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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 19 September 1996 Issue : 02/38
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Explosions rock city, one killed
1,968 primary schools without buildings
Express talks of more acquisition by Zardari
National assets being squandered: LHC CJ
Gokal, BCCI chief masterminded funding, court told
Taliban capture another province
Kabul visit put off amid fluid situation
Sunday as holiday: FPCCI
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IMF calls for slashing military expenditure
Devaluation of rupee: impact on economy
Crying need for provincial autonomy
Pakistan inching towards global economic integration
Freezing of FC accounts not possible, says SBP
Pakistan 7th largest importer of foodgrains
Air fares on world routes up by 10pc
KSE 100-share index soars 17.75 points
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Arrogance or ignorance? Ardeshir Cowasjee
Living in the times of Rangeela Mazdak
A loan is not a gift Omar Kureishi
How long can the PM delay the trade off? M. Ziauddin
Overcoming the AIDS crisis Benazir Bhutto
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Chance for Pakistan to go 2-1 up
Demand for guarantee money unreasonable
13 Pakistani fighters in boxing finals
Countrys world rankers to play in PIA Open squash
Sportfishing contest
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960919
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Explosions rock city, one killed
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By Ghulam Hasnain
KARACHI, Sept 18: Two explosions rocked the citys main business area on
Wednesday, killing an aged man and wounding four others.
Government buildings were the primary target of the bombs which, according to
officials, were home-made time devices filled with country-made commercial
explosives, weighing two pounds each.
The first bomb went off around 7:45am on a Club Road street housing the PIA
cargo office, a bank branch and scores of other private and public offices.
The blast shattered the windowpanes of nearby buildings. The ground-floor Club
Road branch of the National Bank of Pakistan was the worst affected. The
explosion could be heard a kilometre away. The bomb placed at the outer wall
of the Karachi Gymkhana did not claim any casualties as it was still too early
for the morning traffic.
Exactly two hours later, a similar device went off behind the Sindh
Secretariat. At least five people were hit by flying metals. The bomb was
strategically placed outside the KESC sub-station to create maximum losses.
I was standing there when I heard a few explosions. I ran and took refuge at
a nearby printing press. I saw people falling to the ground. Some people were
lying on the street, Azmat Hussain Kazmi, 57, an Income Tax officer, who was
also wounded in the explosion, said.
Four of the injured were rushed to Civil Hospital while Azmat Hussain Kazmi,
who received minor wounds was treated at the Jinnah Post-graduate Medical
Centre.
An unidentified aged man whose legs were hit by the bomb splinters and who
also received multiple wounds in the head died a couple of hours later in the
operation theatre. The victim could not be identified.
The two explosions were followed by several hoax bomb calls creating fear in
the city.
Till 9:40pm, at least eight hoax calls were made in which the unidentified
people claimed that bombs have been placed at private and public hospitals and
government buildings keeping the bomb disposal experts busy throughout the
day.
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960918
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1,968 primary schools without buildings
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By Our Staff Report
LAHORE, Sept 17: Some 1,968 primary schools in the Punjab do not have
buildings and classes are held in the open under trees or thatched roofs. Out
of these open-air schools, 934 are for boys and 1,034 for girls.
This was revealed by Education Minister Ata Maneka in response to a query
raised by an opposition legislator during the question hour of the provincial
assembly on Tuesday.
Mr Maneka claimed that the provincial government had allocated funds to
provide buildings to 295 open-air schools during the current fiscal year.
He said schools without buildings were a legacy of the past which were opened
under political pressure and teachers appointed to them. He said the PDF
government was trying to rectify the situation.
The minister informed the assembly that 11,115 schools required major repairs.
These include 8,752 primary, 1,176 middle and 1,187 high schools. He said the
government had spent Rs 149.8 million to repair such schools during the last
financial year. Moreover, the government was considering measures to restore
the buildings of the schools concerned.
He said there were 14,285 schools which needed minor repairs. They include
10,974 primary, 1,585 middle and 1,787 high schools. In the last fiscal year,
he said, the Punjab government had spent Rs 87.8 million on minor repairs to
9,888 schools.
But the minister could not give an answer when asked about the number of
schools whose buildings had been declared dangerous and about the measures
taken by the government to rehabilitate them.
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960916
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Express talks of more acquisition by Zardari
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By Athar Ali
LONDON, Sept 15: The Sunday Express , which first came out with the story
about Rockwood the Surrey mansion it claimed had been acquired for 2.7
million pounds by a company on behalf of Asif Ali Zardari, has in its latest
edition made further revelations about his links with some exclusive
property in Londons prestigious Belgravia area.
When the story about the Surrey mansion was first published the official
Pakistan news agency had issued a denial on behalf of the prime ministers
husband and had stated that he intended to sue the mass circulation Sunday
Express .
The newspaper denied having received any legal notice and took the stand that
it would vigorously defend itself if a libel case was brought in the court. It
followed its original story by publishing two other items in subsequent weeks.
Now, after a gap of several weeks, the Express has published a story about two
flats in Belgravia. Bhutto cash row over luxury flats is the headline of the
story on its inside pages.
It claims that Mr Zardari has set up an offshore account to pay for luxury
apartments at one of Londons most prestigious addresses.
The revelations, the paper says will spark a further outcry in Pakistan
where Ms Bhutto and her husband have came in for intense criticism over their
financial affairs.
The Sunday Express alleges that 6,000 pounds are being paid each month into a
mortgage account in the Channel Islands to pay for the two apartments in a
leafy crescent in exclusive Belgravia.
The paper mentions that Asifs father, Hakim Ali, has a basement and a ground
floor flat in the same area which he now wants to rent. He had admitted owning
a basement flat at a recent gathering in London which he said he was willing
to sell for 200,000 pounds. But he made no mention of the ground floor portion
in the flat.
The Sunday Express claims that payments for the Belgravia flats in which
Zardari Jr is interested, owned by an offshore company, are made from an
account at the ANZ Bank in Karachi to a mortgage account of Asif Zardari in
Guernsey, a channel island.
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960915
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National assets being squandered: LHC CJ
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Shujaat Ali Khan
LAHORE, Sept 14: The judiciary was on Saturday urged to brace for the
challenge of rising public expectations in the wake of its separation from the
executive.
The occasion was a full court reference held after a lapse of 16 years to mark
the commencement of a new judicial year.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: The CJ recounted the following as important questions
being raised before the courts of law:
(i) Fake police encounters resulting in death of alleged culprits;
(ii) alleged murder of culprits and persons accused of offences in police
custody (Custodial killings);
(iii) loss of innocent lives in police encounters;
(iv) employment of favourites against government jobs without complying with
rules and regulations;
(v) employment quotas of legislators and filling of the jobs on payment;
(iv) privatisation of national resources;
(vii) allotment of plots of government land or Evacuee Trust Property
unauthorisedly to favourites by abusing or misusing authority; and
(viii) illegal allotment of government land through grant of lease for 99
years.
The complaint, the CJ said, is that corrupt practices and abuse of authority
have denuded the State of its assets and the loot and plunder of national
resources is going on unabated. The national resources are being squandered
away in the name of privatisation and the economic life is sought to be given
in control of money lenders of foreign origin giving them the power to
strangulate the nation economically at their wish.
The economic subjugation has taken the place of physical occupation as power
in physical occupation is required to feed the hungry subject which is costly
affair and cost need not be incurred in case of economic subjugation. The
slogan of privatisation serves the rich and lending countries as they reap
benefits through subjugation and their agents at much less cost and risk.
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960917
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Gokal, BCCI chief masterminded funding, court told
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Athar Ali
LONDON, Sept 16: The Gulf Group of Geneva based companies, which ended up
owing the closed Bank of Credit and Commerce International $1.2 billion by
1991, needed massive funding to keep it afloat, and in order to keep the
routing and re-routing of money for this purpose a secret, close co-operation
developed between the two, masterminded at the London end by the Chief
Executive of the BCCI, Mr Swaleh Naqvi, and at the Geneva end by Mr Abbas
Gokal, the chairman of the Gulf Group, the Old Bailey jury was told by the
prosecution counsel who continued with his opening statement on the fourth day
of Abbas Gokals trial. Mr Gokal stands indicted on charges of conspiring to
defraud and falsifying accounts.
Mr Anthony Hacking QC is expected to end his statement by Tuesday when Mr
Colin Nichols QC may make a statement on behalf of the defendant before
prosecution witnesses start giving their evidence. Mr Nichols has so far kept
his options open. He may or may not decide to make an opening statement. Mr
Abbas Gokal has denied the charges brought against him by the Serious Fraud
Office investigating the BCCI affairs.
The prosecution alleged that Mr Abbas Gokal had full knowledge of the methods
used to keep the Gulf Group going by routing money to and from the BCCI to
several sham offshore companies so as to deceive the auditors and give the
impression that the Gulf Group could pay its loans and debts made to it were
recoverable. This was done through a variety of false documents, said Mr
Hacking, and by manipulation of accounts on a scale never seen before. The
Gulf Group which, according to the prosecution, had been losing heavily was in
1987 in dire circumstances and needed massive funding from the BCCI.
When it became difficult for the BCCI to keep the real position a secret from
the auditors, the conspirators, as Mr Hacking described the senior officials
of the BCCI involved, suggested to Mr Gokal to create offshore companies in a
new structure for the purpose of movement of funds. The offshore companies,
some registered in Liberia and Panama, were to remain apparently separate from
the Gulf Group, to deceive the auditors and move funds around as if loans owed
by the Group were being repaid. This needed close co-operation between the
Gulf Group and the BCCI.
The prosecution counsel added that the offshore companies were created because
they did not have to file annual accounts nor disclosed who the real
beneficiaries were. But he stated that these were controlled and owned by Mr
Abbas Gokal and his two brothers Mustapha and Murtaza. In the two year period
between 1987-89 $716 million came in and $721 million went out. Mr Hacking
said Mr Abbas Gokal denies any connection with any of the companies except
one, which the prosecution alleges were created as part of a conspiracy to
defraud the depositors of the BCCI. But he told the jury that they will hear
evidence to the contrary which will show that Mr Gokal was fully involved in
the operation and had full knowledge of what was going on.
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960914
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Taliban capture another province
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Ahmad Hassan
PESHAWAR, Sept 13: The Taliban militia captured Mehtar Alam, headquarters of
Laghman province, on Thursday midnight and were pushing towards Kunar
province.
The headquarters of Laghman province fell without considerable resistance,
said student militia sources here. Other sources said there had been bloody
clashes in which both sides suffered heavy casualties.
Talibans information spokesman in Peshawar Abdur Rahman told Dawn that the
fall of Kunar was imminent within the next 24 hours.
He said after the fall of Kunar, the Taliban militia will launch its assault
on Sarobi, east of Kabul and headquarters of Prime Minister Gulbadin Hekmatyar
forces. The Afghan prime minister has arrived in Sarobi to defend it, it was
reported. The Kabul government has also sent heavy military equipment to
defend Sarobi.
Laghman is the 15th province which the Kabul government forces have lost to
the Taliban militia. The student militia had control of 13 provinces before
their entry in Nangarhar, and now Laghman.
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960919
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Kabul visit put off amid fluid situation
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Hassan Akhtar
ISLAMABAD, Sept 18. The scheduled visit of Foreign Secretary Najmuddin Sheikh
to Kabul and other provincial capitals from Thursday has been postponed
indefinitely owing to developments there.
A foreign ministry spokesman said here on Wednesday that the Afghan Charge
dAffairs was summoned to the Foreign Office and informed of the government
decision to postpone the Foreign Secretarys visit, says a Press release of
the Foreign Office.
No reason for the postponement was mentioned. However, diplomatic sources,
were quoted as saying that the politically charged atmosphere created by the
unfounded allegations from Kabul accusing Pakistan of interference in
Afghanistan and of playing a role in the Taliban take-over of Jalalabad has
vitiated the atmosphere. In these circumstances it was felt that a visit would
retard rather than advance the process of normalisation.
While the said visit has been postponed the statement said, the Foreign Office
continued to be engaged in a study of recent developments in Afghanistan
including (a) efforts at consolidating Taliban control over the territory of
the Eastern Shura, (b) the reported attempts by Kabul to forge an alliance
with Dostum, (c) King Zahir Shahs announcement of his imminent return to
Afghanistan and the guarded reaction from the Taliban spokesman and the
absence of a reaction from Kabul.
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960919
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Sunday as holiday: FPCCI
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Pervaiz Ishfaq Rana
KARACHI, Sept 18: The general body meeting of the Federation of Pakistan
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Wednesday unanimously decided to
revert to Sunday as weekly holiday beginning from Oct 6.
The reversion after over two decades to Sunday is meant to keep mutually
needed trading links with the world business community for collective
benefits.
The Sunday weekly holiday was suspended by Z.A. Bhuttos government in early
1970s, which virtually cut-off the world business for three consecutive days
from Friday to Sunday.
For long the business community had been feeling the ill-effects on countrys
foreign trade and had been demanding of the government to revert back to
Sunday as weekly holiday.
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960913
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IMF calls for slashing military expenditure
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Sept 12: The IMF directors have told Pakistan to impose tax on
agricultural incomes, reduce military expenditures, remove regulatory import
duties, slash tariffs further and manage flexible exchange rate.
Their directives to Pakistan , contained in the 1996 annual report of
International Monetary Fund, released here on Thursday, partly explain the
reasons for the cooling off of IMF-Pakistan relations in recent months.
The Fund directors have pointed out that a key element of the overall reform
would be the removal of the regulatory import duty and a further reduction of
tariff rates, and urged the authorities to advance tariff reform.
The directors have placed strong emphasis on extending general sales tax,
broadening agricultural taxation, and phasing out tax exemptions and
concessions.
The directors have underscored the need for controlling government expenditure
and improving its efficiency and composition.
They have called for greater efforts to reduce unproductive spending,
including military expenditure, and increase development outlays.
The directors emphasised that privatisation proceeds should not be used to
finance unsustainable increase in government expenditures and that it was
critically important for Pakistan to improve the transparency of its budget
management.
According to the IMF , the key elements for bringing down monetary growth
substantially in 1995/96 were strengthening of fiscal accounts, reducing
government-directed credit, and containing credit to public enterprise.
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960914
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Devaluation of rupee: impact on economy
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Aftab Ahmad Khan
THE PAK rupee was devalued by a significant margin of 3.65 per cent on
September 10. In terms of this latest downward adjustment, the new
rupee/dollar parity is Rs. 36.97.
The principal aim of this devaluation, according to the Governor, State Bank
of Pakistan, is to strengthen the countrys balance of payments by stimulating
exports, curtailing imports and by encouraging overseas Pakistanis to remit
their earnings through banks by narrowing the wedge between the official
exchange rate and kerb rate in the open market. He emphasised that the
exchange rate should be treated as a price and not a status symbol.
Many traders and industrialists, however, have expressed doubts about the
positive effect of devaluation on our external accounts and have voiced the
apprehension that the country may slide in a vicious devaluation-inflation
cycle with profoundly destabilising consequences.
Devaluation has the immediate effect of cheapening exports in terms of foreign
currency and of raising prices of imported goods and services in terms of
domestic currency. This should strengthen the balance of payments.
Devaluation, however, does not always succeed in its purpose. The immediate
effect of devaluation is similar to an unfavourable shift in terms of trade as
for the same resources devoted to the production of exports, less foreign
exchange is earned with which to pay for imports.
If the level of imports remained the same, more output would have to be
diverted to exports and away from domestic consumption and investment simply
to maintain the status quo.
In this situation, devaluation could lead to a loss of real income without any
benefit to the balance of payments. The implicit expectation in a controlled
devaluation, therefore, is that the price elasticitys are such that the
terms of trade effect is more than offset by shifts of foreign and domestic
demand in favour of home production.
If, however, the economy of the devaluing country is unable to create the
spare capacity needed to meet the increased claims on home production, excess
demand will generate inflation and possibly renamed deficits in balance of
payments.
Looked at from another angle, a balance of payments deficit implies that the
country is absorbing more than it produces. Domestic expenditure on
consumption and investment is more than national income. In case of a surplus
in balance of payments, expenditure on consumption and investment is less than
national income. In terms of this approach, balance of payments can be
improved through devaluation only if as a consequence of it, income will
increase more than expenditure or absorption.
As devaluation has the immediate effect of raising prices of imports, it
generally initiates increased wage and salary demands by domestic workers who
seek to preserve the real value of their purchasing power. It also results in
a demand for higher agricultural support prices. In fact, a vicious circle of
devaluation domestic wage and price increases and worsened balance of trade
could result. Thus the devaluation decision could simply exacerbate the
external balance of payments problem while generating running inflation.
The experience of many Latin American nations, in particular, with such
chronic and uncontrollable inflation has made them reluctant users of the tool
of currency devaluation despite IMF pressure.
Pakistans experience with a persistent downward slide in its exchange rate
has not been a happy one. The country has been on a system of managed float
since Jan 8, 1982.
In the period since then, the rupee/dollar rate has registered a steep fall
from Rs. 9.90 to Rs. 36.97, a devaluation of around 73 per cent. Despite this
our external accounts continue to be under severe pressure.
In 1995-96, the current account deficit was around $4 billion or 6.5 per cent
of gross domestic product.
The ineffectiveness of exchange rate depreciation in securing improvement in
our external balance is primarily attributable to the fact that changes in
costs arising from exchange rate movements were allowed to feed through
quickly and extensively into the economy and contribute to the acceleration of
prevailing inflationary pressures associated with an ambience of monetary
ecstasy mainly caused by a lax fiscal stance. This nullified the impact of
exchange rate adjustments on the international competitiveness of our exports.
Asian, as most of Pakistans imports consist of items which have relatively
inelastic demand like machinery, chemicals, edible oils, industrial raw
materials, POL and pharmaceuticals, the impact of persistent downward
adjustments on the compression of import demand has been minimal.
On the export front, the beneficial impact of creeping devaluation has mostly
been of a temporary nature.
The latest round of devaluation may have become unavoidable on account of the
severe strains on our balance of payments.
It is, however, hoped that its negative impact specially on domestic prices
would be minimised by containing monetary expansion within prudent limits,
restricting the consolidated fiscal deficit to 4 per cent of GDP primarily
through restraints on public expenditure, resisting pressures for higher
agricultural support policies to compensate for higher input costs stemming
from devaluation and having an appropriate incomes policy.
The government has to be particularly concerned with the inflationary impact
of devaluation. If inflationary trends in the economy assume menacing
proportions because of ineffective demand management, there could be serious
economic and political consequences. It is generally insufficiently
appreciated that many of our social, political and administrative problems
have their roots in the continual depreciation of the currency and the
resultant rise in prices.
Endemic rise in prices is a source of anxiety to the families of wage and
salary earners who see before them the wealth and luxury of those who reap
easy profits and make huge fortunes out of persistent inflation.
Unfortunately, the role of a relatively stable rate of exchange in our economy
(where exports and imports of goods and services plus remittances constitute
nearly 35 per cent of GNP) has somehow not been given the importance it
deserves. A stable exchange rate can represent a powerful restraint on
domestic costs and prices. Persistent depreciation in the external value of
the currency can lead to a de-stabilising devaluation inflation cycle.
Furthermore, in view of our narrow export base, inelastic basket of imports,
as well as the constraints on price competitiveness which exist in many
countries, devaluation can only provide limited help in strengthening our
balance of payments.
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960914
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Crying need for provincial autonomy
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M.B. Naqvi
THE BALOCHISTAN government has suspended all payments, except salaries and
pensions and the ban is likely to last many weeks. The crisis has primarily
risen because the centre has refused Balochistans demand for a grant of Rs 2
billion, to cover its deficit. Not only that, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)
also seems to have informed Quetta that it had better not exceed its
sanctioned overdraft.
This is being seen as a reflection of what Mr V.A. Jafarey has indicated as
the new strategy of the government to bring down the budget deficit. What is
the strategy? It is an attempt to coerce the provincial governments and
autonomous corporations to live within their budgets and not exceed their
overdraft limits. The government is of the view that this is the best way to
tackle the situation after tightening screws on its own spendthrift
departments.
A panacea to cure economic ills is supposedly being prepared under the
direction of Mr Jafarey, the PMs chief financial advisor. It is reported to
be a comprehensive policy package, and will be discussed with IMF officials
with a view to sorting out the problems created by the suspension of the
latter two tranches of the stand-by loan.
Although the government denies that it has any differences with the IMF, the
fact that problems do exist cannot be denied, despite the broad agreement
between them over economic policies and methods to be adopted for attaining
agreed goals.
At any rate, Pakistan has, as a matter of fact, failed to reach agreed targets
which in itself is a problem that should have required rethinking. Aspects
of the latter are what concerns us here.
Disturbing features
There are several disturbing features of the dominant thinking in the upper
echelons of financial management. The starting point is that nothing much can
be done about expenditures of the government. No doubt, the government goes on
tightening the purse strings of departments, corporations and provincial
governments from time to time, reminding the relevant authorities of the need
to curtail their overdrafts. When they receives enough support from the
central government, it informs the provincial governments that their
overdrafts can go only so far and no further. But that is basically a polite
reminder rather than a firm bankers decision to refuse further overdrafts.
Incidentally, the same treatment is not meted out to the central government.
Our central bank has to go many miles before it can have that sort of
authority to enforce its recommendation on the government in the higher
interests of financial stability. The objective of cutting down the budget
deficit is unlikely to be achieved by this route of reducing expenditures.
Inevitably, the main recourse will have to be through even greater resource-
mobilisation measures. This is the fundamental weakness in the thinking. The
government ought to realise that there are clear limits to raising more
revenues.
In fact, a saturation point has been reached and all the recent government
taxes, duties, levies, cesses, surcharges and the like are now serving to
stoke the fires of inflation. Textbooks might say that mopping up surplus
money supplies through resource-mobilisation by the government can keep
inflation down. But, the actual experience now is that we are long past the
stage where the theory could be expected to produce intended results.
The government can be faulted in this matter on several accounts. It is not so
much the fault of the theory but of official perception, as to where the
excess money supplies are located and whether their resource-mobilisation
efforts are intended to hit these targets.
What the government is relying on is to clamp an indirect tax burden on the
common man, in an attempt to squeeze him dry. Subsequently, there are
identifiable individuals and groups in the economy that possess plenty of
money which can, by all criteria be termed excessive. None of these government
measures touches them. This is the fundamental reason why no theory can
produce the expected results.
There is ample evidence that the government is not going to change the
orientation of its economic policies. Putting even more pressure on the common
man in already producing adverse reactions from the people and unexpected
responses from the economy. Further efforts along the present lines will
surely produce unexpected responses from the economy, as the general outlook
appears to be bleak.
Mr Jafarey appears to have zeroed in on two sectors: provincial governments
and autonomous corporations. Both have survived on overdrafts for long. That
he will strive to end.
The federal governments intention in forcing the provinces to live within
their sanctioned limits of overdrafts is to compel them to do what they should
have in any case: raise their own revenues from their own resources.
There are several untapped areas from which provincial governments can raise
revenue. For instance, there is the vast agricultural sector. Wherever there
are large incomes, they should be taxed in the most cost-effective manner.
Even the pittance that used to be collected by way of land revenue has now
gone in the name of Ushr, the total collection of which is ridiculous from a
sector that accounts for over a quarter of the national income. There is scope
to raise the Abyana, and other inputs costs.
The provincial finance departments have taken the line of least effort: do not
tax powerful farmers or indeed anyone of importance, rather approach the
centre for grants. And when the latter is not available, write a cheque on the
central bank and the problem is solved. This is especially true for autonomous
corporations who have no business to run heavy overdrafts and be tardy in
repaying them or eventually not paying them at all. Let them operate like any
business: make profits honestly or go bust. Let their managements pay for
their mistakes or corruption. Mr Jafarey wants to take away this easy option.
Restructuring required
The responses of the provincial governments are likely to be harsh. The
respective provincial finance secretaries have a known retort to the central
governments insistence on their levying new and more taxes of their own. They
have repeatedly said that the question requires a wholesome restructuring of
finances. How can the central government go on taxing the spheres that are
left to provinces or states throughout the civilised world.
The foremost example they give is sales tax which happens to be the main
support of the provincial or state finances in all federations. Even income
tax ought to be in the provincial sphere. So long as the centre continues to
poach on generally recognised provincial spheres, it has no right to ask them
to forego the obvious and explore new and uncharted seas.
The question of determining provincial spheres for financial purposes cannot
hang in the air. It has a clear political dimension. The autonomy of the
provinces is a composite whole. The political implications of squeezing
provinces should be examined carefully.
There is a history of finance secretaries having frequently complained about
the procedure that pre-empts provincial autonomy. Until and unless a central
government officer has okayed a provincial budget, it cannot be presented to
the Provincial Assembly. So much for provincial autonomy!
Even so, the provincial governments ought to do more, the question is what.
Here again, the advance should be simultaneous on the two routes that point
towards a balanced budget. They have to tone down their style of governing.
They have also to raise more money from both old and new avenues.
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960914
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Pakistan inching towards global economic integration
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Aftab Ahmad
PAKISTAN has made positive progress, on its way to global economic
integration, as borne out by the statistics recorded in a World Bank (WB)
publication captioned Global economic prospects and the developing countries
1996, released by the World Bank in May 1996.
Pakistans speed of integration index for early 1990s has been shown, in the
aforementioned publication as 0.87, compared to its initial speed of
integration index of minus 0.20 for 1981-83.
The index for 1990s is based on changes in four underlying indicators. Change
in real trade as a share of GDP (1980-83 to 1990-93) has been recorded as
0.05. Secondly, change in institutional investor rating (1983-85 to 1993-95)
has been shown as 0.63. Thirdly, the change in foreign direct investment (FDI)
as a share of GDP (1980-82 to 1990-92) has been noted as 0.02 and lastly, the
change in manufacturing export share (1981-83 to 1991-93) has been recorded as
2.559. Thus, all four indicators point towards a positive change in Pakistans
case during the period under review.
The publication goes on to note that the pace of global economic integration,
signifying the widening and intensifying of international linkages in trade
and finance has accelerated over the last decade.
During 1985-94, the ratio of world trade to GDP rose three times faster than
in the preceding 10 years, while FDI doubled as a share of global GDP over the
same period. However, the share of FDIs going to developing countries had
risen only to more than a third, during the period. Furthermore, the pace of
integration among developing countries has been very uneven. The ratio of
trade to GDP fell in 44 of the 93 developing countries in the last 10 years.
Similarly, eight developing countries accounted for two-third of the FDI in
1990-93, while half of all developing countries received little or none.
Pointing out the gains from global economic integration, the publication
stressed that increased participation in the world economy carried important
benefits such as improved resource allocation, urge to achieve world standards
of efficiency in the face of heightened competition, wider options for
consumers, ability to tap international capital markets and contact with new
ideas, technologies and products. Countries with the highest level of
integration tended to exhibit the fastest output growth, while poor countries
tended to have the lowest trade ratio (after adjusting for size), less FDI,
lower credit ratings and lower share of manufactures in exports. Thus, there
was a clear relationship between integration and income levels.
How could the pace of integration be accelerated? It could probably be done
through policy reforms ensuring clear rules and freedom from red tape,
efficient infrastructure and greater reliance on private sources of finance,
which make it essential to retain the confidence of international capital
markets. Measures designed to increase an economys growth and stability were
likely to influence a countrys speed of integration. Reforms that promoted
stable macro-economic conditions realistic exchange rates, open trade and
investment regimes were also important both for growth and integration.
According to the report, there could be various methods to achieve global
economic integration. One approach was to examine how far domestic prices and
interest rates reflected their international counter parts. If market were
perfectly integrated, prices would be the same every where. However, the most
commonly used measures were a set of direct and indirect parameters such as
the ratio of trade to GDP, credit-worthiness rating, tariff and the share of
manufactures in exports.
Change in ratio of trade to GDP mattered because an increase in this ratio
indicated the willingness and ability of a country to face global competition
and encourage the inflow of new ideas, technologies and products. In the same
way, change in the ratio of FDI to GDP was a direct measure of integration
because of its potential for the diffusion of technology and skills. Credit-
worthiness rating was important in the context of integration because it was a
measure of a countrys access to international capital markets. The importance
of tariff lay in the fact that it was an indicator of a disparity between
domestic and international prices.
The tariff was stated to have resulted in resource misallocation and
constituted a bottleneck in the way of global economic integration. Lastly,
the share of manufactures in exports was of significance because it was a
measure of a countrys ability to produce at world standards. In addition to
the above, a number of other measures could be used such as exchange controls,
quantitative restrictions on imports or institutional factors such as
membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
A painful disclosure made in the report was that South Asia was pitiably
lagging in the matter of global economic integration, compared not only with
the industrialised countries of the West, but also with the newly
industrialised countries in East Asia.
The change in real trade and FDI as a share of GDP, although positive in the
last decade, was marginal in the South Asia region, as compared with the
change in Europe and Central Asia as well as East Asia. On the other hand, the
tariff barrier in South Asia were the highest. Rates came down from about 65
per cent in the 1980s to 45 per cent in the early 1990s. Compared to this,
tariff rates stood at about 15 per cent in East Asia and were still lower in
Europe.
In the same way, none of the countries in South Asia enjoyed A or B credit
rating, as of March 1995. Two of the five South Asian countries discussed in
the report enjoyed C credit rating, while the remaining two were placed in D
category.
As explained, countries with A credit rating could borrow at rates which were
50 basis points or less above the benchmark US rates. Borrowing rates rose as
ratings fell with many countries with C ratings paying 500 or more basis
points over the benchmark, while those in the D category had no access to
private lendings.
Only the most successful developing countries namely China, Republic of Korea,
Malaysia and Thailand enjoyed B credit rating while C credit rating went to
countries undertaking economic reforms.
Pakistans status
So far as Pakistan was concerned, the ratio of real trade to GDP as well as
FDI to GDP did show an improvement during the 1990s as compared to the 1980s.
The share of manufactures in exports, also, registered an increase. However,
the tariff rates remained as high as 65 per cent and the country could only
manage a C credit rating.
The report, while commenting on the performance of Pakistan, observed that
there was an incremental increase in the growth to four per cent in the first
half of 1995, but the country had not been able to meet the IMFs criteria for
the Extended Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) to draw on the final loan
instalments and also had the highest inflation in the region, well above 10
per cent.
It was thus abundantly clear that Pakistan desperately needed to improve its
economic performance in order to be able to achieve macro-economic stability,
so that it would satisfy the IMF and other donors. Areas where the
governments efforts needed to be escalated were interalia the reduction of
budget deficit through control of non-development expenditure, together with
additional revenue generation in such a manner that it did not hamper growth.
Control of inflation by keeping bank borrowing by the government for budgetary
support strictly within the prescribed limits and simultaneously re-doubling
efforts to achieve rapid and sustained economic growth, using privatisation
proceeds exclusively to retire public debts to control the growing
indebtedness and the ever rising expenditure on debt servicing and bringing
the BOP deficit under control by bringing about improvements in the quality of
export goods through the use of modern technology.
Without fulfilling these pre-requisites, it is feared that Pakistan could
neither achieve higher income levels nor could it accelerate the pace of
global economic integration.
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960917
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Freezing of FC accounts not possible, says SBP
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 16: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has issued a notification
clarifying rumours about the freezing of foreign currency accounts, saying
they were not true.
In a press release issued on Monday the SBP advised the public not to pay
attention to such and other rumours being floated by the vested interests to
gain speculative gains in the money market.
The release said: Some persons with vested interests are engaging on a daily
basis in spreading rumours of one type or the other to create panic in the
financial market. The latest one is related to foreign currency deposits.
The State Bank would like to categorically state that it is legally not
possible to freeze or deny the encashment of foreign currency deposits of
residents and non-residents, it clarified.
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960915
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Pakistan 7th largest importer of foodgrains
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Muhammad Ilyas
ISLAMABAD, Sept 14: Pakistan was the seventh largest importer of cereals among
82 countries of the world during the last two years, according to the latest
US Department of Agriculture statistics.
Pakistan was able to maintain this position consecutively, although its
imports declined appreciably from 23,86,900 tons in 1994-95 to 20,54,000 tons.
During 1994-95, the countries which surpassed Pakistan in their dependence on
food imports were Egypt (9 million tons), Bangladesh (2.5 million tons),
China 228.2 million tons), Indonesia (5.2 million tons), Philippines (2.4
million tons) and Uzbekistan (2.8 million tons).
The situation does not, however, admit of any complacency on the part of
Pakistan because during the last two decades, the area under cereals increased
by only 22 per cent, that under pulses stayed virtually unchanged while the
area under edible oilseeds declined by 10%. By contrast, the acreage marked
for cash crops (mainly cotton, sugarcane and tobacco) almost doubled, as a
research paper Structural Adjustment and Food Security in Pakistan by Dr
Shahrukh Rafi Khan, Sajid Kazmi and Zahid Ahmed of the Sustainable Development
Policy Institute, Islamabad, has pointed out.
Yet, the population of Pakistan increased by more than 50 per cent in that
period. And the authors have cautioned the government against the implications
of the policy that justifies a tilt towards cash crops at the cost of food
crops on the plea that cash crop exports could pay for food imports.
The study has spotlighted another interesting aspect, namely, that food crops
have positive advantage over cash crops. This is evident from the fact that
despite the smaller increase in land area, aggregate production growth of
about 40% over two decades has matched that of the cash crop category.
Besides, the effective rate of protection for 1991-92 in selected districts
was negative for food crops. In fact, sugarcane, probably due to the clout of
sugar barons, is the only crop that has a positive effective rate of
protection, according to a World Bank study.
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960917
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Air fares on world routes up by 10pc
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Nasir Jamal
LAHORE, Sept 16: Pakistan International Airlines has for the third time in a
year increased its international fares by five to 10 per cent, which will come
into effect from Oct 1.
There is no increase in fares for the Pakistan-Africa and the Pakistan-Middle
East sectors.
A PIA notification sent to travel agents says normal and special fares for
Canada and the US (roughly Rs 45,000 return at present) have been increased by
six per cent and seven per cent, respectively. Charges for an additional
stopover for a four-month valid/excursion ticket for the sector has been
increased to Rs 3,000 from Rs 2,200.
For the Pakistan-Europe sector, PIA has announced an across -the-board
increase of seven per cent. Child fare for this sector will be 67 per cent of
normal adult fare instead of 50 per cent.
Only formal fares for the South Asia/subcontinent sectors will rise by 10 per
cent while all fares for the South East Asia, South West Pacific (Australia,
New Zealand) and the Japan and the South Korea sectors will increase by five
per cent.
PIA officials say new tariffs, based on fresh increase, are being compiled
following which fares will be updated in Pakistani currency. In the meantime,
the fares will be calculated according to the percentage of increase, they
say.
All totally unutilised tickets, purchased on the old fares, will be subject to
the difference of fare if travel on them commences on or after Oct 1 when the
new tariffs come into effect. But all tickets issued on the old fares on
which travel commences before the new fares come into effect , will be
accepted for the remaining part of journey without charging any difference of
fare.
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960919
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KSE 100-share index soars 17.75 points
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 18: The Thursdays bomb blasts in the city blunted the markets
sustained run-up after the advent of short-covering operation but the
underlying sentiment remained uppishly inclined and the on-balance closing was
fairly strong.
The KSE 100-share index soared 17.75 points, which should have in normal
conditions has recovered at least 30 points.
Indications are that the rally could manifest itself in a bigger way on
Thursday despite weekend considerations as investors appeared to be in no
retreating mood at least for the near-term.
The boost apparently was provided by massive buying in the leading shares,
which in turn evoked good sympathetic buying on other selected counters.
There are strong rumours in the rings that Barings is in the rings and lifting
the floating stock of Hub-Power at the current level apparently for some good
reasons.
And that signalled the presence of foreign buying and there is no reason why
locals should not follow the lead, said a leading floor broker.
He said evidence of strong local buying in sympathy was also evident on the
hereto neglected low-priced textile shares on the perception that they could
well be the chief beneficiary of the 3.65 per cent devaluation of the rupee.
The sentiment in part is also boosted by some behind scene moves of the
leading financial houses to restore the investors confidence in share business
and they are paying back instantly, he added.
Most of the textile shares rose in unison, although fractionally having a
positive impact on the general price line. Bank shares followed them and so
did insurance ones under the lead of Adamjee and Askari Insurance but
synthetic shares attracted bulk of the support under the lead of Dewan Salman,
which was massively traded.
Energy, cement and auto shares followed them and so did chemicals but pharma
shares remained under pressure and attracted renewed selling owing to weak
sales projections.
But the market rally was apparently led by the pivotals such as Hub-Power, PTC
vouchers and Fauji Fertiliser, which together have a about 35 per cent
weightage in the index and could set its direction where they like it to.
Later in the evening session, the activity was a bit slack as only four shares
came in for trading, two each rose and fell, with the index showing a
fractional decline of 0.91 points at 1,378.35.
Dewan Salman proved to be the most active scrip, but shedding 40 paisa that is
wiping out the morning session gain. It accounted for 15,000 shares out of the
total volume of 27,100 shares followed by FFC-Jordan Fertiliser, up five paisa
on 7,000 shares.
In morning session, the most active list was topped by Hub-Power, up Rs 1.50
on 9.638m shares followed by PTC vouchers, higher 70 paisa on 8.910m, Fauji
Fertiliser, unchanged on 1.641m, Commercial Union Insurance, up 65 paisa on
0.288m shares.
Other actives were led by FFC-Jordan fertiliser, up 20 paisa on 0.219m, NDLC,
steady 25 paisa on 0.169m, Packages, off Rs 10 on 0.240m and Faysal Bank,
higher 30 paisa on 0.142m shares.
Trading volume soared to 31.637m shares from the previous 27.169 m shares
thanks to revival of demand in pivotals. There were 321 actives, out of which
125 shares rose, while 115 fell, with 81 holding on to the last levels.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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960913
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Arrogance or ignorance?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ardeshir Cowasjee
THREE days ago the Pakistan rupee fell yet again, as it must. The following
day the hard-working overworked people of Pakistan took a day off, and went
through the motions of commemorating, with fervour and patriotism, the
anniversary of the death of the man who had carved out for them a homeland in
which they could live in peace.
Half of the house that Mohammed Ali Jinnah built 49 years ago was lost within
25 years. What is left is now tottering. Rather than endeavour to prop it up,
people still argue as to whether he was right to found a country for them or
whether he made a grave mistake. And bigots still attempt to prove that he was
a bigot, that he did not want a secular state.
I say Jinnah was right. He saw things in his own, having associated with the
fine men and women of his time and of his way of thought. The riffraff their
mettle, their values were strangers to him. His yardstick was his own values
and those of his like-minded associates. Never in his wildest dreams could he
have foreseen that a horde of amoral looters and plunderers, hypocrites and
frauds, fools and charlatans would rule and rob and break the country he
created.
This is a rare photograph of Jinnah in his mid-twenties, taken in Victoria
Gardens, Bombay. He sits by his barrister friend, my granduncle, Pestonjee
H.J. Rustomjee, in his single-cylinder 1902 Didion-Bouton. Behind them is
Pestonjees daughter, Jer.
Those who bully and rob us today say they have the peoples mandate, that they
have been freely and fairly elected, that whether they do right or wrong by
the people, they have the absolute right to sit and complete their term. The
nation has not done well by them. On the contrary, claiming it to be their
right and privilege, they have done well by the nation. The way to Surrey, and
to Wilton Crescent, SW1, is not paved with good intentions.
The legislature is in place, but we are ruled by ordinances. The executive has
still to implement the Supreme Court judgement of March 20, which they are
constitutionally bound to do.
The executive will always strive to influence the judiciary. But in true
democracies, where the people do have a say, reason, good sense, and the will
of the people prevail. In July this year, in France, the countrys senior
magistrates prevailed upon President Chirac. Their council, chaired by Chirac,
replaced over half the 35 appeal court judges, and refused to endorse as
chairman of the Paris appeal court Chiracs nominee, Alexandre Benmakhlouf,
accusing Chirac of political interference in the judiciary. Apart from the
fact that Benmakhlouf has only six years of court experience, he was Chiracs
adviser both as prime minister (1986-88) and as mayor of Paris. Chirac did not
demur, and his nominee was instead made procurator-general, also a
controversial posting.
Benmakhlouf will be tested, as will Chirac. He will be in charge of various
on-going corruption investigations, one involving Chiracs prime minister,
Juppe, accused of having accommodated most of his family in cutprice city-
owned housing when he was treasurer of the Paris town hall. Another involves
Tiberi, who replaced Chirac as mayor. He is accused of having had his sons
flat refurbished at the taxpayers expense, with his wife supervising the
work. She is also being investigated, as during a search of the Tiberi flat in
Paris the police found an invoice for FF 200,000 made out by Madame Tiberi for
work done on a 36-page report on the region of Essonnes international
relations. Madame Tiberi has become the laughing stock of Paris, has hung her
head in shame and is seldom seen. But then, Islamabad is not Paris. In our
distant capital shame does not exist.
On September 6 the headline of a news report in The Nation read, AGs granted
status of ministers. The Punjab Advocate-General, Abdul Najam Sadiq, claims
that the ministerial status of his office is envisaged in Article 111 of the
Constitution, and that by according him the rank of a minister the provision
has now been implemented. According to him, the Prime Minister was surprised
to learn that our advocates-general were working without enjoying the rank and
status of provincial ministers. Was Benazirs surprise based on arrogance or
ignorance? Her surprise surprises us.
Under Article 140 of the Constitution, to qualify as an advocate-general a
person should be qualified to be appointed a judge of the High Court. The post
of advocate-general is a constitutional post, and is, and always has been,
deliberately non-political. It is the constitutional duty of the advocate-
general to advise the provincial government on legal matters. He is not
supposed to function as a mere mouthpiece. An advocate, under the normal
course, is supposed to represent his client. However, the advocate-general is
not merely supposed to, but is constitutionally obligated to, tender
independent legal advice to the provincial government to the best of his
ability, and in accordance with the highest traditions of the Bar. Sadly, the
tradition now is that the advocate-general merely comes forward and defends
whatever unconstitutional or illegal action the government is resolved upon.
This is a betrayal of the mandate of the Constitution.
Under Article 110, the office of the advocate-general carries a wider
responsibility. He has the right to speak (but not to vote) in a provincial
assembly. His responsibility, therefore, extends to clarifying legal matters
not merely to the provincial government but also on the floor of the House.
When Mrs Thatcher was prime minister of Britain, there was a public outcry on
the mere perception that she may have attempted to influence the attorney-
general in relation to a legal matter. The prime ministers office was thrown
on the defensive and had to issue a strong statement affirming the
constitutional right and duty of the attorney-general to independently
formulate an opinion on any legal matter referred to him, and Mrs Thatcher had
to deny that she had attempted to influence the AG.
Unfortunately, in Pakistan the attorney-general and the advocates-general so
routinely change their legal tune to accommodate the wishes of their political
bandmasters that no one has ever bothered to publicly clarify the
constitutional position. This process of politicisation of a high
constitutional office is now being carried to its logical conclusion by
conferring ministerial status on the advocates-general. Hereafter, we will see
them displayed not in legal robes, but in political garments, all for the
edification of the awam.
This wrong has to be righted, and before it takes root.
In international fora, the stock of our Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and his
supporting senior judges runs high. At the 11th Commonwealth Law Conference
held in Vancouver last month, the subject of judicial independence arose. The
moderator was the Honourable Justice Allan McEachern, the Chief Justice of
British Columbia, and the speakers included Justice Aziz Ahmadi, Chief Justice
of India, the Rt Hon Lord Ingham of Cornhill, Lord Chief Justice of England,
the Rt Hon Lord Hope of Craighead, Lord Chief Justice General of Scotland, Dr
Douglas Schmeiser of the University of Saskatchewan, and our home-bred senior
advocate Akram Sheikh, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
The Lord Chief Justices were astonished that for the past six months our Prime
Minister and President have not implemented the supreme Court judgement of
March 20. They all asked how this could possibly be in a two-party democracy
bound by a written constitution which obliges the executive to come to the
aid of the Supreme Court. There is no question of how, explained Akram.
They just have not done it. Well, Akram was told, it is now up to the
judiciary itself, the Bar, the Press, and the people to fight and ensure that
the judgement is implemented.
What needs to be immediately done:
* All those judges not approved by the chief justices should be denotified, or
asked to resign.
* All future appointments must be made in consultation with the chief
justices, and anyone whose integrity or competence they doubt or question must
not be appointed.
* Only the senior-most judges of the high courts should be sent to the Supreme
Court after consultation with the Chief Justice of Pakistan. The senior-most
judge of a high court is to be appointed its chief justice, in consultation
with the Chief Justice of Pakistan. The principle of seniority is to be
respected unless there are compelling reasons not to do so, in which case the
Chief Justice of Pakistan must be advised and accord his approval.
Should reason not prevail over arrogance and ignorance? It should, but here it
does not. Where residual grace of any consequence, the judgement would be
implemented in toto, without further prevarication and procrastination.
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960914
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Living in the times of Rangeela
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Mazdak
WITHOUT fuss or fanfare, a quiet revolution is sweeping Orangi, a kachchi
abadi that, until relatively recently, was considered Karachis dirtiest and
most crime- ridden slum area.
Now the vast settlement, with a population of over a million, is humming with
purposeful activity. The people themselves have invested nearly 70 million
rupees in constructing over half a million yards of covered sewerage drains.
The literacy rate is nearly 80% as against an estimated 62% for Karachi as a
whole, and infant mortality has fallen from 130 per thousand in 1984 to 37 in
1991. The national rate in 1994 was 92 per thousand.
All this has been achieved without any assistance from the government. Indeed,
the key to Orangis transformation has been self-help, and the catalyst that
has galvanised and inspired the bastis heterogeneous population is the Orangi
Pilot Project (OPP). Established in the early eighties by Dr Akhtar Hameed
Khan, OPP received early support from Agha Hassan Abedi of the now-defunct
BCCI, and continues to do so from the banks Foundation. The World Bank has
also made funds available. But the driving force behind this remarkable
operation is Akhtar Hameed Khan, and his pioneering approach, based, to a
considerable extent, on the success he achieved in Comilla, is viewed world-
wide as a model for development.
Eighty-two years old, Dr Khan retains his faith in humanity, a wonderful sense
of humour and a zest for life that would be enviable in a far younger man. But
he is sustained, above all, by his firm grasp of history and his voracious
reading. Indeed, his intellectual pursuits have enabled him to ground the OPP
on the bedrock of careful observation, meticulous documentation and constant
monitoring. As a result, the organisation has now been institutionalised.
In fact, perhaps Dr Khans biggest contribution has been to develop a team of
volunteers and professionals who now run OPP on a day-to-day basis with their
guru providing occasional advice from the sidelines.
Unfortunately, this approach has not been followed by many other NGOs, with
the result that their work cannot be replicated. In addition, by not having
their accounts audited, they lay themselves open to unnecessary allegations.
For instance, despite Maulana Sattar Edhis outstanding relief work, he has
not devised a system for handing over the reins of his operation to a team.
Once his charismatic presence is no longer with us, it is not clear how his
Foundation will function. This is not true of OPP: here, there are clear lines
of authority and responsibility.
Apart from health, family planning, low-cost housing and education, OPP has
recently become deeply involved in giving relatively small loans to
entrepreneurs to help them establish and run their own businesses. These
clients of the OPP microcredit activity would not normally have access to the
formal banking sector as they have neither the clout nor the collateral to
obtain loans. But through the OPP network, they can get credit to start their
own micro enterprises. This has resulted in a high rate of employment in
Orangi as tens of thousands of cottage industries have sprung up.
But perhaps OPPs most crucial role has been in the area of training
development workers from all over the country in its Regional Training
Institute (RTI). In its modern building in the heart of Orangi, community-
based organisations (CBOs) and NGOs send their staff members to learn from the
OPP experience. Among other things, they acquire simple accounting techniques
so that they can document their own activities along OPP lines. Thus, many of
the lessons of Orangi are being replicated in other parts of the country,
albeit with mixed success.
Where does the government figure in all this activity? Mercifully nowhere. As
Akhtar Hameed Khan wrote recently: OPP believes that real development is
achieved only by mobilisation of peoples own financial and managerial
resources and not by doles and subsidies... Demagogic leaders were promising
sewerage lines as free gifts. OPP advised the people to construct the lane
sewerage lines themselves as they had constructed houses... If they kept
waiting for the promised free lunch, the filth, growing like a cancer, will
spread disease and waterlogging. OPP offered social guidance for lane
organisation, and technical guidance for low-cost construction...
And this, in a nutshell, is the OPP philosophy: train and guide the people,
give them technical advice, but encourage them to provide the leadership and
the physical inputs themselves. Through this spirit of self-sufficiency
emerges a sense of pride in themselves and a feeling for the community that
transcends the family and the clan. It is this spirit that saw Orangi through
the violence last year when MQM activists virtually took over the basti by
force. They dug trenches and fortified positions in a massive show of
defiance. But the people of Orangi rejected this move, and reported the MQM
hoods to law enforcement agencies. Although police and Rangers used this as an
opportunity to extort money from the innocent, the back of the insurrection
was broken. Now, OPP has encouraged co-operation with the local police to keep
the peace. Karachis DIG has been a key figure in helping bring about this
new-found harmony. This may be a model for other communities to follow.
With a mischievous chuckle, Dr Khan says he is trying to build a new East
India Company in the period of anarchy that is similar to the rule of Mohammad
Shah Rangeela at the twilight of the Moghul empire. According to him, this is
in line with the work of the sufis who helped establish pockets of peace in
times of turbulence, or European monasteries in the Dark Ages that followed
the collapse of the Roman empire.
One of Dr Khans biggest regrets is that so few so-called development and
environmental experts come to Orangi to see for themselves what is happening,
and what can be achieved by the people themselves. He finds it amazing that
when the president of the World Bank can come to visit OPP, so few Pakistanis
have approached him.
Truly, we are living in the times of Rangeela.
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960915
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A loan is not a gift
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Omar Kureishi
THERE is a difference between a gift and a loan. The gift you get to keep and
the only moral and indeed legal obligation you have is to thank the person who
has given the gift. Not so with a loan.
You are expected to return the loan, whether it is a bowl of sugar that you
have borrowed from your neighbour or a book from a library or money from a
bank. This distinction may seem elementary and self-evident but it is
important to make it given the present uproar of loan defaulting. But I am
told that the matter is not simple in the matter of recovery of loan defaults
which according to a statement of the State Bank of Pakistan stands at Rs
100.285 billion a massive Rs 69.324 billion being that of the top 500
defaulters.
Alternatively are those who, given the choice of shooting for the moon or
shooting for the stars, chose to shoot for the stars. I am wondering whether
the recovery of these bank loans is inherently complex or has been made
complex deliberately so as to avoid re-payment? And while I am wondering, I am
wondering whether the granting of these loans was equally complex or was it,
as the expression goes, a piece of cake?
I wouldnt know since I have never applied for a loan. My only exposure to
this world of financial give-and-take (mostly take, as it transpires) is
confined to one unpleasant brush I had with my bank (now, no longer my bank)
and this was as far back as 1962, in retrospect, an innocent age in banking. I
was proceeding to England to cover the tour of the Pakistan cricket team for
the BBC and The Civil & Military Gazette, now defunct, (which seemed
inevitable since they never paid me for my dispatches). I applied to the State
Bank for foreign exchange and I was sanctioned 300 pounds. It was not a
princely sum but it so happened that I did not have the rupee equivalent.
Undeterred, I went to my bank to arrange what would be bridge financing. My
PIA salary was deposited directly in this bank and it was due in a couple of
weeks. The manager was a friend of mine and I anticipated no problems. I,
therefore, arrived at the bank in an upbeat mood. My bank manager friend was
inclined to be somewhat pompous, a characteristic not uncommon to those who
worked for foreign companies and which had earned them the sobriquet of box-
wallas. They used to be a special breed of men and were the original brown
sahibs. After an exchange of pleasantries, I unfolded my problem, scoffing
heartily that it was really not a problem, just an inconvenience.
He asked me if I had any collateral. I thought he was joking and I told him
that I owned a small beat-up Renault car. He said that a car did not
constitute collateral as it was movable. Did I own anything else? I told him
that I owned the clothes that I was wearing and a baby Hermes portable
typewriter which was almost brand new, being less than a year when I bought
it. Like Queen Victoria, he was not amused. Sorry, he said, he could not do
anything unless I could come up with someone (who had collateral) who would
stand as a surety for me. And grandly added that he was bending the rules. The
matter having been settled as far as he was concerned, he became less formal.
He asked me how I thought the Pakistan team would fare in England. Needless to
say that he was a devoted cricket fan which is why he was my friend in the
first place. I told him that I was covering the tour for the BBC and for a
newspaper and they were paying me to get my expert views. I saw no reason why
I should give them to him for free. After all he was being paid by the bank
for his expertise. It is not surprising that he did not appreciate my line of
reasoning and our friendship turned frosty and it was many years before
normality returned. The point is that he was going strictly by the rules and
was not prepared to break them even if he had been allowed to do so. I suppose
that is what made him a good banker, albeit a hoity-toity one.
While every effort must be made to recover these bank loans and I do not see
any reason why the existing laws should not be applied, and the laws are tough
enough, some investigation should be carried on how these defaulters were able
to secure loans. I am all for publishing lists of defaulters, and its quite a
whos who and not confined to the much maligned politicians, I am also for
publishing the names of the people who sanctioned these loans. And since many
of these loans have been outstanding for many years, we should also be told of
the serious efforts that were made to recover these loans. The sums of money
we are dealing with are not peanuts. There are two parties involved in a bank
loan, the borrower and the lender. We need to focus on both parties.
Accountability has to be total, not partial. The loan defaults of the
nationalised commercial banks make up 59.13 per cent of the total default.
These banks belong in the public domain and not to private persons or groups.
As a boy in pre-partition India, one heard about bania money lenders and
sometimes one of our servants would borrow money from them. The recovery rate
of these bania money lenders was excellent. And in this connection, there is
the story of the man who on being pressed by his money lender told him that he
did not have the money and you could not get blood out of a turnip. The money
lender rolled up his sleeves and said: And what makes you think you are a
turnip?. Perhaps, the time has come for the government to roll up its
sleeves.
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960919
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How long can the PM delay the trade off?
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M. Ziauddin
ISLAMABAD: There is probably something in the Constitution itself which makes
those occupying the respective offices of the president and the prime minister
in Pakistan go on a collision course against each other without losing much
time.
President Zia had become wary of his hand-picked prime minister even before
Junejo had completed his second year in the office. And by the end of the
third year, he was out.
Being already suspicious of each other it did not take Ghulam Ishaq Khan and
Benazir Bhutto even one year to embark on a collision course and by the time
the prime minister had survived the no-confidence motion, the president was
well on the road to planning the ouster of the first Benazir government.
As president and prime minister the GIK-Nawaz Sharif relations, dating back to
1980 when Nawaz became the finance minister of Punjab and Ghulam Ishaq was the
finance minister at the centre, also could not survive more than two years. By
the time prime minister Nawaz Sharif had started his third year in the office,
he was well ahead on the confrontation course.
One would not like to describe Farooq Leghari as the hand-picked president of
prime minister Benazir Bhutto, but the understanding and mutual confidence the
two had enjoyed over the last 15 years had created the perception that their
relationship as president and prime minister would not be as fragile as that
of Zia and Junejo who had come to know each other only after the former had
chosen the latter as the leader of the non-party house in March 1985.
But then, the unimaginable seems to have happened. In recent weeks an
impression of a widening cleavage between the president and prime minister has
surfaced. And they have yet to complete the third year of their respective
tenures.
The two, like their predecessors, also seem to have fallen to the guiles of
their respective aides belonging to bureaucracy who normally assume, in their
own personal interest, a loyalist role beyond the call of duty towards their
respective political bosses and do not miss a single opportunity to project
and promote the perceived interests of their respective bosses even at the
cost of the Constitution and the system itself.
But it would be too naive to blame the seeming disagreements between the
president and the prime minister entirely on the Constitution and the
loyalists.
Some say the immediate provocation has been the induction of Nawaz Khokar in
the cabinet. Others claim that the two had disagreed over a proposed ordinance
legitimising raffle type funding for silver jubilee celebrations. Still,
others attribute it to the consistent refusal of the first couple to accord
due protocol to the president in their dealings with him. But none of it seems
serious enough to force the president to take precipitate action.
The prime minister has fallen into the habit of comparing her governments
performance with that of Nawaz Sharifs rather than contrasting it with the
promises she had made in her party manifesto at the time of 1993 polls. Also,
instead of being perceived to be doing something about the complaints of
corruption in her government she seems to be behaving as if the mandate that
the nation gave to her party in October 1993 has conferred on her government
the right to be corrupt as well.
This is how many of the sympathetic critics of the prime minister seem to view
the current situation. Possibly the president is also of the same view. And
like these sympathetic critics, the president perhaps wants the prime minister
to agree with this perception and start changing her over all attitude towards
governance.
A showdown in such a conflict usually ends in either of the two or both losing
their respective constitutional positions as happened in the past. There is,
however, one difference between the present case and the previous cases. And
that difference is Benazir herself. She has shown that she can be extremely
flexible whenever she wants to be. Remember the way she joined hands with the
man who ousted her in 1990 to get the better of Nawaz Sharif in 1993? And then
who would have thought that she would render a public apology on the floor of
the assembly for arresting the aged father of Nawaz Sharif. She has already
called on the sister of Farooq Leghari and her husband (one of presidents
closest friends since his college days) along with Asif Zardari, perhaps as a
first step towards mending fences with the president.
She still has many more chips up her sleeve to bargain with for time to
complete her tenure. For instance, she could buy time by agreeing to
establish, at the right time, a truly independent and neutral election
commission to ensure fair and free elections in 1998. She could also, at an
appropriate time, agree to make it constitutionally impossible for a member of
the assembly to change party loyalty without first resigning his seat. There
are many other constitutional reforms on which there is a consensus between
the two major parties and which the PM could introduce as a trade off for
letting her complete her tenure. But the question is, how long can she delay
this trade off without losing the value of her bargaining chips?
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960919
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Overcoming the AIDS crisis
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Benazir Bhutto
FOR a long time, AIDS seemed like a distant nightmare a Western disease of
little consequence to most Pakistanis. But now, as the AIDS epidemic continues
to spread, its knocking on the doors of Asia, the worlds most populous
continent... and Pakistan must be prepared.
AIDS awareness has taken hold in the West, but Asians, with low levels of
literacy, know little about this terrible disease.
Given the inhibited nature of Asian societies and embarrassment at discussing
intimate matters, the task of raising awareness about this disease is all the
more difficult.
And we are facing some staggering statistics. According to reports, Asians
account for almost 5 million HIV-infected victims, with almost 90 per cent of
these people living in India, Thailand, Burma and Cambodia.
And AIDS is affecting everyone. In the West, AIDS was seen as a predominantly
homosexual disease for a long time. But in Asia, it is claiming women and
children as its targets, as well. Heterosexual contact and intravenous drug
use are identified as the two main methods of AIDS transmission.
The incidence of infection in metropolitan centres like Bombay, India, is
frightening. Smaller Asian countries like Burma and Thailand have well over
half a million infected cases each.
But Thailand, the first Asian country to confront the AIDS challenge, has been
winning its battle against the disease with a comprehensive safe-sex education
programme. It is this Thai model that we must look to if we want to figure out
what works and what does not in controlling the AIDS epidemic.
We dont want to be taken by surprise in Pakistan, although to date we have
emerged relatively unscathed. According to estimates by the World Health
Organisation, HIV prevalence rates in Pakistan are relatively small compared
to India and Thailand. In my country, we have some 40,000 cases of AIDS.
Research indicates that the bulk of AIDS victims in our country contracted the
disease through the use of intravenous drugs. We have almost a million and a
half drug addicts in Pakistan, so getting our youth to beat their addiction is
a top priority.
And although Pakistanis share deep religious values discouraging sexual
promiscuity, in our urban centres, heterosexual transmission is growing.
The bottom line is that the world of today is a global village no country is
an island unto itself. And we in Pakistan need to create AIDS awareness to
prevent a disease that has already taken a heavy toll in so many countries. As
Dr Michael Merson of the WHO Global Programme said, We are still in the early
stages of the epidemic in terms of the disease and the death it will cause.
As prime minister, I have directed the government to lift the shroud of
secrecy from this dreaded epidemic. Our government has allocated $2 million
this year alone in our battle for AIDS prevention. We have targeted high-risk
citizens and taught them how AIDS is spread and what they can do to prevent
the transmission of the virus.
Although religious and cultural sensitivity makes it difficult to widely
advertise the use of condoms to prevent infection, we are targeting our
education programmes on those most at risk, following the successful Thai
pattern.
We have established 30 HIV/AIDS screening centres around the country in only
three years. We are making extraordinary efforts to require all blood banks in
Pakistan to provide only tested, safe blood for transfusions.
These efforts save us money in the long run, as I am told that the cost per
patient comes to about $15,000.
But beyond prevention, we must also do whatever we can to support those who
have contracted the disease. We, as a world community, need to work together
to bring down the cost of the drug treatments. We need to discuss whether, in
a world of deregulation, pharmaceutical companies can be convinced to bring
down the costs. And we need to strengthen international outfits, such as the
World Health Organisation, in combating this modern- day plague.
Over centuries, man and nature have been caught in a battle for control. As
soon as we discover a cure for leprosy, we are confronted by the plague. As
soon as the plague is cured, we are faced with tuberculosis. As soon as we
discover antibiotics, we have to cope with the emergence of superbugs.
But perhaps that is what life is all about a continuous challenge to
overcome new difficulties that arise with every decade and every century.
Perhaps nature wants to test us... to test our will and our ability to forever
conquer new heights.
And most importantly, perhaps it is a test of our moral fibre, a challenge
that will compel us to cast aside our selfish reasoning for a humane approach
that is all-encompassing. Could it be that in the face of adversity, we can
find true unity?
It is the international communitys global responsibility both moral and
political to ensure that the decisions concerning treatment are universal,
irrespective of where we live, what we look like and how much money we have.
Any other criteria would not only be immoral but would also give a new and
devastating definition of have and have-nots. There are too many innocent
lives at stake for us to simply look the other way.Copyright 1996 Dawn-
Creators Syndicate, Inc.
===================================================================
960919
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Chance for Pakistan to go 2-1 up
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Monitoring Desk
KARACHI, Sept 18: Pakistan bowlers set a perfect stage for their stroke-
makers to bat to a 2-1 lead in the five-match series for the Sahara Cup at
Toronto, Canada, on Wednesday.
The slow bowlers, especially, exploited the difficult turning track to dismiss
India for 191 on the final ball of the allotted 50 overs35 coming in the last
five overs, including 17 from the 46th over.
Wasim Akram claimed two wickets each in his two spells to finish with four for
35 from nine overs while Saqlain Mushtaq, despite been hit for 17 in his
seventh over, finished with two for 45. Mushtaq Ahmad conceded 29 runs from
his 10 overs and Waqar Younis sent down seven fine overs in his only spell in
which he gave away 15 runs.
Both India and Pakistan made one change each in their teams. Pakistan left out
Inzamamul Haq who has a bad knee and brought in Salim Elahi while India opted
for a third spinner by including off-spinner Aashish Kapoor for Saurav
Ganguly.
Skipper Wasim Akram provided Pakistan the best start dismissing Nayan Mongia
in the first over and then accounting for his Indian counterpart Sachin
Tendulkar off a brilliant catch at point by Aamir Sohail in the fifth over to
leave India reeling at 14 for two.
However, it were once again Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Azharuddin who repaired
the Indian innings by putting on 74 runs for the third wicket in 129 balls.
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960919
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Demand for guarantee money unreasonable
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Sports Reporter
LAHORE, Sept 18: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Executive Majid Khan has
said that guarantee money gained from foreign tours of the teams goes to the
board and cannot be given to the players since they are looked after well and
paid according to clearly laid-out terms and conditions.
Replying to a question from this correspondent in an exclusive interview here
on Wednesday afternoon Majid Khan said that a percentage of money offered by
the sponsors for their logo used by the players on their kit had always been
given to them and there was no confusion about that.
Majid Khan said that Captain Wasim Akram came to meet him before the departure
of the team to Canada and claimed that the players had been verbally promised
to be paid 70 per cent out of the guarantee money for Sahara Cup matches as
appearance fee by the former PCB chief executive. However, when PCB secretary
Ghulam Mustafa Khan contacted Mr Arif Abbasi on telephone in Karachi he denied
having made any commitment.
While replying to another question, Majid Khan (himself having been a former
captain and player of repute), said that the issue had again been raised by
Wasim Akram on behalf of all the players. However, Tour Manager Mian Munir
Ahmad and PCB secretary Ghulam Mustafa Khan (who is also in Toronto) told him
and all the players that since the issue had been discussed in the PCB
headquarters before the team arrived in Canada, so they thought that the
matter had ended there and then.
Majid Khan said that on being contacted on telephone, he had made it clear to
all the team members that the demand of a share from guarantee money was
unreasonable. He had said that the players were paid tour fees and enjoyed
perks and benefits. If anybody insisted on getting the payment out of the
guarantee money, he would be made the payment but that might be his last tour
for Pakistan.
We have to pay guarantee money to the teams visiting Pakistan and offer them
all facilities on reciprocal basis. We also have to meet other necessary
expenses and run cricket. In Fact, PCB needs a lot of money to launch its
promotional programmes and it should not be coerced by such demands,
concluded the great batsman and off-spinner of yesteryears.
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960919
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13 Pakistani fighters in boxing finals
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Samiul Hasan
KARACHI, Sept 18: Asghar Ali Shah, an extremely promising ring warrior, led
the charge of nine more Pakistanis into the finals of the KPT Cadet and Junior
International Boxing Championship with the first knock-out of the inaugural
event at the Benazir Sports Complex here on Wednesday.
Asghar, fighting in the junior 57 kg category, delivered a flurry of hard left
and right jabs on the face of his opponent Sang Hu Chung which threw the
Korean on the canvas in the second round in a state of unconsciousness.
The Korean failed to regain his feet before the 10 count to leave the young
Pakistan fighter and the cheering spectators ecstatic. Even when the Korean
got to his feet, he was tumbling like a long tree waving during a storm. Chung
was helped out of the arena by his apparently concerned coach.
Besides an impressive Asghar Ali Shah, eight more Pakistanis won their bouts
to take the tally of home representation in the finals to 13. The 13 home
boxers will vie for 30 gold medals that will be decided on Friday after
Thursdays rest day.
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960919
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Countrys world rankers to play in PIA Open squash
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A. Majid Khan
KARACHI, Sept 18: Reigning world squash champion, Jansher Khan, and other
world renowned players of the country will be seen in action in the big prize
money PIA Open, which gets underway here on Sept 26 at the PIA Jahangir Khan
Squash Complex.
Addressing a Press conference at the venue of the coming championship this
afternoon, Mr Muzaffar Talpur, General Manager, PIA , Sports, announced that
world number one Jansher Khan, the title holder who has been top seeded in the
PIA Open, has already confirmed his participation in the coming event.
Other world renowned stars, taking part in the championship, are Zarak Jahan
Khan (Seeded 2nd), Mir Zaman Gul(3), Zubair Jahan Khan ( 4th ), Umer Zaman (
5th ) Kumail Mahmood ( 6th ) , Shamsul Islam Kakar (7th) and Sohail Qaiser
(8th), said Talpur who is chief of the PIA section handling squash.
Except Umer Zaman , who belongs to the Pakistan Air force, all other seeded
players are serving in the PIA.
Talpur stated the PIA Open Squash Championship prize money this year has been
increased from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1,20,000 and two junior events-under-14 and
under-16, have been included to provide competitions to the youngsters as
well.
The event wise break up of prize money is-Rs 80,000 for PIA Open, Rs 20,000
each for under-14 and under-16.
The winner of 32-man PIA open will get a cash prize of Rs14,000 and runnerup
Rs 9,000 while the champions of junior under-14 and under-16 events, which
will be 16-player draws, will receive Rs 4000 each and the runners-up Rs 2800
each, said the General Manager.
Mr Munawwar Suharwardy, Sports Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister, will
inaugurate the five-day championship on Sept 26 at 3 p.m.
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960917
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Sportfishing contest
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Sports Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 16: The sea coast of Karachi will once again be the fishing
grounds for salt water anglers to win over 20 glittering trophies in the
TKO96 sportfishing tournament.
The tournament entry is open for anglers of both sex, including children above
eight years of age. The participants must arrange their own fishing boats. No
member of the tournament organising committee is eligible for participation.
In its seventh year, the TKO96 expects plenty of entries. Last year a record
of 182 anglers in 45 boats participated. All team boats will fly TKO flags and
anglers will wear T-shirts and caps with the tournament logo.
Dawn page