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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 06 February 1997 Issue : 03/06
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Benazir wants new govt to complete term
Mystery shrouds delay in results
Infomercials make the poll different from past ones
US confirms two charges against PDF govt
PML-N routs PDF bloc in Punjab
Pajero ride tempts voter to cast ballot
Imran out for a duck
Low turnout marks elections
EU observers point out deficiencies in poll process
PPP rejects election results
PML emerges over-all winner in elections
---------------------------------
Nawaz has agreed to continue economic changes
Businessmen optimistic about revival of economy
FDI worth $16.73bn expected in 9th Plan
The economics of elections
Burki terms situation in Pakistan disappointing
Volume soars to record 88m shares on Nawazs victory
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Dissolution 1996 Ardeshir Cowasjee
Benazirs refreshing stance Editorial Column
*From Jinnah to Benazir and after Dr I.H. Malik
The moment of truth Mazdak
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A fitting case for world Test championship
Rashid Latif not available for Dhaka trip
Five-nation event to be held in Karachi
Akram decides to skip international events
Will results affect PCB set-up?
PSFs obligation and future of squash
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970205
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Benazir wants new govt to complete term
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Feb 4: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has said though
election results have been engineered, she will give a chance to Nawaz
Sharif to complete his tenure.
If I launch a movement (against the government for rigging the elections)
it will only result in the dismissal of another assembly. What will people
get? Bhutto told an over-crowded news conference in the Federal Capital on
Tuesday after her arrival from Larkana.
Where do we go from here? Neither the people of Pakistan, the nation, the
PPP or I can afford another election physically or politically, the former
prime minister whose party has won only 17 seats in the 217-member National
Assembly said.
The PPP has been routed completely from three out of four provinces in the
general elections.
As far as I am concerned, I derive a quiet satisfaction from the failure
of President Leghari to form a Kings Party, to have a hung parliament and
to impose a presidential system, the former prime minister said.
For better or worse, Nawaz Sharif and the PML have been given charge of
this country. They have been in effect been given a blank cheque to re-
write the Constitution, Ms Bhutto said. I wish Mian Nawaz Sharif good
luck.
The former prime minister said she wanted to break the vicious circle where
the assembly is not given a chance to complete its tenure.
She said though the election results were engineered, she would like to see
democracy strengthen its roots in the country. I want to see parliamentary
democracy to flourish, she added.
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970204
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Mystery shrouds delay in results
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Feb 3: The Election Commission announced the first result at
12:45 AM, a record of sorts because in the previous elections the first
results had begun coming in within six hours of polling.
Every time the Election Commission was approached by reporters for results
the stock answer was: Wait for some more time. The officials of the
Commission also said that since the results of the provincial assemblies
were also being compiled, so the delay.
It was also for the first time that the reporters were debarred from
entering into the Control Room of the Election Commission and were asked
to sit on the second floor of the ministry of state and frontier region
raising questions about the transparency of the election process.
President Farooq Leghari visited the Election Commission at about nine
Oclock and inspected various arrangements made for announcing the results
and expressed his satisfaction over it. The reporters were not even allowed
to move around with the President in the Commission which too was some
thing totally unexpected and unprecedented.
The staff on duty in the Commission was also hostile to media and did not
permit any one to even come near the control room. On being questioned,
they were told to remain away from the control room and wait for the
results of the election on the television.
Interestingly the delay in announcing the consolidated results occurred
despite the fact that the Election Commission had made arrangements to
announce the results of the elections of each polling station on the spot.
Everyone expected that the results would start coming after 9.30 because of
the low turn out. In all previous elections, at least unofficial results
started coming by 10 pm.
No plausible explanation was offered either by the Election Commission or
any responsible official of the caretaker government as to why newsmen were
not allowed to have access to the control room which at time looked more of
an office of any security agency than the office which was responsible to
facilitate the media.
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970203
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Infomercials make the poll different from past ones
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Nizamuddin Siddiqui
KARACHI, Feb 2: Mondays parliamentary elections do not seem very different
from the previous elections of the country. Like so many past elections,
this one, too, is being held under a caretaker government, the elected
government having been dismissed by the president. There is, therefore, a
lot of chaos and bitterness in the air.
There is, however, one thing which sets Mondays elections apart from the
previous ones, thanks largely to television advertisements by the
contending parties to disseminate their messages.
Not all the political parties have used the TV ads to spread their
messages. But the four which have done so, have shown a lot of gusto and
imagination in propagating their image.
The enthusiasm of the four parties for the television ads can be gauged
from their performance on Saturday night alone. They paid Rs 3.72 million
to buy 42 minutes and 15 seconds, or 14.08 per cent, of prime time (from
7:20pm to 12:20am). With the adverts of them Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP), Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Tehrik-i-Insaf, and Tehrik-i-Jafria
dominating the total time slated for advertisements, very few commercial
ads were aired.
During the period mentioned, 25 political messages were aired by the PTV in
all. In other words, on an average, a political ad was aired after every 12
minutes.
Almost all the adverts were based on personalities rather than on issues
with all the four parties showing their party leaders extensively. Only one
ad from the PPP and one from the PML(N) spoke of economic issues.
One PPP message showed Nusrat Bhutto endorsing the policies of her
daughter, Benazir Bhutto. The short TIP message showed Imran Khan appealing
to the voters to go to the polling stations on their own, since, he
claimed, his party lacked resources to provide conveyance to the voters.
The TIPs 25-minute infomercial that was aired on Saturday night was
actually the rerun of the PTV programme called Election Hour.
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970201
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US sends signal to Pakistan politicians
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Jan 31: The US has sent a clear message to politicians in
Pakistan that if they did not put their act together, Washington would be
willing to work comfortably with the army, even under a barely concealed
military regime, analysts said on Friday.
Reviewing the latest US human rights report on Pakistan, they said it
recognised that the troika governs Pakistan, that it stated
categorically that the judiciary was not independent, it blasted
politicians for their acts of commission and omission and, between the
lines, expressed satisfaction that the Benazir government had been
dismissed.
It is just good luck that the judgement in the Benazir Bhutto case came
before this report. Had it been delayed and this report had appeared before
the judgement, Benazir and the Supreme Court would have been put in a
difficult situation as many conclusions drawn in the report had a direct
bearing on the Benazir case, a diplomat said.
The report conveys strong political opinions of the US administration about
Pakistans domestic affairs and in view of the importance Robin Raphel gave
to the army chief while ignoring the prime minister during her recent
visit, it should become clear that the state department is no longer hooked
to a strong commitment for democratic rule in Pakistan, analysts say.
The troika was mentioned in the human rights report for 1995 as well and
although it is a reality in Pakistan, the analysts are still questioning
whether an official government document could recognise it as such without
kicking off a diplomatic row. No such row started last year and none is
expected this year.
The US policy is evident, the analysts say, from the reaction of the state
department to the dismissal of the Benazir government and to the formation
of the CDNS, when no doubt was left that Washington would not intervene on
the side of the politicians unless a blatant and direct military rule was
imposed.
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970204
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PML-N routs PDF bloc in Punjab
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Mahmood Zaman
LAHORE, Feb 3: The Pakistan Muslim Leagues success in the Punjab Assembly
polls was as comprehensive as its win on the provinces National Assembly
seats.
It was reported to have bagged 108 PA seats in the 248-member house,
according to unofficial results received till last reports came in.
The Pakistan Peoples Party not only lost in all provincial constituencies
except two, the margin of its defeat was startlingly large. It was a rout
in a province which had helped to bring two Bhuttos to power twice in 26
years. It now seems as if the largest province has withdrawn its support to
the PPP.
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970204
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Pajero ride tempts voter to cast ballot
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Shaukat Ali
LAHORE, Feb 3: The chance to sit in a Pajero was one compelling factor
which made Baba Rahima a voter in village Manga (polling station number
42) in NA 99 to cast his vote. Aged around 60, he felt overjoyed sitting
in a glistening blue Pajero owned by a contestant.
I dont care who wins or loses. I have enjoyed (the ride), a gleeful Baba
Rahima said. Talking to this correspondent he said it had been a life-long
dream for him to sit in a Pajero. When asked whom he had voted for, the
baba said: Obviously for my benefactor. The Pajero was bountifully
decorated with stickers.
A number of other jeeps were also seen in the area bringing voters.
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970204
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Imran out for a duck
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Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, Feb 3: The cricket star turned politician Imran Khan who
contested the election for eight national assembly seats, failed to win a
single seat, ending any thought that he would emerge as a third political
force in the country.
Mr Khan who now heads the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf political party, besides
running a cancer hospital, was believed to be winning at least his personal
seat along with bagging couple of more seats for his partymen.
However, he could not be returned to the national assembly as was generally
being projected by both political and non-political quarters. Analysts said
that he too was the victim of the new wave that ran across the country in
favour of Pakistan Muslim League(N) and despite having lot of support from
the youth, he did not even secure a single seat for himself.
He is on record as having said in a TV interview that he did not care even
if he would not secure a single seat, and that he has a long way to go in
politics to make his presence felt both in the public and the
establishment.
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970204
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Low turnout marks elections
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Dawn Report
ISLAMABAD, Feb 3: Early trends indicated that the election 1997 which was
characterised by an unusually low turnout was going in favour of the
Pakistan Muslim League of Nawaz Sharif.
President Farooq Leghari while talking to reporters at the PTV election
studio late in the evening disclosed that in urban Punjab the turn out was
26 per cent while in rural areas it was 27 per cent.
The nine-hour long, largely peaceful polling for the national and
provincial assemblies ended today at the appointed time with the voter
turnout remaining significantly low throughout the country.
In most of the constituencies polling started about one to two hour late
due to administrative problems and in the Punjab and Federal capital foggy
weather also intervened. The pace of voting also remained very slow and the
general pattern of low turnout was clearly visible every where.
While the uncertainty about polls which had remained high throughout the
three months and the fact that the election rules had made it almost
impossible for the candidates to spend lavishly on their campaigns had had
a dampening impact on the election activity. The main reason for the low
turnout appeared to be the doubts harboured by voters about the fate of
winning candidates who, according to the new laws, could be disqualified
either because they had spent more than the limit imposed on election
expenses or because they had made wrong declaration of their assets.
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970206
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EU observers point out deficiencies in poll process
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Feb 5: The European Union election observers group has
monitored serious deficiencies in the electoral process, and advised
Pakistan to hold an early census to avoid distortions in the system.
In general the poll was conducted in accordance with the rules and in an
equitable manner and that the results reflected the wishes of those who
voted. However, serious deficiencies, in the electoral register and the
identification of voters, excluded a significant proportion of those who
had the right to vote, concluded the final report of the group here on
Wednesday.
It also said that the failure to hold a census since 1981, despite
constitutional requirements, and rapid demographic change, had led to
distortions and imbalances in the number and distribution of
constituencies.
There is no doubt that this detracts in a fundamental way from the
representative character of the parliamentary system in Pakistan. It is
important that a census be held and constituency boundaries be reviewed
before the next elections, the report said.
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970206
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PPP rejects election results
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Feb 5: The Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Pakistan
Peoples Party said on Wednesday that the February 3 general elections were
massively rigged and refused to accept its results.
However for promoting and protecting the parliamentary form of government
and maintaining political and economic stability, the CEC decided that it
would not launch any movement for the time being.
The meeting, chaired by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, considered at
length the outcome of the general elections and accused the Secretary
Election Commission of having a hostile attitude towards the party as he
was suspended by the PPP government.
The decision whether to sit in the assembly or not will be taken by the
parliamentary party of the PPP in its meeting to be held a day before the
assembly session, the CEC decided.
The CEC was of the view that the people of Pakistan have been robbed of an
opportunity to elect their representatives through a free, fair and
impartial election.
The process of manipulation was started with the installation of a
hostile, biased, partial and highly controversial caretaker set up at the
federal and provincial levels, the meeting observed.
It said the caretakers immediately set up the state apparatus against the
PPP by arresting its leaders and workers on false, frivolous charges and
conducting a media trial of the party and its leadership on concocted
charges, promulgation of tinted election laws aimed deliberately to give
advantage to the adversaries of the PPP, manipulation of the local
administration by way of transfers, postings and selective issuance of the
national identity cards to the opponents of the PPP.
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970205
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PML emerges over-all winner in elections
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M. Ziauddin
ISLAMABAD, Feb 4: Pakistan Muslim League led by Nawaz Sharif has swept the
national and Punjab assemblies seats while in the NWFP it has shared the
spoils with its former ally ANP and in Sindh and Balochistan it has made
significant gains.
The Balochistan National Party (BNP) has romped home in Balochistan with
the largest number of seats.
The unofficial results give the PML an absolute majority in the national
and the Punjab assemblies while its nearest rival, the PPP, has been routed
in all the provinces except in Sindh.
The so-called third force, Tehrik-i-Insaf of Imran Khan, has failed to win
even a single provincial or National Assembly seat.
It is clear now that the PML will form governments at the Centre and the
Punjab without entering into an alliance with other parties.
Interestingly, in both the national and Punjab assemblies, the opposition
would be almost non-existent while in NWFP too the opposition would be too
insignificant if the PML and ANP join hands. It is not very clear which
parties or party would sit in the opposition in Balochistan.
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970206
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Nawaz has agreed to continue economic changes
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Feb 5: The first test of the new PML Governments commitment
to economic reforms would be whether they adopt the reforms and laws passed
by the caretaker government, Adviser to PM on Finance, Mr. Shahid Javed
Burki said on Wednesday.
Talking to Dawn in Washington he said in initial meetings with him before
the elections, the PML leadership had agreed to continue with the reforms
but there would be political pressures on the new government to abandon
some of the targets set by the IMF.
Burki claimed that in three months the caretakers had done a great lot for
which I am very proud of myself and the dream team that I had.
A paper prepared on its achievements, the caretakers government claimed
successes in three key areas - stabilisation of the economy, structural
transformation and poverty alleviation.
I stopped the nose dive and brought the economy to a plain, stable level,
Mr. Burki claimed.
Under the title of stabilisation of the economy, the government paper
claims improvements were made in fiscal, monetary and external finances.
The government expenditure was cut by Rs 36.1 billion or 7.2 per cent of
the total GDP of Rs 500 billion, an improvement in resource mobilisation of
Rs. 55.3 billion was achieved in Nov-Dec 96 as against last year and tight
monetary policy reduced bank borrowing from Rs 65.7 billion on Oct 31 to Rs
58.8 billion on Dec 31, it said.
In the external finances sector it claimed foreign exchange reserves were
built up from $ 614 million in end of October to $ 836 million in December.
Likewise trade gap declined to $ 160 million in December compared to $ 300
million in November.
In structural reforms introduced by the caretaker government, Mr. Burki
claimed 30 measures had been adopted in 13 different areas including
reforms in the banking sector, monetary and fiscal policy, capital market,
NFC, privatisation, re-defining governments role, trade and tariffs,
improving statistical base and strengthening of planning process.
Deregulation of the petroleum sector, packages for textile industry and
drainage programme for agriculture besides establishment of a poverty
alleviation fund, food vouchers and a safety net for the poor, encouraging
private sector education and stipends for the poor were also part of the
measures taken by the caretakers.
Mr. Burki would be returning to Islamabad for a day or two to brief the new
government leaders on Sunday but for all practical purposes he has finished
his job assigned to him for three months.
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970205
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Businessmen optimistic about revival of economy
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 4: Businessmen are looking at the Monday election results
which returned Mr Nawaz Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League with a thumping
majority in National Assembly with optimism and in their statements on
Tuesday have expressed the hope of revival of economic activities in the
country.
The PML(N) headed by Nawaz Sharif is being considered a businessmen
friendly political party and industrialists and businessmen expect creation
of an environment which would facilitate trade and industry in moving
ahead.
A new era has dawned and the country should witness economic progress and
prosperity in the days ahead, hopes the President of Federation of
Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Senator Ilays Ahmed Bilour.
In a statement, he said that the success secured by Mr. Sharif is
indicative of the fact that the people have confidence in him and consider
him as the only person who could pull the country out of the present
degeneration.
He hoped that Mr Sharif would take the business community, particularly the
FPCCI, along in formulating the economic policies of his government.
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970202
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FDI worth $16.73bn expected in 9th Plan
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Parvaiz Ishfaq Rana
KARACHI, Feb 1: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Pakistan is expected to
soar to $16.738 billion during the 9th Five-Year Plan to be launched next
year owing to some major structural changes in the rules governing foreign
capital.
According to projections made by the Board of Investment (BoI) after taking
into account the last five year plans capital inflow and the financial
reforms undertaken by the former two governments of Nawaz Sharif and
Benazir Bhutto, the FDI is expected to soar to $16.738 billion as against
$1.654 billion inflow of FDI during 7th Five-Year Plan and $3.899 billion
during the first four years of 8th Five-Year Plan, up to Dec 1996. FDIs
are largely dependent on the perception of investors and the investment
friendly incentives as well as environment, the board official said and
added that they were subject to change because of economic and allied
economic factors.
Foreign investors also take into account the investment opportunities in
the region surrounding Pakistan, they said adding there could be a
possible shortfall in the projected figures from the actual inflows of FDI
in subsequent years.
Out of the total inflow of FDI during first four years of 8th Five-Year
Plan (up to Dec 1996), an investment of $1.181 billion from USA topped the
list followed by $928 million from UK and $167.3 million from Japan.
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970201
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The economics of elections
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Dr. Farrukh Saleem
ELECTIONS or no elections, PML(N) is the only political entity that is
already laughing all the way to the bank. One hundred and seventy- seven
National Assembly (NA) candidates and around 30 dozen contestants on the
four Provincial Assembly seats have had to cough up a good Rs 10 crore so
that they could get their hands on what is being perceived as winning
tickets.
The top PPP hierarchy had also fetched black-market prices for their
tickets both in 1988 and in 1993. This year PPP has given 160 NA tickets.
Out of the one-hundred-and-sixty tickets, the PPP has surely managed small
amounts from the feudal-dominated belt of Southern Punjab and from some
rural constituencies in the interior of Sindh, but by and large Benazir, is
finding it difficult to get much in return for party tickets.
The PML, PPP, and some independent candidates have, in the meanwhile, been
converting some of their dollars stashed away during previous regimes in
order to finance their domestic election campaigns.
The en masse conversion of dollars by potential legislators has improved
the rupee-dollar parity from a low of Rs 43.50 to the current level of
around Rs 41.90. The rupees strength, to be sure, is transient. This year
there are 1,853 candidates on 217 NA seats and 4,424 contestants on 483 PA
seats.
While the CECs limit on election expenses stands at Rs 10 lakh for NA
candidates and Rs 6 lakh of PA constituencies, most party- backed,
especially PML and PPP candidates; would be spending anywhere from 250 per
cent to 500 per cent higher than the CEC limit.
There is bound to be widespread violations of CEC limits, but certainly not
as severe as has been the case in previous elections.
Tonga wallas in rural constituencies, bus owners, paid voters and muscle-
men are all going to be employed and paid well by NA and PA candidates, but
thanks to the new election laws noisy street rallies, rowdy party meetings,
banners, party flags and placards of all sorts have been restricted giving
a more docile look to the overall election campaign.
Additionally, this election year may actually be the first time that all
the three major party leaders- Nawaz, Benazir, and Imran have leased out
helicopters in order to stay comfortable and also to visit more
constituencies than has been possible in the past.
The election may also set a new record as far as the number of women
candidates contesting on general seats is concerned.
There are some 38 constituencies on which female candidates are taking
part. One of the most interesting is NA-164 where Begum Nusrat Bhutto,
Ashraf Khatoon, Rasheeda Khohro, Sabiha Sultana and Ghinwa Bhutto are all
candidates. All said and done, the 6,277 want to be legislators would have
spent more than Rs 3 billion or an equivalent of some $75 million from the
beginning of the election campaign up until February 3.
Moving over to the Election Commission, it is still in the process of
seeing up some 43,000 polling stations as opposed to 34,000 that were set
up in 1993.
The Commission has already engaged at least 6 lakh people to manage affairs
at these polling stations. A total of 53,244 persons all of grade 17, 18,
and 19 mostly from the Education Department are also being trained as
Presiding Officers, Assistant Presiding Officers and ballot papers are
still being printed. Estimated costs: Rs 10 crore.
The Election Commission has also requested the assistance of 250,000 armed
forces (108,000 were used 1993) personnel 150,000 at polling stations and
an additional 100,000 to maintain law and order. Although this year the
armed forces have decided not to change the routine internal security
allowance this assistance (sought under Article 220) nevertheless involves
an implicit expense of more than Rs 1 crore. This help from the armed
forces is, of course, in addition to the CECs own workers whose numbers
are expected to reach 600,000 at the cost of some Rs 20 crore.
Between November 5 and February 3 the nation may eventually be poorer by Rs
100 crore on the election account alone. Considering that no more than 25
million voters would go out and actually cast their vote. That translates
into an extremely high per-voter cost of Rs 200 per election (education
budget Rs 12 per Pakistani per year, health budget Rs 24 per Pakistani per
year) A comparison of election expenses to what that the government spends
on education or on the health sector makes any election exercise even more
depressing.
The Budget 96-97 allocated a more Rs 160 crore for education and a party Rs
320 crore for the health sector. Just where do our national priorities
really lie? Election or education? Election or health? Did the President
even given any consideration to such issues before dissolving the
assemblies?
The possibility of restoration of the Assembly which is no more there has
indeed been a cause for most candidates keeping their election expenses on
a tight leash.
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970131
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Burki terms situation in Pakistan disappointing
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Jan 30: The prime ministers adviser on finance, Shahid Javed
Burki, left here for Washington on Thursday to represent Pakistan at a
micro-enterprise summit there.
I am going to Washington to represent Prime Minister Malik Meraj Khalid at
a summit, convened to offer support to small industries in the developing
countries, Mr Burki said before leaving Islamabad.
He told reporters that he would stay in the United States for sometime
after attending the summit and come back on February 10. Then I would
finally go back to Washington on Feb 13, he said adding that he had no
plans to serve any other future government in Pakistan.
Answering a question , Mr Burki said he would also be meeting high
officials of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund during his
stay in the US.
There is no specific agenda to be discussed with the World Bank and the
IMF but I would hold talks with them on various issues including further
support for the economic stabilisation programme in Pakistan, the adviser
stated.
He said both the institutions had been extremely helpful to Pakistan,
specially in getting the country out of the crisis created by the Benazir
government.
Replying to a question, Mr Burki said the IMF had just released the third
tranche of 76 million dollars. He hoped that the future government would
continue to implement the reforms introduced by the caretakers , to avoid
problems.
Asked to comment on his stay in Pakistan, he said it was very
disappointing. My biggest disappointment is that every institution in
Pakistan has been destroyed and things look more horrifying when I find
that people do not realise their responsibilities, Mr Burki said.
He said there were many good people in every section of the society. It is
true that a handful bad eggs have done the real damage but nobody is there
to check them to stop further damage, he said.
For me it was a painful shock to find corruption everyone, he said
praying that the future government should realise the gravity of the
problem and avoid indulging in corrupt practices and serve its people
honestly. He said Pakistan was potentially a rich country and the only need
was that its resources were utilised honestly and efficiently.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970205
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Volume soars to record 88m shares on Nawazs victory
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 4: The Karachi Stock Exchange on Tuesday gave an enthusiastic
welcome to the overwhelming victory of Nawaz Sharif in the national
elections as the post-election session saw the 100-share index gaining
another 52 points. Volume soared to a record figure of 88 million shares.
There were no pleasant surprises in the rings as the market has already
voted him to power in the pre-election sessions as was reflected by the
buying euphoria.
The victory is incredible even beyond the markets initial perceptions,
some dealers said.
It is a tidal wave which took the entire Punjab in its fold and wiped out
everything which came in its way putting the former prime minister again in
the saddle, another said.
Dealers said the victory is overwhelming and there are reasons to believe
that the current buying euphoria could be sustained in the coming sessions
too.
What is more important is that foreign investors are back in the rings in a
big way and made massive buying on some of the leading MNCs at the lower
levels.
The market needs political stability to thrive and the current elections
ensure it is there, said a leading foreign fund manager.
Trading volume soared to 88 million shares, the fourth best single-session
figure. The previous record being at 112.736 million shares established on
March 28 in 1996 after the news of privatisation of Pakistan
Telecommunication. PTC alone accounted for 55 million shares on that day.
Stocks rise and fall with the Nawaz Sharif government, the post-election
session proved an old adage in more than one ways, dealers said.
The index gained over 100 points during the pre and post-elections sessions
and consolidated its position well above the 1,600 points resistance level
at 1,648.00 points as compared to 1,597.26 on Sunday.
Most floor brokers believe that irrespective of the weak economy the
sailing in the rings now on word might be smooth and there are reasons to
believe that foreign investors might remain active buyers.
Plus signs were again strewn all over the list as investors rushed in to
cover positions at the lower levels.
The interesting feature was that most of the textile shares virtually raced
towards their pre-reaction levels under the lead of Nishat Mills and Asim
Textiles, rising by Rs 3.
Bank shares were also actively traded at the lower levels and rose in
unison, major gainers among them being Askari Bank, Bank Al-Habib, Crescent
Bank, Bankers Equity, PICIC and KASB & Co.
Adamjee Insurance followed them rising by Rs 6 and so did Dadabhoy
Insurance and EFU Life Insurance. Others also rose.
Dewan Salman and Dhan Fibre were actively traded with the former showing a
big increase of Rs 4.30 and so did Gatron Industries, rising by Rs 4.
Energy shares also rose in unison under the lead of National Refinery and
PSO, and so were most of the leading MNCs which showed good gains.
However, biggest gains were noted in Siemens Pakistan, BOC Pakistan, Dawood
Hercules, Gillette Pakistan and Pakistan Gum Chemicals, rising by Rs 3 to
8.
Barring Fateh Textiles, which fell by Rs 5, other losses were modest and
confined to 4th and 8th ICP mutual funds and Atlas Battery.
The most active was again led by Hub-Power, which was massively traded, up
95 paisa on 20.810 million shares, followed by PTC vouchers, sharply higher
by Rs 1.45 on 18.883m, Dewan Salman, sharply higher by Rs 4.30 on 12.209m,
ICI Pakistan, up one rupee on 9.546m, and Dhan Fibre, higher 50 paisa on
5.485m shares.
Other actively traded shares were led by FFC-Jordan Fertiliser, firm 95
paisa on 0.600m, Nishat Mills, up Rs 2 on 0.306m, LTV Modaraba, steady 75
paisa on 0.310m, and PICIC, higher one rupee on 0.236m shares.
There were 278 actives out of which 231 shares rose, 15 fell with 32
holding on to the last levels.
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970205
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Dissolution 1996
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ardeshir Cowasjee
FINALLY, pushed out of his bed early in the morning of Tuesday November 5,
1996, President Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan, Tumandar of the Legharis, under
the powers vested in him in terms of Article 58 (2)(B) of the Constitution,
dissolved Benazir Bhuttos National Assembly, proclaiming:
Whereas during the last three years thousands of persons in Karachi and
other parts of Pakistan have been deprived of their right to life in
violation of Article 9 of the Constitution.
And Whereas on September 20, 1996 Mir Murtaza Bhutto, the brother of the
Prime Minister, was killed in Karachi along with seven of his companions
including the brother-in-law of a former Prime Minister, ostensibly in an
encounter with the Karachi Police. The Prime Minister and her Government
claimed that Mir Murtaza Bhutto has been murdered as part of a conspiracy.
And whereas on March 20, 1996 the Supreme Court of Pakistan delivered its
judgement in the case popularly known as the Appointment of Judges Case.
The Prime Minister ridiculed the judgement in a speech before the National
Assembly which was shown more than once on nation-wide television. The
implementation of the judgement was resisted and deliberately delayed in
violation of the Constitutional mandate that all executive and judicial
authorities throughout Pakistan shall act in aid of the Supreme Court.
And Whereas the sustained assault on the judicial organ of State has
continued under the garb of a Bill moved in Parliament for the prevention
of corrupt practices.
And whereas the judiciary has still not been fully separated from the
executive in violation of the provisions of Article 175(3) of the
Constitution and the deadline for such separation fixed by the Supreme
Court of Pakistan.
And whereas the Prime Minister and her government have deliberately
violated, on a massive scale, the fundamental right of privacy guaranteed
by Article 14 of the Constitution. This has been done through illegal
phone-tapping and eavesdropping techniques. The phones which have been
tapped and the conversations that have been monitored in this
unconstitutional manner includes phones and conversations of judges of the
superior courts, leaders of political parties and high-ranking military and
civil officers. And whereas corruption, nepotism and violation of rules
in the administration of the affairs of the Government and its various
bodies, authorities and corporations has become so extensive and widespread
that the orderly functioning of Government in accordance with the
provisions of the Constitution and the law has become impossible and in
some cases national security has been endangered. Public faith in the
integrity and honesty of the Government has disappeared. Members of the
Government and the ruling parties are either directly or indirectly
involved in such corruption, nepotism and rule violations. Innumerable
appointments have been made at the instance of members of the National
Assembly in violation of the law declared by the Supreme Court that
allocation of quotas to MNAs and MPAs for recruitment to various posts was
offensive to the Constitution and the law and that all appointments were to
be made on merit, honestly and objectively and in the public interest. The
transfers and postings of Government servants have similarly been made in
equally large numbers at the behest of members of the National Assembly and
other members of the ruling parties. The members have violated their oath
of office and the Government has not for three years taken any effective
steps to ensure that the legislators do not interfere in the orderly
executive functioning of Government.
And whereas the Constitutional requirement that the Cabinet together with
the ministers of State shall be collectively responsible to the National
Assembly has been violated by the induction of a Minister against whom
criminal cases are pending which the Interior Minister has refused to
withdraw. In fact, at an earlier stage the Interior Minister had announced
his intention to resign if the former was inducted into the Cabinet. A
Cabinet in which one Minister is responsible for the prosecution of a
Cabinet colleague cannot be collectively responsible in any manner
whatsoever.
And whereas in the matter of the sale of Burmah Castrol shares in PPL and
BONE/PPL shares in Qadirpur Gas Field involving national assets valued in
several billions of rupees, the President required the Prime Minister to
place the matter before the Cabinet for consideration of the decisions
taken in this matter by the ECC. This has still not been done, despite a
lapse of over four months, in violation of the provisions of Article 46 and
48 of the Constitution.
Had the President acted earlier, as was expected of him, somewhat more of
the nations fast dwindling wealth might have been saved. The grounds were
challenged by the dismissed Prime Minister, convinced that it was her
birthright to rule over the 140 millions who make up this nation, howsoever
corruptly, inefficiently and nepotistically.
Oxford educated Benazir confidently chose Cambridge Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan
and others to represent her, and Oxford educated President Leghari
appointed Cambridge men Khalid Anwer and Makhdoom Ali Khan and others to
respond.
Her petition was heard by a Bench of seven judges of our Supreme Court,
comprising Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, Justices Saleem Akhtar, Fazal
Elahi Khan, Zia Mehmood Mirza, Irshad Hassan Khan, Raja Afrasiab Khan, and
Munawwar Ahmed Mirza. The Chief Justice and five of his brethren dismissed
Benazirs petition on all counts except for the one relating to Murtazas
murder, Justice Zia Mehmood Mirza dissenting.
A significant development is that corruption, that has eaten into our very
core, has now been adjudged as being a ground for dissolution. One other
significant factor is the consistency of Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, sole
dissenter in the 1993 Nawaz Sharif dissolution case when the Assembly was
restored, upholding the previous judgement in the 1990 Benazir dissolution
case when it was not.
Thus have we been rid of the worst, the most corrupt, the most inefficient,
and the most marauding government we, the people, have had the misfortune
to endure and barely survive. Now we must hope again, as we always do
whenever a government changes, that what that great and only statesman of
ours, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, told my father Rustom, fifty years ago that
each successive government of this country was destined to be worse than
its predecessor will no more ring true.
After the judgement was announced, Benazirs supporters led by Nahid Khan,
danced the Jiala jig outside the Supreme Court and made a nuisance of
themselves. Benazir herself, later in the evening on the BBC, came out with
a couple of prize-winners: The Bhuttos cannot be defeated politically,
their party the PPP cannot be defeated politically, so other means have to
be found to defeat them.
Did she mean that she and the party cannot be defeated politically because,
in true fascistic style, they are postmasters at the art of robbing the
people and the country, amassing money, and buying bogus loyalty to ensure
numbers and thus frustrate any chance of a vote of no-confidence against
them? The only other means available to the people are either martial law
or Article 58(2)(b).
The winning lawyer, Khalid Cicero Anwer, feels confident that the
judgement will ensure that the future government will be a clean
government and will not repeat the mistakes of the past.
Meanwhile, accountability has gone to the dogs. Nothing has so far been
achieved on that front. No robber of substance has been held accountable
for his past misdeeds and that the big fish have all been deliberately
allowed to escape through the mesh. Chief Ehtesab Commissioner Justice
Ghulam Mujjadid Mirza, on television the night before the short order was
announced, stated that the accountability process is being purposefully
disrupted. Delays are being created by corrupt officials, and I am using
the word corrupt with full responsibility, he told the people. Officials
are either not interested in sending cases forward or they are incompetent.
As for our banks, they are being set up by the caretakers, made ready to be
easily accessible to the coming government, perfect targets for robbers and
looters. How many remember that caretaker Moeen Qureshi appointed Maula
Baksh Abbasi to head the NDFC against the strong protest of caretaker
finance minister Babar Ali? NDFC was robbed clean, MB moved on and on and
having successfully finished off all the institutions he headed under this
past PPP regime, is now in Karachi Central Jail. Will Moeen Qureshi
consider reimbursing the country?
Does caretaker Meraj Khalid know that, quite against the wishes of the
finance ministry, Ghulam Farid Abbasi has been made the chairman of our
large Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan? Governor Yaqub of the
State Bank, who sat by while the banks and financial institutions were
being robbed during the past three PPP years, has been re-appointed by
these caretakers to head the State Bank for a further two years. The show
goes on.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970206
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Benazirs refreshing stance
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ONE must welcome without hesitation Ms Benazir Bhuttos pledge on Tuesday
to extend her full co-operation to Mian Nawaz Sharif and work with the next
government to consolidate democracy. In remarks that perhaps reflected the
coming of age of Ms Bhutto as a mature political leader, the former prime
minister surprised newsmen by wishing good luck to the next prime
minister and alluding to his victory as one coming from God Almighty. Not
even Mrs Gandhi, she said, had received such a majority after she won the
war against Pakistan in 1971. Even though the PPP chairperson still
expressed serious reservations about the fairness of Mondays general
election and alleged manipulation of the results, the thrust of her remarks
exhibited a refreshing positivism. The former prime minister drew
satisfaction from the fact that the Muslim League had managed to have a
two-thirds majority in the National Assembly. While she had a dig at
President Leghari for failing in his purported mission to install a kings
party in power, she rightly inferred that a government with a solid
majority in parliament was less likely to be open to pressures from non-
political forces. She, therefore, hoped that the next government would be
able to complete its five-year term. What, however, Ms Bhuttos Press
conference would be remembered for was her categorical declaration that she
would not launch an agitation in the larger interest of democracy. In that
process, the former prime minister defined what she perceived to be the
Oppositions parliamentary role. Her logic was one with which no one would
disagree. An agitation may bring a government down, followed by a rigged
election, which would bring to power a weak government that would again be
unable to complete its term and be thrown out. So this process would
continue. Somebody, she said, had to bring this vicious circle to an end,
and she was that person.
Undeniably, both Mian Nawaz Sharifs and Ms Bhuttos hands have been
tainted with intrigues of the worst kind, for neither has in the past
hesitated to rely on the politics of agitation and unprincipled alliances
with undemocratic forces to oust elected governments. The fall of Ms
Bhuttos two governments and Mr Sharifs in 1993 stemmed from agitation,
malicious intrigue and brazen street power and not from a transparent
political process. The winners euphoria in each case turned out to be
short-lived, for the forces that helped one overwhelm ones rival realigned
with the ousted party to start the process of intrigue and extra-
constitutional manoeuvring all over again. Such a scenario contributes to
the peoples disillusionment with the politicians on the one hand. On the
other, its deleterious consequences are to be seen in the absence of long-
term economic and social planning in the country. With foreign aid having
dried up in the aftermath of the end of the cold war, Third World
governments can look only to foreign investment for rapid industrial
expansion. Needless to say, the political goings-on in Pakistan for the
last eight years have seriously obstructed, if not cut off, the flow of
foreign investment in Pakistan. Every successive government in Pakistan has
tended to view with hostility and suspicion projects launched and deals
made by the previous government and has often cancelled even viable
projects. This must stop. Foreign governments, lending agencies and
multinationals deal with the country and not with the ruling party or
coalition. They expect successive governments to honour deals and
agreements. Any arbitrary cancellation of deals and violation of
international agreements only serve to undermine foreign investors
confidence in Pakistan and retard development. Ms Bhuttos offer must be
seen by the victor of Mondays election in the right spirit and he must
reciprocate in the same spirit. In a democracy, more so in a parliamentary
one, the government and the Opposition are supposed to manage the states
affairs jointly. Pakistan has not had this tradition so far, because even
democratic governments much less authoritarian ones have tended to look
at the Opposition as enemy. Let us hope Ms Bhuttos offer and the
confidence which a two-thirds majority should give to Mr Sharif will enable
them to make a joint endeavour to pull Pakistan out of its chaotic,
undemocratic groove.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970206
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*From Jinnah to Benazir and after
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr Iftikhar H. Malik
FIFTY-SEVEN years ago on 23rd of March, 1940, a Muslim rally in the
historic city of Lahore overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution stipulating
the formation of a sovereign entity comprising Muslim majority provinces in
British India. The motion had been moved by the All-India Muslim League, a
party of Muslim modernists led by Jinnah (1876-1948), a London-trained
barrister and one of the leading political voices in the subcontinent.
To Jinnah and other Leaguers, the Indian National Congress, the India-wide
political party founded in 1885, despite its avowed aims to serve supra-
communal interests had been unable to attract Muslims. The League, itself
founded in 1906, aimed at safeguarding the Muslim communitarian interests
while to Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru it had come to serve merely
communalist ideology. Jinnah, an avowed secularist, considered Indian
political struggle for decolonisation in the 1930s and 1940s to be an
international problem and refused to accept any solution to the
constitutional impasse that reduced it to a mere Raj versus Congress
equation.
Jinnah considered Indian Muslims, compared with other communities, to be
extremely underprivileged urgently needing a tangible political
dispensation in the form of a sovereign state so as to engineer an uplift.
His was the Muslim nationalism rather than being Islamic a thin yet
specific line differentiating a general cultural reality from a theocratic
specificity.
Jinnahs claim to establish territorial state and stipulating Muslim
characteristics yet disallowing theocracy was hotly contested both by the
ulema (religious scholars) and the regionalist ethnic elite. But his vision
of a Pakistan as superordinate identity providing an honest mediation
amongst various feuding religious / sectarian and regionalist / localist
affiliations turned out to be a sensible and the best possible stratagem.
Jinnah foresaw the existence of plural religious communities in the young
republics of India and Pakistan as the most significant guarantee for it
peaceful, forward-looking subcontinent. By 1947, Jinnah, an ailing man and
already quite senior in age, had to suffer an immediate setback that
definitely must have left him as a broken man. The transborder migrations
and the accompanying ethnic cleansing in 1947 fuelled the inter-communal
and inter-state tensions which, all of a sudden, overwhelmed the forces of
sanity across the region.
On the eve of independence, Jinnah, in his landmark speech of 11 August
1947, quite candidly observed: You are free, you are free to go to your
temples, you are free to go to your mosques or other places of worship in
this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed
that has nothing to do with the business of the State. Despite the
communal riots, to the founder of the country, this creed was to anchor the
official policies. He had never exploited religious sentiments to further
any parochial or personal cause and used Islam in a cultural and symbolic
sense to forge solidarity amongst the disparate Muslim communities and had
been rebuked by Ulema who named him as the Kafir-i-Azam (the great infidel)
instead of his more popular tile of the Quaid-i-Azam (the great Leader).
Jinnahs vision of a democratic, tolerant, plural and egalitarian Pakistan
was dashed down soon after his death when the oligarchies led by the
bureaucrats and generals took over the new state and began using Islam so
as to earn legitimacy for their non-representative regimes. The ulema
became the unofficial ayatollahs for various regimes which inherently
abhorred constitutionalism, decentralisation and accountability. In
addition the very ethno-centricism of such regimes, despite their modernist
postulations betrayed their national objectives.
*From Ghulam Mohammad, a bureaucrat-turned executive, to his long line of
successors and from generals Iskander Mirza to Ayub Khan and Zia-ul-Haq,
democratic and pluralist forces were either simply suppressed or surpassed
with religious symbols providing the convenient legitimising ideology. Even
a populist leader like Zulfikar Ali Bhutto occasionally capitulated to
religious pressures to exact political support. During the Zias regime,
exploitation of religious ideology both for domestic and external purposes
cost Pakistan immensely.
The suppression of normal democratic processes only multiplied acute
dissensions within the society and state. Other than ethnic conflict,
Shia-Sunni feuds have claimed numerous innocent lives whereas politicians
while mired in sleaze and unchecked corruption could not establish clean
and efficient administration. The country, in a drift, has kept
accumulating massive foreign debts with life for an ordinary Pakistani
becoming almost unbearable.
The countrys obsolete institutions allow only the landed elites to
monopolise its assemblies whereas the ad hoc decisions are made by the
generals and bureaucrats. Curiously, the society has been ready for radical
and overdue reforms while the state keeps insisting on status quo and that
is why elections have more often failed to bring in some fresh blood.
Jinnahs Pakistan of parliamentary democracy exists only in ideals.
Undoubtedly, for Benazir Bhutto and her predecessor (and successor, Nawaz
Sharif) it was a stupendous job to retrieve democratic and tolerant values
from a chaotic and fractious legacy, but that is what the leadership is all
about. Ecologically, culturally, linguistically, demographically and
politically, Pakistan is a well-defined polity though it does have its own
share of acute ideological and ethnic problems. it is located in an arc of
crises and especially in the light of unresolved problem over Kashmir with
India and a constantly volatile Afghanistan, the country is awash with guns
and drugs yet every sensible Pakistani desires a peaceful co-existence, a
just system and a tolerant society.
Pakistanis have struggled hard against odds and have been given a rough
deal mostly by their own leaders who have lacked both vision and courage
though the country has always welcomed political processes rather than
authoritarianism and has persistently voted for moderate and mundane forces
rejecting religious extremists.
A vital leadership proves itself only by rising to the challenges of
nation-building and time may run out for politicians as the forces of
militarism and fundamentalism may sweep the country. Malady will not simply
go away by just holding meaningless elections and by merely wasting public
funds and resources on ostentatious regalia.
Pakistan does need a transparent and responsible government that may come
about only through internal stability, consolidation of democracy and an
accountable system. Religious freedom, democracy and tolerance as promised
and visualised by the founders of the country need to be implemented and
the country is definitely ready for that. While the policymakers, police
and administrative machinery may be corrupt and inept, efforts for a
cleaner and decentralised civil administration must be given priority.
Similarly the religious and ethnic leaders have to be reined in through
negotiations and by non-partisan and bold cooptive initiatives. The mafia
gangs, loan/tax defaulters and similar other criminals disallowing any
personal/political favour must not be left at large.
Similarly, there is greater need to initiate overdue dialogue with India in
the spirit of regional co-operation to redirect the scarce funds towards
development schemes addressed at a vast youthful expectant society. These
are the tasks which would not only put Pakistan on its right Jinnahist
tracks but would also elevate present leaders as the pioneers for a more
democratic, just and forward-looking Pakistan.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970201
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The moment of truth
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mazdak
BY the time this column appears, the Supreme Court will have delivered its
verdict, and the nation will have found out whether or not it is going to
be called yet again to elect a new government.
Apart from legal uncertainties, one reason for the lukewarm reaction of
voters to the whole exercise is the fact that this is the fourth time their
decision has been ultimately overruled by that shadowy group that is
collectively called the Establishment.
To be sure, our short-sighted, venal and inefficient leaders give this
group every excuse for sacking them. The rest of us are disgusted and
depressed spectators of this tired game of musical chairs. So the average
Pakistani voter can be forgiven his lack of enthusiasm. But over and above
this disenchantment with our political class is anger over the arrogance of
a handful of men who think they know what is good for us, and pre-empt our
right to throw an unacceptable government out. In brief, what we are told
time and again is that while we have the right to vote a party into power,
we do not have the right to throw it out when its term is over. This power,
it seems, has been reserved only for the President and his men.
It is important to realise that this right is the other side of the
democratic coin: unless elected leaders realise that the same voters who
brought them into the corridors of power can show them the door, they will
forget about them once installed. After their swearing in, they will pay
lip-service to the electorate, while focusing on pleasing the (unelected)
Establishment that is perceived to hold the key to power. It is a
historical fact that while several governments have been voted into power
in Pakistan, not a single one has been voted out. And at each dissolution
of assemblies, it has been a case of the Establishment knowing what is best
for us, never mind that each time, we have been landed in a bigger mess.
More than once, these illegal or quasi-constitutional interventions have
been motivated by ambition masquerading under the garb of concern over the
state of the nation.
The answer to poorly managed democracy is more and not less democracy.
And yet there are intelligent and highly educated people in this country
who doubt the average voters ability to cast his vote sensibly. However,
this same elite seldom bothers to register their names on the electoral
list, and take the trouble to actually queue up and vote even less
frequently. This disdain of the common mans common sense reflects a
paternalistic attitude not far removed from the whole ethos behind
Kiplings White Mans Burden. Uneducated natives, it seems, cannot
discern between good and bad candidates, and therefore, the Establishment
is forced to intervene from time to time to rescue them from the results of
their own folly. Forget that more often than not, this rescue operation
causes far more problems than it resolves.
One of the major problems with both the previous elected governments was
that once in power, both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif seemed to act as
though they were not answerable to parliament and the electorate but to the
President and the COAS of the day. If it has achieved anything at all, the
infamous Article 58(2)(b) of the Constitution has eroded the sovereignty of
the people by conferring the power to arbitrarily dissolve Parliament on a
single individual.
Proponents of this constitutional aberration a large and highly
articulate tribe argue that this article has prevented the imposition of
martial law. They also hold that by creating a balance of power between the
prime minister and the president, 58 (2)(b) has curtailed executive
excesses. But has it? As we have been witnessing these past eight years,
successive governments have acted irresponsibly and capriciously without a
thought to presidential prerogative until the very last minute. So rather
than acting as a brake to bad governance, this article has served as a
sledgehammer.
What then is the answer? We are still smarting from the wounds inflicted by
Asif Zardari and his ilk on the exchequer as well as our pride, so can we
afford unfettered executive authority? Im afraid theres no easy answer,
no quick fix to ensure responsible government. Our politicians have to
mature, our electorate has to become more demanding and our democratic
institutions have to put down roots before we get clean, decent government.
Easier said than done, I know, specially as the enormity of the problems
facing us is such that we do not have the luxury of unlimited time at our
disposal.
However, if we reject the democratic system because of the insatiable greed
of a few individuals, we will be doing ourselves and future generations a
huge disservice. Experience around the world has shown that with all its
imperfections, this is the only system that holds out the promise of
development coupled with social justice. Autocratic rule of every type has
been consigned to the dustbin of history. Our case is not unique: other
democracies have had their teething problems, their share of crooks and
charlatans and the occasional temptation to take the dictatorial path. But
by and by, they have progressed to a point where any other system is simply
unthinkable.
When you read this, elections will be only two days away. People ask me who
Ill vote for. I honestly dont know. I do know that I cant possibly vote
for any ethnic or sectarian party. I am a liberal person, with all that the
term implies, and I honestly dont know whether any party today qualifies
for my vote. Nevertheless, come election day, and I will be standing in
line, probably still wondering who to vote for.
===================================================================
970201
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A fitting case for world Test championship
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Lateef Jafri
ON return from Australia after outplaying the home side and outwitting the
Caribbean cavaliers and with the World Series cup in his possession captain
Wasim Akram expressed the wish that there should be a Test World Cup among
the full members of the International Cricket Council.
Among the strong cricketing nations only South Africa was unrepresented at
the Australian World Series venture, fulfilling their own commitment
initially in India and latterly at home grounds. Wasim, after piloting the
country to deserving and desired victories against Australia and West
Indies, was happy that the challenge of two formidable forces in global
cricket was courageously met and brushed aside on an alien soil and thought
that time had arrived for the competition to be raised to a higher plane
a five-day tussle in Test matches to decide ``the real and genuine
champion of the world. Certainly he had no format ready but he backed the
idea of a bigger extravaganza in the style and manner of the 21-year
limited-overs World Cup, which was launched in the summer of 1975 at Lords
with a match between India and England. This was to be the inaugural
contest for the one-day honours of the world, eventually clinched by the
powerful West Indians. The last championship or the title (if the latter
connotation is to be taken as correct) was claimed by Sri Lanka. Every
country and critic had to accept the leap forward they had made and the
high position they had attained in the cricketing world by their mettlesome
players, fighters to the core on the South Asian fields. But ironically
enough the World Cup winners were brought down from their high pedestal
just a fortnight later in Singapore by Pakistan in the Singer Cup. However,
the Lahore final decided the champions of nascent cricket, as acknowledged
by the ICC. Will the representatives of the ICC move forward to consider
and discuss in detail the Test World Cup plan, if at all it can be taken
out of the Lords cold storage. Wasim Akram said it would be a good change
(from one-dayers) and people would know which is the best team in the world
in this strenuous and rigorous five-day contest.
Mark Taylor, after his spinners Michael Bevan and Shane Warne had baffled
the West Indian at Adelaide and the Australians had won the rubber and kept
the Frank Worrell Trophy, had laid claim to be the new kings of world Test
cricket. He dismissed the view that the West Indies were giants of Test
cricket. Certainly if two captains, one having grabbed the one-day World
Series Cup and the other having lifted the coveted Worrell Trophy,
emphasise the need and necessity of a tussle among the Test playing
countries the proposal cannot be ignored.
World famous medium-pacer and all-rounder Sir Richard Hadlee of New Zealand
had recently come out with the suggestion of Super Test or world
championship of Tests. He thought that day by day the limited-overs
competition was getting so much encouragement that interest in Test matches
is waning. Nevertheless, the litmus test to determine the strength and
weakness of national line-ups was the five-day enterprise. A global contest
involving the nine Test-playing countries would not only attract the
marketing multinationals and sponsoring mega-industries but would give
considerable boost to Test cricket and prove once again that it were the
five-day battles which settle the cricket championship and not the one-day
spectacles, now numbering over hundred in one calendar year.
The proposal had also been voiced in the recent past by Clive Lloyd, Hansie
Cronje, Ian Chappell and Sunil Gavaskar among other renowned figures of the
game. However, at the country level it was Dr Ali Bacher of the United
Cricket Board of South Africa who strongly supported the proposal of Tests
World Cup. Hadlee, in his suggestion, had detailed a points system for the
matches and the players. The venues had to be in large numbers in diverse
countries according to the New Zealand legend.
However just to remind the cricket fans it may be mentioned that former
Chief Executive of Pakistans Board, Arif Ali Abbasi, had prepared a
thorough and detailed proposal on the subject and despatched it to the
International Cricket Council headquartered at Lords before its annual
representative meeting. Abbasi was shunted out of office before he could
brief the ICC delegates on Pakistans proposal and lobby the idea for
endorsement. The former cricket supremo wanted Pakistan to be the central
place for staging the matches. He was confident of getting the sponsorship
on a major scale for such a big venture. Thirty-nine matches were played
during the fifth World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 1992. The South
Asian-organised sixth edition of the venture had 37 ties to be arranged. If
group-wise Test matches are to be gone through in a round-robin style
perhaps not more than 20 matches will be competed. The whole idea could
have been given a practical shape after endorsement from the ICC delegates,
which was not difficult considering that South Africa was prepared to stand
by Pakistan and Sri Lanka and India would have given support to the new
cricket plan as Jagmohan Dalmia was being backed for the top ICC post by
Pakistan. The lobbying at Lords would have paid the dividends and more
delegates would have lined up with Pakistan.
Regrettably, the new PCB Chief Executive, Majid Khan, who attended last
Junes annual meeting of ICC, was lukewarm to the idea of world
championship of Tests and did not do the effort needed at Lords. The
proposal was talked out. On return the famed cricketer pointed to logistics
and sponsorship problems and told the sports scribes that the idea was
impracticable as far as Pakistan was concerned. Countries like Australia,
South Africa and India may be successful in such a big project.
As the Chief Executive pointed out last June, the staging of such a big
gala as the Test World Cup was well nigh impossible in this country with
the multi-sided problems that it has, it is better to cite an example from
history.
It was in the summer of 1912 that triangular Test matches were played in
England among Australia, South Africa and England. At that time there were
only three contestants as they were the countries exchanging visits for
Test duels. All the encounters were arranged at Englands venues and
ultimately after the league tussles Australia came second to England with
South Africa, then a weak conglomerate, finishing last.
England with such legends as Hobbs, Spooner, Fry, Woolley and Warner were
solid in batting. The bowling had the pace of S. F. Barnes and F. R. Foster
and the superb tricks of Rhodes, Woolley and Hearne. It was an unbeatable
side. Australia were not at full strength. England, with one of the
strongest squads ever, duly won the triangular series. The experiment was a
grand success.
In modern times when facilities have so much expanded and the chances of
sponsorship and marketing have become so much bright there is little doubt
that a world championship of Tests, if launched, will attract huge crowds
and achieve the desired results financially.
Now that the ICC meeting is not very far away one expects the PCB to put
forward the proposal before the delegates and get their endorsement.
Cricket will get considerable boost in the country. More modern facilities
in cricket centres may be provided. Besides it will be a unique venture
which will make the coffers of the PCB helftier and heavier.
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970203
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Rashid Latif not available for Dhaka trip
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Sports Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 2: Rashid Latif on Sunday withdrew himself from the SAARC
cricket contest to be played in Dhaka, Bangladesh, for which he was
appointed vice-captain.
The discarded Test wicketkeeper cited serious domestic commitments for
pulling out.
I have to take care of certain serious assignments at home. It would be
unwise to leave them at this stage, said Rashid.
The Dhaka tournament will be played between Feb 17 and 28.
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970203
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Five-nation event to be held in Karachi
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Walter Fernandez
KARACHI, Feb 2: The Secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), Col.
Mudassar Asghar, told `Dawn here on Saturday that the Five-Nation Hockey
Tournament scheduled to be held in the city from March 16 to 23 will
definitely go on.
All the rumours floated about the shifting of the tournament from the city
to Lahore are simply unfounded, added Col. Mudassar Asghar.
The Five-Nation tournament, a part of the countrys Golden Jubilee
celebrations, besides host Pakistan will feature Germany, the Netherlands,
Australia and England.
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970204
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Akram decides to skip international events
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By Samiul Hasan
KARACHI, Feb 3: The tough off-season commitments of the Pakistan cricket
team made skipper Wasim Akram its first scalp when the allrounder pulled
out from at least three international tournaments.
The PIA and Lancashire allrounder has made himself available for Pakistan
only till April and will thus appear in the Sharjah Cup and two Tests
against Sri Lanka.
With the English County Championships starting in the third week of April,
Wasim Akram will proceed to the North of England from Sri Lanka and will
miss Mays Singer Cup in Singapore, Sahara Cup in Canada and Asia Cup in
Sri Lanka (both in August).
According to well informed sources, Pakistans tour to India for three one-
day internationals in May have fallen in jeopardy.
The PCB had inquired me of my commitments and though I have not informed
them officially, I have made up my mind that I will only play for Pakistan
till April before rejoining the team in September, Wasim Akram told this
correspondent on Monday.
Pakistan will be hosting three major events between September and December.
Pakistan will be organising a quadrangular tournament at Lahore to be
competed by Sri Lanka, South Africa and the West Indies. Pakistan also hold
a separate three-Test series each with South Africa and the West Indies.
While Wasim Akram has decided about his priorities, Waqar Younis and
Mushtaq Ahmad are also likely to follow in the footsteps of their skipper.
Waqar has signed a lucrative two-year contract with Glamorgan while Mushtaq
has a three-year commitment with Somerset.
Although out of selectors favours, Mohammad Akram also has a contract with
Northamptonshire. Besides these four, a few more cricketers viz Ijaz Ahmad
Senior, Mohammad Zahid, Shahid Nazir, Mohammad Wasim and Saqlain Mushtaq
have signed with some English clubs.
Saeed Anwar is also negotiating with two countiesHampshire and Essexand
appears certain to join either of the two.
Wasim Akram said he has a county bound for another year. I had finalised
my commitment well in advance. In this background, the PCB inquired me of
my plans which I will be conveying to the board.
Akram said if he tried to skip matches with Lancashire, his contract for
the next year may suffer. 1998 is my benefit year and I dont want to ruin
it. Of course, the PCB understand this. They (Lancashire) wants me for full
season and thats precisely why they are paying me so heavily.
According to an estimate, Akram is getting 100,000 pounds per season while
Waqar Younis has signed a two-year contract at 220,000 pounds with
Glamorgan, the former county of Viv Richards and Javed Miandad.
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970205
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Will results affect PCB set-up?
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Sports Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 4: After the landslide victory of PML (N) in the general
elections, a major reshuffle is most likely to take place in the Pakistan
Cricket Board (PCB) hierarchy.
The present President of the PCB, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah Bokhari, who won a
National Assembly seat for PPP from Jhang in 1993, was not one of the
contestants this time as PML (N) virtually made a clean sweep of the Jhang
constituency with only one seat going to an independent candidate.
The Treasurer of the PCB, Salman Taseer, who won the National Assembly PPP
seat in 1993 from Lahore II, crashed to defeat by 35,178 votes in NA-93 as
he could get only 27,887 votes as compared to PML (N) Mian Abdul Waheed who
secured 63,065 votes.
The two PCB officials were political appointees during Benazir Bhuttos
government whose Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) failed to find a firm
footing in the current elections. It will not be out of context to mention
here that the President of Pakistan is the Patron of the PCB and the two
top posts are honorary jobs while the Chief Executive is a paid one.
The Chief Executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Majid Khan, who
succeeded Arif Abbasi about eight months ago, may also be under pressure.
His family sources in Lahore confirmed that he is already in Islamabad.
In the background as to what happened after three general elections of
1988, 1990 and 1993 and the changes thereafter in the cricket board
offices, the analysts believe that the new government will also follow in
the traditions of the previous rulers.
After PPPs 1988 victory, Lt Gen (Retd) Zahid Ali Akbar was made BCCP
President while Arif Abbasi was appointed Secretary.
Nevertheless, when PML (N) came into power in 1990, Arif Abbasi made way
for Shahid Rafi in 1991.
But when PPP came into powers again after October 1993 elections, the
officials of the then BCCPthe then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Dr
Nasim Hasan Shah, and Shahid Rafi, Chairman, Pakistan Television (President
and Secretary respectively), had to leave the posts and that too at a time
when the then BCCP General Body dinner was taking place at a five-star
hotel in Lahore on Jan 12.
Chief Justice (Retd) Nasim Hasan Shahs board was superseded by a three-
member ad hoc committee (Javed Burki, Arif Abbasi and Dr Zafar Altaf).
The officials of the renamed PCB were appointed in March 1995 with Arif
Abbasi as its first paid Chief Executive.
Soon after the World Cup, Arif Abbasis contentious appointment in the eyes
of his rivals came to an end when he was replaced by former Pakistan
captain and renowned cricketer Majid Khan who was then the Director of
Sports in Pakistan Television.
Cricket observes do not rule out the possibility of a change in the current
set-up of the PCB.
Hasib Ahsan, former chairman of selectors, said it was a great change in
political front that Mian Nawaz Sharif came into power with such an
overwhelming majority. Not only the bigger province has supported him,
smaller ones have also thrown their weight behind him. It now depends on
him to carry the objectives of all, Ahsan said.
Ahsan endorsed Nawaz Sharifs claims of accountability but added
accountability should also be done in cricket especially in connection with
the World Cup where several lucrative contracts were awarded to favourite
people. Those responsible for throwing away the money in cricket should
also be penalised and Nawaz Sharif is the right man to do the job.
Ahsan said changes in the PCB may be imminent. I personally feel that
reshuffling will start in the next few months.
Its time that Chief Justice (Retd) Nasim Hasan Shahs dented reputation
be restored by appointing him to serve as PCB chief for one term.
Similarly, Shahid Rafi should also be given a chance to continue his good
job which was broken in 1994. After all, time has proved that most of his
decisions, including the appointment of Wasim Akram, who now lead the team
after four captains were tried, Ahsan concluded.
Razaullah Khan, a former BCCP Councillor and a balanced critic, emphasised
that changes should be made. The cricket picture tells a very sorry story.
No doubt the team has been winning, we have been losing at many fronts,
observed Razaullah.
Razaullah said Majid Khan has failed to come up to expectations as he
badly failed as an administrator. He added domestic cricket was in
shambles, cricket board was confined to just a single zone and World Cup
accounts were yet to be settled.
Mian Nawaz Sharif is a keen cricketer and he has come through a democratic
process, he should enforce democracy in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)
where there should be representation of all the provinces, Razaullah said.
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970201
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PSFs obligation and future of squash
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A. Majid Khan
While the Pakistan Squash Federation carries no responsibility for our
players participation, so far as the super series and other tournaments
controlled by the Professional Squash Association were concerned, but it
certainly owes a national obligation to prepare teams for competing in the
team and individual events under the auspices of the World Squash
Federation, the controlling body of the game in the world of which Pakistan
is one of the founder members.
The players are free to compete in the PSA tournaments, a good number of
them carry rich prize money of over US dollars 50,000/- such as the British
Open, World Open, Pakistan Open, Hong Kong Open, Mahindra Open, Alahram
International and JSM Super Squash.
Besides the super series, other events, lesser in monetary terms, come
under the bracket of major tournaments. For a few years a new trend has
taken hold of international squash whereby as low as 10,000 dollars or even
less prize money are offered for the players seeking to improve their
rankings. In these events world ranking stars and other renowned players
usually do not compete.
But the host country feels happy if its world ranking players do compete in
the lesser tournaments for it considerably helps in improving the
competitive standard of others and also provides an opportunity to play
against the top players of the world.
Last year four PSA approved international tournaments were held in
Pakistan, two in Lahore, and one each in Peshawar and Wah. Jansher Khan,
Zubair Jahan, Zarak Jahan, Mir Zaman Gul competed in the tournament.
Besides them a number of up-and-coming players, including those who
competed in the Juniors World championship as also, a good number of
foreign players.
By holding such tournaments the squash activities in Pakistan had gained
further momentum and this year it would be helped our new generation of
players to improve their skill.
The Pakistan Squash Federation, it is gathered, had almost finalised the
1997 domestic calendar and is expected to be announced next month, after
getting it confirmed from the organisers of the events.
The PSFs first international commitment is the participation of Pakistan
in the eighth Asian Juniors Championship, scheduled in the Indian City of
Madras from Feb 14-22. During the nine-day tournament both boys and girls
individual and team championship would be held. The PSF is sending two
girls as part of the Pakistan contingent.
Pakistan has also entered for the first time in the World Doubles
Championship to be staged in Hong Kong from May 4-11 this year.
Preparations for the World Doubles squash immediately requires holding of
competitions at Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and Rawalpindi or Islamabad on
courts bearing standard dimensions to develop understanding among the
players. The PSF too can follow this practice for the Hong Kong Doubles as
the time is running out. The event would be staged five weeks after the
conclusion of the first super series British Open in Cardiff, Wales on
April 6. All the Pakistans world ranking stars would be on the
international circuit.
Holding the doubles tournaments on all Pakistan basis considered essential
and the PSF should take necessary steps ensuring at least four events
before a camp is organised for selection of the national team. The PSF has
to work out its doubles programme in a way that it does not clash with
leading players participation in the PSA tournaments.
It would be more appropriate that technical committee be appointed for
running the doubles tournament and the rules of the doubles game be made
known to the players before starting a tournament.
Another important event in which Pakistan has also entered is the World
Games which includes Squash as well. The World Games include those sports,
which are not included in the Olympics games. The World Squash Federation
is making persistent effort for the games inclusion in the Olympics and
inclusion of squash in the World Games is a step forward in achieving the
desired goal. The inclusion of squash in the 1998 Asian Games has been a
major achievement and would give tremendous boost to the Game in Asia. The
World Games, according to the announced programme of the WSF, is scheduled
from Aug 13-17 at Lathi, Finland. Both men and women teams events would be
contested on the Olympic pattern.
Pakistans World Champion Jansher Khans participation, along with other
leading players of the world such as Australias Rodney Eyles, Peter Nicol
(Scotland), Englands Chris Walker and Simon Parke, Jonathan Power
(Canada), Egyptian Ahmed Barada, Australias Brett Martin, Englands Del
Harris and Pakistans Zubair Khan, being among the world top ten players,
would brighten the squash chances for inclusion of squash in the future
world Olymics.
The last event in which Pakistan is fully committed to take part is the
World Team Championship, to be followed soon after the World Open is
starting from Nov 4-9 at the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. The World Open
is PSA event and the PSF has nothing to do with this super series event for
it is up to the players to compete in this rich prize money tournament. The
PSFs concern is with the team championship as it is under the domain of
the World Squash Federation to which it is affiliated. The professional
Squash Association is an organisation of players, belonging to different
countries including Pakistan.
The WSF 1997 calendar is very demanding on the part of the Pakistan Squash
Federation both in term of its financial needs as well as team preparations
for the coming tournaments.
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