-------------------------------------------------------------------
DAWN WIRE SERVICE
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Week Ending : 14 June 1997 Issue : 03/24
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The DAWN Wire Service (DWS) is a free weekly news-service from
Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, the daily DAWN. DWS
offers news, analysis and features of particular interest to the
Pakistani Community on the Internet.
Extracts from DWS can be used provided that this entire header is
included at the beginning of each extract.
We encourage comments & suggestions. We can be reached at:
e-mail dws@dawn.khi.erum.com.pk
dws%dawn%khi@sdnpk.undp.org
fax +92(21) 568-3188 & 568-3801
mail Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Limited
DAWN Group of Newspapers
Haroon House, Karachi 74400, Pakistan
Please send all Editorials and Letters to the Editor at
letters@dawn.com
Make sure you include your full name, complete address and, if in Pakistan,
your daytime telephone number.
TO START RECEIVING DWS FREE EVERY WEEK, JUST SEND US YOUR E-MAIL
ADDRESS!
(c) Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan - 1996
TO START RECEIVING DWS FREE EVERY WEEK, JUST SEND US YOUR E-MAIL
ADDRESS!
(c) Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan - 1996
********************************************************************
*****DAWN - the Internet Edition ** DAWN - the Internet Edition*****
********************************************************************
Read DAWN - the Internet Edition on the WWW !
http://xiber.com/dawn
Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, DAWN, is now Pakistan's
first newspaper on the WWW.
DAWN - the Internet Edition will be published daily (except on Fridays and
public holidays in Pakistan) and would be available on the Web by noon GMT.
Check us out !
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
===================================================================
Tribunal terms Mir's murder extra-judicial
Cost of using Internet rises with new PTC rule
Phone keepers, car owners to file returns
Al-Nahyan group bid for HECB accepted
Indian acts increasing tension, says Gohar
Schon granted amnesty against surrender of assets
Debt servicing to eat up 45pc
Education share reduced in PSDP
Concessions for black money holders
---------------------------------
The umpteen pitfalls of impetuous privatization
Privatization: is the govt. following an aberrated approach?
Modern techniques in drug money laundering
Impressive growth of Islamic bond market
Nawaz govt's desperate scramble for cash
Fund starved Modarabas in deepening crisis
---------------------------------------
Our mango republic Ardeshir Cowasjee
Human rights and wrongs Omar Kureishi
The things that divide us Mazdak
-----------
PM declares open National Games amid luster
Curtain rung down on National Games
PCB forced Mushtaq to resign from job
Bangladesh likely to get Test cricket status
Jansher to play in Australia, America
Why Pakistan lags behind in the realm of tennis?
===================================================================
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
===================================================================
===================================================================
970609
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tribunal terms Mir's murder extra-judicial
-------------------------------------------------------------------
H.A.Hamied
KARACHI, June 8: The murder of Mir Murtaza Bhutto and seven of his partymen
was an extra-judicial act by the police, acting on the orders of some
higher authority, the three-member judicial tribunal formed to inquire into
the Sept 20 shooting said in its report made public by the Sindh government.
PPP chairperson and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who had ordered
the constitution of the tribunal to inquire into the shooting, had, in her
testimony, accused President Farooq Leghari of conspiring to kill her
brother and seven others to bring her elected government down . The
tribunal, however, did not agree with her allegations against the President.
The tribunal comprising Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, judge of the Supreme
Court, (chairman); Justices Amanullah Abbasi and Dr. Ghous Mohammad, judges
of the Sindh High Court, said in its report submitted to the Government of
Sindh on May 31 that the evidence did not indicate there was any plan to
kill Mir Murtaza and seven others, but this much was evident that those
police officials who had planned the operation must have been aware of the
risk of Murtaza becoming a victim of the shooting along with his bodyguards
and other armed colleagues.
The report said that in the police plan there was a definite likelihood of
Mir Murtaza being injured or killed and that Wajid Ali Durrani or Dr.
Shoaib Suddle would not have gone ahead without approval from the
provincial or federal authorities at a much higher level. The tribunal held
that if the terrorists were hiding at 70-Clifton, senior police officers of
the police could have planned police entrance into the bungalow and arrest
of the accused, despite instructions of the then prime minister, Ms Benazir
Bhutto, to the contrary.
The report said the orders of the then prime minister that no agency should
enter 70 Clifton despite terrorists hiding there was an illegal order. On
this point the tribunal relied on a 1995 judgment of the Supreme Court in
which it had held that a civil servant must not carry out a government's
illegal orders.
The tribunal in its 242-page report, the first ever to be published by any
government, held that the police plan was "bad and dangerous" and this was
also the view of DIG Suddle when he was told by Wajid Durrani, but the
former cleared it.
"Suddle was in a position to avoid this incident and he could have told
Durrani to abort the plan, but he did not do so", the report said. The
clear instructions of the then prime minister were that neither the police
nor other agencies should enter 70-Clifton nor should they lay hands on
Murtaza Bhutto. "If persons accused of very serious crimes, and in this
case crimes involving terrorism and other anti-state activities, were
hiding or residing in any building or house, no directions/orders should be
issued that they must not be arrested nor the law enforcement authorities
be restrained from entering such buildings or house to apprehend the
accused", the report said. "In any case", the report said, "the superior
officers of the police followed the orders of the then prime minister and
did not enter 70 Clifton for the arrest of the accused.
Apparently, no instructions were given to exercise care and caution in the
use of lethal weapons to the members of the police party posted at the
check-point. As the intention was to eliminate the militant members of Mir
Murtaza's party, orders might have been given in such terms that firearms
be used freely and the victims targeted to kill." As regards one of the
terms of reference whether the firing on Mir Murtaza and others could have
been avoided by exercising proper care and caution, the tribunal was of the
view that it would have been relevant only if the tribunal believed the
police version that the motive behind the operation was to stop Murtaza's
cavalcade, search his bodyguards for arms and to arrest them. Even if the
police only wanted to search and arrest the accused, the plan was
ill-advised, the report said.
It was known to Durrani, and perhaps all the senior officers of the Sindh
police, including the IG and DIG Suddle, that Mir Murtaza moved around in
the company of a large number of bodyguards armed with sophisticated
weapons. In the circumstances to make such elaborate arrangements,
including posting of a large number of policemen with automatic and
semi-automatic arms and positioning them at strategic points and then
stopping the cavalcade and expecting this to be a routine search and arrest
exercise, was a foolish plan with very dangerous consequences, the report
observed.
It must have been realized by Durrani, as well as DIG Suddle who had given
clearance to the plan, that anything could happen and a slight movement or
gesture might spark off a heavy exchange of fire, resulting in casualties,
the tribunal said.
EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLING: "As regards the other version that this was a case
of extra-judicial killing by the police, the Tribunal is of the view that
the evidence which has been brought on record shows that it was a case of
such killing", the report said. "In the present case, even if the police
officers were in their minds, satisfied that the bodyguards and other
colleagues of Mir Murtaza had committed very serious crimes and were
involved in terrorist and other anti-state activities, the constitution and
laws of Pakistan required the police officers to bring them before a
competent court of law for trial, adduce evidence against them and let the
court decide whether they are guilty according to the penal laws of the
country", the report said. "Neither Islam nor our Constitution empowers any
authority or institution, including the police or any other agency, to get
the accused eliminated through extra-judicial means", the report said.
About the street lights at the scene of operation, the tribunal wondered
whether they were deliberately put off.
It appears that the lights were put off as it was not going to be or
expected to be a routine search operation and that no explanation has come
on record as to why the operation of checking of weapons was planned to be
conducted in the dark. The tribunal did not believe a version that was
advanced by PPP (SB) that the plan was hatched in village Jannan Soomro,
Hyderabad district, to kill Mir Murtaza and the conspirators were Asif
Zardari, Suddle, Wajid Durrani and others and the plan was finalized in the
Chief Minister's House in Karachi on Sept 19 at a meeting attended by
Abdullah Shah, Asif Zardari, Agha Siraj, Sattar Keerio, Zulfiqar Mirza,
Masood Sharif, Wajid Durrani, Suddle and inspector Haq Nawaz Sial.
According to the Shaheed Bhutto group, the plan was that the killing and
injuries were the result of a cool, calculated and premeditated plan. The
tribunal made several recommendations, although they were not sought by the
government, and related to police reform, selection on merit, rigorous
training, crisis in quality, dynamic police leadership, reforms and
investigations, efficiency investigations.
The tribunal has highlighted steps for efficient police investigations on
the use of firearms in criminal investigations and trials, training of
personnel, fingerprints experts, chemical examination, inefficient staff,
etc. It observed that there was a need for more hospitals to be designated
for medico-legal cases and even 30 such hospitals for the city would be
insufficient, and each hospital should be within a radius of two miles.
Hospital mortuaries, the report recommended, should be handled by
professional doctors and not by sweepers as was the practice during the
proceedings of the tribunal and this fact was brought to the public notice
by a driver of the Edhi Centre who was a witness to such incidents. The
tribunal condemned the behavior and lack of commitment on the part of
executive, police and medico-legal officials.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970609
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Cost of using Internet rises with new PTC rule
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Omar R. Quraishi
KARACHI, June 8: While the use of the Internet in Pakistan has grown much
faster than anyone expected, a recent decision by the Pakistan
Telecommunications Corporation (PTC) may blunt further rapid increase in
the number of users by indirectly increasing the cost of using the net.
All the leading Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country, like
Cybernet, Digicom, IBM and Fascom, use universal access numbers (UANs)
which their customers have to dial in order to get connected to the net.
A recent, though not officially announced or advertised decision, by the
PTC to charge a new call after every five minutes on UAN numbers has made
the cost of using the Internet almost twice as expensive.
Several attempts were made to speak to the chairman of the PTC in
Islamabad, Naseem Mirza, on the issue but remained unsuccessful. However, a
PTC official at the Clifton telephone exchange did confirm that after every
5 minutes another call was charged on UAN numbers.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970611
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Phone keepers, car owners to file returns
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, June 10: The government has decided to make it compulsory on all
telephone subscribers, cars and house owners to file both the income tax
and wealth returns from the next financial year.
Reliable sources told Dawn that a random check of 2 to 5 percent of these
returns would be conducted for detailed scrutiny. "The scrutiny will be
done through private chartered accountants who will be hired by the
government for this vary purpose," a source said and added that the income
tax officers are being left out of this process because they might harass
the tax payers as they had been doing in the past.
Some important structural changes in the tax collecting machinery of the
government would also be announced in the next budget speech, the sources
said, adding that one of the major changes in the existing system would be
the abolition of territorial jurisdiction of the income tax officers.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970613
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Al-Nahyan group bid for HECB accepted
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Faraz Hashmi
ISLAMABAD, June 12: Shiekh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan a UAE based
consortium offered a bid of Rs 39 per share of Habib Credit and Exchange
Bank which was accepted by the Privatization Commission of Pakistan and
submitted to Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCOP), for final approval,
an official announcement said.
Earlier, in the first ever televised bidding watched by millions of viewers
across the country the group had offered the highest bid of Rs 38 per share
for purchase of 42 million shares of Habib Credit and Exchange Bank (HECB).
The Privatization Commission met soon after the bidding and decided to
negotiate the final bid with Al-Nahyan group in order to persuade them to
revise their offer. "After protracted negotiations with the highest
bidder, the Privatization Commission succeeded in getting the bid price
revised by the authorized representative of Shiekh Nahyan Bin Mubarak
Al-Nahyan Consortium (UAE) from Rs 38 to Rs 39 per share," said the
announcement
The Commission, which put to hammer 70 percent shares of the total 60
million shares of HECB is expected to earn around $40 million from the
deal, now required only a formal approval by CCOP.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970613
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Indian acts increasing tension, says Gohar
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Hasan Akhtar
ISLAMABAD, June 12: Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan said the recent Indian
actions would not contribute to moves aimed at improving relations, but
would heighten tension between the two countries and cloud the peace process.
He said these actions included air space violations, deployment of Prithvi
missiles near Pakistan's border, acquisition of latest Russian-made
Sukhoi-30 bomber-fighters and killing of a Pakistani Major at Sialkot
border due to Indian firing. Describing these actions as "mixed signals"
which, he thought, would not help in talks, the foreign minister said he
was not quite sure whether all the developments had taken place with the
knowledge and consent of the Indian premier or the Indian defense forces
were responsible for the actions.
The foreign minister parried a question regarding the holding of the second
round of talks between the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan and
did not confirm whether the talks would be held in Islamabad on June 19-21
as decided earlier. He said the foreign secretary would make announcement
about the meeting.
Mr. Gohar ruled out Pakistan making any "defence cut unilaterally" saying
it would be suicidal. He referred to India's military strength following
the development of its indigenous armament program and technologies to
fabricate missiles and observed they were targeted at Pakistan because,
none of them could hit a single place in China. Pakistan could not close
its eyes to these developments and added that Islamabad would adopt a
mature approach during dialogue with India where it had sought to bring
forward the core issue of Kashmir.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970613
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Schon granted amnesty against surrender of assets
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, June 12: The chief of Prime Minister's Accountability Cell,
Senator Saifur Rahman, signed on behalf of government of Pakistan a
"settlement agreement" with the owners of the Schon group granting them
amnesty in exchange of assets worth Rs1.4 billion.
Mr. Rahman signed two separate documents of the same agreement at a press
conference at the prime minister's secretariat claiming that the amount
recovered from the sale of these assets would be used to pay back the loans
amounting to Rs2 billion illegally acquired by the group with official
patronage from nationalized banks and development financial institutions
during the previous government.
Earlier, Mr. Nasir Hussain, a director of the Schon group, and his family
members, at present staying in the United States and Dubai, signed these
"settlement agreements" in Pakistani embassies in Washington and Dubai.
With the signing of these documents, Mr. Nasir Hussain will be free to come
to Pakistan and resume his business for generating further resources to pay
back the remaining outstanding loans, Mr. Saifur Rahman told the press
conference.
The reporters at the press conference were also shown a documentary
prepared by the accountability cell in which it tried to establish active
business links between Mr. Hussain and Asif Ali Zardari. The prime concern
of the present government is to revive country's economy, said Mr. Rahman
justifying the government's action to grant amnesty to Mr. Hussain who,
according to them, had looted public money with the connivance of Mr. Asif
Zardari and Ms Benazir Bhutto. He said they had thoroughly discussed the
agreement with the legal experts and had got it vetted by the law ministry.
Mr. Rahman failed to come up with a satisfactory reply when asked whether
they had not compromised the whole penal laws of the country and basic
principles of justice by granting pardon to an accused in exchange of just
Rs1.5 billion. However, he promptly denied links of Mr. Hussain with Mian
Shahbaz Sharif during the first Pakistan Muslim League government. The
Schon group, in a very controversial deal during the first terms of Nawaz
Sharif, had acquired Pak-China Fertilizer.
The in charge of accountability cell said they had involved the Interpol
and got a red warrant of Nasir Hussain issued which compelled him in paying
bank Rs1.4 billion in the government exchequer. He said some of the
relatives of Nasir Hussain were staying in Dubai. He said the government
approached authorities in the UAE and convinced them in putting their list
on a computer disallowing them from leaving Dubai.
Mr. Rahman alleged that the Schon group had earmarked a budget of Rs2.6
million and 15,000 dollars to bribe government machinery with the objective
to scuttle the investigations initiated against them. He said two officers
of FIA, Rafique Mughal and Masood Baig, had been arrested for receiving
huge amount from the Schon group. During the past few weeks they disbursed
a huge amount through an agent to bribe some investigation officers. The
cell, he added, had proposed that all the cases of national interest should
be televised live from the courts on the pattern of the USA where the trial
of OJ Simpson was shown on television.
"The investigation by the Ehtesab cell documentary evidence transpired
Nasir Schon's correspondence with Mr. Asif Zardari, requesting him for
favors in obtaining loans and other financial benefits," said a press
release distributed at the news conference.
The Schon group allegedly presented a fake equity amounting to Rs540
million ($16 million) to an American-based Company which, he said, helped
government to get initiated legal action against Nasir Schon in the United
States.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970614
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Debt servicing to eat up 45pc
-------------------------------------------------------------------
M. Ziauddin
ISLAMABAD, June 13: Anticipating a record 26.8 per cent increase in revenue
collection in response to his tax reforms, Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz
presented in the National Assembly here on Friday an investment-friendly,
but at the same time an exceptionally tight budget of Rs552 billion for
1997-98 with no new taxes.
The finance minister also announced a proposal to impose a consumption tax
in the form of general sales tax at the retail level but said the details
about its impact on final prices and revenues would be disclosed later
through a notification.
The budget shows an overall gap of Rs136 billion which is expected to
narrow down to Rs126 billion by the additional income of nearly Rs10
billion due to adjustments and tax reforms (Rs6.2 billion) plus the income
of PTCL (Rs3.6 billion).
The remaining gap is proposed to be filled with bank borrowing of Rs54
billion and Rs72 billion of non-bank borrowing in order to keep the overall
budgetary deficit within 5 per cent of the GDP, the target announced
earlier by the government for the next fiscal year.
Nearly 45 per cent of the total outlay or over 70 per cent of the revenue
income has been allocated to debt servicing which at Rs248 billion shows a
staggering jump of 25 per cent over what was paid in amortisation in the
current year.
And adjusted against the rate of inflation of 13 per cent currently being
obtained, the allocations made for defence at Rs134 billion, development at
Rs90 billion and general administration at Rs20. 5 billion are, in effect,
significantly lower than the allocations made under these heads in the
original or even revised budget of 1996-97.
The real borrowing burden on the next year's budget jumps up to Rs238
billion if the anticipated external flows in the shape of project and
non-project assistance at Rs130 billion is taken into consideration.
The revenue receipts in the budget on gross basis are estimated at Rs450.2
billion showing an increase of 15.8 per cent over the revised estimate. The
provincial share in taxes for 1997-98 has been estimated at Rs124.2 billion.
As such the net revenue receipts work out to Rs326.0 billion or 26.8 per
cent increase over the net revenue receipts of Rs257.1 billion in the
revised estimates of 1996-97.
The tax revenue (CBR) at the level of Rs317 billion in the budget estimates
1997-98 indicate an increase of 11.1 per cent compared to revised estimates
of 1996-97 budget.
The provinces will get an estimated Rs124.18 billion from the divisible
pool against Rs131 billion estimated in the revised budget for the current
year. Out of this, Punjab will get Rs66.01 billion against Rs70.48bn
allocated this year, Sindh Rs32.31 billion against Rs34 billion, NWFP
Rs15.06 billion against 16.13 billion, Balochistan Rs12.41 billion against
Rs13.15 billion this year.
Debt servicing for 1997-98 has been estimated at Rs247.9 billion indicating
24.9 per cent increase over revised estimates for 1996-97 amounting to
Rs198.5 billion. The domestic debt servicing is estimated to increase by
32.9 per cent, foreign debt servicing by 5.8 per cent and foreign loans
repayment by 17.9 per cent.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970614
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Education share reduced in PSDP
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD, June 13: The government has reduced its allocation for
environment, narcotics control, social welfare, manpower and development,
nutrition, education and training, and some other important sectors in its
1997-98 public sector development programme.
An allocation of Rs276.4 million, including a foreign exchange component of
Rs183.4, has been made for environment for the year 1997-98. This
allocation is 80% of the previous year's allocation and would only cater
for ongoing projects. No new project would be initiated. However, the
ongoing projects would continue.
An allocation of Rs446m was made for various projects relating to manpower
and employment in 1996-97. These projects include National Vocational
Training Project Phase II, Human Resource Development / Strengthening of
Data Base, Worker's Population Education Programme and Prime Minister's
Special Programme for Training in Technical Trade and Domestic Services.
The allocation for health sector during 1996-97 was Rs18342.8m. Out of the
total, Rs11857.4m had been allocated as recurrent budget and Rs6485.4m as
development budget which included Rs3249m as federal allocation. Revised
estimates for federal allocation is Rs2857.2m which shows about 88%
utilisation during 1996-97.
An allocation of Rs914m has been made in the 1997-98 budget under the PSDP
for the development and expansion of education sector. However, these PSDP
allocations for the year 1996-97 were Rs1133.1 m.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970614
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Concessions for black money holders
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ihtasham ul Haque
ISLAMABAD, June 13: Besides other concessions, the budget for 1997-98
allows black money holders to whiten their possessions by paying a flat tax
at the rate of 7.5 per cent. It also offers a number of tax exemptions and
concessions to attract investment from foreigners and non-resident Pakistanis.
Announcing the taxation proposals for the next fiscal year, the finance
minister Sartaj Aziz said that those who would pay this 7.5 per cent tax on
their hidden wealth would be exempt not only from paying retrospective
wealth tax on these assets but also for the assessment year 1997-98.
Meanwhile, a law is being proposed to be amended to treat the minimum
amount of wealth tax as adjustable against the wealth tax payable by such
persons on their taxable assets including those properties which are
subject to minimum wealth tax.
Tax on immovable properties including residential houses, flats and plots
at fixed rates on the basis of the size of such property would now be
applicable in the larger metropolitan and municipal corporation areas
including areas falling within the limit of cantonments and development
authorities of Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad,
Sargodha, Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Peshawar.
*From now on, all persons purchasing immovable properties, motor vehicles
and international air tickets, wherever such properties are liable to CVT,
will pay CVT. However, taxpayers would be able to adjust the amount of CVT
against their wealth tax for the following three years.
Excise duty on all types of telephone services has been reduced from 40 to
25 per cent which would "allow PTCL to adjust the charge per call so that
the present rates remain unchanged."
However, PTCL will be making further changes to reduce some inter-city call
rates by 20 per cent. This will increase the profitability and earning per
share of PTCL and yield additional dividend of Rs3.6 billion.
Total reduction in excise duties as a result of these measures will amount
to Rs6 billion.
The budget proposes to introduce one single rate of sales tax from the
present 23 per cent, 18 per cent and 12.5 per cent which would allow
"broadening of the tax base without increasing standard rates."
FOREIGNERS AND NON-RESIDENT PAKISTANIS: Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz
announced, "the income of non-residents . . . from foreign investment in
government and corporate fixed income securities is proposed to be exempted
from tax" to encourage "foreigners as well as Pakistanis residing abroad,
to invest their savings in Pakistan."
He said in view of the "persistent demand from the business community that
bonus shares should be completely exempt from tax," these shares are
"proposed to be exempted from taxation completely" in order to "encourage
capital formation."
Similarly, to remove the burden of double taxation, he said "it is proposed
that mutual funds which distribute at least 90 per cent profits amongst
shareholders may be exempted from tax." This would also "help stabilize the
share market and divert the investment from non-productive sector to
productive sectors of the economy."
The "exemption from tax on capital gains from sale of shares" is also
"proposed to be extended for another period of three years from the present
date of expiry . . . June 30, 1998."
The finance minister announced concessions for revival of industrial
activities and creation of greater employment opportunities. He announced
tax holiday till June 30, 2000, to industries based on indigenous raw
material, such as manufacture of soft ad stuffed toys and processing of
fruit, if they are set up by June 30, 1997.
To promote and facilitate the use of solar energy in the country, he has
proposed to grant "tax holiday for five years to manufacturers of solar
energy equipment who set up their industrial undertaking between July 1997
and June 2000.
The budget also removes income tax on the import of computer software.
Likewise, in order "to encourage reading habit," and to "help our nascent
book industry," it was also proposed to revive the allowance on purchase of
books with no upper limit.
To promote education, it was proposed to allow a five per cent rebate on
tax payable against educational expenses with an upper limit of Rs30,000
per child per annum against receipts and NTN of the educational institution.
For those non-resident Pakistanis who have acquired residential houses/
plots in Pakistan, but do not have taxable source of income in Pakistan, it
was proposed that they may be exempted from compulsorily filing the income
tax return even if they own a house or a vehicle.
It has also been proposed to absolve the Pakistanis living abroad from
filing of wealth tax returns in respect of residential houses and flats
where "such properties are otherwise not liable to wealth tax."
The government has also decided that henceforth investments in the stocks
and shares of quoted industrial units shall be allowed exemption from
wealth tax for up to Rs100,000 or 50 per cent of the stocks, whichever is
higher. "This measure is likely to encourage new capital formation in the
country," the minister said.
The finance minister said the government has decided to discourage tax
evasion for which it has been has been made imperative that anybody who
wishes to have tax credit or other tax facilities, will have to give his
national tax number on any sale purchase deal. "Also a businessman who
would issue cash memo will be given 5 per cent tax rebate."
"Those non-resident Pakistanis whose income in Pakistan can not be
assessed, have been exempted from filing of any return because of having
any house or plot," the finance minister said.
===================================================================
970609
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The umpteen pitfalls of impetuous privatization
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jafar Wafa
THE inception of a "unipolar" government in today's Pakistan after Mian
Nawaz Sahrif's sweeping success at the polls and complete collapse of the
opposition led by Benazir, had evoked hopes of immediate improvement in
everything-from the economy to law and order - the two factors that effect
a citizen's quality of life more than anything else.
Unhampered by opposition of any kind, both inside and outside the House,
people expected the government to be in a position to do all that would be
conducive to betterment on both these counts. But it had a bad start on
both fronts. Wheat flour disappeared from the market. Later, its price went
sky-high breaking all past records. Other edibles, sugar and vegetable
ghee, also became scarce and costlier, pushing the price of the kitchen
basket upward, fueling all-round inflation to new heights. Law and order
broke down in the Punjab which had voted the PML(N) overwhelmingly to
power. Sectarian killings began there suddenly and continue unabated. In
other places, the crime graph, in the wake of ever-increasing car thefts,
burglary, robbery and so on, has recorded an upward trend. Electricity is
playing the same hide-and-seek during this oppressive summer as well,
though BB is not there to take the flak. So, the euphoria is over.
People who do the thinking on behalf of the nation attribute the kind of
situation that obtains in the country to one cause- the Prime Minister's
amenability to influence by a group of businessmen and bureaucrats, who
consider themselves the repositories of all practical wisdom. He has an
impressionable mind, those who know him from close quarters, say in
whispers. He has always been like that, others opine. In his previous stint
in power during 1991-93 he was led (or misled) by glib tongued bureaucrats
to believe that all that the country needed to leap like a tiger was
improvement in communications infrastructure alone-new telephones, new taxi
cabs, new motorway and highways and a new deep sea port, neglecting the
existing railways, roads and ports. What an economic disaster this
misplaced confidence in flawed counseling had caused is now a part of
recent history that needs no recounting. People fear that history, which
does not repeat itself so soon, might prove them wrong just as their high
hopes from a stable, opposition-less government have proved wrong-at least
till now. Benazir too, despite her stiff neck had a soft corner for such
facile and pedantic bureaucrats and advisers on whose advice she plunged
headlong into power-generation projects and got the classic MoUs signed
during her globe-trotting tours on official business, without caring for
costs and consequences.
Those Independent Power Plants (IPPs) that have attained 'financial close'
and may go into production shortly have become problematic now when
analysts are working out the costs at which power would be sold to
WAPDA/KESC in bulk by these IPPs. The tentative figures revealed to the
Press, will give electric shock to the ultimate consumers-we and
you-instead of electric energy to the transmission and distribution Authority.
Now, the present Prime Minister, under similar bureaucratic advice, has put
every major industry on the butcher's block (euphemism for the
Privatization Commission). To be cut to size, down-sized and sold in parts
or whole are, firstly, Pakistan Steel, the sole producer of rolled steel in
the country. The second would-be victim is Pakistan Railways, the fruit of
untiring efforts, spread over more than a century, by the pre- Independence
and post-Independence governments to operate a network which is
internationally recognized as the most cost-effective surface transport
mode. It is also reckoned as the hallmark of a country's stage of progress
in modern civilization. The list of victims is too long and the space to
deal with them too short. The financial exigency is such that immediate
disinvestment for obtaining cash is badly called for which is hardly
practicable through the process of privatization. So, alternatives should
be thought out, lest the government defaults in loan repayment.
In our privatization program, nothing could be more ridiculous than to
imagine that the Railway's manufacturing 'assets' like the concrete sleeper
factories or its carriage factory at Islamabad or the locomotive factory at
Risalpur, all meant exclusively for producing things for use by the Railway
itself, will be purchased by a private individual or a party, unless one
presumes that the prospective buyer beats hollow the imaginative bureaucrat.
In a situation where the so-called 'family silver' belonging to the country
- the Telecommunications Corporation and the nationalized commercial
banks-are not attracting suitable bids from foreign and local buyers and
where the Independent Power Plants have become a subject matter of serious
controversy and heated debate in official quarters and in the print media,
any one who is telling the Prime Minister that privatization holds the key
to debt retirement and economic growth in a short span of time is leading
him up the garden path.
The businessmen's apex body had similarly deluded the Prime Minister into
the belief that abolition of holiday on Friday in a self-styled Islamic
Republic will boost exports, solve the balance of payments problem and open
the door wide for foreign investors to troop in. The government, on the
strength of its mandate, did what no other government would have dared to
do and obliged the business community, but so far not even a sparrow has
fluttered out of the magician's hat.
Similar disappointment is in store when the privatization program, which is
likely to fall through, will not materialize and the expected sale proceeds
will not match the unrealistically calculated high figure.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970609
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Privatization: is the govt. following an aberrated approach?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Javed Bashir
THE GOVERNMENT'S decision to expedite the process of privatization to
complete deregulation of all public sector units within the next 12 months
brings into focus some key issues and problems in disposing of state-owned
enterprises.
Besides, the PTC (Pakistan telecommunications Corporation) has been cleared
for sale of its 25 percent of the management stakes. The transaction plan
of approval includes the sectors of communications, power, and energy as
well as banks and financial institutions. Major organizations like Sui gas
pipeline, OGDC, Pakistan State Oil, Pakistan Shipping Corporation, Pakistan
Railways, Area Electricity Boards, Heavy Mechanical Complex are included in
the list of state enterprises due for sale.
Getting rid of the huge national debt through sale proceeds from
privatization is the clear-cut objective of the initiative. This should
help remove the ambiguities of the previous government's policy involving
use of sales proceeds also for development purposes. If the estimated $30
billion is raised through the sale of public sector entities, the debt
burden will come down and there will be a reduction in provisions for
debt-servicing in future budgets from the current Rs 157 billion mark.
Besides reducing borrowings, other important benefits accruing in the long
run could be lower taxation, strengthening of capital markets, and creation
of cost-efficiency through increased competition. However, there is
understandable skepticism about the latest initiative in view of escalating
deficits, increase in public debt, and rise in unemployment despite
transfer of a large number of public assets into private hands in the past.
As against the stated objective of disinvesting loss-incurring units on a
priority basis, there is a marked tendency to dispose of big profitable
units like the PTC, major banks, and power plants. The present chief of the
Privatization Commission, too, has emphasized that the priority of the
government was to disinvest those units which were incurring losses and had
become a liability. No definite plan to this end, however, is discernible.
The government is trying to allay various concerns as well as expedite the
process of privatization. It has decided to appoint three consultants of
international repute to complete privatization of large utility
organizations and industrial units. However, there are doubts as to whether
the targets can be achieved within the stipulated greater concern is
whether the sale value of the entities can be maximized and transparency of
transfer procedures ensured. It is not only in the wheels the official
machinery that are there hurdles and bottlenecks in the disposal of banking
and financial institutions. For example, a major problem in privatizing
such units was created by their bad debts, estimated to be between $1.99
billion and $2.49 billion.
Pakistan's earlier attempts to sell a 26 percent stake and transfer
management control of the UBL failed. The Benazir government approved the
sale of the sole bidder, the Saudi Basharahil Group, which was to have
managed the bank. The deal fell through when the group reportedly failed to
make the agreed cash payments. Subsequently, the State Bank took control of
the UBL, saying it was losing about $20 million a year due to
misappropriation and widespread abuses, including payment to about 3,000
'ghost workers'.
The previous caretaker government wanted to establish a trust corporation
to assume the bad debts to improve the financial health of these
institutions and thus elicit the buyers' interest and better price for
them. The Privatization Commission hopes to get a good response from local
and international bidders for Habib Credit and Exchange Bank on the basis
of studies conducted recently. In many cases, however, separating the good
loans from the bad ones is time-consuming and potential buyers might want
to satisfy themselves about existence of adequate collateral's for the
sanction of loans.
High-paced privatization could run into many difficulties. Last year, in
spite of the submission to the government of a detailed privatization
time-table regarding power plants located at Multan, Muzaffargarh, Lakhra
(coal-fired fluidized-bed thermal power plant) and Guddu, warnings were
sounded by experts and financial advisers that a sufficient gap must be
kept in power sector privatization so as to keep the interest of strategic
investors focused on one or at least two transactions at a time.
The International Finance Corporation, a subsidiary of the World Bank,
acting as financial adviser for the Faisalabad Area Electricity Board,
recommended a 'hive down' approach for corporatization of the FAEB and an
accrued distribution charge system for tariff-setting. As regards the KESC,
the financial adviser is said to have recommended a number of
administrative and financial restructuring measures in view of the serious
problems of inept management.
A major snag was the failure to establish the long-planned national grid
company (now existing in the form of WAPDA) which would have bulk power
agreements and would feed different distribution companies. Pricing is
another vital consideration because the formula proposed in the past verged
on outright profiteering and might have been ruinous for the economy. In
light of the technological advancement that has reduced generation costs
considerably, more time would be required to negotiate suitable agreements
with investors.
The government certainly has a large portfolio in the public sector and
investment from foreign operators by selling shares of public enterprises
would help to establish the country as a player in the international
market. It should also bring in the fruits of technology.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970609
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Modern techniques in drug money laundering
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Jassim Taqui
WITH THE communication revolution turning the world into a global village,
new problems arise since electronic commerce is being now widely used.
Electronic commerce offers offers exciting prospect of doing away with many
of the costs, burdens, and problems associated with paper money. But the
advent of electronic commerce presents certain challenges to law
enforcement as well.
One of the biggest challenges is the new opportunities for criminals to
launder their money. Traditionally money launderers have deposited
troublesome and bulky cash proceeds into banks and other financial
institutions to obscure its origin. Or they have created phony companies,
or engaged in sham transactions, to hide illicit profits.
These methods usually create paper trails that can be traced by law
enforcement. through education, training and enactment of stringent laws
and regulations in this regard and through close international cooperation,
law enforcement has made substantial progress in preventing and detecting
money laundering. As a result, it is increasingly difficult for criminals
to launder their money successfully.
However certain types of electronic commerce systems permit virtually
anonymous transactions and leave no paper trail. These systems could undo
years of hard law enforcement work. Electronic commerce could allow a money
launderer who wants to transfer a tainted funds to do so without the risk
of engaging in a personal contact with a potentially suspicious bank
employee. And the funds could be transferred anywhere in the world by an
automated on-line banking system that could be accessed from the safety of
the money launderer's home.
Similarly, a bank that operates on-line could court the business of money
launderers with little danger of persecution. Such a virtual bank could be
easily located overseas, beyond the reach of law enforcement. In the United
States, offshore, on-line banks are already in operation. One offshore bank
describes itself as the first bank on the Internet, offering the
opportunities to open accounts, wire money, order credit cards or write
checks by computer from anywhere in the world, around the clock.
The bank's Worldwide Web page describes the benefits it offers to
customers: " Sine there are no government withholding or reporting
requirements on accounts, the burdensome and expensive accounting
requirements are reduced for you and for the bank. The bank maintains the
strictest standards of banking privacy in offshore business and financial
transactions. Indeed, the bank's country has stiff penalties for officers
or staff that violate banking secrecy laws." It is not hard to imagine who
will be attracted to this kind of banking. Such banking services would be a
paradise to the drug and crime Mafia. The secrecy is providing money
launderer with every opportunity to launder their illicit money and illegal
financial transactions.
Some smart card systems go further, and would permit money launderers to
obscure the origins of funds while avoiding financial institutions
entirely. These systems have no central registry transactions which would
allow the transactions to be reconstructed. A sophisticated launderer,
using multiple cards could create an intricate series of transfers that
could not be unravelled, and that would circumvent almost all existing
money laundering laws. Internet payment systems can similarly permit
multiple transaction that could be next to impossible to trace,
particularly if unscrupulous merchants cooperate with the criminals. And it
is found that under the present extremely materialistic society, there are
increasing number of merchants who are ready to cooperate with the drug
Mafia in laundering their money for purely monetary gains.
To respond to this issue of electronic money laundering, electronic cash
technologies are being developed to track all transfers. In Europe and the
United States" smart card system" is used. It enables financial
institutions to track card usage. But the problem remains there - striking
the proper balance between anonymity and accountability. The question is
being debated in many contexts as the Internet grows. Important reasons
abound to allow anonymity in communications network. Whistleblowers may
want to remain anonymous to avoid retribution. Some consumers may wish to
obtain information on a product without ending up on hundreds of mailing
lists. Rape victims may want to discuss their experiences without revealing
their identities.
Unfortunately, criminals also benefit from anonymity. They want to avoid
getting caught. Anonymous remote communications can help them avoid
detection and apprehension. And so effective law enforcement requires
accountability. However, a middle ground between anonymity and
accountability can be found in the principle of confidentiality. In a
confidential system, a person's identity is not generally known, but in an
appropriate circumstances - for example when a court order is obtained -
the identity can be determined. Confidentiality permits people to allow
anonymity in appropriate circumstances but does not permit criminals to
obtain new advantages from the anonymous capabilities of the Net.
Now a new job has been assigned to the agencies responsible for money
laundering. They have to understand computer and telecommunication
technology. Linguistically, new terminology is being used in America, never
known before like "computer crimes squads". These are dealing with the
electronic crimes against financial institutions.
With huge money under their disposal, the drug Mafia are investing
extensively to penetrate and fool the Internet and all programmed designed
to prevent electronic money laundering. So many of the crimes in the future
will not be hampered by international boundaries, because electronic funds
need not be physically transferred; they can be instantaneously and
covertly shipped via telephone and data networks. Because computer
criminals are not often in the same country as the electronic funds that
they are stealing, passports and other existing international controls are
of limited use in identifying and apprehending them.
On the positive side, measures are being taken to protect electronic
commerce from privacy. If you are engaged in electronic commerce, the
following steps have to be taken: i. A transaction using a digital
purchasing system should generate and safely store records similar to those
of credit cards whenever a cardholder makes a purchase or transfer that
exceeds a designated size. ii. Electronic commerce system should maintain
reasonable limits on the amount of the value that may be stored or
transferred on a single smart car or personal computer. Finally, card
system providers should use responsible financial entities as the primary
outlets for their cards.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970610
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Impressive growth of Islamic bond market
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Asif Huda
SINGAPORE, June 9: Malaysia's Islamic bond market is expected to increase
aggressively in the years ahead, with deeper understanding among financial
institutions to offer capital instruments based on Shariah principles,
according to the Securities Commission market supervision division director
Sharkawi Alis. He said the Islamic bond market increased from RM 25 million
in 1992 to RM 2.35 billion in 1996.
Sharkawi has said the Islamic capital market in Malaysia has so far focused
more on the bond market. "In the stockbroking field, there are also
conventional stockbroking companies with Islamic windows for investors who
want to buy shares based on the Shariah," he added.
He has pointed out that so far four companies have offered such services.
There are also 10 unit schemes operating on Shariah principles, and the
interest in this field is growing. "The Securities Commission views
positively the encouraging growth of the Islamic capital market. It can
grow together with the existing system, and can help instill positive
values to ensure a market that is clean from manipulation," Sharkawi added.
He said the Securities Commission had undertaken several measures to ensure
the orderly development of a an Islamic capital market. First, it prepared
the necessary infrastructure to ensure continued development of the Islamic
capital instruments and institutions themselves.
Sharkawi said in the last three years, the Security Commission had set up a
special Islamic Capital Market Unit and a Shariah Advisory Council at the
commission. The latter is made up of seven advisers comprising muftis,
academics and corporate figures. To date, studies have been conducted on
various financial instruments to see if they can be incorporated into
Islamic capital instruments. These include asset securitization, call
warrants, transferable subscription rights, securities borrowing and
lending and bonds, he added.
Sharkawi said the challenge was to develop Islamic capital market
instruments of high quality, cost competitiveness and attractive to both
Islamic and non-Islamic investors.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970609
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Nawaz govt's desperate scramble for cash
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Naween A. Mangi
THE FIRST three months of Nawaz Sharif's current tenure as Prime Minister
have been plagued by talk of Pakistan defaulting on its external loans.
Besides, in what has become a desperate scramble for cash, even the
populist Qarz Utaro Mulk Sanwaro scheme could not turn the tables in his
favor, as, probably for the first time in the country's history, national
debt came to be the centre-point of discussion across Pakistan's populace.
Through the heady post-election days, to the separation of the IMF and
Islamabad, and the panic created by unfavourable reports from foreign
brokerage houses, the question in everyone's minds has been, can Nawaz
Sharif save the economy from collapse and the country from the
international embarrassment of sovereign default?
While some quarters appear comforted by the passing of each "safe" month,
many analysts continue to fear the severity of the cash crunch in the
country. In addition to some Rs. 900 billion in domestic debt, Pakistan has
to cope with over $33.9 billion of foreign debt and a debt-GDP ratio of 52
per cent. According to some estimates, Islamabad, has payments to make to
the tune of some $3 billion till end-1997, and herein lies our dilemma.
Current foreign exchange reserves stand at just over $900 million and with
a current account deficit touching $4.2 billion, the drain on resources is
severe. The Economist Intelligence Unit estimates that Pakistan's financing
requirements will climb to $7.5 billion by end 1997 and up to $8.4 billion
in 1998 on the back of a worsening current account deficit, which, they
estimate, will rise to $5.3 billion in 1997 and $8.4 billion in 1998.
Sartaj Aziz has held to the same solution since taking over the portfolio
as federal finance minister; he claims that supply side economics is what
the country needs - focusing on reviving industrial growth, which has been
languishing at around 2 per cent per annum, and there by boosting exports
which will bring in foreign exchange reserves which can be used to retire
debt.
The previous government's strategy, and the IMF prescription, of raising
taxes to improve revenue generation, Sartaj Aziz claims, was a strain on
the people's spending power and fuelled inflation, officially at 13 per
cent but as high as 21 per cent by independent estimates. And this dragged
the country deeper into recession.
The breaking of ties with the IMF, which government sources described as
"just a changing of the relationship", was forecast earlier this year in a
report issued from Credit Lyonnais which described Sharif as being on a
"collision course with the IMF".
The concern now is, whether the government can generate enough revenues to
make debt payments debt payments for the rest of the year and at the same
time put an effective program of privatization in place which will bring
forth revenues next year which may also be used to retire debt. Making
payments on this and successfully avoiding default will meet the obvious
objectives of restoring credibility and, therefore, encouraging foreign
investment and, by extension, growth.
However, can Islamabad generate enough revenues and cut enough expenditure
to control the fiscal deficit estimated at 6.3 per cent of GDP, and escape
the looming debt crisis? This package of economic reforms announced at the
end of March, which focused on tax and tariff reform, hopes to do just
this. The logic is that by slashing tax rates and liberalizing the tax
collection system, there will be less of an incentive to evade taxes and,
therefore, by widening the base, revenue generation will improve. While
this package was well received by economists and market participants, many
are skeptical of the argument, and question the validity of the claim.
After all, tax evasion has been practiced to an art, and there is no solid
reason to believe that the business community will be motivated to pay more
taxes as a result of a self-assessment mechanism and the incentive of lower
rate. And in addition, the cutting of import tariffs, economists argue, is
likely to increase the level of goods being brought into the country, and
therefore aggravate the trade deficit further.
"If this package is implemented with the original intention in tact, then
things will look up. Effective implementation is really very important",
suggests an analyst at a foreign brokerage house. And indeed, a lot is
riding on the implementation of this package. "To survive through the rest
of 1997, it is vital that we are successful in negotiating with the Paris
Club and the IMF for ESAF", comments one economist at a large local
manufacturing company.
According to Finance Minister Aziz, the Aid-to-Pakistan Consortium, renamed
the Pakistan Development Forum, has approved the reforms initiated by the
government and may commit $2.8 billion in the next fiscal year. In a
statement last week, Aziz said he expects commitments to the tune of $1.7
billion from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and Japan. However,
according to independent observers, funds from the Paris Club will depend
on what the June 14 budget brings in terms of the Social Action Program
(SAP) and defense expenditure. Aziz has already assured that SAP would not
be cut.
He also said last week, that he expects negotiations on the $1.5 billion
ESAF arrangement (which carries an interest rate as low as 0.5 per cent) to
be finalized in September this year. But this too, analysts say, is heavily
dependent on how effective the IMF sees the implementation of the March 28
reforms package.
It is clearly evident that both these sources of funding are crucial for
the government's finances for the rest of this year because few other
options seem available. One the expenditure cutting front, reducing defense
expenditure, which, make up more than a quarter of the annual budget, is a
politically virtually impossible decision to take at the current time.
Development expenditure has already received several blows in the past and
cutting this further would come directly into conflict with the
government's aim of boosting economic growth. That leaves administrative
expenditure which economists recommend, is the best starting point.
On the revenue front, government borrowing from the banking system has
already exceeded Rs. 81 billion as against a target of Rs. 44 billion. And
stuck up loans in the banking system now to Rs. 140 billion. There is
possibly some hope on this from as the finance minister has announced this
week that new legislation to recover these loans will soon be forthcoming,
and talk of the foreclosure law has been heating up in recent days.
The potential to raise revenue from agriculture is also high but effective
measures have not been taken in the direction. The national debt retirement
scheme has not been able to attract more than $230 million and is unlikely
to bring in much more, observers say. Foreign portfolio investment,
completely out of the picture at the current time, is unlikely to improve
until underlying economic fundamentals show signs of recovery and foreign
direct investment will also be minimal given the high level of political risk.
One of the Nawaz Sharif government's strong points in the previous tenure
was privatization and market participants have been very bullish on their
ability to initiate and effective program of selling of state assets.
Government sources had estimated that they would raise $2 billion by the
end of 1997 through privatization. But the progress of the last three
months plus the nature of this method itself, tells us that this is a more
medium term solution. "It will be about 7-8 months before any asset can be
offered for sale. And besides, there will always be a compromise on price
if timing is more important", one analyst explained. Nonetheless, if the
rest of 1997 is used to build a stronger privatization Commission and
develop a schedule for the sale of state assets as well as strengthen
assets which are to be up for sale the task will be made easier in the year
to come.
Export growth, too, while an important aim of the government, will not be
immediately revitalized. And of course, strong export growth is dependent
on a good cotton crop as well. "We need an export growth of 10-20 per cent
in the next seven to eight months which will only happen if industrial
growth is adequately revived", one analyst said.
The situation is critical and the rest of this calendar year will be the
testing ground for Pakistan's economic managers. Independence from foreign
donors, while an attractive picture, cannot be a real possibility yet.
Funding from the IMF and the Paris Club is essential for us to get through
the year and into a safer, calmer 1998. And convincing the Fund, and the
Aid consortium, which is likely to take its cue from the IMF, seems now to
depend almost entirely on the implementation of the reforms package of
March 28 and the measures of the federal budget.
Achieving this, and making the transition to 1998 will make for a more
confident and a more stable Pakistan which can then aggressively pursue a
program of privatization to cope with debt, actively encourage export
growth and attract foreign money back into the country.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970612
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Index crosses 16,00 points barrier on 2nd consecutive day
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, June 11: The KSE 100-share index, which had gained 100 points
during the last four sessions was early down by 27 points on early nervous
selling but mid-session short-covering on the blue chip counters enabled it
to recover in part some of the initial losses.
In the morning session, it was finally quoted at 1,587.60 points again
breaching the psychological barrier as compared to 1,605.93 a day earlier,
showing a net decline of 18.33 points. Volume fell from the overnight level
of 50m to 41m shares, reflecting that investors hastened to leave the
market as did they enter a few days earlier. Losers again forced a strong
edge over the gainers at 201 to 73,with 58 shares holding on to the last
levels.
Massive buying of 23 million shares in PTCL, a good part of which went to
the credit of foreign funds did avert a major decline but other pivotals
failed to follow it. The tight range of 15 paisa in which it fluctuated
showed that investors are not inclined to part with it on predictions that
it could touch the high mark of Rs 35 in due course on the strength of its
higher working results. Strong foreign buying was another positive factor.
Lever Brothers again led the list of leading gainers, up Rs 15 at Rs 790
followed by PSO, higher Rs 3 at 332 and Shell Pakistan at Rs 237, with a
gain of Rs 1.50. East-West Insurance maintained its upward drive and so did
Habib Insurance and Dawood Hercules, which were under pressure.
Fateh Textiles, which has risen by Rs 75 during the last three sessions,
reacted by Rs 4 and so did Engro Chemicals, falling by Rs 3. Askari, Faysal
Bank and Bank of Punjab also fell by one rupee each.
PTC shares topped the list of most active, up 15 paisa on 21m shares
followed by Hub-Power, easy one rupee on 10.727m shares, ICI Pakistan,
lower 10 paisa on 4.907m shares, Dewan Salman, easy 15 paisa on 1.357m
shares and D.G.Khan Cement, lower 25 paisa on 0.395m shares.
Other actively traded shares were led by Dhan Fibre, up five paisa on
0.355m shares, MCB, lower 10 paisa on 0.153m shares, FFC-Jordan Fertilizer,
easy 30 paisa on 0.144m shares, Lucky Cement, off 85 paisa on 0.117m shares
and Sui Northern, unchanged on 0.106m shares.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
SUBSCRIBE TO HERALD TODAY !
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Every month the Herald captures the issues, the pace and the action,
shaping events across Pakistan's lively, fast-moving current affairs
spectrum.
Subscribe to Herald and get the whole story.
Annual Subscription Rates :
Latin America & Caribbean US$ 93 Rs. 2,700
North America & Australasia US$ 93 Rs. 2,700
Africa, East Asia Europe & UK US$ 63 Rs. 1,824
Middle East, Indian Sub-Continent & CAS US$ 63 Rs. 1,824
Please send the following information :
Payments (payable to Herald) can be by crossed cheque (for
Pakistani Rupees), or by demand draft drawn on a bank in New York,
NY (for US Dollars).
Name, Postal Address, Telephone, Fax, e-mail address, old
subscription number (where applicable).
Send payments and subscriber information to :
G.M Circulation, The Herald
P.O.Box 3740, Karachi, Pakistan
We also accept payments through American Express, Visa or Master Card.
Allow 45 days for first issue.
Back to the top.
===================================================================
970608
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Our mango republic
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ardeshir Cowasjee
WHAT we have made of what we inherited from the Raj can only be viewed,
dispassionately, with derision.
When British administrator Thomas Babbington Macaulay arrived in India in
1834, he immediately threw his weight in favor of the liberty of the Press
and of the equality of Europeans and Indians before the law. He drafted the
Indian Penal Code, the fruit of three years of unstinted labour, framed, as
he put it, on two great principles: "that of suppressing crime with the
smallest possible amount of suffering and that of ascertaining truth at the
smallest possible cost of time and money." His chapter on 'Evidence' is
short and concise; there was no legal pedantry about it. Though completed
in 1837, the code was made operational, after much debate, in 1862.
In the words of my friend and lawyer, Makhdoom Ali Khan, wherever changes
have since been made to the inherited IPC have but rendered the laws less
civilized, more brutal, far more iniquitous. It is no more a case of
differentiating between Europeans and Indians, but between the various
sections of the populace - of us, the people.
No government worthy of its name, other than those of the 'banana
republics' of this world, ever indulges in extra-judicial killings to
further the cause of political rivalry, or arranges for people to simply
'disappear'. What our major political parties have in common is the urge to
victimize each other and the urge to rob the people of whatever little they
have. The ways of looting and plundering differ from party to party, from
extortion to the looting of the exchequer, to the looting of land, but the
aim is the same. Overall, the political tendencies in this country remain
fascistic.
Since the rebirth of democracy in 1988, members and sympathizers of the MQM
have been subjected to a more or less perpetual 'Operation Clean-up.' No
equitable man-made law can support this. It pertains strictly to the law of
the jungle. If full and true Ehtesab is to be achieved, the process must
commence from 1988 (though for reasons of equity and fairplay there are
many who feel it imperative that it start from 1985 as envisaged by our
last lot of caretakers until this present unfair government's self-defence
mechanism came into play).
Across the accountability board today are the glaring cases of 28 men who
have not been heard of or seen since they were arrested in Karachi. Of
these 28, the families of 15, despite threats, have been brave enough to
risk coming forward to file affidavits and to state they are prepared to
give further evidence. Information so far available on the 15 lost ones:
1) Mohammed Javed, aged 22, son of Mohammad Yamin, was arrested on 10/5/95
at his house in New Karachi which was raided by the police, and has not
been seen thereafter.
2) Abdul Khaliq, aged 24, son of Abdul Ghafoor, was arrested on 27/6/95 at
his home at Banaras Chowk by the Rangers whilst on his way to his place of
employment and has not been seen thereafter.
3) Abdul Rehman, aged 45, son of Ramzan Ali, was arrested by the Rangers,
who were checking vehicles, on 19/7/95 at Habib Bank bus stop in SITE
whilst on his way home and has not been seen thereafter.
4) Shaikh Noor Alam, aged 24, son of Shaikh Jan-e-Alam, was picked up by
the Rangers on 1/9/95 from Haidri Murtaza Square where he was temporarily
living and was last seen on 4/9/95 at Orangi Town Extension PS.
5) Abdul Aleem, aged 30, son of Abdul Hameed, was arrested on 16/10/95 at
Sohrab Goth by the police, the Rangers, and men of the agencies and the FC
and has not been seen since. He was on the road with his cousin (who got
away) when he was picked up.
6) Mohammed Anwar Ansari, aged 34, son of Khalilur Rahman, was arrested on
16/10/95 in Federal B Area by SHO Naeem Ahmed and his men from Ajmer Nagri
PS. He was at the Abdus Sattar Afghani Garden, Ancholi, with his friends,
who managed to escape, and his family was told that he would soon be
released but he has not been seen thereafter.
7) Faqeer Muhammad, aged 35, son of Dil Mohammad, was arrested on 16/10/95
at his house in Surjani Town by the Rangers during a siege-and-search
operation and has not been seen since. His mother went to the Sakhi Hasan
PS looking for him and was told that he had been taken by the Rangers to
Abdullah College, Nazimabad. When she went there, she was told to go and
look for her son's body at the Edhi Centre, and if it was not found there,
to search the roads.
8) Asif Ahmed, aged 18, son of Abdus Samad, was arrested on 1/12/95 at his
home in Korangi by men of the law enforcement agencies and has not been
seen thereafter. He was called out of his house by someone, and never
returned.
9) Mohammed Zafeer Khan, aged 38, son of Qadeer Khan, was arrested on
4/2/96 at the office of NZ Enterprises by the men of Mehmoodabad PS and has
not been seen thereafter.
10) Mirza Tauseef Alam Baig, aged 27, son of Mirza Ali Hussain Baig, was
arrested on 29/3/96 at Jamshed Quarters by police officer Zeeshan Kazmi and
has not been seen thereafter. His brother, Mirza Adnan Baig, was arrested
at the same time and later released on bail.
11) Zafar Ahmed, aged 24, son of Saghir Ahmed, was arrested on 14/6/96 at
the Firdous Garden marriage hall by police officer Zeeshan Kazmi, taken
away in Police Mobile 517, and has not been seen since.
12) Asif Jameel, aged 24, son of Shaukat Ali, was arrested on 20/6/96 when
his home in Martin Quarters was raided by the police, and has not been seen
since.
13) Gohar Anis Khan, aged 28, son of Anisur Rahman, was arrested on 20/6/96
in Federal B Area where he was temporarily living, by the police and
Rangers who took him to Jamshed Quarters PS, and has not been seen since.
His mother wrote to the COAS seeking help and an army team was sent to
Karachi to look for him but could find no trace of him.
14) Mirza Samiullah Baig, aged 28, son of Mirza Ehsanullah Baig, was
arrested on 20/6/96 when his house in Martin Quarters was raided by the
Rangers and the police, and has not been seen thereafter.
15) Mohammad Ashfaq, aged 28, was arrested on 20/6/96 at Martin Quarters
when his house was raided by the police and the Rangers, and has not been
seen since.
The threatened (and perhaps frail) parents of the remaining 13 have all our
sympathies for their predicament, which reminds me of the old mythological
story of the victorious vicious king who subdued a proud chieftain. Enraged
by the fact that the beaten man was still able to run his estate with
efficiency and do well, the conqueror captured one of his sons, had him
killed, invited the father to dinner, and served up to him as the main
course the roasted flesh of his son. The caring host asked his guest if the
meat was to his liking, and when told that it was, informed his guest that
he was in fact eating his own son. Eat more, ordered the kingly host. The
beaten man obliged. When asked by the king's courtiers how it was that he
could stomach the meat and eat on, the sad man replied, "I had three sons.
Two are still living."
A Senate committee of four is scheduled to meet the concerned officers of
the home ministry in Karachi on June 11 and 12 to ascertain if any of the
28 are alive and where they can be met. Would it be too much to ask our
prime minister, himself a parent, to order his men to put an end to the
agonizing suspense of the parents of the 28 men and tell them the bare truth.
Last week I wrote about the iniquitous law in terms of which the members of
an entire community belonging to this nation can be arrested and jailed,
under our laws, for saying Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim (in the name of God,
the Beneficent, the Merciful). In Punjab alone, 41 criminal cases have been
filed involving 112 persons who have said or written Bismillahir Rahmanir
Rahim or Asalaam Alaikum and are now either in jail or on bail and eight
cases filed against persons who had stickers on their cars. Again, by law,
in terms of the brutal Ordinance No. 20 of 26/4/1984, 698 cases have been
filed involving 2,587 persons who are either in jail or on bail on various
charges unsustainable under any civilized law.
May I remind Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that brute majorities can also be
well used to do good, to repeal evil laws utterly repugnant to the rights
of man. To save his own skin, the first thing he did, with indecent haste,
was to get rid of Article 58(2)(b). He must also have consideration for
others.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970609
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Human rights and wrongs
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Omar Kureishi
THE Amnesty International is due to release a 43-page report on the human
rights situation in Pakistan. Those who managed to read advance copies of
the report say that it paints a bleak picture.
This will not come as a surprise as what the report contains is well known
to us and the media in this country through news-items, views of columnists
and human rights activists and men and women of compassion have cried
themselves hoarse without so much as making a dent.
We do not need the certificate of outsiders to confirm that a culture of
violence prevails in Pakistan. Nor will it come as a surprise to us to
learn that "torture, including rape, is widespread in Pakistan. Police
often intimidate and humiliate people in custody, beat, kick and use
electric shocks on detainees, hang them upside down and deprive them of
food and shelter. Many people die as a result of torture every year, yet
virtually no police have been brought to justice for torturing or killing
detainees." And so on and so horribly and barbarically on.
The Amnesty International report will be dismissed because it will be
telling us what we already know. We will neither be shamed by it nor will
we be moved by it. The previous government had established a separate Human
Rights Ministry as if human rights was on par with Industries and Commerce
and all that was required was a minister assisted by a secretariat and lo
and behold the needs of social justice would be met. The setting up of such
a ministry betrayed a total lack of comprehension of what human rights were
about.
Just as it is not possible to legislate morality, human rights is not
something that governments award through a noting on a file. There is a
legal aspect of human rights but there is a moral aspect as well. Even if
we assume that the laws can be tightened, and this is a pretty optimistic
assumption, we can do nothing to advance the cause of human rights unless
we create social conditions that places some value on human dignity.
Violation of human rights, in effect, amount to an assault on the
self-respect of people, be they individuals or groups or entire communities.
Not a day passes when we do not read about rape, as a case in point. At
that the media covers only a microscopic dot of rape cases. an overwhelming
number of them simply occur and it is reasonable to presume that the
rapist/rapists are not apprehended, leave alone punished. Unless it is a
celebrity-rape, as was the now almost forgotten (by the public though not
by the victim and her family) Veena Hayat case.
I wrote at that time that it was not the first gang-rape and sadly, it
wouldn't be the last. But the crunch lines were these: "In the past there
was no official outcry, no furore, no 'ultimate ignominy' and no question
of hanging our heads in shame. Who wept for those faceless victims? Does it
take a celebrity-victim to awaken our conscience? The agony, the anguish,
the humiliation of such rape victims cannot be less than that of Veena
Hayat. Probably more for they are without the protection of a strong
family. In their case, in a cruel twist of fate, they are not only
physically assaulted but quite frequently prosecuted and end up in jail."
The problem with our criminal justice system is that it does not provide
any protection to those who are without means and influence. They may be
the aggrieved party but they end up as if they had committed the crime. The
Amnesty Report makes a perfectly valid point that ordinary Pakistanis fear
not just the police but also the law. When decoits visited the house of my
late brother Abo I went to see him to get a first-hand report of what had
happened. I told him, and he agreed, that there was no chance that the
decoits would be caught and I strongly advised him against reporting it to
the police. All that would happen would be that it would cause him further
aggravation.
My late brother Abo was not without a measure of clout and he knew several
"right" people. If that was the advice I gave him, and he agreed with me
entirely, what would be the plight of those who did not know the "right"
people? When the Americans talk of liberty and justice for all, it may be
an idealistic objective, the Afro-Americans may have second thoughts on the
matter, but the objective is not so far-off as to be unattainable. When we
talk of justice, exactly what do we mean by it and who do we include?
Surely not faceless millions who are probably terrified by the sheer sight
of a policeman?
There is something seriously flawed about a society where the relationship
between the law-abiders and the law-enforces is adversarial, if not
hostile. Who in this country can say that he is reassured by the presence
of a policeman? If the law is not seen as the custodian of our welfare and
safety, how can there be respect for law? And how can they be law-abiding
citizens? I have written many times that those laws are best that are
obeyed because they are seen to be in the public good and not because of
fear of punishment. This is the right road to human rights, the inculcation
of a respect for the law.
But the initiative is with the law-enforcers themselves. It is they who
need to change their methods. They can carry a big stick, if they want, but
they should speak softly for they are speaking to their own people and are
a part and parcel of the same society. Out of uniform, they are
indistinguishable from the rest of us. Surely, we are on the same side or
are we?
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970614
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The things that divide us
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mazdak
AFTER fifty years of independent existence, you would have thought that
Pakistan would be a more closely integrated nation than it was in 1947.
Think again: by every yardstick, we are now more divided than ever. How?
Let us count the ways.
Every country has its economic disparities, and income inequalities have
come to be accepted as a by-product of the development process. Socialism
was a brave attempt to end this iniquitous division between rich and poor,
and the welfare state is a compromise aimed at reducing some of the harsher
aspects of poverty. And to pay for it, the rich are taxed heavily, thus
reducing this inherent inequality to some extent. The bottom line is that
some people are better placed to become rich, either through an accident of
birth or through making better use of opportunities. The rest survive as
best as they can.
But in most countries, the gulf between the rich and the poor is not as
wide as it is in Pakistan, nor do the former flaunt their wealth quite so
obscenely. Here, the rich do not consider it their social responsibility to
help the poor either directly through philanthropy, or indirectly by paying
the taxes they are liable to. Our powerful feudal families have used their
immense clout to legally stay out of the tax net, and wealthy business
groups employ batteries of consultants to help them in evading taxes.
Given the inexorable population increase as well as the mounting budgetary
deficit, the state's role in poverty alleviation and providing subsidised
health and educational services is becoming more and more marginal.
Meanwhile, the unchecked growth in corruption and smuggling has meant a
rapid rise in the class of carpetbaggers who have made a lot of money very
quickly, and not having worked for it, are bent on spending it just as
fast. Their conspicuous consumption and obscene lifestyles are in stark
contrast to the grinding poverty around them.
Then there is the growing tension between ethnic and linguistic groups.
Although it has manifested itself most recently and violently in Karachi,
there is a noticeable undercurrent in the rest of the country. If New York
prides itself as a melting-pot where millions of people with different
cultures, colours, languages and faiths have submerged their differences
and acquired a common national identity, Karachi is a cauldron where
different elements retain and increase their differences and animosities
which are then easily exploited by ruthless politicians. Economic
disparities are played up as the result of ethnic differences, and when
freely available arms are tossed into this volatile mix, the ensuing
explosion should not come as a surprise. Thus, the Mohajirs of Karachi feel
they are discriminated against by both Sindhis and the federal government
which is dominated by Punjab; the smaller provinces voice similar
apprehensions about Punjab. These provincial sentiments have gathered force
over the years instead of subsiding, and their most extreme expression
came in 1971 when East Pakistan seceded after a bloody civil war.
In small but important ways, Pakistan is being divided along linguistic
lines, not between those who speak Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashtu or
Balochi, but between those who speak English and those who don't. Whether
we like it or not, English is the language that binds the ruling elites
together. Parents with limited means recognise this reality and make
immense sacrifices to send their children to "English-medium" schools, no
matter how terrible the education they receive at many of these
institutions. Mothers who can barely speak a sentence of correct English
make it a point to struggle in this alien language to make sure that their
children acquire a degree of fluency.
Walk into the ice-cream parlours of affluent urban areas, and you are bound
to see tiny tots lisping to each other in idiomatic English. Speak to them
in Urdu and you are likely to get a blank stare and, at best, a reply in
English. Obviously, poor children who are forced to go through the
antiquated and truly awful government school system cannot compete, no
matter how bright they are. Among the kiddy crew, "Urdu-medium" is a
deadly insult. In the corporate sector and the higher reaches of the
bureaucracy, fluency in English is absolutely essential, and the more pucca
your accent, the faster your ascent up the greasy pole.
But paradoxically, the general standard of English is declining rapidly.
This is partly due to the fall in educational standards in the public
sector, but mainly due to our hypocritical attitude towards English:
publicly, we are all for Urdu being the national language, while we send
our own children to elitist schools that teach exclusively in English.
Here, Urdu is a much-despised but compulsory subject that must be endured.
Perhaps the most important issue that divides us is religion. First, there
is the gulf between Muslims and non-Muslims. More than ever before, the
Muslim majority views the minority as people to be tolerated at best:
ideally, they should remain invisible while they perform their largely
menial tasks. After all, wasn't Pakistan created for the Muslims of the
subcontinent? If Hindus and Christians insist on living here, they should
know their place. In adopting these attitudes, we forget that the founder
of Pakistan had promised Hindus, Christians and Parsis alike an equal
position in the new dispensation. In his famous and oft-quoted speech to
the Constituent Assembly on 11th August, 1947, Mr Jinnah was unequivocal in
guaranteeing the non-Muslim minorities absolute equality in the new state.
Those who claim to be his followers have shamelessly broken the promises he
made to the non-Muslim citizens of Pakistan.
But even more worrying are the deep rifts that divide the majority.
Terrorist organizations that pretend to have a monopoly on the correct
interpretation of the faith battle for supremacy across Pakistan. Supported
by well-heeled local and foreign backers, Shia and Sunni factions engage in
bloody fratricidal warfare. Used by mainstream political leaders when it
suits them, these gangs have acquired respectability and influence far
beyond their numbers. They routinely resort to violence against their
rivals, and the state appears helpless in protecting the rest of us from
their vicious acts of terrorism.
In short, even religion, the factor that was supposed to bind us together
despite our many differences, is weakening as an adhesive force. Mr Jinnah
succeeded in creating a state in 1947, but we have been unable to transform
it into a nation. Although half a century has passed, provincialism, ethnic
strife, sectarianism and prejudice continue to drive us further and further
apart.
If we have grown so far apart in our first fifty years, it is legitimate to
ask if we will survive as a country over the next half century.
===================================================================
970609
-------------------------------------------------------------------
PM declares open National Games amid luster
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Walter Fernandez
KARACHI, June 8: Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif declared open the LG
26th National Games at a colorful ceremony held under floodlight at the
Hockey Club of Pakistan (HCP) Stadium here on Sunday.
The Chairman of the National Games Organizing Committee (NGOC), Dr. Farooq
Sattar, after a brief but entertaining speech asked the Prime Minister to
open the 26th edition of the Games which are being staged as part of the
celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the country's independence.
At the time, Syed Wajid Ali Shah, President of the Pakistan Olympic
Association (POA) took the dias to request Mr. Mohammad Nawaz Sharif, to
declare the Games open.
Prominent among those to witness the inauguration of Pakistan's foremost
sporting extravaganza were Mr. Liaquat Ali Jatoi, Sindh Chief Minister, Dr.
Nishat Mallick, MNA, Patron of the NGOC, Ms. Shahida Chishty, Mr. Arif Ali
Khan Abbasi, President of the Sindh Olympic Association (SOA), Mr. Zafar
Zubeiri, Secretary the NGOC and Mr. Mohammad Hassan Musa.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970613
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Curtain rung down on National Games
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Walter Fernandez
KARACHI, June 12: The curtain was rung down on the LG 26th National Games
with an official closing ceremony at the Hockey Club of Pakistan (HCP)
Stadium late on Thursday evening.
Sindh Chief Minister, Mr. Liaquat Ali Jatoi, stood in for President Farooq
Ahmed Khan Leghari, as the chief guest on the concluding day.
The actual closing rituals began with a recitation from the Holy Quran. The
march past of the 11 participating teams took place in alphabetical order.
First, to enter the arena to the strains of martial music played by the
Pakistan Navy brass band was the Pakistan Army contingent and they were
followed by teams from Pakistan Air Force, Balochistan, Pakistan Navy,
NWFP, Punjab, Pakistan Police, Pakistan Railways, Universities Grants
Commission (UGC), Pakistan WAPDA and host Sindh.
Strangely though, the Sindh squad marched into the bowl without its flag
and the flag bearer international goalkeeper Ahmed Alam. As soon as the
Sindh squad reached the dias where the Sindh Chief Minister, Mr. Liaquat
Ali Jatoi, was standing while taking the salute, it broke up into two
parts. A seven-member group led by golf and football international Mohammad
Hassan Musa, continued marching ahead but the majority remained behind and
staged a demonstration before the Chief Minister.
After sometime the remainder of the Sindh squad continued the march past
after being led by the Sindh Olympic Association (SOA) Secretary A.Q. Raja.
Later on inquiry, it was learnt that the majority of the Sindh squad
protested to the Chief Minister for not having been given their daily
allowances from day one. And when the Treasurer of the National Games
Organizing Committee (NGOC), Mr. Pervez Abbasi, was contacted to get a
clarification on the daily allowance affair, he shot back: "Yes! the Sindh
squad has not been paid its daily allowance todate. But the fault lies with
the Secretary of the Sindh Olympic Association. Until now, he has not yet
submitted to me the list of the Sindh contingent. Then on what basis can I
make any payment."
"I have cleared the dues of the other three provinces namely; Punjab, NWFP
and Balochistan. They had submitted the list of their squads much before
the first day. So why would I have not paid the members of Sindh, if at
all, I had the list of their names," concluded Pervez Abbasi. From that
point onwards, the ceremony went on as programmed.
Mr. Liaquat Ali Jatoi then presented the Quaid-i-Azam trophy to the
Pakistan Army which was declared the best team of the 26th edition of the
National Games. Pakistan Army has gained the unique distinction of winning
the team trophy for a record 17 times and the last 11 in a row.
The Secretary of the NGOC, Mr. Zaffer Zuberi, then presented the Pakistan
Olympic flag to the President of the NWFP Olympic Association, Senator Syed
Aqil Shah, as the city of Peshawar will host the next National Games.
The Sindh Chief Minister then thanked Dr. Nishat Mallick, Patron of the
NGOC, Dr. Farooq Sattar, Chairman of the NGOC and Syed Wajid Ali Shah,
President of the POA for successfully organizing the National Games. Soon
after, Syed Wajid Ali Shah, declared the National Games closed in
traditional fashion. Then the participating teams flags were lowered and
the Olympic flame extinguished. All the team teams then marched away from
the stadium.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970610
-------------------------------------------------------------------
PCB forced Mushtaq to resign from job
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sports Reporter
KARACHI, June 9: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) forced Mushtaq Mohammad
to resign from the post of cricket manager, investigations reveal.
Mushtaq Mohammad, on June 3, had written to Majid Khan, PCB's Chief
Executive, that his dues should be cleared as his services were no more
required by the board. Nevertheless, Waqar Ahmad, PCB's Secretary, called
Mushtaq Mohammad back in less than 30 minutes on the same day directing him
to mention the word `resignation' in his letter to Majid Khan. As per
Waqar's advice, Mushtaq Mohammad typed a fresh letter in which he informed
the board that he was resigning.
It is believed that the PCB asked Mushtaq to use the word `resignation'
because it didn't want to pay him the three-month salary as according to
the PCB contract signed by Mushtaq, the former captain was to get Rs 40,000
till Aug 31, 1997.
According to well informed sources, Waqar Ahmad had told Mushtaq Mohammad
in New Delhi (India) last month that he should not leave behind his
three-month salary because it was the PCB which was making the decision.
Mushtaq Mohammad, who flew off to Birmingham said: "I am disappointed and
dejected because I have not been given a fair treatment by the PCB."
Asked if he would like to come back in the cricket setup, Mushtaq said: "If
and only if I am given the same contract which Intikhab Alam used to get,
Nasimul Ghani got for the England tour and me and Majid Khan got during the
home series against Sri Lanka in 1995-96."
The former cricket coaches were paid equivalent to the amount which the
senior-most cricketer of the team used to get. "What has made me more
upset was that the PCB did not make any attempt to stop me. I mean, they
should have discussed the matter with me.
"Secondly, the PCB has not given a satisfactory reply as to why my services
were no longer needed. I had asked Majid and even Waqar but they seem to
have no answer. All Majid said that the Council was not ready to improve my
contract," said Mushtaq.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970611
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bangladesh likely to get Test cricket status
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Hasan Saeed
DHAKA, June 10: Bangladesh is likely to bid for full membership of the
International Cricket Council (ICC) at its annual meeting which will begin
at Lord's England. This was disclosed by Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)
President, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, MP, while talking to newsmen on the eve
of his departure for London last night (Monday night) to attend the
five-day ICC meeting, starting from June 11.
The ICC congress will elect a nine-member Executive committee, six from
nine Test-playing nations and three from the 22 associate members.
Bangladesh's appeal for a 10th Test-playing nation, recommended by the ICC
development committee, is likely to be considered and endorsed at the
meeting on June 15.
The ICC meeting will also consider the recommendation of establishing five
development committee secretariats at five places in the world, including
one in Dhaka for central Asia. Four other secretariats are likely to be in
Antiqua for America, Tansvaal in South Africa for Africa, London for Europe
and Hong Kong for the Far East.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970610
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jansher to play in Australia, America
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Farhana Ayaz
ISLAMABAD, June 9: Angry world champion Jansher Khan has decided to play US
and Australian opens to keep his top world ranking out of any dangers after
swearing not to play Pakistan Open as a protest against the attitude of
squash officials.
Talking to this correspondent a day before his departure for Cairo to
figure in the US $ 140,000 Al Ahram Open, Jansher said that he has reviewed
the earlier decision not to play in US Open and Australian Open. "I will be
playing in 12 to 13 international tournaments during 1997 but I have
decided in principle not to play in Pakistan," the world number one said.
The Pakistan Open being staged at Islamabad in the first week of August
will also be a golden jubilee event. His written decision not to play in
the Pakistan Open has been submitted to the Pakistan Squash Federation
about five days back.
Jansher stated that PTV could show hours of cricket, hockey and other
sports live but it could not arrange to televise any of his international
fixtures. Jansher said that three weeks back he contacted Military
Secretary to the PM, Brig. Sabahat to arrange a meeting, "I was assured
that between June 2 to 8 it would be done, but I have not being contacted
since then," he said.
The world champion added that while all the sports stars have been invited
to the 26th National Games, no one asked him to come over.
Jansher will be leaving for Cairo from Peshawar via Dubai on Monday night.
The tournament starts June 11. He will be back on June 18. This will be
Jansher's first assignment after he played in French Open in April this
year. Jansher was very hopeful that six weeks of hard training has geared
him well for defending the Cairo Open title.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
970609
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Why Pakistan lags behind in the realm of tennis?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Lateef Jafri
In a season of tennis when so many heads have rolled the Paris connoisseurs
of the French Open have seen a large number of seeds brought down from
their high pedestal one can only assume that the level of tennis all around
the globe is picking up. Even Morocco, among the North African countries,
has shown how seriously their players have taken the racket game after
athletics and football.
Casablanca-born Hicham Arazi, did not expect to make headlines on the
sports pages of world newspapers at a later age. However, the scholarly and
poetry-loving Arazi sent Chilean seventh seed Marcelo Rios tumbling out of
the prequarter-finals. The neat-stroking Arazi stayed for about two hours
to wear down Rios in four sets. The pendulum swung to and fro with the
leads changing hands in the fourth set. But his determination, confidence
and steadiness controlled the tiebreaker. The match was his for the taking.
It was the first time in the history of the French Open that a Moroccan had
reached the quarterfinals of the French Open. Like American Andre Agassi,
he becomes a hero for the crowd for his smart, well-organised tennis. In
his bid for a place in the semifinal Arazi snatched the first set from
Spain's Sergi Bruguera, the only seed left in the long list of entries in
Paris. The refined Hicham Arazi put up a resilient show. But Bruguera, an
experienced world trotter, started changing rhythm, mainly from the rear
court and ran out winner to reach the penultimate round. However, Arazi
exhibited a competitive verve and physical discipline that was astonishing.
As he said he would come next year for a slugfest on the
beautifully-coloured courts of the French Open and thump volleys and
winners carefully to add to the scalps of world top-liners that he got this
year.
But why Pakistan is so much behind in tennis, even regionally? India had
their pound of flesh when Mahesh Bhupathi teamed up with Japanese female
player Rika Hiraki in the mixed doubles. Mahesh went from the city of
Ramanathan and Ramesh Krishnan and hit clean strokes and sharp overheads at
Roland Garros. But for how long the men and women of Pakistan will take a
back seat? The women, in particular, have been relegated to the position of
weaker sex. It is downhill all the way. Can the situation improve with
scarcity of courts, especially the grass surface, and lack of availability
of trained coaches. It is possible the funds may not be a big handicap.
Two tennis competitions in Karachi, exclusively for the females, and one in
Islamabad would go a long way in encouraging the women players and lifting
their game. No doubt in Karachi Dr. Saira Khan, a player herself, was the
driving force behind the tournaments. Some promising players like Nida
Waseem and Mahvish Chishti were seen in action.
Certainly the legal inhibitions are in the way of the contributions that Dr
Saira Khan wants to make to the country's tennis. Her newly-formed Pakistan
Women's Tennis Association cannot be extended the recognition by the
Pakistan Olympic Association. It also cannot get the support of the
Pakistan Sports Board. It is considered a splinter group by the tennis
federation. Yet the new organization is active and wants women's tennis to
march forward and the standard of female game to go up. However, she must
build courts and requisition the services of trainers to make the women
players more nimble on the courts and their strokes more controlled and
variegated.
Shahida Chishti, a determined racket-wielder, also must be given due credit
for her role in promoting up women's game. Without taking the help of any
sponsor she is investing money into a cause which is difficult. In the long
run it will pay the dividends and more players would leap on the courts to
throw down the gauntlet to the Rahim sisters, who have not worked
strenuously to add to their weight of shots. In any case when tennis is day
by day getting popular and the level of the game is improving regionally
and internationally the game of the fair sex in Pakistan should get the
necessary support to become challenging for the regional stars.
The inclusion of women's tennis as a discipline in the National Games will
give the necessary fillip to the game and will enable the experts to judge
their competitive capacity.
Back to the top.
Dawn page