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DAWN WIRE SERVICE

------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 31 October 1996 Issue : 02/44 -------------------------------------------------------------------

Contents | National News | Business & Economy | Editorials & Features | Sports

The DAWN Wire Service (DWS) is a free weekly news-service from Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, the daily DAWN. DWS offers news, analysis and features of particular interest to the Pakistani Community on the Internet. Extracts from DWS can be used provided that this entire header is included at the beginning of each extract. We encourage comments & suggestions. We can be reached at: e-mail dws@dawn.khi.erum.com.pk dws%dawn%khi@sdnpk.undp.org fax +92(21) 568-3188 & 568-3801 mail Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Limited DAWN Group of Newspapers Haroon House, Karachi 74400, Pakistan TO START RECEIVING DWS FREE EVERY WEEK, JUST SEND US YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS! (c) Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan - 1996 ******************************************************************** *****DAWN - the Internet Edition ** DAWN - the Internet Edition***** ******************************************************************** Read DAWN - the Internet Edition on the WWW ! http://xiber.com/dawn Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, DAWN, is now Pakistan's first newspaper on the WWW. DAWN - the Internet Edition will be published daily (except on Fridays and public holidays in Pakistan) and would be available on the Web by noon GMT. Check us out ! DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS

CONTENTS

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NATIONAL NEWS

Accountability needs a broader base Religious schools: who controls what they teach? Police had orders not to lay hands on Mir: PM Fiscal measures devoid of any vision: Mahbub Pakistan faces uphill task in getting UN body seat Pity the traveller coming out of Jinnah Terminal India, Pakistan order expulsion of diplomats ---------------------------------

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Public debt constitutes 88% of GDP Current account deficit widens to all-time high The anatomy of Pakistans crises Quality of working life in Pakistan Pakistans economic standing today Moeen opposes new taxes in Pakistan PM forms new team of money managers Islamabad, IMF agree on economic reforms Active follow-up support sends leading shares higher ---------------------------------------

EDITORIALS & FEATURES

The public perception Ardeshir Cowasjee Beyond accountability Omar Kureishi A matter of timing Mohammad Malick Chasing shadows: the Republics enduring pastime Ayaz Amir -----------

SPORTS

*From messenger to youngest Test player Incentive bonus for players A month of world cricket records Making Lara captain wont solve W.I. problems Wasim may reach a landmark in todays 1-dayer Malik, 72, steers Pakistan to win over Zimbabwe

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NATIONAL NEWS

=================================================================== 961026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Accountability needs a broader base ------------------------------------------------------------------- Izharul Hasan Burney KARACHI: The 15th amendment bill tabled by the government and the accountability bill moved by the opposition in the National Assembly seem to be a hotchpotch of new and old ideas, conflicting and overlapping provisions, and lacking in vital areas of legislative reforms to plug all holes of corruption, and may need refining and extensive rewriting, analysts said in their initial reaction. They reflect the mood of the government and the opposition in the prevalent political scenario and mounting pressure against growing corruption both from within and outside the country, they said and hoped that the needful will be done by the NA select committee in the spirit of the Constitution through detailed deliberations, public debate and a national consensus. A good beginning has been made. The ruling party and the opposition have committed themselves to work together and also take along the minor parliamentary groups in the House. However, it will be desirable to similarly associate the other political factions (not represented in the House), Pakistan Bar Council, various Bars, etc., to undertake studies at their own end and forward reports/recommendations to the select committee for its consideration, they said. To begin with, analysts wondered if the parliamentarians were the ideal people to perform the kind of job normally associated with crime investigation and punishment. Their basic responsibility (also training and profession) is to make the laws and oversee and monitor the work of various government agencies/institutions. The accountability mechanism could, therefore, best be divided into two main parts: the legislative reforms, and crime investigation. A crime investigation commission answerable only to the parliament and the president would best serve this purpose. It should be on the pattern of the Federal Ombudsman, the Election Commission, the Council of Islamic Ideology, etc., with a full-fledged permanent secretariat staffed with highly skilled professionals to investigate and prove before special courts the most intricate financial, political, administrative and such other cases falling within the purview of the proposed bill. On its part, the select committee may later convert itself into legislative reforms committee and take up a review and recasting of all the defective laws or those lacking in any respect and bring them in conformity with the letter and spirit of the Constitution and to make them meaningful and effective, analysts said. For example, the Political Parties Act provides for a defection clause but for the last over three decades the legislature has been unable to define what constitutes defection with the result that horse-trading is rampant and democratic values and parliamentary practices are being trampled with impunity. This deficiency in law was pointed out by superior judiciary more than once. The two caretaker prime ministers, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi and Moeen Qureshi, during their tenure promulgated ordinances to meet this deficiency but the ordinances were allowed to lapse when the elected governments took over. Governments would not have toppled but for this deficiency, and MNAs and MPAs would not have minted gold but for this lacunae. Accountability would be meaningless without this legislative reform, analysts pointed out. Likewise, there were a set of election laws inconsistent with the spirit of the Constitution. For example, the Senators, MNAs and MPAs are required to furnish annual statements of assets. However, there is no provision of a punitive clause if the legislators fail to do so and therefore may ignore it with contempt. Besides, the defective law makes these declarations a confidential document. Why? Is it not in public interest to make all such information transparent? analysts asked. And why should the people at large be debarred from seeking disqualification of a legislator for any wrong act or misdeed during his tenure? they added. In fact, the house committee should look into every piece of legislation or resolution passed by the House conferring exemptions in taxes, or remissions, etc., as well as conferment of any special financial benefits to the legislators, e.g. allotment of plots, tax-exemptions for salaries and perquisites, etc. In the past, such malpractices have taken place in respect of controversial land allotments; and in the eighties the legislators had grabbed the right to sanction two telephone connections each month in any part of the country  a privilege which at that particular time meant a guaranteed monthly income of at least Rs100,000 for two telephone connections in the peak-demand localities of Clifton and Defence Housing Authority. Indeed, there are dozens of such laws and resolutions through which the legislators grabbed monetary benefits and thus misused the august forum where they should have concentrated on matters of national and public interest only. Similarly, the statute book is filled with provisos conferring full power on competent authority to indulge in unethical practices. These too would need to be scrapped from the statute books, the analysts said, adding that the accountability process cannot afford to ignore such reckless and immoral exercise of the discretionary powers. Referring to the overlapping provisions of the amendment bill the analysts particularly referred to the existing provision in the Constitution about the Supreme Judicial Council. This is a comprehensive provision, and in the past also the Supreme Judicial Council has not failed to act judiciously. At this very stage, the Supreme Court of Pakistan is seized of a matter in which the desirability of the detailed working of the STC has also been highlighted. Let the honourable courts devise their own ways and set precedents of highest integrity, the analysts said, adding that the nation had full faith in the judiciary which cannot be left to the mercy of a handful of 15 per cent legislators of doubtful integrity. In a nutshell, the country needs an era of rule of justice and those defending the outdated concept of rule of (misconstrued) law should find no place in the 21st century Pakistan, they concluded. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961028 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Religious schools: who controls what they teach? ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nasir Jamal You can hardly miss seeing them. Some in green turbans and others in white caps, bearded young faces probing for a direction. These students of religious seminaries or madaris are a part of our daily life. What does the future hold for them? What do they mean for the future? LAHORE, Oct 27: Madaris have registered a phenomenal growth since the late 1970s. An official report prepared by intelligence agencies last year shows that their number in the country has risen to 8,000 from a mere 868 in 1975. Many madaris were set up before independence in 1947, but very few news ones were established till 1977, the year Gen. Ziaul Haq imposed martial law in the country. Thousands of madaris sprang up in the late 1970s and the early 1980s when Gen. Zia started pampering and patronising religious groups to create a constituency for himself. The communist intervention in Afghanistan further bolstered these groups as huge funds from the West started to pour in to stop the communist advance, with many Arab governments also opening their coffers in the name of jihad. For some Arab states, the Iranian revolution also posed a threat and needed to be contained. These madaris were given a boost by Gen. Zia when he compelled the University Grants Commission to recognise the Wifaqs or federations, which act as degree-awarding and curriculum designing and regulating institutions for madaris affiliated with them, of different sects and treat their degrees as equivalent to M.A. Arabic/Islamiyat in 1980. He also ordered recruitment of graduates of these madaris as Islamiyat/Arabic teachers in BPS-9 in middle and primary schools. EXPLOSIVE: At present 2,512 registered madaris are located in the Punjab alone. Statistics show that most madaris  1,619  are situated in southern Punjab which has an explosive combination of a strong feudal hold, rampant poverty and minimal educational facilities. But they are also thriving in the urban areas. It is preferable to establish madaris in cities because of easy availability of modern facilities, Jamia Naeemias Dr Muhammad Sarfraz says. It is surprising that the madaris want to use modern inventions, but usually offer outdated theological courses. Their students are taught fiqh (interpretation of Islam), hadith (sayings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), tafseer (commentary on the Holy Quran), philosophy, history, Islamic jurisprudence, etc. The madaris claim to be inheritors of the traditional madaris of the early Muslim period, saying that their objective is to produce Aalim-i-Deen (experts in religion). But none of them teaches science, arithmetic, algebra, geometry or other disciplines relevant to the needs of society. Academics point out that the education imparted at the old, traditional madaris was relevant to the needs of their people and society and they produced scientists who are still considered pioneers of modern science. The education imparted in our madaris has no relevance to the life of the people or society. They are producing only recruits for religious organisations which run these madaris, says a Punjab University teacher. COURSES: Education, or deeni taleem, starts at the madaris with Hifz-o- Manazra (memorising the Quran). It is followed by Tajweed-o-Qirat (recitation of the Quran). Students with middle education are admitted to an eight-year Dars-i-Nizami course which is the main degree offered by the most madaris. The Dars-i-Nizami course starts with Saanavi-a-Aama (matriculation), Darja-i-Mutawast (intermediate), Darja-i-Aalia (graduation) and Darja-i-Aalmia (MA Arabic/Islamiyat). They also offer specialised courses in hadith, fiqh and other disciplines to the holders of the Darja-i-Aalmia degree. The wifaqs of each sect design curricula and syllabi for their affiliated institutions, conduct their examinations and award certificates and degrees. The wifaqs are free to change their courses and books without seeking permission from the UGC which has little control over them save for giving legitimacy to their degrees at the state level. The age of the madaris students ranges on average between five and 18 years. They attract students because of the generally depressed economic condition of the people, the abysmal lack of educational facilities and the official patronage given to them in the recent past. Free hostel accommodation, food, clothing and payment of Rs 100 to Rs 200 per month per student as scholarship is obviously a major attraction, and in their own way the madaris are at least contributing to literacy. There are about 218,939 students enrolled at the madaris in the Punjab. About 15-20 per cent of them are girls. Most students come from poor families. Some 100,588 students are enrolled at the madaris affiliated with the Wifaqul Madaris Arabia and the Rabitaul Madaris Islamia Arabi of the Deobandi sect and the Jamaat-i-Islami, 95,190 with the Tanzeemul Madaris Arabiya of the Barelvi sect, 18,880 with the Wifaqul Sulfiya Arabiya of the Ahle-Hadith sect and 2,022 with the Wifaqul Shia Arabiya of the Shia sect. One major reason for the mushroom growth of the madaris is said to be their ability to raise huge funds through Zakat funds since Gen. Zias period, private donations and financial assistance from some Muslim states. According to officials, 36 per cent of these institutions have been receiving Rs 100 million from Zakat funds while the rest of them receive donations from Pakistanis settled abroad or some Arab governments. An Auqaf Department official says 906 madaris receive funds from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. Some are funded by foreign governments and others by well-off individuals or religious organisations. These funds have turned some of those associated with the madaris concerned into big property owners. It is believed that the vested interest developed by them is a factor in the promotion of sectarian violence. A police official says the funds and accounts of these madaris are never audited though under the Charitable Funds Act 1953 they are bound to submit the annual audit reports of their accounts to the government. The charge of foreign funding is denied by the madaris, but some of them privately accuse rival sects of receiving funds from foreign governments sympathetic to them. SECTARIAN LINK: Few madaris are overtly sectarian, but they are often blamed for sectarian teachings and killings. Most madaris impart sectarian teachings orally. Concepts like jihad against kafirs (non-believers) who also include followers of other sects are openly preached. They have objectionable printed material which is provided to those who are able to win the trust of their instructors, says a police official who has closely monitored the working of these madaris. At least 746 madaris in the Punjab are said to have strong sectarian links. They provide space for clandestine meetings where planning is done to carry out violent acts, says the official. Police have strong evidence that the recent mass killings in Mailsi and Multan and the murder of the commissioner of Sargodha were planned at some madaris. Besides creating hard-core activists for different religious organisations, these madaris also serve as nurseries for providing recruits and an audience for them, says the official. He says some madaris are also involved in providing military training to their students. But most of them are located either in the NWFP or the Azad Kashmir, with only a few in the Punjab. The government is well aware of this, but has not taken any action because of political expediencies, the official maintains. The government has taken a few steps here and there to bring the activities of the madaris under its control, but to no avail. It has banned Egyptian and Algerian students from seeking admission to the madaris to stop penetration of foreigners. The procedure to procure zakat has been made more elaborate and the Foreign Office has made it compulsory for foreign students and madaris to obtain a no-objection certificate from it before admitting any foreigner. It has put an end to the earlier practice by police of issuing a stay permit for foreign students on their own. However, says an official, some madaris continue to admit foreigners without authorisation. Their graduates are employed as qaris and khateebs at the Auqaf mosques or as Arabic/Islamiyat teachers at primary and middle schools. But most remain unemployed. A Home Department official says graduates of the madaris do not fit into normal society or life because of their orthodox views and qualifications which have no relevance to the existing job market. So some of them try to mould society according to their own notions in reaction and indulge in sectarian violence in the name of religion. Since they have an ideology to support their acts they prove more dangerous than common criminals. DENIAL: Madaris deny the charges of sectarianism and accuse the government of thinking up excuses to demolish the system of deeni taleem under pressure from the donor agencies and the West. Dr Muhammad Sarfraz says the government itself plants personnel of secret agencies in some madaris to train people for the liberation of Kashmir or the fight in Afghanistan. And when they are no longer needed, the government points to these madaris to tarnish our image, he says. He says sectarian organisations like the Sipah-i-Sahaba or the Sipah-i-Muhammad Pakistan cannot operate without the government or secret agencies assisting them. None of them has any link with the madaris, he says. Jamia Ashrafias Muhammad Akram says while some terrorists may use the madaris in the garb of students for their motives, they can use any place for that matter. According to him, most students come from poor families and cannot even think of obtaining a Kalashnikov. The people who want to eliminate the madaris have unleashed a propaganda to malign us, he says. Intelligence agencies have once again started collecting information about the madaris, but officials consider it a futile exercise in the absence of effective follow-up action. It does not matter whether you have up-to-date information if you do not take action, says a police official. Officials point out that laws exist to disband madaris found involved in acts detrimental to the security of the state. The government lacks the political will to tackle the issue and feels helpless in the face of the supposed street power of religious groups. It has done little to bring the madaris under its discipline, says an official. In 1995 the government decided to regulate and prescribe a uniform syllabus for the madaris, audit their accounts, register them with provincial Education Departments and Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education. However, none of these decisions has so far been implemented. Officials believe that the activities of the madaris can be harnessed to a large extent by linking them with the countrys education system and extending the public school network to provide free education and vocational training to remoter areas. Their curricula and syllabi must be formulated by the Education Department, says an Auqaf Department official. Parents should be bound to send their children to ordinary schools even if they want them to obtain religious education. The official says it requires the political authority to take firm action. As long as the government continues to hobnob with religious groups or fear their street power, these madaris will continue to thrive. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Police had orders not to lay hands on Mir: PM ------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Correspondent RAWALPINDI, Oct 25: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto disclosed here on Friday that there were clear instructions to the Sindh Police from the federal and the provincial government that Mir Murtaza Bhutto should not be intercepted or checked. She was addressing a condolence meeting on the Chehlum of Mir Murtaza Bhutto here at Liaquat Bagh. Ms Bhutto said they had also been instructed not to lay hands on Mirs guards, wanted by the police, in his presence. She pointed out that Murtaza had visited some police stations a few days before his death, and there the police did not arrest any of his guards just because of the fact that they had been so instructed. The prime minister said a team of British experts was coming to Pakistan to investigate the murder of Mir Murtaza Bhutto. She confirmed that the policemen involved in the murder have already been arrested. Why is it so that only the member of Bhutto family are being killed, she said. During the last 18 years, she said, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his two sons were killed. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Fiscal measures devoid of any vision: Mahbub ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Oct 24: Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq has termed the recent fiscal measures of the government cosmetic financial tinkering bereft of any economic vision and suggested that a permanent body of independent economist should be set up to help save the country from economic disaster. In a statement issued on Tuesday the former finance minister advised the government to set up a council of economic advisers inviting independent economist of the country to offer their candid analysis to the government on a regular basis to save the economy from the abyss in which it is about to fall. Criticising the mini-budget of Rs40 billion announced by the government on Tuesday, he said it was a desperate attempt and no substitute for real reforms which were really needed to revive the economy and to benefit the poor people of Pakistan. Many of the announced measures, he said, would prove counterproductive for the real economy. A cut of Rs20 billion in an already modest development budget would unbalance the prospects for future growth. Rising energy prices would compromise the competitiveness of the very exports that the government wished to encourage through rupees devaluation. A 30 per cent fall in the exchange value of the rupee since last year has already created domestic inflation and stagnation, without increasing exports. The past experience, he said, had shown that devaluation without basic measures to revive agricultural and industrial production was totally useless. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961031 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan faces uphill task in getting UN body seat ------------------------------------------------------------------- Masood Haider UNITED NATIONS, Oct 30: Pakistan faces an uphill task in its bid to seek another term in the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) when the UN General Assembly meets on Thursday to elect 18 new members for the 54-member economic body. Of the 18 members to be elected in the ECOSOC, three seats are reserved for the Asian continent for which there are six candidates  Pakistan, Japan, Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Syria and Sri-Lanka. Of the six candidates, Pakistan, Japan and Indonesia are seeking re-election, the other three, Korea, Sri Lanka and Syria are new candidates. Most diplomats at the United Nations, including Pakistani officials, concede that Japan and Republic of Korea are a virtual shoe-in for two of the three seats. The reasons are essentially economic, since these two nations are also aid-giving countries. They have considerable clout among the ECOSOC membership. Pakistan, which is seeking re-election, has split support amongst the SAARC nations since, Sri Lanka is also contesting the seat against Pakistan. The Non-Aligned Movements caucus has decided not to endorse a candidate while the Arab group obviously supports Syrias candidacy. Moreover, Pakistans support among the Asian nations has eroded radically, after it used all its clout to claim one of the 21 vice-presidential seats in the General Assembly and contesting against Arab states. Indians who are still nursing the wounds of their abysmal defeat at the hands of Japanese in their bid for a seat in the Security Council would like nothing better to see Pakistan lose in the ECOSOC. For Pakistan losing a seat on the Economic and Social Council would be a bigger loss than its glee at winning one of the 21 vice-presidency slots in the General Assembly. While the UNGAs vice-presidency is purely ceremonial post, but to be one of the board members of economic arm of the world body is pivotal. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961028 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pity the traveller coming out of Jinnah Terminal ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Oct 27: If you are a passenger whos just come out of the arrivals lounge at Quaid-i-Azam International Airport, you can definitely expect to be mobbed by sleazy cab-drivers, private loaders and touts the moment you come out. If you are coming out of the international arrivals lounge and are travelling alone, either male or female, then the situation can get even worse. On October 1, the sub-divisional magistrate of the jurisdiction which covers Jinnah Terminal, under section 144 Cr. Pc. banned for two months unauthorised money-changers, private loaders, taxi drivers and touts at the airport. A visit to the airport on Sunday showed that this measure, albeit a well intentioned one is hardly being enforced properly. Over a period of an hour on Sunday afternoon, in which at least seven domestic flights and two international flights arrived at the airport, this reporter saw at least two incidents in which the recently-arrived air- travellers were about to come to blows with either a tout, a sleazy man insisting on grabbing his trolley and helping carry his luggage or with a taxi-driver insisting on taking him as a passenger (read fleecing him). There were approximately fifty such men literally prowling the spaces in front of the domestic and international arrival lounges switching back and forth between the two depending on where the flight was coming. The first case of harassment by these men claiming to be private loaders, taxi drivers or touts happened as a Lufthansa flight from Kathmandu arrived around 1 pm. A (presumably) European traveller came out of the arrivals lounge wearing a blazer and jeans, with her suitcases on a trolley. As soon as she came out, she was literally swamped by these men. The situation became extreme as the language gap (most of these men though speak some broken English phrases) seemed to make them more anxious in getting their message across. The woman literally started swinging her arms wildly to throw back the touts, the men claiming to be private loaders, the taxi drivers. Eventually, close to tears, one of the guards on duty and a person standing close by intervened and rescued the traveller  hardly a welcome for the foreign traveller on a first visit here, and that too at the countrys premier airport and commercial and financial capital. However, in less extreme cases, the guards apart from the periodic waving of their stick at these men (which forces them back literally for not a few minutes at the most) tolerate their presence. The second incident was of a single male, who was well-dressed and looked Pakistani. The minute he came out two persons from either side placed their hands on his trolley and insisted on performing porter duties. It was a funny sight because both men started arguing with each other on who would eventually become porter. The well-dressed traveller, however, had not even given the slightest indication that he wanted any help with his luggage. After a minute or two, in total opposition to his well-heeled image, but acting out of frustration (probably on being in such undesirable company the moment he stepped out), the man let loose some aptly-selected profanities in the mother tongue, all the while readying his fist and directing it at one of the men. Luckily, just then the mans (presumably) driver showed up on the scene and the tension ended. Far from hilarious, such scenes are common because the SDMs own orders are not enforced and men who insist on helping you with your luggage or transport, sleazy taxi drivers and touts are permitted easy access within the premises of the premier airport of the country. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961027 ------------------------------------------------------------------- India, Pakistan order expulsion of diplomats ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rafaqat Ali ISLAMABAD, Oct 26: Police on Sunday arrested a staff member of the Indian embassy on the charges of espionage. After detaining him for five hours in the Aabpara police station, police handed him over to an Indian embassy representative. The official has been ordered to leave Pakistan within a week. A.B Wahi, a staffer of the Indian embassy was arrested when he was allegedly exchanging some sensitive information with a Pakistani contact, Mohammed Latif. After his arrest at 11 am, he was brought to Aabpara police station. According to police, the Indian official had developed a Pakistani contact in the last three months and was exchanging sensitive information with him. The police stated that the Indian embassy staffer during interrogation divulged that he was a RAW agent and was operating in Pakistan under the cover of the Indian embassy. PAKISTAN DIPLOMAT: India on Saturday ordered the expulsion of a Pakistani diplomat whom police had earlier detained and accused of acquiring secret documents on the navy from an Indian contact, says Reuter quoting a government official. An Indian police spokesman said the diplomat, named as Hafiz Ahmed Khosa, had been detained on Friday after he was alleged to have accepted the secret documents on the southern naval command from an Indian student. The student, named as Ravinder Kumar, was arrested under Indias official secrets laws. ******************************************************************* DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS ******************************************************************* INTERNET PROFESSIONALS WANTED * MS in computer science, with two years experience, or, BE with four years experience in the installation and management of an ISP. * Must be able to select equipment, configure, and troubleshoot TCP/IP networks independently. 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BUSINESS & ECONOMY

961025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Public debt constitutes 88% of GDP ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, Oct 24: Pakistans total national debt stood at Rs 1912.9 billion or 88 per cent of its GDP at the end of fiscal year 1995-96 and debt servicing accounted for 63.2 per cent of its total tax receipts or 46.3 per cent of the current expenditures of 1995-96. According to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) annual report released here on Thursday, the domestic debt of the country stood at Rs 908.9 billion or 41.8 per cent of its GDP while the external debt amounted to Rs 1004.0 billion ($28.60 billion) or 46.2 per cent of the GDP at end-June 1996. The report attributes the accumulation of such a large public debt to huge budget deficits in the past several years. This together with the rising rates of return on domestic debt and a declining share of long-term soft loans from external sources has led to a sharp increase in interest payments, the report says. DOMESTIC DEBT: The report says that the domestic debt at end-June 1996 rose by Rs 100.3 billion or 13.8 per cent to Rs 908.9 billion from Rs 798.6 billion recorded a year ago. It says that the floating debt registered a substantial rise during 1995-96 mainly for cash balance replenishment adding that floating debt accounted for 39.8 per cent of the total domestic debt during the last fiscal year. EXTERNAL DEBT: Financing of large current account deficit over the years led to sharp increase in the size of external debt together with a relatively low level of reserves, the report notes. It reveals that Pakistans total external debt rose by $1.53 billion to $28.60 billion at end-June 1996 from $27.07 billion at end-June 1995. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Current account deficit widens to all-time high ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Oct 24: The balance of trade widened to all time high level during fiscal year 1995-96, and the country had to suffer a huge current account deficit of $4.2 billion which had to be financed by a larger than programmed capital account surplus. The adverse balance of payments position was because of decline in exports which turned out to be one-half of the target of 14 per cent and significantly higher imports at 16.2 per cent against the target of 10.6 per cent set for the entire year. These facts feature conspicuously in the Annual Report of State Bank of Pakistan for the fiscal year 1995-96 which was released here on Thursday. The Report frankly admits that the balance of payments targets for the year as a whole could not be achieved, when exports increased by only 7 per cent in the year as a whole, while import growth amounted to 16.2 per cent, and workers remittances declined by 21.7 per cent. As a result of these developments the SBP Report says the current account deficit widened to 6.6 per cent of Gross Domestic Produce (GDP) compared with 3.6 per cent in 1994-95 and the target of 4.4 per cent for the year. With the exception of 1948, when the country managed to have favourable balance of trade, year after year the external trade has witnessed varying degree of deficit. During 1991-92 the imbalance was to the tune of $2.297 billion, in 1992-93 it was $3.111 billion, 1993-94 the external trade deficit was $1.725 billion and in 1994-95 the deficit was $2.227 billion. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The anatomy of Pakistans crises ------------------------------------------------------------------- S.M. Naseem ALTHOUGH in the short half-century since its birth Pakistan has faced numerous crises, its present predicament, is perhaps one of the most serious and complex. It is the result of a confluence of four major elements which have persistently featured in most of our national crises. The first, which is the focus of unending speculation in the newspapers is the crisis in the political arena, which has dominated public discussion, is of short- and medium-term nature and recurs periodically. It is often amenable to solution through temporary adjustments or compromises which an ingenuous citizenry fatuously accepts with an air of inevitability. The political crisis is often viewed as a game of musical chairs of the elite, played by the elite, for the elite by those outside its pale. It is totally irrelevant to the life of the common man. The essential need in this regard, therefore, is to make the political process closer to the life of the people. It is, however, difficult to achieve this without more fundamental changes in the economic and social fields. The second is the crisis of economic management, the current focus of which is the strained relationship with the IMF. The economic crisis being faced by the country has wider dimensions. However, our economic management establishment is geared mainly to dealing with the short-term issues. The result of such a perverse penchant for transient economic issues, often forced by the overarching concern to stay in power and to please the foreign donors, is often an accumulating neglect of fundamental problems and the constant deferring of their solutions, which in turn make the incidence of economic crisis more frequent. Although Pakistans policy makers have never had a far-sighted vision of the way the economy was headed, in recent years this capacity has fast eroded whatever of it there was and the task of economic management has been effectively handed over to those donor agencies who frequently come to the rescue of the economy from its periodic lapses towards retrogression. The oft-maligned Harvard Advisory Group in the Planning Commission of the 1960s, which is sometimes blamed for laying the foundation of an iniquitous economic system, at least had the saving grace of playing a catalytic role in building a sound infrastructure of economic management and research. Unfortunately, that infrastructure fell into increasing disuse due to a number of factors. Deteriorating capability The more recent deterioration in Pakistans indigenous domestic economic management capability is also linked with the decreasing importance of state intervention in economic affairs and the role of the IMF and the World Bank, in rendering economic advice mainly related to the structural adjustment programmes, without developing a counter-balancing and credible indigenous expertise to vet and critically evaluate such advice. The Government has adopted the line of least resistance by relying on bureaucrats, rather than on its own economists and other technical experts, to interlocute with international donor agencies on policy issues. A redeeming feature of the developments in the 1990s has been the granting of a certain degree of autonomy to the countrys central bank. However, apart from the occasional independence shown by its governor, who for the first time in its history, is a well-trained economist as well as an experienced central banker, the State Bank of Pakistan has contributed little to promote itself as an independent centre of research and analysis as an aid to informed economic policy making. It is essential also that the Bank should display its independence  in the limited extent to which it is possible to do so  not only from the pressures of the government in Islamabad, but also from international financial institutions based in Washington whose perceptions and priorities may not always coincide with Pakistans national interests. While it is unfair to blame the present governor for being necessarily biased in favour of the latter because of his past employment with the IMF, it becomes even more necessary for him to mobilise the plentiful resources of the Bank to vigorously promote policy-oriented research on long-term economic issues not only within the Bank, but also in other major national institutions of research and learning. The third is the crisis of social and economic structure, which has been highlighted by loan default scandal. The heart of the matter concerning most major Pakistani crises, including the present one, is the deepening dissonance in the countrys economic and social structure. The economic changes brought about by the neo-liberalist reforms in the past five years or so have been undertaken piece-meal and in an unimaginative and shoddy manner, getting the worst of both worlds of a controlled economy and unfettered capitalism. This has exacerbated the tensions that have existed in the Pakistani economy since the 1960s between growth and distribution, by slowing the pace of the former and widening the gap in the latter. Whatever trickle- down effect may have existed in the past strategy has evaporated in the opposite direction, scalding those at the bottom and irritating those at the top. Feudal stranglehold The stranglehold of feudalism remains unmitigated, while the hothouse plant of capitalism has failed to come of age (despite or perhaps, because of, decades of infant industry protection) and provide the necessary breathing space for the impoverished rural and urban classes. Under the pressure of the IMF, the tax net may be widened to include agriculture to give some semblance of horizontal equity in taxation. However, it is most unlikely to make any significant dent on the power of the landed elite or loosen their grip on the countrys polity. Unlike East Asia in the post-war world, the foreign powers, despite their considerable influence on the policies of our country, are unlikely to be of much assistance in getting rid of the parasitic feudal class through land reforms or other radical measures. The fourth, and perhaps most important, is the crisis in the sphere of education, which covers a very large range of issues. The educational system in Pakistan is in an increasing state of disintegration and chaos, reflecting the deterioration in the system of governance in general, the paucity of resources under structural adjustment and the polarisation of the society into those whose children can afford expensive private education and those whose children are prematurely forced to join the work force. This schism, based on various factors, is steadily becoming wider with the mushrooming of private educational institutions at all levels, catering mainly to the affluent classes. It has been further exacerbated by haphazard attempts to privatise state-funded universities by poorly designed self-financing and other revenue raising schemes without any regard to its impact on educational standards, access to education by different socio-economic classes and other issues both of equity and efficiency. Despite the rhetoric to extol the virtues of education and the status of the teacher and the scholar in society, very little is being done to give education the national priority it deserves. The teacher and the scholar are, in fact, given the lowliest status in the community and they receive the most meagre rewards and amenities for their services. While the status of women is often cited as the single most inhibitive factor in Pakistans human development, the low esteem to teachers and low public expenditures on education cant rank too far behind. It is, therefore, no surprise that the profession is unable to attract, much less retain, the best minds in the country on a sustained basis. Those who remain in the profession are also often sucked into the vortex of greed and corruption that has plagued the rest of the society. The steady deterioration of higher education, the quality of which has declined sharply during the last two decades, is a cause for increasing concern. Centres of higher learning are gradually losing the well-trained and qualified staff through the process of internal and external brain drain. The salary structures of university teachers have become hopelessly unattractive, compared to other opportunities available to them outside the conductional system. In addition, the state universities are managed in a bureaucratic manner which kills the spirit of freedom of thought, expression and research which are the hallmark of a university. The recent incidents in the most prestigious universities, the University of Karachi and Quaid-i-Azam University, in which teachers have been denied the right to express in public their views even in their own fields of specialisation, are the most well-known examples. One shudders to imagine the academic atmosphere that obtains in the lesser known universities and colleges, where heads of institutions lord over their teachers in the feudal tradition that reigns supreme. To reduce the public expenditure on education, the government has encouraged the growth of private educational institutions, especially in professional fields. While it can be considered a welcome development for ensuring the supply of high quality professionals, which our resource- starved public institutions are unable to produce, it has created serious questions of equity and has generated complacency about the general standards of education. Increased access to education is one of the few options available in Pakistan to improve social mobility and to break the logjam of increasing concentration of income and wealth. At present there is no effective regulatory mechanism to oversee the operations of the private sector educational institutions in regard to the relevant public interest issues, including those of the recruitment and salary structures of the teachers. As a result, the rampant growth of the recruitment and salary structures of the teachers. As a result, the rampant growth of private educational institutions making it perhaps one of the few high growth industries is contributing to the increase in the inequality of opportunity that is already a serious social problem. Reordering priorities It is distressful that the ordering of these various constituents of our national crises in the current public debates is related inversely to their intrinsic importance for public welfare. If the nation means serious business it must get its priorities right, with education heading the list. The undertaking of a quick redressal of the social and economic imbalances in the employment and export-oriented development which would provide the needed impetus to broad-based economic growth should rank next in importance. The current obsession with short-term structural adjustments needed to support the unsustainable levels of private and public expenditures involving only the upper fifth of the population will have to give way to a much broader concern for an economy which provides opportunities for growth and upward economic and social mobility to the remaining four fifth of the population. Similarly, the preoccupation with catching the 250 loan defaulters or sacking a few hundred corrupt bureaucrats or disqualifying a few scores of dishonest politicians, like the earlier futile exercises in expurgating 22 families and 303 officials, are unlikely to achieve much except a glare of titillating publicity which can hardly shame our hardened anti-social adventurers. Close family networks cutting across the various segments of the power structure, legal loopholes, and leakages in the financial system, which have become even more accentuated since the liberalisation of the economy, will ensure that most of the accused, except the least influential or the most dim-witted, will come out unharmed, with much of their power and pelf intact. Most of those who were thus castigated earlier or their progeny, have come back with a vengeance into politics, finance, real estate or other wheeling-dealing activities. This does not, however, mean that the process of accountability now under way should be halted or mitigated. But it does underscore the fact that it will not be easy to achieve concrete results and that attention needs to be devoted more towards the preventive rather than the curative aspects of the disease. What needs to be done, therefore, is to strive for inculcating a culture of socially productive work and investment by promoting a structure of rewards and fines that will motivate individuals to stay away from rent seeking and socially non-productive activities. In this regard, the East Asian example of performance-oriented incentive structure seems to hold the greatest promise. This, however, requires a careful evaluation and restructuring of our social and economic institutions on a large scale to provide a new blueprint for a balanced and competitive economy. The present state of our economic management infrastructure and the key social institution of education, unfortunately, do not hold much hope for producing such a strategy. The countrys Ninth Five-Year Plan, produced largely for the consumption of the donors and to overawe the lay public, hardly proves equal to this task. Indeed the planning exercise is becoming increasingly irrelevant as there seems to be no consensus among political parties about the vision of our future, except for the abolition of corruption. Corruption, however, is merely a symptom and not a disease, which the nation is not yet willing and prepared to get diagnosed. In the meanwhile, witch doctors of all shades of the chameleon opinion abound in giving prescriptions for its health, based on their own favourite mixture of medicines. There is, however, no short-cut to economic success and social cohesion. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Quality of working life in Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sireko QUALITY is a matter of perception, and widely differing viewpoints have been expressed about the important dimensions of working life. Some people associate it with job content, others with working conditions, and wages. Some feel that career mobility opportunities are important, especially opportunities to advance to higher-status occupations. Certainly, to many people, the quality of supervision (considerate and thoughtful) and peer relationships (working as members of a congenial group) are important factors. Each of these factors may be a determinant of job satisfactionor dissatisfaction. The quality of working life represents a consensus regarding the adequacy of such factors in an actual work situation. A more formal definition says that the quality of working life is the degree to which members of a work organisation are able to satisfy important personal needs through their experiences in an organisation. Richard Walton recognises 10 major aspects of quality of work life which need special attention of organisations managers and human resource planners: The could be listed as below: (a) Adequate and fair pay: fair and equitable pay relationships and equal pay for equal work performed. (b) Benefits programmes: adequate and competitive retirement, health insurance, vacation, and other employee benefits. (c) A safe and healthy environment: clean and safe working conditions. (d) Job security: continuity of employment so that the employee is reasonably secure about the future. (e) Free collective bargaining: the right of all employees to organise in unions or other associations to represent themselves as a group or profession. (f) Growth and development: consideration of the employee as a growing, developing human asset of the organisation. (g) Social integration: a working climate that fosters a feeling among employees of belonging and being needed in the organisation. (h) Participation: employee involvement in the operations and decision making of the organisation. (i) Democracy at work: a recognition of employee rights and privileges compatible with their responsibilities to the organisation. (j) Total life space: a balance between working life and other parts of human life: leisure, education, and family life. (Walton-1974) Essentially, an emphasis on the quality of working life requires attention to individual employee needs and group needs as critical management values. These factors warrant attention on their own merits, as ends in themselves and as means to increased individual satisfaction. They are not primarily valued because of their potential contribution to organisational efficiency or productivity improvement, although these may be possible side benefits of QWL (quality of working life) programmes. A common misunderstanding amongst Pakistani managers regarding attitudes of employees towards work itself and organisations on the whole, productivity, quality of work and craftsmanship etc. prevails, without a deep analysis and the root causes of such an attitude and behaviour of employees. Common beliefs about Pakistani employees could be summarised in the following way: Willy nilly one is compelled to admit that a Pakistani employee [if left on his own] does not like work. He would try his best to avoid work if not properly supervised and checked. His productivity level is terribly low and he is highly demoralised when compared with his counterpart in other parts of the world. His attitude towards job and organisation is at best casual if not hostile. He does not pay enough attention to the subtleties of his job content and, therefore, is least bothered to produce high quality goods and services. His craftsmanship is poor even when assisted by advanced machinery and equipment. The wage-output correlation All these observations and beliefs might be true to varying degrees. However, no serious attempt has been made especially by managers, supervisors, and entrepreneurs to investigate the causes of such attitudes and behaviour. Of course, Pakistani employees are not born with these attitudes. Further, attitudes, behaviour, norms, and values [positive or negative] transfer not through blood from one generation to another, rather they are learned through the phenomenon of stimuli-and-response. There are a number of environmental factors that influence and effect attitudes and behaviour of people at work adversely. For instance, if a maid is not paid reasonable wages for her household job, we should not expect from her higher levels of productivity, honesty, high quality work, and other positive attitudes towards work. This author has often listened to ill-tempered complaints of people regarding their household servants. These complaints range from laziness and low integrity to low productivity and excess of holidays. Most of the complainants claim that they pay handsome wages and other fringe benefits [in the form of free meals, used clothing, and shoes, interest-free loans, etc.] in general and household servants in particular are paid at terribly lower rates. Monthly wages of these quasi-slaves [i.e. household servants] range from a meagre Rs 200 to Rs 1000 depending on the age, experience and bargaining power of these employees and social status, locality, affluence and relative generosity of their employers. No governmental rules, regulations or labour laws concerning minimum wages, gazetted holidays, length of working hours, weekly holiday, minimum age limit of workers, maximum number of working hours per day, overtime payments etc are applicable in case of household servants. Similar working conditions [and in many cases even worse conditions] are fate of minors working in such small business ventures as motor workshops, roadside hotels and restaurants, shops and smaller industrial units [involved in production of such items as sweats, biscuits, artificial ornaments, plastic bags, medicines, etc.]. It would not be an over-statement to say that perhaps no other management concept has received as little attention in Pakistan [both from management writers, researchers, and practising managers] as the concept of QWL. Various aspects of Quality of? The quality of working life [as described by Richard Walton] needs immediate attention by legislators, regulating agencies, management instructors researchers and writers as well as by practising managers/professionals and entrepreneurs. Needless to repeat that the quality of work life needs to be substantially improved for all segments of work force [especially for children] not because such measures would increase productivity and motivation. But various aspects of QWL warrant rectification on their own merit, just to build an equitable and just society; where man is not free to exploit another man. Such environment is mandatory not only because this would lead to a more peaceful, congenial society but also since in the long run, only such societies will survive and flourish. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistans economic standing today ------------------------------------------------------------------- S.S. Hyder DESPITE the rosy picture of the MOUs and all that wishful thinking about Pakistan entering the 21st century as an Asian Tiger, the economy of the nation is plummeting. The Pak rupee is getting weaker and weaker, exports are falling, imports rising, and life for the man on the street becoming a bundle of hardships. The French Ministry of Agriculture cancels the contract of Pakistani fish exporter as the quality of the fish is not acceptable due to unhygienic packing and processing conditions and non-observation of standards. Japan has already banned the import of our shrimps because of pigmentation resulting in black spots called Melanosis. Now we dont have enough wheat, sugar, potatoes, tomatoes etc. to eat. We grow less and have more mouths to feed till we are forced to these commodities from India. What a far cry from the times when this region was termed the granary of undivided India. How the IMF is treating the Government is quite evident. The Government treated the IMF prescription as the panacea for all national ailments, but it has itself become a hostage in the clutches of the creditors. Today Pakistans economy harbours four big contradictions. First of all, there is the tussle between the present day requirements and the future needs. More expenses on today reduce the purse for spending on a better tomorrow. While the government goes levying one tax after another, the social security net, which is the fundamental right of every citizen, and which the masses are demanding, continues to elude them. However, we have to admit that all is not gloom and that many sincere and selfless experts have already given their practical submissions. Whether they will make an impact on the governments psyche remains to be seen. What is certain is that time is running out and we are heading towards bankruptcy. It is again submitted that agricultural reforms are a must for the uplift of the national economy. Agricultural land should be given to all who want to sweat and toil and grow food. This should be for very nominal charges and long lease time say, for 25 years. Small loans on easy terms and conditions be given to the informal sector for the development of the economy at the grassroots. Petty workers, artisans, craftsmen, and cottage industry entrepreneurs should be able to come up. Such innovative experiments in Korea and Bangladesh with its Gramaen Bank have shown very promising results. This development may be linked further with bigger industries. A labour policy should be chalked out with the consultation of labourers, industrialists, the judiciary and the government for complete harmony. Let Pakistan stand on its own feet for self-sufficiency so that our country should be free economically. At the moment we are under a debt of $28 billion. This is the foreign debt we have to pay. The internal debt payable is about Rs.859 billion. Devaluation Instead of these debts decreasing, they are increasing due to devaluation, inflation, and interest. As such, self-sufficiency will always remain elusive, the way we are heading. We have to lay special emphasis on the informal sector. We must do away with all the facilities and concessions mentioned in the Income Tax Ordinance, 1979, Schedule II. That way, we could mop up at least Rs.115 billion. Agricultural land must be taxed, the landlord must pay tax. This can bring us about Rs 40 billion per year. Only such decisive steps taken religiously may lead us towards self sufficiency. Unproductive expenses must be cut down. It is not a stage where the government only should be condemned. This is the geba bent of mind which we must denounce. This is the general collective social psyche, and it must be nipped. Political brinkmanship The opposition parties, pouncing at the political instability, have drawn up a comprehensive charge sheet against the ruling party but that just is not the way. If they really want to do something constructive, let them just come out with a comprehensive programme for coming to grips with the umpteen economic ills afflicting the nation today. They should declare demonstrate their sincerity in the abolition of feudalism, boosting the informal sector, developing regional trade, minimising import, maximising exports, cutting down unproductive expenses, realise that ethnic differences can only be solved by economic equality, justice and rule of law, through accountability. Respectable nations have opposition parties who are equally competent to solve the national, economic and social problems of their country through constant debates and dialogue. The nation should always have the right of information and a proper law be passed by the parliament for the same. A complete survey and report must be published about the national wealth and its justified exploitation. Unfortunately, the upstart, noveau riche, get-rich-quick class just do not have patience. They want quick, fat returns the moment investment is made. They refuse to join the mainstream of the struggle against corruption and moral decay in which the people of Pakistan are poised. They would rather utilise their time and energy in the frantic race to purchase dollars. And, for such people, there is good news. Twenty-two per cent shares of Portugal Telecom were privatised in June 1996, setting a record for demand and raising a total ESC 147.1 billion (US$94.7 million). Further 22 companies in 1996 and 1997 are going to be privatised. The investment where private sector may also subscribe are steel, shipbuilding, oil, chemicals, mining gas, paper pulp and tobacco as well as airport management and motorway construction and operation. In addition to Portugal Telecom, the biggest sales will be global offers of Electricdale-De-Portugal, the national power company and CIMPOR a cement producer (The Economist, July 1996). The difference between privatisation in Pakistan and Portugal is that in case of the former, we just sell off to clear our debts. Even here the figures dished out by official agencies leave quite a bit of room for doubt. In Portugal, the government is accountable to the masses. In the case of the latter, it is aimed at promoting social and economic justice, equality of opportunity, and economic integration. We could get a vivid idea of the difference by comparing the stock market of Lisbon which has touched record highs, with our stock markets. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961028 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Moeen opposes new taxes in Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent WASHINGTON, Oct 27: Former caretaker Prime Minister Moeen Qureshi has opposed Prime Minister Benazir Bhuttos latest mini-budget in Pakistan saying there was no need to impose additional taxes which are already excessively high. Pakistan should reduce the tax rates so that the people can pay and those who are assessed are made to pay. Those who cheat must be penalised, Mr Qureshi said in an interview with a Pakistan TV Channel, Awaz, telecast in Washington on Sunday. Asked whether he was satisfied with the way the government was handling the economy, the former caretaker prime minister said: I am not satisfied, I am not sure the expenditures of the government are in areas of high economic priorities. I am not equally sure that all steps needed to be taken to collect revenues are there. As I see the situation it seems the answer is not to apply additional taxes. I think Pakistans taxes are already excessively high. The thing is to reduce rates so people pay and those who are assessed are made to pay. Those who cheat are cheating their fellows and they be penalised. To a question whether Pakistan was about to fall in the debt trap, Mr Qureshi said Pakistans foreign and domestic debt has become alarmingly large. The concern and focus in Pakistan in the past has been on size of foreign debt but main problem is that it is short term and therefore there is a risk that Pakistan may not be able to finance it. In case of domestic debt it has been growing steadily and rapidly. At present debt servicing is one third of the budget which is excessive, he said. He observed: What you are doing is creating an engine of inflation. In future it would burden future generations. They will bear the cost of the spendthrift policies of this generation. The most important thing that can be done is to make absolutely sure that privatisation programmes use their proceeds to repay the debt. That is what I had done. I established a decree and structure which said every penny obtained from privatisation be used to repay the debt. You can stabilise the situation in that way. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961029 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PM forms new team of money managers ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Oct 28: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has changed her team of financial managers and appointed Syed Naveed Qamar and Moeen Afzal as federal minister for finance and secretary, finance, respectively. The adviser to the prime minister, V.A.Jafarey, has gone on leave but would continue in the same position. The cabinet has granted only one-month leave to Mr Jafarey, though he wanted to be away for three months, the Secretary, Information, Haji Akram, told reporters at a briefing after a cabinet meeting here on Monday. He said the Special Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Moeen Afzal, would replace Mian Tayyub Hussain, who had been appointed Secretary, Industries. Also , the chief executive of the Muslim Commercial Bank has been appointed consultant to the ministry of finance. No decision had been taken to replace State Minister for Finance Makhdoom Shahabuddin , Haji Akram told a reporter. Asked who would now lead Pakistan at the ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund, after Mr Jafarey had applied for leave, Haji Akram said the task had been given to prime ministers Special Assistant Shahid Hasan Khan. Sources said the issue of replacing financial managers of the government had been discussed and finalised at the cabinet meeting where a consensus emerged that such a person should be appointed finance minister as had a political background. It was said during the cabinet meeting that time had come when the government should stop banking on technocrats. The sources said the prime minister also said she was not in favour of appointing technocrats as they only sought lucrative jobs and did not have vision to deliver the goods. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961031 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Islamabad, IMF agree on economic reforms ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Oct 30 : Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have hammered out an agreement on all policy matters, paving the way for Islamabad to receive 80 million dollars tranche of 600 million dollars Standby Arrangements (SBA) soon. The IMF announced on Wednesday night that it would immediately resume financial support to Pakistan. Announcing this the Resident Representative of the Fund in Pakistan said the agreement has been reached on all policy matters between the visiting mission of International Monetary Fund and the Government of Pakistan on stabilisation and reform programme. He said in a press statement that the agreement was based on the measures that the government had announced on Oct 22. Pakistans assurances to achieve 4 per cent GDP budget deficit target and single digit rate of inflation along with limiting undue monetary expansion during the current financial year, had helped to convince the IMF team to resume Pakistans assistance, sources further stated. This has also happened for the first time that the local IMF office has issued any statement confirming that Pakistan and the Fund had reached an agreement on major policy matters. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961031 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Active follow-up support sends leading shares higher ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Oct 30: Firmer conditions prevailed on the stock market on Wednesday as leading shares tended further higher on active follow-up support. End of Jamaats sit-in campaign to oust the government was said to be the chief driving force behind the run-up as investors were back in the rings to make new account buying. However, the opening was not that promising as investors were still in two minds about the direction of the market and played mostly safe early in the session. But the mid-session saw a spat of new buying offers from all the quarters led, of course, by some leading institutional traders, enabling the market to stage a solid rally. The-KSE 100-share index, therefore, showed a fresh modest gain of 10.93 points at 1,444.99 as compared to 1,434.06 a day earlier, reflecting the strength of base shares. Floor brokers said apart from being in a highly oversold position, the market has some other positive developments, which could enable it to sustain the current tempo of recovery. Positive feelers from Islamabad after talks with the visiting IMF team suggest that the sailing so far is pretty encouraging, they added. They said release of $600m stand-by credit and resumption of foreign aid in due course did not allow investors to lay guard and they bought at will. But cue to things to come is certainly provided by the presence of strong foreign fund buying and their presence ensure a sustained bull-run, analysts said. However, by and large, the buying interest was largely selective and was centred mostly around low-priced blue chips, notably bank, cement, and energy shares, which rose in unison but modestly. The new entrant in the active list were led by synthetic shares, which recovered sharply on the perception that the 8.5 per cent devaluation of the rupee will make import of synthetic yarn most expensive and in turn will make them more competitive on the local market. Dewan Salman, Dhan Fibre and Pakistan Synthetics were among the leading gainers in the synthetic sector. Other good gainers were led by Siemens Pakistan, which rose by over Rs 30 during the last few sessions on strong support aided by market talk of higher earning and an expectations of an interim dividend. Grays of Cambridge, 4th ICP Mutual Fund, PSO, Pakistan Refinery, Shabbir Tiles, Orix Leasing and 6th ICP Mutual Fund were among the other major gainers. Dawood Hercules fell sharply apparently on news of lower earnings, falling Rs 18 but only on 100 shares, reflecting that investors were not inclined to part with its shares for fears of further decline. Dadabhoy Insurance, which is currently being quoted spot to forestall further steep decline in share value shed another Rs 15 and so did Shell Pakistan after rising by Rs 6.50 in late on Tuesday evening trading. Other losses were mostly fractional. Traded volume was maintained at the overnight level of 37m shares but bulk of it went to the credit of a dozen actives. The most active list was again topped by Hub-Power, up 55 paisa on 6.245m shares followed by PTC vouchers, easy 15 paisa on 5.176m, ICI Pakistan(r), higher 55 paisa on 1.648m, Dewan Salman, sharply higher by Rs 2.80 on 1.415m shares and Dhan Fibre, firm 55 paisa on 1.299m shares. Other actively traded shares were led by ICI Pakistan, higher 50 paisa on 0.455m, MCB, up 55 paisa on 0.298m, and FFC-Jordan Fertiliser, steady 30 paisa on 0.521m shares. There were 322 actives, which came in for trading, out of which 121 shares suffered fractional declines, while 118 rose, with 83 holding on to the last levels. ------------------------------------------------------------------- SUBSCRIBE TO HERALD TODAY ! ------------------------------------------------------------------- Every month the Herald captures the issues, the pace and the action, shaping events across Pakistan's lively, fast-moving current affairs spectrum. Subscribe to Herald and get the whole story. 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EDITORIALS & FEATURES

961025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The public perception ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ardeshir Cowasjee THE thinking people of Pakistan believe their country is viable, that nature has gifted it with sufficient resources, that its people if well- educated and well-led can be industrious and productive. The thinking people of Pakistan loathe the plunderers, the liars, the cheats, the fools and the charlatans who claw themselves into power and have, over the years, rocked and weakened the countrys very foundations until we find ourselves where we are today, nearing rock-bottom. The perception of the thinking people of Pakistan now is: The edifice of the state  It does not stand on a level plane. It rests precariously on four pillars. Two of these, the Army and the judiciary, hold up the two corners of one diagonal. The third corner is weakly supported by a seemingly strengthened President, and the fourth by a threatened beleaguered Press. The conventional pillars, the legislative and the executive, crumbled long ago. The army  Our COAS, General Jehangir Karamat, a professional soldier, does not favour martial law and has no ambitions to impose it or to take over. He has earned the peoples respect. The general well knows that when the Prime Minister angrily publicly declares that she will never slash the defence budget, this is said to rouse the peoples sense of deprivation and their anger against the army. The judiciary  Headed by Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah. It is asserting itself. It has so far withstood pressures exerted by the executive. The judges are on the right track towards full independence. The people are forgiving of any past weaknesses perceived. A five-member bench of the Supreme Court is now adjudicating an important issue. Assisting them as amicus is my friend, Jadoogar of Jeddah Sharifuddin Pirzada. The nearer he gets to his Maker, the weaker his heart pumps, the straighter he gets. He wishes to be remembered as a statesman. During the October 22 hearing, the Presidents lawyer, Shahid Hamid, made the request that the government make public the Mehran Bank report exonerating the President. This is a just demand. The court is competent to order that it be produced. The President - Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan, Tumandar Leghari, a perfect partyman for two and a half years from December 1993, has been forced by circumstances (or otherwise) to find his feet. As long as he proceeds along this course, he must be supported. As supreme commander of the armed forces he rightly appointed (whether forced to or not) on pure merit, General Karamat as COAS. Had he given in to the urgings of the Prime Minister and appointed one of her favourite generals, we would have been in deep trouble. Constitutionally, the President can be as powerful and effective as he wishes to be. When the country has to be saved, he has to take quick decisions. Half-measures will not work. He is aware that the Prime Minister is doing everything possible to deviate, or to stall, in order to lengthen her second spell in office, to cling to power, come what may. The Prime Minister  The least said about her, her family, the prowlers in her kitchen cabinet, her sycophants and bag- carriers in her secretariat, the better. None of them can mend their ways. She has no remorse. She admits to no faults. Her word now carries no credibility with the people, the President, or the IMF. The Parliament  The people say to those that sit therein what Oliver Cromwell said to the Rump Parliament in 1653, You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go. But remain in the country till the accountability commissioner catches up with you. The new honourable Attorney-General  On October 20 he rang. I am Iqbal Haider. Which Iqbal Haider? I asked. Groovy, he said. Do not condemn me without hearing me. Why should I condemn you? I replied. I like you. You are as innocent of law as any of your party cronies and contenders for the post. You are not part of the evil that surrounds and supports you, and that is a great plus point. As far as the people are concerned, Groovy is as insignificant as his predecessor Qazi Jameel. They know that he is not the first law officer of the land who will merely advocate his partys cause. The Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan - Dawns headline, October 23: Yaqub warns money-changers, over the sentence ...He also sounded a stern warning to money changers blaming them for rumour-mongering and speculation about devaluation. A citizen breaks no law by being realistic and apprehending a reality. Does the governor not know that when men likened to Capone or Dillinger seek investments, nothing comes in? The people know of no good reason why the rupee should rise. I say that if things do not change incisively and instantly, the price of the dollar may well be Rs.50 by the end of December. On October 22, the governor announced a mini-budget. A budget is by definition a political statement, setting out the economic platform of the party in power. It can never be a bureaucratic exercise. Constitutionally, the presentation and approval of a budget in parliament is the litmus test of the governments control over parliament. By announcing a mini-budget the governor has contravened a fundamental rule relating to public servants, and has trespassed into the field of politics. He should stick to what is expected of him and, for one, tell us what action he intends taking in the National Investment Trust fiasco. When Asadullah Sheikh was appointed Chairman and Managing Director of NIT in January 1994, spread all over the Press was the news that young inexperienced Asadullah will be controlled by either Mr A or Mr Z, and that by accident or design, the NIT unit holders could be relieved of as much as Rs.10 million per day, to somebodys the advantage. When he was relieved of his position early this month, he had more than completed his mission. Copies of Yaqubs State Bank report on NIT, prepared in July 1996 were distributed to the NIT trustees at the Board meeting on October 1, as part of the last item on the agenda, Any other matter. According to this report, Asadullah and his Board of government-nominated trustees oversaw the blatant robbing of close to a billion rupees of unit holders money held in trust by them. In autumn 1995, Asadullah, obtaining the approval of his Board, disbursed Rs. 5225 million to Chakwal Cement Company Ltd, against 52.5 million shares of the company at Rs. 10 each (the market price was Rs. 8.50). This despite the fact that NIT had received no dividend income in 1994-95 from any of the Chakwal Groups companies on its investment of Rs. 290 million, that it had an aggregate capital loss of Rs. 117 million on its total investment in the Group, that Chakwal Cement does not expect to give any dividend until 2001. All this was done when the State Bank knew that the Groups overdues and defaults totalled over half a billion rupees (Rs. 536 million). Chakwal Cements shares are now quoting at Rs. 3.80. Capital loss, Rs. 325.5 million. In January 1996, Rs. 49 million was disbursed to an unlisted company, Schon Refinery Ltd, by MD Asadullah without Board approval. No one from NIT had visited the project site, nor examined the feasibility report nor monitored its implementation. In lieu thereof, NIT was promised 2,446,000 shares of the refinery at Rs. 20 per share when floated. The Rs. 10 shares carried a premium of Rs. 10, allowed by the Corporate Law Authority. At the time the money was given, the State Bank knew that overdues and defaults of the Schon Group stood at Rs. 141 million. The refinery project has been abandoned and the unfortunate young new professional Chairman and Managing Director Razi-ur-Rahman is left holding a worthless piece of paper. The public perception is that among others, those culpable for this loss which the unit holders (pension funds, pensioners, widows, housewives, small savers, the poor) have been deliberately made to suffer are the Government of Pakistan, the State Bank, the Corporate Law Authority and the government- nominated Chairman and Managing Director Asadullah Shaikh (now reportedly enjoying his R&R leave in England), and the Trustees of NIT. The honourable governor will doubtlessly remain silent. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961027 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Beyond accountability ------------------------------------------------------------------- Omar Kureishi AT least, we all seem to agree that something good and positive has been done. There is a muted welcome for the Accountability Bill but because we have become cynics, having been taken for a ride too often, it is a sort of wait-and-see welcome. Predictably and understandably there has been opposition to the Bill, but not on principle but on its modalities. Some of this opposition comes in the category of point scoring. There is nothing wrong with that. It is a part of the cut and thrust of politics. Accountability has become a battle- cry, it encapsulates all our grievances and we attribute all our misery to the fact that those in the public domain are able to do whatever they please whether being answerable, leave alone being punished for wrong- doing. Accountability, however, is applied only to financial impropriety which covers a multitude of sins, commissions, kick- backs, under-the-table deals and outright bribery. We choose not to see accountability in a wider context. For instance should there not be accountability for the many disastrous policies that were pursued, the policies to live beyond our means by accumulating debts? This was considered smart economics and the prowess and skill of government functionaries was measured by their success in negotiating loans. No thought was given to the grim reality that these loans would have to be paid back in those halcyon days. And should there not have been accountability for the mother of all disastrous policies that led to the creation of Bangladesh? When there was a major rail accident in India, the Minister of Railways, the late Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned accepting responsibility. When a JAL aircraft met with an accident, the chairman of the airline resigned. It would seem it is not a part of our culture to accept responsibility for failed policies. The most we will do is to pass the buck and nail some low level functionary and make him a scapegoat. There have been countless commissions of inquiries, all starting with a bang and ending not only with a whimper but the findings put in cold storage to gather dust or consigned to some bureaucratic limbo. Still, the need of the hour is to curb corruption if not eliminate it and no one can disagree that some sort of reckoning is needed. It is also necessary that this reckoning or accountability should be without fear or favour, should be seen to be above board and not deteriorate into a witch- hunt. The Prime Minister has done well to offer herself for accountability. Let all others follow suit, particularly those who have been casting stones with abandon. Corruption is perceived as the root of all our evils and well it may be. The Accountability Bill could be a start. But we need to go beyond it. We must see the fight against corruption as moral cleansing and not political therapy. This, however, is easier said than done. In all the sound and fury, the dust and heat of corruption charges and counter-charges, we have totally forgotten that there is an endless list of basic wants and these are going unaddressed and even if we have a corruption-free society, an unlikely if not a utopian prospect, more than half our population would still need safe drinking water, will need some measure of health care, will need education. When are we going to re-adjust our priorities? Corruption is not peculiar to our country. We need only to look around our neighbourhood to know that corruption is flourishing and in robust health. One has only to read Indian newspapers to know how endemic it is in that country. Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, even China are not lily-white societies. But they are going ahead with their social agenda even as a few (or many) line their pockets. It is interesting to note that despite the best efforts of Senator Dole to nail Bill Clinton on what are perceived to be acts of gross wrong-doing and financial hanky-panky, Whitewater being one of them and the Indonesian connection being the latest, Clinton remains well ahead in the polls. It is not that the American public condones wrong- doing but they are more concerned about the real issues, matters that will affect or improve the quality of their lives. John Majors Tory Party is beset with scandals but these scandals will have only a marginal bearing on the future prospects of the Tories. I do not believe that we can have a corruption-free society. Those who are saying that they will eliminate corruption are in fact saying that they will abolish human nature. When I first went to China in 1956, I was enormously impressed by the social changes that were being attempted. One of the claims that was made was that crime had been all but eliminated. I took this claim at face value but I did ask my interpreter whether this meant that the jails had been done away with. He was surprised by the question, as if I had bowled him a googly. In 1964 when I went again to China, I met the legendary Dr Ma, a Lebanese doctor. He told me that venereal disease had been wiped out. again, I had no reason to disbelieve him but suggested that there might be an element of exaggeration in that claim. The point I wanted to make to him was that while radical changes could be brought about in the structure of society, the fundamental nature of human beings could not be changed. By all means let us launch a crusade against corruption and let there be an across-the-board accountability. But we must get our priorities in order. Some energy should be saved for setting the basics right, like grass-roots social justice so that the people can live with honour and in peace, so that we can introduce a sense of purpose in their lives. It may be true that people are tired of corruption. But they are also tired of rhetoric and bluster. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961028 ------------------------------------------------------------------- A matter of timing ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohammad Malick THE phrase Byzantine intrigues no longer suffices to describe the political climate of the federal capital where more intrigues are being disclosed or and claimed in one day than those witnessed by the people of the Eastern Roman Empire in a whole lifetime. But at the same time, all rhetoric notwithstanding, things are far from normal. Starting from her recent exhaustive discourse in parliament when Ms Bhutto insisted that she would never resign under any circumstances, even she is no longer maintaining any facade of normality, either. Gone is the stance where the president was the governments best friend and it faced no threat to its existence. Now it appears, the government appears hell bent upon painting itself as being the persistent target of an elaborate conspiracy which incorporates all the necessary elements such as serious economic problems complicated by a crisis of confidence between the prime minister and the other two equally important parts of the ruling equation. Already various institutions are engaged in exercises to comprehend the consequences of the visibly changed political strategy of the government and the situation paper drafted by one particular sensitive intelligence agency is believed to be quite incisive. The paper argues that the announcement of the mini-budget by the governor of the State Bank, Dr Muhammad Yaqub, who has been at odds with the government in the past, is of great significance. It indirectly suggests that the main share of blame for the nations financial woes has now been shifted away from the government in one stroke. The prime minister has now repeatedly claimed that she had told off the IMF on the issue of reducing armys budget and would rather resign than agree to this measure. She declared that she would rather cut the development expenditure and impose new taxes than put the nations security in jeopardy. Knowledgeable people deduce from this working paper that the prime minister may have delivered a masterly stroke by projecting two things: a) The IMF package imposed on the people is not her doing but has been imposed on her by the presidential camp and factors like the delegation to the US being led by Dr Yaqub and the inclusion in it of a supposedly presidential sympathiser, Shahid Hassan Khan, are being pointed out as reliable indicators. b) She has tried claiming that the harsh economic measures were mandated because her government had refused to cut down on armys budget, in other words the armys funding requirements may be the biggest contributor to the nations continuing economic miseries. However, the fact remains that the latest mini-budget is not a result of any new agreement enforced by the IMF to the exclusion of the prime minister and her financial team, but is simply a delayed implementation of the earlier deals made by her government. Secondly, according to insiders, while Shahid Hassan may have enjoyed the confidence of the president in the early stages of his career, he no longer figures on the preference list of the president. With the prime minister herself conceding the existence of an ongoing conspiracy aimed at her ouster little doubt remains on this front. The only ambiguity that is there is about the modalities of such a move. The recent government manoeuvres tend to suggest that while the prime minister may have no intentions to resign a la Nawaz Sharif, she might be angling to be evicted forcibly from office but at a time of her choosing and on a cause of her liking. If a case is being built against her on the questions of violation of the Constitution and the law of the land, it is clear that being the astute politician that she is, Benazir Bhutto is preparing a simultaneous counter case of her own, that of projecting herself as a political martyr for her eventual return to power. What remains to be seen is who gets to do what at whose choice of timing. For, in the long run the timing will decide the political complexion of our country for decades to come. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961028 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Chasing shadows: the Republics enduring pastime ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ayaz Amir AN unsuspecting traveller, new to the ways of our Republic, might think that great issues were at stake in the present political crisis. The President writing admonishing letters to the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister using every available opportunity to scream of conspiracies against democracy (by which of course she means her own government), the Supreme Court sitting in grave judgement over matters referred to it by the President, the Lahore High Court hearing Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoos petition against his ouster as chief minister, the nations permanent Doctors of Doom (as a headline in the News describes them) led by Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan rushing in to feast at Wattoos table, an inquiry tribunal in Karachi trying to get to the bottom of Murtazas killing which remains a mystery only for the Prime Minister, the principal opposition leader announcing a nation- wide strike against the governments latest financial measures and the government, responding to the Jamaats call for a sit-in before Parliament, deciding to seal off the capital completely. What a litany of events and what a picture of turbulence it conveys. The unsuspecting traveller alighting suddenly in Pakistan would be forgiven for thinking that behind the drama of these events basic issues of a momentous nature await resolution. Nothing could be further from the truth. All that has happened in this chaotic year is that another government (the self-immolatory exercise of power being a constant in Pakistani politics) has succeeded in turning every gun in sight against itself. As a consequence, the principal issue at stake in this crisis is not the future direction of the country, as the wishful amongst us would like to believe, but the governments survivability. Can it hold on till the next election or is it destined for the chop in one form or the other? Important as this question is, an answer either way makes little difference to the people whose name is invoked every time a pundit wishes to make a sweeping statement or a politician is about to rend the skies with another slogan. Benazir Bhuttos bizarre and almost surreal gift for defying common sense and insisting, against the evidence, on her infallibility is not at issue here. Among the long line of failures and mediocrities who have flitted through the halls of government in Pakistan, her name and that of her husbands who has shared power with her, will perhaps shine the brightest. There are princes and rulers who leave no trace in history. The dyarchy of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari will be remembered not so much for its slime and corruption as for its sublime heedlessness  for doing things, questionable things most of the time, without caring for the consequences. Yet the point to note is that despite this record, no French or Bolshevik Revolution is knocking at the gates in Pakistan. The major charge against the Bhutto government is that it has flouted all the rules  whether in awarding contracts, taking decisions or in making appointments  and opened needless fronts against the Supreme Court and the Presidency. Abiding by the rules is very important for not to do so invites the anarchy that we are seeing under the Bhutto government. But abiding by the rules alone is not the essence or the sum-total of Pakistans problems. We have had governments in the past which observed the rules, which did not ride roughshod over merit and which saw to it that discipline was observed in the financial and fiscal sectors. The Ayubian decade to which many senior bureaucrats, serving and retired, hark back with a nostalgic feeling could be cited as the prime example of such a dispensation. About the Zia regime too it is said that even if during its soporific and stultifying tenure political institutions were destroyed, the integrity of the bureaucracy and the financial sector was not violated. Even if these examples are accepted, it is still pertinent to ask as to what these two eras achieved, eras which between them account for 22 years of Pakistans history? What good did they do the country? At its lower levels  those which matter to most people  the administration was not more caring or more responsive to public needs than it is today. In fact, during the sixties the arrogance of the bureaucracy was as great if not greater than the arrogance of the political class which we decry nowadays. Corruption was consolidated because the bureaucracy was not accountable to anyone except its masters like the Nawab of Kalabagh in West Pakistan and Abdul Monem Khan in the eastern wing. Much the same was true of Zia-ul- Haqs martial law where against the corrupt police officer or revenue official most of the time there was no redress. Today at least the cry is strong that the politician should be held to account for his actions and misdeeds. This is a good thing but it comes from having democracy and a free Press. During the Ayub and Zia eras deputy commissioners were kings and federal secretaries part of the divine order of things. It should therefore come as no surprise if much of the parroting of the phrase good governance comes from the lips of retired and serving bureaucrats who conveniently forget that when they were all powerful the rules may have been observed but the common man in his relationship with the thanedar and the patwari was no better off than he is today. Now suppose today Benazir Bhutto gets her marching orders and Asif Ali Zardari the come-uppance which he so richly deserves. If things work out smoothly after that we can expect the crisis of power currently bedevilling the country to be swiftly resolved. The President and their lordships of the superior judiciary will be pleased with themselves. A few heads will roll and some of the people now cutting such a fine figure will be shown their places. In the higher business of the Republic rules will be observed and there will be transparency in the awarding of contracts and other business deals involving the state. Without a doubt these are eminently good and necessary things to do. But the problems which stifle the energies of the Pakistani people and which prevent them from securing their rightful place in the sun require much more than the observance of propriety and due form. How will the common man benefit from an independent superior judiciary whose judges are appointed on the advice of the Chief Justice? Those who wax eloquent about the virtues of an independent judiciary forget that in a country like Pakistan a Justice Kayani or some other fearless judge can influence matters in a small number of cases only. The systematic and petty tyranny which the toiling masses (no cliche this) have to put up with in their relationship with the thanedar and the patwari (the twin symbols of the Pakistani state) remains unchallenged and unaffected. For each Feroza Begum who is provided relief by the superior judiciary there are hundreds of other people who have no defence or redress against the arbitrariness of state authority. After the recent attack on SHO Zeeshan Kazmi hundreds of people were rounded up and brought to the Khokrapar Police Station. How many of them can approach the high court? And if they cannot, what remedy can the Chief Justice of Pakistan have for their plight? Benazir Bhutto and her husband are symbols, albeit shining ones, of what is wrong with the country. But they neither encompass nor exhaust the problems of Pakistan because these problems are much greater than their persons. To really suppose that much goodwill come from the present rage over accountability (a word so grossly misused and so often that its unthinking use deserves to be made a cognisable offence) is to invest faith in trifles. Of course, a start has to be made somewhere and anything done in the name of accountability will be a good start. But there should be no illusions that such a process, given the instruments at hand, will amount to no more than scratching the surface of he problem. The terms of the Pakistani revolution we are currently witnessing are limited: to ensure simply that in the conduct of government the rules, such as they are, are not brazenly violated. This is a formula for tinkering, not an agenda for change.

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SPORTS

961025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- *From messenger to youngest Test player ------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Representative FAISALABAD, Oct 24: A boy, who just started his cricket only two years back and also served as a messenger at the National Stadium Press box, is now the youngest player to earn a Test cap. Hasan Raza is the teenager who has broken a long standing record of compatriot and now his manager Mushtaq Mohammad by a long margin of 251 days. Raza, born on March 11, 1982 at Karachi, started serious cricket in 1994 when he joined one of the city clubs, Khudadad Gymkhana. In an years time, he went onto skipper KCCA Zone II in the KCCA Inter-Zonal Under-14 Championships and a year later i.e. this season, he earned the selectors nod for the Junior World Cup in England. Good performance there, helped Raza earn selection for the KCCA Under-19 team which was to defend its title. Raza not only helped KCCA retain the honour but he helped himself by slamming four centuries, including one in the final, watched by the national selection committee. Picked up for the Sahiwal three-dayer, Raza played impressively for 58 and 22 but failed to earn a call for the Sheikhupura Test. But Shadab Kabirs failure and his personal innings of 96 and 22 in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy match between Karachi Blues and Whites, made the selectors to invite him for the series decider. Now that he has taken the field, and has opened his account with a magnificent boundary off Paul Strang, it is to be seen how he fares in the Test and in future. I will show that I am good enough and the selectors have done right by selecting me ahead of many other senior pros, a modest but determined Hasan Raza said. Raza, second of three brothers and as many sisters, didnt hide his ambitions either. I want to go step by step. I am not in a hurry. I want to perform in this Test, then in the next and so on. I dont believe in achieving landmarks. I only believe that if I ensure my place in the team, I will be able to walk over all records, Raza, a Matric student of Boys Secondary School, FC Area, said. Hasan Raza said My happiness was unlimited when I was selected for the World Challenge Cup in England. So you can judge what I would be feeling playing Test cricket with the players I watched on television. Its an honour, pride and the greatest moment of my life. I hope I keep carrying on from here. MUSHTAQ MOHAMMAD: Mushtaq Mohammad, who saw his record vanish from the record books from the players gallery, was all praise for Hasan Raza. I congratulate him and wish him the best of luck. He has been picked purely on merit. He forced his way after scoring so many runs in different levels of the game. This means the boy has something and it is precisely why he has been selected ahead of hundreds of cricketers. Now lets see what he does in the most difficult stage of cricket. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961025 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Incentive bonus for players ------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Representative FAISALABAD, Oct 24: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning to introduce incentive bonus for the national team. The lucrative cash incentive is expected to be enforced with the coming series against New Zealand. A meeting of the players and the PCB, in this context, is scheduled to be held immediately after the conclusion of the ongoing Test series. Besides the cash incentives, players claims for pay raise may also be accepted at that meeting. The players are asking for raise of at least 50% in the match fee, tour fee and other allowances. Players fees was last time increased some seven years back. It would not be out of context to mention here that the players are currently being paid Rs 1,500 as daily allowances as compared to Rs 2,500 they received during the World Cup. Similarly, on foreign tours, other than England, players get a daily allowance of US $ 50. In England, players got 60 pounds besides 200 pounds weekly. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961026 ------------------------------------------------------------------- A month of world cricket records ------------------------------------------------------------------- Lateef Jafri October had been a month of records in cricket, initially set against Pakistan but latterly the feats of some Pakistani willow-wielders came as a pleasant shock to the games enthusiasts. The matches became absorbingly interesting but statisticians, as was to have been expected, brought to the notice of the fans the achievements - the facts and figures - of the cricketers. While brisk batsmanship, clever bowling and quick fielding would provide glamour to the game a record set and shattered would betray the fulfilment of an achievement. Certainly the game becomes more challenging with the combatants trying to attain new accomplishments. As we talk of statistics in such an attractive game as cricket many may ask as to who set the first record? Undoubtedly no batsman can think, even in his wildest dreams, of emulating the feat of Charlie Bannerman, the Australian, who took strike to the first ball bowled in the first Test match in cricket in March 1877 at Melbourne and scored the first century - a hundred on debut. For England in the same inaugural Test the first 50 was scored by Henry Jupp, the opener. Perhaps it is improbable to repeat the outstanding performance of Sir Pelham Warner who hit a century on debut and carried his bat through the innings in a difficult Test for England against South Africa in February 1899 at Johannesburg - two feats in one and the same Test. However, no instance can be found of a father and son making the same record. Nazar Mohammad opened the innings for Pakistan in the Lucknow Test against India in October 1952 and remained unbeaten with 124 at the end of the knock. Thirty years later son, Mudassar Nazar carried his bat against India at Lahore with an unbeaten score of 152. Desmond Haynes, the West Indies opener, stands alone in thrice remaining not out in completed innings for his country. As mentioned earlier that October was the month of records. The South Africans started it, though in a one-day international in the Nairobi quadrangular with a world record between Daryll Cullinan and Jonty Rhodes for the fourth wicket. Playing against Pakistan the two hit 232 to eclipse the previous mark of 173 set by the Austrians Dean Jones and Steve Waugh against Pakistan in Perth in January 1987. The South Africans effort was followed by the hurricane hitting of Pakistans teenager, Shahid Afridi, who scored a one-day hundred in just 37 balls against world champions, Sri Lanka. He drove, hooked and pulled the Sri Lankan bowling with gay abandon and set alight the Nairobi ground. He cut the Sri Lanka pace and spin attack to pieces and turned the match into a melodrama. Afridi snatched the record of Sanath Jayasuriya, previously set with 48 balls against Pakistan in Singapore last April. Jayasuriya too came under Afridis ruthless onslaught. At Sheikhupura captain Wasim Akram smashed two world records. With Saqlain Mushtaq he sent out of the record books the 65-year-old standing eighth wicket score of 246 by Leslie Ames, batsman-cum-wicketkeeper, and Gubby Alan, against New Zealand at Lords. Allen, later on knighted, came at the fall of the seventh wicket at 190. Both Sir Gubby and Leslie Ames made centuries to set their eighth wicket mark and take England out of a tight spot. At Sheikhupura Pakistan were in real trouble with a score of 237 for seven against Zimbabwes ample total of 375 in the first knock. Initially both Wasim and Saqlain were watchful and sedate but then Wasim opened out and literally collared the Zimbabwean bowling. He, along with Saqlain, not only smashed the Ames-Allen mark but set their own record of 313 which it will be difficult for any lower order pair to improve on. In his undefeated innings of 257 Wasim hit 12 huge sixes to surpass the 10 over-boundaries scored with lightning strokes by Englands Walter Hammond against New Zealand at Auckland in April 1933 in an unbeaten innings of 336 that is still the fifth highest in Test cricket. Hammond had come fresh from a double hundred at Christchurch in an earlier Test. Wasim showed the savagery of his bat not only to thrill the cricket fans at the new Test venue but saved the team from a threatening situation. Saqlains 79, his highest batting effort in Test, was equally praiseworthy for the world record may not have been attained without the youngster giving a stand to the captain and exhibiting assurance in his batsmanship. Wasims accomplishments may raise the confidence and morale of the team after the defeat at the hands of South Africa in Nairobi. They may not only put up a good performance against Zimbabwe but show bravery and chivalry against the New Zealanders or before that in Sharjah. Yet another unique record has been created by schoolboy, Hasan Raza, who has become the youngest cricketer to appear in a Test match at the age of 14 years and 227 days. Hitherto Mushtaq Mohammad had this distinction. Making his Test debut for Pakistan against West Indies in Lahore in March 1959 Mushtaq was aged 15 years and 124 days. At one time Khalid Hasan while getting his Test cap at Nottingham against England in 1954 was the youngest cricketer with 16 years and 352 days. But Mushtaqs name stood for 37 years in the Wisden record section. Now Hasan Raza, a product of catch em young scheme of MCB, takes his rightful place as the youngest Test debutante. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961027 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Making Lara captain wont solve W.I. problems ------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Representative FAISALABAD, Oct 26: Appointing Brian Lara as West Indies captain was by no means the only solution to reach the same heights the team achieved in the 70s and 80s. This was observed by former West Indies Test star, Jackie Hendricks. Hendricks, a former selector and manager, who is here as Match Referee, believed that the West Indies team can only achieve what they achieved in the past if they produced the same quality players. A captain cannot do anything until he has good players under him. He has to be inspirational but he still needs batsmen who can score and bowlers who can get wickets, Hendricks, who managed the West Indies team led by Viv Richards here in 1986, said. Hendricks emphasised that Brian Lara was certainly a player whom the West Indies can look forward to taking over the helms of affairs. But I think the management would not be expecting that Lara would perform miracles. Lara did exceptionally well both as a player and as a captain when he led the Under-19 team and the Trinidad and Tobago team in the Red Stripes Cup. But all will depend what quality of players he gets when he takes over as captain. When Lara will take over the team from Courtney Walsh, the biggest task before him will be to build team spirit and co-ordination. I think this is the element which is lacking in the current side. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961030 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Wasim may reach a landmark in todays 1-dayer ------------------------------------------------------------------- Samiul Hasan QUETTA, Oct 29: Skipper Wasim Akram will look for his 300th wicket in one- day internationals when Zimbabwe and Pakistan play the opener of the three- match series at an awful looking Nawab Bugti Stadium on Wednesday. Akram is presently the worlds leading wicket-taker with 299 wickets. If he manages to pick the required wicket on Wednesday, he will become the first- ever bowler in the history of cricket to take 300 wickets at both levels of sport. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 961031 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Malik, 72, steers Pakistan to win over Zimbabwe ------------------------------------------------------------------- Samiul Hasan QUETTA, Oct 30: Salim Malik proved once again that he was the jewel of a batsman in the Pakistan team when he spearheaded the home side to an exciting three-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the first game of the three- match-one-day series here at the Akbar Bugti Stadium on Wednesday. Malik played a delightful innings of unbeaten 72 as Pakistan secured the victory target of 238 with just five balls to spare. The most experienced one-day player in the arena today with 238 games, was later adjudged Man- of-the-Match. While Salim Malik celebrated his 40th half century in style by almost steering Pakistan to victory single-handedly, there was also joy for skipper Wasim Akram who became the first-over bowler to capture 300 wickets in limited-overs cricket. Akram, who already has 311 Test scalps under his cap, reached the milestone when he trapped David Houghton in front of the wickets on the fourth ball of the day. Besides Akram, Hasan Raza also had a memorable match when he became the youngest one-day player at the age of 14 years and 233 days. He shattered the record of compatriot Aqib Javed who had made his debut against the West Indies in Australia some seven years back at the age of 16 years and 127 days.

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