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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 05 September 1998 Issue : 04/35
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Contents | National News | Business & Economy | Editorials & Features | Sports
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CONTENTS
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NATIONAL NEWS
+ Nawaz Sharif, Vajpayee to take decision on talks
+ Pakistan 'close to financial edge': US
+ Govt needs $3bn to avoid default
+ Pakistan may not get $1bn Saudi aid, say experts
+ Iran's ties with Pakistan 'deteriorating'
+ PM orders end to action against MQM men, NA told
+ Benazir indicted in kickbacks case
+ 2 references against PM dropped
+ SC office rejects writ against bill
---------------------------------
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
+ Dollar sells for Rs64.25 in kerb
+ $3bn 'frozen' FCY deposits encashed
+ 2nd phase CBR restructuring: Plan to be finalized next week
+ ECC informed: 500,000 tons of wheat to arrive shortly
+ Kitchen item prices show upward trend
+ Govt may default on motorway loan
+ Pre-paid calling card service: PTCL signs deal
+ WAPDA's power bill for NWFP inflated
+ Tax Commission opposes immunity from probe
+ Railway units become independent today
+ Last date for filing income tax returns
+ Greenback haunting stocks, index loses 12 points
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EDITORIALS & FEATURES
+ Ashvagan Ardeshir Cowasjee
+ The last straw Irfan Husain
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SPORTS
+ Great expectations from Miandad-Sohail combination
+ Pakistan cricket team for Sahara Cup announced
+ Jahangir Khan elected as VP of PSF
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NATIONAL NEWS
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980905
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Nawaz Sharif, Vajpayee to take decision on talks
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Hasan Akhtar
ISLAMABAD Sept 4: The prime ministers of Pakistan and India, at
their proposed meeting later this month in New York, are expected
to take a final decision on the understanding reached in Durban
between the foreign secretaries of the two countries regarding the
resumption of dialogue.
Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmad and his Indian counterpart K.
Raghunath who held several meetings in Durban on the issue of
resumption of talks arrived at �an understanding, in principle, to
operationalize the mechanism for dialogue on all issues as per the
agreed agenda�, a Foreign Office press statement issued here on
Friday said.
The statement said that the foreign secretaries of India and
Pakistan held meetings on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Durban
and held "in-depth discussions for the resumption of India-Pakistan
dialogue in accordance with Islamabad joint statement of June 23,
1997."
The meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the sidelines of the NAM summit in
Durban could not take place as Mr Sharif had to cancel his visit
because of engagements in Islamabad.
The two prime ministers are now scheduled to visit New York later
this month to attend the UN General Assembly session where they are
expected to decide on the resumption of dialogue in the light of
the report submitted to them by their respective foreign
secretaries.
The statement further stated: "They agreed to report the outcome of
the talks to their respective prime ministers for instructions.
Final decision will be taken by the prime ministers of the two
countries when they meet in New York on Sept 23.
Mr Sharif and Mr Vajpayee had last met in Colombo in July this year
on the sidelines of the SAARC summit which was their first meeting.
However, no progress could be achieved during their talks.
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980904
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Pakistan �close to financial edge�: US
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Sept 3: Pakistan is "very close to the edge
economically", a senior state department official was quoted here
as saying on Thursday.
The comment to the official was attributed by the leading daily
Washington Times in a major report on Pakistan, carried as its
banner lead in the "World" section of the newspaper.
The report said the US missile strikes on Afghanistan had further
destabilized Pakistan.
Senior state department officials were quoted as saying: "There is
concern in Pakistan that unrest in the nation of 130 million people
could make it another Islamic revolutionary state such as Iran or
Afghanistan under the Taliban."
"Economically, Pakistan is very close to the edge," said a senior
US state department official on Tuesday. "There is a sense of
despair on the part of some."
The report said in an effort to undercut the urban Islamic hard-
liners threatening to destabilize Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif last week moved to implement Islamic law, or Shariat.
Christian and Islamic groups denounced the proposal as a sway to
divert attention from the nation�s problems but Mr Sharif�s
spokesman denied the accusations and tried to quell fears that
Pakistan was drifting towards fundamentalism.
"We are not like the Taliban," Information Minister Mushahid
Hussain was quoted as saying. "We guarantee that the rights of
minorities and women will be protected. We are both moderate and
modern," he said.
The report also said the Clinton administration was hoping that the
Congress would approve a bill moved by Senator Sam Brownback which
would allow President Clinton to relax economic sanctions for a
year if Pakistan agreed to non-proliferation moves.
Experts, however, said the growing troubles of President Clinton in
the Monica Lewinsky affair had reduced his ability to get things
passed from the Congress and the Brownback bill may be one of the
many casualties.
If the bill is not adopted soon, the Congress will soon go into
pre-elections recess and a new house of representatives and half of
the senate would be elected in November.
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980905
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Govt needs $3bn to avoid default
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Sept 4: The prime minister�s adviser on finance, Dr
Hafiz Pasha, has said Pakistan needed $3 billion as urgent external
assistance to avoid default on repayment of its loans.
"Our total external funding requirements are about 4.5 billion
dollars. Hopefully, we will be able to manage 1.5 billion dollars
by increasing our exports and remittances; and the remaining three
billion dollars are expected to come from the IMF, the Islamic
Development Bank and other sources," he elaborated.
Speaking at a news conference here on Friday, Dr Pasha pointed out
that international sanctions had severely affected the country�s
economy in the wake of Pakistan�s nuclear explosions. "You have to
pay some price to become a nuclear power," he noted.
He said the IMF mission was coming to Pakistan on Sept 11 for
negotiating a new loan package.
"The previous ESAF/EFF is dead and now we would be discussing a
fresh package," he said, adding that he could not say at the moment
whether the package would be of three billion dollars or less. "It
depends on the result of the hard negotiations that we are
expecting to have with the IMF," he explained.
The finance adviser said he was leaving for Jeddah on Sept 11 to
discuss with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Saudi
financial institutions a trade-financing package for import of
petroleum, fertilizer and edible oil. Dr Pasha is expected to meet
the IMF mission after he returns from Jeddah.
"Over there (in Jeddah), I would hold vital discussions with the
IDB and the consortium of banks on creating a permanent �Pakistan
Fund� for improving our balance of payment support," he said.
Responding to a question, he said the loan expected from the
Pakistan Fund was yet to be discussed and finalized. He assured
that it would not be a short-term loan for a mere two years.
He said nothing could be said at this early stage whether the loan
would be offered on a 5 per cent London Inter Bank Offered Rate
(LIBOR) of interest. "It might as well be a blend of LIBOR and
normal rate of interest." Pakistan is likely to get this loan for
four or five years, he added.
Dr Pasha said $250 million had already been provided by Kuwait. "We
have received considerable support from our friends such as Saudi
Arabia," he informed.
Replying to another question he said the G-8 countries had
pressured the IMF into suspending its assistance to Pakistan.
He said the revenue position was also poor due to the reduction in
sales tax. "But the major problem came in the wake of 13 per cent
reduction in customs duties," he added. However, he claimed, the
government expenditures had been cut down considerably.
Asked whether the government planned to devalue Pakistan rupee in
view of the huge disparity between official exchange rate and kerb
rate, he replied: "I do not want to make any comment either way
about rupee devaluation," he said, as he did not want to repeat a
mistake committed by his elder referring, obviously, to former
finance minister Sartaj Aziz.
Dr Pasha admitted that the freezing of foreign currency accounts
was a mistake that eroded the credibility of the government. "We
want to avoid repeating that kind of a mistake," he assured.
About the independent power projects issue, the finance adviser
said he did not have anything fresh to say on the subject, while
pointing out that it was the domain of the new minister for water
and power, Mr Gohar Ayub, who was aptly dealing with it.
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980903
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Pakistan may not get $1bn Saudi aid, say experts
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Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Sept 2: Saudi Arabia is financially not in a position
to provide Pakistan with one billion dollars for a politically-
motivated public welfare programme, diplomatic and financial
experts said here on Wednesday.
Reacting to reports in Pakistani newspapers that the government was
launching a development programme called "Tameer-i-Watan" with
Saudi help, these experts said the situation was so bad in the oil-
rich kingdom that it had not paid arrears of some American defence
companies for the last eight months.
A survey by authoritative defence industry newspaper Defense News,
published in its latest issue, confirmed the financial woes of
Riyadh, saying that out of the three billion dollars scheduled
payments in 1998 against a debt of $10 billion Saudi Arabia was
only expected to pay $2.5 billion.
"Saudi Arabia is rescheduling its arms payments and has stopped
funding at least one key defense acquisition programme as it deals
with a severe cash crunch caused by weak oil prices," the newspaper
survey said.
Quoting government and industry sources in Washington, Defense News
said "the magnitude of the reductions in payment for imported
weaponry demonstrates that any major new purchases will be delayed,
besides cutbacks in foreign military sales (FMS) contracts with US,
reduction in Saudi-British al-Yamamah oil-for- weapons programme
and other domestic and European arms purchases."
It said Raytheon Systems of Virginia, suppliers of AWACS and of
major defence equipment, had not been paid for eight months for its
support work for the AWACs programme, which consists of a $6
billion network of AWAC aircraft and a ground-based network of
command centres and radar sites.
The kingdom is also delaying purchases of new fighter aircraft,
frigates and tanks as the outlook for oil prices remains uncertain,
Pentagon officials were quoted as saying.
Saudi officials, the survey said, recognized that the ongoing
financial crisis meant there were few chances of purchases in the
short term and the kingdom�s focus was on managing its existing
payments.
"The Saudi government has asked for a cut of 15 per cent in its
repayments of $3 billion scheduled for 1998," a Pentagon official
was quoted as saying. "Lockheed Martin has been asked to cut its
manpower by 10 per cent in its C-130 support programme."
The survey found that Saudi Arabia was cutting back payments to all
government contractors from 10 to 20 per cent.
Riyadh has been an extremely important market for the West and has
imported weapons worth $67.5 billion between 1990 and 1997.
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980902
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Iran�s ties with Pakistan �deteriorating�
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Ashraf Mumtaz
LAHORE, Sept 1: Iran�s relations with Pakistan are deteriorating
day by day and Iranian diplomatic sources said on Tuesday that in
case Islamabad did not take the damage control measures, the mutual
ties would be further affected.
"For the time being, we are adopting a wait-and-see policy with the
hope that the government of Pakistan will soon realize the gravity
of the situation", the sources told Dawn.
Already the relations between the two countries are passing through
a very critical phase, and Iran no longer shares Pakistan�s pride
over the attainment of nuclear capability.
"In the beginning we did. But Pakistan has been very arrogant in
its attitude after the nuclear tests because of which we (Iran)
don�t think that the achievement made by Pakistan in the nuclear
field is also a matter of pride for Tehran", a diplomat said.
Another diplomat pointed out that Iran�s national flag had not been
burnt anywhere in the world, not even in the enemy countries like
the United States and Israel. However, he regretted, Pakistan was
the first country where Iran�s flag was put to torch.
The Iranian flag was burnt and an effigy of Iran�s revolutionary
leader the late Ayatollah Khomeini was set on fire in Lahore when,
a few days ago, some religious parties had held a rally against the
US attack on Afghanistan and Sudan. Some �miscreants� had also
raised slogans against Iran, although the rally was basically
against the United States.
"We cannot accept the argument that some miscreants were
responsible for the unfortunate event. Had they been terrorists, it
would have been justified on the part of Pakistani authorities to
claim that the culprits could not be tracked down. But here some
participants in the rally had burnt the Iranian national flag in
the presence of hundreds of other people. Such elements should have
been arrested, although subsequently they could have been set free
for lack of evidence against them. But we regret that nobody was
arrested at all", a diplomat said.
He said that the burning of the Iranian flag was also a serious
incident because it was inscribed with the word Allah in the centre
and Allah-o-Akbar on the border. "This is like burning the Holy
Quran. It�s a question of our faith. We cannot ignore the
incident".
The diplomat said that the Pakistan government was so sensitive to
the sanctity of its national flag that it had refused to set free
the MQM people who had allegedly torched it on the Independence Day
and thus put the future of its coalition in Sindh at stake. He said
the government should have given an equal importance to the Iranian
flag.
He pointed out that the Iranian people were witnessing all
developments with utmost patience and they had not raised slogans
against Pakistan or burnt its flag even when the bodies of its
citizens killed in Pakistan on various occasions had reached
Tehran. Even in such situations, he pointed, the people of Iran had
raised slogans against the United States, and not Pakistan.
The diplomat said if the Pakistan government could not arrest the
people responsible for various anti-Iran actions, the establishment
should have taken the initiative. "The governments come and go. It
is basically the responsibility of the establishment to take
necessary action in such situations".
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980904
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PM orders end to action against MQM men, NA told
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Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Sept 3: The interior minister, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain,
has urged the MQM to cooperate with the government in restoring
peace in Karachi, take back their resignations both at the
provincial and federal levels and make help improve the law and
order problems.
The interior minister was responding in the national assembly to
the call-attention notice moved by five MQM MNAs Mohammad Farrukh
Naeem Siddiqui, Mohammad Farooq Ahmed, Aijaz Mahmood, Hasan Musanna
Alvi and Kunwar Khalid Younus.
The notice invited the attention of the interior minister to a
matter of urgent public importance regarding killing of the MQM
workers throughout the country, specially in Karachi, causing grave
concern amongst the public.
Responding to questions posed by one MNA after the other on the
gravity of Karachi situation, the interior minister said Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif had issued a directive to the ministry not to
take any action smacking of political vendetta or victimization
against the MQM workers.
MNA Kunwar Younus, and Ayaz Mahmood reminded the minister that
during the last six years, a large number of people and workers
were killed and massacres took place in Karachi. Kunwar Younus
claimed the "agencies" were involved in the heinous crimes against
innocent people. He referred to the recent wave of killings in
Karachi.
The interior minister sought MQM�s cooperation in creating stable
conditions in Karachi. He maintained that the MQM could play a big
role in keeping the city peaceful. He said if the MQM helped the
government, it could pull out the rangers from the city, as the
party had demanded.
Hasan Musanna Alvi asked the minister why the murderers of innocent
people had not been arrested. He replied that a large number of
arrests were made in connection with the murders.
Kunwar Younus asserted it was the interior minister himself at
whose behest the arrests of MQM workers were made in the alleged
flag-burning case. He accused the minister of trying to destabilize
the PML-MQM coalition. Complaining that excessive powers were given
to the rangers, he asked the minister as to who was running the
government in Sindh.
In response, Interior Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain said that
it was Chief Minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi who was running the
government, and quite competently. He said without the cooperation
of MQM peace could not be restored in Karachi.
At the outset, the interior minister stated that the largest number
of killings in Karachi had taken place during the PPP government�s
tenure. He gave year-wise figures too.
Earlier, the speaker ruled out of order an adjournment motion
seeking to discuss rise in price of petroleum.
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980904
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Benazir indicted in kickbacks case
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Reporter
LAHORE, Sept 3: The Lahore High Court Ehtesab Bench decided on
Thursday to indict PPP leader Benazir Bhutto and Senator Asif Ali
Zardari, in two references involving receipt of kickbacks from
Swiss reshipment inspection firms, Cotecna and SGS, on Sept 14.
The bench comprising Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum and Justice
Najmul Hasan Kazmi asked Ms Bhutto�s counsel, advocate Abdus Sattar
Najm, to inform whether she herself would receive and answer the
charge or would he undertake the exercise on her behalf on
production of an authority letter. Mr Zardari is already in custody
in other cases.
The charge is framed in the presence of the accused but all the
courts trying the cases against her have accepted Ms Bhutto�s plea
for exemption from personal appearance from Sept 6 to Oct 15 on
account of her lecture tour abroad.
The framing of charges when the accused or respondent is formally
informed of the offence and evidence against him or her, and asked
whether he or she pleaded "guilty" or "not guilty", marks the
commencement of substantive proceedings in a trial. If framed as
scheduled, it will be the first ever charge by the Lahore Ehtesab
bench in a reference against Ms Bhutto.
The gravamen of the prosecution case is that two Swiss firms
Cotecna and SGS paid the then premier and her husband about 18
per cent of their earnings from inspection of dutiable goods in
Pakistan. Their job was to classify the goods and assess the
customs duty payable on them. They were engaged earlier also but
the arrangement had not worked satisfactorily and was terminated by
the caretaker government in 1990.
The contract in question was awarded to the two firms in March 1994
and the arrangement allegedly worked out was that they would
deposit the agreed kickbacks, amounting to millions of dollars, in
Swiss bank accounts maintained by two or three offshore companies
owned by Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari but run by Swiss lawyer Jens
Schlegelmilch. The matter is also pending before a Swiss court in
so far as it involves the offence of money laundering.
The bench also dismissed another application alleging that the
references were not properly filed and that the respondents be
allowed to see the relevant record in the chief Ehtesab
commissioner�s office. It pointed out to advocate A S Najm that the
private complaint which set the Ehtesab process in motion formed
part of the material brought on court record by the prosecution and
the defence was free to examine it.
The bench held that the references had validly been filed under
Section 15 of the Ehtesab Act. The prosecutor had no objection to
the pre-arrest bail plea of Senator Zardari in the two references
as he was already in custody in other cases and references but said
he would seek instructions from the Ehtesab Bureau when asked
whether he would like to record his statement in this regard. The
court fixed Sept 14 for arguments on the bail application also.
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980831
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2 references against PM dropped
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Ashraf Mumtaz
LAHORE, Aug 30: Chief Ehtesab Commissioner Justice Ghulam Mujaddid
Mirza has dropped two references against Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif for lack of proof, but started proceedings on four others
against him.
In one reference dropped, NWFP Chief Minister Sardar Mehtab Ahmad
Khan is a co-accused who now alone will face the charges. The
matter has been referred to the Ehtesab Bureau for inquiry and
investigation.
Sources told Dawn here on Sunday that the CEC had stepped up action
on all references sent to his office, and would decide them at the
earliest possible, provided he received inquiry reports from the
Ehtesab Bureau.
Under the relevant law, no time limit has been set for the Ehtesab
Bureau to complete its inquiry/investigation on a matter referred
to it by the CEC.
According to sources, the CEC has also sent to the EB for
investigation a reference against federal minister Sheikh Rashid
Ahmad. Corruption charges have been levelled against the minister.
A complaint filed recently by PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto
against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Hafeezullah Ishaq has been
formally registered by the CEC, and is being scrutinized. present.
Further action would be taken on the complaint after
Advocate Z. Babar Awan, the complainant, alleged that the accused
thus caused heavy loss to the government in evasion of stamp duty
and taxes. At the same time, the complainant said, the accused
defrauded the rightful heirs of the land.
According to the sources, Justice Mirza examined the matter and
concluded that no case was made out against the prime minister.
However, he referred the case against the NWFP chief minister to
the Ehtesab Bureau.
Another complaint against the prime minister and others, which has
been dismissed by the CEC, was filed by Advocate Habibul Wahab Al-
Khairi.
Mr Khairi had alleged that Mr Sharif, as Punjab chief minister, had
allotted two precious plots at a throwaway price to Fatima Ishrat
Iqbal on June 6, 1989, and her daughter Dr Nuzhat Iqbal on April 4,
1990. The allotment, he said, caused a heavy loss to the exchequer.
The CEC examined the matter and concluded that the allotment was
genuine and well-deserved. He also observed that the allotment was
not made on a political basis. Since the dates of allotment were
also pertinent for the CEC to take cognizance of the matter under
the Ehtesab Act, the case was closed.
Advocate Awan had filed another reference against Mr Sharif, Sen
Saifur Rehman and others. He alleged that Sen Rehman entered into a
lease deed about which intimation was conveyed by the Colonies
Department secretary to the Rawalpindi deputy commissioner on Nov
29, 1990. Accordingly, 15 acres of land out of Khasra No. 392 in
Mauza Murree (Rawalpindi) was given to Messrs Redco against a
yearly rent of Rs160 per kanal. This happened, the complainant
alleged, because of the undue favour done by the prime minister. In
fact, he said, the purpose of land was to construct Chalets five-
star hotel/Tent City/Amusement Commercial Centre.
The CEC, according to the sources, heard the matter twice and then
kept it pending for further proceedings. It is being examined at
present.
Another reference was moved against Mr Sharif and Sen Rehman by
Munir Ahmad Khan of the PPP and Advocate Awan.
It was alleged that the prime minister and Sen Rehman evaded
customs duty amounting to Rs13.697 million in connection with the
import of 25 BMW cars. The Senator, in October 1992, had imported
25 BMW cars declaring import trade price of a car as DM17,281. The
cars were subsequently got released by misusing political influence
and power through the customs collector, allowing ITP of a car as
DM18,017.
The case is reportedly pending before the Customs appellate
tribunal, and an amount of Rs18.697 million, including Rs5 million
as penalty, is still outstanding against M/S Redco Pakistan.
Justice Mirza had sought a report from the Central Board of
Revenue, which has just been received. The CEC will now examine the
matter for further action.
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980903
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SC office rejects writ against bill
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Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Sept 2: The office of the Supreme Court on Wednesday
refused to entertain a constitutional petition challenging the
proposed Fifteenth Amendment Bill.
The office of the apex court returned the petition with the note
that no notice could be issued to parliament and cited the recent
case in which the court rejected the petition of Naveed Malik who
had challenged the Contempt of Court (Amendment) Act 1997.
The petition was filed by Chaudhry Mohammad Ikram, advocate, on
behalf of one Sultan Bahadur which was returned to his advocate-
on-record.
The Supreme Court had held in the Naveed Malik case that no writ
could be issued to the parliament and only those provisions could
be called in question which were contrary to the existing
provisions of the constitution.
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BUSINESS & ECONOMY
980905
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Dollar sells for Rs64.25 in kerb
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Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 4: The rupee ended 1.05 lower against the dollar in
the open market on Friday as spot buying and selling rates dipped
to a new low of 63.75 and 64.25 against 62.70 and 63.20 on
Thursday.
The rupee has lost 3.45 to a dollar during the last three days an
erosion of 5.7 per cent in its value largely due to higher demand
of the greenback. Most money changers say the demand is up as banks
are not selling foreign exchange to overseas travellers who are
turning to private money changers. Some of them say the greenback
has turned out to be the only viable mode of investment for the
ordinary folk. Few of them admit that speculators are moving the
market their way.
"Speculators are in...they are buying huge lots of greenbacks only
to create its artificial shortage...and then resell them at higher
price," said Anwar Jamal of Galaxy International. "It is time for
the State Bank to sell a few millions of dollars in the open market
to stabilize the rupee." SBP officials were not available to say
anything but senior bankers said this was not a viable solution.
The daily demand of foreign currencies in the open market is not
less than $10-$12 million against an estimated supply of less than
$3-$4 million. Bankers say the State Bank could not afford to fill
in the huge gap at a time when foreign exchange reserves have
fallen below $800 million.
Bankers said floating inter-bank rates remained almost pegged to
the previous level of 53.85 and 54.00 per dollar for buying and
selling. State Bank composite rates based on average buying and
selling rates of selected banks also remained almost intact at
Rs49.86 and Rs50.22. Official exchange were quoted unchanged at
Rs46.00 and Rs46.23. The rise of the dollar in the open market also
pushed up the prices of other foreign currencies most notably that
of UK pound which sold for Rs106.30 up from Rs104.50 on Thursday.
Kuwaiti Dinar also went up to Rs206.60 from Rs203.30; UAE Dirham to
Rs17.40 from Rs17.05 and Saudi Riyal to Rs17.00 from Rs16.62 on
Thursday.
A spokesman for the Pakistan Forex Association said PFA would
approach Governor State Bank Dr Muhammad Yaqub on Saturday to seek
his guidance in stabilizing the rupee. "Our idea is we would ask
him to contain the supply of rupee...there is no other way out to
save the rupee from falling," PFA Chairman Malik Bostan told Dawn.
He said panic-buying of the greenback triggered by the reports
suggesting a possible devaluation "is playing havoc with the rupee.
That the supply of the rupee has been high in recent months is no
secret. Conversion of $3 billion worth of frozen foreign currency
deposits into rupees has pumped in Rs138 billion in the money
market not much of which has been redeposited with the banks. The
result is both individuals as well as corporates with surplus rupee
funds are wondering over where to invest them. Most do not want to
try the banks whatever lucrative rates of return they promise to
pay simply because their confidence has been shaken badly by rapid
changes in banking policies during the last three months. Holding
of hard currencies in hand is the ultimate.
Bankers say many people particularly those maintaining large
accounts are converting their frozen foreign currency deposits into
rupees to buy back greenbacks from the open market. They say such
buying is brokered through the banks but banks do not buy foreign
currencies from the open market for their own use because they
cannot show such buyings in the books.
What else from the inter-bank market is weakening the rupee is
rising forward rates of the dollar which indicate the possibility
of a rupee devaluation.
Bankers say the forward price of the dollar rose to Rs55.70 for
three months and Rs57.60 for six months against Rs54 in the spot
market on Friday.
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980904
-------------------------------------------------------------------
$3bn �frozen� FCY deposits encashed
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 3: The pace of conversion of frozen foreign currency
deposits into rupees has slowed. Only $500 million worth of these
deposits were converted during the last 25 days lowering the total
deposits from around $ 11 billion on May 28 to $8 billion on Sept
2, 1998.
The conversion at the rate of Rs 46 per dollar has created rupee
funds of Rs 138 billion which is equal to 12 per cent of total bank
deposits but a major part of it has gone out of the banking system.
Up to Aug 8 people had converted $2.5 billion worth of frozen
foreign currency deposits and only $500 million worth of these
deposits have been encashed during the last 25 days.
Bankers say the pace of conversion started decelerating since July
21 when the government withdrew the deadline of Aug 31 set on May
28 for the conversion of FCY deposits.
The removal of the deadline had an immediate impact. People
converted only $400 million worth of FCY deposits during July 22-
Aug 8 whereas they had converted $2.1 billion deposits during May
29-July 21.
The conversion of FCY deposits into dollar bonds is yet to take off
because rapid changes in foreign exchange rules has badly shaken
the confidence of the saving public. Besides, the supply of the
bonds to all the banks is still under way.
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980904
-------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd phase CBR restructuring: Plan to be finalized next week
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Sept 3: The restructuring of Central Board of Revenue
has entered the second and a crucial phase with an agenda for
changes that would turn the CBR into an autonomous body.
Sources said the CBR Restructuring Committee is to submit next week
to the prime minister its proposals for final approval. On agenda
are three main aspects, official sources revealed that the first
aspect relates to the out-sourcing of a training plan to the
private sector companies, both local and international; the second
aspects concerns the induction of certain procedural changes into
the collection mechanism; and the third aspect covers infusion of
the private sector expertise at the top management level of the
corporation.
To train the CBR headquarters and field officials for meeting the
requirements of an autonomous and corporatized tax collection
machinery, the adhoc committee created for the restructuring of CBR
is reported to have evolved a programme for re-establishing links
with the international companies to whom the training programmes
were meant to be out-sourced.
These connections had gone cold during the past about six months as
the decision making on the matter was in constant flux thanks to
certain snags appearing in its way.
These companies, which include Royal Institute of Management
Sciences, a couple of other UK establishments and Lahore University
of Management Sciences would be asked to first create training
modules for the training and then chart out a course and impart new
methods of assessment, tax administration and collection to a chunk
of the CBR officials who would be nominated in a process yet to be
designed by the CBRRC.
The rest of the CBR officials, who would either not be opting for
training or would not be selected for these courses, would either
be retained with the present structure of service or flushed out
with service benefits, whatever method deemed suitable, said
sources.
The procedural changes to be made in the tax
collection/administration would involve cutting down the
assessment/evaluation windows/points, and to achieve this end, a
couple of international companies have already submitted a report
to the CBR which would form part of the proposals to be put into
practice. This process would inevitably be resulting in cutting
down certain tiers of the tax collecting/evaluating apparatus and
the report to be submitted to the prime minister would include a
proposals for approval to carry out a staff reduction plan.
The third and the most significant change to be inducted for
corporatization and turning CBR into an autonomous body would be
the enrolment of private sector experts as top cadre tax
administrators both at the headquarters in Islamabad and the field
assignments.
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980902
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ECC informed: 500,000 tons of wheat to arrive shortly
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Sept 1: A meeting of the economic coordination committee
of the cabinet on Tuesday was informed that 500,000 tons of wheat
was expected to arrive in the country shortly and that tenders for
the import of another 300,000 tons had been invited to make sure
that there was no shortage in any part of the country.
The ECC, which met under the chairmanship of the deputy chairman of
the planning commission, Dr Hafeez Pasha, directed the ministry of
petroleum and the board of investment (BOI) to jointly examine the
overall investment requirements in the petroleum refining sector.
The decision was taken during discussion on a proposal relating to
the Pakistan-Iran refinery project.
The minister for petroleum, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, is said to
have called for taking up the Pakistan-Iran project without further
delay. He said already the project had been delayed and that it was
necessary to build another oil refinery to enhance the country�s
capacity for refining crude oil.
The ECC further reviewed the performance of the Karachi Shipyard
and Engineering Works (KSEW) and discussed measures to revitalize
the organization. The ECC directed the KSEW to furnish more details
about its future plans. The issue is likely to be referred back to
ECC by the defence ministry shortly.
The ECC reviewed the prices and availability of essential items in
the country. The meeting was informed that there was a general
stability in the prices of kitchen items and noted that prices of
15 out of 21 items had either declined or remained stable during
the week ending Aug 26.
Ministers for communications, agriculture, water and power, the
privatization commission and BOI chiefs also attended the meeting.
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980902
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Kitchen item prices show upward trend
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Aamir Shafaat Khan
KARACHI, Sept 1: The prices of kitchen items have gone up owing to
devaluation of rupee, import at high prices and lesser arrival from
producing areas.
A market survey of prices (from August 1 to September 1) revealed
the price flare up in onion, tomato, rice, poultry, egg, ghee,
cooking oil, mash pulse, soaps (toilet and laundry) and loose and
packed milk.
The consumers have been paying high prices on various items since
May but the decline in prices of various varieties of wheat proved
a bit sigh of relief.
A large number of retailers continue to make profit from buyers by
charging high prices of essential commodities despite the wholesale
prices being at the bottom.
The survey revealed that some retailers are charging Rs 16-18 per
kg on onion while in some markets the commodity is available at Rs
12-14. In August, consumers paid Rs 15 per kg to buy onion.
In Subzi Mandi onion sells at Rs 14 per kg at retail level compared
to Rs 13 per kg on August 1. Its wholesale price on Tuesday was Rs
10-11 per kg. At present the city consume onions arriving from
Balochistan after the end of crop season from Sindh and Punjab.
A wholesaler in Subzi Mandi says that prices vary from area to area
depending how far the commodity is being transported from the
Mandi. Mainly the vegetables are being transported on Suzuki which
runs by petrol and whose prices have escalated by 25%.
The prices of good quality tomato increased by at least Rs 2 per kg
to Rs 14 per kg compared to Rs 10-12 per kg last month while the
commodity sells at Rs 8-10 per kg at retail and Rs 6-7 per kg at
wholesale level in Subzi Mandi.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture�s (MINFA) Agriculture
Department attributed the price flare-up in tomato to lesser
arrivals from Quetta.
The prices of basmati rice increased up to Rs 32 per kg compared to
Rs 28-30 per kg because of lesser stocks and higher exports. Irri-6
also went up to Rs 14 per kg compared to Rs 13 per kg on August 1.
Consumers are paying Rs 8 per kg more to buy broiler live bird as
its prices increased to Rs 64 per kg compared to last month�s Rs 56
per kg.
Chairman, Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA), Mohammad
Sohail,linked the price hike to lower production in farms coupled
with killing of more than 70,000 live birds by bulldozing of more
than 50 poultry farms by Malir Development Authority (MDA) at Link
Road at Super Highway.
Similarly, egg prices increased by 50 paisa to Rs 22.50 per dozen
compared to Rs 22 per dozen. The prices of mash pulse rose to Rs
25-26 per kg compared to Rs 24 per kg last month due to short
arrival from imports as well as high import cost.
The devaluation of rupee followed by 25% increase in petrol prices
also pushed up the prices of ghee and cooking oil by Rs 3 per kg
while prices of toilet and laundry soaps also jumped by 50 paisa to
Re 1.00 per cake on different sizes.
According to a retailer, the one kg packs of Nido milk and
Everyday, which were being sold at Rs 159 and Rs 150, are now being
sold at Rs 167 and Rs 164.
In fruits, mango (Almas and Daseri) are now available at Rs 40 and
Rs 25 per kg compared to Rs 32 and Rs 20 respectively on account of
their off-season. Among the losers, the prices of gram pulse fell
to Rs 21-22 per kg compared to Rs 24 per kg last month due to
release by stockists on account of better crop.
The prices of masur pulse crashed to Rs 34-36 per kg in comparison
to Rs 38 per kg owing to better imports from Australia. While mung
prices declined to Rs 32-34 as against Rs 32-36 per kg on August 1
due to frequent imports from Thailand.
Prices of almost all varieties of wheat depreciated in the market
due to what shopkeepers describe as better supply position from
mills.
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980830
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Govt may default on motorway loan
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Rafaqat Ali
ISLAMABAD, Aug 29: The government is on the verge of a default as
the first instalment of loan obtained for the construction of
Islamabad-Lahore section of the motorway is due on Sept 1, but the
government has no funds to pay back the loan, Dawn has learnt from
official sources.
"We have sent the case to the finance division and it will decide
whether to hold negotiations for converting the payment of dollars
into rupees or make arrangements for the payment," Mr Abdur Rehman
Baloch, chairman of the National Highway Authority, told Dawn on
Saturday.
The Daewoo had arranged foreign financing of 654 million dollars
for building the Lahore-Islamabad section of the motorway.
Under an agreement signed in 1991, the government of Pakistan was
provided a grace period of four years, which was later extended to
six-and-a-half years. The agreement took effect in Feb 1992.
The first instalment is of 54 million dollars. It includes
accumulated interest on the total loan. Under the agreement, the
government has to pay back the 654 million dollars in ten years.
According to officials, the total cost of the Lahore-Islamabad
section of the motorway is 30 billion rupees (calculated at a rate
of Rs 24 to a dollar, the rate prevalent in 1992).
If the cost is calculated according to the current rupee value of
the dollar, the total cost comes to 60 billion rupees. Interest on
the loan has gone up to Rs 3 billion and the government has not yet
paid a penny.
On the other hand, revenue from the motorway is only Rs 1.4 million
daily _ not enough to meet even the maintenance cost of the road.
The Frontier Works Organization (FWO), which was entrusted with
collecting toll and providing other facilities to motorway users,
demanded over 70 million rupees as charges for the first six
months. What the FWO demanded was twice the amount it had collected
as toll tax in six months.
The FWO had first refused to pay toll tax to the NHA and informed
it that the amount had been adjusted against the maintenance
charges payable by the NHA.
The government�s negotiations with PAKTOL, a consortium which was
issued a letter of intent for the lease of the motorway project,
are at a standstill. The consortium had offered to get lease of
Islamabad-Lahore Motorway for 25 years at a cost of 1,000 dollars.
The company had offered to pay 654 million dollars immediately upon
signing of the concession agreement.
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980904
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-paid calling card service: PTCL signs deal
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Sept 3: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited
(PTCL) has signed a contract with Interoute Telecommuni-cation of
UK for introducing international pre-paid calling card service in
Pakistan.
PTCL has signed such contracts with World Call Company and Finatra
Communication on Aug 21 and Sept 1, 1998, respectively.
The INP and PCCS will be started with an estimated investment of
about Rs100 million. Interoute Telecom shall generate additional
estimated revenue of at least Rs250 million for PTCL per annum.
Interoute Telecommunications offers a wide range of communications
services to business and residential users, operating in Europe and
North America.
The pre-paid calling card service is a modern value-added service,
which will facilitate direct international dialling, and the
charges will be debited to the pre-paid card instead of individual
telephones.
This service will promote international direct dialling traffic and
the persons who even do not have a telephone, will be able to make
international calls. The international calls will be possible from
any telephone through pin code followed by desired telephone
number.
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980830
-------------------------------------------------------------------
WAPDA�s power bill for NWFP inflated
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Intikhab Amir
PESHAWAR, Aug 29: WAPDA�s claim (at source deduction) of Rs2037.240
million for electricity charges from the NWFP government for 1997-
98 has been in excess of Rs1094.229 million of the actual amount
due from the province, according to reconciled figures agreed to by
two sides as a result of the federal government sponsored
negotiations, official sources said.
Under a finance ministry notification dated March 2, 1998, federal
government had constituted four working groups, one each for the
four federating units, for reconciliation of electricity bills
between WAPDA and the provincial governments.
The move was meant to enable provinces to negotiate with WAPDA the
issues of inflated billing as a result of presumptive billing, the
problem of defective meters and unrealistically high at source
deduction from the provinces� respective shares in the Federal
Divisible Pool under the head of electricity charges.
"Startling facts came to the notice of the Frontier Government with
regards to inflated billing as in one such bill WAPDA had charged
payment against consumption of 20 million units which after going
through the record of the concerned department and with the
application of the laid down formula turned out to be 1.6 million
units," said an official of one of the concerned department of the
provincial government.
The reconciliated figure is 40 per cent less than the amount the
province had been projected by WAPDA to pay against the electricity
consumed by its departments during the 1997-98 financial year.
The actual claim of WAPDA was to the tune of Rs2037.248 million,
said the source, which was initially reconciled under a major
downward revision at Rs1171.492 million.
Later on the figure was brought down to a new low at Rs943.019
million, of which the province had paid Rs885.517 million, said the
source.
"The amount which has not been cleared by the provincial government
is also due to the non submission of revised bills by the WAPDA,"
said the official.
While the NWFP has paid over 95 per cent of the reconciled amount,
the government of Punjab made disbursements half of the amount
agreed to with WAPDA whereas, according to sources, Sindh has
refused to make any payment and Balochistan requested for at source
deduction due to financial constraints.
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980901
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tax Commission opposes immunity from probe
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Muhammad Ilyas
ISLAMABAD, Aug 31: The Commission on Tax Reforms headed by Saeed
Ahmed Qureshi, ex-Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission has advised
the government not to extend immunity from probe to new financial
instruments, according to an informed source.
Apart from the national savings schemes, the successive governments
over the past decade have tended to create ever-new instruments
providing tax-free havens to the evaders under the avowed objective
of encouraging investment. Among these are the Foreign Exchange
Bearer Certificates, Foreign Currency Accounts, dollar bonds etc.
One obvious result of insulating the potentially big tax payers
from taxation has been stagnation in revenue generation. What is
more, the justification given for these exemptions too have not
been fulfilled, as evident from the persistently low level of
industrial investment and production, the source remarked.
This policy of allowing the rich to conceal their incomes from the
tax collectors has also been a major impediment in documentation of
the economy, the source remarked.
To facilitate the move towards documentation, the Commission has
recommended that Taxpayers Identification Number (NTN) should be
used on all documents of various economic activities, utility
bills, air tickets, hotel and club bills, school fees memos, etc.
The display of NTN certificates on all business premises may be
made obligatory, it has also been suggested. Other recommendations
of the Commission relating to documentation are:
*Cash transactions may not be recognized for tax purposes beyond
prescribed amounts.
* Tax payments may be allowed through cheques.
*Cash registers may be introduced for businesses where turnover
exceeds Rs1 million.
* Details of personal expenses may be furnished by every person
whose annual income exceeds Rs100,000.
Partly due to weaknesses in the documentation system, experts have
noted, 90 per cent of all direct tax collections are in the form of
presumptive taxes. In order to improve the dismal situation in the
areas of income tax/wealth tax levy, the Commission has invited the
government�s attention to the need of restructuring the IT
Department, particularly, in view of the changing composition and
sources of taxes, inadequate systems of tax audit etc. In this
regard, it has recommended the broadening of taxpayers� base,
monitoring of withholding taxes, taxpayer assistance programme and
training of tax officials.
In addition to the desk-bound tax audit, it has proposed, CBR
should consider its extension to field audit, special audit, team
audit and audit-at-site in respect of taxpayers suspected of
substantial under-reporting of income and assets.
A number of proposals have also been made for involving
professionals including economists, engineers, accountants,
computer specialists etc from private sector in various operations
including tax audit, examination of accounts etc.
Extensive use of information technology in strengthening of
monitoring of withholding taxes, advance taxes and capital value
taxes has also been emphasized. For this purpose, the Commission
has advised the IT Department to consider establishing a
comprehensive monitoring set-up independent of the present regional
and zonal demarcations.
Market surveys of residential and commercial properties, shops,
professionals such as doctors, engineers and architects, advocates
and lawyers etc may be arranged through out-sourcing to appropriate
private institutions, the Commission has suggested.
Taking grave notice of the complaints about delay and corruption in
refund, the CBR has been urged to ensure that the refund vouchers
are issued along with the tax assessment orders. The possibility of
issuance of refund through computer print-outs of the refund
vouchers on security paper along with IT-30 Forms may be explored,
it added.
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980901
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Railway units become independent today
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mahmood Zaman
LAHORE, Aug 31: The 137-year old Pakistan Railways enters a new
phase when its three business units in infrastructure, freight and
passenger sectors become functional as independent divisions on
Tuesday (today).
Railway was established in areas now in Pakistan when a distance of
169 kilometres between Karachi and Kotri was linked by the track on
May 13, 1861.
With the fundamental administrative change, the "unbundling" of the
organization has been achieved. Next, these units will be turned
into autonomous corporations and then offered for privatization.
The business units were established through a notification issued
on July 16 this year. It took about 45 days to make them function
independently. The time was taken by wholesale transfers of
officers and subordinate employees as well as allocation of assets
to the new units.
A Railway Resettlement Authority was also set up to be the
repository for all residual assets and liabilities. This will be a
statutory body responsible for disposal of surplus land, workshops
and other �non-core� services within a stipulated period, yet to be
determined. The authority will also have the staff not required by
the three units. The staff will be trained to be absorbed in one of
the three corporate bodies until such time that the "surplus pool"
is exhausted.
The new system has also seen emergence of an executive board under
the general manager. Managing directors of infrastructure,
passenger and freight units and the Railway Resettlement Authority
are also board members along with a finance manager. The board will
be responsible for day to day running of the railways with an
obligation to work as a body to coordinate the working of the three
business units.
Terms of reference for the new bodies have been spelled out in
three orders issued during the last week.
ROAD AHEAD: Pakistan Railways general manager Muhammad Nasir Alvi,
who will be the chief executive of the new executive board from
Tuesday, told Dawn on Monday the new system had come to stay as a
permanent administrative and operational arrangement. He said there
would be no going back to the old system except for running a
parallel accounting system for some time.
Speaking in his spacious office in the presence of managing
directors Nasir Amin (Infrastructure), Muhammad Aslam (Freight),
Abdul Qayyum (Passenger) and Bashir Ahmad (Railway Resettlement
Authority), Mr Alvi said the present was a period of transition.
He said it might last for about two months during which a host of
questions on administrative, legal and operational aspects as part
of privatization of railways would be resolved. During the
interregnums, according to the chief executive, the three
independent units would prepare their business plans, work out
agreements among them, improve coordination and overcome teething
problems that might arise out of independent functioning.
The infrastructure unit, he said, was supposed to conclude
agreements on track access charges with freight and passenger
units. Four models of track access charge are available and the
infrastructure unit is to chose one or more for agreement with the
other business units. Agreements also provide for other details
like penalties and compensation. "Whatever mode of working is
selected, the present is a stage for development of documents
without charging actual money", Mr Alvi said and added that this
was being done to gain experience of working a new system.
Also to be completed during the period, according to Mr Alvi, was
legislative work, including an amendment in the Railway Act of 1890
and establishment of a Railway Regulatory Authority through an act
of parliament. The authority will be a body to frame policies to
create an atmosphere of competition by the independent units and
act as an arbitrator to resolve disputes between and among them.
The chief executive said the scheme for railway�s privatization was
being implemented after an exhaustive debate, exchange of ideas and
learning from experience in other parts of the world.
He was of the view that most of the world railways which had been
through a privatization process faced difficulties in early days of
implementing new scheme. "We have a lot of experimentation before
us. We hope to achieve our targets in a period shorter than
elsewhere in the world". He said since the three units had opted
for a commercial approach, a competitive atmosphere was bound to
emerge. "I am confident that the process (of privatization) will be
a success... continuing with the old system was becoming
exceedingly difficult", he stated.
As for financial allocations to the three business units, the PR
budget, amounting to about Rs 13 billion for 1998-99, will be
shared by them as well as other bodies and the Railway Resettlement
Authority. Accounts have been prepared and the share is being
transferred.
ASSETS AND FUNCTIONS: Separate orders have since distributed PR
assets among the three independent divisions and spelled out their
functions.
According to these the infrastructure unit will be responsible for
train operation and will charge a track access charge from the
passenger and freight divisions under an agreement. This unit will
have under its belt about 12,624 kilometre of track (8,774 route
kilometre) broad, meter and narrow gauge, 737 railway stations
buildings, signalling and telecommunication network, electrical and
electric traction, inquiry offices, vending stalls, restaurants,
retiring rooms, PCOs and parking lots. Railway schools and
hospitals will also temporarily remain with this unit till they are
taken over by the resettlement authority. Military special trains
will also be run by infrastructure unit till a policy is devised in
this regard.
LOCOMOTIVES: The PR presently has 535 locomotives which have been
distributed between freight and passenger sections along with other
rolling stock. The passenger unit has been allocated 240
locomotives and 196 have gone to the freight unit. Another 28
locomotives have gone to passenger division and 71 to freight
division for shunting purposes.
PASSENGER: This unit will be responsible for operation of all the
passenger trains. Its share in the rolling stock is 2,239 coaches
of which 1,862 coaches are used for trains. Parcel business and
catering in trains will also be its responsibility.
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980902
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Last date for filing income tax returns
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Sept 1: The Central Board of Revenue has reminded all
income taxpayers that the last date for filing of Income Tax return
for assessment year 1998-99 for non-corporate sector is September
30, 1998.
The CBR has also announced that the taxpayers whose only source of
income is salary are not required to file an Income Tax return and
instead the prescribed certificates of tax deduction from their
employer would be sufficient.
In two separate press releases issued by the CBR here on Tuesday,
it has been said: "Simplified forms of Income Tax returns
introduced last year remain operative. In order to ensure the
availability of return forms the regional commissioners of IT have
been asked to make arrangements for getting these forms printed.
Besides, the taxpayers may file their returns on computer generated
replica of return forms or may use their photocopies which will be
acceptable. The self assessment scheme for the assessment year
1998-99 has been further simplified and all the non-company returns
filed by due date i.e., September 10, 1998, will qualify if the tax
paid by them for assessment year 1998-99 is equal to the tax paid
last year. Out of these returns up to 10% will be selected for
special audit through computer.
The banks have been asked to make adequate arrangements to
facilitate payment of tax by the taxpayers. It is expected by the
CBR that all the taxpayers will avail this liberal concession
offered by the government and file their returns well before the
due date."
For the salaried class IT-payees, the statement says: "The CBR
clarifies that the salaried taxpayers are entitled to a basic tax
credit of Rs 2,500 whereas this credit in the case of working women
is Rs 3000. The surcharge equal to 10% of the tax payable for the
assessment year 1998-99 may be paid in monthly instalments by May
31, 1998, as already clarified."
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980905
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Greenback haunting stocks, index loses 12 points
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 4: Stocks finished the weekend session on a cheerless
note as leading investors kept to the sidelines amid strong rumours
of further devaluation of the rupee but there was a virtual run on
the gold and the US dollar, both climbing to new highs. The KSE
100-share index shed 12 points at 965.53.
The market witnessed a steady outflow of the funds to other
attractive baits ensuring quick profits as the traded value of
shares was maintained over one billion rupees, a big amount for a
short Friday session.
Even PTCL, which has assumed the role of a trend-setter, turned out
a half of its daily average volume of over 50 million shares at 29
million shares, indicating that bulls forestalled major setback
after picking up all the sale offers.
But Hub-Power failed to do that as money outflowed from it for
obvious reasons, notably the unresolved IPP issue, as a section of
investors sold holdings in it to buy dollar and gold, said a
broker.
The current speculative run on the dollar and the gold owing to
uncertain conditions has taken steam out of the already ailing
market as most of the pivotals followed the line of hereto
neglected shares, analysts said.
"Money is outflowing from the share business seeking safe havens as
no one is sure about the shape of things to come in the developing
economic scenario in the wake of rumours of an imminent default on
foreign debt," they said.
The news that Islamic Development Bank (IDB) led consortium of the
Gulf banks and financial institutions is due to meet in Jeddah on
September 6 to finalize a $1.5 billion bail-out package failed to
enthuse investors as was reflected by outflow of funds from the
market, said a leading floor broker.
Reports that the IMF aid might not be released before December
despite its delegation�s visit next week was another disappointing
news for the market, he said.
The KSE 100-share index suffered a fresh setback of 11.90 points or
1.22% at 965.53 as compared to 977.43 a day earlier as the trend-
setter ran into weekend selling.
The market capitalization also suffered a decline of Rs 3.217
billion at Rs 279.898 billion as compared to Rs 283.116 billion a
day earlier, reflecting the weakness of heavily capitalized shares
such as Hub-Power and PTCL.
Most of the leading MNCs led the market decline, major loser among
them being Colgate Pakistan, off Rs 12.00 at Rs 65.00 on some
adverse comments. Al-Ghazi Tractors followed it, falling by Rs
5.50. Singer Pakistan, Shell Pakistan and Engro Chemicals were
among the other prominent losers, finishing lower by Rs 1.15 to Rs
2.50. Among the locals, Adamjee and Pakistan Refinery were leading,
falling by Rs 1.20 and Rs 2.00.
Pakistan Tobacco came in for strong support at the lower level and
rose by Rs 4.05 followed by BOC Pakistan, Dawood Hercules and
Mehmood Textiles, which posted gains ranging from one rupee to Rs
3.00.
Trading volume fell to 61 million shares from the previous 69
million shares as losers maintained a fair lead over the gainers at
53 to 26 with 46 holding on to the last levels, out of the 125
actives.
PTCL was again actively traded, off 30 paisa at Rs 23.20 on 29
million shares, followed by Hub-Power, lower 70 paisa at Rs 11.65
on 28 million shares, ICI Pakistan, easy 20 paisa at Rs 11.65 on
0.747 million shares, FFC-Jordan Fertilizer, lower 20 paisa at Rs
13.00 on 0.402 million shares, and PSO, off 80 paisa at Rs 78.55 on
0.380 million shares.
Other actively traded shares included Ibrahim Fibre, lower five
paisa on 0.316 million shares, followed by Nishat Mills, steady
five paisa on 0.272 million shares, Fauji Fertilizer, lower 30
paisa on 0.198 million shares, Engro Chemicals, off Rs 1.15 on
0.166 million shares, Honda Atlas Cars, up 25 paisa on 0.145
million shares, MCB and Indus Motors, both unchanged on 0.100
million shares each.
DEFAULTING COMPANIES: There was no trading in any of the shares as
investors stayed away owing partly to weekend considerations.
Back to the top
===================================================================
EDITORIALS & FEATURES
980830
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ashvagan
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ardeshir Cowasjee
WHAT would we do were dawn to dawn each day in Pakistan if there
were no Dawn, the newspaper founded by the founder of the nation,
Mohammad Ali Jinnah? It informs, it educates and it entertains. Its
first editorial on August 26 ends with the words: "Watching these
events it is difficult to decide whether to laugh or to cry." Let
us rather laugh.
Ashvagan, the �Land of Horses,� as Afghanistan was once known long,
long ago, formed itself into a state in 1747. The first Amir, Ahmad
Khan ruled well and wisely (1747-73). His brothers and sons
succeeded him, the last of the family, brother Mahmud being
overthrown in 1818. Thereafter, for eight years, anarchy prevailed.
It was during this period that Afghanistan became the main playing
field for the Great Game, started in 1824 and which now, almost two
centuries later, still continues.
In 1826, Amir Dost Mohammad restored a semblance of order until
1838 when he was forced to abdicate. Then came ten rulers until the
progressive Habibullah Khan took the throne in 1901, ruling over
not only his country but over an extended harem of unveiled women
dressed in the latest European fashions. He was assassinated in
1919. His brother Nasrullah Khan succeeded him, holding the throne
for a month until the people brought in Habibullah�s son, Amanullah
Khan. Once more, for ten years, there was relative peace in the
Land of Horses.
This period has been encapsulated in �Through Amanullah�s
Afghanistan� (pub. 1929) written by Sohrab Kavasji Hormusjee
Katrak, a former mayor of Karachi. From the introductory essay by
his contemporary scholar Gustad Kaikhosro Nariman :
"Once elevated to the throne by the will of the people, Amanullah
threw himself body, heart and soul into the task of redeeming his
motherland from ignorance, sloth, corruption, bigotry and partial
subordination to the foreign paramount power, from which it
received a yearly subsidy of 12 raised to 18 lakhs in lieu of an
undertaking to have no relations with foreign states save through
Britain. The aim of Amanullah�s reign was to see Afghanistan free.
He married the daughter of a journalist, Mahmud Tarzi, a person
without parallel at home, who had ample share in the making of
modern Afghanistan."
Amanullah�s first act was to proclaim the independence of his
country and the conclusion of direct treaties with other European
powers. Thereafter, he took on the emancipation of women,
education, the solving of the linguistic problem, town planning,
the development of resources, agriculture in short, progress and
modernization.
But Amanullah moved too swiftly. The religious establishment had
little stomach for reform. They were supported by the treachery of
those who used and abused religion to serve their selfish ends, by
the unbelievers who proclaim belief and exploit cheap religious
zealotry. Unrest spread, civil war ensued, Amanullah abdicated and
left the country. A bandit chief, Bacha-i-Saqao, usurped the
throne, holding it from January to October 1929.
During his short period in power he achieved much. Promising the
Afghans a complete return to the principles of the Quran and Sharia
law. He halted each and every one of Amanullah�s progressive
measures. All modern schools were closed, female students were
recalled from abroad, foreign advisers were forced to leave Kabul,
polygamy laws were reinstated, laboratories, libraries, palaces and
royal museums were sacked, rare books and articles of value were
either destroyed, burnt or sold at ridiculous prices. Bacha�s chief
victims were Amanullah�s officials, wealthy merchants, influential
and learned men. Most were either blown from the mouths of canons,
shot, beaten, bastinadoed, impaled, bayonetted, or starved to
death. Confiscation of property, exile or simple death was deemed
an uncommon instance of leniency. Students were regarded as secret
enemies.
An orderly, well-run, clean Kabul was converted into a city of
rioting, sabotage and destruction, the latter extending even to the
felling of trees. Its inhabitants lived in daily terror of horrible
occurrences. No one knew who ruled, nor what may occur from minute
to minute.
The reign of terror was accompanied by a string of decrees designed
to enhance the new ruler�s popularity. He promised to lower taxes,
abolished conscription, dissolved the ministries of education and
justice, both of which were regarded as unnecessary and unwelcome
infringements of the power of the religious establishments. The
sole responsibility for the courts and schools reverted to the
religious leadership.
Bacha proclaimed that he represented the �true faith,� and that as
a result of Amanullah�s innovations, calculated to injure the
sanctity of Islam, he had received the call and had taken a vow to
serve the cause of God. To legitimize his rule, he took the title
Amir Habibullah Ghazi, Servant of God and the Nation.
But his authority had shallow roots. Most of the tribes either
refused to support him or were openly hostile, as were the Shias.
These difficulties were compounded by a depleted treasury, looted
by Bacha and his supporters, and by the suspension of normal trade.
Unable to control raging corruption, unable to pay a disorganized
army, he himself resorted to wholesale extortion and persecution.
Nadir Khan, kinsman of Dost Mohammad and cousin of Amanullah by
marriage, rallied the tribes and in October 1929 they marched into
Kabul to the cheers of the relieved townspeople. The cheers did not
last long, the city was ransacked by the tribesmen, the citizens
paying a high price for their relief. Bacha fled with his
followers, most of whom were subsequently killed in the ensuing
fighting, the rest deserting him. He surrendered unconditionally,
and along with ten men who had stuck by him, was publicly hanged.
Nadir Shah acceded to the throne, his programme aimed at
reestablishing political stability and the reconstruction of
society. The first task was to repair the ruins of Afghanistan and
to preserve its independence. Without intruding on religious
beliefs and traditions, his intention was that his people achieve
material and intellectual progress side by side with cultural
reforms. He saw no reason why religion and progress should
disagree, for, as he proclaimed, Islam does not prohibit progress.
He attached great importance to education, without which no country
can take a step forward, and schools were reopened. To do it all,
he needed to replenish his treasury and to promote the development
of industry and trade. In 1930, he permitted the opening of the
Afghan National Bank, which encouraged the setting up of 30 large
private joint-stock companies.
In mid-1933 things started to go wrong for Nadir Shah. Partisans of
Amanullah, impatient modernists, disillusioned nationalists
fomented trouble and in November Nadir Shah was assassinated by a
student during a school prize-giving ceremony. That same day, his
only son, Zahir Shah, ascended the throne, the last of the kings of
Afghanistan.
In July 1973, he was deposed by his cousin, Mohammad Daud, and went
off to Italy to live in exile. President Daud was assassinated in
1978, followed by Nur Mohammad Taraki, deposed and executed in
September 1979, followed by Hafizullah Amin, deposed and
assassinated in December 1979. Babrak Karmal took over as president
and the Russians marched in.
Zia�s Afghan policy we all know, as we know whom it enriched. Since
then we have supported Engineer freedom fighters, Taliban freedom
fighters, all of whom have ravished and destroyed the once
beautiful country reducing it to a state almost beyond redemption.
Come 1998, and Osama enters, as do cruise missiles. The Tomahawk
missile is a fantastic piece of equipment. It is powered by a turbo
jet engine, travels at 500 mph, can be launched from the torpedo
tube of a surface ship or a submarine, carries 1,000 lbs of high
explosives over a range of 1,000 miles. It is guided by a terrain
mapping system augmented by global positioning satellite data. The
initial coordinates are fed into the missile�s navigation system by
the launching platform. Mid-course correction is made at the time
of landfall, using key features of the coastline. Thereafter the
missile flies a pre-programmed path to avoid populated areas and
radar sites. A flat featureless terrain is a problem, while complex
contours are more effective in enabling the missile to find its way
and zero in on the target. All the in-flight and target contour
information is fed into the missile�s terrain following computer
which is linked to its ground mapping radar. The missile flies much
of the time when over enemy territory at a height of between 50 and
100 feet.
The Tomahawk has a very small radar cross-section. Most ground
radar, unless mounted on a hilltop and looking down, will not be
able to catch it. Even then, such a radar would need to be
programmed to screen out ground clutter, especially in daytime. An
AWAC plane, looking down with doppler radar, operating on
particular wavelengths, could pick up a Tomahawk, but not perhaps
over broken ground.
We are in deep trouble. People are looking for a Talleyrand (letter
to editor, August 29) to sort out our problems and save the
country. But we need have no fear. Amirul Momineen Mohammad Nawaz
Sharif, ably aided by Naib Ameers Rafiq Tarar, Sartaj Aziz, Khalid
Anwer, Ghous Ali Shah, Hamid Gul, the two Chaudhrys, and other
luminaries will see us through. The tabled 15th Amendment is the
answer to all problems, big or small.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
980905
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The last straw
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Irfan Husain
THE finest editorial I recall reading in this newspaper was titled
"Will no one ever learn from history?" It appeared last Sunday, and
concluded on this note:
"Gimmicks never saved a Pakistani government before and they are
not going to come to Mr Nawaz Sharif�s rescue either. He should
concentrate on putting his own house in order, on getting a grip on
events and setting a direction for his government. It cannot be
stressed enough that the people of Pakistan are yearning for clear,
honest and decisive leadership. There can be no greater injustice
with them than to suppose that, as so often in the past, they can
be fobbed off with another blatant attempt at insulting their
intelligence."
As the context for this stinging and incisive editorial was the
proposed and much reviled 15th Constitutional Amendment, it drew
the ruling party�s attention to the fact that a number of
constitutional provisions already existed to ensure that the laws
of the land are in consonance with Islam. The editorial goes on to
ask some straightforward questions:
"What prevents the state from performing its rightful duties and
working for the welfare of the people? Not any legal lacuna but
rather the shortsightedness and incapacity of its successive
rulers. How will this amendment bestow capacity and competence
where none exist?"
How indeed? The truth is that the government is floundering under
the weight of its own misconduct and incompetence, and this feeble
attempt to shelter behind religion is not going to bail it out.
Both Nawaz Sharif and my friend Mushahid Hussain, the information
minister, have proclaimed that the enactment of this amendment will
transform Pakistan into a veritable paradise on earth. But strip
the draft amendment of its hoopla and hype, and we are left with no
substance at all. But I suppose this is equally true of all of
Nawaz Sharif�s policies and pronouncements.
Even a child could spot this totally uncalled for announcement as a
diversionary ploy. If ever there was a case of carrying coal to
Newcastle, it is this blatant attempt to "Islamize" us yet again.
*From Bhutto�s desperate attempt to occupy the religious high ground
during the PNA movement to Zia�s misuse of the faith to perpetuate
his rule, we have suffered all kinds of fraudulent attempts to pull
the Islamic wool over our eyes.
Apart from crudely trying to divert public attention from his
pathetic performance, what else does Nawaz Sharif hope to gain from
this exercise? Does he really want to run a Taliban-style
government with people being publicly hanged as they were during
Zia�s days? If he plans to chop off hands for theft as the Taliban
are doing, he should start with loan defaulters: in that case, he
will have a lot of one-handed cabinet members.
When in trouble, politicians often turn to patriotism or religion
to deflect criticism. Nawaz Sharif tried the first ploy when he
exploded the A-bomb, and did succeed in masking his multiple
failures in a cloud of public euphoria. However, he then proceeded
to dissipate this popular support by unnecessarily bringing up the
Kalabagh dam controversy, thereby losing many of his allies.
As he dithered and prevaricated, his popularity continued to fall.
Inaction over the Karachi crisis, the freezing of foreign currency
accounts and the gross mishandling of the US attack on alleged
terrorist camps in Afghanistan have all taken their toll of this
ailing administration. So much so that only 18 months after he was
sworn in with an unprecedented parliamentary majority, the prime
minister has acquired a lame-duck status that bodes ill for the
remainder of his term. Indeed, it would take a brave man to bet on
him to complete his tenure. Many people see this new move as an
attempt to concentrate yet more power in his hands. But how more
powers will help him is unclear.
So where does he go from here? Nawaz Sharif has promised that the
introduction of the 15th Amendment will usher in peace and plenty,
as if he had found a panacea for all our ills. Had solving all our
problems been so simple, he could have taken this step months ago
instead of steering the ship of state to the rocky shore of
bankruptcy.
Now that he has everything going his way, the prime minister has
absolutely no excuse for his abysmal performance. He has his hand-
picked man in the presidency; the independent Sajjad Ali Shah has
been unceremoniously removed from the Supreme Court; the GHQ is
(still) neutral; and he has a rock-solid majority in the National
Assembly. What more could any reasonable person want in the
exercise of power in Pakistan?
The 15th Amendment should it win approval in both houses of
Parliament by the required majority will be a very divisive piece
of legislation. It is hard to see all the various Muslim sects and
schools of thought accepting the Nawaz version of Islam without
protest. And these days, sectarian differences of opinion are
expressed through the barrel of a Kalashnikov.
Even more worrying is the status the minorities would be reduced
to. As it is, Zia�s hateful provision for separate electorates has
transformed Pakistan�s Christians, Ahmadis, Hindus and Parsis into
second class citizens. These unfortunate people have good reason to
apprehend that this further dose of "Islamization" will strip them
of their few remaining rights. Pakistani women, too, are already
suffering from the poisonous effects of Zia�s Hudood Ordinance.
They will not readily accept a further setback to their status.
Finally, foreigners will be deeply suspicious of this dubious
initiative. They are not bothered about Nawaz Sharif�s current
political difficulties. They are, however, concerned that Pakistan
may go down the Taliban route; any chance of foreign investments
would then be nil. As it is, this government has antagonized and
alarmed potential investors by its hamhanded treatment of
independent power producers. What will the 15th Amendment do to
investor confidence?
It seems that Nawaz Sharif has no goal beyond hanging on to power
at any cost. The problem is that the cost of keeping him as our
prime minister is becoming unacceptably high for the rest of us.
Most of the time we don�t even know whether the latest brainwave is
his own or somebody else�s. Not that it really matters: as the
elected leader of Pakistan, he is responsible for every harebrained
idea emanating from his office. From the ruinous yellow cab scheme
to the absurd and absurdly expensive motorway, he is largely
responsible for our serious economic plight.
The 15th Amendment may well be the last straw on this long-
suffering camel�s back.
===================================================================
SPORTS
980831
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Great expectations from Miandad-Sohail combination
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Lateef Jafri
It is now a fortnight that former ace batsman Javed Miandad�s
appointment as coach for the main cricket string was endorsed by
the higher tier of the board but he still continues to be a subject
of discussion in the cricket circles as well as other gatherings.
As expected there was no dissenting voice at the Council meeting
for the members thought that his contributions to country�s cricket
were so maximal and wide that his services should be utilized for
polishing the potential of the senior players and honing the skills
of the newly-discovered talent. Whatever delight Mohsin Hasan Khan
may have given to the connoisseurs during his playing career as a
stylish opening batsman he was never a contender to the senior post
once Miandad had offered his services for the country�s cricket. It
goes without saying that justice had been done to Mohsin by putting
the �A� outfit under his charge.
Some reputed veterans, among whom were little master Hanif Mohammad
and former Test off-spinner Haseeb Ahsan, lauded the Council�s
decision and thought that with the experience that Miandad has as a
leading Test and one-day batsman he will be successful in
delivering the goods. Hanif opined that with Miandad as a guide the
rivals (India initially) would be put under more psychological
pressure than under any other tutor. Whatever may be the views of
former cricket wizards the end-result in international matches
would show if Miandad�s choice as a coach and his presence with the
lineup as a strategist will make a major impact on the approach and
performance of the selected players.
One cannot but take with reservation the board�s arrangement that
if the need arises Miandad nay also don the pads and help out the
team in distress. This apparently will be a strange experiment
having few precedents even though Iqbal Qasim as assistant manager
during the 1987 tour of England was supposed to assist the outfit
as a spinner. Imran Khan, the captain on the trip, allowed him
little opportunities to exhibit has bowling expertise in the Tests
and one-dayers, apart from fielding him in a few minor side games.
Imran mostly depended on the trickery of Abdul Qadir and Tauseef.
It will be risky if Miandad goes out to face the Indian attack and
puts up a below-average performance. In his last knock in Karachi
in the 1996 World Cup even though Miandad expressed satisfaction
over his unbeaten effort of 11 runs against England one could see
that he was far from his usual commanding self. In the next
appearance in the highly-tense atmosphere at Bangalore his 38 was
comparatively more disciplined. Taken on the whole he was no more
the gifted player of earlier days and had lost some of the
brilliance in stroke-making for which he was known. If at all
Miandad was found wanting in his batting effort it will come as a
considerable embarrassment to him and his supporters and his
failing with the willow will disappoint the team members as a
whole. It will be much better if he stays in the pavilion to give
the needed technical advice to the conglomerate in general.
The coach and the cricket manager during tour, while chalking out
his recipe for optimal performances gave the first priority to
discipline. He said those violating the code of conduct will have
to travel back by the first available flight. He expects to extract
the best out of the selectees.
Miandad thought that if the players followed his training schedule
they would only be needing his guidance during matches. He was of
the view that off-the-field activities affect a cricketer�s form;
they have to be curbed if at all the team is ready to put up the
best possible show.
The first test on the field comes next week for the squad and the
coach in far-off Canada where it measures strength with a confident
and enthusiastic Indian side travelling to Toronto after successes
in the Independence Cup in Sri Lanka and the tri-nation cricket on
home venues.
Leaving aside the easy-sailing decision on the coach the Council
had a hard job in naming a captain. It appeared that the house was
divided on this ticklish issue into two groups. The Chief
Executive, Majid Khan, tried to point out to the members the many
instances of misdemeanour of Aamir Sohail, recognised as a sound
and skilful opening batsman, and the harm that may come to the
lineup in his nomination. Perhaps the majority remained unconvinced
and thought that the Chief Executive�s criticism was of a personal
nature and the batsman had already been penalised of his acts of
commission and omission and the cricket�s top administrator had
also to be blamed for some of the incidents. The violation of the
board�s code by Imran Khan during his playing days was also brought
to the notice of the councillors during the extended debate to
counter the arguments of Majid. This swayed the majority towards
Sohail, who was being reportedly backed by the PCB Chairman, Khalid
Mahmood.
Majid later made a full-blast attack in an interview on Aamir
Sohail�s attitude on and off the field and thought that being
undisciplined previously he may presumably set a bad example for
his team-mates. This was after the Council�s approval of the choice
of the captain. Many are of the opinion that Majid overstepped his
position once the higher tier of the board had given a ruling in
favour of Aamir Sohail. There is a feeling that the Chief Executive
himself broke the PCB�s code of conduct so many times enforced by
him on others. In any case it is for the councillors and the
cricket officials to find if the Chief Executive was within his
right to question a decision already taken by the Council with the
required majority.
Though cricket followers have generally welcomed the appointment of
Aamir Sohail, known for his adventurous and daring batting, many
think that injustice has been done with Saeed Anwar, who had better
claims to captaincy, or with Salim Malik, a senior cricketer in his
own right. The latter�s case is still under scrutiny by a PCB
committee as well as by the parliamentarians� panel. Same is the
case with Wasim Akram, who is alleged to be involved in the bookies
racket, if not in match-fixing scandals. Both if indicted may be
weeded out of the national touring party, even though the team may
be weakened by their ousters since even pacer Waqar Youins is
reportedly not hundred per cent fit.
Some critics have held Sohail as a moody person fearing that as a
captain he may not be able to carry the team with him a unit. This
may disturb the balance of the selected lot, though he has said in
specific terms that every player is aware of his duty and knows
what it means to play for the country. He added that his objective
would be to ensure that the selected players backed him fully. His
main aim would to give winning results for the satisfaction of the
cricket fans.
If at all Aamir Sohail finds any problem in smoothly dealing with
the players coach Miandad will have to play a key role in the
matches against India and the upcoming encounters against Australia
and Zimbabwe, as also in the Dhaka mini World Cup.
Aamir Sohail has lauded Miandad�s nomination as a coach and cricket
manager and held the view that the former captain would be
providing healthy ideas for the side�s success. Still there are
fears of divergence of views between the two on adopting the right
tactics on the field. This may upset the equanimity of the pack and
may hit the consistency required in putting up an exceptional
performance. One expects Miandad to disprove the misgivings among
the fans and the followers of the game.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
980904
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pakistan cricket team for Sahara Cup announced
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Reporter
LAHORE, Sept 3: Despite the absence of two top pacemen Wasim Akram
and Waqar Younis, who have been tearing apart the best sides of the
world with their speed, guile and experience, a fairly strong and
balanced 14-member Pakistan senior team was named hereon Thursday
for the third Sahara Cup five-match cricket series against India
starting at Toronto from Sept 12 to 20.
Test opener Aamer Sohail will lead the side while paceman Aaqib
Javed will be his deputy. Javed Miandad is the coach of the team
while Azhar Zaidi as manager and Dr Dan Kiesel as a
physiotherapist.
The limited-over matches will be held on Sept 12, 13, 16, 19 and
20.
While announcing the team, PCB secretary Waqar Ahmad said that the
names had been submitted by the national selection committee,
headed by the former Test wicketkeeper Wasim Bari, which included
former Test opener Shafique Ahmad and Ex-Test all-rounder
Salahuddin Ahmad. The team willleave Karachi for Toronto via
Frankfurt on Sept 8.
Waqar Ahmad said that Saqlain Mushtaq would be released by his
county Surrey on Sept 13 and he would proceed to Toronto on Sept
14.
Former Test captain and all-rounder Wasim Akram has not been
released by his county Lancashire. In his benefit year, Wasim Akram
is leading his county during this English season. Lancashire has
bright chances of winning the English County Championship. Saqlain
Mushtaq�s Surrey was leading on points table and was also in
contention for the coveted honour.
Absence of the world-class pacemen Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis
will surely be felt during the Sahara Cup. Saqlain Mushtaq will
also be missed in the first two matches. Waqar Younis had problem
in his right elbow and had to leave county Glamorgan in the middle
of this season. He had gone to Saudi Arabia to perform �Umra� with
his family. The PCB has not clarified whether he had been dropped
by the selectors due to injury or any other reason!
The team includes three openers namely, Aamer Sohail, Saeed Anwar
and Shahid Afridi. Skipper Aamer Sohail himself is a more-than-
useful left-arm spinner. Shahid Afridi, besides being a
swashbuckling batsman, is also a fine right-arm leg-spinner and
should strengthen the spin department.
The members of the Pakistan teams are:
Aamer Sohail (captain), Aaqib Javed (vice-captain), Saeed Anwar,
Inzimam-ul-Haq, Salim Malik, Yousaf Yohanna, Ejaz Ahmad Senior,
Azhar Mahmood, Shahid Afridi, Mushtaq Ahmad, Abdul Razzaq, Muhammad
Zahid, Moin Khan, and Saqlain Mushtaq, Officials: Manager - Azhar
Zaidi. Coach: Javed Miandad andPhysiotherapist: Dr Dan Kiesel.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
980903
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jahangir Khan elected as VP of PSF
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Reporter
RAWALPINDI, Sept 2: Squash legend Jahangir Khan was unanimously
elected as vice president Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) in the
annual general body meeting held Wednesday at Chaklala Base,
Rawalpindi.
The meeting was presided over by Air Chief Marshal Pervaiz Mehdi
Qureshi, president PSF. In a Press conference, later, senior vice
president PSF, Air Vice Marshal Zahid Anis, spelled out the
measures being contemplated to bring Pakistan back on top of the
world in squash.
Announcing the induction of record-all-time British Open champion
Jahangir Khan as vice president of PSF, Zahid Anis maintained that
the federation had under its wings two great champions of squash to
arrest the decline of the game. He was referring to Qamar Zaman who
is also vice president of the federation. The vice president�s post
had fallen vacant following the death of Hasan Musa last year.
The AVM admitted that Pakistan was no more dominating the world
squash scene since Jansher Khan was the lone survivor in the top
ten ranking. During the annual meeting, decisions have been taken
in principle to work on the grooming of junior players, work on
specialised training of the seeded players and to go for broad-
based talent hunt.
The drawbacks have been pin-pointed. The need to raise the number
of junior tournaments has been stressed, the AVM said. The official
added that implementation framework for these decisions will be
taken during the forthcoming Executive Committee meeting of the
federation scheduled to held later this month.
Addressing the reporters, all-time-favourite Jahangir Khan
acknowledged the new responsibility given to him but went on to
state that the junior lot needed to work a lot harder in order to
achieve bigger feats in the game. "There is no dearth of talent in
Pakistan, the basic drawback which I have noticed is physical
fitness, the juniors appear to be a shade short of hardwork," he
said.
The former world champion reminded that it was the player who had
to follow the ball and not the other way round. "No matter how
brilliant stroke-player you are, it would depend on the physical
fitness in the end, squash is a very demanding game," he said.
Punjab would be hosting a US$ 20,000 tournament during this season.
Another tournament has been scheduled at Peshawar under PAF. About
Pakistan Open, it was stated that the decision about prize-money
will be taken later this month.
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