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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 31 August, 1995 Issue : 01/34
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The DAWN Wire Service (DWS) is a free weekly news-service from
Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, the daily DAWN. DWS
offers news, analysis and features of particular interest to the
Pakistani Community on the Internet.
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
CONTENTS
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MQM
..........Altaf warns of harsh protest
..........MQM chief condemns killings
..........Dehlavi hits out at Babar
..........Talks resume on positive note
..........Govt evolves formula to share power with MQM
..........Altaf says no to power-sharing formula
..........MQM to launch protest week from Sept. 11
..........LB polls if MQM observes truce: PM
..........MQM-Govt. teams to consult party leaders
Karachi
..........Second day of MQM strike : 8 killed in city violence
..........Eight shot dead in execution style
..........US consulate employee shot dead
..........MQM activist, 4 others shot dead
Bara Situation
..........Ulema call for strike tomorrow
..........TIUB leader surrenders to authorities
..........Government releases top leaders of TIUB
..........Elite force for Malakand approved
..........Tribesmen issue ultimatum to government
Attack on BBC office
..........BBC men attacked, offices set afire
..........Inquiry ordered into attack on BBC office
..........SSP leader arrested
Attempt on MNA's life; assailants shot dead
Condition of wounded MNA improves
ASF clarification
Four killed in Sargodha bus blast
Brown supports arms supply to Pakistan
Rao agrees to 5-nation moot: US senators
India denies report
Indian propaganda against Pakistan proves to be false
Punjab not to restore students unions
Pakistani journalists bag awards
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Stock Exchange : Unsettled trend depicted all over
Govt goes back on promise : Disputed IT form conditions retained
Businessmen stick to their demand
Small traders observe strike in Punjab, NWFP
Pakistan opposed to new taxes
PM gives concession in ITR form
The Business & Financial Week
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The mother of all conspiracy theories Mazdak
LAHORE DIARY
Freedom after expression Ardeshir Cowasjee
The need for balance Omar Kureishi
The two worlds of Pakistan Ayaz Amir
Serving the nation Hafizur Rahman
Intolerance on the loose Editorial Column
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Wasim likely to be captain against Sri Lanka
Wasim to come home; Lancs plea spurned
Ramiz's choice as captain comes as big surprise
Waqar available for series; Wasim returning on Sept. 6
NATIONAL NEWS
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Altaf warns of harsh protest
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Correspondent Report
LONDON, Aug. 25: The MQM leader, Mr. Altaf Hussain, warned on Friday
that if the cordoning of Mohajir localities in Karachi, Hyderabad and
other cities was not stopped and "the harassment and victimisation=94 of=
the residents of these areas continued, they would be justified in
launching a campaign which could become uncontrollable.
He said the Pakistan People's Party was moving ahead to set up a one-
party government and was not willing to tolerate any other party
except the PPP, at least in Sindh. This, he claimed, was a move
towards the establishment of "Sindhudesh". The PPP knowing well the
strength of the MQM in Hyderabad, Mirpur Khas, Nawabshah and Sanghar
wanted to "conquer its bastions".
DWS
950827
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MQM chief condemns killings
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Correspondent Report
LONDON, Aug. 26: The mass murder of eight people in Moosa Colony has
been condemned by MQM leader, Altaf Hussain, who alleged that the
brutal crime was "part of the government's plan to cause linguistic
and ethnic strife".
He said in the presence of law enforcement agencies the killing of
eight persons by heavily armed terrorists was clear enough proof that
the government itself and its agencies were involved in the crime.
The MQM's struggle was not aimed at any person or persons nor was it
against any nationality, he said. It is against the system run by
autocratic rulers. "We do not want to secure our rights by fighting
the underprivileged or the innocent and repressed people of Punjab,
Sindh, the NWFP, Balochistan or the Saraiki speaking people because
they have not usurped our rights."
DWS
950828
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Dehlavi hits out at Babar
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Staff Report
KARACHI, Aug. 27: The chief MQM negotiator, Ajmal Dehlavi, said here
on Sunday that interior minister Naseerullah Babar's allegations that
his party was using Saudi Arabia as a channel for communication were
"irresponsible and detrimental to the national interest. This attempt
to malign a brotherly country is very dangerous and will have serious
repercussions on bilateral relations and adverse impact on the foreign
policy," he told Dawn.
Saudi Arabia is not an ordinary country and the government would come
to know of its reaction to the senseless allegations in a few days, he
said.
The interior minister had told a news conference here on Friday that
"after the breakdown of their communication system in Pakistan, they
(the MQM) are also using Saudi Arabia clandestinely as a channel of
communication." He had categorically rejected the impression that the
Saudi government had anything to do with it.
Mr Dehlavi said, "despite interior minister's denial, his remarks
amounted to an aspersion on Saudi government's ability to check such
activities on its soil." He regretted that the government had become
"so desperate in character assassination of the MQM" that it did not
hesitate to implicate a friendly country.
About the planned talks with the government on Aug. 29, the chief MQM
negotiator said the process would be resumed as announced, "despite
the uncalled for provocation's by the government."
DWS
950829
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Govt evolves formula to share power with MQM
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 28: The government has worked out a "power-sharing
formula" to be offered to the MQM negotiating team at the sixth round
of talks being held in Karachi on Tuesday evening.
The (undisclosed) formula has been prepared in the spirit of give and
take so as to achieve a negotiated settlement of the Karachi issue",
the chief government negotiator, Prof. N. D. Khan, said.
"Our first priority is to restore law and order in Karachi and this
could be possible only when MQM renounces terrorism and help apprehend
all anti-social elements," the minister said. He pointed out that the
holding of local bodies elections in Karachi was one of the important
plans of the government and these could be held within the next three
months. Adding, that even if no consensus was reached "these polls
will be held at the maximum within the next six months".
He said the government had not given up its demand of seeking
clarifications from the MQM team about Altaf Hussain's controversial
statement in which he had ridiculed the Two-Nation Theory and
supported a confederation with India.
To another question, Mr Khan denied MQM allegations of human rights
violations in Karachi. "Do you think nabbing terrorists means human
rights violations?" he asked.
DWS
950830
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Talks resume on 1positive' note
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Shamim-ur-Rahman
KARACHI, Aug. 29: The government and the MQM delegations held
"positive" talks on Tuesday discussing "joint efforts" to restore=
peace to the city.
At the end of over two hours of the first session of the 5th round
held at the governor's house, chief MQM negotiator, Ajmal Dehlavi
expressed confidence that at Wednesday's session "something concrete
will emerge which would have a positive bearing on the law and order
situation in the city, as well as on the political environment."
During today's deliberations, the two sides took stock of the
prevailing law and order situation and also held initial discussions
on each other's points of agenda. The MQM had presented an 18-point
agenda in the first round of talks and the government side responded
by presenting 21 points.
"We tried to know what role the MQM played in condemning and stopping
terrorism during the past 36 days and who was responsible for these
incidents, including the killing of 14 people on the Independence
Day," said Mr Khan, adding that "positive results were not possible
amid continuing violence."
Asked whether he had presented and discussed his "power-sharing
formula" with the MQM , Mr Khan said: "Our prime concern is
restoration of peace, and negotiations on the political agenda could
commence after peace is restored."
When asked to comment on Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's offer of a
cease-fire for restoring peace to the city, Mr Dehlavi said "since the
statement has been made by head of the government, our party leader
would soon give a reply."
DWS
950830
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Altaf says no to power-sharing formula
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Correspondent Report
LONDON, Aug. 29: The MQM has ruled out any power-sharing formula with
the present government whom the MQM leader, Altaf Hussain, accused of
unleashing "a reign of terror on the Mohajirs by resorting to the
worst kind of brutality and genocide".
Hussain, in a detailed statement issued in reply to the remarks made
by the Prime Minister before a group of foreign journalists, said the
only way to resolve the present crisis was through redressal of the
grievances of the Mohajirs as enumerated in the MQM's 18-point charter
submitted to the government.
According to Hussain, the remarks made by the prime minister, were a
sign of "desperation" and an attempt to "mislead" world public
opinion. "Ms Benazir Bhutto has cleverly devised a scheme to raise
unconnected issues to create confusion and misunderstanding". A close
reading of her statement, added Hussain, would make it clear that she
was trying to avoid substantive negotiations for a period of 18 months
from now, by offering the cooling-off periods of six months each. The
government's attitude was apparent from the "dilatory tactics" it has
adopted so far in talks with the MQM, another round of which began on
Tuesday after a break of several weeks.
Altaf Hussain emphasised that the holding of local bodies elections
was no concession as it was the constitutional right of the people, a
duty in which the government had failed by not having local bodies
elections anywhere in Pakistan.
In a separate statement, he alleged that a worker of the MQM, Rashid
Ali Qureshi, was taken on Monday night to an unknown place by the
rangers. He was, he said, "tortured," during the night, his eyes were
gouged out and he died of wounds. He appealed to the army chief of
staff to withdraw the rangers from Sindh. If the government failed to
arrest the culprits responsible for Qureshi's death the MQM would
decide its future course of action after 24 hours.
DWS
950830
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MQM to launch protest week from Sept. 11
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Correspondent Report
LONDON, Aug. 29: The Mohajir Qaumi Movement is to launch a world-wide
week of protests to draw public attention to what it terms "the
continued harassment and ethnic cleansing of the Mohajir nation" by
the government. The week of protest will begin on Sept. 11, and during
this period the MQM will undertake distribution of leaflets, posters
and other printed material to highlight its grievances.
London and other cities in the United Kingdom have been chosen for the
first protest rallies on Sept. 11, followed by rallies in Washington
and 12 other major US cities, a number of Canadian cities, Japan,
South Korea, Malaysia, South Africa, Kenya, Cyprus and Australia.
The programme consists of handing petitions to the governments of
countries in which the protests are to take place. Meetings are also
scheduled to be held on university campuses.
The campaign is meant to raise international concern over the
governments "gross violations of human rights" against Mohajirs.
DWS
950830
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LB polls if MQM observes truce: PM
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Staff Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 29: Addressing foreign journalists, Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto said that her government would hold local elections in
Karachi provided that the MQM observed a six-month cease-fire.
The Prime Minister further added that a power-sharing formula with the
MQM could be implemented if another six months of peace followed the
local polls. "If they have a six-month cease-fire, we are willing to
discuss the issue with them," Ms Bhutto said.
Local elected bodies in Karachi were dissolved in 1992 and replaced by
government-appointed administrators. Ms Bhutto said the government
wanted to convince the MQM, that it could not make gains through
violence and the only effective medium of redress would be through
political channels. "They are Pakistanis. They are part of us. We are
part of them. If some have gone on the wrong path, we want to bring
them back to the right path, and we want to give them the incentives
to bring them back to the right path."
"We are prepared to go the extra mile for them if they are prepared to
demonstrate their sincerity in helping end the violence in Karachi,"
the prime minister declared.
Ms Bhutto said she did not think the government's dialogue with the
MQM would bring about instant agreement or easy solutions. "Our main
objective is to convince the Altaf Group to give up the politics of
violence, to convince the Altaf Group that whatever they wish to gain,
they can gain through dialogue and not through multi-barrelled rocket
launchers and grenade launchers and massacres."
DWS
950831
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MQM-Govt. teams to consult party leaders
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Shamim-ur-Rahman
KARACHI, Aug. 30: At the end of the fifth round of talks between the
government and the MQM on Wednesday, both sides decided to consult
their top leaders on each other's short-listed priorities for peace
and agreed to meet again.
Leaders of the negotiating team described the outcome as "positive and
encouraging" and said some "progress towards the realisation of the
objective of peace in the urban areas of Sindh was achieved."
"We are not dissatisfied with the progress made today," MQM
negotiator, Ajmal Dehlavi, told newsmen after the talks and added that
peace could be restored in the shortest possible time if the
government accepted proposals made by his side during today's
negotiations.
Mr Khan said the government side had gone considerably forward in the
quest for peace and in this context referred to the Prime Minister's
Press briefing with foreign media in which she had proffered a power
sharing solution. In this regard an initial breakthrough could be the
local bodies elections, he added.
Recognising the right of a political party to observe a strike, N.D.
Khan asked why the MQM was giving strike calls when the talks were
being held. "We have to ensure that violence does not take place and
rights of other political parties are recognised as part of
confidence-building measures."
Mr Khan said that during the talks his side had asked the MQM not to
give strike calls, and how much they could co-operate in the
establishment of a pluralistic political society devoid of ethnicity.
Ajmal Dehlavi said that during today's deliberations his team had
demanded that rangers should be withdrawn, collective and
indiscriminate mass-arrest and siege of Mohajir localities should come
to an end, and shifting of interned activists from Karachi to other
parts of the country should be stopped. He said if the alleged
"repression and extra-judicial killings" of Mohajirs did not stop, the
MQM would be justified in exercising its democratic right to give a
strike call.
"Since the government negotiating team is helpless in taking decisions
I think that such a meeting with the Prime Minister, as suggested by
the government negotiating side, would be more beneficial," said Mr
Dehlavi.
DWS
950825
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Second day of MQM strike : 8 killed in city violence
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Muhammad Riaz
KARACHI, Aug. 24: Eight people were killed on Thursday, bringing the
death toll to 13 during the two-day strike called by the MQM.
All major business and shopping centres, wholesale markets, financial
and educational institutions remained closed. There was no business in
the Karachi Stock Exchange or Cotton Exchange and factories operated
below capacity as labourers could not reach their work places.
Activities at the Karachi Port were, however, normal.
Out of eight killed in different incidents of violence, four were
found stuffed in gunny bags in an abandoned stolen car, with their
hands and feet tied and bullet holes in their heads. Another person
who was found injured in a car in Liaquatabad with his hands and feet
tied, later died in hospital.
DWS
950827
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Eight shot dead in execution style
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Mohammad Riaz
KARACHI, Aug. 26: A ghastly tragedy in which eight persons were
murdered in cold blood overshadowed the "normal" killings in Karachi
on Saturday. In all, ten people were slain, including the eight who
lived in Moosa Colony.
The carnage was carried out by a gang of over 20 armed men. They
stormed Moosa Colony, a slum, at 4 am and shot dead eight Pushto and
Hindko-speaking working class people who came from Mansehra division.
All the victims were in their mid-twenties or early thirties. Till
going to press, the motive for the crime had not been established by
the police.
Residents told Dawn, the armed men hauled up eleven people out of
three huts, blind-folded them and tied their hands at their backs.
They huddled them together in a one-room house belonging to Noor
Habib, a KMC employee, and sprayed them with bullets, including Noor
and his brother, Ghulam Habib.
When the shots were heard, most residents of the shanty town took it
as a routine happening. When they woke up in the morning they were
shocked to see the bodies. There was panic in the locality.
Later, the police informed the Edhi ambulance service and dispatched
the bodies to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for autopsy. After ablution at
Edhi Centre in Kharadar, the bodies were flown by a PIA flight to
Islamabad in the afternoon from where they were taken in Edhi
ambulances to their native district, Edhi sources said.
Sindh government has announced a sum of Rs 100,000 each to the
survivors of the eight victims of the carnage as a token of financial
assistance and all the expenses of burial would be borne by the
government.
Awami National Party provincial chief Amin Khattak said: "No doctor
was available till noon to see the bodies and to attend to the injured
people." Mr Khattak also alleged that no responsible Sindh official
was present in the hospital. "After a hue-and-cry by the people, the
SDM, Liaquatabad, came to the hospital. He was asked by me to do
something. People have been killed, not dogs."
He demanded of the government to provide complete protection to Badar
Rehman, the only eyewitness to the gruesome incident, admitted to the
hospital. "At the time of carnage, the killers showed a card to Rehman
and told him they were policemen," Mr Khattak added.
DWS
950828
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US consulate employee shot dead
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Staff Report
KARACHI, Aug. 27: A US consulate employee, working with the Drug
Enforcement Agency (DEA), was shot dead and his son wounded by a
motorcyclist here on Sunday.
Mohammad Shahnawaz Toor, 45, a former Pakistan army officer, was
ambushed by an unidentified motorcyclist and his son, Mohammad
Khurram, 18, a college student, was injured and admitted to Aga Khan
University Hospital.
According to sources, Toor, who lived in North Nazimabad, used to come
in his own car to the Sakhi Hassan bus stop, where he boarded a
consulate van to office. Khurrum used to drive him to the pick-up
point. On Sunday, the two reached the bus stop as usual and were
waiting in their car for the consulate van when a motorcyclist
approached their vehicle, opened fire and fled. Soon after the
incident, the US consulate van, carrying other employees, arrived
there and found them in a pool of blood.
Toor worked as administrative officer in the US DEA which has been
very active against drug barons for the last several years all over
the world. It has not yet been established whether Toor's killing was
a drug-related crime.
DWS
950829
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MQM activist, 4 others shot dead
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Staff Report
KARACHI, Aug. 28: Five persons, including an underground MQM activist,
Arshad Khan alias K-2, who was wanted for a reward of Rs. 1 million,
were killed in the city on Monday.
According to reports, Arshad, 27, and Hashim were wounded in
retaliatory gun fire, when they attacked a rangers picket in
Liaqatabad. Their companions rushed them to a private clinic.
Arshad later succumbed to his injuries in a private hospital in the
vicinity and Hashim, who was reportedly admitted to Abbasi Shaheed
Hospital, was taken away by a group of people in civilian clothes.
Arshad had been identified as one of the assailants involved in the
Liaqatabad super market carnage in which six persons were killed.
An MQM spokesman, Nusrat Nadim on the phone from London, alleged that
"rangers and police had caught Arshad Khan in front of his house,
ordered him to keep his hands up and shot him dead". Nadim said that
Arshad had been in hiding for the last three years and only came home
to prepare for his marriage.
DWS
950826
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Ulema call for strike tomorrow
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Bureau Report
PESHAWAR, Aug. 25: The Tanzim Ittehade Ulema-i-Qabail (TIUQ) and eight
Afridi tribes Jirga have called for a complete strike in Bara sub-
division on Sunday. It may be mentioned that this is also the deadline
for the acceptance of its demands that is release of the TIUB leaders
and withdrawal of the Frontier Constabulary (FC) contingents.
Meanwhile, hectic efforts are under-way for the settlement of the
detained TIUB leaders' issue for which an ultimatum had been given by
the TIUB. It is believed that an informal accord has been reached
between the two sides which will be made public in the next couple of
days.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-i-Islami NWFP chief, Prof Mohammad Ibrahim Khan, has
summoned his party's provincial executive committee's meeting to
review what is described as the worsening Bara situation. Maulana
Abdul Wudood, the Jamaat's Khyber Agency Amir, is among the five Ulema
still in the custody of the Peshawar police.
The Jamaats deputy chief for the NWFP and a veteran parliamentarian,
Dr. Mohammad Yaqub Khan, has put the entire responsibility of what he
termed as bloody drama in Bara on the PPP government. In a Press
statement, Dr Yaqub Khan said there was no justification for an armed
operation in Bara and the creation of chaos and tension which had
forced many tribal families to flee the area.
DWS
950826
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TIUB leader surrenders to authorities
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Staff Report
PESHAWAR, Aug. 25: Sher Ali Khan, a hostile elder belonging to Momand
tribe of Bajaur Agency, has surrendered along-with 250 supporters from
Mulakhel Yusafkhel sub-sections.
According to a handout, they have pledged their allegiance to the
government of Pakistan and affirmed that they would not indulge in any
activity inimical to the country's interests at the behest of any
hostile foreign country or anti-social elements within the Agency.
Following this another group of 35 activist of Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-
Shariah have surrendered unconditionally to the political
administration of Bajaur agency promising good behaviour in the
future. They contended that they participated in the agitation against
the government after being misled by some anti-state elements.
DWS
950827
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Government releases top leaders of TIUB
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Ahmad Hassan
PESHAWAR, Aug. 26: With the release of the remaining five tribal Ulema
on Saturday, the Bara drama which began with their detention on Aug. 2
and a bloody operation on Aug. 12, appears to have come to an end.
The release of Maulana Abdul Hadi, chief of the TIUB, and four others,
came as a result of talks between the political authorities of Khyber
Agency and a 50-member delegation of tribal Maliks and elders, which
started on Friday morning and continued till late in the evening.
Three out of the eight TIUB men taken into custody by CID on Aug. 2,
were set free last week at the beginning of negotiations between the
government and the tribal team. Those released on Saturday were
Maulana Hadi, Maulana Abdul Wudood (JI), Maulana Khalilur Rahman,
Maulana Mustamin and Khan Afzal.
They were arrested near Nowshera on Aug. 2 while returning from
Bhurban after attending a meeting of the Milli Yekjehti Council.
Maulana Hadi said Interior Minister Maj. Gen. (Retd) Naseerullah Baber
had accused his organisation of being backed by the MQM and drug
barons. The fact, he said, was that TIUB was purely a non-political
and Islamic organisation which is against heinous crimes.
Maulana Hadi, when asked to relate about conditions in confinement
said, "we were put in solitary confinement with shackles in Haripur."
The tribal negotiation team and the 8 Afridi tribes (Qaumi Jirga) had
issued an ultimatum to the government on Thursday last to accept their
demands or face the consequences. Political Agent Khyber Agency, Amjad
Ali Khan, told the newsmen after the agreement that the demands of the
tribesmen were accepted as a gesture of goodwill and in return for
some assurances from them.
DWS
950828
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Elite force for Malakand approved
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A.S. Yousufi
PESHAWAR, Aug. 27: NWFP Chief Minister, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao,
formally approved the establishment of an elite police force for
Malakand division.
The chief minister was of the view that special nature of Malakand
division, which had been a provincially administered tribal area,
called for the establishment of an elite police force for the
maintenance of law and order.
He commended the role of Malakand police during the recent past and
announced a special grant for the Malakand police and for CID
personnel in recognition of their services.
Mr Sherpao said the establishment of elite force became all the more
necessary in view of the limited strength of police in the division.
He asked the concerned officials to ensure that the new force should
also be assigned duties for welfare of people and participate in
relief measures, he said that the members of the force could be
deployed in other parts of the province as and when needed.
The proposed force would be headed by a SSP whereas its personnel
would be given special training in combat duties and equipped with
modern weapons.
DWS
950831
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Tribesmen issue ultimatum to government
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Ahmad Hassan
PESHAWAR, Aug. 30: The tribesmen in Khyber Agency have set Sept. 5 as
the deadline for the withdrawal of the Frontier Corps contingents from
Bara.
Meanwhile Tanzim Ittehad Ulemai-Qabail (TIUQ) which the government
wanted disbanded as a precondition to the release of its leaders not
only continues to exist but has gained strength.
The TIUQ leaders, Maulana Abdul Hadi and Maulana Abdul Wadood left for
Lakarbaba, 30 kilometres from Bara, on Wednesday to meet the tribal
Lashkar which has been stationed there for the last three weeks.
The TIUQ sources in Bara told Dawn by telephone that all front-line
leaders of the TIUQ have gathered at the venue of the Lashkar to work
out a future line of action.
The TIUQ has also announced that no school or health centre would be
allowed to operate in Bara till all the FC contingents have been
pulled out.
Governor Khurshid Ali Khan has gone abroad for a fortnight and the
Political agent of the Khyber Agency, who had promised to recall the
FC contingents as part of the agreement between the government and the
tribal Jirga, has expressed his inability to take any steps till the
Governor's return home.
DWS
950825
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BBC men attacked, offices set afire
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 24: Religious militants on Thursday set fire to the
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) offices in Islamabad, smashing
equipment and beating up the staff, witnesses said.
The attackers, nearly 13 in number, raised slogans of Maulana Azam
Tariq Zindabad (Long live Maulana Azam Tariq), BBC Murdabad (down with
BBC) and Sipah-i-Sahaba Zindabad.
According to witnesses, five or six militants, carrying steel pipes,
iron rods and batons entered the BBC offices, which also house the
residence of the BBC chief correspondent, Daniel Lak, and started
smashing household articles.
"I heard some strange noises and rushed to the main entrance and saw
some five or six people smashing things," Lak said. "My son was
playing there so I tried to save him and in the meantime was hit by
the attackers with a rod." They told Lak that they were armed and
threatened to kill him. Lak said he and his son rushed to the
bathroom and locked it from inside. "They tried to break open the door
but did not succeed."
Later they entered the room where another BBC correspondent, Zafar
Abbas, was sitting. They hit him during the "smash operation" in his
room. Abbas was quick in escaping from the back door.
"I heard two bangs, perhaps of petrol bombs, with which the attackers
set things on fire," Lak said. The attackers who were outside the
house, smashed the windows and front and rear screens of both
correspondents cars.
Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan chief, Maulana Ziaur Rehman Farooqi,
addressing a Press conference last week, had threatened an attack on
the BBC offices in Pakistan if the feature film about his organisation
was telecast.
The film about religious intolerance in Pakistan was made by a BBC
correspondent with the co-operation of SSP. The BBC correspondent was
taken to various places to record the public meetings of SSP leaders.
However, the SSP later asked the BBC not to telecast the film.
DWS
950826
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Inquiry ordered into attack on BBC office
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 25: Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, ordered an inquiry
into the incident involving an attack on the Islamabad Bureau of the
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
According to an official press release, the prime minister directed
the Interior Minister, Gen. (retd) Naseerullah Babar, to investigate
as to how attackers could come in brandishing arms in a weapon-free
city.
"Taking serious note of this incident, the Prime Minister has ordered
that investigation be completed within 24 hours and a complete report
be submitted to her," the press release said.
Meanwhile police rounded up eight activists of Sipah-i- Sahaba
Pakistan (SSP) as a result of raids conducted at various places in
Islamabad.
DWS
950828
-------------------------------------------------------------------
SSP leader arrested
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Correspondent Report
FAISALABAD, Aug. 27: Maulana Ziaur Rehman Farooqi, patron of the
Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), was arrested in Faisalabad and taken to
the federal capital.
The Maulana was arrested in connection with the recent attack on the
BBC office in Islamabad. In a statement after the incident he had
condemned the attack, but admitted that the attackers were activists
of the SSP.
In a statement, made immediately before proceeding to the DIG's
office, Maulana Farooqi said if the BBC were to telecast its film
about the SSP, his organisation would again protest. He said the next
protest drive would not be restricted to Islamabad and added that SSP
bore no grudge against the BBC, but it would not tolerate any
1campaign' against it.
Maulana Farooqi said that vandalising of the office of any news agency
was condemnable. He asked the SSP activists not to create a law and
order problem over his arrest but prepare themselves for safeguarding
the organisation.
DWS
950825
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Attempt on MNA's life assailants shot dead
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Nasir Malick
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 24: A People's Party MNA, Chaudhry Ilyas Ahmad Jatt,
was seriously injured by two unidentified people while flying on PIA
enroute to his hometown in Faisalabad on Thursday night. The culprits
were later shot dead by air guards.
According to witnesses, the plane had flown only 72 km when two people
sitting close to Chaudhry Ilyas pounced on him and slit his throat
with a large razor and a pair of scissors. The air guards targeted the
two men from their seats and shot them dead.
The PIA fokker flight had left for Islamabad with 44 passengers,
including five MNA's, a Senator and an MPA. A police source said, the
two attackers were travelling under the aliases of MNA's Syed Hamid
Raza Gilani and Shahadat Khan Baloch.
The captain who was piloting the plane said he immediately contacted
the air control tower and sought permission to land at the nearest
airport in Islamabad.
Eyewitnesses said the plane was encircled by police immediately after
the landing but it took more that 20 minutes before the injured MNA
could be shifted to an ambulance. According to MNA Chaudhry Sher Ali,
"the attackers spared him but the police and PIA did their best that
he should die." A doctor at the Pakistan Institute of Medical
Sciences (PIMS) said his condition was critical because of excessive
bleeding.
DIG Police, Talat Mahmood, told reporters at the airport that a man
suspected to be an accomplice of the two attackers had been taken in
for questioning.
DWS
950826
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Condition of wounded MNA improves
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 25: The PPP MNA, Ilyas Ahmad Jatt, who was seriously
injured in an assassination attempt last night has undergone two
operations and is reported to be in a safe condition, hospital sources
told Dawn.
Chaudhry Ilyas, MNA from Faisalabad, was attacked by two assailants,
Chaudhry Muhammad Saleem and Muhammad Imtiaz with a large razor and a
pair of scissors on board a PIA flight PK-675 just as it took off from
Islamabad airport. The sharp shooter flight guards shot both the
assailants, who were impersonating MNA's, dead.
An Airport Security Force (ASF) press release commended the "efforts
of the two Airguards of the ASF, Sub-inspector Saeed and Guard Asad,
who not only shot dead the two terrorists but also saved the other
passengers, crew and property," it added. Saeed and Asad showed extra
ordinary courage, presence of mind and professional excellence in the
face of external provocation and risks to their own lives and hence
deserved to be suitably recognised, the press release added.
DWS
950828
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ASF clarification
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Report
KARACHI, Aug. 27: A Dawn report published in the August 25 issue, was
refuted by an Airport Security Force (ASF) Press release.
The ASF Headquarters has firmly denied the news item and said that ASF
headquarters had not issued any Press release wherein it had said that
the ASF was indulging in self-praise. In a Press release issued on
Sunday, ASF said the two air guards "acted professionally, brought to
an end a gory act of unlawful activity and interference in the air.
Their performance was in keeping with our expectations."
"ASF men and women are engaged in carrying out their obligated tasks
as mandated by the government. The ASF certainly does not wish to pass
judgement on itself, neither does it desire to eulogise itself", the
Press release concluded.
DWS
950826
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Four killed in Sargodha bus blast
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Correspondent Report
SARGODHA, Aug. 25: Four people were killed and three others injured on
Friday morning when a bomb exploded in a Faisalabad-bound bus near
Chak 46 SB.
The bus which was carrying 18 passengers departed from GTS stand a few
minutes ahead of schedule. When it reached the bridge near Chak 46 SB,
a powerful bomb exploded in the rear of the bus.
The driver and conductor, both of whom escaped unhurt, said the
saboteurs had probably meant the bomb to go off at the bus stand. They
said that had they not left ahead of schedule the explosion would have
occurred in a crowded neighbourhood of the city.
The preliminary report of the bomb disposal experts who visited the
site said the plastic bomb, probably locally manufactured, contained
about 2 kg of explosive. Police have been ordered to patrol sensitive
areas around the clock and set up pickets to check all suspicious
movement.
A passenger wagon had escaped a similar blast near Jhal Chakian, some
six kms from this explosion three days ago.
DWS
950828
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Brown supports arms supply to Pakistan
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 27: US Sen Hank Brown has said no fair-minded person
would support the policy of blocking military equipment to Pakistan
for which it has already paid.
Talking to a group of reporters in Islamabad, he said Pakistan's case
for returning the money or the equipment was quite strong in the
United States. Answering a question, he claimed that this year his
amendment modifying the Pressler law would receive majority support in
congress. "Now there is a realisation in congress that Pakistan had
been a friend and an ally of the United States, therefore it should be
given a fair deal", he said.
Asked whether the adoption of the Brown amendment would pave the way
for the removal of the infamous Pressler amendment, he said that,
"this could be a move towards that direction."
DWS
950829
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Rao agrees to 5-nation moot: US senators
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Anjum Niaz
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 28: In a dramatic disclosure here on Monday, the two
visiting US senators announced Indian Prime Minister Narasimha Rao's
endorsement of Pakistan's proposal to convene a five-nation conference
on zero option, thus vindicating Islamabad's long-standing position on
regional nuclear non-proliferation consistently rejected by India in
the past.
"A five-nation conference on zero nuclear armaments comprising
Pakistan, India, China and Russia with the US in the leadership role
as an intermediary has been welcomed by India and Pakistan," Sen Arlen
Specter, chairman of the senate intelligence committee, told a select
group of newsmen at the conclusion of his and Senator Brown's talks
with the President and the Prime Minister. "We met Mr Rao two days ago
and he told us he would be interested in seeing zero nuclear weapons
in the region in the range of 10-15 years," Sen Specter said.
"The five-nation proposal is in line with the approach Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto had propounded during her meeting with President
Clinton in Washington last April," the press assistant to the prime
minister, Farhatullah Babar, told Dawn , adding that Ms Bhutto in her
meeting with the two senators had requested for a written statement to
this effect from Mr Rao. "She also proposed a larger agenda to cover
all security issues in South Asia, including Kashmir."
He said they would now pass on their proposals to the Clinton
administration. "The initiative and follow-through ought to come from
the US State Department." He said based on his conversations with Mr
Rao and Ms Bhutto who voiced no preconditions to the talks, "I would
like to see the matter taken up in the course of the next 2-3 weeks."
To a question of whether India was a nuclear state, Sen Specter said
that, "my assessment is while India has the capability to assemble a
nuclear weapon in a relatively short order, it does not have one
already. "Pakistan", he said "is pretty much the same."
To another question that since India had already exploded a nuclear
devise in 1974, wasn't New Delhi ahead of Islamabad in the nuclear
race, Sen Specter said, "not necessarily. It would suggest it does
have the nuclear potential, but since 1974, a lot of time has passed
and Pakistan, too, would have developed the potential."
He listed Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran and Iraq as
nuclear renegades, but conveniently left out Israel until he was
prompted. He then said he would raise the issue during their meeting
with Prime Minister Rabin.
Sen. Specter disagreed to a question that Kashmir stuck out as the
"main thorn" in the resolution of the nuclear issue. "I would not
agree with you that Kashmir is the main problem, I would say the
nuclear problem is a main problem and if there was a resolution on
this point, my judgement is that all other problems would be
addressed."
Making the oft-repeated statement that Pakistan must get back the non-
F-16 military equipment and the refunding of 568 million dollars for
the 28 F-16s it negotiated 10 years ago with the US, Sen Brown
explained his confidence about the passage of his bill, saying it was
based on "simple logic without any exotic flavour". He said the
Americans were very "uncomfortable" with having taken Pakistan's mone=
y
and neither delivered the products that they purchased nor given them
their money back.
DWS
950829
-------------------------------------------------------------------
India denies report
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Report
NEW DELHI, Aug. 28: India denied reports that it was ready to
participate in the proposed five-nation talks based on stemming
nuclear proliferation in South Asia, as was suggested by Senators
Brown and Specter in Islamabad.
According to an Indian Foreign Affairs spokesman, "there is absolutely
no truth or substance in the report. It is part of a disinformation
campaign. India has consistently opposed a regional approach for a
solution to the nuclear proliferation issue and is in favour of a
global solution on a non-discriminatory basis."
DWS
950830
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Indian propaganda against Pakistan proves to be false
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Masood Haider
NEW YORK, Aug. 29: India has increased its propaganda war against
Pakistan on the Kashmir issue in the US, by suggesting that the
Norwegian tourist killed by the militants was murdered only because he
was a "Jew", a charge which has incensed the powerful US Jewish lobby.
The story which was carried by the Washington Times, based on some
Urdu leaflets discovered by the Indian Army around the area of
conflict, has proved to be untrue as the Norwegian tourist Hans
Christian Ostro was not a "Jew", as claimed by the writer.
The Washington Times, which carried the report last Thursday, alleges
that the pamphlet was distributed by the "Al-Faran" group which is
holding the hostages.
The Kashmiri American Council says that "it is obvious that the story
was planted by the Indian intelligence agencies in order to malign
Pakistan saying that it supports the Islamic fundamentalists who hold
the hostages".
The Jewish media, which was made aware of the Washington Times report
by the Indian community in the US, was informed by the US based
Kashmiris that the report was inaccurate and that the Norwegian
hostage was not killed because of his religious persuasion, but was
just an "unfortunate" victim of the conflict. Since India is under
extreme pressure due to its deplorable human rights abuses in held
Kashmir, it is trying very hard to deflect the criticism towards
Pakistan on the hostage issue.
The Indians feel that by infuriating the Jewish lobby on Capitol Hill,
they may sway votes against Clinton administration's effort to change
the Pressler Amendment in order to ease the release of the money paid
by Pakistan for 38 F-16's.
DWS
950831
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Punjab not to restore students unions
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
LAHORE, Aug. 30: Punjab Education Minister, Riaz Fatyana, said that
the government had no intention of restoring defunct student unions in
the educational institutions of the province.
Replying to a question, he said students would be given representation
on management committees which were being constituted for all
colleges. Only students with a sound academic record would be
nominated to the committees to prevent any possibility of
politicisation of the committees.
The minister said the government was ready to register student
organisations as NGOs with the education department. However,
organisations wishing to get themselves enlisted as NGO's would
have to hold elections every year, have only regular students as
members or office-bearers and come up with some welfare programmes for
students. The organisations registered as NGO's would be given
financial support by the government to implement these programmes.
DWS
950828
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pakistani journalists bag awards
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Report
KARACHI, Aug. 27: Two developmental journalists, Ayesha Khan and Hilda
Saeed, have been awarded the Population Institute XVI Global Media
Award for Excellence 1995 in Population Reporting, as part of the best
reporting team.
The two journalists were included in a team of 15 journalists from
developing countries whose reports on reproductive issues affecting
women in their countries were published in, 1Private Decisions, Public
Debate: Women, Reproduction and Population', at the International
Conference on Population and Development held in 1994.
950826
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Stock Exchange : Unsettled trend depicted all over
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Muhammad Aslam
Stocks remained unsettled last week as a combination of bad news both
on the political and the law and order fronts kept the dealers on
their toes as they could not decide how to react to the changing news.
There is a perception shared by many, that the market should have
recouped its early losses after the start of the new account buying.
The two-day strike by the MQM, did not allow short-covering to come
into full play, rather, it induced selling on some counters.
The Karachi Stock Exchange index of share prices, therefore, could not
consolidate its gains above the psychological barrier of 1,800 points
and was last quoted at 1,797.13 as compared to 1,850.22 a week
earlier, showing a decline of 53.09 points.
Brooke Bond (Pakistan), for instance, reacted bullishly to news of an
unprecedented rise of 176% in profit, which sent its Rs. 10 share
roaring by Rs. 17 just in a session at Rs. 197 and it might cross the
prestigious level of Rs. 200 to join the select bank of a few scrips
ruling well above Rs. 200 against their face value of Rs 10. Brook
Bonds reported merger with Lever Brothers has said to be another
factor.
Another MNC, Lever Brothers, whose working results are selling while
ICI (Pakistan) sustained the early gains after a 50% payout, which the
management said will be for the current year owing to a big right
issue at the rate of 220%.
However, interim dividend at the rate of 25% by Shell Pakistan was
well received and points to a bull-run on its shares during the next
week despite the fact that its Rs. 10 share is already ruling around
Rs. 221.00.
However, interim dividend at the rate of 10% each by Premier Tabasco
and Welcome Pakistan appeared to be below the market exceptions but
did not work adversely against their share values. It was, therefore,
widely speculated that the market will be back on the rails when the
trading resumes next week alone on the strength of its corporate news,
notably the interim ones, which are due now in most case. Some
analysts, however, were worried over the breach of the 1,800 point
psychological barrier by the KSE index and did not rule out the
possibility of further pruning before a sustained rebound. However,
brokers were not inclined to entertain bearish ideas at this stage and
are preparing themselves for next weeks buying.
"Objectively speaking, there are reasons to believe that the market
has no option but to stabilise around 2,000 points before touching the
next chart point of 2,200", said a leading stock broker. The
developing political scenario points to a great "reconciliation among
the contenders of power and that is what the market needs at this
formative stage of budding recovery", he further added.
Analysts were not inclined to entertain bearish ideas at this stage as
profit-taking is the part of share business and in market parlance it
imparts strength to the underlying sentiment rather than having
bearish influences.
Bulk of the selling was confined to those sectors which have
shown substantial recoveries during the last few weeks when the index
soared from the lows of 1,600 to 1,850 during the last week.
But in most of the cases extreme gains were clipped as profit-taking
did not assume an alarming proportions at any stage.
Insurance shares were again worst hit and fell in unison, major losers
among them being Adamjee, Alico, EFU, Metro Life and United Insurance.
They were followed by Banks, notably MCB, Bank of Punjab, Citicorp,
Al-Faysal and Fidelity Bank and some leasing shares. ICP mutual funds
and modarabas showed fractional either-way changes. Synthetics shares
were massively traded as current Dewan Salman, Dhan Fibre, Ibrahim
Fibre - but the former suffered a sharp setback, while the others
ruled mixed.
Cement shares received heavy battering at the higher levels and
finished under the lead of Cherat, Dandot, Lucky Cement and some
others.
Energy and auto shares did not follow the market's general line of
action as investors were not inclined to sell heavily on these
counters. Hub-Power, Indus Motors and Honda Atlas showed steady trend,
although Pak-Suzuki Motors failed to sustain its recent gains. MNCs on
the chemical and pharmaceutical sector generally showed a firm trend
thanks to active covering purchase and rose under the lead of Abbott
Lab, Ciba Geigy, Ferozsons, Hoechst Pakistan, Wellcome Pakistan, as
well as Dawood Hercules and Engro Chemicals but Fauji Fertiliser
attracted selling and so did Brooke Bond and Lever Brothers, which
showed erratic movements.
Trading volume showed a sharp setback owing mainly to a shortened
week, falling to 33 million shares from the previous week's 45.615
million.
DWS
950825
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Govt goes back on promise : Disputed IT form conditions retained
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 24: The finance ministry on Wednesday night reversed
its earlier decision to keep pending for one year the soliciting of
information from businessmen about their foreign tours, mobile phones
and education expenses of their children.
Insiders maintained that differences between the finance ministry and
the commerce ministry over the issue could not be overcome and
secretary finance, Javed Talat, eventually succeeded in retaining the
three points in the IT form. Commerce minister, Chaudhry Ahmad
Mukhtar, was in favour of deferring for one year the implementation on
the IT form. He is said to have told the Prime Minister that the
opposition led by Nawaz Sharif was manipulating the traders community
to go on strike. He said the government should avoid opening too many
fronts against it and that the demands of the traders be accepted.
"The Prime Minister has earlier accepted their demand for withdrawing
from the IT form the seeking of information about the electricity
bills, residential telephone bills and the expenses occurring through
the use of cars over 800cc and now there would not be any undue
favours for the businessmen," Chairman CBR, Mr. Alvi, stated.
"We have picked up 25,000 cases and reached a conclusion that 19,000
businessmen have shown their income as 50,000", adding that "only
40,000 people showed their income ranging from Rs 50,000 to
Rs 100,000".
Mr Alvi, who has recently been promoted to grade 22 for achieving an
all time high record of tax collection, pointed out that under-
reporting income by businessmen was a sad chapter of Pakistani history
due to which there was not much increase in the government's revenue.
DWS
950826
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Businessmen stick to their demand
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
LAHORE, Aug. 25: The government and traders held their ground on
Friday on the issue of the two-day strike as all efforts for settling
the matter of deleting certain conditions from the Income Tax form A,
went up in smoke.
Traders believed that the Press conference of Central Board of Revenue
Chairman Alvi Abdul Rahim, in Islamabad on Thursday, in which he
decisively announced that the government would not withdraw any
condition from the form, closed all doors for them to retreat from the
strike call.
In a joint press conference held by Senior Punjab minister, Makhdoom
Altaf Ahmed, and PPP Punjab President, Mushtaq Awan, on Friday alleged
that the strike call was politically motivated as the traders
organisations had refused to talk to the government.
When reporters pelted them with a volley of questions as to why
businessmen had been singled for this compulsory provision, but
legislators and bureaucrats, who were under severe popular criticism
of living luxuriously on public funds, had been exempted in this
regard, both officials instead of replying, stood up saying that they
had made their statement about the situation.
Meanwhile, many other traders organisations announced their
participation in the strike. The Lahore Business Forum as well as the
Mall Traders Association also asked its members to close down their
businesses on Saturday and Sunday in protest. The only business
organisation which made an announcement to the contrary was the PML-J
backed Federation of General Traders.
Conspicuously, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and
Industry, and the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry seem to have
chosen to watch the proceedings from the sidelines.
DWS
950827
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Small traders observe strike in Punjab, NWFP
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Report
KARACHI, Aug. 26: Small traders and shopkeepers in Punjab and NWFP
kept their business completely closed - but those in Karachi and other
parts of Sindh and Balochistan responded partially on Saturday to the
two-day strike call. The call given by the Federation of Pakistan
Chambers of Traders and Cottage Industries was to protest against the
new procedure adopted by the Income Tax department to obtain
additional information about tax-payers expenditure on foreign trips,
children's education fees and mobile phone bills.
On Saturday, the first day of the two-day strike call, most of the
shopping centres in various parts of Karachi remained opened although
many shops in the main Saddar area were forced to close down in the
morning by the protesters.
A press release of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Traders and
Cottage Industries, nonetheless "congratulated the traders of Sindh
for their full participation" in the countrywide strike on Saturday.
The central leaders of the Federation from Punjab, NWFP and
Balochistan decided to exempt traders of Karachi and other parts of
Sindh from observing strike on Sunday. "This relief is being given to
traders in Karachi and other parts of Sindh after taking into
consideration that they had closed their business for the fifth
consecutive day," the press release said without directly mentioning
that the total closure of business in the city on Wednesday and
Thursday was due to the MQM strike call.
DWS
950829
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pakistan opposed to new taxes
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 28: Pakistan is opposed to introducing new taxes to
reduce the budget deficit and will convince the visiting IMF mission
to gradually help improve the health of the economy. "There is no move
to levy new taxes other than the ones already announced in the federal
budget for 1995-96," the prime minister's advisor on finance and
economic affairs, V. A. Jafarey, said.
He told Dawn that newspapers had "unnecessarily" drummed up the issue=
by claiming that the IMF wanted new taxes to put the ESAF/EFF
programme back on the track.
According to sources, during the current financial year, Pakistan
would follow a "shadow programme" of the IMF under which monitoring
would be done by the Fund itself, while the targets of the programme
would be proposed by the government.
DWS
950830
-------------------------------------------------------------------
PM gives concession in ITR form
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug. 29: In another twist to the protracted drama between
the traders community and the government, the Prime Minister has
agreed that the information regarding children's fees in the new
Income Tax Return Form will not be required, if that sum is less than
Rs 1,200 per month, per child.
The special concession was agreed to by the Prime Minister provided
the business community does not make any more demands for further
changes in the new ITR forms and this chapter is settled.
In a meeting with the representatives of the Federation of Pakistan
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), the Prime Minister also
reiterated that she had earlier withdrawn 3 out of 6 items of personal
expenditure, mentioned in the new ITR forms applicable to both
business income and salary income.
To reciprocate the conciliatory gesture of the government, the
President of FPCCI, S.M. Muneer, has appealed to the business
community, particularly the small traders, to accept this concession
in the national interest.
DWS
950826
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Business & Financial Week
-------------------------------------------------------------------
liquidated in nine packages and five parcels of land have been sold
out at about Rs 234.375 million.
newly privatised Ittehad Chemicals by way of golden handshake.
group comprising officials of the Privatisation Commission, PTC and
consultants Morgan Grenfell & MCB with the objective to maximise the
privatisation proceeds in the shortest possible time frame.
consultants for privatisation of UBL - that the government ought to
provide a guarantee of Rs. 10 billion to the private sector buyers in
order to obtain a good price for the placement of 26 per cent shares
of the Bank.
the requisite information sought by the sick mills committee, which
was formed to find out ways to revive the sick units.
not to tax bonus shares issued by insurance companies for the period
ended 30 June 95.
attempt to promote exports of Pakistani products to Korea.
pay Rs 15,000 per employee as interest-free loan as part of flood
relief measures.
Islamabad with a 1000 lines network over the country.
Bank and other multi-lateral donors to improve the efficiency of the
century-old canal irrigation system.
made at an international level, for instance, WTO, ECO, G-77, ASEAN
and the OIC, to get the quota restrictions abolished as these are in
gross contravention of the universally acclaimed norms of free trade.
a petition before the Japanese authorities for "allowing new entrants"
to export yarn to Japan after the imposition of anti-dumping duties.
Income Tax department's insistence to declare the name of their owners
before entering harbour.
the biggest refinery in Pakistan with the capacity of refining 6
million tons of crude oil per annum, the MoU will be initiated soon.
$25.575 million in 1993 to $52.66 million in 1994 - showing an
increase of 145 per cent.
amount of about Rs 28 million to the tribals of Dera Murad Jamali in
Uch area for continuing the operation of Uch gas field.
foreign currency accounts with authorised dealers in Pakistan.
Pakistan innovative Pakistani exporters have manufactured a new type
of bedsheet from jersey which is a quote free item and is in great
demand in the world export market.
potent diseases the New Castle Disease and Infections Burral Disease
have badly affected poultry farms in Karachi and its adjoining areas.
requiring funds from the Central Bank be first cleared by the ministry
of finance and the SBP so that they would be seen in the overall
context of sectorial credit disbursement and may be integrated with
the National Credit Plan.
present level by the year 2000 if ISO 9000 standards are not
implemented.
ports and export processing zones in an attempt at impairing the
infrastructure facilities for the promotion of exports.
carry out Automation of Cheque Clearing System (ACCS) and this
facility is to make its debut in Karachi by April 1996.
information regarding damages to crops caused by rains and floods.
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950826
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The mother of all conspiracy theories
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mazdak
IN PER capita terms, Pakistan must have the heaviest concentration of
conspiracy theories in the world. Everything from lost hockey games to
poor governance is laid at somebody else's door and these doors are
usually located in New Delhi, Tel Aviv and Washington.
During the Shah of Iran's reign, I recall somebody telling me very
seriously that despite the discovery of huge oil reserves in
Balochistan near the Iranian border, we were unable to exploit the
find because if we tapped the field, we would drain oil from Iranian
Oilfields, and this would upset the Shah. Then, of course, we have had
any number of "London Plans", in which Pakistan has been truncated in=
scores of pieces between scores of claimants. According to the latest
"London Plan", Karachi is to be separated from Pakistan and renamed
Jinnahpur so it can rhyme with Singapore. At one point, I remember a
"plan" to link Karachi with Punjab "with a corridor through Sindh".
But the most pervasive conspiracy theory of them all, and one that has
been strengthened over the years into unshakeable dogma, relates to
the partition of India and its aftermath. According to the mythology
surrounding independence, we in Pakistan got a bad deal because the
British hated the Muslims, and because Mountebatten liked Nehru and
loathed Jinnah. Indeed, Nehru's alleged affair with Edwina
Mountebatten is also supposed to have been a factor in the sharp
practices followed by India's last Viceroy where the demarcation of
boundaries to Pakistan's disadvantage is concerned. How else to
explain British duplicity in handing over Gurdaspur to India and the
other ways the infant state of Pakistan was cheated out of land and
resources?
The historical events leading to the de jure partition of India and
the de facto partition of Kashmir have been documented by a number of
historians and scholars. None of them have been more able than
Allistair Lamb who, in two recent outstanding works, has chronicled
the inner workings of all the parties concerned, and provided us with
an objective, incisive account of partition. Lamb's biggest virtue is
his ability to lift his horizon to include other British concerns in
the region, and relate them to India. Understandably, the focus of
Pakistani historians has generally been more narrow, and their
conclusions have, by and large, tended to support the conspiracy
theory of British bias and perfidy.
That there was a pro-India tilt in British thinking and planning
towards the end of empire can scarcely be doubted. A number of crucial
decisions -- such as the last-minute transfer of Muslim majority
Gurdaspur to India -- appear to have been aimed at ensuring that
Kashmir and the Northern Areas would go to India. However, these steps
should be seen as part of a well-conceived, long-term policy to
safeguard British interests, rather than the outcome of any British
animosity towards the Muslims or Mountebatten's personal animus
against Mr Jinnah. If religion had indeed been an issue, it was the
Hindus who were in the forefront of the independence movement and
should therefore have been the logical target for the British. The
majority of the Muslim leadership was understandably more concerned
with preserving the rights of their community in post-colonial India.
To reduce the factors underlying momentous decisions to the level of
personal relationships between the principal actors is to trivialise
history. Major powers base their actions on self-interest that is
occasionally enlightened, and can often be inimical to the interests
of others. However, wise leaders put their country's requirements
ahead of any personal considerations. Just because we have seldom
produced leadership of this calibre does not mean that all other
countries are similarly afflicted.
To examine the framework of decision-making in Whitehall after the end
of the Second World War, let us look at the world through British eyes
for a moment. The United Kingdom was nearly bankrupt after years of
debilitating warfare and the German blockade of its sea-lanes. The
Labour Party that had won the first post-war election was determined
to get out of India; indeed, the mandate it had given both
Mountebatten and the Boundary Commission was to find a quick and
dignified exit from the subcontinent. In the event, they succeeded in
the former, but not the latter. The wartime alliance of convenience
with the Soviet Union was fast unravelling, and gradually, the tide
was turning in favour of Mao's Red Army in China. For Western
strategists, the thought of a mighty communist alliance stretching
from the Atlantic to the Pacific was a nightmare, and a direct and
immediate threat to South and Southeast Asia.
Just at the time when Western interests demanded a strong India to
serve as a counterweight to communism in Asia, the British were being
forced not just to quit their colony, but to leave it partitioned and
weakened. So obviously, the Muslim demand for a separate homeland was
bound to serve as an irritant, and Jinnah as its implacable spearhead
would have been unpopular with the British, irrespective of his
personality, or Mountebatten's feelings towards him. Secondly, England
had long been a secular state, and it was difficult for most Europeans
-- especially for those who had never lived in India -- to understand
the insecurities of the Muslims, and their reluctance to live in a
Hindu-dominated India. For policy-makers in Whitehall, the entire
demand for Pakistan was an irrational impediment to their plans. But
once the decision to concede the demand for a new state had been
taken, India was seen as the natural successor to the colonial power.
Forced to withdraw from the Great Game, Britain wanted to make sure
that a strong player took its place to confront the communists in
Central Asia. From its viewpoint, it made eminent sense to ensure that
India -- and not Pakistan -- inherited Kashmir and the Northern Areas
which had long provided British agents a window on China.
Apart from geopolitics, there was the emotional, sentimental
dimension. The British living in India took great pride in the
institutions they had created over the last three centuries. The
railways, the British Indian Army and the civil service evoked immense
pride in the descendants of those who had built them from scratch.
Even though they were now leaving, many of them hated to see these
institutions being divided, and resented the Muslim League for forcing
this separation.
All these factors added up to a subconscious (and in many cases,
conscious) anti-Pakistan and pro-India bias which was reflected in the
way the subcontinent was finally partitioned, as well as the affection
and nostalgia India still evokes in England. So while Pakistan has
suffered as a result of these British attitudes, this does not add up
to any conspiracy. We should ask ourselves how we would have behaved
under similar circumstances. It is important to analyse these factors
if we are to break out of the paranoia that colours our world view and
warps our understanding of history.
Ultimately, nobody is out to get us excepting ourselves. And we are
doing a very good job of it.
DWS
950826
-------------------------------------------------------------------
LAHORE DIARY
-------------------------------------------------------------------
LAHORE lost two distinguished personalities last week: Chaudhry
Muhammad Husain, industrialist, philanthropist and former president of
the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan, and radiologist Dr S.S.
Alam, a kind and understanding medical man if there ever was one.
On the day after Chaudhry Muhammad Husain's death, skipper A.H. Kardar
rang up Dawn to praise the man's services to cricket and to upholding
the values of decency and honesty which are in tatters everywhere
today. Kardar said Chaudhry Muhammad Husain was one of those who
actually spent his own money for the promotion of cricket; "these days
all you get are men who want to line their own pockets".
The industrialist's funeral was largely attended. But did the police
have to cordon away the portion before his house on the main boulevard
in Gulberg just because he was the father of the federal commerce
minister? Our administration has a wonderful knack for turning
sympathy for the dead into resentment against the living.
Dr Alam, grey-haired and always elegantly dressed, could be seen often
on a winter morning sitting out in the sun in the tangled lawn outside
the Ilahi Bakhsh Clinic on Lawrence Road, looking at X-rays brought by
his assistant from inside the building. While other doctors moved out
of the crumbling pile that the clinic had become to newer quarters in
the compound, Dr Alam stuck to his niche till the last.
The fact is well known that he was among those taken by Dr Ilahi
Bakhsh to Ziarat for the Quaid-i-Azam's last illness (the others in
the team were clinical pathologist Dr Ghulam Muhammad and tuberculosis
specialist the late Dr Riaz Ali Shah). What may not be equally well
known is that Dr Alam, who was 90 when he died, had also acted as
radiologist to Allama Iqbal.
Dr Alam belonged to a Kashmiri family of the Walled City and had
served with the army medical corps during the Second World War. It is
said that there was none to equal him in the country in reading an X-
ray, and one of his close friends and colleagues says that just four
months ago, Dr Alam had turned down a diagnosis of cancer and said the
patient suffered from TB. He was proven right.
All the greater pity, then, that he has left behind no radiologist to
match his calibre. This is a recurring phenomenon in many fields,
excellence is gradually dying out without any replacement.
DWS
950826
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Freedom after expression
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ardeshir Cowasjee
ZAHUR HUSSAIN CHAUDHRY, the fiery editor of Dhaka's Bengali newspaper
Sangbad, once told Ayub Khan in an open meeting, "It's fine for you
and our other leaders to tell us we are free to write what we like,
that we are free to express our opinions. But then, after expressing
our views, what freedom do we have? Are we not harassed?"
Ayub laughed, turned to his occupation forces and asked them to go
easy on the Press.
Our leaders and public figures are undemocratic in direct inverse
proportion to the noisy profession of their democratic ideals. They
attempt to bribe or win over journalists and when unsuccessful resort
to bully-boy tactics. Any and all criticism must be put down with a
firm hand.
Freedom of expression was recently tested by Newsline. It flopped. The
editor was clobbered.
Editor Razia Bhatti, of solid Konkany stock, is the daughter of Master
Marine Captain Mohammed Eshack Bondrey whom I knew since 1944 when he
piloted our ships in and out of Karachi harbour. On merit and
seniority, he rose to be Dockmaster, then Harbourmaster, and ended his
career as Deputy Conservator of the Port of Karachi. In those days,
the port officers lived where they are meant to live =97 at hand, on
call, on the island of Manora =97 and they spoke the language of ships
and the sea.
Razia went to school and to university at Karachi, did her MA in
journalism, and joined the Dawn group with the Illustrated Weekly of
Pakistan. In 1970 she became assistant editor of The Herald which she
later edited from 1976 to 1988, when she and others of the editorial
staff (most of them women) had differences of opinion with the
management on matters of policy and resigned. They raised money and in
1989 Newsline came out edited by Razia. It is a good independent
magazine that expresses itself without fear or favour.
During the 1990 electioneering campaign, Newsline came out with a
hard-hitting article criticising the militancy of the MQM. At a public
meeting held in the Clifton area one night, Altaf Bhai specifically
threatened the women of Newsline: they are English-speaking, he said,
they drink French water, and they have short hair. We have a list of
their names and we will fix them.
Undaunted, Razia and her colleagues pressed on, coming out in print
with various exposes on the iniquities of the personalities involved
in the power politics of Pakistan. In 1994 she was accorded the
Courage in Journalism Award by the International Women's Media
Foundation of the USA.
One July day this year Razia rang saying she had received a notice
from Abdul Ghafoor Mangi, Advocate-General of Sindh, on his government
crested letterhead, writing "Under the instructions of Mr Kamaluddin
Azfar, Honourable Governor of Sindh...".
Article 140(2) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
reads: "It shall be the duty of the Advocate-General to give advice to
the Provincial government on such legal matters, and to perform such
other duties of a legal character, as may be referred to or assigned
to him by the Provincial Government."
Something wrong somewhere. How can the A.G. of Sindh exceed his
authority? He cannot act for the Governor in his private capacity nor
can he use his office for private practice.
The notice sang Kamaluddin's praises, told how he stood tall and high,
and accused Newsline of having concocted a story with intention to
harm. He gave notice that unless the magazine apologised
unconditionally he would take action by instituting a criminal case
against all the accused --Razia, Hanif (the column writer), the
printer and publisher. He reserved the right to institute a civil suit
also, claiming Rs. 10 million as damages. A suitable response was
given.
Strange, I said to Razia. How do they evaluate themselves? How do they
estimate the amount of damage a column can do? In spite of criticism,
most of them seem to prosper. Kamaluddin is described in the column as
he actually is, the original political somersaulter. When he accepted
the governorship from "the brave and brilliant daughter", whom he had
done his damnedest to do down by summarising references to be filed
against her, he admitted that his "years in the wilderness" had been a
"Himalayan blunder", that now Benazir is "my leader and I am her
follower" and that he "would spend the rest of his life in the service
of the Party".
Then, out of the darkness, in the early hours of August 17, a police
posse appeared at the Newsline office asking for Razia and Hanif. They
bullied the chowkidar, got her address, and Razia was given the
"midnight knock". No summons was shown to her, no piece of paper
produced. She was ordered to report to the District South Police
Station in the morning. "What will happen if I don't?", asked Razia.
The police spokesman raised his eyebrows and recited the 1kalma'.
In the morning Razia found out that an FIR had been registered by
Kamaluddin, that the offence being cognizable, the police had plans to
arrest her without a warrant, and that a police van was posted outside
her office.
Impossible, I told her. I know Kamaluddin, and even he could not be
that stupid. I was prepared to lay a five to one bet, she naming the
stakes, that the police were acting on an FIR filed by someone else
for some other reason. We decided to get hold of a copy of the FIR and
as a precautionary measure apply for bail before arrest.
The ASI at the precinct police station lied to us. He told us that no
FIR had been lodged (it had been, No. 349/95). My counsel, Barrister
Makhdoom Ali Khan, told me there was nothing we could do, that since
the days of ZAB when the law was changed, no bail before arrest can be
applied for without a copy of the FIR.
We then related our plight to the Sindh Home Secretary. He too could
not believe that the Governor had acted as he had. Fortunately, we
have a sensible Home Secretary in Shahid Hamid who does not fear. He
made inquiries, and ordered that no further action was to be taken on
this case, that no arrests were to be made until authorised by him.
That was a relief.
Whilst all this was happening, news of the police's highhanded raids
broke in the afternoon Press. A panicky Kamaluddin asked friend Hameed
Haroon, Secretary-General of the PNPO, to advise him.
What Hameed told Kamaluddin, I cannot relate. Anyway, the following
pompous statement was issued by a Governor's House "spokesman":
"It has come to our notice that the Karachi Police have made several
attempts to contact the Editor and Publisher of monthly Newsline and
their Senior Reporter in connection with an article appearing in the
June issue of the magazine.
"Since the Governor believed that the article contained 1false and
scurrilous allegations' against his person, he filed a complaint
against the magazine in his personal capacity as a private citizen.
The Governor, however, made it clear to the Government of Sindh that
no journalist should be harassed or subjected to any persecution. Mr
Kamaluddin Azfar should receive the protection and benefits the law
affords a private citizen and no more.
"Due to the subsequent protest and advice of Mr Hameed Haroon, the
Secretary-General of the Pakistan Newspapers and Periodicals
Organisation (PNPO), for whom the Governor has a high professional and
personal regard, the Governor has decided to forgo all personal rights
in the legal matter, and has unilaterally withdrawn all charges
against the magazine and forgone all legal remedies.
"It is better to surrender one's own right as a private citizen than
to lay the office of Governor open to any charges of misuse of power,'
the spokesman added on behalf of the Governor Sindh.
It makes sorry reading. Kamaluddin acted on 1belief', not knowledge.
As a 1private citizen' he instructed the government of Sindh not to
harass or persecute journalists, implicitly admitting thereby his
intent, and his awareness of how the police normally act. Since the
offence Razia is meant to have committed is compoundable, an
honourable compromise could have been arranged. However, lawyer
Kamaluddin chose to hastily and unilaterally retreat.
It is an acknowledged fact that cowards and sycophants make good
bullies. It is also generally known that the heat of the seat travels
from the coccyx to the head as fast as a porous spine will permit.
Kamaluddin was surely taught that in a democracy a public person
cannot claim to be defamed unless he proves that what has been said
against him is not only false but malicious. When will our high and
mighty be sufficiently secure to treat criticism as did Keith, 5th
Earl Marischall of Scotland, who in the 16th century defiantly adopted
the old Roman motto: "1They haif said. Quhat say they? Lat thame
say'"?
DWS
950827
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The need for balance
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Omar Kureishi
I WRITE this more in sorrow than anger. Kamal Azfar I know and he has
been a friend for many years. There is reserved for him both respect
and affection in my head and heart. Kamaluddin Azfar I have not met
and, therefore, cannot claim that I know him.
I make the distinction because Kamal Azfar, himself an eminent
barrister, is someone who would have accepted with stoicism that there
is much mud-slinging in public life, and sad as this indisputable fact
is, it must be considered an occupational hazard and something that
goes with the territory. And should it get intolerable, then a remedy
was available in the law courts. He would have rejected out of hand
any suggestion that he should resort to extra-judicial measures. Of my
many political friends on both sides of the divide, I would have never
expected that he would initiate any action that smacked of
intimidation, much less an abuse of authority.
To be frank, I have not yet reconciled to the horrific fact that the
midnight knock on the door of Ms. Razia Bhatti's flat was at his
behest. It seems so out of character. It is not Kamal Azfar's style. I
cannot speak for Kamaluddin Azfar for, as I have said, I do not know
what changes occur in one's make-up and what transformation takes
place in one's personality. I have not read the article in Newsline
that has triggered off such a furore, and a well-justified furore, but
the article was written in June and this is August. That's certainly a
slow fuse. One cannot even say that there was a sudden rush of blood.
It is entirely possible that the midnight callers, the "raiding"
police party acted on their own, out of misconceived zealousness and
on the theory that a word to the wise is enough. There is always the
danger that something like this can happen particularly if the minions
of the law have been used in the past to provide the muscle for
political infighting. It is a part of a Kafkaesque culture and despite
the protestations of Human Rights groups, it has become,
unfortunately, a part of the standard operating procedure. The point
has been made that if someone like a prominent editor is not immune to
officially sanctioned unofficial heavy-handedness, what chance has a
man or woman got, who has no visible means of influence or who is not
a high profile media personality?
What needs to be addressed is not the case of Newsline alone but the
whole business of the legal rights of the citizens including and
specially the non-descript lowliest, the social orphans of society. We
must work towards an order that respects the law, considers the law as
a safeguard and a custodian, a member of the family. It cannot be
achieved if there is an adversarial relationship between the people
and the law-enforcers and if the law-enforcers themselves are seen to
be having no respect for the law! We should be worried about this,
correct this before talking glowingly of a just social order. Justice
should be available at the basement level. It is bad enough that there
should be such a colossal disparity between the haves and have-nots.
Should our society be divided on the lines of those who get justice
and those who don't?
There is another dimension to the sad episode. What sort of a
relationship do the authorities want with the media? We have in this
country complete Press freedom. The government must get credit for
this. There are no black laws. Why then should the government be seen
to be at war with the media? And why should the media pit itself
against the government in a mood of constant confrontation? I met a
senior editor in Islamabad recently and we were talking about media-
management. We were agreed that the government had much to learn about
handling the media. That inherently the government did not trust the
media, something that was not unique to this country. Hence the
government resorted to a carrot and stick policy.
But even this was flawed because, sometimes, the carrot was offered to
the wrong person and the stick applied to a potential friend. Was it a
classic case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand was
doing? At the same time, I pointed out to my senior editor friend that
the media too should redefine its role in a situation where it enjoys
complete freedom. there was no justification in treating this freedom
as a licence. If the government hand-outs lacked credibility, the
Press too ran the risk of having a credibility problem. If yarns are
spun from wholecloth, entirely fabricated and false, then the public
will begin to show the same scepticism that it does with an official
version.
There is a need for balance, and without seeming to sound hackneyed,
there is such a commodity as truth. I quite appreciate that in the
fierce free-for all we have, passions can run high and sacrificing the
truth is a small price to pay for scoring a point. But there is a
long-term view. There is the danger that not only the credibility but
the integrity of the Press will be destroyed. While the government
must do some soul-searching so too must the Press.
Our memory should not be all that short that we should forget the
days, rather the years of Ziaul Haq when the Press was in chains, in
the memorable phrase of Zamir Niazi. Not only was the Press muzzled
but a few journalists were even lashed. Not all the journalists were
cowed down but many showed restraint and wrote guardedly, getting
their point across by innuendo, by subterfuge. There is now no need
for innuendo or subterfuge. This is more than a notable advance. It is
a sea-change. Both sides should act responsibly. But a midnight knock
is definitely a no-no.
Freedom of the Press is not a gift. It is a right. The public has a
right to know. But character assassination does not fall within the
purview of any kind of freedom. As in the natural world, we need to
maintain a balance. Not to do so is to create problems. It is not
necessary that the government and the Press should be at each other's
throats. Sometimes, they can be on the same side in pursuit of common
goals.
DWS
950828
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The two worlds of Pakistan
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ayaz Amir
WHEN the Karachi Police recently tried to harass Razia Bhatti and
Muhammad Hanif of Newsline, the resulting outcry in the Press could be
heard on the other side of the Indian Ocean.
What was the real issue at stake in this affair? Certainly not that
Governor Kamal Azfar had misused his authority because the misuse of
power is no longer an issue in the Islamic Republic. Governors and
chief ministers regularly misuse their authority without anyone being
unduly upset about this phenomenon. Azfar's fault was that he picked
the wrong target for his anger, thereby bringing upon his head the
full fury and ridicule of the English language Press. Had he chosen
for the same purpose someone less in the public eye than Razia Bhatti
or had the Sindh police undertaken the same kind of action against a
publication in Thatta or Badin we would not have heard anything of the
matter.
My purpose in saying this, as should be obvious to anyone, is not to
condone the abortive midnight knock at Razia's door but to draw
attention to the invidious distinctions prevalent in this God-gifted
land of ours.
When not long ago the Karachi businessman, Kandawalla, was picked up
by the FIA, my friend Ardeshir Cowasjee and M.P. Bhandara devoted full
length columns to Kandawalla's plight. No doubt they did the right
thing because anyone who is the victim of high-handedness deserves
what support he can get. Still, the distinction should be apparent.
Government agencies are guilty of high-handedness all the time but, as
in the vast majority of cases their victims are lowly or of no social
consequence, you never hear of influential columnists rushing to their
defence. For which, not for a second, do I blame these same
influential columnists because like anyone in journalism their
inspiration to write comes from their own circle of experience. Since
those who write with any degree of fluency in the English language
come from a very narrow stratum of our population and move in
particular circles, for the most part privileged as compared to the
confines of the majority of their countrymen, it is only natural that
the plight of a Kandawalla should be nearer to them than the plight,
say, of an ordinary fellow from Chakwal.
Let me touch upon two more examples to further my argument. There is a
small-time journalist in Islamabad, Tariq Usmani, who in the heyday of
the Nawaz Sharif government used to bring out a minor newspaper from
Gujrat. What he wrote was not to the liking of Chaudry Shujaat Hussain
who, before his defeat in the last elections, was godfather of Gujrat.
Warnings came Tariq Usmani's way but when he persisted in his mischief
the Chaudry had him involved in a dacoity case and saw to it that he
was not given bail for a whole year. To compound Usmani's misery he
was kept in a cell in Gujrat Jail in which for his companions he had
two Sikhs on the verge of losing their sanity and whose incessant
bawling and fighting kept him constantly on edge. Has anyone heard of
Usmani's ordeal and has his name figured in any resounding column in
the national Press? Hounded in Gujrat he has now made a precarious
place for himself in Islamabad.
Younus Awan, admittedly a bit of a scoundrel, used to bring out a rag
in Chakwal whose favourite target was the then deputy commissioner, Dr
Liaquat Niazi, legends about whose religious hypocrisy (the doctor
being a great namazi) are still current among the people of the area.
Unable to put up with the repeated assaults on his dignity, Liaquat
Niazi decided to teach Younus Awan a lesson. Assisted by a posse of
police (the then Superintendent of police in Chakwal being one Waqar
Aslam who earned a reputation for himself by taking commissions from
his own SHOs), Liaquat Niazi waylaid Younus Awan one day when he was
returning from Rawalpindi and personally gave him a severe beating in
full view of the citizens of Dhudial, a locality twelve miles outside
Chakwal. Not satisfied with that, Niazi had Awan locked up in a zina
case and ensured that he was not let out until he had tendered an
abject apology. General Majeed Malik, Chakwal's worthy representative
in the National Assembly, is fully aware of this case but probably
because he too had felt the stings of Awan's scandal-sheet, he chose
to remain mum about it. Nor did Awan's rough handling make it to any
national newspaper.
This distinction that I am drawing between the occasional injustices
suffered by influential people, which become celebrated causes in our
newspapers, and the all too frequent injustices suffered by the lowly,
the echoes of which are lost to the winds, is apparent even in the way
the whole question of human rights is discussed in this country. To
hear the regular outpourings of the human rights brigade, which has
grown from strength to strength in recent years and much of whose
passion is fired by the sensibilities of its western backers and
donors, is to come away with the unmistakable impression that this is
a land of bigots wherein the foremost human rights issues relate to,
first, the persecution of minorities and, second, the oppression of
women. While there is a portion of truth in this indictment, the
colouring and spin given to it make for a misleading picture.
The misapplication of the blasphemy law, as indeed the misapplication
of any other law, is a thoroughly condenmable act. There can be no two
opinions on this score. But from this to the conclusion that
Christians are persecuted throughout the length and breadth of the
country is an exercise in selectivity which can please the Western
donors whose money sustains our proliferating NGO industry but which
scarcely does anything to advance the cause of human rights in this
country. Anyone doubting this proposition can test its validity by
trying to be funny with a Christian girl in any city of the country.
Soon enough he will feel the heat of a community which is as jealous
of, and as able to protect, its honour as any other in the land.
True, there is societal discrimination against the Christian community
as is to be seen, for example, in the way we segregate them in shanty
colonies in order to ensure that while they should do our dirty work
their impurity should not touch us. But these attitudes are not rooted
in the nature of any discriminatory laws. They are shaped by centuries
of history. Suppose for a moment that the anti-blasphemy law was
repealed today. While this will certainly remove an important source
of irritation for the educated stratum of the Christian community (I
say educated because Zari the Christian who cleans my house in Chakwal
has yet to hear of the anti-blasphemy law), in what other respect will
the material conditions of our Christian brothers and sisters be
improved?
As a Muslim society we need to develop the collective decency which
should enable us to give our Christians and our other minorities a
fairer material deal by pulling down their shanty colonies and
replacing them with decent housing and by doing away with the
iniquitous system of separate electorates which was devised by Zia to
knock the minorities out of the national mainstream. These are the
goals which demand concerted action on the part of concerned citizens.
The anti-blasphemy law can wait for a while because, its
misapplication in one or two cases notwithstanding, it is not
Pakistan's number one problem.
The case of the Ahmedi community, it is true, is a bit different.
About the 1974 constitutional amendment which declared them to be non-
Muslims there is not much to be said because that move was and is
sustained by a national consensus. But the ordinance passed by Zia in
1979, principally to appease the mullah lobby, which makes it a penal
offence for followers of the Ahmedi faith to recite the kalima or call
their places of worship mosques is a blot on a country which never
tires of proclaiming its adherence to the Islamic tenets of fairness
and justice. But even this, as I shall be trying to explain, does not
constitute Pakistan's foremost human rights problem.
Regarding women too the human rights brigade has done everything in
its power to obscure the real issues. Downgrading the status of the
evidence of women, a move decreed by Zia, is a retrogressive measure
which should be undone by the first government which is confident of
itself and is therefore in a position to strike down those statutes
which do no honour to our system of justice. But this thing apart, the
Hadood Ordinance of 1979, even if the nation would be better off
without it, does not give men the licence to rape women. Undoubtedly,
there have been occasions where the provisions of this ordinance have
been misused but not as much as the demonology made popular by the
human rights brigade would have us believe. Furthermore, an
investigation of the real situation on the ground would reveal that
compared to each instance where a woman has been victimised by this
ordinance there would be five if not ten cases where men (yes, men)
would be the victims of this law. According to the current practice,
in police stations the testimony of a single woman supported by a
medico-legal certificate proving penetration is enough to get a man
hauled up under this ordinance. If the flag-bearers of Pakistani
feminism feel outraged by this statement the first criminal lawyer
versed in the practice as opposed to the theory of this ordinance
should be able to set their doubts at rest.
This is not to say that women are not the victims of second-class
treatment in this society. That they all too plainly are but again
this is not because of discriminatory laws but because of the dikes
raised by our own history which set them apart as second-class
citizens. Introduce universal primary education and insist on the
schooling of every girl of school-going age and this will do more for
female emancipation than the gabble of all our NGO's for the next five
hundred years.
The human rights situation in Pakistan is more serious and more laced
with iniquities than the human rights brigade would have us believe
what to talk of minorities or just women, it is our people as a whole
who do not have any fundamental rights. To a poor man what do freedom
of speech and the more esoteric freedom of association mean? These are
luxuries for the privilegentsia and the governing classes who without
a thought for the deprivations of the vast majority of their
countrymen moan loudly if there is a power cut or if they do not get
proper service on an aircraft flight.
Our people are helpless before the law. They are helpless before the
minions of the law. They do not get timely justice or indeed any other
form of justice from the courts. They cannot give their children a
proper education. The hospitals of the country are not meant for them.
Public transport is a nightmare. Amounting to nothing in society their
dignity and the sense of their own worth and esteem are under constant
attack from all sides. Given these factors, what can constitutional
rights and high-sounding laws mean to them?
Consult the human rights brigade, however, and all you will hear is a
never-ending cackle about the anti-blasphemy law, the persecution of
minorities and isolated cases of assault on women (which, I hasten to
add, does not make these assaults the less reprehensible for that).
Our condition is surely waiting to be redeemed but not by prophets of
such narrow and selective zeal.
DWS
950830
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Serving the nation
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Hafizur Rahman
I LIKED Imran Khan's statement before Pakistanis in Tokyo the other
day that it is not necessary to be in politics for a person to serve
his people. I am glad he dismissed with a full toss the platitude
about serving the nation which everyone seems to use with such
excruciating monotony and hypocrisy.
I must say that whenever Imran Khan speaks, either before the Press or
before a gathering (even after getting married!) he says something
sensible, which you cannot say about many of our politicians. He
maintains both length and line.
It's really too much the way every Tom, Dick and Harry is obsessed by
thoughts of serving the nation. A chap who is selling bootlaces for
want of doing anything better, thinks he is not doing it for a living;
he is serving his country. Every student who stands first in any
examination is determined to serve the nation by becoming a doctor or
an engineer or a civil servant.
If the young man ends up by becoming a floor sweeper in Dubai he still
claims he is serving Pakistan by being there. The trouble with this
nation seems to be that there are too many self-styled servants and
too few genuine nation-builders.
Every new captain of a national sports team tells the Press how happy
he is to be able to serve his country. I fail to see where service to
the country comes in. One plays cricket or hockey because one loves
the game, and one should be happy to become skipper for the sheer
glory of it. Every player should have the desire to make good and
reach the top. Why drag the poor country into one's sporting
ambitions. By this estimation there is not a single patriot among the
world's champion sports stars.
Middle class parents scrimp and save to provide a good professional
education to their sons. The objective is almost always a medical or
engineering degree. Nobody says so, but everybody knows in his heart
of hearts that in these two professions the salary is of the least
importance. It is the extra income for which the parents make all
these sacrifices.
These parents are looking forward to the day when (soon) they will
have a car at last and other expensive goods. I should like to see
their faces if they were told that, in keeping with their son's avowed
ambition to serve the nation, the boy had been posted to a remote
village where his salary would be his only income.
About this time two years ago the air was thick with statements about
serving the nation. These of course came from candidates for election
to the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies. Suppose you
and I had told these gentlemen that we could provide them with an
excellent opportunity to serve the country if they gave up all thought
of becoming MNA or MPA. Do you think they would have agreed? They
would have bashed our heads in and shoved the proposal in our cranial
cavity.
The general tenor of politicians is: "If you elect me to office I will
serve the country (or community) like a slave." 1Khidmat' is the key-
word. "Let me be your 1khadim'," and "Just give me a chance to do
your 'khidmat'." In fact the voter begins to feel that he is not
participating in an election but interviewing applicants for the post
of a domestic servant.
Imran Khan is right. Why is it necessary for a public man, a man of
the people, to hold some sort of office before he can serve them? What
stops him from doing good when he is not a councillor or MPA or MNA or
a minister? Does service of the common man require a permit or licence
which one can acquire only by first getting into office by hook or by
crook?
In fact the demand constitutes a rather expensive proposition. First
you get your public man elected to a good office and only then expect
him to serve you, and that too after he has served himself first. You
have no right to utilise his talent for doing good when he is not
holding an office of profit. And what profits!
But he is so anxious to serve, so keen to be of some use to his fellow
men, that he is ready to spend lakhs, to enable you to elect him so
that he can realise his cherished ambition of serving mankind. What
pure unadulterated altruism!
And if you fail too muster the necessary number of votes for him, if
he loses the seat along with all that he has spent on it, then God
help him! His frustration is so intense, his despondency so great,
that howsoever you may try to remind him of public service he will not
react or be consoled.
The words of consolation and sympathy (and reminders of service to the
people) will be Greek to him. Catching the first plane out of Pakistan
he will endeavour to drown his sorrow in the streets of London. From
dreams of public service he will come down to the act of pub-crawling.
If you look around, how many politicians do you see engaged in work
which could be described as beneficial to the community? When out of
office they are simply out of sorts. There they are, standing outside
the arena of government activity, looking longingly at those within,
and waiting for their turn to come some day so that they too can start
serving the people.
They are impatient, restless, chafing at the reins which hold them
back from throwing themselves body and soul into welfare work. All
they want is an elected office, or even a non-elected office, to start
doing good. Their eager sincerity and their enthusiasm for public
service are certainly above suspicion.
Do you think something can be done to instil into our politicians the
true concept of public service? I know this is not easy in a country
where the public servant too (the government official, that is) thinks
that members of the public are his servants and he is their ruler.
The politician probably takes his cue from the bureaucrat. Even so, he
should candidly admit that he indulges in politics for the sake of
politics and for his own advancement. He must do this first. Later he
can start talking of service to the nation when he is able to
understand that he can also serve the people and the country by
remaining out of office.
Imran Khan and Abdus Sattar Edhi are living examples of this kind of
social service, and they are more respected than the most highly
regarded politician in Pakistan.
DWS
950827
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Intolerance on the loose
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Editorial Column
THE federal government has already ordered an inquiry into the
disgraceful attack on the BBC office in Islamabad over the weekend.
But in view of reports that Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), a militant
sectarian organisation, has already accepted the fact that the
attackers belonged to it, action more than inquiry is needed.
The attackers raided the BBC office and assaulted two correspondents.
Mercifully, the two were not seriously injured, and it is even more
fortunate that the small son of one of the correspondents, who was
present at that time in the office-cum-residence, came to no harm.
The attack followed threats from the SSP that it would take action
against the BBC for repeatedly showing a television film about it. It
has already been pertinently asked how armed men were able to carry
out such a brazen attack in a city that has been declared arms-free.
It is also strange that, while the chief of Sipah-i-Sahaba had no
compunction about saying the most provocative things for the BBC TV
documentary in question, his followers should have been so incensed
about the showing of the film that they thought nothing of organising
an armed attack on the BBC's local office and venting their fury
thereby terrorising the network's correspondents and indulging in
vandalism and arson - as if all this was an accepted form of protest.
As far as anyone knows, the SSP leader has not denied any of the
remarks attributed to him in the documentary.
The film was first screened some time ago. It has since been seen by
perhaps hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis who watch TV. Repetition
is one of the bane's of 24-hour broadcasting, and the BBC, like CNN,
also often repeats its programmes. But why this particular documentary
has been screened over and over again, only the BBC can tell us.
However, that provides no licence to anyone to resort to violence and
indulge in hooliganism. This is not the first time that journalists
and newspaper offices have been targeted by sectarian, ethnic and
religious groups and parties. It is another manifestation of the
extremism and intolerance that have overtaken us. Rather than soften
their own stands and eliminate the strands of bigoted thinking that
have twisted their politics, such organisations take out their venom
on those who report on their aberrations. Successive governments have
shied away from political action to confront those who sow hatred
among the people and practise intolerance, and this has only further
encouraged sectarian parties and organisations.
It is important that the government clearly identify those involved in
the attack on the BBC office and proceed legally against them. It is
the duty of the SSP to itself expose the miscreants in its ranks.
SPORTSWasim likely to be captain against Sri Lanka
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Samiul Hasan
KARACHI, Aug. 24: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is seriously
thinking of reverting to Wasim Akram and appointing him captain for
the home series against Sri Lanka, according to well placed sources.
The issue came under discussion as the National Selection Committee,
were asked to give their views by the Chief Executive of the PCB, Arif
Ali Khan Abbasi. According to sources, a couple of selectors gave
their approval arguing that Wasim was the only cricketer whose place
till the 1996 World Cup is confirmed.
Besides Akram, Ramiz was also discussed by the PCB officials for
captaincy but since his place in the team is not confirmed no further
development could take place. However, Aamir Sohail is a very strong
candidate and may win the job if Akram stays with Lancashire and
misses the first Test starting in Peshawar from Sept. 8.
According to sources, Sohail has been appointed captain for the three
day game because his potential as a possible future captain has to be
tried. "According to common sense, the man who has a sure place in the
team is appointed captain. And there is no denying the fact that
amongst the present lot, only Aamir Sohail's place is confirmed."
DWS
950826
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Wasim to come home; Lancs plea spurned
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Samiul Hasan
KARACHI, Aug. 25: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has turned down the
request of Lancashire County Cricket Chairman, Bob Bennett, to spare
Wasim Akram till Sept. 10, a top cricket board official said on
Friday.
Arif Ali Abbasi said the Lancashire Chairman was told that since the
fitness of certain leading cricketers was suspect and considering the
importance of the series, Wasim Akram was needed to bolster the
confidence of the squad.
The board official maintained that it was mentioned in the contract
signed between Lancashire and Wasim Akram that the latter will be
released if required on national duty. "He had to be released
according to the clause of the contract."
The availability of Wasim Akram for the home series makes him a strong
candidate for captaincy which became wide open after Javed Miandad
pulled out from the series on Monday last. Test opener Aamir Sohail is
also in the run.
With reference to Waqar Younis, Abbasi said that "he will resume his
training from Sunday at the National Stadium alongwith other
probables."
When asked that Younis's name has not been announced, Abbasi said:
"This camp has been set up to provide cricketers a facility of
regaining fitness and form. Moreover, even if the camp would have been
an official one, who would have stopped Waqar Younis."
Commenting on the availability of the lethal pacer, Abbasi said
Younis' specialist has given him a clean bill of fitness. "Younis has=
submitted his medical reports which clearly say that he can resume
cricket." However, Abbasi maintained that after undergoing physical
training and bowling, he will inform the PCB whether he is in perfect
playing condition to appear in the first Test.
DWS
950828
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Ramiz's choice as captain comes as big surprise
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Samiul Hasan
KARACHI, Aug. 27: The Chief Executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB), Mr Arif Ali Khan Abbasi, announced Ramiz Raja as the new
skipper for the national team to face the visiting Sri Lankans in the
home series. The choice of Raja, who made his last appearance in 1993
against the West Indies, has stunned both cricket scribes and the
followers of the game.
While briefing newsmen, Abbasi said Ramiz has been appointed captain
because of his unblemished record and good conduct. "His record in
Tests and one-day internationals and conduct on and off the field has
been impeccable throughout his career."
On the tenure of the captaincy, Abbasi said he has only been appointed
captain for this series while the decision about the future
assignments will be taken later taking into consideration his
performance as a captain and batsman.
The PCB decision seems to be part of their long-term planning to
prepare a team, particularly captain for the World Cup. Besides
forming a team which could retain the title, the captain is expected
to get himself associated in the hunt for an ideal combination which
could ably defend the title.
A veteran of 48 Tests, Ramiz, last appeared for Pakistan during the
1993 tour of the West Indies. After the batsman could muster only 82
runs from five Test innings, he was dropped from the squad. Ramiz,
who in the 1994-95 season scored 645 runs from 14 Patron's Trophy
innings, including a knock of 300, was again provided with an
opportunity against Australia in the three-day game at Rawalpindi. He
disappointed his followers, and more importantly the board, by scoring
a mere 0 and 2.
Ramiz was then appointed captain of the Pakistan A team for the SAARC
Gold Cup in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Not only did Pakistan fail to qualify
for the final, Ramiz could only score 60 runs from three innings.
including 1 against India and 0 against Bangladesh.
Ramiz, 33, made his first-class debut in 1977-78 and played his first
Test against England in 1984 at the National Stadium. Between 1984 and
1993, Ramiz appeared in 48 Tests in which he scored 2,243 runs with an
average of 30.72. Ramiz also hit two centuries, both against Sri
Lanka, besides 16 scores of above 50.
Ramiz's one-day record, however, is far from inspiring. In 159
matches, the batsman scored 4,915 runs having an average of 33.43 with
eight centuries and 29 half centuries.
DWS
950831
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Waqar available for series; Wasim returning on Sept. 6
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sports Reporter
KARACHI, Aug. 30: If the Sri Lankans had breathed a sigh of relief
after learning that Javed Miandad pulled out of the series, they
should be worried now that both Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, are
available for the series.
Wasim Akram, according to sources, is returning on Sept. 6 and will be
all geared up for the first Test starting in Peshawar from Sept. 8.
According to well placed sources, Waqar has expressed his willingness
to play in the Rawalpindi three-dayer so that he can judge his match
fitness and speed. Sources maintained that Waqar was more than
optimistic about his fitness "but professionally, he wants to try
himself out in the Rawalpindi match."
Sources stressed that Waqar conveyed his availability after attending
10 days nets during which he underwent strenuous physical workouts and
long bowling spells.
Although Waqar has expressed his willingness to play in the Rawalpindi
three-dayer, "the selectors are in two minds. while they (selectors)
argue that it was necessary that Waqar proves his match fitness, they
also think that since Waqar is making a comeback after a lay-off of
seven months, would it be wise to include him for the three-dayer as
there is only a day's rest between the Rawalpindi game and the first
Test," sources claim.
According the same sources, the final decision would be taken on
Thursday when the selectors and the PCB Chief Executive sit together
to finalise the squad.
Dawn page