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DAWN WIRE SERVICE

------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 05 December 1996 Issue : 02/49 -------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents | National News | Business & Economy | Editorials & Features | Sports

The DAWN Wire Service (DWS) is a free weekly news-service from Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, the daily DAWN. DWS offers news, analysis and features of particular interest to the Pakistani Community on the Internet. Extracts from DWS can be used provided that this entire header is included at the beginning of each extract. We encourage comments & suggestions. We can be reached at: e-mail dws@dawn.khi.erum.com.pk dws%dawn%khi@sdnpk.undp.org fax +92(21) 568-3188 & 568-3801 mail Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Limited DAWN Group of Newspapers Haroon House, Karachi 74400, Pakistan TO START RECEIVING DWS FREE EVERY WEEK, JUST SEND US YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS! (c) Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan - 1996 ******************************************************************** *****DAWN - the Internet Edition ** DAWN - the Internet Edition***** ******************************************************************** Read DAWN - the Internet Edition on the WWW ! http://xiber.com/dawn Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, DAWN, is now Pakistan's first newspaper on the WWW. DAWN - the Internet Edition will be published daily (except on Fridays and public holidays in Pakistan) and would be available on the Web by noon GMT. Check us out ! DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS

CONTENTS

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NATIONAL NEWS

------------------------- ISI also probing Murtaza case It was quiet when I arrived on the scene: Arif Illahi We took photos by dodging the police: Press photographers Testimony before tribunal Police were harsh on us: photographers Tribunal watches WTN TV film PPP workers on warpath with leadership Nawaz meets Altaf MQM to boycott polls if restrictions imposed: Altaf Punjab withdraws objection to PIDA PPP files formal protest with EC Ghinwa takes over as party chief Ghinwa rules out compromise with Benazir Leghari denies Benazir's charges Tickets for poll: PPP invites applications SC puts off Benazir's petition Mehran Bank probe body report ---------------------------------

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Caretakers have no mandate to sign long-term accords: Naveed Govt decides to move against ex-PC chief Pakistan elected shippers' council association chief Relief package fails to lift bourse Tax exemptions announced for stock market Relief package fails to enthuse investors Tax concessions for value-added sectors announced 115 units listed for privatisation Caretakers pander to IMF's economic dictatorship ---------------------------------------

EDITORIALS & FEATURES

People's government? Ardeshir Cowasjee A sound decision Editorial Column Issue of discrimination against Pakistani women Editorial Column -----------

SPORTS

Another global honour for Jansher Khan Pakistan restrict N.Z. to 215 as Mushtaq takes 100 Test wkts N.Z. face Herculean task to save second Test Saqlain spins N. Zealand to thrilling Pakistan win

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NATIONAL NEWS

=================================================================== 961129 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISI also probing Murtaza case ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Nov. 28: The Sindh Home Department has clarified the points raised by the PPP(SB) in a Press briefing, published in newspapers of Nov. 28. "It is incorrect to say that the investigation of Mir Murtaza Bhutto's case has been entrusted to junior police officers. The investigation of the case is being conducted by crimes branch of the Sindh Police, headed by a DIG, along with a team of other senior and experienced officers". The spokesman further said that "the Sindh government has posted new DIG Karachi and a new DIG Crimes for the purpose. "It is also incorrect to assume that the investigation team has not been changed. In fact, the present set-up of the investigation team comprise of experts from specialised agencies of both the federal and provincial governments, including FIA, ISI, Intelligence Bureau and a SSP from other province to ensure that the investigation is not exclusively conducted by Karachi Police". The spokesman further clarified that Mr Wajid Durrani has been kept in a bungalow in isolation for security reasons. All those police officials against whom prima-facie case was established or were nominated in the FIRs have been booked and arrested. They include SSP Durrani, Ex-DG, I.B Masood Sharif and other eleven police officials. However, some officers have been granted bail by the Superior Courts. The spokesman said: "In case any evidence is found against any other official, no one will be spared". "It would, therefore, be premature to say that no results have been yielded because the investigation of the case is still continuing and on completion of the investigation, the results would be known to the public," the spokesman added. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961201 ------------------------------------------------------------------- It was quiet when I arrived on the scene: Arif Illahi ------------------------------------------------------------------- H. A. Hamied KARACHI, Nov. 30: The chairman of the three-member inquiry tribunal investigating the police firing in which Mir Murtaza and his seven companions were killed, Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, on Saturday asked the then deputy commissioner of district south, Arif Illahi, why did he not even bother to find out how many people were injured and killed in the Sept 20 incident in Clifton and that why he stayed secluded in the hospital where the PPP (SB) leader, Murtaza Bhutto, was admitted. The witness, Arif Illahi, who is presently director of Inquiries-III in the Inquiries and Anti-Corruption Wing of the Services and General Administration Department, government of Sindh, replied that he spoke to the then SSP Wajid Ali Durrani, who was on the scene and that he had told him that six men had died, eight others were injured and six arrested. For the arrest of Ali Sonara, the witness was asked, whether the SHO of Khokhrapar police station, was competent, without the permission or knowledge of the DC South or the police station concerned ? The witness replied that in Karachi districts it is not happening that the police stations concerned should be associated with any arrest by the police of other district, while this is the practice in other districts of the province. Mr Illahi denied any knowledge of the arrest of Ali Sonara in his district. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961203 ------------------------------------------------------------------- We took photos by dodging the police: Press photographers ------------------------------------------------------------------- H. A. Hamied KARACHI, Dec. 2: The tribunal investigating the causes of the death of Mir Murtaza Bhutto and seven others recorded the evidence of two Press photographers who said they had been beaten and maltreated by the police and their cameras seized, and one of them said he had not yet received his camera. Zahid Hussain, 45, is now a freelancer, produced four photographs which he had taken and which had been published in Urdu daily 'Koshish,' on the day of the incident, and other dailies in the country and abroad. The photographs, taken in darkness after the firing, showed the bodies of the dead lying unattended and also showed one critically injured man sitting beside a Pajero vehicle, while armed policemen are standing by or moving around unconcerned. Mr Hussain said the police had blocked all access to the place and the whole area was cordoned off, but he took advantage of the darkness on the scene of the incident to avoid being noticed and he spotted three bodies lying there, one of them beneath a car. When he clicked his camera, the flash light alerted the police and they kept asking who was using the flash, but each time he retreated for a while by hiding behind the small trees on the central island and then moved again in search of his targets, that is, more bodies, and clicked the camera. Thus, he took four photographs and all of them in colour to the great annoyance of the police. He said some of the cameramen were held by the police and when he had left the place and went to Mideast Hospital, his fellow photographers reported that they were still held up and their cameras had been seized and damaged. At one stage, he said, he was told by the police to get lost (Bhag Jao) and he was also insulted and abused. Further narrating his story, he said he actually dodged the police and went from place to place where the dead and the injured were lying outside the vehicles, whose doors were open. The photographs were shown to the Press people also. The vehicles were neither damaged in the firing, nor any weapons were lying near the bodies. It looked that they were taken out of the vehicles and shot and most of them were clad in white shalwar- kurta. He presented a copy of the newspaper in which a number of photographs that he had taken on the scene of the incident and at the hospital were published. The witness, Mohammad Azim, 28, said he had also taken a picture of Mir Murtaza when he was taken to the hospital and waiting near the lift on a stretcher. He described the condition of the PPP (SB) leader as very disturbing and he was struggling to breathe. The witness also said he photographed the six dead men at the JPMC mortuary for his newspaper. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961203 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Testimony before tribunal Police were harsh on us: photographers ------------------------------------------------------------------- H. A. Hamied KARACHI, Dec. 3: Testifying before the three-member tribunal investigating the causes of death of Murtaza Bhutto and seven others in a police firing on Sept 20, a WTN cameraman, who was one of the two witnesses examined by the tribunal, said the police used high-handed tactics against cameramen and their equipment were seized. Mohammad Farooq, 24, who works for Worldwide Television News, London, said when the cameras were returned at 3:30 am the next day, they had missed much of the catastrophe to be recorded. He said his own Sony video camera, costing Rs 160,000, was seized and when it was returned after about six hours, the film already exposed had been taken out by the police. The WTN cameraman said between the seizure and the return of the camera he got a replacement from his office in Phase-II of DHA, which he used very discretely, to avoid being seized by personnel of the law-enforcement agency again, who were too harsh towards reporters and photographers. "When I reached the scene of the incident two police officers shouted at their men to confiscate our cameras, because according to them we had entered the place wrongly," he said. The witness was making his submissions before the tribunal, comprising Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, Justice Amanullah Abbasi and Justice Dr Ghous Mohammad. He saw two injured in the hospital and that time he had learnt of five or six dead, but none was shifted to hospital. He said he filmed the arrival of the then prime minister at Mideast Hospital and he could do that because he did not need light, while the still photographers were asked by the police not to take pictures of her. There was pressure on the mediamen as to what they should do and what they should not do, he added. He said the video film which was removed from his camera had the recording of a public meeting which Imran Khan had addressed earlier in the city. The cameraman has been directed to submit the video film on Wednesday which will be watched by the tribunal members and others. Earlier, the police reporter of Qaumi Akhbar, Farooq Morai, 33, was examined by the tribunal, who also reported that the police had ordered them to get lost from there. The scene of incident gave a picture of all quiet and he saw some bodies lying here and there near the vehicles, whose engines and lights were on. He said police harassment was to such an extent that they got readied with their guns and ordered that they (photographers) should get lost from the area (Yahan se dafa ho jao). The witness said the injured Murtaza was taken in a red mobile by sub-inspector Tahir to the hospital and he also informed SSP Durrani, who was in the traffic police kiosk. Durrani had given the go-ahead to Tahir when he informed him that he was taking the PPP (SB) leader to the nearby hospital. The witness said he followed the mobile and saw Mir Murtaza getting down from the vehicle, after then he was standing with the support of the policemen outside the hospital, waiting to be taken on a stretcher. He said the injured man could not speak and by gesture he asked Asghar Jatoi, in charge of the hospital, to take him inside for treatment. The witness and Asghar Jatoi were facing the injured Murtaza. He also saw a Suzuki mobile pass by and he could see two injured men lying on the seats. Later, he said, he talked to Dr Mazhar Memon, who was also one of the injured in the JPMC, and it was he who first told him about what had actually happened and until then he did not know of the incident. He said Ashique Jatoi's brother and nephew had been searching for the former at various places, and he further said he also accompanied them to the hospital's mortuary, but there was no trace of the Hyderabad president of the PPP (SB) party. The tribunal observed that whatever he has stated now has not been reported in his newspapers and not even 20 percent of it, to which he said that he had not given all the reports to the two newspapers, 'Qaumi Akhbar' and 'Jurrat.' Questions were also put to him by assistant advocate-general Ansari Abdul Latif. The tribunal adjourned its hearing at 4:45 pm to reassemble again on Wednesday at 11:30 am. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961205 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Tribunal watches WTN TV film ------------------------------------------------------------------- H. A. Hamied KARACHI, Dec. 4: A 13-minute film shot by Worldwide Television News on the night of Sept 20 at Clifton was screened three times before the tribunal on Wednesday, to see how the incident was recorded by two cameramen of the WTN. Two TV sets were installed in the room, one facing the tribunal members  Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid of the Supreme Court and Justices Amanullah Abbasi and Dr Ghous Mohammad of the High Court of Sindh , and the other facing the audience, including newsmen. The film was partly shot by Mohammad Farooq, a cameramen of the WTN, London, and partly by its editor in Karachi, Shahid Nadeem. The film showed various aspects of the incident, including the arrival and departure of Ms Ghinwa Bhutto, and Ms Benazir Bhutto, the then prime minister, at Mideast Hospital. Ms Benazir's was shown once and Ms Ghinwa Bhutto's was shown thrice, once when she arrived at Mideast Hospital, and her departure twice. She visited the hospital more than once between her husband's arrival at the hospital at about 9:30 pm and his death at 11:55 pm. The vehicles, used by Mir Murtaza and his men, were filmed at Kehkashan police station. One of the vehicles, a Mitsubishi Pajero (BC-0705), was shown which had its left seat and the space between the seats spattered with blood, and the vehicle had a PPP flag. The witness explained it was the vehicle which was used by the party chairman. Another bullet riddled vehicle (CJ-4539) was shown with one hole through which a bullet had pierced through the left side, next to the driver's seat. One of these vehicles had its window panes (glass) completely smashed on the left side, witness Shahid Nadeem said. The last TV shots which were sent out of Pakistan for the WTN via satellite through the PTV were shown in which Mir Murtaza after being pronounced dead, was being given final touches, of cleaning his face and neck of blood stains and putting plasters on open wounds. One wound was shown on the right side of the neck and another below the neck on the left side. Either he was hit by two bullets or one bullet had entered the body through the right side of the neck which ejected through the right side of the portion below the neck. Witness Shahid deposed that Mir Murtaza had left 70-Clifton after addressing his last Press conference at about 4:45 pm, and before leaving, he was asked to lead a rally, which he declined saying he has other engagements. He said one mobile was parked near 70-Clifton, and a policeman had asked him where the party of Mir Murtaza was leaving for, to which he said he was not aware and that he (the policeman) should inquire of them. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961130 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PPP workers on warpath with leadership ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Nov. 29: PPP workers in Sindh are on warpath with the party leadership, demanding elections at all levels to run the party democratically, PPP sources said on Friday. Despite pressure and inducement to join the other faction or parties, this estranged group, comprising PPP frontliners in the city, has chosen to demand democratisation of the party in which the grassroots is fully involved and "opportunists who joined the bandwagon due to their relationship or other influences, are removed from the party." Many PPP flag-bearers in the city, who went though imprisonment and other harassment, have distanced themselves from the party, because they believe that the former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, was apparently not prepared to get rid of those elements owing to corrupt policies of those who subverted the party. This group had earlier decided to leave the party and some of its elements had even had contacts with the caretaker administration, but later it decided to wait for the outcome of the dissident group's efforts and also to see whether or not the deposed prime minister was willing to democratise the party. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961202 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nawaz meets Altaf ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Dec. 1: PML (N) president Mian Nawaz Sharif held a meeting with MQM chief Altaf Hussain in London. According to a statement, during the "detailed" meeting both Mr Sharif and Mr Hussain decided to "not only maintain but increase the atmosphere of understanding existing between their two parties for the past two years". Mr Hussain told Mr Sharif of the "problems" facing the MQM "despite" the change in government. The statement said that Mr Hussain mentioned "the continuing arrests, raids and harassment of MQM workers and supporters." He said that under such conditions it would be difficult to believe that free and fair elections will be held. Mr Sharif said that he hoped the caretaker government would "soon" take notice of this situation and satisfy the MQM's complaints. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961203 ------------------------------------------------------------------- MQM to boycott polls if restrictions imposed: Altaf ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Dec. 3: MQM chief Altaf Hussain said that the MQM would boycott the Feb. 3 elections if "anti-democratic" restrictions or conditions were imposed on the party by the "authorities". Addressing activists of the All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organisation (APMSO) over the phone from London, Mr Hussain said that the MQM was the country's third largest party and had "immense" public support. He said that the authorities should accept this "reality" and allow the MQM to function as a political party freely. Mr Hussain said it was unfortunate that there had been no change in policy in relation to the MQM although the government had changed. Mr Hussain also asked the APMSO to set up a "special cell" to gather details of party workers and activists killed during the last four years. He said that the 'cell' should also gather details of all families "forced to leave" from their houses in Shah Faisal Colony, Lines Area, Liaquatabad, Orangi Town and Federal Capital Area and also a list of all arrested party workers. According to a statement, Mr Hussain criticised the prohibition on Senator Aftab Sheikh from attending sessions of the Senate. Mr Hussain was quoted as having said that the senator had called him up and told him that he was not being allowed to attend the current senate session by the government despite orders by Senate Chairman Wasim Sajjad. Meanwhile, the Coordination Committee of the MQM said that any one writing to Mr Hussain should now write "briefly and clearly". It said that Mr Hussain was pressed for time with the "rapidly changing political situation". DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961124 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Punjab withdraws objection to PIDA ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ihtashamul Haque ISLAMABAD, Nov. 28: Punjab has withdrawn its objections against the setting up of Provincial Irrigation Drainage Authority (PIDA), paving way for the initiation of $1billion National Drainage Programme. "Punjab government has authorised us to undertake the National Drainage Programme through the establishment of PIDA", Minister for Water and Power Abdullah J. Memon said. He told Dawn that the withdrawal of objection by Punjab would help the government secure $1 billion assistance from the World bank, Asian Development Bank and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund of Japan to undertake comprehensive drainage programme throughout Pakistan. "Now all the provinces will promulgate ordinances for the setting up of PIDAs very shortly", he said adding that Balochistan has already decided to set up Provincial Irrigation Drainage Authority (PIDA). Mr Memon pointed out that preparations for broad parameters for these PIDAs would be discussed with the World Bank-led donor agencies so as to take up the project as early as possible. "Then we will also discuss with the World Bank Master Drainage Programme that will effectively cover the existing Left Bank Outfall Drainage (LBOD) and Right Bank Outfall Drainage(RBOD) programmes", Mr Memon said. He said the programme once undertaken was expected to remove major hurdles in boosting agricultural output. He said President Leghari has all along been supporting the project and at times himself negotiated the programme with the World Bank. The programme will help improve the canal system by rehabilitating 1,225 saline ground water tubewells and remodelling of surface drains extending 600km and construction of a new surface drain of 9,060km. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961129 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PPP files formal protest with EC ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Nov. 28: The Pakistan People's Party has officially objected to the appointment of Mr Goraya as Secretary, Election Commission , and accused him of masterminding a rigging to defeat PPP candidates. Mr Goraya, a former secretary- general of the National Assembly , was removed by the PPP government after a fire broke out in the Assembly building in November 1993. "In the light of the inquiry report, he was suspended and removed and has been harbouring a grievance against the Pakistan People's Party since then," PPP Information Secretary Iqbal Haider said in a letter addressed to the Election Commission. Mr Haider said in the letter that a plan had once again been prepared to rig the 1997 election on the pattern of the 1990 controversial poll. "We have heard that the Secretary, Election Commission , has boasted that he would permit the PPP to take only seven seats from Sindh", he said in the letter. Benazir Bhutto had also made similar allegations against Mr Goraya, accusing him of working against the PPP to get its candidates defeated in the forthcoming general election. Tehrik-i- Insaf chief Imran Khan had also expressed concern of various political leaders over the neutrality of the Election Commission during his meeting with the president on Wednesday and asked him to ensure that elections were held in a fair, free and transparent manner. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961201 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ghinwa takes over as party chief ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohammed Riaz KARACHI, Nov. 30: Ghinwa Bhutto, widow of Mir Murtaza Bhutto, on Saturday formally took over as head of the PPP(SB. "I would like to announce that I have accepted the chairpersonship of the Shaheed Bhutto People's Party," the Lebanese-born Ghinwa announced her decision at an enthusiastic gathering at 70-Clifton. "The blood of my husband Mir Murtaza Bhutto has not yet run dry, nor has the memory of my father-in-law, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto dimmed. And whispers of Shah Nawaz Bhutto's name still reverberate in the Sindh desert," Ghinwa read out from her poetic statement. She said she would transform the dream of her husband into a reality. "The dream will live. It is a legacy bequeathed to me in my husband's blood, and I will not disown it," she added. The restoration of the PPP, Ghinwa said, as conceived by its founding fathers, and faithfully resurrected by Mir Murtaza, was her mission. The Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's legacy was frittered away by its custodians after his death, she added. Mir Murtaza, she said, had fought a valiant battle during the dark night of Ziaul Haq's martial law. "Today it is a new age. We stand at the threshold of the 21st century in Pakistan too, the winds of change are blowing," she added. She said: "The mission remains the same  Roti, Kapra aur Makan, literacy, health care and security for every man, woman and child in this country irrespective of caste, ethnicity and creed, the elimination of corruption and ultimately dignity for all  the means to this end will differ from those of the past." Ghinwa asked her followers to work for the stability and progress of the country. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961203 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ghinwa rules out compromise with Benazir ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent BADIN, Dec. 2: Ghinwa Bhutto, the chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party (Shaheed Bhutto Group) and the widow of the late Murtaza Bhutto, has said that there was no possibility of a compromise with Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister and leader of Pakistan Peoples Party. She was asked whether she would agree to compromise with Benazir Bhutto if Begum Nusrat Bhutto played the role of a mediator, Ghinwa said, "I can't say anything about the role that Begum Bhutto can play. I can't see Begum Bhutto anywhere. Compromise between Benazir and me? It is too late. I can't see anything we can compromise on." She said a delay in the elections would be all right if the reason was the implementation of the accountability ordinance, because "we want accountability first, as we are sick and tired of corrupt government." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961202 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Leghari denies Benazir's charges ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Dec. 1: President Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari has refuted the allegations levelled against him by the deposed prime minister Benazir Bhutto regarding construction of swimming pool, shooting range at Presidency and acquisition of culturable waste lands in D.G. Khan. A spokesman for the Aiwan-i-Sadar issued a statement on Sunday and termed these accusations as "utterly false and malicious". Benazir Bhutto had alleged that Mr. Leghari wanted to exchange a tract of 30,000 acres of barren land with some cultivable land. The spokesman clarified that the total land was not 30,000 acres but 13,916 acres while adding that "there never was, nor can be, any attempt to exchange this land with government land in Punjab as alleged by the former PM." Giving the whole history of the land from the colonial era, the spokesman said under an agreement in 1927 between the British Indian government and the chiefs of Leghari Baluch Tribes, the management of certain areas known as Berooni Burjiyat (demarcations) in Tehsil and District Bar Khan was handed over to the Balochistan administration in return for an agreed consideration. He said this treaty lapsed on Aug 14, 1947 by virtue of sub-clause 'C' of clause 1 of section 7 of the Indian Independence Act and the lands reverted to the Leghari tribes. However, the deputy commissioner D.G.Khan ordered these lands to be resumed in 1973 and 1975. But the resumption orders could not be implemented and the necessary entries were not made in the record on account of legal complications and conflict and therefore the legal status of the lands remained the same as it was before the so-called resumption orders. He said the resumption orders of the DC also lost their efficacy since the resumption of land under the Land Reforms Regulations 1972, was required to be taken afresh under the Land Reforms (Amendment) Act 1976. The matter of resumption was in progress when the Supreme Court decided in the Qagzailbash Wafaq case, that the provisions of the land reforms regulations were un-Islamic. In 1993 a review petition was also dismissed by the Supreme Court - reported as PLD 1990 SC 99. In view of this, the several land holders of the Leghari tribe affected by this case, including Mr. Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari, filed a writ petition praying that the DC's orders be set aside and the culturable waste lands be returned to their lawful owners. A division bench of the Balochistan High Court subsequently held that: 1) the lands were not jageer lands granted to the Leghari tribe by the British government. On the contrary, it was the Leghari tribe which had handed over the management (not ownership) of these lands to the British government; 2) This agreement lapsed on August 14, 1947; 3) Following the Supreme Court's earlier decision, no further proceedings could be taken by the land reform authorities and all writ petitioners were entitled to full proprietary rights of their lands. The 14 writ petitioners of the Leghari tribes undertook not to change the status and rights of the tenants of these lands and that position has been maintained to this day. At no stage has there ever been a hint of any impropriety in this case. SWIMMING POOL: Regarding the construction of pool he said visiting heads of state dignitaries and their families are usually accommodated at the Presidency. In view of security considerations, the government decided over two years ago to construct a swimming pool at the Presidency in order to facilitate their requirements. On the same considerations a squash court and jogging track were built on the premises of the Presidency during the tenure of former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan. SHOOTING RANGE:A shooting range was constructed at the Presidency in the mid-1980s for the use of the President's bodyguard and security personnel so that they could keep their weapons and skills in order. When it fell into disrepair after years of use the government decided to order necessary renovations and upgradations. President Leghari has also used the shooting range. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961202 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Tickets for poll: PPP invites applications ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Dec. 1: The Pakistan People's Party invited applications for awarding party tickets for the forthcoming general election. A decision in this regard had been taken at a meeting of the central executive committee of the party held, PPP Secretary- General Shiekh Rafique Ahmed told a press conference at which Senator Iqbal Haider was also present. "Without prejudice to its case in the Supreme Court , the PPP has invited applications for tickets ", he said. "We are confident that the court dispenses justice not on the basis of faces but on the rule of law," said Mr Haider, PPP Information Secretary, while expressing the party's resolve to continue its legal battle. He said the party was still hopeful that the Supreme Court would restore the assemblies as it had done in the Nawaz Sharif case only three years ago. Equal treatment of law , he added , was not only ensured under article 4 of the Constitution but was also an established universal norm of justice. Aspirants to party ticket had been asked to deposit Rs 10,000 along with the application s for National Assembly election and Rs 5,000 for provincial assembly poll. The applications should be submitted to the provincial heads of the party, Mr Haider added. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961203 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SC puts off Benazir's petition ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nasir Malick ISLAMABAD, Dec. 2: The Supreme Court on Monday turned down Benazir Bhutto's plea for an early hearing of her petition against the dissolution of the National Assembly and preferred to take up Speaker Yousaf Raza Gilani's petition to decide whether it could be directly admitted by the court or not. The apex court also rejected the Speaker's request that Ms Bhutto's petition should be made the main petition as was done in the Nawaz Sharif case by a full court and the remaining petitions be heard along with it. The three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, asked the counsel representing the Speaker, the ousted prime minister, the president and amicus curiae (friend of court) to form a consensus so that the court could take up Ms Bhutto's petition first , but they did not agree. Though Speaker's counsel Iftikhar Gilani and Mahmood Khan Achakzai's counsel Qazi Jamil agreed that their petitions be taken up after hearing of Ms Bhutto's petition , Hafeez Pirzada, appearing as an amicus curiae, and President's lawyer Khalid Anwer did not agree. They insisted that the question of maintainability should be decided first if the Speaker was asking the court to admit his petition directly. The Chief Justice said that if the issue of maintainability was not decided now, the court would be flooded with petitions for direct hearing of cases. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961203 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mehran Bank probe body report ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Dec. 2: The cabinet considered the Mehran Bank Inquiry Commission report in which President Farooq Leghari had been exonerated from the charges of selling his barren land at exorbitant prices to a front man. Caretaker Information Minister Irshad Ahmed Haqqani told newsmen the five-member commission constituted by deposed prime minister Benazir Bhutto had exonerated the president from the charges and confirmed that all allegations against him were unfounded. President Leghari had been accused by the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) of selling his barren land to a front man at an exorbitant price of Rs15 million by using his influence. No one knows as of today who bought the land or who made its payment. A partial commission report released by the caretaker minister confirmed that Leghari had sold the land but did not say to whom or who made the payment. "It is confirmed opinion of the commission, based on the evidence before it, that the allegations against the president are unfounded," the report said. The caretaker information minister, when asked, failed to inform the reporters who were those people who had made the payment or in whose name the land was transferred. When asked whether this payment was made from "Benami" accounts, he said: "It must have been made from some account under some name." "You better investigate," he suggested. The commission had said that such a sale could not be termed illegal or dishonest. "No such facts or circumstances are indicated in this case," the commission said. ******************************************************************* DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS ******************************************************************* INTERNET PROFESSIONALS WANTED * MS in computer science, with two years experience, or, BE with four years experience in the installation and management of an ISP. * Must be able to select equipment, configure, and troubleshoot TCP/IP networks independently. Preference will be given to candidates with proven skills in the management of a large network and security systems. * We have immediate openings in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. * Competitive salary and benefits, and an exciting work environment await the successful candidates. send your resume to by e-mail : ak@xiber.com by fax : +92(21) 568-1544 by post : Dr. Altamash Kamal, CEO Xibercom Pvt. Ltd 2nd Floor, Haroon House Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road Karachi 74200, Pakistan http://xiber.com

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BUSINESS & ECONOMY

961129 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Caretakers have no mandate to sign long-term accords: Naveed ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Nov. 28: Former finance minister and chairman of the privatisation commission Naveed Qamar said that the long-term economic measures being contemplated by the caretaker government indicate that it had the agenda beyond Feb. 3. Speaking at a news conference, he said the caretakers had no mandate to enter into long-term agreements with the IMF, envisaging tariff and tax-base reforms, structural reforms including defence expenditure. "If they are planning to impose such policies in which the representatives of the people have no role, what is the justification of announcing elections," he said, adding "it smacks that the caretakers have a hidden agenda beyond Feb. 3." "We will not accept any decisions which are taken in a haste and are against the national interests," he said. Mr Qamar said the economic decisions the caretakers were contemplating would be unconstitutional as no taxation measures could be imposed unless approved by the National Assembly. He said the economic decisions taken by the Moeen Qureshi government were generally taken in consultation with the two major parties of the country, though on many issues they were not supportive of the conditionalities. However, in view of the peculiar economic conditions, the successive government's had to face the music in the form of public criticism of the increase in tariff and inflation. Rebutting the allegations of shady deals in the privatisation process, the former chairman of the privatisation commission said "One can have two opinions about a decision but I am prepared to challenge the government to prove if there was any criminal intent or smack of corruption in the deals". When his attention was drawn at allegations about corruption in the UBL privatisation, Mr Qamar rejected the charges and said there was nothing shady about it. It was discovered that the front party was not the actual one and the finances were actually being made by a Pakistani through concealed arrangements. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961203 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Govt decides to move against ex-PC chief ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Dec. 2: The caretaker government has decided to move against Naveed Qamar, former chairman of the Privatisation Commission as he is alleged to have sold below par 10 percent of additional shares of Kot Addu power project to National Power (NP) of Britain which had already acquired 26 percent of the plant. The NP had bought 26 percent of the KAPCO shares for a total amount of 215 million dollars. But when it was offered 10 percent additional shares the British company refused to pay more than 76 million dollars for the lot. The caretaker investigators reportedly maintained that the prorate price of 10 percent additional shares of KAPCO came to about 82 million dollars and not 76 million dollars. Alleging that the deal was totally non-transparent, the caretaker investigators are said to have taken the position that the difference of six million dollars (82 million dollars minus 76 million dollars) was siphoned off by the then PC chairman. However, facts gathered from documents made available to Dawn indicate that the NP had paid only 198.6 million dollars for the 26 percent of the shares (value of regular dividend stream) and the balance of 16.4 million dollars was the payment to the O&M contractor for the provision of the O&M services. So NP fixed the price of the additional 10 percent share on the basis of the actual cost of 26 per cent shares (198.6 million dollars) and not on 215 million dollars which had included the payment for O&M also. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DW S 961202 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan elected shippers' council association chief ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Dec. 1: The 12th meeting of Association of Shippers' Council of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka (ASCOBIPS) unanimously elected Pakistan as its next chairman and also approved a five-point action programme to be carried out during the term of two years. The out come of the meeting in unanimous approval from the participants to elect chairman, Pakistan Shippers Council (PSC), Mr A. Rasheed Janmohammed as next head of ASCOBIPS for a term up to 1998. Sources privy to the meeting said members of shippers' council from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka strongly supported the suggestion forwarded by PSC regarding expansion of membership and scope of activities of ASCOBIPS to SAARC region. The participants also presented country reports and activities of ASCOBIPS during the period 1994-96, and confirmed the minutes of last meeting held at Dhaka on Feb. 8, 1994 because during the last two years when India was holding the chairmanship, not a single meeting or seminar was held by ASCOBIPS. All the participants from three countries  Bangladeshi, Sri Lanka and Pakistan  also chalked out five-point action programme of ASCOBIPS for next two years which includes combating the 'terminal handling charges' imposed by the shipping lines; advocating and having a uniform stand on Hamburg Rules; having regular interchange of information amongst the member countries and holding seminar under the platform of ASCOBIPS on the subject of shipping industry and expansion of ASCOBIPS to SAARC countries. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961130 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Relief package fails to lift bourse ------------------------------------------------------------------- THE WEEKLY trading volume on the Karachi Stock soared to 290 million shares last week. Textile shares did rise across a broad as a section of leading operators continued to make active short-covering at the lower levels on predictions that the capital appreciation is now almost ensured. Analysts attributed the weakness on some of the blue chip counters to selling meant for replacement buying in the textile sector. However, the investors are mindful of the political scenario and have already made judicious efforts to balance it after having taken stakes on some of blue chips counters, notably energy, cement, bank and most of the chemical and pharma shares. Floor brokers said unlike the textile sector, buying in the synthetic shares was fairly persistent after the duty waivers in the new relief package. They said heavy selling in Hub-Power and PTC vouchers, notably from some foreign investors worked against the sentiment and there are fears in some quarters that profit-taking by them could gain further momentum and that could well herald the end of this relief package-powered rally. Synthetic, energy, cement and chemical shares led by the textile sector were actively traded and accounted for large turnover, although they rose by fractions. Big gainers were again led by Dawood Hercules, which rose further and so did Philips, Hinopak Motors, Balochistan Wheels, Pakistan Refinery, PSO and Shell Pakistan. Among the other good gainers, Al-Noor Modaraba, Faisal Spinning, Quetta Textiles, Jubilee Spinning and Apex Spinning. Parke-Davis, Rafhan Maize, Engro Chemicals, Nagina Cotton, 19th ICP, and Faran Sugar were among the other leading gainers. Dividend news from Atlas Leasing, General Tyre, and Dadabhoy Paper Sack at the rate of 15 per cent cash 10 per cent bonus shares and 10 per cent cash were in line with the market thinking. Final dividend of 15 per cent from Treet Corporation and an interim from Mari Gas at the rate of 10 percent were also well received in the rings. There were some omissions too as leading companies such as Pak Leather Craft, Pak-German Prefabs, Elite Publishers, UDL Industries and Wazir Ali Industries passed on the dividend for their last financial year ended June 30, 1996. Bulk of the alternate bouts of buying and selling again remained confined to half a dozen most active scrips under the lead of Hub-Power and PTC vouchers, which together accounted for a half of the total. Dewan Salman was the new addition to the most active list, which was also traded actively both prior and after the announcement of a modest dividend of 10 per cent. Dhan Fibre and Ibrahim Fibre and other synthetic shares, chief beneficiaries of the textile relief package in the form of duty waiver also joined the list of most actives later. ICI Pakistan right shares due to mature by the next month and its ordinary share also came in for alternate bouts of buying and selling and so did Fauji Fertiliser, FFC-Jordan Fertiliser. Other actively traded shares were led by Faysal Bank, Askari Bank, LTV Modaraba, PSO, Nishat Mills, Commercial Union Insurance and Southern Electric.Muhammad Aslam DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961203 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Tax exemptions announced for stock market ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nasir Malick ISLAMABAD, Dec. 2: The cabinet announced an incentive package to give a flip to the stock market by exempting them from a number of taxes, a government spokesman said. The bonus shares announced by the companies listed on the three stock exchanges have been exempted from withholding tax, insurance companies have been exempted from capital gains tax on shares traded on the floor of the stock exchange, income from Mutual Funds and National Investment Trust units and from rights shares issued by the companies has been exempted from income tax. Income from trading shares has also been exempted from levy of the tax on turnover and provinces have been asked to rationalise the levy of stamp duties on share transactions. The cabinet decided to reorganise the Export Promotion Bureau to make it responsive to international trade environment and for developing data base and doubling its marketing efforts. It merged the Textile Quota Management Directorate and the Pakistan Trade Fair Corporation in to Export Promotion Bureau with immediate effect. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961203 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Relief package fails to enthuse investors ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Dec. 3: The multi-million tax relief package announced by the caretaker government on Monday failed to enthuse investors as the initial reaction was not encouraging. The KSE 100-share index should have risen at least by 100 points just in one but an increase of only 20 points reflects some reservations on the part of investors, said a leading analyst. 'The market has much more than it is striving for the past several years and what else it wants,' another said and added 'it is too much too test the patience of the caretakers.' According to initial estimates, tax waivers will cost the national exchequer about Rs 7bn, while the three stock exchanges were demanding relief's totalling about Rs 3 to 4 bn, some high ups of the Karachi Stock Exchange said. The market's initial reaction points to a credibility gap, which is hard to be bridged by the caretakers, some analysts claimed. They based their assessment apparently on public statements of the two major parties on the economic reforms being initiated by the caretaker government and their validity after the elections. After having much more than what was due to it purely in financial terms what now ails the market; why it did not react as it should have been and why it let the great event passed into history just like an ordinary passing phase. These are some of the big questions being asked by financial experts. The relief package provide, among others, tax waiver on bonus share and allied income, capital gains tax exemption for insurance shares, tax waiver for NIT and mutual fund incomes and above all permission to companies to buy their own shares to check manipulative tendency to protect the interests of shareholders. There was loud whispering in the rings during the pre-announcement sessions that the new package will create boom-like conditions on the market reminiscent of early 1994 buying euphoria or mid-1992 price-up when the index touched an all-time high mark of 2,662 points and headed for its new chart point of 3,000 points. The missing link appeared to be the lack of investors' confidence in the new corrective steps and that halted the market's natural upward journey, said a stock broker. But some others maintained that the new relief package will certainly work but only after there is peace on the political front and investors get the cue for things to come. 'In any case it is much higher beyond the market expectations and will certainly work in due course.' they said. Floor brokers linked the current cautious reaction to the package to negative political developments and the state of the economy, notably falling foreign exchange reserves, which have just crossed the alarm signal of $600m. Insurance shares was the only sector, which gave a spontaneous positive reaction to the tax exemption and rose sharply under the lead of Adamjee Insurance, which rose by Rs 10.25. Most of the MNCs and index shares attracted selling, reflecting the absence of strong foreign support. However, the board of directors of the Karachi Stock Exchange, which met on Tuesday thanked the government for accepting all its demands. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961205 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Tax concessions for value-added sectors announced ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Dec. 4: The caretaker Commerce Minister, Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan announced a seven-point package of generous tax concessions for the 'value-added textile sectors' for boosting exports. The package, the second in the series of textile packages planned to be unfolded over the next few weeks, he told a press conference, provides a no-duty no-drawback procedure. It also includes reduction in regulatory duty on polyester chips from 10 % to 5 %, as well as allowing liberal import of processing machinery. Another significant feature of the package is that the regulatory duty on the industrial sewing machines and their spares has been waived. The second textile package also allows the industry to freely re-export unused inputs imported by the exporter for which no permission will be required from the Central Board of Revenue (CBR), Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) or the Ministry of Commerce. The Cabinet directed the CBR to allow duty drawback on packing materials e.g. pins, plastic wrappers etc. to the garment and hosiery exports. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961203 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 115 units listed for privatisation ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Dec. 2: The Federal government has identified 115 public sector companies, including airports, airlines and railways to be privatised by 1997. "We are arranging road shows in various countries and first of this will be held in UAE very soon to attract foreign investment," said PM's Adviser on Finance, Planning and Economic Affairs Javed Burki. Mr. Burki said that the government would unveil highly transparent privatisation policy that will certainly attract foreign investment in the country. The chairman of Privatisation Commission Dr. Salman Shah said on the occasion that it was his priority to dis-invest all banks specially the UBL and Habib bank as early as possible. Then, he said, the PTCL will be taken up and its privatisation will be completed between 6 months to one year period. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961130 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Caretakers pander to IMF's economic dictatorship ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Mahnaz Fatima WHILE, arguably, the country has been able to shed the yoke of military-political dictatorship due to a combination of various internal and external factors, the next national challenge is to be able to achieve a modicum of sovereignty in chalking out economic development strategies, policies and plans. Every time an elected government is dismissed, we take several steps backwards towards moving more firmly into the clutches of the IMF we experience a fresh attempt at implementing IMF- dictated symptomatic cures with renewed speed and vigour. First, the possibility of the implementation of the above caretaker exercise needs to be briefly assessed before we evaluate the suitability of some of the IMF's dictates. The caretaker government of 1993 had also singed a credit facility with the IMF with great zeal and enthusiasm. The budget of 1994 was proposed in the wake of this agreement that invited considerable criticism. The budget of 1996 was governed by political-economic considerations much more than the budget of 1995 was. By 1996, the opposition in the country had consolidated its position mainly by capitalising on the fact that no significant economic turnaround could be made in the previous three years. The above briefly demonstrates that it might not be possible for another elected government to implement the IMF's dictates just like the post-Moeen Qureshi government could not. Mr. Burki simplistically believes that President Leghari's continuity would ensure the continuity of economic "reforms". This demonstrates his political naiveti and a complete lack of caretaker understanding of the political processes in the country. And, if the caretaker economic team lives in such a misunderstood or in an imaginary political world, then it could only be a further reflection on the extent to which their recommendations might turn out to be isolated and divorced from the reality on the ground. The recommendations might, therefore, lack practicability and might be difficult to implement. One has reasons to believe that, based on the warnings being sounded, the caretaker recommendations might be given a veneer of glossy finish so as to reflect the popular sentiment in the country with superficial concern for employment and social benefits. Analysts will, however, need to take it with a pinch of salt and will need to explore in-depth so as to segregate true intentions from those that might be stated for public consumption. It might then be argued that if the IMF's dictates have not been implemented in the country, then the question of IMF's economic dictatorship should not arise. I will argue that it still arises as even assumed reliance on the IMF inhibits the process of intellectual economic ferment that is essentially required in the country to home-grow development strategies that alone will take care of the economic development problems of the country. Excessive intellectual dependence on the IMF inhibits the process just as mid-term government dismissals stifle the political development process in the country. Instead of the performance on development strategies and attainment of development targets, the performance criterion for any economic team has now degenerated to its ability to line up credit facilities with the IMF. And, the current caretaker economic team is pursuing this single goal with great exuberance. Before the caretakers bow out applauding themselves for giving the country several IMF "facilities", we must make a humble attempt at viewing alternatively the "inconveniences" that Pakistan might be in for a long time. The single most important burden will be that of debt that the future generations might be mortgaged to. No IMF dictate gives a remedy for the socio-economic structural weaknesses inherent in the country that need to be taken care of so as to build Pakistan's absorptive capacity and the ability to service the debt from internally generated resources. The panacea, as per the neo-classical and IMF thought, is privatisation. While it may have shown results elsewhere in the world, there is no reason why we should be reposing faith in private enterprise again especially when our history is replete with cases of private sector's lack of business responsibility. However, a point worth-raising is: is it at all possible to unleash private enterprise in the true sense in a country with distorted structures of economic power that now seem to be receiving moral sustenance from international lending agencies too? The country is characterised by a large presence of a class of absentee landlords. This class has spread its roots to the various branches of government, bureaucracy, military, politics, business, and industry. And for this class, all of these public activities are a mere avocation or leisurely pursuits. In the presence of this class, no class in the country will want to engage in productive activities seriously with hard work and enterprise. They will all seek short-cuts to easy money and cushy life and will feel justified in doing so. So, while the IMF and IMF-influenced economists seek to remove macro-economic distortions in the country, do they have a solution for this gross distortion of economic power in the country? None for the time being and until such time that the neo-classical economists continue to ignore the role of power in economic decision making. President Leghari might want to play a role but unless the political dynamics is favourable, that is, assuming there is a government that will not want to avenge the dismissal or a body of legislators that will not comprise big farm interests; continuity remains a remote possibility given the existing perverse economic power structure in the country. A new class of intellectual elite's aligned with foreign lending agencies seems to be gaining visibility fast. It is, therefore, time to pick up cudgels against neo-classical economic thought and practice in the country that is providing extension services to the IMF. Or else, in addition to economic repression of the people, a dark era of intellectual repression of economic thinking will also set in for a long time in Pakistan that will further perpetuate the economic miseries of the teeming millions. ------------------------------------------------------------------- SUBSCRIBE TO HERALD TODAY ! ------------------------------------------------------------------- Every month the Herald captures the issues, the pace and the action, shaping events across Pakistan's lively, fast-moving current affairs spectrum. Subscribe to Herald and get the whole story. 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EDITORIALS & FEATURES

961129 ------------------------------------------------------------------- People's government? ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ardeshir Cowasjee NOW that some of our top tyrannical embezzlers and looters have been jailed, or are absconding and in hiding, hope does seem to have been somewhat rekindled. Day by day, more details are emerging and with them we realise that the scenario may be even worse than we initially imagined. The dissolved Benazir, her husband, her cousins, her in-laws acolytes and sycophants call the caretakers usurpers. Whatever they may be, they are better than what we had. On a scale of zero to 10, Benazir was zero, Nawaz and his looters were one, and the caretakers (so far) fall at three. Had they been careful in their choice and not included a brother-in-law and some known moles in the cabinet, they might have made it to four. As far as the dissolved are concerned, they shout and scream that they will be restored, citing Nawaz's restoration as a precedent. How that gang was restored is known to the knowledgeable. They should, by all that is right and proper, never have been brought back. Were they as white as driven snow and faultless, they would not now be in our courts trying not to pay back what they robbed. All those who sat with Benazir during her two stints, and with Nawaz in his one, ruling and looting the people must be disqualified and not be permitted to stand for election again for a minimum of ten years. As none show the slightest trace of repentance, this is the least punishment they should be made to suffer. And they will be prevented for that period from looting us again. This process must be completed and a census must be conducted before the people go to vote. Why should the voters be made to countenance illegitimacy. However, first things first, the caretakers must ensure that the people's money directly held is trust by the government and owed to the people must be secured. I specifically refer to the National Investment Trust, the government open-ended fund eligible for the investment of pension and gratuity funds, money belonging to pensioners, widows, orphans and others who have to live on meagre means. Of all people, Mr Muzaffar Hussain Soomro, an adviser to the Federal Ombudsman, has written to the new professional Chairman and Managing Director of NIT on November 27, 1996: "It was disappointing to note total bankruptcy of our Trust. As a former director of the Board, I never imagined that such a prestigious institution would fall to such a grim situation. This is violation of trust. "I surrendered some units in your Clifton branch about three weeks ago. I was told to wait for one week as there was no money available but after the lapse of one week, I was advised to wait for another two weeks. To my utter shock, I am being told now that there is no hope in the near future. This speaks volumes for maladministration, mismanagement and bungling of a high order, which is simply unacceptable. "I urge you to look into the matter personally and ensure the payment to me without delay. Kindly note that you are already liable to pay me profit on the delayed payment at the rate of 18 per cent from the day I surrendered these units." His claim for the 18 per cent interest is quite justified and it is due to him, as it is due to all others facing a similar predicament. Will the government come out with a statement, now, and reassure the people? The people are anxiously waiting for the absconding Asadullah Shaikh, and his patron Asif Ali Zardari who was responsible for deliberately installing him to manage the NIT, to be brought to book and the looted money recovered. Meanwhile, why are the Governor of the State Bank and his regulators not being questioned and taken to task for their lapses? Why are questions not being asked of the government- appointed bankers who sat on the NIT board? Are the caretakers waiting for the people to hold them accountable as well for conspiracy to defraud? Another matter that has come to light is that the previous Chairman and the Board of Trustees of the Karachi Port Trust have concluded an agreement of sorts with a foreign consortium, Karachi International Container Terminal, without inviting public offers and bids. This was done surreptitiously, with most of the negotiations taking place under a shroud in Islamabad. Under the terms of this agreement, most of the open space, 136,224 sqm, on the better wharf of the port, West Wharf, is proposed to be leased out to the consortium for an initial period of 20 years at the rate of Rs 292 per sqm, as against the rate of Rs 544 which the KPT is currently charging for similar, though inferior, spaces from local concerns. By doing what they have done, the KPT has violated Article 25 of the Constitution. Questions asked of the previous chairman and his deputy, the general manager of projects and development, Faruq Chaudhry, remained unanswered. The former is now unavailable for further questioning and the latter remains silent. Luckily, the 'financial close' has not been completed and the new chairman has been warned not to take any further action until this issue can be openly examined by the reconstituted Board and the caretaker government. This was discussed with the prime minister two days ago and he, a sensible man, agreed that what can be saved must be saved. Another case where over Rs 4 billion have been saved by the bell is that of Jinnah Terminal built at Karachi Airport. SOGEA, the French builders, filed a claim against the Civil Aviation Authority for 'additionals' which the CAA disputed. In terms of the contract, the arbitration clause was invoked and arbitration proceedings were held at Singapore under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce. SOGEA claimed that the law applicable to the arbitration proceedings had to be the law of Singapore, whereas the CAA's lawyers claimed that the applicable law must be that of Pakistan. The dispute persists. Arbitration proceedings were held and the competent authority appointed Fakhruddin Ebrahim to be CAA's arbitrator. The arbitral tribunal by a majority of two to one (Fakhruddin dissenting) ruled that SOGEA be paid FF.509,931,337 and USD 900,000 (approximately Rs. 4.1 billion). The CAA went to the Sindh High Court in an effort to rightly or wrongly stave off payment. But a great deal of pressure to pay up was brought to bear upon the CAA by certain people within our own government. On August 7, 1996, the competent authority (defence ministry) wrote to the DG, CAA, "It has been decided by the competent authority that CAA should make the payment of the total amount as awarded by the arbitral tribunal to Messrs SOGEA. A confirmation regarding release of the above payment to SOGEA may also be made to this ministry." On August 11, 1996, the competent authority wrote to the CAA saying that Pakistan's ambassador in Paris was called by the Under Secretary of the French Ministry of Economy and Finance who conveyed to him the concern of "his minister as well as the President's and Prime Minister's secretariats over the fact that the award given by the International Arbitral Tribunal in Singapore... was not being implemented... The ambassador was also informed that payment of the award is also important for the flow of investment into Pakistan... Otherwise, Pakistan-France economic relations are likely to be affected." The DG, CAA, was asked to furnish the relevant information by August 12 so that "the Ministry of Foreign affairs and Prime Minister's Secretariat could be informed accordingly." Asif Zardari is said to have told the man he posted in the CAA (Khalil Ahmad) to pay up. The man said he could not as there was no money. Why do you think that you, a Customs officer, were appointed to head the CAA, asked Asif? He was told the amount awarded is equal to four years' profit of the CAA and it would be bankrupted were it to pay this amount to SOGEA. The competent authority consulted the amiable French who are said to have informed it that before they could kickback what was agreed to be kicked back, they would have to be paid. But they could give a long-term soft loan to the government so that the competent authority could sanction payment. At this stage Tumandar Leghari struck. Khalil was sent on leave prior to retirement on November 18. Our present Minister of Defence and Establishment, Shahid Hamid, can get full details from our present Minister of Law, Fakhruddin Ebrahim, as to exactly who was the competent authority who was so keen on paying the French. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961202 ------------------------------------------------------------------- A sound decision ------------------------------------------------------------------- THE caretaker government's decision, to hold elections to the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies on the same day will be welcomed by all sections of the people. Both the major parties, the PPP and the PML, had made this demand, and sections of the Press had been advocating simultaneous federal and provincial polls for the past many years. The caretakers' argument is that simultaneous polling will lead to reduced spending by both the government and the candidates, and it is certainly a major consideration. But politically the case against staggered voting is even stronger: a gap between National Assembly and provincial assembly polls holds the possibility of the results of the first influencing the results of the latter. In the 1988 elections, it was seen how efforts were made, particularly in Punjab, to stimulate a verdict in the provinces different from the one given by the people in the National Assembly poll. In fact, separating the federal and provincial elections always led to a suspicion that the real object of those at the helm of affairs was to wait for the National Assembly trend and then to see whether it was acceptable or whether some effort was needed to balance it out in the provinces. From every point of view, therefore, the caretakers' decision for same-day polling is the correct one, which rights an aberration blindly followed since the end of Zia's martial law. Administrative problems there will be. A much large force of presiding officers and other election staff will be required. Since each voter will have to mark two ballot papers, there will have to be a public education campaign on radio and television to familiarise voters with the correct procedure to be followed. But there is enough time between now and the scheduled polling day for arrangements to be satisfactorily handled. political parties too have a crucial role to play, since in many ways they have most at stake. Unfortunately, the emasculation of democratic and political traditions in the country has led to basic organisational and motivational faults in political parties and groups, and the polling agents they appoint appear to be interested only in trying to obtain as many bogus votes as possible. Voter education and guidance constitute one of the primary tasks of polling agents and perhaps if political parties even now paid some attention to this aspect, they might prove of real help to voters. Several other questions relating to election day remain unresolved or at least unexplained. There is the whole problem of which electoral lists will be followed and whether the production of identity cards will remain a condition for voting. Opinion is split over the ID card issue: some people favour it as a reliable means of establishing voter identity while others point to the fact that countless people in the countryside do not have ID cards and thus stand effectively disenfranchised. During the past two general elections, it was seen how ID cards can be bought in bulk by unscrupulous candidates. There is also the question of controlling the expenditure incurred by candidates on their election campaign and checking the all too common recourse to pressure tactics. The caretaker government says it is considering new laws to ensure minimum campaign expenditure by candidates and for a more comprehensive declaration of assets by the contestants. Such reforms are necessary, although they touch only the peripheries of an electoral system heavily influenced by considerations of caste and wealth. But rather than the caretaker government coming to decisions arbitrarily and solely on the basis of its own wisdom, will it not be more advisable if political parties are called to a meeting where the modalities of elections can be settled by consensus and agreement reached on how the March exercise can be most objectively, fairly and peacefully conducted? DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961203 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Issue of discrimination against Pakistani women ------------------------------------------------------------------- BRUSSELS: Here's one more task for Pakistan's overworked caretaker rulers: in the rush to put Pakistan's ramshackle economic house in order and combat all kinds of corruption, nepotism and other political evils, don't forget to get rid of an out-dated, sexist and blatantly discriminatory law which makes a mockery of Pakistan's commitment to promoting women's rights. In case the president, the prime minister and the motley group of senior ministers aren't aware of the problem, here it is in a nutshell: under our country's current citizenship rules a Pakistani woman can't pass on her nationality to her children if she's married a non-Pakistani man. No such restrictions apply to the male of the species. Believe me, I know. The Pakistan embassy in Brussels has just refused - again - to give a Pakistani passport to my twelve-year- old son. Not because they don't like my reporting or politics. But, "just" because I am a Pakistani woman. And years ago I decided to marry to a non-Pakistani man (in fact, I married a Spaniard). Strangely, all the male Pakistanis - including diplomats - that I know, married to all kinds of exotic foreign females, face no such problem. So what do you think, dear caretakers, is this discriminatory or not? Look at it another way: under our rules, while Imran Khan's progeny can aspire to become Pakistani politicians, do-gooders or cricketers, my children - also wonderfully qualified to run the country and if needed to bat and bowl for it - can't. It's absurd and senseless to discriminate against women in this way. If the issue is betrayal of one's community, civilisation or nation, then let's punish all those who dare marry a non-Pakistani. Why target only the female population? Could it be because, women are believed to be somehow less capable of imparting our precious culture and civilisation to the younger generation than the all-powerful Pakistani males? Let's be frank, are men "better" Pakistanis, more Islamic, more in tune with the Pakistani "way of life", more capable of bringing up veritable Pakistani children even if they've married American, Turkish or Mongolian wives? Well, my experience is very different. As far as I can tell, Pakistani men with American or British wives, produce purely American and British children - regardless of whether they live in Washington, London or Lahore. However, in most households with Pakistani mothers and foreign husbands, it's invariably the other way around: most Pakistani women are determined to ensure that their children speak Urdu, know about Islam and visit Pakistan as often as possible. It's a question of cultural pride. And it's natural, really: when it comes to rearing children, it's mummy who is the key player. She can be a full-time career woman or a full-time home-maker: when it comes to education, she's the leader. Daddies, however wonderful, just don't carry cultural clout. Not even if they are Pakistani. So am I saying my mixed-race brats are just as Pakistani as their little hybrid counterparts crowding Pakistan's American-run international schools. You bet, I am. Both my children, Mikhal and Mariam, have always rejoiced in their dual cultural heritage. Even aged six, my son had a pat answer for the perennially curious visitors: "I belong to two world," he'd explain patiently when asked to identify his country of origin. Nothing complicated about belonging to two countries, he insisted. You play football in one and cricket in the other. And who says switching cities, languages and food can't be fun? Now, Mikhal is the proud owner of a brand new Spanish passport. Under Spanish law, the children are allowed to use both their parents surnames, which they do. In school, Mikhal's opted for Islamic studies  in Belgium, with a large population of Muslim immigrants, that is a possibility. His Urdu is better than Imran Khan's. Seven year old Mariam is getting there. It's difficult to explain to children brought up in an egalitarian, non-sexist environment that the Pakistani "world" they claim so enthusiastically as their own is refusing to recognise them. They know of course as all Europeans do that Pakistan's neighbours are hardly famous for their enlightened treatment of women: just a few miles away in Afghanistan, the Taliban are cruelly and systematically violating women's rights. Across the border on the west, Iran's women are carefully veiled. In Kuwait, women don't have the right to vote. In Saudi Arabia, they aren't allowed to drive. But, these are autocratic regimes dominated by dour old men and religious extremists. That they should harbour nothing but contempt for the rights of women is sad but hardly surprising. I've always insisted, however, that Pakistan, has different aspirations. We see ourselves as a modern Islamic state. Women go to colleges and universities, get top jobs in the administration, run lucrative businesses. Nobody, I know wears the veil. And of course, until her ouster on charges of mismanagement and corruption a few weeks ago, Pakistan had a woman prime minister. But, the children are learning that the truth is grimmer: these rights are enjoyed only by an enlightened, affluent minority. For the millions of other Pakistani women, life is a constant struggle against sexual discrimination. And despite her endless rhetoric about promoting women's rights, Benazir Bhutto did little to improve the lives of Pakistani women. In a country where most girls can't go to school or get adequate medical care, where rape is frequent but unreported, where tribal vendettas are settled by killing or violating women, what's the point of complaining about a missing passport or two? After all, my son and daughter can travel the world over with the documents delivered by their father's country. But, this is about more than just travel arrangements. As a Pakistani woman, I'm deeply hurt and offended by my country's failure to recognise me as a full-fledged adult citizen. I can also foresee practical problems: For the moment, Mikhal and Mariam can move around their different "worlds" with effortless ease. But, as they grow older, unless they are recognised as Pakistanis, both will need visas to visit - and perhaps one day - live and work in their mothers' land. In the end, it's simple: by giving them Pakistani citizenship I was hoping to give them the keys to my country, the right to feel at home there. Getting those documents for them was supposed to be an act of love. And proof of my continuing commitment to my country. The new Pakistani administration says it wants an end to nepotism and injustice. That should also mean that unlike our previous leaders, it will put an end to all forms of gender discrimination. And stop treating its 65 million women as second class citizens.

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SPORTS

961130 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Another global honour for Jansher Khan ------------------------------------------------------------------- Lateef Jafri With a competitive composure that was admirable Jansher Khan, disposed of Australia's Rodney Eyles to retain the honours of the World Open. This was his eighth triumph, fifth in a row, in the tournament, reckoned as the blue riband of the globe. Before the competition, there were doubts that Jansher's authority may been eroded. He was twice brought down in the game's circuit. At Hong Kong he was toppled by the Karachi finalist, now the leading challenger from Down Under. Jansher could not stand the stress and strain of a marathon in New York's Tournament of Champions after the weariness of a long flight. He was thumped out by Craig Rowland of Australia in straight games. Certainly the critics were within their right to have reservations about Jansher's form and his chances in the 20th edition of the World Open, launched in England in 1975. >From day one of the contest, organised properly and well, Jansher had the understanding spectators in raptures with his tidily-executed strokes of a high-level craftsman. There were the deft volleys, sound and delicate drops and powerful smashes. Craig Wapnick of South Africa bowed to him in 36 minutes. The supporting fans waited for the match against Jonathan Power in doubt; he was the conqueror of Rowland in New York. Here Jansher was more fluently mobile, more consistent in shotplay and fully in command. Power, whatever may have been his tactics in the American cosmopolitan city, had no answer to the blazing shots of the Khan. He was removed in straight games, with smiles plastered across the faces of the onlookers. The semi-finals against Peter Nicol may have proved tough. About two years ago he had shocked Jansher in the Leekes Classic in Cardiff at the start of the European squash season. But here Nicol too capitulated, like the other world-rankers, without taking a game from the Khan. It is still not known how Jansher faltered in the third game? No doubt Rodney Eyles stepped up a gear but Jansher was not to be hesitant in the stroke-making. But after all Jansher like all champions is also human. He can let up and give a game to his adversary to make the match an exciting one. In the fourth game Jansher's power and confidence controlled the game. When the Khan was 9-1 ahead it was a tall order for Eyles. There was anguish on the face of the Australian. With perfect racket control Jasher explored the angles. There were finesse in his drops. The bold drives and returns were time and again applauded. In the fourth game there was not much except the delectable shots and high quality of Jansher's squash. He was a worthy winner and the challengers fell like dominoes before him. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961129 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan restrict N.Z. to 215 as Mushtaq takes 100 Test wkts ------------------------------------------------------------------- Farhana Ayaz RAWALPINDI, Nov. 28: Reeling at 111 for 7, New Zealand fought back to post a first innings score of 215 for 8. The turnaround was provided by Steven Flemming (67) and Lee Germon (45) in an 81-run eighth wicket stand here at the close of the first day's play in the second Test against Pakistan at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. In the opening spell, 20-year-old Muhammad Zahid performed impressively before Mushtaq took charge and bowled unchanged after lunch, returning figures of five wickets for 73 in 26 overs. Zahid grabbed three for 51 in 18 overs. The speedster, who belongs to a small town Gaggu Mandi near Multan, generated a lot of pace. Both Shahid Nazir and Muhammad Akram stayed wicketless. Zahid troubled all the Kiwi batsmen with swings which sharply cut in. The one that removed Adam Parore came back sharply which found the batsman plumb in front. New Zealand who were given an opening stand of 33 between Bryan Young (39) and J. Vaughan (12), slumped to a major collapse when four batsmen fell without reaching double figures. In the 20th over Young smashed Mushtaq for a classical square cut before falling leg before at 39. In all Young struck five boundaries in 68 balls. At lunch New Zealand were 68 for 3 in 22 overs. Adam Parore (3) went cheaply, lbw to Zahid, Nathan Astle (11) was caught behind off Mushtaq and Mark Greatbatch was the fifth man out caught by Saeed also off Mushtaq with New Zealand reeling at 87 for 5. This brought Flemming and Chris Cairns together, who had shared the decisive 141-run 6th wicket partnership at Lahore. These two posted the New Zealand 100 in 31 overs spanning 139 minutes. However, the partnership could only last 23 runs as Cairns was caught brilliantly at silly point by youngster Waseem off Mushtaq at 9. He played 34 balls in 42 minutes when the Kiwis were 110. A run later Zahid bowling from the pavilion end removed Chris Harris leg before for 1. Before tea Flemming reached his fifty with a mid-wicket stroke to fence. He completed the half century in 147 minutes in 91 balls. At tea New Zealand were 163 for 7. Only four overs were bowled after the tea break, when Flemming protested that the sun was disturbing his vision from one end. Both teams went off the field and play was halted for another 25 minutes. When play resumed skipper Lee Germon and Steven Flemming made vital headway for the eighth wicket that contributed 81 runs. However, just before the two started to look dangerous Mushtaq clean bowled Flemming (67). He banged 11 fours in 110 balls in 208 minutes stay. Germon was at 28 while New Zealand was at 192. A flashing hit to the fence by Germon posted the 200 for the Kiwis in the 57.4 overs in 284 minutes. An over before the close, Germon got a life at 38 when Saeed Anwar dropped him in the first slip off Salim Malik when New Zealand were 208 for 8. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961201 ------------------------------------------------------------------- N.Z. face Herculean task to save second Test ------------------------------------------------------------------- Farhana Ayaz RAWALPINDI, Nov. 30: New Zealand face a Herculean task to save the second Test after Pakistan had taken a first innings lead of 181 runs on the third day of the match today at Rawalpindi cricket ground. The visitors opened their second knock in a fighting vein and were 69 without loss but the job appears well nigh impossible with the Pakistan bowlers trying to tie the New Zealanders into knots. Pakistan scored 430 all out in their first innings. The visitors, hanging on desperately to the assertive first Test triumph, worked their way through to restrict Pakistan from taking a stronger position than they achieved in the two sessions on the third day. The Kiwis dismissed Saeed Anwar (149) in the sixth over off Chris Cahirns while Inzamamul Haq (1), struggling with his form lately, got out to a fine diving catch by Justin Vaughan off Chris Harris at silly point. But, it was the post-lunch session in which the Kiwis toiled harder and were rewarded with six wickets. Pakistan put on 67 runs before being bowled out at 430 as the tourists restricted the home side to 181 first innings lead instead of what was being speculated. In the morning session, Saeed Anwar batting on 130 and night-watchman Mushtaq Ahmed who was on 1, resumed Pakistan's first innings at 269 for 2. Skipper Saeed threw his wicket away in the sixth over after adding 19 runs to his overnight total. Trying to hook Cairns's bouncer, Saeed ballooned a catch to Simon Doull at long leg. And in a space of one run and six deliveries Pakistan lost its fourth wicket when an out-of-form Inzamam gave an inside edge to Justin off Harris. Lee Germon who made rapid changes in bowling took the new ball instantly when it was due after 80 overs, Pakistan's score being 313. For the 5th wicket Saleem Malik and night-watchman Mushtaq added 85 runs off 163 balls. They raised the Pakistan total to 363 at lunch. Mushtaq playing his career-best innings, 42, was the first success for the Kiwis after the break, trapped leg before to Chris Haris Mushtaq's last highest, 27, was against Australia at Lahore. The post-tea session belonged to the visitors. Strike bowler Simon Doull, all charged up, took in a spell of seven overs the wickets of Muhammad Wasim (5) and Moin Khan (2) for just eight runs. Waseem played a ball pitched up to him and gave a simple catch to Cairns at mid-on. Moin fell leg before. Cairns who finished with figures of five for 137 runs in 30.4 overs routed the off-stump of Saleem Malik (78) and caught and bowled Shahid Nazir (10). Test debutante Muhammad Zahid was out for nought lbw to Nathan Astle for his one wicket in the only over that he bowled today. Saleem Malik showed his class as a batsman and played an innings of controlled aggression. With quick footwork and wristwork it was pure copy-back cricket. Thankfully he is at the apogee of his form. Just at the stroke of tea Pakistan were all out for 430 in 126.4 overs. Saleem Malik, who was the last man out, made 78 in 159 balls. New Zealand opened their second innings with Byran and Justin who saw the day through without loss. Pakistan tried to break through by their pace bowlers Muhammad Zahid and Muhammad Akram. The duo did trouble the openers but there was no success, both shared 14 overs between them. The introduction of danger man Mushtaq Ahmed was delayed for the last session. In five overs he gave away 14 runs. Mushtaq, who has already taken six wickets in the first innings, will be the main source of worry for the tourists. With the second innings, still on, Mushtaq so far has claimed 26 Kiwis batsmen with two ten-wicket haul at Christchurch and Lahore. Mushtaq's tally in the last eight Test comes to 61 wickets. It was learnt that Steven Fleming, the Kiwis mainstay, was down with tummy bug and was resting in his hotel room. It was stated that the batsman would only come to the field if the New Zealanders were in dire straits. However, the Kiwis were hopeful that the gusty left-hander will be all right for the crucial fourth day on Sunday. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961205 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Saqlain spins N. Zealand to thrilling Pakistan win ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ilyas Beg GUJRANWALA, Dec. 4: A brilliant sixth-wicket stand of 91 runs between skipper Wasim Akram and Salim Malik, which helped Pakistan bolster its innings and muster a good total of 228 for eight and thereafter career best bowling by Saqlain Mushtaq (five for 44) and devastating spell by Waqar Younis enabled the hosts to score a remarkable 11-run win against New Zealand in the first of the three-match one-day international series the Municipal Stadium. In fact, Pakistan's win was the result of an excellent team effort which nullified the heroic struggle by the Kiwis' four pacemen and medium-pacers and batsmen like Bryan young (58 with 3 fours), Adam Parore (35), Stephen Fleming and Chris Cairns (36 each). The New Zealand team was pipped at the post as Saqlain Mushtaq broke the backbone of their batting. He claimed the prized wickets of Fleming, Nathan Astle (11), Chris Harris (6) and Captain lee Germon (2). Pakistan's fielding also rose to the occasion as first Ejaz Ahmad ran out Spearman (6) early in the innings and thereafter Inzamam-ul-Haq accounted for Doull (0) with a direct throw. They made up with their excellent fielding although they had failed with the batting. Salim Malik played the role of a sheet-anchor after Saeed Anwar was run out. Salim Malik stayed at the crease till he ran out of partners and the 46 overs were completed. He hit a huge six and six delicately struck boundaries like a maestro, in his unbeaten knock of 73, which helped Pakistan reach 228 from a hopeless position. The team was five down for 71, and the top-order batting had completely flopped. He was deservedly declared Man-of-the-Match by a jury of experts although one felt sorry for Saqlain Mushtaq, who swung the game in Pakistan's favour after New Zealand had reached a comfortable total of 186 for six at one stage. But full marks should be given to Wasim Akram for his lusty hitting and astute bowling changes and captaincy in trying circumstances. He, along with Salim Malik, first had full measure of the Kiwi bowling and later electrified the strong 22,000 lovers of cricket in Gujranwala with his exhilarating batting. The New Zealand side was well served by first Bryan Young and Adam Parore, who added 78 runs for the second wicket partnership. Later Cairns and Fleming added 60 useful runs for the fourth wicket stands to take New Zealand score to 177. Waqar Younis looked unplayable during his second spell from the far end. He shattered the stumps of the dangerous-looking Young and later had Cairns caught by Moin to make dents in the New Zealand innings. Saqlain Mushtaq's bowling enticed the New Zealand batsmen to charge out and flounder. Two half-centuries in contrasting styles by the middle-order batsmen Salim Malik (73 not out) and Wasim Akram (52) helped Pakistan hit a respectable total of 228 for 8 in 46 overs. The top-order Pakistani batting once again failed. Had opener Saeed Anwar not tried hard to steady the Pakistan innings with a sedate knock of 27 on 38 balls in 76 minutes, the Pakistan team would have been in dire straits as it lost opener Zahoor Elahi (5), Ejaz Ahmad (8) and Moin Khan (3) very cheaply. Inzamam-ul-Haq chipped in with useful 14 runs before edging a gentle medium-pacer of Astle into the safe hands of wicketkeeper Lee Germon. The match began late due to problem of the sun disturbing the batsmen. The match had to be reduced to 46-overs-a-side. The luckless Zahoor Elahi was first batsman out. At the total of 14, Zahoor Elahi edged a rising outswinger from Robert Kennedy into the breeze from the pavilion end very intelligently. Simon Doull bowled from the far end and claimed the scalp of Ejaz Ahmad at the total of 19. Ejaz mistimed Doull's delivery and Harris held a good catch at point. Saeed Anwar's resistance came to an end after he had put on 41 useful runs for the third wicket partnership. Earlier, Saeed had been dropped by young in the second slip at the total of 49. Chris Harris ran out Saeed Anwar with a direct throw as the batsman tried to steal a cheeky single. Saeed completed 4000 runs in one-day internationals. Pakistan's total moved one run forward when Inzamam-ul-Haq also left. He snicked a delivery from Astle into the safe hands of wicketkeeper Lee Germon. To make things worse for Pakistan, Moin Khan, who has been batting brilliantly in crisis and has pulled the team out of trouble with his brave knocks on many occasions, also failed at Gujranwala. He was caught by Fleming off Chris Cairns after contributing only three runs. The fifth Pakistani wicket fell at the total of 71.

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