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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 30 May 1996 Issue : 02/22
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The DAWN Wire Service (DWS) is a free weekly news-service from
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AI team concerned over HR violations
13 killed in bus, coach collision
One killed in Lahore GPO bomb explosion
US media term occupied Kashmir elections sham, fake
Deal signed with France for subs
Imran says he wants to be PM
Edhi threatens to surrender nationality
Govt orders issuance of passports to Edhis
Freshwater turtles under threat
Lahore to be a mega-city in 4 years
CAAs satellite radar system to be launched soon
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Economic data on Internet from June 1
IMF links loan to GST, farm tax
Budget planners face uphill task in cutting deficit
Budget may contain Rs26bn new taxes
Window-dressing to conceal reckless borrowing
Overhauling of planes to start at Chaklala
Petroleum sector contributes Rs50bn to exchequer
300,000 WAPDA, PTC workers may lose jobs after privatisation
Changes in govt-controlled financial institutions likely
Stocks turn mixed as institutional traders move in
Index expected to breach psychological barrier
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The Dozen of Dokri Ardeshir Cowasjee
The real threat to our ideological frontiers Ayaz Amir
A free Press is the key to democracy Benazir Bhutto
The politics of plots Mazdak
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Domestic cricket top priority: Majid Khan
Flaws in England-bound cricket combination
Intikhabs critical report
Training camp at Lahore gets going
Protesting hockey players plea to PM
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960524
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AI team concerned over HR violations
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Our Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, May 23: A delegation from Amnesty International Secretariat on
expressed shock at the complacency with which government ministers and
officials acknowledged that torture is a fact of life in Pakistan.
The delegation which has completed a round of talks with federal ministers,
senior officials, parliamentarians and legal experts on the organisations
human rights concerns in Pakistan, regretted that Prime Minister Benazir
Bhutto was unable to find time to receive them, in view of her stated
commitment to human rights organisation.
The delegation noted the many positive statements the Pakistan government
has made internationally about its commitment to improve human rights in
the country. However, the delegation found that rhetoric was not matched by
the reality on the ground.
In its submission to the government, the delegation documented instances of
torture, rape and deaths in police custody across the country. It also
raised concerns about extra-judicial killings which continue throughout the
country.
The delegation recognised that the government is making some genuine
efforts to improve laws and strengthen safeguards with a view to curbing
human rights violations. These include the ratification of the Convention
for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, the partial abolition
of flogging and the proposed abolition of the death penalty for children
under 16.
Amnesty International delegation provided government ministers with details
of 127 extra-judicial executions and deaths in custody recorded in the
period from January 1995 to the present. It welcomed the governments
promise to provide written comments on the status of investigations into
each and every case.
It noted, however, that Amnesty International had received responses on
only seven of 120 such cases it had raised with the government last year,
most of which had been unconvincing and unsatisfactory.
The delegation detected few signs of any sincere political will to tackle
these pernicious and widespread problems at their roots- the impunity of
offenders.
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960530
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13 killed in bus, coach collision
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Staff Correspondent
FAISALABAD, May 29: Thirteen passengers were killed and 27 suffered
injuries when a bus collided head-on with a coach on the Faisalabad-
Sheikhupura road, about 35 km from here.
A bus of the Kohistan company had left Faisalabad for Rawalpindi at about
10.00pm. When it reached near the Sitara Spinning Mills, it collided with a
flying coach of the Nadir Company which was coming from Lahore. The
vehicles were totally smashed. Bodies of the passengers could be recovered
after cutting the seats.
Eleven passengers died on the spot while two others succumbed to their
injuries on way to hospital.
Eyewitnesses told Dawn the accident took place due to overtaking.
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960527
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One killed in Lahore GPO bomb explosion
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Bureau Report
LAHORE, May 26: An employee of the Pakistan Postal Services Service
Corporation was killed and two other employees injured when a powerful bomb
exploded in the union office of the main Cantonment Post Office here on
Sunday morning.
The blast was so intense that the roofs of three adjoining rooms collapsed
while the window panes of some other rooms in the building were broken.
There was complete panic among the employees who had turned up for work
shortly before the explosion took place at around 9am. The toll would have
been higher if the bomb had gone off later because not all workers had
reported for duty by then.
Police are not outright blaming terrorism for the explosion. They suspect
that it could be linked to the ongoing rift between the PPSC management and
leaders of the National Organisation of Postal Employees (NOPE). From the
initial investigations, it seems to be the work of some union men involved
in the multi-million scandal of fake stamps, a high official of Cantonment
police told Dawn. However, no arrest had been made till late in the
evening.
Sundays blast at the post office is the seventh incident of its kind in or
around Lahore in the past two months. As many as six people were killed and
over 30 injured in the bomb blast at the outpatients department of the
Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital on April 15. This was followed by
bus blasts at Bhai Pheru and Sheikhupura which together killed 49 people.
There were smaller explosions at the American Centre, Lahore Television
Station and a Kahna Imam Bargah which involved no casualties.
A bomb expert told Dawn on Sunday night initial examination of the pieces
collected from the debris indicate that the device was a highly explosive
time-bomb weighing about two kg.
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960525
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US media term occupied Kashmir elections sham, fake
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, May 24: The US media on Friday almost unanimously reported that
the elections held in Indian-occupied Kashmir were a sham, fake and a
parody of democracy with heavily armed Indian troops forcing people out of
their houses to go and vote.
The Washington Post put the elections story as its lead in the World News
section showing pictures of Kashmiri women shouting anti-India slogans and
a convoy of troops passing by a line of voters in village Awantipora in
northern Kashmir.
The headlines of the Post, Washington Times, New York Times and the Los
Angeles Times screamed against the use of force by the troops as special
correspondents of these newspapers reported their experiences from various
parts of the occupied valley.
Troops in Kashmir force people to vote said the Washington Post headline.
Kashmiris forcibly taken to polls in India noted the Washington Times.
The Los Angeles Times said: Voters In Muslim Areas Say They Are Forced to
Vote, while the New York Times used the headline: Indian troops used in
Kashmir, some say to force Muslims to vote. John-Thor Dahlburg of the Los
Angeles Times began his report from New Delhi saying: In an exercise
denounced by many as a parody of democracy, voters in predominantly Muslim
areas of the troubled Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir were called to
the polls Thursday for the first elections in seven years.
Witnesses told reporters that crowds in at least one town charged polling
booths, complaining that security forces were trying to force people into
voting...
John F. Burns of the New York Times, reporting from Baramula in Kashmir
said: Indian troops moved into villages and urban neighbourhoods across
the Vale of Kashmir at dawn on Thursday, rousing Muslims from their beds to
vote in the first election to be held in the only Indian state with a
Muslim majority since a Muslim separatist rebellion began in 1989.
By holding voting for the six seats in Parliament allotted to Kashmir, the
Indian government aimed to show that a large fighting force has beaten back
the insurgency.
But after a day marked by widespread allegations that tens of thousands of
troops were deployed to force Muslims to vote at gunpoint, the message that
India wanted to send to the world appeared likely to be lost, or at least
heavily muffled.
Azadi! the crowds shouted, meaning freedom in Urdu, the language spoken
by most Kashmiri Muslims. India get out!
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960524
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Deal signed with France for subs
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ISLAMABAD, May 23: Pakistan and France have signed a deal for three
improved AGOSTA-90 B submarines with better sensor and weapon
configuration, Defence Minister Aftab Shaban Mirani said.
He said the first submarine is being completely constructed in France.
The hull sections of the second submarine will be constructed in France, he
said, which will then be assembled and outfitted in Pakistan.
The third submarine, he said, will be completely constructed in Pakistan.
He said France will also provide materials, technology and extensive
training to our technicians.
To a query from Rao Qaiser Ali Khan of Okara, he said the work on the
manufacture of Mushahak and Karakoram-8 aircraft is progressing smoothly.
He said till now 258 Mushahak aircraft have been produced and delivered.
At present, he said there are 20 aircraft in different stages of parts
production, assembly and final assembly.
Moreover, he said tooling for manufacturing sub-assembles of K-8 aircraft
is being fabricated presently, after which parts fabrication and assembly
phases will commence during November, 1996.
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960526
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Imran says he wants to be PM
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Athar Ali
LONDON, May 25: After a weeks stay in the UK, Imran Khan is returning to
Pakistan on Sunday to resume the work of his party, the Tehreek-e-Insaf.
He introduced the movement for reform, that he has initiated, to Pakistanis
resident in the United Kingdom at a public gathering in London, when he
explained his ten-point programme with a view to launching a political
party after completing preparatory work.
The Tehreek-e-Insaf founder was interviewed for British television. Last
night in an interview with Sky television he was asked if he wanted to be
prime minister of Pakistan.
He replied: political power is the only way to bring about reform, so
yes.
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960524
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Edhi threatens to surrender nationality
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By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 23: Maulana Abdul Sattar Edhi and his wife Bilquis Edhi faced
an embarrassment when they were told that they also needed a police inquiry
to obtain fresh passports.
The incident was shocking for Edhi who threatened later in the night that
if the government insisted on a police enquiry, he would surrender his
nationality.
I will wait for two days. After that I will go to Islamabad and surrender
my nationality at a Press conference. I will then appeal to other countries
to give me their nationality. I have been working for the people for the
last 48 years but I feel our entire efforts for social work are going down
the drain, he told Dawn.
The couple, whose passports expired this year, reached the Passport Office
in Saddar in the morning and applied for the issuance of emergency
passports.
In the afternoon, Maulana Abdul Sattar Edhi was told that he and his wife
could not get fresh passports as both of them need police enquiries.
Edhi criticised the Directorate of Passports and alleged that outside their
own office, agents charged Rs 500 per passport to help anyone requiring a
police enquiry but the Passport Office never took notice of it.
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960525
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Govt orders issuance of passports to Edhis
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 24: A senior official of the Federal Investigation Agency said
that the government has ordered the Passport Office to immediately issue
passports to Maulana Abdul Sattar Edhi and his wife Bilquis Edhi.
Wasim Ahmed, the immigration chief in Karachi, said that the interior
ministry had suspended director of passports Saeeda Baloch who had
allegedly misbehaved with the Edhis.
THREATS: Maulana Abdul Sattar Edhi received four threatening telephone
calls at his Mithadar Offices on Friday evening.
The callers, who identified themselves as from the police, claimed that
they had intercepted his ambulances which were allegedly carrying arms.
I received the first call at 6pm. This was followed by three other calls
in which the callers hurled threats and said they would fix me. It seems it
is a follow-up to what happened to me and my wife at the Passport Office in
Saddar on Thursday, Edhi said.
After receiving these threatening calls I decided to suspend our ambulance
service for a night but later I thought otherwise as the suspension would
hit at least 100 to 125 patients in Karachi alone, he said.
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960524
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Freshwater turtles under threat
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Dr A.A. Quraishy
KARACHI, May 23: A shortage of government funds has made it impossible to
carry out a much-needed population density survey of freshwater turtles,
the director of the Zoological Survey of Pakistan Dr Farooq Ahmed said.
We know that are not prolific and face the threat of extinction. They
cannot be allowed to be exported for any purpose, he told Dawn.
Recent news reports have suggested that some people have asked the Commerce
Ministry to allow export of freshwater turtles from so-called turtle farms
Gujranwala in Sialkot, Gujranwala and Gujrat.
Breeding freshwater turtles in captivity is a complex and little understood
phenomenon, yet many people claim that they can be commercially farmed.
There are, however, no turtle farms anywhere in Pakistan. The obvious
alternative then will be to catch them from freshwater lakes, pools and
canals where they serve a useful role in stabilising the the ecosystem by
eating dead fish at the bottom of lakes and pools.
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960526
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Lahore to be a mega-city in 4 years
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Bureau Report
LAHORE, May 25: The city of Lahore, growing unchecked at 3 per cent
annually, will be a mega-city in next four years, and by the year 2015 will
be among the worlds largest cities with a population of about 11 million,
according to the United Nations report for 1995-96. The citys present
population is estimated at about 6.5 million.
Karachi is already among the 30 largest cities of the world. These, with
their population (in millions), are: Tokyo (26.5), New York (16), Mexico
City (14.6), Sao Paulo in Brazil (14.4), Shanghai (12.8), Mumbai (12.1),
Los Angeles (11.8), Beijing (11), Calcutta (10.9), Buenos Aires in
Argentina and Seoul in South Korea (10.8), Osaka in Japan (10.7), Rio de
Janeiro in Brazil (9.8), Paris, Tianjin (China) and Jakarta (9), Moscow
(8.5), Cairo (8.2), Delhi (8.1), Manila and Karachi (8), Lagos (7.9),
London (7.6), Chicago (7), Istanbul, Lima (Peru), Essen (Germany) and
Tehran (6.4) and Bangkok and Dhaka (6).
The UN report points out that the worlds population is increasing at an
average rate of 1.5 per cent annually an addition of 89 million people a
year and is expected to go past 8.29 billion by the year 2025, compared
to 5.8 billion at present.
Pakistan, with its population of 144.5 million, is at present the seventh
largest country. With a growth rate of 2.6 per cent, it will be the fourth
in the world by 2025 overtaking Indonesia, Brazil and the Russian
Federation. China will remain number one with India and the US behind.
The report predicts that the order of the largest cities will be changed by
2015. According to the UN list, Tokyo will remain the largest city,
followed by Mumbai, Lagos, Shanghai, Jakarta, Sao Paulo, Karachi, Beijing,
Dhaka, Mexico City, New York, Calcutta, Delhi, Tianjin, Manila, Cairo, Los
Angeles, Seoul, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro, Lahore, Hyderabad
(India), Osaka, Bangkok, Lima, Tehran, Kinshasha (Zaire), Paris and Madras.
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960524
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CAAs satellite radar system to be launched soon
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 23: A Rs 8 billion integrated satellite- backed radar system
of the Civil Aviation Authority is in its final stage of testing, ready to
be launched within the next two months.
After commissioning, the new system will introduce Pakistan as the only
country in the region which could provide radar coverage not only to its
own airspace but also to that of neighbouring countries.
The Director General of CAA, Mr Khalil Ahmed, said that after the
introduction of satellite-backed radar system, Pakistans airspace would
witness a massive growth of traffic.
The CAA, he said, would soon approach the International Civil Aviation
Organisation to redefine the countrys airspace corridors to facilitate all
the aircraft using Pakistans airspace.
At the moment, in the absence of any satellite radar system, most of the
aircraft overflying Pakistan follow zigzag routes. But, with the new
system, several of such zigzag routes will be changed, Mr Ahmed said.
He opined that at least 40 per cent of the present air routes would be
changed, which could result in the saving of at least 15 per cent fuel by
the aircraft.
However, the CAA chief said that during talks with ICAO, the CAA would also
propose an increase in its navigational services charges.
The present radar system enables the CAA to assist only those aircraft
which come within the radius of 100 to 125 nautical miles from its radars.
But the satellite system will enable Pakistan navigators to direct and
assist an aircraft as soon as it enters Pakistans airspace, he said.
Mr Ahmed said Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad would be the main radar and VHF
communications centres, connected via satellite with Pasni, Quetta,
Rajanpur, Faisalabad and Hyderabad.
The system, he said, would also enable Pakistan to provide up-to-date
flight information to regional airports.
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960525
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Economic data on Internet from June 1
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, May 24: Pakistans quarterly economic data regarding inflation,
trade deficit, current account deficit, investment trends, selected
corporate news, stock market fluctuations, etc., will be available on the
Internet from June 1.
The Board of Investment (BoI) has finalised arrangements to link the
quarterly information on Pakistan economy with Euromoney global data. The
BoI will be responsible for updating the information every three months.
Despite frequent commitments and promises, the government has so far failed
to keep the Pakistan embassies, especially the commercial counsellors, well
equipped with periodic supply of published information on latest economic
trends in the country, rendering it almost impossible for Pakistani envoys
to make a convincing sales pitch while trying to whet the appetite of
prospective foreign investors in Pakistan.
Launching of the proposed quarterly economic information bulletin on the
Internet is expected to fulfil a badly felt need of the prospective foreign
investors interested in exploring investment potential in Pakistan and also
add a new dynamism to the on-going efforts to attract an accelerated flow
of foreign private investment in the country.
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960524
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IMF links loan to GST, farm tax
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Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, May 23: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) eventually came
down heavily on the government for being lax on the reform agenda and
demanded lowering of the budget deficit, removing various kinds of tax
exemptions, levying GST up to manufacturing stage across the board and
introducing agriculture tax.
We are not dictating terms but Pakistan would have to follow certain
financial discipline by introducing modern tax system, said the head of
the visiting IMF mission Mr. Paul Schabrier while speaking at a Press
conference after the conclusion of week long pre-budget negotiations with
the representatives of the government of Pakistan. Prime Ministers Advisor
on Finance, Economic Affairs V.A. Jaffarey was also present.
The IMF official categorically stated that there was no question of
offering third tranche of 68.5 million dollars out of a 600 million standby
loan without first reviewing Pakistans budgetary proposals for 1996-97.
Our mission will come here again after the budget and only then it will be
decided whether or not to disburse the third tranche. he added.
Unlike Mohammad Al-Erian, Country Director of the IMF who visited Pakistan
three months ago, Mr. Paul did not give a clean bill of health to the
Pakistani economy. He was rather too forthcoming in suggesting that
Pakistan did not have a transparent and a predictable tax regime, an aspect
which needed special attention of the government to achieve structural
reforms programme.
Answering a question, he said the foremost important thing was the
documentation of the economy through the imposition of the General Sales
Tax (GST) which could be introduced initially on all items up to the import
level. Later it could be extended at the manufacturing and retail stages.
We are not immediately proposing GST on retail level which could be
collected in a phased manner, he clarified.
He told another questioner that the reduction in the overall budget deficit
will not only lower inflation but would also improve the overall economy of
the country.
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960526
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Budget planners face uphill task in cutting deficit
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Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, May 25: The ever-widening budget deficit, now said to have
reached to over Rs130 billion, is one of the major impediments confronting
the planners to propose minimum taxes for 1996-97.
Informed sources said that Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has expressed
serious concern over the current narrow tax base and has called for
increasing the revenue with a view to reduce the huge deficit.
She has asked her key economic mangers to find out a group of honest
Income Tax and Customs officers to ensure substantial increase in the
present weak revenue collection system.
Sources said the Prime Minister endorsed the IMF view that Pakistan needs a
modern tax system to help resolve its growing financial problems.
Initial exercises conducted by the concerned officials, sources said, have
proposed the overall size of the next budget at Rs470 billion, including
Rs30 billion fresh taxes, as compared to Rs431 billion of the current year.
However, the biggest problem the planners face is how to reduce the
budgetary deficit, especially after the IMF demand of bringing it to 4 per
cent of the GDP and linking the issue with future lending.
Once again, sources said, the planners are banking on the Central Board of
Revenue (CBR) to collect more taxes and avoid offering what is termed as
doctored figures about which the Auditor-General is also said to have
expressed his concern.
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960527
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Budget may contain Rs26bn new taxes
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Ihtashamul Haq
ISLAMABAD, May 26: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto here on Sunday presided
over a meeting which discussed budgetary proposals for 1996-97 and was told
that the government would have to impose minimum taxes of Rs26 billion to
achieve 4 per cent GDP budget deficit target as prescribed by the IMF.
Dawn learnt that adviser to the prime minister on finance V.A. Jafarey and
minister of state for finance Makhdoom Shahabuddin briefed Ms Bhutto about
the economic situation with special reference to levying fresh taxes in the
budget.
About the new taxes, Mr Jafarey said the government needed additional Rs87
billion to fund the new budget, estimated to cost Rs470 billion covering
the difference of 7 per cent devaluation, as well as the usual 10 per cent
increase in the budget.
Informed sources said the weak kitty position was discussed threadbare with
Ms Bhutto saying the time has come that provinces generate their own
resources and stop depending on the federal government. She said that
since NFC has not decided about the shares of the provinces from the
divisible pool, they would get funds according to the previous NFC Award.
Now the provinces were being asked to widen their tax base to meet their
financial demands. The provinces, ministries and divisions will no more be
receiving additional and supplementary grants in future, said an official.
Sources said that out of total expected capital outlay of about Rs470
billion, around 10 per cent increase was being given to the armed forces to
get Rs130 billion in 1996-97 compared to Rs116 billion in the current year.
Sources said Rs135 billion go into debt servicing, while Rs9 billion will
be allocated for Ghazi Barotha. Last year, the government had allocated
Rs12 billion for the 1400 MW hydel power project.
Mass transit systems for Karachi and Lahore will get Rs3 billion. National
Highway Authority will be provided Rs12 billion against its demand of Rs17
billion while it was offered Rs11 billion for the current year.
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960525
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Window-dressing to conceal reckless borrowing
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M. Ziauddin
Having no more than an undergraduate understanding of modern day economics
and lacking in political experience as well, Shahid Hasan Khan and company,
the team which was assigned the job of making the 1995-96 budget was not
expected to propose anything other than abandoning the reform path, which
they did in seemingly sheer panic.
As was expected the economy, as a result, all but collapsed within a matter
of three months.
The pieces were picked up subsequently by Vasim Jafarey and company, the
team well-versed in the Ishaqian tactics of creating dream-like illusions
out of a nightmarish situation.
The first thing which this team did was to entrap the country further in
the clutches of IMF and World Bank for a paltry amount of $ 600 million.
Next, it proceeded to create the illusion of meeting the budgetary deficit
target while the government went on breaking all previous records of
borrowing for budgetary support.
The method is simple: Let the political government indulge in all kinds of
profligacy during a quarter, fudge the figures at the end of each with
window- dressing and creative accounting to show that the bank borrowing
limit for budgetary support for the quarter has been achieved and then let
things go back to normal as soon as the next quarter started.
This happened at the end of the second quarter when the government claimed
that the budgetary borrowing which had remained hovering around Rs 55
billion during the six months ending December 31, 1995, had been brought
down to Rs 40 billion, the limit imposed by the IMF for the first half of
the fiscal year against the whole year target of Rs 29.1 billion.
But as soon as the next quarter commenced, things returned to their
nightmarish normal with the borrowing jumping beyond Rs 70 billion within
four weeks. But at the end of the quarter, that is on and around March 31,
1996, enough resources had been temporarily parked with the State Bank to
bring the borrowing figure down to Rs 32 billion, the IMF limit for the
first nine months.
Most likely the government is expected to repeat the performance on June
30, 1996 and show that it has achieved the whole year target for bank
borrowing for budgetary support of Rs 29.1 billion. Already it has promised
the businessmen to issue post-dated cheques of over Rs 8 billion for the
first week of July, 1996 against its current years duty drawback
obligations.
In Ghulam Ishaq Khans days, this kind of window-dressing and creative
accounting used to happen on yearly basis at the end of each financial year
while during the year the government would borrow to its hearts content
mortgaging the lives of future generations.
It took more than a decade for the IMF bureaucrats to realise what was
happening. So with the signing of the current 15-month standby arrangement
for $ 600 million of not so concessional assistance, the Fund imposed
quarterly limits of bank borrowing for budgetary support.
It is more than certain that before the year comes to an end the Fund would
have caught on to the trick because the trick is patently naive.
The biggest argument against financing the budget through bank borrowing is
its after-effect that manifests in the shape of higher rates of inflation.
So, as the government is taking the IMF for a ride while indulging in the
crassest type of economic management, the rate of inflation is continuing
to refuse to slow down impacting ever adversely on the lives of the teeming
millions.
Obviously when as a result of this profligacy, the economy finally
collapses, Vasim Jafarey and his company will not be around to answer for
their follies and for being clever by half. The political government, on
the other hand, if it is still around because of some miracle, then would
have to suffer the ignominy of presiding over the virtual collapse of the
economy.
The Prime Minister, by all standards is an intelligent person. But, somehow
Mr. Jafarey and his company seem to have succeeded in befuddling her with
figures like 4.6 per cent of GDP for budgetary borrowing for the year, 9.5
per cent for the rate of inflation and a billion dollars of debt
retirement.
She is parroting these figures seemingly without giving them a thought.
Does she realise that as of today the budgetary borrowing has touched Rs 70
billion (according to State Bank of Pakistans latest official figures)
which is more than three times the figure of 4.6 per cent of GDP she is
claiming it to be? The rate of inflation on the other hand is nearer to 11
per cent rather than in single digit, according to the Federal Bureau of
Statistics. And what is this talk about retirement of one billion dollars
of debt? From where did Jafarey get this money and in what account did he
retire it?
As a matter of fact, for fudging the budgetary borrowing figures, he is
indulging in frequent short-term commercial borrowings from non-bank
sources and rolling over past debts so as to create rupees against them
with which to achieve short-term reduction in bank borrowing for budgetary
support.
The IMF and the World Bank are not the most popular organisations in Third
World countries, not because their prescriptions are wrong but because,
their bureaucracy in league with the bureaucracy in these developing
countries and in collaboration with the ruling elite (the feudals and big
business) in these countries have tended to work against the interests of
the majority of the population.
The former looks the other way when the latter takes liberties with agreed
reform prescriptions creating illusions of reforms while, in fact, further
distorting the economy to protect the interests of the ruling elite in the
recipient countries.
But the perpetuation of such blatant and shamefaced frauds create their own
peculiar kind of contradictions bringing into conflict the interests of the
perpetrators themselves.
It was indeed a red-faced IMF and Pakistani bureaucracy which heard the
American Ambassador Thomas W. Simons Jr., exposing them last week at a
public forum.
American Ambassadors are never known to do anything other than promote
their national interests in the host countries. So, when Ambassador Simons
spoke about the corrupt red-tape in Pakistan, he was not sympathising with
the people of Pakistan but warning against hurting the economic interests
of prospective American investors in this country.
It was a simple case of Pakistani bureaucracy trying to fleece through red-
tape, in a self-created but IMF-certified illusionary liberal investment
atmosphere. The investors from America, the country which actually holds
the strings of the IMF and World Bank and uses these two multi-lateral
organisations to promote and protect its interests throughout the world.
Here is what the American Ambassador said: Let me give you the example of
the experience of one company, whose name and line of business I will
disguise only to protect the innocent. The firm did its homework, learned
about the incentives available for its industry and location, lined up a
reputable local partner, and, working closely with the governments one-
window operation, drew up plans for a new plant. But then other windows
began to open up, and new approvals seemed to be needed. Ministries the
firm had never heard of appeared demanding the right to review construction
plans. When these requirements were fulfilled and the plant was half-built,
other inspectors appeared requiring environmental, safety and other
approvals the investors thought had been taken care of. While the firm
thought it was incorporating the latest fire-safety technology into design,
one inspector noted that it still failed to comply with certain pre-
independence codes. Financial officials arrived and said that while the
company had now obtained all required approvals and permissions,
various consents were also needed. Local officials appeared and helpfully
explained that the sudden shortage of cement could be ameliorated by
contributions for canal maintenance.
When the factory was finally built and ready to start production, the firm
learned that it could not import key components because these were locally
available, though of quality far below the firms specifications. Tariff
concessions it had agreed on with one window were unceremoniously
withdrawnby another. In trying to resolve these issues, the firm
encountered tax and customs officials whom no one had told that official
policy was to increase foreign investment. Labour inspectors found the
firms model practices still did not conform with a vital footnote the
company had overlooked.
Before it ever entered production or earned a single rupee, it received a
corporate income tax bill by taxmen who insisted that the firm had been
around so long that it must be hiding its profits. Meanwhile, while all
this was happening, the firm watched as an influential competitor, who
started well after it did, virtually sailed through the construction and
start-up phases with a minimum of hassle.
As usual the outgoing year has been one of lies and loot. In this the IMF
and World Bank have also collaborated with Pakistans ruling elite which
includes the civil-military bureaucracy, the feudal aristocracy, big
business, tax evaders and smugglers. The incoming year also is not expected
to be any better, if one goes by the visible attitude of the official and
political managers of the national economy. In view of this, the on-going
debate as to the exact amount of additional taxes that would be or could be
imposed in the next budget and the pros and cons of the proposed IMF
prescribed reforms to be introduced from July 1, 1996 has only assumed the
significance of a non-issue.
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960526
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Overhauling of planes to start at Chaklala
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
RAWALPINDI, May 25: Shaheen Foundation, a subsidiary of Pakistan Air Force
and a Canadian company, CAE Aviation Ltd. on Saturday entered into
agreement to set up a centre of excellence, for overhauling C-130s and
commercial planes here at Chaklala Air Force base.
President CAE Aviation Larry Prokop and managing director of Shaheen
Foundation Shafique Haider signed the agreement of the joint venture on
behalf of their respective organisations.
Both the companies had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) during
the visit of Canadian prime minister to Pakistan earlier this year.
The project which will be completed in a phase programme will require an
investment of three to four million US dollars in the first stage, Mr.
Haider told a press conference.
Subsequent stages will entail investment of several million dollars, he
added.
The CAE having a vast experience in aircraft overhauling, upgrading and
modification will have management control of the company with 63 percent
shares while the remaining 37 percent will be owned by the Shaheen
Foundation.
Mr Prokop said that they were contemplating to make the facility
operational by the end of November.
He said initially the centre would cater only to C-130 transport planes of
Pakistan Air Force but later it would provide service to commercial planes
as well. This project is not specific to one kind of plane, he said.
Besides a large number of commercial planes about 200 C-130 planes were
available in the region he added.
The project would provide both short and long term benefits to Pakistan. In
the short term significant initial investment would be made by CAE Aviation
to upgrade existing facilities and install the necessary tooling and
equipment. Over the long term Pakistan would benefit not only through
employment creation and the ensuing economic spin-offs, but also through
the attraction of additional foreign investment that would result from the
centre attracting foreign commercial and military aircraft to Pakistan, he
added.
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960526
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Petroleum sector contributes Rs 50bn to exchequer
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, May 25: All the five Pakistans Petroleum Corporations have
earned a significant profit during the current financial year and
contributed Rs 50 billion in the national exchequer in the form of various
duties.
The petroleum sector has registered an increase of 14 per cent in its
contribution to development surcharge, dividends, customs and excise duty,
royalty and income tax during 1995-96, compared to last financial year when
such share stood at around Rs 43 billion.
The five affiliated Corporations/companies of the Ministry of Petroleum and
Natural Resources namely Oil and Gas Development Corporation (OGDC),
Pakistan State Oil (PSO), Sui Southern Gas Pipelines Company Limited
(SSGCL), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and the Pak-Arab
Refinery (PARCO) registered significant increase in their profit over the
previous financial year as well as appreciably expanded their activities
during the last two years.
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960526
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300,000 WAPDA, PTC workers may lose jobs after privatisation
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mohammad Ilyas
ISLAMABAD, May 25: As a result of the divestiture of Pakistan
Telecommunications Corporation and WAPDA the number of workers to be laid
off may rise to 300,000, according to a study by Pakistans leading
economists.
Drawing upon the experience with the large-scale retrenchments in the 71
public sector industrial units that have already been handed over to
private sector up to 1992-93, Prof Nawab Haider Naqvi and Dr A.R. Kemal
note that 43.26 per cent of their employees had accepted golden hand-shake
mainly out of fear of subsequent dismissal by the new owners.
They observe: One very important indicator of the success or otherwise of
privatisation is its impact on the level of employment in the privatised
units. And here the preliminary estimates definitely suggest a worsening of
the existing employment situation. In fact, the restructuring and the
divestiture of public enterprises and the possible retrenchment of the
employees working in them figured prominently in the Structural Adjustment
Programme (SAP) for Pakistan of the IMF and the World Bank covering the
period 1988-91.
The public sector enterprises being offered for sale in Pakistan employ
more than 200,000 workers and their divestiture threatens at least one-half
of these. Since these are white-collar workers who are expected to be hit
the most, the employment problem of the educated youth may become even more
acute as privatisation gathers momentum, the study has apprehended.
The situation in Pakistan-China Fertiliser in Haripur is illustrative of
the new owners attitude. Numerous concessions obtained from the government
after its take-over notwithstanding, they have removed 200 workers (one-
third of entire work-force), have not paid salaries even to those still on
job and let the labour colony remain without electricity and water supply
over the past several weeks.
Public enterprises in Pakistan had total assets of Rs 800 billion and
employed more than 500,000 workers. The employment in these increased at a
rate of 1.85 per cent compared to the growth of output at a rate of over
6.5 per cent over the 1985-90 period. Actually, the increase in public
sector employment was accounted for only by the Pakistan Steel which went
into production in 1984-85, while it declined in other units.
The new owners of privatised enterprises, the study notes, are bound by
agreement with the government not to lay off their workers in the first
year. And yet, they are getting rid of the workers by encouraging/forcing
them to opt for the golden hand- shake.
Most of those being so thrown out of jobs are educated workers who
contribute to higher value-added, as the authors point out: The
productivity of labour has, on average, been higher in the public sector
industrial enterprises despite the alleged over- manning: in 1986-87, it
was 8.7 per cent higher in public enterprise than in the private large
scale manufacturing industries.
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960530
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Changes in govt-controlled financial institutions likely
-------------------------------------------------------------------
M. Ziauddin
ISLAMABAD, May 29: A reshuffle at the top in five nationalised banks is
being contemplated by the government ostensibly to inject an element of
dynamism with a touch of prudence in the decision making process with
regard to advances and also to gear up recovery operations.
The five banks, whose top management is likely to be changed either just
before the budget announcement or soon after depending upon how soon the
government completes the selection process, includes the National Bank of
Pakistan, Habib Bank Ltd., National Development Finance Corporation (NDFC),
Regional Development Finance Corporation (RDFC) and Habib Credit &
Exchange.
In view of the continuing crisis in the nationalised banking sector, mostly
the result of appointments without merit at the top with pliability to
political dictation being the sole criteria for selection, it is being
anticipated that while reshuffling the government would keep in mind this
time around the case of United Bank Limited, the total mismanagement of
which finally led to its take over by the State Bank.
Despite repeated directives from the prime minister not to entertain
investment loan applications from ruling party MNAs and ministers, the
nationalised banks have been known to have obliged them reportedly on
telephonic directives from Islamabad.
The standard of banking in the country is said to have gone down steeply
over the last 15 years because of the attempts of the successive
governments to appoint on top jobs unqualified persons willing to accept
dictation from Islamabad, no matter how economically unsound.
The impending reshuffle, therefore, has assumed an added significance and
the banking sector is expecting that the selection process will not be
allowed to be influenced by non-professional considerations and that it
will be kept as transparent as possible.
Meanwhile, the 11-point reform agenda of the banking sector launched in
1994 has come to a standstill with most of the prudential regulations
enacted last year still awaiting enforcement.
The phasing out of credit-to-deposit ratio mechanism has also stopped.
Complete elimination of mandatory credit targets for small business and
industry has also not taken place. Also, harmonisation of tax and
regulatory treatment of financial institutions and instruments is still to
take place.
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960524
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Stocks turn mixed as institutional traders move in
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Commerce Reporter
KARACHI, May 23: Stocks turned in an improved performance as institutional
traders moved in to cover positions at the lower levels but the rally was
inconclusive because of weekend considerations.
However, analysts said the persistent sell-off has been halted and now it
is turn of bulls to tilt the balance in their favour in the coming
sessions.
But some others said prices could fall further next week too as two
closures on account of Ashura holidays are expected to prompt a lot of
selling and profit-selling from jobbers and short-term dealers.
The KSE 100-share index rose 15.79 points to 1,701.76, regaining its
psychological barrier as compared to 1,685.97 a day earlier, reflecting the
strength of base shares.
Floor brokers said the recovery was not based on genuine buying support as
general investors seldom make larger commitments at the weekend sessions
for obvious reasons.
They said the current turmoil in the currency market is expected to fade
out next week after the official intervention to keep the external value of
the rupee stable.
The weekend recovery staged by the rupee, regaining 40 paisa showed that a
process of correction has already been started and the rupee is expected to
regain its lost strength, they added.
Dealers said some of the foreign investors might be worried over the snap
reaction in the value of the rupee and strong rumours of official
devaluation of the rupee but these fears are expected to be removed by the
next week.
The recovery though was feeble partly because of weekend considerations,
was largely led by the leading shares such as PSO, and Dawood Hercules,
which recovered Rs 8 and 5 on strong support at the lower levels.
Other good gainers were led by Crescent Bank, Adamjee Insurance, Siemens
Pakistan, Engro Chemicals, Quality Steel, and Fauji Fertiliser, which
posted gains ranging from Rs 1.50 to 2.
Although losers again dominated the list, prominent among them being
Pakistan Refinery and Mustehkam Cement, which fell by Rs 2 and 8
respectively, some others also fell but modestly.
They were led by Atlas Bank, Dewan Textiles, Shell Pakistan, PEL
Appliances, Abbott Lab, Parke-Davis, Reckitt and Colman, Sandoz Pakistan
and Gillette Pakistan, falling by one rupee to Rs 1.50.
The most active list was again led by PTC vouchers, up 55 paisa on 10.675m
shares, Hub-Power, steady 15 paisa on 8.346m shares, Dewan Salman, firm 15
paisa on 1.667m, Dhan Fibre, also higher 15 paisa on 1.398m and FFC-Jordan
Fertiliser, up 30 paisa on 1.063m shares.
Other actives included Faysal Bank, higher 25 paisa on 0.239m, Lucky
Cement, firm 15 paisa on 0.282m, D.G Khan Cement unchanged on 0.129m and
Sitara Energy, up 10 paisa on 0.128m shares.
Trading volume rose to 29.942m shares thanks to active short-covering in
the current favourites as compared to 28.872m shares a day earlier.
There were 325 actively traded shares, out of which 140 suffered decline,
while 107 rose, with 78 holding on to the last levels.
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960530
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Index expected to breach psychological barrier
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Commerce Reporter
KARACHI, May 29: Stocks again passed through a mixed session as investors
played on both sides of the fence rolling positions from one counter to
another depending on background news.
The KSE 100-share index managed to post a fresh modest gain of 5.30 points
at 1,711.01 as compared to previous 1,705.71 as some of the base shares
were quoted further higher.
The big question being asked in the rings was that whether or not the index
will again breach the psychological barrier in the sessions preceding the
national budget due on June 12 and there was an overwhelming opinion that
it might as some of the basic fundamentals are against it.
They said all roads from the stock market now lead to the open market where
the US currency has previously never been such an attractive bait as it is
these days owing to strong rumours about devaluation of the rupee.
Floor brokers said strong speculative buying in the US currency might not
be a permanent feature and this phenomenon could fade out after the budget
but until then it keep the market in a bad taste.
Analysts said budget uncertainties are there and news of fresh heavy
taxation to make up the huge deficit could keep the market unsettled during
the sessions preceding the budget but selective support could emerge on
selected counters alone on technical grounds. But they did not rule out the
possibility of heavy covering purchasing on some of the blue chips counters
led by the energy shares.
Already most of them are attracting good support at the current lower
levels on expectations of further increase in POL prices.
PSO appeared to be virtually racing towards its pre-reaction level and
could stabilise well above Rs 400 before the budget. It was followed by
others notably Shell Pakistan, Ideal Energy, Sui Southern and Sui Northern
and some others on strong buying at the lower levels.
Multinationals in the chemical and pharma sectors moved either way but
there is a possibility of some incentives to this sector in the new budget.
Dyno Pakistan, Reckitt and Colman, Fauji Fertiliser, Searle Pakistan, ICI
Pakistan and some others rose on that perception.
Bank shares could be a good pre-budget buying area as their attractively
lower levels ensure more than fair capital gains in the coming sessions
alone on technical grounds.
MCB led rally was visible on other bank shares too, although rallies in
Union Bank, Islamic Bank, Soneri Bank, Al-Faysal Bank and some others were
too feeble to put them back on the rails.
News that most of them had earned good profit for the year ended December
31, 1995, which is said to be the worst in the history of Pakistani banking
owing to city violence, should also attract good covering purchases from
genuine investors.
Insurance, cement and auto shares now appeared to be most attractive bait
owing to news of higher interim profits and lower levels.
The most active list was topped by PTC vouchers, up 50 paisa on 12.692
million shares, followed by Hub-Power, lower 35 paisa on 9.220 million,
Dewan Salman, higher Rs 1.50 on 2.560 million, Dhan Fibre, steady 20 paisa
on 1.255 million, Fauji Fertiliser, up Rs 1.40 on 1.005 million, FFC-Jordan
Fertiliser, unchanged on 0.359 million and Lucky Cement, firm 20 paisa on
0.240 million shares.
Trading volume soared to 34.767 million shares from the previous 23.723
million shares thanks to active short-covering in PTC vouchers.
There were 352 actives out of which 172 shares suffered fall while 94 rose
with 86 holding on to the last levels.
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960524
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The Dozen of Dokri
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ardeshir Cowasjee
WHEN the former five-term mayor of Houston, Katherine Whitmire, visited
Karachi last week, the American Consulate arranged a reception for her to
meet people of various hues, of various parties, local bodies, persuasions
and beliefs.
Whilst she was discussing the plight of this metropolis and the
governments apathy with a group of us, amongst which MQM lawyer Shoaib
Bokhari and a yob who I could not place, clad in awami credentials and
looking like a man who had just got out of bed, I mentioned that whilst I
felt somewhat sorry for the 8,000 or so MQMites jailed in Sindh, more than
half of whom could well be innocent and had neither been charged nor taken
to court, I could have no sympathies with a party, also of fascistic
tendencies, whose members have killed, tortured and maimed. At this, the
yob interjected. Looking at Shoaib, he asked, Why dont you guys fix this
man? The well-dressed well-mannered Bokhari averted his eyes and said
nothing.
This local charmer turned out to be Nabil Gabol, Deputy Speaker of our
august honourable Provincial Assembly. Yet another instance so well
illustrating the attitude of the men who are elected by the ignorant poor
people to positions of relative power.
Early next morning Babu Ghulam Sarwar Siyal rang, introducing himself as
the president of the Press Club of Dokri, situated in the Royal Duchy of
Larkana. He wanted to see me urgently. The lives of journalists in Sindh
are in danger and he had come to Karachi to rally support. He came,
bringing with him FIRs and press clippings in Sindhi and Urdu, all of which
left me high and dry. So I sent him, and a Sindhi friend, off to Zamir
Niazi who worked throughout the day on their translations.
The stories Siyal told were harrowing. Since January this year there have
been fifteen incidents involving journalists in Sindh, threatening their
lives and property. Journalist Mumtaz Sher of Village Jhol, District
Sanghar, wrote a piece which angered a certain Wadera Kerio. Kerio had him
picked up, he was tied and bound, his moustache, eyebrows and head were
shaven, and he was then gang-raped by four men. With great difficulty an
FIR was lodged. The Wadera has since obtained bail.
Of immediate concern is the plight of the journalists of Dokri. Monis
Bokhari, a reporter of Daily Sindh wrote on how Nazeer Bhugio MPA of
Larkana had illegally taken over 1,500 acres of land belonging to the Sindh
Forest Department. In Zulfikar Bhuttos days father Waheed Baksh Bhugio is
said to have grabbed 4000 acres of Forest and Revenue Department land, now
known as Keti Bhugio (Bhugio Estate). On April 20, Monis took a bus from
Dokri to Larkana, squatting on its roof. With him, on the roof, were four
of Bhugios men. They grabbed him, put a noose around his neck and tried to
throw him off and drag him behind the bus. He was saved by other passengers
who thumped the bus to a halt.
The incident was immediately reported to the police at Dokri. The SHO did
not allow Monis to file an FIR, but made a note on a piece of paper, told
Moonis to think his lucky stars that he was not hanged from the roof of the
bus, to get lost and leave it to them (the police) to do the needy.
The following day one of the four men from the bus, Bhugios armed guard,
Abdul Rasool Shah, was arrested and locked up. Come the evening, and
Hizbullah Bhugio, brother of the MPA, arrived at the police station with
his men, was received with due servility, and ordered that Rasool Shah be
released and that SHO Mehar Ali Tunio accompany them to his house. Once
there, Brother Bhugio sent for Dr Inayat Kandhro of the local government
hospital and ordered him to fabricate a medical certificate certifying that
Shah had been beaten and injured. Thereafter, Hizbullah made Shah file an
FIR (21/96) under Section 337 PPC (Whoever causes hurt to any person by
doing any act so rashly and negligently as to endanger human life or the
personal safety of others...) against Monis and others.
The next day, Bhugio reportedly ordered the police to arrest Monis and the
men of his family. Nawab Bokhari, the father, escaped. Monis and his
brother Daman were arrested and taken to Dokri police station. They were
then produced before the Judicial Magistrate-1 of Larkana who challaned
them and sent them to Larkana jail.
On April 26, some twenty journalists and sympathisers launched a protest
and marched to the prime ministers house at Naudero to lodge their
complaint against the Bhugios and to plead for the release of the Bokharis.
The PMs security guards grabbed and destroyed their placards and two of
their cameras.
On April 28, the journalists again reassembled and met at the Press Club.
Two of Bhugios men, Arbab Ali Shah and Kazi Mansur, arrived to tell them
that if they continued with their protest the Bhugio brothers would have
them killed. Undaunted, the journalists started their march to Dokri police
station to again plead for the Bokharis release. On the way, as the
procession neared Mukhtiarkhar Riaz Jokhios house, a band of fifteen men,
Arbab Ali Shah amongst them, armed with TT pistols, shotguns and hatchets
attacked the protesters, beating up and badly injuring six of them. They
continued on to the police station, with the injured men, to report the
incident and told the police they would take those hurt to hospital to be
treated, return, and file an FIR.
When they returned to the police station to lodge their FIR (23/96) against
Bhugios men, they were informed that whilst they were at the hospital an
FIR (22/96) had been filed by Arbab Ali Shah against Moniss father and
nine journalists: Babu Ghulam Sarwar Siyal (Nawa-i-Waqt), Mohammed Ramzan
Junejo (Kawish), Zamir Bhatti (Barsat), Abdul Haq Pirzado (Awami Awaz),
Secretary of the Press Club Qazi Abdul Wahab Junejo (Pukar), Mushtaq Ahmed
Soomro (Jang), Deedar Ali (Mehran), Asad Ali Junejo (Sindh Shujad), Qazi
Asif (formerly of Mehran).
Thus, on the filing of a false FIR, the accused, the men of the MPA, were
transformed into the accusers.
On May 2, the journalists went on a three-day hunger strike in Larkana. On
May 5, DC, Larkana Shams Jafrani intervened. He promised that falsifier Dr
Kandhro would be removed (not done), that the false FIR (22/96) would not
be acted upon (but this can be activated at any time), and that Bhugios
men would be apprehended (Arbab Ali Shah and three others were arrested on
May 6 and released that same evening).
Meanwhile, Monis and his brother have been released on bail. But no action
whatsoever has been taken by anyone against the men who have threatened and
injured the journalists. The threats continue, the journalists and their
families fear for their safety and property. MPA Bhugio of Larkana and
those of the ruling party are powerful men. No action can or will be taken
against any of them.
Ghulam Sarwar Sial says that the journalists of Sindh are very poor, very
underpaid, and many of them have to do other jobs to make ends meet. The
Dokri Press Club comprises one room, given by the town council, and a table
and ten chairs donated by various citizens. It cannot afford a telephone, a
fax machine, or a television. The Director of Information at Larkana, Allah
Bachayo Memon, arrived at the club on April 19 with a bunch of
photographers, and had himself photographed handing over a cheque for Rs
100,000 dated some time in January, saying that the Mohtarama had been kind
enough to sanction the donation. The cheque has been deposited but so far
it has not been encashed by Islamabad. The journalists are aware that if
they do receive the money it is the peoples money that will be doled out
to them. At least they will put it to good use.
I asked Siyal about the freely and fairly elected peoples representatives
of the area. Could they not be called upon to help their constituents?
Siyal laughed. The MPAs are Bhugio, Nisar Khuhro, Nadir Magsi, Mir Murtaza
Bhutto and Mumtaz Ali Bhutto. The MNAs are Benazir Bhutto, Nusrat Bhutto,
Shabbir Ahmed Chandio (a kinsman of the Chandio allegedly involved in the
Karachi land grab of the property of octogenarian Professor Nusrat Ashraf).
Which one of these do you suggest we approach, he asked me?
The Dozen of Dokri are fighting tyranny. They must be helped. The Karachi
Union of Journalists are supportive. The New York- based Committee for the
Protection of Journalists has been informed. Our judiciary has found its
teeth. I told the Dozen to fight on. Nothing lasts for ever. All things
pass, including our leaders.
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960527
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The real threat to our ideological frontiers
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Ayaz Amir
IF our ideological frontiers (more precious than our geographical ones)
face a mortal threat from any quarter, it is not from the dances of Ms
Madhuri Dixit (deadly as her curves and gyrations are) but from the news as
telecast nightly from Zee TV.
Strange as it may sound to Pakistani ears which for higher but mysterious
purposes of ideology have had to put up with the drivel that passes for
news from their own television, the news on Zee TV is not a propaganda tool
of the government of the day. It gives you the political news honestly and
professionally, telling you about the splits in the Congress, the
difficulties facing the BJP in getting a majority and the views of all the
newsworthy politicos in the land. More surprisingly, Zee TV even gives you
a better picture of what is happening in occupied Kashmir than our own sad
apology for a propaganda channel.
Our state-run TV (which in this age of the free market continues to
monopolise the telecasting of news) gives an impression of concoction even,
say, when it is quoting from the Scriptures. This is because it lacks
professionalism and credibility. Zee TV, on the other hand, has the ring of
authenticity about it. So even when it says something about occupied
Kashmir the dispassionate listener (mark the distinction) will be more
inclined to give his ear to it than to the stupefaction and inanities that
he gets to hear from Pakistan Television which is still informed by the
spirit of the old Pravda and Soviet television as these two monuments to
the truth existed in the heyday of the Soviet empire.
I have seen Leni Riefenstals (I hope I have got the spelling right) film
of the 1934 Nuremberg Rally. It is propaganda but of the highest sort:
slick, effective and almost a work of art. That the sad bilge which passes
for the news is nothing of the sort is no fault of the staff members of PTV
who are dragooned into churning out the stuff that they do. The fault lies
at the doors of successive guardians of the national interest whether in
uniform or civvies who have held tight to the belief that if state
television is allowed to tell the truth as it is, rather than as it is seen
through the myopic and frightened eyes of the rulers of the day, the
ideological foundations of the Islamic Republic will be imperilled. Thus,
at a time when every wiseacre in the land is mouthing the cliches that the
world has become a global village and that we stand at the threshold of the
21st century, PTV continues to live in the age of the dinosaurs.
To say that smart people do not watch television, especially of the home-
grown variety, is not a very helpful line to take because there are a lot
of unsmart people out there who like to know what goes on and what antics
their leaders are up to. Lest anyone be taken in by the seeming power of
the Press it is pertinent to point out that in this nation of 130 million
(or given our natural talent for procreation, is it 140?) the daily
circulation of all newspapers Urdu, English, Sindhi and Gujrati does
not exceed a million. The rest of the population watches television. PTVs
monopoly on the truth is thus no trivial matter. If we are at all concerned
about the state of our democracy and the poor quality of our national
discourse, and if we wonder why our governing classes are so removed from
ordinary realities, then the Orwellian role of state television has to be
brought into focus if only for the extent of its insidious reach.
This is not to say for a moment that people are taken in by the false
images that they see on PTV. Presidents and prime ministers do not become
more powerful or more popular by being paraded on television all the time.
It is not even far-fetched to suppose that many otherwise calm and sane
people are overtaken suddenly by the desire to hurl some hard object at
their television sets when they see the usual cast of characters the
President, the Prime Minister, chief ministers, assorted ministers and,
every now and then, the Chairman of the Pakistan Environmental Protection
Council going through the same deadly motions evening after evening. But
the matter goes far beyond the co-relation between propaganda and power.
The false or half-true images peddled by PTV do not make anyone strong but
they make us as a nation look very weak and vulnerable. It is almost as if
the truth would destroy us and that to keep ourselves safe from the truth
it is necessary to cocoon ourselves from reality which is a function state
television in Pakistan performs to perfection.
If there was a point to this silliness it would be easy to justify it. But
there is none. India is not a country whose internal fabric is inherently
stronger than ours. In fact, a reasonably convincing case could be made out
for arguing that Pakistan does not face the kind of regional pressures
India does. The problems of Karachi, serious as they may be, pale besides
those of occupied Kashmir or the ones that existed not long ago in Indian
Punjab. The rise of the BJP poses a fundamental challenge to the secular
form of the Indian state. Despite the nonsense that periodically recurs in
the Western Press about religious fundamentalism in Pakistan, there is no
challenge similar to the BJPs that threatens the moorings of our polity.
Yet to watch the news on Zee TV (something I have only just started doing
and hence the amazement with which I am writing about it) is to come away
with the impression of a society which is confident of itself and
comfortable with its democracy. To watch PTV, on the other hand, is to come
away with the impression of a frightened country uncomfortable with
democracy and mortally afraid of the truth. Do the godfathers of the
national interest think that this comparison does anything for our national
honour?
Nothing could have emphasised this comparison more than the coverage of the
recent general elections in India by Zee TV. The news was given as it
happened, there being absolutely no question of this channel (or indeed
others for all I know) acting as propaganda tools of the ruling party. The
Congress was not glorified nor the BJP made the target of vilification.
After the results were in each and every nuance of the power game that
started in New Delhi was faithfully reported which leader was meeting
whom and what the feeling inside the various parties was. In Pakistan, as
we all know only too well, PTV acts as a crude handmaiden of whichever
party is in power. Its strident propaganda does no good to anyone because
its word is not believed. But the countrys self-esteem suffers because the
only honest reaction to the slaughter of the truth at its hands is to hang
ones head in shame.
There is a pragmatic side to this equation as well. The freedom of the
independent TV channels in India forms part of the democratic ambience
which gives legitimacy and credibility to the electoral process. An
election takes place and whatever the results there are no charges of
rigging. The political process goes on. In Pakistan, on the other hand,
there has not been a single election since 1970 whose results have been
accepted by all parts of the political spectrum. Even now as the PPP
government has completed more than half its term in office the fear is
growing about how the next elections would be conducted. Voting lists are
no sooner made than they are challenged because the Election Commission
which oversees this process lacks the authority or the credibility that it
should have in a democratic society and which it certainly has in
neighbouring India. The Indian Election Commissioner, T. N. Seshan, who has
been very strict about enforcing election rules, is not really a phenomenon
in Indian politics. In India for someone like Seshan to appear on the scene
seems like a natural outgrowth of the countrys democratic culture. Someone
like him would truly be a phenomenon were he to appear on the scene in
Pakistan.
The trouble perhaps lies in our democratic culture. We have the forms of
democracy (which we are trying our best to subvert) without its substance.
All our political parties except the Jamaat-i-Islamic (which is a strange
exception in itself considering the Jamaats fascist leanings) are based on
the Fuehrer principle a leader above laying down the law and being
answerable to no one. Once in power these same leaders behave like
mediaeval princes: autocratic, overbearing and bristling at the slightest
check on their authority. General Zia ul Haq was being honest when he said
that the Constitution was a document of so many pages that he could tear to
pieces whenever he wanted. He merely was putting into words a feeling that
nearly all Pakistani rulers have shared. Should it be all that surprising
then if successive Pakistani rulers, instead of abiding by the rules of
democracy, have tried to bend its forms in order to stay in power?
In the Civil Service Academy, the Army staff College, the National Defence
College and, above all, in the inner sanctum of the ISI the watching of the
news on Zee TV should be made compulsory for some time so that the
guardians of our national security, after wiping the mist of misplaced
patriotism from their eyes, can see for themselves that freedom does not
necessarily lead to chaos. Nor does sitting over the truth make for a
strong country.
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960530
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A free Press is the key to democracy
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Benazir Bhutto
IT WAS 18 years ago this month that the dictatorship of Gen. Zia-ul-Haq
began its notorious crackdown on the Pakistani Press. Four Pakistani
journalists were tied to a rack and lashed with a whip. Their crime?
Thinking independently and refusing to publish the official government
story.
The general knew what has been made clear to us time and again in recent
history: The key to maintaining a stranglehold on power is muzzling the
Press. Control the information, and you control the minds of the people.
Zia-ul-Haq moved quickly to crack down on his opponents and critics. The
unnatural silence that followed could then be claimed as implicit support
for his regime proof that he had a consensus behind his illegal rule.
For it is in the din of the free Press that democracy is born. Its in the
clash of ideas and the confrontation of how to deal with issues that debate
takes place, the public can be informed and the leaders made accountable in
a fair and free general elections.
By choking off the free flow of information, authoritarian regimes such as
Zia-ul-Haqs bend the Press to their will. Oppression is projected as
social justice. Stagnation is reported as dynamism. And voices of dissent
representing sanity are misrepresented as discordant notes from enemy
agents.
Soon after his crackdown, the general no longer had to resort to the whip
as his only means of control. Through martial law and regulations enforced
by the threat of imprisonment, censorship was imposed. At first, it was in
the form of news items excised from newspapers, leaving only blank space in
their place. Since empty pages were suspicious, however, the regime imposed
a ban on all blank spaces and then prohibited newspapers from informing
the public of this new rule.
Finally, a Press advisory system was put in place. Publications were
advised on what not to print (for a time, this included my family name).
They were also advised to print whatever was sent to them. This system
deteriorated to the extent that government officials directly called news
desks with orders on what to publish and under what headline, bypassing
editors entirely.
But many brave members of the Press did not bend to these threats and
impositions. Human destiny is shaped by the few who dare to challenge an
unjust order when others are frightened into silence. Human destiny is
changed when a few dedicate their lives selflessly to an ideal larger than
themselves. Human destiny is affected by ordinary men and women who develop
a character of iron in extraordinary circumstances.
The more un-just a situation, the greater the anger. The greater the anger,
the greater the passion. The greater the passion, the greater the de-
termination. And it was this determination that finally rolled back the
dictatorship and led to a renaissance of the free Press in our country. It
is an irony of fate that injustice often incites the greatest human
creativity.
Today, visitors to Pakistan can contrast the current freedom of the Press
with the humiliation that was heaped upon the media not too long ago. They
can watch as those who kept silent in those days of terror are free to
publish what they will, whether its fair or unfair criticism, just or
unjust accusation.
But this highlights one of the dangers that can arise in this exuberance of
new liberty: some journalists are not acutely aware of the inseparability
of freedom and responsibility. Some overlook their basic responsibility of
checking, rechecking and once again checking their information until solid
facts are sifted from rumours.
A baseless report, for example, recently caused panic on our stock
exchange, before the truth was known. And those who lost millions turned
their fury on the government, which they accused of lacking the will to
govern.
Instances like these challenge any government that is nurturing the sapling
of democracy. A tabloids screaming headlines on a baseless story can cause
considerable damage before the wrong information is corrected.
This, however, is no excuse for the intolerance some public officials have
for the Press. While the reporters talking to them are required to observe
a modicum of decency, politicians cannot make an awkward question a
justification to slap the offending reporter.
Following a long bout of authoritarianism that bred an elitist culture,
some of the Press and some public figures need time to discover the new
rules of the game. And journalists pay the heaviest price until democracys
roots go deep enough for everyone to recognise the peoples right to know
all that affects their lives.
No democracy is possible without the free flow of information. It is when
the people are kept in the dark that the greatest travesties in our world
have occurred. It is when journalists are whipped for telling the truth
that we are in the greatest danger.
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960525
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The politics of plots
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Mazdak
THE current round of mud-slinging over the now-notorious housing scheme
(for scheme, read scam) for parliamentarians carved out of Quaid-i-Azam
University land continues to echo in the National Assembly and the national
Press.
The whole thrust of this edifying debate is towards establishing which set
of politicians is more venal than the other. The Opposition is using
parliamentary plots and prime ministerial Mercedes as a brush to tar the
government with, while the latter is responding with co-operative society
swindles and industrial larceny. In effect, the government spokesmen are
saying that because their predecessors were crooked, they have no right to
moralise over the current level of corruption. Both sides having tacitly
admitted to financial skulduggery on a grand scale; what remains to be
decided is the quantum of cash and guilt.
Reading daily accounts of these uplifting charges and counter- charges, one
is left with a sense of wonder at the sheer brazenness of those making
them. If one were to believe them all, one would be driven either to
suicide or murder. However, even a cursory examination of the lifestyle of
most of our public representatives reveals an income flow quite removed
from their earning capacity in any legal endeavour. So where is the cash
coming from? And yet these people have the gall to queue up for yet more
plots at throwaway prices on the QAU campus next to the diplomatic enclave.
To hear them defend this latest scam, you would think they and their
families were starving and homeless. Already, a market price for these
plots has been set by real estate sharks who are offering a profit of six
million per allotment letter. This amount should just about pay for the
next election campaign each of our representatives will no doubt launch in
the next general election.
To add insult to injury those MPs are further justifying this latest smash-
and-grab job on the basis of their service to us. Hey, dont bother! Well
somehow muddle along without parliamentary intercession with the gods.
Another reason that is being trotted out by the government to defend the
indefensible is that the current crop of MNAs and Senators need a place to
live in when parliament is in session. This pathetic excuse is based on the
perception that we are unaware about the many parliamentary lodges and
hostels that proliferate in Islamabad, with many more new ones mushrooming
in the city. This is in addition to the numerous suites maintained by all
the provincial governments in the federal capital. After spending literally
billions on the care and comfort of our representatives, it is a bit silly
to pretend that they are going to build houses in a city which is not their
home, and which they may have to leave after the next election. Amen.
In a sense, this scam is not far different from the one being perpetrated
in the name of a housing colony for QAU staff. In both cases, a finite and
valuable resource is being divided up to satisfy current need and greed. In
the case of university teachers, what happens when their junior colleagues
have taught for ten years, thus qualifying for a plot? Will more land be
carved up? Similarly, what happens when a hungry new crew of
representatives are voted in? Will more land from the university be
expropriated to satisfy their lust for plots? A university has a life span
far greater than an individuals, but at this rate, it seems that QAU will
have no land to expand in after a generation or so.
The sad fact is that university teachers have placed themselves at par with
our parliamentarians. Granted that they are not well off; but when they
chose this profession, they knew that they were opting for a life of
genteel poverty. To suddenly agitate for plots of university land is
neither decorous nor dignified. After all, their colleagues in other cities
are not clamouring to chop up land belonging to Karachi or Punjab
universities. Obviously, the land fever afflicting our MPs is contagious.
One argument is that because defence personnel and civil servants can get
cheap plots, teachers should too. By all means. But surely not at the
expense of a university. There is nothing to stop QAU staff from
approaching CDA for land and establishing a housing colony. Every
profession from the judiciary to journalists has done so, so why is the
university being sliced up for professors?
The interest and disgust evoked by these parallel land-grabs can be judged
from the letters to editors pouring into newspapers across the country. In
a sense, this is the tip of the iceberg. Revulsion over corruption has
reached critical mass. In drawing rooms, airport lounges and restaurants,
all the talk is about the latest crooked deal. Newspapers are full of
innuendo about people too powerful to be named in print. Embarrassingly,
they are named by foreign diplomats and journalists in private
conversation.
When confronted with this plethora of charges, members of the government at
every level demand proof as if corrupt politicians and bureaucrats hand out
printed receipts on accepting a bribe. All one has to do is look at these
peoples lifestyle: if a secretary whose salary is a matter of public
record spends millions on his childs wedding, there is a prima facie case
for an investigation. More so if these functions have been graced and
closely observed by the Prime Minister and the President.
But if its proof they want, heres some over a year ago. I had mentioned a
scam in these columns which consisted of selling KDA land at a ridiculously
low price. The plot in question consists of nearly 10,000 square yards of
prime land adjacent to the newly-opened Awami Markaz on Shahrah-i-Faisal
which has been sold to something called Swiss Resorts and hotels. I have no
idea who this company belongs to, excepting that the Sindh Chief Minister
has been exceptionally kind to the owners: he has ordered the sale of this
plot to them at Rs 5,000 per square yard when land on this stretch of road
costs at least Rs 25,000 per square yard. Thus, the beneficiary of this
kindness stands to make a cool 200 million, if he has not already done so.
It would not be difficult to verify this transaction by calling for the
relevant KDA files. Incidentally, this sale was also reported by other
newspapers at the time, but obviously, nobody was very interested in
proof then, and I have no reason to think that things have changed since.
However, nothing in life is static: just because the last twenty years have
witnessed a depressing increase in the level of corruption, it does not
follow that the people of Pakistan will endlessly accept more of the same.
Corruption acts like an acid on the system, and after some time, it
corrodes the structure. That is what is happening now. The response Imran
Khan has received on his entry into politics is an indicator of how fed up
people have become with the system and those responsible for debasing it.
The next elections may yet surprise us all.
===================================================================
960525
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Domestic cricket top priority: Majid Khan
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Samiul Hasan
KARACHI, May 24: The newly appointed Chief Executive of the Pakistan
Cricket Board (PCB), Majid Khan, stressed that one of his main policies
will be to promote domestic cricket and develop infrastructure facilities
in the country.
Majid, who represented Pakistan in 63 Tests, maintained that the country
was full of talented cricketers but steps to explore that potential was
required.
Majid, a graceful opener who had all the shots in his bag, didnt comment
more on his other policies saying that he had yet to study various things,
including the constitution that was amended last year with the consent of
the Patron.
Majid, also a useful off-spinner, said he was not sure how many days it
will take him to hold the charge. He stated that he has yet to receive the
official notification and will then have to wait for the release from the
Pakistan Television where he is Sports Director.
Majid, who represented English County Glamorgan, on the expected changes in
the team, said it was premature to comment. He didnt also commit if he
would bring changes in the team management presently consisting of Yawar
Saeed and Nasimul Ghani who were approved by the Council and announced a
day before Arif Abbasi, former Chief Executive, tendered his resignation to
President Leghari.
According to reports published in upcountry papers, the immediate reaction
of Majid was that he had expressed his disappointment over the ouster of
Ramiz Raja, Aqib Javed and Basit Ali.
The exclusion, as far as of two players (Aqib Javed and Ramiz Raja) is
concerned, is not on the basis of form or performance, Majid opined.
Majid may presumably be consulting knowledgeable people as to how to get
over the constitutional hindrance, if any, after the selectors had
completed their assigned work.
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960525
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Flaws in England-bound cricket combination
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Lateef Jafri
The 17-member team for the England tour, which will extend to Canada and
Kenya, had a few surprises and can, under no circumstance, be taken as a
balanced one, having the best pack of the country.
It cannot obtain the approval of the followers of the game, not to say the
veterans and former Test stars, the technocrats of cricket. Already
critical voices are being raised and former Test captain and a player
belonging to the first phase of Pakistans cricket, Imtiaz Ahmad, has
pointed to the loopholes in the chosen set and depletion in the team
resulting from the exclusion of a few determined fighters, who were by his
reckoning essential, personnel.
Though the Chief Executive of the cricket board, Arif Ali Abbasi, had in
his usual confident vein, told the Pressmen that the conglomerate was the
result of unanimity among the selectors and the Council members one has to
take his statement with a pinch of salt. One selector, an energetic member
of the panel and a keen judge of the game, Salahuddin Sallu, had left for
England two days earlier for the treatment of his wife. He could have
delayed his departure to attend the final meeting of the selection
committee but even before that the decision had been swayed by the presence
of Wasim Akram, an ex-officio member of the panel. He had been out of
commission since the Lahore World Cup match against New Zealand and had not
seen the home lot in action since then. Being the captain he was invited to
the selectorial caucus and vented out his views not on the basis of the
merits of the players and their performances in the domestic circuit but
presumably and regretfully on his likes and dislikes. Perhaps Wasim Akram
followed the example of former captain Imran Khan (now lost to politics)
who wanted a full say in the selection of the squad. Being a commander on
the field, according to Imrans logic, the captain should have his own
infantry and weaponry. Whatever may have been the cricketing status of the
members of the selection committee they would adopt a quiet posture.
When one goes through the Council-approved list it becomes evident that no
clear-cut policy was before the selectors, the Council and the board. The
best available cricketers are assembled to form the strongest possible and
the most balanced squad to represent the country to get the dividends
abroad, especially when later the team has to make a detour of Canada and
measure strength with arch-rivals, India. Agreed that England is in an
anaemic state and getting the injections of red blood corpuscles as one
finds in the county matches or the ties that India to-date has played. A
risk can hardly be taken, besides against India the country cannot expect a
repetition of a stumble after the Sharjah setback.
While giving out the principles of the selection the Chief Executive said
they were based on merit and gut feeling, though in another breath he
laid stress on trying out the younger elements. Certainly the cricketers
with a promising future have to be encouraged but not before they have
matured enough to take up the international challenge with full confidence
and technical ability. Their failure will put undue burden and strain on
the experienced players, some of whom are susceptible to injuries or
illness a doubtful knee, groin or back. On the new setting and atmosphere
in England and the difficult strips there one can only hope that the
untried cricketers are successful.
Some of the deserving cases have been side-tracked as reserves with the
explanation that they could not have been considered for reasons of
indiscipline. No show cause notices were issued, neither they were
reprimanded. The very fact that they have been put on the list of reserves
means that their exclusions were not due to indiscipline or misconduct.
Pakistans bowling resources usually had been adequate enough to harass and
worry the rival line-ups in international duels. The furious pace and swing
of Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram (just back to fitness after breaking down
before the Bangalore World Cup match) would shake any batsman, howsoever
organised his technique may be. The variety with the spin of Mushtaq and
Saqlain would puzzle the batsmen. However the ouster of Aqib Javed, an
effective strike bowler, can hardly be justified while seeing the
preference accorded to Ataur Rahman, Mohammad Akram and Shahid Nazir. The
first-mentioned was hammered by Azharuddin in the Sharjah triangular to all
parts of the ground for 24 runs in one over. The Indian captains
swashbuckling cost Pakistan the match. He did not appear at the KRL ground
in Rawalpindi to prove his present form. Mohammad Akram has an unimpressive
record in international cricket while Shahid Nazir can show only a tally of
eight wickets in two Quaid Trophy matches.
Aqib, on the contrary, has a successful record in inter-country ties. He
had been a fine ally of Wasim and Waqar and would usually have the
breakthrough in the initial overs as in Singapore against India and Sri
Lanka. At Sharjah he removed Tendulkar for one in the inaugural game. In
the recent Pentangular matches at home he had the bite and penetration to
snap wickets. With away experience his omission is surprising and may
weaken the pace attack. Recently he had been showing a straight bat when
sent at the tail-end of the innings, which was an added help to the side.
In batting the recall of the left-hand all-rounder, Asif Mujtaba, cannot
but be welcomed. However sad is the ouster of two dependable and steady
batsmen in Rameez Raja and Basit Ali, who have been found to be disciplined
in their modes and methods while facing the rival bowling and giving
strength to the innings.
A review of the selected combination after it has been endorsed by the
Executive Council is hardly done but in this case in the interest of
cricket and the country such a procedure should advisably be adopted. The
better and the deserving pack should fly out to England for training before
friendly matches are played against Holland and then the tour proper
starts. The England schedule and the Canadian combat are hard and testing
for the team as also for the innocents going abroad for the first time.
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960525
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Intikhabs critical report
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sports Reporter
KARACHI, May 24: Former Pakistan manager Intikhab Alam has submitted a
critical report about the tours of Singapore and Sharjah.
Intikhab, who lost the job for the tour of England, says in his two-page
report that senior players of the team have lost pride in playing for
Pakistan.
In particular, Intikhab has named Aqib Javed and Waqar Younis saying that
the two acted unprofessionally during the tours of Singapore and Sharjah.
Its time that the board should make the players realise that they are
playing for the country and are being paid heavily, Intikhab has said.
The former Pakistan captain has reported that Aqib Javed and Waqar Younis
didnt extend their full co-operation to skipper Aamir Sohail on the two
tours. He has also confirmed the incident in which Aamir Sohail became
extremely upset when Waqar and Aqib changed the ball in Sharjah against
India without taking him into confidence. India won that match after
reaching over 280 runs in 50 overs.
Intikhab has also blamed Ramiz Raja for setting a bad example for the
youngsters when he did not go out to field when he was the 12th man.
I think the three players have very serious attitude problem which needs
to be sorted out, Intikhab has recommended.
Skipper Aamir Sohail has also been criticised by Intikhab Alam for using
very abusive language with the players. Intikhab admits in his report that
though Sohail was undoubtedly a very valuable cricketer, he needs to
overcome his loose temperament.
Intikhab has cited three incidents in his report about Aamir Sohail.
In the first incident, Sohail had refused to attend the prize distribution
ceremony to receive the losers cheque after India beat Pakistan. I forced
him to go out. He did accept the cheque but threw it to one of the players.
In another incident, Sohail used foul language with Salim Malik who
returned to the dressing room and had I not requested Malik to take the
field, he would have never gone out, Intikhab writes.
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Training camp at Lahore gets going
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Sports Correspondent
LAHORE, May 29: Fifteen players out of the 17 picked for the Pakistan
cricket team for the tour of England reported on the opening day at the
Qadhafi Stadium. Test opener Saeed Anwar will join after recovering from
fever and Mushtaq Ahmad will also join soon.
The morning session in the camp is reserved for physical training and
fitness exercises. During the afternoon session held from 4-30 to 6-30 ,
the players were seen engaged in gruelling net-practice. Under the guidance
of the physiotherapist Dr Dan Kiesel, the cricketers did brisk-walking and
running also in the sweltering heat of Lahore. The camp training will be in
top gear within a few days.
While replying to a question from this correspondent, Secretary Ghulam
Mustafa Khan hinted that the Cricket Manager Nasim-ul-Ghani may take charge
of the camp within a couple of days. He said that Team Manager had been in
Lahore for the last four or five days and had been visiting the Pakistan
Cricket Board Headquarters regularly.
Captain Wasim Akram seemed to have fully recovered from injury to his rib-
cage muscle. He not only came to the Stadium in the morning, but also took
part in net-practice. In fact, he supervised the training session in the
afternoon.
While talking to this correspondent in the Stadium, the great all-rounder
(Wasim Akram) said that he had not been intimated about the PCB Council
meeting. He also dispelled rumours about any changes being made in the 17-
member squad already picked for the tour of England. At least, I have no
knowledge whether any changes will be made in the Pakistan team or not. I
can be contacted to get any sort of information about the team and the
players. said the skipper with a smile.
In reply to a question about Saeed Anwars illness, Wasim Akram said that
that was not of serious nature. He said that both Mushtaq Ahmad and Saeed
Anwar had genuine reasons for being absent from the camp on the first day.
They will join the camp soon. All the other boys were in the camp. They are
trying hard to be 100 per cent fit and looked serious to give away their
best during the tour of England this summer.
Those who attended the camp include:
Aamir Sohail, Shahid Anwer, Shadab Kabir, Inzamamul Haq, Salim Malik, Ijaz
Ahmed, Asif Mujtaba, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Mohammad Akram, Ataur
Rahman, Shahid Nazir, Saqlain Mushtaq, Rashid Latif and Moin Khan.
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Protesting hockey players plea to PM
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*From Our Sports Correspondent
LAHORE, May 29: The five representatives of the revolting 24 national
hockey players, viz Shahbaz Ahmad, Tahir Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Junaid,
Asif Bajwa and Naveed Alam told newsmen during a crowded Press conference
at the outer ground of the National Hockey Stadium that all efforts of
wooing some of their companions would fail and they could appear in the
trials only if their demands were met.
The representatives said that four players out of them had been offered
captaincy to break their unity, but all of them refused to swallow the
bait.
The players made a fervent appeal to the Patron of the Pakistan Hockey
Federation (PHF) Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to intervene before things
get out of control. They said that they had been serving hockey for the
last so many years and had brought honour to the country. They had been
forced to take this painful decision because things had been made
unbearable for them through high-handedness. They said that if the
management of the team was not changed, mode of selection of team through
selectors was not altered and the PHF Secretary was not removed from the
office, they would neither appear in the national trials nor make a trip to
Atlanta. They said that earnest efforts to win back the Olympic title
could only be made if the players were free from all types of stresses and
strains.
Shahbaz Ahmad, who had been captaining the team for the last so many years,
said: Captaincy is and was never an issue. It has been created by the PHF
bosses. He and his companions made the demands many days before the final
trials, but the PHF Secretary and President kept on delaying the matters
unnecessarily. So they were not left with any alternative but to make their
demands public in the larger interest of Pakistan and out national game.
While replying to a question Shahbaz Ahmad said that no one could guarantee
victory in the Olympic Hockey Tournament. However, all the players would
make a genuine and honest effort to bring honour to the nation as they had
been doing in the past. He said that the Pakistan Government had made the
players richer by millions after the victory in the 1994 World Hockey Cup
at Sydney so they had no ill-will against that.
They had not at all been pressurised by any quarters and their protest
was the result of hard feelings. Shahbaz said that non-technical persons
had been named in the probe committee only to put the departmental
pressures on the players through them.
The Olympic half-back Khawaja Mohammad Junaid said that even the reserve
players, who had not joined their protest were sick and tired of the PHF
bosses, but they to keep away as they had been pressurised by their coach
and club-mentor in Gojra Mohammad Iqbal Bali.
The protesting-players present in Lahore will continue their training at
the National Hockey Stadium. Besides doing physical exercises in the
morning, they will do practice of the game in the afternoon.
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