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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 03 October 1996 Issue : 02/40
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Leghari tells Nawaz he will abide by Constitution
Vested interests trying to oust me, says PM
Nation not bound to honour any pact signed by PM
Major, Benazir discuss Kashmir
Time for world to act on Kashmir
US to send diplomats to Kabul
Govt agencies not fit to handle crisis situations
---------------------------------
KSE to do normal business on Friday
Where the population welfare programme goes awry
Pakistans tough choices in talks with IMF
Defaulted upon loans may never be recovered
Talks with IMF progressing, says Shahab
CVT on air tickets will yield Rs 600 million this year
Stocks respond bullishly to switch-over to Friday
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Open letter to Imran Khan Ardeshir Cowasjee
A time for sorrow Mazdak
Culture of violence Omar Kureishi
A week later Rifaat Hamid Ghani
Women on the world stage Benazir Bhutto
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Quadrangular a tough event, says Akram
Team leaves for Kenya with alterations
Akram rushing back home due to father's illness
No injustice to any player
Pakistan stars make beeline for English counties
Jansher retains title with disciplined squash
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960927
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Leghari tells Nawaz he will abide by Constitution
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Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, Sept 26: President Farooq Leghari told Opposition Leader Nawaz
Sharif he would act according to the Constitution and invoke Article 58 (2)
(b) if the national interest so demanded. The article gives the president
authority to dissolve the assembly and dismiss the government in case of a
breakdown of the constitutional machinery.
A press statement issued by the presidency after a three-hour meeting
between Mr Leghari and Mr Sharif said: The president took note of the
contention of the leader of the opposition that the government was not
being run in accordance with the Constitution and action should, therefore,
be taken under Article 58(2) (b) of the Constitution. The president stated
that this was a matter that lay in his discretion. He said he would act in
accordance with the constitutional provision if the supreme national
interest so demanded.
This was the first meeting between the president and the leader of the
opposition after Mr Leghari was elected president in November, 1993. The
president said that all the points raised by the leader of the opposition
were crucial national issues that should have been debated and resolved by
parliament. The government and the opposition should have sat together to
agree on the arrangements and modalities for fair and free elections to the
national and provincial assemblies. In any case, as and when elections
are held, the president would perform his constitutional duty, and exercise
all the powers available to him, and ensure that the elections are
conducted honestly, justly, fairly and in accordance with the Constitution
and Law, the statement said.
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960927
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Vested interests trying to oust me, says PM
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Sept 26: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said some people had
started conspiracies against her government but vowed to fight against the
enemies of democracy.
Informed sources told Dawn the prime minister told visitors at the prime
ministers house that she knew some people had started working on a
timetable to illegally remove her government. However, she declared that
she would fight till last to save democracy in Pakistan. She regretted that
the vested interests had not even realised that she was so much grieved and
disturbed over the death of her brother, Murtaza Bhutto.
"ources said she told her senior party leaders that Nawaz Sharif was trying
to destabilise her government. But the prime minister pointed out that she
would not give in. Ms Bhutto further said that those who got her father and
two brothers killed were now trying to get her killed and added she was not
among those who run away. The prime minister said Bhuttos always
sacrificed for the people of their country and that if need arose she would
not hesitate to give her life, but would not compromise on principles. She
alleged that the leader of the opposition was a product of martial law and
so did not accept her truly elected government.
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961001
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Nation not bound to honour any pact signed by PM
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"taff Reporter
LAHORE, Sept 30: Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif says Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto has gone to the United States without a mandate from the nation and
in case she signs any agreement there, the country will be under no
obligation to honour it.
"I want to make it clear that if the prime minister signs any agreement
during her stay in the United States, the country will not be bound to
honour it. She has gone without getting a mandate from the nation," Mr
"harif said while addressing a mashaikh convention organised by Ittehadul
Mashaikh Pakistan here on Monday.
He said unlike the practice in other countries, the Benazir government did
not take parliament into confidence on any important issue, including the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), and it had always bypassed the
assembly on major policy issues.
The prime minister, he said, had gone to the United States to get a loan of
$700 million for which she was seeking appointments with various senior
officials. "There is no use in visiting such countries which give you no
respect."
The opposition leader deplored the existing state of affairs and said the
problems were so many that it would be extremely difficult for any future
ruler to put the country back on the rails.
Mr Sharif said the devaluation of the rupee had failed to increase exports.
On the contrary, he said, imports were going up day by day which was not a
good sign.
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961001
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Major, Benazir discuss Kashmir
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Athar Ali
LONDON, Sept 30: Kashmir and Afghanistan the two topics and a range of
other bilateral, regional and international issues were discussed when the
visiting Pakistan Prime Minister, Ms Benazir Bhutto, called on the British
Prime Minister John Major for talks which lasted for more than an hour.
Soon after the talks Ms Bhutto, who had an overnight stay in London, left
for New York.
British officials pointed out that Ms Bhutto was not on an official visit
here but as she is most welcome to Britain anytime she comes, Mr Major
invited her for talks. The request was received relatively recently from
the Pakistan Prime Minister, according to official sources, and Mr Major
took the opportunity to discuss with her the latest developments in South
Asia, including Kashmir and Afghanistan.
Downing Street sources described the meeting as "warm and cordial". The
British Prime Minister specifically mentioned the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty and said in order to see progress towards nuclear disarmament
Britain would like that everyone should sign it. Ms Bhutto explained
Pakistan's position on the CTBT and blamed India for creating obstacles in
its way.
On Kashmir, the Prime Minister repeated Pakistan's plea for third party
mediation to resolve the issue. She said Britain could play a role in this
respect. The British position, which is that it would only agree to mediate
between the two sides provided both India and Pakistan asked it to do so,
was reiterated by the British Prime Minister.
The recent developments in Afghanistan were also discussed and Mr Major
heard Ms Bhutto's assessment of the situation following the Taliban capture
of Kabul. Britain is still watching the situation with caution and has not
committed itself on recognising the Taliban government.
At the start of the meeting Mr Major conveyed his condolences to Ms Benazir
Bhutto over the death of her brother, Murtaza Bhutto.
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961003
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Time for world to act on Kashmir
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Masood Haider
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 2: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has called upon the
international community and the Ummah to fulfil their obligations towards
the suffering Kashmiri people, squarely, and without concern for the
political or commercial expediency.
In a speech to a large gathering of foreign ministers and envoys from
Islamic nations on Wednesday morning, the Prime Minister said that time had
come for the international community to squarely deal with the Kashmir
issue. "Political or commercial expediencies must not be allowed to erode
the foundations of the international system," she said.
Ms Bhutto referred to the Indian atrocities in occupied Jammu and Kashmir
and stressed that "time and again India has sought to shroud the Kashmir
dispute in sham elections to deceive public opinion."
She said the voter turnout in the sham elections held in four stages this
September was less than 2 per cent, and maintained that the total boycott
of Indian elections by the Kashmiris was a clear referendum in which the
Kashmiri people rejected the sham elections, and rejected Indian
occupation.
Calling upon the United Nations to fulfil its historic responsibility
towards the people of Kashmir, Ms Bhutto underscored, "as far as we are
concerned, the only legitimate dispute, the only legitimate call for self-
determination lies in resolutions already sanctified in the United Nations
Security Council, as on Kashmir."
She said: "If the United Nations fails to act, it will compel the Kashmiris
to continue to wage their heroic struggle to reverse the occupation by all
possible means."
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961002
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US to send diplomats to Kabul
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Oct 1: The United States will soon send its diplomats to Kabul
to begin its contacts with the Taliban government but the US Embassy was
not being opened this week, the State Department said on Monday.
"I don't believe that we have any American diplomats in Kabul right now. I
think we'd like to have some diplomats travel there to make contact with
the Taliban. We'll have to assess when and how to do that," Spokesman Nick
Burns told the afternoon briefing.
His detailed statement marked a slight shift in the US policy towards the
new government as Burns "condemned" the killing of late President
Najibullah while spokesman Glyn Davies had on Friday only "regretted" the
killings.
When pointed out that last week, the official response of this government
to the Taliban marching into Kabul seemed to be a wait-and-see attitude, to
see what they would do, is the U.S. now rethinking its position?
Burns response was as follows: "I don't know -- we've not changed our
position. You know, the situation on the ground is quite murky. As we
understand it, the Taliban has had a string of military successes, is
pretty much in control of Kabul. But I think it's also true that the former
government forces, including some significant military forces, are
operating in the northern part of Afghanistan. There have been a lot of
discussions with some of the leaders up there, and it's not at all clear
that the Taliban have control over all of Afghanistan. In fact, it's fairly
clear that they do not.
It's not at all clear to us that they have established a functioning
government in Kabul or in the areas that they control. Let me just say a
few things about our relationship to these events. We have maintained a
relationship with Afghanistan. We have not broken diplomatic relations with
Afghanistan, but we've not had an Embassy there since 1989 because of the
civil war and the fighting.
We will have to decide at some point in the future when to re-establish an
Embassy, but I don't believe there's any serious thought about doing that
this week. We've not had an American Ambassador there, I think, since 1979,
when, tragically, Ambassador Spike Dubs was assassinated, and we haven't
forgotten that.
We have maintained contact over the years with all the major factions
people who used to be in charge in Kabul; some of the military faction
leaders throughout the country and Assistant Secretary Robin Raphel has
met with Taliban representatives in both Washington and Afghanistan this
year.
It remains to be seen what kind of government is going to be formed there,
and we'll have to watch the situation very closely. We have consistently
raised with all authorities in Afghanistan and this includes the Taliban
issues of great concern to the United States: terrorism, narcotics, human
rights including due process, and the treatment of women, which is a major
issue for the United States, and we'll continue to raise those issues.
I can also tell you that the United States, of course, joins in the
condemnation by the United Nations of the summary execution of Mr.
Najibullah and his associates. We condemn those summary executions, and
we've been very clear about that.
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961003
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Govt agencies not fit to handle crisis situations
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Intikhab Hanif
LAHORE, Oct 2: None of the law enforcing agencies or the district
administrations in the Punjab know specifically how to react to crisis
situations like bomb blasts and sectarian violence.
This has been pointed by the provincial Home Department in a report which
was sent to Governor Raja Saroop Khan on Sunday. The report was based on
the findings of a team which visited Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan
under the leadership of provincial Home Secretary Humayun Farshori late
last week to ascertain reasons of the endemic sectarianism there.
Keeping in view the situation, the report said, the provincial Home
Department had already directed each district to prepare a Standard
Operational Procedure, to define duties of each agency and officer in case
of a crisis, enabling the administration to control damage and to trace
culprits at the earliest.
Standard Operational Procedures are routinely prepared and implemented by
army to effectively tackle any situation. The civil administration has an
SOP only in case of hijacking of a plane.
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961002
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KSE to do normal business on Friday
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Oct 1: The Karachi Stock Exchange will do normal business next
Friday with a break of 90 minutes from 1 p.m. to 2.30 p.m. for lunch and
prayers and observe Sunday as a weekly holiday from this week.
A press release announced that the decision was taken by the general body
of all the members on Tuesday to do business on Friday despite the fact
that stock market is primarily connected with the working of banks and
financial institutions to express solidarity with the business community.
Since the banks and financial institutions will remain closed on Friday for
want of a decision from the State Bank of Pakistan as provided in the
Banking Companies Act, the general body meeting decided to review the
decision after one month to consider as to which weekly holidays would be
followed by the financial institutions and banks at that time because
uniformity between stock market and financial institutions and banks is
necessary to make the entire arrangements useful and meaningful.
While Karachi Stock Exchange in its general body meeting on Tuesday
endorsed the decision of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce
and Industry, a prominent broker of Karachi Stock Exchange was confident
that it would not take too long for stock markets at Lahore and Islamabad
to fall in line as 'their 75 per cent sale deeds are executed in Karachi.'
Some members of KSE believe that government would be forced to declare
Sunday a holiday and Friday a working day after the majority of the
businessmen all over the country decided to do so.
Enquiries made with the private banks revealed that Private Banks
Association has already approached the State Bank of Pakistan to allow them
to operate on Friday and to observe Sunday as a closed weekly holiday.
But when the central leadership of the business community at the apex body
is claiming overwhelming support, a large number of traders from one of the
biggest retailers and wholesalers enclave in Karachi, Jodia Bazar assembled
on Tuesday to declare that observing Sunday a weekly holiday is 'a
conspiracy of the secularists.'
Organised by a former Vice President of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and
Industry Mr H.M. Hanif, participants of the meeting included retailers and
leaders representing religious and political parties.
Our Correspondent from Islamabad adds: The Islamabad Stock Exchange has not
taken any decision on the issue of weekly holiday as yet, a spokesman of
ISE told Dawn on Tuesday.
Even if ISE follows the KSE's lead, an interesting situation is likely to
arise because the President of Lahore Stock Exchange, Mr Noshir, has
decided that Friday would continue to be the weekly holiday so far as LSE
is concerned.
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960928
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Where the population welfare programme goes awry
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Nina Gera
SOMETHING is amiss somewhere with the governments population welfare
programme, despite all the proclamations to the contrary and minor
successes in certain aspects.
Over the past 30 years, a stupendous sum of Rs 30 billion has been spent on
the population welfare programme (PWP) and even then it seems like pouring
water through a sieve. In 1965, the population growth rate was estimated to
be 2.9 per cent and the idea then was to scale it down to 2.4 percent.
Instead, it soared to 3.1 percent before settling down to 2.9 percent the
same as it was 21 years ago. Today, we have one of the highest rates among
145 countries of the world. Despite the absence of a census to ascertain
the exact figure, the estimated population of Pakistan is now 131.63
million (Economic Survey 1995-96).
More cause for worry is the fact that the under-five mortality rate remains
stagnant at 137 per 1,000 since the last 10 years and the maternal
mortality rates persists at the high level of 500 per 10,000 women. The
fertility rate again, which it was hoped would fall, has, in fact,
increased from 5.9 percent to 6.1 percent and until something drastic is
done in the near future, will stay put at that level.
Harsh realities:
Organisations such as the United Nations Fund for Population Activities
(UNFPA) have categorically stated that Pakistan may, at present, be a
developing country but would sink to the status of a least developed
country if, in the year 2025, the population increases to 284.8 million. It
is about time the government woke up to the harsh reality and did their
utmost to tackle this Herculean task, on a war footing.
It is not easy to accurately pinpoint exactly what is going wrong with the
programme, but it is amply evident where there definitely is room for
improvement. For one, certain experts in the field have commented that the
primary hindrance to the success of the programme is the conservative
forces which have a very strong hold on the populace, particularly in the
rural areas. Educated clerics, however, willingly accept the concept of
family planning. It is the illiterate ones who put spokes in the wheel. The
examples of Bangladesh and Indonesia, countries with far more successful
family planing programmes than ours, come to mind were the ulema have been
made part and parcel of the programme. Perhaps more could be done on this
front, to really convince our clergy. No mean task, this, but imperative
nevertheless.
And, it is by no means impossible since as an official of the Population
Welfare Department (PWD) of the Punjab government said, the Imams of
mosques in the rural areas are known to announce the arrival of the mobile
service units in the villages. What is more, a strategy has been followed
in the past to send enlightened Ulema from the urban areas as members of
delegations abroad and they have also been invited to attend seminars
across the country. However, we cannot be expected to achieve the same
degree of integration of the conservative elements in the programme as
Bangladesh and Indonesia.
The government on the other hand is strapped for cash. The fault, however,
lies not so much in the inadequacy of funds as in their use. The federal
government finances 65 percent of the programme. The total development
allocation for population welfare during the Eighth five-year Plan (1993-
98) is Rs 9.1 billion. The funds appear to be adequately utilised as is
evident from the figures for 1991-92 when the allocation was Rs 636.3
million, all of which was utilised. In 1990-91 the programme was allocated
Rs 598.4 million but used Rs 653.1 million (SAP committee report on the
Eighth Plan).
There is also a considerable amount of foreign assistance forthcoming, with
the World Bank and Asian Development Bank providing loans while the British
organisation ODA doles out grants. Incidentally there is ample room for
seepage. If the slightest opportunity comes his way, an official in such
departments will cash in on it. The honest are a rare breed. And
accountability is totally lacking in our nation today. Finances are treated
in an extremely amateurish manner, leaving vast scope for hiding the
corrupt elements and wastage of resources. Another flaw, somewhat minor at
first sight, is that the plans are replete with nebulous terms and lack
grossly in clarity. Those who are responsible for implementing the plans
have no clear idea as to how to explicitly follow the strategies.
Indiscipline
The family welfare centres are notorious for the indiscipline of their
staff and irregular attendance. These centres invariably remain closed and
this naturally affects the contraceptive distribution targets. Despite
these shortcomings, the FWCs are indispensable and continue to be
maintained at an exorbitant cost.
To remedy the situation somewhat, a former secretary of the Punjab PWD took
special interest in this aspect and started what is known as the flying
squad surprise visit teams which did improve attendance and performance of
the staff to some extent. Still, the general impression is that especially
in far-flung areas where the staff do not belong to that particular area,
this remains a chronic problem. The coverage of population welfare services
in villages is hardly something to be proud of. It is hoped that by the end
of the Eighth five-year Plan, coverage will be at least 70 percent in rural
areas and 100 percent in the urban areas.
Other shortcomings include the weak system of monitoring and evaluation,
persistent political interference in the functioning of the department and
the virtually total absence of focus on quality of services. As per
political interference, this is evident in the frequent postings and
transfers of officials of the department and this obviously affects the
overall programme as well as its monitoring.
Lack of follow-up:
Aside from the fact that recruitment is often done on political grounds and
not on merit, the family planning staff themselves are status-wise on a
fairly low rung of the bureaucratic ladder. Unfortunately this is the case
with all social sector services. Again, males are seldom part of the target
population especially in rural areas. Women are the focus of all efforts.
This apparently is now being changed and there are some male vasectomy
centres three in the Punjab and their number is likely to increase in the
not-too-distant future. The mobile clinics are poorly equipped. The main
complaint regarding those units is that follow-up care and treatment are
lacking and this is usually left to the village-based family planning
workers (VBFPW) which is by no means as effective as it ought to be.
The VBFPW revolves around the theme of self-help. It aims to bring about
community participation, through the creation of awareness, changed
attitudes and support mobilisation. One of the objectives of the programme
is doorstep service to the villagers. Sounds all very well, but there are
hitches. As an official of the PWD pointed out, supervision could be far
better and the government has to ensure the payment of salaries. It is
planned that by 1998, there will be as many as 112,000 Lady Health Visitors
(LHV) in the country. That would cost the government a minimum of Rs 4
billion per annum, not a paltry amount by any means. Can the government
really ensure this? Or more importantly, is it willing to do so?
Hope:
However, all is not despair. There has been a considerable amount of
decentralisation of authority. The FWCs now have a revolving fund for their
own expenses therefore, do not have to constantly refer to headquarters for
their expenditures. Policy matters are, of course, decided at the federal
level but minor decision-making is left to the discretion of the staff.
Initially, salaries of the staff and officials would often be paid well
after they were due, but now they are promptly paid every month.
On the whole, the supply situation of contraceptives is much better as the
distribution system has vastly improved since early 1995. Non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) are now involved in the rural areas and there is a far
better sense of co-operation. In short, it is more of an integrated rather
than an isolated effort. Perhaps the major flaw in the entire set-up is the
absence of a population census, and until this is undertaken, the entire
programme will be based largely on guesstimates, seriously hampering the
entire planning process. There is a corollary here, however. One of the
most facile things in life is to sit back and criticise without giving the
devil his due. There is much to be lauded in the programme, criticisms
such as the above notwithstanding.
One could question the very rationale of family planning as a government
priority. Should not other sectors such as education, nutrition, health and
shelter be developed concomitantly with efforts at reducing population
growth? As Amartya Sen and other radical economists have pointed out, ...
the emergency mentality based on false beliefs in imminent cataclysms leads
to breathless responses that are deeply counter-productive, preventing the
development of rational and sustainable family planning.
Of course, there are reasons for anxiety about the long-term effects of
population growth on the environment and there are equally valid reasons
for concern about the adverse effects of high birth rates on the quality of
life, particularly that of women. The only point is that population control
in isolation will not suffice. It has to go along with other forms of
socio-economic development. There is no need for a Malthusian approach to
the problem in todays world. Malthus anticipated horrific disasters
resulting from population growth.
Suggestions and solutions
What, then, ought to be done? There are certain determinants of success
which are briefly listed hereunder:
For one, the leadership has to be more dedicated and committed with a clear
vision and objective. This seems like a tall order because of the lack of
motivation and incentive resulting from relatively low salary structure of
the department but it can be left to those at the helm of affairs to
inspire and motivate them. There should also an element of flexibility in
the strategies and programmes and with new experience gained, fresh and
innovative ideas can be experimented with.
Management should be supportive and at the same time, strict. This makes
for a more effective programme. An uninterrupted supply of contraceptives
should be ensured. With more work at the grassroots level, attempts should
be made to mobilise community participation, increase demand and generate
local accountability. To encourage participation at the community level,
greater efforts could be made to spread the word as it were and involve
more and more people in the programme.
There should also be an integrated approach at the grassroots level and the
programme should come as a package with poverty alleviation and other felt
needs components such as education, nutrition and sanitation. This
package approach is claimed to be the main thrust of the present
governments Social Action Programme (SAP), as was pointed out at a recent
workshop held in Lahore. The programme has thus far met with limited
success.
The government has also been trying to combine health with family planning
but this, by itself is not adequate and other developmental components need
to be combined with it. Better care, including follow-up services, could be
provided to the clientele as there is a glaring shortcoming in the
programme which requires immediate attention. For instance, worker-client
ratio could be improved. The training of the workers could be more intense
and rigorous than has been the case hitherto.
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960928
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Pakistans tough choices in talks with IMF
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Ihtashamul Haque
PAKISTAN has been given a tough choice by the IMF: accept a substantial
cut in the defence budget, enact federal legislation for imposing
agriculture tax and freeze budget deficit at 4 percent of GDP or forego any
future lending.
The government is said to have decided to accept these new tough
conditionalities that are contained in a new package now with the Prime
Ministers Advisor on Finance, Mr V.A. Jafarey, who left for Washington to
conduct what is being termed as crucial negotiations with the IMF
authorities.
Mr Jafarey, officials said, would be having for the first time, a joint
meeting with the authorities of the IMF, the World Bank and the IFC to
discuss wide range of issues to help resume the third tranche of $ 80
million out of $ 600 million Stand-by Arrangement (SBA).
Talking points:
Mr Jafarey and the finance ministry officials have been finalising talking
points for the upcoming discussions with the IMF. Since it was becoming
difficult even to restrict the deficit to five percent, freezing it at four
percent would be almost impossible. Hence, the consensus among the
officials was that the Fund be frankly informed about it. However, Mr
Jafarey reportedly disagreed with the officials and said: If the
government tells the IMF that it is not in a position to have the deficit
frozen at four per cent, then there is no chance for the lending programme
to be resumed and for the conclusion of another $ 3 billion Extended
Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) programme.
He proposed that the government must try to achieve the four percent
deficit target and assure the IMF that some progress would definitely be
made to cut the defence budget and introduce a law that would call for
effectively imposing an agriculture tax. Also the package included
assurances for seriously trying to cut non-development expenditure.
Before leaving for Washington, Mr Jafarey wanted to see Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto to inform her about the new package to be presented to the
IMF for the resumption of its lending programme. Since she was in Larkana
in connection with the death of her brother Mir Murtaza Bhutto, Mr Jafarey
is said to have called on President Farooq Leghari on September 23 and
obtained approval of the new package.
Mr Leghari agreed with Mr Jafarey that it would not be advisable to even
slightly slash the deficit target and that all efforts should be made to
achieve it. In this regard he is said to have referred to other donor
agencies and foreign banks and in case they were not forthcoming to offer
any assistance there would be a problem to manage the balance of payment
position and foreign debt retirement. The President believed that
Pakistans relations with the donor agencies should not go sour, needless
to say that foreign banks will also start towing the IMF line and stop
offering loans.
Assurances
Before leaving, Mr Jafarey was contacted by this correspondent and asked
questions relating to his visit. He said: We would be assuring the IMF
officials that there is no plan to deviate and not achieve the 4 percent
deficit target. Also we would place before them our plan to effectively
levy agriculture tax.
He said the IMF has its reservations as to why Pakistan was not imposing
this tax specially when there existed a big potential for it. According to
former minister for finance, Dr Mehboob ul Haq, agriculturists earn Rs 500
billion every year and they do not pay even Rs 100 million in taxes. It was
in this context that the IMF and other donors started exerting pressure on
the Pakistan government to go for this tax.
I am confident that I will convince the Fund officials to resume
assistance to us, Mr Jafarey said, adding that the new ESAF would also be
discussed, although no figures have been bandied. The previous ESAF had
allowed $ 1.5 billion. Insiders said that the new ESAF may be for $ 3
billion.
Responding to a question, the advisor said that it was incorrect to say
that foreign exchange reserves were at a dangerously low level, they stood
at $ 1.4 billion. He said there was no threat to the reserves and that it
was untrue that foreign account holders were withdrawing their deposits. He
regretted that panic was created by vested interests and said that there
was no question of freezing foreign accounts.
Asked whether the government also felt threatened that it would not get
credit from foreign banks, he said so far it had not faced any problem on
this account. Whenever we feel the need we will borrow from foreign banks
as our credit position is still sound. It is wrong to say that our credit
rating has gone down, he claimed. He said non-development expenditure was
yet another area over which the IMF had expressed concern. We will meet
their reservations by cutting down.
Insiders are of the opinion that the local IMF Chief, Tariq Shamsuddin, who
is already in Washington had painted a very dismal picture of Pakistans
economy before his high officials. He is also said to have told the IMF
officials that the Pakistan government was not providing him official
economic data and other information about the state of the economy. He said
that the government also bypassed him and started talking directly to the
Fund officials in Washington.
Mr Shamsuddin who has been given a two-room office in the Q Block of the
Finance Ministry has also complained that while he was helpful to the
Pakistani officials, they ignored him. He said that he did not mind if the
officials wanted direct contact with the Fund officials in Washington.
However it is said that his head office has taken serious notice of his
complaints which would be discussed with Mr Jafarey.
Officials said they are hopeful about the outcome of the talks but the
million dollar question is whether Islamabad gets the third instalment of $
80 million in October.
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960928
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Defaulted upon loans may never be recovered
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Dr Farrukh Saleem
IN THIS country, economics has always been subservient to politics. It is
no wonder, therefore, that political influence and connections have been
superior prerequisites for loans from the Nationalised Commercial Banks
(NCBs) rather than economic feasibility or financial viability.
Ever since the commercial banking sector was nationalised by the first
Bhutto government a quarter of a century ago, government appointed decision
makers at the banks have had to toe the lines of their political mentors.
After a good 25-year hibernation, the entire political leadership on both
sides of the political divide has almost all of a sudden woken up to face a
colossal Rs 120 billion bad loan fiasco. The opposition is now talking
about the setting up of a Judicial Commission while the government has
submitted a list of defaulters to the National Assemblys Committee on Law,
Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. Both the PML and PPP are attempting to
derive as much political mileage as possible out of their rhetorical
promises of being serious in recovering the poor nations wealth from the
so-called loan defaulters. The sad part is that there is absolutely no
possibility that these promises will ever be fulfilled.
Harsh reality
The hard reality remains that any meaningful amount would never ever be
recovered from loans already gone sour. To begin with, a strong political
will is a must. Next in line are effective bankruptcy laws and an efficient
legal infrastructure. When some of the largest defaulters are politicians
or their front men, how can an honest political will ever take form? If the
upright Asfandyar Wali Khan (ANP MNA) is to believed, such committees will
absolve all ruling party political borrowers of any wrong-doing and if that
does not happen you can spit on my face.... quipped Wali Khans
principled son.
Under different circumstances, even if political will took a concrete form
we simply lack the required legal apparatus to implement any such will. In
countries where political will is accompanied by effective bankruptcy laws
and an efficient legal machinery, recovery of bad loans still remains an
extremely tedious process whereby a creditor, more as a rule than an
exception, only manages to recover a fraction of the total outstanding at
the end of a long drawn-out civil litigation.
Our elected elite have also been making noises about the introduction of
constitutional amendments or major modifications to the current law in
order to chastise loan defaulters. How about throwing all defaulters behind
bars until a full recovery of all outstanding loans? How about freezing
everybodys assets, or putting them all on to the exit control list (ECL)?
The mis-appraised law makers of our unfortunate Republic often forget that
there still is a constitution in force and top it all an activist
judiciary. The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in its
Chapter I of Part II under Fundamental Rights and Principles of Policy,
states that: No person shall be deprived of life or liberty save in
accordance with law (Article 9). Article 4 of the Constitution, under
Right of Individuals states that no action detrimental to the life,
liberty, body, reputation or property of any person shall be taken .....
Additionally, there is also the concept of limited liability of directors
(unless criminal intent can be proven) which has been perfected over the
past couple of centuries.
Its not that defaulters are a breed that should be sympathised with, but
who really is the defaulter? In a Pakistani scenario there generally are
three types of bank borrowers: namely the economic borrowers; political
borrowers; and connivance borrowers. The first class of borrowers is
composed of genuine business entities that need credit in order to expand
or just to continue operating. This class comes prepared with authentic
business plans, economic feasibilitys and financial viability. If the
banks credit department concurs with the attainability of goals, satisfied
with the value of the security being provided and is convinced of the
borrowers ability along with willingness to repay debt, a loan is usually
granted. If the forecasts of the borrowers and that of the creditor bank
proves right both parties-creditor and the debtor-to the transaction win.
In cases where the economic and financial conjectures somehow become
erroneous and the debtor becomes unable to pay back as per his commitment,
the creditor has the option of either liquidate the security or restructure
the loan.
It is my estimate that around 25 percent of the defaulted loans actually
belong to this category. This particular class of borrowers exists wherever
banking does and the banking system as such puts aside a loan-loss-reserve
out of its annual profits to cover all such eventualities. Political
borrowers, on the other hand, may also submit business plans, albeit sham
ones, but their main thrust is always non-economically based and there
almost never is a genuine intention to pay back whatever has been borrowed.
Politically appointed executives of nationalised banks by virtue of owing
their offices to their political benefactors oblige them, knowing well in
advance that such loans would eventually go bad. The third category of
borrowers is beneficiaries of bank loans whereby the government-appointed
senior bank managers on their own incentive grant loans other to front-men
or at times to businesses whereby both the debtor and the creditor know
that the loans would eventually become dud and all parties to the
transaction agree to share the proceeds of the loan.
>From a technical standpoint, borrowers falling into the first category
cannot be termed wilful defaulters because they are merely economic
borrowers and without them we might as well bid the economy goodbye. Mirza
Mahmood, one of this countrys brightest corporate lawyers, is of the
opinion that from a purely legal standpoint, a defaulter is one who has
been declared a defaulter by a court of law. In the eyes of the law,
publishing a list of names does not amount to much. The Committee on Law,
Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs can recommend whatever it desires at the
end of its three-month mandate, but unless a court of law has declared
somebody a defaulter, the Committees recommendations shall remain
inapplicable. The Nawaz Sharif government tried to force defendants to
cough up funds while defending their cases at Banking Tribunals, but all
such provisions were later discarded by the High Court as being
unconstitutional and against fundamental rights. Mirza Mahmood, while being
no friend of defaulters, also maintains that there is no way to by-pass the
courts (unless of course if one is bent on subverting the entire
constitution). If the government of the day decides to by-pass proper
judicial process in the defaulters case, the time is not too far off when
it will be pressurised to bypass the courts in a queue of other cases (how
about passing an ordinance that every one who does not agree with the
government of the day is a criminal?) We should, however, rest assured that
the Supreme Court shall not be willing to compromise on that account.
The two best friends of bankers around the world continue to be collateral
and the determination of the ability to service debt. The value of the
security must be sufficient to satisfy outstanding obligations and the
debtor shall be able and willing to repay. Barring these two there is not
much that a banker can do. If a mistakeeither deliberate or technicalhas
been committed and a loan granted, a creditor whether in Pakistan or
anywhere else on the face of the planet cannot in most cases expect a full
recovery of the loan. Two of the worlds leading banks, namely Citibank and
the Bank of America, over an eight period commencing 1985 have sanctioned
more than $30 billion in bad loans (all of the debtors falling in the
economic borrower category). Citibank has appointed a total of $18.5
billion out of its annual profits to enhance is loan-loss provisions while
the Bank of America has been forced to set aside $10.121 billion.
Political mistake
Our leading political minds must understand that in our case the Rs 120
billion loss has largely been because of a political mistake. Political
blunders require political solutions. The oppositions Judicial Commission
or the NAs Committee on Law, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs would be
lucky if they could recover a paltry 20 percent of the defaulted amount.
The Committee can, no doubt, recommend new regulations and amendments to
the current ones in order to expedite recovery. No new regulations or
amendments can, however, be violative of the Constitution. In the eyes of
the Supreme Court, all citizens have rights, be they murderers, dacoits,
common criminals, or defaulters (the first three under the Criminal Penal
Code) and the constitution explicitly guarantees those rights.
The name of the banking game really is to avoid the sanctioning of bad
loans. Allowing the sanctioning of bad loans and then thinking of
recovering them a few years down the road is as stupid as one could be. The
best route now is to sell off all government-controlled commercial banks
and development finance institutions to private operators. Do not allow any
further political intervention (when PPP took over in 1993 defaulted loans
were estimated to be Rs 80 billion while during the Junejo- era they stood
at around Rs 8 billion) and impose a comprehensive ban on the granting of
any new loans in any shape or form.
The Committees and the Commissions may, in the meanwhile, work on improving
the recovery mechanism. At the end of the day we must however, think of
straightening out our entire social and moral fabric. A piecemeal approach
has never worked before and it never will in the future.
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961003
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Talks with IMF progressing, says Shahab
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Oct 2: "Negotiations between Pakistan and the IMF are
progressing well and we hope to achieve our goal ," Minister of State for
Finance Makhdoom Shahabuddin said on Tuesday night.
In the first official comment on the on-going talks, the minister told
journalists at a dinner, hosted by the Pakistan Embassy, that the two sides
were discussing "the nitty gritty."
He explained that Pakistan and IMF teams were "discussing everything in
detail" so that there was no room for different interpretations later of
whatever was agreed.
As Mr Shahabuddin spoke to the journalists, the leader of the Pakistan
delegation, V.A. Jafarey, who was also present at the dinner, declined to
discuss the subject with the newsmen at all.
"I will not respond to your questions," Mr Jafarey said but when the
newsmen insisted, he reluctantly agreed with the observation of the
minister that talks were progressing and Pakistan hoped to succeed.
Sources said the IMF was sticking to its conditionalities and the meeting
between Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the First Deputy MD of IMF,
Stanley Fisher, in New York might finally decide their fate.
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961003
-------------------------------------------------------------------
CVT on air tickets will yield Rs 600 million this year
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Izharul Hasan Burney
KARACHI, Oct 2: The newly-introduced Capital Value Tax (CVT) on air tickets
for foreign travel is likely to yield a revenue of about Rs. 600 million
this year, almost 60 per cent of it from the tickets sold to pilgrims for
Haj, Umra and for pilgrimage to the other holy places.
CVT on air tickets (including PTAs) for foreign travel is to be charged at
the rate of three per cent of the value of the ticket except in the case of
NTN card/certificate holders, diplomats, air crew on duty, and dependent
children (up to 21 years of age) and spouse of the purchaser who is the
holder of NTN card/certificate.
More than 100,000 Pakistanis are expected to proceed on Haj this year. The
cost of air ticket is likely to be Rs. 25,000. At the rate of three per
cent of the value of the ticket, they would thus pay CVT of the order of
Rs. 75 million.
On an average, about half a million people proceed for Umra each year.
The Umra ticket is likely to cost Rs. 18,000 and this too would be subject
to three per cent CVT.
The aggregate CVT receipt in this case would thus total about Rs. 270
million.
In any case, the overall CVT receipts from air tickets sold to pilgrims is
expected to be in the region of Rs. 350 million, relevant sources said.
Add to it the normal foreign air traffic which is at least 25,000 each
month during the lean period and goes up to 40,000 during the peak period.
In fact, according to sources in the first month of this financial year the
net CVT yield from the sale of air ticket for foreign travel exceeded Rs.
20 million.
Considering that the peak foreign air travel months lie ahead, concerned
circles hope that this may be about Rs. 250 million for 1996-97.
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961003
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Stocks respond bullishly to switch-over to Friday
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Oct 2: Stocks on Wednesday apparently responded bullishly to the
decision of the Karachi Stock Exchange to switch over to Friday as a
working day after two decades as the consequent strong rally literally gave
it the tactical approval of the brokerage houses in general.
There was enthusiasm all around in the rings, not backed by the objective
conditions but there are reasons to believe the response to this
significant decision was overwhelming.
The investor craze for low-priced base shares is fully reflected in the KSE
100-share index, which crossed the barrier of 1,400 points, recovering
25.42 points at 1,410.85 as compared to 1,385.43 a day earlier.
"The breach of the 1,400-point barrier for the third time in
the recent past has fully demonstrated the fact that the market has at last
found its resistance level around 1,380 points", said a leading dealer.
But some others were not inclined to toe his perception and claimed it was
too early to predict about the near-term direction of the market as the
situation is fraught with high risks in a highly polarised political
scenario.
But some leading stock analysts thought otherwise and predicted that the
market has already found cue to the coming political events and after
having absorbed the crises period is now well on the road to a sustained
recovery.
"The current assertion of the president about rules of the political game
and even-handed dealings to the complaints of contenders of power has given
a tremendous boost to the market sentiment", they maintained.
And added to it are prospects of resumption of aid and stuck up loan after
the current parleys being held in Washington between the Pakistan team and
the donor countries, they added.
Thus, it was not a single factor but a combination of several positive
factors, which put the market back on the rails and predictions are that
the current run-up could be sustained in the sessions to come also.
Bank shares recovered in unison on active short-covering, notable gainers
among them being Crescent Bank, MCB, Askari Bank, Faysal Bank and several
others and so did leasing shares under the lead of Askari Leasing, and
PILCORP and some others.
Insurance shares followed them as leading among them came in for active
support under the lead of Adamjee, Century and Dadabhoy Insurance.
Some of the textile shares also recovered but in patches on news that
export of yarn is picking up. Leading among them and those which are
undervalued recovered sharply.
Synthetic shares rose broadly under the lead of leading among them on news
that some of the leading polyester fibre producers have raised selling
prices, which could well mean that the import might be expensive and the
consequent slow down.
Cement and energy shares rose broadly on strong support at the current
bottom rates, leading gainers among them being Kohat and Zeal-Pak Cement,
Hub-Power, PSO, Shell Pakistan and some others.
Auto shares also rose on short-covering triggered by news of 15 per cent
dividend by Indus Motors. Honda Atlas Cars and Balochistan Wheels were
among the other good gainers.
Barring Parke-Davis, which fells sharply on selling apparently for
replacement buying, most of the blue chip pharma and chemical shares
recovered smartly under the lead of Dawood Hercules, Engro Chemicals, Fauji
Fertiliser and ICI Pakistan and Reckitt and Colman.
After early weakness, PTC vouchers also joined the list of leading gainers
and so did other blue chips including Packages and Lever Brothers.
The most active list was topped by Hub-Power, up Rs 1.10 on 4.050m shares
followed by PTC vouchers, firm 65 paisa on 3.911m, ICI Pakistan (r), up one
rupee on 1.035m, ICI Pakistan, firm 50 paisa on 0.805m, Fauji Fertiliser,
higher Rs 1.75 on 0.641m shares.
Other actively traded shares were led by NDLC, steady 30 paisa on 0.513m,
Dewan Salman, lower 20 paisa on 0.462m, Dhan Fibre, steady paisa on 0.365m
and Askari Leasing, higher 75 paisa on 0.235m shares.
Trading volume rose to 17m shares from the previous 16m shares, while
gainers outpaced losers by 172 to 73, with 70 shares holding on to the last
levels.
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960927
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Open letter to Imran Khan
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ardeshir Cowasjee
DEAR Imran: We thought you would be different from the goons we have
suffered and still suffer, whose followers round up people, pay them to
go to airports to greet them and take them in processions to wherever it
is they are going, and, in the bargain disturb the already harried people.
On the day prior to your arrival and on the day you arrived in Karachi,
August 19, this newspaper carried advertisements exhorting citizens to go
to the airport and give you a rousing welcome. I asked your Karachi
lieutenant, Nazim Haji, why this was being done, and he told me that he was
opposed to the idea but that others in your gang here had prevailed. Should
you not curb and educate such elements?
On Saturday, when citizens of Karachi were invited to meet you, some 400 of
us had to look at each other for over half an hour. You were late. Nazim
made the excuse that you had been delayed by the traffic. This raised a
laugh. It was the day after the murder of Mir Murtaza Bhutto and Karachi
and its traffic and its people were all stunned. Then you announced that
your late- coming was not your fault. A good leader does not keep people
waiting, and should he do so, even inadvertently, he accepts responsibility
and apologises.
Poor Murtaza. Poor mother Nusrat. My first reaction on hearing of his
slaying was to grieve for my erstwhile friend, Nusrat, who chose to remain
my friend only until she became Madame President. Bhuttos marriage to
Nusrat opened up his entry into politics. Through her, he wormed his way
into the favours of Iskander Mirza and his Iranian wife and from there on
his passage up the ladder was facilitated. The unfortunate Nusrat, wife and
mother, during her days with Bhutto suffered much public humiliation, and
thereafter her children were to cause her boundless sorrow and grief. It is
now to be hoped that the people she chooses to have around her will allow
her to live in relative peace.
My second thought went to my dead friend, General Kazi Rahim, a very fine
man and soldier, whose son, Captain Tariq Rahim, (Sandhurst 1967-69,
awarded the Queens Cane) was killed abroad the hijacked PIA Boeing on
Friday, March 6, 1981, whilst it was grounded at Kabul airport. He was
identified, targeted, shot by a hijacker, and thrown out on to the tarmac
where he bled to death. The hijacking and the murder were committed at the
instance of the leader of the terrorist Al-Zulfikar Organisation.
At last Saturdays meeting, you handled the questions well. When you were
asked about your manifesto, your programme, you answered that they were
being formulated. On the subject of manifestos, promises and constitutions,
reproduced hereunder is what is recorded in my diary after one of my
meetings with my friend Air Marshal Asghar Khan:
Three worthwhile things he said:
Ayub Khan: The night after Ayub Khan took over, a cabinet meeting was held
at Karachi where Asghar, as air chief was present. Ayub asked, Now that we
have taken over, what do we do about making a constitution, having rule of
law? Justice Munir said, No problem. I will write out a constitution of
sorts. You publish it in the Press, then you hold four meetings one in
Nishtar Park, Karachi, one at Mochi Gate, Lahore, one at Chowk Yadgar,
Peshawar, and one at Paltan Maidan, Dacca. Wave it at the crowd, tell them
this is the constitution, read and accept it. The crowd will say manzoor
hai, and then we can promulgate it by public acclaim. Quite legal and above
board. The rest laughed, Ayub Khan the loudest, then saying You have to
take the people a bit more seriously, surely.
Bhutto: Soon after Bhutto was released, whilst Ayub Khan was still in
power, Bhutto and Rahim called on Asghar at his brothers house in the
PECHS and Bhutto asked him to join the party. Asghar asked, What is you
programme?. Bhutto said, Programme? I am good at fooling the people and I
will fool the people. Join me and nobody will disturb us for 20 years.
Asghar said, In that case, I will oppose you. And he did. Asghar was
thereafter hounded, stoned, spat upon, beaten up, but never arrested and
incarcerated. In Multan, just outside the district court, on March 21,
1971, when action in East Pakistan was contemplated, he protested. He was
called a Bengali agent, his hands were tied behind his back, and he was
physically maltreated.
Benazir: I asked, after all that, why did you join Benazir? Asghars
reply was that he thought Benazir was slightly better than her father. The
father was cruder, this one exhibited a spark of finesse. When GIK sacked
her in 1990, Benazir called on Asghar at his house in Islamabad and said
GIK was going to declare her an Indian agent, an enemy of the state, etc,
etc, and was trying to annihilate the PPP altogether. Asghar fell for this
and sided with her. He remained with her till Nasim Hassan Shah and his
brother judges held that Nawaz had been illegally ousted.
Go and meet Asghar. He is an honest man. You may learn from his mistakes.
As far as promises are concerned, for the time being I suggest you follow
Jaffersons formula and simply promise the people life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness. That covers it all. Also, tell the people that
before you start tending and mending the ozone layer, you will ensure that
they have potable water.
Your prime concentration at the moment is on corruption the eradiction of
which in the present dispensation is unachievable. The exchanges between
President, Prime Minister and leader of the opposition on this subject are
reminiscent of the legendary conferences Ali Baba was wont to hold with his
right-hand man, Mehmet Pasha, and his left-hand man, Turhan Bey, after they
had all been on a night-long spree.
What you can do right now is what some of us are trying to do use your
platform to lessen the robbing of what is left in the till. One well-known
rich picking spot upon which you can land is the Steel Mills, where figures
of buying and selling run in billions. On December 5, 1995, an acting
general practitioner was replaced by an acting specialist to head the mill
and deliver. Since then we have seen a spate of large self- propagating
newspaper advertisements which have cost us some Rs 3 crores. Each time the
mill advertises its alleged supreme achievements (with or without a stern
Benazir staring at us), the message that comes over loud and clear is that
a scam has either been successfully completed or that a successful scam is
in the making.
On July 17, 1996, wizard Vasim Jafarey wrote to the minister for
production. His missive bearing No. F.1 (12) Advf (PM)/96 conveyed: The
financial deterioration in the last one year has been of massive
proportion. The main features are: 1) decline in production of 6.9%; 2) a
massive build-up of stocks from Rs 2.3 billion to Rs 6.09 billion; 3) the
volume of sale has declined by 23%; 4) cash balances have dwindled from Rs
2,147 million to Rs 68 million; 5) PSM has defaulted on payments to the
banks; 6) to conceal the grim state of affairs, a false and frivolous
publicity campaign was undertaken; 7) PSM is demanding subsidies of over Rs
1 billion to keep going. There is a crisis situation which needs drastic
remedies, as we had discussed after the meeting.
But, the specialist is still at the operating table. If you are really
after corruption, this is a good starting point.
You advocate complete openness in government doings. You are right,
wherever the peoples money is concerned, they have the right to know how
it is being used and misused.
A few points for you to consider. Sacrifice is a word you (or for that
matter any politician) should never use. You are all doing precisely what
you want to do. When you choose your team, carefully exclude those that
claim they are willing to sacrifice themselves for their country.
And, whenever a politician proclaims he is following in Jinnahs footsteps,
we know he is doing precisely the opposite. When regimes use Jinnahs name
to christen projects, e.g. Jinnah Bridge at Karachis seaport and Jinnah
Terminal at Karachis airport, you can bet your bottom dollar that massive
corruption is involved. It is generally felt that by linking the name of
the countrys founder a scam is somehow protected and sanctified.
Whenever you read that an action has been taken or an appointment made by
the competent authority, presume immediately that the authority in
question is not only highly incompetent, but also corrupt. The competent
authority is a perfect cover, so it is imagined, to disguise the identity
of a wrong-doer.
Your slate is still relatively clean. Good luck.
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960928
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A time for sorrow
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Mazdak
NOW that the spontaneous outpouring of grief and anger over Murtaza
Bhuttos senseless and brutal killing has subsided, it may be possible to
discuss the implications of this act of violence.
It is a sad but accurate reflection on our society that it has taken the
wanton slaying of one prime ministers brother and anothers son to bring
into sharp focus the extent to which we have become brutalised. Years of
escalating violence and bloodshed on our streets have immunised us from the
pain and cruelty inflicted on tens of thousands of Pakistanis by sundry
security agencies.
We all know the chilling implication of the words intensive interrogation
while reading about the arrest of suspects in the newspapers, but we do not
wish to know anything about the torture that lies behind this routine
phrase. Similarly, we are all aware of the reality of the so-called police
encounters, but again, ostrich-like, we pretend ignorance. Because it
suits us to let the cops beat and torture and kill, we dont protest at
their methods. So in a sense, we share the responsibility for the crimes
our police and other security agencies commit every day in the name of law
and order.
But now that we have seen the PMs brother gunned down in cold blood
supposedly in an armed encounter with the police we all feel we could be
next. It is a measure of how powerful our law-enforcing agencies have
become that they know they can now get away with the murder of the rich and
the famous. To a great extent, our leaders have given the police a blank
cheque in exchange for doing their dirty work, and this includes cracking
down on the opposition whenever the need arises. Traditionally, our
security agencies first priority is to protect the interests of the
government of the day, and all too often, this means cowing down those
opposed to it, usually by force.
Given the many conspiracy theories swirling around Murtaza Bhuttos killing
and the governments low credibility, it is no surprise that nobody in the
country is willing to believe the polices version of events. Reports of a
major cover-up are doing the rounds, and the official position has been
severely eroded by the Prime Ministers own statement to the effect that
her brother was deliberately gunned down.
However, it is clear that the scene for this tragedy was set in Islamabad.
Newspaper reports suggest that powerful individuals had sanctioned strong
action against Murtaza Bhuttos faction of the PPP. And in the context of
the reputation Karachis police force has acquired in the last couple of
years, only a very naive person would expect that violence would not occur
in a confrontation between them and Mir Murtazas armed bodyguards. It is
significant that people driving past the Bhuttos Clifton residence earlier
that fateful evening had noticed the presence of scores of heavily armed
policemen.
The official line that the police did not recognise Murtaza Bhutto cannot
be believed: at 6 2, he was an imposing figure of a man. And even if a
credulous person swallows the polices version of the sequence of events
until the firing took place, what is incomprehensible and unforgivable is
that he was allowed to bleed, unconscious and unattended on the street for
nearly an hour before he was finally taken to a nearby hospital where the
poor man succumbed to his multiple gunshot wounds.
Conspiracy theories apart, this tragedy highlights the incompetence and
indiscipline endemic in our police force. When you give illiterate, poorly
paid and untrained men automatic weapons and a licence to kill, officially-
sanctioned murder and mayhem should surprise nobody. Indeed the
governments unwritten directive to the police to shoot to kill has
resulted in hundreds of manufactured armed encounters of the type Murtaza
Bhutto perished in. The two common features in these bloody incidents are
that the police hardly ever suffer any casualties, and the victims are
usually shot from point-blank range.
One intriguing aspect of this killing is that despite the presence of so
many officers, the trigger-happy cops could not be restrained as they went
on a firing spree that lasted for over half an hour. But perhaps it is
unfair to expect very high standards of our officers: many of them were
nominated by the government for UN assignments in Bosnia last year, but
almost every one of them flunked the English-language and driving tests.
It is a sobering thought that had Murtaza Bhutto not been accompanied by
his armed bodyguards, he might have been alive today because the cops would
have been less trigger-happy, and it would have been difficult to fabricate
an armed encounter with an unarmed group. Indeed, this country is so
awash with guns that the smallest altercation now leads to a shoot-out. The
Interior Ministers contribution to solving this problem is to suggest that
citizens should arm themselves to combat criminals and terrorists. He could
have added the police to this list of potential danger. But ever since the
arming of Pakistan began in earnest in the early eighties under Zia,
successive governments have turned a blind eye to this dangerous trend.
Instead of shutting down the arms bazaars of the northern areas,
politicians flaunt armed bodyguards as a status symbol.
The political fallout of Murtaza Bhuttos killing is not easy to gauge, but
it is likely that the PPP will have to pay a heavy price in rural Sindh in
the next election. Although his party did not do well in 1993, he was a
popular figure, especially among the youth. But at the national level, the
fact that a serving prime ministers brother has been killed by the police
signals serious political weakness. Unless the PM acts swiftly and
decisively against those responsible for this tragedy, hers might well
become a lame-duck administration until the next election, unless moves are
made against her government even earlier.
It is doubly sad that a death in the family could well be a harbinger for a
decline in Benazir Bhuttos political fortunes. But its a dog-eat-dog
world, especially at the top. Meanwhile, I join the whole country in
mourning the death of somebody I met only once, but Murtaza Bhutto
impressed me with his charm, intelligence and presence. May his restless
spirit find eternal peace, and may his star-crossed family find the courage
to bear yet another loss.
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960929
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Culture of violence
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Omar Kureishi
A law of diminishing returns applies to violence, particularly if it is
collective and impersonal violence. In due course of time one learns to
live with it and progressively each act of violence, whether it is murder
of a political ally or opponent or a bomb blast, creates less of a shock
and indeed less outrage.
Like people who live in crime-infested cities, be it New York or Karachi,
people adjust their lives, mindful that there is no knowing when lightning
will strike. But what has happened in Karachi and other cities of Pakistan
is that this culture of violence has acquired a dignity and has become a
status symbol. The powerful and the pretenders have devised their own
system of justice, confident in the knowledge that they enjoy an immunity,
the laws of the land do not apply to them. The carrying of kalashnikovs is
a part of the dress code and these powerful and the pretenders would feel
naked without them.
It is bad enough that arms should be displayed openly, it makes it both
worse and dangerous that these arms are borne with such haughtiness. In
other cultures they would be the equivalent of street bullies or member of
the underworld, in our culture of violence, they are the salt of the earth.
Bodyguards, fierce looking heavies, toting automatic weapons have become a
part of the backdrop of the political scene. What sort of message are we
sending to the people? Are these bodyguards meant for security purposes or
are they ceremonial? Are they meant to reassure the people or intimidate
them?
The irony is that when political murders have taken place, these bodyguards
have proved to be singularly ineffective. They have become a part of the
problem. Islamabad, for example, is supposed to be a weapon-free city.
Somebody is got to be kidding. The fact is that like the rest of the
country it is awash with weapons and it is no secret and these weapons are
displayed brazenly, arrogantly. Many of these weapons were inherited when
we waged a jihad in Afghanistan, on behalf of the Americans, and took what
PTVs Khabarnama used to describe tirelessly and with grim determination as
a principled stand.
We have added to this arsenal and the arms business continues to flourish.
Attempts to disarm the country have failed miserably partly because of a
lack of political will and partly because there has been a lack of
comprehension of the dangers inherent in such a situation. Politics has
become exceedingly hazardous, the pursuit of power a matter of life and
death literally.
As if this was not enough, the use of violence which includes murder has
become fashionable because there is no fear of punishment. There have been
scores of political murders, some of them of prominent persons, and we have
yet to see anyone arrested, leave alone convicted. Thus there is, by
default, by omission, an unofficial sanction for a licence to kill. The
most deplorable aspect of this culture of violence is the involvement of
law enforcing agencies who appear to have an agenda of their own. It is not
that they are blood-thirsty villains but they have been given a free hand
and they have used this free hand heavily. There appears to be no
accountability. One would imagine that these agencies are governed by some
rules, by some conduct code and they are bound to go by these. The
perception of the public is that minions of these agencies are not
accountable and it would seem not accountable even to their seniors. They
are free- lance.
The heart of the matter is that when someone is asked to carry out an
illegal order, that someone then holds power over the person giving the
order. If I ask one of my subordinates to do something dishonest, I cannot
punish him if he chooses to do certain dishonest things off his own bat and
for his personal gain. Sometimes things are done on the assumption that it
will please the bosses.
I am sure that many of the crime committed by the Nazis were not
specifically ordered by Hitler or the German High Command. But because
these crimes fitted into a general pattern of repression, they were carried
out in the belief that they would meet with the approval of the superiors.
A law enforcing agency must not be permitted any discretion. They must be
made to go strictly by the book. But what are we to do when crime is
politicised and politics criminalised. It is not always easy to tell which
is which.
Given the sort of political climate we live in one may be shocked by a
political killing but one should not be surprised. Like millions of others,
I was immensely saddened by the killing of Mir Murtaza Bhutto. My heart
went out to his family, to his mother, his sisters, his wife and the
children. His death has political ramifications but my grief is a private
one. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was a close personal friend of mine and our
friendship had nothing to do with politics. It was a friendship that went
back to our boyhood. It is but natural that I would get to know the members
of his family and therefore it is on this personal level that I offer my
deepest, deepest sympathies to all members of Mir Murtazas family. God
knows they have had their share of sorrow. I think they should be allowed
to mourn the loss of a dear one in their own way. We can only help to wipe
away their tears with our prayers. God be with both living and the dead.
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961003
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A week later
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Rifaat Hamid Ghani
MURTAZA'S children have been flown to Damascus. The Prime Minister took off
to keep her official engagements at the UN, taking her mother with her. And
Ghinwa Murtaza Bhutto is left alone in 70 Clifton. Perhaps no one could
share the burden of such grief.
The fact that Murtaza's party is rallying round her, and that those who
mourn him come chiefly to her to express their loss Begum Nusrat Bhutto
having been positioned at her daughter's side to give the lie to the
unminced expression of popular anger in home constituencies and ugly
inferences elsewhere may lessen Ghinwa's isolation. It may also add to
her fears. Life has dealt Benazir Bhutto so many hard knocks without
chastening her that it is unlikely she will find a lesson in the fact that
the closeness of the mother she summarily dismissed as co-chairperson of
the PPP is politically essential to her in her present crisis.
But a mother's love cannot whitewash Ms Bhutto's lacklustre performance as
PM and this is now catching up with her. It caught up with the country long
ago. She may come back with a reprieve from the IMF; she may have allayed
some of President Leghari's misgivings. But as she herself points out, in
democracy the mandate comes from the people.
Money and guns can buy a mandate up to a point, even convert it, or mask
and obstruct the conversion. But with Murtaza Bhutto's killing it has all
got out of hand. Money and guns and state power have turned upon
themselves, and very publicly. The deficiencies in the police are already
exposed. If judicial process is found wanting by the people that too will
be exposed. And the Prime Minister is exposed as an individual who, even in
the deepest personal grief, is primarily concerned with the retention of
power. Whether in recourse to unbecomingly emotive oratory to recapture
public sympathy or calculating the next move.
It was in rather poor taste for Mr Leghari to file his reference in the
Supreme Court on Saturday the twenty-first. It was equally unedifying to
watch Ms Bhutto playing to the gallery when receiving the masses'
condolences the next day. That performance was capped by or docile
assumption of deference towards the President in her meeting with him on
the twenty- eighth.
Sial's not that mysterious death has lent credence to the belief that dark
and powerful forces are at work forces from within and above. Hardly
anyone attributes the hideous act to an outside force. That much self-
knowledge we seem to have gained.
If one picks the agencies as culprits, the next question is: agencies with
personnel gone rogue or agencies doing insidious biddings at times. The
multiplicity of agencies, and the strange pattern of authority that has
been established some official sources, some semi-official ones possibly
even more authoritative compound the difficulties of finding an answer.
Democratisation and secret intelligence agencies focusing on internal
political activities do not go together. The combination can produce the
kind of situation that has given us the Murtaza catastrophe and the
horrendous enforcement of law and order with a view to eliminating
political dissent and challenges that we see in Karachi.
What more could be said about the correlation between the administration
and the people than this: the whole nation is traumatised, but the
provincial government doesn't even twitch. When the Sindh cabinet met on
the twenty-ninth it passed, in appropriate decorum, a condolence
resolution. And the Governor is quoted as saying when addressing the Joint
Services Staff College and delivering a lecture on Karachi: problems and
prospects, "We have broken the vicious circle. Peace has been substantially
restored." But the real gem is "the morale of police and law enforcement
agencies is high." quite right, Mr Governor. It's the citizens' morale
that's sunk.
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961003
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Women on the world stage
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Benazir Bhutto
IT'S ironic that though the women's liberation movement took birth in
America and Europe, more Asian females have reached the pinnacle of
political power.
Some are quick to explain this phenomenon as a result of family tragedies
and the clout the slain male relative wielded. Leaders like India's Indira
Gandhi, Sri Lanka's Sirimavo Bandaranaike and me, for instance, have been
wives or daughters of prime ministers.
But this argument underestimates the challenges we have faced and
overcome. No doubt, we did have a head start. As relatives of popular
leaders, we had name recognition and were seen as symbols of the values
that our near and dear ones held. Many saw us as "consensus" figures or
rallying points in times of uncertainty.
But there is also no denying that we have succeeded on our own strengths.
We had to emerge as leaders in our own right, convincing our supporters and
people in our countries of our ability to organise, motivate, manage and
lead. We by no means enjoyed a free ride.
Emotion and sentiment are not enough to catapult one to the top of the
political ladder. It takes determination, perseverance, hardship and the
ability to defy physical threat to do so. It also takes a plan and the
ability to make that vision understood by the people.
All this and more is necessary because, as women leaders, we are often
faced with vilification and personal attacks during campaigns. And all
leaders have to find the reserve of strength that helps them make it
through the often torturous days.
For me, I found that strength in the unwillingness to let my countrymen and
my father down. My father had always had such confidence in me, and that
confidence proved to be a driving force that kept me from wavering, even in
the most terrifying moments. Had I wavered, I could not have succeeded.
Yet even when a woman has reached the height of her career, she still faces
discrimination. Margaret Thatcher, for example, was known as "the only man"
in her cabinet. To me, this seems to be both derogatory and sexist, as her
gender was irrelevant to her achievements.
A former prime minister of France, Edith Cresson, once observed: "What I
find amazing is that when a man is designated as prime minister, nobody
asks if they think it is a good thing that he is a man."
I can only agree. There is no doubt that Thatcher was an exceptional
leader, but so were many men and it had nothing to do with their sex and
everything to do with personal traits and leadership qualities.
Having said this, I do think that there are certain characteristics that
women have which make them more effective leaders than men. For instance,
they have greater compassion and a sense of nurturing. I may be wrong, but
I believe women are not as hard or ruthless as men. And issues concerning
mother and child receive greater attention from female leaders.
When asked how men and women leaders differ, Mrs Bandaranaike (the world's
first female prime minister) answered, "Probably women deal with things a
little more humanely. Men are tough and impatient."
Certainly, I am very conscious of being a women and of my responsibility to
other women, both inside and outside Pakistan. I share a sense of
sisterhood with working woman I have never met. I imagine them juggling
jobs and family and empathise with them. In Muslim countries like Pakistan
and Bangladesh, where women were marginalised because of a narrow
interpretation of Islam, this understanding is of particular relevance.
Women such as myself have a special responsibility to strive to uphold the
spirit of Islam as an egalitarian religion, safeguarding the rights of
women.
Fortunately, the empowerment of women has become a global priority. As time
passes, the effectiveness of women in decision- making and the amount of
control we have over our lives and destinies have increased.
I believe that the women leaders of today combine both the toughness of men
and the humaneness of women, which is the essence of a balanced individual
and an effective leader. It is this balance that is most important for
men and women both.Copyright 1996 Dawn-Creators Syndicate, Inc.
===================================================================
960927
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Quadrangular a tough event, says Akram
-------------------------------------------------------------------
KARACHI, Sept 26: Pakistan captain Wasim Akram once again advised the
followers of the game not to be complacent in the forthcoming quadrangular
tournament in Kenya. "It's a different tournament with different teams
playing. The time is also not the same, the skipper said. "One-day
cricket is a funny game, he added.
Akram, before his departure, said the quadrangular tournament will be a
tough one in the background that three of his `fighters were not with the
team. I think it is an inexperienced but gutsy team. But I must admit that
in cricket, experience counts a lot. But I am optimistic as I should be,
Akram said. Akram stressed that despite the handicaps of the team, the
morale of his players was high. It is altogether a very different outfit.
There is more team spirit, understanding and co-ordination between the
members of the side. As a captain, I feel that if his players are
determined and ambitious, things are different in any gruelling or tough
series.
The skipper felt that if one has to see the significant change in the team,
only the fielding aspect can be examined closely. We were a better
fielding side than India. Fielding has always been our weak point but with
the dedication and interest of the players, it improved progressively.
Akram, on the prospects of the Kenyan tournament, felt that as captain he
would like nothing but to win it. But the reality is that we will be
without three experienced players who can make a lot of difference. Sri
Lanka and South Africa are no push-overs nor is Kenya who dismissed the
West Indies for 93 in the World Cup. I must say that not many teams have
been able to restrict the West Indian to under 100 runs, said Akram.
Asked if the victory in Canada had erased the memories of defeat in the
World Cup, Akram said: It has minimised the pain and grief, but the defeat
at World Cup quarter-final cannot be compensated by victories in other
events. It can only be balanced by victory in the same competition and for
that we have to wait till 1999.
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960927
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Team leaves for Kenya with alterations
-------------------------------------------------------------------
KARACHI, Sept 26: The Pakistan cricket team left for Kenya to take part in
the quadrangular tournament with last-minute alterations in the squad.
Vice-captain Aamir Sohail pulled out from the tour and in a surprise move,
the two-member Selection Committee, headed by Salim Altaf, named Ramiz Raja
and Saeed Azad to complete the makeup of the team.
The Selection Committee, on Tuesday, had named 19-year-old Shahid Khan
Afridi as a replacement for Mushtaq Ahmad who was forced to withdraw from
the Kenyan trip because of knee operation. Afridi arrived in the early
hours of Thursday from the West Indies and immediately took the Kenyan
Airways flight which left for Nairobi along with other 12 members of the
team including cricket manager, Mushtaq Mohammad at 7:55 a.m. No
replacement was, however, named for Inzamamul Haq who had expressed his
inability to tour Kenya because of knee surgery.
Saeed Azad, a prolific domestic scorer, will leave for Kenya on Friday
morning by Emirates Airlines. He was informed about his selection on
Thursday morning. I am stunned. It is the greatest news I have heard for
a long time, a jubilant Saeed Azad said. I am looking forward to the
competition and cement my place in the Pakistan cricket team. I know the
competition is tough but I am confident of my potential and ability. If I
need a little luck, it is this time, Azad, 27, said.
Saeed, who played a one-day international against Sri Lanka at Rawalpindi
11 months ago and scored 19 runs, earned the selectors nod after he scored
613 from 12 first-class innings. However, Ramiz Raja's inclusion has
surprised all and sundry and seems to be a contradiction of the highly
publicised current policy of the selectors who emphasise that they want to
raise a team for the 1999 World Cup. It is anybodys guess that how more
the 34-year-old Raja will serve the country.
Raja, a veteran of 170 one-day games and scorer of 5,257, last played a
one-day game for Pakistan at Sharjah in April this year. He also played in
Singapore and from seven games failed to cross 100 runs. With Saeed Anwar,
Salim Elahi and Shadab Kabir (all openers) in the Kenya-bound team, the
selectors would have been wise if they had strengthened the suspect middle-
order. The name of Sohail Jaffar, a scorer of over 1,400 runs last season,
immediately springs to mind who is suffering from a raw deal from the
selectors.
According to official sources, the names of Basit Ali and Rashid Latif were
circulating at the airport before the departure of the team. However, the
selectors preferred Saeed and especially Ramiz, for reasons yet unknown.
The team, which left for Kenya, is: Wasim Akram (captain), Shadab Kabir,
Saeed Anwar, Salim Elahi, Salim Malik, Ijaz Ahmad, Waqar Younis, Shahid
Nazir, Saqlain Mushtaq, Azhar Mahmood, Shahid Khan Afridi and Moin Khan.
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961001
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Akram rushing back home due to father's illness
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ilyas Beg
NAIROBI, Sept 20: In a most unfortunate development, captain Wasim Akram
had to leave for Karachi on Monday (Sept 30) afternoon on way to Lahore to
be on the bedside of his father, Chaudhry Muhammad Akram, who is struggling
for life after a serious heart attack a couple of days ago.
Tour Manager Nusrat Azeem told this correspondent here on Monday evening
that the sad news of the precarious condition of Wasim Akram's father
reached Kenya on Sunday during the match against South Africa. All
necessary arrangements to book Wasim Akram on Kenyan Airlines flight which
left Nairobi on Monday at 6-45 p.m. (Kenyan standard time) had to be made
in and emergency and the Pakistan skipper left the team in the midst of the
tournament for reasons beyond any one's control.
This correspondent contacted Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Executive
Majid Khan at his residence on Monday evening on telephone. Majid said in
consultation with the selection committee, the PCB has decided to send the
PIA paceman Mohammad Zahid as a replacement for Wasim Akram to Kenya by the
Kenyan Airlines flight on Tuesday. He said he should be reaching Nairobi by
Tuesday evening and would join the team.
While replying to a question, Majid Khan said that Wasim's father, Chaudhry
Mohammad Akram had a severe stroke in Lahore a few days ago. He had to be
taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Ittefaq Hospital. Since his
condition did not improve, he had been shifted to the ICU of Punjab
Institute of Cardiology. His condition was stated to be serious.
While replying to a question, Nusrat Azeem said opener Saeed Anwar would be
taking over the captaincy of the Pakistan team in the absence of Wasim
Akram. He said that this sudden development had sent a pall of gloom among
the Pakistani team-members who had been praying for an early recovery of
Chaudhry Akram.
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961001
-------------------------------------------------------------------
No injustice to any player
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sports Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 30: The Chairman of the National Selection Committee, Salim
Altaf, on Monday evening strongly dismissed the impression that the
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has instructed his panel not to consider a few
cricketers.
"It is absolutely untrue. The PCB has not issued any such directives. We
are an independent body," Altaf said from his Lahore residence.
"We have not discarded any cricketer. We have an open mind and we will try
to give every possible chance to all the deserving candidates," the former
Test pacer stressed.
Asked if that was so, why did the selection Committee twice spurned the
touring management's request of Rashid Latif. "You see the tour Selection
Committee can make a request, it is up to the selectors in Pakistan to
decide who should beef up the side in case of emergency.
"I had a long chat with Mushtaq Mohammad (cricket manager) and he
understands," Altaf added.
On the non-inclusion of experienced pacer Aqib Javed for Wasim Akram, who
is rushing back to Lahore to nurse his ailing father, Salim Altaf was of
the view that the Kenyan trip was now a short tour.
"Only two matches are left and our main match is against Sri Lanka. If we
lose to the world champions, we are out of the tournament. Otherwise, we
get an additional match.
"Taking this into account, we decided that instead of Aqib, we should send
Mohammad Zahid who is immensely promising. Zahid will get the exposure and
in years to come, the investment on him will return.
"As far as Aqib (Javed) is concerned, it should not be the end of the world
for him. He is still very much in our minds and we are evaluating each and
every performance," Altaf stated.
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960928
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pakistan stars make beeline for English counties
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Qamar Ahmad
LONDON, Sept 27: Keeping into consideration the West Indies Cricket Boards
plan to pay lucrative sums to their players and sign them to stay in West
Indies and play full season, Northamptonshire has signed young Pakistan
fast bowler Mohammad Akram for the 1997 summer to replace Curtly Ambrose.
Akram was invited to the county this week for negotiations and has been
given a one-year contract with the promise that if he does well he could
return even in 1998. With Pakistans thumping victory in the series against
England in the summer of 1996, players like Saeed Anwar, Inzamamul Haq and
Saqlain Mushtaq were strongly tipped to gain a county place. There was a
lot of interest shown in Saqlain and Surrey is reported to have an interest
in the youngster.
Wasim Akram will be back to his old county Lancashire and so would Waqar
Younis for Glamorgan on a contract of near 170,000 pounds spread over two
years and Mushtaq, the destroyer of England batting, will be here to
playing for Somerset on a 100,000 pound deal.
Mohammad Akram showed a lot of promise here in Bristol while playing in
league in 1995 and nearly made it for Gloucestershire when Courtney Walsh
was away. His impressive 7 for 51 in Pakistans win against Leicestershire
this summer got several counties interested in him, including Surrey. There
was not much of an opportunity for him during the summer with Wasim, Waqar
and Mushtaq taking wickets but still managing to finish with 14 wickets at
an average of 33.78 in six matches, including a wicket in the only Test he
played in the series.
With the possibility of the domestic competition stretching up to the month
of June next year in the Caribbean, the counties are worried and have
already started to review their arrangements with the West Indian players.
The West Indies is already planning to contract their players for the whole
year and compensate their loss of earning through counties by having
sponsorships. The purpose behind the boards proposal is the upkeep and
fitness of the players, especially the fast bowlers.
Courtney Walsh, like Ambrose, has agreed only verbally to his county,
Gloucestershire, in case he had to sign with his board. In six seasons and
in 78 first class matches Ambrose took 318 wickets for Northamptonshire at
21 apiece. If Mohammad Akram keeps fit and does well on the county circuit
he may become an asset not only for the county but for his country for some
time to come.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
961001
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Jansher retains title with disciplined squash
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A. Majid Khan
KARACHI, Sept 30: Playing a careful game of angles and drops Jansher Khan,
champion of world squash, outmanoeuvred fighting Zarak Jahan Khan 15-12,
15-14, 15-11 in the 70 minute thrilling final to retain the trophy of the
fourth PIA Open here on Monday at the PIA Jahangir Khan Squash Complex.
Pre-tournament favourite Jansher Khan, top seed, however, was provided some
hard time by second seeded Zarak Jahan before the latter was beaten by
might Khan before packed to capacity Championship Court gallery of about
300 spectators.
Squash legend Jahangir Khan, former six time World open champion and record
holder of the tenth successive win in the British Open, who arrived here
from London today, was among the other former winners of the British Open,
including his illustrious father Roshan Khan and Qamar Zaman, besides a
good number of former international players who watched the final.
Mr Mohammad Nawaz Tiwana, Managing Director of Pakistan International
Airlines, who gave away the prizes, in his address highlighted the national
airlines contribution in producing the incomparable Jahangir Khan, reigning
world champion Jansher Khan and others.
Jansher Khan got a cheque of Rs 14, 000 and a trophy from chief guest
Tiwana and Zarak received a cheque of Rs 9,000 of the Rs 1, 20, 000/ total
prize money of the championship , out of which Rs 20,000/ each were given
to the juniors (under-16) and Boys (under-14), the two new events included
this year.
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