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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 8 August 1996 Issue : 02/32
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The DAWN Wire Service (DWS) is a free weekly news-service from
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Assef sees bleak future for CTBT
US hopes accord will pressure Pakistan
India seeks Israeli help to upgrade armaments
Opposition to launch agitation on Aug 10
New ministers allocated portfolios
Transporters call off strike after agreement
Proceedings against Sharif concerns stayed
Blast accused makes confessions publicly
How committed are we to environmental management?
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BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Devaluation offers no solution
South Asia gets only 1pc from global tourist trade
The export potential of mangoes
Telecard demands Rs2.2bn compensation
Heavy Mechanical Complex to be privatised
IMF proposes rules for international markets
Commercial energy demand may go up by 6.7pc in 10 years
PTC shares push index higher by 7.91 points
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Khar, khar, kharaan Ardeshir Cowasjee
Terrorism (contd.) Omar Kureishi
What's going on? Mazdak
The power of mud Benazir Bhutto
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Pakistan's performance not yet upto the mark
Lord's show impresses injured England
Mushtaq to take over cricket post after England tour
Pakistan cricket system may collapse, fears Majid
Allan lamb shattered over libel case loss
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960804
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Assef sees bleak future for CTBT
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Staff Reporter
LAHORE, Aug 3: Foreign Minister Sardar Assef Ahmad Ali has said he sees
bleak future for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty because of the Indian
obduracy and the Western countries emphasis on nuclear non-proliferation
instead of nuclear disarmament.
However, he said, Pakistan would not block the treaty. But at the same time
made it clear that Islamabad would not sign the CTBT or undertake any
unilateral obligation or make any commitment unless India did so.
Responding to a question at a news conference he said: I see a very bleak
future for the treaty (CTBT) because of two reasons: the Indian attitude
and the Western countries desire to keep their arms in a state-of-art
position while preventing other countries from doing so.
He said Pakistan differed with the Indian view that there should be a
definite time-frame for nuclear disarmament, but it was certainly in favour
of nuclear disarmament on an equitable basis. He said it was regrettable
that the Western countries talked of nuclear non-proliferation but did not
speak of nuclear disarmament.
Some countries, the minister pointed out, wanted to have a provision for
non-detectable tests like cold tests or zero yield tests but Pakistan was
opposed to such an approach. For Pakistan, he said, test ban means a
complete test ban and no more tests.
The minister said: In recent weeks, there has been a lot of speculation
about Pakistans position on the CTBT. Allegations ranging from a
softening of Pakistans position to a sell-out on the nuclear programme
have been made against the government. Such speculations and allegations
are not only unfounded but mischievous.
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960808
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US hopes accord will pressure Pakistan
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Staff Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Aug 7: US officials are confident that a new agreement on CTBT
between China and US will doubtless have an effect on Pakistan and Iran,
and would place substantial political pressure on them to accept the treaty
within a few days.
The Washington Post quoted a senior US official, who did not want to be
named, as hailing the new agreement as the piece we needed to solidify
the five declared nuclear powers behind the text.
He said the agreement would present a united front that makes the outlying
nations quite isolated. It will doubtless have an effect on Pakistan and
probably on Iran, which have each been reluctant to accept the text.
The newspaper quoted officials predicting that India, an undeclared nuclear
power that has said it opposes the draft treaty, will exercise its veto and
block the treatys transfer from the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva
to the world bodys General Assembly meeting in New York next month.
But several officials said the United States and China had also reached an
agreement in Geneva that they are prepared to join the remaining three
nuclear powers and many other nations in presenting the text to the New
York meeting anyway, using a legal stratagem Washington and its allies have
devised in the last week to side-step Indias veto.
The senior US official explained that Washington believes there is no
legal barrier to a group of states presenting the treaty to the UN meeting
without a specific endorsement by the Conference on Disarmament, which has
managed the negotiations and operates by consensus.
The Post reported that negotiators from the US and China had cleared away a
key obstacle to achieving a comprehensive, world-wide ban on nuclear
testing Tuesday, leaving only the objections of India as a potential
hindrance to reaching a global accord this year.
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960807
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India seeks Israeli help to upgrade armaments
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Aug 6: India has begun detailed negotiations with Israel on a
broad-based, multi-year upgrade package for its air, land and sea forces
that would break Indias traditional reliance on Russian hardware and
technology, reports said.
They said the deals could generate more than $400 million for the Israeli
industry which could sell technologies and sub- systems to improve combat
capabilities of Russian-designed MiG-21 and British-French Sepecat Jaguar
fighters, T-72 tanks, infantry vehicles and surface ships.
The authoritative Defense News reported in its latest issue that in
addition to hardware-specific technologies and components, India was
seeking Israeli assistance in upgrading aircraft production facilities
operated by Bangalore-based Hindustan Aeronautics.
In exchange, India has offered composite technologies derived from its
Light Combat Aircraft development programme and metallurgical expertise,
Indian sources were quoted as saying.
Among the Israeli defence items under negotiation are an air combat
manoeuvring instrumentation range for the Indian Air Forces fleet of MiG-
27M and Mirage 2000H aircraft as well as avionics and radar for the MiG-21
upgrade effort.
Moreover, Indian sources here said the Indian air force has asked the
Yehud, Israel-based Tamam Division of Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd to
install new integrated tactical inertial navigation and Global Positioning
Systems in the MiG-27M and Mirage 2000H aircraft.
Yet another air warfare project involves electronic counter- measure
systems for the MiG-21s and Sepecat Jaguars. India wants to upgrade at
least 120 MiG-21s and 80 Jaguars, and an Indian air force source said the
avionics and electronic warfare upgrades would be required regardless of
the status of Indias ongoing MiG-21 upgrade programme with Russia.
After years of negotiation, Russia and India signed in April a MiG-21
upgrade deal that focuses on new engines and spare parts for the fleet.
In the land warfare technology, India is discussing with Elbit Ltd, Haifa,
Israel, for the purchase of thermal imaging sights and gun control systems
for up to 600 T-72 tanks. Other Israeli firms also have been approached for
ammunition and other sub-systems intended to bolster the Russian-designed
tanks capabilities.
For naval capabilities, the Indian navy is close to concluding a contract
with Haifa-based Rafael for 12 surface-to-air Barak missiles for the Indian
warship INS Delhi, under construction at state-owned Bombay-based Mazagon
Dock.
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960807
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Opposition to launch agitation on Aug 10
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Staff Reporter
LAHORE, Aug 6: Fourteen opposition parties at a meeting decided to launch a
movement to oust the government and as a first step gave a call for a
country-wide strike on Aug 10.
Long march, sits-in, civil disobedience and resignations from assemblies
are the important ingredients of what has been billed as Save Pakistan
movement, and all these options will be exercised according to objective
conditions, PML secretary-general Senator Sartaj Aziz told reporters after
the meeting.
PML president Mian Nawaz Sharif presided over the meeting.
The participants also decided to hold joint rallies at provincial capitals
and the first rally would be held in Karachi on Aug 14 and the second in
Quetta on Aug 19. Heads of the opposition parties would meet again on Aug
13 in Islamabad to take further decisions.
A white paper would be published to expose the irregularities committed by
the government in various fields. The opposition parties would have close
liaison with traders, labourers, transporters, lawyers and people belonging
to other walks of life and special conventions would be held to build up
pressure against the government.
ANP leader Azam Hoti told reporters that resignations from assemblies would
also be tendered at an appropriate time.
The parties represented at the meeting were: PML, the Jamaat-i-Islami, the
MQM, the Awami National Party, both factions of the JUP, the JUI(S), TJP,
JWP, PML (Jamali group), United National Alliance, Qaumi Mahaz-i-Azadi,
Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith, Jamaat Ahle Hadith and the Pakistan National
party.
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960802
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New ministers allocated portfolios
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto allocated portfolios to the
newly inducted federal ministers and ministers of state.
Two important ministries, Communication and Health, have still been left
without a minister. It is expected that these would be filled when the
cabinet would be reshuffled by the prime minister.
Former NWFP chief minister Arbab Jehangir has been made Federal Minister
for Narcotics Control, which was earlier held by Interior Minister
Naseerullah Babar. The latter will now be looking after the Interior
Ministry and the Federal Investigation Agency.
Chaudhry Abdul Sattar of Pakistan Muslim League (Junejo) has been made
Federal Minister for Industries which was earlier held by his other party
colleague Brig. Asghar along with Production. The latter will now be
Federal Minister for Production only.
The PML turn-coat Haji Mohammad Nawaz Khokhar will look after Ministry of
Science and Technology as full minister, an office once held by Hamid Nasir
Chattha.
Rao Sikander Iqbal, who was Minister for Food and Agriculture in the
previous PPP government, has been made Federal Minister for Sports and
Tourism.
Former Law Minister Senator Iqbal Haider would continue to look after the
Ministry of Human Rights as full minister. He was already looking after
this ministry even before being inducted in the federal cabinet.
Prime ministers spouse Asif Ali Zardari, whose induction in the cabinet
has surprised many, would be Federal Minister for Investment. Earlier there
were reports that he would also look after Environment Division.
Privatisation Commission Chairman Naveed Qamar would now be Minister for
Privatisation.
Senator Jehangir Bader, who was Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural
Resources in the previous PPP government has been made Minister of
Political and Religious Affairs.
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960802
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Transporters call off strike after agreement
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Dawn Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: A countrywide public transport strike which had crippled
the life for the last three days was called off on Thursday when the
government agreed to withdraw capital value tax (CVT), and reduced 40 per
cent income tax on the transporters.
The decision to call off the strike was made in a seven-hour-long meeting
between the government team and the members of the Supreme Council of All
Pakistan Public Transport (SCAPPT).
It was announced that the government had withdrawn its decision of levying
CVT on public transport, reduced 40 per cent of the income tax, 10 years
old trucks would be exempted from taxes, increase of Rs200 for vehicle
fitness certificate and Rs400 as permit fees would not be charged.
The transporters were protesting 15 per cent CVT on the first registration
of the vehicle, 100 per cent increase in the professional tax, 300 times
increase in income tax, 400 times in vehicle fitness certificate fees, 18
per cent sales tax on the spare parts and three per cent increase in
lubricants.
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960806
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Proceedings against Sharif concerns stayed
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Staff Reporter
LAHORE, Aug 5: The Lahore High Court asked three Sharif family concerns to
move for appropriate proceedings against banking tribunal decrees despite
the stay ordered by it against any final decision and suspended further
proceedings in pending cases.
Ramzan Sugar, Hamza Board and Brothers Steel submitted that they, with
other Ittefaq Group concerns being sued by nationalised banks, had
challenged the transfer of recovery suits filed by Chairman Ashiq Husain of
Tribunal No 1 to the tribunals headed by Rana Aish Bahadur and Aslam Nagi.
An LHC division bench admitted the petition for hearing and directed the
tribunals not to pass any final order or decree on the suits transferred to
them.
Arguing their applications before a division bench comprising Chief Justice
Khalilur Rehman Khan and Justice Mohammad Aqil Mirza on Monday, Barrister
Ashtar Ausaf Ali stated that the operation of the decrees passed in
violation of the LHC order be stayed or the aggrieved concerns be allowed
to file appeals without depositing the decreed amounts.
The bench asked the counsel to initiate appropriate proceedings through
contempt petitions or by challenging the decrees and seeking interim relief
against them for having been passed in contravention of a High Court
direction as alleged.
As for the seven suits still pending before the tribunals, in which too the
High Court has barred final orders, the division bench directed that all
proceedings be stayed in them pending the disposal of the transfer
petition.
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960805
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Blast accused makes confessions publicly
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Staff Reporter
LAHORE, Aug 4: Ishaq, an alleged terrorist in the police custody, who was
produced before reporters, confessed having carried out bomb blasts at 10
different places in the Punjab.
My next target was to blow up Shalimar Express, the 24 year old alleged
terrorist from a border area village Lakhoki, said. He looked to be totally
relaxed before a crowd of reporters.
According to the police, the accused, a science graduate from the
Government Science College, Wahdat Road, Lahore was taken to India by the
two smugglers of the same village where he came in contact with some RAW
officials.
About eight Kilograms of explosive material, 12 timers and seven detonators
which were recovered from the accused were also produced before newsmen.
The 10 bomb blasts, which according to police were carried out by the
accused include blasts at Dyal Singh College, Saddar Bazaar Medical Store,
F C College, Azam Cloth Market, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital,
Cantonment post office and Airport, Faisalabad Railway Station, train blast
at Lala Musa and a blast at Venus Cinema, Okara.
Police did not produce Shamsher Ali Shah, the other accused, before newsmen
saying that he has been taken to Kasur to assist in a raid to arrest
another suspect.
Lahore SSP Chaudhry Sajjad Ahmad told reporters that Shamsher Ali Shah was
a hardened criminal who had not confessed his involvement even in a single
incident. The police has recovered two kilograms of explosive material
from the house of Shamsher Ali Shah but he still pleads to have been
innocent, he said. He said that police had rounded up five other people
who were believed to have links with the RAW.
The SSP said in India the accused was trained by the RAW at Taragarh
training camp near Delhi where he was taught to prepare a device from
explosive material, detonator and timer. He said that two people, Habib and
Shahzad Masih, who were hired by the accused for explosions at Shaukat
Khanum Memorial Hospital and Lahore Airport were blown up in the incidents.
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960803
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How committed are we to environmental management?
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Humayun Akhtar
MUCH is being said about environmental protection in the country but hardly
any practical steps have been taken so far to protect the environment.
Buses, rickshaws, cars and trucks emitting smoke on the roads of our cities
are a common sight. Tall chimneys of factories are adding daily to an
already polluted atmosphere. Effluent stream and waste disposal are doing
damage to the sea and around our coast, specially Karachi Port.
Our industrialists should realise the hazards to the environment and
demonstrate in practical terms, their commitment to providing the resources
that are required to control the environmental effects of their industrys
activities. These environmental effects vary according to the nature of the
organisation and its activities.
What is required to save our environment. In the first instance a standard,
that is a specification for an environmental management system, which is to
be established. This would enable an organisation to evaluate and define a
policy, target and objectives to improve environmental performance.
International standard
The British Standard 7750, is currently the leading internationally adopted
standard. It is being used as the main source of the clauses for the
International Environmental Standard, ISO 1400. The standard is also
compatible with quality management system standards in the ISO 9000 series.
The Standard specifies requirements for development, implementation and
maintenance of environmental management systems aimed at ensuring
compliance with stated environmental policy and objectives. The standard
does not itself state specific environmental criteria but requires
organisations to formulate policies and objectives taking into account
information about significant environmental effects.
The Standard is applicable to any organisation that wishes to assure itself
of its compliance with a stated environmental policy, and demonstrate such
compliance to others.
All the elements specified in the standard are intended to be incorporated
into any environmental management system, but the extent of the application
of any one element will depend on such factors as the environmental policy
of the organisation, the nature of its activities and the conditions in
which it operates.
Not withstanding with the British Standard it would be necessary to evolve
an Environmental Management System (EMS). An (EMS) is defined as the
organisational structure, responsibilities, practices and resources for
implementing and maintaining environmental management.
The specifications for EMS provide a framework structure for companies to
develop an environmental policy and monitor and evaluate their progress in
meeting the objectives of that policy.
The EMS allows the company to examine its environmental impact in the light
of the economic and technical status of the business and to incorporate the
need for compliance with environmental legislation and the need to be aware
of the views of interested parties with regard to management practices.
Most EMS are based on the following:
They are generic. They can be applied to any organisation, whether
manufacturing, service or commercial.
They are proactive. Their aim is the prevention of environmental harm
through the anticipation of environmental risks.
They are developmental. They seek to improve performance.
They are voluntary but their rules are mandatory once the standard is
applied.
They are systems-based and supported by documented procedures.
The core of a standard should include:
Commitment: The EMS require the senior management of the company to make a
commitment to continually improve its environmental performance which is
promoted throughout the organisation. Having made this commitment, senior
management allocates resources to implement and maintain the management
system.
Preparatory review: This provides a preliminary evaluation of the
organisations current status with regard to its environmental activities
and effects. The organisation gathers together and analyses all its
existing data with regard to environmental effects, relevant legislation,
emergency response, procedures, and existing management systems for data.
The organisation can identify areas for improvement, which will then form
the basis of the policy, objectives and targets.
Policy: The environmental policy is a statement of the organisations
intention to improve its environmental performance. It is formed on the
basis of the result of the preparatory review.
Organisation and personnel: This element of the standard describes the
requirements for allocating authorities and responsibilities within the
environmental management system. It also requires the company to analyse
the need for further training of staff at all levels in order to achieve
targets and objectives arising from the environmental policy.
Environmental effects evaluation: The company must develop systematic
methodology for identifying, examining and evaluating its core of the
environmental management system. Much of the work of establishing this
methodology can be carried out at the preparatory review stage. However,
the procedures established must allow for changes and re-evaluation of
effects over time.
Objectives, targets and management programme: As a result of preparatory
review and effects analysis, specific objectives and targets are defined to
create continual improvement in environmental performance. Once these are
agreed upon, it is necessary to create a programme to implement these aims.
Management manual and documentation: This is the key information source
regarding the operation of the management system. It contains directions to
all other procedures and work instructions. It may be in paper document or
electronic form.
Operational control: Where a process or activity can significantly affect
the environment, it must be carried out under controlled conditions. This
includes environmental sampling and monitoring activities and may require
calibrated instruments to record measurements. The corrective action to be
taken when non-conformance against the standard accrue is also covered by
this section of the standard, as is the control of those companies
supplying the organisation with goods and services.
Records: All data relating to the operation of the system must be kept in a
record system which provides documentary evidence of the efficient running
of the system. The records also indicate the progress towards achievement
of the targets and objectives.
Environmental management audits: Documented procedures must exist for
carrying out internal audits of the system. Auditors must be trained to
look at the system objectively and report non-conformance to relevant
people so that corrective action can be instigated. The audits provide
information to the organisations management to allow them to revise and
improve both the system and the organisations environmental performance.
Environmental management reviews: The entire system should be reviewed at
appropriate intervals to determine whether it is meeting requirements and
to ensure that continual improvement in environmental performance is taking
place. Organisations that have successfully implemented EMS need to
demonstrate and communicate this fact to interested parties. This is best
done through independent, third party certification.
The pressure on business resulting from threats to the sustainability of
the natural and human environment are ever-increasing. This is reflected in
the rapid growth in the number of national environmental statutes,
international treaties and conventions and the use of taxation and other
fiscal measures to try to reduce pollution and environmental harm.
Finally, consumers and industrial customers are demanding information about
the environmental effects of products and prefer purchasing those that are
environmentally friendly.
Benefits of certification to ISO 14000/BS 7750: Certification provides the
best evidence to all interested parties that the organisation is committed
to continual improvement of its environmental performance.
Other rewards
Reduced waste disposal costs. Improved customer relations and image.
Improved relationship with regulatory authorities. Increased access to
investment funding. Reduced risk of liability for clean-up. Reduced energy
cost. Ability to correct potential problems before they cause environmental
harm. Demonstration of environmental due diligence.
Organisations which have a proactive, as opposed to reactive, environmental
management system can achieve strategic and sustainable competitive
advantage.
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960803
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Devaluation offers no solution
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M.B. Naqvi
WITHIN a month a third devaluation of eight paisa in a Dollar has taken
place and this has happened 15 times since October 28, 1995s last
devaluation. The speed at which the rupees value is being cut down
suggests that the authorities are desperate. It looks as if there is some
kind of hard chase that the government is engaged in.
The chase could only be what its advertised aim is: boosting exports.
However, one thing is now certain: for all the desperate measures that the
government has adopted and frequently devalues, these are either not
adequate or are not the right steps for boosting exports. The exports are
simply not responding to these substantial stimuli being offered. There is
therefore an understandable panic in authorities about the devaluation
failing to do its allotted duty of increasing exports. Why is it not doing
so?
A very, very simple explanation is: the conditions in which exports rise do
not obtain. Devaluation is generally a help - in certain circumstances, but
not always, as Islamabad authorities seem to believe. It is commonly
believed that devaluation is helpful in increasing exports in most cases.
Many governments and the IMF believe that this is the case. The point,
however, is that it is not an absolute truth in all cases. The fact of the
matter now is that Pakistan has proved to be one of the economies where
devaluation has failed to act as an adequate stimulant for exports. We need
to investigate why?
The preceding explanation is not meant to suggest that Pakistan authorities
should never devalue. What is now so obvious, and has all along been so
clear - though the government is failing to see the point - that such
speedy recourse to repeated devaluation does not produce cost-effective
results. It just goes on doing the same thing again and again. Why? Is
there, perhaps a target that the government is trying to achieve within a
given time frame? The rumours, until the other day, were that the
government would ensure that the par value of the Rupee comes down to
Rupees 40 to a Dollar. This is a circumstance that is hard to prove, no
doubt. But the governments disavowals are simply not enough to stop the
rumours being believed when the official actions seems to confirm the
suspicion.
Sheer desperation
At any rate, this frequent recourse to devaluation in order to boost
exports anyhow and the price of doing so does not seem to matter also tells
a story: the government is desperate; its previous efforts to boost exports
through reducing the value of the Rupee have not succeeded, certainly not
to the desired or even expected levels.
Therefore it is likely that this attempt too will neither succeed nor will
it be the last. Therefore, many would be exporters are simply likely to
decide to wait for a further dose of devaluation when the rupee might
shrink further in value. The remedy or the medicine is serving not only to
prolong the disease but may now be aggravating it.
Let us see why devaluation is not working. The reason is many-faceted. To
begin with, the country is already suffering from high inflation rates for
a long time. A nine or eight per cent rate of price rises is not regarded
as anything to worry about when these rates graduate into double digits,
they begin to give grudging recognition to inflation. It is necessary that
people should not be misled by official figures of inflation rates. These
figures are tailored to official PR purposes rather than to disclose the
real, much less the hidden, inflationary pressures. The latter in fact is a
much higher range of rates. Even if this is not so the accumulated
inflationary pressures should now be treated as having crossed a certain
point when ordinary responses to the usual stimuli become distorted.
Inflation anyhow sets up its own distortions of expectations and responses.
Which is what has happened. The first manifestation of it is already
risible in a most troubling form.
Futile devaluation
At least 15 devaluations of the rupee in a short time, one of them
substantial, have simply failed to lift the export earnings to any
appreciable notch higher. The goal of $10 billion export earnings in a year
has been around for the last four or five years. Pakistan, however, has
never achieved it. This year the new target is again $10 billion. In all
these previous four or five years it hardly went beyond $8 billion and in
1995-96 the export earnings are said to be $88.6 billion, the highest ever
but at a very high price. That is the first terrible symptom of a serious
malady. The remedy of this disease is apparently unknown to all economy
managers.
The second consequence of this facet is that the devaluation instead of
reducing inflation - the normal expectation from any devaluation - is in
fact increasing the inflation. The same amount of imports will now require
more Rupees. It means more money to the government in taxes no doubt. But
also more money will be needed for the selling the same goods and more
Rupee sent abroad to the foreign exporters per unit.
This increased inflation reflects on competitiveness of the exports, on the
one hand, and on the general prices level of goods that use imported
martial or other imported imputes, on the other.
That general price rise, i.e. the inflation, also increases the cost of
production. Once the cost of production increases, the general price level
of manufactured goods inside the country would also increase. That is a
direct disincentive to exports and reduces the competitiveness of the
Pakistani exports.
The deleterious effects of devaluation now do not stop at just this cost-
push inflation. It goes far beyond that. A general increase in the price of
domestically produced goods would do many things: it would intensify
smuggling in of foreign goods. That would deprive the government of
indirect taxes and indeed some other taxes too, including the direct tax on
the income that the smuggler simply cannot show. That would increase the
budget deficit, the bugbear for economy managers. There would be other
costs.
Once smugglers take over and domestic production declines, the bears take
the stock market over and the economy begins to stagnate. That stagnation
slows down all economic activities, beginning with the new investments.
Which is a sure recipe for reducing there venues of the government. Which
would, in turn, increase its borrowings and the budget deficit, which in
their turn would intensify many other troubles including strengthening the
inflationary spiral and making exports even more difficult. Later every
negative factor becomes self-reinforcing and begins to reinforce every
other undesirable economic trend.
This is an economic mayhem in which Pakistan economy has been caught. All
oft-tried remedies are now failing to produce desired response from the
economy. One can find many explanations, beginning with the way
industrialisation was promoted in the first place. Our entrepreneurial
class is a misnomer. It is used to spoon-feeding. As soon as the spoon-
feeding is reduced, it cries out in pain. The work ethic in the country has
deteriorated as a result; standards of quality are not being adhered to;
the economy managers have gone soft and they have not been able to resist
even the undue demands for more concessions in the shape of new incentives
like duty drawbacks, various tax reliefs and holidays and so forth. The
governments have always taken the soft option.
Corruption
Then there is the rampant corruption. Corruption in the government services
and indeed in the government itself - if the copious reports in the press
are anything to go by - have produced their mirror image in the business
dealings. Racketeering, tax evasion and bribe-giving has increased, the
whole economic ambience has changed. It makes Pakistan economy very special
and particular. Soon the general rules and economic laws may begin to seem
as if they have no effect on this economy.
Anyhow the point to be made, vis-a-vis export promotion, is that the idea
of promoting exports while the economy is stagnating or unemployment is
rising is simply unrealistic. No country in the world can increase exports
significantly if its economy is also not expanding robustly. The economy in
which exports rise is one that keeps inflation down and makes its
government reasonably solvent which does not run heavy fiscal deficits. The
question of questions is: now that devaluation has proved to be a device
that no longer produces the expected response from the economy, have we
found a solution of the general economic malaise that has been afflicting
Pakistan economy? At any rate, how do we do that?
The first requirement is to diagnose the economic malaise and identify the
causes that have produced the sickness and then question of finding the
remedies will follow. It is not being suggested that Pakistan economy is
being afflicted with some absolutely new or unheard of economic disease.
What it is paying for are known causes. They were the soft options taken
for far too long. They can be corrected if the government is prepared to
take tough decisions and is ready to adopt the harder options. That will be
for starters.
Later of course, options might not remain as hard if a good beginning can
be made. No doubt a very tough question will have to be tackled: where to
begin and what remedial steps are to be taken and, not only that, a correct
sequence of corrective measures is no less vital. We have to be quite sure
in our minds as to the sequence of the steps. What one has discussed so far
is why exports have not risen or may be they will not unless economy
management improves. It is necessary to lay down a few indicators or
markers as to when exports growth will begin to rise.
The first is, of course, the macro-economic stability with low inflation
rate. Needless to say that the situation is actually desperate. Desperate
measures are needed for beginning the corrective processes; the time for
taking soft options has gone. It is not the purpose here to give a
blueprint of what corrective action needs to be taken. All a columnist can
do is to remind that even the classical economists have specified a very
strict policy regime that was mandated to be adopted and implemented along
with any devaluation.
Devaluation cannot be conceived in isolation. Devaluation has always been
treated as a desperate measure, the recourse to which should be the last
and it is to be accompanied with many other correctives, particularly a
drastic reduction in the budget deficit and various other deficits. Unless
these measures are adopted together, devaluation has no meaning. It cannot
do the job that is intended if those other accompanying measures are not
taken.
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960805
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South Asia gets only 1pc from global tourist trade
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Shaukat Ali
LAHORE, Aug 4: South Asia gets only one per cent of the international
tourist trade whose total receipts in 1995 stood at $373 billion. Adjoining
Far East Asia is doing a little better by getting around 19 per cent of the
trade.
This was stated by the Tourism Council Chairman of the SAARC Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, Mr Padma Jyoti of Nepal during a seminar on the
Current Status of the Tourism Industry in SAARC countries here. Tourism,
Mr Jyoti said, was one of the fast growing industries of the world but in
South Asia its development was stagnant.
The SAARC countries were competing with each other in gaining tourism
business, although, Mr Jyoti said this was not a healthy sign as these
countries should instead be co-operating with each other in promoting
tourism throughout the region. He said it was in this background that the
SAARC Tourism Council was formed early this year with the aim of enhancing
tourism among the member states.
The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, President,
Ilyas Bilour said that the historical importance of the region and its
natural beauty held out immense potential for the growth of tourism in this
part of the world. Asking the SAARC leadership to arrange publication of a
travel guide and setting up an information cell for the convenience of
tourists, Mr Bilour emphasised the need for promoting aviation.
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960803
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The export potential of mangoes
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M.M. Nazri
MANGO is said to have been growing for the last 6,000 years in the South
Asian region and is now cultivated in many other countries like The
Philippines, Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, Malayada and Sri Lanka.
It has been established that Malaysia was the first country in the world
which obtained the material from the Sub-Continent. The Sulu Archipelago
and Mindanao in the Philippines were the first to have grown mango some
time between 1400-1450 A.D. but the Island of Luzon and other places
received this fruit probably from Thailand and the Dutch East Indies (now
Indonesia)
The distribution of mango throughout the world started with trade between
Asia and Europe. It is said that the Portuguese were the first in the early
part of the 17th century who carried mango plants and seeds from Goa to
East Africa and thence to West Africa and Brazil. In 1768 Captain Cook
found an abundance of mango in Rio-de-Janeiro. It is estimated that at
present more than 10,000 acres of land are covered by mango in Florida. Its
production is mainly centred around Palm Beach and Dade county.
In Egypt, mango production took place for the first time in 1925. Due to
the improvement in transportation it has now been introduced in may
tropical and sub-tropical countries of the world.
Mango is widely grown throughout tropical and sub-topical regions. Though
mainly consumed fresh, various products of mango can be prepared like
pickle, chutney, juices, pulp, canned mango slices in syrup, and slices in
brine. Other products are mango jam, nectar, flour, and dried slices etc.
Pakistan, after India, is one of the important producers of mango and its
products, followed by South Africa, Jamaica, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Sri
Lanka, Kenya and Australia etc.
Mangoes are a highly perishable commodity. Most varieties are harvested
only when mature. The aroma and taste typical of a mango depends in large
measure, on the stage of maturity at the time of harvesting and the method
employed for picking, care shown in handling and during transport; the
method employed and temperature maintained for ripening. Quality enhances
marketing value. They should, therefore, be properly graded, packaged and
transported.
A few years back, this scribe had conducted experiments, which show that
the skin of mangoes (Sindhri and Langra of Sindh) coated with an Aqueous
Fungicidal Emulsion extend their storage life at room temperature to 14
days. The coating reduces wastage, delays ripening and lowers the
respirations rate. Untreated, they spoil within seven days.
At present, Pakistan produces more than 850,000 tons of mango but
unfortunately it is unable to export even two per cent of its production.
World trade in mango products is estimated to be not more 150,000 tons,
dominated mainly by four countries, India, Jamaica, South Africa, and
Pakistan. Other exporting countries are Mexico. Sri Lanka, USA, China, and
Cuba. The UK is presently the main importer of mango products.
Jamaica is the worlds second most important exporter of mango slices in
brine and mango slices in syrup, India, South Africa and Pakistan are the
main suppliers of mango slices in Syrup, besides, Sri Lanka, Jamaica,
Mexico, Cuba, and China.
The possibilities of developing standard canned products from the mango
fruit have been receiving the attention of the Industry and research
laboratories in Pakistan.
The Republic of South Africa is the main source of supply at present,
followed by India, Tanzania, the West Indies, and China. No data is
available about the supply of canned mangoes from Pakistan. There is a
demand of the commodity in other countries as well, but to a limited
extent.
There are two principal types of packs sold in the UK market, a high
quality desert type of fruit which is obtained from India and a somewhat
inferior quality smaller African fruit which comes chiefly from the
Republic of South Africa, and Tanzania. Indian canned mangoes are produced
mainly for exports from desert varieties of fruit, such as Alphonse and the
Dusehri and the canned products generally have a very sound flavour and
texture so that certain brands produced by established canners have
acquired a good reputation as regards quality and can command premium
precise with buyers in the UK.
Mangoes may be canned as slices, cubes, and dice. the suitable varieties
for canning are Alphonse, Dusheri, langra, Baganpali, Fuzli, and Chaunsa.
Mango pulp
There is a good demand for mango pulp, and juice in every country, because
it is a valuable source of vitamins and nutrition. The consumption of soft
drinks is rapidly going up not only in the Middle East and African
countries but also in the USA and other European countries. Mango pulp is
so far by-product of canned mango slices Industry in Pakistan. Certain
superior varieties of mangoes without fibre are canned. it is possible to
utilise the pulp of our local fibrous variety of mangoes which are
available abundantly in-season in different regions of the country.
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960805
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Telecard demands Rs2.2bn compensation
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: The Telecard cellular phone company has asked the
government to pay Rs2.2 billion as compensation for the losses it suffered
due to the ban on its operations in Karachi for the last 13 months.
Ruling party senator, Aitazaz Ahsan, who is also the legal counsel of
Telecard, has served a legal notice to the effect on the government under
articles 18, 23 and 24 of the Constitution. Article 18 guarantees freedom
of doing business and articles 23 and 24 ensure the right to own property.
A similar notice is likely to be served on the government by another
cellular phone company, Paktel, which too has made considerable investment
in Karachi, a source told Dawn. If the ban was imposed in the public
interest then the consequential losses should also be borne by the whole
nation, said Javed Feroze, an executive of Telecard.
He said the company had suggested that the ban be partially lifted. We are
ready to keep our operations closed in the volatile areas of the city, he
said. But there was no justification for the ban on paycard phones at the
Karachi airport. No security risk was involved in the operation of paycard
phones as these could be easily monitored, he claimed.
Meanwhile, strong signals are emanating from the ministry of interior that
the government may lift the ban on Aug 14. The government is keeping it
secret as the announcement will be made by the prime minister herself, a
source at the ministry said. The withdrawal of ban will be projected as a
gift for the people of Karachi and as symbolising the success of the
government in restoring peace in the metropolis.
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960806
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Heavy Mechanical Complex to be privatised
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Faraz Hashmi
ISLAMABAD, Aug 5: The Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCOP) approved a
plan for the privatisation of Heavy Mechanical Complex and three other huge
engineering units, besides shortlisting six US companies for the final
bidding for the Jamshoro thermal power station.
The CCOP which met under the chairmanship of Minister of State for Finance
Makhdoom Shahabuddin, allowed the Privatisation Commission to initiate a
process for appointing a financial adviser for the privatisation of Heavy
Mechanical Complex, Taxila (HMC); the Heavy Electrical Complex (HEC), the
PEACO and the Kot Lakpat Engineering Works.
The CCOP also reviewed a compensation package to be offered to the
employees of HMC and other units, based on a formula of 1 plus 2 on
voluntary separation of service (VSS). There were 5000 workers in the HMC
alone, a source said.
The engineering units would be privatised in different phases. In the first
phase, the Commission would offer 26 per cent strategic shares along with
the management control of the units, he added.
Earlier, six US companies, including CMS Consortium, AES Consortium,
Southern Electric, Edison Mission Energy, Energy Initiative Inc. and NRG
Energy, were shortlisted for the final bidding for the 880MW Jamshoro
thermal power station, situated near Hyderabad. Three companies, British
Energy of the United Kingdom and ElectroGen and Continental Energy of the
US could not qualify for the final bidding.
The Jamshoro thermal power station has total assets worth Rs15 billion (430
million US dollars) and is equipped with steam turbines made in Japan and
China. It was commissioned in 1990.
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960806
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IMF proposes rules for international markets
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Muhammad Ilyas
ISLAMABAD, Aug 5: The International Monetary Fund has proposed the
establishment of an international convention to check the rising tide of
money laundering by criminals and tax evaders whose annual earnings, from
their criminal activities, may be as high as $500 billion or 2 per cent of
the global GDP.
International money laundering is an obstacle to the IMFs task of
maintaining an effectively operating international monetary system and,
therefore, states a report in July 29 issue of IMF Survey, the IMF will
continue to promote vigorously the containment of money laundering
activities within the context of its broader responsibilities and its
resource constraints.
Non-adherence by any country to the standards, to be established under the
proposed convention, might entail punitive action and denial of benefits of
participation in the international financial market, according to Working
Papers prepared by the fund officials Vito Tanxi and Peter J.Quirk which
are now being considered by the IMF.
Facilitated by the globalisation of the world economy and diminution of
restrictions on capital movements, these activities include, in particular,
the production and distribution of illegal drugs, as well as theft and
embezzlement (including that by corrupt dictators, politicians and high
government officials?), insider trading, traffic in nuclear materials,
usury, and prostitution.
The magnitude of the sums involved and the extent of the criminal
activities that generate this income, although difficult to quantify,
have implications for both the domestic and the international allocation of
resources and macroeconomic stability, the IMF cautioned.
With a variety of financial institutions including banks, brokers and
dealers in security, as well as unconventional and parallel financial
markets serving as intermediaries, the concentration of vast sums of money
in laundering operations has generated progressively more sophisticated
attempts to launder the assets.
The much larger volume of legitimate capital flowing relatively freely
through the worlds markets has allowed money of questionable origin to
spill unobtrusively into this huge stream.
Studies carried out so far suggest that the money laundering may be
sufficiently widespread to exert an independent impact on the macroeconomy.
According to available empirical evidence, it has negatively affected
growth in industrial countries.
Since money launderers generally do not look for the highest rate of return
but for the place or investment that most easily allows the recycling of
their money, these movements may well be in directions opposite to those
that would be expected on the basis of economic fundamentals. Money may
therefore, move from countries with good economic policies and activities
with higher rates of return to countries with poorer policies and
activities with lower rates of return. Thus, because of this practice the
worlds capital tends to be invested less optimally than in the absence of
such activities.
As a consequence of such counterintuitive capital movements, policymakers
may be confused about the policies to be pursued and may respond
inappropriately, remarks Tanzi.
Pertinently for countries like Pakistan saddled with smuggling and other
criminal activities, at the national level large financial flows related to
money laundering could influence variables such as exchange rates and
interest rates. On the international level, financial difficulties
originating in one centre can easily spread to others, thus transforming a
national problem into a systemic one.
The IMF study, however, cautioned against a recourse to foreign exchange
controls and stressed that instead of setting back the clock on economic
and financial reforms, governments should find ways and devote resources to
implementing effective anti-money laundering measures ahead of the
accelerating pace of financial market development.
Although domestic money laundering can often be fought at the national
level, an effective solution to the international problem is only possible
at the international level, it has been stressed in the IMF Working Papers.
International money laundering is based on the exploitation by
sophisticated financial operators, of differences in financial and banking
regulations across countries and jurisdictions.
One solution is for the international community to establish a set of rules
that form the basis for full participation by any country in the
international financial market. This market, it has been suggested,
should become an exclusive club with benefits and obligations for those
wishing to belong. By establishing minimum standards of statistical,
banking, prudential, and financial rules that would be binding on all
countries, the Convention would drastically reduce the differences in
domestic regulations that encourage and, to some extent, make possible
international money laundering.
Referring to tax evasion as one of the underlying forms of criminality, the
report recalls that the IMF has been involved closely in efforts to help
its members undertake economic stabilisation programmes to improve their
tax collection capability. There is no conflict between the macroeconomic
purposes of monitoring for tax evasion and for money laundering, since both
operations focus on identifying individuals and economic entities and their
revenues.
The IMF, states the IMF Survey, intends to examine the implications of
money laundering, emphasising the following areas:
*In countries where an analysis of money laundering is particularly
important for understanding the behaviour of the macroeconomy (for example,
in countries where drugs or other illegal exports are known to be large or
where weakness in the fiscal regime encourages money laundering);
* In the context of international capital market developments; and
* In the design of IMF-supported economic programmes and IMF technical
assistance, particularly when money laundering appears to be affecting
macroeconomic performance.
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960803
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Commercial energy demand may go up by 6.7pc in 10 years
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M. Ziauddin
ISLAMABAD, Aug 2: Pakistans commercial energy demand is estimated to
increase at an annual average rate of 6.7 per cent over the next 10 years,
according to an official study.
The study is based on a regression analysis of past consumption trends and
relationships, and assumes the implementation of an aggressive programme of
energy conservation and efficiency.
Consumption of commercial energy has increased at an annual average rate of
6.6 per cent from 11.1 million ton oil equivalent (TOE) to 21.1 million TOE
in the last 10 years. The share of commercial energy consumption in the
following sectors was: 38.9 per cent industrial; 33.0 per cent transport;
18.5 per cent residential; 3.9 per cent agriculture; 3.8 per cent other
government entities and; 2.9 per cent commercial
In order to meet the projected demand, the supply of domestic energy
resources is forecast to increase in absolute terms, although their share
in total energy supply is expected to decrease from 68 per cent to about 62
per cent.
Within this, hydroelectricity supply could increase only when a consensus
is reached on Kalabagh Dam and the required resources are mobilised.
However, despite the assumption that Ghazi Barotha Hydro Project would be
implemented during the period, the share of hydroelectricity in total
energy supply would decline from the present level of 15.3 per cent to 12.2
per cent.
The share of the largely imported oil and petroleum products is expected to
rise from the present level of 31.7 per cent to 44.1 per cent of total
energy supply.
This share could be reduced by substantially expanding the supply of gas
either through development of new gas fields, and matching investments in
the pipeline infrastructure, or gas imports by pipeline.
In the absence of such an increase in supply, the share of gas may decline
from 37.7 per cent to as little as 24. 2 per cent.
Under this assumption, the share of imported petroleum products in total
energy supply would increase from its current level of 31.7 per cent to
53.3 per cent, to substitute for the use of natural gas in thermal power
generation, and in the industrial sector.
Pakistan has substantial gas reserves, which have not been adequately
exploited. Proven recoverable reserves of gas are estimated to be as large
as 22.8 trillion cubic feet(TCF), including 1.8 TCF of associated gas
reserves.
Of this 9.6 TCF were discovered during the past six years, mainly through
the new fields at Qadirpur(3.9 TCF) and Kandanwari(1 TCF). Over the same
period, gas production has also increased from about 1.0 billion cubic feet
per day(BCFD) to 1.6 BCFD.
Despite the recent discoveries, gas exploration has proceeded at a slower
rate of development than the resources warrant, partly due to the generally
limited interest by the oil industry in gas exploration.
The hydropower potential is estimated at about 27,000MW under average
hydrological conditions. Of this so far, only about 4,825MW (18 per cent)
has been developed or committed.
A large number of medium and large sized projects like the
Kalabagh(3,600MW), Ghazi Barotha(1,400MW) and Basha(3,300MW) have been
proposed and studied to varying levels of details.
In oil sub-sector, current estimates of remaining recoverable reserves
amount to about 27.3 million tons as against the original estimated
recoverable reserves of 64.5 million tons.
Pakistans major oil fields (Dhulian, Balkassar and Meyal) have largely
been exploited, with domestic oil production having increased from 39,300
barrels of oil per day in 1986 to about 60,000 BOPD, resulting in a
reserves to production ratio of only nine years.
Domestic proven reserves of coal and lignite are estimated at about 734
million tons, of which 432 million tons are recoverable. The production is,
however, only 3.3 million tons of which about 46,700 have been used for
supplying about 44 GWH of power generation.
Given the poor quality of domestic coal, and in order to increase its
utilisation in power generation, WAPDA has commissioned the development of
the Lakhra project, based on the fluidized bed combustion technology
comprising three units of 50MW each.
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960808
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PTC shares push index higher by 7.91 points
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Aug 7: Stocks extended the overnight rally on Wednesday as the
strength of the PTC shares spilled over to other counters, enabling the
index to recover an other 7.91 points.
The KSE 100-share index was, therefore, quoted further higher at 1,515.83,
showing that it might not breach the 1,500-point barrier at least for the
near-term after the listing of PTCL as a public limited company and its
formidable weightage in it.
But the volume was about a half of the average daily figure at 14m shares
as the bargain-hunting in the PTC shares was not that aggressive as it has
been during the last several months.
Dealers said investors are taking into account the post-listing possible
scenario of trading in the PTC shares before making fresh commitments as
was reflected by a light business of 6.500 million shares, although it
maintained a its upward drive.
Whether or not the volumes will be meagre is hard to predict at this stage
but investors might take some more days to fully adjust themselves to
trading in PTCL shares, dealers said.
They said the pause could well be reflective of the fact that analysts are
divided over the impact of the massive PTCL share base totalling over 5 bn
shares.
It was in this background that an interim dividend at the rate of 17.5 per
cent by ICI Pakistan for the year ending Dec 31, 1996 was received with an
optimism despite the fact that the management has announced that it may not
be possible to recommend any further dividend on the enhanced paid-up share
capital by virtue of right issue of 325 per cent announced by the
management some time back to finance its Port Qasim PTA Plant.
However, for the first time after several weeks, gainers managed to force a
modest edge over the losers as most of the blue chip shares came in for
active short-covering at the lower levels.
Big gainers were led by Pakistan Oilfields, Mari Gas, Fauji Fertiliser and
Dadabhoy Insurance, which posted gains ranging from Rs 2 to 5.
They were followed by Jahangir Siddiqui & Co, Century Insurance, National
Refinery, PSO, Shell Pakistan, Pak-Suzuki Motors and Brooke Bond, rising by
one rupee to Rs 1.50.
Barring sharp fresh decline in Allawasaya Textiles, and Dewan Mushtaq
Textiles, which suffered fall ranging from Rs 4 to 9 on renewed selling,
losses elsewhere fractional and reflected lack of support rather large
selling.
However, Alico, Citicorp, 12th ICP, Pak Elektron, Philips, Telecard, Rafhan
and Shezan International also fell by one rupee and so did Nestle Milkpak
and United Distributors.
The most active list was topped by PTC, up 45 paisa on 6.500m, Hub-Power,
easy 55 paisa on 2.786m, ICI Pakistan, up 70 paisa 0.870m and FFC-Jordan
Fertiliser, firm 30 paisa on 0.466m shares.
Other actively traded shares were led by Fauji Fertiliser, sharply higher
by Rs 3.75 on 0.362m, Dewan Salman, lower 20 paisa on 0.277m, Cherat
Cement, up one rupee on 0.123m, and Engro Chemicals, lower 25 paisa on
0.103m shares.
Trading volume suffered a sharp contraction at 14.377m shares from the
overnights 31.385m shares owing to relatively slack demand in pivotals.
There were 359 actives, which came in for trading, out of which 144 shares
showed gains, while 124 fell, with 91 holding on to the last levels.
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-------------------------------------------------------------------
Khar, khar, kharaan
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ardeshir Cowasjee
WHEN a little girl who has played with your children and waded in the pool
in your garden returns to visit you as Dr Mahanaz Ispahani (Harvard,
Fletcher School of Law and International Relations), now a deputy director
of the New York-based Ford Foundation, it means that time has passed and
you reflect upon how it has been wasted.
Instead of taking rearguard action all along the way, had we been led well
and wisely we could have done better.
Her visit was preceded by a blurb: South Asian Dialogues on Regional
Peace and Security: The Path Ahead.
The Joint Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies of York University and [the]
University of Toronto aim to take a comprehensive review of non-official
dialogues in South Asia to date, which is subsequently to be published. The
review will take into account representative public opinion through talks
with policy makers, scholars, journalists, academia, business and industry
and anyone interested on (sic.) regional security issues in all its (sic.)
dimensions. This endeavour is being co-sponsored by the Ford Foundation...
Objectives: The non-official, informal dialogues aims (sic.) to take stock
of past developments and consider suggestions on future lines of action, in
the light of the changing realities. Economic liberalisation is altering
South Asias status and connections in its region Indias new role as a
dialogue partner of ASEAN, Pakistans role as a sectoral partner of ASEAN,
and the possibility of Indias membership in the ASEAN Regional Forum are
some of the new realities. The review will focus on formal governmental
processes and national decision-making in the light of opportunities and
needs, and suggest forward-looking thoughts on the dialogue process.
The critical review aims at soliciting reactions in the region on the
value, effectiveness and future of non-governmental and Track-2 programmes.
It hopes also to expand contacts in other parts of Asia and the Asia-
Pacific [rim?]. It will explore available channels for international
exchange, involving religious, educational, social and athletic and other
forms of non-governmental associations alongside the official channels of
communication.
The focus on the core issue of security will consider the wide array of
the domestic and transnational issues that affect the prospects of inter-
state violence. These factors are environmental, resource management,
demographic patterns, human rights and governance issues, drug trafficking,
terrorism and the like...
This makes it clear that whereas the Indians can now growl and hunt with
the ASEAN Tigers, we, if and when asked, can merely watch them go by.
The Ford Foundation is now in the process of finally winding up its
operations in Pakistan.
Mahanaz came with Dr Paul Evans of Canada, Director of the Joint Centre for
Asia-Pacific Studies, the Oxford-educated Dr Gowher Rizvi of Bangladesh,
and Amera Saeed of Pakistan, a co-ordinator and Senior Researcher of the
Institute of regional Studies, Islamabad.
As for the blurb, my first reaction was to ask myself how anyone could
possibly think up all that nonsense and then actually put it down on paper.
Henry Ford (whose hard earned money at Dearborn had seeded his
philanthropic Foundation and whose assets at one time peaked $ 4 billion),
Mahnazs grandfather Mirza Abol Hassan Ispahani, the good old straight-
shooting Sardar Binyamin Gorgezh, and I would have simply said: We want to
come and talk. We would like to re-align our sights.
The questions they asked, and my answers: Where is Pakistan going?
Down. How fast? Very fast. Why? Thieves and brigands are ruling
our destiny. Will the economy improve? Why should it. When will there
be peace? Which leader of ours is working towards having it? When will
there be prosperity? How can we prosper without peace?
They knew well, but they still asked my opinion as to how much of what they
give actually arrives where it is supposed to arrive. Barely a fraction, I
confirmed.
They were told that all those who are wasting Henry Fords and the other
donors money by channelling it down the government way through government-
run programmes can safely be accused of being accessories to a crime. The
donors would do far better to directly give their money to people such as
Edhi, Akhter Hameed Khan, the missionaries, and such known persons of
honest purpose.
As for peace in the subcontinent, it cannot be achieved unless both sides
decide to shift Kashmir onto a back burner. We neither have the strength
nor the ability to grab and hold it. All we have done and are doing is to
make sure that Kashmiri Musalmans continue to be killed. Were the Kashmir
issue to be allowed to cool, both sides could reduce their defence
expenditure and get on with bettering the lot of the people, with opening
up trade on an MFN basis, and so forth. Left to themselves, the Kashmiris
would probably vote to go with neither.
They asked about the progress of the Track-2 NIMRANA talks much discussed
in both countries. No progress, the deadlock continues. The talkers have no
clout and the vested interests on either side are not keen on a settlement.
I, for one, do not understand why Oslo-like talks are being shunned.
Anyway, meeting Mahnaz again brought back memories of Chittagong where I
used to stay with and enjoy the hospitality of her parents, Isky and Akhtar
(when our good ships the Ohrmazd and the Rustom berthed), and of my many
talks with her grandfather, one of Jinnahs trusted lieutenants, an
outspoken man who could not suffer fools. He was never afraid to assert his
views on men and matters, right or wrong. For the real nasties, he had his
own terminology zehr-e-maar (snakes poison). Those who talked rot were
the khar, khar, kharaan (donkey, donkey, donkeys all), and were told so to
their faces.
Mirza Abol Hassan, a Cambridge man, barrister, merchant and industrialist,
was chosen by Jinnah to be our first ambassador to the United States and to
the United Nations. In May 1948, he wrote to his Governor-General:
...The more I follow international politics and the more I come in contact
with it at Lake Success, the greater grows my belief that in international
affairs, the Law of the Jungle holds unquestioned sway. Justice, equity,
fair-play and legality are hollow words. Might is right and every question
or dispute is judged not on its merits but on the touchstone of expendiency
and power politics. He who is strong can get what he wants and he who gets
hold of anything and is strong enough to keep it, retains it in spite of
the inequity and illegality of his act. As I have said, the more I see the
UN at work, the more I arrive at the conclusion that reliance on this body
to do justice is to expect the impossible. Every nation will have to rely
on its own strength. It is, therefore, absolutely essential for us to build
the structure of our strength on a sound foundation...
Basic ingredients. The recipe was known from day one, but heed was never
taken. We never worked hard at becoming strong, we never strove to be
counted. There was never a cohesive purposeful team, each ignorant greedy
man pulled his own way. The weak foundations crumbled. In the comity of
nations, we are well established as a Third-World country (verging on the
fourth). Amongst the front rankers, we are treated as a joke. At
international conferences, particularly those that deal with money and
investment matters, our leaders have been equated with liars, charlatans,
fools and cheats. Not that we deserve all that we get, but then why do we
always expect others to bail us out?
Eight additional federal ministers were sworn in on Wednesday, amongst them
Nawaz Khokar General Naseerullah Babar is due to resign, having
proclaimed he would were Khokhar ever to become a minister and seven
ministers of state, amongst them Manzoor Wassan, who, as a minister in
Benazirs previous round settled a disagreement with his secretary at
gunpoint.
Nawabzada Ghazanfar Gul of Gujrat who was expecting a call, and did not
receive one, was reported on Tuesday to already be in shock.
Can anyone of any credibility tell us how the addition of one of the men
some street-fighters, some notorious skimmers can help govern us better?
Granted, there is dissension and disgruntlement in the Party, and to hold
things together, however temporarily, many more must be given positions
where they can amass pelf and power. But each man will cost us half a
million rupees per month above the table and this, added to their unbounded
capacity to indulge in scams and skim-offs, will in no time relieve us of a
billion. A massive non-development exercise.
The bell is tolling.
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Terrorism (contd.)
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Omar Kureishi
CARRYING on from last week on the subject of terrorism, the bomb blast at
the Centennial Park in Atlanta, the muffled explosion and the plume of blue
smoke heard and seen around the world by shocked but not surprised
television viewers underlines how dangerous the world has become.
But it was always a dangerous world. What makes the difference now is the
chilling knowledge that the world is at the mercy of deranged individuals
and groups. Excessive zeal in the pursuit of a personal grudge or a public
grievance is a kind of neurosis, a sense of persecution wrapped up in a
determination to seek revenge, a kind of thrashing about at invisible
enemies but who turn out to be innocent men, women and children. Atlanta
was a sitting duck, that terrorists of one kind or another would strike
could have been foretold. There had been too much hype about it, the
temptation to turn security into show business was too much to resist.
We should be grateful that the bomb blast did not cause greater damage in
lives and property but it caused enough damage to Atlantas boast that it
was the city too busy to hate and it made a nonsense of an even more
extravagant boast of the Mayor of Atlanta who had promised repeatedly that
the city would be the safest place on Earth during the Olympics. Backing up
the boast was a security force of 30,000 and an outlay of US $227 million.
Neither the security force nor the money was enough against one or more
than one madman. A humbling thought, a perverse, ugly version of David and
Goliath.
Perhaps, the terrorist did not mean to cause serious damage. Only to make a
statement. If he could have placed a pipe-bomb without detection, he could
have placed something far more deadly. He was calling the shots, literally.
The downing of TWAs flight 800 and the Atlanta bomb blast plus the renewed
activity of the IRA plus other and varying acts of violence has injected
more urgency in the G-7 meeting held in Paris to devise ways and means of
collectively combating terrorism. In the United States, there has been some
agonising soul-searching and there has been political activity to have a
bi-partisan resolution passed by Congress that will strike a balance
between individual liberty and public safety. The emphasis is on the fact
that it will be a bi-partisan resolution, an important and instructive
indicator that even in an election year, the Democrats and Republicans can
close ranks in the national interest.
In my column last week I had suggested an All Parties Conference with a
single item agenda how to combat terrorism, I had stated that such a
conference would be welcomed by people from all walks of life. I am not
surprised that not the slightest notice was taken of the suggestion. I did
not expect that there would. We have our way of doing things or more
importantly of not doing things.
But even more significant, both in respect of the TWA mid-air explosion and
the bomb blast in Atlanta, there has been frenetic but purposeful activity
by the large number of agencies investigating these incidents. They cannot
be accused of sitting on their haunches. They are hard at work. The public
has been kept fully informed and there are almost daily bulletins about the
progress even when the leads have been found to be false. There is no doubt
in anybodys mind that the cases will be kept open until they have been
solved and the criminals arrested. Even if it takes years.
The FBI acted quickly and decisively in the case of the Oklahoma bombing
and were able to nab Timothy Mcveigh as the likely bomber. We were able to
see the FBI at work on CNN and it must have been reassuring for the
American public that their premier agency was on top of the investigations
and not goofing off. There have been ten bomb blasts in Punjab alone in
recent months, high-profile blasts including those at the Shaukat Khanum
Hospital and the Lahore Airport. Then there was the bombing of the Egyptian
Embassy in Islamabad. There are no external indications that these blasts
are being pursued, at any rate as far as the public is concerned.
We know nothing of the progress that has been made, if any progress has
been made. All we have been told is the possibility of a foreign hand
being involved but if that is the case we are entitled to know how soon
this foreign hand will be identified and dealt with. But terrorist acts
that go back many years remain in the pending tray. Presumably they are
being dealt with. But the bottom-line is that we have yet to nab a single
terrorist. Is this an indication of poor police work? Or are there other
reasons that act as constraints on open and fearless investigation?
Over the years, many of us have lamented the fact that crime has been
politicised with the flip side of the coin, politics begin criminalised.
Could this fact have something to do with the inability of those
responsible from making progress in their investigations? I have read of
elaborate measures that are being taken to beef up security at the
airports. I do not wish to seem to be cynical but apart from harassing the
public even more, I cannot see these measures adding to the safety of
airports. Surely we cannot improve on the security measures of JFK Airport
or those at Atlanta. In the end, they proved ineffective. What we need,
first of all, is a common resolve, complete agreement that the terrorist is
an enemy of this country. And the other is some success, some hard results
in catching some of the terrorists or smashing their network, anything that
will demonstrate to the public and thus will reassure it that going after
the terrorists is serious business and not rhetoric. We dont need
pacifying. We need results.
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960803
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Whats going on?
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Mazdak
THE opposition is promising a campaign to topple the government.
Transporters have called for weekly strikes. The apex textile body has
announced a closure of mills. The cotton-related industrial units of
Faisalabad have been shut for three weeks. A number of cases against the
governments decisions and actions have been moved. Whats going on?
All these seemingly unrelated announcements and occurrences are part of a
pattern. Like sharks smelling blood in the water, anti-government elements
are closing in for the kill. In nature, a wounded animal will immediately
attract the attention of nearby predators. Hence the term lame-duck
administration to describe a government on its way out. The PDF
government, too, is thrashing about with very little control over its
limbs, uncoordinated in its words and actions, advertising to the world
that it is in mortal agony.
But to a very great extent, these wounds are entirely self- inflicted. The
killer budget announced a few weeks ago has granted the opposition a new
lease of life by giving it ammunition to bombard the government with. Apart
from its economic fall-out, the budget was a remarkably insensitive
document as it made no pretence to spread the pain. It would have made
political sense to announce some kind of token tax on feudals and some
cosmetic cuts in the bloated expenditure of the Presidency and the Prime
Ministers House. But our fiscal dream team, composed entirely of
unelected bureaucrats, could not be bothered with such window-dressing.
Remember how Junejo reacted when there was an outcry against the budget
announced by his government? He immediately proclaimed that as an economy
measure, civil servants and generals would henceforth ride in Suzukis.
While it resulted in no savings, this ploy helped defuse public anger. This
governments response to criticism over the harshness of the budget is to
parrot that it had to impose harsh levies to restore fiscal stability after
Nawaz Sharifs profligate ways. This line does not wash as it is now three
years since the PML government was dismissed. In any case, the housewife
paying 45 rupees for a kilo of dal is not concerned with the larger macro
economic-picture: she just feels the pain and panic of trying to feed her
family.
Sensing this administrations weakness, a large number of traders,
transporters and industrialists have launched a non- co-operation movement.
The result is to send the stock market into a tail-spin from which it may
not recover during the incumbency of this government. From a high of 2,600
points soon after Benazir Bhutto was sworn in, the index has plunged to
below 1,500, and there is talk of its sinking further to around 1,200.
Stock brokers are saying openly that the market will gain at least 400
points the day there is a change in Islamabad. Similarly, the rupee is in
free fall, having shed nearly 25% of its value against the dollar since
October, 1993.
Obviously, the feudals who are in power are unaware of the implications of
a collapse of the nations bourses and its currency. As far as they are
concerned, untaxed wealth from their inherited lands keeps rolling in to
sustain their obscene lifestyle. But they should know that closed
factories, falling share prices and a plummeting rupee spell disaster just
as surely as do poor crops and floods. Unfortunately, the ruling party
historically viewed with suspicion by the business community following the
disastrous nationalisation programme of the seventies is seen as being
anti-business today. Despite the governments privatisation policies, the
recent budget confirms the business communitys doubts.
For its part, the government sees the capitalist class as being Nawaz
Sharifs allies in the current campaign, and hence there is a deadlock
between the two sides that shows no sign of being broken any time soon.
Meanwhile, the economy continues to slide deeper and deeper into recession.
It is this looming crisis even more than the wholly unnecessary
confrontation the government has precipitated with the judiciary that has
made the position of this administration so tenuous.
But perhaps even more than its grip on the economy, it is the governments
moral authority that has been severely eroded. While rumours of corruption
have swirled around those in power, the physical evidence of the mansion in
Surrey cannot be swept under the carpet, and the effects of the scandal
should not be underestimated.
Much of the on-going crisis has its roots in the permanent state of
confrontation that exists between the government any government and the
opposition. Most of the energies of the ruling party are focused on hanging
on to power, while endless strikes and street movements destabilise the
economy. In this context, it would be instructive to recall the words of a
famous South Asian politician on ensuring constructive opposition:
First of all there should be effective guarantees that the elections will
not be manipulated by the government... The impartiality of the head of
state is the second essential of the role of the opposition...
Unfortunately, there are many instances when the head of the state plays a
partisan role... The third essential ingredient of the role of opposition
is a measure of tolerance and mutual respect... every democratic government
has to accept that it is not there to stay for ever... The fourth essential
ingredient of the role of the opposition is the rule of law. It is not
permissible in a democracy to victimise the opposition. Yet this seems to
be the common pursuit of government in Asian societies... If these four
conditions are satisfied it will not be necessary for the opposition to
take to the streets... Governments may come and go but the rule of law will
prevail...
These quotes are from a speech made at the conference of opposition leaders
from the SAARC countries held in Karachi in 1992. The speaker? Benazir
Bhutto.
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The power of mud
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Benazir Bhutto
I WAS deeply saddened when I read about the suicide of Adm. James Boorda,
the American chief of naval operations. What disturbed me so greatly was
that, according to reports, his act was precipitated by an investigative
article that the admiral believed might lead to personal shame or
dishonour.
So he chose to end his life rather than face the scandal that he saw
coming.
What was the scandal about? It boiled down to whether Boorda should have
worn a small bronze star that costs less than a dollar. He already had a
chestful of medals to prove his valour and service he really didnt need
one more.
His supporters said he was entitled to wear the star. Others said that,
technically, he was not. Although Boorda called it an honest mistake,
whether he was entitled to wear it or not is now irrelevant.
I remember reading about a French prime minister who took his own life over
a scandal about unproved charges of obtaining a loan through a political
favour. And apparantely, Vince Foster, a White House lawyer, committed
suicide because he could not cope with the pressures of his public life in
Washington, D.C.
These deaths demonstrate that intense public scrutiny leading to a public
trial can cause immense damage. It can cause stress, shock, trauma, shame
and even the desire to end it all.
A public trial, or especially a trial in the court of public opinion, is
neither fair nor detached. It takes place in a highly charged atmosphere
with accusations and counter-accusations coming so fast that the details
are blurred. The public is confused, and the image is tarnished.
Wasnt it Joseph Goebbels who said that if you throw enough mud, some of it
will stick? I should know. During my first term as prime minister of
Pakistan, from 1988 to 1990, I was the target of a sustained campaign of
character assassination aimed at unconstitutionally undermining the
peoples belief in the government I had formed.
I went blue in the face protesting my innocence, to no avail. As soon the
government I led was dismissed in a 1990 civil coup detat, I was sent a
chilling message: Leave the country or your husband will face the same
fate as your father. In other words, he would face a death sentence on
trumped-up charges.
Simultaneously, a diplomat was sent to my father-in-law by the new regime:
Tell your son to divorce his wife and leave the country, or he will have
to face terrible consequences, the messenger informed him.
But my husband and I refused to leave. For us, it was a matter of honour to
prove our innocence. But the threats we received proved not to be idle. I
was hauled up on seven charges of misconduct. My husband was charged with
seven separate counts, ranging from abuse of power to kidnapping to murder.
We were called corrupt daily in the Press and on the TV and radio. And,
although the legal charge against us was not corruption, this became the
label the Press used to attack us.
I was glad that my children were too young to understand what was going on.
They couldnt read what was said in the papers, and they had not yet
started going to school, where they would have had to suffer the taunts of
schoolmates.
Even my own relatives and friends seemed to get a sceptical look. After
all, the saying goes that where theres smoke, theres fire and in my
case, the Press created a great deal of smoke. Every time I would meet an
acquaintance, I would have to explain all the facts yet again, so that they
could face their friends.
That was the most terrible part: to be presumed guilty, no matter what we
said or did.
But my husband and I stayed the course. I am proud to say that we both won
all our cases in the courts and legally proved our innocence. More than
that, we faced the court of popular opinion and were re-elected to office,
politically redeeming ourselves.
Our honour was vindicated, as was the honour of my party and colleagues. We
were able to hold our heads high throughout.
Leopards dont change their spots, however, and my adversaries continue to
make totally unsubstantiated and wild charges of corruption against my
party, my government and my family. They refuse to talk about the issues...
about the democratic process, demographic pressures and the debt trap that
Pakistan faces. It seems their manifesto is mudslinging, and the truth is
the first victim.
I read that an American first lady once said she didnt recognise herself
in the way the Press sometimes portrayed her. She articulated my sentiments
exactly.
Of course the public has the right to know the facts. Of course the Press
has a right to sniff out a story. But the individual also has a right to a
fair trial and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
Here I would like to state that journalists investigating the story cannot
be held responsible for the admirals suicide. But it is time that we
searched for some sort of yardstick to guide us in terms of fair comment
and good judgement.
I was always sensitive as a child, and I think I am still sensitive today.
But I have built a wall around myself to protect me from sustained
character assassination.
Naturally, it still hurts at times, but I am pretty single- minded in my
determination not to let the dirty tricks of my opponents deter me from
fulfilling the public mandate I received.
My heart goes out to Boordas widow and his family, who lost him because of
an honest mistake.
I can only repeat the words of President Clinton, I wish the commander-in-
chief had told him that this is not worth killing yourself for.Copyright
1996 Dawn-Creators Syndicate, Inc.
960803
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Pakistans performance not yet upto the mark
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A. Majid Khan
The recently concluded juniors (Under-19) World squash team championship
which yielded only a bronze medal by virtue of Pakistans third position in
the 30-nation tournament in Cairo, actually reflects some progress.
Though Pakistan, the twice winners of the team trophy in 1979 in England
and 1982 in Malaysia could not succeed in winning back the title, its
performance in Cairo, however, was much better as compared to the previous
two championships when We finished ninth in the 1992 championship and fifth
in the 1994 event.
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Lords show impresses injured England
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Qamar Ahmed
LONDON: The wounds of an embarrassing defeat suffered by England at Lords
by 164 runs and the loss of face in the court of law two days later when
the jury with a majority of 10 to 2 decided in favour of the former captain
Imran Khan and threw the libel suit in the bin will obviously take some
time to heal.
Ever with the passage of time, the scars will remain for some time to come.
England had not expected a humiliation such as at Lords in the first Test
when Waqar Younis came into his own and devastated an already fragile
batting line-up or when little leg-spinner Mushtaq weaved his web around
them.
Both of them bowled with such authority that perhaps any batting side would
have struggled and would have needed more than skill and courage to cope
with them.
The batting of Saeed Anwar who scored 88 and 74 and that of Inzamam-ul-Haq
who achieved the distinction of being the fifth century maker at Lords for
Pakistan and register another score of over fifty in the second innings,
and that of Ijaz Ahmed coming back into form with 76 and young Shadab
Kabirs precocious talent while opening the innings in place of Aamir
Sohail in the second innings, were all the contributory factors in
Pakistans impressive victory.
Only hours earlier, the President of the MCC Sir Oliver Popplewell
described the Pakistan team as one of the best in the world and the great
ambassadors of their country. He praised the touring management with the
British Prime Minister Mr John Major present as one of the distinguished
guests.
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Mushtaq to take over cricket post after England tour
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Samiul Hasan
KARACHI, Aug 3: The Chief Executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Majid
Khan, said the management of the cricket team, presently touring England,
was informed before departure that their assignment was only till the
English schedule.
The outspoken Chief Executive further revealed that Mushtaq Mohammads
appointment as cricket manager was made by the Executive Council on his
personal recommendation.
I had told the tour management (Yawar Saeed and Nasimul Ghani) that they
will be released after the England tour. The two had agreed in principle,
Majid told a well-attended corps of sports scribes, adding: No assessment
of theirs (tour management) was required since the decision to replace them
had been taken before the team had actually left for England.
Mushtaq will take over the charge of the Pakistan cricket team after the
conclusion of the England tour. His contract will expire after the 1999
World Cup to be organised by England.
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Pakistan cricket system may collapse, fears Majid
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Sports Reporter
KARACHI, Aug 4: The Chief Executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB),
Majid Khan, has said that cricket in the country has reached a stage where
it can sustain no more.
It is my guess that if the system is not improved drastically or changed,
it may even collapse by the turn of the century, Majid observed.
Giving the background of the scenario, Majid said that the countrys club
cricket was in a very poor shape. In Karachi, there are over 400 clubs but
only 30 to 50 grounds. Mathematically, the 400th club will have to wait
probably for a week for its turn.
Secondly, in those 30 to 50 clubs, mostly are cemented tracks where the
technique is absolutely different. The batsmen suffer the most when they
come to turf wickets and even the most talented of batsmen fail to make any
impact.
Majid stated that the game has now become very expensive as a good cricket
bat costs Rs 1,200 while the ball costs Rs 300. Can a batsman afford to
buy such an expensive bat every month or can a club afford to buy a ball
costing Rs 300 ball every day in the background that clubs have little
resources to run their teams, he questioned?
He stated that the only solution to keep the club cricket alive was to make
the associations commercial so that money keeps flowing from top to bottom.
Not only the associations have to become commercial, the cricket board
itself needs to be financially viable.
Majid stated that another major crisis which Pakistan is facing is that the
captains lack proper education. How many cricketers know 52 laws of the
game. Even I dont know while Graham Halbish, Chief Executive of the
Australian Cricket Board (ACB), who has hardly played any cricket, has all
the laws on his finger-tips. It is precisely why all the cricket boards
take-off while we are far behind. We hardly make any impact at the ICC.
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Allan lamb shattered over libel case loss
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Athar Ali
LONDON, Aug 7: Allan Lamb has said that he was devastated and shattered at
losing to Imran Khan. The former England Test cricketer had jointly with
Ian Botham brought a libel action against Imran Khan accusing him of
calling them racists, lacking in breeding and education. Botham had
separately sued the former Pakistan captain for damages alleging that he
had accused him of ball-tampering.
Allan Lamb, extracts from whose autobiography are being serialised in the
Daily Mail, says that after fighting out the case in the court he now feels
that libel laws are like a lottery. You are in the hands of the jury more
than the counsel and judge.
He reminds that the verdict in the High Court was not unanimous and claims
that a couple of jurors were in tears. Despite losing, my only regret is
for what I put Lindsay (Mrs Lamb) through. Otherwise, I did what I have
always done gone through my reaction to a libel that called me racist,
says Lamb.
He discloses that right up to the start of the trial, there were efforts to
settle, particularly from businessman Jim Slater, a good friend of Imrans
father-in-law, Jimmy Goldsmith. Slater, Lamb adds, offered to meet most of
the costs already incurred if the parties agreed to call it quits and shake
hands.
Our line did not alter. If Imran withdrew and apologised for his remarks
then we were happy. He would not, so the pin was pulled. Imran refused to
apologies for something he claimed he never said.
Lamb denies that the action was brought to get some easy money. Racism was
the issue. I went to court on the greatest matter of principle in my life.
I still cant take it that Imran could spew out stuff like that and get
away with it by saying that he was misquoted when it came to references to
Ian Botham and me.
Dawn page