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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 28 February 1998 Issue : 04/09
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C O N T E N T S
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N A T I O N A L N E W S
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PM likely to take final decision on census today
NA told about Pakistan's stand on CWC, CTBT
Pakistan gets another waiver
MQM takes back ultimatum
HR groups seek protection for Riffat
ANP quits govt after talks fail
City to get additional water from March 23
Benazir demands fresh polls
Pre-admission test to be introduced in all Sindh varsities: Moin
1,600 teachers in non-existent schools of Sindh
Two Iranian technicians shot dead in Karachi
25,000 community schools planned
Eight dead in Korangi shooting
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B U S I N E S S & E C O N O M Y
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Dumping duty on Pakistani cotton
IMF decision on 2nd tranche by mid-March
Defaulters fight back instead of repaying loans
Small traders call for strike today
HBL sell-off to be initiated next month
$300m for balance of payment support
CBR to be put on WWW today
WAPDA asked to release funds
Rs1 billion revenue shortfall in 7 months
Index loses 32 points on heavy foreign selling in PTCL
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E D I T O R I A L S & F E A T U R E S
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The second Tumandar Ardeshir Cowasjee
Slow train to nowhere Irfan Husain
Time for impartial assessment Saiyid Ali Naqvi
Nawaz Sharif's China visit M.B. Naqvi
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S P O R T S
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Pakistan has an edge in hockey series against India
Rashid Latif needs no immediate surgery
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N A T I O N A L N E W S
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980228
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PM likely to take final decision on census today
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Ashraf Mumtaz
LAHORE, Feb 27: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will take a decision about
holding the census on schedule or postponing it in the light of the letters
written by the chief ministers of Sindh and Balochistan, Interior Minister
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain told Dawn here on Friday.
However, President Rafiq Tarar and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif
said at the Lahore airport that the census would be held on schedule.
Chaudhry Shujaat said the federal cabinet had discussed the issue thrice
but the chief ministers of the two provinces had not raised any objection.
The schedule of the census, he pointed out, had been worked out in
consultation with them.
But, he said, these two chief ministers had now sought a postponement of
the exercise at the eleventh hour and the prime minister would take a
decision keeping in mind all aspects of the matter.
As for the letter written by the army chief, the interior minister said the
COAS had only drawn the government's attention to some issues. However, he
declared that it was "totally wrong" to suggest, as some press reports had,
that the COAS had proposed a postponement of the census.
The minister said all arrangements for the exercise had been completed and
the troops, too, had been assigned their duties.
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980226
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NA told about Pakistan's stand on CWC, CTBT
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD,Feb 25 : Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan on Wednesday took the
National Assembly into confidence over Pakistan's stand on the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Chemical Weapons Convention
(CWC).
Pakistan had not signed the CTBT because of India's refusal to do so, he
said. However, he added,the decision to sign the CWC had been taken after a
careful appraisal of Pakistan's political, security and economic interests.
Allaying fears expressed by certain quarters about Pakistan's signing of
the CWC, Mr Khan said: "All such apprehensions are based on
misunderstanding and have apparently been aroused due to gaps in the basic
information about the Convention."
The foreign minister said the decision was also consistent with Pakistan's
traditional position on non-proliferation and disarmament issues.
He pointed out that the CWC was concluded after protracted multilateral
negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and was opened for
signature in Paris on Jan 13, 1993. He said Pakistan, along with more than
a hundred countries,including India,Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, the US,
Russia, France, Germany, the UK, Japan etc., had signed the Convention.
"The relevant provision of the Convention stipulates that it would be
enforced after it has been ratified by 65 signatory states. Accordingly,
the Convention came into force on April 29, 1997, for an unlimited
duration.
"At present, 106 countries have ratified the Convention , out of more than
168 signatory states. India ratified the Convention in September 1996. The
US and China did so just before the Convention came into force in April
1997. Iran and Russia acceded in the first week of November 1997. Pakistan
ratified the Convention on Oct 28, 1997, which was subsequently approved by
the cabinet.
"The CWC is the first comprehensive international treaty which provides for
the elimination of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction. It
has an unprecedented verification regime. The elaborate verification
procedures are aimed to prevent secret chemical weapons activities by any
state which can be detrimental to another country's security.
"According to Article I of the Convention, each state party undertakes
never to develop, produce, acquire, retain, transfer, or use chemical
weapons. Each state party also undertakes to destroy weapons and chemical
weapons production facilities it owns or possesses. Furthermore,the
Convention prohibits engagement in any military preparation to use chemical
weapons or riot control agents as method of warfare.
"The Convention also stipulates an eventual ban on the exports of certain
chemicals, which have widespread commercial applications, by states to the
countries outside the Convention.This was one of the important
considerations in favour of Pakistan's ratification. Remaining outside the
Convention would have hamstrung our developing chemical industry. Non-
ratification would also have damaged our agriculture on account of
restriction in imports of chemicals used in pesticides. On the positive
side, Article XI of the Convention envisages co-operation among the state
parties in the field of chemicals activities,including the international
exchange of scientific and technical information and chemicals and
equipment for the production, processing or use of chemicals for legitimate
economic purposes.
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980227
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Pakistan gets another waiver
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Feb 26: Pakistan got an unexpected waiver from drug-related
sanctions on Thursday as the US State Department released its list of
countries which had been decertified for not cooperating with the US to
control drug trade in 1997.
The decision to issue a waiver by President Clinton came apparently after
a deal between the State Department and the Pakistani authorities under
which the sentence of convicted DEA employee Ayaz Baloch was reduced to
five years.
As the State Department announced the list of countries which had been
decertified for not cooperating on drug control measures, presidential
waivers for Colombia, Pakistan and Belize were also announced, saving
these countries from sanctions which could have included negative US votes
for assistance given by the IMF and the World Bank.
Afghanistan, Burma, Nigeria and Iran remain on the list of decertified
countries ineligible for most US assistance. Pakistan, Colombia and Belize
have been decertified, but have been spared sanctions for national
security reasons.
Other countries subject to the certification process were Aruba, the
Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, the Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Laos, Malaysia,
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam.
Syria and Lebanon were decertified last year but are no longer considered
drug-problem countries because of successful opium poppy eradication
programmes.
Officials of the Pakistan embassy did not agree with suggestions that the
US waiver had come after "a deal" between the two governments, but sources
said intense discussions had been going on between the two sides for
sometime on the issue.
Pakistan Ambassador Riaz Khokhar told Pakistani journalists that the
waiver "is not what we expected" as, according to him, "Pakistan has done
much better this year and expected a full certification by the State
Department."
Diplomatic sources said the US Ambassador in Islamabad had delivered "a
series of notes" to Pakistan on the Ayaz Baloch issue and had apparently
linked the certification to his release by Pakistani authorities.
As a consequence, the Pakistani ambassador in Washington had several
meetings with US officials and stated his government's position, saying
Ayaz Baloch could not be released "just by picking up a phone or waving a
hand", but he had to go through the due process of appeals and petitions.
In one such petition to the board, sources said, the sentence of Mr Baloch
had already been cut by half and officials expected that as a quid pro quo
for full certification by the US, the higher appellate authorities may
answer his petitions positively.
Pakistan officials told the US authorities that Ayaz Baloch had been
arrested not because of Pakistan but because of the US sting operation.
"We have a democracy, rule of law, courts and institutions and Mr Baloch
could not be released by the wave of a hand," US officials and congressmen
were told by Pakistani diplomats.
"Is it fair for the US authorities to pressure Pakistan into subverting
its own laws for one individual," was the Pakistani argument in meetings
between the Pakistani ambassador, Attorney General Janet Reno, State
Department officials and the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee
of the House, Rep Benjamin Gillman.
Last minute efforts were also made by prominent Pakistani-Americans,
including letters sent to President Clinton, NSC Adviser Sandy Berger and
others by New York business tycoon Mansoor Ijaz, said to be the largest
single Muslim donor to the Democratic Party election funds.
It was argued in these letters that from an American point of view, if
sanctions were imposed on Pakistan now, especially when another Islamic
country Iraq is under threat of a military strike, the entire Islamic
world would be annoyed and pushed away from the US.
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980226
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MQM takes back ultimatum
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 25: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement after an hour-long meeting
with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday took back the 24-hour
ultimatum it had given to the government to arrest those behind the attack
in Korangi which left eight people, including five of its workers, dead.
The MQM had said on Tuesday if its demands were not met it would be forced
to plan a future course of action vis-a-vis its position as an ally of the
PML.
A delegation of the party's senior leaders also separately met the Sindh
chief minister later in the evening and discussed the issue of "no-go"
areas in the city. A handout after this meeting from the press secretary to
the chief minister said that all "misunderstandings" between the PML and
the MQM had been "removed".
MQM Senator Nasreen Jalil, who was part of the delegation which met the PM
and later the chief minister told Dawn that the "air had been cleared"
after the events of recent days although the MQM would still wait and see
the steps taken by the government in the wake of the Korangi killings. For
the time being, she said, the decisions taken by the party's coordination
committee had been shelved.
The MQM said its decision to take back the 24-hour ultimatum had been taken
after the prime minister gave "clear assurances" that the government would
soon arrest the killers and take measures to prevent recurrence of similar
incidents. The PM told the team that he had set his own deadline of March 5
in the matter and if those responsible for the Korangi killing were not
arrested by then he would come on a "special" visit to Karachi in that
connection.
During the meeting, the MQM told the prime minister not to believe
everything the intelligence agencies told him because they were "biased"
against the party and were busy in a propaganda campaign against it. The
prime minister told the MQM what he had told journalists in Islamabad after
the MQM staged a protest walkout during President Rafiq Tarar's speech.
Sources said he told them that the MQM should not have staged the walkout
and could have discussed the matter at a proper less public forum while the
MQM said that the government should have, at the very least, condoled with
the party over the deaths of its workers.
The MQM later said in a statement that it would very soon meet the prime
minister again on this issue. It said once the March 5 deadline expired the
MQM would then wait for the PM's directives and then, even if nothing
concrete happened, it would reserve the right to deliberate, if needed, a
future line of action.
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980226
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HR groups seek protection for Riffat
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 25: Women and human rights groups held an emergency meeting on
Wednesday which expressed support for Rifat Afridi's right to choose her
own spouse without pressure from the community.
The meeting, called by Women's Action Forum, at the office of the Human
Rights Commission of Pakistan described the Pashtoon girl's case as a human
rights concern, symbolising a woman's right to make her own choice about
her future.
They demanded that the authorities arrange for them to meet with Rifat in
order to ascertain her point of view without any distortions.
The resolutions, drafted by WAF, said the sudden appearance of Niaz Bat
claiming to be Rifat's husband 20 days after the initial reports of her
marriage to Kunwar Ahsan, "appeared to be on second thought to embroil the
girl and boy in further difficulties".
They condemned attempts to politicise the issue, saying that political
parties ought to refrain from making provocative statements or issuing
strike calls.
In particular, they criticised MNA Ejaz Shafi for congratulating the
Pashtoons for a successful strike, saying that the PML (N) should take
action against him or he should apologize for making such a statement.
In another resolution, the NGOs were critical that while the administration
normally took little notice of ongoing violations against women, they had
shown "unusual efficiency" in arresting the couple and bringing them before
the court.
They demanded that the public should be allowed to hear the truth about the
couple. At the same time, they demanded protection for them.
The groups represented on the occasion included War Against Rape, Shirkat
Gah, Women's Peace Committee, Aurat Foundation, WAF and the HRCP.
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980226
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ANP quits govt after talks fail
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Raja Zulfikar
ISLAMABAD, Feb 25: Nearly a year-long alliance between the PML and the ANP
ended on Wednesday night when government negotiators failed to win over
their coalition partners on their Pakhtoonkhwa demand.
"Our alliance with the government now stands dissolved and we have parted
ways," ANP President Ajmal Khattak told Dawn after the government's last-
ditch effort to convince the ANP proved unproductive.
The ANP leadership is scheduled to assemble in Peshawar on Thursday morning
and is likely to announce resignations of its ministers from the
government. "Who says Minister for Communications Azam Hoti will not
resign?" said Mr Khattak in reply to a query, and added: "When the alliance
is finished, everything is finished."
Begum Nasim Wali Khan, who was also here to monitor the situation, told
reporters the government-ANP talks had broken down and the alliance was no
longer intact. She said the ANP parliamentary party would decide the future
line of action on Thursday.
Informed sources told Dawn the official negotiators had proposed in
Wednesday's talks at the Frontier House here that the government would form
a high-level constitutional committee to effect a change in the name of the
province. They, however, did not accept the ANP's demand of naming the NWFP
as Pakhtoonkhwa.
The official team comprised NWFP Chief Minister Mehtab Abbasi, Federal
Minister for Kashmir Affairs Majeed Malik, Federal Minister for Inter-
provincial Coordination Committee Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Federal
Minister for Finance Sartaj Aziz. The ANP was represented by Begum Nasim
Wali Khan, Senator Ajmal Khattak, Azam Hoti, Asfandyar Wali and Fareed
Toofan.
Sources said when the government side had forwarded the proposal that the
government would give any name to the NWFP other than Pakhtoonkhwa, the ANP
leaders refused to listen to anything else. The meeting lasted 30 minutes.
The prime minister was informed immediately of the talks failure while the
ANP informed the leadership in Peshawar of its decision. The ANP leaders
are leaving for Peshawar early Thursday morning to have a grand meeting at
which its MNAs, MPAs, and Senators will be present.
The ANP leaders said that after the government had turned down their demand
to rename the NWFP as Pakhtoonkhwa, there was no justification to remain
associated with it.
They argued that with the exit of the ANP from the alliance, the government
had also lost two-thirds majority in the Senate.
At Peshawar, the ANP would be finalizing details of how it would proceed in
future.
The resignations would be announced there. Ajmal Khattak said: "We will
have a hundred per cent parting with the government." Provincial minister
and ANP leader Fareed Toofan said the alliance had ended because the
government had gone back on its promise of renaming the NWFP as
Pakhtoonkhwa. "There is absolutely no doubt that this is all over now," he
said.
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980222
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City to get additional water from March 23
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By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 21: The city will start getting additional 100 mgd water
supply on an experimental basis from March 23.
This was stated here on Saturday by Dr Farooq Sattar, the Local Bodies
Minister who is also chairman of the KWSB while talking to newsmen after
visiting the project site.
During his six-hour visit, the minister inspected the ongoing works and
told the newsmen that 95 per cent of the work had been completed. The total
cost of the project, he said, is Rs9 billion.
He expressed the hope that the city would completely start getting
additional 100 mgd in the next summer season.
The project, he said, would be operational on an experimental basis in
March and water supply would be increased gradually.
Dr Farooq expressed satisfaction over the pace of development work and
directed the KWSB officials to complete the remaining works on an emergency
basis.
He said that the water distribution formula would also be announced soon.
The minister visited the Guju Canal, Water Board Canal, siphon conduit,
pump house, filter plant and the rising main.
He was accompanied by Brig Mansoor Ahmed, KWSB MD, Ms Shahida Chistie,
special representative to the minister and other officials.
The minister was informed that Water board canal constructed at a cost of
Rs 700 million had a capacity of 200 mgd water supply. The machinery for
pumping house was imported from the UK at a cost of 31 million pounds
sterling.
Some 70 mgd will be supplied from the University Road Reservoir to old
parts of the city and the remaining 30 mgd will be supplied from the water
Pump F B areas to district central.
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980227
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Benazir demands fresh polls
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Ashraf Mumtaz
LAHORE, Feb 26: Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has demanded fresh
elections under the supervision of an all-party interim government as
this, she claimed, was the only way to steer the country out of the
multiple crises created by the PML government.
A greater alliance of the like-minded opposition parties could be formed,
if other parties so wished, to mount pressure on the government, she
declared. here on Thursday.
Responding to reporters' questions at the Nicholson Road residence of
Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan after discussing with him the political situation
in the country, Ms Bhutto said the government had failed on all fronts. It
promised to bring down prices but those had gone up three times. It
promised to provide jobs to the unemployed but it had started
retrenchments. "Killings have become the order of the day in Karachi. The
foreign policy has failed etc., "she added.
Ms Bhutto rejected the government's assertion that she was pursuing a
hostile course to escape accountability.
She said if the government's point of view was accepted, then how would
you explain the opposition by other political leaders who were not facing
accountability.
In fact, she said, she was facing the present situation because as prime
minister she did not take appropriate action against Mian Nawaz Sharif and
Senator Saifur Rehman and such other people and also did not start a media
trial against them.
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980227
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Pre-admission test to be introduced in all Sindh varsities: Moin
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Correspondent
HYDERABAD, Feb 26: The Governor of Sindh, Lt. Gen. (rtd) Moinuddin Haider,
has said that it was indeed a happy augury that the people were fast
becoming conscious of the importance of education and many an educational
institution was being established in the private sector.
He said it was not possible for any government to shoulder the
responsibility of education exclusively but the society was also
responsible to share the responsibility in this noble cause.
The governor was inaugurating College of Modern Sciences, which coincided
with the death centenary of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, at unit No. 2 Latifabad
here on Thursday.
He, however, was not satisfied with the quality of education and said that
in 60s and 70s Pakistan used to compare itself with the advanced countries
of the world but presently it was second last among the SAARC countries in
the field of education only next to Nepal.
He said that Pakistani nation had great potential and educational
institutions were being set up in the name of individuals or communities
which was a good omen.
He said the government was also encouraging NGOs and private sector to
contribute their bit in the spread of education.
He observed that in the past many a Madressahs and other educational
institutions were established by the individuals and private bodies which
imparted best education.
He said if government gave any grant to educational institutions it should
be considered as a bonus.
He made it clear that he would not compromise on the quality of education.
Mr Haider regretted that the ratio of enrolment in the higher seats of
learning throughout the country was only 150,000 and the quality of
education was very poor.
He said that blackmail in examinations, cheating, violence and politics
had become the order of the day in the educational institutions.
He said university education was not necessary for politics (no offence
meant to the politicians) and added that if one wanted to indulge in
politics then he better remain away from the university.
He said a seven point educational agenda had been formulated by him to
improve the quality of education and regular meetings were being held to
implement this agenda.
The governor pointed out that the mark sheets of matriculation and
intermediate examinations were not the true reflection of the ability of
the students as all and sundry knew how these marks were obtained.
No wonder, we are producing poor doctors and engineers, he said.
He said this was the main reason that the pre-admission test had been
introduced in the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology,
Jamshoro and Quaid-i-Awam University in Nawabshah. This test will also be
introduced in all the other universities of Sindh step by step, he added.
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980228
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1,600 teachers in non-existent schools of Sindh
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 27: At least 1,600 teachers in Sindh have been drawing
salaries for the last two years on nearly 3,000 schools that are closed and
exist on paper only.
These teachers, both trained and untrained, have been appointed for
primary, middle and secondary schools. They include 996 teachers in schools
for boys.
Inquiries show that the number of these teachers had crossed 1,600 mark
last year. There were 684 such teachers in 1994 and 1,099 in 1995.
The "ghost" workforce include 472 untrained teachers.
The largest number of such teachers is in primary schools (1,168), followed
by secondary middle schools (346) and primary schools (105).
The total teaching staff of provincial government-run is over 148,000. They
include 31,994 untrained teachers.
The number of teaching staff in urban areas is over 68,000, including
10,922 untrained teachers.
In rural areas, there are 80,473 teachers, including 21,072 untrained
staff.
Inquiries based on a document prepared by the Sindh Education Department
show that 2,932 schools were either found closed and only on paper in the
province and the status of almost all of these continued to remain the same
even till today. The number of schools on paper is 395. These figures are
the result of a verification exercise conducted last year.
These schools exist in all the 21 districts of the province with Larkana
district topping the list with 288 schools, followed by Hyderabad (233),
Badin (226), Mithi (221), Sanghar (217), Umerkot (211) and Dadu (206).
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980222
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Two Iranian technicians shot dead in Karachi
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Mohammad Riaz
KARACHI, Feb 21: Two Iranians working on the Clifton flyover project here
were shot by two unknown assailants near the Clifton Bridge at 3.40pm on
Saturday. Both died in hospital. They were employees of an Iranian
construction company which is building the flyover.
The shooting, which occurred within a one-mile radius of the chief
minister's house, the US consulate and three five-star hotels, coincided
with the death anniversary of seven people, including the director of the
Khana-i-Farhang-i-Iran (Iranian Cultural Centre), who were gunned down in
Multan, exactly a year ago on Feb 21.
The then SSP of Multan, Ashraf Marth, who arrested the killers of Mohammad
Ali Raheemi, the director of the centre, was himself shot and killed in
Gujranwala by unknown assailants.
Those killed in the Karachi shooting on Saturday were identified as Murtaza
Adeeb Zadey, 50, a foreman, and Ali Mohammad Habiby Zadey, 36, a
storekeeper. They had been staying in flat 704 of the Clifton View
apartment, off Chaudhri Khaliquzzaman Road in Clifton. They had arrived in
Pakistan eight months back, and both hailed from Iraq Shehr in Iran. They
were employees of the Masheen Sazi-i-Arak, an official construction company
of Iran.
Eyewitnesses said two unknown young men riding a motorbike appeared under
the Clifton bridge. They parked the bike and went straight to the flyover
construction site and were seen speaking to their apparently targeted
victims, perhaps to ascertain their identity.
After a brief chat, they pumped several bullets into their bodies, rushed
back to the motorbike and sped away towards Bath Island.
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980222
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25,000 community schools planned
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Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Feb 21: An informal inter-provincial meeting of education
ministers, education secretaries and senior officials from the ministries
of education was held here on Saturday, presided over by Dr Mahar Liaquat
Ali, chairman of the PMLC.
Official sources said the meeting discussed the modalities regarding the
expansion of primary education through non-formal basic education. A
consensus was developed at the meeting that the target of universal primary
education could be achieved by spreading NFBE and that within the shortest
possible time.
Dr Liaquat Ali said the NFBE was a short-term measure to support the formal
system of primary education. He said the PMLC would take care to ensure
that the NFBE system would not become a standard substitute for the formal
primary education system.
Kazi Khalid Ali, Sindh education minister, said that the Sindh government
would give full support to the PMLC programme to achieve the target of
universal primary education in the province.
According to the target chalked out by the PMLC, it planned to set up
25,000 community schools across the country including the FANA, FATA and
AJK during the next fiscal year.
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980223
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Eight dead in Korangi shooting
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Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 22: Eight people, including two girls, were shot dead by
unidentified gunmen outside a mosque in Korangi's R-Area on Sunday.
A spokesman for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Mr Mohammed Ahmed, claimed
that six of the dead were workers of his party. He held the Mohajir Qaumi
Movement (Afaq) responsible for the killing.
In Quaidabad scooterist opened fire into a crowd, injuring three people.
Eyewitnesses said some assailants fired indiscriminately into an alley near
Tajul Masajid at R-Area, Korangi 1 1/2, and then sped down the alley on a
Suzuki and motorcycles.
The victims were identified as Sardar (26), son of Ishtiaq, Imran (23),
Haider Ali (28), son of Ghulam Mohammad, Nasir (22), son of Mohammad
Farooq, Idrees (24), son of Ismail, Jaffar (30), Asma (16) and Saima (9).
The injured, who were brought to JPMC from Quaidabad, were identified as
Zahid Ali, son of Irshad Ali, Sajid, son of Nawab, and Mohammad Asghar, son
of Shabrati.
"Six people, who seemed to be in their 30s, were brought dead to the Jinnah
Post-Graduate Medical Centre," said Dr Seemi Jamali, assistant director at
the JPMC. All the dead and injured received multiple gunshot injuries, she
added.
Police officials said the shooting could be an act of "terrorism."
The JPMC saw moving scenes as wailing visitors crowded round bodies to
identify relatives and friends.
Enraged workers of the Muttahida chased away police officials who had come
to the hospital.
===================================================================
B U S I N E S S & E C O N O M Y
===================================================================
980228
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Dumping duty on Pakistani cotton
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Parvaiz Ishfaq Rana
KARACHI, Feb 27: The European Commission (EC) had to put off its Feb 19,
meeting amid fears that a move to impose provisional anti-dumping duty on
import of unbleached cotton fabric (UCF) from Pakistan and other developing
countries would receive resistance from some member countries.
According to a message received here from Brussels headquarters to
European Commission efforts are currently under way for developing a
consensus among 15-member countries on the issue before March 5, which is a
new date fixed for the next meeting.
There are strong indications that the processing industry of the member
countries of the European Union have put their foot down over the issue and
are against the imposition of punitive duty on import of cotton grey fabric
from developing countries, including Pakistan.
Despite the fact that the Anti-Dumping Committee of the commission have
full powers to impose any rate of punitive duty, they fear a dissent from
some members of the committee, local textile industry sources said.
In order to avoid "veto" from amongst its own members the commission has
tried to gain some time by postponing the Feb 19, meeting fixed several
weeks back, these sources added.
Chairman of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Committee on
anti-dumping duties and WTO affairs, Akber Sheikh has alleged that EU
carries out investigations not purely on economic considerations, but on
political grounds, as well.
To substantiate his arguments he said that currently efforts are afoot
within EU not to include Turkey, who is Customs Union member of the
European Union, in the on-going investigations.
He said within a short span of four years, the commission has for third
time taken up the investigation proceedings based on injury and dumping
against the exporters of UCF from Pakistan.
Akber Sheikh claimed that such biased investigations have not only caused
commercial injury to our country but has also damaged it politically.
"In these four years, besides spending over a million dollars on
investigations, our association has seen the perception in the mind of our
public regarding the WTO anti-dumping law, change from a simple trade law
to a tool of trade harassment a white man's law conveniently
interpreted and unjustly applied by the European countries for the
detriment of Asian and African countries," he observed.
Lashing out at the methods adopted by the investigating officials of EC, he
said they want us to disclose all our trade secrets, but want us to rely on
non-confidential versions given by their industry while framing a case
against us for the imposition of anti-dumping duties.
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980222
--------------------------------------------------------------------
IMF decision on 2nd tranche by mid-March
--------------------------------------------------------------------
KARACHI, Feb 21: The IMF 'will most probably decide by mid-March in favour
of release of second tranche of $208 million,' says a Merrill Lynch (ML)
report.
Based on six monthly data, ML has lowered the GDP estimates from 5% to 4.7%
in light of sluggish demand in the economy and no recovery in the
manufacturing sector (except sugar).IMF target for growth is 5.5%.
ML experts believe that inflation could fall much faster than generally
anticipated (10-12%) in the light of current demand conditions and absence
this year of cost-push pressures. (IMF target is 10.5%).
The budget deficit is expected to go up on account of a decline in the
nominal GDP growth rate from 15% to 12.7% (IMF target is 5%). The lower
nominal GDP target would effect a deterioration in debt problem.
The report says that economic policy appears to be directed towards
stabilization despite governments pro-growth rhetoric. Inflation and the
current account deficit appear to be relatively stable. Pakistan fiscal
deficit and lack of external flexibility remain a concern.
ML experts however believe that Pakistan may not be able to adhere to its
agreement with the IMF without an acceleration in the reform process and
privatization. Many reforms passed todate remain to be executed with a more
aggressive approach to strengthen the fiscal and external accounts.
These include levy of GSt at retail stage, tax on farm incomes and
reduction of quasi-fiscal burden posed by public sector utilities,
(involving right sizing and tariff increases). The government is likely to
commit to the IMF that it would move quickly on the reform front. A
positive step is the restructuring of the tax collection and administration
machinery.
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980223
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Defaulters fight back instead of repaying loans
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Sultan Ahmed
THE THIRD and final deadline for repayment of defaulted bank loans of Rs
127 billion at concessional rates expired on February 16 with barely six
per cent of the loans recovered. No further extension of the deadline is
proposed nor will it be desirable or productive.
During the seven months after the concessional repayment scheme was
announced by the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Dr Muhammad Yaqub
on June 6 last, only Rs 8 billion was repaid, including Rs 4 billion until
the second deadline of December 5 and Rs 4 billion more before the second
deadline this month. No serious notice was taken by the defaulters of the
first deadline of September 5 last.
Now the public sector banks and development finance institutions are to
move the courts to recover the loans of Rs 118 billion and have begun
filing cases against 80,000 defaulters, after 35,000 had paid up.
Evidently they were the lesser defaulters as this number had repaid only Rs
8 billion while 80,000 more have to repay Rs 118 billion. This is the big
fish among the defaulters whom the banks have to net with the help of
lawyers who are making big money from both the banks and the defaulters.
In fact the defaulters have hired the top lawyers and are paying them
fabulous fees to void repayment or at least delay the large amounts as long
as possible at a time when money costs around 20 per cent and the delay is
worthwhile for them.
The United Bank says it has obtained 12,000 decrees from banking tribunals
against the defaulters after the recovery campaign began, but their
execution has been delayed.
The fact is, execution of the decrees and seizing the assets pledged or
assets created through the loans is a tough task because of corruption in
the banking sector and the police. How this major deterrent to recovery
will be removed, and to what extent, remains to be seen.
When the SBP governor announced his scheme, he had said that 77 per cent of
the cases were under litigation. How this legal tangle will be solved in an
effective manner remains to be seen.
Five bills had been passed by Parliament before June 6 to expedite recovery
of the loans. And yet the law has been found largely ineffective and then
comes the stage of execution of the decrees which is delayed or frustrated
through one means or another in the pervasive corrupt environment in
Pakistan.
The banks have been calling for a stringent law of foreclosure so that the
banks can move in and seize the assets of the defaulters without having to
move the courts and waiting indefinitely for results. But that law has not
been passed. Hence the roadblock to effective or adequate recovery of the
loans.
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980226
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Small traders call for strike today
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 25: The All Pakistan Organization of Small Traders and Cottage
Industries (APOSTCI) will observe shutter down strike on Thursday (Feb 26)
against the levy of 3 per cent general sales tax (GST) at retail level.
However, a segment of traders have rejected the strike call given by
APOSTCI.
Chairman, Alliance of Market Association (AMA), Atiq Mir, who claims hold
of more 100 markets, announced his dissociation from the strike call.
Chairman, Pakistan Small Chamber of Commerce and Cottage Industry, Bashir
Miandad said his members will stay away from the strike adding there is no
justification for strike call when government has invited suggestions from
traders for amending rules and regulations.
Chairman, Karachi Electronic Dealers Association, (KEDA) Mohammad Irfan and
President, Karachi Motorcycle Dealers Association (KMDA), Sabir Shaikh said
their members will open their shops on Thursday.
A press release of All Pakistan Organization of Small Traders and Cottage
Industries (APOSTCI) claimed that more than 286 markets of the city will
keep their shops closed on Thursday.
Chairman APOSTCI, Umer Sailya claimed various political and religious
parties like Jamat Islami, Mohajir Itehad Tehrik, Tehrik-e-Insaf, People
Party, Jamiat Ulmai Pakistan, PML (Functional and Junejo Group), Pasban and
Shabab-e-Mili have also supported the strike call.
He said that neither we will collect the GST from the consumers nor will
pay to the government.
President Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Mohammad Hanif
Janoo told newsmen on Wednesday that he had proposed the Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif in an informal chat on Tuesday to defer the GST till next
budget.
The representatives of trade bodies will meet the Finance Minister Sartaj
Aziz on 28th in Islamabad and the final decision on GST will be taken in
March 2 meeting with the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Our Staff Reporter adds from Lahore: The strike against sales tax at the
retail level called for Thursday is likely to draw a mixed response from
traders in the provincial capital with the major, affected trade bodies
staying away from it in the hope of a settlement with the government.
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980225
--------------------------------------------------------------------
HBL sell-off to be initiated next month
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Mohiuddin Aazim
KARACHI, Feb 24: The Privatization Commission is expected to launch
international advertisements seeking bids for the proposed privatization of
the state-run Habib Bank before the close of next month.
An indication to this effect came about during a meeting of the National
Assembly's Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs in Islamabad
on Tuesday. The committee headed by Sardar Mansoor Hayat Tamman had met the
HBL president Shaukat Tarin to receive a briefing.
A source privy to the briefing told Dawn by telephone from Islamabad that
the Chairman of Privatization Commission, Khawaja Asif told the meeting
that the global advertisements for HBL sell-off might be launched by end of
March. Khawaja Asif had joined the meeting in his capacity as a member of
the committee.
The source said Tarin told the committee that the new management of the
bank was making every effort to enable it for privatization by June this
year. "But he said it would depend much on recovery of stuck-up loans," the
source said. HBL has a non-performing loan portfolio of about Rs 50 billion
which needs to be cut down drastically in order to make it viable for the
sell-off. The committee was told that the HBL made loan recoveries worth Rs
3.5 billion during by the end of last year on its own, besides securing Rs
6 billion worth of recovery commitments under the State Bank incentive
scheme. The scheme expired on February 16.
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980225
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$300m for balance of payment support
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: The Asian Development Bank will provide $300 million to
Pakistan to help improve its balance of payment position.
"All the formalities have almost been finalized for $300 million balance
of payment support under trade, export and industry programme" said A. R.
Akund, Host Director ADB.
Akund, who retired as Secretary Economic Affairs Division (EAD) and was now
Pakistan's director on board ADB said, the bank has agreed, in principle,
to offer $300 million loan which will primarily be used for improving
balance of payment position.
He was speaking to reporters at a news conference alongwith Julian H.
Payne, Executive Director of the ADB for Canada, Denmark, Finland,
Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.
Payne was currently visiting Pakistan and had met the president, the prime
minister, the finance minister and other senior officials and discussed
with them bank's funding for Pakistan.
He said that Pakistan faced a big challenge to improve its economic and
financial conditions specially after having witnessed the crisis of the
South East Asian currencies.
"The Far East crisis will continue to affect Pakistan for sometime", he
said adding that the major challenges Pakistan was facing in the
implementation of its reforms programme.
He was asked what kinds of challenges Pakistan was facing. "There are
challenges to increase foreign investment flows and enhance trade and
business activities", he said.
Payne advised Pakistan to achieve the objectives of good governance. He was
of the view that accountability and transparency must be ensured to help
remove various problems. He appreciated that the government was trying to
address fundamental issues in Pakistan.
Responding to a question he said, he was in Pakistan to have a first hand
information about the economy and various ADB assisted projects. He said he
was leading a team which will also visit Karachi, Peshawar and Lahore.
Asked whether he has discussed new funding line for Pakistan other than
$250 million Capital Market Development Loan and $250 million legal reform
package, he said. " In fact I am here to know about various issues".
To another question, he said, Pakistan needed to allocate counterpart
financing for foreign-funded projects so that they could be completed in
time.
He told a reporter that the ADB has disbursed first tranche of $125
million, out of $250 million capital market development loan in January
this year.
The Executive Director of the ADB also pointed out that Pakistan should
make further efforts to implement IMF's ESAF programme. "Our assistance to
Pakistan is in line with the IMF funding".
He said Pakistan's Social Action Programme (SAP) was an important plan to
improve broad social indicators in the country.
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980227
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CBR to be put on WWW today
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ikram Hoti
ISLAMABAD, Feb 26: The Central Board of Revenue will be put on the
Worldwide Web (WWW) on Friday.
Arrangements have been made for supply of facts and figures to the
internet watchers on the CBR monitoring of imports into and exports from
Pakistan, tariff rates and changes notified, Statutory Regulation Orders
(SROs) issued by the CBR from time to time, and the fiscal policies as
interpreted and implemented by the CBR.
The CBR would also entertain questions for providing answers to the
internet watchers on taxes in Pakistan, apart from receiving a calendar on
tax implementation in the financial year, containing rates, dates, places
of deposit/filing etc. "This step is part of transparency in the
implementation of procedural aspects of the tax policy, the
rationalization of the tariff rate reduction under the federal budget
1997-98, restructuring of the CBR into Revenue Service of Pakistan, and
the vision being applied for tax implementation under the restructured
RSP", said an official.
He explained to Dawn that apart from these steps, the CBR is also shifting
the emphasis on implementation and coordination (of tax-heads) from the
manual operations to automation.
"The new chairman of CBR, Moinuddin Khan, has instructed the relevant
officials to pool the entire work so far carried out on the automation of
taxes, into a plan for re-engineering of the tax collection and monitoring
processes", he added.
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980222
--------------------------------------------------------------------
WAPDA asked to release funds
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Correspondent
TOBA TEK SINGH, Feb 21: Chairman Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the
National Assembly and MNA from Gojra, Mr M. Hamza has urged the chairman
WAPDA to immediately release funds of Rs 50 million which has been
allocated for a scheme of WAPDA to eradicate waterlogging and salinity in
Gojra and Toba Tek Singh sub-divisions.
Addressing a meeting of development committee on Saturday in the office of
assistant commissioner, Mr Hamza said that if this scheme was not
immediately started, hundreds of acres of valuable agricultural land would
go barren and the farmers of the area would be forced to leave the area
because there would be a big decline in the production of crops owing to
these factors.
He directed deputy commissioner Toba Tek Singh who was also present in the
meeting to expedite completion of drinking water supply scheme for Gojra,
for which provincial government had already earmarked an amount of Rs 2.8
million. He stressed the need of construction of a two kilometres piece of
road between Pacca Anna and Sir Shameer railway stations which would enable
the people to go to Lahore and Faisalabad on a route which would be 35
kilometres shorter than the previous route.
Addressing the meeting MPA from Gojra Mr Ghulam Bari apprised that
commissioner Faisalabad had recently issued a special grant of Rs 1.5
million from sugarcane cess funds for the construction of Gojra-Samundari
Road.
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980226
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Rs1 billion revenue shortfall in 7 months
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ahmad Hassan
PESHAWAR, Feb 25: The NWFP government has suffered a cumulative shortfall
of Rs one billion in recovery of its own revenue in the first seven months
of the current fiscal year. According to an official source, the recent
meeting chaired by the chief minister was told that only about Rs 1.7
billion out of projected Rs 2.7 billion were collected.
All the tax collecting departments of the provincial government have
reportedly shown no signs of improvement.
Sources said falling provincial receipts would make the liquidity crunch
more serious in view of the continuous shortfall in payments from the
federal government both on account of net profits income of hydel power
generation and federal divisible pool assignments.
Although the chief minister had expressed his optimism about the settlement
of net profits income with the WAPDA in his recent chat with newsmen, the
ground realities are otherwise.
Inside sources in the finance department express their pessimism about the
early settlement of the issue as no meeting has so far been held in last
over one month between the special team of NWFP government, WAPDA and the
auditor general which was agreed upon in preliminary meeting in Islamabad
in January last.
According to high placed sources, the major portion of the shortfall stems
from the farm income tax which the field officers (DCs and their
subordinate staff) have either failed to recover or have shown a fair
amount of lethargy/negligence.
The NWFP Chief Minister, Sardar Mahtab Ahmed Khan, who also holds the
portfolio of finance has been showing his grave concern in the monthly
meetings over declining recoveries. In last week's meeting, which was
attended by chief secretary, home secretary and other high ranking
officials of the administrations the chief minister ordered constitution of
a high-level committee to be headed by the chief secretary to accelerate
the process of recovery of the agriculture income tax.
The committee, according to insiders was bewildered to note that only 0.5
million rupees had been recovered from agriculture income tax and decided
to put further emphasis on collection of revenue.
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980228
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Index loses 32 points on heavy foreign selling in PTCL
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Feb 27: Heavy foreign selling in PTCL on Friday further
intensified the current bear-run on the stock market but there were no
matching buying offers owing to political uncertainty after the exit of ANP
from the ruling elite. The index lost another 32 points or Rs 8 billion in
market capitalization.
PTCL was marked sharply down by Rs 1.30 on a massive volume of 26 million
shares, which was more than half of the day's total.
Analysts attributed the sell-off to reports that the Privatization
Commission has deferred the decision to appoint financial adviser for its
sell-off to some strategic foreign buyer.
Some of the leading shares in the bank and energy sectors did attract
modest support at the dips but it appeared difficult to absorb bulk of the
selling.
Dividend news from the sugar sector, notably Habib Sugar, Mirpurkhas Sugar
and Mehran Sugar, were in line with market perceptions but investors were
overwhelmed by external developments, analysts said.
Others might follow the higher rate of return of Mehmood Textiles, which
came out with a cash dividend of 10 per cent plus bonus shares of 15 per
cent, and 45 per cent from Dawood Cotton but there is an optimism in the
rings that some leading textile shares could do that, they added.
"The market is victim of both the weekend selling and emerging political
situation and no one could precisely predict how it will behave in the
coming sessions," analysts said.
However, it is widely speculated that the current bearish spell could be
much longer as a combination of negative factors have combined in one, they
added.
Institutional traders did emerge on the scene to forestall panic selling
but it was too feeble to stem the wrought, said a leading broker.
The KSE 100-share index suffered a fresh fall of 31.56 points at 1,650.27
as compared to 1,683.81 a day earlier, wiping out Rs 8 billion from the
market capitalization at Rs 502.00 billion.
Although the broader market ruled distinctly easy on renewed selling, bank
and energy shares came in for active support at the falling prices and
managed to finish partially recovered under the lead of Faysal Bank and
MCB, Southern Electric, Kohinoor Energy.
However, the leading among them fell under the lead of PSO, Shell Pakistan
and National Refinery. Fidelity Bank, IGI and Jahangir Siddiqui were among
the other prominent gainers.
Adamjee Insurance, Fauji Fertilizer, Hoechst Marion, Pakistan Gum
Chemicals, Engro Chemical and Dadabhoy Insurance led the list of losers
under the lead of Lever Brothers, which fell by Rs 44 on active selling.
DEFAULTING COMPANIES: Trading on this counter was mixed as investors played
on both sides of the fence.
While Sunrise Textiles and Allied Motors were traded lower by 10 to 45
paisa on 500 and 3,500 shares respectively, Rex Baren Battery managed to
finish higher by 25 paisa on 500 shares, National Modaraba, Sunshine Cloth
and Suzuki Motorcycle were held unchanged on 500 shares each.
DIVIDEND: Dawood Cotton, cash 45 per cent, Habib Sugar, bonus shares 12.5
per cent, Mehmood Textiles, cash 10 per cent, bonus 15 per cent, Mirpurkhas
Sugar, 15 per cent, Mehran Sugar, 12.5 per cent, Zaman Textiles, Johnsons &
Philips, PICIC, Alhamd Textiles and Ravi Alkalis, all nil.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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E D I T O R I A L S & F E A T U R E S
===================================================================
980222
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The second Tumandar
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ardeshir Cowasjee
THE second Tumandar of the Dera Ghazi Khan district of Punjab, Farooq Ahmad
Khan Leghari of Choti, on December 2, 1997, descended from Margallian
heights and touched ground level in Karachi this week. He met people at
public fora, and privately, and was questioned. His strength lies in his
ability to answer, when asked about certain acts of commission or omission
publicly perceived to be not quite 'kosher', "I am human, I am not perfect.
I have made mistakes which I regret."
Politics in this land is a dirty game, becoming murkier by the day. The
vast majority of the population is purposefully kept illiterate, it being
recognised that this suits our particular corrupt greedy vote- seekers. Our
prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, has fully endorsed this theory by appointing
as minister of education a man of the calibre of Ghous Ali Shah.
The elected uneducated, with feudal mindset and family-combos, who since
1988 have ruled over, damaged and impoverished this country progressing
from 'worst' to 'worse' to 'bad' are Benazir Bhutto plus husband plus
father-in-law; Nawaz Sharif plus brother plus father plus Chaudhris; Ghulam
Ishaq Khan plus sons- in-law; Leghari plus cousins (admittedly, the last
lot cannot be held guilty of any monumentally damaging blunders or of
bankrupting the country). Helpless as we are, we can only cling to straws.
Whilst in Karachi, Leghari and I had a candid exchange of views. He also
gave me a cassette recording of his extempore resignation speech. After
seeing it and hearing him, it was absolutely clear why Nawaz Sharif had the
foresight to refuse to have it telecast live, or to show a recording at a
later date. What is not understandable is why the press did not print it
anywhere near in full.
You have dealt with both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, I told Leghari.
Is either capable of surviving an independent judiciary? His one-word
answer: No.
In his resignation speech he states that he had no problems with either
prime minister on a personal basis, but he did have a problem with both on
the question of "upholding the supremacy of the Constitution, the
judiciary, and the rule of law. Both wanted to subjugate the judiciary.
Both felt insecure. One, despite having a friend and former partyman as
president, perhaps because of Article 58(2)(b). The other, despite the
removal of 58(2)(b), perhaps because he had a president who was helpful in
providing whatever advice he sought for good governance."
Whether or not the Thirteenth Amendment is there, whether Article 58(2)(b)
is there or not, is of little consequence, I told Leghari. Remember how
COAS General Waheed Kakar, without even considering the existence of
58(2)(b), without alerting 111 Brigade, without contemplating martial law,
went to dinner at the Aiwan one evening with not even his swagger stick
under his arm. Before the main course was served, Nawaz Sharif had gone
home to Lahore. Before he had finished his ice-cream, Ghulam Ishaq Khan was
back in Peshawar.
Now, Nawaz Sharif, having subjugated and tamed the judiciary, will make the
same mistake as did Bhutto and choose the sixth general in line, using his
own yardstick of merit, and make him the next COAS. This man is more likely
to send him home than the first in line, in order of seniority, Ali Kuli
Khan, or even the second, or the third, Khalid Nawaz or Pervaiz Musharraf.
Do you think, I asked Leghari, that Nawaz Sharif, with his mindset, has any
feeling or care for the integrity and defence of the country, or for its
people? When Bhutto had the choice between leading the opposition in the
Pakistan of 1970 or being top-dog in a dismembered Pakistan, he chose the
latter. Were Nawaz Sharif to be put in the same situation right now, and be
given the choice between being King of Punjab or number two in Pakistan as
it is, which do you think he would opt for? The kingdom, was Leghari's
answer, as was mine.
You want to form a party, I said to him. Not easy. Where do you find
staunch solid people with a clean slate who will stand by you? Can you name
five? He was silent. Your good friends, parliamentarians Chandi and Fakhr,
signed your impeachment papers. And you made your best friend, Shahid
Hamid, a caretaker minister and then you made him governor of Punjab.
Should he not have resigned with you? Before nightfall on December 2, was
he not found sitting in Nawaz Sharif's lap?
To his credit, the first Tumandar of Balochistan, Nawab Mohammad Akbar
Shahbaz Khan Bugti, refused to support your impeachment motion. It was his
'fitrat', Bugti tells me, that made him desist. And whilst speaking of
Bugti, I said to Leghari, I was with him in Islamabad on December 1 when I
misread you. I wagered with him that you would call Nawaz Sharif's bluff
and fight it out with the subjugators of the judiciary. He took me on,
saying you would resign.
You have a firm base, you obtained the largest number of votes amongst all
those elected in 1993. Why don't you get back to the National Assembly? You
need not worry about any 14th Amendment. Each time the bought majority does
wrong, you can dissent, and have your dissent recorded along with your
reasons. Then, the power-hungry megalomaniacs will not be able to claim
that their wicked amendments and laws were passed unanimously. Those with
sense and perception will always firstly read the dissenter's views. People
recognize honesty. A dissenter gains support, offering alternative
leadership, motivating an 'in- house' change for the better. I hope this
will germinate in his mind. Resistance to wrong, at every step taken, is
what makes for good democracy.
The people must hear him on the subject he well knows the subjugation and
politicization of the judiciary by the politicians that rule over this
sorry land. Farooq Leghari's resignation speech, neither written down nor
doctored by after- thoughts, contains an indictment of those who have done
serious damage to the judiciary. As Farooq Leghari puts it, "the repository
and the guarantor of the people's freedoms and the rule of law" has been
damaged and reduced to tatters by the machinatons of Nawaz Sharif and his
men.
What was Leghari's successor in office, Rafiq Tarar, doing in Quetta on the
day the order suspending Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah was handed down by
the Quetta Bench of the Supreme Court? Why did Tarar and two others fly to
Quetta in a special plane on that disastrous day? Leghari is right.
Questions are being asked. Why were the police at the Quetta airport
ordered not to manifest his arrival (which instructions they in fact
manifested)? Where did Tarar stay on the night of November 26 (his
departure on November 27 having been manifested by the airport police)?
What reward was he given for his day's efforts?
Why, on January 20, was a story leaked by the government to the press about
the obstruction of justice early in 1997 in an alleged rape case involving
a servant in the then Justice Ajmal Mian's Karachi house when he, as CJ,
was presiding over the bench hearing contempt of court cases against Nawaz
Sharif and others? Why were stories leaked about the foreign sholarship
sponsored by the government to the wife of the good J-1 Saeeduzzaman
Siddiqui? Why is the Muslim League inner circle boasting that the 'package'
will facilitate the appointment of J-2 as the next Chief Justice of
Pakistan? Why are these government-inspired attempts being made to
discredit these honourable judges?
On February 19, I sent a letter to Mr M. A. Latif, Registrar of the Supreme
Court of Pakistan :
"Sent herewith is a video cassette of the resignation speech made by
President Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari on December 2, 1997, which the
Government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif refused to telecast live or to
later telecast a recording. Nor was the speech published in full by the
national press.
"The speech contains references to the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to
the Constitution, to the contempt of court committed by the Prime Minister
and others of his government, to the storming and the desecretion of the
Supreme Court by the 'goons and parliamentarians of the ruling party' on
November 28, 1997, (against which and whom no action has so far been
taken), and to other relevant vitally pertinent issues which the Supreme
Court is presently adjudicating.
"Would you please hand over this cassette to Chief Justice Ajmal Mian
enabling him to take such immediate appropriate action as he may deem
necessary.
"It may also be conveyed to the honourable Chief Justice that on February
18, when the former President addressed the members of the Karachi Press
Club, I publicly asked him if he would be prepared to testify in the Court
and reaffirm under oath all that he had stated that day. He answered in the
affirmative. He is prepared to reaffirm and be questioned."
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980228
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Slow train to nowhere
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Irfan Husain
BY sheer coincidence, the current issue of the Economist, London, carries a
long article on the latest developments in rail technology, and the huge
investments that are being made in railway systems around the world.
A few days ago, Eqbal Ahmed, my friend, was in town and suggested that I do
a piece on our railway, and the neglect it has been subjected to. "You've
worked for Pakistan Railways for a number of years, so why don't you write
about its decline?" I was non-committal, and filed the topic away as a
possibility for a time when I was out of ideas. For this Saturday, I was
all set to do a column on Nawaz Sharif's disastrous year in office. But
when I saw the Economist article, I had the perfect peg to hang my piece
on, so here goes.
At Partition, Pakistan was fortunate enough to inherit a well-run railway
system then known as the North Western Railway. With a network of over
8,000 kilometres, it connected all the major cities, and functioned as the
prime mover of passengers and goods. Its morale and prestige were high, and
for nearly twenty years, it was a relatively profitable, well-managed
public sector enterprise.
Around the mid-sixties, the government began to focus more and more on road
and air transport, neglecting the re-named Pakistan Western Railway. So
much so that the electrification of the mainline stopped dead after the
Lahore-Khanewal section was energised around 1967. And since 1947, not a
single-track kilometre has been added, despite the desperate need to have a
double track, at least on the mainline.
Apart from official neglect and lack of funds, the system is top-heavy,
overstaffed and mismanaged. Corruption has reduced the impact of whatever
was invested, and its professionalism has been eroded by the induction of
large numbers of incompetent officers and staff.
And yet rail transport remains the cheapest and among the safest modes of
transport. According to a Japanese study quoted in the Economist, a private
van consumes twenty times as much fuel in carrying one tonne of cargo over
one kilometre as a goods train; and a large commercial truck consumes five
times as much. Travelling by car is nearly eight times as hazardous as
train travel. However, since these safety statistics are based on UK study,
I would think cars are even more lethal in Pakistan.
Apart from cost and safety considerations, what is driving the current
revival of the railways in Europe, the Unites States and Japan is the
congestion and pollution caused by cars and trucks. As a consequence,
several countries are now attempting to curb and discourage road vehicles.
Many European cities no longer allow cars into city centres; France has
slapped a ban on the movement of trucks on its motorways on Sundays; and
increasingly, road-user charges are being electronically levied on cars.
This trend is forcing more and more people to use trains that are now fast
and very reliable. Many European and Japanese trains now whiz along at
speeds in excess of 150 miles per hour. Japan is currently testing a
magnetically levitated train that hurtles along at 350 mph.
As usual, the trend in Pakistan is the very opposite to what is happening
elsewhere. Here, train usage is actually declining, at least for freight.
In 1994-95, Pakistan Railway carried 7.365 million tonnes; this figure
declined to 6.854 in 1995-96. In the same period, the number of locomotives
fell from 639 to 622, and the number of freight wagons from 28,525 to
26,755. Since freight is the bread and butter of the railways, it is not
surprising that the gross earnings fell from Rs 9.7 billion to Rs 8.4
billion over just one year.
I must say that my fairly long stint with the railways was a pleasant one.
Although I worked in the finance and accounts department, I spent a lot of
time with engineers and, by and large, they were a very professional bunch.
The main weakness lay in the commercial department that was manned by
people who had no clue about marketing and sales. Of course, the problem
was that they were so used to customers begging and bribing them for wagons
and tickets, that when faced with competition from trucks and PIA, they
could not adapt. And, of course, being a government department, there is
simply no incentive for them to sell seats and cargo space: whether they do
or not, they will still get paid at the end of the month.
The result of these attitudes and decades of under-investment is that the
whole system is now so rundown and ramshackle that it will take enormous
amounts of money to put it back on track. For instance, this newspaper
recently carried a horrifying story about a number of passengers who died
because the rotten floor of their carriage collapsed under them as the
train was moving at high speed.
But more than just money, the quality of the senior management will have to
be upgraded. Many years ago, when British Rail was in a total mess, the
government brought in a chartered accountant on a five-year contract, gave
him support and a free hand. Very soon, he turned the organisation around
and restored public confidence in it.
I have always held that in a country where public opinion counts for so
little, only those public sector institutions that are used by the elite do
well. For instance, the public health and educational systems are in a
shambles because the well-to-do and those in positions of authority don't
use them. PIA, on the other hand, is still functioning because generals,
ministers, senior civil servants and millionaires regularly use its
domestic service. Applying this yardstick, when did you last travel by
train?
And yet, not too long ago, railway travel had a certain mystique. Hampers
would be packed for an overnight journey, and as a kid, I remember the
excitement of watching the countryside roll by. This simple pleasure, like
so much else, is gone forever. However, I am advocating the revival of the
railway not for nostalgic reasons, but for very prosaic ones.
The fact is that the railway is the cheapest and most environment-friendly
way of moving heavy volumes of freight and large numbers of people over
long distances. And given Pakistan's geography, this is the most logical
base for our future transport strategy. Indeed, had a fraction of the money
spent on the absurd motorway project been invested in the railway's track
and locomotive fleet, it would be in far better shape today.
But logic has never been the strong suit of those in charge of our
country's sad destiny, and I am afraid that like so much else that was
worth saving and building upon, the railway, too, is doomed to extinction.
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980227
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Time for impartial assessment
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Saiyid Ali Naqvi
IT WAS the peak of electioneering when Dawn of January 7, 1997 carried a
news headlined: "Nawaz pledges to settle Kalabagh dam issue." The PML(N)
president was reported to have told the reporters at a press conference
that his party would seek national consensus on the controversial question
of construction of Kalabagh Dam.
Mr Nawaz Sharif has been at the helm of the country as the most powerful
prime minister this country has seen in its 50 years existence as an
independent national state, yet unfreezing of the Kalabagh issue is
nowhere in sight. In his televised inaugural address at a conference held
on February 9 on the "Need and Role of Storage Reservoirs in Pakistan," he
called for developing consensus on building infrastructure "like dams,
power houses, canals, drains", without mentioning Kalabagh dam. While he
acknowledged the imperative need for utilizing the potential of Indus
River for sustainable welfare of the people, the prime minister also
pointed out that it would be counterproductive to underrate the
difficulties in undertaking the tasks required for this purpose.
Undoubtedly, it would be counterproductive to underrate the difficulties
that the government would encounter in dealing with the political, social
and environmental concerns which have been raised and agitated from
various platforms and in the media against Kalabagh dam. But, equally
counterproductive would be the policy of doing nothing and letting the
state of indecision continue under the dictum of letting the sleeping dog
lie.
The task of national consensus-building would certainly be an uphill task,
and, hence, it cannot be expected to be accomplished quickly. However,
what is urgently needed is a decision to start the consensus-building
process. As a first step, the present deadlock would need to be broken by
having an assessment of the project carried out by an impartial forum of
globally recognized experts. As discussed later in this article, the most
appropriate forum for this purpose is the recently established World
Commission on Dams.
Experts say that a GDP growth rate of 7-8% per annum is needed to overcome
the social and economic problems plaguing the country. The modest GDP
growth rates of 5.3% per annum over the period 1994-2002, and 5.6% per
annum over the period 2002-2010, assumed for a base case in a 1995 World
Bank's load forecast study suggested that the power generation capacity
would need to be raised from 11,497 MW in 1994 to 31,625 MW by 2010 (an
increase of 20,128 MW over a period of 16 years. Of this, 9,770 MW was
projected to materialize by 2002, including 1,634 MW of hydropower
capacity relating to 1,450 MW Ghazi-Barotha and 184 MW Chshma hydropower
projects). Therefore, to support a GDP growth of 7-8% per annum, a
realistic and least-cost power generation expansion programme would need
to aim at raising the system capacity to a level higher than 31,625 MW by
2010.
Clearly, a major multipurpose dam project would need to be the centrepiece
of the required power generation and irrigation water augmentation
programme for the next decade. Since we are virtually standing at the
threshold of the next decade (the first decade of the 21st century), there
is an undeniable urgency for deciding whether Kalabagh dam will in fact be
the most appropriate available option for the required multipurpose
project in terms of economic benefits, determined after taking into
account full environmental and social costs.
Now, by virtue of the fact that its feasibility study as well as detailed
engineering has been completed, Kalabagh dam project is virtually ready
for construction. If construction was started as soon as possible, the dam
and the power station would be completed within the next decade, thereby,
providing the country with 6.1 MAF of additional storage capacity and
3,600 MW of additional hydropower capacity before 2010.
But, although Kalabagh is an adequately prepared project from the
engineering perspective, there are a host of issues regarding social and
environmental impacts of the dam which would need to be resolved before
the project can qualify for national and international endorsements.
These issues have been debated at various forums and in the print media.
But rather than resolving the issues, these debates have led to
polarization between "pro-dam" and "anti-dam" groups, resulting in a
virtual deadlock.
However, a window of opportunity for breaking the deadlock over Kalabagh
dam debate has been opened by the establishment of the World Commission on
Dams as a result of a joint initiative of the World Bank Group and IUCN-
The World Conservation Union. This initiative was undertaken by the two
world organizations to break the deadlock in the global large-dam debate,
which had resulted from polarization between opponents and proponents of
large dams. While the proponents emphasized the economic benefits of dams,
the opponents argued that the project sponsors systematically downplayed
the adverse social, environmental and economic impacts of dams.
Controversies surrounding large dam projects, such as the Narmada Dam in
India and the Three Gorges Dam in China, brought into focus the conflicts
facing governments, financing institutions and private developers when
coming up against resistance from civil society organizations, affected
communities and environmentalists.
To break the impasse, the World Bank Group and IUCN-The World Conservation
Union jointly hosted a workshop in April 1997 in Gland, Switzerland. The
workshop brought together leading experts and representatives of major
stakeholder groups to initiate an open and transparent dialogue. The
participants were 29 stakeholder representatives of governments, civil
society organizations, international financial institutions and the
private sector.
They included representatives from developing countries where
controversial dams were being built, or, were proposed to be built, viz.
India, China, Laos, Columbia, Senegal, Ghana, Lesotho, Brazil, Paraguay,
and also from industrialized countries, viz.: the United States, Great
Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Canada. There was no
representative from Pakistan, probably because Kalabagh, which was lying
in cold storage, had not attracted the attention of the pro-dam and anti-
dam groups involved in the global large-dam debate.
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980226
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Nawaz Sharif's China visit
--------------------------------------------------------------------
M.B. Naqvi
GOVERNMENT publicists are at pains to describe Prime Minister Mian Nawaz
Sharif's week-long China visit as 'highly successful', the standard claim
about all such foreign trips. But there is no mistaking a sense of
disappointment among those who, suffering from a dependency syndrome,
always expect Pakistan's foreign friends to dole out some aid. There is not
a word of it; only wish for more trade and possible investments.
For one thing, there was no joint statement at the end of the visit. The
Pakistan side made do with its own statement. Now, the issuing of joint
communique or statement is not de rigueur; frequently it is not thought
necessary. In what conditions is it considered superfluous? When
understanding between the two sides is well recognized and profound or when
there is such a lack of it that recording so many differences is found to
be embarrassing. In any case, neither government is likely to explain and
there is no point in needless speculation; reassurances of the friendship
there are aplenty in the delightful banquets' speeches by the top Chinese
leadership.
It will be hard to claim that the Chinese attitude and stance toward
Pakistan is the same as it was in the 1960s and 1970s; much water has flown
down the bridges since then. China was then isolated and ties with Pakistan
provided it with a serviceable window on western world and it proved to be
a bridge between China and the US. Now, China's friendship and cooperation
is eagerly sought by all major powers; its huge, and rapidly growing
economy is a magnet that is pulling all great powers to it.
China's own self-perception and policies have also changed. The year 1978
was a watershed when Deng Xiaopeng had finally succeeded Mao Zedong. While
during the latter's rule, Chinese policies were driven by strategic
considerations and indeed the realpolitik of statesmen committed to long-
term objectives. China had decided it needed Pakistan as a firm and long-
term friend in South Asia for a variety of reasons, including for balancing
the growing power of India. It asked nothing in return for all the
substantial aid economic, military and technical, much of it grant it
gave to Pakistan. It supported Pakistan on Kashmir in an in an unstinted
manner, though theory and hard realities on the ground made it slightly
modify its position in 1974.
But Deng's realistic goals, no less strategic or long-term in nature, were
reflected in his Four Modernizations. They aimed at making China a
powerhouse both in an economic and political- military sense. With its
Communist past and basic nature, its PLA (People's Liberation Army) is not
oriented to operating outside China. Nor is its experiment with controlled
capitalism and high growth creating an expansionist force. But the Deng
programme has wrought major changes in foreign policy.
To begin with, Chinese policy-making apparatus has become more inward-
looking, giving top priority to economic construction and reform at home.
It wants to reduce its own foreign involvements to the minimum, consciously
wanting a period of peace even at the cost of not actively pressing its
border disputes with Russia, Vietnam and India. Lately, China has chosen a
somewhat higher- profile role in Asia mainly to correct the distortions
introduced by America being the sole superpower and the attenuation in the
power and effectiveness of Russia, as a result of communism's and the
Soviet Union's collapse.
It has necessarily to play a more dominant rather than a peace-promoting
role in slabilizing Asia. It has to befriend and take along all major Asian
states, with many of whom it has had historical quarrels: Japan, Korea,
Vietnam, Russia, India, Iran and Central Asian republics (CARs). It can
scarcely want to get entangled in regional disputes, if it can help it.
The Chinese economy, on the other hand, requires good working relations
with the US. Its annual exports to America are of the order of $ 50
billion, yielding $ 14-15 billion surplus. Beijing thus wants nothing so
much as a permanent MFN (most favoured nation) status in the US. It also
wants the membership of the WTO, IMF and other multilateral agencies.
Diehard communist baiters in the US stand in the way of China getting this
status or membership. But it wants these things to win over the majority of
the US Congress with the help of the White House.
It is for Pakistan to think and decide where it comes in or gets off in
the light of this orientation of the Chinese policies. Can China go against
its own interests? This rules out China's further cooperation with this
country in the nuclear and missile development fields that fall foul of any
of those treaties and controls. Although PM Sharif had taken along senior
defence officials, no specific defence-related agreement was signed.
Anyhow, Pakistanis are required to read the international situation more
objectively and to do some introspection over how have the Chinese
perceived our actions and policies. So long as we pursue the support-
Taliban policy in Afghanistan proforma, empty declarations of neutrality
being neither here nor there neither the Chinese nor the Iranians nor
indeed any European government can support us. It is up to us to recognize
that we have allowed a new alignment to have emerged on Afghanistan: It
contains Russia, Iran, China and India, not to mention most Central Asian
republics. Then, how can the Chinese or the Indians, Russians, Europeans,
CARs forget the reality of the fanatical religious right in Pakistan which
Islamabad is too powerless to contain, while it sends trained militants to
preach militant Islam in Xinjing and other CARs.
===================================================================
S P O R T S
===================================================================
980223
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Pakistan has an edge in hockey series against India
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A. Majid Khan
The naming of Tahir Zaman as captain of the 18-member Pakistan team for the
coming series against India was a predictable choice, but the designation
of Mohammad Shahbaz as his deputy, has surely come as a surprise.
Tahir Zaman is a brilliant inside-right, having represented Pakistan thrice
in the World Olympics (1988 Seoul, 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta) and
twice in the World Cup (1990 Lahore and 1994 Sydney). His performance in
the Champions Trophy and in a number of other international tournaments as
also his role as vice-captain on several occasions when Mansoor led the
Pakistan side, stood him in good stead to assume the leading role.
Mohammad Shahbaz, who plays both at the inside left and outside position,
is no doubt an outstanding player but his suspect eye vision might cause
problems. Rahim Khan would have been a safer choice as vice-captain.
The team composition with a mixture of experience and new blood should be
welcomed. Pakistan's eight-man forward line of Rahim Khan, Tahir Zaman,
Kamran Ashraf, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammad Shahbaz, Mohammad Sarwar, Asif Ahmed
and Haider Hussain appeared capable of trying India's defence network to
the full. Of all the forwards Rahim Khan had always showed his skill and
top physical condition but despite that he had been treated as reserve
forward (rightwinger) and sometimes as centre-forward.
Mohammad Sarwar also plays at the out side right position and new comer
Haider Hussain is also a regular right-winger. It means we have selected no
less than three players for the right-wing.
The half line comprises seasoned Mohammad Usman and Irfan Mahmood besides
Imran Yousuf, Waseem Ahmed and Sohail Abbas, a newcomer in the senior side.
Sohail Abbas is a fullback but he is a fine converter of penalty corner
Imran Yousuf, as centre half, holds high promise. But since Taher Zaman had
played as pivot during the trials as well as during the camp training, it
is to be seen if Irfan Yousuf gets an opportunity to show his mettle in
that position.
Fullback Naveed Alam, banned for beating Umpire Zaidi in Peshawar and later
selected for Pakistan team in the 1997 Adelaide Champions Trophy, is in the
squad alongwith Danish Kalim and Ali Raza. Ahmed Alam, discarded before the
Atlanta Olympic is back as a number one goal keeper after Mansoor Ahmed's
ouster. Mohammad Qasim, the juniors team goalkeeper is the reserve keeper.
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980222
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Rashid Latif needs no immediate surgery
--------------------------------------------------------------------
BLOEMFONTEIN, Feb 21: Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, who had to miss the
first Test against South Africa because of injury to his neck, has been
advised against immediate surgery by a neuro-surgeon on Friday.
Soon after arriving at Bloemfontein with the team for the three-day match
against Free State, he was taken to hydromed hospital for an x-ray and a
second opinion Dr Wilkinson who has now advised him to start light
exercise. The x-ray according to Rashid Latif, shows a marked improvement.
The doctor has told me that operation is not necessary at this stage and if
the movement of the neck does not induce pain then I can even play in the
Test", said Rashid Latif.
The Pakistan captain is obviously disappointed that injury has kept him
away from action. He played in the opening game against Nicky Oppenheimer
XI and in the four-day match against Griqualand at Kimberly which Pakistan
won by 307 runs. He seemed in good touch while making 80 odd runs in the
first innings. Things certainly looked very rosy for him but then in the
next match at East London he could play only three deliveries and had to
pull out of the match. Prior to he match he was hit in practice which may
have aggravated the problem.
Consultations with orthopaedic surgeon disclosed that the pain was due
mainly because of problem with the discs C3 and C4 in the neck and a
disappointed Pakistan captain had to hand over he reins to his deputy Aamir
Sohail, the vice-captain.
"I am looking forward to the second Test at Durban. I wish I am fit enough
to play in the match. I have started to do a bit of workout and I feel that
the movement in the neck is much more free. I have not batted in the nets
because of the pain but I shall now try and see whether I can bat without
much pain and whether I am able to focus properly with my side on action
without any after effects," said Rashid.
The mood, he said, in the camp is now a lot cheerful than at Johannesburg
during the Test. "The mugging incident had disturbed our plans and our
concentration had wavered because of it. now we have left everything behind
and are fully concentrating on the game", he said.
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