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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 09 May 1996 Issue : 02/19
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Bus bomb blast leaves six dead in Sheikhupura
Imran holds agencies responsible for blast
Talks could start after conditions met, says MQM
Kabul to pay for burning of embassy
Child labour issue being misused, PM tells Swedes
Benazir opposes harsh taxation
Nakai offers to give up royalty for consensus
Prolonged power outages compound miseries
Loadshedding from 10th, says Khar
Water supply to PECHS homes contaminated by sewage
Private TV channel to go on air from July 1
Three cygnets hatch out in zoo
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Export crisis and foreign exchange crunch
Govt decides to undo UBL deal with Saudi firm
Rs314.5m bid offered for BEL
Many power sector projects still uncertain
Cotton shortage may force closure of 100 textile units
Shaheen Air suspends domestic operations
SPI shows 0.14% increase
Govt to provide financial help to sick units
IMF asks govt to levy GST on all items
Stock exchanges to register all public firms
Sheikhupura blast disrupts big rally
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"... We can do so little" Ardeshir Cowasjee
Holidays galore Omar Kureishi
"And corrupt how?" Ayaz Amir
A liberal, forward-looking & modern state? Tahir Mirza
Reflections in the tax mirror Sultan Ahmed
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Inter-School sports fiesta in city from 14th
Wasim to skipper team till the end of next season
Ball-tampering row revived by UK tabloid Press
Need to fill gaps in our cricket
Manzoor to have two assistant coaches
Jinnah Foundation tennis
Quaid volleyball gets going today
Pakistan to participate in 5 events in Olympics
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960509
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Bus bomb blast leaves six dead in Sheikhupura
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Intikhab Hanif
LAHORE, May 8: Six people, including a child and a woman, were killed
and 51 others were injured, eight of them seriously, when a powerful
bomb exploded in a passenger bus in Sheikhupura.
Three people died on the spot, while the woman and the child died at the
nearby District Headquarters Hospital. Nine critically injured people
were rushed to the Mayo Hospital in Lahore where a 15-year-old
unidentified boy succumbed to his injuries. A police constable, Muhammad
Yousaf, who had suffered severe head injuries was later shifted to the
Lahore General Hospital.
Forty-three people were treated at the District Headquarters Hospital,
Sheikhupura. Among them were 10 women and two children.
Like the incident in Bhai Pheru on April 28, the bomb was placed under a
seat near the fuel tank of the bus. But while the fuel tank of the bus
in Bhai Pheru had caught fire following the blast, roasting alive most
of the passengers, the fuel tank of the bus in Sheikhupura remained in
tact, and many people managed to get out of the vehicle. Before the Bhai
Pheru explosion, a bomb had gone off in the Shaukat Khanum Memorial
Hospital on April 18, killing six. Thus, Wednesdays incident was the
third terrorist act in the Punjab in less than a month.
Senior police officials and district administration are linking the
Sheikhupura explosion to the Bhai Pheru blast due to the almost
identical placement of bombs.
Those who died were sitting on or near the seat under which the bomb was
placed. A woman passenger who sustained injuries said she had seen two
young men and a stoutly built young woman leaving a brief case under a
seat next to hers before disembarking at the Nabipura bus stop, about
two furlongs before the stop where the bomb exploded.
Strong contingents of police had cordoned off the area around the
Nabipura bus stop and were looking for the three suspects.
Bomb disposal squad personnel said the explosion was caused by a 2.50kg
to 3kg locally- made time device. The explosive material used for the
blast was wrapped in plastic.
The bus (LEJ 2755) was coming to Sheikhupura from Hafizabad. Its driver
and owner, Muhammad Hussain, and the conductor, Kalu, remained unhurt
but the latter went missing after the explosion and police were looking
for him.
The explosion took place when some passengers were disembarking at a
stop in front of a private hospital and near the District Headquarters
Hospital on Lahore Road at around 8 am. The bus had several
schoolchildren as passengers.
Some passengers were sitting on the roof of the 52- seater bus which was
packed to capacity. Eyewitnesses said they heard a bang but initially
could not understand what had happened. The blast was so powerful that
its sound was heard in a radius of three kilometres.
A cloud of smoke rose from the bus followed by a light fire and people
saw injured passengers rushing out of the damaged bus.
Kausar Mustafa, living close to the hospital, said he first thought a
bomb had gone off in the hospital. But he came out of his house and saw
a bus burning and injured people lying near it.
He said ambulances and doctors from the DHQ hospital reached the scene
first and shifted the dead and the injured to the hospital. The fire
brigade and police reached later. He said he saw some people lying dead
on a seat facing the door of the bus. Among them was a child.
The bus driver, Mohammad Hussain, said he had left Hafizabad for
Sheikhupura at 6am. During the journey he had stopped at almost all the
25 or so stops to pick up passengers, mainly workmen and students.
He said when he stopped the bus near the hospital, some passengers
alighted and the blast took place immediately afterwards. First he
thought one of the tyres had burst. But soon he realised what had
happened after hearing the cries of the injured passengers.
He said it was not possible to check the luggage of every passenger.
Normally police search luggage and passengers at Bagh Morr, 20km from
Sheikhupura, but it was not done on Wednesday.
The final destination of the bus was Adda Pir Bahar Shah, one- and-a-
half kilometres from the site of the explosion. It seemed that the bomb
was timed to explode on the way as most passengers were to disembark
outside the general bus stand, he said.
The driver said his conductor was a boy and could not have anything to
do with the explosion. He had run away probably out of fear. He said
when he reached the limits of Sheikhupura there were around 80
passengers including those sitting on the roof. Many of them were
students of local schools and colleges who had left the bus at the
college stop.
Rashidan Bibi, 40, of Sheikhupura, who was travelling with two of her
sisters-in-law, claimed she had spotted the two men and a woman leaving
the brief case in the bus.
She said the three were sitting on the seat next to her. One man was
wearing a light blue cotton shalwar kameez. The other man was wearing a
tea coloured shalwar-kameez suit. The woman was sturdy and young and the
men had moustaches, Rashidan Bibi said.
Rashidan, whose hearing was impaired by the bomb blast, said the three
had left the bus at Nabipura and she noticed a brief case under their
seat which was soon occupied by three more passengers. She said she did
not know how the bomb exploded.
This correspondent saw the bodies of the dead placed on the floor in a
small room of the hospital and were covered with ice. Dr Iftikhar of the
District Headquarters Hospital said there was no mortuary in the
hospital and the bodies were being kept in the room so that their
relatives could identify them. They would be shifted to the citys
morgue afterwards, he said.
A senior police officer claimed that the injured were promptly shifted
to hospitals.
Senior Minister Malik Mushtaq Awan, whose constituency lies in
Sheikhupura, was the first senior official to reach the scene. He was
followed by IG Punjab Mohammad Abbas Khan who refused to talk to
reporters.
Provincial Minister Rai Ejaz Ahmad, who also belongs to the area,
visited the hospital and distributed Rs 10,000 each among the injured
and Rs 30,000 among the heirs of the dead on behalf of the Punjab
government.
Talking to reporters he said the subversion was carried out by Indian
agents. They first struck in the home constituency (Bhai Pheru) of the
chief minister and now they had targeted a bus in the constituency of
the senior minister.
We will be able to check such subversive activities with an active and
alert police and intelligent agencies, the minister said.
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960506
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Imran holds agencies responsible for blast
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Bureau Report
LAHORE, May 5: Imran Khan, cricketer-turned social worker who is now
trying to enter politics, on Sunday held government agencies responsible
for the April 14 bomb blast at his cancer hospital and appealed to the
chief justice of Pakistan to investigate the matter.
At a news conference at the newly opened Scotch Corner office of his
Tehrik-i-Insaaf, he maintained that since the government itself was
involved in the blast it could not conduct an inquiry into the incident.
Imran Khan released to the Press copies of the letter he has sent to the
chief justice bringing to his notice the alleged violation of his
fundamental rights and appealing to him to look into the issue.
After the March 20 judgement on appointment of judges to superior
courts, the Supreme Court was the only institution which could be
expected to safeguard his rights, Imran Khan said.
This is the first time that he has directly blamed the government for
the blast in his hospital, although he had previously made insinuation
to this effect.
Imran alleged that intelligence agencies were tapping his telephones and
one agency had even told him the exact conversation he had with a
friend. The agencies, he added, kept him under surveillance when he was
in Islamabad.
He said these agencies were not meant to keep governments in power or to
keep track of people not liked by the rulers. He suggested that there
should be only one intelligence agency in the country.
In his words, when Ms Bhutto was on friendly terms with him during
martial law days, she was dead opposed to the intelligence agencies
chasing her all the time.
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960506
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Talks could start after conditions met, says MQM
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Omar R. Quraishi
KARACHI, May 5: The MQM on Thursday gave a cautious response to Prime
Minister Benazir Bhuttos remarks at a foreign correspondents briefing
in Islamabad, and said if certain steps were taken, talks between the
government and the MQM could resume.
Senator Ishtiaq Azhar said that there were contradictions within the
governments stance towards his party.
If these contradictions are reconciled and also if the government gives
an answer to a letter the MQM sent to Law Minister N.D. Khan last
December, then perhaps the stalled MQM-government talks could begin, he
said.
It would be even better, he said, if the government directly approached
Altaf Hussain in London.
Mr Azhar, who is also the convenor of the MQM co-ordination committee,
said contradictions existed between recent statements of the Prime
Minister and the Sindh chief minister, and that this showed the
governments own policy towards the MQM was confused.
At a briefing for foreign correspondents on Saturday Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto had said that contacts between the government and the MQM
had not broken down and that there had been a slow but tangible
progress.
The Sindh chief minister, Mr Azhar said, had been talking of contrary
things.
They have registered cases against me and Sheikh Liaquat Hussain. The
prime minister says something and he [the chief minister] says
something. These contradictions seem to point to a confused stand the
government has towards the MQM, he said.
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960508
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Kabul to pay for burning of embassy
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, May 7: In a major breakthrough in diplomatic ties between
Pakistan and Afghanistan on Tuesday, Islamabads stand that Kabul
apologise and pay compensation for the burning of its mission was
vindicated when a visiting six-member Afghan delegation agreed in
principle to accept Pakistans demands.
They have agreed to pay us the compensation along with reconstruction
of our mission and provision of temporary accommodation in Kabul for our
staff, a senior foreign office official told Dawn.
He said it was the first time Kabul made an official acknowledgement and
accepted Pakistans conditions for resumption of full-fledged diplomatic
relations between the two countries since the attack on embassy last
September.
Foreign Minister Sardar Assef Ahmed Ali led the Pakistani side the
Afghan side was led by the transport minister, Abdul Ghafar Saim.
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960509
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Child labour issue being misused, PM tells Swedes
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Alfred de Tavares
STOCKHOLM, MAY 8: Pakistan today won the Swedish governments
appreciation over its contention that the issue of child labour has been
blown out of proportion and was being misused to damage its export
trade.
During their first round of bilateral talks here on Wednesday, Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto and her Swedish counterpart, Mr Goran Persson,
devoted major part of their half an hour discussion to the problem of
child labour in Pakistan and how it can be curtailed, with a view
towards its eventual eradication.
Having arrived in Stockholm late Tuesday evening, Ms Bhutto devoted most
of Wednesday in contacts with the Swedish parliament and the influential
parliamentary foreign relations committee followed by a lunch with King
Karl and Queen Silvia of Sweden at the Royal Court and discussions with
Goran Persson and Minister of Trade Bjorn von Sydow.
Briefing newsmen about the talks, Foreign Secretary Najmuddin Sheikh
said that the Swedish government understood well that child labour
problem in Pakistan was not so acute and that it was being misused for
protectionist measures.
Prime Minister Bhutto said that it was unfair to damage Pakistans
trade, particularly its carpet industry on the pretext of child labour.
She added that her government is trying utmost to increase the roll in
schools by opening more and more schools, adding she would welcome any
assistance from any quarter to further this cause.
Ms. Bhutto said that ILO has clarified that it has not prepared any
report regarding child labour and this is mere a propaganda.
Prime Minister Bhutto also informed Mr. Persson of Indian missile threat
in the region besides its threat of another nuclear explosion. India is
posing danger not only to Pakistan but it is also building a blue water
navy.
The two leaders agreed to further economic co-operation. Sweden will
help Pakistan in the fields of fisheries and human resource development.
Mr. Persson also promised to help Pakistan in the rehabilitation of poor
children and in women education.
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960503
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Benazir opposes harsh taxation
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Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, May 2: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has directed the authors
of the 1996-97 budget to avoid proposing harsh taxation measures, and
offer some relief package for the salaried classes.
Informed sources told Dawn that the budget exercises were on the last
stages of their finalisation, with Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto asking
the planners to propose minimum taxes to help escape political
backlash by the opposition parties.
She said that although inflation has been restricted to single digit (9
per cent), people were generally facing the problem of price hike. The
Prime Minister said that the new budget should be carved in such a
manner that it has a minimum affect on poor and working classes and that
their legitimate grievances must be removed.
Sources said she particularly called for satisfying the salaried classes
with a view to providing them attractive income tax package. In this
regard, Ms Bhutto directed the concerned authorities to take into
account the enhancing income tax ceiling from the present Rs 50,000 to
Rs 75,000.
Chairman Central Board of Revenue (CBR) Alvi Abdul Rahim has been
privately pleading for salaried classes and conceded that they were the
worst sufferers. He, However said, that the government will continue to
face difficulties while offering meaningful relief to the salaried
classes unless the business community as a whole pays its legitimate
share of taxes.
Sources said that personally Mr Alvi has favoured in various meetings to
substantially increase the income tax ceiling for the salaried people.
And now the Prime Minister too is interested to do some generous favour
to the salaried classes, said an official hoping that the new budget
would have minimum burden on the common man due to the personal interest
being taken by the Prime Minister.
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960506
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Nakai offers to give up royalty for consensus
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Bureau Report
LAHORE, May 5: The Punjab would not charge any royalty on power
generated from the Kalabagh dam if the other provinces agreed to the
construction of the 3,600 megawatt project, Chief Minister Sardar Arif
Nakai declared here on Sunday night.
Addressing a ceremony and then talking to reporters at the Punjab Civil
Services Academy, he said the amount of royalty of such a gigantic
project would run into billions of rupees but the Punjab would be
prepared to surrender it provided other provinces withdrew their
objections against its construction.
Holding the political leaders responsible for delay in the completion of
the dual-purpose dam, the chief minister said they should adopt a
positive attitude on such an important national project.
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960508
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Prolonged power outages compound miseries
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Our Reporter
KARACHI, May 7: Prolonged, unannounced and successive power outages in
many parts of the city in the blazing summer heat on Tuesday affected
domestic consumers and business houses alike.
Work in the countrys premier business district on I.I. Chundrigar Road
and Saddar was badly affected owing to prolonged and successive power
outages which also affected the computerised system of the Karachi Stock
Exchange.
Standby generators at the KSE and other multinationals failed to cope
with the situation.
A KESC spokesman said the problem was an offshoot of the two successive
breakdowns on April 28 after a fire had neutralised the Landhi grid
station and the two transformers of the Pipri West grid station had also
succumbed to the pressure.
We are compelled to resort to loadshedding because the demand is more
than the power generation and at the moment the back up support from
WAPDA is also difficult owing to its own difficulties, said KESC
chairman Syed Tanzeem Hussain Naqvi.
Business in big departmental stores was also affected and even standby
generators could not save their expensive perishable inventories.
Complainants demanded that the KESC must fix the time of loadshedding
for each area and must stick to that. They all abhorred the attitude of
the KESC complaint staff and the billing department.
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960503
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Loadshedding from 10th, says Khar
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Bureau Report
LAHORE, May 2: Fifteen-minute loadshedding is to be enforced daily at
every feeder all over the country from May 10 to June 10 to meet an
expected power shortfall of 506mw during the current summer season, the
Water and Power Development Authority announced here on Thursday..
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting of senior WAPDA officials
in the morning. The meeting was presided over by Federal Water and Power
Minister Ghulam Mustafa Khar who later announced the decision at a Press
conference.
The minister claimed that the duration of loadshedding was far less this
summer as compared to last year, when WAPDA had to overcome a shortfall
of 700mw every month.
Compared to last year, Mr Khar said, more water was stored in the
Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma reservoirs.
Mr Khar claimed that WAPDA had set up a cell and appointed a director to
carry out research to utilise solar energy.
In reply to a question, he said the government was considering to raise
power tariffs, but we will try to keep them at the minimum possible
level.
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960507
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Water supply to PECHS homes contaminated by sewage
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 6: Drinking water supplies to 12 houses, with 20 families,
in PECHS have ended up getting mixed with raw sewage four times in the
last one year, despite the fact that all of them have been paying
betterment and water taxes, residents say.
Sewage lines have been contaminating the water lines leading to houses
in row numbers 56 and 57 and from the letters A, B, C, D, E, and F, in
PECHS Block 2, the residents said.
The last time we started getting water mixed with raw sewage through
our taps was in March. It lasted for a week. We then went to the KWSB
office in Sindhi Muslim Housing Society and they sent some people the
next day. The gutter had overflowed in the street so they cleared it,
dug up some area near the water line, found a breach and plugged it
using rubber and cement, a resident told this reporter.
The problem is, they said, is that this was the fourth time within one
year that this had happened.
One of them said that he had been a second-generation resident on this
street and was quite sure that that the water and sewage pipe-lines were
laid about 35 years ago, and laid quite close to each other, making
chances of contamination and consequently disease quite high.
Most of the residents here are professionals, business people or
teachers. We all pay our taxes, and these include the betterment tax and
the water tax. I pay around Rs 3000 as water tax every year, but what do
I get? sewage through my taps, a resident said.
Indeed, as one could imagine there were some horror stories.
One female resident told Dawn that one of her children was taking a
shower when a black and very smelly liquid started flowing down the
shower nozzle.
Another resident said that although it was too early to tell
but she was experienced a slight rash on her hand and that it had
started since the last week-long contamination episode in March.
The residents said that towards the end of March officials from the Food
department came and took some samples of the contaminated water.
They said they were taking these samples to analyse them but that was
almost six weeks ago. We have yet to hear of any results, that is, if
there are any.
What usually happens is whenever a gutter overflows we start getting
sewage through our taps. We then either have to get water from other
neighbours or go to our relatives houses to even eat, because we cant
cook at home with that water, a female resident said.
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960506
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Private TV channel to go on air from July 1
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M. Ziauddin
ISLAMABAD, May 5: The government has granted permission to a private
firm jointly owned by Shaheen Foundation and Pay TV to operate an
independent television channel, tentatively scheduled to go on air from
July 1.
The Shaheen Foundation, a PAF welfare organisation operating on the
lines of Fauji Foundation, has been allowed a five per cent stake in the
firm to be called Shaheen Pay TV in return for using its good offices to
obtain the governments permission.
Informed sources said the government granted the licence to Shaheen Pay
TV on receipt of a written request in this regard from the chief of the
air staff.
Eighteen applications with similar requests were reportedly filed away
as pending. Those whose applications were not entertained included three
leading newspaper groups. They have been denied the permission
reportedly on the ground that it would give rise to monopolies in the
information sector.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that a leasing agreement has been signed between
AsiaSat and Pay TV for one transponder which is likely to be installed
in Turkey for onward transmission of programmes to Europe.
The Shaheen Pay TV will have an eight member board of directors with two
directors each from the Pay TV and Shaheen Foundation and four
foreigners. Full particulars of the four foreign directors were not
immediately available.
The information ministry is said to have recommended that the management
of Shaheen Pay TV, including that of its finances, be wholly and solely
the responsibility of the four Pakistani directors on the board. It has
also advised the government not to give any financial assistance to
Shaheen Pay TV and in the interest of the state-run PTV, bind the
private firm to carry specified PTV signals and also make it to abide by
the guidelines given by the government from time to time about news,
current affairs and the censor code.
The Shaheen Pay TV is expected to have a one-year exclusive,
monopolistic run in the market before the gates are thrown open for
competition.
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960506
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Three cygnets hatch out in zoo
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Dr A. A. Quraishy
KARACHI, May 5: Three black swan cygnets, still carrying the juvenile
fluff in places, are growing well in the Karachi zoo.
A black swan pair, overtaken by the biological urge this spring, hatched
them out and worked hard to make a smug leafy nest, twig by twig, for
weeks.
As the reproductive hormones intensified in the mother, she placed some
downy feathers from her own body in the centre of the twiggy home for
the pale green eggs that would go infertile without this insulation on
which they will rest for 28 more days.
The mother soon after laying felt a rush of blood in front of her chest
muscles which prompted her to cuddle the eggs for transferring the right
warmth from her body to trigger the complex process of the formation of
the cygnets.
While the papa stood guard round-the-clock, the mama kept turning the
eggs thrice every 24 hours, for all sides to receive even heat emerging
from the mamas breast muscles.
The graceful black swans with a shiny jet-black plumage, curved in
several places, as if, fresh from a make-up room, are considered the
most beautiful in the swan clan. None equals the grace of the body and
the delicate movements made by the curvaceous necks with which they
preen for hours and go to sleep by hiding it under one of the wings and
standing on one foot or floating on the surface of the water, with a
foot on the back for rest.
A dab of pink on the tip of the grey-black beak resembles a lipstick
that fascinates man with the message all of us feel and know as sweet.
There are six black swans, all from Tasmania, south-eastern tip of
Australia, in the zoo. Although so far from their original habitat, all
have accepted the climate of Karachi as homogeneous and like the food
and care they receive here.
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960504
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Export crisis and foreign exchange crunch
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Sultan Ahmed
PAKISTANS external trade is facing a grave crisis in a period of acute
foreign exchange crunch with exports lagging behind the target and
imports leaping far above resulting in possibly the largest trade
deficit exceeding $3 billion.
Commerce Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar says exports may rise close to
the target of $9.2 billion, but imports may exceed $12 billion far
above the targeted imports of $10.92 billion for the current year. As a
result, the trade deficit will be far above the target of $2 billion set
for the current year, hopefully after last years deficit of $2.227
billion.
If the deficit exceeds $3 billion that will not be a totally new
happening. The deficit in 1992-93 was $3.11 billion, while the other
years preceding and following that were better though in deficit. But
what makes the difference is the heavier foreign exchange commitment of
the country, with far lower home remittances expected than the $1,866
million received last year which marked a 25 per cent rise over the
preceding year.
Even without the rapid increase in the trade deficit the foreign
exchange reserve was targeted to fall to $1,902 million by the end of
this financial year from $2,737 m in July and the current balance of
payments was expected to rise to 4.1 per cent of the GDP from 3.5 per
cent last year, but now it seems that while the foreign exchange reserve
may be boosted by heavy short term borrowing, exceeding a billion
dollars, the balance of payments deficit may rise close to the 6.4 per
cent of the GDP as it did in 1992-93.
This year, however, not only have the home remittances been low but also
the portfolio investment because of the crisis in the stock market which
has resulted in outflow of the earlier investments made. And that will
increase the balance of payments deficit.
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960507
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Govt decides to undo UBL deal with Saudi firm
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Faraz Hashmi
ISLAMABAD, May 6: The government has decided to cancel the deal with
Saudi Basharahil for the sale of 26 per cent management stakes in United
Bank Limited (UBL), an official source told Dawn.
The decision has been taken by the Chairman Privatisation Commission,
Syed Naveed Qamar, with the prior consent of the Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto the source said.
A formal announcement in this regard, with the invitation of fresh bids,
is likely to be made sometime next week, the source added.
Meanwhile the State Bank of Pakistan will return the amount of over Rs.
585 million deposited by the Saudi firm for the 26 per cent management
stakes in UBL.
It has become inevitable since the Saudi company had refused to fulfil
the commitment of injecting 300 million dollars in the bank for
improving its financial position. Moreover the payment had been in local
currency through a businessman having dubious record, the source said.
The Bank of England had also raised objections on the sale of UBL to an
little known Saudi group having no experience in the banking sector and
had asked the government of Pakistan to provide security.
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960509
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Rs314.5m bid offered for BEL
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, May 8: LTV Group Consortium won 26 per cent management stake
in the Banker Equity Limited (BEL) at a price of Rs. 314.5 million in
the open bidding held here at the Privatisation Commission on Wednesday.
The offer of Rs. 18.50 per share given by the Group is still subject to
approval by the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation which is likely to
meet next week.
Though the bidding was closed at Rs. 15.25 yet the Group reviewed its
highest bid and offered a price of Rs. 18.50 which is slightly higher
than the prevailing price of BEL shares at the Stock Market.
Earlier two LTV Group Consortium and Crescent Investment Bank
Consortium out of the four prequalified bidders turned up at the
Commission for final bidding.
The bidding took off from the lowest price of Rs. 1 and stopped at the
offer of Rs. 15.25 given by the LTV Group Consortium which was only 0.25
paisa higher than the final bid of Rs.15 of Crescent Investment Bank
Consortium.
Rauf Qureshi of LTV Group Consortium, however, indicated to the
Commission that they were ready to review upwardly their highest bid if
the price of Rs. 15.25 was not acceptable.
Later a spokesman of the Commission disclosed that the LTV Group has
given an offer of Rs. 18.50 which was accepted.
According to the agreement after the management take over, all employees
of BEL will be immediately awarded 40 per cent increase in the basic pay
along with related allowances effective from January 1, 1996 and this
increase will be subsequently adjusted at the time of the announcement
of the Pay Commission, he added.
BEL has total assets of Rs. 14.87 billion ($425 million) deposits of Rs.
5.17 billion ($148 million) and a network of 18 branches across the
country.
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960504
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Many power sector projects still uncertain
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Farrukh Saleem
THE principal policy thrust of the current PPP-government has been the
expansion of our vastly underdeveloped power generation [and
distribution] sector by way of attracting massive foreign investment. It
has been estimated that country-wide scheduled and unscheduled load-
shedding routinely causes an annual GDP loss of around Rs 30 billion.
With the inauguration of the new Energy Policy, a couple of years ago,
mega-investors from the US, Hong Kong, Korea and the UK have
collectively singed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) valued at some $20
billion.
The new energy package, according to PPIB (Private Power and
Infrastructure Board) sources, had received a total of 116 applications
from private sector sponsors that collectively represented a potential
generation capacity of more than 26,000 MW requiring & financial outlay
of around $25 billion. Around 65 per cent of all applicants were issued
Letters of Intent (LOIs), but further screening and a requirement of a
performance guarantee of Rs 10,000 per MW left less 3 dozen applicants
who were eventually granted Letters of Support (LOSs). Applicants with
LOSs in place still represents a generation capacity of more than 7,000
MW requiring an accumulated financing of a closed $7 billion.
Of the 34 sponsors who have been issued LOSs only nine, or 25 per cent
have been able to provide documentation showing that all of the debt and
equity has been committed. These nine were, therefore, allowed to
announce a technical financial close indicating that all of the required
debt and equity may be in place. Almost all of the debt commitments
contain scores of conditions that the sponsors must first meet prior to
any actual release of financing. Informed sources estimate that no more
than four or five of the original 116 applicants (3 per cent to 4 per
cent of the total) shall be able to meet all the condition precedents
enabling them to actually break ground and eventually begin generating
electricity between now and the last day of December, 1977 (which, by
the way, is the cut-off deadline to qualify for the premium of 0.025
cents/kwh).
In an attempt to analytically assess the success of the Energy Policy
all of the prospective power proposals were classified into four
categories: (i) projects that are quite certain; (ii) projects that are
almost certain; (iii) projects that are doubtful; and (iv) projects that
have either been suspended or terminated by the sponsors or the PPIB.
Certain category Power undertakings that fall in the certain category
include Kohinoor Energy, Limited, AES, Kabirwalla and Southern Electric.
Collectively, these projects shall have a generating capacity of less
than 800 MW and a foreign investment component of around &700 million to
$800 million spread over the following two years. At least one of the
four projects in this category has been facing problems with their
selected contractor and the foreign partner of another project has
recently run into some sort of legal complications in his home country.
Kabirwalla might not, however, be able to meet the December 97 deadline
to qualify for a premium under the bulk Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
The combined generating capacity of these projects may represent a
paltry 11 per cent of the applicants that were originally issued LOSs by
the PPIB.
The almost certain category includes those power proposals that have
either already achieved a financial close or have a fairly reasonable
chance of actually breaking ground in the recent future. This category
may eventually include another one of the Fauji Foundations project,
Rouche, Gul Ahmed Energy, Habibullah Energy, Uch and Japan Power.
Habibullah Energy is the only project that has been allocated pipeline
quality gas and is also backed by the huge Houston-based Coastal
Corporation (Revenue: $10 billion). The projects financing is also
based upon Coastals balance sheet. Gul Ahmed Energy still seems to be a
few million dollars short of its requirement and Uch remains a highly
controversial project. This category currently stands at around 1,600
MW. Some experts may, however, argue that Uch and Japan Power should
really be placed in the doubtful category rather than the almost certain
one.
A depressing 39 per cent of all power projects [with LOSs in place]
surely continue to fall in the doubtful category. The 800 MW, barrage-
based Wak Power actually leads the pack in this category. Others include
Liberty, Power Generation System Saba, Tractable, Multan Power, Tri-Star
and Tapal. Collectively, this category represent more than 2.500 MW.
Infrastructure Consulting Group (ICG) Liberty Power is being sponsored
by an ex-World Bank employee who was forced to resign his post and is,
therefore, not considered to be a credible sponsor. Liberty is being
backed by a huge Malaysian utility company and also been allocated low-
BTU gas. The sponsors might not be able to finance the ambitious 450 MW
plant and the gas allocation in its current form may eventually pose
some problems. Tractable has the House of Habib behind it and they have
now reportedly recruited influential help from Islamabad as well. Power
Generation System (Bilal Gilani) and Wak Power (Senator Gulzar) are both
politically based projects and financiers do not feel all that
comfortable with their long-term future. The two prospective projects
whose performance deposit has actually been forfeited are Javed
Saifullahs Security Electric Power and Nooruddin Feerastas Rupali
Power. Enron Development with its huge 760 MW may finally be out of the
game and the suspended category may by now contain more than 1,500 MW.
Expansion of a countrys infrastructure is a highly capital intensive
undertaking. Pakistans current debt rating of BB- is indeed a notch
below investment grade and that actually puts it in the junk bond
category. Raising of debt financing, therefore, continues to be the
largest of hurdles. Most sponsors have been exploring conventional
sources of financing and the government hasnt encouraged the
establishment of non-conventional sources, the likes Infrastructural
Mutual Funds. The current demand-supply gap stands at around 2,000 MW to
2,500 MW and the future growth in demand has been projected at around 8
per cent annum at least till the year 2000. While the Energy Policy
itself was genuinely innovative, it was perhaps too ambitious.
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960505
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Cotton shortage may force closure of 100 textile units
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Parvaiz Ishfaq Rana
KARACHI, May 4: The Chairman, APTMA Sindh-Balochistan, Mr Inamur Rehman
apprehended on Saturday that about 100 textile units or around 25 per
cent of the entire installed capacity of 10 million spindles will come
to standstill by the end of June, if arrangements to meet the shortfall
of around 0.1 million bales are not made.
A large number of rotors have already closed down and by the end of
June, out of 450 textile mills around 100 units will either have to
reduce their shifts or go for lay-offs, but in majority of cases, he
said, the industry will have to pull down their shutters for want of raw
cotton.
If no proper arrangements are made to ensure raw cotton supply beyond
this period, then around 25 per cent of the installed capacity of
spinning industry will remain closed till the commencement of the new
cotton season beginning Sept/Oct, he lamented.
He further disclosed that similarly, the monthly yarn production will
also fall from 110 million kilograms to around 80 million and would
further aggravate the balance of trade as textiles constitutes around 65
per cent of countrys total exports.
The Chairman, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, Sindh/ Balochistan
Zone told Dawn that the government was not serious in resolving the
problems faced by the countrys largest industrial sector. He said that
the government has promised to give even level of field to all the
players in the cotton economy and for this purpose it had allowed free
import and export of raw cotton for a period of three years.
However, late last year the government suddenly imposed 5 per cent
regulatory duty on raw cotton imports which indirectly is providing
protection to the grower, but has made the end products of textile
industry uncompetitive in the world market, he added.
Mr Inam-ur-Rehman further said in India raw cotton is being made
available currently at Rs 1500 per maund to the textile industry but in
Pakistan we have to buy cotton in the range of Rs 2300 to Rs 2400 per
maund.
The chairman APTMA Sindh/Balochistan Zone further said, when we talk of
even level of field, wherein the textile industry is being asked to get
raw cotton at international prices then the government should also
ensure that the industry gets other inputs like power and raw material,
as well, as taxes and duties at the same rate.
Even after harvesting a good crop of 10 million bales, he said, the
local textile industry is still facing the shortage of raw cotton, due
to higher export commitments of around 2.320 million bales, out of which
physical shipment of around 1.8 million have been already made, he
maintained.
He said the total domestic consumption stands to around 9 million bales
but the industry, so far, could not buy more than 8 million bales owing
to late steep rise in the prices of cotton.
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960508
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Shaheen Air suspends domestic operations
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 7: Shaheen Air International has suspended its domestic
operations for the next two weeks to streamline and restructure the
carrier.
Owned by the Shaheen Foundation of the PAF, the airlines announced that
the suspension was necessary to complete and finalise the purchase deal
of two Boeing-737 from the Thai Airways. Both the aircraft were in its
use when the domestic operations were suspended.
The step has been taken to ensure that the travelling public are not
made to travel on an aircraft whose ownership may be in the process of
being transferred from one party to another, an airlines spokeswoman
told newsmen in Karachi on Monday.
She said: Arrangements have also been made to transfer Shaheen
passengers to other domestic carriers, and the airlines staff will be
available at all locations and airports to assists Shaheen passengers.
But the aviation sources said the suspension was aimed at providing some
breathing space to the airlines incurring massive losses on its domestic
operations.
The airlines source said the company had already laid off a substantial
number of staff and issued letters to the remaining staff to go on
leave-without-pay for a month.
At the moment, only one private airlines Aero Asia is operating in
the country.
Operations of Bhoja airlines are also suspended for the last couple of
days as two aircraft have been sent back for engine replacement. The
airline is hoping to get a substitute aircraft soon.
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960508
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SPI shows 0.14% increase
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Our Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, May 7: A further increase of 0.14 per cent in the Sensitive
Price Indicator (SPI) has been reported by the Federal Bureau of
Statistics for the week ended May 2, as compared to the preceding week.
According to a FBS Press note, an increase of 9.13% was seen in SPI over
the corresponding week of last year (on May 2, 1996, over April 30,
1995) as against 15.36% in the previous period (on April 30, 1995, over
May 5, 1994).
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960507
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Govt to provide financial help to sick units
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, May 6: The government has decided to provide all possible
financial support to the sick industrial units of the private sector.
Former President of the Karachi Stock Exchange, Bashir Jan told newsmen
that he had attended a meeting of the businessmen with Asif Zardari here
on Monday during which a decision was taken to revive the sick
industrial units of the private sector.
Sources said that the businessmen including Tariq Saigol, President
Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Anwar Tata, Chairman All Pakistan
Textiles Mills Association complained that bureaucracy was creating
hurdles in implementing various decisions to revive sick industrial
units of the country.
Businessmen were also assured that the government would allocate
considerable funds in the next financial year to help revive sick
industrial units.
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960508
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IMF asks govt to levy GST on all items
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Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, May 7: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked the
government to withdraw all the prevailing 181 exemptions and direct the
CBR to widely impose General Sales Tax (GST) on almost every item.
Informed sources told Dawn that the IMF mission led by Mr. Antonio,
currently visiting Pakistan, has called for removing across the board
all exemptions for effectively implementing fiscal measures agreed
earlier between the two sides.
It also discussed with the authorities of the Ministry of Finance and
the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) to tax agricultural incomes in the
1996-97 budget, and direct the provincial governments in this regard.
They told Dawn that the government would have to remove exemptions and
widen the present narrow tax base. Those people who can pay and are not
paying their taxes should be brought in the countrys tax net, he said.
They were confident that the government would extend the GST very
vigorously in the next budget to improve the economy. We have been told
that GST will be imposed basically on manufacturing stages which could
later be extended on retail level, he stated.
Asked whether the IMF had linked its future assistance with the issue,
specially the release of third tranche of 600 million dollars standby
loan, he said the visiting Fund mission was still to conclude its talks
to determine the issue. We have to see whether the government has met
the criteria given for end-March, he said adding that it all depended
on when the third tranche of 68.5 million dollars will be released.
Pakistan has earlier received two instalments of 200 million dollars and
68.5 million dollars. Now each tranche will be of 68.5 million
dollars, he added.
Sources said that the IMF had asked the government to remove exemptions
from trusts, flood relief, former BCCI foundation, hospitals and charity
organisations, benevolent grants, special allowances, conveyance
allowances, pensions, income on dividends, income of universities,
chambers of commerce and various memorial funds.
We have been asked to remove maximum exemptions in the next budget. IMF
has told us that anybody who is earning something should not go
untaxed, an official of the CBR said.
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960507
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Stock exchanges to register all public firms
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, May 6: The government has decided to put all public sector
enterprises on stock exchanges.
The decision was taken at a meeting between the presidents of the three
stock exchanges and top government officials here on Monday.
The meeting was attended by Asif Ali Zardari, MNA, the PMs advisor on
finance V.A. Jafarey, the advisor on energy Shahid Hasan Khan, the
Chairman of the Privatisation Commission Syed Naveed Qamar, the Chairman
of CBR Alvi Abdur Rahim, Member Income Tax Iqbal Farid, and Additional
Secretary at the PMs Secretariat Dr Waqar Masood.
Insiders said that Mr Zardari told the meeting he was convinced that the
demands of the stock exchanges were genuine and persuaded the CBR
officials to immediately concede something to satisfy the bourses and
the business community at large. And the CBR presently issued a
clarification that the said business leaders would help restore public
confidence in the stock market.
The presidents of all the three stock exchanges later held a Press
conference with Bashir Jan, former president of the KSE and appreciated
their talks with the government in presence of Mr. Zardari and said the
PPP government was going out of the way to support the business
community with a view to promote trade and investment.
The president of the Karachi Stock Exchange, Arif Habib, said the
decision to enlist public sector corporations on the stock market would
have a substantial effect on the economy. At present the stock market
is worth 10 billion dollars which would be doubled with the enlistment
of public sector enterprises.
The figure would go up to 30 billion dollars, he added. One of the
major things that happened today is that we have got the assurance that
incentives related to security investment will not be withdrawn in the
next budget, he said.
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960509
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Sheikhupura blast disrupts big rally
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Commerce Reporter
KARACHI, May 8: Stocks maintained their winning streak but the big rally
was intercepted by the Sheikhupura bomb blast, which killed several
persons.
However, the KSE 100-share index showed a good fresh gain of 35.76
points at 1,761.04 as compared to 1,725.28 a day earlier, reflecting the
strength of base shares.
A 36 points increase in the index, showing a rise of Rs 6.3 billion in
the market capitalisation has pushed the total to Rs 379 billion.
The steady surge in the market capitalisation over the last five months
from the low of Rs 308 billion to the current figure showed a formidable
recovery and in a way reflected markets urge to behave properly but
within the frame work of positive background news.
In the boom conditions of early 1994 when the index has soared to 2,662
points, the market capitalisation has touched the all-time peak level of
Rs 442 billion.
The figure is steadily edging not to regain its previous best level but
also to improve it as the Islamabad package has altogether changed the
share business outlook, analysts said.
News that Bankers Equity was sold to LTV Modaraba at Rs 18.50 per shares
by the Privatisation Commission did not evoke much interest in the
rings, although some of the leading investors sold in a bit haste. It
accounted for 0.248m shares, lower by 75 paisa.
An interim dividend at the rate of 20 per cent by Rafhan Maize was
considered positive but omissions by Nagina Cotton and Suraj Cotton were
disappointing.
Big gainers were led by Shell Pakistan, which maintained its sustained
upward drive on strong support at the lower levels, rising by another Rs
8.
It was followed by 4th ICP on good interim dividend rising by Rs 35 and
so did 8th and 9th ICP on identical reasons, closing with gains ranging
from Rs 3 to 4.
Other notable gainers were led by EFU, Dewan Salman, Engro Chemicals and
Attock Refinery, which posted gains ranging from Rs 3 to 4.
Barring Dawood Hercules, which suffered a decline of Rs 3 on renewed
selling, losses were generally fractional and reflected lacked of
support rather large selling.
ICP SEMF, PIC, Adamjee Insurance, Burshane Pakistan, Philips, Telecard
and Sitara Chemicals were among the other losers falling by one rupee to
Rs 1.50.
Lucky Cement topped the list of most actives, up Rs 1.25 on 4.810m
shares followed by PTC Vouchers, higher Rs 2.10 on 2.750m shares, Hub-
Power, firm Rs 1.60 on 1.110m shares, D.G.Khan(r), steady 40 paisa on
0.530 m shares, ICI Pakistan, unchanged on 0.312m shares, Dhan Fibre,
firm 30 paisa on 0.507m shares, and Dewan Salman, higher Rs 3.50 on
0.290m shares. There were several other notable deals also.
Trading volume rose modest to 17.773m shares from the overnight 12.156m
shares thanks to active buying in Lucky Cement.
Both PTC and Hub-Power were again traded on spot basis having negative
impact on the total volume.
There were 304 actives, out of which 102 shares, while 135, fell with 67
holding on to he last levels.
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960503
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... We can do so little
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ardeshir Cowasjee
OCTOGENARIAN Nusrat Ashraf, for many years, lived peacefully in her home
on Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman Road, with her man-servant, Wazeer, and her
menagerie of cats, birds, ducks, goats.
At 1730 hours on April 15, 1996, a gang of ruffians, male and female,
allegedly led by Nuzhat Fatima, Yousuf Chandio and Menhal Khan, broke
into her house, assaulted her, dragged her from her bed and out of her
house, manhandled her servant, bundled them both into a car and drove
them to the Sabzi Mandi area where they were locked in a dingy room in a
ground-floor flat.
Immediately after the abduction, a demolition team arrived on the scene
and proceeded to ruthlessly rob, ransack and raze the humble home.
Nusrat Ashraf was born in the house of her father, Sardar Mohammed
Ashraf, a former administrator of Poonch, Kashmir. The family moved to
Karachi after partition and scholarly Nusrat, fluent in Persian, read
history under the tutelage of Dr Mahmood Hussain, Vice-Chancellor and
Professor of Karachi University, completing her M.A. in 1952. In 1953,
she took up a teaching career and taught Persian, and at times history
and English, at the Frere Road Government College for Women.
Nine years later, the august and honest body of the Karachi Development
Authority by their letter 158/6373 dated 21/9/62 was pleased to allot
D Category Plot No. 4, Block No. 8 of Scheme No. 5, admeasuring 970
square yards, to Nusrats brother Sardar Abdul Latif Khan. Payments were
duly made, Latif Khan took possession of his plot, built upon it a small
house, and moved into it with his sister. Brother Latif died some time
in the late 1970s, and Nusrat, his heir and successor, stayed on in the
house. Soon after, having completed 25 years of college teaching, she
retired and started private tuition at home.
Nusrat had a mali, Mistri Javaid Alam, to whom she allowed the use of
part of her compound as a nursery. By the late 1980s, as property prices
rose steeply and neighbouring residential properties were converted
(some legally, many illegally) into commercial properties, the land
mafia were eyeing Nusrats plot and devising ways and means of grabbing
it. They did manage in the early 1990s to inveigle the mali into their
net.
Details of various moves to evict her made by the land mafia are hazy,
as all Nusrats papers, her collection of rare books and all her
belongings were robbed or destroyed with her house, and following the
assault and abduction her memory has been badly affected. What is
available on record are the print-outs of three mutation orders
concerning Plot No. D-4, Block 8, Scheme 5 made by the Directorate of
Land Management of the KDA.
Order 337 of 14/9/95: Advises transferee Nusrat Ashraf F/H
(father/husband) Sardar Mohammed Ashraf Khan that By this order the
competent authority has been pleased to transfer/mutate the
occupancy/leasehold rights of the above noted plot in your name by way
of Mutation by Inheritance on the same terms and conditions on which
the plot was originally allotted to Sardar Abdul Latif Khan. The
Allottee/Last Transferee/Mutatee Sardar Abdul Latif Khan.
Order 338 of 14/9/95: Advises transferee Mistri Javaid Alam (mali) F/H
Veer Uddin at House No. 4, Block 8, Kekashan, Clifton, that the
competent authority has been pleased to transfer/mutate the
occupancy/leasehold rights of the above noted plot in your name by way
of Mutation by Registered Sale Deed on the same terms and conditions on
which the plot was originally allotted to Sardar Abdul Latif Khan. On
the print-out can be seen an apparently latertyped contradictory
statement signifying that the plot is mutated through Nazir of Civil
Courts of District South, Karachi ... as per decisions and orders of the
Honourable Court of IV-Senior Civil Judge at Karachi South in Suit No.
858/1994. The Allottee/Last Transferee/Mutatee Nusrat Ashraf Alias
Bibi.
Order 339 of 14/9/1995: Advises transferee Haji Menhal Khan F/H Haji
Karam Khan Jatoi of 298 Tekri Colony, Bath Island, Clifton, Karachi,
that the competent authority has been pleased to transfer/mutate the
occupancy/leasehold rights of the above noted plot in your name by way
of Mutation by Registered Sale Deed on the same terms and conditions on
which the plot was originally allotted to Sardar Abdul Latif Khan. The
Allottee/Last Transferee/Mutatee Mistri Javaid Alam. A Note reads:
This Transfer/Mutation has been effected through Attorney Muhammad
Yousuf F/H Dahni Buksh Chandio.
All three mutations were made the same day, without notice to Nusrat,
and are, prima facie, malafide and without lawful authority. The men in
charge of the KDA at the time were: Minister Pir Mazharul Haque;
Director-General Ahmad Hussain; Member (Land) Shah Mansur Alam; Director
(Land) Shakil Hashmi; Additional Director (Land) Azam Leghari.
Complicity? Conspiracy to defraud? Fraud?
The police have a copy of a conveyance deed executed on the morning of
April 15, 1996, the day of the abduction and demolition. The sellers
mentioned therein are Haji Minhal Khan, son of Haji Karam Khan Jatoi, of
298 Bath Island, Karachi; Faiz Ahmad, son of Wasi Ahmed and Nuzhat
Fatimas brother, of 71/13, 5-6 Area, New Karachi. The buyers are said
to be Waseem Yousuf, son of Mohammed Yousuf and brother of cricketer
Salim Yousuf, of 30-B Khayaban-e-Shamsheer; Mrs Ayesha Jamal, wife of
Brigadier Farooque Afzal, Brigade Commander, Badin; Vishan Das, son of
Versimal Das, Penthouse 3, Jason Coastal View, Block 3, Clifton.
According to the deed, the land has been sold at the rate of Rs 1,804
per square yard. The market value is estimated to be ten times that
amount. The buyers and sellers were aware at the time the deed was
signed that the property was occupied, yet it states that the sellers
have agreed to sell, grant, transfer, convey and assign said property
with peaceful physical vacant possession.
As soon as the deed was executed, the sellers and/or the buyers moved to
forcefully and unlawfully evict the lawful owner and occupier of the
property. Their chowkidars, supplemented by armed guards from the
Muhafiz Security Agency, now guard the debris. As said, one of the
white-bearded wizened Pathan chowkidars (claiming to be in his early
30s), despairingly looking at the rubble, Ye Angrez ke zamana mey kabbi
nahi hota.
And what happened to aged Nusrat Ashraf? Her plucky manservant managed
to escape from the Sabzi Mandi flat and raise the alarm. Some friends
and neighbours, army officers amongst them, sought help. The Commander 5
Corp, Lieutenant-General Lehrasab Khan, pressed the police into action.
Nuzhat Fatima was apprehended, and some stolen property and fire-arms
recovered from her flat (she has been arrested and is still under
custody). She confessed that after the servant had escaped, on April 16,
the panicky abductors had taken the injured and ailing Nusrat and dumped
her in the North Karachi Edhi Centre, where she was registered as a
destitute unknown person and given the number 87,139. Completely
disoriented, she was unable to tell Edhi who she was.
Servant Wazeer identified her on April 22 and she was taken to the home
of an equally aged friend, Bibi Shahbobo, where she now rests,
physically and mentally shattered. She is unaware that her house no
longer exists, she enquiries frequently about her birds and animals,
worrying that they are not being fed and looked after, and repeatedly
requests that she be taken back to her own home and cease being a
nuisance to her friend. A most distressful situation for all.
Goom-shud: Mistri Javaid Alam, Minhal Khan Jatoi, Yousuf Chandio, Faiz
Ahmed, Waseem Yousuf, Vishan Das, Ayesha Jamal. To use journalistic
language: The police suspect foul play.
The newly formed pressure group, Citizens Voice (Chairman, Fakhruddin
Ebrahim, Vice-Chairman Abdullah Memon, Secretary-General Nazim Haji) has
stepped in to help recover Nusrats property and to rehabilitate her.
The plan is to plead Nusrats case in the High Court and Supreme Court.
Fukhruddin knows how slow our courts are and Abdullah, a retired
provincial home secretary, knows how corrupt and inefficient the
administration and police are. Luckily, Nazim is still young, energetic,
and optimistic. But this is no ordinary case. An aged citizens rights
have been violated, she has been bodily assaulted and abducted, she has
been evicted and robbed. This surely falls within the scope of public-
interest litigation.
The new permanent Chief Justice of Sindh could perhaps be persuaded to
take suo moto action, which may hurry the process. The army, also
responsible for the safety of the citizens of Karachi and to whom
magisterial powers are available, could also be approached.
We, who care, must all now adopt the favourite maxim of Professor Sir
John Golding who died last month: The greatest of all mistakes is to do
nothing because we can do so little.
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960505
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Holidays galore
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Omar Kureishi
ESTIMATES vary from Rs 30 billion to Rs 80 billion as being the losses
sustained by the country as a result of the spate of holidays. It is, of
course, not possible to put a precise figure but no one disputes that
the losses were astronomical and not many, it seems to me, are
particularly alarmed by it.
It must be borne in mind that the country was shut down, not because of
strikes or disturbances or natural calamities but because standard or
regulation weekends became linked to Eid and May Day on either side with
a solitary working Thursday in between, sticking out like a spoilsport
and which was duly ignored through the simple expedient of people just
taking the day off.
Thus, effectively, there were nine consecutive holidays, something that
would surely find an honourable or a dishonourable mention in the
Guinness Book of Records. As someone said to me, it was one of those
freak sort of things. The first reaction should have been that no poor
country can afford to shut down and down tools for so many days. But
thats theory. In practice only a poor country can afford it. No rich
country can for it would soon cease to be rich. A poor country really
does not care about being poor.
I would not presume to speak for anyone else but by the time the second
holiday rolled along, I was bored to tears. Karachi is not exactly a
city meant for leisure though it is not wanting in excitement but its
the wrong kind of excitement as my friend Kunwar Idrees will testify, as
indeed will all those others who have been held-up, burgled, had their
cars snatched, to say nothing of those who have been caught in the
cross-fire of encounters and ended up as corpses.
For the main part, I stayed at home and because there is a limit to how
much television a person can watch, I turned to reading. I re-read
Graham Greenes The Human Factor, re-read Voltaires Candide and started
on a book called Anyone But England by Mike Marqusee who is an American
and has written a book on cricket that many consider better than C.L.R.
James Beyond a Boundary. I had met the author in Lahore during the
World Cup and we had lunch and he had promised to send me a copy of his
book, a promise he duly fulfilled.
But I also went through my own book The System which is a selection of
columns I wrote between 1983 and 1988. I wanted to see how those columns
would stand up, whether they were outdated because this is 1996 and the
world should have moved on and along with the world, we as well. I was
surprised that most of the columns would pass as being topical. It was a
depressing discovery. The characters had changed but had been replaced
by characters who were exactly the same. Thus, the more it changes, the
more it changes to the same thing.
By way of an example, I wrote on August 24, 1986 about news management.
I cannot recall what disturbances had taken place but they must have
been serious enough to be blacked out! Sounds familiar? This is what I
had written:
The BBC may not be the last word on objective reporting but they have
built up a reputation for credibility. For at least being there with the
latest news. What is being proved by blacking out the disturbances? That
they are not happening? Surely the public cannot be judged to be that
innocent or naive. That these events (tumultous, if by tumultous is
meant disorderly and agitational) are so unimportant that they do not
constitute hard news? Then why is the world media covering them?
I went on to write: The physical fact of certain events taking place
cannot be suppressed or shut out. The transistor radio has made news
management impossible. By moving the dial on your radio you can get, not
one, but several versions of the same event as you tune in to the
capitals of the world. This was 1986. To the transistor radio can now
be added satellite television. I first learnt of the bomb blast in Bhai
Pheru on CNN. I doubt very much that PTV would have interrupted a
programme to give us a news flash about the bombing. Of course things
were not helped by the fact that there were no newspapers for two days
and one depended either on PTV or looked for some crumbs on BBC or CNN.
Indeed there was a longish report on the bomb blast in Bhai Pheru on CNN
the next day but there was no mention in the report that the Prime
Minister had rushed to the scene of the blast and had visited the
injured, a surprising lapse from such a reputed news channel.
But the column that attracted me and which I wrote in August 1986 was
about the suicide of an elderly couple, Gul Mohammad and Inayat Bibi in
Lahore. The dead couple were being harassed by CIA officials who had
gone to the familys home in connection with an alleged theft by one of
their sons and had demanded Rs 7000 as the price for not taking their
daughters to the police station. The elderly couple knew too well what
the threat meant. They did manage to raise Rs 4000 (through the
compassion and generosity of neighbours) but apparently the officials
demanded full payment. The couple chose to hang themselves, literally
choosing death before dishonour. There were demonstrations by thousands
of people in the vicinity and an inquiry was ordered. It is not
surprising that no inquiry was held and if it was, it is not known
whether any action was taken. My guess is it got buried, much the way
the elderly couple were buried. Sounds familiar? Just shows you what one
can dig up if one has time on ones hands.
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960506
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And corrupt how?
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Ayaz Amir
ONLY for a brief moment did it look as if Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto
was ruffled during her anodyne and rather dull interview with Riz Khan
of the CNN and that was when, apropos of corruption, he suggested that
according to some people her government too was corrupt.
But recovering quickly she went onto the offensive and with a straight
face rattled off a list of claims as a counter-blast to the corruption
charge. Before each claim she would ask the rhetorical question And
corrupt how? She had told her ministers they were not to take bank
loans. And corrupt how? Her government had reduced the budget deficit
by 20 per cent. And corrupt how? Her government had got MOUs (those
strange beasts of whom so much has been heard and so little seen) worth
20 billion dollars. And corrupt how? followed by another staggering
claim. What Riz Khan made of this superbly-tailored performance I cannot
tell but it is perhaps not far-fetched to say that it left the ordinary
Pakistani viewer (from the imperial English-speaking classes, that is) a
trifle dazed.
Far be it from me to say anything about the honesty or corruption of
this government. We have a funny situation in Pakistan. Not only are the
most improbable allegations easily made. The most credible charges, for
which there may be a wealth of circumstantial evidence, are also easily
denied. You can make the most wild charges and be certain that some of
them will stick. By the same token stories of wrongdoing or corruption
which may even be well-documented are all the more easily denied,
usually with the straightest face in the world, because of the absence
of any system of institutional accountability (as opposed to the
selective witch-hunts beloved of Pakistani governments when they want to
settle scores with their opponents).
In any case, the flimsiest and indeed the funniest defence that
Pakistani officials political, military or bureaucratic can adopt in
the face of corruption charges is to say that they are innocent because
nothing has been proven against them. As I have had occasion to mention
before in this space, nothing except tax evasion was proved against Al
Capone. So where does this leave us?
All of us in Pakistan know that we live in a society which is corrupt to
the core, where the giving and taking of bribes is not only a way of
life but the only or at least the most efficient method of doing
business or getting any work done. The criminal justice system does not
move without influence or graft. The revenue system does not deliver
unless you make the appropriate payments which have become so entrenched
in our culture that to question them that is, to question what the
patwari and the tehsildar expect is to commit a grave form of heresy.
In our public examinations the grand business of cheating has acquired
institutional forms, which may perhaps be a good thing because at least
we are building some institutions. The barest mention of giving jobs in
government service, the government still being the largest employer in
the country, on the basis of merit elicits immediate laughter.
All this and more is not only true but part of the new folklore of our
land. Yet the paradox remains that in this country dedicated to
corruption everyone is officially honest because no one, except the
occasional bumbler, ever gets caught and no one ever is formally charged
with corruption. The PPPs opponents can lay claim to sterling honesty
because nothing has been proven against them and the PPP can do much the
same because when the wheel of fortune turns, as it must, and those who
are up find themselves down, nothing will be proven against them.
The great mugs in this game of course are the people of Pakistan who
have been waiting for a new dawn for the last 48 years although now,
such has been their hard education,much of their historic romanticism
which in the past has made them glorify knaves and scoundrels has been
dumped by the wayside. The typical Pakistani voter today is accordingly
more cynical and clear-sighted than his forbears ever were. He casts his
vote for the same set of politicos not because he is benighted but
because he has no choice. Nor is all the impoverishment of Pakistani
politics the fault of the political establishment alone. An idealist can
no more survive in the grim waters of this politics than the weak-
livered teetotaller in a drinking saloon.
This is one of the problems which Imran Khan will face till the gods or
Sir James Goldsmiths millions come to his rescue and set the dry tinder
of Pakistani politics on fire: the typical Pakistani voter, having seen
and heard everything, has no further stomach for brave words and good
causes. Talk of a jaundiced eye: that is what the joys of inflation and
the ostentatious ways of the political establishment have given the
ordinary Pakistani. Just as gamblers or traders usually do not operate
on trust and prefer to see the colour of your money before doing
business with you, the ordinary Pakistani citizen who does not own a
car, does not have air-conditioning and whose children do not speak
English with him at home has been beaten by hard experience into looking
wanly and sceptically at pulpit and platform-mounters who promise to
save his soul.
But if there is no institutional accountability in Pakistan which
simply means that if proof of wrongdoing or corruption exists against
someone, an independent body looks into the charges, as is currently
happening in India public opinion, even if it can do nothing tangible,
is a stern judge of public reputations. Reputations, whether for good or
ill, are built slowly but once formed are fixed in stone. About some
people in public life the impression of honesty prevails; about others
an impression of dishonesty and trickery. Those figures who command
public esteem are immune to the effects of official calumny or
propaganda. Those who fall into the second category can do what they
like visits to the Holy Land, tear-jerking speeches without getting
any closer to public favour.
Ayub Khans reputation was destroyed by his sons, and even though what
they did scarcely compares with the more exalted standards of today, the
damage to his reputation caused by the acquisition of Gandhara Motors
has not been softened by the passage of time. General Yahya Khan may
have been accused of many things but corruption was not one of them.
Therefore, despite the break-up of the country which took place during
his stewardship, the charge of minting money is not laid at his door.
Bhutto was many things to many people but even in the catalogues of his
enemies he is not accused of being a corrupt man. As for Zia-ul-Haq,
despite all his avowed piety, the image of him that persists in the
public mind is of a devious and crafty man. Nawaz Sharifs prime
ministership was dogged by charges of conflict of interest, admittedly
not an easy concept for Pakistans civilian and military rulers to
understand. Benazir Bhuttos first stint at the top (I here step on coy
ground) gave her government a reputation for graft and ineptitude. Her
second coming as prime minister (I again take refuge behind
circumlocution) has not erased that impression.
Reducing Riz Khan to silence is a commendable achievement. By the time
the Prime Minister had finished with him he had nothing to say. Or,
since he is an intelligent man, he preferred to be guided by his
discretion. But what about the more important forum which the Prime
Minister must conquer if she is so worried about public perceptions of
her government: the bar of public opinion? No amount of interviews with
the CNN will wash the impression about her government which has got hold
of the public mind. Every time stories or rather hints (because during
the past one year most newspapers have learnt to prize discretion above
valour) about high-level corruption appear in the Press, every time the
TV cameras pan the inside of the Prime Ministers house which may be
anything but not a monument to austerity, and every time President
Farooq Leghari returns from another of his strenuous pilgrimages to the
Holy Land, public cynicism takes another jump.
So what is to be made of the refrain And corrupt how? It is a fine
piece of rhetoric but it leaves a never-ending cackle of ghostly
laughter behind.
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960508
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A liberal, forward-looking & modern state?
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Tahir Mirza
LAHORE: A meeting of the executive committee of the Golden Jubilee
Celebrations held in Islamabad on Sunday reportedly discussed steps
aimed at projecting Pakistan as a modern, forward-looking and liberal
Muslim state on the occasion of the countrys 50th anniversary.
Did any of those attending the meeting ask how does one project a
society or country as liberal and modern when it manifestly is not? It
is not a question of what should be the ideal state of affairs or what
indeed the government wants the country to be. It is a simple matter of
being honest with oneself.
Liberalism is not sitting in your club or drawing room and having a few
drinks and listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali or Faiz. Some of the
politically most reactionary people indulge in such luxuries. Liberalism
is an attitude of mind, and despite the fact that the average Pakistani
has a fairly liberal outlook on life, looking around you it is difficult
to believe that you live in a liberal or enlightened society.
There are many reasons for this, not least being the protection afforded
to a minority the anti-liberal elements during our long bouts of
dictatorship. As democracy gets more entrenched, society is bound to
become more open and tolerant of dissent of every kind. But at present
the minority holds the power to terrorise and its views get
disproportionate publicity in large sections of our press. How can you
call a society liberal where even officially, from the president
downward, the intelligentsia is urged not to express views different
from the Establishment line on national affairs such as Kashmir? Or
where anyone championing the cause of the minorities or the oppressed is
considered to be a heretic to the cause? Or where, in cases of reporting
of rape incidents in some newspapers, it is difficult to discover
whether the reporter concerned is on the side of the victim or the
perpetrator of the deed? Or where a dedicated and selfless person like
Akhtar Hameed Khan can be dubbed a blasphemer for a poem he wrote for
children?
In Lahore, we have seen how advocate and human rights activist Asma
Jahangir has been harassed and her family actually subjected to an
attempt to murder. She has gone blue in the face declaring in statement
after statement that she is not a Qadiani, yet we still have headlines
in the newspapers repeating charges that she is, most recently in the
Saima case. And even if she is, how does that reflect on her uprightness
or her professional competence? Sir Zafrulla Khans dedication to
Pakistan was never questioned because of his faith.
It was also alleged that Saima was a classfellow of Asma Jahangirs
daughters and had been influenced by them. The allegation was reproduced
in bold headlines. The lawyer pointed out in court that one of her
daughters studied in England and the other was too young to go to a
college, upon which the person making the allegation admitted that he
might have been wrong. But in the meantime the desired impression had
been created.
The effect that pronouncements by fanatical elements and the subsequent
publicity given to them can have on indoctrinated minds should not be
underestimated. When those who had attempted to break into Asma
Jahangirs house were interrogated, they had admitted that they had been
led into believing by a book they had read that she was worthy of being
eliminated.
Asma Jahangirs is one instance, and she gets more attention because she
is articulate and socially prominent. There are advocates who suffer the
same kind of pressure if they agree to take up a case which runs counter
to religious or political or other vested interests, but who do not make
an issue of it for obvious reasons. The ever-present danger is that some
bigoted person may actually believe some of the things loosely said
against political or human rights activists and take the law into his
own hands. After all, Manzur Masih was summarily despatched in a modern
version of cowboy lynching.
That is why the newspapers should be far more cautious when reproducing
allegations that impinge on someones faith. Threats from powerful
political or landed parties can have the same result of silencing anyone
standing up to them. A society which is still so viciously feudal and
oppressive as ours can hardly lay claim to being liberal.
Look at some of the criticism levelled against Imran Khan. The charge
that he is a Zionist agent has been repeated ad nauseum. He can be
attacked on several counts, but this particular allegation only shows a
woeful inability to argue the case against him on sound political
grounds, of which there are many. A senior columnist who had so far been
assiduously building up the former cricketer as our saviour has
expressed his disappointment over the fact that Imran Khan did not, in
his news conference announcing the setting up of his Justice Movement,
refer even once to Islam or the Pakistan ideology.
And it is not just a matter relating to religious bigotry or minority
rights or plain fanaticism. There is so much more that is wrong with us.
UNESCO has just reported that Pakistan ranks 78th in the index of
universal primary schooling among 87 countries with a population of over
one million, 90 per cent of its rural population does not have access to
sanitation facilities, and safe drinking water is not available to 65
per cent of its rural and 11 per cent of its urban population.
A liberal and modern state? Somebody must be joking.
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960509
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Reflections in the tax mirror
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Sultan Ahmed
CONFLICTING signals are being sent in respect of the quantum of
additional burden the budget, to be presented on June 12, will place on
the people. Mr V.A. Jafarey, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance,
spoke of a very tough budget on his return from Washington where he
negotiated a stand-by deal with IMF for 600 million dollars which
carries rigid and extensive conditionalities.
Commerce Minister Chaudhri Ahmed Mukhtar, who is heading a three-
minister cabinet committee on taxation, says it will be a little
tough. And the Prime Minister has opposed harsh taxation and suggested
some relief to the salaried class.
Simultaneously Chaudhri Mukhtar whose committee is to submit its report
to the cabinet on May 20, has spoken of revolutionary changes in
taxation as well as reduction in the tax burden by the year 2000.
Surely if the tax base is broadened and more and more people, now exempt
from taxation, are made to pay as their large incomes warrant, the
higher levels of taxation can come down. It all depends on how much of
its recommendations the Cabinet accepts and finally how much of that the
ruling Party supports and the National Assembly approves without
excessive commotion.
While the government is committed to raise net additional revenue
resources to the extent of 1.4 per cent of the GDP, which is estimated
at between Rs 30 and 32 billion, and could mean heavy and sweeping tax
levies, the PM is keen to avoid its political backlash or giving an
opportunity to the opposition to aggravate the popular discontent. So
with her solicitude for officialdom, which is becoming increasingly
manifest, she wants the salaried class not to be burdened more, and
instead given some relief. What she has in this area is a kind of
Hobsons choice. Either she has to increase the salaries of the 3.3
million government employees or give them tax relief. So she is reported
to have suggested raising the income tax exemption levels to Rs 75,000
from Rs 50,000. That would give the salary-earners a relief of Rs 2,500
which seems a sizable sum. And along with that the exemption limit for
the non-salaried, too, has be raised from the current Rs 40,000.
But will the salaried class be the net gainers when along with that
General Sales Tax of 15 per cent is levied on most of the items now
exempted, particularly at the import and manufacturing stages, and
finally that comes down to the retail level as well? The government now
talks of 9 per cent inflation rate after it had been 13 to 14 per cent
last year, but the consumers are not prepared to accept such statistical
jugglery as the markets tell an entirely different story in respect of
food, rent, transport etc.
Food prices have gone up following the increase in support prices for
wheat, rice, sugarcane and the minor crops. And imported vegetables are
costing more than the locally produced ones whose prices have also shot
up following the shortages. Sugar prices have jumped from Rs 13 to Rs 19
within a short span of time and imported sugar may cost more. Diesel
prices were raised twice last month and petrol prices too were revised
upwards. The power rates are scheduled to go up soon, making everything
produced or traded to cost far more. All these are price multipliers and
the claim of a nine per cent inflation in the face of such a trend is a
lot of moonshine.
The issue is what kind of a balancing act the Finance Minister will come
up after it had been honed by too many officials and softened by too
many vested interests? The government is committed to abandon to the 10
per cent regulatory duty on all dutiable items it imposed on October 28
as well as bring down the average level of import tariff to 50 to 55 per
cent from the current 65 per cent. The additional taxation has to be
enough not only to make up for both the losses but also earn additional
revenues of Rs 30 to Rs 35 billion, which means hefty taxation of an
unbearable kind. The proposed levy of sales tax on a large number of
items at the import and manufacturing stages may bring in Rs 20 billion.
That means other kind of taxes has to be levied on other goods and
services.
The PM is reported to have suggested the level of additional taxation
should not be above the last years level. Last year additional taxes of
Rs 16.3 billion were levied, and the budget deficit left at 5 per cent
of the GDP instead of the 4 per cent as wanted by the IMF. Angered by
that, the IMF discontinued assistance to Pakistan under its Extended
Structural Adjustment Facility offering 1.5 billion dollars. The
government then came up with a mini-budget and devalued the rupee by 7
per cent, and lowered the budget deficit to 4.6 per cent on October 28
under a standby deal with IMF to obtain 600 million dollars within 15
months.
The government can make its budget-making exertions less arduous if it
would tax the agricultural rich as well as reduce or eliminate tax
exemptions to varied classes and groups who are equally rich. How can
the farmlords decline to pay income and wealth tax in a period when they
are having peak cotton and wheat output as well as a good rice crop?
Support prices of these items too have gone up. And if sugar production
dropped this year, very high prices were obtained for the cane produced,
and the cane farmers are delighted. If still they do not pay proper
taxes that is grossly unfair.
At a time when no one in the government is talking of an expenditure
cut, a major cut has to come in the shape of reduction in the debt
servicing cost of Rs 157.3 billion which has increased following the
devaluation of the rupee by 11 per cent so far. If the sales proceeds of
the privatisation done so far, including 868 million dollars from the
sale of PTC shares abroad two years ago, and the income from the
proposed privatisation of larger units, are used to cut the debt, the
debt servicing cost can come down drastically. That is a must now. The
IMF too demands that but without insisting forcefully.
When the government is talking of removing tax exemptions all around and
imposing 15 per cent sales tax on far too many items, it is not talking
of removing tax exemptions of the top leaders, members of the National
Assembly and Senate and provincial assemblies. In fact most of them
dont pay income tax either as landlords or as members of assemblies and
ministers or advisors to the PM.
Surely, if sales tax exemptions on essential goods for the poor and low-
income groups should go, so should the tax exemptions of the rulers, and
members of the Parliament as well as the provincial assemblies. Their
pay and allowances and various costly perquisites keep on increasing,
and they dont have to pay tax.
In fact recently chief ministers of provinces were added to the list of
President, Prime Minister, governors and services chiefs who are
entitled to import a limousine tax free in each term of office. What
earthly justification is there for such tax exemptions and incentives to
import a foreign car when the country is producing some excellent cars,
like the Honda and the Toyotas for the affluent. In India some top
persons in authority are entitled to import cars, unlike others, but
they have to pay full import duty. Hence they import small cars and not
the super-luxury kind.
Look at some of the rich organisations like the PIA with its too many
privileged officials, inclusive of the chairman and managing director
which creates a needless and uneasy diarchy and boosts the expenditure
on those offices. The Anti-corruption committee headed by Senator Malik
Qasim has been looking into the malpractices in PIA following a large
number of complaints and found massive tax evasion by its privileged
officers. It sees no reason why the PIA pilots should be exempt from
their large flying allowance. It also found that while the basic pay of
its senior officials was taxed, thrice that amount paid as allowances
and perquisites were not taxed. The FACC has been taking up the issue
with the PIA management and the Central Board of Revenue but without
notable success as the same pattern is followed by many other
organisations where the cost of the perquisites exceeds the basic pay
many times.
The fact is that the basic pay was kept low and taxable and the varied
perquisites, including large amounts for books and magazines, at a time
when the peak income tax level was 66 per cent and not 35 per cent plus
surcharge of 10 per cent as it is now. Now that the tax rate has come
down, and is likely go down further, there is a strong case for
increasing the basic pay in all such organisations and reducing the tax-
exempt perquisites.
In fact the right approach at a time when the rulers as well as others
are talking of the globalisation of the economy is to fall in line with
the Western pattern where all employees from top to the bottom are paid
clean pay and nothing else. It is left to the employee or managers in
the US to have the kind of cars, homes or other perquisites they like
instead of such facilities plus domestic servants, drivers and other
personal staff provided to them cost-free and be abused. Such a practice
will also increase the national savings instead of letting our officials
waste a great deal, in fact far in excess of the permitted.
A recent report of the Income Tax Department in respect of income tax
paid by MNAs, Senators and MPAs from 1985 to 1993 showed that 142 or 70
per cent of them paid no tax at all, and 32 paid less than Rs 5,000 and
at least 13 of the ministers did not pay any tax.
Does a parliament whose members, save some exceptions, do not pay taxes
on their incomes have a right to tax the people, come up with additional
taxation year after year, and make life too expensive and difficult for
others? Does it not create a climate in which tax evasion becomes not
only the norm but also morally vindicated, particularly when so little
or nothing is available to the tax-payers in return for the taxes they
pay?
Article 25 of the Constitution says: All citizens are qual before law
and are entitled to equal protection of law. But the reality is
contrary to that, more so in the sphere of taxation.
===================================================================
960509
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Inter-School sports fiesta in city from 14th
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Walter Fernandez
KARACHI, May 8: The District South Administration has chalked out an
elaborate programme in collaboration with the Director of Schools
(Karachi) to hold Inter-School sports competitions for both boys and
girls in 10 disciplines from May 14 to 18 in its jurisdiction.
The Deputy Commissioner (South), Mr. Arif Elahi, an ardent sports
enthusiast, alongwith his band of ADM, ACMs and SDMs has for the third
time this year decided to translate the Government of Sindhs directive
in its true perspective, to promote sports at the grass-root level in a
city, where such activities have been put on the back-burner for a
considerable period of time.
The entire District South Administration has been spurred on by the
active and industrious support extended to them by the Governor of
Sindh, Mr. Kamaluddin Azfar and Chief Minister Syed Abdullah Shah.
The disciplines for boys to contested are in cricket, hockey, football,
cycle race, swimming, basketball, table tennis and athletics and for the
girls, competitions will be held in the disciplines of throw-ball,
badminton, table tennis and athletics.
Mr. Arif Elahi at a Press briefing at a local hotel here on Wednesday
said: We have made arrangements to stage all these events in top-class
venues around District South so as to give the school boys and girls the
feeling what it is like to participate in high class arenas.
As we have drawn entries from about 50 boys schools and at least 40
girls schools in District South, the competitions should not only turn
out to be lively but also hugely competitive, added Arif Elahi.
Besides, attracting entries from all the government schools in District
South, we have for the first time been able persuade the reputed private
schools in our vicinity to come forward and joint this sporting
extravaganza for school children, stated the Deputy Commissioner.
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960505
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Wasim to skipper team till the end of next season
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Samiul Hasan
KARACHI, May 4: Wasim Akram said he has been officially informed by
concerned authorities that he will lead the Pakistan cricket team on a
72-day tour of England comprising three Tests, an equal number of
limited overs internationals and nine three-day games against counties.
Akram, who is in town, when contacted, said: I have been told by the
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials that they have retained me as
captain. From now on, I will start thinking as captain regarding the
ploys to be used in England.
The dynamic allrounder said he was informed about the assignment on
Friday when he was called to attend first preliminary round meeting of
the Selection Committee held at the National Stadium, also attended by
Chief Executive of the cricket board, Arif Abbasi.
Arif Abbasi, later in the evening, confirmed that Wasim Akram will lead
the team. There was no dispute about captaincy. He (Wasim) was only
unavailable for a few matches and therefore, the vice-captain took over.
Now he is in top playing condition so all the things fall back to their
original places.
The Chief Executive also cleared the air regarding the management of the
Pakistan team. Intikhab Alam will continue as manager while Salim
Yousuf will be the associate manager. It has been decided by the
Executive Council. There was never any confusion in the minds of the
Councillors about their earlier decision.
Akram, who missed the crunch match against India at Bangalore in the
World Cup quarter-final because of injury and then skipped the tours of
Singapore and Sharjah, said he was told of the job when he informed the
board after he gave his fitness and availability for the England tour.
I have let the PCB know about my availability though I have not started
training, Akram said.
Akram said as far as his opinion on the composition of players, the team
will include five seamers and two spinners. The rest is yet to be
decided. We have to decide if we need an extra wicketkeeper or not or
how many openers or middle-order batsmen we need.
Akram stressed that a few youngsters had a very good chance of making to
the final 16. I cant tell you who will they be but Salim Elahi and
Saqlain Mushtaq will certainly be there.
Akram was straightforward when asked if fitness will also be judged
before the team for England will be picked. Fitness will be one of the
key criteria for selection.
If Inzamamul Haq is having knee problem, then he has to assure the
board that he will fully fit. We cant afford to take players who become
a liability on the team.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Selectors, Dr Zafar Altaf, speaking from
Islamabad, said his committee was looking beyond the England tour. We
have a very hectic schedule next season and we fear that a few players
may even burn out. Therefore, it will be necessary that we see a good
number of players and try to select a couple of them if possible. We
have to be ready for periodic replacement of the players.
We (selectors) are of the unanimous opinion that since the 1999 World
Cup will be held in England, we pick those youngsters, especially
batsmen, who are really outstanding so that they are there when that
event is played.
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960506
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Ball-tampering row revived by UK tabloid Press
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Athar ALi
LONDON, May 5: The ball-tampering controversy has been revived by the
British tabloid press as Pakistan prepares to our England once again in
the second half of the current cricket season to play three one-day
internationals and three Tests.
The Mail on Sunday took the lead by publishing extracts from Test umpire
Don Oslears book claiming that he has revealed explosive new evidence
which threatens the fragile peace between the two countries in the
build-up to the three-Test series.
The former Pakistan Test captain, Asif Iqbal, described the efforts at
souring the forthcoming Test series as shameful. Such trash, he told
Dawn, should now be thrown into the dustbin.
The Mail on Sunday is promoting Don Oslears book tampering with
Cricket in which he suggests that Waqar Younis and Aqib Javed have
both been involved in illegal practices. He also claims that Imran
Khans admission that he only used a bottle-top to alter the ball on one
occasion was not correct. he accuses him of using other methods of
roughing the ball.
The timing of the publication of Don Oslears book, and its
serialisation by The Mail a few weeks before the arrival of the Pakistan
cricket team is being seen as part of a campaign against the visitors.
In the extracts published by the newspaper today Don Oslear refers to a
match between Warwickshire and Sussex at Edgbaston in 1983 which he was
umpiring. Imran bowling for Sussex took 6 wickets for six runs in 23
deliveries. Don Oslear says that the ball after Imran handled it looked
disfigured and he reported the matter to the Test and County Cricket
Board.
It did not occur to Don Oslear at the time that fingernails or some
other instruments might have been used to disfigure the ball. In those
days he only knew about lifting of the seam. It is only in recent years
that I realised exactly what had been going on. In my opinion the ball
had been interfered with to a considerable degree and there is no way
the damage could have been caused by fingernails alone. I am in no doubt
that an instrument of some description like a mini-screwdriver must have
been used to cut the stitches.
Don Oslear views Imrans statement about using a bottle-top with some
scepticism, for this is not the only means by which a ball can be
tampered with. What kind of example does that set to the 90 per cent of
professionals, who try their hardest within the laws, to young players
or school children learning the game. He says that he has raised the
issue again because he feels it is his duty to see that the game is
played by the rules. If the players and administrators want to change
those laws then let them.
In the second extract from Oslears book, reproduced by The Mail the
former umpire recalls the Headlingley Test in 1992 when he was acting as
the third umpire to Ken Palmer and Nervn Kitchon. He is angry that no
action was taken against 5the Pakistani bowlers when the ball was found
to be tampered with. I believe stronger action should have been taken.
He claims that at the end of the 1991 season he had pre-warned the TCCB
officials that unless the issue was tackled there would be hell to pay
when Pakistan came over in 1992. He writes that between July and August
1991, he had filed three reports to the board over ball-tampering, all
concerning Waqar Youniss club, Surrey. Don Oslear holds Younis
responsible for the violation of rules and says that he had warned him
at least on one occasion.
Commenting on Don Oslears statement, Asif Iqbal finds the timing chosen
for the publication of the extracts by The Mail as intriguing. He said
that the ball-tampering controversy, which marred Pakistans 1992 tour
of England, should have been dead and buried. It is shameful to liven it
up once again when Pakistan is about to visit England. Such trash is
for the dustbin, he said.
Asif Iqbal pointed out that stalwarts like Ian Chappell and others have
been bold enough to single out Waseem Akram and Waqar Younis for having
perfected, the art of reverse swing. They have said that ball-tampering
accusations against there were a load of rubbish. Asif Iqbal also
referred to some recent reviews about Danny Morrisons reverse swing in
the West Indies vs New Zealand series. There was no mention of ball-
tampering or cheating. Why then, Asif Iqbal asks, cheating is linked
only to Waqar and Waseem?
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960504
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Need to fill gaps in our cricket
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Khawaja Fariduddin
A hectic one day cricket season covering the first half of 1996 has come
to an end. It started with the World Cup, then followed the Singer Cup
and finally the Sharjah Pepsi Cup. Apart from the consolation of winning
the Singer Cup, Pakistans cricket might was soundly thrashed and
outclassed in the World Cup and also in the Pepsi Cup at Sharjah.
We were thrown out by India at Bangalore in the quarter-finals where the
controversial performance of our cricket team continues to confound
millions of cricket fans in Pakistan. At Sharjah we could not even make
it to the finals after being restricted by South Africa for 171 in the
first pool match and then suffered further humiliation in the second
match with South Africa thus allowing India to make it to the finals.
One of the obvious steps which our Board should take now is to first of
all have a regular fully fit captain for our cricket team. Wasim Akram
unfortunately does not meet the requirements of captaincy for the simple
reason that he has been having, obviously and admittedly, medical
problem for the last few years. A regular fully fit captain is as such
the first and foremost requirement of any cricket team. Repeated absence
of a captain due to fitness or whatever reason breaks the rhythm and
momentum of the team. The balance is disturbed and confidence of the
team is shaken.
Wasim Akram should know and acknowledge that due to his injury problems,
the team as a whole is not performing to its potentials. He should
himself voluntarily step down in favour of Aamer Sohail who is showing
signs of developing into a good Captain. Above all, Aamer Sohail
compared to Wasim Akram is far less injury-prone and is therefore
available as a regular captain. Further, Aamer Sohails performance in
the World Cup, Singer Cup and Pepsi Cup fully justified his appointment
as a regular captain.
As regards our current cricket teams strength, while our bowling with
Wasim, Waqar, Aqib Javed, Mohammad Akram, Ataur Rahman, Mushtaq Ahmed,
Saqlain Mushtaq looks formidable, it is the batting which is a cause for
concern. Our batsmen have not performed consistently. Their performance
is erratic. There is an urgent need to look for new talent specially to
replace Ramiz Raja and Basit Ali who have not been performing too well.
To a great extent fitness and fielding go together. We were perhaps one
of the most unfit and one of the worst fielding sides in the World Cup
tournament. Instead of improvement the standard of our fielding has
progressively declined. In comparison to South Africa and Sri Lanka our
fielding and fitness at best can be rated as Club class. Special
intensive emphasis is required in this area.
The Board therefore has a job on hand as well as an opportunity to
rebuild the Pakistan team. A regular fully fit Captain, new batting
talent, a couple of genuine all-rounders and above all players in the
prime of physical fitness were needed to triumph against England in
England this summer.
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960505
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Manzoor to have two assistant coaches
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Walter Fernandez
KARACHI, May 4: The 1984 Los Angeles Olympic gold medalist Mushtaq Ahmed
and former international and international umpire Iqbal Bali have been
appointed assistant coaches for the National hockey camp which begins
serious business here at the Hockey Club of Pakistan (HCP) from Sunday
morning.
This was disclosed by former Pakistan captain and Olympian Manzoorul
Hassan, who is the Chief Coach.
Mushtaq Ahmed, who is employed by United Bank, one of the countrys top
hockey outfits, was a dashing inside-left in his halcyon days.
Pitifully, for Mushtaq at that point in time, there was tremendous
competition as Pakistan was blessed with two great inside-lefts in
former Pakistan skipper and coach Hanif Khan and another former Pakistan
coach Saeed Khan thus, not allowing him to fulfil his true potential.
Iqbal Bali, before representing the country in international hockey
donned the colours of former National champions, the National Bank of
Pakistan (NBP) team. Unfortunately, Balis career was cut short in his
prime by a nasty knee injury and the same problem caused his premature
retirement as an international umpire.
The National hockey camp is being held in the city for two four-nation
tournaments to be staged in Europe in the month of June. One, is slated
to be held at Milton Keynes (England) from June 13 to 16 while the other
is chalked out for Amstelveen (Netherlands) from June 19 to 23.
At the conclusion of the last tournament, the Pakistan squad will return
home to start final preparations for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games
hockey event scheduled to get under way from July 20 and conclude Aug.
4.
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960509
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Jinnah Foundation tennis
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Sports Reporter
KARACHI, May 8: Twenty-four teams have entered to compete in the fourth
Jinnah Foundation Professionals and Executives Amateur Invitation Tennis
(Doubles) Tournament which gets under way here tomorrow (Thursday) at 5
p.m. at the Karachi Gymkhana hard courts.
The three-day tournament, instituted by the Jinnah Foundation, mainly
for professionally qualified men and corporate executives
is to provide them healthy sports competition as well to seek their
financial support through sponsorship for raising funds for meeting the
needs of the suffering
humanity.
Briefing newsmen here today at a local hotel, Mr Liaquat H.Merchant,
Managing Trustee of the Jinnah Foundation and chief organiser of the
tournament, stated that the foundation is running the primary Health and
Education Centre at Bhitai Colony, Korangi, for the needy people and
raising of fund is one of the main objectives of the tennis tournament.
We expect to raise about Rs 15 lakhs, Rs five lakhs more than last
years tournament, he added.
The response for participation in the mens doubles tomorrow has been
highly encouraging and this year the number of participating teams has
also been increase to 24. Last year 20 teams competed in the tournament,
he said.
Mr Kamal Merchant said the fund raised will also be used for adding more
facilities to the centre as we owe great responsibility to serve the
suffering humanity as they looked towards the well-to-do people to solve
their problems.
It is a noble cause and the Jinnah Foundation, established in 1989, is
making its own contribution to serve the humanity in education and
health.
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960506
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Quaid volleyball gets going today
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Farhana Ayaz
ISLAMABAD, May 5: The four-nation Quaid-i-Azam International Volleyball
Tournament gets underway tomorrow at Liaquat Gymnasium with Pakistan
Greens taking up Iran in the opening match following a change of
original schedule that provided rest to the Sri Lankan side due to
arrive in the capital on Monday morning.
Talking to this correspondent Ch. Yaqub, president Pakistan Volleyball
Federation (PVF), stated that Sri Lanka will reach Islamabad on Monday
and were scheduled to play the inaugural game at 4.p.m. the same day
against Pakistan Greens. We decided that it would not be fair to them
to play after having travelled during the night, Ch. Yaqub said. The
decision, it seems, has come on the part of the volleyball federation
as no such request was made by the island federation.
This would also be responsible in the wholesome change of the earlier
schedule. A new programme of the single-league tournament was being
prepared by the federation.
Meanwhile, India returns to Islamabad after the 1989 4th SAF Games
spellbinding volleyball finals at the very Liaquat Gymnasium hall when
Pakistan came back from two games down to win the gold in style in front
of a jam-packed 10,000 capacity gathering.
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960505
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Pakistan to participate in 5 events in Olympics
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Sports Correspondent
LAHORE, May 4: Pakistan will participate in the events of hockey,
boxing, athletics, swimming and probably rowing in the Olympic Games
being staged at Atlanta from July 19 to Aug 4 this year.
Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) Secretary General Mohammad Latif Butt
in an exclusive interview that entries were being sent in the above-
mentioned sports by May 15 as had been required by the Organising
Committee of the Games and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He
said the Government had sanctioned three million rupees in the 1995-96
budget for preparation and participation of the Pakistani contingent in
Olympics. Another amount of one million rupees would be given in July.
Giving details of the preparation of the contingent, the POA Secretary
said that the hockey team qualified for winning the World Cup title at
Sydney in 1994. It was following its own schedule of training. The 16-
member Pakistan hockey team was expected to visit Canada and America to
play some practice matches there before moving over to the Olympic
Village on July 9. The POA was making payment for the hockey teams stay
at Atlanta from July 9 to 14. It wanted to reach Atlanta early for
acclimatisation. The venue of hockey competition was quite near to the
Olympic Village.
While replying to a question, Mohammad Latif Butt said that four
Pakistani boxers had also qualified for the Olympic Games by performing
well during the qualifying competitions held in different countries of
Asia.
Dawn page