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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 07 November 1998 Issue : 04/44
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Contents | National News | Business & Economy | Editorials & Features | Sports
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CONTENTS
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NATIONAL NEWS
+ New rates of interest for dollar bonds
+ Reshuffle in top bureaucracy: Dar given finance ministry
+ US-Pakistan talks run into snags
+ Governor's rule challenged in Supreme Court
+ Nawaz not satisfied with pace of Ehtesab
+ Major administrative shakeup in Sindh
+ Hakim Said's murder case: PM's remark comes under fire in Senate
+ Nawaz hopes Senate will pass CA-15
+ Muttahida MPs names not on ECL
+ WAPDA workers protest against privatization
+ Construction of motorway in two years
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BUSINESS & ECONOMY
+ $ bonds can be used to raise rupee loans
+ Record rice export may fetch $810 million
+ Inter-bank rates cross Rs57 mark
+ Govt borrows Rs26.42bn from banks
+ Terms of reference for IPPs committee issued
+ CBR levies fixed tax on jewellers: APJGA
+ Non-receipt of due payments: BoE asks banks for prompt reports
+ No default on servicing of loans: WB
+ Downsizing in MNCs to improve profitability
+ Stocks witness dull trading due to cricket match
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EDITORIALS & FEATURES
+ What now? Ardeshir Cowasjee
+ Back to the barricades Irfan Husain
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SPORTS
+ Pakistan thrash Germany to meet Holland in final
+ Akram, Malik appear before PCB probe committee
+ Jahangir for Germany today to contest WSF post
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NATIONAL NEWS
981107
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New rates of interest for dollar bonds
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Ihtasham ul Haque
ISLAMABAD, Nov 6: The government here on Friday announced revised
interest rates of 4, 3, 2 per cent over LIBOR for dollar bonds of
7-, 5- and 3-year maturity.
These would be bearer bonds, and profits on them would be paid in
dollars every six months at the rates fixed. On maturity, the
principal amount would also be paid in dollars. The rates and rules
regulating the new bond scheme are expected to induce the black
money holders to whiten their holdings.
Prime minister Nawaz Sharif told a select gathering of bankers and
businessmen at the launching ceremony of the new bond scheme that
his government attached the highest priority to the job of
restoring what he termed the "shattered confidence" of the
investors.
According to the details announced by Mr Sharif, there will be a
six-month London Inter Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus 2 per cent
interest rate for bonds of three-year maturity. And for bonds of 5-
year maturity, 6-month LIBOR plus 3 per cent interest rate will be
offered on 5-year maturity of bonds, and 6 months LIBOR plus 4 per
cent interest rate will be extended on the maturity of 7-year
bonds.
"From tomorrow dollar bonds will be available in all the banks and
could be purchased by anybody", the prime minister said.
These bonds could be encashed in Pakistan currency before the
encashment date at the prevailing official rate. These bonds would
be exempt from wealth and income tax. And no questions would be
asked about the source of these bonds. If encashed before or on due
date in Pakistan currency, no wealth tax will apply to the amount
and no questions about source would be asked.
These bonds could be used as collaterals for bank loans, for the
purchase of public enterprises and banks now being privatized and
could also be traded on the stock exchanges. If a bond is encashed
within one year from the date of issue, no profit will be paid to
the bond holders and any profit paid would be recovered at the time
of the encashment of the bond. If a 7-year bonds is encashed within
5 years of issue, the rate of return will be the same as that of 5
year-bond. If a 5-year bond is encashed within 3 years of issue,
the rate of return will be the same as that of 3-year bond and the
excess profit, if paid, will be recovered at the rate of
encashment. "These new concessions will also be available to even
those who had purchased American bonds, from their frozen foreign
currency accounts, after 22 July 1998," Mr Sharif said.
According to details, 1: New rules have been framed to be called
the Special US Dollar Bonds Rules, 1998.
2. These rules shall apply to the Special US Dollar Bonds issued in
the denomination of $100, $1,000, $10,000 and $100,000 for a period
of three, five and seven years from the date of issue.
3. The bonds will be registered or bearer bonds.
4. (i) Foreign currency account holders or foreign currency
certificates of investment holders with the scheduled banks or non-
bank financial institutions shall be entitled to purchase these
bonds out of their foreign currency deposits.
(ii) Holders of US dollar bearer certificate issued under the US
dollar bearer certificate Rules 1991, and Five- year Foreign
currency Bearer Certificates issued under the Five years Foreign
currency Bearer Certificates Rules, 1992 and Three years Foreign
Currency Bearer Certificates issued under the Three Year Bearer
Certificate Rules, 1998 shall also be entitled to purchase these
bonds in exchange for the certificates.
(iii) In addition, the bonds may be purchased on payment of the
value in US dollar provided the amount so paid does not represent.
(a) any foreign exchange borrowed under any general or special
permission given by the State Bank of Pakistan under sub-section
(I) of section 4 of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (VII
of 1947);
(b) any payment from abroad for goods exported from Pakistan;
(c) proceeds of securities sold and issued to non-residents;
(d) any payment received from abroad for services rendered in or
from Pakistan;
(e) earnings or profits of the overseas offices or branches of
Pakistani firms and companies including banks: and
(f) any foreign exchange purchased from an authorised dealer in
Pakistan for any purpose.
6. These bonds shall be issued to the foreign currency account
holders of foreign currency certificates or investment holders by
the respective scheduled banks or Non-Bank Financial Institutions
each one of which shall be called "Issuing Authority" and each of
their offices called "Office of Issue" 7. (i) These bonds purchased
under these rules shall be exempt from the levy of wealth tax for
the period for which such bonds are held or until maturity of such
bonds.
(ii) Assets created out of the sale proceeds of the bonds by the
original registered holder shall be exempt from levy of wealth tax
for a period of six years reckoned from the year in which such
bonds were converted from foreign currency accounts or deposits and
the following five years.
(iii) The immunities available to the foreign currency accounts
under the Protection of Economic Reform Act. 1992 (XII of 1992),
shall apply to the bonds issued under these rules,
(iv) The immunities available under the US dollar Bearer
Certificate rules, 1991. Five Years Foreign Currency Bearer
Certificate Rules, 1992 and Three Year Foreign Currency Bearer
Certificates Rules, 1998 shall apply to the Bonds issued under
these rules in exchange for such prescribed form.
(v) Assets created out of the enhancement of bearer bonds shall be
exempted from levy of Wealth Tax for a period of six year reckoned
from the year in which such bonds were encashed subject to the
condition that a certificate of encashment is obtained from the
issuing bank in the prescribed form.
8. The investment made in these bonds shall be exempted from income
tax. Exemption from levy of income tax on its profit and deduction
of Zakat shall also be available to holders of these bonds for as
long as these bonds are held by them.
9. There shall be no maximum limit for the purchase of these bonds.
10. The face value of the bonds shall be encashable on maturity in
US dollars or Pakistani rupees at the prevailing official exchange
rate.
11. (I) Profit shall be payable on these bonds on completion of
each period of six months reckoned up to the date of maturity or
encashment whichever is earlier. The profit on these bonds shall be
payable at the following rates, namely:- a) For bonds of 3 years
maturity 6 months LIBOR on the day preceding the date of payment
plus 2 per cent. b) For bonds of 5 years maturity 6 months LIBOR
on the day preceding the date of payment plus 3 per cent. c) For
bonds of 7 years maturity 6 months LIBOR on the day preceding the
date of payment plus 4 percent.
Responding to a question the prime minister said he did not have
any idea how much dollar could be collected from the scheme. " But
my hope is that we will have lot of dollars specially from the
overseas Pakistanis.
Prime Minister's adviser on finance Dr Hafiz Pasha, minister for
commerce Ishaq Dar and the presidents of banks and other officials
were also present during the ceremony.
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981107
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Reshuffle in top bureaucracy: Dar given finance ministry
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M. Ziauddin
ISLAMABAD, Nov 6: Federal commerce minister Ishaq Dar was finally
given the charge of finance ministry on Friday, putting to rest
speculation about his impending assignment.
According to a notification of the cabinet division, issued here
late night, the prime minister has allocated, with immediate
effect, the portfolio of the ministry of finance, economic affairs
and statistics division to Ishaq Dar. He will continue to hold the
portfolio of the minister of commerce.
At the same time the federal government announced large-scale
reshuffle in the top bureaucratic hierarchy in the ministries of
finance, commerce and the Central Board of Revenue.
In what appears to be a serious departure from convention, a
retired civil servant, Khalid Javed, has been made finance
secretary in place of incumbent Moin Afzal who has been asked to
report to the establishment division.
Mr Javed, before his retirement, had also served as federal finance
secretary during the first tenure of prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
After his retirement he served as principal of Staff College and
then as chairman of WAPDA. At present he is serving as
administrator of Civil Service Academy. Moin Afzal awaits new
posting.
Additional finance secretary Ghafoor Mirza has been promoted to
grade 22 and made special secretary of finance.
Dr Hafiz Pasha, adviser to the prime minister on finance, continues
in his position.
Commerce secretary Iqbal Fareed has been made CBR chairman and the
services of incumbent chairman Moinuddin Khan has been handed over
to the Punjab government.
Additional commerce secretary, Mohammad Suleman has been given the
charge of the ministry. Export promotion bureau vice chairman Qamar
Baig has been promoted to grade 22 and made chairman of Steel
Mills.
Zafar Altaf, agriculture secretary, has been asked to report to the
establishment division and Mumtaz Ali, member, Customs, has been
made member of national tariff commission and the incumbent member
of national tariff commission, Anwer Ali, has been brought in his
place as member (Customs) of the CBR.
Sindh chief secretary Tasneem Ahmad Siddiqui has been promoted to
grade 22 and his services will remain at the disposal of the Sindh
government. A new secretary of information for Sindh is being
appointed in place of Aftab Memon, who is said to be on transfer.
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981107
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US-Pakistan talks run into snags
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Nov 6: Top level talks between US and Pakistan appeared
going nowhere after the sixth round of negotiations in Washington
as foreign secretary Shamshad Ahmed confirmed that there were "some
basically substantive divergences in approach and thinking between
the two sides on nuclear issues."
Pakistan said categorically after the talks that unless the
atmosphere of coercion is removed Islamabad will not sign the CTBT
and Mr Shamshad stated clearly that this included removal of
military sanctions imposed by the Pressler Amendment and resolution
of the F-16 issue, besides lifting of economic sanctions.
The US is not ready to even consider removing military sanctions
until the Congress sees "sufficient progress toward non-
proliferation" by Pakistan and accordingly the waiver authority
given to the president does not include the defence side.
After two days of intense negotiations with US officials, the
foreign secretary and the Pakistani ambassador Riaz Khokhar jointly
faced the Washington-based Pakistani Press on Thursday afternoon,
answering a battery of probing questions on the nature of their
talks, the expectations from the PM's visit both in Pakistan and
the US and what should be expected between now and Nawaz-Clinton
meeting in December.
The secretary cautioned against high expectations from Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif's December visit to the White House.
What clearly emerged from their briefing was that the two sides
were sticking to their guns firmly and the best that should be
expected from Mr Nawaz Sharif's Washington visit would be the
"beginning of the ending of the atmosphere of coercion."
"Don't take your expectations to the sky when you know that there
are basically some substantive divergences in approach and
thinking. Given the present situation, expectations should be kept
at a realistic level. Don't think that something great will emerge.
Such state visits are successful if they open up opportunities. Let
us hope that the visit provides an opening to new opportunity to
enhance our relationship," Mr Ahmed said.
A brief written statement issued at the briefing said the talks
between Mr Ahmed and Mr Talbott were held in an atmosphere of
understanding and warm friendship and the two sides carried out "a
detailed review of the whole range of bilateral relations,
particularly the steady progress made in the on-going dialogue over
security and non-proliferation issues."
The statement said both sides agreed to continue their dialogue
with a view to reconciling Pakistan's vital security concerns and
non-proliferation objectives of the US, but Mr Ahmed told
journalists no more talks were scheduled between now and the PMs
official visit in December.
"Have you agreed on all issues to be discussed and have
understandings been reached already if no more talks are to be
held," Mr Shamshad and ambassador Khokhar were asked by a
journalist. "This is a googly," Khokhar said laughing off the
question.
Bits and pieces of the nature of talks and their outcome emerged
from the cross questioning done by journalists.
"What step are needed for removal of the atmosphere of coercion,"
the secretary was asked.
"It includes green signals by the US to the IMF, World Bank, Asian
Bank and other IFIs. Then removal of Pakistan specific sanctions,
all sanctions, including Pressler sanctions. We perceive this as
coercive atmosphere because the very existence of these sanctions
has had an adversary effect over the years on Pakistan's strength
not only economic but militarily fields," he said.
Asked to comment on the State Department spokesman's comments that
the US wanted to "nail some commitments", the secretary said it was
their position but Pakistan had made no commitments other than the
UN speech of the prime minister which was very clear.
Is there an impasse in the talks, he was asked. "We don't describe
it as this. No commitments were made. We have made our position
very clear. We have to protect our national interest. When we
believe our interests are secure, then we will go ahead."
Ambassador Khokhar chipped in. "There is never an impasse unless of
course we are facing a firing squad."
Asked what was Pakistan expecting from the Nawaz Sharif visit, Mr
Shamshad Ahmed said: "Any significant step that removes the current
coercive atmosphere. If that becomes possible it would be progress.
If we can get a solution of F-16 issue, that would be progress."
Mr Khokhar added: "The resolution of the F-16 issue does not mean
return of the old planes. If we have to get the planes they have to
be upgraded models. not the seven year olds."
Mr Ahmed said: "It is difficult to say it at this stage what will
come out of the visit but anything which can constitute a
significant step towards removal of coercive atmosphere, will mean
success."
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981107
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Governor's rule challenged in Supreme Court
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Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Nov 6: The imposition of governor's rule on Sindh by the
federal government was challenged in the Supreme Court in Islamabad
on Friday.
Syed Iqbal Haider of Muslim Welfare Movement filed a petition and
officials at the Supreme Court confirmed it.
His earlier attempt, challenging the federal government's decision,
failed when the Supreme Court's Karachi registry returned his
petition with objections.
In his petition the MWM chief contended that the Sindh situation
demanded imposition of governor's rule under Article 234 and
holding of transparent elections after dissolution of the
provincial assembly.
He stated that by imposing governor's rule under Article 232 (2)
(C) the federal government had kept the Sindh Government alive for
the purpose of horse trading.
He stated that when the provincial assembly came into existence,
the PPP emerged as the largest party by securing 35 seats, followed
by the MQM with 28 seats and the PML secured only 16 seats. He said
the coalition government of PML and MQM failed and the
circumstances demanded that opportunity should be given to the PPP
to form the government along with others.
He further contended that the governor's rule was not signed by the
President instead it was signed by a secretary cabinet.
He asked the court to examine whether the secretary had the power
to sign the proclamation order, depriving the chief minister of his
powers.
He said it was a settled law that in the presence of special
provision, general provisions were not invoked.
The petitioner said the governor's rule was imposed on Sindh under
the general provision [article 232 (2)(C)] despite the fact that a
special provision [Article 234] was there.
He prayed the court to declare the federal government's order of
30.10.98, illegal, void and against the fundamental rights of the
people of Sindh. He also prayed the court to suspend the operation
of order till the decision of his petition.
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981106
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Nawaz not satisfied with pace of Ehtesab
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Ashraf Mumtaz
LAHORE, Nov 5: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has reportedly expressed
his complete dissatisfaction with the on-going accountability
process because not a single case against important political
leaders has so far been decided and none is expected to be decided
in the near future.
His aides are discussing possible ways and means to expedite the
process and an important proposal under consideration is that the
chief justices should be approached with the request that the
pending cases should be decided as early as possible.
There is, however, no move about the cases against Mr Sharif and
other people belonging to the ruling party.
The Ehtesab Bureau chairman had said a few months ago that
decisions on cases against former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and
her husband Asif Zardari would start coming during the next few
months (i.e. tentatively by now). However, no case is even near
completion.
Cases against other important people are also expected to take
quite some time to decide. And once these are decided by the
ehtesab benches of high courts, appeals before the Supreme Court
would take quite some more time for adjudication.
Experts say that no legislator against whom references are pending
is expected to lose his or her assembly seat in the foreseeable
future.
Accountability process was started with the promulgation of an
ordinance immediately after the dismissal of the PPP government in
November 1996. However, the accountability laws were drastically
amended by the PML government which deprived the Chief Ehtesab
Commissioner of many of his powers. Many vital powers were given to
the newly created body Ehtesab Cell, subsequently renamed as
Ehtesab Bureau.
Informed official sources told Dawn on Thursday that several
reasons were responsible for the slow pace of accountability. It is
said that there is not much coordination between the Chief
Accountability Commissioner and the Ehtesab Bureau, and at times it
appears as if the two institutions are working at cross-purposes.
The Ehtesab Bureau is supposed to be subservient to the CEC.
However, the factual position is quite different. The CEC mostly
does not know what the Ehtesab Bureau is doing or which cases it is
planning to take up for investigation. There are reports that it is
the Ehtesab Bureau and not the CEC which is calling the shots. All
matters like appointment of lawyers to prosecute various cases,
fixation of their fees and even preparation of guidelines for them
are decided by the EB.
It is said that the CEC is not satisfied with the performance of
many of the lawyers and he is reluctant to pay the amount of fees
proposed by the EB.
The extent of coordination between the two organizations CEC and
the EB can be gauged from the fact that the EB has taken no
action on cases of over a 100 bureaucrats despite reminders by the
CEC.
The CEC, it is said, had also sought details of cases pending
against a former Balochistan chief minister. However, the CEC was
informed that no record was available with the EB.
The CEC had to send a strongly-worded letter to the EB to get the
file. Some quarters say that the CEC had warned that he would
initiate contempt proceedings against the relevant people in case
he was not provided the record.
It is not yet clear whether the record has been made available to
the CEC or whether the CEC plans to take any action in the light of
his letter.
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981104
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Major administrative shakeup in Sindh
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Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 3: In a major administrative shakeup, the Sindh
government has effected large-scale transfers and postings,
including the divisional commissioner and four deputy commissioners
in Karachi Division. However, Javed Hanif, the deputy commissioner
of district Central, has been retained at his present post for the
time being.
These changes, to be effective immediately, have been made in the
light of the decisions taken at a high-level meeting presided over
by Governor Moinuddin Haider who has been put in the driving seat
after the dismissal of the Jatoi government on Oct 30.
Governor Haider, after assuming the new responsibility, had called
for a list of officials in order to make necessary changes in the
administrative setup with the aim of bringing to the fore such
officials as could deliver the goods.
He also made his intention public that after changes in the civil
administration, he would pay attention to the organizations
responsible for providing civic services which have lately come
under much public criticism for mismanagement and for their failure
to provide facilities to people. Such civic agencies are KESC,
KWSB, KDA and KMC.
According to the notification issued on Tuesday evening, the
following transfers and postings have been effected:
Shafiq-ur-Rehman Paracha, an officer of ex-PCS (Grade 20) working
as Secretary Excise and Taxation, has been transferred and posted
as the Divisional Commissioner of Karachi replacing Mir Hussain Ali
who was asked to report to the Services and General Administration
Department (S&GAD).
Khusro Pervaiz Khan, a DMG officer (BPS-19), Secretary (Survey)
Board of Revenue, Sindh, stands transferred and posted as Deputy
Commissioner of district East vice Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui
transferred and asked to report to S&GAD.
Sualeh Ahmad Farooqi, a DMG officer (BPS-19), Director Protocol,
S&GAD, was transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner, district
South, vice Mushtaq Ali Memon transferred and directed to report to
S$GAD.
Tariq Hussain Niazi, a DMG officer (BPS-18), ADM district West, has
been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner, district West,
vice Amir Ali Behan transferred and asked to report to S&GAD.
Muhammad Yunus Daga, a DMG Officer (BPS-18) Deputy Commissioner,
Khairpur, has been transferred and posted as Deputy Commissioner
Malir, vice Khursheed Naeem Malik transferred and asked to report
to S&GAD.
Muhammad Salim Khan, a DMG officer(BPS-20) working as Secretary
Industries, Commerce and Mineral Department, stands transferred as
Secretary Excise and Taxation vice Shafiq-ur-Rehman Paracha.
However, he will continue to look after the Department of
Industries and Mineral Department.
Syed Ghulam Nabi Shah, an officer of provincial judiciary (BPS-20)
presently posted as District and Sessions Judge, Ghotki, has been
transferred and posted as Secretary to Government of Sindh, Law
Department vice Ali Ahmed Junejo transferred and asked to report to
High Court of Sindh.
Muhammad Sharif, a DMG officer (BPS-20) Secretary Social Welfare
and Women Development and Environment Department, has been
transferred and posted as Secretary, Health Department, relieving
Dr A. R. Bughio, Additional Secretary Health (Technical) of the
additional charge. Muhammad Sharif shall continue to look after the
work of the post of Secretary, Social Welfare and Women Development
and Environment Department.
Dr A. R. Bughio, Additional Secretary (Technical) Health
Department, has been transferred and asked to report to S&GAD.
On promotion to the rank of Deputy Inspector-General of Police
(BPS-20) Farooq Amin Qureshi, an officer of the PSP, has been
posted as DIG Police, Karachi Range, vice Syed Mushtaq Ahmed Shah
transferred and directed to report to S&GAD.
Dr Amir Ahmed, a DMG Officer (BPS-18) Deputy Secretary (Cabinet)
S&GAD, has been transferred and posted as Director Protocol, S&GAD,
vice Sulaeh Ahmed Farooqui transferred.
Iqbal Ahmed Solangi, an officer of Education, Government of
Pakistan, Additional Secretary/ Director General, Excise and
Taxation Department, has been repatriated to the federal government
and directed to report to Establishment Division, Government of
Pakistan, as his services are no more required.
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981105
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Hakim Said's murder case: PM's remark comes under fire in Senate
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mohammad Yasin
ISLAMABAD, Nov 4: The Senate on Wednesday started a debate on the
imposition of governor's rule on Sindh for curbing terrorism and
restoring peace to Karachi.
Initiating the debate on the issue, Muttahida Qaumi Movement
Senator Aftab Sheikh took the wind out of the plea taken by the
prime minister that governor's rule had been imposed on the basis
of the confessional statement of Aamirullah, accused in Hakim Said
murder case.
Mr Sheikh said that the Advocate General of Sindh had told the
Sindh High Court when the habeas corpus petition, moved by the
accused's mother came up for hearing on Wednesday, that Aamirullah
had made no confessional statement pertaining to the murder of
Hakim Said.
He said that this had taken the wind out of the prime minister's
one of the reasons that led to the imposition of governor's rule.
In all, seven senators participated in the debate. During the
speech of the Minister of State Capt Haleem Siddiqui on the issue
there was a constant interruption by MQM Senator Mustapha Kamal
Rizvi whom the chair, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, reprimanded. He
warned the sen not to speak when the chair was taking the floor. On
one occasion, the chair warned Rizvi that he could ask him to leave
the House if he kept on flouting the rules.
By and large the senators listened to the speeches calmly except
when Mr Siddiqui referred to the clean up operation by the PPP
government in Karachi and cited the custodial deaths on the basis
of which its government was dismissed.
The PPP senators made a slight attempt to boo the speaker.
Aftab Sheikh condemned the imposition of the governor's rule on
Sindh and accused the prime minister of wanting to crush the MQM
with the assistance of agencies for achieving several objectives.
He accused the PM of defaming and maligning the MQM and added that
malafide use of Article 232 had been made for enforcing the
governor's rule. Enumerating various reasons for imposing the
governor's rule he cited among them usurping the resources of the
province, grabbing the mayorship of Karachi, winning the local
bodies polls in the province, holding fresh elections to the Sindh
Assembly and increasing the present PML strength in the house.
He said the aim of the government was to hold hostage the people of
Sindh because they had formed consensus on the sharing and
protecting their natural resources.
He said the action against the MQM was taken because it had refused
to side with the government on the CA-15. He said incidents of
murders and mayhem were order of the day in the Punjab but why the
government was not imposing governor rule there.
He referred to the killing of a religious scholar in Islamabad but
no action had been taken so far.
Deputy opposition leader Mian Raza Rabbani, taking part in the
debate, described the situation as serious saying that Sindh
squirms under the heels of the imposition of the governor's rule.
He said that even after that the innocent people were being killed
in Karachi.
Rabbani said the situation in Sindh was the outcome of the
political expediency of the prime minister. He said the government
freed the terrorists on parole against the advice of the law-
enforcement agencies. He alleged that the PM had carried out
demoralisation of the law enforcement agencies. The personnel of
the law enforcement agencies, he added, were being picked up and
killed.
He wondered now the ruling party had the audacity of talking of
their concern over the deteriorating law and order situation after
striking compromises with the terrorists and paying them millions
of rupees' compensation.
Mr Rabbani questioned how the PM gave three days warning to the
terrorists to surrender. He said that this was being done with
something ulterior motives.
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981105
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Nawaz hopes Senate will pass CA-15
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Correspondent
MINGORA, Nov 4: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that with the
support of the people his government will be able to get the CA-15
through the Senate even though his party did not enjoy majority in
the upper house.
The bill, he said, had already been passed by the National Assembly
with an overwhelming majority.
Addressing public meetings at Bisham and Kalam, two remote areas of
Swat, on Wednesday, Mr Sharif regretted that some people were
opposing the bill, and gave an assurance that after the passage of
the bill the Shariat would be enforced in the country, that being
the demand and the aspiration of the people of Pakistan which had
been secured in the name of Islam.
The prime minister also referred to Pakistan's nuclear tests which
placed the country on the map of nuclear weapons countries and
secured for it a prestigious position in the world.
Pakistan was even a greater nuclear power than India because it had
tested six devices at a time in disregard of pressures put by world
powers. The tests were all the more necessary because Pakistan's
security was at stake after Indian tests.
Mr Sharif said that welfare of the people was dear to him and it
was for that reason that he decided to reduce power rates by 30 per
cent in spite of the World Bank and IMF pressure who had asked for
a further 25 per cent increase in electricity charges.
The measure would certainly achieve the objective of lessening
people's economic hardships, he remarked.
Earlier, at Bisham the prime minister was briefed about the
problems of the people of the area.
On this occasion he announced a grant of Rs100 million for the
construction of Bisham-Khwaza Khela Road. He also sanctioned Rs20
million for the provision of potable drinking water and
installation of a TV booster for the area.
Mr Sharif announced electrification of 20 villages in the area
beside asking for expeditious completion of work on new telephone
exchanges.
He also ordered installation of a grid station at Thakot. Other
development schemes announced by the prime minister included
building of roads from Kalam to Mahodand and Kalam to Gujral,
establishment of a degree college at Madyan and construction of
road from Saidu Sharif to Kalam.
The prime minister was accompanied by chief minister Sardar Mahtab
Ahmad Khan, federal minister Sh Rashid Ahmad, MNA Shujaat Ali Khan,
provincial minister Mian Anwar Ali and MNA Adnan Aurangzeb.
The public meetings were also addressed by Shaikh Rashid Ahmad who
severely criticized the opposition for, what he called, its
destructive role in national politics.
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981105
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Muttahida MPs names not on ECL
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Nov 4: The immigration authorities have refused to have
the names of MQM parliamentarians on the exit control list (ECL).
Sources in the FIA immigration told Dawn here on Tuesday that after
the imposition of governor's rule only seven names of those who are
allegedly involved in Hakim Said murder case, were added to the
ECL.
These sources said that the names of MQM senators, MNAs and MPAs as
reported in the newspapers, have not been put on the ECL.
The seven names which were added after the imposition of governor's
rule include MQM MPA Zulfiqar Haider, ex-assistant sub inspector
police Noshad Sarwar, Arif Khan, Asif Chitta, Wahab Bhandari, Ajmal
Pahari and Rehan.
The interior ministry also denied that it has added more names to
the ECL. However, nothing was said about the possible addition of
the names which are currently under consideration.
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981104
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WAPDA workers protest against privatization
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Reporter
LAHORE, Nov 3: WAPDA employees in many parts of the country
observed strike on Tuesday against the planned privatization of the
Authority and other grievances facing the workers.
The call was given by the WAPDA Hydro-electric Central Labour
Union. The workers strongly opposed conversion of WAPDA into
Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO).
Pakistan WAPDA Hydroelectric Central Labour Union general secretary
Khurshid Ahmad has alleged that over Rs1 billion are being spent on
establishment of the Pakistan Power Electric Company to supervise
privatization of WAPDA's power wing which was running a huge loss.
Speaking at a union rally here on Tuesday, Mr Ahmad announced a
tool-down strike on November 24 if "meaningful" talks on the
question of PEPCO and disinvestment of the power wing were not held
within a "reasonable" time.
He asserted that a battery of officers was being appointed in the
PEPCO as consultants and experts with fabulous salaries and perks.
According to him, some of them were to get monthly emoluments as
high as one and half a million rupees in addition to free furnished
accommodation, vehicles, travelling and dearness allowances,
telephones and six to 10 servants. "If we calculate the amount to
be given to these so-called experts, it comes to millions of
dollars and if this is invested, the power wing will turn to be
profitable organization", he claimed.
The Lahore rally was part of the PWHECLU's countrywide protest
campaign and, according to a Press release, workers took to streets
in Hyderabad, Sukkur, Nawabshah, Larkana, Sibbi, Quetta,
Bahawalpur, Multan, Sahiwal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Gujranwala,
Faisalabad, Sargodha, Peshawar and Rawalpindi.
In Lahore, hundreds of WAPDA workers marched on Nisbet Road, Mcleod
Road and Egerten Road and held a protest meeting in front of the
WAPDA House. Carrying placards, they were raising slogans against
power wing's privitization.
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981103
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Construction of motorway in two years
-------------------------------------------------------------------
KARACHI, Nov 2: The construction of the Rs10 billion Karachi-
Hyderabad motorway is likely to begin by the end of this year. The
motorway will be constructed by the Fauji Foundation in two years,
official sources in ministry of communication told PPI on Monday.
The project was approved by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his
recent visit to Karachi on Oct 15, and he earmarked Rs7 billion for
its completion. The rest of the amount will jointly be borne by the
Sindh government, and local civic agencies, the sources added.
Fauji Foundation plans to associate experienced construction
companies of motorways and highways. The construction schedule is
tight and activities numerous and require regulated and methodical
execution.
For this purpose, Fauji Foundation plans to acquire the management
services of consultants, and supervision consultants of
international repute, who shell be independent entities to ensure
quality control and quality assurance and its timely completion.
The project is planned to be completed at a cost of over Rs10
billion with debt equity ratio of 70:30. The revenue generation is
based on a traffic survey carried out by the NHA in March. PPI
===================================================================
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
981107
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$ bonds can be used to raise rupee loans
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Mohiuddin Aazim
KARACHI, Nov 6: A notification issued by the Finance Division on
Friday announced that the dollar bonds would be acceptable as
collateral for raising loans in Pak rupees. It said the
Privatization Commission will also accept the bonds as payment
against the assets being sold or privatized.
The notification amended certain rules governing the sale of the
bonds scheme launched on July 22 to raise the rates of return and
reduce their maturity periods, besides declaring them as bearer
instrument. The notification also announced that the profit on the
bonds would now be payable in the US dollars both to their resident
and non-resident holders.
Previously resident holders were supposed to earn the profit in Pak
rupees and the non-resident in dollars.
The notification said the maturity periods of these bonds would be
3 years, 5 years and 7 years instead of 5 years, 7 years and 10
years.
It said 3-year and 5-year bonds would carry an annual return of 6-
month LIBOR plus 2 per cent and 6-month LIBOR plus 3 per cent
whereas 7-year bonds would offer 6-month LIBOR plus 4 per cent per
annum. Previously 5-year and 7-year bonds carried an annual return
equal to 6-month LIBOR and 6-month LIBOR plus 1 per cent whereas
10-year bonds offered 6-month LIBOR plus 2 per cent.
For the purpose of calculating the profit the 6-month LIBOR on the
day preceding the date of payment would be taken into account.
LIBORLondon Inter-bank Offered Rates is currently a little over 5
per cent for six months.
The notification said the bonds would be registered or bearer bonds
which means that the holders of these bonds can sell them in the
market to earn premiums.
It further said that the profit on the bonds would be payable on
completion of each period of six months reckoned up to the date of
maturity or encashment whichever is earlier.
Previously these bonds were not bearer bonds and could not be sold
in the market.
The dollar bonds were launched on July 22 specially for those whose
foreign currency accounts were frozen on May 28the day Pakistan
conducted a nuclear blast. They were given the choice to encash
their frozen accounts into rupees at a rate of Rs 46 to a dollar or
convert them into these bonds. But since the bonds offered very low
rates of return on very long maturities and also lacked proper
incentives the scheme failed to take off: the bonds attracted only
about $35 million during a little more than three months.
Now the Finance Division has also allowed purchase of these bonds
by the general public on payment of their value in the US dollars
on certain conditions.
Besides the holders of Dollar Bearer Certificates and 3-year and 5-
year Foreign Currency Bearer Certificates have also been allowed to
convert their DBCs and FCBCs into the dollar bonds.
The notification said the immunities available to the holders of
DBCs and FCBCs would continue to apply on the bonds purchased in
exchange of the same. It further said that the assets created out
of the encashment of bearer bonds would be exempt from the levy of
wealth tax for a period of six years reckoned from the year in
which such bonds were encashed subject to the condition that a
certificate of encashment is obtained from the issuing bank on the
prescribed form.
The conditions set for the purchase of these bonds through US
dollars say the amount of dollars to be used for buying of the
bonds should not have come from foreign exchange borrowings from
abroad or export proceeds or proceeds of securities sold and issued
to non-residents.
The amount of dollars earned through services rendered in or from
Pakistan, earnings or profits of the overseas offices or branches
of Pakistani firms and companies including banks and any foreign
exchange purchased from a bank in Pakistan can also not be used for
buying these bonds.
Seemingly the government wants only those stocks of dollars to be
used for buying of these bonds that were purchased from open market
in Pakistan or amassed at home or abroad through illegal means.
Bankers say it may help in whitening of a sizable amount of black
money in circulation.
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981107
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Record rice export may fetch $810 million
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Shaukat Ali
LAHORE, Nov 6: The ministry of commerce is undertaking special
measures to hit the target of exporting a record 2.65 million high
quality basmati rice during the coming calendar year.
The ministry through various offices of the Export Promotion Bureau
in the high rice yielding regions of the central Punjab, is setting
up centres to help rice traders prepare their consignments in line
with the demand of the foreign markets.
"If every thing goes normal in coming few weeks - during which
period rice procurement from the fields will be completed and
stored adequately - the country hopes to earn a record around $ 810
million next year through the rice shipment. Since rice prices are
still soaring in the international markets prospects are bright to
earn even more from what we expect at present", ministry sources
said.
Rice dealers circles said that some rice importing companies from
US and the European Union - the regions offering highest price for
the Pakistani rice - had already booked orders from the new crop.
They said that most of the crop in different Punjab districts had
been harvested and the expectation was that the overall yield would
be around 700,000 ton higher than last year's 4.4 million ton.
"The government is also considering to advance credit to rice
exporters who are in possession of confirmed orders for the
shipment enabling them to accomplish the deal within the period
agreed with the rice buyers", sources said adding that in most
cases it were the same exporters who sold rice to foreign buyers
this year and as such there would be not much problem in dealing
with the enhanced shipment during the coming year.
Pakistan's rice export this year, according to the sources, has
crossed the 2 million ton mark.
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981107
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Inter-bank rates cross Rs57 mark
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 6: For the first time after the introduction of
multiple exchange rates system on July 22, the inter-bank rates
crossed the mark of Rs 57 per dollar on Friday.
Senior bankers told Dawn that floating inter-bank rates rose from
Rs 56.70 and Rs 56.90 for spot buying and selling on Thursday to Rs
57.00 and Rs 57.25 on Friday.
The State Bank composite exchange rates based on weighted average
buying and selling rates of selected banks also rose to Rs 51.31
and Rs 51.71 for buying and selling from Rs 51.21 and Rs 51.60
respectively.
The composite rates stood at Rs 49.23 and Rs 49.63 when the State
Bank started quoting the same from Aug 1, 1998. This means a
depreciation of around 4.2 per cent in the rupee value during a
little more than three months97 days to be precise.
The inter-bank market has been facing a shortage of dollars
immediately after May 28 when Pakistan went nuclear and it led to a
decline in foreign exchange inflows. But the most immediate reason
for the dollar shooting up in the inter-bank market is the Oct 16
decision of the State Bank whereby importers of five essential
items were asked to buy 50 per cent of required foreign exchange
from the market.
Bankers cite another reason for the shortage of dollars in inter-
bank market. They say for the last few weeks some state- run banks
are borrowing sizable amounts of dollars from the marketeither for
their own use or to help the government meet its external foreign
exchange obligations.
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981104
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Govt borrows Rs26.42bn from banks
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 3: The government on Tuesday borrowed Rs26.420 billion
from the money market at an average yield of 14.12 per cent through
sale of one-year Treasury Bills.
Senior bankers said the State Bank sold the T-bills on behalf of
the government at different rates ranging between 14.40-14.49 per
cent. They said SBP attracted total bids worth Rs50.60 billion for
one-year T-bills of which bids worth Rs26.42 billion were accepted
and the rest scrapped. They said SBP also received Rs2.75 billion
worth of bids for 3-month T-bills and Rs17.76 billion worth of bids
for 6-month T-bills all of which were rejected.
Bankers said a US-based high-profile bank and a local private bank
based in Rawalpindi were the two main buyers of one-year T-bills.
They said the market remained surplus with short term funds adding
that call rates ranged between 0.25 per cent to 1.0 per cent.
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981104
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Terms of reference for IPPs committee issued
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, Nov 3: The Accountability Bureau headed by Senator
Saifur Rehman will continue to deal with HUBCO, KAPCO and other
power companies which have been issued Notice of Intent to
Terminate (NIT).
The terms of reference of the 13-member committee constituted by
the prime minister on IPPs issue have been issued here on Tuesday
by the PM Secretariat. The new committee headed by Sikandar Khan of
Millat Tractors will deal with other IPPs and the new projects
coming up in the private power sector.
"The new power committee has been excluded from the IPPs whose
affairs were investigated by the Accountability Cell Committee
(ACC)", said an official of the PM Secretariat. He said that the
terms and reference of the new committee provided, "the cases which
have already been finalized or are under investigation will be
outside the preview of the committee".
According to the terms and reference issued by Kh. Zaheer Ahmad,
Additional Secretary PM Secretariat, the committee will be
responsible directly to the prime minister and will be authorized
to request any ministry or government agency to provide information
as asked by it.
Also the committee shall submit recommendations to the PM office
from time to time for the resolution of the issues related to the
IPPs. The committee was also authorized to hold discussion with
IPPs sponsors, financing agencies or any other party associated
with these.
The terms and reference further said the committee shall submit its
report within 30 days and that a seven members could constitute a
quorum. The first meeting of the committee will be held on 10 of
this month.
However, informed sources said that the new committee or the
Accountability Bureau would not be in a position to do anything as
the issue of IPPs was subjudice. It was said that theAccountability
Bureau could not be immediately sidelined as it was pursing various
cases in courts.
Sources said that the issues related with HUBCO and KAPCO could not
be re-opened by the Accountability Bureau as they were
comprehensive discussed and settled between chief minister Punjab,
Dr Hafeez Pasha and the local officials of the World Bank and the
IMF for securing $5 billion bailout package.
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981103
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CBR levies fixed tax on jewellers: APJGA
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Correspondent
MULTAN, Nov 2: Central Board of Revenue has levied a fixed tax of
Rs 9,000 on all the jewellers, gemstone dealers, goldsmiths and
issued notices for payment of this tax through All Pakistan
Jewellers and Gemstone Association.
Most jewellers said it was unexpected. Talking to newsmen here on
Monday, Syed Abdul Rauf Shah, member of central committee of APJGA
said that CBR had resiled from the agreement between the jewellers
and the government on the issue of general sales tax at the rate of
Rs 350 per tola on gold.
He said that APJGA Balochistan unit president Abdul Ghafoor had
received notices for payment of Rs 9,000 sales tax per annum.
Explaining the details of the agreement, Syed Abdul Rauf Shah said
that jewellers had agreed to pay 12.5 per cent sales tax on their
net profit which was 7.5 per cent of the total cost, while 92.5 per
cent was to be excluded as manufacturing cost and gold value.
He further said that the Punjab government had also imposed
professional tax of Rs 1,000 per goldsmith/jeweller and this was an
additional burden on them.
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981101
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Non-receipt of due payments: BoE asks banks for prompt reports
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sabihuddin Ghausi
KARACHI, Oct 31: The Bank of England (BoE) has instructed all the
banks operating in the UK to report immediately (same day) to the
Financial Services Authority (FSA, a subsidiary institution of BOE)
in case of non-receipt of due payments from counter parties in
Pakistan.
Issued recently, the significance of this BoE circular is that it
comes amidst reports of Pakistan government building up the arrears
of loans related payments, now totalling about 1.4 billion dollars,
because of sinking of the foreign exchange reserves.
The government, according to market watchers, is using the grace
period on its obligations to avoid an official default. But
according to market analysts Pakistan government has committed a
technical default and that is the reason of BoE's anxiety to keep
itself posted of the situation on day to day basis.
According to this circular, the BoE directed all the banks: "The
bank will notify Financial Services Authority (FSA) immediately
(same day) if any payment due to you from counter parties in
Pakistan or overseas offices of any company incorporated in
Pakistan are not received".
"This of course covers banks head offices and all branches in
Pakistan or branches and other banks incorporated in Pakistan or
any other country," the circular further adds.
The BoE circular has come immediately after Pakistan government
rescinded all amendments in the original power agreement with Hubco
and a new tariff was fixed. Following this, the Hubco was asked to
pay Rs 17 billion to WAPDA. The Ehtesab Commission initiated
criminal proceedings against 12 persons including executives
holding British nationality of the Hubco.
"Cancellation of IMF mission visit to Pakistan and BoE's directive
to the banks are the immediate follow up steps" a banker said.
Top four Pakistani banks are maintaining about 30 branches network
in England and have been frequently receiving advices from the BoE
apart from an annual review mission which makes blunt observations
on the transactions and dealings of these banks.
Besides, over two dozen foreign banks in Pakistan have also
branches in England and are obliged to keep FSA informed on non-
receipt of due payments from Pakistan. In addition are the
multinationals, quite many of them headquartered in England are
giving relevant information to the central bank of their country.
"The BoE wants to keep itself update on the held up payments in
Pakistan," a senior executive of one of the four top banks
explained to Dawn. He was, however, unable to answer if the BoE
would be pondering on any punitive measure whenever it feels that
"building up arrears has now reached the default stage".
Bankers explain that the payments mentioned in the BoE circular may
relate to servicing of loans taken by Pakistan government from
British government agency or any private source. It may pertain to
servicing of loan by the private Pakistani or foreign company in
Pakistan. This held up payment may be in lieu of services or goods
given by British-based firm to government or private company in
Pakistan. It may even be the repatriation of profits by the private
companies in Pakistan to British shareholders.
Stock brokers estimate 70 to 80 million dollars related to foreign
funds in the stock exchange are being held up for remittance for
want of foreign exchange reserves. "From a peak 1.5 billion dollars
foreign funds the amount is now reduced to hardly 200 million
dollars," a leading stock broker explained.
According to the bankers, the economy was thrown into back gear on
May 28 and was given a further push backward by mishandling the
Hubco and the IPP issue. The final blow came when a 30 per cent cut
was announced on electricity bills for domestic consumers as a
desperate move to gain some mass popularity much to the anger of
IMF and World Bank.
Bankers now feel that a serious rethinking on what had happened so
far after May 28 is going on in Islamabad and government's
continued dialogue with the IMF and World Bank through Islamabad-
based representatives is a clear pointer towards that direction.
Market analysts now believe Pakistan government having reached a
broad understanding with the IMF on obtaining a 5 billion dollar
salvage package. "Reports of an IMF mission coming to Pakistan is
an indicator to that," a stock broker said.
Electric power tariff adjustments are expected to be made by the
NEPRA by March 1999. Implementation of these pre-conditions should
form the basis of renewed discussions for a bailout package.
Devaluation of Pakistani rupee, another pre-condition for a bailout
package, according to this report would be done in a gradual manner
by changing the composite exchange rate for imports from 50 per
cent officially fixed rate to 25 per cent. It means that importers
will have to obtain 75 per cent foreign exchange from the inter-
bank floating market which is already under mounting pressure and
only 25 per cent from the government's foreign exchange reserves.
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981101
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No default on servicing of loans: WB
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: Pakistan has so far not defaulted on servicing
of loans of International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(IBRD), and International Development Association (IDA), a
spokesperson of World Bank said on Saturday.
"Pakistan has continued to service its IBRD and IDA payments within
the allowable time-frame," the spokesperson said.
Responding to some report the bank clarified that the bank's board
at its meeting on last Wednesday was informed about the government
of Pakistan reform programme to address macro-economic and
structural problems.
The board was also apprised about the on-going discussions between
the government of Pakistan and the bank on its support for the
reform programme.
The spokesperson clarified that work on projects in the pipeline
and on-going projects is proceeding normally and bank's support to
Pakistan would continue as planned, provided reform programme
remains on track, project implementation is satisfactory and
Pakistan continues to be a borrower in good standing.
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981105
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Downsizing in MNCs to improve profitability
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Aamir Shafaat Khan
KARACHI, Nov 4: A number of multinational companies are considering
adopting cost cutting measures like downsizing, restructuring to
sustain and increase profitability, sources said.
Shell Pakistan is actively surmising to cut manpower cost by up to
30 per cent, these sources added.
Sources in oil industry told Dawn that a meeting was held on last
Friday to discuss at length reduction of manpower and it was
decided to finalize redundancy plans by December 15, 1998. The
meeting was attended by senior management. They said at least 140-
150 staff members out of 650 may be affected. Sources added that
staffers are a bit panicky over the development and there is a
likelihood that the axe may fall on staffers who had been rendering
service since the Shell was known as Pakistan Burma Shell (PBS).
For instance, they said in case if a section head has three
staffers than one may have to go, finally.
They added that Shell has accommodated seven expatriates in top
posts, whose salaries and perks are in millions, accounting for 35-
40 per cent of total manpower cost.
The audited accounts of Shell for 1997-98, however, does not
present a gloomy picture as profit after taxation stood at Rs591
million compared to Rs543 million in 1996-97. Administrative and
marketing expenses excluding depreciation increased from Rs893.3
million to Rs929.9 million, showing a rise of 4.1 per cent compared
to an increase of 25.6 per cent in the previous year.
In another development, the new management of Hinopak Motors
Limited (HML) has also introduced Golden Handshake Scheme (GHS)
from November 2 and the last date to opt the scheme is November 16.
The company has already relieved about 250 staffers in the last one
and a half years owing to depressed market situation for heavy
vehicles.
In 1997-98, the company suffered a loss of Rs246 million after
taxation compared to 1996-97 while its sales recorded at 907
million compared to Rs2.35 billion in 1996-97. The sales in 1995-96
stood at Rs2.6 billion.
A voluntary separation scheme in Philips Pakistan is currently
continuing since last one and half month. Sources said that about
140 persons have already opted for the scheme.
The un-audited half yearly report of Refrigerator Manufacturing
Company Pakistan, which is a Philips company, for 1998 said that
lower sales and profits were the outcome of the depressed market
conditions.
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981107
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Stocks witness dull trading due to cricket match
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Nov 6: Stocks passed through a dull trading session on
Friday as investors kept to the sidelines most of the time despite
good dividend announcement from Millat Tractors and Cherat
Papersack at the rate of 85 and 100 per cent for the last year
ended June 30, 1998.
The sluggishness was partly attributed to Friday and partly to one
day cricket match between Pakistan and Australia here. Leading
brokers and agents remained virtually busy watching the match on TV
and the trading hall presented a deserted look, notably after mid-
session when Pakistani players went into batting.
The opening in the morning session was a bit steady, thanks to
renewed buying in the pivotals, and as a result the KSE 100-share
index was up 10 points. Later it showed either-way movements amid
alternate bouts of buying and selling, finally ending around 857.58
as compared to 857.70 a day earlier, showing a fractional decline
of 0.12 points.
Turnover figure fell to a record low of 30 million shares from the
previous 54 million shares as brokers and jobbers withdrew to their
offices to watch the cricket match.
The trading activity in part was also affected owing to a long
weekend ahead as the market will also remain closed on next Monday
on account of Iqbal Day holiday, Saturday and Sunday being official
closures.
However, gainers held a modest lead over the losers at 38 to 34
with 38 shares holding on to the last levels amid a terribly low
trading session.
Share values of both, however, showed smart gains, rising by Rs
7.00 and Rs 6.75 at Rs 57.00 and Rs 33.75, on stray support
prompted by the perception that their share values could rise
further on renewed buying.
Plus signs again dominated the list under the lead of blue chips,
leading gainers among them being Dawood Hercules, one of the top
performer among the top 25 listed companies, Engro Chemical and
Shell Pakistan, which posted gains ranging from Rs 2.00 to Rs 5.50.
They were followed by Ghandhara, Pakistan Gum, Bolan Castings and
some others, which rose by Rs 1.15 to Rs 1.90 amid slow trading.
Big losers were led by Lever Brothers, which came in for active
selling and fell by Rs 42.00, followed by Shezan International,
which suffered a decline of Rs 12.00.
Other prominent losers included Orix Leasing, Capital Securities,
Dadex and Pakistan Tobacco, which suffered fall ranging from Rs
1.40 to Rs 4.05.
Other actively traded shares were led by Southern Electric, up 40
paisa on 0.930 million shares, Japan Power, unchanged on 0.668
million shares, KESC, steady five paisa on 0.531 million shares,
and Sui Northern, up 10 paisa on 0.209 million shares.
DIVIDEND: Millat Tractors, 85 per cent, Cherat Papersack, 70 per
cent plus 30 per cent interim already paid, and Atlas Battery, 30
per cent.
Back to the top
===================================================================
EDITORIALS & FEATURES
981101
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What now?
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Ardeshir Cowasjee
THERE is no doubt in anyone's mind here, or in any of the countries
which have dealings with us, that all our main political parties,
particularly the PML, the PPP and the MQM, supposedly democratic
components of the government and opposition, are financially and
intellectually corrupt to the core.
The prime minister and his cohorts have manipulated the
Constitution and the laws, converting themselves into immovable
objects which can only be moved by an irresistible force.
That the judiciary, far from being independent, is incapable of
pulling itself up by its own bootstraps despite the encouragement
of the people and remains terrified is not in doubt either. It is
likely that the judiciary will be in this helpless condition for
years to come unless laws and rules dealing with confirmations,
seniority, promotions and modes of dismissal of incompetent and
corrupt judges are drastically changed in order to deal with the
hierarchy thrust upon us. We have more than sufficient laws to
effectively deal with all conceivable circumstances, but they
remain largely unapplied. The law enforcement machinery, in
particular the police force, is politicized and thus ineffective.
That the commerce and industry of the country are at a standstill
is clear, the people of the country themselves having no
inclination to invest. Of the hundred or so captains of industry,
who the prime minister recently met in Karachi at the Federation of
Chambers of Commerce and Industry, asked to bring back $ 5 million
each from their bank account abroad, not one had the decency to ask
Nawaz Sharif whether he himself, perhaps the country's largest
industrialist, would set an example and lead the pack.
No doubt is also attached to the fact that the ruling coalition
that has just been turfed out of the province of Sindh stands
justifiably accused, purely in order to ensure its own survival, of
indulging in acts of terrorism against the people who elected its
members.
The good news for Sindh is that Liaquat Jatoi and his ministers
have been sacked and that Governor's rule has been imposed on the
province. One of the first charges Jatoi will have to face is his
involvement with the latest Bhugio land scam concerning a
supposedly 'evacuee property' admeasuring some seven acres near the
Mai Kolachi bypass. Innumerable other charges can be laid against
him for his aiding and abetting of terrorism and murder, aiding and
abetting of extortion, nepotism, and gross ineptitude.
Good news is that Mr Nawaz Sharif has at long last parted with his
coalition partner, for once giving the needs of Karachi and its
people priority over his own political agenda and in particular the
passage of his much desired 15th Constitutional Amendment. For all
we know, he may simply have done so realizing the improbability of
his getting it through the Senate.
The bad news is that Ghous Ali Shah has been appointed chief
adviser to our good governor Moinuddin Haider. His aim is to take
upon himself the powers of and act as the chief minister of the
province. He immediately made noises about installing himself in
the chief minister's house, but hopefully this move has been
stalled. The governor has asserted himself and reminded him that he
is only the adviser on political matters and is not to meddle in
the administration of the province, in postings and transfers and
such others matters, and will be provided with an office in the
governor's house.
As for postings and transfers under our elected government, to stay
afloat and aid corruption Liaquat Jatoi and his partners rendered
the administration and the police force totally subservient to
their needs and thus insensitive to the needs of the people. A few
weeks before his ouster, Jatoi insisted that his upright chief
secretary be removed, and went to the extent of announcing that
either Kidwai goes or he goes. Now that Jatoi has departed from the
scene, perhaps Kidwai can be brought back to get things back on the
rails. A look at the transfers and postings in the police force
alone made by him during his tenure of 20 months, since he took
over in February 1997, is revealing.
IGP Sindh Mohib Asad, relieved 22.8.97; Asad Jehangir (additional
charge) 22.8.97 to 25.11.97; Aftab Nabi 25.11.97 to 30.10.98; Rana
Maqbool Ahmad appointed 30.10.98 (the prime minister's choice,
superseding over 70 officers he may not be with us for long).
DIG Karachi Asad Jehangir, relieved 5.3.97; Niaz Ahmed Siddiki
5.3.97 to 28.4.97; Malik Muhammad Iqbal, 28.4.97 to 20.12.97; Jawed
Iqbal, 14.12.97 to 10.3.98; Muhammad Ijaz Akram, 10.3.98 to 4.6.98;
Rahoo Khan Brohi, 17.6.98 to 22.9.98; Mushtaq Ahmed Shah, 22.9.98
to 30.10.98; Farooq Amin Qureshi, appointed 30.10.98 (the prime
minister's choice, superseding over 100 officers, thus setting an
all-time record and antagonizing the entire PSP cadre).
SSP District East: Saeed Rehmani, appointed 5.3.97; Sardar Abdul
Majeed, appointed 12.5.97; Ramzan Channa, appointed 10.3.98; Jamil
Ahmed Khan, appointed 22.9.98. District Central: Syed Abbas Raza,
appointed 10.5.97; Rafeeq Hassan Butt, 31.7.97; Saud Ahmed Mirza,
appointed 31.10.97; Farooq Amin Quraishi, appointed 22.10.98.
District West: Abdus Sattar Sheikh, appointed 5.3.97; Sardar Abdul
Majeed, appointed 10.3.98; Moazzam Jah Ansari, appointed 19.8.98.
District Malir: Sardar Abdul Majeed, appointed 6.3.97; Mushtaq
Ahmed Shah, appointed 15.5.97; Nadir Khoso, appointed 20.8.97 (he
was removed by Jatoi because he unearthed and seized a huge cache
of arms which was inconvenient for the coalition partner); Dr
Ghulam Murtaza Jakhrani, appointed 23.9.98. District South: Zafar
Iqbal Qureshi, appointed 7.3.97; Ghulam Hyder Jamali, appointed
7.5.97; Manzoor Ahmed Mughal, appointed 14.3.98; M. Ramzan Channa,
appointed 19.9.98.
SHOs of main Karachi Police Stations: Central PSs Khawaja Ajmar
Nagri 4 incumbents; Taimuria 4. East PSs Ferozabad-6;
Bahadurabad-8; Shahrae Faisal-3; Soldier Bazaar-5; Gulshan-i-Iqbal-
9; Korangi-6. West PSs TPX-6; Mauripur-5; SITE-7; KPT-4; Mouchko-
7; Docks-5; Jackson-7; Malir PSc Gulzar-i-Hijri-6; Sukkan-5;
Airport-5; Gadap-8; South PSs Saddar-9; Napier-5; Mithadar-7;
Kharadar-7; Artillery Maidan-4; Preedy-8.
Reportedly, approximately 90 policemen have been gunned down in
Sindh during the Jatoi government tenure as against approximately
20 MQM activists killed by extrajudicial means.
*From the above, it must be recognized how necessary it now is to
depoliticize the police force. The prime minister, according to his
minister Mushahidsaab, is still in favour of the metropolitan
police system for our city, which means, of course, that
Mushahidsaab himself also supports the scheme, as do interior
minister Chaudhry Shujaat and minister Haleem Siddiqui. The
governor who was in Japan during the deliberations held here last
month, and who is on record as being in favour of the scheme,
visited the police establishments in Tokyo and has brought back a
lot of material to help us all further the scheme. An apolitical
governor's rule will be the ideal time to make a fresh beginning on
the establishment of a metropolitan police system.
The critics of change are encouraged to review the pros and cons of
the proposed system which were printed on page 5 of this newspaper
on October 21. And, before they write again, would they please take
the trouble to discuss whatever it is that they cannot comprehend
with the CPLC chief Jameel Yusuf.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
981107
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Back to the barricades
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Irfan Husain
ONCE more, the MQM is the villain of the piece. Its activists are
being rounded up, and denounced as terrorists. Been there, done
that. Eerie sense of deja vu.
Most people have no idea who actually killed Hakim Said, but they
are neither surprised nor horrified by the official claim that the
MQM was behind the murder. Over the years, both factions of the MQM
have earned a chilling reputation of harbouring vicious killers in
their ranks. No protestations of innocence can possibly change this
public perception because those of us who live in Karachi have seen
these criminals in action.
Against this backdrop, the announcement of governor's rule has been
greeted with a collective sigh of relief. People are fed up with
endless strikes (now called under the euphemism of "mourning
days"), car robberies and holdups at gunpoint, and the unending,
daily death toll caused by the infighting between the rival
factions of the MQM. The criminals responsible for these murderous
attacks were sheltered under the MQM umbrella; and as the Muttahida
was a coalition partner with the PML, its members were seldom
brought to book. Indeed, Mr Nawaz Sharif freed large numbers of
alleged terrorists as a price for forming a government in Sindh.
But having taken the plunge, the federal government must not get
cold feet in mid-stream, to mix several metaphors. The governor of
Sindh is a good, sensible man who must be given total support by
Islamabad, and not hobbled by appointing has-beens like Ghous Ali
Shah. Fortunately, the proposed advisory council idea has been
dropped, at least for now. But General Moinuddin Haider must be
allowed to assemble his own team, and get on with it.
Another temptation to be avoided is to play favourites in Karachi's
troubled waters. While the Haqiqi faction has enjoyed covert
official support for a number of years, this must now cease. If
governor's rule is to have a chance of succeeding, it must be even-
handed and strictly impartial. Any semblance of favouring one lot
of the MQM against another will discredit the whole exercise. Yet
another pitfall is the ability of the police to profit from any
situation; they routinely arrest the innocent and put the squeeze
on their families before releasing the victims. Already there are
reports of young kids being picked up in the police dragnet. But
the other side of the coin is that boys as young as 13 and 14 roam
the streets with automatic weapons. When the security agencies come
to these localities, nobody dares to identify these young thugs. So
what is the police to do?
Clearly, governor's rule is not an end in itself. Hopefully, the
current level of violence will subside with the arrests of scores
of known criminals. But sooner or later, there will be a backlash
as those activists who are now underground emerge from hiding. To
re-establish its credibility among its own constituency, the MQM
must show itself able to face the might of the state. It has
thrived on its underdog status when out of power, and it would be
over-optimistic to assume it has disappeared just because the daily
death toll has fallen.
So what next for the MQM? By now it has alienated all the major
power groupings in the country. The Muslim League has found it a
very prickly partner: throughout the recent marriage of
convenience, the MQM has acted as an opposition party while
enjoying all the fruits of power. Despite being an ostensible ally,
the MQM leadership has sniped constantly at Nawaz Sharif. The PPP
tried to crush the party because it did not need it to form a
government in Sindh, and attempted to eliminate it through General
Babar. To this day, many people especially in Punjab are
convinced there is no other way of dealing with this armed and
dangerous ethnic group.
The army, and many others out of uniform, is convinced that the MQM
receives arms, money and training from India. Whatever the truth of
this allegation, many of the party's words and actions have
convinced a large section of Pakistanis that its patriotism is
questionable. The fourth major power centre comprises the religious
parties, and they view Altaf Hussain and his supporters with
suspicion because of his secular stance. Indeed, this is the one
positive aspect of the MQM.
Unfortunately, the MQM has been unable to make the transition from
a militant band to a mature political party. There has always been
a strong fascistic streak that has suppressed dissent. Even worse,
its cadres have become so accustomed to collecting "bhatta" or
protection money from individuals and companies that they can't
function as normal political workers any more. This is their only
source of income, and they cannot live without it. So if Altaf
Hussain were to order them to stop this racket, they simply
wouldn't obey.
Clearly, the saner elements in the party have to review their
options, limited as they are. If they are to exist and function as
a political entity, they must renounce their terrorist wing. So
far, there has been a symbiotic relationship between the two: the
public, political side of the party has provided cover to the
criminal elements while the latter have given muscle to the party
that has been out of proportion to its actual parliamentary
support. Now, if the MQM is to continue as a player in the national
power game, the nexus between the political and armed wings must be
broken.
One thing is clear, and that is the fact that much of the violence
in Karachi and the rest of the country for that matter can be
directly attributed to unemployment. As over a million youths join
the labour market, our limping economy can generate jobs for a
small fraction. The rest are too poorly educated to be employable.
This underclass will continue to spread violence, whatever the
banner they operate under. The irony is that the decade-long mayhem
in Karachi has frightened away billions in investments, thus
further reducing jobs. This, in fact, is the MQM's lasting
contribution to the solution of the Mohajirs' problems.
Karachi's crisis cannot be tackled exclusively through force. Firm
action must be accompanied by economic revival. Just as the federal
government must back the governor in checking violence, so too must
he receive fiscal support. The campaign to make Karachi safe again
will be a long and arduous one, but victory must not be sought at
the cost of our humanity. There must be no more "custodial
killings", no false arrests, and above all, no demonization of the
entire Mohajir community.
===================================================================
SPORTS
981107
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pakistan thrash Germany to meet Holland in final
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ilyas Beg
LAHORE, Nov 6: Pakistan qualified for the final of the 20th
Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament thrashing the tough-tackling
champions Germany by 3-1 in the last match of the single league on
Friday here at the National Hockey Stadium.
Tomorrow (Saturday) is the rest day and the final between Pakistan
and Holland will be played on Sunday at 3.5 p.m.
The victory was hailed by over 15000 spectators and a section of
the crowd invaded the ground to congratulate the players.
Some overzealous supporters carried captain Mohammad Usman over
their shoulders and ran around the stadium to express their joy
while the crowd in the stands gave the Pakistan team an standing
ovation.
Never for a moment Pakistan playing with the same reshuffled
combination, relaxed its grip over the game and continued to attack
from start to finish. The forwards made repeated inroads into the
German defence and got three goals. Had the chances not been
missed, the Pakistan team would have won by a much bigger margin.
Credit should be given to the young German side, who comprises
mostly youngsters, fought well but they lost the match.
The German coach Paul Lissek told newsmen that his ten experienced
players had been left back home and he felt a strong German team
would be built by including some youngsters who showed promise
during this tournament.
Pakistan's Haider Husain scored first goal for Pakistan in the 12th
minute. A penalty-corner hit was taken by Germany and a Pakistani
defender cleared the ball. Anis sent a cross and Haider dived full
length to send the ball into the goal.
Germans managed to equalise the score 1-1 before the interval. On
Germany's second penalty-corner in the 32nd minute, a straight hit
was taken by Kurtz and the ball was deflected into top net from the
stick of a Pakistani defender.
Pakistan started attacking in the second session and earned a 2-1
lead in the 55th minute. Pakistan got its fourth and last penalty-
corner in the 54th minute and Sohail Abbas scored with a fast,
rolling push which gave no chance to the German defenders. Sohail
Abbas was unlucky to waste a penalty-stroke which had been earned
by Atif Bashir who was stopped from scoring in the "D" in a
questionable manner. Sohail's waist-high push landed in the chest
of the goalkeeper Schulte.
Two minutes before the final whistle, Pakistan scored their third
goal through. Atif Bashir who got a pass from outside the "D" and
scored with a fine hit (3-1).
Manager Khawaja Zakauddin said that the Pakistan team entered the
match against Germany with the will and determination to win. He
said that the team would go flat out to win the trophy now that it
had transformed into a fighting combination. He said Pakistan team
would become a force to be reckoned with in international hockey.
Coach Shahnaz Sheikh said that his team successfully thwarted
Germans' efforts on scoring on penalty-corners through excellent
defensive drills. He expressed happiness over performance of the
team which fought till the very end of the match.
The two teams were:
Pakistan: Muhammad Qasim (goalkeeper), Aamir Saleem, Sohail Abbas,
Asad Qureshi, Muhammad Usman (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Haider
Husain, Atif Bashir, Muhammad Anis, Muhammad Sarwar, Naveed Iqbal,
Kamran Ashraf, Babar Abdullah.
Germany: C Schulte (goalkeeper), P. Crone, Max Klink, S. Belnelt,
C. Kutz, B. Emmerling, C. Mayerhofer, F. Gemmrig, C. Wein, B. Kopp,
A. Lante, C. Achtmann, T. Draguhn, B. Bruse. Umpires: M. Grime and
J. Gorissen.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
981104
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Akram, Malik appear before PCB probe committee
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Samiul Hasan
KARACHI, Nov 3: Former captains Salim Malik and Wasim Akram
appeared before the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) probe committee
which is investigating the charges of betting and match-fixing.
The hearing took place at Lahore on Monday.
Justice Ijaz Yousuf, a PCB council member from Balochistan and NWFP
who heads the PCB probe committee, told Dawn that the two players
recorded their statements which cannot be disclosed.
KCCA President Nusrat Azeem, LDCA President Mian Mohammad Munir,
PCB Secretary Waqar Ahmed are members of the probe committee.
"It's highly confidential. I am not going to even tell you if they
have denied the charges or not," Justice Yousuf said.
Inzamam-ul-Haq, Ijaz Ahmad and Dr Dan Keisal (team physiotherapist)
were also called for their cross-examination "but because of the
shortage of time, their statements couldn't be recorded.
"The testimony of Wasim Akram and Salim Malik hasn't finished yet.
They will be called again later on," he said.
According to sources close to the players, both the cricketers
vehemently denied the allegations and even registered their protest
over the leakage of the probe committee two months ago.
"I don't know who leaked the report to the media because one copy
was with the Senate's Standing Committee of Sports chairman while
the other was with the PCB chairman," Justice Yousuf said.
An interim report prepared by Justice Ijaz Yousuf's committee
recommended that Wasim Akram, Salim Malik and Ijaz Ahmad should not
be selected in any Pakistan team until the investigations were on.
Besides the three cricketers, the probe committee had also named
Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mushtaq Ahmad, Saqlain Mushtaq, Moin Khan and Waqar
Younis as being involved.
They further argued that the leakage of the probe committee report
has badly tarnished their reputation as Pakistan's international
cricketers.
"Whosoever has levelled the accusations, we want to cross-examine
them. But it is their word against ours," Malik and Akram are
reported to have told Justice Yousuf.
When Justice Yousuf told the two cricketers that they wanted to
carry out indepth investigations to get the truth, the two said:
"We also want the same but labelling the players as involved in
match-fixing before the investigations are completed is
unjustified.
"No one is guilty until proven," the duo maintained.
Justice Yousuf said his committee was carrying out the
institutional inquiry and should not be mixed up with the judicial
inquiry.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
981103
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Jahangir for Germany today to contest WSF post
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Reporter
KARACHI Nov, 2: Squash legend Jahangir Khan, nominated by the
Pakistan Squash Federation to contest for the post of the vice-
president of the World Squash federation, is scheduled to fly for
London tomorrow (Tuesday) on way to Stuttgart, Germany, where the
WSF annual general body meeting and elections are to be held.
The four-day meeting of the WSF, scheduled at Stuttgart from Nov 5,
will discuss a number of issues concerning with the further
development and promotion of the game and ending with the election
for four vice-presidents on Nov 8.
Record ten time British Open Champion Jahangir Khan, who was
elected as vice-president of the PSF over two months back, has been
nominated by the federation to contest the post of vice-
presidentship, held by Hassan Musa, who was shot down in December
last year at the premises of the PIA Jahangir Khan Squash Complex
by unknown assailants.
Jahangir Khan, who is General Manager, Sports PIA, told Dawn today
that six candidates would be contesting for the four posts of four
vice-presidentship for a term of two year. England s Mike Corby and
USA's a Anne Smith are seeking re-election and they are certain to
be re-elected as the former is representing Europe and the later
for Pan-America. The other four candidates are Vija Gaffar of South
Africa, Kayoda Roberts of Nigeria (Both from Africa), Andre Naniche
from USA and myself, he stated.
In a such a situation to win the post looks tough and difficult,
stated Jahangir Khan, the only candidate from Asia.
However, he said he would meet the representatives of the countries
to seek their support in the light of Pakistan's invaluable
contribution in the promotion of world squash.
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