanded ban on indecent
graffiti and desecration of worship places in order to get rid of
sectarianism and to steer out Ummah from the abyss of odium, animosity
and killings.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan chief, Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani, who is also
the president of the MYC, was in the chair.
The Ulema presented proposals for a unanimous stand by thereligious
organisations on sectarian and national issues.
The chairman of the reconciliatory committee of the MYC, Liaquat Baloch
of Jamaat-i-lslami was also present in the meeting. The task the
committee has laid before it is to lesson the hawkish attitude of "the
hostile organisations (SSP, TJP and SMP) and to persuade them to sit on
negotiation table".
The code of ethics is based on the 22-point charter compiled by 31
leading Ulema of the country in 1951 which formed the basis of the
Objectives Resolution.
Through a resolution the meeting urged the government to extend material
support to
Kashmiri freedom fighters and not to cap peaceful nuclear programme.
Leaders of the Jamaat-i-Islami, Jamiat-i-Ulema-i- Islam, Jamiat Ulema-i-
Pakistan (Noorani group), Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Sami group), Jamiat
Ulema-i-Pakistan (Niazi group), Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, Tehrik-i-
Jaffaria Pakistan, Sipah-i-Muhammad Pakistan, both factions of Jamiat
Ahl-i-Hadith, Sawad-i-Azam Ahl-i-Sunnat Pakistan and others took part in
the deliberations.
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950412
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Contempt case against Dawn : Counsel urge hearing by full court
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Nasir Malick and Shaukat Ali Khan
ISLAMABAD, April 11: The respondents' counsel in the contempt of court
case filed by a PPP leader against Dawn and its columnist in the Supreme
Court requested the three-member bench to refer the case to a full court
as the matter related to the enforcement of a fundamental right.
The bench while adjourning the hearing issued a notice to the Attorney
General to appear before it on the next date, to be fixed later.
The contempt notice was issued by the Supreme Court to the Editor,
Printer and Publisher of Dawn, and columnist Ardeshir Cowasjee for
publishing an article on November 25, 1994, on PPP leader Masroor
Ahsan's application alleging that it scandalised the courts and the
judges.
During today's preliminary hearing the respondents filed their replies
to these allegations.
Constitutional experts Sharifuddin Pirzada appeared on behalf of Mr
Cowasjee, Khalid Anwar on behalf of the Editor Ahmed Ali Khan, and
Makhdoom Ali Khan on behalf of the Printer and Publisher Ghulam Ali
Mirza.
Senior advocate Sabeehuddin Ahmed appeared for the Pakistan Newspapers
and Periodicals Organisation (PNPO) requesting the court to make PNPO a
party to the case as the decision was going to affect a large number of
its members. His request would be considered later by the court.
The court room was packed to capacity due to the importance of the case.
Political leaders, human rights activists, senior lawyers, retired civil
and military officers and a large number of local and foreign
journalists were present to attend the proceedings.
In his written reply, the advocate for Ahmad Ali Khan informed the court
that Dawn was an independent newspaper and its policies were determined
independently by the Editor and his staff. "Its proprietors have never
sought, and do not seek to cause it to reflect their personal views or
political predilections," he said.
"It is part of Dawn's editorial policy to allow the widest possible
latitude and freedom of expression to their journalists and
correspondents," he said.
It was pointed out in the Editor's statement that said the views
expressed by Mr Cowasjee, and other columnists, were their own and Dawn
did not necessarily agree with them. "On the contrary it is an aspect of
editorial policy to allow the free interplay of opinion for the public
weal."
When the three-member bench, headed by Justice Fazal Illahi Khan,
started its proceedings, Mr Sabeehuddin was the first to appear and
request that the PNPO be made a party to the case. He said that several
questions of law of public importance would arise in the matter which
would have a direct bearing on the limits within which the entire Press
would be entitled to exercise the freedom guaranteed by the
Constitution. Hence his organisation be made a party to the case.
Justice Fazal Illahi observed that the organisation should have applied
to the court office. He advised the counsel for the PNPO to submit his
request to the court office where it would be processed and "will be
considered later."
At this stage Mr Masroor's counsel, Raja Anwar, pointed out to the court
that the respondents had still to submit their replies as required under
the law.
Mr Pirzada informed the court that statements were ready with them and
supplied the same to the court as well as to the petitioners' counsel.
Justice Munir Ahmad Khan asked about the two separate applications
attached to the replies. He noted that one of the applications called
for instituting a full court to hear the case while the other called for
issuing a notice to the Attorney General.
The counsel for Mr Cowasjee submitted that the request for forming a
full court had been made because it was for the first time that the
issue of a fundamental right had been raised in a contempt case.
He said the Press was invoking Article 19 of the Constitution
guaranteeing the freedom of speech and the Press.
Article 19 relating to fundamental rights says: "Every citizen shall
have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be
freedom of the Press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by
law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or
defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign
states, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of
court or incitement to an offence."
He urged that the court should consider reconciling Article 204 of the
constitution, which empowers the courts to punish on contempt of court,
with Article 19.
Referring to the request for issuing notice to the Attorney General, Mr
Pirzada said it was because an allegation had been made in the petition
about the "instant scandalising of the court" and the Attorney General
would be in a better position to explain that.
Mr Pirzada also requested the court to club together the petition filed
by former Editor of Weekly Takbeer, late Maulana Salahuddin, with his
application.
He said according to his knowledge, the late Maulana Salahuddin had
filed a contempt of court petition against Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto
in October 1990. He said he had tried to ascertain the position of that
case from the court office but could not get any information.
"If that case has been disposed of, the decision should be provided to
us or if it is pending it should be heard along with this application,"
he said.
Justice Fazal Illahi asked him what connection Maulana Salahuddin's
petition had with the case. Mr Pirzada informed the court that the late
Salahuddin had filed petition on the basis of a book "Daughter of the
East" written by Benazir Bhutto and for addressing a seminar presided
over by Justice (retd) Durab Patel.
Justice Munir said the issue raised by the respondents was a serious
issue: He said the court would be needing the assistance of a
constitutional expert like Mr Pirzada in the interpretation of various
articles of the Constitution.
He said that the proper procedure for the court would be to first issue
notice to the Attorney General and then sort out other matters. He said
the petitioner would also be issued notices on these matters.
However, counsel for the Editor Dawn Khalid Anwar, pointed out that the
job of the petitioner was already over. He said after the issuance of
notice to the Attorney General, he (Attorney General) would now be
presumed to be both the complainant and the prosecutor.
Justice Munir agreed that since the court had taken cognizance of the
contempt, the Attorney General would become the prosecutor.
Khalid Anwar told the court that Pakistan's constitution was distinct
from other constitutions in that it specifically recognised the freedom
of the Press.
"Subject to reasonable restrictions imposed by law," Justice Munir
reminded him.
Agreeing with the judge, Mr Khalid said Article 19 of the Constitution
separately guaranteed the right of Press freedom. He said Press was a
conglomeration of individuals and this fundamental right had been given
independently to them.
"And subject to all reasonable limitations," Justice Munir again
reminded him.
Khalid Anwar said the PNPO should be made a party to the case as it was
a representative body of the newspapers and periodicals and entitled to
plead its case.
He also supported Mr Pirzada's plea that a full court should be
constituted for hearing this case. He said the aspect of fundamental
rights had never been touched in such cases in the past. "We have to see
and determine how this fundamental right inter-acts with the rights and
dignity of the court," he said.
Mr Khalid said the power of the judiciary was actually derived from the
power of the people while the Press was considered to be a watch-dog of
the interests of the people.
The petitioner's counsel, Raja Anwar replying to the points raised by
the counsel for the respondents, said the request for the formation of a
full court was only a delaying tactic.
Raja Anwar also opposed the application filed by Mr Pirzada for issuing
a notice to the Attorney General. He said as soon as the contempt
proceedings were initiated by the court, a notice was automatically sent
to the Attorney General's office informing him about the proceedings.
"Then the Attorney General becomes the prosecutor."
Raja Anwar said about the respondent columnist: "Here is a man who is in
the habit of scandalising the courts." He said the judges were not in a
position to reply to the allegations made against them in the Press.
Raja Anwar said contempt of court had become very common and requested
the court to decide the issue for all times to come. He also disagreed
that a full court had never heard such a case in the past and referred
to the Fakr Alam case which was heard by a full court.
Mr Pirzada took strong exception to the charges levelled by Raja Anwar
against his client and said he was never afraid of early hearing and was
ready to plead the case before a full court as and when it was formed.
Similarly, he also objected to the remarks made by Mr Anwar that his
client had been scandalising the courts during the last 10 years. "I
take serious exception to the charge that we are using delaying tactics
or that we have been scandalising the courts," Mr Pirzada said.
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950412
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United Muslim army in Kashmir likely
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Our Correspondent
MUZAFFARABAD, April 11: Different mujahideen groups fighting Indian rule
in held Kashmir may opt to form a united Muslim army to combat occupant
forces effectively and efforts in this connection have entered in a
decisive phase, Dawn learnt from reliable sources on Tuesday.
The need of such force, said the sources, had been felt for quite some
time but could not be materialised due to reported differences among
various groups. With the rising possibilities of liberation of Kashmir
from India at global level, chances of joint army of mujahideen have
brightened up.
Another reason behind the decision to launch a combined Muslim force was
to avert Afghanistan-like situation in the held Kashmir in future,
sources said.
The joint force namely Muslim malitia force was likely to be formed
shortly after the merger of small militant outfits at the initial stage
and later, of major groups into the military.
The Muslim militia, the sources added, would operate against Indian army
under one banner moto and a single command. Moreover its soldiers would
be equipped with necessary combat training, they claimed.
According to these sources, contacts among leaders of various militant
organisations have intensified and majority of them have given their
consent for the formation of the proposed militia.
It was also learnt that the largest pro-Pakistan militant organisation,
operating against Indian forces, has also offered voluntarily to give up
its name, paving way for the "greater cause".
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950407
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Offer to Opposition : Govt ready to settle issue of restoring women's
seats
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, April 6: Federal Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs
Prof. N.D Khan on Thursday offered the opposition that the government
was ready to settle the issue of restoration of women seats.
"If the opposition is apprehensive that the restoration of women seats
in the present assembly would increase the strength of the ruling party
then the government is ready to negotiate with the opposition for
restoring women seats in the next assembly", he told a Press conference.
The law minister was of the view that there should be some breakthrough
in the present stalemate between the opposition and the ruling party. He
claimed that the government was sincere in holding talks with the
opposition for strengthening the present democratic system and evolving
a consensus on key national issues.
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950407
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Row may lead to aid suspension
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From A Correspondent
ISLAMABAD. April 6: The Japanese government has urged Pakistan to
intervene immediately to resolve a tussle between two departments of the
NWFP government which is impeding an important health project.
The inter-departmental row has affected utilisation of a grant-inaid
worth Rs. 288 million by Japan for the improvement of medical equipment
of basic health units and rural health centres in the NWFP, informed
sources told Dawn on Wednesday.
The period for utilisation of the grant expired on March 31, but Tokyo
agreed to an extension for two weeks to settle the problem.
The dispute on the project involves the ministry of health and the
planning and development department of the NWFP government. Details of
the differences were not known.
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950408
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Dispute on jobs, LBs system unresolved
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Mahmood Zaman
LAHORE, April 7: The Punjab cabinet meeting on Thursday is understood to
have ended in a stalemate as neither the disputes on the MPAs demand of
quotas for recruitments could be agreed upon nor the new law on the
future local government system in the province was allowed to be
presented.
The PPP members of the cabinet, who held a separate session prior to the
cabinet meeting, reportedly felt amazed as to why "an indecent haste"
was being exercised in pushing through both the important matters at a
time when the prime minister and the Punjab governor were out of the
country.
The ground realities appear to have made the government's "challenging"
task of filling as many as 42,000 vacancies in Grades 1 to 16 in
different provincial departments by the stipulated day, April 15, almost
impossible. The government, many believe, will have to grant another
extension in the last date for the recruitment process to complete. An
important factor for the extension is that many in the government,
particularly the interested parties, will be busy in the by- election in
Muzaffargarh which is incidentally falling on the same day which is the
last date for completing of the recruitment process.
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950409
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Renewed violence claims 8 lives
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 8: The death of a Mohajir Qaumi Movement worker in a
police encounter sparked violence in Korangi on Saturday in which three
people were killed and six others wounded.
A total of eight people, including two policemen died in Saturday
violence raising the death toll 28 during the week.
Till the filing of this report, heavy contingents of rangers backed by
police and armoured personnel carriers, were carrying out house-to-house
search in the.
A 25-year-old MQM activist, Tasaduq Ali alias Dehshat was killed in an
alleged encounter in Korangi. But the MQM claimed that its workers was
murdered in cold-blood.
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950407
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Transit trade : Accord in next round likely
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Anjum Niaz
ISLAMABAD, April 6: With the first round of Pakistan-Afghan transit
trade talks having yielded positive results, official sources said here
on Thursday that the next round scheduled for the first half of May is
expected to see an agreement signed by Islamabad and Kabul on a latent
but recently turned thorny issue.
"This round has helped in narrowing differences in perception and we are
now closer to an agreement," an official source told Dawn while
admitting that some unpalatable facts during private conversations came
to the fore exposing Pakistan and Afghanistan's "culpability" in certain
areas.
The five-member Afghan delegation is said to have apprised the Pakistani
side about the huge sums of money the Afghan traders have to give as
"illegal gratification" to the Pakistan customs.
Taking Pakistan to task for its "inaction" against such institutions
guilty of misuse and misconduct in the "reverse flow" of goods smuggled
back from Afghanistan into Pakistan, official sources said that while
the Afghans recognise the "injury" termed by Central Board of Revenue
(CBR) as economic aggression by its neighbour, the Afghan delegation
said it was prepared to cooperate with Pakistan in taking joint measures
to nab the people involved in smuggling and illegal gratification
through foolproof monitoring and updated data.
The Afghans also raised the issue of an alternative transport system for
their goods.
Pointing out defects in the transit trade facility, Pakistan also
pinpointed certain areas which were suffering due to smuggling: "The
transit trade has already crossed the 300 million dollar mark this year,
while officially it is 300 million dollars due to under-invoicing, the
actual amount comes to around 600-700 million dollars which is affecting
our industry here," said sources citing the recent shutting down of Sony
spark plugs factory.
An unidentified bullet-riddled body was found at an isolated place in
Shadman Town in Malir.
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950413
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Oman refuses to invest in Gwadar
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Our Staff Correspondent
QUETTA, April 12: The Omanese government and other investors have
finally backed out from their commitments to making sizable investment
in the coastal region of Gwadar and Mekran.
This was disclosed by Chief Minister Zulfikar Ali Magsi disclosed.
He said he had a meeting with Sultan Qaboos on his way back from
performing his pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, during which the Sultan's top
economic adviser, Mr Zawawi, was also present. Mr Zawawi was supposed to
make the bulk of investment, running the port operations at Gwadar
building, the infrastructure for handling commercial cargo and improving
fishing and fish processing.
He said he would be making efforts to prevail upon the Omanese
government and investors in the private sector to review their decision.
Asked about the allotment of land to Sultan Qaboos, Nawab Magsi said no
decision had been taken so far. When the time came, a decision would be
taken.
===================================================================
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===================================================================
950407
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Farm water distribution system to be privatised
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Shamim Shamsi
SUKKUR, April 6: The government plans to privatise the distribution
system of irrigation water to curb irregularities and malpractice and
to stop wastage, Dawn learnt on Thursday. The irrigation water supplied
*from Tarbela dam was not equitably distributed, a big amount of water
is wasted and the big land lords obtain its lion's share due to their
influence while the small landlords and the growers, especially those
at the tail-end of the canals, do not receive their due share of water.
This irregular supply not only affected the small growers but the
agricultural produce was also adversely affected. To eliminate the
irregularities, the government has planned to privatise the irrigation
water. The landlords and the peasants would have to pay the cost of
water proportionate to their consumption.
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950413
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Wu to set up port at Keti Bundar
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Faraz Hashmi
ISLAMABAD, April 12: Gordon Wu, business tycoon of Hong Kong, will
develop a port at Kati Bander with an estimated cost of $100 million for
the import of coal, official sources told the 'Dawn'.
Consolidated Electric Power Asia (CEPA), a company owned by Gordon Wu,
in its recent talks with the Private Power and Infrastructure Board
(PPIB) had agreed to develop the port. Earlier CEPA was not ready to
install its proposed power plant of 5,280 mw at Kati Bander.
The CEPA, before construction of the power plant, will dig a channel in
the marshy land of the proposed site for the ships importing coal, the
source said.
According to the understanding reached at between the PPIB and CEPA the
former, besides establishing port will also contribute in the extraction
of the Thar coal reserves. The Sindh government as part of the agreement
is obliged to lay a metalled road upto Kati Bander, the source said.
The CEPA, as per understanding would initially set up two power
generating units which would be operated by the imported coal. These
units after the development of the Thar coal mines would be switched to
the domestic coal.
However the government is yet to conduct a study to ascertain the
quality of over 180 billion tonnes coal reserves at Thar and the cost
required for its extraction, the source added.
Earlier, the CEPA had been insisting that it should be allowed to run
the proposed power plant on the imported coal. The selection of the site
earlier, had been another issue which created doubts about the
implementation of $7.9 billion investment pledged by Gordon Wu.
The CEPA after a brief survey of the Sindh province chose the site of
Mubarakpur for installation of the power plant, wherein the provincial
government wanted it to be established somewhere in the interior or near
Thar. Eventually the CEPA agreed to set it up at Kati Bander where water
is available in abundance to cool the plant.
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950411
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Bids for PTC adviser opened
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Nasir Malick
ISLAMABAD, April 10: Bids received by the Privatisation Commission by
three foreign companies seeking to act as financial adviser on the sale
of 26 per cent shares of Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation were
opened here on Monday.
The bids were opened in the presence of representatives of three short-
listed companies - Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs from United States and
Morgan Grenfell.
At least one representative each came from the headquarters of the firms
to attend the bidding.
The Commission consultant Zubair Ijaz refused to give the prices offered
by these companies saying these were linked to conditionalities.
"We will evaluate these bids and go through the documents before
appointing the adviser," he said. "It will take about one week to
complete the evaluation.
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950411
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Trade union ban goes on May 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Mahmood Zaman
LAHORE, April 10: The federal government is understood to have decided
"in principle" to restore trade union activities in most of the
departments where collective bargaining is presently banned under the
Pakistan Essential Services Act.
The lifting of ban is said to be part of the government's labour policy
which is likely to be announced as a May Day gift for the working
classes.
The Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan Television, the Pakistan
Broadcasting Corporation, Pakistan Security Printing Corporation,
Pakistan Security Papers, PCSIR Laboratories, National Logistics Cell,
hospitals and the Pakistan Ordnance Factory are among those
organisations where trade union rights may be restored.
The departments where the ban will continue to exist include the police
and the armed forces. In this regard the Essential Services Act, enacted
in the early 1950s, will have to be drastically amended.
The scope of the Act was expanded between 1985 and 1993 to include many
departments besides the ones originally covered by it. Thus a complete
or partial ban on trade union activities was imposed on the open-line
establishments of the Pakistan Railways, WAPDA, Karachi Port Trust, Oil
and Gas Development Corporation, Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation,
certain educational institutions and export processing zones.
The proposed labour policy and the amendment in the Act are expected to
be placed before the federal cabinet.
Restoration of trade union rights in these departments, repeal of the
Pakistan Essential Services Act and bringing all labour laws in
conformity with the ILO Conventions has been repeatedly agitated by the
ILO's governing body during its sessions at Geneva for over two decades.
Every time the government representative held out a "solemn pledge" that
the labour situation would be improved. On a number of occasions
Pakistan has been blacklisted by the ILO for not honouring the
commitment.
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950407
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Consortium meets on 20th : Pakistan to seek $2.2bn for 95-96
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, April 6: Pakistan has sought 2.2 billion dollars from the Aid
to Pakistan Consortium for the financial year 1995- 96, admitting that
the growth remained depressed, inflation accelerated and budgetary
performance was below expectation during 1994-95.
The Planning Commission and the Economic Affairs Division have jointly
prepared a "Memorandum for the Pakistan Consortium 1995-96" to be
presented in the Paris club meeting scheduled for April 20 and 21.
"We are seeking 2.5 billion dollars from the Aid-to-Pakistan
consortium," Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Kazi Alimullah told
Dawn here on Thursday.
Based on current estimates, Pakistan expects total official commitments
of 2.6 billion dollars (exactly $ 2,620 million) in 1995-96 including
2.2 billion from the consortium, 278 million from non-consortium and 45
million dollars as relief assistance for refugees. Gross official
disbursements during the next fiscal are projected as 2.5 billion
dollars of which project aid disbursement from pipeline and fresh
commitments will aggregate 2.1 billion dollars. Disbursement of non-
project aid from the pipeline and new commitments were projected at 305
million dollars of which 200 million dollars will be food assistance and
the balance of 105 million dollars reflects disbursement from different
sector loans and commodity type assistance.
The year 1995-96 is projected to close with current account deficit of
the order of 2.4 billion dollars ($2414 million). In addition, 1.5
billion dollars will be needed for amortisation. With the envisaged
build up of foreign exchange reserves of 521 million dollars, the total
foreign capital requirements for the next fiscal would amount to 4.5
billion dollars.
According to the memorandum prepared for the consortium, the GDP growth
could not catch up due to the continued cotton crisis. Inflation soared
due to supply shortages, and revenues faced shortfall on account of
adjustments in taxation structure during the current financial year.
The GDP was planned to grow by 6.9 per cent during 1994- 95. But the
excessive rains, followed by floods, severely damaged the Kharif crops,
and as a result the output of cotton was only 7.5 million bales against
the target of 9.6 million bales. The overall impact of the losses in
agriculture is likely to slash the growth in agriculture sector from the
planned 8 per cent to 3.7 per cent.
However, it said that significant improvements were registered in fiscal
deficit during 1993-94 as the overall deficit was brought down to 5.8
per cent of the GDP. For 1994-95, it was targeted at 4 per cent of the
GDP. The present fiscal position indicates considerable improvement
though not to the extent programmed. Tax collection under principal
heads during July-February 1994-95 recorded increase of about 24 per
cent over the corresponding period last year.
The process of structural reforms aimed at deregulation privatisation
and liberalisation of the economy continued during the year. The
privatisation of public sector enterprises remained in progress.
Policies were advanced to improve the investment climate of the country
and to bring in foreign private investment.
About the outlook for 1995-96, it is anticipated the balance of payments
will improve moderately, exclusively because of improvements in trade
balance. Exports (fob) are forecast to increase by 15.1 per cent to 8.9
billion dollars to be contributed by increases both in volume and
prices. Exports of raw cotton is expected to see a reversal of the
existing situation in anticipation of recovery of cotton crop. The
export of cotton manufacturers are forecast to grow by 13.5 per cent in
dollars term. With the quota restrictions under MFA being phased out to
the extent of 16 per cent from July 1,1995, as per agreed in the Uruguay
Round, a large textile export market is likely to become available. It
is also expected that other traditional items, including fish and fish
preparations, leather, carpets and synthetic textiles will register a
growth of 10 per cent compared to a smaller growth of 2.3 per cent in
1994-95.
Imports (fob) are projected to increase by 7.9 per cent to 10 billion
dollars ($10605 million), of which 15 per cent will be contributed by
crude oil and POL products, 53 per cent by private sector imports and 8
per cent by two major items namely wheat and edible oils. There is a
provision of 1.4 million tons of wheat imports at a total cost of 200
million dollars.
Workers' remittances are expected to increase by 2.4 per cent to 1.8
billion dollars ($1843 million) in 1995-96. With the invisible payments
rising to 4.9 billion dollars by 8.9 per cent, the invisibles account is
anticipated to be in deficit of the order of 716 million dollars in
199596, indicating a deficit of over 60 per cent. On the basis of trade
and invisibles projections, the current account deficit is expected to
decline to 2.4 billion dollars ($2414 million) which is 3.7 per cent of
the GDP.
Gross disbursements of official assistance are expected to be of the
order of 2.5 billion ($2535 million) in 1995-96, lower by 100 million
dollars than the preceding year. While disbursements under project aid
are expected to increase, those under commodity aid and food aid are
envisaged to decline. An amount of 1.8 billion is expected under foreign
private investment. After allowing for other capital movements, the
overall balance of payments is expected to record a surplus of 489
million dollars. Taking into account the net position with IMF and other
transactions of the banking system for the year 1995-96, a reserve build
up of 521 million dollars is expected to take place by June 1996.
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950407
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Tax recovery may fall short of target
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Muhammad Ilyas
ISLAMABAD, April 6: The tax revenue receipts totalled Rs 152 billion in
the first three quarters (July-March) of the year, leaving for the
Central Board of Revenue the formidable task of bagging Rs 88 billion by
the end of June in order to come at par with the revised annual target
of Rs 240 billion.
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950411
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China offers help for Brotha dam
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, April 10: China has expressed its willingness to help set up
2.5 billion dollars Ghazi Brotha dam by providing substantial supplier's
credit and transfer of technology.
Mohammad Asghar, minister for industries and production told DAWN here
on Monday that the Chinese have assured him that they were ready to
cooperate with the Pakistan authorities for providing their "latest
technology" particularly to develop Ghazi Brotha Hydro-electric power
station.
"The visiting high-powered delegation, which met me today, also give an
assurance on extending maximum cooperation for the indiginisation of the
Ghazi Brotha," he added.
The World Bank has also supported the construction of 1750 mw Ghazi
Brotha project and is expected to arrange a consortium of foreign banks
to finance the funding of 2.5 billion dollars.
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950407
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Feudals escape tax net: urbanites pay more
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Sabihuddin Ghausi
KARACHI, April 6: Zamindars in Sindh have paid hardly Rs 200,000 (Rs 2
lakh) tax on their agricultural income as the current fiscal year
approaches its fag end against the provincial government's collection
estimate of Rs 10 million for the whole fiscal 1994-95.
Tax collectors expect a total collection of hardly Rs 1 million at the
end of 1994-95 even if the Sindh Government starts a campaign to recover
the tax levied for the first time in the history on the agriculturists.
Agricultural income tax is being collected by the Board of Revenue or
Revenue Department of Sindh through Deputy Commissioners in the district
where forms are still being despatched. Under the law, the tax is being
charged at Rs 2 per production index unit on land which is in excess of
4,000 index units. Those having 4,000 index on its of land are exempted
from tax as their income is assumed to be less than Rs 40,000 which is
the exemption limit for tax in the urban centres.
While the collection of tax on agricultural income remains a big
unsolved question, the Sindh Government officials boast of having
exceeded the proportionate target of overall collection of taxes.
Sindh government fixed collection of Rs. 2.62 billion from the
provincial taxes in the whole 1994-95 and proportionate target for eight
months (July 1994 to February 1995 ) comes to about Rs 1.75 billion
against which the actual collection has been about Rs 2 billion which is
115 per cent.
A distinct feature has been 691 percent increase in Property Tax
collection amounting to about Rs 250 million. This tax is mainly
collected from the urban centres and despite serious lawlessness
property holders in Karachi contributed the bulk of the amount.
In non-tax revenue generation the total collection in eight months
amounting to about Rs 1 billion is within sight of the target as the
total estimate for the entire 1994-95 fiscal is about Rs.1.50 billion.
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950407
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28,000 bank loans defaulters
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Ahmad Hsssan Alvi
RAWALPINDI, April 6: There are 28000 defaulters in the country with
total unpaid banks loans amounting Rs 80.5 billion, a seminar was told
here.
The figures were mentioned by chief guest Shameem Ahmed, President
Askari Commercial Bank while inaugurating the seminar on "Problem Loans:
Causes, Remedies and Recovery" here at a local hotel on Wednesday.
The seminar was also addressed by Mr Muhammad Bari, Chief Manager, State
Bank of Pakistan and Mr M.M. Malik Chief Executive/ Secretary IBP.
Shameem Ahmad said that it was an admitted position, the effects of non
-performing loans on the profitability of banks or DFIs could be
devastating. He agreed that the losses stemming from non-performing
loans were, in many cases more severe than those resulting from the
activities of dacoits, and from armed hold-ups.
Shameen Ahmed suggested since the credit risks could be professionally
identified, therefore, lending authorities must concentrate on
visualising and assessing these risks and devising ways to cover
themselves against potential losses.
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950408
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Needed: investment friendly laws
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By R.M.U. Suleman
ACCORDING to recent reports, the World Bank may link its financial
assistance to Pakistan with the implementation of the long over-due
judicial reforms. These reforms are envisaged to include the appointment
of quality judges and judicial independence with a view to restoring
foreign investors' confidence in Pakistan's courts.
The ground for sound judicial reforms is being paved by arranging a
workshop on the subject under the asupices of the World Bank. This
workshop will be held in Pakistan in September 1995 in cooperation with
the Pakistan Supreme Court.
The proposed agenda for the workshop is quite indicative and includes
the requisite qualities of a modern judge, judicial independence, and
judicial reform with a lending agency perspective. Special attention is
being paid to the credentials of the participants. Retired judges
enjoying the reputation of integrity, independent and respected lawyers,
representatives of the business community, academics, serious
legislators, leading human rights activists and seasoned journalists
will be invited. Lawyers with clear association with a political party
will not be invited.
The World Bank officials have made it clear that in case of any
alteration in the participants' list, the Bank may back out of its
commitment. Though the complete list of participants is not yet
available, it is not yet clear who will represent the business
community. With the removal of office-bearers of the Federation of
Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the organisers may face
difficulties in finding the representatives of businessmen.
If the recommendations of the workshop are implemented, it is believed,
the atmosphere for foreign investment is likely to improve. It may be
mentioned that World Bank has also offered such the legal technical
assistance to other countries including Bangladesh, India, Argentina,
China, Egypt, Indonesia and Bolivia.
The projected workshop has by no means come too soon, since our legal
institutions are in crisis due partly to their gradual loss of social
relevance. Our laws have become negotiable. Bribery and corruption are
characteristic results of such a legal system in which competing for
unearned income has become the predominant form of lawmaking.
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950409
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Rs 452bn investment during 1995-96 projected
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, April 8: The government has projected an all time enhanced
investment of Rs 452.9 billion for the fiscal year 1995-96, 20.5 per
cent higher than the current year's assessed investment of Rs 375.8
billion.
Official sources told Dawn here on Saturday, the Planning Commission has
firmed up the investment projections keeping in view the current
favourable trend both in and outside Pakistan. It was said that the
private sector has particularly been encouraged to invest and given
legal assurances of its investment.
Sources said investment of Rs 452.9 billion will be made by both the
public and the private sector of Pakistan and that foreign investment
will be in addition to these local projections.
According to a "Memorandum for the Aid-to-Pakistan Consortium 1995-96 "
as a proportion to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the investment level is
forecast to reach 21.1 per cent against last year's level of 20.4 per
cent. About 54.4 per cent of the fixed investment is expected to be in
the private sector.
While the highest priorities in the public sector would continue to be
enjoyed by power, transport, communications and social sectors, the
major share of investment in the private sector will be claimed by
manufacturing, housing and agriculture sectors. For the promotion of
investment in agriculture, a reform package announced last year
envisaging the introduction of People's Tractor Scheme, reduction of
import duties on agriculture machinery and increase in allocation of
agriculture loan, would be implemented effectively.
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950410
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Lenders being informed : GDP growth rate scaled down to 6.5%
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, April 9: The poor performance of the economy during the first
two years of the current Eighth-Five-Year Plan has forced the government
to project lower GDP growth rate of 6.5 percent during the next
financial year, about which the international lenders are being informed
at a Consortium meeting scheduled for April 20 and 21.
Official sources told Dawn here on Sunday the latest picture of the
economy in its totality will be presented to the Aid-to-Pakistan
consortium to enable the Paris Club to appreciate Pakistan's substantial
aid request for 1995-96.
The government had envisaged 7.5 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
growth rate for the current fiscal, which the officials said was not
only too ambitious but went further out of reach because of reversals in
the agricultural sector due to bad weather. And this has caused the
government to scale down the growth projections for the next year
substantially compared to the original target of current budget.
The GDP growth rate in Pakistan is constantly on the decline
particularly for the last few years and reasons are mainly attributed to
bad cotton crop and devastating floods that hit the country terribly
specially in 1992-93 when the CDP growth rate fell to all time low of
3.6 percent.
The Annual Plan 1995-96 is being conceived keeping the performance of
the economy over the past two years and the major objectives and
strategies of the Eight Plan. While lower growth rate of 6.5 percent is
forecast for the next fiscal, the major contribution to growth is
expected from recovery in the output of major crops (specially cotton
and rice), additional capacity in manufacturing and power sectors and
revival of manufactured goods exports.
The GDP growth target of 6.5 percent will be supported by a 6.3 percent
growth in agriculture, 6.7 percent in manufacturing and ti.6 percent in
other sectors.
The agriculture sector after an estimated growth rate of 3.7 percent in
1994-95 is forecast to attain a growth rate of 6.3 percent during next
financial year. The major crops are forecast to grow by 8.1 percent as
compared to an estimated growth of 2.5 percent during the current year.
This increase is however, subject to cotton output of 9.5 million bales.
The output of minor crops is forecast to increase by 4 percent,
livestock by 5.5 percent and fishing and forestry together by 5.6
percent.
For the development of agriculture sector in general and the attainment
of output targets in particular, comprehensive 12 point agriculture
reforms package approved last year is being implemented. In addition, an
output package comprising 2.4 million nutrient tonnes of fertiliser, 217
thousand tonnes of improved seeds, 131 million acre teet of water and
adequate availability of credit will be ensured.
With regard to manufacturing, the annual plan 1995-96 is being conceived
to provide adequately for the removal of constrains currently faced by
this sector. In anticipation of additional capacities, efficient use of
existing capacities and revival of domestic and external demands, the
output or large scale manufacturing is projected to grow by 6.7 percent
during 1995-96.
The growth forecast for mining sector is placed at 7.2 percent. The
projected growth is mainly premised on 18.7 percent and 16.7 percent
likely increase in the extraction of natural gas and coal respectively.
The major portion of the additional demand for coal is expected to
emanate from power plants. Though a few wells become operational, no
increase is expected in oil extraction in view of natural decline in the
northern fields.
The electricity generation capacity during 1995-96 is projected to be
increased by 556 mw due to new investment in the energy sector. The
projected growth rate in this sector is 9.6 percent.
The other sectors comprising services are forecast to grow by 6.2
percent during the next financial year. And this growth is likely to
stem mainly from trade and transport and communication sectors.
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950412
-------------------------------------------------------------------
World Bank suggests more public share in civic works
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
LAHORE, April 11: The World Bank has asked the Lahore Development
Authority to put up for approval its case for a loan for five new
housing schemes in the city.
Earlier, the delegation asked the LDA to attract more private parties
for completion of World Bank funded programmes like the construction of
a road network and introduction of improved water supply and sewerage
schemes.
Though the delegation did not clearly express its dissatisfaction over
the pace of work on the schemes, it advised more private involvement on
the grounds that it would ensure quality and speedy work.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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===================================================================
950412
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The PM & today's Columbuses
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Tahir Mirza
LAHORE: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has done well to recall a bit of
the history of Pakistan-US relations. Unfortunately, she has done so in
a context which many Pakistanis find unacceptable.
Speaking at the Johns Hopkins University on Monday during her current
tour of the US, Ms Bhutto recounted Pakistan's steadfast support for
Washington, including Islamabad's willingness to allow Pakistani
territory to be used for spying missions over the then Soviet Union. She
was referring, of course, to the U-2 incident of May 1, 1960, when US
pilot Gary Powers was shot down over the USSR while on a mission flown
from an American base at Badaber near Peshawar.
However, the prime minister cited the incident, with Pakistan's backing
of the war against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, to make the point
that while Pakistan had done its best for the US and remained part of
the fight against communism, it had been unfairly treated by Washington.
In other words, she was saying, abjectly, many would think, that we have
done so much for you, been so loyal to you, so you must help us.
There is implicit approval in her remarks of the relationship of
dependence on and fealty to the US. She has, thus, foreclosed the
possibility of using the U-2 incident and all the other instances of
Pakistani involvement with US interests in the region to counter the
lobby here which has been crying itself hoarse about a sell-out to
America.
When weren't Pakistani national interests mortgaged to US strategic
concerns, Ms Bhutto could have asked this lobby. What's new that I am
doing, which your mentors almost right from the inception of Pakistan
hadn't done, she could have argued with this group of self-styled
nationalists who didn't raise a squeak when military bases were being
established on Pakistani soil. Where were you when Pakistan was taken
first into the Baghdad Pact and then into Seato in the 50s, should have
been her inquiry of these modern day Pakistani Columbuses who appear to
have discovered America only now.
For four decades and more, we have been American supporters. Our
relationship was an indepth one, so much so that under the mutual
security and military assistance agreements, our governments were
prepared to round up elements here which were considered by the CIA to
be anti-American. According to the terms of the Seato agreement, we were
supposed to supply lists of politically undesirable people to the
Americans. We had food aid gifts from the US with the famous handshake
mark and the words 'Thank you, America'; at least the MoU documents do
not carry such humiliating inscriptions. We had USAID here and the
United States military observer group. Even as late as the Bangladesh
crisis, we were all waiting for the US Sixth Fleet to come to our
rescue. The American war against communism was our wara widely held
belief in both government and Islamist circles --- which finally led us
into the Afghan conflict and resulted in a six year economic and
military cooperation between the Zia regime and Washington.
None of those who are now so vocal about dependence on the US protested
against how grossly our national interests were being made subservient
to American interests. Those who did protest were officially branded as
anti-national and communist, charges which today's anti-Americans
vociferously repeated. If kow-towing to America is wrong now, it was
wrong then. Perhaps more so then because at that time there was greater
room for manoeuvrability and to follow a more independent policy. With
the USSR gone, Third World governments, unless they are ready to
sacrifice, now have no option at all. But, ah, the present-day
nationalists and patriots will say, we had at least an ideological
kinship with the United States in those days. That's gone, so why cosy
up to the Americans now? Now they are ideologically pitted against us.
Ideologically pitted against whom? The Nawaz Muslim League, the Jamaat-
i-Islami, the custodians of our territorial and ideological frontiers?
That should be good enough only for a laugh. Will everything be
ideologically correct if we get our F-16s and if the Pressler amendment
is abolished or bypassed? Every US administration, even administrations
considered most friendly to Pakistan, have maintained that they look at
India as the senior and dominant country of South Asia. Would that
American perception change if we begin to receive fresh economic and
military aid?
So, poor prime minister, by her remarks at Johns Hopkins designed to
appease the Americans, has missed the opportunity of telling her
domestic critics that she is merely following in the illustrious
footsteps of her predecessors all of whom wanted to ingratiate
themselves with the Americans. Maybe they got a little more in return
than Ms Bhutto might, but that's about the only difference there is, and
help us God.
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950407
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A laugh at our own expense
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ardeshir Cowasjee
WHEN the weak and the cowardly cannot find fault with what a man writes,
or when they are partisans of an angry government, or when they have
their own personal little axes to grind, they attack the person of the
writer and they impute motives, they resort to the old tried trick of
argumentum ad hominem.
Mr Iftikhar Ahmed of Lahore wrote to The Nation on March 23 and his
letter was published on April Fool's Day. Mr Iftikhar Ahmed of Karachi
sent the same letter to DAWN and it was published in this newspaper on
April 4. quote:"
Just because a former prime minister decided to do the right thing by
sending him to prison for 72 days (it is a pity it was so short) for his
writings against the Father of the Nation, he has become an arch-enemy
of the Bhutto family....."
Mr Ahmed further stated that for long he had been expecting a contempt
notice to be served upon me.
Mohammed Ali Jinnah is the only leader of our country for whom I have
any respect, and with the passage of time I marvel more and more at his
prescience. Each successive government of Pakistan, he predicted, will
be worse than its predecessor. Never have I either said or written a
word that could be deemed derogatory to his memory.
Away from the subject of contempt, to jail in Bhutto's days, to the
political prisoners' block of Karachi Central Prison. In the Year of the
Lord 1976 I found myself incarcerated with a group of much younger men.
Most respectfully, each in turn asked me why I had been punished. When I
told them that I had no idea, the common answer was that I must then be
Bhutto's friend.
They all spoke of their various experiences, some had managed to get
bail and be released, but whilst crossing the road outside the jail gate
had been re-arrested on different charges and had found themselves back
in their cell within half an hour. Their advice: do not go to court
because Bhutto will play with you a cat and mouse game. This proved to
be correct.
Within ten days or so of my having been picked up, Bhutto's wily
provincial home secretary, Mohammed Khan Junejo, inquired of G.M.
Qureshi, our family lawyer, as to why his client was not moving the
court. Good Sindhi, Dingomal had trained GM, reacted in the good old
Sindhi way. He told Junejo that the Cowasjees and Bhuttos had been great
friends for a long time, that I somehow had angered Bhutto, who had
reacted out of pique, and that soon he would relent and I would be
released. This was conveyed to Mr Bhutto and it pleased him.
Thereafter my father started writing to him, very regularly, seeking an
appointment. On the 71st day of my incarceration, when Bhutto had
decided to release me, he sent for my father. My wife, who had been with
Bhutto at the Cathedral High School in Bombay, accompanied my father to
Rawalpindi the next day. When they arrived at his secretariat, Bhutto
undoubtedly feeling that he could not look her in the eye, asked that
she be kept in the waiting room whilst my father was asked in.
As he entered, Bhutto opened up by saying that he only had two minutes
for him. My father's answer was that he needed only one, as all he
wanted was his son's release. At that, Bhutto asked him to sit and made
him suffer a one and a half-hour's harangue. His theme was that history
would record that he was the best leader this country had ever had. My
father nodded and agreed. Bhutto felt it was without conviction and said
so. 'I will sign any statement you want which you can publish, put me on
TV and I will say whatever pleases you, but just release my son." said
my father.
Bhutto finally relented and rang up acting chief minister of Sindh Abdul
Waheed Katpar (Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi was out of the country, honeymooning
somewhere), told him that Rustom was sitting before him, and that his
son should be released after being given a stern warning "not do it
again".
Clueless Katpar had no idea as to who Rustom or his son were, but he
immediately rang the more knowledgeable Junejo, told him to have the son
brought to his house that evening where he would be warned and
thereafter released.
I found Katpar in his house, sitting like his master, on a sofa next to
a corner table loaded with a mock Chinese vase-lamp and a full battery
of green, red, black and white telephones. Throughout our conversation,
telephones rang non-stop. It being impossible to guess which one was
ringing, Clueless Katpar spent much of the time picking up telephone
after telephone and yelling a frantic "hello, hello" into each
mouthpiece.
Thinking I knew no Urdu, he beckoned me to sit on the adjoining sofa.
"Tek seet," he said, then very pompously informed me that our worthy,
honourable, distinguished, brilliant and unmatchable prime minister had
ordered that I be released and warned "not to do it again". I naturally
asked what "it" was.
"Are you suggesting you don't know?", asked Katpar. "I am saying that I
don't know," I answered, "I still have no idea why I was jailed". He
asked how it was possible that I was arrested without knowing why. I
suggested he ask Junejo, who was quietly sitting by, gazing thoughtfully
at the chandelier. Presuming that I knew no Sindhi, Katpar asked him
what crime I had committed. Junejo informed him that his lips were
sealed. Exasperated, Katpar sent Junejo home. When we were alone, the
honourable chief minister pleaded with folded hands to me, the prisoner.
"Cowasjee Sahib, you know our prime minister better than I do. The green
phone will ring at any moment and he will ask me whether I have warned
you. When I say, yes, he will ask exactly what it was that I warned you
not to do again."
Apprehending that in his confusion Katpar may send me back to jail, I
said, "Minister, I believe you are a lawyer," whereupon he ordered tea.
I then elaborated, saying that I had heard he was a very eminent lawyer.
Katpar ordered cakes and biscuits.
I told him that though not a lawyer myself, I knew enough law to realise
that if I had committed a crime I must either apologise or be prepared
to suffer the punishment. Wishing to be neither a martyr, nor a hero,
nor a shaheed, merely wanting to go home, I was willing to apologise for
any crime I was charged with filching a buffalo, burning a bus, inciting
a riot, I would admit to any thing reasonable and apologise.
There was prolonged silence. Tea was drunk, biscuits were munched. I
then suggested he release me and hasten off on a tour of his province
during which time the great man would surely forget me. He leapt at the
suggestion, saw me out to my car, bid me a fond farewell, and home I
went.
When I arrived, I found on my father's table a file of copies of the
letters he had written to Bhutto requesting my release. They all opened
with the salutation "Most Respected Prime Minister Sahib Jenab Zulfikar
Ali Bhutto Mehrban". I asked my father why he had written like a
station-master.
Apparently, whilst writing his first letter with the normal opening,
"Dear Prime Minister", a friend had come into the room and seeing what
he had written reacted by telling him that the great man would not
appreciate a simple salutation. "Respected Prime Minister" would be far
safer. Shortly thereafter a second friend arrived and recommended adding
"Most". A third informed him that "Sahib" and "Jenab" were a must. GM
said "Mehrban" would please Bhutto, and so it went until he arrived at a
salutation satisfactory to all.
Why had he felt it necessary to grovel? I asked. He told me to wait
until I lived to be 75, to find my son of 50 in jail for no fault of
his, to know neither what he was there for nor when he would come out,
to witness the distress of his mother day in and day out, and I would
then realise why he had written as he had. "Maara dikra, wakhat aavey
tiare gadhera ne be baap kehwo paddey."
All this may seem laughable in retrospect but in those days of the First
(and hopefully last) of the civilian dictators it was all very
unnerving, particularly for my aged parents.
Finally, to my old friend the Jadoogar of Jeddah upon whom, together
with me, correspondent to the Press, Iftikhar Ahmed has vented his
scorn, accusing me of having "stooped so low as to engage the Jadoogar
to perform his jadoo for my benefit". To even begin to remotely
comprehend - my 30-year-old friendship with the Jadoogar Mr Ahmed will
have to have lived out the Biblical span allotted to us all, to have a
sense of humour and, above all, be capable of laughing at himself.
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950408
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Impressions about India
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Gen (retd) Khalid Mahmud Arif
A FEW days spent in India in January and March this year helped in
getting updated and viewing events from close quarters. The primary
purpose was to participate in the NGO seminar held at Goa (January 15-
18), the "Neemrana" meeting at New Delhi (March 13-15), and-the
travelling seminars held at Jaipur and Udaipur (March 20-21). This piece
essentially covers the secondary gain, learning about a neighbour. Some
impressions.
The Shanghai Initiative Round Two on "Global and Regional Linkages of
Arms Control" held at Goa generated interest and speculation in the
print media mainly because, for inexplicable reasons, a New Delhi
datelined report appearing in a German paper sensationalised the seminar
as "secret negotiations" on the nuclear issue between India, Pakistan,
the US and China. This media created sensation rapidly disappeared once
the facts became known that the talks were neither secret nor an
abnormal phenomenon.
The India-Pakistan Neemrana Initiative, like all Track Two diplomacy
initiatives, is neither a substitute for the government-to-government
negotiations on the bilateral contentious issues nor does it arrogate to
itself the task of providing quick fixes for the complex and age-old
inter-state disputes. It is a rebuke to the political will and the
diplomatic skill of India and Pakistan, that in their post-independence
era, instead of living as friendly neighbours they have become
proverbial adversaries. South Asia faces turmoil because the Kashmir
dispute remains unsettled and the political leadership in the two
countries lacks courage to follow the path of peace which involves
taking hard decisions. Resultantly, the Indo-Pakistan relations have
nose-dived, the Ministerial Commission has not met for years, the
Kashmir talks are deadlocked and the region simmers in a state of no
peace no war.
That the Neemrana Initiative held its ninth meeting in New Delhi despite
such adverse conditions is by itself an achievement. The greater the
difficulties, the dire is the need to keep the negotiating shutters
open, at official and unofficial levels. The Neemrana-like track two
diplomacy can generate fresh ideas that can be picked up by the
governments when reason and sanity motivate them to resume negotiations
at the official level.
Elections in some crucial states dominated India's internal political
scene. The Narasimha Rao-led political era is on the way out. A
prominent Indian lamented that ethics had escaped India's public life
and politics was riddled with corruption and crime. This may provide us
no comfort because our own house stinks no less on these counts. The
ultra-rightist Bharatiya Janata Party and the fire-breathing Shiv Sena
have captured the vital states of Maharashtra and Gujerat, wherein lie
the bulk of the Indian industry and also the Indian national wealth. The
formidable trio power, money and Hindu fundamentalism does not augur
well for India's already bruised secularism.
The du jure Chief Minister of Maharashtra may be Manohar Joshi but the
de facto ruler of the state is none other than Bal Thackeray whose
political philosophy and anti-minority tirades have already started
ringing alarm bells in India. The trend is visible by the decisions
taken so far. Aurangabad will soon be renamed Sambhaijinagar. Muslims
will not be allowed to pray on the roads even when the devotees spill
over the mosques. And, Shiv Sainiks have been ordered to get ready to
perform their "national duty" of flushing out the Muslims from the
state. Is the world on the verge of witnessing another ethnic cleansing
Indian style?
Narasimha Rao is now a shaken prime minister incapable of peacefully
settling disputes with India's neighbours, particularly Pakistan. This
may alert the policy planners here. The Janata Dal-cum-communists
victory in the state of Bihar has eroded support for the Indian Prime
Minister. Once a mighty party, Congress has been discarded by the voters
in many states on the charges of rampant corruption, political
infighting, weak leadership and the dubious and devious role played by
the Centre on the Realism demands that India and Pakistan should look to
the future and unshackle themselves from the mistrust of the past to
usher in an era of peace with honour. Many Muslims voted against the
Congress candidates because they held the Prime Minister responsible for
the destruction of the Babri Mosque. Even an upsurge in the Indian
economy and the development of close ties with the US, did not help
Congress. If Prime Minister Narasimha Rao holds on to power at the
Centre for as long as he can manage, he will only weaken his party
further. A significant feature of the elections is the emergence of the
BJP as a mainstream party. A person having links with the establishment
conceded that the Hindu revivalism was on the rise but argued that this
trend may not necessarily be viewed as anti-Pakistan.
The Indian electronic and print media is jubilant over disturbances in
Karachi and the prevailing political polarisation in Pakistan. They seem
to believe that India's plan of manoeuvre is yielding results. So
sustained is the anti-Pakistan venom spread by the media that anything
good happening in Pakistan, though a rare development these days, seldom
appears in the Indian Press. The Indian media is free, totally free, to
paint Pakistan in any murky colours of its own choice. By so doing it
misinforms and disinforms its readers in a subtle manner and poisons
their minds. A political science student attending a seminar admitted
that "My-impartiality vanishes when it comes to Pakistan". Some Indian
academics at the same gathering expressed the view that the "Media and
the politicians were mostly responsible for creating difficulties
between India and Pakistan. The governments create tensions to stay in
power".
The print media's "independence" is illustrated by an example. On
Pakistan's Independence Day 1995 the Pakistan High Commission organised
a cultural show in which Abida Parveen was to perform. The High
Commissioner was promised a visa for the artist at a high level and 1200
invitation cards were issued. The visa was delayed on vague pretexts and
was belatedly issued after the last flight to New Delhi had already
departed Pakistan. Left with no choice the cultural show was cancelled
and the Pakistan High Commission sent paid advertisement to four
prominent New Delhi newspapers. The Times of India, Hindustan Times,
Pioneer and The Indian Express announcing the cancellation of the
cultural show because of the visa hurdle and expressing regrets over the
inconvenience caused to the invitees. All the four newspapers rang back
the Pakistan High Commission within minutes after receiving the
advertisement expressing their inability to publish it. The rabbit was
out of the hat. The hidden hand at work had exposed their
"independence".
Kashmir, one of the oldest items on the UN agenda, arouses mixed
feelings in India. The Indian establishment and those linked with it
maintain the well known official hard line to retain the state by all
means. They advocate a moratorium on it, obviously to gain time to crush
the freedom movement by force. Some others concede that while Kashmir
"legally" belongs to them the Indian claim on the accession issue is not
easy to defend on the moral plane. For yet others, Kashmir is
essentially a problem of northern India and it arouses much less
interest in the eastern or southern parts of the country. An Indian
journalist pointed out that his country's stand on the disputed state
might have been entirely different if New Delhi was located in the
peninsular India. Yet another prominent Indian journalist said half
jokingly, "Pakistan may take Kashmir provided she also accepts Bihar and
Haryana with it". That remark explained the gravity of India's internal
difficulties. A prominent Kashmiri leader said that the people of
Kashmir were anti-India, the right of self determination cannot be
denied to them and India had no option but to finally quit the state.
Idealism of today is the realism of tomorrow. Realism demands that India
and Pakistan should look to the future and unshackle themselves from the
mistrust of the past to usher in an era of peace with honour and
sovereign equality of states for both as enshrined in the UN Charter.
Travelling in India has strengthened the conviction that a peaceful
settlement of the Kashmir dispute will create a climate in South Asia
highly conducive to promoting amity in achieving progress and prosperity
in this region.
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950410
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A case for deweaponisation
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By Dr Mohammad Waseem
TOO many people are too heavily armed in today's Pakistan for its people
to feel secure and for the state to be able to protect the life and
property of its citizens.
An average citizen of Pakistan is almost twice as insecure as an average
citizen of India. Similarly, an average citizen of Karachi, the most
violent city of the country, is almost twice as insecure as an average
citizen of Bombay, the Indian counterpart of Karachi. On the other hand,
Pakistan is about half as capable of controlling social violence of all
kinds - political, sectarian and criminal u as neighbouring India.
Islamabad's capacity to control violence in Karachi is similarly half as
much as New Delhi's potential to control violence in Bombay.
In the absence of reliable data relating to population, acts of violence
and crime rate in general, these observations are at best approximations
based on demographic estimates, reported incidents and informed opinion.
A crucial input is in the form of public perception. A terrorised
public, for example in Karachi, is likely to contribute to the loss of
direction in terms of social insecurity and political instability even
further. As opposed to this, a vigilant public plays the role of a
bulwark against further atomisation of society and provides a direction
to collective opinion in one way or the other.
At the heart of the problem lies weaponisation of society. The most
important source of arms in Pakistan is the tribal area along the border
with Afghanistan. The state tolerated the crude and relatively
unsophisticated weapons manufacturing units in tribal agencies as a way
of keeping the local population in good humour and not disturbing the
status quo. In addition, it sought to buy the local cooperation by
allowing it a flourishing trade in smuggled goods which has now assumed
horrendous proportions. In time, the arms flow contributed to militancy
of various professional and political groups. Instead of committing
itself to a policy of gradual but firm elimination of arms manufacturing
outside official control back in the 1960s or 1970s, the state actually
looked the other way as this industry enlarged its clientele to
incorporate major sectarian and ethnic groups in the 1980s.
As is widely known, Zia's martial law government presided over the flow
of a large number of weapons from the Western countries to the Afghan
resistance movement. It committed criminal negligence in keeping arms in
the right hands, thus allowing ethnic, sectarian and criminal activists
within Pakistan to gain access to these arms. In that crucial stage of
Pakistan's history, the state committed the cardinal sin of not only
being lax on the issue of internal security but also, even more
significantly, losing its control over arms. The country is paying a
heavy price for this in the 1990s.
Fictional, tribal, sectarian and ethnic conflicts are not new for our
society. What is new is the use of lethal arms for conflict resolution.
Previously, conflicts were essentially social and cultural in origin;
now they are political immature. Before, conflict was geographically
limited to the locality. Now, it extends over to large urban and rural
areas. Before, it was controlled essentially by the police operating
under the district administration. Now, Rangers and army units are
frequently called in aid of civil authority for performing this function
while operating under the command of central and provincial governments.
Weaponisation of Pakistan society took place not only by default but
also by design. The insecure, narrow-minded and bigoted persons in the
chain of authority at various levels of the government provided weapons
to their henchmen under valid or, what was frequently the case, fake
licences. The arming of the MQM cadres under Jam Sadiq Ali was indeed an
extreme example of blind militarisation of one section of society. Prior
to that, the reliance of the martial law government on
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Human civilisation has progressed from considerations
of, and preparations for, collective security based on
families, factions, tribes, groups and subgroups to finally
large-scale national societies. Weaponisation of such
sub-national groups as sectarian and ethnic groups is indeed
a retrogressive step in the march of history.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
several religious groups and parties led to a dangerously liberal policy
of arming them. In the process, the state of Pakistan ended up helping
rather than controlling the weaponisation of the society.
From the perspective of sectarian groups, arms provide the means to
project their respective narrow ideological goals and halt the advances
of the rival groups. Sunnis need them because Shias are perceived as
seeking to spread their version of Islam in the country. The Shia
minority feels acutely insecure in the face of perceived bigotry of the
majority sect. In the view of all minority groups. various Islamisation
programmes are simply meant to spread the Sunni domination over non-
Sunnis in economic, social, political and cultural matters.
Sectarian groups have increasingly sought to arm themselves in search of
security for their workers and followers. A certain maximalist strategy
has been followed by them to protect their interests and also secure
their gains. Previously, sectarian conflicts were generally handled by
the local administrative machinery of the state, essentially in the
context of law and order. Certain rules of game had to be preserved even
while maintaining and projecting the conflicting religious belief
systems. Unfortunately, the state has withdrawn itself from an active
policy of depoliticising religion, delinking its law and order policy
from ideological considerations and debarring militant groups from
entering politics.
The weakness of the state in terms of both capacity and will to
establish law and order at all costs has been exposed in the context of
ethnic violence even more than in the realm of sectarian violence. The
recent wave of sectarian and factional violence in Karachi bears
evidence to that fact. The state's civil institutional resources have
been stretched to their limit but there is still no end to violence in
sight. The state's legitimacy is at stake, especially as a symbol of
supreme power within the country. It is the reliance on the
institutionalised and legitimate civil authority of the state rather
than recourse to naked power of the army or para-military groups which
can deliver the goods in the long run.
As far as institutional performance is concerned, the administration has
miserably failed. Police efficiency in Karachi and the rest of the
country is abysmally low. Moreover brutality of the police in Pakistan
is legendary From 1985 onwards, no civilian government has undertaken a
comprehensive project of police reform for training police,
deethnicising its outlook and subordinating its role to the magistracy
in both letter and spirit. Police should be entrusted with the job of
deweaponising the society while at the same time respecting human rights
to the maximum. Just as arms in the hands of citizens make a mockery of
the state in the modern world, arms in the hands of police can destroy
the foundations of organised society if their use is not properly
regulated.
As far as legitimacy of the state is concerned, it is directly related
to its potential to rule efficiently and effectively. The state needs to
keep the nation's faith in it for upholding justice and avoiding
discrimination on the basis of ethnic origins, denominational identities
and class background. Human civilisation has progressed from
considerations of, and preparations for, collective security based on
families, factions, tribes, groups and sub-groups to finally large-scale
national societies. Weaponisation of such sub-national groups as
sectarian and ethnic groups is indeed a retrogressive step in the march
of history. It is an affront to the modern nation-state seeking to
primitives it. It must establish and consolidate its legitimacy among
all sections of the population.
De-weaponisation is the first step towards establishment of a democratic
order in the country. Democracy is the principle of sharing 'legitimate
authority' of the state not sharing the armed might of the state.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
950412
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Morarji Desai
-------------------------------------------------------------------
WITH the passing away of the 99-year-old Mr Morarji Desai, India has
lost one of the last surviving ardent disciples of Mahatma Gandhi and an
illustrious freedom fighter. A staunch Congressite all his life, Mr
Desai parted company with the party in 1969 for differences over the
question of reorganisation of the Congress high command. In 1975, at the
age of 79, he decided to join hands with some other veteran Congressites
to form the Janata Party, a hastily cobbled together coalition of four
small parties. Together they launched a vigorous campaign against the
late Mrs Indira Gandhi's autocratic style of government and the
repressive measures adopted by her to keep herself in power, after her
election to the parliament had been held void by the Allahabad High
Court on grounds of electoral malpractices. The general elections in
February 1977 resulted in a humiliating defeat for the Congress, and
found Mr Morarji Desai, then 81, installed as Prime Minister at the head
of the Janata Party government.
Although Janata had several staunch Hindu revivalists among its top
leadership Mr Desai's tenure as Prime Minister (1977-1979) marked one of
the calmest spells in India-Pakistan relations. Unlike his predecessor,
he had no inclination to adopt an arrogant posture towards Pakistan and
he repeatedly said that all neighbouring countries had a right to pursue
their defence policies in accordance with what they regarded to be their
genuine security needs. At the same time, his foreign minister, Mr Atal
Bihari Vajpayee, who belonged to the Hindu revivalist Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), also made it known that the Janata government had no
intention unlike Mrs Gandhi's to invoke the perception of a non-existent
'threat' from Pakistan to muster support for its policies.
Pakistan awarded its highest civil award, Nishan-e-Pakistan, to Mr
Morarji Desai, who was already a recipient of his country's highest
civil award. He was thus the only Indian leader to have been thus
honoured by both countries. Mr Desai was also widely known for his
courageous stand in providing protection to the Muslims of Bombay state
during the communal holocaust in the aftermath of the partition of the
subcontinent. Unfortunately, Mr Desai's tenure as Prime Minister was
unexpectedly cut short when the Janata Party went out of office within
27 months as a result of mid-term general elections prompted by
dissensions in the top rung of the party leadership. Otherwise, he might
well have made a lasting contribution to the state of India-Pakistan
relations.
After he lost power, Mr Desai retired to his modest home in Bombay and
disengaged himself almost totally from politics. Till death he led a
reclusive life, marked by simplicity and severe- self-discipline. A
colleague was once asked to describe what Mr Morarji Desai was like. He
pointed to an ancient iron pillar, believed to have been installed in
the days of Asoka, close to the Qutub Minar, and said: "You put a Gandhi
cap on top of that pillar and you have Morarji Desai. " In his
principles, Mr Morarji Desai was as upright and unbending as the iron
pillar. Now, that iron pillar is no more.
===================================================================
950412
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Sri Lanka upset Pakistan
-------------------------------------------------------------------
*From Ayaz Memon
SHARJAH, April 11: In Sri Lanka's do-or-die battle Pakistan became a
surprising and dramatic casualty. But while the result was astonishing,
there is no deep analysis needed to reach its core: Pakistan simply
played appalling cricket.
From the first over of the day, in which Aamir Sohail was dismissed, to
the last when Hashan Tillekratne hoisted Arshad Khan for a six over mid-
wicket, Pakistan stuttered and spluttered, then finally succumbed. Once
they had failed to score the 214 run needed to ensure a place in the
final, Sri Lanka sensed the opportunity. What followed was an assault
that left Pakistan's bowling image as badly battered as the batting had
been bruised in the first.
There was always something precarious about this Pakistan side, the
victory over India notwithstanding. Not every match can be won on
adrenalin, and at some stage, the inexperience and lack of depth in both
the batting and bowling had to show up. For Pakistan, this could not
have come at a worse time.
The inherent weaknesses had made it imperative that all the five
experienced players fulfil the expectations vested in them completely.
In the event, only Inzamam, who made a brilliant 73, and Wasim Akram to
a certain extent, came good. The two openers, Aamir Sohail and Saeed
Anwar flopped, and Aaqib Javed did not play at all.
If the sudden injury to Aaqib was an avoidable tragedy, what transpired
after Ranatunga had won the toss, was nothing short of a farce. Sohail
fell second ball to a splendid late outswinger from Chaminda Vaas that
nicked the edge of his tentative bat, but that was about the only true
wicket-deserving delivery bowled in the innings. The remaining fell,
inexplicably and abjectly.
It was an exhibition of grotesque batsmanship, with little evidence of
class, character or even common sense, save from the composed Inzamam.
Mujtaba and Anwar fell to shots unbecoming of their stature. Akram,
frustrated by the restrictive leg stump line of Jayasuriya, went for a
mighty heave-ho with head in air and was stumped. There were also two
runouts to accentuate the overall foolhardiness.
Strangely, every setback seemed to provoke the next batsman into further
indiscretion instead of caution, suggesting a certain casualness, even
callousness in the team. By the time the ramifications of such an
approach had been understood, it was just too late.
If Pakistan would still reach 178, after losing Akram to become 38 for 5
in the l9th over, it was entirely due to the phlegmatic Inzamam who
gallantly attempted a resurrection of the innings even as every
colleague of his seemed intent on causing further ruination.
Baby-faced and inscrutable, Inzamam bats with admirable maturity,
expressing his expertise unusually and powerfully. He has an ox-like,
well-filled out frame with powerful shoulders and forearms.
The backlift is modest, but when he times the ball well it acquires a
velocity that would do a Richards or Greenidge proud.
Inzamam again excelled driving in front of the wicket. Two of his three
sixes were still gathering height when they crossed the playing
periphery, and one in fact was so powerfully struck that Roshan Mahanama
was felled by the sheer impact while trying to take the catch at long
off.
The value of his knock, however, was greater f or its tenacity. He held
the innings together through its most turbulent phase, and farmed the
bowling deftly to expose the tail enders as little as possible. If his
batting still fell short of the truly heroic, it is because he too fell
to a rash shot in the 46th over, when his presence right till the end
was vital.
Consequently, Pakistan's last four overs yielded less than 20 runs.
Whether 20 more would have made a difference was the lunch time debate
which became purely academic after Sanath Jayasuriya came out to bat
with a vigour and bravado that stunned the Pakistanis.
He made 30 from 15 deliveries, nullifying the threat of Akram with the
new ball and decimating Aamir Nazir with scintillating cuts and short
arm pulls, giving the innings a momentum that made the task of scoring
at 5.4 runs an over look ridiculously simple.
Barring Akram, the inexperienced attack capitulated in the face of
sustained aggression from the batsmen who followed, and when, after a
few tense moments, Tillekaratne was bold enough to step out and hit
Arshad Khan over mid wicket for six, the improbable had been witnessed.
The underdog had won the day.
SCOREBOARD
Pakistan
AAmir Sohail c Kaluwitharna b Vaas 0
Saeed Anwar c Gurusinha b Ramanayake 4
Asif mujtaba c Kaluwitharna b Ramanayake 13
Inzamamul Haq c Kaluwitharna b Vaas 73
Mahmood Hamid run out 1
Wasim Akram st Kaluwitharna b Jayasuriya 6
Naeem Ashraf c Kaluwitharna b Murlitharan 16
Zafar Iqbal run out 13
Javed Qadeer c Jayasuriya b Ramanayake 12
Arshad Khan not out 9
Anmir Nazir not out 9
Extras (lb 4, nb 1, w 17 ) 22
Total (9 wkts- 50 overs) 178
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-0, 2-19, 3-22, 4-25, 5-38,
6-74, 7-137, 8-156, 9-158.
BOWLING: Vaas 10-3, 30-2, Ramanayake 10-1-25-3,
Jayasuriya 10-1-31 1,Murlitharan 10-0-42-1
Kalpage 10-0-46-0
SRI LANKA: R. Mahanama c Arshad b Sohail 48
S. Jayasuriya c Arshad b Nazir 30
A. Gurusinha run out 14
P. de Silva c Qadeer b Sohail 23
A. Ranatunga not out 23
R. Kaluwitharna b Akram 17
H. Tillakaratne not out 8
Extras (lb 9, nb 1, w7 ) 17
Total (5 wkts; overs 30.5) 180
Did not bat: R.S. Kalpage, C. Vaas, C. Ramanayake,
M. Mulitharan
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-34, 2-65, 3-118, 4-137, 5-165.
BOWLING: Akram 9-0-3-1, Nazir 5-0-47-1, Zafar
5-0-25-0, Ashraf 1-0-12-0, Arshad 5.5-0-29-0, Sohail 5-0-21-2.
RESULT: Sri Lanka won by five wickets.
MAN OF TNE MATCH: Sanath Jayasuriya.
Final league standings (played, won, lost, points, run-rate):
India 3 2 1 4 4.8
Sri Lanka 3 2 1 4 4.6
Pakistan 3 2 1 4 4.5
Bangladesh 3 0 3 0 2.9
==================== End DAWN, 13 Ap 1995 ==========================
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