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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 15 August 1996 Issue : 02/33
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Opposition to launch disobedience movement
MPAs gunmen open fire on citizen
Multiple votes plan for rural people: PM
PM links CTBT with Kashmir issue
AJK president ousted through no-trust vote
Shutdown hits life all over country
Pakistan trade office in LA served with eviction notice
9930kg of hashish seized
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Run on foreign currency account deposits ruled out
Rupee lowered 12 paisa against $
Budget: up against feudal obduracy
Skilled labour shortage hinders foreign investment
Citizens status being upgraded by Tax Cards
Borrowings in 18 days surpass years goal
Landlords pay Rs2.82m only in Wealth Tax
The economy needs its own foreign policy
KSE 100 share index loses 33 points
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Glass Towers-2 Ardeshir Cowasjee
A message all but forgotten M.H. Askari
Say yes to CTBT Dr Farrukh Saleem
Security overkill Omar Kureishi
Ever changing heart of the West Mohammad Malick
Clowns on the fields of Olympus Mazdak
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Medals are where the money is, or mostly
Olympic medals linked with social infra-structure
Knight hits maiden Test 100 as match heads for draw
Sami for drastic steps to rebuild hockey side
Golden jubilee sports competitions
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960814
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Opposition to launch disobedience movement
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug 13: The 14-party alliance warned the government here to
either resign immediately or face a full-fledged civil disobedience
movement.
The possible extreme step was announced by the Leader of the Opposition,
Nawaz Sharif, at a press conference after the conclusion of the alliance
meeting which was attended by the heads and representatives of the member-
parties.
The meeting was called to approve the recommendations of the alliances
special committee.
A visibly angry Mr Sharif said: It has been unanimously decided that if
the government does not resign immediately, a civil disobedience movement
will be launched against it. People will stop paying taxes and utility
bills.
Emphasising that the movement would be taken to its logical conclusion, he
said the opposition would not hesitate in submitting en masse resignations
from the national and provincial assemblies.
Replying to a question, he, however, refused to name a specific date for
launching of the movement, and said: The decision will come at an
appropriate time.
Mr Sharif also announced an exhaustive opposition schedule of public
rallies which would form an important part of the oppositions Pakistan
Bachao Tehrik.
Besides the already announced public rallies of Aug 14 and 19 in Karachi
and Quetta, respectively, another will be held in Peshawar on Aug 25. These
rallies will be followed by three more on Aug 28 in Karachi, Aug 31 in
Lahore and Sept 3 in Quetta.
When asked if the opposition seriously expected the government to step down
at the oppositions request, a flustered Mr Sharif responded: Its a
shameless government. Having faced such a massive strike and others which
are taking place every day, any democratic government would have either
resigned or at least sat with the opposition to negotiate. This government
simply has no respect for the feelings and aspirations of the people of
Pakistan.
Accusing the government of looting the national exchequer and plundering
national resources, he said the government was misusing public money and,
therefore, could not be trusted with the money coming in through taxes and
utility bills. The opposition leader charged that the tax money was being
pocketed by certain elements as commission.
To a query, he replied that the opposition wanted a change in the system
and not merely of faces.
Mr Sharif lamented that the country was faced with economical, judicial and
social crises while there had been a complete breakdown of the law and
order situation. Under these circumstances, he intoned, it was morally
binding on the opposition to lead the nation out of the morass.
When asked why the opposition had not appealed to the President once again,
he testily replied: We cannot leave the people at the mercy of just one
man, well find our own ways.
The meeting also decided to open central and provincial offices of the
Pakistan Bachao Tehrik, to maintain close contact with the people.
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960813
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MPAs gunmen open fire on citizen
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Our Correspondent
GUJRANWALA, Aug 12: A citizen was manhandled and shot at by the gunmen of
an MPA over a minor issue here.
Reportedly, a car bearing an MPA plate was wrongly parked near the
Satellite Town market, hampering the smooth flow of traffic. Nadeem Ahmad,
a resident of the DC Road, passed by there in his car and objected to the
wrong parking.
Two gunmen sitting in the car became enraged. They beat up Nadeem with the
butts of guns, and fired at him.
He was severely injured and was admitted to the local Civil Hospital in
critical condition.
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960810
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Multiple votes plan for rural people: PM
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Bureau Report
PESHAWAR, Aug 9: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto announced here that she had
called for making revolutionary changes in the local bodies system.
Speaking at a Press conference she disclosed that every village in the
country would have three multiple votes to elect three representatives each
who would oversee development and would also act as a court with powers of
awarding a maximum two years sentence. Thus justice would be available to
the rural population at its doorsteps in every village.
Ms Bhutto also announced that a certain formula would be adopted by Punjab
for collection of agricultural income tax. The formula based on the old
system of land revenue had been communicated to the provincial government.
Under the system part of the collections would be spent on improvement of
irrigation, agriculture and construction of farm-to-market roads.
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960810
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PM links CTBT with Kashmir issue
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Bureau Report
PESHAWAR, Aug 9: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has said that Pakistan will
not create hurdles in the passage of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
(CTBT), but will not become a party to it unless India agrees to sign the
treaty. She said her own security concerns in the regional perspective had
been duly recognised by the world.
Answering newsmens questions at a Press conference on the conclusion of
her four-day visit to NWFP and parts of the Federally Administered Tribal
Areas, the prime minister told a questioner that the parliament had already
been taken into confidence on the subject. She said oppositions stand on
the CTBT was confused and many of them even dont know what the
abbreviation CTBT stands for, hence little weight in their contentions
which was a mere propaganda ploy.
She underscored the importance of the treaty in the regional and global
context and insisted that there should be a stop to proliferation but at
the same time the approach should be realistic keeping view of Pakistans
security concerns vis-a-vis the Indian posture. She thought that by
dragging her feet on the treaty India stood exposed in the international
community.
While Pakistans approach had remained positive throughout, India had
adopted a negative policy. Every one now realises that Pakistans stand
was realistic and this has absolved this country of all incriminations in
relation to ban on nuclear proliferation in the world. She highly praised
the role the Pakistan delegation played at Geneva where the CTBT was being
debated. Ms Bhutto said Pakistan welcomed a regional and multilateral
solution of the problem which Indian was openly resisting and obstructing
the passage of the treaty.
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960813
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AJK president ousted through no-trust vote
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Tariq Naqash
MUZAFFARABAD, Aug 12: A no-confidence motion, against President Sardar
Sikandar Hayat was adopted unanimously at a joint session of Azad Jammu and
Kashmir Legislative Assembly and the AJK Council here on Monday.
The voting was conducted by show of hands in which 39 members of the
electoral college participated. The total number of the electoral college
is 55.
The motion was tabled by Khwaja Farooq Ahmad, Minister for Power. The
Speaker Mumtaz Hussain Rathore, under sub-section 3 of section 6 of the AJK
interim constitution, declared that Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan is no more
the president of Azad Kashmir.
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960811
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Shutdown hits life all over country
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Dawn Report
ISLAMABAD, Aug 10: Life came to a near-halt and industrial and commercial
activity was severely affected as traders on Saturday observed a country-
wide strike which was also backed by the opposition parties.
The leading trading organisations of the country had given a two-day strike
call to protest against the levy of General Sales Tax and Excise Duty in
the recent national budget. Almost all the opposition parties led by
Pakistan Muslim League had announced to support the trading community in
their protest.
Wholesale and retail businesses across the country responded with a near-
complete trading shut-down in major cities in all the four provinces of the
country.
Most of the government departments, commercial establishments and banks
were closed on the normal Friday and Saturday weekend holidays. Attendance
in other offices and in schools and colleges was, however, thin as most of
public transport vehicles stayed off the roads.
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960811
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Pakistan trade office in LA served with eviction notice
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Masood Haider
NEW YORK, Aug 10: Pakistans trade office in Los Angeles, opened with
tremendous fanfare last year, has been served with eviction notice by the
landlord demanding payment of outstanding rent, while the Commercial
Counsellor Abid Javed Akbar left suddenly for Pakistan without permission
either from the embassy or the consulate here.
Highly informed sources said that despite dozens of S.O.S. messages and
phone calls, both from the Pakistan Embassy in Washington and the Consulate
in Los Angeles, the Ministry of Commerce has not bothered to acknowledge
the financial crisis gripping its trade office.
In the eviction notice served on the Pakistan Trade Office, the landlord of
the building located on Wilshire Boulevard said if three months back rent
$9000 was not paid by Aug 6 he would ask the police department to forcibly
evict the tenants according to terms of the lease agreement.
Besides, the two trade assistants given the Commercial Counsellor, Mr
Shahid Ali, and Mr M. Butt, have been asked to pay $20,000 in back rent by
the motel they were staying in for the last six months. So far Pakistani
Consulate has been bailing out the trade office and their officers, but it
is also running out of money and patience.
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960812
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9930kg of hashish seized
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By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Aug 11: An attempt by a drug syndicate to smuggle out 9,930 kgs of
fine quality hashish of Afghan-origin to a western country, has been
thwarted in a joint operation by the Customs and Army.
The operation was carried out in the desolate area of Pallaris near Jhimpir
in Thatta district, 150 km off Karachi, leading to the seizure of the
contraband with a street value of Rs 350 million.
This was stated by the Collector Afzal Amir Shah of the preventive
collectorate of Customs at a press briefing.
Shah told reporters that it was the first-ever seizure by the Port Qasim
collectorate and first in Customs history from a cellar covered with dust
to camouflage the venue of the concealment.
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960814
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Run on foreign currency account deposits ruled out
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M. Ziauddin
ISLAMABAD, Aug 13: About 65% of the amount in foreign currency accounts has
been collateralised, rendering a run on these deposits impossible under any
circumstances, banking circles said.
These circles were responding to the increasing fears being expressed by
some leading economists that the continuing free fall of the rupee over the
last several weeks would end up in a run on the foreign currency accounts
deposits forcing the country to default and causing the economy to
collapse.
An estimated 9 billion dollars have flowed in these foreign currency
accounts held by local and expatriate Pakistanis as well as foreign and
local companies since foreign exchange controls were lifted in early 1991.
No separate account of these deposits are being kept by the State Bank of
Pakistan and from the very beginning, these accounts have been merged with
the overall foreign exchange reserves of the country which till the lifting
of the foreign exchange controls had been made up of export earnings, short
and long-term loans, concessional assistance, balances held outside and
gold.
Availing the facility allowed for borrowing against dollars, local and
foreign investors are said to have used their dollar deposits as collateral
for rupee loans for investment in short, medium and long gestation
projects.
In such a situation the possibility of a serious run on dollar deposits is
being ruled out as it would take a while before one can convert ones
rupees into dollars before taking them out of the country.
And a sudden rush on the rupee by say millions of dollars, all at the same
time which is the normal manifestation of a run, would push the rupee rate
steeply up making the whole exercise totally unprofitable.
Some market analysts have pointed out that many dollar depositors were
raking in multiple profits by converting the rupees borrowed against
dollars into dollars and then depositing these dollars in fresh foreign
exchange accounts.
They keep repeating the exercise till the last ounce has been squeezed from
the spread provided by the margin on dollar deposits.
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960814
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Rupee lowered 12 paisa against $
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Aug 13: The rupee was devalued by 12 paisa against the US dollar
on Tuesday what the central bank called technical correction to keep its
parity rate competitive on the world markets in relation to basket of major
currencies under the managed float system.
It was the fifth and the largest downward revision since July 1, 1996,
which took the value of the rupee lower by 43 paisa or 1.5 per cent and
currency dealers predicted it is heading for its set target of Rs 38.00 to
a dollar before December 31.
However, on the open market the rupee was not that weak as the US dollar is
said to be in oversupply since the rupee touched the bottom at Rs 38.50
last week.
In official trading, the rupee was quoted at Rs 35.53 and Rs 35.71 for spot
buying and selling but in kerb dealings its value was lowered to Rs 38.57
and Rs 38.60 in that order.
The widening trade gap, which has swelled to $270 million in July from $95
million a month back, speaks of the alarming situation on the export front,
economists said.
The creeping devaluations might have no relevance to the falling exports
or to boost them but seems to be essentially meant to meet the IMF demand,
they added.
There is loud whispering in the money markets that the value of the rupee
is expected to be lowered by another 3 per cent before December 31, as
demanded by the IMF, and that will mean in kerb the rupee could hit the
current years bottom at Rs 40 to a dollar.
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960810
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Budget: up against feudal obduracy
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M. Ziauddin
THE ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES of the Punjab are destroying Pakistans economy
by consistently opposing tax on income from agriculture. What they do not
realise, however, is in the process they are destroying the economy of
their own province and, in fact their own personal prosperity to protect
and promote which they are resisting the imposition of an equitable tax in
the first place.
At the time of making of the new budget, the federal government had assured
the IMF that this time around it was determined to withdraw all tax
exemptions, including that from agricultural incomes. On this assurance,
the Fund had indicated that as a trade-off it would not press for tariff
reductions for at least another year.
However, the federal government had not reckoned with the brute political
brawn of the brainless elected representatives of Pakistans biggest
province, the Punjab as when the time came for the provinces to pass the
needed legislation, the Punjab thumbed its nose.
And with the judicial activism giving ideas to the ousted Chief Minister of
Punjab, Wattoo, and the Indians retaliating in the Punjab cities against
what New Delhi alleges to be Pakistan- inspired terrorist activities in
occupied Kashmir, the room for Islamabad to play politics to knock the
brains of the Punjab legislators into appreciating the economic grossness
of their resistance to tax on agriculture income had become too small.
In view of the above, the budget for 1996-97 has become a document of
deepening economic distortions. On the one hand the rural rich have been
exempted from contributing a single penny to the national efforts in
connection with security, development and debt servicing while on the other
the tax evasion scope for the urban rich is being attempted to be curtailed
drastically by forcing them to document their businesses by imposing GST
across the board. This is not to say that the GST should not have been
imposed across the board, but what is being implied is along with it the
incomes from agriculture should also have been taxed to make the taxation
system more equitable and the base itself broader.
Again, while the increase in the rates of sales tax to 18 to 23 per cent,
withdrawal of all sales tax exemptions and enhancement in the rates of
central excise duties have brought the prices of goods of urban consumption
under greater pressure the prices of those items which are consumed more in
the rural areas have remained more or less untouched by the new measures.
Again, this is not to say that the prices of rural consumption items should
have been increased at par with those of the urban consumption items, but
what is being focused is the deepening of the rural-urban economic
contradictions because of the non- imposition of the tax on agricultural
incomes.
The IMF had allowed the government a one-year moratorium on the tariff
reduction issue mainly because the government wanted to ensure that revenue
incomes do not get affected by the expected dislocations in the wake of
massive reforms being attempted in the new budget.
However, when finally informed that the Punjab province had not agreed to
the withdrawal of tax exemption from agricultural incomes, the Fund found
an appropriate excuse to drag its feet on the issue of disbursement of the
remaining tranches of the $600 million 15-month standby loan signed in
December 1995. If these tranches are not disbursed before September, the
government is likely to face a serious situation on the balance of payments
position front as by then the country would be required to meet a billion
dollars of amortisation obligations besides an import bill of an equal
amount.
The Fund is also not very happy with the concessions agreed upon between
various sections of the economy and the government representatives not
belonging to the finance and economic ministries.
The governments decision to induct Mr Asif Ali Zardari as a federal
minister for investment appears to be too late and too irrelevant because
most of the concessions offered to the business community were made by Mr
Zardari in his capacity as chairman of the Pakistan Environmental Council.
In the same capacity he had chaired a number of finance and commerce
summits with the business community last year giving the latter the
impression that the government was willing to give them concessions
directly opposed to the IMFs reforms.
Meanwhile, those disgruntled elements in the government who were kept out
of the budget making process this year personally went to the Fund
headquarters in Washington to give their version of the taxation proposals
which implied that the CBR would not be able to collect fully the revenues
as estimated in the 1996-97 budget.
The failure of the government to adhere to the bank borrowing target of Rs.
29 billion fixed for 1995-96 budget and its attempt to mislead the Fund on
this score on a month-to-month basis has also caused the credibility of the
government to suffer seriously in the eyes of the Fund officials.
In view of these circumstances, it is being feared that the Fund review
mission would not come to Pakistan before the first week of October. By
this time, the Fund expects Pakistan to impose tax on agricultural incomes,
show that it has successfully resisted the pressure from the street to
bring about a qualitative change in the new budget and also show that the
government has not borrowed from the banks more than what has been fixed
for the first three months for budgetary support.
The Fund is, however, likely to take a lenient view of the whole thing on
the advice of the US if in the meanwhile, Islamabad were to sign the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty(CTBT) as per the desire of Washington. But
would the elected representatives of the Punjab like to see Pakistans
security needs compromised simply to protect and promote their personal
pelf?
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960810
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Skilled labour shortage hinders foreign investment
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Sultan Ahmed
FOREIGN investors in Pakistan are complaining of shortage of trained and
skilled workers for their sophisticated methods of production, particularly
in the automobile sector.
And that is discouraging the substantial rise in foreign investment in the
manufacturing sector where they employ advanced technology.
More surprising is the lack of interest of the government in welcoming
advanced foreign-aided technical training institutions in this age of
communications revolution and high tech, and making full use of
institutions like the Swiss Design Institute in Karachi established some 20
years ago or more and in expanding it.
And this is happening despite the fact that it has been conclusively proved
that major foreign investors prefer making large investments in countries
with skilled workers and competent managers than in countries with simply
cheap unskilled labour.
The figures for direct foreign investment for 1995 show that such
investment increased by 46 per cent over 1994 or by $ 103 billion more and
$ 216 billion out of that went to the developed countries and developing
countries received $ 97 billion, which is considered an all-time high by
UNCTAD.
What that shows is funds on a vast scale are on the move globally for
investment, and countries that offer the best terms and have the best
political, economic and social environment would get the largest share of
those funds. Out of that Pakistan got a trickle last year, primarily for
power production and in the oil exploration sector.
A study by the Doilette and Touch Consulting Group also showed that out of
$ 97 billion of US foreign direct investments made last year, 75 per cent
went to high wage countries beginning with Sweden, Britain and Brazil.
Last week when Mr. Nisar Memon of the IBM Pakistan held a meeting of his
new IBM Forum with former ambassador Najamus Saquib addressing it on the
role of human and social capital in national progress, Mr. Ikeda, General
Manager of Itochu Corporation of Japan, who has spent many years in
Pakistan, said that five Japanese automobile assembling companies in
Pakistan were handicapped by the fact its workers could not read their
manuals and work efficiently as they were illiterate.
Mr. Okada, who buys a great deal of Pakistani yarn and textile for Japan,
also said while Pakistani tailors could stitch cloth straight fast they
found it difficult when they had to stich in a curve.
In contrast to that I was told at the Aircraft Re-build Factory at Kamra
about 50 miles north of Islamabad, that its workers could read their
aircraft-making manuals supplied by the Chinese. The reason could well be
that as employees of the Pakistan Air Force were literate workers.
The fact is that production in Pakistan both by the foreign investors and
major Pakistani companies is getting more and more sophisticated and
computerised. But many workers are not educated or do not have adequate
literacy. And that handicaps them as much as their companies.
Machines imported by Pakistani producers are getting more and more
sophisticated. While modern machines driven by computers need few workers,
they need skilled workers who are educated and that is in acute short
supply in Pakistan.
I am told of a Japanese government offer to set up an advanced technical
training institute in Islamabad to fill the void but the response from the
students had been disappointing and the very useful project has been in
doldrums for long.
In Japan they have the famous Quality Circles in which workers sit together
and suggest improvements in the method of production and product
improvement. Japan unlike Pakistan has a very small number of supervisors
but in Pakistan nothing much happens without vigilant supervision at a high
cost.
Japans trend
That remarkably successful system of Japan is now being imitated by some of
the German firms facing export problems which want to improve their
competitiveness. In the famous Carl Zeiss company in Jena, East Germany,
which is 150 year old and exports medical equipment, binoculars and
photographic lenses worth 2.5 billion Duetch Marks, I saw groups of workers
sitting together in several rooms Monday morning as the factory re-opened
after the week-end holidays and discussing improvements in the light of
their previous weeks or months experience.
With more and more sophisticated machinery coming into Pakistan, including
in the textile sector, the need of the times is both literacy or education
of the workers and sustained technical training and retraining of the
trained old workers, if productivity has to go up and Pakistans exports
are to become more competitive and exports rise to the modest target of 10
billion dollars this year.
But, the government does not have money to import education or set up
adequate number of technical training schools. And yet (he need of the
industries for adequately trained workers is desperate. The best solution
in such an environment is the remarkably successful German Apprentice
Scheme which takes care of the needs of the young at one end and of the
industry and service sectors at the other.
The apprenticeship scheme is as old as modern German industry and the
federal and state governments and the companies make their contribution to
it 90 per cent of the youngsters who end their general schooling at junior
secondary or intermediate level go into vocational training that lasts for
two to three years. Vocational training comprise both practical on-the-job
learning and theoretical instruction in vocational schools where they are
trained and spend one to three days a week.
The federal government is responsible for the training regulations, while
the state governments set up the vocational schools and the factories
impart the practical training. Germany has about 400 recognised occupations
for which formal training is required.
The trainees receive a training remuneration which is sizeable and goes on
increasing every year and finally most of the trainees join the same
company and rise high. Over 500,000 firms are part of this system. After
the training examinations are held by chambers of commerce before they are
given certificates which are essential for getting jobs, if they have not
qualified themselves for their jobs through higher education or training.
In addition to such vocational training schools, there are also full-time
specialised vocational training schools where the students receive at lest
one-years full training.
The Germans are pretty proud of this system and hold it as the backbone of
the success of their economy, particularly the industrial and services
economies. Pakistan needs such a system to increase the number of
technically trained personnel at a low cost, but unfortunately the
supervisors in factories who have to impart training to the new entrants
are not educated.
And the general tendency of the students is to get a general degree from
one of the colleges if they could not get admission to one of the
professional colleges become a doctor or engineer or business graduate.
In fact, many of the owners of factories are not educated either, and may
not be too keen on imparting proper training to apprentices who may seek
employment in that factory after the completion of the training or not.
And now too many young persons are going for computer training, but not of
a high order or intensive training.
A recent report of the International Finance Corporation, a World Bank
affiliate, says foreign direct investment will seek out developing
countries that offer managers and skilled workers rather than just low cost
production labour.
It says that low direct labour costs have been diminishing its importance
in recent years and in many industries direct labour costs now only account
for 10 to 15 per cent of the manufacturing cost, and the share is even
smaller in some industries.
Clearly what matters is skilled and trained labour and not the simple
unskilled cheap labour available in abundance in Pakistan. What foreign
investors need is skilled and trained labour which is more easily available
in India or Sri Lanka where the rate of literacy is higher and the quality
of education better.
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960812
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Citizens status being upgraded by Tax Cards
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Aug 11: The taxpayers will soon have Tax Cards identical to
prestigious bank credit cards. This additional service, is a measure by the
Central Board of Revenue (CBR) to upgrade the social status of its clients.
The taxpayer will not mind to expose it to the non-tax payers, the newly
designed light blue tax cards magnificently coated in plastic covers as it
could well add to their sense of pride.
The Central Board of Revenue has already, according to the information
available from the regional tax collectorate, arranged the distribution of
0.350 Tax Cards in the major cities during the next couple of days. The
card is priced at Rs 50 each.
Any price is not that big for the taxpayer, as even those who do not fall
into tax net, or who pay only a meagre amount would like to have one, said
an industrialist who had seen the card.
It is a CBR bait but an attractive one to net the hidden income groups to
the tax net , said an exporter adding, but it is not a bad idea to have
one at Rs 50 and obtain exemption from the Capital Value Tax (CVT).
Sources at the regional income tax collectorate said about a million tax
cards will be available during the next few weeks and will be issued to
those who have already National Tax Number (NTN).
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960813
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Borrowings in 18 days surpass years goal
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M. Ziauddin
ISLAMABAD, Aug 12; In the first 18 days of the current financial year, the
government has borrowed Rs38.6 billion against the full year target of Rs20
billion and an actual expansion of Rs24.2 billion in the corresponding
period last year.
According to a State Bank report on liquidity and domestic borrowing which
was discussed here at the ECC meeting, the domestic credit expansion was to
the tune of 2.64 per cent (Rs23.9 billion) during the period under review
compared with an expansion of 2.08 per cent (Rs15.8 billion) in the
corresponding period last year.
The net foreign assets of the banking system showed a depletion of Rs16.8
billion by July 18, 1996 compared with a draw down of Rs13.4 billion in the
corresponding period of the previous year.
The movement in net foreign assets of the banking system thus neutralised
nearly 70 per cent of the expansionary impact of domestic credit so that
money supply expanded by 0.81 per cent (Rs7 billion) up to July 18, 1996
compared with an expansion of 0.32 per cent (Rs2.4 billion) in the same
period last year.
Borrowings for commodity operations showed a contraction of Rs3.7 billion
up to July 18, 1996. Following the seasonality pattern, the credit to the
private sector (including public sector commercial enterprises) registered
a contraction of Rs7. 5 billion compared with a contraction of Rs0.6
billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. Other items (net)
of the banking system were also contractionary to the extent of Rs3.5
billion.
The ECC was informed that the financial year 1995-96 ended with a total
bank borrowing of Rs41.6 billion against the full year target of Rs28.1
billion.
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960814
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Landlords pay Rs2.82m only in Wealth Tax
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Our correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Aug 13: The landed gentry surrendered during 1995-96 a total
amount of Rs 2.826 million on account of wealth tax on their agricultural
assets, which was 0.0036 per cent of total proceeds from direct taxes,
according to the statistics made available by the Central Board of Revenue,
Chairman Alvi Abdul Rehman at a press conference here on Tuesday.
In absolute terms, it was some improvement over 1994-95 when 1764 landlords
had paid a total amount of Rs 2.391 million. A table provided by him shows
that the number of agricultural tax payers under the Wealth Tax head
increased from 1764 to 2457 between the two financial years, while the
collection also improved from Rs 2.391 million to Rs 2.826 million.
The good news ends there, however. For a grim fact that an analysis of
these figures brings out is that the average of amount paid by each
agricultural tax-payer declined from Rs 1355 in 1994-95 to Rs 1150 in 1995-
96. As a proportion of total direct tax proceeds also, the share of
agricultural assets wealth dropped from 0.0038% to 0.0036% between the two
years. The share of agricultural taxpayers in total wealth tax proceeds
also decreased from 1.5% to 1.4%.
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960810
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The economy needs its own foreign policy
-------------------------------------------------------------------
M.B. Naqvi
THERE WAS a small news item the other day that spoke about a visiting
Japanese business leader, Mr. Shigemasa Kisara, the chief executive of the
famous Nichimen Corporation, having met a Pakistani business leader. He met
with Senator Ilyas Bilour, the Chairman of the FPCCI (Federation of
Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry). They discussed Pakistan - Japan
relations and it was decided that the next meeting of the Pakistan-Japan
Business Council should be held early next year.
Japan of course is one of the most important trading partners of Pakistan.
We export a great deal to Japan and also import a great many things from
them, needless to emphasise they are an economic superpower.
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto visited Japan earlier in the year and a
number of the MoUs, worth $ 900 million, were signed during the visit. An
aid package was also signed worth $ 875 million.
Japan still occasionally makes grants for certain deserving causes in this
country.
Except for minor trade frictions occasioned by its imposition of the
countervailing duties on some Pakistani goods, mainly yarn, on the charge
of Pakistanis dumping some of their excess production (selling at below
cost prices), relations with Japan are on the whole excellent.
However, it cannot be said that Pakistanis have conducted their economic
relations with Japan with any foresight, intelligence or purposefulness.
They have allowed sheer compulsion of events to shape the nature and extent
of the ties.
Our trade relations with Japan have been determined by two main factors:
Japans own drive for export and secondly our need to appease the
unsatiable hunger for foreign goods especially high quality consumer
durables like colour TVs, ACs, VCRs and cars. Our choice of Japanese goods
was because of their better quality and reasonable prices. Pakistanis have
not tried to court the Japanese half as seriously as they wooed the
Americans and Europeans.
Lost Opportunities
*From Japans point of view, Pakistan is one of its minor trading partners.
For them, Pakistan is not a major market for their excess capital for a
variety of reasons. Among these there are all sorts of shortcomings in this
country as a market for foreign direct investments arising out of
insufficiency, inefficiency and inappropriateness of infrastructure,
bureaucratic delays, over-regulation and a frequent law and order break-
down.
The Pakistan-Japan Business Council has met earlier. What did those
meetings achieve? Can it be said that Pakistanis have made maximum use of
Japans need to export capital, know-how and goodwill? No, it is not so.
The need now is that we should make the most use of whatever opportunities
come our way.
Pakistan certainly needs a lot of investments by foreigners because
domestic investments are in adequate. There is a direct and clear
contradiction here. If domestic investments are not being made, how can
foreigners with excess capital make big investments here?
We have to first get the distortions out of the system and remove the
deficiencies in our infrastructure. Only then can foreigners be expected to
come and invest. Moreover, it is our duty to ensure that the foreign
capital is put to the maximum use, as it is not something that is given as
charity. It comes here to earn profits and it should be enabled to make
profits. However, it should earn profits in a way that maximises its
benefits to the domestic economy.
In other words, foreign investments should be made in the context of an
intelligent investment policy as a component part of a policy package
guiding investments without bureaucrats control or direction. A delicate
process is indicated here. Channelising foreign investments without
compulsion or control is not an easy task.
Foreigners export large or complicated machines and capital for their own
purpose. They are not looking to our convenience or needs.
They are after their own profits and convenience. It we are also looking
for foreign investments, we should intelligently invite them and facilitate
the process. A delicate balance has to be struck between their convenience
and requirements and our specific needs and requirements. Can we do so?
Uncertain viability
Since Pakistan economys viability at the moment is not risk-free, our
relationship with the IMF is described a roller coaster course: currently
the IMF is unhappy with the persistent failures of the government to
implement the policy package it has given it.
For three years running we have not been able to implement the
conditionalities in the quantum and the spirit with which the IMF would
wish us do. Our balance of payments deficit is rising uncontrollably and
our external trade balance has increased to $ 3 billion. We have to do
something very sharp about all these matters.
During the last three years what has receded from the minds of both
newspaper readers and the government are many things of vital concern.
They are that our economy needs to be developed at an optimal rate. This
development does not mean just the statistics of GDP growth. A fine figure
can be written on the paper and we can be asked to be happy about it. The
point about development is that maximum number of people of the country
should get gainful employment and that benefits of development should
actually reach the people. Their economic conditions of the people should
be improved and prevented from deteriorating.
As for what is the situation, a noticeable deterioration through a very
high inflation rate has hit a majority of the citizens. Thanks to the
burgeoning population, unemployment levels have continued to grow, the
number of people below the poverty line has also increased and in terms of
real or human development Pakistans ranking has gone further down.
This is a state of affair that cannot be allowed to persist or some kind of
a bust up can take place. It is time some serious thinking is done by our
policy makers who would be well-advised not to get flustered with the
current difficulties and ignore the major problems of the economy.
Re-think needed
It is time that we devise and intelligently formulate foreign economic
policies. Emulating the Japanese example, we can set the objective of
creating a South Asia Development fund on the model of what the Japanese
have done vis-a-vis the two Koreas.
It may be recalled they have helped set up a Korean Fund. That fund is
intended to make investments in the infrastructure primarily, the aim being
to lift up the northern half of the divided country from its stagnation and
help develop it along modern lines. Along the way somewhere there would be
a Korean national unification and economic progress. And at a certain
stage, Korea can take off on its own course.
The southern part of the country does not lack industrial or other economic
resources and Japanese initiative is likely to pick up speed under the
steam of both Japan and Korea.
We should be thinking along the same lines vis-a-vis South Asia, with
appropriate changes, of course. Building a South Asian infrastructure, as a
region, will offer a challenge to both economic superpowers: Japan and
Germany.
Germany is preoccupied in Eastern Europe and Russia. Japan is close at hand
and has been taking interest in the region. We should recruit its help.
The potential of this region is complete and it can become a large market,
worthy of an economic superpower to take keen interest in. The only
condition will be that we South Asians should get our regional act
together. After SAPTA there is hope that this might get done, though over
foreign friends will have to help us by educating us in the virtues of
regional trade, co-operation, and integration.
We should be very careful on the subject of South Asian Fund. It has to be
linked with SAARC and built on the thinking that has gone into it. And
Japan should not be seen as a milk cow to obtain investments.
Commercial possibilities
The initiative for making investments should not be left to the individual
exporters or big corporations of Japan only. They would do so when they see
clear-cut commercial possibilities of making profits. In this case the need
is different. A coherent development policy is indicated for the region: it
has to be planning, at bottom, though of a different kind. The regions
major infrastructural needs have to be met.
Let us face it, this kind of investment cannot be profit-driven in a short-
term sense, though an investment that does not yield profit cannot be
viable or will not be sustainable. Before long it will end up in snarlers
and the process will have to be aborted. The recipient countries will get
trapped in foreign debts and the development will simply not take place.
A certain amount of indicative planning is necessary which will ensure that
the development will follow the direction set by investments which in turn
conform to some kind of a coherent set of objectives. That is the
requirement. In other words a lot of work has to be done by the national
authorities as well as the regional organisations (i.e. the SAARC and the
various official and non-officials bodies that are associated with it).
It must be a coherent long item plan which should generate new economic
activity as it goes along in a staggered fashion so that some of its
earlier investments can begin yielding profits. That is the first
essential.
The Japanese will be only too happy if the governments of the region can
make such commitments through SAARC for a longer term investment programme.
They have so much excess capital that it needs large markets. It should be
our aim to become one where the money will simply not be sunk.
In the interval between the investment and the commencement of its yield,
there has to be an intensification of economic activity in the areas where
investments have been made. It will be primarily for SAARC and national
governments to ensure that the investments are of the kind that are viable
economically and sustainable in terms of ecology.
The emphasis should not be on investments anyhow, the areas and places
being chosen at random by a combination of accident and expediencies. All
the major steps must be well considered and be part of a coherent scheme.
Constant information
Development also needs to remain constantly attuned to the real aim for
which we are inviting Japanese investments. It reveals nothing when it is
said that the first requirement of South Asia is that its physical
infrastructure should be built which would require the taming of all major
rivers for power generation and irrigation, modernise transportation
systems, improve communications, and so forth. All these are needed, no
doubt, but we will need much more.
The national authorities must, while creating conditions for foreign direct
investments being made, must remember that the ultimate aim is sustainable
as well as viable economic development.
The purpose of the development is, as noted, not mere statistical growth in
GDP. It must be reflected in the growth of jobs, in higher standards of
living in ascertainable ways, and reduction in diseases and ignorance.
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960814
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KSE 100 share index loses 33 points
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Aug 13: Stocks ran into deeper recession on Tuesday as investors
took profit at the available margins ahead of the Independence Day holiday,
pushing the index sharply lower by over 33 points.
Earlier in the session, it was as low as 47 points but mid-session bargain-
hunting enabled it to finish partially recovered.
The selling in part was also attributed to bad news from the economic
front, notably falling value of the rupee but no boost to exports.
The KSB 100-share index was last quoted 33.09 points, a big loss for the
single session at 1,452.35 as compared to 1,485.44 a day earlier,
reflecting the weakness of the base shares.
The big question now being asked in the rings is that whether or not it
will breach the barrier of 1,400 points during the current month. The
available corporate evidence suggested that it could as there are not many
good news on which technical rallies could feed on.
But what seemed to have triggered panic selling was the falling value of
the rupee, which on Tuesday was quoted as low as Rs 38.60 in kerb after a
sizeable downward lowering in official dealings.
The analysts said investors were in no mood to make fresh buying even at
the attractively lower level but rather they were looking for an
opportunity to get out of the market.
Minus signs, therefore, dominated the list.
PSO led the list, falling by Rs 9 to 354 on a large volume followed by
Adamjee Insurance, which also suffered sharp setback of Rs 6.50.
Dewan Salman, Shell Pakistan, Fauji Fertiliser, and Rafhan Maize Products
were among the other largest losers in a single session as investors
indulged in panic selling to get out of the market.
Engro Chemical, Parke-Davis, Packages, Sui Northern, KESC, ALICO and ICP
SEMF also fell on renewed selling but the fall was modest.
Notable gainers were very few as there were more sellers than buyers.
However, some of the leading shares managed to put modest gains under the
lead of 4th, 8th, 9th and 13th ICP followed by Lease Pakistan and Quality
Steel on stray support coming mainly from dealers holding short positions.
But the market decline was largely led by the trend- setters and most
liquid scrips, notably Hub-Power and PTC vouchers, which suffered large
unloading at the previous higher rates.
Owing to their greater weightage in index, they took the entire market into
a deeper recession.
Trading volume rose to 21.896m shares from the previous 11.274m shares
thanks to active dealings in the current favourites.
There were 297 actives, out of which 159 shares suffered decline, while 68
rose, with 70 holding on to the last levels.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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960809
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Glass Towers-2
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Ardeshir Cowasjee
THE Glass Towers case is a classic example of the workings of a corrupt
Third-World country, which, like a fish, rots from the head downwards.
Greed is fed by deceit, and the lower orders, even if not corrupt, are so
in fear of the threat of reprisals that they become cowardly accomplices to
the misdeeds of those that flourish above them.
My involvement in this construction rising on the main Clifton Road started
in April, when I wrote a column pointing out how badly it was planned, how
illegally it was being constructed, and how the widening of the road,
because of this single protruding building (see photograph), will not be
possible for the next hundred years.
The monstrous construction had the blessings of our Chief Minister, Syed
Abdullah Shah, guardian of our city and province, who, in disregard of the
rules and regulations, permitted the construction of 19 floor levels
instead of the permissible five (basement plus ground plus four). The plot
ratio was also arbitrarily increased from 1:3 to 1:8 permitting an
additional floor area of some 300,000 square feet. The developer himself
has admitted that he had to pay a lot of money to get these illegal
sanctions. In all such cases, there are many many hands stretched out to
receive greasy gratification.
It took Chief Minister Abdullah Shah one week to realise his folly, he then
made the usual Third-World noises and ordered Commissioner Zia-ul-Islam to
investigate his (the CMs) own orders and Deputy Commissioner (South) Arif
Illahi to stop the construction. A few days later, KDA Director-General
Ahmed Hussain, made a statement to the Press that the building was being
built in accordance with the approved plans, but he cleverly concealed the
fact that what had been approved was not according to rules and
regulations. The work was surreptitiously recommenced with no one in the
administration willing to admit as to who it was that had actually given
the permission to so do. The Commissioner declined to disclose his
findings. He wrote: The enquiry report is an official document sent to the
Chief Minister who alone is competent to make it public if it is in the
greater public interest. The Chief Minister maintained that it was not in
the greater or smaller public interest and did not make it public.
The residential plot on which Glass Towers is being built previously
belonged to Pakistan Tobacco Company, and on it stood a building to house
its officers. The application to commercialise the plot, and the plans for
approval of the commercial Glass Towers, were submitted by applicants
brief case architect Syed Taseen Ahmed and engineer Ishaq Khan wherein
they wrongly stated the owners to be PTC. The authorities complied without
verifying the ownership.
Investigations also revealed that on January 4, 1996, the Karachi Building
Control Authority ordered the builders to stop construction as they were
not building in conformity with the approved structural grid (part basement
and ground floor). The notice, however, did not record the illegal covering
of the rear compulsory open space of 15 feet. This was discovered by an
officer of the KMC and it was demolished on January 18. The drawings
advertised in the sales brochure, as well as the cutaway models displayed,
did not conform to even the faulty approved plans. From the very start
there was blatant illegality and fraud.
Following the total disregard for public interest shown by the Chief
Minister and his minions, a group of angry civic-minded citizens rallied,
joined me, and we decided to move the court. The petitioners number
thirteen and include the NGO SHEHRI (Citizens for a better environment),
Citizens Maher Alavi, Oscar de Freitas, Ahmed Ibrahim, Nazim Haji, Hamid
Maker, Mohammed Futehally, Citizen-Architects Husnain Lotia, Habib Fida
Ali, Arif Hassan, Arshad Abdullah, and Citizen-Engineer Roland de Souza.
Needless to say, a year ago more than half of them, merely fearing fear,
would not have agreed to lend support and their names.
Credit must go to Engineer Roland de Souza and to SHEHRI for all the leg-
work done and for their tenacity. Barrister Mohammed Gilbert Naim-ur-Rahman
was instructed, and Constitutional Petition D-1280/96 was filed in the High
Court of Sindh on August 5.
The grounds, inter alia, are:
* That the plot has been illegally commercialised, contrary to KDA Order
and the Regulations;
* That the building is not being constructed to the plot ratio of 1:3 for
commercial buildings (page 92 of Part II of the Regulations Schedule H)
while the building in fact is being constructed to the plot ratio of 1:8;
* That KBCA cannot approve any building without reference to the
availability of amenities such as water, gas, electricity, sewerage lines,
telephone lines available in the area as it would cause additional hardship
to the residents of the area who already suffer enough;
* That the building being constructed is hit by the provisions of Section
6(1) of the SBCO;
* That the Chief Minister has no power to approve such buildings under
Sections 6(5) and 6(6) of the SBCO;
* That the building being constructed, apart from the illegalities
mentioned above, would prevent future expansion of the main Clifton Road as
envisaged, as per page 90 of the Regulations Part II Schedule G;
* That the approved plan allowed by the KBCA and the Chief Minister is in
any event contrary to public interest and is a mala fide exercise of power
by the said authorities.
The people were fortunate. The petition came up for hearing on August 6
before a strong Bench comprising Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed (born and bred in
the house of his advocate father Waheeduddin Ahmed who was elevated to the
Bench and was later to be Chief Justice of the West Pakistan High Court and
still later was elevated to the Bench of the Supreme Court a fearless
judge) and Justice Hamid Ali Mirza (a former judge of the District Court of
Sindh and later Registrar of the Sindh High Court).
They were pleased to grant our prayer. The petition was admitted, notices
were ordered to be served to the various respondent government departments
and builders. The Nazir of the SHC was appointed as commissioner, ordered
to inspect the site and to report within ten days. The ad interim
injunction, as prayed for, was granted until the next date of hearing. The
construction of Glass Towers has been stayed by the court.
This is no time to wallow in and whinge about the current mess made by our
leaders, encouraged by our pathetic acquiescence. This is no time to moan
and groan like wilting violets. The time has come for anger, deep anger,
and it is high time we exhibited that anger. Each of us, each of the 130
million of this misused nation, must stand up, resist tyranny, and fight
for our rights. The country was not made to be raped and pillaged. The
country was not made for a handful of men and women to milk it dry. The man
who made this country had other plans for it and unless we right now pull
ourselves together, assert ourselves, and insist that things cannot go on
as they are, it may soon be too late to retrieve what little is left.
The first two pillars of government, the non-functioning legislature and
the shameless executive, have more than let us down. They have betrayed us.
The third pillar, the judiciary, despite its trials and tribulations, has
now asserted itself and is sustaining us.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Sajjad Ali Shahs son-in-law, engineer Pervez Ali
Shah, whose house was raided and who was suspended from service on charges
framed by the Sindh government, has recently been reinstated. Should the
executive not apologise to the Chief Justice for its hasty action on
reprisal and for having framed false charges?
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960814
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A message all but forgotten
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M.H. Askari
IF the state of the nation today were to be subjected to an honest scrutiny
against the agenda for Pakistans development and progress set out by
Quaid-i-Azam in his historic address to the first Constituent Assembly on
August 11, 1947, it would be clear that there is very little of which the
nation, and those who have been at its helm, could be proud.
On the contrary, over the past 49 years, the national loss in terms of time
wasted and opportunities lost can only be seen as monumental. It is
customary to lament that Quaid did not live long enough to provide Pakistan
with a constitutional framework compatible with its hopes and aspirations.
The fact is that in his address to the Constituent Assembly, he clearly
enunciated a set of guiding principles for the building of a modern,
progressive, democratic Pakistan. But once the Father of the Nation passed
away, the destiny of Pakistan became hostage to the capriciousness,
opportunism and expediency of the various governments which came to power.
Because of his life-long struggle to liberate the Muslims of the
subcontinent from domination and exploitation by an immutable religious
majority, the Quaid strongly favoured a fair deal for all sections of the
society and believed that all citizens of Pakistan, regardless of their
religion, caste or creed, should enjoy equal rights, privileges and
responsibilities and said so in his address to the Constituent Assembly.
Despite his firm faith in Islamic values and norms, he hoped that Pakistan
would not be dominated by ordained ecclesiastics or by members of any
divine order. Unfortunately, his address was seen as the denial of their
opportunity by those who arrogated to themselves the authority to enforce
an Islamic dispensation upon Pakistan. There were even attempts to suppress
the contents of his speech at the time, but fortunately those who shared
his liberalism and progressive view of Islam, managed not to let this
happen. the Quaids address of August 11, 1947, which deserves to be
regarded as his guiding directive to the nation, has survived. It would
seem, however, that the true message contained in it is now all but
consigned to oblivion.
An official compilation of the Quaids speeches and statements which was
originally published in 1966, altogether omitted the text of the address
from its fourth edition when it was published in 1984 during Gen Zia-ul-
Haqs regime. There could not have been a more crude attempt at suppressing
the ideals of the Father of the Nation. It goes to Ms Benazir Bhuttos
credit that she had the complete text of the historic address resurrected
and published in a collection of Quaids speeches and statements (1947-48)
when she came to power in 1988.
While parts of the Quaids address dealing with the question of religion in
the context of the business of the state - frequently interpreted as a
secular concept - have been under constant debate and discussion, it is
generally not realised that in the same address he also dealt at great
length with the challenge posed by social evils such as black-marketing,
bribery and corruption, nepotism and jobbery. He also specifically
identified the states prime responsibility of providing security to the
people and maintaining law and order. He spoke of bribery and corruption as
a poison and of black-marketing as a greater crime than the biggest and
most grievous of crimes.
Mr B.M. Kutty, a veteran trade unionist and political worker, speaking at a
seminar on Quaid-i-Azams address of August 11, 1947, sponsored by the
Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIIA) in Karachi last Sunday,
commented in unsparing terms of the extent to which Quaids hopes and
aspirations have been violated by Pakistanis, particularly the ruling
elites, in the last five decades. He said Pakistan was now described as
the second most corrupt country in the world and hoarding, black-marketing
and smuggling had developed into a fine art and incorporated into the
accepted norms of trade. Likewise, nepotism and jobbery had been made an
integral part of our national conduct.
Referring to the Quaids strong commitment to his ideal of not making any
distinctions on the basis of religion, caste or creed, Mr Kutty specially
recalled the fact that at the first session of the Pakistan Constituent
Assembly on August 10, 1947, the Quaid had a scheduled caste Hindu, J.N.
Mandal, elected as the president of the session. It is sad to recall that
notwithstanding the trust reposed in him by the Quaid, Mr Mandal deserted
Pakistan at the first opportunity.
Judging on the basis of his August 11, 1947, address, Quaids foremost
concern for all citizens of Pakistan being treated as equal, irrespective
of their class or religious denomination, was obsessive. He declared that
in Pakistan, all citizens would be equal, with equal rights, privileges and
responsibilities. He expressed the thought over and over again to drive the
message home. He believed that if the ideal of all citizens being equal was
adhered to, in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims
would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, but in the political
sense as equal citizens of the same state. The message could not have been
clearer.
Looking back on how the address has been debated upon, one is surprised
that there should have been any reason for a debate at all, unless of
course the intention was to attribute meanings to it which were not
intended or apparent or to interpret it in a way to suit the expediencies
of a certain class or elite. This was also by no means the first time that
he was propounding the thought. Once Pakistan had been conceded, he drove
the point home again and again, while calling upon Pakistanis to build
their country into a bulwark of Islam and spoke of the principles of Muslim
democracy and of Islamic socialism. Groomed in the highest traditions of
liberalism he did not speak of socialism in a dogmatic or doctrinaire
sense. He almost lost his cool when he was asked whether Pakistan would be
a secular or theocratic state, and told the questioner, a newspaper
correspondent: You are asking me a question that is absurd; I do not know
what a theocratic state means.
When Quaids attention was drawn to what is now sometimes called the
hostage theory, that is, if Muslims were to be treated badly in India,
Hindus would be treated likewise in Pakistan, he described the very idea as
madness. The Quaid did not visualise mass migration of people from one part
of the subcontinent to the other and since he had accepted the partition
plan in good faith, he felt convinced that India and Pakistan would live
not only as good neighbours but as allies. However, notwithstanding his
strong belief that religion and politics should be kept apart, the
Objectives Resolution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly within six
months of his passing away. It now forms an integral part of the countrys
constitution.
With his liberal thoughts and commitment to a democratic dispensation for
Pakistan, the Quaid would have been mortified, at the very thought of what
two military rulers of Pakistan did in the name of Islam on usurpation of
power through military coups. Despite his Sandhurst background and
westernised life-style, Ayub Khan found nothing incongruous about seeking a
fatwa at the time of the presidential election in 1964, since Miss Fatima
Jinnah was the rival candidate, declaring that a woman could not be the
head of an Islamic state. It has to be said to Maulana Maududis credit
that he refused to sign the fatwa. Some years later, Gen Zia-ul-Haq, in
order to perpetuate his hold over state power which he knew lacked
legitimacy, virtually turned Pakistan into a theocracy. Working hand-in-
glove with him were Islamic political parties which had stoutly opposed the
creation of Pakistan.
The question was asked at the PIIA seminar that since the Quaid was
committed to what would seem to be secular norms, why did he accede to a
state being created in the name of religion? Firstly, it has been noted by
several scholars who have researched into the evolution of the Pakistan
movement, the most recent among them being ex-Ambassador Saad R. Khairi,
that the Quaid invariably spoke of Pakistan as a Muslim state or as a
homeland of Muslims. Secondly, the Quaids concern was to work towards a
solution of the Hindu-Muslim problem and he hoped for a long time that a
way out could be found while keeping India united. He did not endorse
Chowdhry Rahmat Alis scheme and even Iqbal evaded specifically calling for
a division of the country and confined himself to a plan for the
restructuring of the provinces in order to consolidate the position of the
Muslims.
For the better part of his political career, the Quaid strove for devising
a formula to save the Muslims from losing their separate identity and from
being exploited or dominated by the majority community. His Lucknow Pact of
1914, his 14-point rejoinder to the Nehru report and his willingness to
engage in talks for conciliation with Gandhiji again and again were all
attempts in this direction. He even agreed to the Cabinet Mission plan
which did not provide for immediate partition.
The aim of the Quaids life-long political crusade was for Muslims to
escape from the domination of an immutable majority and he agreed to the
partition plan in the last resort as a solution of the Hindu-Muslim
problem.
The Quaids utterances, public or private, could leave no one in doubt that
he was essentially a liberal, progressive-minded person and he wanted his
Muslim compatriots to be able to live and work in accordance with the
highest and noblest principles of Islam - equality, fraternity and justice.
As the veteran journalist M.B. Naqvi said at the PIIA seminar, Quaid in his
ideals went beyond what the French and American revolutionaries visualised
for their people. How was he to know that the Muslim homeland of his dreams
would be no more than a mirage, generating a great deal of polemics but no
will on the part of those who would come after him to work towards the
realisation of his ideals?
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960811
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Say yes to CTBT
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr Farrukh Saleem
OVER the 50-year period commencing in 1945, the five declared nuclear
powers the US, the Soviet Union (now Russia), Britain, France and China,
have carried out a total of 2,043 tests. India conducted its first and the
only explosion on May 18, 1974. Towards the end of 1995, US spy satellites
reported that the Indians were preparing for another explosion at the
Pokaran site in the Rajasthan desert while Pakistan was suspected to have
begun preparing a nuclear test site in the Chaai Hills in Balochistan.
Dr A.Q.Khan essentially the father of our nuclear programme had once
(according to Nazir Kamals work published in Contemporary Southeast Asia,
March 1992) stated that Pakistan could destroy India with five bombs while
Pakistan could be destroyed by India with three bombs. A SIPRI publication
has estimated Indias potential of accumulating weapons-grade nuclear
material at around 425 kg enough to produce around 85 nuclear weapons of 5
kg per weapon by the end of 1995. A Washington Times report based on CIA
sources and published on December 2, 1992 estimated Pakistans ability of
producing weapons-grade material at between 10 kg to 15 kg per annum,
enough to produce between two to three weapons every year. If we only need
five bombs then we have, in essence, already accumulated sufficient
deterrence in terms of fissile material.
What is the logic in possessing more destructive power than one is really
going to require? The Economist in a cover story published last year
reported that international inspectors who searched through Iraqs nuclear
programme found it had come within a year or so of having a bomb of its
own. But to do so had cost it probably at least $10 billion.... India in
its pursuit of Prithvis and Agnis has already reached the stage where half
of its urban population now sleeps on foot-paths.
Nuclear testings are an awfully expensive undertaking. The five declared
nuclear powers have thrown away a few trillion dollars by expending a total
of 510 megatons in the more than 2,000 tests that they have conducted
during the 50-year period between 1945 and 1995. That is the equivalent of
producing 34,000 Hiroshima-sized bombs. An American B-29 bomber dropped
just one such bomb on Hiroshima, incinerating 200,000 people in an instant,
human beings were literally vaporised. Skin hung from unrecognisable
bodies like strands of dark seaweed. Some victims lived on for a time as
their burning bodies turned carbon black.
Any one of the five declared nuclear powers today has the capability of
exterminating every single living organism from the face of this planet
many times over (why would anyone want to kill someone more than once?).
Why spend billions in first producing more than is required and then get
into all sorts of arms limitation treaties and disarmament agreements?
Exactly 17 years after the first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima the US,
Soviet Union, Britain and France collectively carried out a record 178
nuclear tests (China conducted its first test in 1964). Ever since 1962,
earnest efforts have been under way to reach a Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty which would ban any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other
nuclear explosion immediately upon entry-into-force.
In 1963 President Kennedy announced the completion of the Limited Test Ban
Treaty (LTBT) in Moscow and President Clinton has now declared that one of
my Administrations highest priorities is to negotiate a CTBT to reduce the
danger posed by nuclear weapons proliferation. In a statement released by
the White House on August 11, 1995 the President asserted that I want to
reaffirm our commitment to do everything possible to conclude the CTBT
negotiations as soon as possible so that a treaty can be signed next year.
During the 1995 UN Conference on Disarmament there was no disagreement
among delegates about the need for a ban on nuclear testing. On January
22, 1996 [the] New York Times reported that the Clinton administration has
sent its top arms control officials to foreign capitals in recent weeks to
lobby for quick action on a treaty to end all nuclear testing. Debate to
finalise the treaty which began on January 22, 1995 in Geneva was delayed
by an effort led by India to link the test ban to a schedule for the
elimination of all nuclear weapons.
An international disarmament conference that was held in Geneva in March
this year was given a deadline of June 28, 96 to draft a treaty ending
nuclear testing. That deadline has already passed and the goal now is to
have the final draft ready and open for signing prior to the 51st General
Assembly which is scheduled to commence on the 17th of September.
There is no doubt that the principal mover behind the treaty is the US, but
no one around the world has ever successfully contested the sincerity
behind the move. President Clinton sees himself as the deliverer of what
Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy attempted to achieve. The entire General
Assembly membership, it seems, is now willing and prepared to become part
of CTBT with the only exceptions of India and Pakistan. China had raised
minor objections to some of the on-site inspection and verification
clauses in the treaty but an agreement between Washington and Beijing is
believed to have been reached. China may eventually sign the treaty.
India wants to link CTBT with a definite timetable of nuclear disarmament
of the five declared nuclear powers. Pakistani decision makers have, on the
other hand, made no effort at arriving at our own strategic modus operandi
and have instead declared that we will sign if India does.
India may in reality be using CTBT merely as a bargaining chip for securing
Americas nod guaranteeing her a seat on the Security Council. India
clearly stands to gain by maintaining an ambiguous posture for as long as
it can withstand not just direct American pressure but a negative world
opinion as well. Pakistan, on the contrary, has placed absolutely nothing
on the table to barter with. Our foreign policy mavericks have themselves,
thus, granted the leadership role to India. Well sign, only if India does;
essentially the typical follow the leader approach.
Not all has been lost so far. Pakistan can still score an unprecedented
moral victory over India by unilaterally accepting to sign the CTBT draft.
We would lose next to nothing from such a decision and actually gain back a
lot of what we have lost to India on the international diplomatic front.
What must also be understood is that by agreeing to sign the treaty, with
or without India, we will not be giving up our option to a future test
under the supreme national interests clause that is part of the current
draft. The supreme national interests clause if and when invoked allows a
signatory to conduct whatever testing .... that night be required. The
other formidable protection that safeguards our interests is the Entry-
into- Force stipulation. The entire world, including Pakistan, can go
ahead and sign the treaty but unless all the five declared (US, Britain,
China, France and Russia) and the three threshold nuclear states (India,
Pakistan and Israel) put their stamps on the document CTBT shall remain
legally unenforceable.
Pakistan has once again been presented a unique opportunity to leave India
behind in the arena of international diplomacy. By our inaction and
timidity we shall once again assign ourselves the role of an Indian
orderly, but our activism and superior cognisance can truly propel us to
win what we have lost many a times to our next door adversary. Pakistans
unilateral decision to become part of CTBT, as a matter of fact, also
fulfils our leaderships rather narrow conditionality of following Indias
decision on the treaty. CTBT cannot become enforceable without Indias
signature anyway.
Our late Prime Minister Zulfikar Bhutto had once committed to give us what
the country really needed even if we had to eat grass. Now that our proud
scientists have provided us the capability of deterring any hostile foreign
designs, it is time for the impoverished citizenry of this country to share
in the bountiful benefits that shall result from signing CTBT and embracing
the policy of minimum deterrence. Saying yes to CTBT is, therefore, in our
own long as well as short-term interest.
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960811
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Security overkill
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Omar Kureishi
IF a terrorist should succeed in creating a climate of fear, he does not
need to explode a bomb to achieve his objective. If he should succeed in
making public places no-go areas, turning them into fortresses, then he has
done his job.
The first thing to understand about terrorism is that there is no pattern
to it, no standard modus operandi that serves as its signature. The
terrorist is no Zorro who leaves his mark, no Raffles who left his visiting
card. The second thing is that there is more than one group of terrorists,
with different agendas and there is no perceived common link between them.
Terrorism is a hydra-headed monster. There have always been acts of
terrorism. But why the world should suddenly be confronted with individuals
and groups hell-bent on collective violence is something for social and
behavioural scientists to analyse. Why is the world coming apart? What
torments its soul? Why this criminal rage? If someone indeed planted a bomb
on TWAs flight 800, he killed 230 people, each and every one of them un-
known to the terrorist, total strangers to him.
It is understandable that after the bomb blast at Lahore Airport, efforts
should be made to beef up the security at airports which are high-profile
but soft targets. This is easier said than done and the stringest measures
that have been announced and are being contemplated would have been
tolerated by the public, the attendant inconvenience would have been
accepted if these measures had concentrated more on a qualitative
improvement in security, better intelligence gathering, more effective but
low-key surveillance, by upgrading the existing technology, by getting
better screening equipment than simply blocking out the public from the
airports.
There are more than 40 commercial airports in the country and policing them
all with the same degree of stringency is no easy matter. I do not agree at
all that the public should be discouraged from going to airports to receive
and see off relatives and friends. It is a part of our culture. I do not
see the utility of searching cars and vehicles and thus creating a log-jam
and a public nuisance at the main gates of the airports, itself a safety
hazard. We mustnt be seen to be suddenly gung-ho about security because
vigilance has to be permanent and not just activated because of a bomb
blast. Law-makers and law-enforcers must understand that people will
observe laws willingly (and not because of fear of punishment) if the laws
are perceived to be in the best interest of society. In other words, we
must carry the public for the best friend of security is the vigilance of
the public, a public that is as keen to see that its life and that of its
relatives and friends is not at the mercy of some dedicated psychopath as
are the agencies whose job it is to make this possible.
Clearly, there is a case for a partnership. The measures being taken should
be explained to the public and their co-operation sought and not demanded,
not thrust down its throat. There should be some-give-and take, some
dialogue and these measures should be discussed in the assemblies for the
public that is being inconvenienced, if not harassed, is the constituency
of the elected representatives. The assemblies must be made to play a
greater role in protecting the rights of their constituents.
There is one other crucial aspect. It is not the general public alone that
needs to be monitored but thousands are employed at the airports in
various capacities and one presumes that they have been thoroughly vetted
and security cleared. The more sensitive areas of the airports are
inaccessible to the general public but not to many of these employees. One
must not forget that the prime suspect of the Centennial Park bombing is a
security guard though I have a feeling that the FBI is being led a wild
goose chase but the possibility cannot be ruled out even though the motives
of this security guard do not go beyond the hero syndrome and he may turn
out to less than a sinister terrorist and more of a frustrated nut who
sought glory by finding the bomb that he had himself planted. He felt that
this might have earned him a promotion and for all we know he may well have
written a book about it.
As I wrote in a previous column, the VIP lounges would appear to be the
most vulnerable and I think a very strong case exists for simply doing away
with them. There has been proliferation of VIPs and their tribe increases
with each passing day. I remember many years ago a PIA Chief Executive was
visiting London and expected that he would be using the VIP lounge. The
London Airport authorities wanted to know whether he was a head of state or
government. The VIP lounge, Alcock & Brown was meant only for this category
of people. In all my travels abroad, I cannot recall that I have come
across VIP lounges of the sort that we have. Airlines do maintain their own
special handling lounges for important passengers.
I know the Commander of the ASF Brifadies Rashid Malik. Hes a level-headed
man and one with a sunny disposition. I hope he reads this column and heeds
some of the points that I have raised. We want our airports to be secure
but we dont want the public to be brow-beaten and pushed around. We need
to strike a balance with moderation being the guiding light. We must avoid
being arbitrary for we are a democracy, even if it may not appear to be so
some of the time.
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960812
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Ever changing heart of the West
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mohammad Malick
BARELY a few months back leading western diplomats, and the Americans in
particular, would simply shrug off all suggestions of a possible comeback
by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. He was simply a No-No.
Then came the phase when the same lot started giving the man a grudging
acknowledgement. Even more important, loud references started being made
about the possibility.
The significant pro-Nawaz change of heart was also betrayed by Robin
Raphael in her last meeting with Nawaz Sharif where an interesting exchange
took place between her and Asfandyar Wali.
During the meeting at Nawazs Murree residence, Ms Raphel emphasised the
importance of the government completing its five-year tenure as a
guarantee of the continuity of the democratic system. At this point,
Asfandyar Wali interjected by correcting her: I think you mean the
assemblies completing their tenure and not necessarily the government. A
smiling Ms Raphel nodded her head in agreement.
Now it seems, the American perceptions may be undergoing a third phase
which, while accommodating a possible Nawaz replay, appears equally in
favour of a third clean democratic alternative, to quote one very senior
US diplomat.
At one time, Syed Iftikhar Gillanis name used to pop up in every such
discussion. No more! Ever since his last scathing and articulate discourse
in the Senate, Khalilur Rehman is fast becoming a toast of the really
influential segment of the diplomatic corps, not to mention the corps of
the other kind as well.
But who is this Commander Khalil, anyway, and what had he said in the
Senate that had forced everyone to sit up and take notice?
Sen Khalilur Rehman is not prone to imparting righteous sermons to the
unsuspecting. He throws some of Islamabads best parties, in terms of guest
quality, and makes no effort to hide his wealth. May be because, unlike the
majority of his colleagues, his has been earned honestly and above board.
Literally, as the naval chief of the immensely rich Bahrain navy.
He has a track record of speaking his mind, and unfailingly critical, too.
But in his famed Senate speech he spoke like a man possessed, someone truly
disgusted by the spreading rot in society. All Sen Khalil did was to simply
portray things as they stood and instantly the press gallery labelled his
speech a sizzler, and there were even suggestions that his discourse
might have been inspired from his highly influential friends in Rawalpindi.
As an aside, it is an interesting coincidence that the senator had told
some friends, a good few months before the announcement about the
appointment of the present COAS. Not that this closeness need be analysed
in a political light.
Sen Khalil was not off the mark when he questioned the wisdom of preserving
the system in its present deteriorated form without first cleansing it of
its embedded ills. As he saw it, the system had been mutilated beyond
recognition, and it now only helped power-hungry and lusty people to come
into the assemblies.
But his most pertinent observation remained his identification of the
biggest source of the internal rot of the present system; its own
convoluted rationality. The system, by his logic, had started depending on
the abusive use of a brute majority whereas it had originally been
conceived as a source of collective wisdom. Parliament, as he poignantly
intoned, had been reduced to the role of just electing a prime minister who
then in turn transformed into an autocratic authority. All powerful, all
unaccountable for.
Here he had a suggestion to make. If he had his way, the parliament would
be expanded by another two to three hundred parliamentarians to allow for
the election of honest ordinary citizens, competent professionals who he
hoped, would swamp this present lot of blood sucking elite. Not that his
wishing was without its own logic.
He also argued about the inherent difficulties of someone trying to indulge
in horse trading of say, 600 parliamentary horses. He surely had a point
there.
If an incisive analysis of Senators vitriolic address were to be made, the
systems woes could probably be narrowed down to two main problems; the
presence of maddening corruption in every sphere and at every level of the
society, and the absence of even the slightest semblance of accountability
at any level of the society.
The solution, in his opinion lay in the approach of immediate surgery and
transplant, but judging from the intensity of his expressions he must want
a surgeon to operate with a butchers knife.
Regardless of what our ruling classes would like us to believe, the fact
remains that corruption does not flow upwards but rather seeps down from
the top. What Sen Khalil lamented was about the absolute corruption of our
ruling elite which had corrupted the entire system, absolutely, and felt
that already it might have been too late to save the system in its present
form. Not that the former soldier appeared too sold on this proposal
either.
He advocated the benefits of revising the Constitution in the light of our
past political experiences. To begin with, he also felt that the present
five-year term was too long and that we get bored by it. Though he
stopped short of identifying either who that we were or list the desired
amendments, but they should not be that difficult to fathom.
Incidentally another aside; the senator is also smitten by the Turks and
the manner in which that nation has blended its certain realities with
its political systems.
Sen Khalil says many things that are close to the ordinary mans heart, but
in the long-term it is how certain people sitting across the Atlantic feel
about his views that could make a real difference.
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960810
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Clowns on the fields of Olympus
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Mazdak
SHOW me a good loser, said the cynic. And Ill show you a loser. And
thats the bottom line in modern sports.
There was a marvellous cartoon in a Lahore daily the other day that showed
a Pakistani athlete returning empty-handed from the Atlanta Olympics. A
little boy running behind the dejected figure asks: Not even an MOU, Sir?
Traditionally, the only sport in which we have ever harboured any Olympic
ambitions has been hockey, and being thrashed into sixth place this time
was a reminder of how low we have fallen. All our hopefuls in other sports
were duly eliminated in the early rounds. But if its any consolation, all
South Asian countries with a combined population of over a billion people
could only manage to grab a solitary medal between them, and that too a
surprise bronze in tennis. And this pathetic result is no aberration: every
four years, we are content to place our hopes for Olympic gold with our
hockey squad; for the rest, we are resigned to our abysmal standing in
world sports.
True, our squash players have done us proud over the years, as indeed have
our cricketers and successive hockey teams. But thats about it. Our bridge
squad showed unexpected promise for a brief period a decade or more ago,
but has subsided to the national level of mediocrity while other regional
teams have pushed ahead. The problem is that while the rest of the world is
constantly setting new and higher standards, we are content to at best
standing still; as a sop to our repeated failures at the international
level, we recall past glories and triumphs.
While we have done well at cricket, hockey and squash in the past, we
should remember that none of these games is very widely played. In truly
global sports such as soccer, basketball, swimming, athletics and
gymnastics, we figure nowhere in world rankings. Our national records could
be broken by high school athletes in a number of countries. If anything,
standards have been falling as fewer young men are willing to devote the
kind of time and effort needed for excellence in any field. Pakistani women
are virtually eliminated from international competition because of the
voluminous clothing they are required to wear.
The usual excuse is that there are virtually no facilities or training
available, and that millions of our youth do not get the kind of diet they
need to perform well at the highest level. This is true, but what training
or facilities did the shepherds from Kenya and Ethiopia have when they won
gold medals in the marathon for so many years? Basically, we seem to lack
the will to win that drives top athletes to the edge and beyond.
Even the few facilities we have built are under-utilised. For instance, the
international-level stadium constructed in Islamabad for the South Asian
Federation Games in 1989 is virtually deserted for most of the year. Other
stadia, too, stand empty except for the occasional tournament. The few
parks and playing fields that were earmarked in urban master plans have
virtually all been transformed into hideous blocks of flats and shopping
plazas, enriching developers, bureaucrats and politicians. Children are
forced to play in streets; hardly any schools or colleges boast of sports
facilities.
Successive governments have been oblivious to the many problems confronting
sports at every level, preferring to stuff delegations to international
events with their stooges who often outnumber the sportsmen. No serious or
sustained effort has ever been made to raise standards. Even the army which
once had an organised training programme has lost all interest in the
promotion of sports. The result of this official apathy is that there are
no heroes, no role models for our youth to emulate in most sports. The only
track star we can boast of is Abdul Khaliq, the fastest man in Asia, a
sprinter who ran way back in the fifties and sixties. Since then, it has
been downhill all the way.
Ever since I can remember, our hockey players have fumbled penalty corners
far more often than not. Now this is an area of the game that can be honed
to near-perfection, as proved in recent years by Holland, Australia,
Germany, and now Spain. For some reason, this simple mechanical drill has
eluded our players. In Atlanta, this shortcoming was made painfully clear
when team after team hammered in crisp goals from penalty corners while our
boys seemed like clowns let into the Games to amuse the crowd.
The problem is that artificial surfaces have transformed the nature of
hockey. While bumpy natural fields favoured short passing, fast and smooth
Astroturf calls for long passes and a more physical approach to defence. It
also produces more penalty corners which now account for more goals than
solo or combined moves. All the few major hockey-playing nations have
placed this surface in most of their stadia, while our young players
continue to learn their game on natural fields; it is only when they reach
the top that they get an opportunity to play on astroturf which calls for
an entirely different technique. In most cases, they are unsuccessful in
making this transition. The truth is that few organisations or educational
institutions can afford the outlay involved in importing astroturf, so we
can forget about ever regaining our eminence in world hockey.
In squash, there is no outstanding player in sight apart from Jansher Khan.
After he retires, we can say goodbye to our traditional number one slot in
this sport. In cricket, while Wasim Akrams team is currently doing well,
we must remember that the present English squad is one of the weakest in
world cricket. In bridge, ever since the incomparable Zia Mahmood decided
to qualify for the invincible US team, our players have fared badly in
regional and international competitions.
And that, alas, is it. We are amateurs in all other sports and games, and
our standing is far below smaller and poorer countries. But while
governments and institutions allocate the lowest possible priority to
sport, they should remember that apart from the physical well-being sports
provide to participants, success also promotes national unity and pride,
intangible and unquantifiable factors perhaps, but sentiments in very short
supply from our collective psyche.
===================================================================
960809
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Medals are where the money is, or mostly
-------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS you can verify from the final medals table of the Atlanta Olympic
Games. The US is far ahead of all others with a huge lead of 38 medals over
the runners-up, the Russians. But had the Soviet Union been intact, the
Americans would have been beaten back into second place.
Generally, the medals have gone to the First and Second Worlds, China and
Cuba being the only exceptions among the top ten nations. I have half a
mind to put Russia in the second World, but, believe me, despite its many
problems, it still is a superpower. The affluent West has taken the largest
chunk of the cake, but other regions of the world fared not too badly.
Take Africa, for example. It won ten gold medals, four more than in 1992.
The most glittering of these golds was the one won by Nigeria which became
the first African country to win an Olympic soccer tournament.
South Korea is emerging as a sporting power. It ended way ahead of Japan
with 27 medals (7 gold, 15 silver and 5 bronze) to the latters 14 (3 gold,
6 silver and 14 bronze).
But look at South Asia where more than a billion people live. The SAARC
ended up with a stray bronze in tennis, won by an Indian. A bronze for a
billion people. In hockey, for long the sub-continents only medal winner,
Pakistan finished sixth, and India were placed eighth while such countries
as Burundi, Croatia and Ethiopia were in the gold medal winners list.
Pakistan were not on the medals table, but India found itself in the
company of nine other countries which finished at the bottom. What is the
reason for this? Let me give you a story here. When the Chinese were hooked
on opium, a rich addict from Shanghai went to England. The Wimbledon
Championships were on, and his curiosity aroused about tennis, the dopey
Chinese went to see what it was like.
Now, he had never seen the game before.
What are these two doing? he asked the man next to him.
They are playing.
What are they playing?
Tennis.
Do they enjoy playing it?
Very.
But they are sweating like pigs.
It is healthy to sweat.
But that is stupid. In our country, our servants play other games and
sweat. We sit in the shade and enjoy ourselves. That is healthier. That is
why we live so long.
But that was fifty, sixty years. Today, young Chinese take no opium and
like to sweat it out and enjoy it. Thats why they ended up fourth at
Atlanta. By the way, much the same sentiments were expressed by Mr Lokesh
Sharma, managing director of a sports promotion company in India. He told
Reuters the other day: We are a nation of spectators, not sportsmen. The
same is true of us Pakistanis, even more so.
Why should this be so when most of us arent even opium- eaters? I think
(speaking for Pakistan only) that the way we conduct ourselves in the
political field has a lot to do with this. We are so obsessed with politics
and politicians that we have little time for anything else.
Our newspapers are full of politics. In the club we talk politics; we do so
at the dinner table, at wedding parties, even at funerals. Sunain gi phir
kya ho, raha heh? Benazir rehti heh ya jaati heh? We seldom get to talk
about education, health, agriculture, business or industry or the
continuing fall in the value of the rupee. And when we talk about our
neighbours, it is invariably about Zee TV or their horrible movies and
never about the great strides they are taking in the field of science and
technology.
Everything substantive gets lost in the political din we make. I do not
know what was the strength of the Pakistani squad to Atlanta, but the
number of our joyriders must have been substantial. The grants given by the
governments, both federal and provincial, for sports promotion are misspent
if not altogether misappropriated.
What to do, then? The political scene will not change for the next fifty
years at the very least. Should we wait for our first non-hockey gold medal
until the 2056 Olympic Games? I tell you what: if sports management is
privatised, we could be on the Olympic medals list much sooner than that.
I refuse to believe that we dont have a single runner in Balochistan, the
NWFP, the Punjab and Sindh who cannot win for us a single field and track
medal. All we have to do is to find him. If I had the resources, I would
set up an amateur athletic association. I will then hire talent scouts (I
will import them if need be).
Once a preliminary selection has been made, I will train the athletes
scientifically, regulate their diet and even educate them so that if they
fall by the wayside, they can find gainful employment. I will have tracks
of international standards at varying heights. I will make them train at
sea level, at 1,000 feet above sea-level and at whatever heights all
possible Olympic Games are likely to be held. No great difficulty in this.
You know where the next Games are going to he held four years in advance.
I will lay emphasis on athletics because only field and track events are
truly Olympic in spirit. Handball, judo, karate, volleyball, basket-ball,
hockey, etc. are not. It is better to send 18 athletes and hope for three
medals even if they are bronzes than to send an equal number of hockey
players and come back empty-handed.
How will my association run? Ill take no money from the government. Ill
accept no donations, either. Ill seek paying members at Rs 1,000 per annum
or more if given voluntarily. Quixotic, do you think? I tell you the plan
can succeed if I can get just ten people who are willing to give their
time, money and effort. Come on, somebody. The idea is worth a try.
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960810
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Olympic medals linked with social infra-structure
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Iqbal Latif
Lack of success for India, Pakistan and most of the African countries in
the recently concluded Atlanta Olympics cannot be simply dismissed as a
continuation of a losing streak. It is a clear manifestation of absolute
neglect of social infra-structure by the politicians of these countries
that have marginalised these countries and reduced their economic and
social rankings in the community of nations. It seems to be ironic that
countries that have the ability to produce the most talented teams of
cricket and have introduced their unique brand of cricket are unable to win
a single medal but a bronze!
One is struck with the composition and similarity of the biggest world
economies and countries on the top of the final medal standings. Successful
economies have reaped the largest share of medals, whereas the worlds
weakest economies are not amongst the top seventy-eight medal winning
nations. Of course there are some aberrations like Ethiopia, Uganda and
Burundi; but these are few exceptions. Success and failure in the Olympic
games is closely linked to a countrys economic management. The poor
performance in the Atlanta Olympics from athletes of South-Asia and Africa
that together constitutes nearly 60% of the world population is a red flag
for the political leadership of these countries. If medals were to be
distributed based on population, then each nine million people would be
eligible for a single medal. India should have won eighty-one and Pakistan
at least twelve.
The lowest point reached by the South Asians depicts not only mediocrity
but absolute mendicancy of governance. Success in Olympics for the top
nations is achieved only as a result of the implementation of successful
policies in educational attainment, health, material well being and the
distribution of income. The analogy, that countries who are successful are
countries with high human development index is reinforced by the fact that
amongst the medal winning countries only three countries, Ethiopia, Burundi
and Uganda won any medals which have a human development index of less than
30. Otherwise, the other 75 countries in the top list are countries with
the highest to medium quality of life.
The top five countries in the medal race, the United States, Russia,
Germany, China and France, practice conflicting political economic systems.
Nevertheless, one thing that distinguishes them from other nations is that
all of them score above 60 on human development index, which is a measure
of economic welfare of a country. The human development index that combines
adult literacy, life expectancy, income levels and average years of
schooling are a good indicator of economic management of a nation.
One can argue that success in the Olympics should not be taken as the
yardstick of good economic management as most of the South Asians do not
seem to enjoy track and field events or do not have extensive swimming or
equestrian facilities like those available in the developed countries.
Further more, due to their low per-capita income, South Asians, cannot
indulge in such expensive tastes! Moreover, since they excel in sports they
like, and are occasionally the world champions; so why should they care
about winning medals?
This very argument can be flipped over to make the case for improving the
facilities for populace. If these countries have the potential to produce
world champions in strenuous sports like field hockey and squash, there is
no reason why they cannot produce a lot of good athletes, gymnasts and
medium to long distance runners. What they really need is national
institute of sports excellence and a broadened encatchment pool of talent
by universalising education.
Countries like Pakistan and India who are confronted with serious economic
problems cannot be expected to throw money at sports but what is required
is rethinking on the part of the national planners to instil a strong
determination and killer instincts in the sporting cadre of the country.
The planners have failed to address the need of rescuing the sinking boat
of future generations caught up in the storm of poverty. Improvement of the
quality of life has very little to do with the wealth of the nation. It is
about reshuffling of the priorities and preference of bread and education
over guns!
We need to look at the top 36 medal winning countries. These countries
together represent more than 85% share in world GDP on purchasing power
parity. One unique feature about the countries who have topped the Olympics
medal tables is that all of them do not seem to comply with the pattern of
the free market economy. Although majority of them are the members of the
developed world, however, countries like China and Cuba who are fourth and
eighth on the list are still command socialist economies.
Medals are not related to the ratio of population otherwise India and
Pakistan should have reaped a rich harvest nor are they won by
inspiration alone. Neither does the model of economy play a decisive role
in this regard. It is the soundness of system and vision as well as wisdom
of the leadership that determined the degree of excellence in competition.
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960812
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Knight hits maiden Test 100 as match heads for draw
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By Qamar Ahmad
LEEDS, Aug 11: With rain and poor light predicted on the final day, it is
highly unlikely that a result will be achieved in the second Test and it
will be at The Oval and not at Headingley that the fate of this three-match
series will be finally decided.
Much to the disappointment of a Sunday crowd which at no time exceeded
5,000 the fourth days play was delayed for an hour and 45 minutes.
England were finally all out for 501 late after tea, their highest at
Headingley against Pakistan and when Pakistan openers walked in to take the
strike for the second time in the match, they were offered the choice of
playing or withdrawing as light faded.
Saeed Anwar and Shadab Kabir chose the second option and rightly so.
Thirty-three overs were still left to be bowled and England led by 53 runs
on the second innings.
Minutes later rain dispelled any chances of the match being resumed for the
rest of the evening.
In a way it had come as a blessing in disguise. A quick wicket or two in
conditions as they were would have made things dicey for Pakistan. Not
necessarily Pakistan would have lost a couple of wickets yet there was the
likelihood that it may have happened.
England, their batting early on, however, had given their bowlers a
marginal advantage of a first innings lead. The remaining five wickets
added 128 runs to their overnight 373 for five before Pakistan were able to
bowl them out. Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Mushtaq Ahmad all conceded
over 100 runs each in hunt for their victims. And Mushtaq had bowled 55
overs, the highest in any Test by him.
That they were kept in the field most of the fourth days play was due to a
maiden Test century (113) by the Warwickshire left-hander Nick Knight who
had resumed the day at 51.
Playing in his only fifth Test, he justified his inclusion with an
impressive knock which lasted only a minute short of five hours, this being
the second century of Englands innings, besides Alec Stewarts.
A broken finger in the Test against India early in the summer kept him out
and he had to miss selection for two Tests against the former country.
His half century in the Lords Test against Pakistan boosted his confidence
which was in full display at Headingley while making runs. He was the
eighth man out. Useful partnership for the last wicket after his dismissal
followed between Allan Mullally and Dominic Cork which yielded 30 runs and
Mullally even hit a well-timed six off Wasim Akram.
But it was Cork who was the last man out when Shadab Kabir at long-leg
scooped a spectacular catch off Wasim Akram when Cork was 26.
England had taken first innings lead over Pakistan when tea was taken on
the fourth day of the second Test. In fact they also had passed their best
(428) against Pakistan at this ground made in 1962 series.
Like the third day play was once again delayed and only 15 minutes were
possible before lunch in which England added only five runs to their
overnight 373 for 5.
The left-hander Nick Knight and Jack Russell, with 51 and 0 from the third
day, were at crease even after lunch while pushing the score in singles and
twos. The new ball taken at 402 after 122.4 overs, however, did the trick.
The stand for the sixth wicket was broken by Wasim Akram who made Russell
play onto his wicket as he moved back and edged it onto his stumps.
It was only the second delivery with the new ball. With Knight the outgoing
batsman had put on 37 runs.
Ata-ur-Rehman operating with the new ball with Wasim Akram was hit for
three fours in one over by Knight. The impact of the blade on those short
deliveries dented the ball so badly that the new ball was changed after
seven overs with England on 431 and Knight on 91.
Knight and Chris Lewis later shared 39 runs for the seventh wicket before
another wicket fell. Lewis, playing forward, was bowled off his left thigh
when Mushtaq Ahmed beat his defences at 9.
For Knight at 96 a hundred was there for the taking which he duly reached
with the help of 15 fours in 231 minutes batting having faced 154 balls.
His maiden Test century in only his fifth Test was well deserved. He played
with concentration and lot of confidence to show that he can survive at the
top level.
At 113 he was caught by Mushtaq Ahmed at mid-off when Waqar Younis bowled a
slower one and Knight mistimed. In all he batted for 259 minutes to hit 16
fours in 176 balls he faced.
Seven runs later, Waqar flattened the stamps of Andrew Caddick when he had
made 4. England led by 23 runs.
At tea England were 473 for 9 enjoying a marginal lead of 25 runs on the
first innings.
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960809
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Sami for drastic steps to rebuild hockey side
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Walter Fernandez
KARACHI, Aug. 8: The Pakistan hockey team which finished sixth in the 1996
Atlanta Olympic hockey competition returned home from New York in the wee
hours of Thursday morning.
Ever since, Pakistan first entered the Olympic hockey contest in the 1948
London Games, this years performance was the worst-ever in the countrys
history.
The Pakistan team manager former Olympian flying-horse Samiullah Khan told
`Dawn after his return from Atlanta: As I said before embarking for the
Olympic Games that after the revolt by a number of players on the day of
the trials to pick the Olympic squad and the subsequent 16-day break in
training, the morale of the team had hit a low. It would be difficult to
motivate the players to win top honours and if we finished on the victory
podium it would be enormously satisfying.
What we now need to do is to make four or five immediate changes and
elevate the lads from the junior string, if we want to make sure to retain
the World Cup in a matter of two years time. emphasised the former
Olympian.
In addition, we should utilise the Champions Trophy, the toughest hockey
tournament in the world, an annual event, like Germany, the Netherlands and
Australia all do by inducting fresh talent and the sole aim is
experimenting for the two major spoils like the Olympic Games and the World
Cup. In the Champions Trophy and other tournaments even if we wind up among
the top four by using them as grooming competitions that should be good
enough, said Samiullah Khan.
In 1948 London Games, Pakistan were able to take the fourth position. Then
in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, Pakistan were able to retain the same fourth
spot, before going on to win the first-ever Olympic medal a silver in
the 1956 Melbourne Games,
In the 1960 Rome Olympics, Pakistan earned the unique distinction of
winning their first Olympic gold medal. But fortune took a reverse swing in
the 1964 Tokyo Games where Pakistan managed to claim only the silver medal
again.
But in the 1968 Mexico Olympics, Pakistan were able to reach the pinnacle
once again by regaining the gold medal. Nonetheless, the see-saw continued
in the succeeding 1972 Munich Olympics where Pakistan yet again could only
clinch the silver medal.
In the 1976 Montreal Games, Pakistan slid further behind by just managing
to take the bronze medal. In the next 1980 Moscow Olympics, Pakistan did
not participate as it joined the West-led boycott of the Games for the then
Soviet Union occupation of Afghanistan.
In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Pakistan again were able to reach the
height of glory by regaining the gold medal. And in the 1988 Seoul Games
Pakistan wound up a dismal fifth in the hockey event but were able to
salvage a bronze medal through pugilist Hussain Shah.
In the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, Pakistan were able to regain a
semblance of pride by taking the hockey bronze medal. But in 1996 at
Atlanta, Pakistan came away without an Olympic medal since the Melbourne
Games in 1956.
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960814
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Golden jubilee sports competitions
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Farhana Ayaz
ISLAMABAD, Aug 13: International competitions in kabaddi and boxing
scheduled for August and December respectively will complete the golden
jubilee independence sports celebrations for 1996.
The events being held under the auspices of ministry of sports have been
received in a lukewarm way by the national federations who claim lack of
finances to organise them. During the current year international
competitions were also held in volleyball at Islamabad and wrestling at
Lahore. Kabaddi tournament was scheduled for Aug 13-16 while boxing
competition has been planned for December at Karachi.
For 1997, international competitions will be held in polo, bodybuilding and
soccer. A hockey event has been set for March 15-23 at Karachi.
For women, competitions will be held in table tennis and volleyball.
However no final venue has been decided for the same.
A women badminton tournament earlier scheduled for June 15-21 has now being
reset for the end of December this year. No final venue has ,however, been
allocated.
In order to attract masses, professional wrestling bouts involving world
famous wrestlers will be organised in major cities of the country next
year. The venues will be picked from the list of Quetta, Karachi, Lahore,
Islamabad, Peshawar, Faisalabad and Multan.
It was learnt that Pakistan Cricket Board has finalised its own
international one-day tournament.
Dawn page