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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 11 April 1996 Issue : 02/15
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The DAWN Wire Service (DWS) is a free weekly news-service from
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Islamabad ready for talks on Kashmir: PM
Defence budget cut, change in N-plan ruled out
Brown says Pakistan to get back arms, money
Pakistan sure of its N-arms capability
Pakistan calls for arms embargo in Afghanistan
Islamabad pledges $1m for Azeris
Billions lost in Lahore dry port inferno
Strike multiplies patients sufferings
Karachi to have five district corporations
Conservation plan envisages 150.7b investment
Rs39.31bn allocated for basic education in 8th Plan
Global warming Rise in sea level to hit Pakistan
EU to study sanctions against Pakistan
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Govt decides to privatise revenue collection
Withdrawal of Sales Tax exemption to bring Rs1.2bn
Review of tax on stock exchanges income demanded
EPZA to set up software technology parks
Anti-dumping ordinance in the offing
Gas import: Pipeline to be operational by 2,000-end
Cotton growers harvest second crop
World Bank wants terms met before loan talks
Stray covering purchases in leading scrips
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The judiciary triumphs-III Ardeshir Cowasjee
Book industry in the throes Zubeida Mustafa
Not a drop to drink Mushtaq Ahmad
New enterprising vocations Hafizur Rahman
The parwanas of democracy Ayaz Amir
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A metamorphosis in cricket culture
Pakistan lift Cup in Singapore
Aamir Sohail happy; has no claims to captaincy
Saqlain Mushtaq confirms his promise
Sharjah cricket put off for a day
Haynes quits first class cricket
Pakistan in the right groove in Sharjah
Jansher wins 5th British Open title in a row
Squash being ignored in country: Jansher
Pakistan hockey team to be tested at Atlanta
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960411
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Islamabad ready for talks on Kashmir: PM
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ISLAMABAD, April 10: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto reiterated Pakistan's
stance for holding a meaningful dialogue with India to solve the long-
standing Kashmir issue.
The dispute, Benazir said, continues to cast a dark shadow on the
security environment of South Asia.
She said the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been waging a valiant
struggle to determine their own destiny despite the massive use of
brutal military force by India.
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960411
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Defence budget cut, change in N-plan ruled out
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Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, April 10: Pakistan has told the envoys of the Aid to Pakistan
Consortium that it could not reduce its defence budget nor alter its
peaceful nuclear programme in view of India's continued huge military
build up in the region.
Informed sources said that Prime Minister's Adviser on Finance Mr V.A.
Jafarey briefed the pre-consortium meeting of the European envoys about
the overall economy of the country with special reference to
justification of the high defence expenditure and pursuance of the
peaceful nuclear programme.
The other major points of the written agenda of the pre-consortium
meeting which were discussed were: the IMF's certificate of Pakistan's
economic health, successful privatisation process, discussion on poverty
assessment and social sectors (successes of SAP-1 and intended SAP-2),
report by resident representative of the UNDP on the proposal for Local
Dialogue Group (LDG).
The envoys, sources claimed, expressed their confidence in the
improvement of Pakistan economy and accepted the IMF's certificate of
health in this regard.
Pakistan has sought about 2.7 billion dollars from the Aid to Pakistan
Consortium which is meeting in Paris on April 22. Pakistani officials
when contacted said that the envoys have appreciated macro economic
stability and reforms for restructuring the economy. They said that they
were confident that Paris club would accept Pakistan's request for
enhanced assistance for 1996-97 compared to 2.2 billion dollars of the
current year.
Mr Jafarey told the envoys that Pakistan was quite confident to achieve
6.5 per cent GDP growth rate for the current year and said the next year
target was expected to be fixed at little over 7 per cent. He said
exports have registered an upward trend specially in February this year
after having faced problems in the beginning of the January.
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960410
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Brown says Pakistan to get back arms, money
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, April 9: US Senator Hank Brown declared that Pakistan would
soon receive the military equipment withheld since 1990, but admitted
that there were hitches in the reimbursement of the money paid for 28 F-
16s, as well as in resumption of economic assistance, on account of
speculation about the transfer of nuclear technology to Islamabad by
Beijing.
As author of the Brown Amendment, he was confident that Pakistan would
receive the money and equipment because Americans would never allow the
administration to hold back the arms and the money paid by Pakistan
before the Pressler Amendment.
He, however, acknowledged differences of opinion between Pakistan and
the United States on certain issues, but hastened to add that such
irritants would not erode the firm foundations of friendship set by the
passage of the Brown Amendment.
"This is the first step towards renewal of our friendship," he told a
news conference, saying that America had great admiration for Pakistan.
Despite calculated leaks in Washington about Pakistan's nuclear
programme and anti-Pakistan lobbies on the Capitol Hill, Mr Brown struck
a note of optimism, predicting deep friendship between the two
countries. However, he said the NPT and CTB would be the 'subject of
discourse between the two for many years to come.'
He also predicted that in the long run Pakistan and India would become
good friends because of regional economic interests. Asked how long was
long in his opinion, he was unable to give a specific period but said
once the Kashmir issue was resolved, which even the United States wants
settled, the two neighbours could become friends as opposed to enemies.
To a question about him being refused an Indian visa, he clarified: "I
was told I should come another time because of the Indian governments
preoccupation with the forthcoming elections. I look forward to my visit
to India and Kashmir to try to understand the Kashmir problem."
To a question about the 'missing' 280 million dollars which Pakistan was
claiming it had paid and the US was denying, Sen Brown emphatically
replied: "Non-tallying of accounts is quite normal. There is nothing
wrong or mystical about it."
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960409
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Pakistan sure of its N-arms capability
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, April 8: Gary Milhollin, a professor at the University of
Wisconsin Law School and Director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear
Arms Control told the Washington Times in an interview that Pakistan had
not tested their device so far because `they have judged that the
negative effects would be greater than the benefits.'
In an accompanying piece on the size of the global nuclear arsenal, the
newspaper reported Pakistan had nearly 12 first-generation fission
bombs, deliverable by aircraft and possibly missiles. The warheads are
considered reliable and Chinese components have been imported to boost
nuclear warhead production.
India, it said, had 20 to 50 first-generation fission bombs and was
preparing for a second nuclear test, while Israel possessed 100 to 200
nuclear warheads, some with thermonuclear fusion. These warheads are
deliverable by aircraft or missiles capable of reaching targets
throughout the Middle East.
Milhollin said Pakistan had a uranium warhead that can be delivered by
aerial bombs that the United States thinks are quite reliable.
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960411
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Pakistan calls for arms embargo in Afghanistan
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Our Correspondent
UNITED NATIONS, April 10: Pakistani and Afghan diplomats crossed swords
during a debate in the United Nations Security Council which at the end
offered no tangible or workable solution for the festering Afghan
conflict which threatens to destroy peace in the region.
Afghanistan's Deputy Foreign Minister, Abdul Rahim Ghafoorzai, accused
Pakistan of perpetuating the conflict.
Pakistan's delegate, Ahmad Kamal, maintained that the "nominal central
authority on self extended term" in Kabul controlled only five of the
thirty-two provinces, while the Taliban controlled more than half the
country and were locked in a struggle with the nominal central
authority. A quarter was controlled by General A.R. Dostum and other
smaller factions.
In order to control the unabated flow of arms into Kabul, Pakistan
called for the United Nations mandated arms embargo on Afghanistan to
stop the loads of ammunition being flown into the country.
It also suggested convening of a representative gathering of Afghan
leaders under United Nations umbrella in order to launch the intra-
Afghan peace process.
The United States delegate, Edward Gnehm, in a speech earlier, said, "We
are aware that several countries are considering an arms embargo on
Afghanistan. We believe this is worth exploring further if it could be
effectively implemented."
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960411
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Islamabad pledges $1m for Azeris
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, April 10: Pakistan pledged one million dollars in
humanitarian assistance to Azerbaijan for its refugees who had fled
their homes due to Armenian aggression in Nogorno Karabakh. Azerbaijan,
on the other hand offered to continue its unequivocal support to
Islamabad on Kashmir.
"We are deeply moved by the plight of Azeri refugees and would like to
make a token assistance of one million dollars for their
rehabilitation," Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto declared.
Referring to the signing of nine agreements between the two countries,
Ms Bhutto told a questioner that Pakistan will always stand by
Azerbaijan on the Armenian question because: "Aggression must not be
rewarded and we will always raise our voice against it wherever it takes
place." She lauded President Aliyev for initiating a democratisation
process in his country and the establishment of a free market economy.
She said among the agreements signed, the "most important" were
convention on avoidance of double taxation, agreement on consular
issues, the consular convention, the memoranda of understanding in the
field of tourism and in the sphere of sports. "These have laid concrete
foundation for further strengthening of our bilateral relations,"
declared the prime minister.
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960409
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Billions lost in Lahore dry port inferno
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Sajid Iqbal
LAHORE, April 8: Imported goods worth billions were gutted when fire
broke out in the largest covered shed of the Lahore Dry Port.
While the railway police and customs officials said that they were
ascertaining the causes of fire by an inquiry body, however, none gave a
convincing explanation of the lapse that caused the colossal loss. News
agency PPI estimated the initial loss at rupees two billion, but other
reports say the loss could be more.
The fire started at 5.30pm in a heap of scrap plastic outside E-shed,
the flames enveloped the whole shed shortly after. The shed was burning
till our going to the press. Brand new imported tyres put near the shed
walls were burnt to ashes. A few containers lying beside also caught
fire at around 8pm but the fire fighting staff succeeded in overcoming
the blaze there. No loss of life was reported.
"The fire which erupted in a waste scrap lying in the Dry Port area for
the last three years, engulfed the shed containing local and imported
tyres, plastic material, imported cloth, machinery, chemicals and other
industrial raw material," said Asad Khan, an importer of scrap at the
Lahore Dry Port. He complained that the fire-fighting staff of Pakistan
Railways reached the spot at 6pm, half an hour after the start of fire.
"No lift machine was available to move the containers stationed near the
shed," he complained.
The E shed of the Lahore Dry Port is one of the five covered sheds
having more covered area than all the four other sheds taken together.
It was the latest addition to the Lahore Dry Port building.
Mr Sarfraz Khan said an Assistant Director of Customs Intelligence, who
had come for the inspection of some imported goods, left the E shed at
4.30pm while the fire was reported to him an hour later.
Fire-fighting staff of the Railways, Metropolitan Corporation, Civil
Aviation Authority and Pakistan Air Force were battling the flames.
However, 16 vehicles on the job were found to be insufficient in face of
the huge blaze which exposed the inefficient security arrangements at
the dry port.
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960405
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Strike multiplies patients' sufferings
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Sarfaraz Ahmed
KARACHI, April 4: While a strike affects the normal activity of the city
with varying degrees, it definitely hampers most of the performance of
the city hospitals, particularly of those run by the public sector.
In the last two days of strike in Karachi, hundreds of scheduled major
and minor surgical operations could not take place owing to a variety of
reasons. The Civil Hospital, District South, was the hardest hit where
more than 100 major surgeries were cancelled or postponed.
However, emergency operations in all the big city hospitals, including
the CHK, continued to be performed.
The number of daily operations runs into three figures at Civil Hospital
where, according to its deputy medical superintendent, routine
operations were postponed.
According to Prof Karim Siddiqui of Civil Hospital, the cases postponed
in these two days would become a backlog and those who were scheduled to
have been operated upon during these two days would now have their turn
subject to the situation of the future lists.
"Such a situation not only results in loss of time and money, but it
also leads to added load on emergency," said Dr Sher Shah, medical
superintendent of Sobhraj Maternity Home.
However, the number of road accident cases is reduced during strike days
owing to less traffic which in turn reduces the number of orthopaedic
and neuro-surgery cases reported to hospitals, said another CHK staff
who takes care of all the nine operation theatres at hospital.
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960405
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Karachi to have five district corporations
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 4: Karachi's municipal government is to be decentralised
again. There will now be five district corporations though the `mother'
Metropolitan Corporation will continue to exist. But all of them will be
controlled by bureaucrats the district corporations by the deputy
commissioners and the KMC by the commissioner, according to a bill to be
moved in the Sindh Assembly shortly.
If passed, the bill will also affect the status of the Karachi Water and
Sewerage Board and the two building controlling authorities.
Now, according to the proposed bill, there will be five `district
corporations,' instead of the four ZMCs, the fifth one being for the
newly created Malir district.
More important, the bill will detach the Karachi Water and Sewerage
Board from the KMC and turn it into an independent board with the chief
minister as chairman. Its managing director, to be appointed by the
chief minister, will be the chief executive.
While the new scheme will naturally involve a redistribution of powers
between the KMC and the DMCs, its financial implications do not augur
well for the city, unless the provincial government chooses to make the
KWSB financially viable by large doses of provincial, federal and
foreign aid instead of making the KMC give more money to the water
agency.
Besides, the distribution of the KMC's finances into six bodies will
completely erode its ability to run maternity homes and hospitals,
including Abbasi Shaheed, and over 500 schools, besides sanitation.
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960407
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Conservation plan envisages 150.7b investment
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Mahmood Zaman
LAHORE, April 6: As many as 68 projects in 14 core areas have been
identified by the federal government in its National Conservation
Strategy (NCS) aimed at efficient use and conservation of natural
resources with the help of the private sector.
The NSC, approved by the federal government in March 1992, envisages
investment of a huge amount of Rs 150.7 billion up to the year 2001. Of
this Rs 61.1 billion will be funded by the government by revamping some
of its ongoing and some future projects in specialised fields. About 59
per cent of the remaining investment (estimated to be Rs 52 billion) is
expected to be made by the private sector, whose involvement is being
given great importance by the government.
A federal government report indicated that the NCS would make a
significant impact on 18 economic sectors. A significant part of it
would be the importance of community-based management of resources. The
report also envisaged approximately 800,000 jobs within the next decade.
The 14 core areas identified by the NCS where investment is to be made
include maintaining soils in crop lands, increasing irrigation
efficiency, protecting watersheds, supporting forestry and plantation,
restoring rangelands and improving livestock, protecting water bodies
and sustaining fisheries, conserving biodiversity, increasing energy
efficiency, developing and deploying renewables, preventing pollution,
managing urban wastes, supporting institutions from resources,
integrating population and environment programmes and preserving the
cultural heritage.
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960409
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Rs39.31bn allocated for basic education in 8th Plan
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ISLAMABAD, April 8: The Minister for Education, Syed Khursheed Shah,
told the National Assembly that under the Eighth Plan, out of a total
allocation of Rs69.031 billion, Rs39.31 billion had been allocated for
basic education.
Mobile and crash teachers training programmes of short-term duration had
been launched for the expansion in teacher training network, the
minister said, adding that a district basic education survey had been
made to develop district basic education plan for all the four
provinces.
Apart from motivational campaigns, he said, primary education had also
been made compulsory through legislation in Punjab.
The minister further said that a project for the establishment of 10,000
non-formal basic education schools at the national level had been
approved and was being launched in the provinces.
To another question, Mr Shah, referring to the World Bank Atlas, 1996,
said, "Pakistan stands at 194 among 209 countries" as regards the
literacy rate.
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960407
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Global warming Rise in sea level to hit Pakistan
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, April 6: Pakistan is among the 10 developing countries which
will be seriously affected by the rise in sea level due to global
warming within the next 20 to 30 years.
No less frightening, Dr S. Taseer Husain, the internationally respected
scientist of Pakistan-origin, said is the sudden outbreak of cholera
epidemic that may occur any moment in the South Asian region. For a new
strain of cholera, presumed to be an effect of environmental change, has
been discovered in the algae in the Bay of Bengal.
The World Health Organisation is aware of it but the problem is that
there is no vaccine against this particular strain, observed Dr Taseer,
a pioneer in environmental palaeontology and research on relationship
between climate change and public health and a member of advisory
committees of the United Nations and NATO on science and technology.
Currently, he is associated with the Faculty of Medicine, Howard
University, USA. He shared the findings of latest international research
with local scientists in the course of his lecture on `Human Influences
on Geological Environments' which was organised by the Minrock
Foundation, a subsidiary of the Geological Survey of Pakistan.
Even by a conservative estimate, 20 centimetre uplift in sea level will
inundate large parts of the United States and Europe as well as the
developing world, including Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the Maldives,
Indonesia, Senegal, Mozambique, Thailand, Egypt, Surinam and Gambia.
What, in terms of greenhouse effect, was done by the industrialised
world in 200 years, the developing world can bring about in a matter of
decades owing to sheer preponderance in demographics, he remarked.
The latter should, therefore, strive for the kind of development that is
environmentally and economically sustainable. `If we don't take these
challenges, we will have only ourselves to blame.'
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960411
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EU to study sanctions against Pakistan
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Shadaba Islam
BRUSSELS, April 10: The European Union's 15 member states will once
again study international trade unions' demands for ending trade
benefits for Pakistan because of the alleged use of child labour in the
country.
A meeting of the EU's so-called "advisory management committee" on the
Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) is scheduled to meet on May 7
and 8 to discuss the problem of labour standards in Pakistan.
Sources say the European Commission, which runs the EU's preferential
trade scheme for developing countries, is seeking "a final opinion" from
EU governments before it takes a decision on whether or not to
investigate the trade unions' claims.
The ICFTU has produced what its officials describe as "hard evidence" of
the employment of children in Pakistan's carpet industry. Under the EU's
new GSP rules, countries accused of using forced labour can lose their
preferential trade advantages. The withdrawal of the GSP benefits can be
"partial, temporary or total".
That's easier said than done, however. EU countries are still deeply
divided over the wisdom of using trade sanctions to improve labour
conditions in the developing world.
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960405
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Govt decides to privatise revenue collection
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Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, April 4: The federal government has decided to privatise the
assessment and revenue collection of the country's major business
markets.
Informed sources told Dawn here that the Central Board of Revenue (CBR)
has started a major exercise in this regard with a view to increasing
the overall revenue collection.
Secretary Privatisation Commission, Mr. Abdullah Yousef, and Member
Income Tax of the CBR, Mr.Iqbal Farid, have been asked to deliberate the
issue in the light of the directive given by Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto.
A significant portion of Customs duties are already being collected by a
private international import appraising firm M/S Cotecna. It is said to
have once again signed a fresh agreement with the government to collect
revenue for 1996-97.
Now the CBR is examining a proposal given by the PPP MNA Khalid Javed
Gurki to privatise the collection of presumptive income tax of shops of
Lahores Liberty Market. Sources said Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has
agreed with the proposal and sent it to the officials of the CBR for
detailed study and action.
The CBR has acquired documents from Karachi about Cotecna to study the
case in detail in order to evolve a workable arrangement under which the
collection of presumptive shop tax in Lahore's Liberty Market could be
contracted out to Khalid Javed Gurki, the only PPP MNA who was able to
win a National Assembly seat from the ten-seat city.
Presumptive shop tax was first imposed about five years ago. It brought
in a good amount of revenue in the first year. But in the following
years the collection declined to nothing because of collusion between
the CBR collectors and the shop keepers. As a result shopping centres
which had a turn-over of millions of rupees a day were paying paltry
amounts in taxes.
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960407
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Withdrawal of Sales Tax exemption to bring Rs1.2bn
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Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, April 6: Prime Ministers Advisor on Finance and Economic
Affairs Mr. V. A. Jafarey has said that the withdrawal of sales tax
exemption on 46 items would provide additional revenue of Rs 1.2 billion
annually to the government.
"This decision will have a good impact on revenue and would reduce the
government borrowings and largely curtail our budget deficit", he
further stated.
Mr. Jafarey said that the government has not levied any additional taxes
over which the opposition should make any hue and cry. We have only
withdrawn sales tax exemptions on various items through an executive
order, he said adding that the measure had the necessary legal
protection and could not be challenged.
Asked to comment on statement of former finance minister Senator Sartaj
Aziz that his party would go to the high court against the decision, he
said let them adopt any course they want because we have not done any
thing illegal or unconstitutional.
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960408
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Review of tax on stock exchanges' income demanded
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Our Reporter
KARACHI, April 7: The Karachi Stock Exchange wants the government to
exempt tax on bonus shares, wealth tax on shares of listed companies,
end harassment of tax payers and to review tax on income of stock
exchanges.
These proposals are incorporated in a draft sent to the Advisory
Council, Finance Division of the Ministry of Finance, for consideration
in its meeting on April 9 at Islamabad.
It also contended that in the larger interest of the capital market and
development of the economy, shares of the listed companies be exempted
from wealth tax, especially since they are risk oriented savings
instruments.
The draft proposal also urged the government to review the withdrawal of
deduction of wealth tax from taxable income.
It also urged the government to make the income of stock exchanges tax
free because these institutions were not profit oriented entities.
The Karachi Stock Exchange urged the government to implement its
commitment to the capital market, allowing development expenditure of
stock exchanges on research, automation and modernisation as deductible
expenses against their taxable income.
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960407
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EPZA to set up software technology parks
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ISLAMABAD, April 6: The Export Processing Zones Authority will set up
software technology parks at Karachi and Islamabad.
Chairman, Export Processing Zones Authority, S. T. R. Zaidi, in an
interview said the project would be undertaken as a joint venture with
the Pakistan software board.
A firm of Singapore is likely to provide assistance in implementing the
project. The firms representatives have shown keen interest in the
project after visiting the site, EPZA chief said. The project is part of
the EPZA diversification programme under which the remaining parts of
the Karachi Export processing Zone would be devoted to diverse
industries.
Zaidi said 100 acres of land would now be earmarked for the software
technology park while 150 acres would be developed for other industries.
The government has appointed Nespak as a consultant to work out details
of the project including cost estimates, layout plans and PC I, he said
adding that the systems of KEPZ were working smoothly and exports from
zone have increased.
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960406
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Anti-dumping ordinance in the offing
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Ihtasham ul Haque
The Pakistan government has decided to promulgate an anti-dumping
ordinance to protect the local industry. President Farooq Ahmed Leghari
is expected to issue it soon and the National Assembly will adopt it at
its next session.
Officials at the Ministries of Finance and Commerce are said to have
framed the anti-dumping laws after a lot of careful deliberation.
Various trade bodies and chambers of commerce too had called for
enforcing anti-dumping duties, specially keeping in view the threat from
China and India.
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960409
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Gas import: Pipeline to be operational by 2,000-end
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Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, April 8: One of the three gas pipeline projects for import of
gas either from Iran, Qatar or Turkmenistan will be operational by the
end of this century.
"We have also decided to allow Iran to extend gas pipeline to India
through Pakistan's land route," said the Minister for Petroleum Mr Anwar
Saifullah Khan.
He also believed that economic inter-dependence and co-operation would
make India and Pakistan sit across the table to resolve their
outstanding disputes.
Referring to gas import projects, Anwar Saifullah said that the gas
demand-supply would be around 1.5-3 billion cubic feet per day by the
end of year 2000 and it could rise up to 10 bcfpd by the year 2010.
"Every effort is being made to, at least, make one of the three gas
pipeline projects for import of gas either from Iran, Qatar or
Turkmenistan operational by the end of this century," he said adding
that Islamabad has allowed Iran to sell its gas to India via Pakistan
with a view to have good friendly political and economic relations with
New Delhi.
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960410
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Cotton growers harvest second crop
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mohammad Aslam
KARACHI, April 9: The progressive cotton growers of the lower Sindh
cotton belt have successfully harvested a second crop for the first time
in Pakistans history and their experience has created interest in the
other major growing areas of the country.
The idea to harvest a second crop from the earlier sown plants
originated, probably on the pattern of sugarcane, in the minds of some
progressive growers as after the final picking they did not destroy the
plants as has been the practice since time immemorial but watered them
with due dozes of fertiliser and other inputs.
"The result was simply amazing as within two months there was normal
flowering and maturing of bolls, paving the way for fresh picking," said
a leading grower.
After the final picking in December, growers generally destroy the
plants or use it for burning purposes but after the new experiment they
water the leafless plants, which grow like normal crop and mature in
late March for picking.
The cotton in the lower Sindh belt is sown a bit earlier during the
month of February and March and it matures by the middle of July or
August and in late November or early December plants are destroyed to
sow wheat crop by rotation.
"We call it a test tube cotton as it has no staple length or micronaire
but is widely used for blending purposes to produce fine quality yarn,"
growers said.
Most of the spinners are after each lot of the test tube cotton as its
blending with the normal variety gives a tremendous boost to fine
quality of cotton yarn meant for exports.
I have 1,500 maunds of the new cotton crop ready for sale in my ginnery
and have buying offers around Rs 850 per maund but I will not sell it
below Rs 950, said a ginner. Although the size of the second crop is
still to be determined in terms of quantity but as the arrivals showed
it run into thousands of maunds.
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960411
-------------------------------------------------------------------
World Bank wants terms met before loan talks
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ashraf Mumtaz
LAHORE, April 10: The World Bank has told Pakistan that no further talks
will be held for a $800 million loan unless Islamabad enacts legislation
for the establishment of provincial irrigation and drainage authorities
(PIDAs) and submits a rolling business plan for the first three years.
The federal government, official sources said, has informed provincial
governments about the World Bank's condition, which, it is said by the
bank, is meant to ensure that the establishment of the PIDAs was not
delayed.
The sources said Pakistan needed the loan for its budget for the year
1996-97 and wanted the provincial governments to take early steps for
the establishment of the PIDAs.
Experts say that the World Bank is wrong in its assertion that after
implementation of the new system, the farmers will get water according
to their requirements. "This is simply not possible. Water available in
Pakistan is not sufficient to meet all irrigation requirements of the
country and lands get less water than their needs. If water is sold like
the World Bank is suggesting, big farmers will buy it all, leaving the
small farmers in a state of helplessness. They will be left with no
option but to sell their lands and seek some other source of
livelihood," experts say.
An important provision in the legislation proposed by the World Bank is
that any farmer who fails to pay his water charges on time will have his
water supply disconnected. "This is the best way to starve the poor
farmers", experts say. "Once irrigation water is disconnected during the
season, entire crop will be destroyed and the farmer will get punished
along with his family for the whole year."
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960411
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Stray covering purchases in leading scrips
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Commerce Reporter
KARACHI, April 10: Leading shares on the Karachi Stock Exchange came in
for stray covering purchases at the lower levels but bulk of the buying
remained centred around some current favourites.
The KSE 100-share index recovered in part the last three sessions'
losses at 1,548.91 as against the previous 1,545.05, showing an increase
of 3.86 points.
After steep early week decline in response to withdrawal of sales tax
exemptions on about four dozen items, which could well mean cost-push,
the market showed resistance to larger fall after mid-week but the
technical rally could not manifest itself.
What seemed to have taken technical steam out of the market was said to
be Opposition's threat to launch a drive against the government to
unseat it.
The heating up of the political scenario could lead to a fresh
confrontation among the contenders of power and that is a bad thing for
the already battered market, most analysts believe.
Bank shares did attract modest support under the lead of MCB, Citicorp,
Bank al-Habib and some others but short-covering did not go beyond
filling in some technical gaps.
ICP mutual funds were also traded lower, although fractionally barring
ICP SEMF, which managed to show resistance to larger decline and so did
most of the modarabas and leasing shares.
After early distinct weakness under the lead of Adamjee Insurance, some
of the leading insurance shares including Adamjee, EFU Life, Askari Life
and some others recovered but Dadabhoy remained under pressure, losing
heavily in each session.
Synthetic shares were traded modestly after the withdrawal of sale tax
exemptions as even most active them including Dhan Fibre, and Ibrahim
Fibre lacked normal speculative activity.
All eyes remained centred on Lucky Cement as did on Hub-Power in the
energy sector as investors were not inclined to move out of them even
for a short-term. Both were massively traded amid either-way movements.
Leading among them including PSO, and Pakistan Oilfields fell.
Auto shares came in for stray covering purchases at the fag-end of the
week-end session and rose under the lead of Indus Motors, and Pak-Suzuki
Motors.
Fauji Fertiliser was heavily traded in the chemical and pharma sector,
finishing on-balance on the lower side and so did Engro Chemicals after
early rise but Dawood Hercules, which is not a very active scrip rose
appreciably.
Most of the MNCs in this section, notably Parke-Davis, BOC, Reckitt and
Colman, and some others fell modestly.
PTC vouchers again proved the most active scrip after Hub-Power and
traded both ways amid alternate bouts of buying and selling as investors
were not inclined to take long positions. Telecard fell on late selling.
The most active list was topped by PTC vouchers, firm 35 paisa on
16.807m shares, followed by Hub-Power, higher 40 paisa on 14.141m
shares, Fauji Fertiliser, lower 45 paisa on 1.340m shares, Lucky Cement,
up 25 paisa on 0.771m shares and D.G.Khan Cement(r), unchanged on 1.905m
shares.
Trading volume fell to 36.340m shares from the previous 52.915m shares
owing to the absence of leading sellers.
There were 359 actives, out of which 179 shares suffered fall, while 107
rose, with 73 holding on to the last levels.
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960405
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The judiciary triumphs-III
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ardeshir Cowasjee
WADERASHAHI tactics, i.e. the intimidation and harassment of those who
do not fall in line with executive wishes, have this time, so far, not
worked. Despite heavy pressures, the judges of our Supreme Court, and
their senior-most amicus, have not allowed themselves to be browbeaten
into submission.
Neither did they allow dissension to be created in their ranks. They
stood firm and the March 20 short order was delivered, as scheduled.
(The full judgment came out on April 2.).
We have read in the Press the spate of words written by some of our
retired judges, who have in the past held, or who now hold, government
appointments, and by the government-inspired legal lights and bar
associations (Larkana, for instance), who hold that the Supreme Court
has jumped its mark and has acted unconstitutionally. The same has been
said by the freely and fairly elected representatives sitting on the
Treasury benches in the august and honourable Lower House. We can easily
swallow all this with a smile.
Of more weight are the observations made by neutral outside observers.
For instance, an editorial of March 28 in The Times of India, headed
Landmark ruling:
Pakistan Prime Minister, Ms Benazir Bhutto, has reacted against the
countrys Supreme Court landmark ruling that wrested judicial
appointments from the exclusive control of the executive government. The
Prime Minister has gone on record that the Court might have overstepped
its power. The Supreme Court does not take away the prerogative of the
President to appoint the judges but stipulates that the appointments
must be based on judicial recommendations... The court has also ruled
against the practice of appointing ad hoc judges.
While the court has not ruled out candidates for judgeships on account
of their political affiliations, it has insisted on unimpeachable
integrity, sound knowledge of law and recommendation of the concerned
Chief Justice as preconditions for such appointments. This judgment has
resulted in making the appointments of ad hoc judges unconstitutional.
The judgment is a severe indictment of the way judicial appointments
were made in Pakistan, especially by the Benazir Government. The
cavalier attitude of the government towards the judiciary is exemplified
by the confirmation of 17 ad hoc judges of the Lahore and Sindh High
courts the day prior to the Supreme Court judgment, and these
confirmations are likely to be impugned under the new ruling of the
Supreme Court (this was done). The lawyers have threatened not to
cooperate with the affected judges. The Pakistan Supreme Court has
prescribed a crucial test for the democratic credentials of President
Farooq Leghari and Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The principles laid
down by the Pakistan Supreme Court are unexceptionable. Not only the
people of Pakistan but also all the inhabitants of South Asia will be
interested in the assertion of judicial autonomy and independence in
Pakistan.
Then, from The Economist (London) of March 23:
The judges of Pakistan are proving as feisty as those of India.
Pakistans government is often accused of appointing judges because of
their loyalty to the ruling party rather than their competence. But a
judgment by the Supreme Court on March 20th removes from the government
its exclusive power to make appointments to the higher courts. The Court
said that such appointments have to have the consent of the chief
justices of the high courts and the chief justice of Pakistan. It also
insisted that new judges should have proper legal qualifications.
The court was ruling on a petition by a lawyer challenging the
appointment of several judges to high courts last year by the prime
minister, Benazir Bhutto. Apparently anticipating the ruling, Miss
Bhutto had the previous day confirmed the permanent appointments of 17
judges who had held their jobs in an ad hoc arrangement.
Some lawyers believe that, when the Supreme Courts full judgment is
released, previous appointments made by Miss Bhutto may be struck down.
The government claims all appointments have been made on merit. But the
lawyer who brought the case is delighted. For the first time in
Pakistans history, the judiciary is getting independent, he said.
Again from India, from one of her most eminent jurists, Fali Sam
Nariman. To introduce him to those unfamiliar with his name: He was born
in 1929, in Rangoon. He enrolled as an advocate of the Bombay High Court
in 1950 and has been a senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India
since 1971. From 1972 to 1975, he was the Additional Solicitor-General
of India. He resigned from this post the day after Indira Gandhi
declared her Emergency. In 1979 he became the Founder Chairman of the
LAWASIA Standing Committee on Human Rights and during 1985-1987 was
President of the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific.
Right now, he is President of the Bar Association of India, the
President of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration, the
Vice-Chairman of the International Court of Arbitration (Paris), a
Member of the London Court of International Arbitration, Chairman of the
Executive Committee of the International Commission of Jurists (Geneva),
and a council member of the International Bar Association Human Rights
Institute.
The message to us all from the President of the Indian Bar Association
reads:
The order of March 20, 1996, of a Constitution Bench of the Supreme
Court of Pakistan, presided over by its Chief Justice, has been welcomed
by the entire fraternity of lawyers in India. The decision is in accord
with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the
Judiciary, which reaffirmed more than ten years ago that the judiciary
shall have jurisdiction over all issues of a judicial nature and shall
have exclusive authority to decide where an issue submitted for its
decision is within its competence.
It is not without a struggle that successive governments of India have
come to realise, and later accept, that an understanding of the
provisions of a written constitution is not reached by a mere reading of
them. For, as a former Chief Justice of the United States once said: We
are under the Constitution but the Constitution is what the judges say
it is.
Governments first begin to subvert a written Constitution when they
undermine the authority by which they are constituted. On September 5,
1970, when the Indian Constitution Twentyfourth (Amendment) Bill was
defeated in Parliament, an attempt was made by the government of the day
to overreach the verdict by the issue on the same night of an
Executive Order by the President. This Midnight Order, as it later came
to be known, was struck down by a special eleven-member Bench of the
Supreme Court of India. Since then, we have experienced several
constitutional crises, but no Midnight Orders!
Our Constitution has survived because of the farsightedness of the
justices of our apex court. We all hope and pray that your Constitution,
enriched by the farsighted order of March 20, 1996, will survive all
future onslaughts. With an independent judiciary in place the people of
Pakistan have nothing to fear.
As far as we here are concerned, our most recent Midnight Order came
on March 19. Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah had announced on March 18
that the Supreme Court would announce its short order in the Judges case
on the morning of Wednesday, March 20. The worthies of our government
then advised the President to issue orders on the evening of Tuesday,
March 19:
... in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 193 of the
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President is
pleased to appoint the following Additional Judges of the High Court
of... to be the Judges of the Court with immediate effect...
The notifications from the ministry of law, justice and parliamentary
affairs were signed by the Secretary, Justice Muhammad Arif.
The 10 names listed for the Lahore High Court were Justices Rao Naeem
Hashim Khan, Amir Alam Khan, M. Javaid Bhuttara, Miss Talat Yaqoob,
Karamat Nazir Bhindari, M Asif Jan, Riaz Hussain, Sharif Hussain
Bokhari, Nasira Javaid Iqbal, and Rana Muhammad Arshad Khan. The Lahore
High Court was opened at night and these judges were sworn in by the
Acting Chief Justice, Irshad Hasan Khan.
At 0830 on the morning of March 20, one hour before the Supreme Court
was to sit, Justices Rasheed Ahmed Rizvi, Abdul Hameed Dogar, Amanullah
Abassi, Ghous Muhammad, Hameed Ali Mirza, Shahanawaz Awan, and Agha
Rafiq Ahmad Khan were sworn in the Sindh High Court by the Acting Chief
Justice, Abdul Hafeez Memon.
The short order of 1100 hours on the 20th has invalidated all these 17
appointments.
Our judiciary has asserted itself. Our judges now command more respect
(and now less will be their need to demand it) by abusing the contempt
of court jurisdiction which is very rarely used in advanced democratic
countries. And, the thousands of political prisoners languishing in our
jail now have more hope.
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960409
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Book industry in the throes
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Zubeida Mustafa
HOW would one describe the state of the publishing industry in Pakistan
today? Some feel that it has picked up, with a variety of books seeing
the light of day. But others, especially those in this trade, are not so
optimistic about its prospects and say the future of books in the
country continues to be as grim as before, suffering as the industry
does from utter neglect at the hands of the government.
The answer to the question, thus, would depend on how you look at the
matter and what yardstick you use to measure success or failure. But
there are no two opinions about the fact that the political climate has
never been so good for book publishing as it is today. The advent of
democracy has made it easier for writers to express their opinions
freely and many historical events have been recorded which was not
possible when the country was under military rule or an autocratic
democracy. As a result there has been an upsurge in political writings
which has been widely welcomed. But certain holy cows still have to be
protected and publishers have to be wary about the sensitivity of
different groups. Issues relating to religion, culture and even some
historical personalities are deemed to be above criticism.
But if you were to evaluate the progress of the book industry in
Pakistan in terms of the criteria generally employed, such as the number
of titles published, the print run, the quality of the contents of
publications and the affordability of books, a sorry picture emerges.
It is not any specific government which has hurt the publishing
industry. Shams Quraeshi of Mackwin, the doyen of the book trade in
Pakistan, has lamented the pathetic treatment traditionally meted out to
his profession in this country since its inception.
It is not just those striding in the corridors of power who do not care.
This indifference permeates all levels. Recently, we had a painful
demonstration of this lack of concern for the publishers. At the
launching of a book on the Quaid-i-Azam where the prime minister was the
chief guest, the publisher was pointedly ignored. The author did not
even acknowledge his publishers (OUP) services. As for Ms Bhutto, she
chose to take no notice of what the managing director of the OUP had to
say in her speech a few minutes earlier. Ameena Saiyid, the OUPs head
in Pakistan, had in vain tried to draw the attention of those in office
to some of the problems the book industry has been facing.
The step-motherly attitude vis-a-vis books adopted by the government has
received reinforcement from public apathy. Of course the dismally low
literacy rate of 36 per cent (not all of the so-called literates are
capable of reading a book) is one factor responsible for the poverty of
our book world. But the literacy rate would not have been so low if the
successive governments had cared more for knowledge and learning which
are enshrined in books. The failure to boost literacy and book
publishing is symptomatic of the same malaise.
The two major problems that the OUP chief in Pakistan highlighted but
which fell on deaf ears are two sides of the same coin. One is the very
high cost of book production which makes all publications so
prohibitively expensive. The other is piracy which denies the publisher
and the author their rightful earnings from the sale of their products.
Small wonder, the growth of the book industry is so badly stunted in
Pakistan. At the most 2000 titles are published every year with a
maximum print run of a thousand copies. In India on an average 15,000
titles hit the stands every year and the print runs, at least for
popular fiction, are much higher than in Pakistan. A popular Hindi novel
is said to have reached a record of 500,000 copies in print recently.
Popular writers in Pakistan such as Mushtaq Ahmed Yusufi are lucky when
their books have 3,000 copies printed.
Shams Quraeshi very rightly points out that the difference in the size
of the populations of the two countries and thus the potential market
size does not account for this disparity. Had it been so, the print run
of a popular Urdu novel in Pakistan should have still been about 50,000.
Since it is not, there is something seriously wrong somewhere.
This disparity is underscored in UNESCOs World Education Report which
gives the data for the printing and writing paper consumed in the two
countries. While India uses 1861 kg paper per 1000 people, in Pakistan
the corresponding figure is only 1297.
The governments negative approach is best reflected in the economics of
book production, which lies at the heart of the problem. It is now
commonplace for even modestly sized books to be priced at Rs 200 or so.
The small print run of course works against the economy of scales. But
even otherwise the government has not been overly helpful. For instance,
paper accounts for about 70 per cent of the production cost of a book.
With the price of paper having jumped up nearly four times in the last
ten years, book publishing is by no means a low cost business.
With no indigenous production of paper worth the name in the country,
publishers have had to depend on imported material. Instead of
recognising the predicament of the book trade the government has
proceeded to give it a crippling blow in the form of an injudicious tax
structure. The import duty of 55 per cent on paper at once raises its
price for all other levies, be it the sales tax of 15 per cent, income
tax of four per cent, Iqra of five per cent, and the Regulatory Duty of
13 per cent.
When the end product of the publishing industry is so frightfully
expensive, the scope for piracy naturally knows no bounds. By not being
required to invest in overheads, pay any taxes to the government or
royalty to the author, the pirate can produce books which are cheaper.
Therefore they sell more easily and his profit margin is bigger.
Piracy can undermine the publishing industry badly. The recent
tightening of the copyright law which has enhanced the punishment and
made it possible to nab the wrongdoers has not caused much relief
either. A case can drag on in the court for years and the publisher
could end up spending more than what he loses because of piracy. The
most effective strategy to combat piracy would be to reduce the price of
books so that there is not much margin for an artificial cut in price.
But given the governments taxation structure, the publisher cannot
lower the price of books any further.
The small market ensured by the low literacy rate and the poor reading
habits of people which have been made worse by television does not
help publishers boost their sales. In other countries, a conventional
outlet for the book trade has been a vast library network. This has
woefully been lacking in Pakistan. There are about 1200 libraries in the
country with less than 10 million books. This is a very small number for
a population of 140 million.
Moreover, these libraries do not have a sizable budget for the purchase
of books. At one time the university libraries were spending only half
their budget on books. The college libraries have a smaller book budget.
No comprehensive statistics are available to assess the share of the
library purchases in the book trade in Pakistan. But it is definitely
not too impressive.
The government has not adopted any concerted policy of book promotion
either. For instance, no funds are made available to subsidise
publishing so that low cost books are made available to the people who
might then be encouraged to buy and read them. This is specially true
for serious books such as reference works, encyclopaedias, research
publications and science books. They are costly to produce and can
hardly be done profitably by a publisher. That would explain why the
bulk of the books produced comprise Urdu poetry, collections of so-
called literary articles, religious discourses and impressionistic
writings giving the opinions of writers but containing no information or
data.
Shams Quraeshi points out wistfully that the Indian government spends
millions Rs 400 millions or so on the promotion of 15 regional
languages and Hindi. Paper is subsidised for books and calculated
measures are adopted to keep prices down.
Textbooks, which have been described as the bread and butter of any book
industry because of the large sales assured, have been virtually the
governments monopoly in Pakistan since the sixties when the Textbook
Boards were set up. Book publishing suffered a grievous blow because
textbooks, potentially the most paying product of a publisher, were not
allowed to be produced in the private sector.
Mercifully the situation is changing somewhat. The government has on an
experimental basis tried to involve private publishers in textbook
production. Last year it invited publishers to submit samples of
textbooks for seven specified subjects for four classes. Although 64
publishers were registered, only eight or so actually offered samples
and five were selected.
But they will again be required to compete with the Textbook Boards on
an unequal footing. Since the publishers will have to purchase duty-free
paper from the Boards but pay a royalty on it or buy paper from the open
market on which import duty has been levied. Ameena Saiyyid says that
this boosts the price of the OUP textbooks two-fold as compared with the
Boards publications.
The issue which ultimately emerges as the key one is whether the
government is prepared to heed the voice of the publishers. The tendency
has so far been to ignore them. This has not helped. If knowledge and
research is to be promoted in this country, our approach to the book
world will have to change.
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960408
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Not a drop to drink
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mushtaq Ahmad
IT IS atrocious that in this God-given country of snow-fed rivers, lakes
and mountain springs, one has to spend as much as Rs. 1,200 a week for
domestic consumption of water. In the higher income brackets people have
a much higher price to pay and they pay it without compunction and
complaint. For, money flows into their coffers the way water used to
flow once into our tanks.
I cannot help being bitterly critical because I cannot afford to foot
such a fabulous bill, although I am certain that there must be hundreds
of thousands who must be more painfully deprived. I can at least
ventilate my grievance. The large majority must bear the agony in
silence if it does not have the will and the power to openly protest
against this cruel deprivation.
The much maligned anarchist school of thought, now almost extinct, was
maliciously blamed for propagating the cult of anarchy. Its adherents
were incomparably more humanistic and humane than the present breed of
politicians who are utterly insensitive to the pains and privations of
the deprived and the disadvantaged. It was their commitment that if they
ever came to power they would make bread free like water. Now the tables
have been turned. If we have to spend all that money on water, not much
would be left to buy the bread.
Water, as defined in elementary textbooks on economics, has utility but
no value except in conditions of scarcity. In a land of plenty its
scarcity is inexcusable. The explanations offered for the increasingly
frequent breakdowns and failures in water supply can hardly satisfy any
one, much less reassure the harassed and harried public. Sometimes it is
the shortage in dry seasons resulting from excessive evaporation. At
other times it is due to a breach in the canals and water courses.
Shortage is also caused by the bursting of the concrete pipelines
apparently made of substandard material. Announcement through Press
releases that in certain areas supply would be suspended for four days
or a week is considered an adequate ground to relieve them of their
responsibility, by the concerned functionaries without making an
alternative provision even for a basic minimum of availability. It is a
strange phenomenon that even while it rains pipes go dry, reminding one
of the famous rhyme: Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.
The water tax of our municipal and local authorities, unlike other taxes
imposed by the provincial and central governments, is related to a
specific service for whose failure they are legally accountable, and its
consumers justifiably entitled to compensation. It is a duty they cannot
evade without making themselves liable for legal action and even penalty
for non- fulfilment. This relationship has a universal application in
law and practice. Under extraordinary circumstances the supplying agency
may rationalise or ration the distribution of water but not deny
accessibility to it without inviting conditions of anarchy and chaos.
For, while men can live without gems and jewellery, they cannot survive
without water. A regular supply of water at the cheapest possible rate
is a dire necessity of existence and its cessation the surest sign of
trouble and turbulence.
The extent of shortage people are inclined to believe is often
artificial and intentionally created. One can see it from the
overspilling tankers that ply on the roads from daylight to sunset. They
have strong reasons to suspect that between the management and the tank
operators there is a conspiracy to defraud them. To that suspicion the
price of water supplied by tankers lends plausible credence. Water is
bought from hydrants at Rs 20 for two hundred gallons and sold to the
consumers at Rs 125 to Rs 250 under the inexorable law of supply and
demand. Each tanker makes roughly twenty trips a day and some of them
even more. From the operations of 4,000 of them on the roads, one can
well imagine the high profitability of the business. The collusion among
the parties has converted what is an essential service into a money-
making scandal, against which public criticism goes unheeded.
The representatives of the people at the local and provincial levels
appear least bothered. If they do not have to face the problem
themselves, they think the masses can have no cause for grievance. The
ghost of Marie Antoinette still seems to haunt their luxury abodes which
are no less luxurious than the palaces of the kings and emperors. In the
context of their non-chalant and casual attitude, her ill- informed
advice to the people of eighteenth century France is worth recalling:
If they cant get bread, why dont they eat cakes? Our politicians
might turn round and say; If they cannot get water, why dont they take
soft drinks? Not very long ago, they had asked them to eat apples if
potatoes were not available for their daily diet, and then ordered
several thousand tons of them to be imported from India which were
allowed to rot at the border after payment for the consignment had been
made from the treasury in hard currency.
There is something basically wrong with the management of water
distribution in Karachi. Instead of improvement, we have witnessed a
progressive deterioration in its supply. For mismanagement a host of
reasons are responsible. Inefficiency and corruption, lack of planning
and co-ordination, feverish building activity that has converted a city
of small houses into a metropolis of high-rises, and, above all, a
ceaseless drift of the population from the interior are among the major
contributory factors. The essential services have consequently come
under severe strains, water being the most indispensable among them.
Officials and clerks and even valve men, at the bottom rung, look upon
it as a business proposition in which bribery and corruption abound
and where service is a casual consideration and not an act of necessity,
which, in any case, is handsomely paid for.
Yet, the consumer is treated as if he is not a customer but the
recipient of a favour. His plight is obvious from the energy consumed in
running after the private supplier. The administration is heedless to
the complaints about non-supply or erratic supply, but is exacting in
the realisation of charges which he must pay or else risk his water
connection being cut off, whether or not water is in the pipeline.
Residents are often told that there would be no water for a week or so
and that alternative arrangements for its procurement should be made. Of
such an alternative source no indication is given. Perhaps it is the
fleecing tanker operators they have in mind. Their prohibitive price tag
is enough to deflate a hardpressed customer, who must cut down his
expenses elsewhere to meet the extortionate demand of the supplier. At
this rate, we might well face a situation of anarchy in a state where
order and progress are supposedly among the top priorities of the
governments, whose spokesmen proclaim from housetops day in and day out
that the provision of basic necessities of life is their legal and moral
obligation from which they would not resile. What we are witnessing,
however, is the very opposite of what is promised as peoples basic
right.
Solutions to the chronic problem of water shortage afflicting urban
centres like Karachi are there but they have not been tapped seriously
and systematically enough. For instance, the Indus flood water that
flows into the sea in unlimited quantities every year is so much life-
sustaining substance wasted through lack of planning. If conserved
through building storage capacities, it can enormously supplement the
available resources in the dry season. Mini-dams and small lakes built
upstream and downstream at suitable locations can meet recurring
shortages that continually plague the lives of millions in Karachi. The
50 square mile Keenjar Lake, seventy miles from Karachi, created in the
early years of Pakistan is a shining example of bold planning and
dedicated efforts which unfortunately was not followed in the subsequent
period. Or else there would have been plentiful supplies of water to
meet the rapidly growing demand of Karachi and other cities of Sindh.
Had the government been conscious of their responsibilities, we would
have had by now nearly half a dozen supplementary reservoirs to ensure
an abundant and uninteruppted supply of water to this beleaguered city.
Provision of water is a fundamental duty of the government, which it can
ignore only at the risk of forfeiting its mandate to rule.
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960410
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New enterprising vocations
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Hafizur Rahman
MAYBE it is a sign of progress that more and more people every day are
taking to larceny, dacoity and the occasional murder as a wholetime
vocation.
At this rate the time may soon come when families which have no son
engaged in any of these activities will have to hide themselves for
shame. People of the new respectability will shun them as pariahs, and
they will feel that they are perhaps the lowest that one can get in such
an advanced society.
It is heartening to note that the intellectual level of persons engaged
in larceny and dacoity (and the occasional murder of course) is also
gradually rising. It is no longer the field for those rejected by
society the riff raff and the good-for- nothings who couldnt think of
anything better to do.
Gone are the days when a man involved in these activities wore a guilty
look and was looked down upon by the genteel and the noble even if they
were poor. He would rather have died than admitted his nefarious
profession. Happily it is no longer so.
In Sindh it is said that half the jungle dacoits are graduates. In
Punjab nothing could have done more to impart respectability to these
enterprising vocations than what happened some time ago in Multan, the
city of saints. (Apparently the saintly part of the population is all
below ground level).
It was discovered by the Multan police that a group of four lawyers had
been masterminding dacoities and other such work. The four were also
alleged to have killed a companion who, they believed, had ratted on
them, and thrown his dead body in a nearby forest.
They might have been justified in that because he was only a student of
B.A. Lawyers are men of law. In a way they are the biggest opponents of
crime and criminals. With lawyers joining the most popular profession,
its ranks will be greatly strengthened. It is like important MNAs
deserting the government and teaming up with the opposition.
This incursion of lawyers into the crime business is not going to be
without its repercussions. It is true that lawyers are always the first
everywhere, but do you think the other professions are going to take it
complacently? I am sure they have already started watering at the mouth.
I shouldnt be surprised if the really forward-looking among doctors
(for example) have not become jealous enough to decide on a change of
profession a change for the better. Apart from dacoity they should do
well in murder. Ill tell you why.
The Multan lawyers were found out when they killed their young companion
and threw his body in the forest. They couldnt ascribe his death to
such Latin phrases as Corum non judice or Mutatis mutandis. On the other
hand, doctors wanting to get rid of a snake in the grass, a traitor to
the cause, have only to say that he died of a new virus called veritas
fornicatis or due to excess of antiphlogistine, or some such name which
nobody understands, and the body will be given a decent burial.
And if someone does shout Murder! afterwards, and the body has to be
exhumed for post-mortem examination, who will conduct the autopsy? You
are right. The very same doctors or their friends.
Would engineers want to be left behind in the race for crime? How can
they when they are otherwise the foremost in making money on the side?
They will benefit from the fact that they have long practice in that
art. The very day they enter a job they start their work. In fact their
old parents would die of disappointment if they werent able to buy a
car (or get one from a contractor) within a month of their sons
appointment. And engineers are somehow so altruistic that if you dont
pay them their salary they wont mind in the least.
In fact they are so obsessed by the thought of public works that they
just want to build and build and go on building. They construct a road
one day and reconstruct it again after three months, as if they were not
satisfied with their own work. Same with public buildings like schools
and hospitals. Absolute perfectionists they are.
Also they are conscious of the fact that going to all this trouble
provides employment to hundreds, and sometimes thousands of labourers
right in the Moghul tradition. What attitude they are going to adopt
after becoming real dacoits (and committing the occasional murder) I
cannot say.
School and college teachers are usually slow to react. For example, very
few among them are able to realise that they are there to teach. By the
time this realisation sinks in, they are too old to do anything about
it.
But if the teachers decide to go the lawyers way it will be for
understandable reasons. Their emoluments are so meagre, and
opportunities for Fazl-i-Rabbi overhead income so few, that actually
they should have been the first to take to larceny, dacoity (and the
occasional murder too if needed).
You see, doctors and lawyers and engineers are already termed as dacoits
by unthinking people, although Im sure they dont do anything to
deserve that appellation. At least I have never been held up at pistol
point by anyone belonging to either of the three groups.
The poor teacher, on the other hand, has always had a raw deal at the
hands of the public, who, instead of being grateful to him for keeping
their children away from the harmful effects of modern education, treat
him as something the cat had brought home. If anyone deserves a change
of profession it is the teacher.
And do you think maulvis and pirs are going to be left behind when
everybody else is forging ahead? Certainly not. But let me keep them for
some other day. Theyll need a whole column to themselves.
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960408
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The parwanas of democracy
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Ayaz Amir
TODAY politics in Pakistan is identified with reference to Quaid-i-
Awam. On one hand are lovers (parwanas in Urdu) of Bhutto, while on the
other his opponents. His lovers want democracy... his opponents support
dictatorship...
PM Bhutto speaking in Garhi Khuda Baksh on the death anniversary of
Quaid-i-Awam, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
Imagine my depression and gloom after reading this statement because
according to it I find myself in the camp of the supporters of
dictatorship. In its all-embracing sweep, this declaration does not say
that you have to actively or intellectually sympathise with fascism in
order to qualify as a supporter of dictatorship. If you are not one of
Bhuttos parwanas you are of the devils party and hence automatically
cast beyond the pale of redemption.
My own position is especially parlous because there was a time when, if
not exactly a parwana of the Quaid-i-Awam, I was at least a minor flag-
bearer in the revolutionary caravan whose leadership had by then
devolved, according to the iron laws of heritage which continue to hold
sway in the sub-continent, on the shoulders of his daughter. Since this
is confession time let me say that my enthusiasm for the cause at the
time was no less great than that of any other runner with his eye on the
future who was trying to keep up with Ms Bhuttos Pajero (the Pajero
then being the undisputed symbol of upward political mobility in the
Republic). But such being my fickle nature, or call it my wayward
energy, by the time the Daughter of the East had settled into the Prime
Ministers house (during her first incarnation, that is) my enthusiasm
had begun to wane. Seeing the leaders of the people at close quarters
had cured me of the desire for upward political mobility (temporarily I
must hasten to add because for the germ of political ambition there is
no lasting remedy).
Those of my friends who are not given to looking kindly at me or my
endeavours say that I was miffed because I was denied a party ticket for
the 1988 elections. I myself tend to favour an explanation that lies in
this quote from Eugene ONeill: You asked why I quit the Movement. I
had a lot of good reasons. One was myself, and another was my
comrades... For myself I was forced to admit, at the end of thirty
years devotion to the Cause, that I was never made for it... As history
proves, to be a worldly success at anything, especially revolution, you
have to wear blinders like a horse and see only straight in front of
you. You have to see, too, that this is all black, and that is all
white. As for my comrades in the Great Cause, I felt as Horace Walpole
did about England, that he could love it if it werent for the people in
it.
Seeing the camp fires of revolution from close quarters had cured me of
most of my illusions. Even so, the formal act of excommunication was
performed by Ms Bhutto herself. Somewhere in the middle of 1989, at a
meeting with senior columnists (a breed which, as far as I can tell,
exists only in Pakistan) things became a bit hot when the conversation
turned to Mr Hakim Ali Zardari. Trying to act as a fireman, Mushahid
Hussain (who till then was still a senior columnist) said with a smile
to Ms Bhutto that she should not be upset with me because I was a member
of her party. Not any more, was the instant and imperious answer.
Why I recount this is to explain that much as I may want, to be a Bhutto
lover and hence counted as a supporter of democracy, I am condemned to
be in purgatory along with all the other supporters of dictatorship
having been excommunicated from the ranks of the faithful by the leader
herself. Since then a lot of water may have flowed down the rivers of
Pakistan but distance in this case is of no comfort because if you are
not a parwana of Bhutto you become, in Ms Bhuttos own words, a
supporter of dictatorship. Salvation or perdition. Like in heaven there
is no middle ground in Ms Bhuttos theology.
But if more than half the country stands condemned by this definition,
is it not instructive to take a look at those who remain as the
champions of democracy?
Any such list has to be headed by the two governors doing yeoman service
in Punjab and Balochistan: Lt. Gen. Raja Saroop and Lt. Gen. Imranullah
Khan. Both attained high military rank under General Zia-ul-Haq but for
all we know either they must have been part of a secret cell working
against the dictator or, alternatively, they must have been closet
Bhutto parwanas, their secret yearning known only to Ms Benazir Bhutto.
Sindhs formidable governor, Kamal Azfar, is an interesting example of
someone who remained a Bhutto lover, and hence a lover of democracy,
despite a series of amazing U-turns which found him first in the company
of Maulana Kausar Niazi when he formed his Progressive Peoples Party and
later in that of Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi when he formed his National
Peoples Party. (The Maulana having departed into the eternal shades, it
would be churlish to ask about his party, but where has the NPP gone?)
Anyway, Kamal Azfars heart must obviously have remained in the right
place because after his various forays into the wilderness he is back
where he belongs: among the supporters of democracy.
In Islamabad the list of leading Bhutto lovers is long and
distinguished. It includes Pillar of the Regime and Soul of a Poet (Ms
Bhuttos own title), Shahid Hasan Khan, whose pro- democracy role in the
Zia years is such a closely guarded secret that it is known only to the
Prime Minister; Keeper of the Royal Seals, Sir Ahmed Falstaff Sadiq, who
as it now transpires was always a jiala; my friend Naveed Malik whose
occasional pro-Zia statements back in the eighties were a cover for his
PPP activities; Culture Symbol Raana Sheikh who despite being a Foreign
Office wife did underground work, of a vaguely dangerous kind, for
democracy; and the Lodhi clan, now heavily into the defence of Pakistan,
whose members went without food for days when Mr Bhutto was hanged.
The PPP has always had a gift for polarisation. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto may
never have said idhar hum, udhar tum (a headline actually concocted by
the journalist Abbas Athar) but the course that he adopted after the
1970 elections refusing to acknowledge the Awami Leagues title to
power despite its having won a clear majority in the National Assembly
amounted to saying just that. Benazir Bhutto now says that those who are
parwanas of Bhutto are lovers of democracy. Everyone else is a supporter
of dictatorship and obscurantism. In this diktat whatever else there may
be, there is not much of humility.
The problem, however, is slightly more complicated than Ms Bhutto
thinks. How does someone actually prove that he is a Bhutto-lover? The
most active spirits who took part in the struggle against Zia are
largely forgotten. There were PPP men who set fire to themselves in 1978
as part of the disjointed effort to stave off the hanging of Bhutto.
Misguided activists who took to the paths of violence against the Zia
regime were tortured before being sentenced to long terms in prison. A
few of them were sent to the gallows. Does any one even remember their
names?
Not that the PPP has been alone in using its workers as cannon fodder.
In all the political movements which have sprung up from the soil of
Pakistan a sharp distinction has always been drawn between those meant
to bear the brunt of the lathis and those destined to taste the rewards
of success. Who remembers the martyrs of the PNA movement? Do Nawabzada
Nasrullah Khan, Maulana Abdus Sattar Niazi and Maulana Fazlur Rehman
remember the names of those five people who were shot by the police when
in 1989 these luminaries led a demonstration in Islamabad against Salman
Rushdies Satanic Verses? Does Altaf Hussain really care about the
lengthening list of the dead in Karachi? But the PPP is supposed to be
different because is it not the party of the people?
These grim thoughts, however, are best left aside. It is more cheerful
to keep in mind the patience and perseverance of those PPP leaders (my
friendship with most of them preventing me from taking their names) who
have turned the cult of mediocrity and the bearing of insults into
closely-entwined art forms. From the garden of the PPPs second coming
these canny souls have picked the choicest fruits. Need anyone be
surprised, therefore, if in Ms Bhuttos view of the world they also
qualify as the leading lovers of democracy?
===================================================================
960406
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A metamorphosis in cricket culture
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John F. Burns
When Englishmen introduced cricket to the Indian subcontinent they
brought more than a game.
Along with white trousers and games that lasted for days, the English
grafted an entire culture into the consciousness and the language of
those they ruled.
Nearly 50 years after the British Empire faded into history, people in
this region still say, "It's not cricket," meaning something is not
fair. Saying that somebody "plays with a straight bat," in business or
politics, signals integrity. A "sticky wicket" means conditions that are
disagreeable. And so on.
But in the past month, all across the region, cricket's inherited
culture has come under challenge.
The World Cup, played in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, has shown that
cricket, enveloped in distinctly un-English passions on and off the
field, has changed so much that old-timers might say cricket itself is
"not cricket" anymore.
When the final was played in Lahore with Sri Lanka scoring an upset
victory over Australia, the organisers could look back on a month of
turmoil. For the first time in the 20 years the championship has been
staged, one game a semifinal between India and Sri Lanka in Calcutta
had to be abandoned because of crowd violence that threatened the
players.
As glass bottles were hurled onto the field and fires burned in the
stands, Sri Lanka's players, on the verge of victory anyway, were
escorted from the field by police commandos with bulletproof jackets and
submachine guns.
The incident set off an outburst of self-recrimination. Headlines in
Indian newspapers proclaimed "Shame!" Calcutta businessmen placed front-
page advertisements to apologise to Sri Lanka: "Sorry, gentlemen. It was
just not cricket at Eden Gardens," referring to the 110,000-seat stadium
in Calcutta "It will not happen again."
Ashoke Mitra, a columnist, wrote in The Telegraph of Calcutta, "Cricket
is civilisation: India, let us have the grace to admit, we're yet to
attain that level of civility."
The emotions were a somersault from days earlier, when India beat
Pakistan in a quarterfinal at Bangalore. As the Indian crowds danced in
the stands, an Indian television commentator gloated at the victory
"over our old enemies er, rivals."
Indian headlines, three inches deep on the front pages, announced
"Victory!" Some commentators urged Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao to
call a coming general election without delay, to profit from the
"bounce" that victory over Pakistan would give the ruling Congress (I)
Party.
The loss pitched Pakistan into despair. In the city of Mardan, a college
student fired a burst with a Kalashnikov rifle into a television set,
then shot himself dead; similar suicides in India followed India's
Calcutta defeat. In Pakistan's Parliament, legislators called for the
arrest of Pakistan's captain, Wasim Akram, on suspicion of throwing the
India game for bribes.
On the field, as off, the championship made clear that the game has
migrated, and metamorphosed. As if to underline the point, the English
team departed the championship early, humiliated in a quarterfinal by
Sri Lanka, a team that English overlords of the game kept out of top-
level cricket until a few years ago. The defeat prompted Denis Silk,
whose position as chairman of the Test and County Cricket Board makes
him England's equivalent of the baseball commissioner, to say, "If our
team keeps going the way it has been going, then our game will die."
Scandals have become commonplace. The Australians recently accused the
Pakistan team of attempting to bribe them and the Sri Lankans of ball-
tampering.
This gave an added edge to World Cup final. So did Australia's decision,
earlier in the championship, to boycott a game against Sri Lanka in
Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital after a terrorist truck bomb exploded in
Colombo's financial district in February, killing nearly 90 people.
But when reporters asked Arjuna Ranatunga, the Sri Lankan captain, if
final would be a grudge match for Sri Lanka, he reverted to the game's
traditions. "Revenge is a word that has no place in cricket,'" he said.
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960408
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Pakistan lift Cup in Singapore
-------------------------------------------------------------------
SINGAPORE, April 7: Pakistan staged a sensational turnaround on Sunday
to win the Singer Cup after being hammered by Sri Lankan opener Sanath
Jayasuriya for the quickest half-century in one-day cricket.
Chasing a modest 216 on the Padang grounds, World Cup champions Sri
Lanka collapsed for 172 in 32.5 overs after appearing set for victory
when Jayasuriya, who five days ago struck the quickest hundred, was in
full flow.
Off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq and medium-pacer Ata-ur-Rehman shared six
wickets, and Waqar Younis and Aaqib Javed grabbed the remaining four to
bowl Pakistan to a brilliant victory for the 30,000 US dollar first
prize.
Sri Lankas chances of adding the Singer Cup to the World Cup they won
last month disappeared when their top order collapsed after Jayasuriyas
dismissal.
I had the feeling that once we got Jayasuriya, it would not be too
difficult, said Pakistan skipper Aamir Sohail. It was a collective
team effort.
Jayasuriya, who had Tuesday taken the quickest hundred in a one-day
international against the same team, rewrote the record books again by
reaching a half-century off just 17 balls.
His fifty, which contained five sixes and four fours, was quicker by a
ball than Australian all-rounder Simon ODonnells effort against New
Zealand in 1990.
The balding 27-year-old left-hander, who showed no respect for any
bowler, was eventually out for a magnificent 76 off just 27 balls when
he looked on course for smashing his Tuesdays record for the quickest
ton.
There were five sixes and eight fours, each beautifully timed and
powerfully struck, before he skied an easy catch to Saeed Anwar at extra
cover off fast-bowler Waqar Younis.
Jayasuriyas dismissal with the score at 96 saw a sensational collapse
as four wickets fell for the addition of 10 runs.
Earlier, Pakistan were bowled out for a modest 215 in 48.3 overs after
being asked to bat first by Sri Lanka, who lined up the same side that
beat Australia in the World Cup final.
None of the batsmen stayed long enough in the middle to play a big
innings against a nagging attack that gave nothing away and was backed
by splendid fielding that made Pakistan fight for every run.
Ijaz Ahmed top-scored with 51 off 75 balls, inclusive of two huge sixes
near the end, before becoming the last batsman to fall when he was clean
bowled by Sanath Jayasuriya, trying a mighty heave.
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960408
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Aamir Sohail happy; has no claims to captaincy
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Special Representative
SINGAPORE, April 7: A happy and smiling Aamir Sohail said that he would
hand over the captaincy to Wasim Akram because it was he who was the
best man for the job.
Talking to journalists after the match, Sohail said: When Wasim
recovers from the injury and makes himself available, he will be the
captain. But what I have learnt from this experience will be available
to Wasim and even the team.
Sohail said until Wasim Akram was playing, he has no chance of taking
the leadership. Wasim is the right man. He is a match-winner and a born
leader. I will only think of becoming a permanent captain when Wasim
decides to hand his boots.
Sohail, replying to a question, said he was in no position to make any
claims with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). If I have won a
tournament, that doesnt mean I have claims to become a permanent
captain. I still have to learn and perform. Moreover, it is the board
which has the right to appoint captain. Players have no say in that.
Aamir Sohail has leadership qualities. The way he has handled the team
and that for the first time in his career, its really appreciable. As
far as Wasim Akram is concerned, well thats up to the board to decide
how is the most suitable man for the captains job, Intikhab Alam
commented.
The aggressive skipper said he was optimistic about win when Pakistan
collected 215 runs. I knew that the wicket was getting worse. Even when
Jayasuriya was whipping us, I knew that he would play a bad shot and
will throw away his wicket.
All we were waiting was for Jayasuriya to make mistake and he did
because he was getting after every ball. One cannot hit all the balls.
After that what happened, you all know, he said.
Sohail was all praise for Waqar Younis, Aqib Javed, Ataur Rahman and
Saqlain Mushtaq. I had faith in them because they have delivered the
goods quite often and in difficult stages. I am glad they lived up to my
expectations.
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960409
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Saqlain Mushtaq confirms his promise
-------------------------------------------------------------------
LAHORE,April 8:Promising off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq finally proved his
mettle by winning his first Man of the Match award in guiding Pakistan
to success in the Singers Cup.
The 18-year-old youngster emphasised his talent with three for 46 from
42 balls and was promptly praised by his captain Aamir Sohail as the
best off-spinner in the game .
Saqlain who finished the three-nation tournament with eight wickets for
129 runs began his cricketing career at the age of 15 years by
representing Lahore in the national Under-19 tournament in the 1992-93
season.
He then went onto represent Combined Universities in the Patrons Grade
II Trophy in the 1993-94 season where his performance was noted and this
led to his selection against the visiting New Zealand Youth team.
Twice during the 1994-95 winter he was chosen to tour Bangladesh with
Pakistan A for the SAARC Gold Cup and then to New Zealand with the
Pakistan youth side.
Saqlain claimed 52 wickets at 18.23 runs apiece in his initial season
and finished ninth in the final first class averages.
The youngster went to New Zealand as vice-captain of Pakistan Youth side
and his best efforts was seven for 70 in the second Test at Hamilton.
His continued improvement finally earned him a place in the national
senior team during the one-day series against Sri Lanka at home last
October.
On the subsequent trip to Sharjah, Saqlain earned his best one-day
figures of four for 47 against the West Indies and also scored his
highest score of 30 against Sri Lanka.
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960410
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Sharjah cricket put off for a day
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Viren Varma
SHARJAH, April 9: The Sharjah Cup cricket tournament, scheduled to start
on Thursday (April 11), has been postponed for a day following the death
of a member of the ruling Sharjah family. This was announced by Qasim
Noorani of the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series, the organisers of the
tournament today.
The final of the three-nation tournament, featuring India, Pakistan and
South Africa, however, will be held on schedule on April 19. According
to the revised itinerary India will take on Pakistan in the opening
match on Friday (April 12).
The UAE Government announced a three-day official mourning following the
death on Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalid Al-Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah
Department of Culture and Information in Scotland.
South African skipper Hansle Cronje sounded pretty optimistic about his
teams chances in the tournament. We are looking forward to a good game
of cricket. Since it is our first outing in this part of the world we
will do our best to play positive cricket.
All the teams in the competition are equally balanced and it will
depend how we perform on the field. WE have done our home work well,
Cronje said.
The winners of the tournament will be awarded $30,000 and the runners-up
$15,000.
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960407
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Haynes quits first class cricket
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KINGSTON, (St Vincent), April 6: Desmond Haynes, the illustrious former
Barbados and West Indies opening batsman, formally announced his
retirement from international cricket.
The 40-year-old Haynes informed the West Indies Cricket Board of Control
(WICBC) of his decision in a fax sent through Sussex County Cricket Club
in England, where he has been appointed coach for the next three years.
In making this decision, I have taken a number of factors into
consideration, not least of which is the need to move on to a new phase
in my life while seeking to provide for the future well-being of my
family, Haynes wrote.
He added: May I take this opportunity to say thank you publicly to the
Barbados Cricket Association and the WICBC and to express my
appreciation to these bodies for affording me the great honour of
representing my country and the Caribbean as a professional crickeer for
the 16-year period from 1978 to 1994.
Haynes, whose career ended contentiously in 1995, wished West Indies
cricket success in the future and once more offered himself to serve the
people of the Caribbean.
In offering his support to Tony Marshall, the new manager Clive Lloyd,
his former West Indies captain and the teams new coach, along with
Courtney Walsh, the new captain, Haynes said: I hope that this is the
start of a successful rebuilding process which is greatly desired by all
persons who are interested in seeing West Indian cricket live up to the
potential of its players and resume its former glory.
He continued: It is my earnest desire that I will be given an
opportunity to contribute in some meaningful way to cricket in the
Caribbean at some time in the future.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
960411
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Pakistan in the right groove in Sharjah
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Viren Varma
SHARJAH, April 10: Pakistan, to some extent, have atoned for what they
termed a "disaster" against India in the World Cup, by winning the
recent triangular in Singapore, comfortably edging out their old nemesis
on run rate en route to the final.
So their victory - over India, in particular - must have eased the
pressure from an oversentimental home crowd. And now they are looking
forward to another good run in the Sharjah Cup which gets under way at
the Sharjah Stadium tomorrow.
The Pakistanis are relieved a lot now under stand-in skipper Aamir
Sohail, who almost overnight was hailed as a "cool-headed" skipper after
his deft handling of the team in the dramatic Singapore final against
world champions, Sri Lanka.
Well, at the moment, it might be a little premature to say that the once
temperamental Sohail poses a serious threat to Wasim Akram, but then you
never know, it's cricket and that too Pakistan cricket where captains
are known to live dangerously.
"I have already made it very, very clear that I am not harbouring any
such ambitions. At present, I am captaining the side simply because
Wasim has been advised rest by the doctors. Even talking about the
subject is ridiculous," Sohail told Khaleej Times yesterday.
"I wouldn't say the team is relieved after the victory in Singapore.
`Confident and happy' is the correct expression. With the Singapore win
we have got into the right groove and hope to continue in the same vein.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
960409
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Jansher wins 5th British Open title in a row
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Dicky Rutnagur
CARDIFF, April 8: All talk about Jansher Khan, the world champion having
come underprepared to defend his title in the British Open
Championships, was stilled by the manner in which he won his final, 15-
13, 15-8, 15-10, in 50 minutes, against the World number two, Rodney
Eyles, of Australia.
The achievement was the greater for the fact that Eyles himself played
with great inspiration, keeping his errors to a minimum. Even when
tired, he was not wanting for fight, but it was only in the first game
that he posed a positive threat.
It was a long game of 19 minutes, the Australian moving briskly round
the court and playing incisive shots. A factor that hindered Jansher was
the referees strictness in making sure that Jansher moved clear of the
ball after playing his drop shots. Quite a few penalty points were
awarded against him.
Eyless resolve showed in the manner in which he neutralised Janshers
7-5 lead to himself go 8-7 up and then stay level with him until 13, at
which point Jansher played a fantastic backhand drop. The winning point
came from Eyles hitting down with a backhand drive intended to be a
killer.
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