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DAWN WIRE SERVICE

------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 15 March 1997 Issue : 03/11 -------------------------------------------------------------------

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

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

CONTENTS

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NATIONAL NEWS

One killed, three injured in Karachi explosion No law yet to enforce ban on marriage feasts, fireworks Scheme evolved by India, China may be adopted Benazir decides to quit power politics Returning Pakistanis being harassed Voting right granted to overseas Pakistanis More relaxation in immigration rules likely US journal sees flaw in Clinton policy towards Pakistan ---------------------------------

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Electricity tariffs to go up by 100pc in five years Bangladesh, India offer better environment The missing factor in human resource development Taxation system: mobilise the will-to-pay! An agenda for austerity and welfare Leading scrips finish with fresh gains: index recovers --------------------------------------

EDITORIALS & FEATURES

Mohammed Ali Jinnah Ardeshir Cowasjee The Jinnah film Omar Kureishi The unwanted baby Mazdak -----------

SPORTS

Wired world of cricket Cricket triumph in SAARC contest Ali Bacher favours Two-yearly World Cup USA emerge champions of CISM Seaweek Games Panels to organise National Games in Karachi set up

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NATIONAL NEWS

970313 ------------------------------------------------------------------- One killed, three injured in Karachi explosion ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, March 12: A man was killed and three others were injured on Wednesday when a hand grenade was lobbed into an audio cassette shop in Lea Market. The deceased Faqir Muhammad, was an employee at the Nisar Music Centre who had been running the shop for the last 12 years. The injured were Sajid Hussain, and his nephew Nadir who had come to the shop to buy cassettes. They were taken to the Civil hospital where both were stated to be safe. Hanif, the third victim, was a worker at the shop, but did not need hospital treatment. A son of the shop owner, Imran, told Dawn that Faqir Muhammad was standing at the counter and he himself and his brother Nisar and worker Hanif were serving the customers when the blast occurred. According to an official handout it was caused by a Russian-made grenade. Haji Siddique, who is engaged in a legal battle with his shops landlord, told Dawn that he was sitting in his office when the blast occurred. I have no enmity with anybody, he asserted. However, eye-witnesses told Dawn that Haji Siddiquis son, Nisar, had had an altercation in the morning with an Afghani quack who sold herbs at the footpath near his shop. The Afghani had allegedly teased a Baloch woman who complained against him to Nisar and this led to an exchange of hot words between them, they added. Police officials believe that personal enmity might be the motive behind the incident. Bomb disposal squad chief told Dawn that the explosive device was a Freg-1 handgrenade weighing about one pound. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970315 ------------------------------------------------------------------- No law yet to enforce ban on marriage feasts, fireworks ------------------------------------------------------------------- Intikhab Hanif LAHORE, March 14: No official in the Punjab government was aware till late on Friday night that under which law the recently imposed ban on feasts, illumination, fireworks display and firing on marriages was going to be enforced from Sunday. The situation was confusing for police and district administration in Lahore and elsewhere as they did not know how and under what law they were required to take cognizance of the violations of the ban. Some even said they did not know which department would be enforcing the ban. A ban on arranging feasts on marriages and related ceremonies was announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his televised address to the nation. The federal cabinet had on March 6 approved a draft of the proposed law under which the ban was to be enforced. It was reportedly announced in the briefing about the cabinet meeting that fines ranging from Rs 100,000 to Rs 300,000 would be imposed on violations of the ban. But it was not clarified who would take notice of the violation and how. A senior official confirmed that the provincial government had not as yet formulated any new law for the enforcement of the ban. He said as it would be a uniform ban all over the country the relevant law would be announced by the federal government most probably on Saturday. I am told that summary of the law has been moved but I dont know whether it would be introduced through an ordinance or some other means, he said. When asked to explain what he meant by other means, he said ban on lavish marriage parties had also been imposed in the country in the past and it is yet to be seen whether law about it does exist and the government is going to invoke it, or not. He said he had also heard that it was the Food Department which would be asked to ensure holding of simple marriage ceremonies, admitting that basically it was the job of police and magistracy to take cognizance of violations of a law. Lahore deputy commissioner said there had been no notification of the law but we have already been instructed to enforce the ban and take prime ministers maiden address as orders. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970314 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Scheme evolved by India, China may be adopted ------------------------------------------------------------------- Umashanker Phadnis NEW DELHI, March 13: At their three-day meeting beginning here on March 28, the foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan are likely to explore the possibility of the two countries adopting the modality and mechanism evolved by India and China to foster confidence-building measures between them. In the case of Sino-Indian relations, after several rounds of talks solely on the boundary question had proved fruitless, the two countries decided to work on building an atmosphere of trust and confidence in each other before coming to grips with the nitty-gritty of the boundary problem. Accordingly, a number of working groups, consisting of foreign office representatives and experts, were set up to come up with measures for co- operation between the two countries in mutually agreed areas. As a result of the exertions of these bodies, there has been over the past few years a marked improvement in trade exchanges between the two countries, not only through the formal channels but also across borders between Tibet and the adjoining Indian territories, which had abruptly ceased because of tension along the borders. This apart, at the military level, the two sides were able to devise measures to avoid eyeball- to- eyeball confrontation and also take appropriate measures to prevent incidents of firing across the borders. There are a number of measures in the case of Indo-Pakistan relations which the two governments can take and which would be in consonance with overwhelming public desire on both sides , but remain to be implemented partly because of bureaucratic hassles and diplomatic misgivings. Among these, perhaps the most urgent relate to travel procedures which have become so time consuming and cumbersome that the general public in both countries would like to see ended. Besides this, of late there has been a growing awareness in the commercial and trade communities in both countries of the immense advantages of a more relaxed regime for commercial exchanges. He has also indicated that these would be announced on the eve of the meeting he will have with his counterpart, Gohar Ayub Khan, when he visits here for the SAARC foreign ministers meeting. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970312 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Benazir decides to quit power politics ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, March 11: The chairperson of PPP, Ms Benazir Bhutto, declared that she had played her role in politics and now she was not aspiring to return to power or work as opposition leader in the National Assembly. She urged the party to choose an alternative leadership. Answering reporters, she said at present the PPP was not agreeing to her point of view. However, she said she would again try to persuade the party leaders. She was asked to comment on the Press reports that she had told her party leadership that she was not aspiring to become prime minister once again although power was regarded as natural dream of every politician. I am not disappointed. But I am also not power-hungry, the PPP chairperson said. She claimed that she was not ready to join politics at all but the 1977 situation forced her to set her foot in this field. She said now that she had been prime minister of Pakistan for two terms and had done quite a few things for the development of the country, she was no longer an aspirant for the top slot. She refused to name the PPP leader who could replace her in the party or in parliament. I dont want to breathe down the next leader. I dont know who will win the hearts of the people. The PPP chairperson said it had become a fashion in Pakistan that with the installation of every government in power, the opposition parties launched their efforts to pull it down. But, she said, she was making a departure from this practice and would like to give Mr Sharif time to work and give the people some breathing space. She answered in the negative when a reporter asked the possibility of her leaving the country along with her children or striking a deal with the present government to seek the release of her husband Asif Zardari. Question does not rise. The former prime minister said she did not believe in politics of deals. Ill rather prefer death to deals, she said, recalling that the Bhuttos had always belied such assertions and their past bore testimony to this effect. She said she believed that Allah would accept her prayers about the release of her husband and the latter would get justice along with other innocent people under arrest. She said so far Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had not taken any step against her family which could be taken as victimisation or an indication that the new government did not want a working relationship with the opposition. As for the possibility of her going abroad, the PPP chairperson said, she might take her children to the United States, London or to Saudi Arabia to perform Umra during the summer vacation. But, she said, there was nothing wrong in such excursions during vacations as other political leaders had also been undertaking such visits. However, she said she was feeling that a long time had gone by since she last went to jail in 1986. Jail is not a bad place. In jail one gets a lot of time for worship. But when a reporter asked her if she apprehended her arrest, the PPP chairperson answered in the negative. However, she hastened to add that President Farooq Leghari had become Farooqul Haq, nothing could be ruled out. Ms Bhutto described Ziaul Haq and Farooq Leghari as two sides of the same coin. Replying to a question about the February 3 elections, the PPP chairperson alleged that ballot boxes had been stuffed and the turnout was not 40 per cent, as claimed by the Election Commission of Pakistan. The PPP chairperson pointed out that all international observers were of the view that the turnout ranged between 15 and 18 percent. She claimed that all those who had cast their votes in elections were the PPP supporters. She admitted that some communication weaknesses of the party were also responsible for the PPPs defeat in elections. She said the urban people held the PPP responsible for the price hike but the party could not properly convey its point of view to them. Similarly, she said, the people were also influenced by corruption charges against her government, some of which might be right and some wrong. Ms Bhutto said some man of conscience would ultimately emerge to reveal how the ballot boxes had been stuffed in the 1997 elections. Answering a question about the outgoing Punjab governor Khwaja Tariq Rahim, Ms Bhutto said he had always been President Legharis man and his fixer. She, however, admitted that Mr Rahim was always honest in his dealings with her. She said she did not know whether Mr Rahim wanted to join the PPP. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970309 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Returning Pakistanis being harassed ------------------------------------------------------------------- Saghir Ahmed KARACHI, March 8: The re-introduction of green channel facility at airports has come as a windfall to many and a hell to some returning Pakistanis from abroad, particularly from Gulf States. Such a situation has arisen due to what observers termed unauthorised interception and harassment of the passengers en route their homes by a number of other law enforcement agencies soon after coming out of the customs channel. The green channel facility was re-introduced by the Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif soon after taking over the reigns of the government some time in February 1997, apparently, in response to public demands. Inquiries show that the Preventive Collectorate of Customs had been following the Central Board of Revenues (CBR) directive issued soon after the announcement by the Prime Minister, allowing the free use of the green channel facility, directing Customs staff not to interfere in any manner with the arriving passengers. The CBR chief has also dispensed with the powers of the custom officers regarding 5 per cent random checking of arriving passengers, apparently, on the directive of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The interesting aspect of the whole episode is that the Customs have the inherent powers of anti-smuggling under the Customs Act of 1969 whereas other agencies which have let loose a reign of terror among bona fide returning Pakistanis, have only the delegated powers. Inquiries also show that in some cases, some of the law enforcement agencies have just no powers to intercept or search any person or his baggage within the municipal limit of a town or city. In spite of this, some of the law enforcement agencies, especially the Police and its mobile pick ups, go on checking the arriving passengers in gross violation of the PMs directive that is acting contrary to established practices. Inquiries depict that where the authority of the officials of these agencies had been challenged or where they have failed to achieve their ulterior motives, the passengers even if they are accompanied by their family members, have been heckled and in some cases they have been booked on count of smuggling under the relevant laws as per reports. As a matter of legal procedure, these agencies, especially the police officials, have to lodge such cases (FIRs) in the court of Special Judge (Customs and Taxation) for trial of the person and refer the same to the Custom House for holding of quasi-judicial proceedings i.e. for purposes of the impugned goods to the Preventive Collectorate for adjudication plus penalty to the passenger. Both these proceedings (criminal and adjudication) go separately under the law and have no impact on one another. Inquiries show that no case of smuggling of goodscleared by the Customs through the green channel at the Quaid-i-Azam airport has so far been referred for adjudication purposes to the Custom House. This shows that not all such cases have either been registered by any of the agencies or had been kept pending for further investigation or may have been disposed of- unheard. It is anybodys guess! DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Voting right granted to overseas Pakistanis ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, March 9: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued instructions to the Chief Election Commissioner to take necessary steps to give the overseas Pakistanis the right to cast vote in elections in their homeland. The main objective behind the step is to enable them to play their role in choosing representatives to run the country. There are some 3.5 million Pakistan who are working in other countries who would be benefited by the decision. Press Assistant to the prime minister, Mr Siddiqul Farooq told reporters that Mian Nawaz Sharif regarded denying the overseas Pakistanis right to cast their vote in elections in their motherland violative of the Constitution and the law. The prime minister, he said, thought that with the conferment of this right, the involvement of Pakistanis working in other countries in their own country would go up. The Supreme Court has already asked for this right to the overseas Pakistanis and it is also enshrined in the PML manifesto. The prime minister has also directed the relevant authorities to ensure that all business centres and private institutions remained closed from 1pm to 3pm on Fridays. Mr Sharif feels that many organisations continued their business during these hours owing to which the purpose of declaring Friday as half day was defeated. With Friday being a working day, the spokesman quoted the prime minister as saying, the gatherings in mosques had swelled and the day was no longer being wasted in social functions. The prime minister has made it clear that he wanted to see his instructions implemented in letter and spirit. Mr Sharif would soon start meeting the people desirous of personally handing over cash or cheques to the prime minister for his debt-retirement scheme. Such people would be required to inform the prime minister of their desire on Islamabads Fax No: 9201545. They would be informed about the day and time of their meeting with the prime minister. It has been decided that the prime minister will meet such people daily from 9.00am to 9.30am. The date from which these meetings start will be notified subsequently. The prime minister has issued another directive to the Education Ministry that in villages where schools are without buildings, mosques should be used as teaching centres till Zohr prayers. The education secretary has been asked to prepare a comprehensive plan for the purpose. The prime ministers spokesman said that the plan would help raise the literacy rate without burdening the exchequer. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970312 ------------------------------------------------------------------- More relaxation in immigration rules likely ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, March 11: The authorities are actively considering a proposal to relax the immigration rules for overseas Pakistanis on their arrival in the country. Sources said a proposal to withdraw the immigration process for Pakistanis, including for those having dual nationality, upon their arrival in the country, was under consideration. The incoming Pakistanis would no more be required to have their arrival stamped on their passports after the proposal had been approved. At present, all incoming passengers, including ex-pat Pakistanis, are required to get their entry stamped on their passports by the FIA immigration staff. In his first term, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, had withdrawn the restriction of entry stamps for overseas Pakistanis, but it was reimposed by the previous PPP government. Earlier, the visa restriction for Pakistanis holding dual nationality was withdrawn by the PML government. The present move to relax the visa restrictions for Pakistanis holding dual nationality and further relaxing the immigration rules for overseas ex-pat Pakistanis is apparently aimed at boosting their confidence in the present government which has been seeking their help in reviving the countrys economy. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970313 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US journal sees flaw in Clinton policy towards Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- Shaheen Sehbai WASHINGTON, March 12: The Brown Amendment was bought and paid for by heavy Pakistani-American political donations but has yet to provide a single tangible economic benefit to Pakistan, the influential Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday. The Clinton administrations first-term policy effort aimed at improving relations with Pakistan, the strategic nuclear-capable Muslim state, has fallen flat, the paper said. The article was written by Mansoor Ijaz, a Pakistani-American investment tycoon running a multi-billion dollar money management firm, who also wrote a number of hard-hitting articles against the Benazir Bhutto government, exposing its corruption and incompetence last year. His remarks about heavy Pakistani donations to get the Brown Amendment passed could add a new dimension to the current congressional inquiries into Donorgate, the term being used for alleged sale of White House access and influence to mainly Asian donors by the Clinton administration. These remarks on Pakistan were contained as part of the article which dealt with Washingtons handling of the Muslim World and the failure of the Clinton policy in South Asia. The relevant part of the article on Pakistan said: The Clinton administrations first-term policy effort aimed at improving relations with this strategic nuclear-capable Muslim state fell flat. The vaunted Brown Amendment, sending embargoed military equipment back to Pakistan, was bought and paid for by heavy Pakistani-American political donations but has yet to provide a single tangible economic benefit for Pakistan. If engaged properly, Washingtons former Cold War ally could provide the strategic export route for Central Asian oil reserves. It could also provide a vital link in transporting natural gas from Omans vast gasfields to energy- starved India. Yet, while political risk insurance and other protections for American investment remain blocked by American non-proliferation laws still in effect, Pakistan is busy creating other alliances, most notably with Beijing and Moscow. The implications of Pakistans 1995 (alleged) purchase of nuclear ring magnets from China just as it was asking American legislators to ease sanctions against it, and its recent purchase of tanks from the Ukraine, are among the clearest indications yet of the failure of US policy in South Asia. If the US-backed World Bank funded a feasibility study for the proposed Oman-India natural gas pipeline, it might provide the needed impetus to build the pipeline overland through Iran and Pakistan - at half the cost of the deep-water route now contemplated. Such a move could bind the economic interests of Pakistan and India in a way that might finally encourage co- operation on a wide array of sensitive issues, including Kashmir and nuclear proliferation, the article concluded.

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BUSINESS & ECONOMY

970314 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Electricity tariffs to go up by 100pc in five years ------------------------------------------------------------------- M. Ziauddin ISLAMABAD, March 13: The power tariffs, including hydel surcharge per kwh, is expected to increase from Rs2.24 in 1997 to Rs4.47 in the year 2002. This increase is estimated to be around 17.9 percent in 1997, peaking to 21 percent in 1999 and then going down to 4.4 percent in the year 2002. According to a study, Pakistans balance of payments position is estimated to worsen by 1.4 billion dollars in the year 2000-01 as a result of the payments due to the private power producers. In the current year, this burden is estimated to reach 391 million dollars. Cash outflows for purchasing private power are estimated to increase from Rs37 billion in 1997 to Rs125 billion in 2002. The percentage share of payments to be made for purchase of power in the total WAPDA revenue are estimated to go up from 37 percent in 1997 to 47 percent in 2002. With the economy growing at the rate of 5 percent per annum the country is likely to have surplus power of 19 MW in January 2002-03 and of 181MW in May of the same year. However, if the economy were to grow at the rate of 6 percent per annum in year 2001-03 Pakistan will face power deficit of 1009 MW in January. The deficit will come down to 837MW in May the same year. The surplus is expected to peak to 2253MW in January 1998-99 (at GDP GR of 5 percent) and to 2269MW in May of the same year. The above projection has been made on the basis of the financial closure achieved by 19 private power projects till date for generating electricity of 3454MW. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970309 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangladesh, India offer better environment ------------------------------------------------------------------- M. Ziauddin ISLAMABAD, March 8: Bangladesh and India offer a more profitable investment environment for foreign direct investors than Pakistan. According to an official study, Bangladesh with a cost of investment index (CII) of 3.5 ranks first in a list of seven Asian countries evaluated for their ability to attract foreign investment. India follows closely behind with a CII of 3.8, Malaysia gets the third place with a CII of 6.6. Next is Pakistan with a CII of 7.1 followed by Philippines 9.8, Thailand 10.3 and Indonesia 12. The study identifies cost of capital/interest rate on a project, cost of utilities and exemptions/holidays as three most important factors impacting on investment decision. Pakistan lags far behind its South Asian colleagues in all these three elements. The interest rate in Bangladesh is 15%; in India it is 16.50% and in Pakistan it is 23%. Telephone charges in Bangladesh (per 1000 calls) Takka 42, in Pakistan Rs 50 and India (NA). Rates of electricity in Bangladesh are (per 1000 Kwh) Takka 47 to 119; in India Rs 57 to Rs 84 and in Pakistan Rs 83 to Rs 112. Rates of water in Bangladesh (per million litre) are Takka 223, in India Rs 112 and in Pakistan Rs 373. Rates of gas in Bangladesh (per 1000 cu.m) Taka 91, in India Rs 80 and in Pakistan Rs 100. There is 100% tax exemption for 100% export-oriented industries in Bangladesh and for spare parts the rates range between 2.5% to 7.5%, in India 100% tax exemptions for export-oriented industries in EPZs and for spare parts the rates are between 15-35% and in Pakistan there are no exemptions at all. In Bangladesh new investments enjoy tax holidays for 5-7 years, in India the tax holiday is for 5 years for export-oriented industries, power projects in notified states and for 8 years in EPZs and in Pakistan no holidays except 3-8 years for agro-food projects and up to year 2000 for units in EPZs. Being above other ASEAN countries like Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia is not much of a consolation because Pakistan would rank below these countries as well when factors such as availability of infrastructure, uninterrupted supply of utilities, disciplined and skilled labour force, quality of life and industrial culture are taken into consideration. According to the study, with the rising demand for foreign investment by developing countries, Pakistan has to contend with a very competitive environment. Many of the Asian countries have opened their economies for foreign investment and are offering lucrative incentives and facilities. These incentives range from: 1. Zero or reduced import duties on machinery and raw materials. 2. Exemption from levy of tax on income. 3. One window operation. 4. Fully developed infrastructure. 5. Uninterrupted supply of utilities. 6. A disciplined labour force. 7. Better quality of life. These incentives provide a competitive edge and play a very important role when an investor decides to plan his investments in one country/market or the other. It would take decades for Pakistan to make available to intending investors the facilities listed from number 4 to 7. Therefore, the study recommends that Pakistan make a more generous use of other incentives like tax concessions, exemptions and holidays. However, the study views the ongoing structural reforms as envisaged in the IMF prescribed programmes coming in the way of a concession and incentive favouring foreign investment attracting policy. The study believes that the demand oriented economic reforms have affected the development efforts of countries like Pakistan where the major emphasis should be to increase output through structural reforms involving shift from agricultural base to industrial base. The study attacked the IMF conditionalities for their bias for revenue generation at the cost of foreign investment flows. In the opinion of the authors of the study it is through more investment and increased production that revenue generation objectives could be fulfilled. The study points out that the 1997-98 budget withdrew many of the concessions given to attract investment through incentive packages, which have resulted in increasing the cost of investing in Pakistan when compared to other Asian countries, especially India and Bangladesh. Many leading foreign investors, especially in Japan and Korea where Pakistan held investment conferences, have strongly represented over these changes as these have affected their pipeline projects for investment, when they were at the stage of final decision making for their investment plans conceived and designed on the basis of the incentives packages marketed by Board of Investment of Pakistan all over the world. They said that the anomalous tariff structure also impeded an increased flow of foreign direct investment. During the financial year 1994-95 while the government undertook to reduce import duties as a matter of policy, the duties on imported machinery and equipment were in effect increased. This upward trend was further augmented by levy of 10% regulatory duty in October, 1995. And in the current budget, increase in import duties on raw materials and reduction of duties on their finished products have made trading cheaper and manufacturing more costly. The overall impact of this process on industrial development is quite adverse. It has, therefore, become even more profitable for foreign companies to set up their manufacturing facilities in some other Asian country and sell their goods in Pakistan through trading rather than establishing the manufacturing facility in Pakistan. In view of the above, the study has asked the new government to adjust the tariff and tax structure in such a way, while making the next years budget and trade policy, that the cost of manufacturing a product in Pakistan comes down in relation to the landed cost of importing the same product. The study also advised that while negotiating with the IMF, the finance ministry alone should not be allowed to represent the interests of Pakistan government. Organisations like the Board of Investment (BoI), which has been given the responsibility of selling Pakistan abroad as an ideal place for foreign direct investment, should also be permitted to argue the case from their perspective and try to convince the Fund to help attract more DFIs rather than curb their inflows with its demand curtailing conditionalities. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The missing factor in human resource development ------------------------------------------------------------------- Haroon R. Siddiqi THE CORPORATE sector in Pakistan, especially the multinational companies, has done away with the forced marriage of personnel and administration which are now two distinct functions, very much apart from each other. The industrial relations (IR) function has gradually assumed a predominant place in the industrial and commercial organisations. The IR primarily owes its ascendancy to the promulgation of the West Pakistan Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1968 and the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969.The voluminous Labour Code which is considered the Bible of our industrial and commercial concerns has made the IR function an increasingly legal and intricate subject. The myth of engaging a retired army officer for an administrative post who could handle personnel matters as trivialities does no longer prevail. Retired army personnel are normally good administrators but certainly lack the temperament and experience to manage the industrial/commercial workforce, as their defence orientation remains a major stumbling block. The loss of uniform is a great setback to an army officer who finds himself severely enfeebled in civvies, which radically changes the milieu around him. It is a difficult experience for him to interact with an unruly labour force, unlike the disciplined army where the human characteristics and physiognomy are shaped through a single mould of command and obey. Devout professionalism Inspite of the devout professionalism in industrial relations, the concept of human resource development our corporate sector has never been put to work in its true sense, and this failure is not an exception with the multinational companies. What we have witnessed over the years is a kind of pseudo transformation that is nothing more than a facial treatment. Most of the companies have restructured themselves and redesignated their personnel managers as managers human resources. Obviously the change in nomenclature is meaningless unless these men enlarge their vision and understanding of the new role which is unique in many ways. Their psyche, temperament, behaviour and other human faculties have to transmute for responding as catalysts in their organisational fraternities. A manager human resources decidedly needs more qualities of heart as compared to head since he is dealing with an animate factor of production  human beings. It is fallacious to assume that efficient handling of the staff and employees routine matters is the principal job of the manager human resources. In fact, his core responsibility is to create a corporate culture and environment that would elicit the best talent and potential from the employed human resources towards meeting the corporate objectives. He must remain freely accessible to all with affability as the slightest taint of bureaucratic style will negate his purposeful existence in an organisation. Many years back, I was attending a seminar where the speaker was articulately dwelling on the topic of Leadership Qualities. He introduced a number of western concepts, models & techniques for the benefit of the participants. Perhaps in the closing hours of the three-day seminar, some one quoted this verse from Allama Iqbal: Nigah buland sukhan dilnawaz jan pur soz Ye hee hai rakhte safar mir-e-karwan ke liye Since I have some poetic interest and appreciation, I intently pondered on the profound message and realised that the entire seminar could not convey to me what Allamas though provoking verse had taught me in no time. Do we have to look to the West to find all our answers? Certainly not! DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Taxation system: mobilise the will-to-pay! ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Mahnaz Fatima WHILE this is a subject for the public finance experts to dwell upon, one of their miserable failures has been their inability to drive home the importance of bringing about horizontal equity in the structure of taxation in Pakistan as a first step towards the development of any effective system of taxation worth the name. Any structure based on inequality to begin with is bound to be as ineffective as our taxation system has been and will continue to be so until such time that the mother of inequities, that is, preferential treatment to agricultural incomes, is taken care of. All attempts at improvement in the taxation structure in the past have actually been efforts in marking time as all experts and advisers continued to look the other way from the issue of agricultural income tax. While, subsequent to the agricultural income tax ordinance during Mr. Moeen Qureshis stint, three of the countrys provinces legislated it; the province of Punjab continued to oppose it so much so that even the last caretaker set-up failed to have an ordinance promulgated to this effect in the said province. In fact, Benazirs post-1996-97 budget instructions to the said province vis-`-vis quick action on this front was one of the moves that marked the beginning of the downfall of her second government. So, the issue is a sensitive one for a political government to handle. However, it is critical to the development of an effective system of taxation because of which it cannot also be allowed to remain on a slow burner for too long as there is a dire need to generate resources from within the country to narrow the resource gap through internally generated funds. And, the silver lining is the verbal support to the idea of agricultural income tax that is now provided by the major farmlords in the country. This in itself is significant progress in the right direction as compared to the strong verbal opposition that they provided in the past. In the past, however, there did exist a case of implicit taxation of the agricultural sector as industry was pronounced as the only engine of growth. Consequently, conditions were created that provided all incentives to the industry to the extent of an extraction of surplus from the agricultural sector that was diverted to the industrial sector. The output prices of the agricultural sector were kept depressed with a view to providing cheap inputs to our largely agro-based industry. Also, the food prices were kept low with a view to keeping the urban wage bill low enough for industrial development. The exchange rate was also kept artificially overvalued with a view to helping the import-reliant industry but which adversely affected the export earnings of the farmers. These conditions exist no more for the agricultural sector. Consequently, the case for agricultural income tax has become stronger than the case against it. This coupled with a strong awareness-raising campaign even convinced the IMF to include it in its package. And, the last Benazir government budgeted a paltry Rs. 2 billion in the October 96 mini-budget when the estimated potential is forty to fifty times as much. The above developments coupled with some strong farmer community opinion mobilisers and a heavy mandate to the current elected government should serve to provide impetus to the need for introducing horizontal equity in our taxation structure as one of the prerequisites for developing an effective system of taxation. The strategy could include a strong educational campaign, debate, dialogue, and negotiations with the feudal interest groups by the current government on this crucial issue. This campaign would even jibe with the PML(N)s emphasis on economic self-reliance. A sincere and an earnest campaign could serve to convince the feudals to begin to contribute their share to the economy as, according to the basic principle of horizontal equity, equals should pay equally. And, now there is no reason why feudals should continue to enjoy a preferential treatment in this regard. Parallel campaign A parallel campaign could be initiated against tax evasion through which business and industry need to be convinced about giving their due share to the economy as it is in the long term interest of business and industry to strive to enter into a harmonious and a virtuous cycle of development with the countrys economy. There is also a need for an inter-sectoral dialogue between the representatives of the agricultural and the industrial sectors who should together thrash out the critical issue of internal resources generation. For, hitherto, businesses have felt justified in evading taxes because of the preferential treatment accorded to the agricultural sector and the farmlords have felt justified in claiming a preferential treatment because of the incentives/concessional packages granted to the business/industrial sector. Now that economic self-reliance is likely to become the cornerstone of Pakistans economic policy, the two key sectors of the country need to lower communication barriers between them and should engage in constructive dialogue on the issue of internal resource mobilisation. Yet another basic principle of taxation is one of vertical equity, that is, unequals should be taxed unequally on the basis of the ability-to-pay. Here too, there is a glaring anomaly as the lower income segments are burdened more in proportion to their incomes than the upper income segments because of the tax exemptions that they enjoy. The proposals of some public finance experts vis-a-vis taxation of perks and privileges enjoyed by bureaucrats and those who draw very high five-to six-figure salaries have not been able to see the light of the day. The last Benazir government adopted this proposal partially for the private sector and kept the bureaucrats exempt. This discriminatory treatment would again render any tax effort ineffective. And, above all, even the high income groups will not want to pay higher taxes for as long as the principle of vertical equity is not applied across the board. That is, for as long as the heads of the state, the government, and the federal/state ministries are not seen to be paying taxes in proportion to their incomes. Currently, many of them are known for not paying taxes when they should be leading by giving personal examples and excelling in tax-payment. Unless they lead by example, their exhortations to the effect will fall on deaf ears. Development key So, the key to the development of an effective taxation structure is to make it equitous, both horizontally and vertically. Hitherto, the efforts of public finance experts have been directed at making it efficient through withholding taxes and taxes that would be easier and sure to collect. The idea has been to tax those goods whose supply and demand are relatively inelastic. Consequently, such taxes turn out to be regressive in nature as the lower income segments are made to bear a disproportionately higher burden. So, such drives at efficiency have only served to axe the weak who can be netted. The powerful are not netted in due proportion to their incomes which is why tax reform since 1992, despite many man-hours of effort and even higher opportunity cost, has only produced dismal results. There is, therefore, a need to shift the tax reform emphasis to equity. For, key to effective tax mobilisation is to mobilise the human will-to-pay as the ability-to-pay cannot be mobilised for as long as the people see gross horizontal and vertical inequities in the taxation structure as is currently the case in Pakistan. Tax administration is yet another aspect of effective taxation system in the country. The income tax department is known to be full of tax sharks who, allegedly, make the life of tax-payers miserable. Usually symptomatic cure is suggested that revolves around a system of heavy penalties to deter deviant behaviour when there is a need for institutional reform that would include, interalia, development of fool proof systems and good human resources management practices. These, in turn, would necessitate decent levels of compensation that would obviate the need for extra incomes by capitalising on the misdeclarations of many tax payers. Low paid income tax department employees succumb to the temptation of extortion especially when they see big fish trying to evade taxes. There is then a desire to share the gain with the evader who cannot resist effectively since he is on a weak wicket himself. The effort at reform, therefore, has to be two-pronged. That is, first, there is a need to reform tax declaration itself as suggested in the preceding sections. Second, there is a need to reform tax collection by minimising the need to extort in the tax collectors are well-compensated. Also, if misdeclarations are reduced, then there will be a resistance from the tax-payer too who should see no need to bribe if his declaration is an honest one and can be proved so in any court of law. Unless the above weaknesses in the taxation system of the country are addressed adequately, all efforts at tax reform will amount to a mere clumsy tinkering with the system with little or no tangible results when the need of the hour is to bring about a quantum change. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- An agenda for austerity and welfare ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Mohammad Uzair PAKISTANI society is known to be badly infected by consumerism, both at the governmental level and at the level of people at large. Ironically, millions do not get a square meal and potable water. It is, therefore, imperative that a mission is undertaken to counter the waste and to introduce Austerity at every level. Let us first look at the government and the people in government, both politicians and bureaucracy, because good examples, like bad examples, are introduced from the top. The famous moral of Persian literature (Saadi) had said long ago, that if a king plucks one fruit from an orchard, the rest of the government machinery would rob and ruin the entire orchard. The President, the Prime Minister, other ministers and advisors should voluntarily forego some of the luxurious facilities that are dispensable. When they go abroad the size of the entourage should not include more than half a dozen persons, none of them relatives or family members. If businessmen accompany in certain tours they should obviously bear their own expenses. Similarly, giving lavish gifts to visitors or hosts, ranging from a carpet to a horse, should be discontinued. Size of personal staff should also be reduced. Position of Additional Secretary should be abolished. It will save money and time, by eliminating one layer in the process of decision making. There are many public sector organisations with heavy over-staffing and alleged corruption and/or downright pilferage. It is admitted by honest professional people in some of these organisations that efficiency would improve if personnel are reduced by 150 per cent. Pakistan Steel and PIA are generally accused of these evils. The same is true to DFIs and banks. They should be headed and manned by the people with recognised competence as well as integrity. Unfortunately honesty and integrity are not considered to be important at all. No family connections or parochial considerations should be allowed. Then, we need to trim and prune Export Promotion Bureau, which naturally operates in a bureaucratise manners. It has done precious little for export promotion. We should have a professional and smaller body instead of a bureau. Every once in a while the businessmen approach State Bank and the government with a request for devaluation of Rupee to encourage exports. Productivity Our businessmen and industrialists should learn to raise productivity, reduce cost, improve standards of quality, and keep in sight the objective of national goodwill and honesty in the long run, instead of limited and immediate interests. If we can not adopt the standards of Japan in exports, at least we should try to attain the level of Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. Now there are certain things which should be done at the national level. Some of the suggestions are:  People in the government, from the President to joint secretaries, should not attend the weddings except in cases where the bride or bride-groom are directly related.  Size of wedding gatherings should be reduced. The wedding was held on February 18, 1997 of an Indian girl Priyanika of Nehru family, daughter, grand daughter, and great grand daughter of Prime Ministers. The wedding was attended by only 200 guests.  There should be no large scale ceremonies of Mehndi or Mangni. Total gathering should not be more than forty. Preferably these ceremonies should be done away with; and if at all it is necessary it should be only a family affair. All the ceremonies including weddings should be over before 10:30 P.M. It will save electricity as well as time of the guests.  Import of cars, air-conditioners, refrigerators, deep freezers should be made to attain largest possible degree of deletion. It is suggested that a consumption tax be introduced to make sure that luxurious and conspicuous expenditure is reduced and discouraged. Some of the taxable items of consumption would be:  Houses built on a plot of land exceeding 600 sq. yards (one kanal) but not exceeding 1000 sq.yards should qualify for a tax of Rs 50,000 per annum. The houses on a plot of land exceeding 1000 sq. yards should qualify for a tax of Rs 100,000 per annum. This tax is over and above property tax charged by the Provincial Governments.  Cars exceeding 1000cc, but not exceeding 1300cc, would qualify for a tax of Rs 25,000 per annum. Cars between 1300cc, and 1500cc should qualify for a tax of Rs 40,000 per annum. Cars exceeding 1500cc, should qualify for a tax of Rs 60,000 per annum. Pajeros, Mercedes and other expensive cars, if imported by VIPs or rich businessmen or feudal, should be taxed at a rate of Rs 100,000 per annum (besides import duty. Nobody should be permitted to import duty free cars). This consumption tax would be over and above Vehicles or Road Tax.  Dish antenna licence fee should be taxed at a rate of Rs 10,000 per annum as against present rate of Rs 2,000 per annum.  Luxurious and pompous wedding dinners or lunches could be taxed at the following rates: a) Those held in five star or four star hotels would qualify for a tax of Rs 30,000/- b) Wedding dinners and lunches held in large clubs and lawns with a capacity of more than one thousand should be taxed at a rate of Rs 15,000/- c) Wedding dinners and lunches in clubs or lawns with a capacity of more than 500 guests but not exceeding one thousand guests should be taxed at a rate of Rs 7,500. d) Wedding dinners and lunches is small marriage halls or lawns with a capacity of about 500 guests should be taxed at a rate of Rs 2,500. Proceeds of this proposed consumption tax should be used to constitute a Price Stabilisation and Assistance Fund. Government may also add some amount to this Fund, to make it effective. Prices of a basket of some basic food items, which affect a common man, should be stabilised and even reduced. This would mean some selected items of food. Production of these items should be planned and ensured so that their quantity and supply should be abundant, and not only prices are not high, but can come down to a lower level. Assistance should be sought from Pakistan Agriculture Research Council, Agriculture Price Committee, experts from Agricultural University, Faisalabad, some officers of Federal and Provincial Agricultural departments. This body should monitor sowing and production of certain agricultural items, some of these are known as Minor Crops, and therefore neglected. Financial assistance to the farmers should be provided from the proposed Fund. These items are: a) Wheat, and Atta made from it; b) Sugarcane, and sugar made from it; c) Rice; d) Pulses (Dal) of different kinds; e) Chickpeas and gram which have high nutritive value and are used by the common-man; f) Some vegetables like onion, potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkin etc.; g) Raw material for edible oil should be sown locally to facilitate local production of edible oil at a cheaper price; h) Poultry farming. The government should do away with Utility Stores Corporation, Ration Shops, and Fair Price Shops. The cost is high, and benefit is very marginal. Economic problems should be solved in economic manner and not by creating un-necessary bodies. In the field of food, it is imperative that the new government may like to make special efforts to promote two industries, largely neglected in the past. These are large-scale animal ranching and dairy farming. These would increase the supply of meat and milk, and thus lower their prices. We can have joint ventures with suitable businessmen and investors in Australia, Canada and Denmark. Their participation should be for ten to fifteen years, after which local investors can be self sufficient. It will mean a great contribution to the economy. We can also have a white revolution (milk) as some other countries have had. We can also make good quality powder milk locally in collaboration with foreign companies. In fact we can even export powder milk, and other dairy products, to neighbouring countries in the Gulf. Cost of production and cost of freight can both be reduced by production in Pakistan. We can have some increase in our exports and foreign exchange earnings. There are a couple of matters in the sphere of fiscal administration. The first is Iqra Surcharge. Figures of this tax should be clearly mentioned in budget and its proceeds should be reserved and utilised solely for education, especially primary education in villages. It is no secret that feudal do not like the villagers in their constituencies to be educated. Government has to take strict administrative measures to ensure basic education in villages, where 60  70 per cent of population lives. Adult-education programme is also needed. Irony is that the feudal send their own sons and even daughters to foreign countries for higher education, but would not like their Haris and Muzareen to get even primary education to their children. Even some semi-urban and urban areas need some efforts. Misuse of Iqra Funds for purposes other than education is morally objectionable. A more objectionable matters is Zakat education and its use or suspected misuse. There is no public disclosure, about figures of Zakat deduction, and details of its utilisation. People are un-happy about this situation. Many people sign and submit false affidavits to avoid deduction of Zakat. Items for which Zakat funds can be used are specifically mentioned in the Holy Quran. Moreover, Zakat is a religious obligation (Ibadat). Any mishandling of Zakat funds is tantamount to a crime or sin, besides begin politically and socially un-popular. Zakat Budget should be prepared and publicised separately, at the time general budget is presented. It is hoped that historic success of the new government, will lead to certain bold efforts and actions neglected in the past. Austerity and Welfare Programme is a challenge which should be sincerely and efficiently met. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970315 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Leading scrips finish with fresh gains: index recovers ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Our Staff Reporter KARACHI, March 14: Stocks extended the previous rally as the short Friday session saw leading shares finishing with fresh gains on active follow-up support. Although the KSE 100-share index managed to recover fresh ground, signalling that it is heading for its pre-action level of 1,650 points but some analysts still have some doubts about a sustained run-up. However, the fresh recovery of about 15 points and that too at the weekend session points to revival of strong foreign demand during the next week. The formation of government in Sindh seems to have defused the political tension luring investors back in the rings in a bigger way, dealers said. In normal conditions, the weekend sessions always attract profit-selling as investors are not inclined to hold long positions in view of the uncertainties linked with the two closures but weekend rally certainly points to smooth sailing during the next week. There is a perception and shared by many that the new Sindh coalition government could ensure lasting peace in the city and that is what the market needs now, analysts said. They said investors are back in the rings led by some of the foreign funds. The market should have given more encouraging performance but for weekend considerations as some of the leading investors were not inclined to take bigger risks, they added. But most of the local institutional traders and some of the foreign investors were active on selected counters, which in turn evoked good sympathetic short-covering on some other selected counters. Although the market advance was led by most of the leading shares, which attracted active short-covering at the lower levels, some of the second- liners also came in for active support and finished recovered. Unlike previous sessions, the market has some special feature both in terms of good gains and large volume as a section of operators were not inclined to miss the rising market. While both Hub-Power and PTC vouchers led the list of volume leaders, some of the multinational recovered broadly under the lead of Dawood Hercules and some others, reflecting the presence of strong foreign demand at the lower levels. However, bulk of the short-covering remained confined to bank, cement, energy and some of the pharma and chemicals shares, which rose appreciably amid active support at the lower levels. Some of the inactive shares also attracted good support on news of higher interim earnings and rose sharply, major gainers among them being Sitara Chemicals and Security Paper. But market has some depressants too, notably bad news from the export front and some problems with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in regard to conditionalities attached to standby credit. Big gainers were led by Askari Leasing, Faysal Bank, PSO, Fauji Fertiliser, Sitara Chemicals, and Security Papers, which showed gains ranging from Rs 2 to 5. But the largest gain of Rs 12.75 was noted in Dawood Hercules, which came in for strong covering purchases on news of higher interim sales. IGI Insurance, which announced bonus shares at the rate of 20 per cent a day earlier came in for active selling and was marked down by Rs 3. Parke- Davis, Abbott Lab and Ciba-Geigy were among the other prominent losers. Owing to a half Friday session, trading volume fell to 30 million shares from the previous 41 million shares, bulk of which again went to the credit of Hub-Power and PTC vouchers. The most active list was topped by Hub-Power, up 25 paisa on 8 million shares followed by PTC vouchers, higher 20 paisa on 6,560 million shares, ICI Pakistan, firm 20 paisa on 4.350 million shares, Dewan Salman, steady five paisa on 3 million shares, FFC-Jordan Cement, higher 40 paisa on 2 million shares, and Dhan Fibre, lower five paisa on 0.950 million hares. Other actively traded shares were led by Dhan Fibre, easy five paisa on 0.719m, Fauji Cement, up 20 paisa on 0.5m, D.G.Khan Cement, higher 50 paisa on 0.161m, ICI Pakistan (r), firm 25 paisa on 01.26m and Nishat Mills, higher 75 paisa on 0.103m 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. 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EDITORIALS & FEATURES

970309 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohammed Ali Jinnah ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ardeshir Cowasjee MEN such as Mohammed Ali Jinnah are more controversial when dead than when alive. The film now being shot, entitled simply Jinnah, the name by which the founder of our country wished to be known and recognised, has been made controversial. Nothing new, nothing surprising, given the moral and intellectual dishonesty that swamps this country. Jinnah achieved what few have achieved. Stanley Wolpert, who has written the best biography of the man so far published, which was also made controversial, summed up Jinnah with perfection in the opening lines of his preface: Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammed Ali Jinnah did all three. When Wolperts book, Jinnah of Pakistan, was published by Oxford University Press-New York in 1984, OUP- Pakistan immediately imported 500 copies. But, before putting it up for sale, OUP sent two copies to Zias information ministry, the men of which upon reading it immediately took hypocritical umbrage at two factual paragraphs and one sentence relating to Jinnahs eating and drinking habits. The ministry confiscated the remaining 498 copies, and distributed them to visiting dignitaries and to in-favour intellectuals of this land who it was felt would not be incapacitated by the truth. The government later relented and informed OUP that the book could be reprinted and distributed were Wolpert to agree to delete the passages imagined to be offensive. Wolpert, naturally, rejected outright the absurd suggestion. It was not until 1989, when Wolpert was called in by Benazir Bhutto to write a biography of her father, that it was reprinted by OUP in its unexpurgated version and found its way into our bookshops. Now to the film, Jinnah. This present controversy has been blown up by one newspaper which has printed a sustained series of front-page and other articles mainly by an unnamed special correspondent. The man writing these pieces should have had the courage of his convictions and put his name to what was written. This controversy can only further the cause of violent religious bigotry, which this present government is doing its best to curb, and to stir up anti-Indian feelings at a time when the government is taking steps towards solving some of the differences with our neighbour. The objections of the newspaper in question are to a script it claims existed in September last year. Now, film scripts are updated and changed from day to day. I have gone through the script, as it is now, and have found nothing in it that can possibly be termed, by even the most hard-core bigot, either anti-Islamic, anti-Pakistani, anti-Jinnah or anti-anything. There is no mention of any angel, let alone Gabriel, and there is no boatman telling Jinnah to shut up, as has been trumpeted by the publication in question. In fact, it is apparent that those making the film have been most careful to ensure that the sensibilities of the run-of-the- mill tunnel-minded opinionated monomaniacs of this land are well protected from illusory hurt. Making a film on Jinnah is not easy. One has to be imaginative, which producer-director Jamil Dehlavi undoubtedly is. Jinnahs life was neither dramatic nor stirringly heroic, nor the stuff of which epics are made. He was never a self-styled martyr, he never went to jail, he never went on hunger strike, he never led marches or processions, he indulged in no political gimmicks. He made his point and got what he wanted through calm and determined negotiation. He was an Anglo-Saxon by bent and training, he was a man of strong secular beliefs, forward- looking, shrewd, who knew well the difference between religion and religiosity. He had a flexibility of spirit and mind  qualities lacking in the men and women for whom he made a country. He wanted a modern Pakistan, in tune with the democratic liberal world. One excellent thing the script writers have done is to include a scene showing Jinnah speaking to the Constituent Assembly in Karachi on August 11, 1947, when he set forth for the future framers of the constitution of this land what was, in essence, his creed: If we want to make this great state of Pakistan happy and prosperous we should wholly and solely concentrate on the well- being of the people. You are free. Free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed  that has nothing to do with the business of the state... my guiding principle will be justice and fair play without any prejudice or ill-will, partiality or favouritism. We must root out the poison of nepotism and corruption. And I am sure with your support and co- operation I can look forward to Pakistan becoming one of the greatest nations of the world. Alas, none of this was to be. Jinnah died too soon, leaving behind too few honest men of vision. Akbar S. Ahmed, the executive producer of the film is also a controversial figure, either liked or strongly disliked. He is a professor of anthropology who has held the Iqbal Chair at Cambridge for the past five years, and a Fellow of Selwyn College. Such positions are not attained by sycophancy or by clout, but by merit, when a man is recognised for his intellectual worth. He is also on the panel chosen by the Prince of Wales to advise him on the various projects relating to ethnic minorities in Britain. The newspaper, which for its own peculiar reasons, has chosen to churn and stir up public opinion about everything to do with the film, objects to the choice of Christopher Lee to play Jinnah, on the ground that 40 years ago he acted as Dracula. In his career, this fine character actor has acted in some 260 films, in countless different and divergent roles. He is 74 years old, he looks, walks and talks like Jinnah, and he can in no way be termed anti-Pakistan. A ludicrous charge to bring against him. An objection has also been made to Shashi Kapoor, an internationally famed actor who happens to be an Indian and a Hindu. Is criticism on these two grounds at all valid or logical? Since he is being constantly mobbed in the lobby of his hotel and when he goes out to the set, it seems that the sane and sensible Pakistani has no objections to him at all. Jinnah certainly had no objections to Hindus. One of his closest friends and confidants was Kanji Dwarkadas. I do not claim to be an authority on Jinnah, but I can make an assessment of what the man was like from the stories and anecdotes I have heard about him in my childhood and youth from his contemporaries. Jinnah was in and out of the Karachi and Bombay houses of H.J. Rustomjee, my mothers grandfather, and spent much time with his sons, Pestonjee and Dhunjishaw. And I used to hear much about him from my father, and from his architect, Dinshaw Daruwalla, and his personal legal adviser, Minocher Kotwal. My advice to the producers was to show Jinnah, the man, as those close to him knew him  Muslims, Hindus, Parsis and British  to show him as he was, a normal human being with no false pretensions, who behaved as a normal human being, was treated like one, and who enjoyed the good things that life has to offer. Had they done so, the film would surely be banned in this land of myths and delusions and thus make a lot of money. But they did not want to risk it. The film is being funded by private enterprise and the government, who are satisfied with its veracity and viability. Let it be seen and then let the controversy begin. Some will like it, some will not, there will be much valid and invalid criticism. Let those now criticising it, before it is made, make their own film on Jinnah, a better one. No one is stopping them. We will cheer them on. The timing of a film on Jinnah and his life is important. Few in the West are really interested in Jinnah. A film on him, under normal circumstances, would find a poor audience. But there will be interest in him and his times later this year when the 50th anniversary of the loss of the Indian Empire is commemorated with much fanfare. This is the ideal time for Jinnah to be released and shown, when the flame of the old dead Raj flares briefly again. Let thousands of people who have barely heard the name Jinnah learn about him, his achievement, and his place in history. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Jinnah film ------------------------------------------------------------------- Omar Kureishi THERE are two ways in which we can honour the memory of Quaid- i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The first is that we order our national lives in accordance with the guidelines he set for his vision of Pakistan. The second is that we allow him to rest in peace. The first is too idealistic and it has not suited the successive cliques or coteries or in- groups who have assumed or seized leadership through manipulation or subterfuge or force majeure and become the custodians of our lives, become what is sneeringly called the ruling elite. The second too is not possible since we have decided to observe his birth and death anniversary and these occasions provide an opportunity to issue messages that reek of earnestness and sanctimonious humbug and to hold meetings and seminars where speakers invariably lament weepily our departure from his principles. There is too the ritual of visits to his Mazaar and any one who assumes public office, places a wreath on his grave, converting the visit, into a photo- opportunity. This has become a mechanical exercise, something that comes with the job. It goes without saying that the Quaid would have thoroughly disapproved of this kind of an homage as he would have thoroughly disapproved of the shambles we have made of his dream. Now a film on him is being produced and it has created a fierce controversy even before a foot of the film has been shot. It is hard to pin down the precise objections to the film beyond the fact that, in the perception of the critics, the wrong people are involved in the production of the film and there are serious misgivings about their motives. As the controversy heats up, bits and pieces of the supposed script have been somewhat mysteriously released to the press. Objection too has been taken to the casting of a Mr Christopher Lee as Jinnah, the objection being based on the fact that the actor has played the role of Dracula in the past. Objection too has been taken to the choice of the director Mr Jamil Dehlavi, whose past, according to these critics, has been shady. And there is Mr Shashi Kapoor who has been cast as the narrator who is an Indian and, therefore, creates his own turbulence. And looming over all these is the major domo of the project Prof. Akbar S. Ahmed. Let me make it clear that I know none of these people either personally or by reputation. I have read the names of Shafqat Jamote and Shariffudin Pirzada as having some connection with the film. These two I know and have for them both, respect and affection and in the case of Shariffudin Pirzada also admiration. My friend Ardeshir Cowasjee has given him the jolly sounding name of Jadoogar. It has been said of him that asked by Ziaul Haq to produce a rabbit from a hat he produced the Eighth Amendment. No ordinary rabbit but Bugs Bunny! Not knowing any of the people involved in the film, I also know nothing of film making. I cannot offer any opinion on whether the right people are making the film or whether the script, snatches of which I have read in the newspapers, shows up the Quaid-i-Azam as a caricature, as the critics maintain or as a great leader as the producers insist. We will only know when the film has been completed. It is necessary, however, to obtain some sort of clarification about the funding of the film. Is it being privately financed or has the Government of Pakistan some financial stake in it? The idea of wanting to know is to fix the responsibility as regards the end-product. But let me put this film in perspective. In 1983 Sir Richard Attenborough made a film on Gandhi. The film was widely acclaimed and I wrote a column on it, that is to say, 14 years ago. Much of what I wrote applies to the present controversy. I had written that our own response to the Gandhi film was that there should be one on the Quaid-i-Azam. The point I made was that it was irksome that the interest in a film on the Quaid has been triggered by the fact that a film on Gandhi has been made. In other words, it is a reaction and one wonders whether there would be this clamouring for the film on the Quaid had there not been one on Gandhi. It would be banal to suggest that it would have been more appropriate that we should have wanted a film on the Quaid for the fact that he was the Father of the Nation rather than merely because we have been scooped by a film on Gandhi, I argued. Those who are now demanding that the script of the film should be vetted by the government dont entirely realise what they are asking for. This too I had anticipated. How would one circumvent the bureaucracy that inevitably would want to get involved? There are so many questions that can be asked. Film making is highly creative. It brooks no compromise. How will a consensus be reached on what the general direction of the film will be? And how will the film deal with those who sat out the battle but claimed the booty? I had asked. I concluded the column by offering this advice: Perhaps, it might be simpler to forget about the film and pay our respects, instead, by working for a Pakistan that the Quaid so avowedly wished for its people. I think this advice is still good. But whatever my personal views may be on the subject of the film, there is in the raging controversy an element of pre-censorship. It does not seem fair to me that something should be condemned even before it has taken shape. Once again we find that we are not allowing the Quaid-i- Azam to rest in peace. One wishes that the same concern and anger would have been shown about the direction of the country which appears to be going nowhere than about a film. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970315 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The unwanted baby ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mazdak LIKE an unwanted baby born out of wedlock, the poor Press and Publications Ordinance is being shifted surreptitiously from one door to another, but so far, the father has not stepped forward to admit his responsibility. My friend, Mushahid Hussain, the prime ministers adviser on information, was prompt in distancing his ministry from the paternity suit. The caretakers were equally swift in denying parentage, and a spokesman from the PPP camp has squarely blamed the Nawaz Sharif government for having drafted this draconian and totally unnecessary piece of legislation. Khalid Anwar, the PMs adviser on law, has put up an uncharacteristically feeble defence by saying that the information secretary had forwarded the summary as a matter of routine to ensure continuity with the 1995 ordinance which has been kept alive through four-monthly renewals. So much for the supremacy of Parliament. He went on to say to the Islamabad correspondent of this newspaper that earlier, there had been no law to deal with the Press. Now why there should be separate legislation to deal with the Press is beyond me. Surely there are enough libel laws as well as laws against subversion and anti-state activities to keep lawyers in business. And Mr Khalid Anwar, as an occasional but important contributor to newspapers, should be the first to condemn any law that could easily be misused to gag the Press. Granted that some sections of the print media have often been libellous in their attacks on individuals. But the answer would seem to lie in making our totally inadequate libel laws tougher to protect people from unfair criticism. As far as I know, nobody has sued a journalist, and editor or a publisher successfully for damages arising out of defamation or character assassination. And God knows there have been many incidents of orchestrated Press campaigns without a shred of proof that would stand up to the acid test of judicial probing. However, on balance, our Press has exercised more self-censorship than most independent newspapers do abroad. Most publishing groups have other business interests to protect, and this makes them wary of antagonising the government of the day. Other factors that push editors into erring on the side of caution include the very real threat of violence from the many armed fringe groups that have sprouted across the country. Then there is the whole gamut of legal sanctions against anything that smacks even remotely of contempt of court. These provisions are resorted to more often in Pakistan than in any other country I know of. Why our honourable judges cannot permit free and open debate about their judgements is something I have never been able to understand, but perhaps it has something to do with our sense of general lack of security as a nation. Then there is a whole range of taboos against writing about sex, religion, the defence forces and the secret lives of the powerful. Given all these written and unwritten restrictions on the freedom of expression, does the government really need another plethora of checks in the shape of the Press and Publications Ordinance? Although this is clearly a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing, the entire episode brings us to the question of presidential ordinances as a short-cut to legislation duly debated and framed by Parliament, as envisaged by the Constitution. It would seem that before asking the President to put his signature to this document, his staff did not understand the political and moral implications of this ordinance. Previous governments have often used this constitutional loophole to ram through all kinds of dubious and ill-considered legislation. Wishing to avoid long drawn-out debate on the floor because of their fragile parliamentary majority, successive prime ministers have taken this short- cut. But Nawaz Sharif has no need for this kind of quickie law-making. If the prime minister feels he needs tougher Press laws, he should initiate a debate on this important subject in and out of Parliament. Even if one were generous enough to concede that he was unaware of the existence of the draft, then one is forced to infer that he is not fully in the picture about what is happening under him. And that is bad news indeed, given the high hopes riding on his shoulders. It is high time that the whole question of issuing presidential ordinances at the drop of a hat was reviewed. While this government has rightly attacked pomp and privilege in high places, here is a fruitful area left unexplored. What could possibly constitute a greater abuse of power than to short-circuit the entire parliamentary process at will? This provision was originally designed to cater for emergencies that cropped up when Parliament was not in session. It was never the intention of the framers of the 1973 Constitution to provide impatient rulers with a way to bypass the whole system of subjecting draft legislation to scrutiny by Parliamentary committees and then by the entire House. The way it works now is that ministries wanting to slip a law through wait until Parliament is in recess before moving a summary to the cabinet in which they make out a case that the urgency of the matter is sufficient to issue an ordinance. Once the President is faced with this fait accompli, he has few options but to sign. True, he has the authority to send it back for a review, but the whole thing has now become so routine that he just signs on the dotted line. To complete this mockery of parliamentary legislation, the same ministries then craftily wait until the next break in the session before asking the President to re-promulgate the same ordinance. This is what appears to have happened in the present case: everybody treated this odious law as something they had inherited, and had to keep alive, irrespective of its need or merit. In short, it has acquired a life of its own. More often than not, the hassle of piloting legislation through all the slow and cumbersome steps required by the Constitution makes it tempting for the executive to wish for a short-cut. In this sense, the provisions regarding ordinances are very seductive. But on reflection, these very same time-consuming requirements decrease the possibility of enacting bad laws. The entire system is designed to prevent hasty and ill-considered legislation from being passed. Ordinances, on the other hand, are essentially a bureaucratic, back-door approach. The PMLs commitment to parliamentary democracy will be fully tested by the need to resolve this constitutional contradiction. The party can now prove that it can use its overwhelming parliamentary majority to constructive ends.

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SPORTS

970310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Wired world of cricket ------------------------------------------------------------------- Qamar Ahmed The modern day world is now wired through the advent of high-tech. The beaming of events through satellite, the cable channels have made the world shrink even to the extent that now if you have facilities available, then you need not step out of your own sitting room and you watch the world go by. Cricket is one sport which has its own intriguing and exciting web-site on the Internet. The most interesting being Cricinfo, the self proclaimed Home of cricket on the Internet. This British-based site is the 39th largest Web site and the third largest sports site with the potential of being a genuine force for providing information on cricket news, features and the ever changing enjoyable statistics on the game. The Australian Cricket Page, South Australian Librarys Bradman site or West Indian Tony Coziers on-line version on his site, Cricket, are all those sites which are full of interest and anecdotes and stories to thrill a cricket buff. Cricinfo had Bradmans Test record match by match and all the detail that one would like to know about his career at all levels. Did you know that a cricketer has won a Nobel Prize? Through Cricinfos on- line cricket magazine Googlers Gazette I found that out that the Irish author Samuel Beckett was the one who did. A left-handed opener and medium-pace bowler for Dublin University, Beckett in his only two first class games in 1925 and 1926 made very humble contribution but as a writer Beckett was Nobel Laureate. Just zip across the Coopers and Lybrand which gives rating to the players of the game and you would find the latest rankings. Whether Wasim Akram is heading the averages or Glen McGrath or Saeed Anwar amongst the batsmen, is on top of Steve Wough or Greg Blewett. Get into the system and you will browse throw a heap of information of Pakistan players and their profiles, as would you find on the pages of newspaper on the Internet. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Cricket triumph in SAARC contest ------------------------------------------------------------------- Lateef Jafri THE SAARC gold cup tournament, launched in 1992 to enhance goodwill and friendliness among regional cricketing countries, was deservingly clinched by Pakistan at the Dhaka Stadium, built during the days when Bangladesh was the eastern wing of this country. Pakistan had been eliminated from the final of the previous competition, held in December 1994 and it was India which had performed excellently to gain the honours of the four-nation contest. The tournament is supposed to be competed by the second string of the Council members of the ICC, though Bangladesh, short of first class cricketers, must be fielding their main and national side. However, the encounters cannot be downgraded since they are occasions to spot out talent. The skill and technique of some of the fine performers can be honed to develop them into crafty bowlers and sound batsmen. Many may not like a relegation of classification to the competition since there were many Test players, apart from fresh hands in the squads of Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. Some critics may, nevertheless, dismiss the contests as of low level since the Bangladesh cricket officials have not yet understood the significance of turf wickets. They point out that the nylon surface, on which the matches were arranged, gave little aid to the pacers, howsoever effort and labour they put in their deliveries. Others are of the opinion that a few medium-pacers who toiled hard with their outswingers and cutters reaped the dividends. The artificial surface suited the slow spin and the bowlers experimenting with the curving line of the flight. Bangladesh may have staged the matches on the Astroturf because most of the south-east Asian countries try their luck on it to bag the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) trophy honours. However, to develop cricket and to throw down the challenge to the heavyweights of the continent it is important for Bangladesh to switch over to grass strips. That will determine their true merit and help the officials eliminate the flaws in their players. Nevertheless, the result a triumph in the final for Pakistan cannot be down-rated. The Indian coach, Srikkanth, thought that the rain, which came in the later stages of the last match, spoiled their chances. He felt that the Indian batsmen were going on the right course and with five wickets in hand victory was not difficult to attain. But the inclement weather changed the whole thing. Zaheer Abbas, the Pakistani coach on the contrary, was of the opinion that his sides total could not have been overtaken by the Indians, even if the rain may not have come. For the lower order batsmen it was rather difficult to raise the run-rate to five per over, which was the requirement for victory, according to Zaheer. The triumph was significant for the Pakistan A side. In the second one the country, captained by Rameez Raja, had put up a lacklustre show and surprisingly Bangladesh, the babes among the combatants, had clawed their way into the final and India had picked up the laurels. For Asif Mujtaba, the skipper, this was a triumphant visit. He earned the verdict of the scribes for the man of match (final) and the man of the tournament. As a batsman he scintillated on the field with a responsible innings of 91, though studded with slick stokes on a day of lowering clouds when four wickets had been lost for a numerically small score of 85. Pakistan had little chance. But Mujtaba rose to the occasion confidently to play watchful cricket with handsome shots to give India a hard target. His captaincy in the competition had been praiseworthy for in the league matches both the strong challengers, India and Sri Lanka, were brought down. Even Zaheer Abbas, sent to Dhaka as a coach but a member of the selectorial set, gave him his approbation quite warmly for the way he handled the difficult situation in the final and his mode and manner of batting. Akhtar Sarfraz of Peshawar also showed guts while facing rival bowlers but it is difficult to pass a final judgement on his level as a player since the strip was synthetic. As a bowler pacers Mohammad Zahid and Aqib Javed harassed the batsmen. On an uncertain wicket on which skill and variety were required Aqib demonstrated a rhythmical action with controlled outswingers that puzzled the batsmen. Here was again a case of injustice to a bowler, who has plenty of energy, zest and fire in him. And whenever he has been given a chance in Test and one-day international he has proved his prowess and has been a success. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970309 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ali Bacher favours Two-yearly World Cup ------------------------------------------------------------------- Shamim-ur-Rahman KARACHI, March 8: Dr Ali Bacher, chairman of the ICC Development Committee and Managing Director of the United Cricket Board of South Africa has favoured establishment of five regional structures for the promotion of cricket, organising two-yearly World Cup and evolving a right formula for establishing a world championship of Test cricket. Dr Bacher said important recommendations in this regard had been presented in its interim report which would come up for consideration in its final meeting in Malaysia on March 25. The UCBSA Managing Director said the ICC Development Committee has recommended that five regional structures should be established to expand and promote the game. WORLD CUP: On the frequency of World Cups Dr Bacher said the matter was yet to be fully debated and no decisions or recommendations had been taken. The interim report observed that the ICC World Cup tournaments were the single most effective marketing tool of cricket as world game and could provide source of income necessary to fund the development. It also needs to be shown that a two-yearly World Cup would have substantial financial benefits for three of crickets stake holders , namely (a) the ICC Development Fund, (b) Associate and Affiliate members and (c) the ICC, the interim report observed. It was also necessary to show that the organising country and participating countries would not be worse off financially as a result of staging the World Cup more frequently. With the ever-expanding number of channels on television and the vast potential for commercial advertising associated with a seven-hour match, the following factors must be kept in mind while increasing the frequency of World Cup tournaments from four years to two, the development committee observed. With a proliferation of one-day tournaments , there was a need to re-focus attention on the distinction of the World Cup as the event which determined the leaders in one-day international cricket, it said. Supporting the idea of holding the World Cup every two years the ICC development committee contended that played every two years, it will certify that other one-day tournaments (important as they may be to the development and promotion of the game within regions), do not supersede the significance and importance of the World Cup. The report says that there were indications that TV rights fees would continue to increase, and staging the World Cup every two years would result in substantial financial benefits to the host country, global expansion of the game and development among associate members. The final report will be presented to the ICC before June this year. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970314 ------------------------------------------------------------------- USA emerge champions of CISM Seaweek Games ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ian Fyfe KARACHI, March 13: After a hectic struggle with Brazil and Pakistan in the pentathlon, the USA emerged the overall champions of the 37th Seaweek Military World Championship. Transisco Teiseira, won the Amphibious cross-country event, that included a rifle range, the swimming pool, where an athlete paddles his rubber boat from one end of the pool to the other, reaching the grenade throwing area after running another 400 metres and then sprinting for home, covered this gruelling 2500 metres course in a smart time of nine minutes 49.2 seconds. Amjad Usman was second in 10 minutes 16 seconds, while Kevin Montford from the USA, a close third, in 10 minutes 17 seconds. This result enabled the strong American contingent of Kevin Montford, Joseph Dulin and Joseph Bell, amass a total of 17733 points, which was enough to see them through to the gold medal. Although Teiseira won the race for Brazil, the trio of Walter Duarte, Meneses Antonio Luis and Carlos Mattos, totalled 17415 points to pick up the silver medal and Pakistan served by Mumtaz Akbar, Amjad Usman and A.U. Rehan grabbed the bronze with 17393 points. The pentathlon consisted of five events, two won by USA, two by Pakistan and the last by Brazil. Andrew Hoyer, won both the swimming events for the Americans, but finishing fifth overall. Amjad Usman and Mumtaz Akbar won one event each for Pakistan. Lying fifth behind Finland and Norway the night before, Pakistan with a great last ditch team effort edged out the two Nordic nations seeking a medal and only 22 points separated the home team and Brazil for the silver. Norway, were declared the overall Ladies champions after Mona Liverod and Catherine Fauske finished first and second in the Amphibious cross country, with Sarah Loverich nosing out Tenna Gaarde, the gritty Danish girl for the bronze. But it was Catherine Fauske, winning two of her five events and finishing third on three occasions, creating in the process a new world record in the life saving race, who was declared the Ladies champion, with a total of 5978 points. Her team-mate Mona Liverod, took the silver after gathering 5807 points and Tenna Gaarde the bronze, with 5695 points, as Sarah Loverich slipped down the ladder to fourth spot with 5630 points. The teams placement after all five events were as follows: Norway (Catherine Fausk and Mona Liverod) 11785 points first, USA (Sarah Loverich and Kara Kauloheras) 11247 points second and Russia (Marina Nagornaya and Lutsia Bochkarcva) third with 10659 points. Denmark was placed fourth, Turkey fifth, Sweden sixth, Brazil seventh, while Pakistan completed the frame in the eight nation ladies competition. The sailing championship also had its fair share of thrills and spills. After six races, three countries France, Russia and Denmark, were vying for top honours after the Danes shocked all and sundry by winning both their races. Pakistan leading the fleet after race four, had two miserable races, finishing 11th in the fifth race and a disappointing ninth in the sixth, to slip down to the number four spot. France had to only finish two positions behind the Russians, who desperately needed to win the final race to seal the fate of the championship. Captain A.R, Arshad, the International Race Officer finally got the final race under way at 10.20 hours with a light South Westerly wind blowing in a strong flood tide. The Russian coxswain Emitri, in a brilliant move manoeuvred his Laser 16 towards the side of the Committee Boat, a ploy that paid off handsomely, with the Russians taking the lead. France, on the other hand in the middle of the fleet, moved inshore with most of the boats, due to the flood tide. Continuing to gain the advantage the Russians passed the finishing line first. The Danes came second and the French leading the other 13 nations on Wednesday night had to be content with the fourth spot, just behind the Italians. The Pakistan crew had another miserable morning, finishing ninth once again, a position which spelt doom for the Saddiq brothers and their other crew member. Although Pakistan did manage to retain the fourth spot, a medal which seemed so likely after four races faded away for the host nation. The final standing in the Laser 16 event was Russia 20.1 points 1, France 25.0 points 2, Denmark 28.7 points 3, Pakistan 49.7 points 4., Germany 53.4 points 5, Turkey 56.7 points 6, Italy 60.1 points 7, Canada 73.4 points 8, Finland 80.0 points 9, Brazil 96.0 points 10, Norway 99.0 points 11, Sweden 100 points 12 and South Africa 104.0 points 13. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 970315 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Panels to organise National Games in Karachi set up ------------------------------------------------------------------- By A. Majid Khan KARACHI, March 14: Senior Sindh Minister Dr Farooq Sattar, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the 26th National Games, said here today that various committees have been formed for holding the games in Karachi in a befitting manner and stressed on the need of curtailing the lavish spending in the wake of financial constraints. It is a matter of great satisfaction and honour that Karachi is hosting the five-day National Games, starting on April 28, and ending on May 2 with inaugural and closing ceremonies at the National Stadium, stated the chairman of the organising committee. Addressing a crowded Press conference here at a local hotel and preceded by a meeting of the organising committee which he chaired, Dr Farooq Sattar stated Sindh Chief Minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi is the patron-in-chief of the organising committee and the patrons are Dr Nishat Mallick, MNA from Karachi and Chief Secretary of the province Saeed Mehdi. Dr Farooq Sattar stated that about Rs one crore and 20 lakhs are the estimated expenditures on the 17 disciplines of the National Games for which Rs 30 lakhs had been guaranteed . The PSBS Rs 15 lakhs grant would be routed through the Pakistan Olympic Association and another Rs 15 lakhs have also been set apart. We have to generate about Rs 90 lakhs through sponsorship for meeting the estimated expenditure, he remarked. Dr Farooq Sattar emphasised the necessity of curtailing unnecessary expenditures, adding there is no room for huge spending due to financial problems. The organising committee chairman further stated it is sheer coincidence that the 26th National Games are being held at a time when the new government has been formed in Sindh. We work hand in hand to make the National Games a success and the committees carry heavy responsibilities for ensuring the smooth running of every discipline. The 17 disciplines to be contested are athletics ( men and women),Badminton (Men and women), swimming (Men and women), rifle shooting (Men and women), tennis (Men and women) , table Tennis (Men and women), boxing, cycling, football, hockey, squash, volleyball, weightlifting, yachting and wrestling. Back to the top.

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