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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 08 March, 1997 Issue : 03/10
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Death for possession of illicit weapons
Islamabad ready to settle issue of Siachen
Pakistan a major money laundering country: US
129 die in Khanewal rail crash
Train driver says he was not fit for night duty
Cabinet okays law for public help in Ehtesab
Shahid Hamid appointed Punjab governor
Pakistan banks in US allowed to accept donations
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Implications of PMs call to expatriates
Even knowledge falls within tax dragnet
Are donations a substitute for reform?
SBP cell to monitor NDR programme
Govt wants PIA to be cost-efficient
The new economic strategy must not fail
Investors cover positions at lower levels
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As honest as they come Ardeshir Cowasjee
A necessary initiative M.B. Naqvi
A new era or flash in the pan? Eqbal Ahmad
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Idea of World Cup Test cricket gaining ground
Pakistan juniors keep squash hopes alive
Training camp for SAF Games
Davis Cup loss against Iran a disturbing development
Pakistan open squash in Islamabad: Aliuddin
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970308
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Death for possession of illicit weapons
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Nasir Malick
ISLAMABAD, March 7: The government has imposed death penalty or life
imprisonment for those transporting, selling or carrying unlicensed
automatic weapons including Klashnikov.
The death penalty or life imprisonment has been imposed by amending
Pakistan Arms Ordinance 1965 and inserting a new Section 13-A in to it.
A penalty for transportation of arms etc:- (a) transports, sells or keeps,
offers or exposes for sale, a cannon, grenade, rocket launcher, missile,
machine-gun, sub-machine-gun, dynamite or detonator, or ammunition which
can be fired from such arms, or goes armed with abovesaid weapons
unlicensed or has in possession or control the above weapons and ammunition
shall be sentenced to death or imprisonment for life and his movable or
immovable property shall be forfeited, according to the newly- added
section.
It said that anyone carrying, selling or transporting the above said arms
or ammunition in contravention of section 8 of the said Ordinance, which
bars any person going armed except under a licence, shall be punishable
with death or life imprisonment.
Similarly, any contravention of Section 9 of the same ordinance also
carries the same sentence. Section 9 says: No person shall have in his
possession or under his control any arms, or any ammunition or military
stores, except under a licence and in the manner and to the extent
permitted thereby.
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970302
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Islamabad ready to settle issue of Siachen
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Hasan Akhtar
ISLAMABAD March 1: Pakistan said it was ready to settle the issue of
demilitarisation of Siachen in accordance with the Simla agreement.
A foreign office spokesman, said Pakistan had reached an agreement with
India on the Siachen issue in 1989, but regretted that New Delhi had later
reneged on it.
Responding to questions the spokesman said the issue of demilitarisation of
Siachen glacier was not directly linked to the Kashmir problem.
The spokesman, commenting on the increase in the Indian defence budget,
said: any move which may lead to increase in insecurity in the region,
would not be a positive development.
The spokesman disagreed with a questioner that the Indian government led by
Gowda was weak and might not be able to hold talks with Islamabad on
Kashmir issue.
Asked whether the Indian prime ministers recent letter to Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif suggesting resumption of bilateral talks also includes the
Kashmir disputes among the issues for discussion, the spokesman recalled
that Prime Minister Deve Gowda had stated: We are ready and willing to
hold wide-ranging and comprehensive talks on all issues of mutual concern,
to which Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had responded by emphasising I hope
you will agree that without some progress on the core issue of Jammu and
Kashmir, it will be difficult to initiate meaningful cooperation in
economic and cultural fields.
The spokesman replying to a question on so-called track-two diplomatic
talks among non-officials of the two countries, said though the government
had nothing to do with it, it was not opposed to it either. He said that
the track-two diplomatic talks among honourable people whom he described
as well-read and well-informed patriotic persons, seemed to do their best
to help sort out issues bedevilling bilateral relations.
The spokesman declined to offer any comment on recent reported statement at
a function by Federal Minister Syeda Abida Husain, alleging that Saudi
Arabia and Iran were fighting their proxy war by whipping up sectarian
violence in Pakistan. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran were Pakistans respected
close friends, he said. The spokesman also issued a statement to the Press
on the coming visit of Deputy Foreign Minister Morteza Sarmadi to Islamabad
and said that during his visit here, the Iranian minister would also
discuss Multan incident in which Iranian cultural centre director Mohammad
Ali Rahimi was among seven others killed.
The spokesman, however, refuted news reports suggesting that Mr Sarmadi was
coming to investigate the Multan incident. Iranian police were not called
to assist investigations, the spokesman added. The spokesman stressed that
the Iranian deputy foreign minister would be here in line with our resolve
to work closely with Iran on this sensitive issue and ensure that our time-
tested ties are not affected in any way.
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970303
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Pakistan a major money laundering country: US
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, March 2: Pakistan has been listed by the United States among
the major money laundering countries of the world. The latest drug strategy
report issued by the state department defines a major money laundering
country as one whose financial institutions engage in currency transactions
involving significant amounts of proceeds from international narcotics
trafficking.
The other countries identified this year in this category are: Antigua,
Argentina, Aruba, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel,
Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands,
Netherlands Antilles, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Russia, Singapore,
Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the
United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Observers said most of these countries had privatised their banking systems
which were not under the direct control of governments.
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970304
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129 die in Khanewal rail crash
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Abdul Sattar Qamar
MULTAN, March 3: At least 129 people, including 50 women and children, were
killed and over 105 injured when the Karachi-bound 6-Down Zulfiqar Express
met a catastrophic accident at Mehr Shah Railway Station some 10 kilometres
south-west of Khanewal early on Monday morning.
Majority of the dead belonged to Karachi, NWFP, Gujranwala and Lahore
division. The accident took place when the train was forced to enter a dead
end of the loopline to avert a collision with Sialkot-bound Allama Iqbal
Express. The cabin man tried to apply brakes but failed to stop it because
its hydraulic brake system did not work. As a result of this the engine and
five bogies derailed and entangled with each other.
According to details available here, the Zulfiqar Express left Lahore for
Karachi via Chord Line (Khanewal-Lodhran section) at 3.40am. As it reached
near Mehr Shah Railway Station, the driver of ill-fated train found the
outer signal up. He pulled the hydraulic-brakes to stop the train but
failed even to reduce its speed as the brake system was not functioning.
The driver blew horn and gave signal through its head-lights for SOS. The
point-man shifted the point of track towards sand-hump to save Sialkot-
bound Allama Iqbal Express. Allama Iqbal Express was entering Mehr Shah
Railway Station at that time.
The engine of ill-fated train bogged down in the sand and derailed. Coaches
No ZF 5559, 5590 and 9771 also derailed and entangled with each other.
Another coach bearing No 9568 also derailed by all wheels while two wheels
of the rear trolley of coach No 9958 remained on the railway track. The
remaining 13 rear coaches remained on track.
Divisional Superintendent Railway, Multan, Sardar Saifullah Khan Qaiserani
told reporters that there would have been most catastrophic accident, had
the point-man not shifted Zulfiqar Express to sand-hump.
On hearing the information about the tragic accident, railway authorities
rushed relief trains from Khanewal and Samasata to the site for rescue
operation. The bodies of passengers were taken out of the bogies after
lifting them with the help of a crane.
According to railway authorities, all traffic was diverted to Multan
(loopline) and Zulfikar Express proceeded to Karachi at 9.50am with 13
bogies which escaped undamaged and passengers having minor injuries also
left for Karachi. The rail track was cleared for traffic after six hours of
hectic efforts.
Some people of the area who gathered at the disaster scene told this
correspondent that they listened a deafening noise of crash and screams of
people. They immediately came out of their homes to know what had happened
in their neighbourhood. They found five bogies derailed and rammed into
each other. Then they tried to take the passengers out of bogies. One of
the bogies was badly damaged and it was not possible for them to remove it
without using the crane.
The trapped passengers were shouting for help to save them and their
children. After an hours struggle a relief train reached the spot from
Khanewal which started the rescue work and entangled bogies were separated.
The witnesses said passengers of Sialkot-bound Allama Iqbal Express and
people at Mehr Shah Railway Station also participated in rescue work. The
Edhi Trust provided 15 ambulances while a Korean company and health
department also provided ambulances to bring the injured to hospitals from
Mehr Shah.
Moving scenes were witnessed at the Mehr Shah Railway Station. A mother
seemed to have turned hysterical due to the death of her two minor children
sleeping in her lap at the time of accident.
Cabin man Allah Ditta told Dawn that train was moving toward Mehr Shah at a
speed of 100 kilometre per hour and that he tried to save it from the worst
accident by turning it to the sand-hump. But when asked why did he keep the
train on the main track which was vacant at that time, he failed to give a
convincing answer.
People of the area said it was absolutely incorrect to say that second
track was occupied by Allama Iqbal Express coming from Karachi and said
that both tracks were vacant and there was no justification to divert the
train towards the sand-hump without consulting the station master or
assistant station master.
A railway official who did not revealed his name said Allama Iqbal Express
was detained at Jungle Mariala station for the crossing of Zulfikar
Express. He further said that brake system was correct at Khanewal railway
station and if some fault had developed in vacuum system then there was no
possibility of movement of locomotive even for 100 yards, he added.
Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, MNA from the area told reporters that it might be an
act of sabotage. However, it would be premature to say anything about it,
he added.
According to Mohammad Riaz, a resident of Burewala who received injuries in
the accident most of the passengers became unconscious when the accident
took place. Some railway officials said that the accident might be the
result of subversive activity involving removal of fish plates and rail
sleepers. Meanwhile, the villagers of nearby village and passengers of the
train who remained safe took part in the relief operation side by side the
railway rescue teams.
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970306
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Train driver says he was not fit for night duty
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Staff Correspondent
MULTAN, March 5: The driver of the Zulfikar Express, that crashed near
Khanewal, told an inquiry team that medically he was not fit to perform
night duty but his boss did not care and ordered him to keep on.
Driver Khalid Islam, admitted during cross-questioning that the divisional
medical officer, Sukkur, had examined him on Feb. 25 last and advised him
not to perform night duty due to high blood pressure and some symptoms of
cancer. He further told the inquiry team, headed by the Federal Government
Railways Inspector (FGIR), that he appeared before the divisional
mechanical engineer, Sukkur, with the medical report but he asked him to
perform his duties as usual.
Every PR staffer put the responsibility of the technical fault on the
other. The train-examiners insisted that they had thoroughly examined the
wheels, brakes and vacuum system of all bogies. They ruled out the
possibility of any fault in hydraulic system of all the bogies
simultaneously on the grounds that there was no precedence of such a fault
in the past.
The inquiry team, according to sources, could not reach any conclusion. The
preliminary departmental and magisterial inquiry report about the accident
is being submitted to the prime minister on Thursday.
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970307
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Cabinet okays law for public help in Ehtesab
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, March 6: The Federal Cabinet after two-days deliberations has
finally decided to set up intelligence coordination committees at the
provincial level to monitor, discuss and transmit vital intelligence
information to the district level officers for pre-emptive actions.
It also passed draft ordinances to provide death penalty for gang rapes and
un-natural offences on children below the age of 10 and imposition of fine
up to Rs 3,00,000 on those holding marriage functions in violation of the
law.
It was also decided in the meeting that the posting of the police officers
would be done strictly through the Establishment Division at the central
level and through Services and General Administration Department in the
provinces in consultation with the concerned inspector generals of police.
Superintendents of Police in their respective districts will be allowed to
post SHOs of their choice with a direction that all police officers so
appointed will not be shifted or transferred except on disciplinary grounds
before a period of two years. The SPs will, however, be accountable for the
performance of the police force in their districts and be held exclusively
responsible for the maintenance of law and order in their jurisdiction. He
said the police station would be made effective in the performance of its
duties by making the Station House Officer accountable for any heinous or
sensational crime committed in his jurisdiction. Failure to give a proper
account would result in immediate action against the delinquent officer.
Similarly, District S.P., Range DIG and IGP will be held accountable for
heinous crimes within their respective territorial jurisdiction.
The punishments will include demotion, transfer or suspension.
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970308
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Shahid Hamid appointed Punjab governor
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, March 7: Pakistan Muslim League on Friday conceded to appoint
presidents nominee Shahid Hamid as Governor of Punjab, Dawn reliably
learnt.
The understanding to induct the former caretaker defence minister and a
close confidant of President Farooq Leghari as governor was reached at a
meeting at the Presidency on Friday.
The meeting was attended by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Federal
Minister for Population Development Abida Hussain, Petroleum Minister
Chaudhry Nisar Ali, Shahid Hamid and Zulfiqar Khosa, an arch political
rival of Leghari tribe.
The agreement, apparently a quid pro quo between the president and the
Pakistan Muslim League, has also rescued the ruling party from a split as
the president gave his nod to include Mr Khosa in the provincial cabinet.
The president had also refused to induct an MQM nominee as Sindh governor
unless his man was appointed as Punjab governor. The appointment of his man
will also pavethe way for the appointment of the MQM man as Sindh governor.
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970303
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Pakistan banks in US allowed to accept donations
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Staff Correspondent
NEW YORK , March 2: The US banking authorities have allowed Pakistan banks
in the United States to open accounts and accept donations and deposits for
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs debt retirement scheme.
But they warned that all transactions should adhere to the US banking laws
and that no bank would solicit donations itself directly and that any
transaction of over 10,000 dollars would be reported to the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS).
The President of National Bank of Pakistan in New York, Nabi Sher Khan,
said that, as of Friday (Feb. 28), all Pakistan banks could accept
donations and deposits towards the prime ministers debt retirement scheme.
As a consequence, all National Bank branches in Washington, Chicago and New
York will accept donations and deposits.
Mr Khan said that although several Pakistanis had called the bank to
inquire about the scheme and where they could make deposits, so far there
had been no donations or deposits made.
He said the Pakistanis , willing to contribute, would not be charged any
bank fee for any transactions. However, the other two Pakistan banks in New
York, Habib Bank and the United Bank, were still not clear about their
participation. The National Bank got instructions early last week to open
such accounts here.
Meanwhile, in interviews with Dawn , almost all Pakistanis showed keen
interest in donating or depositing money or give interest- free loan (Qarz-
i-Hasna) towards the prime ministers scheme. But many expressed serious
reservations about disbursement and handling of such money . They felt that
a proper system of accounting and managing of the funds should be
established in order to make everything transparent. Many successful
businessmen and professionals said: We are willing to sacrifice everything
for our country. But we want that there should be transparency in handling
of these funds.
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970303
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Implications of PMs call to expatriates
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*From M. Ziauddin
THE poor and the downtrodden of Pakistan gave a massive mandate to Nawaz
Sharif on February 3 to put the economy back on the rails. The Prime
Minister, instead, has asked the rich and the affluent overseas Pakistanis
on February 23, to help him with cash donations to meet the countrys
immediate debt obligations which is in the range of $500 million.
The most optimistic projections reckon that the appeal of the Prime
Minister for contributions and term deposits for debt retirement would
bring in a minimum of $300 million and a maximum of $500 million by end-
June, 1997. Also, it is likely to be a one-shot item with no follow-up on
an annual basis.
This projection is based on the fact that about 95 per cent of Pakistani
overseas workers( about 3.5 million in all) is made up of manual labourers
who are already sending in their hard-earned money to Pakistan to support
their large families here. This amount, perhaps, around $300-400 million in
all, comes to Pakistan annually through the Hundi system under which the
recipient in Pakistan gets the remittances in rupees while the equivalent
foreign exchange goes into the black economy. The overseas Pakistani
workers have no faith in Pakistani banks and this attitude of theirs is not
going to change over night because Pakistani banks are not equipped to
transmit the amount to the recipients in time. In any case, these overseas
Pakistani workers are in no position to oblige Nawaz Sharif because they
simply cannot afford the $1000 he is asking.
Of the remaining 5 percent Pakistani workers abroad who can afford it, only
1 per cent have any physical or emotional links with their mother country.
So, according to the most conservative estimate the expected amount should
not be anything more than $30 million.
However, if the campaign is launched and conducted properly, there is a
possibility that it would emotionally touch around 350,000 Pakistanis and
if all of them contribute according to their respective ability, receipt of
an amount between $500 million and $300 million does not appear to be out
of question.
But, the question is: what after that? Since this amount is not going to be
a regular annual feature of our income, how does the new government plan to
take care of the future expenditures which are bound to go up consistently
unless defence expenditure is rationalised and the population explosion is
controlled to less than 2 per cent?
Pakistan is suffering from debt burden because we have not been able to
earn enough to finance our galloping socio-economic and security needs. And
the main reason for this has been the chronic problem of tax evasion.
Between the agriculture and non-agriculture economy, there is a tax
potential of Rs. 250 billion. But we collect a paltry Rs. 80 billion
annually. Unless we do something drastic to reduce this massive tax
evasion, we are likely to remain under the constant default threat.
It is not known why, the industrialist Prime Minister did not appeal to his
businessmen colleagues and agricultural friends to pay their taxes honestly
while requesting the overseas Pakistanis to contribute generously to debt
retirement fund.
In the days of general Zia, every year the Pakistani business tycoons used
to be invited to come to Islamabad just before the budget with their
proposals. And they would come with proposals for tax exemptions. They
would be obliged and in return they would be asked to help the government
bridge the budgetary deficit with contributions. They would promise but
would never keep these promises. As a result, the budgetary deficit kept on
galloping and reached around 15 per cent of the GDP in 1988( this figure
was fudged so as to make it appear 9.5 per cent of the GDP).
The Prime Minister by ignoring the real problem of the economy which is tax
collection, has in fact contributed to further distortion of the economy,
the price of which he may have to pay in political terms before the end of
his tenure as did his predecessors.
The one welcome decision which he has announced in his February 23 speech
concerns the promise to put a cap on the prices of electricity, gas and
petroleum. This will certainly have an impact on cost of production and
increase the competitiveness of Pakistani export goods. But he had more
than nullified this decision by increasing the burden on the public sector
budget and the cost of private sector production by increasing the salaries
all around by Rs. 300 per month. It sounds too heartless to object to this
paltry raise for a people who have been finding it impossible to make both
ends meet for the last couple of years. But it is better to go without a
meal today than to forfeit the two square meals tomorrow.
If the Prime Minister was really interested in stabilising the prices and
at the same time he had wanted to initiate increased production activities,
he should have announced a drastic cut in the import tariffs and imposed
upto retail stage general sales tax on all consumer goods.
This would have reduced the prices of imported raw materials and
intermediaries making it economic to produce domestically a whole range of
items now being imported in finished form at a high dollar cost causing the
trade gap to widen and the balance of payments position to deteriorate .
And the GST would have taken care of consumption allowing the surpluses to
be exported. The Prime Minister did not elaborate how he intended to revive
production activities. If he is planning to do this by reviving the so-
called sick mills by injecting resources from the budget, then he would be
committing the same blunder as did the government of General Zia which kept
on throwing good money after the bad in attempting revive the sick mills
whose owners had found it more profitable to declare their mills sick and
pocket the bank loans. He should let the sick mills go bankrupt and allow
the fittest to survive and make profits. By letting the sick mills
disappear, the government would only be creating the right environment for
the restructuring of the industrial sector which should get out of its
traditional rut of spinning mills.
The need of the hour is infrastructure. Therefore, the new government
should invite the private sector to investment in ports, roads, bridges,
power, telecommunication, railways, airlines and road transport, rather
than in spinning mills. Meanwhile, the government should take in hand in
all earnestness, the process of privatisation, especially those of banks
and investment institutions.
The new government seems to be suffering from a misconception that with one
appeal from Nawaz Sharif, overseas Pakistanis would begin investing in
Pakistan by the billions. They would if they can. But this is not such a
simple matter. In the first place unlike overseas Chinese and overseas
Indians the overseas Pakistanis are not as affluent. A handful of them who
can afford it have tried in the past only to be discouraged by the local
red tape. And this red tape is still there. Pakistani bureaucracy is
perhaps the most visionless bureaucracy anywhere in the world. Somehow they
have learnt only to block things. Sometime they make things difficult for
foreign investors for cash considerations but most of the time because they
have no understanding of the demands of modern industry.
Pakistans economy needs to grow at an annual average rate of around 10 per
cent to keep pace with the population increase of 3 per cent per annum. To
achieve this, we need to invest at the rate of 25 per cent and to obtain
this rate of investment we need to save at the rate of around 18-20 per
cent per annum. But the present rate of savings is 14-15 per cent.
In order to improve this situation in the first place we need to force the
businessmen and agriculturists to pay their taxes honestly and secondly we
must attract foreign direct investment as much as possible. One way of
reducing tax evasion is to reduce the rate of taxes, but in order to ensure
minimum tax evasion, the government of the day should have the political
will to send the tax evader, no matter how powerful, to jail. And in order
to attract foreign direct investment, a level playing field should be
offered to the foreign investor instead of asking him to compete with those
who keep double books and who make margins out of protection rather than by
efficient production.
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970303
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Even knowledge falls within tax dragnet
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Teenaz Javat
There are, altogether 11 different taxes clamped on the import of books in
Pakistan, enough to exasperate any established publisher and to put any new
comer in the books trade out of business, within a matter of time.
The taxes are under different heads namely, import duty, advance income
tax, surcharge, lending charges, stamp duty (only applicable in Sindh),
sales tax, development surcharge and survey fee, aviation surcharge which
comes to two percent on air freight, central excise duty, clearing charges
and other miscellaneous charges (read bribes).
This has taken the cost of imported books sky-high as the freight charges
too have escalated over the past few months, said a leading publishers
representative based in Karachi. When we complained to the concerned
authorities as to the bases of these taxes, we were brazenly told to
contact the Central Board of Revenue (CBR). When we did that, authorities
at the CBR openly told us to contact the officials representing the World
Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Pakistan as it was they
who had instructed the CBR to clamp the tax on imported books, moans yet
another leading publisher who preferred to remain anonymous.
Going by these taxes if one were to see between the lines, the Library
Rates Committee of the Ministry of Education, Department of Libraries has
set out the following rates of conversion applicable for imported
publications.
These rates when clamped on imported books increases the price by 16 to 20
percent over and above the price of the book.
Because of this heavy taxation the selling price of a book is at the rate
of Rs 51.66 to the US Dollar and Rs 86.19 to the pound Sterling, he added.
Moreover, these taxes are not adjustable under any heads as there are no
claim backs. Even the advanced income tax that the publishers pay on the
import of the books regardless of the books being sold, there is no
question of getting it back ever.
As the government has abducted its responsibility, the publishers
representatives have made a submission directly to the IMF- World Bank
representatives in Pakistan.
Little does the government realise that if they want to improve the economy
they must, under any circumstances encourage education among the youth.
The amount allocated to education in the recent budget is probably one of
the lowest in Asia.
The current increase in the cost of books have made them out of reach of
the better part of the population. Text books must cost less. The
government must increase its allocation on education and remove all taxes
on this vital tool of knowledge.
With the passage of time, the literacy rate in Pakistan has gone down.
Books are the manure for the growth of the mind and instead of their sales
increasing, this kind of harsh taxation have reduced the volume of books
sold anything between 40 to 60 percent.
This lacunae is therefore filled up by pirated versions as people will read
only if they can afford to do so. The attitude of the government must
change and no tool of education should be subject to such ruthless
taxation.
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970303
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Are donations a substitute for reform?
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Dr Farrukh Saleem
PRIME MINISTER Nawaz Sharif has given a call to all expatriate Pakistanis
to remit $1,000 each so that the country can boost its liquid hard currency
reserves, reduce its dependence on foreign lenders and pay off some of its
bloated foreign debt.
Senator Sartaj Aziz has reportedly drawn up a Green Bullet Scheme whereby
Pakistanis working or settled abroad would be able to get a 8.25 percent
rate of return on a two-year US dollar deposit, 8,50 percent for a three-
year term, 8.75 percent for four years and 9 percent for a five-year
commitment.
Deposits denominated in pound sterling would be paid 9 percent for two
years, 9.25 percent for three years, 9.50 percent on four and 9.75 percent
for a 5-year deposit. In the case of German marks the rate of return stands
at 6.25 percent, 6.50 percent, 6.75 percent and 7 percent for respective
terms.
To be certain, there is absolutely nothing new either about the scheme
itself or the various rates of return. Almost all banks in the country have
been offering similar schemes with comparable rates of interest at least
for the past 10 years.
The new government is simply attempting to bottle the same old pill in a
new, patriotic bottle. Apart from such banking schemes, the Government of
Pakistan (GOP) also has a $150 million Eurobond that actually pays 11.50
percent semi-annually and is listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
Just ignoring the existence of all similar investment vehicles, proponents
of the current scheme have forwarded estimates speculating that two million
overseas Pakistanis would send back $2 billion. The Governor SBP, Dr
Mohammad Yaqub, has even stepped into the debate with an estimate of around
$1 billion.
Wishful horses
Let us assume, for a moment, that wishes were horses and that we would
actually be able to attract around $1 billion in the name of loyalty alone.
Considering that we are currently running an average trade deficit of $350
million per month all the newly arrived money would be gone in less than 90
days.
If we instead use the expatriate finds for debt servicing, then more than
half of the billion dollars would have to be paid out by the end of March
while the remaining half would fall short by a good $200 million for the
payment due by the end of June (more than $500 million is due by the end of
March and an additional $675 million falls due by the end of June).
Let us also say that ones love for ones country is at times directly
proportional to how far one really is from his or her home. Let us,
therefore, assume that hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis living thousands
of miles away would succumb, to what would essentially equate to emotional
coercion, and would deposit hundreds of millions of dollars with Pakistani
banks (realistic estimates actually range between $150 million to $300
million).
We, on the other hand, are sure to use up all that money either in
financing our trade deficit, the current account deficit or debt servicing
(there is no explicit guarantee that these funds will be used exclusively
for debt retirement). How does the government really plan to pay these
funds back to the original depositors as per contracted terms or at the
time of maturity 2 or 3 years down the road? More debt? More appeals to
loyalty and patriotism? Is the government into some sort of a pyramid
scheme?
Opposition support
Benazir Bhutto, almost out of the blue, has also jumped on to the
bandwagon. During her recent National Assembly speech she has also
supported Nawaz Sharifs scheme of mobilising funds from overseas
Pakistanis in order to pay off debt.
Do any of our leaders ever think of why overseas Pakistanis should send
back their hard-earned dollars? Were the same overseas Pakistanis ever
consulted when billions of dollars were being borrowed by the leaders in
the name of alleviating domestic poverty?
None of that money ever trickled down to the masses but the country today
stands indebted to the tune of $30 billion in foreign and close to Rs 1
trillion in domestic debt.
Why have the leaders, in the first place, allowed the foreign debt to swell
to 300 percent of our annual exports? As a matter of record, our foreign
debt stood at around $12.9 billion in 1988 and has since gone up to $30
billion, while the increase in domestic debt over the same period has been
from Rs 333 billion to Rs 1,000 billion.
This means that since the advent of democracy in 1988, Benazir Bhutto and
Nawaz Sharif during their respective terms have each been borrowing an
average of Rs 60 crore every single day of the year just to keep their
governments running. That translates into additional loans of Rs 50 lakh
every waking hour of the day or nearly a lakh rupees of additional national
debt for every waking minute.
What truly is the new schemes real proposition? Well, the new government
wants Pakistanis working or settled abroad to deposit dollars with
Pakistani banks which shall in return increase our foreign currency
liabilities just so that the newly installed leaders could have enough
dough to chew on for another quarter. Isnt the State Bank of Pakistan
(SBP) already over-exposed on the account of resident and non-resident
foreign currency deposits?
Just a few weeks ago, the SBP had reported hard currency reserves of less
than $700 million while it owed $4 billion to resident foreign currency
depositors and an additional $4.5 billion to non-resident foreign currency
depositors. Why would it want to add on to its foreign currency
liabilities?
Admittedly, some foreign institutional investors may also find the new
rates of return (LIBOR plus 200 basis points) attractive enough to send in
additional deposits. One should not ignore, however, that all such inflows
are based on a strict risk-reward analysis and that foreign institutions
have, in the past, been reluctant to lend us for a period of more than 9
months. Additionally, some of the main-stream politicians-in-power may also
decide to dip into their foreign accounts and bring back part of their
holdings.
The government at the same time, must clearly understand that an exclusive
concentration on the supply side of our economy resulting in huge
exportable surpluses, a declining rate of inflation and a credible package
of economic reforms are going to be our only saviours.
Simple appeals to loyalty patriotism and faith may produce some marginal,
shot-term gratification (at the cost of increasing our banking systems
foreign currency liabilities) but none of these are any substitute to real
structural reforms and genuine balancing.
Actual disease
Instead of increasing our short to medium-term interest-bearing foreign
liabilities, the concentration must be diverted to interest-free foreign
equity investment (and the hurdles that foreign investors have experienced
in the past). The new government must now concentrate on curing the actual
disease rather than trying to find an aspirin for the cancer called
structural economic flaws.
The government has now decided to send various high-powered delegations on
a round-the-world tour to solicit funds. Even this is contrary to the
accepted financial logic.
According to a recent study undertaken by The Economist, capital is far too
intelligent in locating its own geographical boundaries for its most
effective utilisation. The Economist further concludes that sending
government officials to promote exports or to attract capital or to act as
salespersons is nothing but a pure waste of national resources.
The cold-war era of surviving on concessional loans is long gone. We must
wake up to the brave, new, competition-based world of commerce and that of
economics. Capital is scarce, it has absolutely no loyalty, no preference
based either on skin colour, creed, sex, religion or national origin It has
no geographic boundaries and is increasingly being managed by professional
asset managers.
Any sustained foreign inflow almost by definition, must be preceded by what
the international market considers credible financial and economic reforms.
As far as unadulterated financial theory and practice is concerned, any and
all appeals to loyalty, patriotism and faith rightly belong to the economic
dark ages.
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970304
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SBP cell to monitor NDR programme
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, March 3: The State Bank of Pakistan has set up a monitoring cell
to ensure proper recording and accounting of all receipts under the
National Debt Retirement Programme.
An SBP press release said the cell would comprise four members including
Deputy Governor Mr Mahfooz Alam and three other senior officials of the
State Bank.
The members of the public are requested to please obtain proper receipts
from the banks at the time of depositing the funds, the release said. It
further said that the SBP had already advised the banks involved in the
debt retirement programme to issue proper receipts in respect of donations
and Qarz-e-Hasana bearing running serial number and date and authorised
signature. According to the set of instructions issued to the banks, the
receipts are required to be issued in duplicate. Permanent receipts should
be issued and signed by a person other than the person who has issued
interim/ temporary receipt at the time of receipt of donation/contribution
at the counter. Preferably permanent receipt should be issued by the
manager in charge of the branch jointly with another official.
The release said the banks have also been advised to ensure that the
amounts deposited under debt retirement programme are duly accounted for
and are subjected to proper internal checks. It said the SBP had set up
inspection teams to check the accounts of and procedures employed to handle
such deposits adding that strict action would be taken for any violation.
The release said if the members of the public desire to verify that the
contributions made by them have been duly accounted for, they may approach
the Monitoring Cell set up in the State Bank and give photo copy of the
receipts for verification.
The names and telephone/fax numbers of the members of the Monitoring Cell
are as under:
(1) Mr Mahfooz Alam, Deputy Governor, SBP: Ph: 2412229, Fax: 2428288
(2) Mr Imtiaz Ahmed, Executive Director, SBP: Ph: 2417872, Fax: 2429714
(3) Mr Tasadduq Hussain, Director, Foreign Exchange Department, SBP,
Ph:241154, Fax: 2422083
(4) Ghulam Muhammad, Additional Director, Foreign Exchange Department, SBP,
Ph: 2416668, Fax: 2422083, 2417865, 2416608.
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970303
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Govt wants PIA to be cost-efficient
-------------------------------------------------------------------
M. Ziauddin
ISLAMABAD, March 2: The new government has directed the management of
Pakistan International Airlines to make it cost-efficient without any loss
of time.
The directive has not demanded staff retrenchment, but neither does it
advise the management otherwise. New recruitment, however, is to be made
compulsorily on merit and no recommendations from any quarter are to be
entertained in this respect.
The management has also been told to replace all five -year- old aircraft
with new jumbos. The PIA at present has a total fleet of 47 aircraft, and
all are more than five years old.
The service sector of the airlines is also expected to be given a fresh
facelift by replacing over age stewards and stewardesses with more
presentable and properly educated persons having the right aptitude and
merit.
The kind of attention that is being paid to the PIA by the new government
and the urgency with which changes are being demanded are said to be rather
unusual. If things dont change within months for the better, the entire
top management may be replaced with professional managers from the private
sector, confided one insider. He also did not rule out the possibility of
introduction of open -sky policy by the new government if the PIA showed no
signs of improvement within a reasonable period of time. During his first
tenure also, Nawaz Sharif had toyed with the idea of opening up Pakistan
skies to foreign airlines.
The source was, however, not very certain why the new government was
interested in replacing five-year- old aircraft with new jumbos at a time
when the PIA was facing liquidity crunch. He categorically rejected the
idea that middlemen looking for business for jumbos in Pakistan were
actually behind this move.
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970303
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The new economic strategy must not fail
-------------------------------------------------------------------
M.B. Naqvi
STAKES are high not merely for the new government of Mian Nawaz Sharif but
for the Pakistan economy itself. Should his new economic strategy fail, the
worst a default in external payments, leading before too long to an
economic collapse will be unavoidable. In view of the stakes for the
country, Mian Sahibs strategy must not fail. Would it succeed and what are
its prerequisites?
Before an answer is attempted, it will be proper to pinpoint what the new
strategy is. No doubt there are only a few pronouncements and the recently
telecast speech of Mian Sahib to go by. These provide not even all the
barebones. The highlights of it, however, are two: the first is the attempt
to build up a cushion of foreign exchange reserves, made of contributions
and loans from Pakistanis rather than from the international money market
and the BWIs (Bretton Woods Institutions). Hopefully, that would prevent a
default in the near future.
Meanwhile, the other prong of the strategy would come into operation, the
substance of which comprises efforts to kick-start the economy. This would,
if successful and in combination with the tax reforms, yield genuinely new
resources to be mobilised with which to reduce the budget deficit. With
that, excessive money creation would be curtailed and would have a good
impact on the inflationary situation. However much of it is feasible within
a short time-frame. Whether this strategy is an adequate response to the
challenge of the situation is a legitimate question requiring an answer,
more so because there is the wide open question of relationship with the
BWIs.
It is easy to be sceptical and to pick holes but carping criticism in a
situation of this kind, especially when so much is at stake, would be out
of place and wholly unhelpful. Nevertheless it is necessary to temper the
earnest desire with a realistic assessment of possibilities. Doubtless,
Mian Sahibs strategy with regard to the building up of adequate foreign
exchange reserves requires to be quantified not with any exactitude but
in an indicative manner so as to underline the magnitude of the efforts
required and to enable observers to make an assessment of the
possibilities.
It is also necessary to remember that this part of Mian Sahibs strategy is
only a component part of the larger strategy of expeditiously reducing the
debt servicing liability of the country, especially of the high interest-
bearing short term loans; this is to be done by early retirement of the
high interest-bearing short-to-medium-term loans. What is the size of these
particular kinds of loans? An indication was given by caretaker Shahid
Javed Burki: he mentioned the figure of $10 billion.
The overall strategy then requires a foreign exchange reserve of the order
of $10 to $11 billion. Let us also remember that the overall strategy
includes contributions from privatisation funds; indeed an integral part of
the idea is that all the proceeds of privatisation should go for the
retirement of this kind of debt rather than being utilised as a budgetary
support. This seems to be every reason to believe that Mian Sahibs
strategy includes this idea.
The requirement, therefore, is that over the next one to two years, the
Pakistan government should be able to have this order of foreign exchange
reserves so as to be able to rid the country of the crippling requirement
of paying high sums in neat cash almost every month to service high
interest bearing loans. By any assessment, it is a daunting task because of
several factors.
One of it is: there are clear technical limits to what the Privatisation
Fund can provide in the space of next two years; if the sales of the
public-sector enterprises is to be orderly, and not a distress sale,
realising $2 billion in the next two years should be rated as good
performance. The brunt will have to be borne by the expatriate Pakistanis
and locals with means to contribute in the qarz utaro, mulk sanwaro
scheme. Here there is a big rider.
The rest of the world will not look kindly on the laundering of the black
or drug money with no questions asked. Contributions will have to come from
only genuine expatriates and businessmen.
How that is to be achieved remains to be seen. Or they would be really have
to be less punctilious about dirty money? That depends in part on our
relationship with the BWIs. The earlier impression was that Mr. Nawaz
Sharif was reconciled to the IMF scrapping the stand-by agreement and not
disbursing any money under it. With that went the likelihood of IMF
agreeing to another ESAF/EFF negotiations for quite sometime. the BWIs then
would regard Pakistan as having walked out of their approved economic
programmes. Latest indications are that the President and the caretakers
were not merely bluffing or hoping hard.
Mian Sahib and his experts appear to have discovered a middle road. They
would remain loyal and bound to implement the targets laid down by the
stand-by agreement, especially those that are denoted and determined by
budget deficit coming down to 4 per cent by the end of the current year:
the revised 1996-97 budget should not show any higher than 4 per cent
budget deficit.
Mian Sahib would only renegotiate the means of achieving the goal in the
space of the next four months. Instead of increasing user chargesthat he
has frozen for the next four monthsand other increases in POL prices and
the like, he would try to relate the economy without violating any of the
other IMF conditionalities and he would meet the requirements of high
resource mobilisation through more normal tax revenues, particularly by
better realisation, a more extensive GST and increased production yielding
more taxes and duties.
This is to be juxtaposed with his assurances that he would not reduce
defence spending or cut the nuclear programme or betray the Kashmiris. That
translates into all the all commitments of the Pakistan government, the
same as Benazir Bhutto was committed to.
Given these outside limitations, particularly the commitment to meet the
target of 4 per cent of budget reduction by June 30 next, the denouement
become more dicey. As it happens economic performance during the current
year has been dismal from the point of view of both revenue collection as
well as the governments borrowing requirements.
Reports are that Islamabad has already borrowed all the money that was
admissible for the whole year and there are still five months to go. The
exports too have not risencertainly not in terms of dollars. Revenue
collections are down by a large margin. The freezing of the user charges,
POL prices, institution of new subsidies and relief measures to the
government employees and wage earners will make the budgetary situation
even more difficult. If anyone expects the budget deficit to come down to 4
per cent, he is living in a world of make-believe.
The IMF is unlikely to accept five percent or more in deficit.
There is no doubt that Mian Sahibs basic strategy is sound, if partial.
His is the proper way to raise resources. No doubt it is contingent on the
economy picking up. For that he has to take deflationary measures. These
include stabilisation of rupee value and lower interest rates. It is
doubtful if the BWIs will accept these. Moreover, whether we pay attention
to BWIs or not, the strategy anyway requires a certain amount of time to
work; the turning around of the economy will anyhow take at least six to
eight months at the fastest possible speed provided all the required
policies can be put in place now.
That is also the way to increase exports. But the joker in the pack would
be, as the BWIs will loudly point out, inflation; it would rise. How much
would it rise and how soon can it be controlled through increased
production and more imports? It is a question of fine judgment and also of
economic leadership.
Theoretically, it is possible to plan two- or three-point increases in the
cost of living to be brought down within the time-frame of four to six
months. Fighting inflation is a longer-term job that requires sustained
high growth rates over a period of time together with enlightened income
distribution policies.
The more likely outcome, however, is that the IMF is unlikely to buy the
earnest pleas of Messrs. Sharif and Aziz. They would cut Pakistan off to a
shilling because they would not let Pakistan run higher budget deficits any
more. The Islamabad mandarins are being less than honest. They are not
talking about what the BWIs are really insisting upon.
What the BWIs real demand is not too obscure: they want Islamabad to
ruthlessly cut expenditures including the holy cows of debt servicing and
defence. Should Islamabad be ready to do that in any substantial manner,
they would be willing to consider rescheduling the debt servicing burden of
the main long-term debts, while leaving Pakistan to cope with short-term
debts as best as it can.
Indeed they would be happy to accommodate Mian Nawaz Sharifs strategy
provided he goes all the way and also looks at the other side of the
budgetary picture: he should be as ruthless in cutting down expenditures as
he is earnest about retiring the short-term debts. Indeed without combining
this expenditure-cutting part to his economic strategy, it is unlikely to
succeed in any significant sense. The kind of mandate he has received
requires him to provide leadership to the countrys economy, including
changing the structures of the budget.
This is a historic moment. He can do so now. If he fails, much else will
fail.
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970306
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Investors cover positions at lower levels
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Reporter
KARACHI, March 5: Stocks shrugged off the last few sessions weakness as
investors covered positions at the lower levels on the blue chip counters.
The KSE 100-share index opened 34 points higher. But as follow-up support
turned shy the index kept falling, finally finishing around 1.336.54 as
compared to 1,617.17 a day earlier, showing gain of 19.37 points.
Leading textile shares, notably Lafayette Industries, Nishat Mills and
Mehmood Textiles remained in strong demand and finished with an extended
gain on news of good dividend by some other prominent companies.
Among the bank shares which recovered, Al-Faysal Bank, Askari Bank, Bankers
Equity, Bank of Punjab, Crescent Bank and MCB were leading and so did EFU
and Adamjee Insurance in the insurance sector. Adamjee recovered Rs 5. The
recovery in the energy shares were led by PSO, Shell Pakistan and some
others and so did Atlas Honda and Ghandhara in the auto sector. Engro
Chemicals and Fauji Fertiliser, which suffered heavy pruning during the
last one week, recovered by Rs 6 and Rs 3 but Reckitt and Colman fell
further on renewed selling.
Trading volume rose to 57.059 million shares from the previous 40 million
shares, thanks to active alternate bouts of buying and selling in Hub-Power
and PTC vouchers.
The most active list was topped by Hub-Power, lower 30 paisa on 15.891m
shares, followed by PTC vouchers, easy 45 paisa on 11.025m, ICI Pakistan,
unchanged on 10.080m, Dewan Salman, lower 10 paisa on 6.878m, and Fauji
Cement, up 45 paisa on 2.716m shares.
Other actively traded shares were led by FFC-Jordan Fertiliser, easy 10
paisa on 0.908m, Maple Leaf Cement, higher 35 paisa on 0.368m, and LTV
Modaraba, firm 25 paisa on 0.306m shares.
There were 349 actives, which came in for trading, out of which 163 shares
rose, 124 fell with 62 holding on to the last levels.
DIVIDEND: Noon Sugar 40%, Husein Sugar, bonus shares 14.93%, Crescent
Sugar, cash 15%, Quetta Textiles, cash 10%, Ellcot Spinning, interim 25%,
Sapphire Fibre, cash 10%, Blessed Textiles, cash 7.5%.
Muslim Insurance, cash 17.5% plus bonus shares of 10%, Ishaq Textiles, cash
22.5%, Bata Pakistan, final 10%, Olympia Spinning, cash 5%, and Wazir Ali
Industries, right shares of 100%.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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970304
-------------------------------------------------------------------
As honest as they come
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ardeshir Cowasjee
CONFUCIUS said: What goes up, must come down. However, most of our men who
get to the top make a valiant effort to prove the wise old sage wrong.
Governor-General Mohammad Ali Jinnah (August 1947-September 1948),
gentleman, our sole statesman, died in office and was buried with the
honours due to him. The nation mourned.
Governor-General Khwaja Nazimuddin (September 1948-October 1951), last of
the gentlemen-sportsmen. When Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan was
assassinated, it was put to him that he would be the best man for the prime
ministership. He agreed to step down, allowing wily Finance Minister Ghulam
Mohammed to become governor-general.
Governor-General Ghulam Mohammed (October 1951-August 1955), a sick, tired
man. On Liaquats death the survivors (the conspirators) wanting him out of
the way agreed to put him out to pasture by kicking him upstairs. Initially
he proved to be less sick than was thought, more assertive and more
obstreperous than was anticipated. Latterly, when almost completely
paralyzed, it was suggested that he resign. He declined. Eventually he was
deposed by the powerful bureaucrats led by Iskander Mirza who carried him
out of the GGs house, a dying man.
Governor-General Major-General Iskander Mirza (August 1955 March 1956),
of the Indian Political Service, rose swiftly after partition, becoming
defence secretary and then the trouble-shooting governor of East Pakistan.
When the Dominion of Pakistan became a Republic in March 1956, he became
the first President of Pakistan (March 1956-October 1958). On October 7,
1958, he promulgated martial law, appointing as minister of defence his
good friend Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, General Ayub Khan.
Within twenty days he was deposed by Ayub Khan, supported by his three
Lieutenants-Generals, Azam, Sheikh and Burki. he was bundled out of the
Presidents House to Ziarat and then out of the country to London, where he
died in exile.
President General Mohammed Ayub Khan (October 1958-March 1969). In 1965,
his ministers led him to war against India and made him lose it. He never
recovered. Ill-health and the antics of his sons compounded matters,
discontent against him was engineered. A sugar shortage caused the people
to riot, crisis followed crisis. Weakened by sickness, he was forced to
step down and hand over the country to his army chief, Yahya Khan. He went
home to farm his land in Haripur and later moved to Islamabad. When he
died, largely forgotten by the public, he was buried with full military
honours.
President General Agha Mohammed Yahya Khan (March 1969-December 1971). His
and Pakistans friends made him lose a war and with it East Pakistan. He
was deposed and one of the friends took over. He was held under house
arrest until another general took over from the friend in 1977 and
released him. He died three years later, tired and lonely.
President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (December 1971-August 1973), craving
legitimacy, gave himself a constitution making the prime minister all-
powerful (anything signed by the president had to be countersigned by the
prime minister to have any legal effect). He then proceeded to become prime
minister, making puppet Fazal Elahi Chaudhry his president.
President Fazal Elahi Chaudhry (August 1973-September 1978). In July 1977,
when Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was deposed by his hand-picked,
bowing and scraping Chief of Army Staff General Zia-ul-Haq, Fazal was
allowed to stay on and complete his five-year term in office as president
(Zia being chief martial law administrator). A forgotten man, none knowing
whether he was alive or dead, he lived on in the presidency until quietly
sent home.
President General Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq (September 1978-August 1988), would
in all probability still have been with us as president had someone not
blown him up, his fellow travellers, a crate of mangoes and his C-130 in
the skies over Bahawalpur.
President Ghulam Ishaq Khan (August 1988-July 1993), as chairman of the
Senate, constitutionally succeeded Zia. This former school teacher,
patwari, member of the revenue service, of the audit and accounts service,
was a stolid bureaucrat who became the first and last premier secretary-
general of the GOP, an austere finance minister, a strict Senate chairman.
The foundations of the opulent Aiwan-e-Sadar, designed at Ayub Khans
bidding by Edward Stone, were laid during Ayubs regime. It was completed
during Zias time, but the general chose not to move in, preferring to stay
within hearing distance of his source of power, the army in Rawalpindi. The
stern GIK was the first head of state to occupy the palace. Despite his
personal frugality, his financial strictness, and his impeccable care for
the states money, he managed to survive amidst pomp and glory until in
1993 his friends prevailed upon him to commit a string of fatal mistakes
and the generals asked him to go.
The workings of the mind of this last president were strange. He worked
correctly up to 1990, when he had to dismiss the Benazir Bhutto government
and install Nawaz Sharif and his men. He then put into effect Operation
Cut Down the PPP and brought back into our politics, the faded, jaded,
disgraced Jam Sadiq Ali as the cutting weapon. GIK knew full well that Jam
was corrupt, undisciplined, unscrupulous, and capable of doing far more
harm than good. From day one, Jam, as chief minister of Sindh, together
with his hand-picked team, robbed and plundered this province.
Jams selected henchman for the job at hand (and other matters) was Imtiaz
Shaikh of the defunct CSP. On Jams request, GIK willingly transferred him
to the provincial service. He was promoted from Grade 18 straight to Grade
20 and installed as Jams secretary, Imtiaz ruled the roost in Sindh
according to his fancy. His mafia consisted of (amongst others) his
cousin Ayub Shaikh, his brother Maqbool Shaikh, Imdad Ali Seehar, Khan
Mohammed Mahar and Malik Asad Sikander. Each made his own pile, enriching
himself at our expense, using the state apparatus and assets to extort
money and to bully the people. Sindh, its funds and its land, were Imtiazs
oyster.
Knowing his capacity, Jam brought Liaquat Jatoi on to his team as his
finance minister. Jatoi spent discretionary funds entirely at Jams
discretion and his own irresponsible whims. (One example: Secretary Salik
Nazir asked for $10,000 to help educate his son abroad and Jam wrote Give
Kaun na baap ni Diwali?) Jatoi survived Jam, staying on as finance
minister when Muzaffar Hussain Shah succeeded him. Can Liaquat Jatoi, whose
own father, the good Hamid Jatoi, disapproves of his sons doings, be
termed a reasonable man?
After the dismissal of Nawazs first government and the restoration of the
PPP, Sindh Chief Minister Abdullah Shah and minister Pir Mazharul Haq
decided to get Jatoi (and others of the Jam/Muzaffar coterie). An FIR
(24/94) was filed in April 1994 in the Special Anti-Corruption Court in
Karachi against Liaquat Jatoi. His Karachi house was raided, his family
terrorised. Apprehending arrest, torture and the fabrication of a series of
cases, Jatoi fled from Sindh and moved the Supreme Court in Islamabad for
bail before arrest. Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah gave him temporary relief
and bail was later confirmed by then strong, relief-giving Judge Mamoon
Kazi of the Sindh High Court who courageously invoked the powers conferred
by Section 561-A Cr.PC, the judgment emphasizing that they (the powers)
are so large that the Court can pass any appropriate order to meet the
ends of justice.
Thereafter, Liaquat Jatoi, with his ample savings, went into self-exile,
hiding in Dubai until the second dismissal of Benazir Bhutto and her PPP
government. Ironically, his pursuer Abdullah Shah is now absconding.
Imtiaz Shaikh, on the other hand, who was dismissed from service by the PPP
government, managed to hang on and face the music in Pakistan. He had
enough money to settle matters out of court.
Now Liaquat Jatoi has been chosen by Nawaz Sharif to head the government in
Sindh. Days before he was sworn in on February 20, the Shaikh mafia
surrounded him. At the swearing-in Imtiaz adopted the role of his de facto
secretary, his chief factotum, and made sure that everyone saw him doing
so. Imtiaz has so far managed to have rescinded the dismissal order of the
Sindh government (Dawn, Feb 27), but has yet to be cleared by the federal
government.
The people of the impoverished and deeply indebted Sindh have apprised
Nawaz Sharif of the impending peril.
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970304
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A necessary initiative
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M.B. Naqvi
PRIME MINISTER Mian Nawaz Sharif has broken the deadlock with India and
wide-ranging negotiations may soon be resumed. This bold initiative needs
to be welcomed. Obviously, the state of the economy has driven Mian Sahib
to make the move. Islamabad is more or less broke; it cannot afford a
hawkish foreign policy either vis-a-vis India or regarding Afghanistan. The
position has been clear for sometime, though the governments had not
acknowledged it.
World Bank emissaries like Shahid Javed Burki, Syed Shahid Husain et al
were the first to speak the unvarnished truth, if also partially and to get
rid of the PPP government. But their highlighting the grave balance of
payments crisis was valid.
Talks with India over Kashmir and the other matters were inevitable. Our
hawkish policy has hitherto comprised waiting for a chance to negotiate
from a position of strength: in Kashmirs case it implied when the
Kashmiris had harassed the Indian army enough to make New Delhi ready for a
settlement acceptable to Pakistan; and in Afghanistan it meant waiting for
the consolidation of the Taliban regime in Kabul. Unfortunately, the
Indians have shown a remarkable insensitivity to the Kashmiri peoples
human and other rights and have been ruthless enough to do what it takes to
hold on.
Any further continuation of Pakistan-India deadlock simply means more
misery for the Kashmiris without any visible light at the tunnels end. A
change was anyhow needed, more so as the Kashmiris behaviour during and
after the largely bogus election of last September was beginning to look
disconcerting. As for Afghanistan, the prospect of Pakistans policy
producing the desired goal looks increasingly unlikely: more warfare looks
more likely and the consolidation of the Taliban regime may be an even
longer-term prospect than was realised.
It is doubtful whether Pakistan can sustain the financial costs being
incurred by pro-Pakistan elements even after some foreign aid may flow
in. In addition, there is the grievous loss of opportunities due to
Pakistans original impatience and underestimation of the other elements of
Afghan society besides the seven sisters. The time has, however, come for
a change in Pakistans policy vis-a-vis Afghanistan and to lower the
sights.
This necessity is stern and unavoidable; the economy is simply not in a
position to sustain such a policy. We cannot go on borrowing any further.
Look at what the caretakers have done. They borrowed a billion dollars just
to manage things for three months, failing to build the monetary reserves
at the promised level. Their legacy extends beyond the additional $ 1
billion loans (at very high rates of interest) to substantially increasing
the monthly debt servicing burden. It means, in the given conditions,
Islamabad will require, for the next four months $ 1.85 billion for
servicing the mainly short-term debts. Even with slightly better credit
rating and with the goodwill of the IMF, these loans may simply not be
available from known sources: international money market or multilateral
agencies.
Mian Sahibs strategy of borrowing from Pakistanis is a desperate measure
that is also a one-time or unrepeatable solution, rather a palliative.
After all, it is borrowing and a very good chunk of the new money will
require debt servicing at 9 to 10 per cent of interest. Borrowing is no
solution, as the PM himself keeps on saying. Secondly, all his labours will
prove to be like those of the mythical Sisyphus. Why? So long as Islamabad
does not stop the haemorrhage of higher-than-available-resources
expenditures, the size of the loans will continue to snowball. The
situation was already intolerable by the middle of last year. Thus, a
drastic change is unavoidable.
This should put the predictable opposition from Pakistans far right in
perspective. It remains doubtful whether our famous establishment is ready
to swallow what is logically implied in Mian Sahibs point of departure.
The adversarial attitudes toward India have become so encrusted that these
permit only a hard line. Reversing the policy or creating a tension-free
atmosphere necessary for free trade, economic cooperation and for promoting
regional trade and economic growth requires courage and will that our
backwoodsmen do not seem to possess. But this is the only alternative that
befits Pakistans circumstances. It implies a reduction of incomes of
important people the true vested interests.
The latters emotions and selfishness would stand in the way of Mian Sahib
going ahead at the required speed. The assumption here is that Mian Sahib
cannot afford to lose. A question arises and the opposition will emphasise
it: Does the prime minister has a chance in view of what the Indians are
likely to say and do over the core issues?
Before discussing the point, let us be clear about the core issues. What
our right-wing politicians imply is just the question of Kashmir; all the
rest are negotiable and it is assumed that we will do what the Indians have
been asking us to do provided they give us satisfaction on Kashmir. These
include free trade, cultural exchanges, economic cooperation, regional
economic integration and so forth. This is a partial assessment, however.
One ventures to suggest that there is another and even harder question: it
is the nuclear and missile programmes of the two countries.
As a consequence of the advanced stage of development or national or actual
deployment of weapons of mass destruction which is what the term
deterrent implies the 1.4 billion souls in the subcontinent are now at
risk. Although it is only the Pakistanis and the Indians who are directly
involved, the danger to others security via the environment through
wind, rain and water currents will persist so long as these weapons
remain in the inventory, assembled or as components.
The Indians are not in a reasonable frame of mind; their dreams of grandeur
as a great power require a non-stop military build-up. There happens to be
consensus in India over attaining the military sinews, including a sizeable
nuclear stockpile, of a first-rank power. Even the Indian left is not
clear-cut on this question; it seems to subscribe to the wishes of the
majority of the Indian political class. That is a stumbling block. There is
a lot of work to do by those who disapprove of nuclear weapons, missiles
and militarisation in both India and Pakistan.
One mentions these difficulties so as to keep a balanced prospective. The
Indians are not about to meet key Pakistani wishes on demand. It is hard
to imagine a politically vulnerable Deve Gowda government to agree to
either a plebiscite or a settlement that would transfer sovereignty over
the Kashmir Valley to Pakistan. It is hard to imagine any Indian government
doing that in the near future, even one presided over by Jyoti Basu.
similarly, the nuclear spectre is likely to go on haunting us for a long
time. No doubt, something can be done on both questions in the immediate to
medium-term future, provided there are alternative visions available in
both countries.
Which is where intellectuals come in. But this is not a prescriptive piece;
there will be time enough to discuss the merits and the possible lines of
approach to the solution of the core issues in question. What requires to
be emphasised here is that the PML government should move, as part a
bilateral process, towards defusing the situation, allowing an increasing
measure of normalisation, permitting free exchanges between bureaucracies
as well as intellectuals to evolve the necessary approaches, measures and
solutions to sort out these problems.
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970302
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A new era or flash in the pan?
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Eqbal Ahmad
MR Nawaz Sharif inaugurated his prime ministerial term as no other
Pakistani leader had done. He spoke artlessly, with apparent courage and
conviction, leaving himself and his government no escape from the bold
mission he has outlined. I have not before witnessed in Pakistan so
meaningful a linking of power with purpose.
He is promising to start a new epoch in our history. If he fails the price
of failure shall be enormous indeed for him and for the country.
The television staging was notable for its lack of fanfare and absence of
artifice a simple desk, an ordinary chair, and on the austere wall to his
right an unadorned, stark portrait of Mohammed Ali Jinnah. The prime
minister looked tired, shuffled uncomfortably, and occasionally halted
while reading his speech slowly without a tele-prompter. As he turned them
one by one you could literally count the pages, and watch the stack before
him diminish. The austere setting was a piece of the whole. The medium
merged with the message. If planned, it suggests that he is aided by a
talented media manager. If unplanned, there was an excellent instinct at
work.
The message was richer in symbolism than substance. But it will be an error
to underestimate the importance of symbols in a society in transition. They
help draw the outlines of an emerging political culture, shape official
style and outlook, and inform public expectations. The Press and people had
been railing the last five years against the worsening manifestations of
VIPism which is rooted three-fold in feudal outlook, colonial style, and
the separation between state and society which augmented in the post-
colonial decades. The caretaker government of Malik Meraj Khalid responded
to public disapprobation by closing the VIP lounges, and setting a
commendable example of official modesty. Now an elected prime minister has
furthered this process.
High officials and ministers shall be supplied only one car each, hopefully
a modest one. They shall not bear special licence plates nor fly flags on
their vehicles. Armed guards shall not line their route, and there will be
no more of those traffic stopping VVIP movements: There will be no pomp
and show in the name of security of Prime Minister, Governors, and Chief
Ministers. Mr Sharifs reasoning for these limitations add substance to
symbol: To obey the law is a human and social obligation. No one has the
right to deviate from that responsibility by putting insignia of MNA,
MPA... etc. No more plot allotments as perquisites of power and patronage.
Not even official guards at the residences of ministers, advisors, and
senior officials. Again the stated principle is crucial: Every citizen is
equal before the eyes of the government and has equal right to receive
protection. These are bold measures that strike at the roots of an elite
culture of inequality. If they are followed and enshrined in law and we
must expect that they will be then something extraordinarily positive
will have happened in this country.
The Prime Minister announced other measures which suggest his
transformation into a radical reformist. The shifting of holiday from
Friday to Sunday was essential. The private sector will adjust and do well
by it. There is a risk, nevertheless, of state employees transforming it
into 3-days of vacation. Mian Sahib has cited Surat-ul-Juma to justify the
change, so let the Jamaat- Islami holler. It is equally courageous of the
PM to end the allocation of development funds to provincial and national
legislators. He has withdrawn the largest single pork barrel from his own
party colleagues. The raise of Rs 300 per month for all government
employees of grade 1-16 is a mixed blessing. It is an inflationary measure
that runs counter to his own pledge of reducing state spending. But it
suggests a commitment to distributive justice, a commendable concern for
the states low income employees, and a proclivity to disregard IMF and
World Bank conditionalities when it is deemed in the national interest. A
country as vulnerable as Pakistan today would have to tread cautiously.
Yet, it is important to sustain these commitments beyond the flush of his
unusual victory. If he can negotiate successfully between the vision and
reality, Pakistan will be a better country.
What would normally be a stirring campaign speech the prime minister has
delivered instead on assuming office, allowing himself no exit whatsoever.
His promises, which ranged far and wide, were delivered within the
framework of a bitter critique of state and society: Our country has been
ruthlessly robbed for half a century. Enormous amounts of money were
borrowed blindly and squandered on personal luxuries... I wonder where the
30 billion dollars, which have mortgaged the future of every Pakistani
child, has been spent... The railway system is obsolete. No motor way has
been constructed; no employment opportunities created... They mortgaged the
national interest to such an extent that we are not free to make our own
budget... Our donors order us around. They pressure us to increase the
electricity rates on an already poverty stricken people. We are told to
increase price of flour which amounts to snatching the bread from peoples
mouth. Yet we are forced to follow... Our own rulers have plundered us in
ways that even the enemy would not practise in occupied lands... What sort
of freedom is this? It is time for us to stand upon the ruins of the last
fifty years and pledge that we shall take back our freedom. These are
radical words heard often in communities of conscience and discontent but
never in the Pakistani halls of power.
Nawaz Sharif read out the address in Urdu, with obvious emotion, coming
close occasionally to tears. The chattering classes generally shrugged
cynically as though they had known it all. But ordinary folks saw and heard
him differently and, if newspaper accounts and my conversations through the
bazaars are an indication, they have joined in making the pledge to take
back our freedom. Mr Hamid, a Rawalpindi vendor, is an example. He got
together with a dozen friends who have committed Rs 500 each toward
breaking the begging bowl. This afternoon he shed tears of pride; eight
of the twelve had made good on their commitment. In effect, Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif has offered a social contract, and citizens are signing up.
Therein lies the promise of his government and also its great peril. If he
fulfils even a quarter of his contract, history will have been made. If he
does not, the flash in the pan may ignite a terrible fire.
The list of his promises is long and generally thoughtful. He will cut down
government spending, rid the country of foreign debts, banish corruption
and extravagance in government, restore the health of agriculture, augment
the rate of industrialisation and investment, reconstruct the railways,
build motorways and link roads, enact progressive labour laws, protect
minorities and women, provide health facilities to poor and middle class
families, create housing for the homeless, furnish primary education to
all, create centres of excellence in higher education, establish
participatory structures of accountability and governance, and more.
There is nothing excessive about these promises, and not much is new
either. Their importance lies in that the countrys chief executive has
made them as his inaugural pledge. Great voids have been left,
nevertheless, in the making. His promises are not capable of fulfilment
without structural reforms in the relationship of land and labour, city
and country, state and society, law and contemporary realities and
without the willed mutation of obsolete social, economic and administrative
institutions. Reform, and even revolution, can be quiet and relatively
peaceful. But they do require fundamental shifts in inherited
configurations of power and wealth. On these fundamental questions the
prime minister remained silent. He identified the destination to which he
wants to take the country. He did not give the road map, not to mention the
milestones.
I should urge Mian Sahib to reflect on his own words: I have to move
forward breaking through all traditions that impede progress, this is the
purpose for which you have given me your mandate. Neither is this mandate
traditional nor would I be a traditional Prime Minister. traditions are
embedded in structures of state and society, of power and property, ideas
and institutions. So tell us where the impediments to progress are, and
how, when do you propose to remove them. If your government does not do
that it will administer, at best, some first aid, covering this wounded
country with a lot of band aids.
===================================================================
970303
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Idea of World Cup Test cricket gaining ground
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Qamar Ahmed
With the proliferation of one-day cricket and its popularity worldwide in
the last decade, the idea of a World Cup of Test cricket is fast gaining
momentum. In fact it is on the agenda of the next ICC meeting in July to be
held at Lords. It was supposed to be discussed in the 1995 and 1996
meeting as well after Mathew Engel floated the idea in the 1995 Wisden
Almanack, but had to be shelved.
What makes the cricket officials rethink about the whole concept is a fast
growing disenchantment amongst the players because of the number of matches
and competitions in which they have to commit themselves.
The Australian Players Association led by Tim May has already presented a
paper to their cricket board expressing their concerns about commitments
that the players have to make to be busy all the year round playing one-day
cricket more than Test cricket.
The whole idea of a World Cup of Test is to help preserve the traditional
form of the game, five-day Test cricket, for the 21st century, says Mathew
Engel.
Engels idea is that all Test series from one match to a six game series
would count the same with winner gaining two points, the loser none and one
point each for a drawn series played over several years. His idea does not
include any playoffs as suggested by former Australian captain Ian
Chappell.
Chappells idea is that for points table to run over a four year cycle,
alternating with the one-day World Cup, with one match of a series
designated as the one to count on the championship points. At the end of
the cycle, the top four teams would play off in semi-finals and the winners
in a final to be played on neutral ground. Chappell considers that the
final could be a big attraction for television marketing. Another
Australian Ross Edwards has his own plans. His idea entails the big six
Test playing nations playing an equal number of home-and away Tests against
each other over several years with the team gaining the maximum wins being
declared the champion. Very similar to Engels idea. But what about the
rest of the weaker playing nations. It surely would create disparity.
Another idea by John King, a cricket enthusiast takes account of many
variables such as relative merits of home and away wins as well as quality
of opposition.
Dr Ali Bacher, the managing director of the United Cricket Board of South
Africa, has already announced his support and endorsed Engels plan. Majid
Khan and Tim Lamb of the newly formed England and Wales Cricket Board at
Lords also have aired their views in this regard and Bacher is sure that
he will raise the issue at the ICC meeting.
Courtney Walsh, Wasim Akram are as much enthusiastic about it and have said
so recently in Australia that they like the idea as has Clive LLoyd who
said that he liked the concept of a competition to find out to determine
the worlds best Test team.
Greg Chappell, the former Australian supremo as a batsman and captain has
his own views about it.
Do we need it, and who stands to gain from such a system. Unless the ICC
takes control of the programming and that wont happen, I see too many
problems with this. It will be good for marketing and that is probably the
main argument for it. The players are bubbling with revolt about the one-
day cricket, they are being asked to play. There has to be a lot of thought
given to programming and in that regard players are as badly considered now
as they ever have been. I suppose a two year cycle leading to the top four
teams playing off in a sort of World Cup type tournament as Clive Lloyd has
suggested might be the beat idea but it would be difficult to organise.
Chappell had said.
Ian chappell who was the first in 1991 to air his views about a
championship of Tests says. We have a world cup holder in the limited over
version, why not a world champion of Test cricket? The thought of playing
off for world championship should excite any self-respecting Test
cricketer. If it doesnt, Test matches are doomed to die the death of the
dismal draw, he says.
Richie Benaud, the doyen of the game thinks otherwise. It seem to me that
people are pushing their own ideas in the hope the administrators will
choose their system. I am happy with computers rankings for players. They
are good hotel bar discussion topics and perhaps that it what the Test
championship ideas should be. I am happy with the state of Test cricket,
he says.
Obviously there will be contrasting ideas in favour or against. When
Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and West Indies now play at Test level
the series of matches are tagged as world battle of Tests. To be frank all
permutations are nothing more than hypothetical calculations. A
championship would obviously set peoples minds at rest at least for four
years once the idea is put into practice or else the cricketing world will
never know the real merits of a Test team.
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970303
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Pakistan juniors keep squash hopes alive
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A. Majid Khan
The Pakistani juniors re-affirmed their total dominance in the realm of
squash regaining the team title as well as retaining the individual trophy
of the eighth Asian Juniors (under-19) Squash Championship in Madras
(India) last week.
Now as this years Runners-up, Pakistan had re-captured the team title with
a 21 victory over the defending champions Malaysia in the eight-nation
contest. The young rising squash star Mansoor Zaman, the new Asian
champion, and experienced Kashif Shuja won their matches 1-1 in straight
games. Team captain Amjad Khan, however, suffered defeat against Malaysias
Beg Hee by 23 in the second match lasting one hour seven minutes.
Mansoor Zaman - who in his first appearance in the Asian juniors
championship won the individual title by defeating Kashif Shuja in the all-
Pakistan final, virtually destroyed Mohammad Azlan Askander of Malaysia in
the opening match in straight games. The defeat of Amjad Khan, the nephew
of world champion Jansher Khan, brought Pakistan under considerable
psychological pressure.
Kashif Shuja, the Asian Junior runner up, carrying rich experience of last
two World Juniors championships, ensured the teams success by overcoming
Michael Soo in straight games. Thus Pakistan won back the trophy.
Mansoor Zaman possesses great potential and seems destined to make his
impact on international circuit with a more professional touch and through
hard training. His early stroke-making needs discipline. Also strengthening
of stamina should also be one of his main goals.
Pakistan can hopefully look towards youthful Mansoor Zaman to bring glory
and honour for Pakistan at the higher level. Winning of the Asian juniors
title is a fine achievement and would certainly give a great morale boost
to Mansoor. But one should not forget that before Mansoor, Umer Hayat
(1983), Jansher Khan (1985 and 1987), Abdul Rashid (1989 and 1991) and
Amjad Khan (1995) had been the Asian Juniors champion. But only Jansher
Khan, through his innate skill and strenuous training, has reached the
pinnacle of glory.
So the secret at the higher level success lies in total commitment to the
game. Mansoor Zaman or any other youngster aiming for high achievements
must prepare for hard training and sustained effort. The present young
generation of squash players carries heavy responsibility but is bettered
placed and looked after in terms of incentives and financial support.
The PSF President Air Chief Marshal Mohammad Abbas Khattak, Senior Vice-
President Air Marshal Aliuddin and Secretary Sq-leader S.M, Fazal have
shown due keenness for execution of proper coaching schemes and training of
the probable at Peshawar before the four-member team of Amjad Khan, Mansoor
Zaman, Kashif Shuja and Ejaz Azmat was finally selected. The performance of
Ejaz Azmat, who also represented Pakistan in the 1996 Cairo World Juniors
Championship, remained unsatisfactory.
A panel of coaches including Jansher Khan, national coach Mohibullah Khan,
who was team coach at Madras, and Omar Zaman, who supervised the six-week
Peshawar camp, also contributed towards Pakistan teams success at Asian
Juniors squash.
Now our target must be to win the next years world juniors championship.
The PSF should start the process of building a winning combination for re-
capturing the individual and team titles. Except Mansoor Zaman both Kashif
and Amjad would be overage next year for the 1998 world juniors
championship, scheduled in Princeton, New Jersey (USA), in August.
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970307
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Training camp for SAF Games
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sports Reporter
ISLAMABAD, March 6: National training camps for the preparation of
Pakistan contingent to participate in the 8th SAF Games at Kathmandu from
Sept 20-30, will commence immediately after the 26th National Games at
Karachi, the decision was taken at Pakistan Sports Board during a meeting
between the officials of the board and Pakistan Olympic Association.
It was learnt that the size of the contingent and participation in the
eighth edition of the regional games depended on the New Item Statement
(NIS) which will clear the allocation of funds by the government. The
decisions, it was learnt, was expected during the next week.
Pakistani women competitors will go to the SAF Games backed up with almost
two years of training period in preparation for the 2nd Islamic Womens
Games in October this year. However, the commencement of training camp,
and its participation in the biannual games would be officially approved
by the Executive Committee of Pakistan Sports Board. The year overdue EC
meeting is now being called within a fortnight, it was learnt. The EC
meeting will give final approval to these issues of immediate concern.
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970303
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Davis Cup loss against Iran a disturbing development
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Lateef Jafri
THE first round loss of Pakistan in the Asia-Oceania Group two of the Davis
Cup against Iran must have caused concern to the lovers of tennis in the
country. The defeat was specially sad since the host nation, which was
Pakistan, had given its option for the surface and the players were backed
up by the fans in Islamabad.
It has still not been fully explained why Pakistan decided to play on the
rather slow-paced courts of clay, which is day by day being discarded by
the tennis comity of nations. Certainly many may point to the Roland Garros
of Paris where the French Open grand slam is an annual feature. But the
French are traditionalists and they can hardly follow the Englishmen where
Wimbledon is being played on the turf of the All-England Club. Australia,
no doubt, has replaced the grass of Kooyong in the centre of Melbourne with
a rubbered surface, which gives considerable aid to the serve-and-volley
racket- wielders and it is a pleasure to watch the whirligig of pendulum
swaying to and fro in the later round matches, if not the initial ones.
America too has chosen the cemented courts for their grand slam and has
switched from the grass of the Forest Hills in New York to the Flushing
Meadows. One expected the Pakistan Tennis Federation to either have staged
the matches in Lahore on the grass courts, or the hard surface of Karachi,
where the spectators would have packed the galleries in large numbers to
cheer and laud the contestants which may have given the necessary boost to
the game. The days of slow strokes and baseline tactics are gone and the
federation should have encouraged the players with booming first service,
sharp ground strokes and powerful overheads. Defeat and victory are part of
the game but the national set-up has to look to the future, never mind the
hard work and the effort needed to produce the modern players.
The Davis Cup stumble in the first round of what was previously the Eastern
Zone shows how the country has gone down the hill in tennis and we are
joining the category of the midgets of the game. While there are numberless
youngsters strutting around the courts of the sporting centres the game of
the seniors is declining in level, for inexplicable reasons. Anyway the 3-2
thrashing given by Iran was too bad to be true.
Iran, as one scans through the score-sheet of the global competitions, has
a closed-door policy and hardly belongs to the higher echelon of world
tennis, though in their country they recently brushed aside the foreign
challenge and took the honours of the Satellite competition. It is quite
clear that their drill and on-court training are more strenuous than many
regional countries and sooner than later the ratings of their racket-
wielders may be upgraded in the calculus of International Tennis
Federation.
As one finds from the matches in Islamabad once the Iranians had their
noses in front in the doubles it was not difficult for the visitors to take
one reverse singles to advance to the next round of the Davis Cup, in which
they are hoping to qualify for the World Group.
Many experts and veterans are questioning the policy of the federation to
persevere with the veteran Hameedul Haq. One expected a youngster to have
been fielded once Irans Ramin Raziani had demolished Pakistans Umer
Rasheed with his aces and powerful volleys in the first reverse duel. The
youngster, Shafiq or Shirazi, may have gained in experience and match
sense, even if the players may have lost and Irans margin of victory may
have enlarged.
Umers easy capitulation to Irans Mansour Bahrami and Ramin Raziani was
surprising, though sorrowful for Pakistan. In the matches he seemed
tentative and off-colour. It may perhaps be due to the slow surface. The
fans expected him to forge ahead in the two ties after he had worked hard
to take one set. However, it appears that he was under-prepared and the
challenge turned out to be a tall order for him. Lacking were his
athleticism on the court, his quick anticipation and his bullet-like
volleys. Umers sharp first service was misfiring and there were more
inhibitions in his shots. This was too bad for the player and sad for the
country. He had been a confident stroke-maker in home tournaments with
plenty of zest and match-winning rhythm.
Hameedul Haq set a record of 41 Davis Cup appearances and won his two
singles matches on a surface that suits his game, with a determination and
enthusiasm that was laudable for a player of his age. Though he wants to
give up competitive tennis the federation is still pressing him to help the
country in the play-off against Singapore in the coming April. A defeat
would drive them into the insignificant Group III of Asia-Oceania Zone.
The Secretary of the Federation was so upset over the tennis drubbing given
by Iran that he tendered his resignation, which has not yet been accepted
by the President and later the Council may have to deliberate on it.
However, a new calendar will have to be chalked out to raise the number of
tournaments, more on hard surface and less on clay. The training and
coaching have to be a continuing process. The youngsters like Aisamul Haq,
Aqeel Khan, Ijaz Ahmad, Nomi Qamar are fine bets for future. They are
diligent stroke-makers with variety and imagination. Certainly like India,
centres of coaching have to be set up and the litmus test of the
youngsters progress should be competitions the year-round.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970304
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Pakistan open squash in Islamabad: Aliuddin
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A.Majid Khan
KARACHI March 3: Air Marshal Aliuddin, Senior Vice President of the
Pakistan Squash Federation, disclosed that Golden Jubilee Pakistan Open, a
super series event, would be staged in August at the newly-constructed PSB
Squash Complex in Islamabad.
Talking to Dawn the Air Marshal, said the other day PSF has now decided to
hold the Pakistan event, which is part of the Pakistan Golden jubilee
celebrations, in Islamabads new complex some time in August for which a
date would be announced in the near future.
The PSF has planned to get the Championship Court of the Sports Board
complex air-conditioned by seeking the sponsorship for one of the major
events of the world, he said adding the prize money would be over US
dollars 60,000.
The Squash complex was built over four years ago but it remained un-
utilised because it has no centralised air-conditioning as it involves over
Rs one crore.
Air Marshal Aliuddin said the PSF is in touch with PSB authorities about
getting the championship court air-conditioned and said the federation
would succeed in holding a major squash championship, the first ever, in
the federal capital. Since it is a super series event almost all the top 24
players, including Jansher Khan, the champion of world squash, would be
seen in action, he added.
However Karachi remains the backup venue for the Pakistan Open but he was
sure that Islamabad would be the venue for the coming contest. The Senior
Vice President further stated that Pakistan enjoys a unique record of
producing many world renowned players and is a powerful force in the game
but now we have planned to assume the role of major organisers of
international squash events in the country. This year six international
tournaments are planned to be held at different parts of the country and
the prize money would be ranging from US dollars 7000 to 25,000, he said.
The first international tournament, he said, would be organised in April at
Lahore by the Punjab Squash Association. A similar tournament is also
planned for Karachi, hoping that the Sindh Squash Association, like the
Punjab body, would secure sponsorship. The federation would certainly help
SSA in holding an international event which could not be held last year,
said the Air Marshal.
The international tournaments, emphasised the Air Marshal Aliuddin, would
considerably help our players, particular the new entrants of the PSA
circuit, to improve their international rankings. It is good for Pakistan
squash.
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