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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 11 January, 1996 Issue : 02/02
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Karachi Carnage
..........Two PPP leaders among seven shot dead
..........Victims father had already moved SHC for his release
..........MQM detainees not being brought to court
..........MQM strike paralyses city life
..........MQM chief demands case against rangers
Ruling Party
..........Govt for independent judiciary, says PM
Death in custody
..........MQM worker dies in CIA custody
..........Probe demanded into death in custody
..........HR bodies urged to probe MQM mens torture
Sanghar by-election fever
..........Election fever grips Sanghar
..........MQM to back PML candidate in by-election
..........Benazir has violated PPP manifesto, says Khaliq
..........Mohajirs cant betray Pakistan: Ishtiaq
..........Dero confident, Qureshi fears dhandli all eyes on Sanghar
..........Mob attacks Nawazs motorcade
..........Ghous alleges attempt on Nawazs life
..........Altaf flays attack on Nawaz
..........Opposition calls for presidents intervention
..........Rabbani refutes allegations
..........PML wants probe by SC judge
..........PPP accuses PML of attack
Bomb explosion aboard a bus
..........25 critically hurt: Bomb blast abroad KTC bus kills seven
..........Shah visits injured in hospital
..........Leaders condemn blast
Pakistan to launch second experimental satellite
Release of loan: IMF asks Islamabad to meet criteria for performance
General Abbasi says he was tortured
PIA defends stand on Delhi flight
FO rebuts terrorism charges: India fomenting Sindh violence
Nawaz and Altaf agree on common approach
Nawaz, Altaf agree on change of government
Nasim blasts govt for wrong policies
Pakistan was informed about Indian N-test plan
Cabinet okays construction of Rs600m monument
Ban on mobile phones, pagers to continue
Newspaper office attack condemned
Meher blames city violence on joblessness
Secretariat strike paralyses Balochistan govt
---------------------------------
Nisar asks Leghari to halt privatisation
UBL sale put off
No reference price fixed for UBL: inform PC chief
Sale of nationalised units: Provinces demand share in proceeds
Korangi fish harbour gets poor response
CLA, KSE coordination necessary for market development
Alvi for saving tax structure from annihilation
CBR surpasses tax collection target
Banking on our political paucity
Second largest crop protection company launched
KSE 100-share index rises by 13 points
Improved performance on stock market
KSE indices move in opposite direction
---------------------------------------
Independence of the judiciary - II Ardeshir Cowasjee
Their nostrum for all our ills M Ikram-ul-Haq
The singer, not the song Mazdak
Indias grand nuclear design. Gen Khalid Mahmud Arif
Why fear trading with India ? S.M. Naseem
Will India heed the warning ? Editorial Column
Vigilance or vendetta ? Omar Kureshi
Coping with diabetes Editorial Column
The task before the NFC Editorial Column
Calculated Terror Editorial Column
The MQM - PML intent M.H. Askari
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Pakistan, Holland clash in youth hockey final
Pakistan beat Holland to lift youth hockey trophy
Mudassar gets hundred: Pakistans 7-wkts win over India
===================================================================
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960111
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Two PPP leaders among seven shot dead
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Terrorists gunned down seven people in separate incidents
bringing the weeks death toll to 46. An MQM activist, a police
constable and two PPP leaders were among those murdered. Seven
vehicles were also set ablaze in various parts of the city.
A young MQM activist was killed in an alleged encounter in Orangi
Extension. The victim was identified as Mohammad Shamim. In another
incident a MQM activist Mustafa Kamal, his younger brother and a
friend Shamsher Ali Khan were arrested by the rangers during raids in
the city.
MQM feared for safety of the three and alleged they were given a
severe beating soon after their arrest.
Two PPP leaders were also murdered and another was wounded when MQM
men allegedly dragged them out of their North Karachi houses and
sprayed them with bullets.
The murder of two local PPP activists was strongly condemned by the
provincial government and party leadership which termed it a
conspiracy to scuttle peace efforts.
The city people also witnessed the Haqiqi activists allegedly setting
ablaze five minibuses as their conductors were found charging
passengers the newly-approved government fares.
Three minibuses were torched in Liaquatabad and one each in Nazimabad
and Korangi.
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960105
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Victims father had already moved SHC for his release
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 4: Nineteen days before his sons death in what the
police said was an encounter, the father of an MQM activist had filed
a petition in the Sindh High Court, seeking the release of his son,
who he claimed, was in the illegal custody of rangers and police.
Mohammad Nasim alias Charya, an MQM worker, died in an encounter with
rangers in Gharibabad on Jan 2. Three other party workers also died
with him.
The police claimed that all the four had been allegedly involved in
the kidnapping and killing of four army and police personnel in the
early morning of Jan 1 and were allegedly members of an MQM militant
group headed by Naeem Sherri.
But father Haji Ahmed Din, claimed that on Dec. 14 he filed a petition
in the Sindh High Court, seeking the release of his son from the
illegal custody of rangers and police.
Mohammad Nasim, the family claimed had been arrested on Dec. 11. The
family claimed that rangers had arrested Nasim along with two other
MQM workers Syed Nasir Ali alias Bilal and Aneesuddin. It claimed
that the rangers had killed Syed Nasir Ali on the same day and
arrested Nasim and Aneesuddin.
However, on that day, the police claimed that a terrorist, Nasir Ali,
was killed during a gunbattle with rangers. Ranger Khalid Mehmood,
they claimed, was also wounded. A pistol and some bullets were found
on him.
The police did not mention the arrest of anyone and had claimed that
Nasirs companion escaped from the scene.
On Thursday, a family member showed Dawn the copy of a petition (No
2445 of 1995) which was filed in the Sindh High Court mentioning the
circumstances in which Nasim was arrested.
The family of Aneesuddin who was also arrested along with Nasim also
filed a similar petition (No 2442 of 1995) in the Sindh High Court
praying for his release.
A couple of days back, the Garden police admitted that they had
arrested Aneesuddin after an encounter in the area.
After the petition, the court issued notices to the advocate-general
and other concerned authorities on December 18 and fixed the hearing
date on Jan 15.
But in the morning of Jan 2, Haji Ahmed Din learnt through newspapers
that his son had been killed along with three other MQM workers while
fighting with rangers in Gharibabad during a house-to-house search.
The operation was launched a day after police had found the bodies of
four army and police personnel who were kidnapped and killed in the
area.
The claims made by the Orangi neighbours of three other MQM activists
who died in an encounter with Nasim has further deepened the mystery
about the entire encounter.
Some of the neighbours contacted by Dawn had claimed that Mohammad
Salim, Shabbir and Akram Khan were in rangers custody since December.
After the encounter, the rangers did not allow newsmen to visit the
spot where the gunbattle had taken place. Even the police were unaware
of the actual spot where the encounter had take place.
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960105
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MQM detainees not being brought to court
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 4: The MQM has claimed that prison authorities are not
bringing opposition leader Dr Farooq Sattar and at least 100 other
party workers to courts to face trial.
Criticising the government, he alleged that the prison authorities
were deliberately not producing MQM workers in courts and urged the
judiciary to take notice of it.
Dr Sattar, he said, was facing 85 cases but for the last 100 days he
had not been produced in court even in a single case.
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960105
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MQM strike paralyses city life
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 4: An MQM strike, staged in protest against what it
called the extra-judicial murder of four of its workers, paralysed the
citys economic and business activities.
As a whole, the city remained peaceful except for some stray incidents
of violence in which MQM militants exchanged gunfire with rangers and
police in Liaquatabad, fired on a circular train and set a private
vehicle ablaze. Five people, including two women, were wounded in
shooting incidents.
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960107
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MQM chief demands case against rangers
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Staff Correspondent
LONDON, Jan 6: The MQM leader Altaf Hussain has demanded that the
director general of the rangers and other officials responsible for
the death of four MQM workers in a recent fake encounter should be
charged with their murder and dealt with according to the law. He made
this demand to the chief of army staff. Mr Hussain said that there was
no doubt that the four man - Naseem, Akram, Saleem and Shabbir - were
arrested in December.
He alleged that these men were in custody since their arrest by the
rangers, and were killed in a faked encounter. This is a clear case of
murder the responsibility for which lies with the Prime Minister, the
Sindh governor and Chief minister, the interior minister and the
rangers. He appealed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan to take
cognisance of the crime and register a case against the said persons.
The COAS, said Mr Hussain, should take action against the DG of the
rangers and other officials responsible for the act.
Mr Hussain said it was being claimed by the rangers that these men
were involved in the killing on Jan 1 of several officials even though
the fact is that they had been under custody since December 11. It is
also necessary to investigate who were the real killers of the
officials on Jan 1. It is possible, he added, that the killings were
the result of some infighting for which MQM workers are being held
responsible. He pointed out that the rangers have set up more than two
dozen torture cells in Karachi where numerous Mohajirs are detained,
tortured, then many are later killed in faked encounters. He said all
those under detention have their lives in danger and demanded their
immediate release otherwise they would be killed like the four MQM
workers who were murdered on January 2.
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960105
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Govt for independent judiciary, says PM
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JACOBABAD, Jan 04,: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto declared that her
government is committed to an independent judiciary. She said the
constitution does not provide for the judiciary to amend the law. To
amend the law, recourse has to be taken to Parliament.
We believe that power cannot be exercised without responsibility and
there cannot be responsibility without accountability. The premier
stated that in our constitution, the Parliament is the supreme body to
make laws. Members of Parliament are accountable in the court of the
people.
She said Pakistans longest period of Martial Law lasted over nine
years from July 05, 1977 to December 29, 1985. Gen. Zia got himself
elected as President by a referendum held in December 1984 where
barely seven per cent of the people voted.
The Premier said elections to National and provincial assemblies were
held in early 1985. Again the non-party elections were totally illegal
and against the clear cut provisions of the constitution. This
unrepresentative and unconstitutional assembly enacted the 8th
Amendment moving the country backward to the constitution of 1956
which is the root cause of political instability in the country.
She said 8th Amendment permitted the usurper to combine the office of
COAS and the President contrary to the provisions of all previous
constitutions which provided that the President could not hold any
other office of profit.
The Amendment also indemnified all cruel and horrible punishments and
ratified reactionary laws introduced by Zia. She said that political
groups have used in our history, the President, the armed forces and
the judiciary to fulfil their own unrepresentative agendas.
She said that political stability does not depend on the government
alone, political stability depends upon the President, the parliament,
the judiciary, the armed forces, the provinces, the opposition and
other organs of the State fulfilling their constitutional obligations.
Prime Minister Bhutto said that if today there is poverty and
backwardness in Pakistan, we must blame all those who violated their
constitutional oath, exceeded their constitutional duties and power
and sought to do what they were not supposed to do.
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960110
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MQM worker dies in CIA custody
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 9: A 35-year-old MQM worker died in the custody of CIA
police.
The body of Abdul Rasheed, son of Abdul Majid, a resident of Ranchhore
Line, was brought to the Jinnah Hospital morgue for post-mortem.
Inquiries made by Dawn showed that Rasheed Ahmed, who had been in the
custody of CIA police for the last several days, had fallen
unconscious on Monday evening owing to excessive torture during
interrogation.
A CIA police party, posing themselves as his relatives, took him to
the Mideast Hospital in Clifton and told doctors that he had met with
an accident in his house after a quarrel with his wife. His condition
was worsening. He was gasping for breath. We asked his relatives (CIA
men) to take him to the Jinnah Hospital as we didnt admit such cases
but they insisted on his being treated. Shortly afterwards he died,
said a doctor.
There were torture marks on his back and he was in a very bad
condition when brought to the hospital. His relatives insisted that
he had met with an accident in the house but did not tell us of all
the details. They said it was a family affair and we should treat him
quietly, said another doctor who was on duty in the hospital
emergency that night.
Despite repeated calls, the concerned CIA Civil Lines staff were not
available for their comments. During the first half of the day, the
staff were busy attending a high-level meeting.
After the meeting, they left their offices to conduct raids in the
city and were not available till late Tuesday night. A spokesman for
the Karachi police, however, claimed that Abdul Rasheed was arrested
on Monday in Ranchhore Line by the CIA police in connection with a
murder case and on the same evening his condition had worsened. He
said: Sub-Inspector Javed Afridi of CIA Civil Lines Police took him
to the Civil Hospital for treatment. After that he was brought back to
the CIA Centre where he again complained about anxiety.
On his request, he, with his mother and brother Muhammad Shahid, was
taken to Mid-East Hospital by ASI Dost Mohammad, ASI Joher Maroff and
SI Javed Afridi. There he was diagnosed as suffering from pneumonia
and pain in the chest, causing breathing difficulties. At 11:30 pm,
he stopped breathing, and the doctors declared him dead. His body was
brought to the Jinnah Hospital for post-mortem and further proceedings
were made before CIA Magistrate Syed Shabbir Hussain Shah.
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960110
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Probe demanded into death in custody
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 9: The MQM coordination committee condemned the death in
custody of Abdul Rasheed and demanded that the Chief Justice of Sindh
High Court institute judicial enquiry into the incident.
It said the death of Rashid following alleged torture in the custody
of CIA, Civil Lines, had vindicated the MQMs stand and exposed state
terrorism.
It said the government took no notice when the MQM protested over the
death of a prisoner in the Landhi jail last week. The coordination
committee also flayed human rights organisations for not playing their
role in the case of custodial deaths.
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960110
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HR bodies urged to probe MQM mens torture
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 9: Senator Ishtiaq Azhar, convenor, MQM coordination
committee, has urged the human rights organisations to send their
representatives to investigate the alleged large-scale arrests and
torture of MQM activists and supporters in prisons.
In a statement, he alleged that in the Karachi Central Jail, which has
a capacity of 900 prisoners, over 4000 people, mostly MQM activists,
have been dumped in conditions not suitable even for animals.
He alleged that hundreds of MQM workers had been shifted to prisons
in various other parts of the province where they were allegedly being
subjected to torture.
He said such a treatment of political activists was abhorring and
demanded that such people should be given a fair trial.
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960106
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Election fever grips Sanghar
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Bhagwandas
AS JANUARY 11 approaches, the election activity is gripping the
otherwise quiet and remote rural areas of Tando Adam, Shahdadpur and
Sinjhoro talukas of the Sanghar district (NA 181 Sanghar II) where
people are scheduled to choose their future representative in the
National Assembly.
Though there are 19 candidates in the run, only four are campaigning
and making their presence felt at constituency level and appear to be
serious to get the seat, which had fallen vacant after the election
petition filed by PPP's Shahnawaz Junejo was accepted and the seat
occupied by Jam Mashooq Ali (PML) was declared vacant.
Main candidates in the field are: Sen Makhdoom Khaliq-uz-Zaman (PPP-
SB), Sen Fida Hussain Dero (PPP), Haji Mohammad Islam Qureshi (PML N),
and former MNA Mohammad Usman Khan Noori belonging to the Haji
Mohammad Haneef Tayyab group, claiming to have the sympathies of
Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani as well.
Currently the Muslim League has suffered a setback after being divided
into Pir Pagara and Nawaz Sharif factions, with locals following the
dictates from Kingri House, while the settlers looking to Model Town,
Lahore.
Another big groupthe urban populationthough not in a position to win
the seat for its candidate, can certainly influence the results as
happened in the 1990 and 1993 elections. But as no candidate has so
far been able to win the support of Altaf Hussain, the urban votes
remain undecided.
The biggest group in the constituency, like anywhere else in the rural
areas of Sindh, is that of PPP supporters. Though in some other Sindh
constituencies won by the PPP, some of its supporters are feeling let
down, as their expectations have not been fulfilled by the party, in
this constituency, held by the non-PPP person since 1990, such
dissident vote either does not 'exist or is negligible.
With Mir Murtaza Bhutto, whose faction of the PPP he is representing,
Khaliq is banking on the almost non-existent dissident PPP votes and
the Sarwari Jamaat members, some of whom might be undecided or
confused between their political or religious leaders. Though Mir
Murtaza has reportedly contacted Altaf Hussain and Pir Sibghatullah
Shah Rashidi (Pir Pagara's son) to get their support for Makhdoom
Khaliq, a clear announcement from both Kingri House and from London is
yet to come. In the absence of open support from Altaf Hussain,
Makhdoom Khaliq, known for his strong nationalist views, will find it
difficult to woo the Urdu-speaking votes. MQM on its part might also
find it difficult to support the Makhdoom, but being an opposition
candidate goes in his favour and might appeal to the MQM.
Former MNA Mohammad Usman Khan Noori, though a resident of the
constituency, had been active in the Karachi politics and contested
and won his NA seat, with the help of Haji Mohammad Hanif Tayyab
group, in the 1985 partyless polls from the city. If the MQM remains
undecided he is expected to get a substantial number of the urban
votes. Though earlier he had been claiming the backing of Maulana Shah
Ahmad Noorani, he could not appear and present Maulana Noorani's
letter of nomination, so he could not get the party's symbol.
There are over 300,000 voters (167,562 males and 139,102 females) in
the constituency and the Election Commission has set up 224 polling
stations.
Presently it looks quiet difficult that any one candidate will be able
to get the support of the MQM, PML (Pagara Group), PML (Nawaz Group).
But in our political culture, where ideologies, principles or other
such things have become obsolete and are at the bottom of the priority
list, anything can happen.
However, if any opposition candidate, particularly Makhdoom Khaliq-uz-
Zaman, succeeds in getting the support of MQM and Pir Pagara, and
Nawaz Sharif also agrees to withdraw his candidate, this otherwise
one-sided contest, can turn to be an interesting neck to neck race.
But if the present situation continues and MQM and Pir Pagara remain
non-committed to anyone it is a smooth sailing for Fida Hussain Dero
who, has a clear edge due to his strong financial position.
Candidates in the run are: Sen. Makhdoom Khaliq-uz-Zaman (PPP Shaheed
Bhutto Group), Sen. Fida Hussain Dero (PPP), Haji Mohammad Islam
Qureshi (PML Nawaz), ex-MNA Mohammad Usman Khan Noori (Hanif Tayyab
group), and independents Umaid Ali Shah, Pir Noor Mohammad Shah
Jillani, Saindad, Syed Juman Shah, Salahuddin Qureshi, Abdul Khaliq
Thaheem, Faiz Mohammad Qalander Bux, Lal Bux, Liaquat Ali Shoro,
Mohammad ayub Khan, Mohammad Juman, Mohammad Hayat, Mohammad Farooq
Baloch and Mukhtiyar Ali.
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960107
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MQM to back PML candidate in by-election
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 6: MQM chief Altaf Hussain has announced that his party
would support the PML candidate in the forthcoming by-election of
Sanghar, according to the provincial acting general secretary of the
PML, Mohammad Zahid Rafiq Butt.
Mr Butt further claimed that former Sindh minister Jam Mashooq Ali had
also announced his support for the PML candidate at a meeting with
Nawaz Sharif. Though there are 19 candidates in the run, the main
contestants are Fida Mohammad Dero of the PPP; Haji Mohammad Islam
Quraishi (PML); Makhdoom Khaliquzzaman (PPP-SB) and a former MNA
Mohammad Usman Khan Noori (JUP-Niazi).
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960108
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Benazir has violated PPP manifesto, says Khaliq
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Maisoon Hussein
THE 249,797 votes of Sanghar constituencya political barometerhave
become a focus of national politics, with Benazir Bhutto and Murtaza
Bhutto campaigning personally. The pattern to emerge here might well
challenge PPPs sole claim of Sindh, and spell the scheme of things to
come in the province. Mir Murtaza Bhuttos candidate, Makhdoom Khaliq-
uz-zaman, scion of the Pir of Hala, stands confident, riding on a high
graph of popularity in view of his sacrifices and loyalties, not
being matched by Benazir. But the final strategy of the opposition is
yet to be seenwhether it would be a three-pronged contest where PML,
PML(F) and MQM will benefit while PPP(SB) will dent the hard- core
votes of the ruling party, or a grand alliance of the opposition will
emerge in Sindh to make the PPP, which has, till now, returned
unopposed in all the by-elections of Sindh, meet its Waterloo.
Dawn spoke to Senator Makhdoom Khaliquzzaman, the PPP (SB) candidate
in the NA-181 (Sanghar) by-election. Following are excerpts of the
interview:
Q: How many elections have you contested and won?
A: All three. I was elected as member of Sindh Assembly in l977,
National Assembly in 1988, and Senate in 1991. I am still the sitting
Senator.
Q: Why did you resign from the PPP presidentship and central committee
membership?
A: Mainly because of differences on national and provincial issues:
provincial autonomy, division of the province of Sindh and Kalabagh
dam.
Q: Can you elaborate?
A: On Oct. 7, l986, when Benazir and I were on a tour of Sindh, she
told me, at Thatta, that Karachi does not belong to the rest of Sindh.
That was a shocking blowI felt I could not possibly work under a
person who stood for division of Sindh.
A month later, on the flight to Abbotabad, she said that she would not
abide by the MRDs agreed formula of provincial autonomy, with the
Centre having only four subjects. Her words were, Khaliq, how can I
let the provinces be independent principalities, while I sit at the
Centre without any power. That was the second blow.
And then Kalabagh dam. She was equivocal on the issue, and to date,
she merely dilly dallies. When three out of four provinces are ruled
by the PPP, what consensus is she talking about?
Q: What is your position?
A: I believe its not necessary to store water upstream. A dam
downstream can save water from being wasted into the sea, irrigate
Thar and Karachi greenbelt and generate electricity for the rest of
the country.
But by building the dam upstream, Sindh will be deprived of its legal
share of water, and it will become a desert, while a good portion of
the NWFP will be inundated.
Mr Khar is saying that the Tarbela dam affectees will be settled in
Sindh. But why? Is Sindh a dumping ground? Why uproot people? People
are not crops to be transplanted. Sindh has enough problems.
Q: One understands now why you said goodbye to Benazir, but what made
you welcome Murtaza?
A: Because of his great struggle to save our founding chairman,
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and his struggle for democracy, against the
dictatorial tyranny of Zia-ul-Haq and his progeny.
When he arrived here, we had several opportunities to meet and to hold
long sessions together. I found him a man with a vision, deeply wedded
to the ideals of Shaheed Z. A. Bhutto. He has seasoned himself in the
hotbed of superpowers war in Afghanistan and the Middle East politics
in Syria. Academically, he is well qualified and has better grades
than Benazir at Harvard. Politics for him is not the art of the
possible(lotaism), but a science of principles for which his father
sacrificed his life.
Q: In the past, the PPP has had a walkover in Sindh by- elections ...
A: I would request you to call it sarkari Peoples Party.
Q: In the past, sarkari Peoples Party has had a walkover in Sindh.
What prompted your party to challenge Benazir in Sindh?
A: We are challenging the very character of Mohtarmas sarkari
Peoples Party. She has left the path of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto by not
abiding by the partys manifesto, by abandoning the masses and by
surrounding herself with land grabbers, heroin godfathers, financial
plunderers, commercial crooks.
Most objectionable, the very people who were with Zia during the MRD
struggle, and those involved in the hanging of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,
those who made references against her, and those who threw obnoxious,
concocted pictures of her mother and herself from helicopters in the
Punjab are now her partys henchmen. So we have come into the field to
restore the original Peoples Party. And this election campaign has
already unmasked the true face of Benazir Bhutto.
Q: Can you explain the break-up of the power forces in your
constituency, and how do you see the alignments in the coming
elections?
A: We have been in touch with the MQM for a long time, having
exchanged views with its members in the Senate. In the present
context, we have told the party that we are the only alternative who
can sit with them and try to solve the problem of Sindh. Benazir has
failed, and no other leadership from any other province, be it Punjab,
Sarhad or Balochistan, can have an answer to Sindh. We are prepared to
talk on all issues except two: fifth nationality and fifth province.
As far as Pir Sahab Pagaro is concerned, we enjoy a good relationship,
ever since the return of Murtaza Bhutto.
With regards to my election in NA l8l (Sanghar), we also came into
contact with each other. I went to Lahore and met Pir Sahab Pagaro
myself, and Mir Murtaza Bhutto has met Raja Sain. In fact, Nasir
Hussains arrest was part of the rigging because he was the main link
between us and Pir Sahab Pagaro and Raja Sain.
Q: What are the local issues involved in the election campaign?
A: In every constituency in Sindh, a criminal plundering alliance of
Sarkari partymen and Patwaris and police has become a curse for the
small-time farmer. His fields are starved of water; his cattle lifted,
and he is exposed to banditry. His development funds are gobbled up by
partymen, and his children are denied basic health and education. He
is demeaned and blackmailed everyday in police stations by these party
leaders who aid and abet crime.
The entire sarkari party has become a party of contractors and
commission agents, looting even the Zakat and ushr funds. We have come
to liberate the poor from the Partys heavy-handedness and zulm. We
will not tolerate these bullies.
Q: Even if you win, what difference will one MNA make in the
Parliament?
A: Thats the propaganda being spread by the sarkari PPP. But this is
not Makhdoom Khaliquzzaman going into the National Assembly, but the
testing ground of Mir Murtazas l6-year struggle, of Makhdoom Talibul
Maulas political stand throughout his political career; it is the
movement of Zulfikar Ali Bhuttothe real PPPgoing into the National
Assembly, a testing ground of our manifesto, our constitution, and our
stand on critical issues.
And when we win this election, it will be a message not only for
Islamabad, but for the US, Moscow, etc., that the PPP sarkari has lost
its hold in its home.
Q: How many people originally filed the nomination forms?
A: Twenty-one. Two have withdrawn.
Q: Why was only your form rejected?
A: Because the government feared that they will lose the elections.
Thats why they are harassing the three candidates who support me.
Without any warrant, without any case, their houses are daily raided,
and the electricity to their villages cut offall this, to deter
people from supporting me. They fear my victory.
But they lost the elections the very day I filed the nomination.
Thats why they changed their candidate. Or else why would they do
that? Then they came up with some phoney billsof zakat and ushr etc.,
which I had already paid. I produced the documents before the
returning officer. He disqualified me only because the payment was
late as I had earlier contested their veracity. Now, how can someone
be disqualified for that? If late, you pay the surcharge, which I had
done. This is why I salute the tribunal, Justice Agha and Justice Awan
of the Sindh High Court, who upheld the appeal.
You can well understand the fairness of the government. Even the date
of polls has been fixed on the second death anniversary of my father.
Q: Are Jam Mashooqs people supporting you?
A: Let this be a guessing game for the government. I am optimistic.
They will not be favouring sarkari PPP. Earlier when I came into
contact with Jam Mashooq Ali, a month ago, he said that if he is not
restored by the Supreme Court, he will support me. So I hope he will
stand by his word. The MQM, like functional Muslim League, as I said
earlier, have not put up any candidates against me. Either they will
not vote, or if they do, they will vote for me. Q: What about the
murder case filed by the government against you? What is the status of
that case?
A: They falsely implicated me in Al-Murtaza House, Larkana murder case
where two of our workers were fired upon and killed inside Al-Murtaza,
under a police siege. The FIR only mentions, somewhere in the middle,
that one SHO, not the complainant, spotted me in the crowd. Thats
all. On this flimsy basis, they charged me with 302. While the fact
is, I had never left Begum Sahiba and others in Al Murtaza House, when
they opened fire.
Q: What is the role of the major opposition party, Nawaz Sharif?
A: I think Mr Nawaz Sharif has been ill-advised to field a candidate
in this election. It would not be in the interest of the main
opposition in the National Assembly to spoil the vote. I hope that Mr
Nawaz Sharif will realise this, so that there is a one-to-one fight
between sarkari PPP and me.
Q: Do you foresee the Jam Sadiqs action replay by the present
government in rigging the polls. If so, what action have you
contemplated?
A: Worse than Jam Sadiq Ali and Gen Zia-ul-Haqs period. At least Jam
Sadiq let the candidates to contest the elections. In this case, the
three contesting candidates, Syed Jumman Shah, Kalifo Faiz Mohammad,
Mr Jumman Rang, who announced their support for me, have been forced
to go into hiding, with the police raiding their homes.
We have warned the government of Sindh and the local administration
not to stop the people from exercising their constitutional right to
cast their votes. The people are emotionally charged, and if any
mishap occurs, before or after the elections, then the government will
be responsible for the consequences. We will go all our way to give
protection to our people.
I invite the local, provincial, national and international media to
visit and witness the proceedings of the elections, to expose the
governments attempts of rigging the elections. I also invite the HRCP
and international human rights organisations to see the real face of
Benazir.
Q: What is at stake in the election in Sindh that even the PM is
coming to campaign?
A: She knows that she will be losing the seat, so she is coming to put
in the last moment effort. In Punjab, sarkari PPP has already lost
most by-elections. This election will be a turning point in Sindh. It
will provide a meeting ground of all the opposition parties of
Pakistan, evolve a new pattern of polls in all future elections in
Sindh. It will corrode the very basis of Benazirs power in Sindh.
Q: How will the people of Sindh prosper if you win?
A: They will prosper in getting rid of Benazir. If I win, it means she
has lost in Sindh, and if she loses in Sindh, it means she has lost in
Pakistan. So we will get rid of her. By her, I mean all what she
stands for: the culture of corruption; bad governance, business
bunglings and the decay of institutions.
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960110
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Mohajirs cant betray Pakistan: Ishtiaq
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NAWABSHAH, Jan 9: The convenor of MQM co-ordination committee, Senator
Ishtiaq Azhar, has said the MQM would support the PML candidate in
Sanghar by-election and he would represent the MQM in the election
rally of PML in that area as directed by Altaf Hussain.
Ishtiaq Azhar said the operation clean-up in Sindh was started during
the government of Nawaz Sharif in 1992 with the approval of the MQM
leadership.
Mr Azhar said the Mohajir community wanted equal rights for everyone
and an end to all kinds of victimisation and acts of suppression which
were going on in Sindh.
Answering another question, the convenor of MQM coordination committee
said if today people stop calling themselves Punjabis, Sindhis,
Balochs and Pathans then the Mohajirs would also stop calling
themselves Mohajirs.
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960110
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Dero confident, Qureshi fears dhandli : All eyes on Sanghar
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Aziz Malik
SANGHAR: All eyes are focused on the by-election for (Sanghar) which
are only 24 hours away. This is not just another by-election, for the
very prestige of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, the Shaheed
Bhutto group led by Mir Murtaza Bhutto, and Pakistan Muslim League is
at stake. No wonder that a galaxy of political leaders had descended
on Shahdadpur and Tando Adam and the state machinery in full swing.
When this correspondent tried to get in touch with the PPP candidate,
Sen Fida Hussain Dero, at his election office in Tando Adam, he found
almost the entire Sindh cabinet present there.
When Sen Dero was requested to spare some time for Dawn, he said today
was the last day for canvassing and he was very busy. He, however,
agreed to spare only a few moments in the evening at the bungalow of
Atta Mohammad Marri, 38 kilometres away at Berani, after the chief
minister and Mr Zardari had left for Karachi.
This correspondent then came to Shahdadpur to meet the Pakistan Muslim
League candidate, Haji Mohammad Islam Qureshi, and was confronted with
a similar situation.
FIDA HUSSAIN DERO
Sen Dero is an amiable person and is popular in his constituency,
including Urdu-speaking people and Punjabi settlers. The reason for
his popularity is that although he is one of the biggest landlords of
Sanghar district having over 5,000 acres of rich agricultural land,
including a 1,400-acre banana orchard.
Q. Dero Sahib you are in a strong position. Dont you think the
presence of Mr Zardari, the chief minister and a host of ministers has
provided a weapon to your rival candidates to cry wolf.
A. There is nothing wrong with it. After all I am a PPP candidate and
party leaders are bound to work for and support their own candidate.
Are not the others doing the same thing? Sindh PML president Syed
Ghous Ali Shah is addressing daily corner meetings in support of Mr
Islam Qureshi. Similarly, Mir Murtaza Bhutto is also addressing public
meetings in support of his party candidate, Makhdoom Khaliquzzaman. As
far as Mr Asif Zardari is concerned I had made a special request to
him to help me as he enjoys a lot of influence in the area.
Q. Have any major groups, parties announced support for you?
A. JUI(F) Pir of Naing Sharif, Pir of Ranipur, both groups of Lawari
Sharif, Pir of Jhoke Sharif, Sajjada Nasheen Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai,
former speaker Sindh assembly Atta Mohammad Marri, Akbar Marri and
other elders of the Marri tribe, the Sarwari Jamaat, the Sardar of
Dahiri tribe, provincial ministers Mir Nadir Magsi, Abdul Salam
Thaheem and Jan Mohammad Brohi, and the Rajput, Godra, Jatt, Ansari,
Khaskheli and Rind communities have announced their open support for
me. Besides, the Pakistan Peoples Party itself has a big vote bank in
my constituency.
Q. What about Pir Saheb Pagaro? He is maintaining a discreet silence?
A. Pir Pagaro is not opposing me and has left his followers to their
own choice. This is clear from the fact that Mr Atta Mohammad Marri
has announced his open support for me after seeking permission from
the Pir Sahib.
Q. What about Shahnawaz Junejo?
A. Shahnawaz Junejo is a PPP stalwart and he has been addressing my
public meetings and will definitely support me.
Q. In the past you had also announced your support for Jam Sadiq Ali
at the cost of PPP. What have you to say about that?
A. I had never supported Jam Sadiq Ali, but because of a tragedy in
the family, I had sought permission from Ms Bhutto to lie low for some
time.
Q. What is your contribution to the PPP?
A. I had taken part in the MRD movement of 1983 and 1986 and had been
incarcerated for 14 months. Jam Sadiq Ali had also put me in jail for
three months.
Q. Why did Jam Sadiq Ali put you in jail?
A. Because I had contested provincial assembly elections against him
when he was the caretaker chief minister of Sindh. My voters were not
allowed to cast their votes and, therefore, I had boycotted the
elections. Jam Sadiq Ali was so annoyed that he not only put me behind
the bars but also bulldozed all the water courses of our family land.
Q. How do you claim to enjoy the support of the Sarwari Jamaat when
their own Pir Makhdoom Khaliquzzaman is contesting the elections?
A. The spiritual leader of the Sarwari Jamaat is Makhdoom Mohammad
Amin Faheem and he has announced open support for me. So, it goes
without saying that his followers will vote for me without any
exception.
Q. What have you to say about the allegations of Muslim League and
PPP(SB) candidates about election malpractices, harassment of their
voters and inclusion of 40,000 bogus voters in the voters list?
A. No bogus voters have been enrolled and all the allegations being
levelled against me are baseless and unfounded. The fact is that they
are trying to find some excuse to wriggle out of the contest.
Q. What will be the over-all impact of the Mohajir Qaumi Movement
support to the PML candidate?
A. Not much. It is most surprising that against whom Nawaz Sharif had
launched the army operation because of their terrorist activities, are
now being wooed by him.
Q. What have you done for the development of your constituency as a
senator?
A. Because of my efforts, 95 villages have been electrified, 46 school
buildings have been constructed, the prime minister has released Rs40
million under the Tameer-i-Watan Programme for 10 road schemes, 46 Sui
gas schemes have been commissioned four in Hyderabad district and 42
in Sanghar district 30 PCOs have been established, five roads of one
kilometre each have been constructed from the sugar cess fund,
underground telephone cables for seven villages are being laid and
under the social action board, district council funds and from
senators development funds, 70 roads have either been completed or
are under construction. I can rightfully claim that these are record
development projects in the whole of Pakistan.
Q. It is being said that you had only 60 acres of land before you
became a senator and now you are one of the biggest land holders in
the district?
A. It is absolutely wrong. I have not added one single acre to my
property after I became a senator. My family owns 5,000 acres and I
have a 1,400-acre orchard of banana and I am one of the top growers of
sugarcane and cotton. I dont own any factory or any industry. When my
father was murdered in 1963, the family had owned only 400 acres, half
of which was disposed of by my uncle because of family circumstances.
But through our own efforts and hard labour we purchased the rest of
the land.
Islam Qureshi
Mr Qureshi is a new entrant into politics with hardly any political
background. He deals in decoration business and is not a very rich
person.
Q. Have you ever contested any elections before?
A. I contested local bodies elections in 1979, 1983 and 1987. Although
I lost the first two elections but I had received more votes in 1987
than the other candidates yet I was not declared elected because of
dhandhli.
Q. What have been your political affiliations?
A. I have always been a Muslim Leaguer and for the last 40 years I
have been supporting Pir Pagaro.
Q. Has any other party announced support for your candidature?
A. Many communities like the Qureshi baradri and Rajput baradri have
openly announced their support for me and these communities have quite
a few votes. I am sure the JUP candidate will also retire in my
favour. Besides, the ANP and the disciples of Pir Sahib Pagaro will
also support me. Now I also enjoy the support of MQM which would make
a world of difference as the MQM has over 30,000 registered voters. In
addition, there are over 14,000 votes of Punjabi settlers and all of
them will vote for me.
Q. Pir Sahib Pagaro, according to press reports, has declined to
support the PML candidate? Where does it leave you?
A. I have been an ardent supporter of Pir Saheb Pagaro for 40 years
and I am hopeful that he will not leave me in the lurch. The followers
of Pir Pagaro have also appealed to their spiritual leader to allow
them to vote for me.
Q. How many registered voters are there in the constituency?
A. In the 1993 elections, there were about 260,000 registered voters
but now over 40,000 bogus voters have been included by the PPP to
ensure the victory of its candidate.
Q. Do you apprehend any malpractice?
A. Malpractices have already started. Serial numbers in large number
of voters lists are missing and no address of the voters is given in
the list which speaks volumes for advance rigging. In one case the
names of three brothers have been entered in the list and the age of
all the three is mentioned as 21 years. The PPP government is doing
everything to win the elections as the other name of the PPP is
dhandhli. My supporters are being harassed and my election office in
Tando Adam has been raided. Only day before yesterday, the PPP
candidate had personally threatened Abdul Qadir Dahiri, an elder of
the Dahiri community who had left the PPP and joined the PML, with
dire consequences if he did not rejoin the PPP. Not only this but even
the irrigation water of my supporters in Shahpur Chakar has been
stopped which would destroy the wheat crop.
Q. Are you satisfied with the outcome of your election campaign?
A. Yes, I am fully satisfied as I am pulling more crowds than even
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto herself. When the prime minister
addressed an election meeting in Sinjhoro only a few days back, hardly
4,000 people were present whereas over 5,000 people attended my corner
meetings.
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960110
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Mob attacks Nawazs motorcade
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Staff Correspondent
HYDERABAD, Jan 9: The motorcade of PML chief Mian Nawaz Sharif was
attacked by unidentified men on the National Highway near Hala in
which the windscreen of Mr Sharifs Pajero and the windowpanes of half
a dozen other vehicles were broken. Mr Sharif escaped unhurt.
About a dozen PML leaders and workers, including former Sindh minister
Ismail Rahu, were hit by stones and injured.
Eyewitnesses told Dawn that Mr Sharif had inaugurated his party office
at Hala, the first of any political party in the PPP stronghold, and
addressed a sizeable gathering.
The police intervened some time later and the convoy proceeded towards
Bhitshah where the leader of the opposition offered Fateha.
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960110
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Ghous alleges attempt on Nawazs life
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Staff Correspondent
HYDERABAD, Jan 9: Syed Ghous Ali Shah, provincial chief of Pakistan
Muslim League, and other party leaders have alleged that a murderous
attack was made on the life of the leader of opposition and former
prime minister, Mian Nawaz Sharif, on the National Highway near Hala
on Tuesday morning. However, Mr Sharif miraculously escaped unhurt
while 12 others were injured.
Giving details, he alleged the firing and stoning was done under
police protection and from the government vehicles.
What sort of democracy is this where a former prime minister and the
leader of the opposition is attacked?, Syed Ghous Ali Shah asked.
He claimed that the PPP was loosing the Sanghar by-election and
therefore it had resorted to third degree tactics to frighten the
voters.
He alleged that the in-charge of the Sanghar by-election and
provincial co-ordinator of the party, Mr Mumtaz Ridh, had also been
kidnapped.
He regretted that the traditions of Sindh had been violated at Hala
and warned the administration that time never remained stationary and
things were likely to change.
He said the assailants had already been identified by the people and
gave their names as Ameer Bux Solangi, Geedro who was a schoolteacher,
Khalifo, Ramoon Mallah, Dhani Bux Arbab, Ghulam Ali Khoso and Arbab
Mallah.
Mr Ghous Ali Shah pledged that the PML will not be cowed down and
added that PPP had lost its nerves as it was fast loosing ground in
Sindh and a large number of people had joined the PML.
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960110
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Altaf flays attack on Nawaz
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Staff Correspondent
LONDON, Jan 9: The attack near Hala on a procession led by Muslim
League leader Mian Nawaz Sharif has been condemned by MQM leader Altaf
Hussain who said that the firing by the PPP supporters and attempts to
kidnap their rivals was an open and blatant act of state terrorism.
The incident demonstrates that the government wants to win the Sanghar
parliamentary by-election not through the ballot but by the bullet, he
said in a statement.
Mr Hussain accused the PPP of adopting heavy handed methods even
before the polling day. He accused the party of introducing violence
in politics and said whether they are in or out of power the PPP
leaders allow the party to work for the elimination of its political
rivals.
They are again using the state machinery to do the same though the PPP
projects itself as a democratic party outside the country. He
condemned the use of force to resolve political issues and said that
the targeting of political rivals by the PPP government is damaging
for democracy and national security.
He pointed out that he had warned of this trend when the government
started its brutal attacks against the MQM but his warning was not
heeded.
The attack on Nawaz Sharif, he added, shows that the PPP cannot
tolerate any political opposition.
He asked for action against those who were involved in the attack and
for the suspension of officials who neglected their duty in protecting
Mr Sharif.
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960111
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Opposition calls for presidents intervention
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Jan 10: Accusing the prime minister, her husband and the
Sindh chief minister of masterminding an assassination attempt on
Mian Nawaz Sharifs life, the opposition has sought the immediate
intervention of President Farooq Legahri in this matter of grave
national importance.
The details of the letter sent to the president by PML secretary
general Sartaj Aziz were made public at a joint Press conference by
Sartaj Aziz, Iftikhar Gilani and Chaudhry Jafar Iqbal here on
Wednesday.
Sen Aziz reminded the president that the latest attack on Nawaz in
Hala was the third attempt on the life of the leader of the
opposition, pointedly noting that after the earlier attempt the
president had informed the PML about the setting up of a judicial
committee but that so far nothing seemed to have come out of it. He
said that the series of attacks did not rule out the possibility of
building up a fatal finale.
Sen Aziz wanted the president to play his constitutional role by
taking cognisance of the governments failings in protecting the
leader of the opposition. He went even further to actually charge that
the assailants had been brought to the attack venue in police vehicles
and that the very fact that the whole incident took place in the
presence of police and magistracy and yet no arrests were made,
strongly points at the collusion of the police and magistracy in the
incident.
Replying to a question he said no FIR had been registered so far
because the attackers could not be identified so far. He, however,
could not explain why an FIR had not been registered against the prime
minister, her spouse and the CM even when the opposition had already
accused them of orchestrating the attack. Speaking on the occasion
both Mr Gilani and Chaudhry Jafar deplored the incident, with Mr
Gilani lamenting about the gradual destruction of the democratic
norms and institutions in the country.
In a related move the opposition has also requisitioned a session of
the National Assembly to discuss, among other things, the attempt on
the life of the leader of the opposition in Hala, at the behest of
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Asif Zardari and Abdullah Shah. It is
for the first time that the charges of attempted murder against
members of the first family comprise the official agenda of a national
assembly sitting. The other items include the countrys financial
situation, law and order, and the Karachi issue.
Sen Aziz has also shot off a letter to the chief election
commissioner, apprising him of the details of the attack and also
listing a number of other grievances related to the forthcoming by-
election in the Sanghar constituency.
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960111
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Rabbani refutes allegations
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ISLAMABAD, Jan 10: Minister of state for Law and Justice Mian Raza
Rabbani refuted oppositions allegations that PPP was involved in an
alleged attack on the leader of the opposition during his visit to
Hala.
Talking to newsmen Mr Rabbani said it was false and incorrect that PPP
in any way was involved in an alleged attack at Hala on the opposition
leader.
Mr Rabbani said that due to his lust for power he was still following
the same policy of not condemning terrorism in Sindh, and his refusal
to make categorical policy statement on MQMs demand for bifurcation
of Sindh could be reasons which infuriated the people of Sindh.
Similarly, he said, election campaign was going on peacefully before
Mr Sharifs visit to Sanghar and it was only after his arrival that an
incident of such nature had taken place.
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960111
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PML wants probe by SC judge
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 10: Sindh PML chief Syed Ghous Ali Shah has condemned the
attack on the life of the leader of the opposition, Mian Nawaz
Sharif, in Hala, and demanded formation of a committee headed by a
Supreme Court judge to conduct a probe into the incident.
Speaking at a Press conference at Karachi Press Club on Wednesday, he
said: It was an act of cowardice by the PPP workers, and the
authorities should immediately register an FIR against the persons
responsible for the attack, otherwise the PML will approach the court
of law.
Moreover, the PML would launch a countrywide protest in case the FIR
was not registered, judicial inquiry was not ordered, and culprits
were not taken to task, the PML leader said. The PML has already
provided a list of the names of attackers to the officials concerned,
he said.
Mr Ghous alleged that the attack was engineered by the PPP government,
with the collusion of local administration and police, when it
realised that Mian Nawaz Sharifs popularity graph was going up in
Sindh and PPP candidate was going to suffer a defeat in Sanghar by-
election.
He accused the PPP of pursuing a policy of intimidation and
harassment. Such undemocratic actions were a part of PPP culture, he
said, adding, we are still determined to thwart the PPP designs.
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960110
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PPP accuses PML of attack
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Staff Correspondent
HYDERABAD, Jan 9: The in charge of divisional information cell
Pakistan Peoples Party, Hyderabad, Dr Tahseen Shaikh at a hurriedly
called Press conference at Magsi house and accused the leader of the
opposition Mr Mohammad Nawaz Sharif and other PML leaders, including
Shah Mohammad Shah, of attack on PPP workers at Hala resulting in
injuries to many of them.
He said the entire election campaign of all the candidates for Sanghar
by-elections was going on very smoothly and no untoward incident had
taken place before the arrival of Nawaz Sharif.
He wondered why Nawaz Sharif had not come to Hala according to his
scheduled programme. He termed the attack on PPP workers as a
conspiracy by the anti-PPP forces with a view to sabotaging the
election process.
He claimed that Hala was the PPP fort and all the residents of the
town were PPP supporters. He said the PML had staged a drama to blame
PPP of election malpractice.
Speaking on the occasion the general secretary of PPP Hala taluka, Dr
Bilal, said that an audio cassette of Benazir Bhutto was being played
at a video shop when the PML supporters resorted to indiscriminate
firing and attacked PPP workers.
He alleged that PML and MQM supporters had chalked objectionable
slogans on the walls of PPP workers and added that goonda elements had
been brought from Badin and other parts of interior Sindh by the PML.
He alleged that Zaman Shah, the brother of PML leader, Shah Mohammad
Shah, Ghulam Mohammad Korejo and others had come to video shop and
threatened to destroy the flags of PPP under the orders of Nawaz
Sharif, Ghous Ali Shah, Shah Mohammad Shah and others. He alleged that
Zaman Shah and Ghulam Mohammad were criminals and involved in
kidnapping and dacoity cases.
He said as a result of attack six persons namely Ghulam Akbar Bhutto,
Ramzan Mallah, Lakha Dino Korai, Ayub Abbasi, Dr Fareed Memon and
Manzoor Memon were injured while some others had been admitted to
Saeedabad and other hospitals.
The above injured were present at the Press conference and wearing
bandages. Dr Bilal disclosed that an FIR had been registered against
Nawaz Sharif, Zaman Shah and others at Hala police station.
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960108
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25 critically hurt : Bomb blast aboard KTC bus kills seven
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Ghulam Hasnain
KARACHI, Jan 7: At least seven passengers were killed and 35 others
wounded 25 of them critically when a powerful bomb blew up a jam-
packed bus on the main Shahrea- Faisal during evening rush hours.
The explosion in a passenger bus the first of its kind in Karachi
added a new dimension to the on-going terrorism in the megalopolis.
There was fire and smoke. Inside the bus there were several mangled
bodies burning. Many people in a semi-nude condition were lying on the
road, crying and shouting for help. Some had lost their limbs. Many
had their legs and feet badly smashed, driver Ghulam Dastagir Qureshi
of Edhi, who was among the first few to reach the spot, said.
All of the wounded received burn wounds ranging from 15 to 80 per
cent. Many had their flesh ripped off. Wounded passengers ordeal was
compounded when they were brought to Jinnah Hospital which was in a
mess and totally unable to tackle a tragedy of such magnitude. There
were only a few doctors and nurses to look after the wounded brought
by Edhi ambulances and vehicles of some other organisations.
Doctors immediately ran out of a small stock of general medicine they
had with them and many wounded passengers were then put on empty
hospital beds, endlessly waiting for proper treatment.
Several senior government officials were present but none of them
seemed to take notice that the hospital was without any medicines or
life saving drugs.
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960108
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Shah visits injured in hospital
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 7: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Abdullah Shah condemned the
bomb blast incident and said the elements who wanted to spread chaos
and disturb peace in Pakistan, especially in Karachi, were behind it.
The Chief Minister, who visited Jinnah Hospital to ensure that proper
medical aid was given to the victims. The provincial chief minister
asked about the welfare of the injured brought to the hospital. He
further said the incident was a conspiracy by enemies of the poor and
the country since it were generally the poor who travelled by bus.
The chief minister on the occasion consoled the relatives of the blast
victims and asked them to bear that tragedy with courage. He assured
them that those found responsible for it would be given due
punishment.
He also declares that the government will pay compensation for deaths
and injuries in accordance with the rules.
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960108
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Leaders condemn blast
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Staff Correspondent
LONDON, Jan 7: The MQM leader Altaf Hussain has expressed deep regrets
over the death of several people in a bomb explosion in a public bus
in Karachi and described it as the worst form of terrorism. He said
this incident is a clear example of the Governments incompetence and
failure in safeguarding the life and property of ordinary citizens. He
said the present Government has no justification for continuing to
rule even for another day.
Mr Hussain said that the resources of the Government and its agencies
were being used to crush its political opponents. These agencies are
used to lay siege of Mohajir localities to eliminate them while
terrorists and saboteurs have been freedom to operate as they wish.
Huge state resources are spent on guarding the President, the Prime
Minister, ministers and their families but ordinary taxpayers find
themselves helpless against terrorism.
The Government, he added, cannot cover up its incompetence by blaming
others for the mishaps in the country. He said the present Government
has not given anything else to the people except corruption, terrorism
and inflation. He called on the President to order the payment of
compensation to the injured and the relatives of the dead, and held
the interior minister and the Sindh Government responsible for it.
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960108
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Pakistan to launch second experimental satellite
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Ashraf Mumtaz
LAHORE, Jan 7: Pakistan will complete its second experimental
satellite, Badr -II, by the end of the current calendar year. At
present, it is holding talks with different countries to have a
launching facility, Dawn learnt through official sources.
The satellite is being made by the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere
Research Commission (SUPARCO).
Sources said since Pakistan did not have the launching facility of
its own, it was trying to get the facility from other countries at the
lowest rates.
Pakistan had launched its first such satellite in July 1990 but had
lost contact with it only after five weeks. All efforts to restore
contact with the missing satellite had failed. However, SUPARCO had
achieved valuable data during the period the Badr-I remained in the
orbit.
Initially, it was expected that the SUPARCO would launch the second
satellite during 1993. However, the target could not be achieved
because of the difficulties that cropped up. The Badr-II will help
Pakistan in the development of low-cost satellites and creation of
infrastructure for space qualified system and acquisition of know-how
and capability in the field of satellite attitude control.
Pakistan, the sources said, would also acquire know-how and technology
for earth imaging with the help of some sensors.
The second satellite will be an advanced version of the Badr- I. It is
expected to weigh 60 kilograms and will be placed in orbit at an
altitude of 500 to 800 kilometres.
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960109
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Release of loan : IMF asks Islamabad to meet criteria for performance
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Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, Jan 8: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked the
government to meet the performance criteria of the standby
arrangement to qualify for the second tranche of 200 million dollars
of the 600 million dollars promised under the agreement.
The second tranche was contingent on the strict review of macro
economic data by the IMF mission arriving here at the end of this
month or early February.
Pakistan has been asked to show the fulfilment of various targets set
for Dec. 31, 1995 which included lowering of the bank borrowing from
Rs55 billion in five months against Rs30 billion for the entire
financial year.
The Fund had agreed during pre-standby loan talks with the government
to enhance the borrowing ceiling to Rs40 billion in the first six
months as a concession in the face of a bad revenue collection
position. The final target for the entire financial year ending June
30, 1996 would, however, remain Rs 30 billion.
The IMF further called for maintaining certain amount of foreign
exchange reserves which were now said to be 1.6 billion dollars. The
Fund requires that the reserves do not go down beyond one billion
dollars at any time during the next half of the financial year and
that they must rise to 1.8 billion dollars by June end.
Likewise, certain performance has to be shown to reassure that the
government was capable of achieving the new GDP growth target of 6 per
cent and a budgetary deficit target of 4.6 per cent of the GDP.
Sources said that the IMF mission would finalise its recommendations
after talks with the government which will then be submitted to the
IMF management. And then these recommendations will be forwarded to
the Funds Board for final decision.
Sources said that expanding the taxation base by the Central Board of
Revenue (CBR) would also be one of the important issues to be
discussed by the IMF mission with the Pakistani authorities. The CBR
has already reduced its annual revenue target to Rs 265 billion from
Rs 270 billion which, it is feared would be brought down further in
view of the weak recovery position. Press reports alleging doctoring
of revenue collection figures would also come up for detailed
discussion.
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960108
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Gen Abbasi says he was tortured
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Jan 7: The leader of the alleged military coup, Maj. Gen
Zaheerul Islam Abbasi, has claimed that he was illegally arrested,
tortured and is being denied his rights as an army general and as a
citizen of Pakistan.
The press release maintained, the general was in a unlawful custody,
and was denied even his basic rights as a human-being. At one stage
he was almost choked to death, the three-member team of lawyers
alleged.
Gen Abbasi, Brig Mustansar Billah and about 40 other military officers
were arrested on Sept 26 on the charge of plotting to storm a corps
commanders meeting scheduled to be held on Sept 30 at the general
headquarters in Rawalpindi. They were also accused of conspiring to
kill the president, the prime minister and some important ministers of
the cabinet.
The generals defence lawyers also said the federal government
authorities had been making public statements, maligning him and
accusing him falsely and maliciously of having conspired to wage war
against Pakistan, to wipe out the entire top brass of the army and
even to kill the prime minister and her husband.
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960105
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PIA defends stand on Delhi flight
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 4: The Pakistan International Airlines maintains that it
has provided the factual position to the federal anti-corruption
committee (FACC) with regard to its June 6 flight on the Islamabad-
Delhi-Lahore sector.
Charter or extra-sections are aviation terminologys designated to
flights that operate out of normal schedule for commercial or
operational reasons, the PIA in its reply to the FACC contended.
It offered this explanation after the FACC reacted sharply on
getting two different versions for a PIA Fokker flight on June 6 that
went to New Delhi from Islamabad and returned to Lahore the same day.
The Civil Aviation Authority had informed the FACC that it was a
flight chartered for the National Power Company. The PIA, however,
maintained that it was an extra-section flight, and did not provide
any further information. In its recent communication, the PIA informed
the FACC that its flight PK2712 operated on the Islamabad-Delhi sector
on June 6 and carried Keith Henry, chief executive of the National
Power of UK.
The flight was chartered on the requirement of foreign ministry, the
PIA informed the FACC. The same plane, it said, returned as a ferry
flight to Lahore the same day after dropping Mr Henry in Delhi.
The airline also informed the FACC that on the return flight there
were no passengers on board, nor was there any baggage or cargo. The
same aircraft then operated as a normal flight, on the Lahore-
Islamabad sector, carrying a full load of passengers.
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960105
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FO rebuts terrorism charges India fomenting Sindh violence
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Hasan Akhtar
ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: A Foreign Office spokesman refuted the assertion of
Indian minister of state for external affairs R.L. Bhatia that
Pakistan is a terrorist state and declared that if any state
deserves to be called a terrorist state, it is India.
The spokesman said: India has employed its intelligence agencies to
destabilise Pakistan, particularly the province of Sindh where a
number of Indian agents have been caught red-handed.
He pointed out that Indian forces continued to illegally occupy Jammu
and Kashmir and remained engaged in an arms build-up which includes
nuclear and missile development as well as extensive purchases from
external sources of sophisticated arms and weapons system beyond its
legitimate defence needs.
When asked whether Pakistan had attempted to get India declared a
terrorist state by the United States, the spokesman said Pakistan had
remained in constant touch with all its friends including the United
States to make it clear as to which country in the region was
fomenting terrorism in South Asia.
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960105
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Nawaz and Altaf agree on common approach
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Athar Ali
LONDON, Jan 4: In their talks, the opposition leader, Mian Mohammad
Nawaz Sharif and the MQM chief Mr Altaf Hussain, are said to have
decided on a common approach to tackle the situation, particularly
in Karachi.
Mr Nawaz Sharif later said the removal of the present government was a
must, without which the situation in Karachi, and the country as a
whole would not improve. But, he emphasised that all democratic and
peaceful means would be used to dislodge the government.
According to the MQM sources, Mian Nawaz Sharif, who was shown
photographs and documents by Mr Altaf Hussain to prove his charges
against the law enforcement agencies, assured him that he had and
would continue to condemn the atrocities being committed against the
Mohajirs, and would inform the Pakistani people about the terrorism
for which the government was responsible.
About his talks with the MQM leader, Mr Sharif said that they
discussed the current political situation with special reference to
Karachi. The situation of law and order generally was bad in Pakistan
but continuing violence in Karachi has paralysed the most important
commercial centre. If the present situation there continues any
further Pakistan far from becoming a South Asian Tiger will
economically fall behind other countries of the region, he said.
The Muslim League leader said it was absolutely essential to try and
bring Karachi to normality for the sake of the economic and social
well-being of the whole country. He held the government responsible
for the deterioration in Karachi. He condemned state terrorism and
said the present conditions had largely been created by the
government.
Answering a question Mr Nawaz Sharif said If forces inimical to
Pakistan are exploiting the situation, the opportunity has been
provided to them by the government. He said his party in opposition
had done all it could, adopting peaceful and lawful means. We dont
want to give up the path of peace. But, he warned, that the situation
was moving to a point when the nation would be willing to adopt any
steps that might be required to save the country. They will have to
take their decisions in their own hands, if they find that the
politicians have failed to resolve the problems of unemployment,
corruption, etc., and have also failed to stop the bloodshed in
Karachi. They will be justified in that kind of action.
Mr Nawaz Sharif said if it became necessary to conduct extra
parliamentary campaign he would do so. But first he wanted to exhaust
all the options. We do not want to take the country towards more
uncertainty than it faces at present, and want to try every peaceful
method.
The government, the Muslim League leader said had neither the capacity
nor the competence to do anything positive. It does not listen to the
opposition with which its relations have been strained.
In general, The roads to all corruption, people have come to believe,
lead to the door of the Prime Ministers House. There is uncertainty
and disillusionment all around them. Rumours or speculation about the
fall of the government cause the stock and share prices to rise. This
is something peculiar to Pakistan, he said adding that in other
countries share prices rose not with the speculation about the fall of
the government but if the government was stable.
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960106
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Nawaz, Altaf agree on change of government
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Staff Correspondent
LONDON, Jan 5: Pakistan Muslim League leader Mian Nawaz Sharif and MQM
chief Altaf Hussain had a lengthy meeting and came to the conclusion
that 'incompetence of the government' was main cause for serious
problems facing the country and it was not possible to solve these
problems without the change of the Bhutto regime.
In a joint statement issued, both leaders agreed that the big loss of
life in Karachi and other areas of urban Sindh was due to the
'brutalities and atrocities of the government.'
The two leaders pledged to work together for the well-being and
prosperity of the country in the belief that the entire nation was
looking up to them for getting the country out of the mess.
By changing the government, they said, they would ensure the supremacy
of fundamental rights and the rule of law. Mr Sharif and Mr Hussain
promised that the change of the government would soon occur with the
help of the people and it would be ensured that the present rulers do
not run away from Pakistan. They would be made to account allegedly
for wrecking the country by their exploitation, they said.
They asked the bureaucracy not to obey unlawful orders of the
government. Anyone indulging in such conduct would be fully held
accountable by the next government. They warned the people that if
they remained silent or inactive at this juncture, incalculable damage
may befall the country.
The statement contains a pledge to scrutinise the atrocities committed
on the Mohajirs in the urban areas of Sindh and to demand full
accountability of those responsible for the present state of affairs.
The two leaders committed that they would restore the supremacy of the
Constitution, encourage investment and improve the taxation systems
together with an improvement in the law and order situation.
The joint statement offers a guarantee that the economic and political
deprivation of the Mohajir population would be attended to by the
state and they would be given justified Constitutional rights.
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960107
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Nasim blasts govt for wrong policies
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Staff Correspondent
PESHAWAR, Jan 6: Begum Nasim Wali Khan, provincial president of Awami
National Party, has said that the Pakistan Peoples Party has lost
public mandate and political support of its allies due to its pursuing
of wrong economic and foreign policies.
She said Benazir Bhuttos undemocratic policies had forced her own
party workers to raise their voice against leadership. She regretted
that people were facing lack of basic necessities of life, like
education, health and food while prime ministers husband was making
foreign medical teams available for the treatment of his horses.
She declared that ANP would not let PPP and its allies to usurp the
rights of the poor and play with the future of the country. She said
that insult caused to the peoples mandate by the Peoples Party has
no equal in the history of the country. Day is near when Benazir
Bhutto will be left in the lurch forever by the people, she warned.
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960107
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Pakistan was informed about Indian N-test plan
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Jan 6: The United States had informed Pakistan about
Indian plans to carry out a second nuclear test in Rajhasthan much
before the news was broken by New York Times, Dawn learnt.
Knowledgeable sources said the US intelligence had picked up the
activity at Pokharan and Washington had immediately conveyed its
strong views to New Delhi which included a warning and a threat of
sanctions.
Pakistan was informed by the Clinton administration immediately
thereafter but Islamabad was told not to make it an issue as
Washington was quietly trying to dissuade India from carrying out the
test.
Several diplomatic notes were given to New Delhi by the US ambassador
Frank Wisner and these clearly stated that a test by India would force
the US to invoke the Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Law which
imposes instant sanctions.
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960109
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Cabinet okays construction of Rs600m monument
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Jan 8: The Federal Cabinet approved the construction of a
monument in Islamabad in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of
Pakistans independence.
To be built at a cost of Rs600 million, the monument will have a
convention centre, banquet halls, art galleries and a restaurant,
information minister Khalid Kharal told reporters at a briefing after
the cabinet meeting.
The 250-foot high monument will have a 120-seat restaurant at the top
with viewing gallery.
He said the cabinet decided that to reduce the initial cost, only the
monument and the convention centre would be build in the first go and
will be completed before the special Islamic summit scheduled to be
held in Islamabad in March 1997 in connection with the Golden Jubilee
celebrations.
Kharal said as the federal capital was short of convention centre it
was decided to build a 2,000-seat modern convention centre with the
monument.
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960110
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Ban on mobile phones, pagers to continue
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Faraz Hashmi
ISLAMABAD, Jan 9: The government has decided to extend ban on mobile
phones, pagers and paycard phones in Karachi for another six months,
sources at the interior ministry told Dawn.
The decision to extend the ban was taken by Interior Minister
Naseerullah Khan Babar. Intelligence agencies strongly opposed the
idea saying that the ban had worked a lot in breaking the
communication network of underground terrorist gangs active in
Karachi.
Mobile phone companies sustaining huge losses on account of the
continuing ban on their operations are considering filing cases
seeking compensation from the government.
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960110
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Newspaper office attack condemned
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 9: The Sindh governor, the chief minister and ministers
on Tuesday condemned an armed attack on the Karachi office of the
Sindhi-language daily Ibrat by hooligans and termed it an attack on
the freedom of the Press.
In their separate statements, the Karachi Union of Journalists and the
Newspaper Editors Council of Pakistan also flayed the attack on
Karachi office of the Ibrat.
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960110
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Meher blames city violence on joblessness
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Azizullah Sharif
KARACHI, Jan 9: The first Muslim lady mayor of Londons Borough of
Waltham Forest, Meher Khan, said that the citys prevailing law and
order situation was because of frustration among unemployed youths,
urging the government to introduce social security system to overcome
the unemployment problem.
Ms Khan, advocating the need for creating more job opportunities said
though the unemployment problem was now an international issue, there
was a need to overcome it by introducing the social security system in
Pakistan on Britain pattern.
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960110
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Secretariat strike paralyses Balochistan govt
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Staff Correspondent
QUETTA, Jan 9: The Balochistan government remained paralysed for the
third consecutive day as employees of Civil Secretariat refused to
call off their strike till acceptance of their demands.
Although heavy contingent of police and Balochistan Reserve Police
were deployed inside and outside of the secretariat, striking
employees were present inside the building and they did not allow any
staff member to enter the offices.
Due to strike government business was completely paralysed and people
who came here from different parts of the province to solve their
problems, faced hardship. About 88 employees, including Secretary
Services Tribunal, have been arrested during the last three days.
960105
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Nisar asks Leghari to halt privatisation
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ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: Former federal minister and central leader of
Pakistan Muslim League Ch. Nisar Ali Khan has urged President Sardar
Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari to play his due constitutional role in
preventing the government from compromising on national financial
sovereignty on the pretext of privatising UBL to foreign investors and
PTC at throwaway prices.
Ch Nisar said that the government had compromised on the foolproof
procedure under which a committee under the chairmanship of Governor
of State Bank had to prequalify the bidders as well as ensure
transparency. But he said, the PPP government had rejected six
domestic bidders and got two foreign bidders pre-qualified from a
political committee which was headed by chairman privatisation
commission Mr Naveed Qamar, a PPP, MNA from Hyderabad.
He said all developing countries, during recent Uruguay Round of
Talks, unanimously refused to open up their services sector including
banks for foreign countries because it would tantamount to giving
their financial control in the hands of foreign countries.
He said UBL was the second largest Pakistani Bank having 25 highly
profitable and foreign exchange earning branches abroad and over 1600
branches in the country and its sale to foreign parties would
adversely affect Pakistans interests.
Ch Nisar maintained besides fulfilling ulterior motives Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto also wants to prop up her government which is
about to collapse financially. He said the government had decided to
sell 26 percent share of the PTC and Rs 27 per share to collect just
$1.2 billion while the income of PTC met this target amount in just 14
months.
To another question he said the PPP government was knocking at the
doors of bankruptcy and a loan of $200 million from IMF served as
oxygen mask for it. He appealed to all legal, constitutional, and
judicial institutions besides the national press to stop the loot.
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960105
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UBL sale put off
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Faraz Hashmi
ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The Privatisation Commission put off the sale of
United Bank Limited till Jan 22 at the request of two bidders selected
for final bidding.
The Privatisation Commission is taking extra measures to make the deal
fully transparent and has decided not to accept bids in advance. Both
the sealed bids will be received at the same time and will be opened
at a public ceremony where representatives of the bidders as well as
national and international Press would be present, said a source at
the Commission.
The extension of date of final bidding may cause an embarrassment to
the government. In case both the bids are not acceptable to the
Commission, it will delay the sale of the bank and the government has
already made a commitment to the International Monetary Fund that the
bank will be privatised before Jan 31, a source said.
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960109
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No reference price fixed for UBL : informs PC chief
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Faraz Hashmi
ISLAMABAD, Jan 8: The Chairman, Privatisation Commission, Syed Naveed
Qamar disclosed that the Commission has fixed no reference price for
the United Bank Limited, (UBL) which will be put to hammer on 22nd of
the current month.
The Commission is maintaining utmost transparency in privatising the
bank and the bids will be received and opened at a ceremony open to
the press as well, he told a press conference.
Refuting the oppositions demand to put off the sale of UBL he said
the bank was running into losses and needed induction of the fresh
capital, therefore, the government decided to privatise it.
Naveed Qamar also brushed aside, the opposition fears that the
privatisation of the bank to a foreign investor would be detrimental
to the countrys economy.
He pointed out that a number of foreign banks, including Faysal
Islamic Bank, which is also a bidder of the UBL were already working
in the country.
Referring to a report of the Standing Committee of the Senate, he
said, there was no harm in the foreign investment in the services
sector. Country requires foreign investment, and now, when the
foreign investment is coming they are raising objections, he said.
The Commission, he said, would recall the bids if the Faysal Bank of
Bahrain and Saudi Basharahil did not offer reasonable price. He said
they would not sell the bank at a low price just to meet the IMF
deadline of January 31.
Earlier, the final bidding had to take place on January 8 but the two
foreign firms, short-listed from a list of eight pre-qualified bidder,
asked for more time to complete the due diligence process.
The Commission accepted their request and put of the final bidding
till January 22.
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960107
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Sale of nationalised units : Provinces demand share in proceeds
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Sabihuddin Ghausi
KARACHI, Jan 6: All the four provinces have demanded their share in
the privatisation proceeds of the Federal government to get the rupee
component of their debts cleared.
The Federal government is reported to have realised more than Rs 119
billion so far through the sale of national assets sources closely
linked with the working of the National Finance Commission (NFC)
estimate. It includes over Rs 74 billion realised in 1995 they said
and asserted that provinces have legitimate claim to get their share
from the privatisation proceeds.
Provinces are also suggesting to Islamabad to trim its huge
establishments in respect of those subjects which fall exclusively
under the provincial jurisdiction in accordance with the 1973
Constitution.
Other demand of the province concerns sharing of Iqra surcharge which
Islamabad has been collecting for the last 10 years. It is strange
that education is a provincial subject and Federal government has
levied Iqra surcharge. Islamabad is collecting this tax and spending
it without even consulting the provinces is the view of Sindh
officials providing secretarial support to the NFC.
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960110
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Korangi fish harbour gets poor response
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Aamir Shafaat Khan
KARACHI, Jan 9: The growing lawlessness at Korangi has delayed the
commencement of the operations of multi-million rupees Korangi Fish
Harbour where fishermen and private processors are staying away
because of the absence of buyers.
While the lawlessness has gripped the entire Karachi for the last
several months, Korangi has been scene of worst killings which has now
started telling on the economic activities and has affected the
industrial area as well as the upcoming Korangi Fisheries Harbour.
The Harbour was to commence its operations from December 1995 but
still gives a deserted look because the fishermen and investors have
stayed away as frequent strikes and outbreak of law and order
situation in the area has prevented buyers of fish to come there.
A massive investment of Rs 903 million involving foreign exchange
component of Rs 662.538 million in the Korangi Fisheries Harbour
Project appeared to have been wasted because of the deserted looks at
the place.
Managing Director, KFH, Iqbal Ahmed Turk that the absence of buyers
coupled with civic frenzy in Karachi particularly in Korangi area was
threatening the financial viability of the project, causing inordinate
delay in the Harbour to operate at full thrust, besides dragging feet
of the prospective investors, fishermen and buyers.
Another decisive deterrent for poor response, he said, was the non-
existence of any nationalised or private banks in the Harbour despite
sending several communiquis to the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and
other banks to set up a branch at the Harbour for the businessmen.
The KESC, Iqbal Turk added, had also played havoc with the Authority
for not supplying 600 KVA of electricity since 1991 and at present the
area lighting of the KFH was now entirely dependent on power
generators.
The Project, Iqbal said, had to complete in 1994-95 but KFH did not
get funds amounting to about Rs 100 million for the installation of
navigational aids and construction of roads and drainage.
Preparations are under way for the completion of the above works by
June 1996 after the release of funds, He added.
Iqbal Turk was of the view that new registration of trawlers at the
Karachi Fish Harbour should now be discouraged so that fishermen could
divert their attention towards Korangi Harbour.
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960105
-------------------------------------------------------------------
CLA, KSE coordination necessary for market development
-------------------------------------------------------------------
KARACHI, Jan 4: Jameel Ahmed Bhutto, member (Securities) Corporate Law
Authority (CLA) has said that the objectives of the CLA and the stock
exchanges was one and the same we are partners in progress and our
mutual coordination is necessary for the market development.
President KSE, Mr Arif Habib said the CLA and KSE through their co-
ordinated efforts can play and important role for development of
capital market.
He said the basic emphasis would be on the improvement of corporate
behaviour for which a committee had been constituted efforts, and
reactivate computerised trading system on a full scale. However, a
well thought policy would be presented to the government on various
issues relevant to the public offerings, right issues, premium, GDR
convertible, etc.
He spoke of the problem being faced by the members as a result of the
introduction of the settlement system. Due to this process not, only
members, foreign investors and financial institutions are facing
difficulties in handling settlement and deliveries on day-to-day
basis, but the trading activities in all such companies, which are
regulated through this process are also at a low level.
He said such a process of settlements and deliveries is in operation
worldwide, only where a depository system is in operation.
Unfortunately this aspect had not been considered by the CLA while
introducing this process. He urged the member-CLA to do away with this
system immediately.
He drew the attention to the proposals to carry out various amendments
in listing regulations, which are necessary for the operation of
depository and providing certain stringent provisions for regulating
the corporate behaviour. He urged to review the decision about the
suspension of provincial listing.
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960105
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Alvi for saving tax structure from annihilation
-------------------------------------------------------------------
FAISALABAD, Jan 4: The world economists have expressed their unanimous
opinion to eliminate the tax exemption and subsequently decrease the
tariff of taxes and duties in order to achieve a sustained economic
progress.
Elaborating in detail the policy guidelines of the Pakistan government
taxation policy, the chairman CBR emphatically said that if we intend
to save our tax structure from annihilation, we should evolve a
uniform system under which the customs and income tax rates shall have
to be reduced, the taxation system be made broad-based and the
exemptions of taxes and duties be curtailed to maximum.
The chairman CBR said the government is keen to rationalise its
taxation policy under which minimum taxes and duties be levied on the
people. He said the government has considerably decreased the
corporate tax during the last three years to 35 percent in public
sector, 45 percent in private sector and 50 percent in the banking
sector from existing 60 per cent.
Regarding the duty drawback, the chairman CBR revealed that the
government has taken a drastic and historic step for the expeditious
settlement of the duty drawback cases and issued directions to the
commercial banks and institutions to immediately pay the claims to
their clients, and later receive it from the government. He said that
under this direction, the banks would surely receive the duty drawback
amount from the government within six months time, unless any
irregularity is traced by the customs authorities in a specific case.
The chairman CBR further elaborated that it would be optimum effort of
the government not to impose taxes on consumer goods so that the
common man is not affected.
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960110
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CBR surpasses tax collection target
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Nasir Malick
ISLAMABAD, Jan 9: The Central Board of Revenue (CBR), has surpassed
the tax collection target of Rs 116 billion in the first half of the
fiscal 1995/96 beginning July.
The CBR chairman told a news conference that the indirect taxes
totalled Rs 85.6 billion against a target of Rs 84 billion, and direct
taxes stood at Rs 33 billion against a target of Rs 32 billion.
He said the main increase had come from customs collection and sales
tax on the imported goods. Customs and sales tax on the imported
duties increased tremendously to Rs 17.2 billion during November and
December.
Answering a question, he agreed that the tax collection had picked up
after the imposition of 10 per cent regulatory duty and seven per cent
devaluation of rupee against the dollar announced by the government.
He said the tax collection improved, despite reduced tariffs and
income tax. He said the increase was due to the efforts made by his
department for bringing more people into the tax net.
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960107
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Banking on our political paucity
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ISLAMABAD: The World Bank must have a unique relationship with
Pakistan. On one hand, its reluctant to give us loans when we really
need them, and on the other, it goes out of its way to provide us with
a prime minister (albeit of a caretaker kind). But contrary to the
common perception, Pakistan has not had a one-way relationship with
the WB. We, too, have given back a lot to the bank in the form of
brilliant men like Mian Muzaffar Ahmed and also the astute ones like
Dr Mahbubul Haq.
Ironically however, the present breed of expatriate Pakistanis
ensconced in their WB offices would rather emulate Dr Haq in his
intelligent use of the WB offices than Mr Ahmed. Shahid Javed Burki,
vice president in charge of the banks operations in the Caribbean and
Latin American region, is no exception.
But there is a reason for the Burkis of the world to look up to Dr Haq
who, though having remained a finance minister, held a much lower
office in WB than Mr Burki. Not that it stopped Dr Haq from cutting a
tall figure for himself back home. Despite getting an opportunity to
serve under a despot and to enforce any financial discipline of his
preference, the fact remains that Dr Haq simply did not deliver and
proved a rather easy adversary for the then rising stars like Ghulam
Ishaq Khan and company. Now, well rested and revived for a second
round, it has been a chastened and a much wiser Dr Haq to emerge from
the vaults of the World Bank.
Fully realising the aura surrounding the World Banks name, the doctor
made it a deliberate habit of popping up in Pakistan without fail and
to expound one financial panacea after another, budget after budget.
He was the only former finance minister to claim front page space
without even being a major political figure. Not only that; he also
kept getting audiences with all those who mattered. This was the first
time someone had made an intelligent use of a World Bank title in
Pakistan.
But then the arrival of Moeen Qureshi took the WB image to new
heights. A whole new category of ambition was instantly created and it
was only natural for other Pakistani-origin stalwarts of the bank to
start dreaming about a similar play of fate in their favour.
And this phenomenon does not exist in the minds of chronic cynics
alone as betrayed by the nervousness caused recently by the
simultaneous arrival of Dr Haq, Mr Burki and a couple of other top
level WB officials in Pakistan. Matters even got to a point where
newspapers kept openly hinting about the possibility of some major
political change in the country and at one stage Mr Burki had to
formally deny having come with any secret agenda. The gentleman kept
acting surprised and at times even agitated by the attention he was
getting but according to close associates, he loved every minute of
it.
For someone who holds no official folio for the region or Pakistan in
particular, Mr Burki interestingly made it a point to discuss
Pakistans economics with everyone, including the president. But,
according to a very close relative his best piece of conversation took
place with the present governments financial wizard, V. A. Jafarey.
But first the trivia pertaining to his stay. The same relative
confided that the list of callers on the World Bank executive read
like the financial and political Whos Who of Pakistan and that he
was being treated with a reverence normally reserved for the head of
the government or the COAS, and they all knew he could never become
the COAS so that leaves only... The remark was deliberately allowed
to trail off unfinished and capped by a hearty laughter but apparently
the countrys influential didnt view it as a laughing matter. You
never know when another Moeen Qureshi could happen!
Anyway, coming back to the Burki-Jafarey chit chat. According to the
source, Mr Burki reportedly expressed his extreme concern over
Pakistans economic situation and revealed to our ace fiscal wizard
that according to WBs internal assessment, Pakistans real foreign
exchange reserves stood at a peanut US$31 million. But if he expected
the white-haired gentleman sitting across him to lose a further shade
or two, he was sadly disappointed because Mr Jafarey kept looking at
him with a dead pan expression.
But you dont become a WB executive if you cant instil the scare of
the bank in the hearts of the lesser third-world mortals and so Mr
Burki persisted ahead with his doomsday scenario.
He supposedly told Mr Jafarey that the bank was now viewing Pakistan
on the lines of Mexico where only a last-minute fiscal intervention by
the US government and the bank which of course came in the wake of
the acceptance of some of the harshest-ever terms by the Mexican
government saved the country from an absolute financial disaster.
Once again, Mr Jafarey appeared totally unruffled. An undaunted Mr
Burki then went on to warn the countrys de facto finance minister
that when the crunch came, the Pakistan government might not even get
as many days as Mexico to prevent an economic ruin. Once again, all
that he evoked from Mr Jafarey was a cold, unperturbed stare.
Finally Mr Jafarey spoke. In as many words he reportedly told the
World Bank hot shot that in the event of a financial crisis he
couldnt do a thing even if he wanted to because its impossible for
me to get an appointment before two weeks. Even this early
appointment, according to him, was a courtesy of two very influential
business personalities of the capital.
It was Mr Burkis turn to let his jaw drop open in amazement. After
all, it does sound a bit ludicrous to believe that in a country where
even the minions of the government have an access to the national
exchequer, its custodian does not have any to the prime minister.
Mr Burki later confided to his close kin either the gentleman was
trying to take me for a ride or matters are even worse than I thought
they were.
Thanks to the Moeen Qureshi precedence, who knows he may be secretly
praying for the latter to prove true. Probably the truth wont be
known because in all likelihood Mr Jafarey may sound an angry denial
about the conversation ever having taken place while Mr Burki would
like to reserve this right till his second visit to Pakistan since it
could provide some fresh space on the front pages of the national
press.
The bottom line, however, remains depressingly clear. It speaks
volumes about our political paucity when a little media attention on a
former cricket star or a second level international banker sends
shivers down the weak spines of our so-called statesmen. Sorry,
statespersons!.
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960109
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Second largest crop protection company launched
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 8: AgrEvo Pakistan with the turnover of over Rs 2
billion, ranks second after Ciba, in crop protection business, with
the market share of 12.5 per cent from its own range.
Dr Prante disclosed that the AgrEvo Pakistan would also be marketing
agrochemicals products of Bayer A G in Pakistan from 1996 onwards,
which would lift the company's combined market share to around 20 per
cent. The current product range of AgrEvo, he stated, included
products for cotton, rice, wheat, pulses and vegetables as well as
environmental health insecticides.
He stated that the company expects to launch 10 new products in the
next 4-5 years, adding, that the R&D department of AgrEvo Pakistan
having access to one of the largest Agrochemical Research and
Development budget in the world and is continuously involved in
exhaustive testing of new and more environmentally sound products
under local considerations to ascertain their efficacy and correct
dosage.
He said, projected turnover of 1 billion DM in this region, by the
turn of this century. Dr Prante lamented that the 10 per cent increase
in the regulatory duty on agro chemicals, together with the impact of
7 per cent devaluation of Pakistani Rupee, would be burdensome and
requested that the government should grant exemption to the crop
protection products, just as it did for the fertiliser products. Clear
distinction, he emphasised, should also be made between the research
based ethical products manufacturers and simple traders.
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960109
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KSE 100-share index rises by 13 points
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Commerce Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 8: The Karachi Stock Exchange 100-share index rose 13
points, sending signals among investors that the advent of a bull-run
might be imminent on technical grounds.
However, the broader market did not perform well as general investors
stayed away. The KSE 100-share price index was last quoted at 1,477.30
as compared to 1,464.14 at the last weekend as most of the base shares
managed to finish smartly recovered.
Bulk of the support remained centred around Hub-Power, and PTC
vouchers.
Most of the investment shares performed well. Leading among them,
notably ICP mutual funds, and leading banks such as Faysal Bank, MCB,
Bank of Punjab and Union Bank.
Insurance shares rose under the lead of EFU Insurance on news of
higher earnings and so did some others including American Life.
Textiles shares generally fell though fractionally but leading among
them managed to finish fractionally higher. Synthetic shares were
actively traded under the lead of Dewan Salman, Dhan fibre and Ibrahim
Fibre and so did Cement shares, most active them being Lucky Cement
and D.G.Khan Cement.
Hub-Power in the energy sector was massively traded on heavy covering
purchases and so did some others but leading among them fell under the
lead of PSO and Pakistan Oil fields. Honda Atlas came in for active
support and led the list of active auto shares followed by Agriautos
and Pak-Suzuki Motors.
Most of the MNCs in the pharma sector notably ICI Pakistan, Wellcome
Pakistan, Searle Pakistan, and Reckitt and Colman rose and so did
Engro Chemicals and Brooke Bond and some others but Lever Brothers
fell on late selling.
PTC vouchers topped the list of most actives, up 65 paisa on 4.598
million shares followed by Hub-Power, up Rs 1.30 on 4.488 million
shares, ICI Pakistan, higher Rs 1.30 on 592,200 shares, Lucky Cement,
firm 55 paisa on 396,000 shares, Faysal Bank, steady 85 paisa on
390,500 shares, Dhan Fibre, lower 10 paisa on 222,000 shares, Fauji
Fertiliser, unchanged on 169,000 shares and Ibrahim Fibre, steady five
paisa on 155,500 shares.
Trading volume fell to 18 million shares from the previous 22 million
shares. There were 366 actives, out of which 173 shares fell, while
112 rose, with 81 holding on to the last levels.
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960110
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Improved performance on stock market
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Commerce Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 9: Stocks gave improved performance thanks to active
follow-up support. The Karachi Stock Exchange index of share prices
posted a fresh gain of 11 points at 1,489.60, reflecting the strength
of the base shares.
The investor bullish mood is also evident from the positive response
to the new issues, which are being heavily oversubscribed, they said
adding the news that the new floatation of Askari General Insurance
was heavily oversubscribed as it received Rs 57 million against its
offer of Rs 25 million is a pointer to the future direction of the
market.
Dividend news from Dadabhoy Leasing, Pakistan Telephone Cables, and
First Tawakkal Modaraba, were disappointing and have their toll in
their respective counters. But the second interim dividend at the rate
of 10 per cent by EFU General Insurance was well-received in the rings
as it was quoted further higher.
Banks, leasing, investment and most of the ICP mutual funds came in
for active short-covering and ended recovered and so did insurance
shares, under the lead of Adamjee, EFU, and New Jubilee Insurance.
Textile shares generally fell, although fractionally for want of
buying support rather than large selling from any quarter. As the
Dewan Salman, one of the trend-setters in the synthetic sector was
being quoted on spot basis, the activity in Dhan Fibre and Ibrahim
Fibre remained modest.
Cement and energy shares were traded both ways but some of the leading
power shares including Sui Northern, Sui Southern, KESC and PSO
finished with good gains.
Honda Atlas was actively traded in the auto sector and so did Ciba-
Geigy, Reckitt and Colman, Cyanamid Pakistan, Engro Chemicals and some
others. Telecard, Bata Pakistan and Tri-Pack Films were other good
gainers.
But bulk of the two-way activity remained centred around Hub-Power,
PTC vouchers, Faysal Bank, ICI Pakistan, Lucky Cement and some others.
The most active list was topped by PTC vouchers, off 40 paisa on 8.550
million shares followed by Hub-Power, easy 40 paisa on 5.157 million
shares, Lucky cement, up 40 paisa on 1.110 million shares, ICI
Pakistan, lower five paisa on 0.755 million shares, Faysal Bank, off
65 paisa on 0.600 million shares, Fauji Fertiliser, up 25 paisa on
227,500 shares, MCB, up 50 paisa on 111,500 shares and Honda Atlas
Cars, off 10 paisa on 107,500 shares. There were some other notable
deals also.
Trading volume rose to 21.676 million shares from the overnight 17.619
million shares thanks to active bouts of buying and selling in
pivotal. There were 345 actives, out of which 136 shares rose, while
143 fell with 66 holding on to the last level.
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960111
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KSE indices move in opposite direction
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Commerce Reporter
KARACHI, Jan 10: Stocks failed to extend the last two sessions
improvement as investors hastened to take profits despite predictions
of an extended bull-run.
The interesting feature was that both the KSE 100-share index and the
all share index moved in opposite direction, a phenomenon reflecting
the performance of the broader market. While the former fell 4.89
points at 1,483.82, the latter rose 12.66 points at 834.60 from the
previous 821.94.
Bulk of the buying and selling was again centred around Hub-Power and
PTC vouchers, which together accounted more than a half of the total
volume.
Both fell fractionally, reflecting that bears have an upper hand after
taking profits at the early higher levels.
Although minus signs dominated the list, some of the leading shares
maintained their upward drive and were marked further higher, major
gainers among them being First, second and 4th ICP mutual funds,
Silver Insurance, Shell Pakistan, Reckitt and Colman and Lever
Brothers, which posted gains ranging from Rs 2 to 5.
Other good gainers were led by International Bank, Alico, Sana
Industries, Apex Textiles, Crescent Textiles, Nishat Mills, Burshane,
PSO, General Tyre and some others rising by one rupee to Rs 1.50.
Leading losers were led by Dewan Textiles, Shafiq Textiles, Pakistan
Refinery, Quality Steel and United Insurance, falling by Rs 2 to 4.
Dewan Salman, which quoted spot remained under pressure and lost
another Rs 4 on renewed selling by weakholders. Bata Pakistan,
Philips, Exide Pakistan, Abbott Lab, National Motors, Bank of Punjab,
MCB, and Adamjee Insurance were other leading losers.
The most active list was again topped by PTC vouchers, easy 30 paisa
on 7 million shares followed by Hub-Power, easy 10 paisa on 5.550
million shares, Lucky Cement, lower 45 paisa on 1.314 million shares,
Faysal Bank, lower five paisa on 0.5 million shares, ICI Pakistan,
easy 15 paisa on 0.515 million shares, Sitara Energy, lower 75 paisa
on 169,500 shares, PICIC, off 45 paisa on 155,500 shares, LTV
Modaraba, down five paisa on 208,000 shares, and Tri-Pack films, up 20
paisa on 199,000 shares.
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960105
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Independence of the Judiciary-II
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ardeshir Cowasjee
ATTORNEY-GENERAL Qazi Jameel rang me last week. He does not seem to
fully comprehend the responsibility vested in him by his office. Being
the first law officer of the land, he has to be, willy-nilly, accepted
by the Bar as leader of the profession. He opened up: I read your
columns assiduously, never miss one. I countered: And having read them
what do you do? He hummed and he hawed.
He then came to the point, passionately assuring me that he had
nothing to do with the filing of the writ in the Peshawar High Court
challenging the appointment of Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah a year
and a half after he was appointed.
But, said I, I never wrote you had anything to do with it. We must all
presume, I suppose, that it was mere coincidence that this writ was
filed during the pendancy of the hearing of the 1995 judges case in
the Supreme Court. That the petitioner Arif Khan, a member of the
Peoples Partys Lawyers Forum, chose that particular point in time to
employ a former associate of yours, Barrister Jehanzeb Rahim (whose
services he can ill afford) to file a writ citing the CJ as the sole
respondent, without joining the federation. No notice was sent to you,
the AG. Normal pre-admission procedure was dispensed with and the
petition was admitted.
Moreover, again coincidentally, at just about the same time, the
Competent Authority in Sindh ordered that the home of the CJs
daughter be raided and searched and that his government servant son-
in-law be arbitrarily suspended. Does the government not seem to be
saying: Do what you are told, or else...
Then, referring to his absence from Pakistan last month ostensibly to
attend a conference on money laundering, thus successfully obtaining
an adjournment in the judges case, I reminded the AG that at any given
time there are at lest a dozen international conferences going on at
Woolloomooroo and other such important centres around the world to
which officials can conveniently be despatched. Take Dr Nassim Hassan
Shah, our former Chief Justice. When, early in 1994 BBs government
did not want him on the Bench in Pakistan, he was sent abroad on a
six-week lecture tour to win Kashmir.
Now, over to our neighbours, the Indians, and to how they
constitutionally appoint their judges.
1981 Autocrat Indiras time. In the Supreme Court of India, Gupta vs
The Union of India:
The constitutional provision for the appointment of a high court judge
in India is similar to that existing in the Constitution of Pakistan.
Under Article 217 of the Indian Constitution, a high court judge is to
be appointed by the President after consultation with the Chief
Justice of India, the governor of the province, and the Chief Justice
of the High Court. The question arose as to what was the meaning of
the word consultation. Did it merely mean a reference to, and
obtaining the views of, the two chief justices, or did it mean
something more? By a majority of four to three the court held that:
(i) A complete failure to consult the two chief justices was liable to
render the appointment unconstitutional.
(ii) The consultation must be not merely formal but meaningful and
effective. However, the judicial appointment was essentially an
executive function and, accordingly, the President, acting in
accordance with the advice tendered by the cabinet, could refuse to
follow the advice tendered by the chief justices of the concerned high
court as well as the Supreme Court.
1993. Democrat Narasimha Raos time. In the Supreme Court of India,
Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association vs. Union of India. With
the passage of time, informed opinion in India altered, and it was
decided that the view taken in Guptas case required reconsideration
to further strengthen the concept of judicial independence. A nine-
Judge bench was constituted in view of the importance of the matter
and the judgements delivered were couched in dramatic and indeed, in
certain cases, florid language. One learned judge asked:
Whether the present day Solomons Throne (symbolising the majesty
of our justice system) is fully supported by the Lions (symbolising
the legislature and executive on both sides)?
The court, after much anxious deliberation, overruled the judgment in
Guptas case and the majority of seven held:
(i) That, the proposal for the appointment of a judge, in the case of
the Supreme Court, must be initiated by the chief justice of India and
in the case of a high court judge, by the chief justice of the high
court.
(ii) That, in a case in which conflicting views were held by the
executive and the judiciary, the opinion of the judiciary symbolised
by the view of the Chief Justice of India would have primacy.
(iii) That, accordingly, no appointment of a judge either to the high
court or to the Supreme Court could be made unless it was in
conformity with the opinion of the chief justice of India.
(iv) That, the principle of seniority as a matter of healthy
convention ought to be followed.
The supreme court, in coming to the above conclusions, referred to the
earlier applicable sections of the Government of India Act 1935 in
which there was no provision for a mandatory consultation with the
chief justices prior to a judicial appointment. The view of the court
was that Indian Constitution, therefore, provided a deliberate
departure from the earlier constitutional position. In Guptas case
the court had earlier concluded that the views of the executive should
have primacy, a view that was now criticised by holding that the
reason given, namely, that the executive was accountable to the people
while the judiciary had no such accountability, was an easily
exploded myth, a bubble which vanishes on a mere touch. It was
pointed out that in practice judicial appointments were never
considered in parliament. Thus, the alleged accountability of the
executive in such matters was merely theoretical and not actual. It
was specifically noted that on the other hand, in actual practice,
the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justice of the High Court,
being responsible for the functioning of the courts, have to face the
consequence of any unsuitable appointment which gives rise to
criticism levelled by the ever vigilant Bar.
The court also took due note of the practice relating to judicial
appointments followed in England. There, the Lord Chancellor enjoys a
peculiarly high status and judicial appointments are made by the Prime
Minister on his advice after following a wide-ranging, although
informal, process of consultation. In England it is virtually
inconceivable that incompetent men, lacking integrity, would be
elevated to the Bench. On one occasion Sir Winston Churchill, while
addressing the parliament, observed:
The service rendered by judges demand the highest qualities of
learning, training and character. These qualities are not to be
measured in terms of pounds, shillings and pence according to the
quantity of work done. A form of life and conduct far more severe and
restricted than that of ordinary people is required from judges and,
though unwritten, has been most strictly observed. They are at once
privileged and restricted. They have to present a continuous aspect of
dignity and conduct.
The restraints which judges have to abide by have to be, in the final
analysis, essentially self-imposed. In this context, it is worth
raising the query as to whether the dignity and independence of judges
is enhanced by their attending functions or dinners held by leading
dignitaries of the state? Recently, the Prime Minister hosted a lunch
for the Sindh High Court judges at the State Guest House. Should our
judges not, without any hesitation, refuse such invitations?
Although the constitutional provisions in Pakistan are, broadly
speaking, similar to those in India, there is one difference. This was
introduced in the time of General Zia-ul- Haq. The General sought two
objectives: Islamisation of laws; and weakening of judicial
independence. Though mutually incompatible, he wanted both. Articles
203-A to 203-J were introduced into the Constitution to provide for
the formation of a Federal Shariat Court to decide whether or not the
various laws of Pakistan were in accordance with the provisions of
Islam. Tucked away in these Articles was a provision for the transfer
of high court judges to the Federal Shariat Court, which provided that
a judge of a high court who did not accept appointment to the federal
Shariat Court shall be deemed to have retired from his office.
Chief Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid of the Sindh High Court paid for his
independence, and under this provision was moved to the Federal
Shariat Court. Chief Justice Mian Mehboob of the Lahore High Court,
when transferred to the Shariat Court, refused to go and retired.
Why does Benazir feel constrained to exercise her power under the
cover of bad laws promulgated under martial law by a man she loathed?
Three of our four high courts are presided over by insecure Acting
Chief Justices who remain seated at the whim of the government and who
can be removed overnight by the simple issuance of a notification.
Political opponents are being victimised. Our jails are overflowing;
our lives and liberties are endangered. The government has done, and
will continue to do, its best to see that one way or another the
judges case now being heard in the Supreme Court is indefinitely
adjourned. This case is vital to the independence of the judiciary. It
is up to all of us, the people, to do what each of us can to ensure
that our judiciary gains full independence from our untrustworthy
executive.
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960105
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Their nostrums for all our ills
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Prof M. Ikram-ul-Haq
and six other signatories of Pakistan Forum Lahore
WE, the undersigned, have been pained to note that a group of six,
eminent, retired civil-military officers of the country have recently
deemed it fit to address an open letter to the Prime Minister of
Pakistan through the Press. This "non-letter" expresses deep concern
over the increasing politicisation of public services and corruption
rampant in all departments of the government, and highlights the need
for the appointment of a Presidential Commission for the restoration
of the norms of good governance in the country.
The tying of this aide-memoire its pronounced negative slant, its
shying away from "the roots of most problems in the past" (military
rule) in the country for 24 long years, during which power was
concentrated
in one hand, accountability to the disenfranchised people was the
least, its simplistic solution of all ills in the shape of a
Presidential Commission and its ominous refrain that Pakistan may not
live into the 21st century, have immeasurably disturbed impartial
observers.
The letter has been designed to fuel the fire lit by the opposition
and certain sections of the Press, which have a vested interest in the
creation of conditions leading to a martial law in the country. The
opposition leader daily shouts from housetops that 'Benazir's
government has dismally failed'; 'the state structure is falling
apart'; 'anyone but a Bhutto will be acceptable as Prime Minister and
so on. Having totally failed in the National and Provincial
Assemblies, despite repeated boycotts, threats of resignations and
continuing absenteeism of opposition members, desperate calls for
nation-wide strikes, wheeljams and 'deliverance days', instigation of
traders for holding back tax payments, direct and indirect appeals to
army officers to intervene and set things right, the opposition now
cries itself hoarse for mid-term elections, a national government or
martial law or presidential form of government.
Having recklessly plundered the financial institutions of the state
allowed drug smuggling on an unprecedented scale, completely
politicised the administration and the judiciary by flooding these
vital organs of the government with their political protigis, and
indulged in unparalleled "horse-trading" in the assemblies, the
opposition appears determined to repeat its performance, by doing all
it can to paralyse the democratically constituted government.
Most one-man political organisations and religious groups are busy
setting up a united front to be counted as third options or pressure
groups. Altaf Hussain's Mujib-like 'war of liberation' in Karachi,
controlled from abroad and supported by the opposition leader who, in
his own ascendant period, set the Mohajirs on the war path, has
already harmed the country's solidarity and economic well-being
irreparably, and put the simmering Kashmir problem on the back-burner.
There are several factors compounding the tense situation, some of
which deserve a registration. These are: fratricidal activities of
extremist religious sects and ethnic groups; nearly three million
Afghan refugees still living in Pakistan, aiding and abetting civil
war in Afghanistan, paying Pakistan back by their terrorist
activities, drug and arms smuggling sprees, and fomenting
fundamentalist religious troubles in the NWFP; unemployment and
spiralling cost of living in the country; unbridled powers and clout
of feudal lords and Sardars in rural areas; continuous rumour-
mongering in the name of the freedom of the Press.
Prolonged confrontation between the government and the opposition,
surprisingly belonging to identical political poles, politicisation of
public services and the deepening morass of corruption, undermining
the
credibility of the state machinery, and the crescendo of the
forebodings of the disintegration of the country, cannot be wished
away by any quick fixes like the Presidential Commission proposed by
the honourable Six.
The situation needs more democracy and not less, an unfettered
parliamentary democracy and not an Ayub-Yahya-Zia brand of
presidential system. Bureaucratic prescriptions will never give us
lasting solutions.
Our brief analysis of the situation in Karachi, and the widespread
corruption in the country, the two key areas spotlighted in the Open
Letter, may be summed up as follows:
i) The dialogue initiated by the government with MQM is a far-sighted
step which can lead to political reconciliation, on the basis of an
agreement to be evolved on the holding of local bodies' election in an
atmosphere free of thuggery and terrorisation of the masses, judicious
and compassionate review of criminal cases against MQM political
activists, grant of legitimate share to the MQM in the provincial and
federal governments, fixing of quotas for admissions to educational
institutions and for recruitment to the services, and redressal of
other legitimate grievances of the aggrieved parties. In order that
the crucial negotiations may restart to conclude meaningfully,
terrorism of the MQM, orchestrated by Altaf Hussain, must cease.
Rocket attacks on the Sindh Secretariat, wanton killings of Punjabis
and Pathans in Karachi, daily ambushes of the police, and interminable
series of coercive strikes, cannot go side by side with talks with the
government, for amicable settlement of issues. The leader of the
opposition must strengthen the hands of the government, representing
the majority of the people of Sindh, with whom the Mohajirs have to
live like brothers. We appeal to Altaf Hussain to pursue the dialogue
initiated by the government, earnestly and with a deep sense of
urgency.
ii) Corruption and politicisation of services bred and promoted by
nepotism, favouritism and feudalism, are the ill-begotten children of
martial laws in the country, and the bureaucrats are the carriers of
this deadly virus subverting the health and existence of our country.
Prolonged martial law regimes and the civil-military bureaucracy, are
the two fountain-heads of the hydra-headed corruption in this land of
the pure. Twenty four years of military dictatorship, based on
coercion, fear, and lack of accountability to the people, has
distorted and deformed our systems of administration, judiciary,
revenue collection, political dispensation, education and moral
values, beyond recognition.
During military rule, the constitution of the country has been treated
as 'a piece of paper'; political wheeling and dealing, and bribery was
the main tool for sustaining the government from day to day; and the
'public servants' learnt to behave as servants of the dictator and
masters of the people. The feudal class and bureaucracy are
the bulwarks and pillars of martial law in the country. All military
regimes, run by corruption and brute force, invariably unleash
internecine forces coalescing into another martial law, or a loosening
of the solidarity of the country, leading to its ultimate break-up.
Mistrust of the people and corruption are the twin gifts of the
cancer of martial law.
The civil-military bureaucracy has been the hot-bed of corruption in
our country, right from the days of Ghulam Mohammad to Ghulam Ishaq.
Through their perpetual Intrigues, lust for power, accumulation of
vast perks and privileges, and collusion with military dictators,
colonial powers, and feudal lords, they have reduced Pakistan to a
poor non-developing country, after 48 years of its turbulent
existence, without taking the blame for it. They are the ones who
prevailed upon our military and political rulers to borrow from
Western countries and spend beyond our means. Thanks to Mehbubul Haq-
Ghulam Ishaq-Sartaj Aziz-Jaffery line-up, controlling our finances,
our external debt has shot up from five billion dollars in 1977 to 24
billion dollars in 1995.
These debts line the pockets of bureaucrats and politicians, and
contribute nothing to the development of the country towards self-
reliance. From a foodgrain-exporting country, we have now turned into
a foodgram-importing country in the range of Rs 50 billion annually.
We are totally dependent on Western countries for our industrial and
defence needs. Corruption is also bred by our feudal and Jagirdari
system. Illiterate but moneyed elected representatives thrive on drug-
smuggling and tax-dodging, with immense susceptibility to political
'horse trading' in the assemblies.
Recruitment, even of teachers and clerks on the basis of political
patronage and selections, not to speak of the appointments of police
inspectors, taxation inspectors, and other functionaries, in complete
violation of merit and suitability, amounts to the subversion of the
state machinery. This legacy of the martial law regimes, has now been
accepted and implemented as an established norm, like the Haj trips at
government expense and treatments abroad for high-ups, the two gifts
of bribery given by Zia. The favourites of the feudal elected
representatives, bureaucrats and party workers-a new elitist and
corruption-breeding entity are streaming into government offices at
all levels.
This mode of corruption must be stopped forthwith. To start with, all
appointments and promotions, made from 1977 to 1995, on the basis of
political favouritism, bypassing the merit criteria, should be listed,
notified and screened. Unless there are exemplary punishments for
infringements of rules, and a system of accountability for those who
bend and break the rules, political appointees will continue to
trickle into different streams.
The demand for the appointment of a Presidential Commission assumes
that a Presidential system has already been imposed on the country! We
are convinced, however, that neither the appointment of a Police
Commission, nor that of the proposed 'Presidential Commission', to be
manned by individuals commanding national 'credibility and
reputation', could restore good governance, efficiency and objectivity
in public
administration, and the independence of the judiciary, everyone is so
enamoured of. Such a step can provide jobs for retired bureaucrats.
The present political situation in the country cannot be transformed
through technocratic prescriptions offered by M/s Moeen Qureshi,
Shahid Javed Burki and Mahbubul Haq, with World Bank credentials, or
the six retired civil-military bureaucrats. We firmly hold the view
that the remedy of all political ills of the country lies in a viable
and transparent parliamentary democratic system, envisioned by the
Quaid-i-Azam, and built into the 1973 constitution. We should bear in
mind that yet another military take-over, in the name of good
governance or Islam, can prove the undoing of the country.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
960106
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The singer, not the song
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mazdak
AS the government goes through the motions on centre stage, the cheers
turn to catcalls and the bouquets to brickbats; but more ominously,
the muttering in the wings is growing into a chorus.
According to the results of a Gallup poll published recently, 45
percent of the people surveyed in Pakistan think 1996 will be the same
or worse than 1995. Compare this with the 10 percent who thought the
coming year would be worse than the preceding one ,only half a decade
ago. Clearly, disenchantment and disillusionment with those in charge
over the last few years are multiplying rapidly. But more
significantly, there is increasing concern about the viability of the
system, and a debate about the parliamentary versus the presidential
forms has now surfaced in the Press.
Proponents of the latter argue that the current instability caused by
the polarisation between the ruling party and the opposition would not
be as marked if a strong president was vested with sweeping executive
authority. Indeed, if the chief executive were elected directly, he or
she would not be as beholden to parliamentarians and therefore under
no pressure to constantly indulge in horse-trading. We would then be
spared the spectacle of bloated and expensive federal and provincial
cabinets consisting of ministers whose loyalty has been bought with
portfolios.
I have long argued that simply tinkering with the system is no answer
because ultimately, the ruling elites will continue to call the
shots. Also, if we are stuck with a constitutionally powerful
president who has little regard for the rule of law, there are fewer
remedies available to us. Our experience of strong presidents who
enjoyed enormous power by virtue of military support has not been
salutary. True, the exercise of dictatorial power by generals is not
necessarily an apt example of a presidential dispensation, but on
principle, the anarchist in me is against the concentration of too
much authority in one person.
Experience has shown that constitutional checks and balances do not
function well in our climate. No doubt, the corruption in the air has
a corrosive effect.
Institutions like the judiciary and the legislature have been
systematically emasculated over the years. The recent decision to
appoint a retired 64-year-old civil servant with no experience in
audit and accounts as the Auditor-General of Pakistan is an indicator
of the government's concern for fiscal discipline. And the reported
heavy-handed tactics being used against the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court show the respect this august body now enjoys. The
independent Press, despite growing pressures, is the only instrument
of public accountability still playing its role.
By definition, parliament is supreme in any parliamentary system.
Unfortunately more or less the same crooked lot get elected time after
time. If this form of government is to perform reasonably well, it is
clear that the quality of legislators has to improve significantly
but, equally clearly, this is not happening. One reason is that the
mainstream parties award tickets to those candidates who can finance
their own (expensive) campaigns. But the major cause is the desire of
voters to elect a representative who can look after their interests.
They are not concerned with his voting record in parliament or,
indeed, whether he is honest or not. What the voters expect is that he
should have the clout to have a road built to their village, an
electricity connection provided or a government job secured. They are
not pushed about where he stands on the nuclear issue or whether he
attended the debate on Kashmir.
In short, a candidate is judged on his executive ability and not his
parliamentary skills. Those of us who live in cities would not think
of contacting our representatives for anything. Indeed, how many of us
even know their names? But the millions who live in villages have no
option because the Patwari, SDO or SHO pays no attention to ordinary
citizens. So for them, the acid test is whether a candidate is
accessible to them after he has been elected, and, secondly, if he is
effective in solving their day-to-day problems.
In developed democracies, the physical and social infrastructure is
largely in place, so parliamentarians can concentrate on their real
task of law-making and acting as watching on behalf of the electorate.
Here, because of the state's failure to provide the basic necessities,
public representatives are under pressure to be on the right side of
the government if they are to keep their constituents happy. So while
there is the occasional sound and fury in the house, there is a broad
consensus between the ruling party and the opposition on keeping the
system intact. It is in neither side's interest to rock the boat and
when there is a change, it is purely cosmetic, with one lot switching
places briefly with the other.
While this pragmatic approach by the average voter may go some way to
addressing his local problems, it is clearly not geared to raising the
abysmally low level of governance. This transformation can only come
about by ensuring a better breed of legislators, and this in turn will
only happen if and when the major parties screen applications from
candidates for ability and integrity, and the Election Commission
exercises a tight check on spending limits in election campaigns. But
since neither mirade will happen very soon, we are forced to examine
other options.
The strength of the American presidential form of democracy lies in
its concentration of power on the one hand, and its decentralisation
by granting tremendous autonomy to the federation states on the other.
This balance of power between the centre and the states is ensured by
a complex system of checks and balances which has evolved over two
hundred years.
The French system combines elements of both forms of government, with
power divided between the president and the prime minister. However,
when push comes to shove, the former calls the shots.
But whatever system a nation opts for, ultimately it is the will to
work according to the letter and the spirit of the original blueprint
that determines its success. If a constitution is twisted out of shape
and otherwise undermined by power hungry politicians for whom the rule
of law has no meaning, no system in the world can guarantee that the
government of the day will function within designed parameters.
So the answer lies not in changing the system but the attitude of our
ruling classes.
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960109
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Indias grand nuclear design
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Gen Khalid Mahmud Arif (retd)
DECEMBER 1995 report appearing in the New York Times about the US spy
satellite observing excessive activity at the nuclear test site at
Pokharan put India on the spot by disclosing her clandestine activity.
The satellite images alarmed the US that India might be secretly
planning either to explode a nuclear device or fine-tune its bomb-
making techniques.
Highly speculative, cried India and counter-charged that Washington
was pressuring it into signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
planned to be negotiated in 1996. India maintains that the CTBT must
be linked with a firm timetable for achieving nuclear disarmament
universally. Despite the Indian denial, the Asian Age reported that
India was set to test-fire at Pokharan surface-to-surface missile
Prithvi, capable of carrying conventional and nuclear warheads.
Both the reports alarmed Pakistan, a victim of Indias covert sabotage
and overt aggression. The testing of a nuclear bomb or its delivery
system is designed to promote Indias claim for being accepted as a de
facto nuclear-weapon power, the close- ended NPT not withstanding.
Prithvi missile, reaching out to most of the economic and military
targets in Pakistan, seriously compromises her security and demands a
policy of a tit for tat. In the face of such a grave danger, Pakistan
may have to forgo the hitherto observed nuclear self-restraint and
convert her nuclear capability into a practical reality. Given Indias
past behaviour the nuclear blackmail by it is an unacceptable option
for Pakistan.
The Indian intentions could be: one, testing its first thermo-nuclear
weapon design before the CTBT forecloses such a chance for ever; two,
testing the nuclear warhead for the Prithvi missile; three, cautioning
the world that an external pressure against Indias nuclear-weapon
option would be counter-productive; four, diverting the world focus
from Indias ongoing and projected nuclear and missile-related weapons
and technology acquisition from Russia; five, eroding the NPT and
preparing a case for making India its associate member with the rights
and obligations exercised by the nuclear-weapon powers; six,
bargaining on the CTBT and demanding its pound of flesh; seven,
promoting its claim for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council;
eight, claiming to be treated at par with China; nine, browbeating its
neighbours and dominating South Asia and beyond; ten, showing of
chauvinism by Narasimha Rao to gain votes during the coming elections;
and eleven, refining Indias nuclear weapons and their delivery
systems.
Indias decision-makers may opt for a bang if in their perception the
resultant world reaction would be muted, India would not be globally
isolated and the loss of external goodwill and advantages currently
accruing to it would be transitory in nature. Conversely, India could
renege under international pressure and/or deny that New Delhi ever
had an ulterior nuclear intention.
A tailor-made excuse could be that the US had either played its usual
dirty tricks with India or the American intelligence had overplayed
its hand. In either eventuality Indias immediate purpose
justification to retain its nuclear- weapon capability is adequately
served. The Indian diplomatic and media blitz will henceforth claim,
as a quid pro quo, political, economic, technological and diplomatic
concessions from its primary wooers.
It is a tribute to Indias political charmers that by cashing in on
the demise of the Soviet Union they successfully hypnotised the US
policy makers to look at South Asia largely through the Indian prism.
By opening up its economy to attract foreign investments India is busy
shopping in the international weapon bazaar. Massive external
investments in the economic sector permit India to divert its internal
resources to the rapidly growing defence budget. In addition, the
transfer of dual-purpose high-technology to India enables it to update
its weapon-systems previously acquired from the Soviet Union at
subsidised rates.
The economic assistance and the technology transfers from the US
amount to destabilising South Asia by arming a known bully.
Additionally, India is also acquiring military hardware from Russia
and elsewhere. The growth of its military arsenal increases its
political arrogance and military appetite. New Delhis intransigence
with its neighbours and imperial behaviour are the inevitable results.
The convergence of the Indo-US interests in keeping China under
pressure is fully exploited by India in promoting its own designs. On
the one hand, it claims to settle the age-old Sino-Indian border
dispute peacefully and on the other, permits the Dalai Lama living in
India to stab China in the back. India has been vociferous against the
Chinese nuclear weapon programme in the US policy-influencing and
policy-making circles and seeking to equate itself with that country
not withstanding the fact that unlike India China is recognised as a
nuclear-weapon state.
Poverty and power make a dangerous combination. The erstwhile Soviet
Union is a recent example. The Indian poverty line going back into its
ancient history, is written large in the streets of its cities, towns
and villages and on the faces of its population. A gun-wielding hungry
person poses a threat to himself and to others. Indias internal
conflicts and dissensions are so numerous, so complex and so
explosive that at any one time one half of its army is perennially
deployed on internal security duties in half a dozen disturbed areas
or more. Its neighbours all of them have had a bitter taste of its
expansionist designs.
India does not face any danger from outside but its internal security
is a different matter. Therein lies the danger for itself and its
neighbours. India can explode or expand. Neither of this possibility
may be imminent but the seeds for both exist.
The courtship between the recently-westernised India and the newly-
Indianised US might have evoked interest in this country without
ringing alarm bells if Washington had adopted a fair approach on major
South Asian disputes. Its credibility in Pakistan, previously suspect,
has nose-dived in recent times. Be it the nuclear issue, the narcotic
trade, the human rights violations, terrorism or the Kashmir dispute,
the US has shown a visible soft corner for India.
While America kept mum on the sale of the Russian military aircraft to
India, it bent backwards to convince New Delhi that the return of some
repaired Pakistani military hardware to Islamabad would not disturb
the regional balance (imbalance?) of power.
Likewise, India was rewarded with a security agreement with the US
after it test-fired Agni and Prithvi missiles. While the Pressler
Amendment unfairly punishes Pakistan, India, no less unfairly,
receives security assistance and military cooperation despite its
expanding nuclear activity. The US policy statements on Kashmir have
encouraged India to talk tough with and threaten Pakistan. The US
policy tilt has thus aggravated the security concerns in South Asia.
Washington would not be blame-free if there is another conflict in
this region.
Indian machinations, never hidden from Pakistan, now stand exposed to
the world. Having failed to subdue the freedom movement in Kashmir it
has launched itself on a Machiavellian path to pursue other options.
Its imagination ran so wild that when an epidemic broke out in India,
Pakistan was accused of infiltrating infested rats into the affected
area. RAW is purposefully vitiating the political climate. The RAW-
sponsored operations the capture of hostages by the so-called Al
Faran group and the air-drop of arms in East India were launched
with sinister motives to implicate Pakistan.
With India breathing fire, Pakistans quarrelling politicians are
doing their business as usual trading accusations among themselves.
Therein lies the danger to this country.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
960107
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Why fear trading with India?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
S.M. Naseem
THE debate on opening up trade with India is emotionally charged and
motivated mainly by a desire to discredit present or past governments,
rather than for analysing the problem on the basis of the merits of
the case. Mixing politics with trade is almost as dangerous as mixing
religion with politics, which is a legacy from which Pakistan is
finding so difficult to recover. If the politics of the country has
suffered from the infusion of religious, ethnic and other sectarian
elements into it, the economy has also been handicapped by the
intrusion of these extraneous elements in making optimal policy
choices.
Our continued infatuation with the dream of an Islamic economic bloc,
whose prospects have always been suspect but whose feasibility becomes
increasingly doubtful with the emerging ditente between Israel and the
Arabs, has been one of the major reasons why we have failed to take
seriously the experience of East Asia, notwithstanding the fact that
it comprises two large Muslim countries.
Any casual observer of the international scene of the past two decades
cannot help being impressed by the fact that countries which have
succeeded in invigorating their economies and achieving high rates of
economic growth have done so through increased reliance on foreign
trade. Moreover, they have done so by diversifying their trade and
through increased interaction with countries of their own region.
Political differences have also not stood in the way of closer
economic ties, especially trade, between nations having a long history
of hostile political relations. Besides the well-known example of
Europe, which illustrates that economic ties are not only possible
between political adversaries but that they also help heal past
differences and create common bonds of understanding, many other
instances can also be cited.
In more recent times bitter enemies of Japan in East Asia (and often
of each other), sank their differences and engaged in intensive trade
with each other in the larger interests of their peoples well-being.
Despite the political posturing between Taiwan and the Peoples
Republic of China, a healthy and growing trade and investment
relationship between the two economies has flourished. Indeed, one is
hard put to find contrary contemporary examples of nations not
engaging in trade because of political considerations.
Apart from the UN-sanctioned (often US-led trade) embargoes against
Iraq, Libya and at one time South Africa, the only remaining vestige
of such politically-motivated trade policy is, ironically, being
pursued by the US, the leading protagonist of free trade, against Cuba
and Iran. But that is clearly a case of paranoia which the US nurses
towards its perceived-enemies. With the signing of the PLO-Israel
peace agreement, trading relations between the Arab states and Israel
are fast developing.
It is, therefore, difficult to understand why Pakistan should stand
out as the only significant developing country to practise a
politically-inspired trade policy, if only against one country.
Indeed, there would be some strength in the argument for generalised
trade restrictions to enable the country acquire a sufficiently strong
industrial base before it launches itself into the uncharted waters of
free trade in international competition. Unfortunately, the time for
that argument has come and gone and our policy makers have frittered
away the opportunities provided to them by the international trading
system during successive regimes which promoted their own narrowly-
focused, self-serving economic agenda rather than work towards the
creation of a viable economic base which could stand international
competition.
Short of becoming totally isolated from the global economy for a
considerable period of time, Pakistan does not now have the option of
turning the clock back and attempting to regain the missed
opportunities of the past.
With the completion of the Uruguay Round and the establishment of the
World Trade Organisation, all trading signatories of the Marrakesh
declaration are obliged to accord each other MFN treatment and have
agreed to reduce their tariff levels significantly over time. Such
reduction is intended to greatly increase the volume of trade and
result in more mutually beneficial pattern of comparative advantage.
While the Marrakesh agreement is heavily tilted in favour of
industrialised countries by virtue of their predominant position in
world trade, the developing countries have managed to extract, through
years of detailed negotiations during the Uruguay Round, the minimal
concessions needed for the maintenance of a free trade environment.
Another source of increase in international trade as an impetus for
growth is the formation of regional cooperation in trade and
investment, which has assumed increasing importance in most regions of
the world, with the exception of South Asia. While SAARC has been in
existence for well over a decade and has carried out some important
activities, its achievements so far have been well below its inherent
potential. Its main role has so far been in promoting exchange of
visits, information and experience activities, which, while
seemingly trivial, can have a substantial value in the promotion of
intra-regional cooperation.
However, such activities have to be accompanied by greater
liberalisation in trade and economic exchanges and, in due course,
also by an overall improvement in political relations of cooperating
countries. In the absence of the latter provisos, the mere promotion
of cultural and professional exchanges could have a negative effect on
the perception of people in cooperating countries as waste of
resources. It is, therefore, necessary that concerted efforts for
economic cooperation are not put off for too long; cosmetic essays in
public relations are no substitute for these.
The major stumbling block in SAARCs progress as a regional economic
cooperation organisation is the poor and worsening state of political
relationships between the two largest economies of the SAARC namely,
India and Pakistan. Unless there is a significant improvement in this
relationship, SAARCs image as a regional economic cooperation
grouping will remain lacklustre and its high potential will not
materialise. The lack of mutual trust between India and Pakistan
affects the overall functioning of the organisation, since, as
envisaged in its original charter, decisions at all levels in the
organisation have to be taken on the basis of unanimity.
Economic cooperation in South Asia has also been inhibited to some
extent by the fear among some of the smaller countries in the region
that India being the largest economy in the region, is likely to
receive a disproportionately high share of any gain accruing from such
cooperation. These fears are not without substance, but are often
exaggerated by those industries and sectors in the economy which are
likely to lose, while the potential beneficiaries, by far the more
dynamic elements in the economy, who have been denied patronage and
access to resources, have little voice in policy formulation. The main
thing to recognise is that while there are likely to be both gainers
and losers from increased trade with India and other countries, the
country itself is unlikely to be a loser, even if its bilateral trade
balance with one or some of the countries worsens and can be dispelled
by giving adequate safeguards for any adverse effects caused to the
national economy of smaller countries. For unless a country is grossly
inefficient, growing trade is an increasing and not a zero-sum game,
in which both trading partners can gain.
Increased and diversified trade with new trading markets under the MFN
or other concessional trade regimes will not give rise to the need for
some restructuring of the domestic economy and refashioning of
comparative advantage. This is going to be inevitable for Pakistan
whose comparative advantage has been frozen since its early
nationalisation in the 1950 and 1960s in favour of a few basic and un-
specialised commodities. This pattern of comparative advantage is
likely to crumble under the weight of more liberalised trade mandated
by the Uruguay Round. To try to resist such restructuring on the plea
that our industries will be swamped by Indian goods is counter-
productive. India does not, after all, have a high competitive edge
compared to other countries we will be opening our trade to. Under the
pressure of competition, we may acquire a better competitive edge and
be forced to develop market niches in other countries, including
India, which our industrialists have not had any motivation for doing
because of a captive domestic market and assured markets in low
quality exports.
Despite these fears of smaller countries, SAARC adopted the agreement
on SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) at the 7th SAARC
summit in Dhaka in April 1993. However, it has taken more than two
years for its final adoption, with Pakistan being among the last to
ratify. Pakistans continued reservations cast doubts on the agreement
becoming operational soon. If and when it does become operational, the
product-by-product approach in SAPTA is unlikely to make any
significant difference to the existing low levels of intra-regional
trade which is only three per cent of their total trade. As pointed
out in a recent ESCAP study, a bold across-the-board preferential
trade agreement on transit and trade to promote intra-SAARC trade is
required, which undoubtedly will benefit to all the countries as well
as stimulate the economic growth of the region. It is significant
that Nepal, a small least developed economy, has beckoned the way by
announcing a 10 per cent preferential tariff reduction on all imports
from the SAARC region. Similar bold measures, perhaps proportional to
the size of each regional economy, could pave the way for a vigorous
increase in intra-SAARC trade.
By adopting a negative attitude towards the expansion of trade with
SAARC in general and India in particular, Pakistan is letting slip a
unique opportunity of providing the economic and trade leadership to a
region which has a large potential of becoming a dynamic economic
force in the next century. Not long ago, India used to be afraid of
being ganged up against by the smaller nations in SAARC; Pakistans
attitude is likely to dissipate this fear. A much bolder and less
diffident strategy on the part of Pakistan could shame India into
making larger concessions in SAPTA and in making SAARC a truly dynamic
region. The two countries need to engage in an economic and trade
competition, instead of the senseless arms race that provides no real
security to the people of either country.
In this respect, as in many others, SAARC can benefit from the ASEANs
experience, which is widely recognised as the most enviable example
for conducting regional economic cooperation among geographically
contiguous, politically independent nation states of medium size.
Among the most important achievements of the ASEAN have been the
creation of an economic and political environment in the region under
which normal economic relations can take place without a threat of the
eruption of an armed conflict among member countries within the
region. ASEAN countries played an important role not so much in
directly solving but in defusing bilateral conflicts of their members.
They perceived regional peace in terms of public good whose existence
benefits all member countries and whose absence causes considerable
loss of resources that could better be utilised elsewhere. This is a
major lesson that SAARC countries, especially its two chief
adversaries, could profitably emulate.
This public good aspect of regional peace is particularly important in
an era when foreign direct investment is playing a major role in the
industrialisation and development of developing countries. A major
factor influencing multinational firms decisions to undertake foreign
investment is the existence of peace and law and order in areas where
they invest.
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960108
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Will India heed the warning?
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Editorial Column
WASHINGTON'S warning to India not to persist in its move to conduct
yet another nuclear explosion has not come a day too soon. There
should not be the slightest doubt that if New Delhi went ahead with
its plans, it would trigger a dangerous nuclear arms race in the
region, the implications of which are too frightening to contemplate.
The United States has reportedly conveyed to New Delhi that if it
carried out the planned nuclear test, it would open itself to severe
economic and trade sanctions under the 1994 Proliferation Preventive
Act, and have assistance from the world finance bodies cut off. The
point to note here is that Washington would not have administered a
stern warning unless it was fairly convinced, on the basis of
evidence, that India was in fact planning to conduct a second nuclear
test explosion-after its first in 1974. The message from Washington
should be expected to put the Indian government in a sober frame of
mind and persuade it to reconsider the active pursuit of its bloated
nuclear ambitions.
However, since information on the exact nature of Washington's warning
continues to be somewhat vague and sketchy, the countries of the
region, especially Pakistan, are entitled to be clearly informed of
the United States' stand in the matter. The US has kept Islamabad
under pressure for years, through the highly discriminatory device of
the Pressler law, excluding it from all economic and military
assistance. All this while, India has defiantly opposed the signing of
the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and entering into any
regional or bilateral (with Pakistan) arrangement to prevent the
spread of nuclear weapons and missile technology in South Asia.
Pakistan, on its part, has repeatedly offered to accept any
restrictions on its nuclear development programme which are equally
applicable to India.
To no one's surprise, there have been reports suggesting that India
could be expecting to use veiled threats of reneging on its commitment
to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), due some time this
year, to drive a bargain for extracting certain concessions for
itself. If this is what India is angling for, it would be preposterous
to offer any quid pro quo as a "reward", such as a permanent seat on
the UN Security Council or possible US assistance in nuclear and space
research, merely to ensure India honouring its commitment to non-
proliferation. Conduct of international relations would no longer be
regarded as reasonably fair and principled if India, or any other
country for that matter, is allowed to get away with such blackmailing
tactics. Some US officials appear to believe that the warning
administered by Washington may have already prompted New Delhi to back
off from its proposed nuclear explosion. There is no tangible basis so
far for such speculation, however, particularly because it is widely
believed that India's prime minister, Narasimha Rao, may be hoping to
shore up his sagging popularity ahead of next April's elections by
upstaging his main rival, the ultra-nationalistic Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), whose manifesto calls for a full-fledged nuclear weapons
programme for India.
In this context, it must be stated without the slightest equivocation
that Pakistan would under no circumstances knuckle under international
pressure and accept a situation in which only India possesses the
nuclear weapon, particularly in view of the fact that New Delhi
already enjoys a clear edge over Pakistan in regard to conventional
weapons. New Delhi knows fully well that its genuine security needs do
not call for a nuclear arsenal. In spite of this, if it goes ahead with its
planned nuclear test explosion, it would only confirm India's
hegemonic ambitions in the region which it wants to prop up by its
nuclear might. Should India go ahead with its nuclear test, it will
destroy the present, delicate informal nuclear restraint regime in the
South Asian region. This in turn could mark the beginning of a
perilous nuclear arms race in a region, which, in any case, has been
on the brink of military confrontation for some time. If major powers,
such as the US, expect their warnings to be taken seriously, they must
be prepared to use all the political, diplomatic and economic means at
their command to obtain compliance with the needed restraint.
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960107
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Vigilance or vendetta?
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Omar Kureishi
IN other times and days gone by when we were less cynical and not
quite as earnest as we have become, the disclosure by a political
columnist that four journalists had been picked up by the police in
Islamabad for having some cans of beer in their car on New Years Eve
would have been considered a premature April Fool joke, a kind of
spoof.
But I checked it out and it happened for real. I have read the column
and though it reeks of sarcasm, an undercurrent of justified
indignation runs through it. I agree that it is not funny at all and
the incident has all the hallmarks of a set-up, and a pretty clumsy
set-up at that.
But why should we assume the worst? Why not take the best case
scenario. There were beer cans in the car of the journalists and in
the jargon of the police it was a fair cop. If that indeed is the
case, then the police are deserving of our congratulations. It shows
the police to be hawk-eyed vigilant. Thousands of cars ply the roads
of Islamabad and yet the police were able to pick a needle from a
haystack. Was it luck that they were able to pick up a car that was
carrying contraband goods out of thousands of cars or was some high-
class sleuthing involved?
The law of probabilities is against the police if the check was
random, improbable but not impossible. It goes beyond the remarkable
and borders on the miraculous. But people do win a lottery against
similar odds.
Somehow I feel that it did not quite happen this way. And one
sincerely hopes that an appropriate probe of the incident will be
made, as promised. But the probe must be thorough because an extremely
important principle is involved. There is first of all the fundamental
rights of individuals and contrary to what many people might think,
journalists are not a special breed and they enjoy neither greater nor
lesser rights. They cannot or must not be targeted because of the
nature of their profession. Freedom of the Press is more than a
compact between the government and the media. It goes to the very core
of a democratic society for it involves the right of the people to
know.
It has to be accepted that freedom of the Press means that there will
be criticism, that a certain amount of scepticism will be shown to
official versions. It is true that freedom of the Press has never
meant licence, the right to cry fire in a crowded hall but those who
choose to be in the public domain must learn to accept a certain
amount of heat.
Whether the four journalists who were picked up by the police had
indeed cans of beer in their car or whether others scores were being
settled is for the probe to decide. The credibility of the police is
also involved and the senior officials must ensure that if there has
been some hanky-panky then exemplary punishment must follow. Let this
be a test case. Who knows it could be a defining moment in re-
establishing trust between the police and the public. I have written
several columns in which I have made a special point of lamenting the
lack of trust between the police and the public. The police are not
perceived as friends and the sight of a policeman far from being
reassuring is intimidating. This is no way to get a lawful society.
But something else is involved. Our country, like many other
countries, is in the grip of terrorism, both domestic and
international. Only recently we have had the bombing of the Egyptian
Embassy in Islamabad and the blast in Peshawar.
Both deadly serious in every sense, including literally, and both
cowardly in the extreme. Although investigations are going on and
there are many theories as to who may have been responsible, it cannot
be claimed that the cases have been solved. if track records are
anything to go by, we cannot be too optimistic.
One must accept that both in the bombing of the Egyptian Embassy and
in the blast in Peshawar, the police and other agencies were caught
napping. The same must go for acts of terrorism in Karachi. There is
no doubt that there is an information failure. Yet we find an almost
oppressive police presence in the major cities and motorists and
motor-cyclists are stopped and searched almost on a whim. It would not
matter if we were getting results but obviously we are not, for there
seems to be no end to the violence, certainly in Karachi, and the
public feels it is being needlessly harassed. Besides, pitted against
professional and highly trained terrorists, these efforts seem
amateurish.
The fight against terrorism must be based on solid information and our
agencies have to be one step ahead. But most of all you have to have
the people behind you and not at odds with one another. It is a matter
of regret that the political parties have not closed ranks on this
single agenda of terrorism. Terrorism is not only a crime against the
state, it is a crime against the people of this country. The victims
of terrorism are innocent men, women and children. Forty-five precious
lives were lost in Peshawar besides scores who were injured.
The dead are gone and beyond suffering, in this world at any rate, but
those that are left behind must reckon with the consequences, their
own lives that have been devastated. Can anyone justify this barbaric
act, can anyone say that means justified the ends, that the cause was
more just than the right to life of those who lost that right? Nobody
can justify murder.
Again, there is the perception that a good deal of snooping is going
on and Big Brother is watching. Much of this may be imaginary. I do
know that many people who consider themselves to be people of
consequence are extra careful when talking on the telephone. This is
particularly true of Islamabad. Even sitting in the coffee shop of the
citys five-star hotel one gets the feeling that one is being watched.
It may be nonsense, just a fit of self-importance. But if the agencies
are alert, then it is a good thing for it means that they are on the
job which is to hold our enemies at bay.
The question arises: when it comes to the crunch, like the bombing of
the Egyptian Embassy or the blast in Peshawar, all this supposed
surveillance doesnt seem to amount to much. Yet we are led to believe
that the police are able to nab four journalists who happen to have
some cans of beer in their car! Why not this same vigilance against
more serious enemies? Find those with bombs in their cars.
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960108
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Coping with diabetes
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Editorial Column
THE warning that diabetes has acquired epidemic proportions in
Pakistan needs to be taken seriously. The warning has been sounded by
the Secretary-General of the Diabetic Association of Pakistan who was
addressing a seminar on management of diabetes, in Karachi. He based
his warning on the fact that 12 per cent of the population in the age
group of 25 years or above suffered from the debilitating disease.
Forty per cent of the people who have been living with the disease for
more than 15 years could become incapacitated from complications
arising from diabetic conditions and many of them may even die
prematurely if not treated or cared for properly. The statistics are
indeed fearful as diabetes is yet a disease which cannot be prevented
or completely cured; it can only be kept under control, which puts an
awesome burden on the patient as well as his family members. Many
diabetic patients die of heart complications and 36 per cent of the
cases of blindness in Pakistan are attributed to this disorder.
Although diabetes is one of the oldest known ailments, our knowledge
about it is still very rudimentary. In fact, in developed countries,
half of the diabetic patients do not know that they are suffering from
the disease. In the under-developed countries four out of every five
diabetic patients are ignorant of the nature of the disease they are
afflicted with. This lack of knowledge, and the required facilities
and services, increases the dangers from diabetes. Therefore to spread
knowledge and to make people conversant with the essential do's and
don'ts of management and control is imperative.
Fortunately efforts are not lacking in Pakistan although a great deal
more needs to be done to make people conscious on a wider scale. In
spite of the fact that education plays an important role in the
prevention and management of diabetes, there are millions in the
country whose knowledge about the disease is as scanty as can be
imagined. The people have to pay a very high price in impaired health
and very many complications and disabilities that emanate from it for
this lack of knowledge. Moreover, the absence of adequate health care
facilities in the country, especially in the rural areas, make people
easy prey to this and a host of other afflictions. The situation can
be improved with the spread of education in general and knowledge
about diabetes in particular. There is urgent need for the health
authorities to pay more attention to this problem and set up the
required medical and counselling facilities and services for the
benefit of diabetic patients.
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960109
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The task before the NFC
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Editorial Column
THE task of the National Finance Commission (NFC), appointed by the
President recently on the expiry of the tenure of the previous one, is
infinitely more difficult and complex than what its predecessors ever
faced. It is required to allocate very scant revenues between the
Centre and the provinces and among the provinces in the face of highly
exaggerated expectations. The financial position of the federation and
the provinces has reached a stage where even moderate claims tend to
outstrip the available resources. The present financial crisis is
largely the result of accumulation of huge debts by the federation
over the years, so much so that 50 per cent of the federal revenues
are gobbled up by debt servicing. Provincial finances are also under
severe strain for two reasons. First, provinces have for long been
very niggardly towards education, health and maintenance of assets,
with the result that the demands of these have now become too pressing
to be ignored or postponed any longer. Second, provinces never made
any serious efforts to mobilise resources falling within their
jurisdiction. They remained entirely dependent on federal tax
assignments and grants-in-aid. During the last four years, provincial
tax and non-tax receipts increased, on average, by only four percent
annually. On the other hand, federal tax assignment rose by 22.5
percent.
Adding to its predicament, the NFC is faced with the absence of exact
statistics of population which was in the past, the sole criterion for
distribution of resources among the provinces. Census was due in 1991;
it could not be held as scheduled, nor is it likely to be held in the
near future. Neither are statistics on inter-provincial migration
available. These two missing elements make population as a basis for
distribution of revenues highly questionable. In this situation the
provinces would plead for the expansion of the divisible pool, while
the smaller provinces would want the NFC to adopt a new set of
criteria, comprising, besides population, geographic spread,
development levels, etc., of different provinces for reasons of
equity. In view of the highly precarious financial position of the
federation (debt-servicing and defence consuming almost all revenues),
the President, in NFC's terms of reference has excluded receipts from
excise duties from the divisible pool and also asked the Commission to
examine the question of continuation of payments of royalties on crude
oil and surcharge on natural gas.
Exclusion of excise duties, royalty and surcharge, if accepted, would
substantially reduce the pool and consequently the shares of the
provinces, especially those of Balochistan and Sindh. The shrinkage
would be greater if the federation insists its own share to be raised
from 20 per cent to 30 per cent. In the present political environment
and in view of the claimant needs of the provinces, these exclusions
and federal share enhancement are neither practical nor advisable.
Demands of the provinces for payment of royalties on account of ports
and cotton and rice production seem almost frivolous. At any rate, the
finances of the federation do not allow consideration of such demands
at this stage. The Commission will have to attempt a balance between
the claims and needs of the Centre and the provinces on the one hand
and the availability of tax receipts on the other. The finances of one
cannot, and should not, be strengthened at the expense of the other.
What the NFC should do this time is to specify sources which the
provinces must tap for increasing their revenues. They have not so far
touched the source which the Constitution has exclusively reserved for
them-income from farming, which constitutes 25 per cent of the gross
national product. Similarly, the source of non metropolitan town
properties for revenues has not been properly tapped. There may be
many other sources which need to be discovered and developed to
improve provincial finances. As for fixation of inter-provincial
shares, the issue is complicated and sensitive. Population alone was
never an appropriate criterion and, in any case, the demographic
statistics are now totally out of date. Rough estimates of population
may be considered as one of the factors. Others to be taken into
consideration are area and the level of development of a province and,
as an incentive, its efforts to mobilise its own resources.
Fiscal equity demands weightage in favour of the poor. Hence backward
and underdeveloped areas have a proportionately better claim than
others. Similarly, creation of physical and social infrastructure and
provision of utilities in a sparsely populated area require large
resources than in thickly populated regions. These two factors should
become important components of the new criteria. Some weightage needs
to be assigned to individual efforts of the provinces to raise
revenues. For that purpose, the federation may set aside a portion of
funds for distribution in proportion to the ratios in which the
provinces raise additional revenues each year. Although assignment for
local bodies is not included in the terms of reference of the NFC, a
time has come when opportunities for grass-roots participation in
efforts for raising resources and for implementation of the
development programme should be provided. The Commission should,
therefore, devise some formula for drawing local governments into the
process of development.
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960109
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Calculated Terror
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Editorial Column
OVER and above the daily dose of violence and strife which has plagued
life in Karachi for many years, Sunday's bomb explosion in a public
bus is a stunning indicator of the extent of mindless mayhem to which
the city now stands almost helplessly exposed. The explosion resulted
in the death of seven persons and serious injuries to 35 others. The
faceless purveyors of death and destruction struck at the unsuspecting
busload of people in the peak traffic hour of the afternoon. Some of
the critically injured may have been disabled for life and, therefore,
reduced to and impoverished existence. The extent of the havoc wrought
by the explosion may take time to assess as many of the bodies were
charred beyond recognition and parts of others lay scattered in the
debris as the Edhi workers and other volunteers rushed to the scene of
the incident. The ordeal of many of the wounded passengers, even after
they had been rescued, was compounded when they were rushed to the
Jinnah Hospital which was reportedly quite unprepared to cope with an
emergency of that magnitude. Reports spoke of a shortage of doctors
and nursing staff and the hospital ran out of some vital life-saving
medicines.
Any attempt at apportioning blame for the-outrage amongst the many
groups and factions practising violence and terror would at this stage
be a meaningless exercise, especially in the absence of some new
efforts either to stem the tide of violence or to resolve the
underlying causes of the violent conflict. Far more important is the
need to mount a new initiative to put an end to the vicious circle of
violence and counter violence that has trapped Karachi for long: As a
starter, there has to be a moratorium on violence agreed to by all
parties involved in the conflict. The respite thus obtained may
provide the opportunity for coming to grips with the causes of popular
discontent and alienation in Karachi. That would, of course, call for
a resumption of a dialogue-and not a pantomime -between the government
and the MQM who between them hold the key to the restoration of peace
and normality to Karachi.
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960110
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The MQM-PML intent
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M.H. Askari
THE full implications of the agreement reached between the MQM and the
Pakistan Muslim League during Mr Nawaz Sharifs recent visit to London
are still not quite clear, but the development could mean a fresh wave
of turmoil in Sindh, particularly in Karachi and Hyderabad, and that
is a prospect that cannot be viewed with any sense of equanimity.
The joint statement issued by the two leaders in London deplored the
atrocities and brutalities suffered by the Mohajir community in
Sindh, specially Karachi, and called for putting an end to the present
state of affairs by bringing about an immediate change of government
through a demonstration of the will of the people.
In a language which is an uncomfortable reminder of the rhetorics
used during the erstwhile PNA movement, directed against Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto after the 1977 elections, the joint MQM-PML statement spoke of
the national duty of the people to get the country out of its
present mess. While the alienation of the Mohajirs from the mainstream
of national politics began largely with the launching of the Operation
Cleanup in Sindh in June 1992, when a government headed by Mr Nawaz
Sharif was at the helm of affairs, it is undeniable that the Mohajirs
have been pushed to the brink in more recent years. Little has been
done by the PPP leadership to endear itself to the Mohajir community,
large segments of which now suffer from an acute sense of persecution
at the hands of the law enforcement agencies.
There are armed cadres of militants operating in Karachi (and many
other parts of Sindh) under the umbrella of almost every political
party and faction. Yet, more often than not, almost every act of
violence in Karachi or Hyderabad is blamed on the MQM and its
activists. There have even been insinuations that MQM militants could
have been involved in the bomb explosion in a bus in Karachi last
Sunday. However, the Sindh chief minister, Syed Abdullah Shah, blamed
the outrage on elements who want to spread chaos and disturb the peace
in the country. He did not point an accusing finger at any particular
group or faction. In any case, the MQM leader, Altaf Hussain, promptly
expressed a deep sense of horror at what he termed as the worst form
of terrorism.
It is clear that the PML has a great deal to gain from the compact
with the MQM, which will give the party a foothold in urban Sindh.
(The PML has already the support, even though it may not be so overt
at times, of the large number of Punjabi settlers in rural Sindh and
among the labour in cities such as Karachi). Mr Nawaz Sharif and his
party colleagues are campaigning hard for the Sanghar by-election and
his claim that the political pattern has changed in the interior of
Sindh also apparently arises out of the support he expects from the
MQM apart from some dissident groups of the PPP.
Mr Nawaz Sharif has claimed that his lengthy discussions with Mr Altaf
Hussain in London led to a consensus on possible ways and means of
tackling the complicated situation in Karachi and Hyderabad.
However, the MQM has to evaluate the prospective gain (or loss)
arising out of the London talks from its own point of view and what
they could mean to the future of the Mohajirs and the MQM in the long
term. After what the PPP spokesman and the prime minister herself have
said, there should be no doubt that the Altaf Hussain-Nawaz Sharif
deal is viewed by the ruling party as a conspiracy to subvert the
democratic process.
What the London statement apparently envisages is a mass struggle to
bring the government down. It has warned the people that if they
remained silent or inactive at the present juncture, incalculable
damage may befall the country. These are ominous signals and could be
interpreted to mean that the struggle that is envisaged would not be
entirely peaceful or democratic. The MQM should be expected to ask
itself the question: whether after all that has been happening such a
programme to dislodge the government which happens to be in power
would be in its larger interest or not.
Mr Nawaz Sharifs record, judging from the policies followed by his
government when it was in power last time cannot be regarded as
exactly compassionate towards the position of the Mohajirs in Sindh.
He quietly manipulated a rift between the MQM and the PPP after they
had forged an alliance after the 1988 elections but coolly dumped the
MQM three and a half years later when he found it expedient to impose
the Operation Cleanup. Whether the Operation was launched at his
behest or under pressure from the army, which is what has sometimes
been argued, the fact is that it was the Mohajirs and the MQM who
suffered an irretrievable setback once the operation had been
launched. The MQM was split into two factions almost simultaneously
and there has been nothing but the most bitter relations between them
ever since. A great deal of killing which Karachi has had to witness
subsequently has in fact been a direct manifestation of this rift.
It must also be recalled that the late Gen Asif Nawaz went on record
to say that the Operation Cleanup would be limited to a few months,
with the sole objective of restoring law and order in Sindh, and that
a package of social, political and economic reforms would be needed to
remove the basic cause of unrest and disaffection in Sindh to ensure
more durable peace and stability. The reforms could justifiably have
been considered the responsibility of the government at the helm (and
not the military authorities) but they never came about. In fact, the
situation was allowed to further deteriorate.
However, there have been suggestions that it was Gen Asif Nawaz
himself who obstructed the implementation of the proposed reforms,
ostensibly to maintain and, if possible, to strengthen and enlarge the
hold of the military over civil affairs. Now that the General is dead,
there is no way to know what exactly was the substance of such a
suspicion. There were admittedly statements by Choudhry Nisar, one of
Mr Nawaz Sharifs cabinet colleagues, asserting that the army had gone
beyond its mandate. But even if this is considered valid, the
responsibility really lay with the government.
It is also a fact that at an early stage of the Operation Cleanup a
list of some 77 patharedars had been drawn up so that they could be
apprehended in the interest of future law and order. To the best of
ones recollection, no action was taken by the government against the
patharedars. Even more relevantly, there is little evidence that the
intelligentsia and power elite in Punjab, which should be regarded as
Mr Nawaz Sharifs main source of political strength, have demonstrated
any particular compassion or sympathy for what the Mohajirs and the
MQM have been going through in the recent years. On the contrary,
there has been plenty of contempt for the political ambitions of the
Mohajirs and some of the leading intellectuals in Lahore and Islamabad
have even started a debate on whether or not the Mohajirs were
justified in their claim of having spearheaded the Pakistan movement
at considerable sacrifice to themselves or of upholding the ideals for
which Pakistan, according to their own concept of it, was created.
A leading (Punjabi) intellectual author has even suggested that the
attitude of mind, which the Mohajirs brought to Pakistan with them and
which expressed in their own perceived right to impose their language
and culture on the people of Pakistan, amounted to Pakistan being
expected to live under an alien culture. This, one hopes, represents
only a minority view and is not representative of the overall thinking
in Punjab and other parts of Pakistan. However, the Mohajirs must
realise that, being largely concentrated in Sindh, their political
future lies in Sindh. There is no denying that there are elements in
Sindh who continue to regard them as intruders and outsiders.
There is also no doubt that the PPP, with its base support in Punjab
having been largely eroded, may want to, for reasons of expediency,
identify itself with hard-line Sindhi nationalists and, in the
process, even adopt an adversarial attitude towards the Mohajirs and
the MQM. However, in their own interest, the MQM leadership would be
ill advised to give up its efforts to maintain some sort of
communication with the saner elements within Sindh and possibly even
the PPP.
On its part, the PPP leadership should realise that there can be no
durable peace in Sindh so long as a large section of its population
(i.e. the Mohajirs) remain discontented or alienated. It has been
recognised by the government more than once, even at the level of the
President of Pakistan, that the problem of Sindh is basically
political and a political solution has to be found for the restoration
of peace and calm.
There has to be a moratorium on the use of force to achieve a
political aim, on the part of all parties concerned. The government
should in fact be expected to provide the lead in this regard. The
apparently unending hunt for so-called terrorists and their alleged
foreign link can only complicate matters. Statements indicting the MQM
was solely responsible for containing violence in Karachi can serve
little practical purpose.
There are elements in the Sindhi society, both ethnic Sindhis and new
Sindhis (viz: Mohajir), who earnestly yearn for peace. A group of
about a hundred leading intellectuals, writers, social workers, human
rights activists, both Sindhis and Mohajirs, issued an appeal last
month, stressing the commonality of interests which makes it
inevitable for all those living in Sindh to regard one another as
their full partners in the movement for peace and harmony. The appeal
has somehow not received the notice that it deserved. What is needed
is a full- pledged crusade for restoring sanity among all sections of
people and defeat the forces of divisiveness.
960106
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Pakistan, Holland clash in youth hockey final
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Farhana Ayaz
ISLAMABAD, Jan 5: Pakistan will play Holland in the final of World
Youth Hockey Festival here at Army Hockey Stadium on Saturday at 230
p.m. In two distinctive pre-finals Pakistan and Holland rallied to
identical 3-0 triumphs against Japan and Belgium respectively, with
the difference that while the Dutch secured the match in the first 18
minutes Pakistan did it in the last 18 minutes of the game in front of
a moderate crowd gathered to witness the clash.
Pakistan made heavy weather of the first session in which credit
should also go to ever agile Japanese who successfully tightened off
hot favourites fluent combination inside the 2S yard zone. Their
defence and their goalkeeper Seiji Okada excelled to keep the hot
favourites without success in the first half.
In the first session Pakistan was seen struggling to push 40, with the
opponents utilising their stimulating physical fitness to restrict the
individual brilliance of hosts' strikers. First time tackling and
passing of ball by the Japanese made Pakistani forward line lethargic
as Captain Khalid with left wing Babar and the right trio of
Zakirullah-Imran-Farooq kept their heads down-to manoeuvre an opener.
More significantly it was Pakistan's failure on penalty corners, eight
in the first half, that further raised the agony of drawing blank at
the breather.
In fact, on three separate occasions before half time Japan had a
chance to move ahead. However, Pakistan defenders checked the Japanese
movements and things were kept under control.
In the second session, game was being played in quite the same tempo
with Pakistan still looking for their first goal. Just after the
resumption, Pakistan introduced Rana Atif in place of centre-forward
Farooq to try and break the deadlock.
The breakthrough finally came in the 52nd minute when a classical
layoff from Rana Atif was netted by Imran Yousuf to the jubilation of
the crowd and more to the satisfaction of the Pakistani bench. Six
minutes later, Muhammad Usman drove home a sizzling penalty corner
conversion to double the lead. Pakistan's leading goal-getter fullback
Ali Raza who found himself under pressure against the Japanese
shrugged off his lax attitude with a blistering shot onto the board to
convert the 15th and last penalty corner for Pakistan just four
minutes before the final whistle.
During the last moments Pakistan was playing with nine men. After
forceful charges by Imran and Aamir resulted in penalisation for
yellow cards.
In a postmatch comment, manager Samiullah said that Pakistan had the
ability and strength to inflict a much bigger defeat on Japan but that
it was off day for their penalty corner hitter besides Japan played
tight hockey. The manager also stated that it will be a tough match
against Holland.
In the second pre-final, the Dutch venture to secure a berth in the
final took only first 18 minutes, more due to the wrong technique
applied by the Belgian goalkeeper Stephane Moraux. The Belgians did
launch the opening attack in the 2nd minute. But the Dutch did not
waste time in drawing the first blood when Mark de Jong's push sounded
the board in the 5th minute. Later, the Belgian goalkeeper tried to
tackle the Dutch strikers on top of the circle. The move against
spearhead Jiskoot was faulty who had no trouble in beating him to
ground and striking home from top of the circle in the 14th minute to
make it 2-0. The match was sealed when the Dutch struck for the third
time off right wing Egbert Ho in the 18th after Belgian keeper strode
out to meet the charging forward.
While in the second session the Dutch tried to save energy for the
final against Pakistan, the Belgian keeper geared up to a better
performance and foiled many attempts. Holland obtained 13 PCs but only
converted the first.
The Dutch manager Vettorato viewed the final as tough but he said his
boys would give their best. "We wanted to play Pakistan in such a
tournament to find out our real strength and weakness," he said.
In the positional fixture, a solitary goal by Luca Urli gave Italy the
vital win over Malaysia. Urli coverted penalty corner in the 46th
minute to bang home the winner.
In the clash of the underdogs, Mexico overpowered Kenya 2-0 to secure
ninth position in the tournament. Leading 14 at breather, off a
penalty stroke conversion by Vazgdez in the 11th minute, Mexico added
its second goal when Morales converted a penalty corner in the 56th
minute.
In the other fixture at Wah, South Africa rolled over Russia 5-3 over
shootout after the game was tied 2-2 in the regulation time. A 3rd
minute lead by striker Emile Smith was equalised by the Russians four
minutes before breather.
At resumption the Russians were put ahead by their vibrant striker
Alexei Mikheev, but SA also took no time to equalise within next three
minutes.
FIXTURES: Jan 6: SA vs Italy at 9.30, Japan vs Belgium at 1200 Final:
Pakistan vs Holland at 2:30p.m.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
960107
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Pakistan beat Holland to lift youth hockey trophy
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Farhana Ayaz
ISLAMABAD, Jan 6: Pakistan disposed of Holland 2-0 to lift the 7up
World Youth Hockey Festival trophy in front of a jam-packed Army
Hockey Stadium.
Japan edged past Belgium 9-8 on sudden death shootout. Trailing by two
goals at the breather they held Belgium 2-2 in regulation time,
scoring the equalisers in the last seven minutes of the game, to
clinch third slot in the under-18 world hockey meet that concluded
after ten days of competition amongst ten teams of the world.
The final clash between Pakistan and Holland was a battle of rivalry
between the Asian and European game strategies. Pakistan banking its
hopes on its strikers faced off sturdy and firm defence by the Dutch.
For Holland, the suspension of penalty corner striker J.J Vant Land
proved irreversible as the Dutch scoring plan relying on penalty
corner conversion flopped in seven attempts. Also, their replacement
of Van, Olaf Bakker got injured off a corner shot by Pakistani
striker to bring about a third change which altered the main structure
of the Dutch squad.
At the outset of the final, Holland initiated the opening attacks, but
there were no attempts. The hosts launched their offensive from the
right flank. They succeeded in acquiring the first penalty corner in
the fifth minute. However, Ali Razas direct slam was deflected by the
Dutch keeper Josef Kramer. In a counter move Holland right wing sent
in a classical cross to the centre of the shooting circle but a full
stretched dive by left wing striker Olaf Bakker fell short to connect
the ball. This also sent waves of excitement in the spectators.
Next, although Pakistan maintained its pressure through the
right flank winger Rana Atif and spearhead Farooq fumbled with
excellent open net chances. In the 14th minute Farooq after hopping
onto to a gap pass from Imran Yousuf had world of time to hit a winner
but his strike landed onto to the keepers pads. The left flank had one
significant rally in the 18th minute with left half Waseem, who has
displayed maturity during the crunch games, tapped in a classical left
wing pass to Baber Abdullah but the winger failed to capitalise it.
Pakistan secured their second penalty corner in the 20th minute,
though Ali Razas strike was above the board. Later, Rana Atif sent
wide a top of the circle attempt after Waseem had stopped Dutch Van
Ryn within 25 yards. The fumbling prompted manager Samiullah
to replace an off- colour Rana Atif with winger Zakirullah. The Dutch
mid- fielders in their attempts to give a clean pass to forward tried
mostly to scoop the ball but the strategy did not bring forth anything
worthwhile for them.
In the 25th, Pakistans opening goal might well have come from Farooq
who was downed by the charging Dutch defender inside the shooting zone
while he was trying to place the shot. A penalty corner was awarded.
However Pakistani players tried for a penalty stroke. It was the
thundering direct slam from full back Ali Raza onto the board that
made Rawalpindi public dance in jubilation as Pakistan went one up in
the 26th minute.
Three minutes before breather, the Dutch stepping up efforts to
equalise, saw a brilliant diving attempt by David Meuwsen foiled.
This also secured their first PC, but Ali Razas speedy dash gave no
time to Dutch striker Maarten Froger and the indirect hit went for a
corner. Just before the half time whistle, Dutch skipper Friso Jiskoot
was penalised with yellow card after he had shouted at the referee
over a call inside Pakistani half.
Pakistan resumed the game in much better spirits and with superior
moves as the green-shirted strikers infiltrated the opponent zone
without break in the first 15 minutes of the second session. The raids
also produced an outstanding diving connection from right wing
Zakirullah in the 46th minute. Zakirullah striding inward from his own
position after a fine lay off from Irfan had the ball a little out of
reach but his diving angular attempt got the keeper Kramer not ready,
who was still trying to judge his moves. Leading by two goals, the
charging Pakistani strikers shattered the Dutch defences.
However, Dutch keeper played steadily to foil the attempts.
In the 14th minute, Pakistani skipper Khalid was penalised with a
yellow card for a wrong charge against a Dutch player. Playing with 10
players the Dutch found plenty of openings to penetrate the Pakistani
half as they secured two penalty corners but Pakistani custodian Qasim
who has remained flawless in his performances, was unbeatable. After
Pakistan eased the Dutch pressure with some long hitting and two
excellent moves by Farooq and Khalid, the Dutch launched another
string of raids, as they earned four penalty corners, but swift dashes
by Pakistanis gave them no direct attempts especially on the seventh
and last PC Babar Abdullah took the ball from right under the nose of
Dutch strikers and embarked on a solo run into the Dutch zone.
The manager singled out left half Waseem Ahmed as the player of the
tournament for Pakistan, stating that the boy has a lot of potential.
Sami went on to state that with a few changes Pakistan will retain the
same team for the World Junior Championship.
The Holland team manager J. Vettorato said that the two changes in his
team proved hard against the hosts. However, he said that Pakistan
deserved to win the event since they had displayed far better
technique, skill and stamina during the competition.
Pakistan: Muhammad Qasim, Ali Raza, Tariq Imran, Irfan Yousuf,
Muhammad Saqlain, Waseem Ahmed, Zakarullah, Ejaz Imran, Muhammad
Farooq, Muhammad Khalid (capt), Aamir Mehmood, Iftikhar Ahmed,
Muhammad Usman, Imran Yousuf, Rana Atif, Babar Abdullah.
Holland: Olaf Bakker, Marcel Bulder, Lucas Duijndam, Maarten Froger,
Danny laHaye, Egbert Ho, Michiel de Jager, Friso Jiskoot, Mark de
Jong Josef, Jan Jorn, David Meuwsen, Okke Monking.
Japan recorded a thrilling 9-8 win decided over shootout in a sudden
death play against Belgium in the third position play- off after they
held the opponents to a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
This is the second time in a crucial game that the Japanese after
trailing two down have gone ahead to hold their opponents. Earlier, in
the vital pool-B fixture against South Africa, two down the Japanese
forced the tie drawing 2-2 at the end to qualify for the semi-finals.
The Belgians struck twice on two consecutive penalty corners in the
first half to sit pretty in the positional play-off. They opened the
account early into the game when skipper Renaod Fayt converted the
first penalty corner in the 6th minute. Later Jean Blune made it 2-0
by converting the second.
Although, Japan dominated better part of the game but their strikers
failed to score, and it was only in the last seven minutes of the game
that substitute Akabane rallied home to reduce the margin 2-1 in the
63 rd minute. Two minutes later, Hitomi Kakumaru converted the 10th PC
to tie the scores 2-2.
In the penalty shootout, the scores remained tied with 3-3, and the
match could only be decided on a sudden death play at 6-5.
Coming to terms with their stricking targets, the Malaysian strikers
registered 7-3 triumph over Russia in the 7-8 position play - off at
Army Stadium. Malaysia was leading 4-1 at the breather.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
960108
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Mudassar gets hundred : Pakistans 7-wkts win over India
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Virendra Varma
SHARJAH, Jan 7: There was hardly any dramatic twist to the script of
India-Pakistan matches at Sharjah.
Pakistan invariably reserve their best for India, and today it was the
turn of their masters to continue what by now has become a familiar
trend. Their stiff legs suddenly found enough energy and their batsmen
the touch they were groping for. The transformation, even by their
reckoning, was a bit surprising.
And the man who made it all happen was Mudassar Nazar, carrying his
bat with a brilliant unbeaten 107, his highest in one-day cricket. In
official one-day internationals his best being 95 recorded against
Australia at the same ground in 1986.
What actually tilted the scales in the favour of Pakistan, new-comers
to the tournament, was their ability to convert singles into twos, an
area which had the Indians huffing and panting. In fact, Pakistan
built their innings around singles and twos. There were just eight
boundaries in their total of 216.
Mudassar played extremely well and so was Sadiq Mohammed who chipped
in with a delightful 49 off 68 balls. Sadiq has been playing
regularly back home averaging over 50, and his fluent knock didnt
come as a surprise. It was a team effort that saw us through in this
close match. The target(216) was anyway achievable on this wicket,
said the captain whose bold decision to opt for fielding surprised
many.
We wanted to take advantage of the heavy outfield in the morning,
added Zaheer. Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar said: We didnt do
justice to our abilities. The guys were stiff and it was not easy to
run between the wickets. I think playing two consecutive matches was a
bit too much for us.
I am not trying to find an excuse for our defeat, but certainly
playing on two successive days sapped out energies.
India made a quiet start to their innings in the face of an accurate
medium pace attack of Pakistan. Both Bakht and Mudassar bowled a
maiden each before India opened their account in third over. The loss
of K. Srikkanth in the fourth over, splendidly caught by Ejaz Fakih at
backward short leg off Mudassar for just four, killed Indias hopes of
piling up a big total (If Srikkanth gets going any score is
possible. as Gavaskar put it).
Gavaskar and Mohinder Amarnath quickly got into the groove and went
about heir task of repairing the damage with a great deal of authority
and conviction. It was a treat to watch the way the two dominated the
bowling, but then again they did not have enough steam for quick
threes or twos.
When Gavaskar left, caught by Tasleem Arif off Iqbal Qasim, India were
in a comfortable position of two for 2100 off 23.3 overs. During his
flawless know of 43 off 78 balls, Gavaskar hit two glorious fours.
Mohinder completed his second successive 50 in the company of Dilip
Vengsarkar (28 off 31 balls with one four). The two looked in good
command and were stroking freely before a tired (62 off 82 balls with
four fours). Rana himself out to a direct under-arm throw from Majid
Khan.
Sandeep Patil did try to open up, hitting 12 off 14 balls before
snicking straight into the hands of wicketkeeper Tasleem Arif, who did
a great job behind the stumps despite being out of touch with the
gloves for years.
It were Madan Lal (33 off 29 balls) and Syed Kirmani (27 off 24 balls)
who raised the momentum of the game with lusty hitting and added 63
runs off the last 58 balls. Their scintillating stroke-play put so
much pressure on Pakistani fielders that they dropped as many as four
simple catches one each by Iqbal Qasim, substitute Aftab Baloch,
Salim Yousuf and Zaheer Abbas in the last two overs. But slippery
fingers did help India to take the score 47 runs in the last five
overs.
Pakistan were off to a dream start with their openers Sadiq and
Mudassar negotiating the well-balanced Indian attack with authority.
The 51-year-old Sadiq initially was the most aggressive of the two and
the way he chipped, pulled and on-drove had many marvelling at his
ability to retain part of a once-amazing wristy touch.
With Nazar digging deep into his experience, the two paced their
innings according to plan: kept the score ticking. It was simply
unbelievable to see the way the two, Sadiq in particular, converting
singles into twoes. Where they got all that energy from was a mystery?
When Sadiq left to a standing ovation from the crowd and players
he had already made sure of a Pakistan victory. The opening pair made
113 off 26.1 overs. Zaheer promoted himself up in the order but his
intentions of finishing the match met a premature, rather freak, end.
A straight drive from Mudassar crashed against the stumps at the non-
strikers end, catching Zaheer off the crease. Zaheer made 14 off 17
balls.
With Mudassar hardly showing any signs of fatigue, the only interest
left in the game was how and when the winning run would come. Salim
Yousuf (19 off 22) was shaping well before running himself out. In
fact, all the three Pakistan batsmen were run-out victims.
After his exit, it was left to Majid Khan (12 off 17 balls)) to help
Mudassar complete the formalities which he duly did in the 44th over.
I was determined to carry the bat through and I am pleased things
worked out to my liking. Its my first century in one-day cricket.
Though it came late, still I am pretty excited about, said Mudassar
who scored 107 off 140 balls with five fours.
Scoreboard
INDIA
K. Srikkanth c Fakih b Mudassar Nazar 4
S. Gavaskar c Arif b Iqbal Qssim 43
M. Amarnath run out 62
D. Vengsarkar c Majid b Farrukh Zaman 28
S. Patil c Arif Iqbal Qasim 12
Madan Lal not out 33
S. Kirmani not out 27
TOTAL (for 5 wkts in 45 overs) 215
FALL OF WICKETS: 1/7, 2/100, 3/130, 4/152, 5/156.
DID NOT BAT: K. Ghavri, S. Nayaak, B. Sandhu, S. Venkat.
BOWLING: Sikandar Bakht 9-2-27-0, Mudassar Nazar 9-1-34-1, Majid Khan
9-0-42-0, Iqbal Qasim 9-0-46-2, Farrukh Zaman 5-0-40-1, Wasim Raja 4-
0-22-0.
PAKISTAN Mudassar Nazar not out 107
Sadiq Mohammad run out 49
Zaheer Abbas run out 14
Salim Yousuf run out 19
Mjaid Khan not out 12
Extras (lb-8, nb-2, w-5) 15
TOTAL (for 3 wkts in 43.4 overs) 216
FALL OF WICKETS: 1/113, 2/140, 3/176.
DID NOT BAT: Taslim Arif, Iqbal Qasim, Sikandar Bakht, Farrukh Zaman,
Ijaz Fakih, Wasim Raja.
BOWLING: B. Sandhu 4-0-16-0, Madan Lal 6.
4-0-30-0, S. Patil 6-1-28-0, S. Venkat 9-0-34-0, S. Nayak 9-0-55-0, K.
Ghavri 9-0-44-0.
RESULT: Pakistan won by 7 wkts.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Mudassar Nazar.
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