------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 11 December 1999 Issue : 05/50 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents | National News | Business & Economy | Editorials & Features | Sports
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CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + Oppressive steps led to Nawaz's overthrow: Human Rights Watch report + US wants 'highest-level' talks between India, Pakistan + CE to restore democracy: US to block Pakistan's economic collapse + No softening of Pakistan stand: India + Pakistan can meet energy needs: experts + Hearing from Jan 31: SC admits writs against army takeover + Shaukat Aziz tells IMF: Economic programme to be home-grown + Centre rejects demand for more wheat + Fresh polls if assemblies not restored, says minister + 10% Pakistanis consider Y2K bug fatal + Pakistan, Iran agree to remove irritants --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + India to buy 60,000 bales of Pakistani raw cotton + Deduction of Zakat: Banks seek advice from State Bank + Hubco not to hold talks on tariff + Move to improve banks liquidity: SBP starts dollar rupee swap + Instalments facility to tax defaulters + Economic Advisory Board body proposes corporate farming + Pakistan may extend Eurobond exchange offer + Dividend payouts up on excess reserves tax + Stocks remain bullish on foreign buying --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + The Clifton Boating Basin Ardeshir Cowasjee + The distinct sound of floundering Ayaz Amir + Gothic horror story Irfan Husain ----------- SPORTS + ICC confirms: Shoaib's bowling action under scrutiny + Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik recalled in Tri-nation series + Aisam-ul-Haq bags second international tennis title
=================================================================== DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 991211 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Oppressive steps led to Nawaz's overthrow: Human Rights Watch report ------------------------------------------------------------------- Masood Haider NEW YORK, Dec 10: Saying that "there was near universal condemnation of the Oct 12 coup, "against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government, nevertheless the Human Rights Watch World report-2000, has noted that "by suppressing opposition-led demonstrations and strikes, curtailing civil liberties through repressive ordinances, and persecuting independent NGOs and journalists, Sharif's administration left civil society battered". In the report launched on Thursday at press conferences in New York and Washington DC, the HRW said: "Sharif alienated important elements in the army with his abrupt withdrawal of support in July for Muslim militants who had occupied strategic peaks overlooking Kargil, in the Indian-held portion of Kashmir. The subsequent retreat of the militants, reduced the danger of Pakistan's diplomatic isolation but engendered widespread domestic condemnation and proved to be the final catalyst in prompting a military takeover. The report said that 'the most dramatic development during the year was the bloodless coup on Oct 12. Prime Minister Sharif dismissed General Parvez Musharraf as army chief, then tried to prevent the general's plane coming from Sri Lanka, from landing in Karachi. Within hours, the military launched its counterattack, and by the end of the day, Sharif was under arrest and the entire cabinet was under guard. "Within days of the military takeover, the general suspended the constitution, abolished the national assembly and all provincial legislatures, announced the formation of a six-member national security council to give "guidance" to the cabinet of ministers, and banned the Supreme Court from challenging his authority. The general also promised to uphold freedom of the press and religious tolerance, to exercise nuclear restraint, withdraw some military forces from the Indian border, and to revive the country's battered economy while attacking high-level corruption. He said his was an interim government but gave no timetable for new elections. Reaction to the coup within the country was generally favourable," the report added. The October coup capped a year of increasing discontent with the Sharif administration stemming from its crackdown on opposition political activity and increasing "encroachments on civil liberties, with the courts providing only occasional relief. After a GDA call for a protest rally in Karachi led to the arrest from Sept 24 to 26 of more than 1,000 opposition activists throughout the city, including much of the leadership of the Pakistan People's Party, senior leaders of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Awami National Party, and the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf party. Most were released on bail on Sept 28, although magistrates rejected the bail applications of some senior figures, including Senators Nasreen Jalil and Aftab Sheikh of the MQM." On Feb 17, in a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court declared that the military courts set up by the federal government in late 1998 to try civilians for political, sectarian and ethnic violence were unconstitutional, and ordered that cases pending in military courts be transferred to anti-terrorism courts or other courts established within the law. The federal government responded by amending the 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act so as to give anti-terrorism courts jurisdiction over the same categories of offences as the military courts. In the amended act, the definition of terrorism was extended to include "acts of civil commotion," a term that included the "commencement or continuation of illegal strikes" as well as "distributing, publishing or pasting of a handbill or making graffiti or wall-chalking intended to create unrest or fear." Seven anti-terrorism courts were established in Karachi in early May. One case was tried in apparent violation of Pakistan's constitutional guarantees against double jeopardy. Mohammed Saleem had been acquitted by a military appellate court on January 6 of involvement in the murder of three police officers, after the court failed to establish a motive or find substantial evidence linking him to the crime. However, police again arrested Saleem on May 13 and brought him before an anti-terrorism court to face a second trial on the same charges. On June 11, Saleem was convicted and sentenced to death. The court rejected Saleem's contention that he was below the age of sixteen - which under Sindh provincial law would have precluded capital punishment - after a court-ordered medical examination found him to be between the ages of twenty and twenty-one. On the issue of women's rights the HRW said that Sharif led "government repeatedly failed to uphold the civil liberties of women or to punish "honour killings." On August 3, the Pakistani Senate voted to block debate over a draft resolution condemning incidents of violence against women. Only four members of the Senate voted in favour of discussing the draft, itself a substantial dilution of an earlier text that specifically condemned Sarwar's murder. " On Sharif's government's relations with the press the HRW said: " The government's intimidation of the news media emerged as an issue of international concern, as authorities targeted some leading newsmen and journalists by arresting and resorting to other repressive measures for cooperating with a BBC team producing a documentary about government corruption in Pakistan. On the issue of Human Rights Organizations and the closure of NGOs during the Sharif government, the report said: "The Punjab provincial government shut down nearly 2,000 NGOs, imposed restrictions on the registration of new groups, and began drafting a law that would facilitate its ability to regulate the province's remaining NGOs. A similar crackdown on NGO activities, albeit on a smaller scale, was underway in Sindh. Although local NGO activists noted that many of the banned organizations existed in name only, they said the move also targeted groups that had done critical reporting on human rights issues. All NGOs in Punjab were asked to seek clearance from provincial and federal intelligence agencies before they could allowed to work and making a written pledge that they were not involved in anti-state, anti-government, or anti- religion activities. On May 10, the department revoked the registration of 1,941 NGOs, shutting down nearly one third of the 5,967 NGOs registered in the province. All of the disbanded organizations were registered under the Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies (Registration and Control) Ordinance. However, several major NGOs, including the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), are registered under the Societies Act and are technically outside the jurisdiction of the Social Welfare Department. The Punjab government subsequently announced that all NGOs in the province would henceforth be registered under the Social Welfare Ordinance. It also began drafting a law that would enable it to dissolve NGOs registered under the Societies Act and to seize their assets. As of October, however, government representatives and an NGO committee were engaged in a dialogue about the need for such a bill and its possible content. The report noted that "although the crackdown on NGOs was centred in Punjab, similar campaigns were initiated in other provinces. In Sindh, the government cancelled the registration of 273 NGOs, out of a total of about 5,282 NGOs registered in the province, because of their alleged involvement in anti-state activities and corruption and initiated inquiry against some. The report pointed out "In April, Radhika Coomaraswamy, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, expressed concern over the growing number of "honour crimes" in Pakistan, particularly the murder of Samia Sarwar. Coomaraswamy urged the government of Pakistan to seriously address the issue of honour killings and support crisis centres and shelters for women victims, adding that "the government of Pakistan should take all necessary steps to protect the lives of Asma Jehangir and her colleagues." In October, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan condemned the ouster of the civilian government and urged General Musharraf to take early steps to "restore civilian rule and the constitutional process." On the issue of sectarian violence, the report noted "sectarian violence escalated in scale and geographic scope, as Shia leaders and communities came under attack not only in Punjab, where the attacks had increased manifold. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991206 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US wants 'highest-level' talks between India, Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DELHI, Dec 5: The United States favours talks "at the highest level" between India and Pakistan on all irritants, including Kashmir, the US envoy to New Delhi said on Sunday. Ambassador Richard Celeste told the Press Trust of India that Washington was concerned peace talks between the two countries should resume soon. "We continue to take the position that it will be very valuable for India to engage Pakistan at the highest level on issues that trouble the relationship between the two countries... "We are concerned that the momentum (of a prime ministerial meeting in February in Lahore) is not completely lost," he said. The Lahore declaration was signed by Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at a landmark summit in February with the ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif. It called for intensifying efforts to resolve outstanding issues, including that of Kashmir. Celeste said "a great deal of trust" had been "damaged" on account of a two-month conflict earlier this year between Indian soldiers and the Mujahideen. Celeste conceded that it would be "awkward" for Vajpayee to deal with a "non-elected leadership in Pakistan that suddenly carries some responsibility." The ambassador said that even the "smartest and wisest" American could not fashion a workable solution to the Kashmir tangle. "We believe this will require extraordinary leadership from this country and Pakistan and on behalf of people of Kashmir," he said. The ambassador forecast "promising" ties between India and the US in the coming years, saying: "We want a thriving and broad-based relationship with India. "We don't believe that the relationship should be defined by how we treat Pakistan."-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991211 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CE to restore democracy: US to block Pakistan's economic collapse ------------------------------------------------------------------- Shaheen Sehbai WASHINGTON, Dec 10: The US on Thursday assured Pakistan it will not oppose IMF and World Bank funds but a senior State Department official urged General Pervez Musharraf to announce "milestones and a clear timetable" for a return to constitutional, civilian and democratic governance. The US assurance was given by Under Secretary of State Thomas Pickering at a major foreign policy speech at a George Washington University forum on US relations with Pakistan, India and Iraq, released officially by the State Department on Thursday. It was the most exhaustive comment made by any senior US official on relations with the two South Asian countries in many months and was seen in the context of laying a framework for a possible visit by President Clinton to the region next year. "Our agenda with Pakistan is thus both broad and delicate as we seek the restoration of democracy while remaining engaged with a country whose course of action has tremendous effect on the security of the region and with whom we share long ties," he said. Pickering said US-Pakistan relations had been affected by the end of the Cold War "in more complex and sometimes contradictory ways." "The end of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan held out great hope for increased stability in the region - but instead, Afghanistan has dissolved into an intractable civil war, placing obvious pressures on Pakistan." Pickering said the political crisis that erupted in Pakistan in October was at the top of the US agenda. "One of our newest and greatest issues with Pakistan is that democracy be restored promptly," he said. "While many Pakistanis favour fundamental change, and the move by the military has substantial public support, they do not appear to want the military to stay in power for a protracted period," he observed. "Sadly enough, failures by both the Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto governments have coloured perceptions of what democracy can accomplish in Pakistan," he said. "Opium production has declined from 175 tons to less than 40 tons in this period, while opium and heroin seizures have increased exponentially. "Pakistan's efforts to attack narcotics problems are more constrained by a severe economic crisis than by lack of political will. High-level political support for anti-narcotics is continuing in the new regime," he said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991210 ------------------------------------------------------------------- No softening of Pakistan stand: India ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DELHI, Dec 9: India said on Thursday October's change of government in Pakistan had not resulted in a softening of Islamabad's aggressive stance and hostility towards New Delhi. "The 'military coup' in Pakistan has not altered Pakistan's aggressive approach, hostile policies and propaganda towards India," Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh said in a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha. "Pakistan's sponsorship of 'cross-border terrorism in the state of Jammu and Kashmir' and elsewhere in India has continued unabated." Singh alleged Pakistan forces had continued firing across the Line of Control and the working boundary in Kashmir. "Pakistan has made no moves to withdraw troops from the Line of Control, where they had been inducted in large numbers during its armed intrusion and aggression in the Kargil sector," he alleged.- Reuters DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991207 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan can meet energy needs: experts ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Dec 6: Using only 20 per cent efficient devices, solar energy falling on 25 per cent of Balochistan area is enough to meet requirements of present-day total energy consumption of Pakistan, solar energy experts said. Pakistan, being unlucky country with regards to fuel reserves, has to switch over to solar energy ultimately for its ever growing needs. According to energy experts, with the current rate of supplies, the total reserves of oil and gas in Pakistan will last 12 years. However coal will take about 200 years to exhaust which can face tough resistance from environmentalists while hydro- power can meet only upto one-fifth of the present energy demand. With this situation, Pakistan is left with the only option to develop and adopt renewable energy technologies for the requirement of 14 million people living in cities and villages. Among all renewable sources, the solar energy is the most abundant and widely spread in Pakistan. The mean global irradiance falling on horizontal surface amounts to about 1.9-2.3 MWh per square meter in a year. It has been estimated that using only 20 per cent efficient devices solar energy falling on 25 per cent of Balochistan area is enough to meet requirements of total energy consumption of Pakistan, experts said. Photovoltaics, developed for converting the solar energy into electricity is also good for producing H2 through electrolysis. This H2 can completely replace our oil and gas requirements. Dr Pervez Akhtar, Director General of National Institute of Silicon Technology told APP that among all renewable energy sources, the solar energy is in abundance, pollution free, widely distributed, freely available and covering wide-range of applications and is becoming the most popular source of clean energy. He said energy technologists are now convinced that the development and adaptation of energy technologies can bring revolution in the lifestyle and living standards of low income group in extreme remote areas. However, till today, he said these energy technologies have not been properly exploited for a number of reasons including the fear of high cost, lack of motivation, and incentives, inadequate demonstration of effective use, non- availability of suitable systems, non- existence of proper infrastructure, trained manpower and market places and regions where demand exists. Due to campaign and pressure from the environmentalists, the multinational companies have started investing huge amount on research in solar energy as they think that solar energy will become ultimately prime source of energy. Dr Pervez said the NIST besides developing photovoltaics for producing electricity, the heat character of solar radiation is also exploited for wide range of applications. This includes water heating for domestic or industrial applications, space heating and air conditioning, solar architecturing, solar cooking, drying agricultural products, water desalination, cleaning and sterilizing surgical components and lot more. Dr Pervez has invited the private sector to pick the technologies from his institute for commercial use.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991207 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hearing from Jan 31: SC admits writs against army takeover ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Dec 6: The Supreme Court on Monday admitted the petitions of Pakistan Muslim League and others challenging the military takeover for regular hearing from January 31, 2000 on day- to-day basis. The court, however, declined to stay the proceedings against deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and others before the Anti- Terrorism Court in Karachi. The court also issued notices to all the bar associations of the country and the advocate generals of the four provinces to appear and give their point of view in the case. The court, however, did not issue notices to Chief Executive Gen Pervaiz Musharraf and Corps Commander Lt-Gen Mehmood Ahmed. Both of them were impleaded as respondents by Syed Zafar Ali Shah, PML(N) member of the suspended National Assembly in his petition. The bench, headed by Chief Justice Saiduzzaman Siddiqui, consisted of Justice Bashir Jehangiri, Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, Justice Abdur Rehman Khan and Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed. Apart from PML's representative petition there are four other petitions. Syed Zafar Ali Shah, in his separate petition, has sought restoration of assemblies and PML government. Habib Wahabul Kheiri in his petition has challenged provisional constitutional order 1 (PCO-1), of 1999 to the extent of its being violative of judicial independence. Syed Iqbal Haider of MWM sought validation of the military takeover. Shahid Orakzai asked the court to restore the Senate and the offices of the speakers of all the legislative assemblies for bringing the democratic system back on track. On Monday when the court proceedings started Attorney General Aziz A. Munshi, who was on court notice, argued that there was no need for issuance of notices to the chief executive and the corps commander. The court room was packed to capacity. The federal law minister argued that the notice to the federation was sufficient as the chief executive and the corps commander were part of the federation. He also questioned the jurisdiction of the court to proceed with the case as the court had no authority to pass any order with regard to PCO 1. His argument, however, was rejected by the Chief Justice immediately who observed the issue, whether an act of the armed forces was challengeable or not, had already been decided in Zaheerul Islam Abbasi case. Zafar Shah contended that notice to the respondents was necessary. He stated that notice to the federation would mean notice to Mian Nawaz Sharif "who is still the elected prime minister". Notice to the federation would not be notice to Gen Pervaiz Musharraf, he maintained. Former federal law minister Khalid Anwar, who filed the PML(N) representative petition, contended that he had no objection if the attorney general was ready to accept notice on behalf of every responsible. Justice Zahid inquired from the AG that if the court had any query about the acts of Gen Musharraf and Lt-Gen Ahmed, would it be the duty of the AG to respond to those. The AG said when he was stating before the court that there was no need for issuing notice to the generals as they were part of the federation, he meant something. Mr Orakzai stated that notice to the chairman of joint chiefs of staff committee and the president was necessary as in his petition he had raised such points which needed response from both the respondents. He further contended that one counsel could not represent two persons. Syed Iqbal Haider contended that there was no need for issuance of notice to the individuals as the military takeover was an institutional reaction against an illegal order. The court observed that it would also issue notices to the Supreme Court Bar Association, high court bar associations and the vice- presidents of the bar councils to appear and give their point of view. The court, after inquiring from the counsel that none have engaged former law minister S.M. Zafar, issued him notice to assist the court as amicus curiae (friend of the court). The court after consulting the parties decided that written statement by the respondent would be filed on or before Jan 17, 2000. The copies of that would be provided to the counsels of the petitioners immediately and after two weeks, the court would take up the matter for regular hearing on daily basis. Mr Shah asked the court to halt proceedings against "Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during the pendency of the constitutional petitions in the apex court." The Chief Justice inquired why the court should stay the proceedings of a totally different case. Mr Shah said if criminal proceedings before the ATC were not stayed by Jan 31, 2000 everything would be topsy-turvy and the apex court proceedings might loose its relevance. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991205 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Shaukat Aziz tells IMF: Economic programme to be home-grown ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Dec 4: Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday said, the government held talks with the visiting IMF delegation on the broad economic policies and the macro-level issues. "They have just come to understand thinking of the new team vis-a- vis the economic policies of the government," he said while talking to newsmen here. "We did not discuss with them any new programme," he responded to a question. "We told them the (economic) programme will be home-grown and they have supported it," the Minister said. On the IPPs' issue, the Minister said, the government wants to resolve the issue in the best national interests. "Discussions and negotiations with them are underway," he added. Aziz informed that a team of HUBCO is coming next week and hoped that there will be progress on the issue. Responding to a question, the Finance Minister said, the major thrust of the new economic policy will be on agriculture, poverty reduction and boosting investors' confidence. The new economic policy is being prepared by the Economic Advisory Board in light of recommendations of its sub-groups, working on various sectors. Asked about the thrust of the new policy, he said, we need to boost the investors' confidence. "The prime focus will be on the domestic inventors followed by the overseas Pakistanis and the foreign investors." The other area of focus, in the new policy, will be agriculture which, he said, can be an engine of growth. Similarly, Aziz said, the petroleum sector also has immense potential which is also linked with the on-going IPPs issue. Our dependence on imported oil can be reduced by developing the petroleum sector, he added. He listed poverty reduction as another focal point of the new economic policy. We will use the available resources to ameliorate the plight of the common man, he added. "We will make efforts to use the loans and funds in such projects which create jobs for the people thus helping them to overcome poverty," the Minister said. To a question, the Minister said that the response to the voluntary exchange offer by the government on its existing euro bonds has been good. As per the announcement of the government made earlier, the voluntary exchange offer by the Government of Pakistan for its existing bonds will expire on Dec 6, 1999 and the exchange is scheduled to close on December 13.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991211 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Centre rejects demand for more wheat ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Dec 10: The federal food ministry has rejected provinces' demand for increase in the quota of wheat, an official said on Friday. During a recent inter-provincial meeting, held in the capital, the provinces had demanded increase in wheat quota at the rate of 160kg per capita against the existing quota of 146kg per capita. The food ministry outrightly refused to meet the demand, saying the government had not enough financial resources for the purpose. If the ministry revised the quota the government would have to import 3 million tons of wheat in addition to the current plan to import 1.5 million tons of wheat in 1999-2000, the official said. During the meeting, the provinces had been told by the ministry to check smuggling of wheat and flour, which was the only solution to artificial shortage of wheat in Sindh, Balochistan and the NWFP.- NNI NWFP SITUATION: Meanwhile, NWFP Food Minister Abeedullah Jan asked the government to lift inter-provincial ban on movement of wheat and flour, saying that the province was not being provided sufficient wheat quota by thefederal food ministry to cater to its needs, adds APP. Mr Jan listed major reasons for the shortfall of the commodity in the province, which also included the presence of 1.5 million (1.3 million registered and 0.2 million un-registered) Afghan refugees. Elaborating, he said:" We are getting wheat at a scale of 124 kg per head per annum from the food ministry. After grinding wheat, the scale further declined to 103 Kg per head per annum". Of the total wheat supply,10 per cent was utilized for Maida, 5 per cent for brawn and 1.2% was wasted due to impurity, he added. To a question, the minister said the present scale was not sufficient to meet the requirements of the province, where the commo-dity was consumed in larger quan-tity as compared to other pro-vinces. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991211 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresh polls if assemblies not restored, says minister ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Dec 10: Minister for Local Bodies and Rural Development Omar Asghar said on Friday that fresh elections would be held if the national and provincial assemblies were not restored. " The government has two options: either to restore the assemblies or to hold fresh elections," he said in an interview with IRNA. "In case the assemblies are restored, the members having cases of wrongdoings, would have to be disqualified,if convicted by courts", he disclosed. Mr Asghar did not rule out general election in 2001, but said it would follow local bodies polls."However, any decision on these options would be made by the federal cabinet and the National Security Council", he added. "Local bodies would provide the basis for a new leadership to emerge in the (ongoing) process," the minister said, making it clear that criminals and corrupt people would not be allowed to contest elections even at the local bodies level. He said local bodies would be made so much powerful that they could not be dissolved at the whim of provincial governments. He said local councils would be made powerful and authorised even to levy taxes and explore their own resources. Mr Asghar said the government intended to reform the electoral system, make the election commission more powerful, redemarcate constituencies and review the electoral roll. He added that the present administration was considering reforming the judicial system at the lower level,"so that the people get speedy justice". He said: "Arbitration councils (Jirgas) would be set up at village level so that the people need not go to courts for the settlement of petty disputes." He particularly mentioned tourism and trade as areas of great potential for bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and Iran. He stressed the need for joint efforts by the two brotherly countries to check smuggling of narcotics. " We in Pakistan respect Iranian people and the change that has come in Iran after the revolution", he said, adding that the people and leadership in Pakistan drew inspiration from the spirit of "self-reliance " of the Iranian brothers.-NNI DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991211 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 10% Pakistanis consider Y2K bug fatal ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Dec 10: Only one-fourth of men and women in the urban areas of Pakistan have heard about the Y2K millennium bug and 10 per cent of them believe that it can cause loss of life. According to a recent survey by Gallup Pakistan, the awareness level in Pakistan is much lower than the global average which stands at 75 per cent. The survey was part of a Gallup International poll conducted in more than 50 countries across the globe to mark the end of the 20th century. More than 50,000 statistically selected men and women were interviewed in the course of this study. The findings of this unique global study will be released in several parts by Gallup Pakistan. Among those aware of the Y2K problem, 10 per cent in Pakistan believe that the Problem is so severe it may even cause loss of life. At the global level, 17 per cent hold this view. HEALTH SECTOR: Pakistan officials and hospital staff fear the health sector will be the worst affected by the Y2K bug. A health ministry spokesman said hospitals had the greatest concentration of hardware and software systems in the country. Patients at health institutes may face "danger, stress or discomfort," he said, adding the problem may prolong treatment time, increase costs, give incorrect diagnosis." The computer bug stems from a programming shortcut in which dates were abbreviated so years were given in just two digits. That means older generation computers mistake the year 2000 for the year 1900. Experts say it may lead systems to crash or give erroneous data. The millennium bug might harm or fail equipment used for life support, resuscitation, anaesthetic ventilators and neo-natal incubators, hospital sources said. The ministry spokesman said a team of computer technicians had been set up to prepare a contingency plan to minimize potential problems in the health sector. The government will use a 100,000-dollar World Bank grant to set up a task force to deal with the bug. The task force has been given the job of computer control for the public sector including telecommunications, state-run banks, financial institutions, oil refineries, railways, civil aviation, shipping organizations and power plants.-app/afp DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991209 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan, Iran agree to remove irritants ------------------------------------------------------------------- TEHRAN, Dec 8: Pakistan and Iran here late on Wednesday agreed to endeavour for removing existing irritants in their relations. This was agreed at the hour-long formal talks held by Gen Pervez Musharraf and Seyyed Mohammad Khatami. About the talks, foreign minister Abdus Sattar said, the two leaders held "frank and sincere talks." He said they agreed that both countries should jointly encourage Afghans to set up a "broad- based representative and multi-ethnic government in the war- shattered country." The two leaders said that Six Plus Two besides US and Russian Federation should also help in establishing peace in Afghanistan. General Musharraf on the occasion said, Pakistan attaches highest of importance to its close bilateral relations with Iran. Pakistan Government, he said, is determined to further expand the mutually-beneficial cooperation with Iran in various fields, in particular to augment trade and economic collaboration. The Chief Executive briefed the Iranian President of the latest situation in Kashmir. Both the sides also reiterated their commitment to the strengthening of regional peace and stability which is essential for the progress and prosperity of both the peoples. Earlier, while talking to reporters on his arrival at Tehran airport, he told reporters that Pakistan wanted solution of Afghan crisis and modalities of setting up a broad-based government could figure during his talks with the top Iranian leadership. On arrival, he was received by Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi and other officials. To a question on Afghanistan, he said, he was conscious that views on Afghanistan being held by both Iran and Pakistan "have some irritants which need to be improved." His government, he said, would endeavour to resolve such problems created by vested interest. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar held talks with his Iranian counterpart at Saadabad Palace complex.-APP
=================================================================== BUSINESS & ECONOMY DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991208 ------------------------------------------------------------------- India to buy 60,000 bales of Pakistani raw cotton ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent MULTAN, Dec 7: Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) vice chairman Masood Alam Rizvi has termed the response from the foreign cotton buyers as encouraging, as so far contracts of 149,000 cotton bales have been signed for export purposes. Talking to newsmen here on Tuesday, he said so far India had emerged as the main buyer of Pakistan raw cotton as she had placed orders for as many as 60,000 cotton bales, while Indonesia and Bangladesh were other major customers of Pakistani raw cotton. Rizvi said Bangladesh had emerged a potential buyer of Pakistani agriculture produce as some 10,000 tons of onion had been exported to that country, out of the total onion export of 55,000 tons so far. He said an additional quantity of 20,000 tons of onion was likely to be exported to Bangladesh within a month. Besides, Rizvi continued, 10,000 tons of dry dates had also been exported to that fraternal country. He said EPB had started negotiation with the management of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to provide as much facilities at Multan airport for the export of mangoes as possible. He added the outcome would be very positive. Earlier, APBUMA chairman Khwaja Jalauddin Roomi placed a number of demands before the EPB vice chairman. Some of these are: (1) revise the present quota policy, specially its category 369FP-USA needed reconsideration as in its present form it is hampering APBUMA business; (2) exporters who surrendered their quotas falling under slow-moving categories be provided the same quota next year; (3) exporters who received quota in auction and utilized 75% of it be allowed to transfer their quota; (4) export be declared zero-rated and be exempted from sales tax. Later, during a short question-answer session, businessmen complained that emerging buyers of Pakistani products were Bangladesh, Egypt, Sri Lanka and other countries of the same status, but National Bank often refused to entertain LCs of these countries which created a lot of problems both for the exporters and importers. EPB vice chairman said he would take the matter up with the governor State Bank. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991208 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Deduction of Zakat: Banks seek advice from State Bank ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, Dec 7: Five major banks have said they would have to accept the declarations filed by account holders of any of the recognized Fiqhs, including Fiqh-i-Hanafi, seeking exemption from compulsory deduction of Zakat. The term Fiqh means school of interpretation of Islamic laws. The banks have clarified their position on the subject through a letter addressed to Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and State Bank Governor Dr Ishrat Hussain. The banks are: (i) National Bank (ii) Habib Bank (iii) United Bank (iv) Muslim Commercial Bank and (v) Allied Bank. The letter, written jointly and signed by senior officials of all the five banks, has asked the finance minister and the SBP governor to let them know by 12 noon on Wednesday (Dec 8) "whether the exemption from Zakat in compliance of the honourable Supreme Court dated 9-3-99 has been rightly made by the banks." The banks have also sent a copy of the letter to the ministry of religious affairs seeking their advice by Wednesday noon. The letter, drafted by the five banks, says they have clarified their position after obtaining legal advice from their lawyers on a recent advice on the subject originating from the ministry of religious affairs. The advice holds in abeyance implementation of the Supreme Court judgment of 9-3-99 on compulsory deduction of Zakat until the Federal Shariat Court gives its guidelines. According to the Supreme Court judgment the exemption from compulsory deduction of Zakat was available to all the recognized Fiqhs (and not only to the Fiqh-i-Jafria) on filing the requisite affidavit. This advice originating from the ministry of religious affairs on Nov 26, 1999 was sent to the banks directly as well as through the State Bank. The advice created a confusion on whether the banks should go by the judgment of the Supreme Court and grant exemption from compulsory deduction of Zakat to clients of all Fiqhs or restrict themselves from granting this exemption to people of Fiqh-i-Jafria only as implied in the advice of the ministry of religious affairs. "We are advised (by our lawyers) that in the absence of any review petition against the decision of the honourable Supreme Court on the part of the government or any stay order, non- compliance of the decision could amount to contempt of court," says the joint letter of the five major banks. "In view of the above we have to submit that all declarations filed by followers of all the recognized Fiqhs including Fiqh-i-Hanafi by the due date shall have to be accepted by banks for the purpose of exemption from collection of Zakat at source in the absence of any directive to the contrary." Banks had asked their clients earlier to file declarations if they wanted their bankers not to deduct Zakat from their bank accounts on the 1st of Ramazan. Senior bankers say the confusion created by the advice of the ministry of religious affairs scared bank clients on the one hand and on the other it forced the banks to adopt a wait and see position on Zakat deduction. They say if the ministry of religious affairs reviews its advice by Wednesday noon things may remain normal but if the ministry sticks to its position then there would be heavy withdrawals from bank accounts by the people who did not approve the idea of compulsory deduction of Zakat at source. Ramazan is due to start either from Thursday or Friday subject to the appearance of moon. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991211 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hubco not to hold talks on tariff ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, Dec 10: Hub Power Company Limited (Hubco) will not engage in negotiations with Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) on issue of reduction in power tariff until the atmosphere of "coercion" against the power company was removed. Talking to newsmen after signing Rs.1.250 billion stand-by Letter of Credit (LC) for import of furnace oil with UBL led five Pakistani banks in Karachi on Friday, Hubco Chief Executive Khursheed Hussain said that Hubco board of directors had decided that the company will not discuss reduction in power tariff with Wapda until allegations against the company were withdrawn. However, talks can be held to discuss the legality of the FIR registered against Hubco. Mr Khursheed said during last meeting between the two sides in Lahore on December 7, Hubco did not discuss tariff issue. However, Wapda presented the company with a proposal on reduction of power tariff which was being studied.He said so far no date has been fixed for next meeting. He said FIA officials deputed at the Hubco head-office in Karachi since December 7, 1999 have been withdrawn. However, the sealing of company's record was unfortunate. He said Wapda was paying Rs.790 million per month to Hubco against the purchase of power which he said was not according to PPA signed by the two sides. He said Hubco signed the stand-by LC of Rs.1.250 bn in favour of PSO for import of furnace oil with five Pakistani banks. Hubco pays about Rs.400m per month to PSO for import of furnace oil for the oil fired power plant of the company. He said earlier Hubco used to open LC with internal banks like Citibank, ABN Amro Bank, ANZ Bank but it was first time that local banks had showed interest in a large transaction. Earlier Hubco signed Rs.1.250bn stand-by LC in favour of PSO for import of furnace oil with UBL led consortium of five banks. The consortium comprised UBL (Rs. 450 million), Gulf Commercial Bank (Rs. 150 million), Prudential Bank (Rs. 100 million), Al-Faysal Islamic Bank (Rs. 300 million) and Bank Al-Falah (Rs. 250 million).-PPI DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991209 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Move to improve banks liquidity: SBP starts dollar rupee swap ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, Dec 8: The State Bank has started providing rupees to the banks in exchange of US dollars as part of its contingency plan to overcome cash problems with banks after a possible rush on deposits provoked by Millennium Bug. "As a part of the contingency plan to avoid any eventuality of Y2K millennium bug problem the State Bank will provide liquidity comfort to the banks," said a SBP announcement. "For this purpose SBP has decided to operate a USD/Rupee buy/sell swap window for the local inter-bank market from 8th December, 99 till year-end." "Banks interested in availing of this facility can enter into swap agreements with the State Bank through this window during the normal banking hours," SBP said. Millennium Bug as it is called is a possible error that may hit the computer networks at midnight between Dec 31, 1999 and Jan 1, 2000 and make them go berserk and flush out wrong data. This in turn may cause problems in the entire outfit to which the computer network belongs. All over the world central banks are anticipating a possible rush on bank deposits triggered by fears of the millennium bug even though banks across the globe including those in Pakistan have made themselves immune to the bug. Senior bankers reached by Dawn said the State Bank purchased an estimated $13-$18 million from banks at Rs 51.75 per dollar under US dollar/rupee swap for up to Jan 14 on a premium of 25 paisa. This means that SBP would sell back the dollars it purchased from the banks on Dec 8, at Rs 52.00 per dollar on Jan 14, 2000. SBP officials were not available to confirm the estimates of the swap volumes. Bankers said the $13-$18 million dollar/rupee swap resulted into inflow of Rs 770-Rs 930 million into a cash-starved inter-bank money market. The State Bank said it would continue to buy dollars in future dates against rupees till year-end but it would not say whether all rupee/dollar swaps would be for Jan 14, 2000. Senior bankers said SBP might also inject liquidity into the market through purchase of treasury bills at its operation market operation (OMO) due on Thursday. SBP only said it would conduct a two-way OMO on Thursday that means that it can suck in or inject liquidity into the market on Thursday. But bankers think SBP would rather opt for injecting some liquidity into the cash-starved market instead of mopping up whatever is left. They said the market was so dry of cash that banks had to borrow Rs 12-14 billion from the State Bank against treasury bills and FIBs on Wednesday. They said the spell of the ongoing liquidity crunch kept overnight lending rates pegged at 12.95 per cent. Senior bankers said the State Bank could have relied only on direct injection of cash into inter-bank market to cope with any cash flow problem due to millennium bug. "But the reason why SBP has also started dollar/rupee swaps to address the same issue is that it would also help SBP build foreign exchange reserves," said country head of a foreign bank. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991209 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Instalments facility to tax defaulters ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Dec 8: The Central Board of Revenue has offered facility to the tax defaulters to come up voluntarily for the payment of tax arrears in instalments. All Collectors/ Commissioner of all taxes have been instructed that tax defaulters who voluntarily agree to make the payment of all taxes in equal instalments in a manner that the arrears are liquidated well before June 15, 2000 may be considered for exclusion from the defaulters' list for ECL purposes, CBR sources said. They have been further advised that renewed efforts should be made and where defaulters voluntarily come up to pay the arrears (of principal amount of tax plus additional tax plus penalty) in instalments, the instalment facility may be allowed subject to the following conditions: - a substantial portion of the arrears in paid up front immediately on finalization of such agreements; - instalments should be payable at shorter intervals i.e weekly instalments or fortnightly instalments should be preferred; - current dues and taxes of such defaults should not go in default during the instalments period; - instalment facility shall be secured to the personal satisfaction of the Collector, against indemnity bond on a Rs. 30 (or proper higher denomination, as may appropriate) non-Judicial stamped paper. The indemnity bond should be supplemented by 2 surety bonds, with verified surety of identifiable solvent persons; - in case of default of any one of the Instalments as agreed, or in case of default of any current dues of duties/taxes, all thee arrears shall become recoverable in lumps sum without any notice, without any prejudice to prosecution action under relevant clauses/rules of respective taxes; - this instalment facility shall not be construed as exemption or waiver or concession of additional tax/surcharges/ penalties/charges that accrue on such arrears under the law/rules.- APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991207 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Economic Advisory Board body proposes corporate farming ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rauf Klasra ISLAMABAD, Dec 6: Sub-Group of Economic Advisory Board on Agriculture (SGA) has advised government to introduce corporate farming and shape required tax, prudential and legal regulations. The SGA said land fragmentation is a major problem because it has resulted in inefficient use of farm inputs and low production and the only way to collect taxes from farm sector and enhance its production is to introduce corporate farming. The group has proposed that Cabinet Division must issue a notification immediately for the introduction of corporate farming policy and exempt the sector from any land holding. The group added that Board of Investment (BOI) must engage international experts to organize joint ventures in agriculture sector. According to a copy of recommendations, SGA has said land transfer to an agricultural corporation be exempted from land transfer fee, wealth tax and be treated an individual farmer. The State Bank need to rationalize policy and treat total financial requirements including purchase of land and all other inputs. It said jagirs and jagirdari system has been abolished as per MLR64 (land reforms of 1958). This should be implemented in case where it has not been and instead of it corporate and cooperative interventions must be encouraged. These recommendations have been made part of economic revival package which the Economic Advisory Board (EAB) has finalized to be announced on December 15. The group has also asked to bring large farmers of 50 acres and plus, under assessed direct tax while the rest may remain under prevalent presumptive tax. Small farmers under 12.5 acres be exempted from tax. The group said all wealth tax on agriculture land may be abolished since it is a means of production and therefore, must be equated with industry. Earlier, sub group on agriculture (SGA) held 6 meetings from 22 to 27 November 1999. The group invited and heard views from entire spectrum of public and private sector institutions associated with the agriculture. These recommendation are based on short and medium terms. In short term, group said it intends to do existing things in better and more efficiently manner. In medium term, it added new commercial institutions will be developed that will provide a better service to this sector. The sub group said farm sector is both service and capital starved and lacks formal commercial structures. This sector can in short term bring about a growth rate of 4 to 5 per cent. The government has been requested to prioritized its resource allocation. Some of the salient recommendations of the group: Credit: The SGA recommended that commercial credit to agriculture sector must be provided on need-basis rather than yearly allocations. Around Rs100 billion is required for it. Commercial banks may join in setting up a agriculture credit support service company that will work at grassroots level. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991207 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan may extend Eurobond exchange offer ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, Dec 6: Pakistan might extend for two more weeks an offer to exchange three of its Eurobonds for a new bond in a bid to woo bondholders who have not accepted the offer, bankers and financial sources said on Monday. The offer was originally to have ended on Monday, and bankers said there were indications investors holding more than 80% of the three bonds had taken up the offer. Some $375 million worth of the bonds are held by Pakistani banks which had already accepted the offer. 'The government intends to give another chance to holders who have not accepted the offer. The government has made it clear that it does not want to default or force the holders,' a financial source who asked not to be identified said. Pakistan last month made an unprecedented offer to exchange three of its Eurobonds worth a total of $610 million for longer-dated new paper. The source said a government announcement extending the offer and giving other details should be expected on Tuesday or Wednesday. The offer, launched on November 15, applies to three issues: $150 million 11.5 percent notes due 1999, $160 million six per cent exchangeable notes due 2002 and $300 million floating rate notes due 2000. The offer officially closed on Monday, but bankers said effectively the deal expired on Thursday as Euroclear needs two days to process any new issue. The original offer provided for the new issue to start trading on Dec 13. The new paper is a six-year bond carrying a 10% coupon payable semi-annually in June and December. The principal payment will be made in four instalments starting from December 2002 and ending in December 2005. 'The general consensus that we have from the bond markets is that if any offer has been accepted by 75% of the holders, the rest should follow,' said Jahanzeb Naseer, head of research at brokers Jardine Fleming Pakistan. But Naseer said Finance Ministry officials had informally indicated that Pakistan might extend the offer as it does not want to be seen to be forcing holders to accept the offer. One of the reasons for avoiding a forced rescheduling is government's repeated commitment that its top priorities include renewal of investor confidence to attract the much-needed foreign inflows. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991210 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dividend payouts up on excess reserves tax ------------------------------------------------------------------- Haris Anwar KARACHI, Dec 9: The listed companies have started to cough up more money in dividend payouts to the shareholders to avoid a tax introduced in this fiscal year. The corporate announcements being made during the last three months or more have been showing a higher dividend payout trend despite the dismal market conditions. "We are observing handsome dividends from the companies in our portfolio," said an official at the National Investment Trust (NIT), a state-run mutual fund, which manages portfolio of 67 listed companies. Aware of the public demand that profitable companies should pay reasonable cash dividends, the previous government had imposed a 10 per cent tax on the companies' reserves in excess of 50 per cent of their paid-up capital if they did not distribute at least 40 per cent of their post-tax profits. "By and large this measure is forcing the profitable companies to pay more in the dividends," said Shahid Ghaffar, Managing Director of Karachi Stock Exchange, while referring to some companies which paid in cash dividends more than they did last year. The NIT has short-listed 33 companies from its portfolio, which will have to pay additional payouts on their 1998 earnings. It is expecting about Rs 34 million additional dividends on their 1998 earnings, as the law is made retrospective, covering those companies which had announced their results after June 1998. "Most companies have already announced additional payouts to avoid this tax on their 1998 earnings," a high official at the NIT said. The extra dividends from such companies on the 1999 earnings, when more companies come under the law, were expected to touch about Rs 62 million, he said. According to the Karachi Stock Exchange's recent report, out of 382 companies which showed profit during 1998 only 266 declared dividends. Some executives, who are not happy with the law, said well-managed companies already paying prudent amount in dividends as well as building reserves were suffering the most as their profits were taxed more than once. "This tax is also in contradiction to the global trend of return on cash flows and it would result in less equity and more borrowing for the companies paying good dividends and building their reserves as well," said one of the executives. Another executive at a multinational company maintained that companies' affairs should not be regulated by fiscal measures. "I think companies should be governed by the directors who are answerable to the shareholders and the corporate watchdog," said the executive who did not wish to be named. But Arif Habib, newly- elected president of the Karachi Stock Exchange, says the Pakistani market cannot be compared with the developed markets. "In Pakistan equity investment has received a severe beating and the investors' confidence is at the lowest ebb. But because of this measure we are seeing good payouts, which will definitely improve the market conditions," he said. "I think this law should be in place for a year or so to improve the market dividend yield and then it can be reviewed," he added. According to one source, the recently formed committee on the capital market has also forwarded a similar recommendation to the Economic Advisory Board, which is tasked to prepare the new government's economic agenda. "There was consensus among the committee members that the current law should be there for a limited time to correct the poor corporate governance and lack of historical payouts by a large number of listed companies," said one of the body members. The law was specifically designed to target the textile and sugar companies which have a very poor dividend payout history. Analysts said investors should expect more good payouts by Feb-March next year when most textile and sugar companies would announce their results. But some stock analysts say the market is not responding to the excellent corporate announcements made during the last few weeks, which is a rare phenomenon to experience. "It seems the market players are not willing to commit funds until some real recovery in the weak industrial sector of the economy is in sight," said one expert. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991210 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Stocks remain bullish on foreign buying ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, Dec 9: Stocks on Thursday remained in bullish frame of mind as foreign-led buying was not inclined to take even a technical breather amid predictions of a sustained bull-run in the sessions to come. The KSE index finished with an added gain of 22.42 points or 1.6% at 1,355.59. 'It now appears pretty sure that bulls led by some leading foreign funds are out to push the index to 1,400.00 points and then plan the future strategy', said a leading stock analyst. 'There is nothing special in the background news to which the current investor optimism about the bullish outlook could be attributed expecting perceptions of economic recovery, rescheduling of foreign loans and the broader acceptance of the new regimes by some leading foreign powers, he added. But some others said, brokers are attaching much importance to the new economic guidelines to put the economy back on the rails expected to be announced on Dec 15 and are making extensive buying on the sectors which could be the chief beneficiary of the new policy. Heavy buying in the oil marketing giant and some other energy shares, on reports of another price hike of 10% in the petroleum prices was said to be another supporting factor generating a good bit of speculative buying in PSO and Shell Pakistan. Speculative buying was there but the important development was a good number of genuine investors were in the rings and made active short-covering in the undervalued shares, notably in the textile sector. The KSE 100-share posted a fresh gain of 22.42 points or 1.68% at 1,355.59 as compared to 1,333.17 a day earlier. The market capitalization added another Rs5bn to the overnight total at Rs363bn as compared to Rs358bn a day earlier. It has gained about 100 points or 7.5% during the last one week as perception of a bull market followed by news of economic recovery and resumption of dried up aid pipeline lured foreign investors back in the rings. 'It is not a single factor but a combination of positive factors, which continued to inspire strong buying even at the higher levels, heralding the advent of foreign buying', analysts said. All have turned buyers overnight driving bears out of the market as the financial institutions continued to pump massive funds in the pivotals even at the prohibiting higher levels. Big gainers were led by Engro Chemical, Shell Pakistan, Knoll Pharma, Suraj Cotton and Cherat Papersack, which posted gains ranging from Rs6.00 to Rs10.00, Engro Chemical and Shell being the star performer on heavy buying aided by news of higher dividend and news of increase in POL Prices. Other good gainers included MCB,Sapphire Fabrics,Lever Brothers, Crescent Textiles,Mari Gas,National Refinery, and Adamjee Insurance,rising by Rs.1.50 to 3.00. Losers were led by Packages, Dawood Hercules, Century Paper and Grays Leasing,BOC Pakistan and Clariant Pakistan, falling by Rs.1.45 to 5.00. Trading volume fell to 189m shares from the previous 204m shares as the trading was closed 2.15 hour before the official closing time at 2 p.m. as compared to 4.15 p.m. to allow the brokerage houses to square their positions and settle accounts.but gainers maintained a strong lead over the losers at 134 to 72,with 52 holding on to their last levels. PTCL topped the list of most actives,up 40 paisa at Rs.22.30 on 50m shares followed by Hub-Power, unchanged at Rs21.20 on 33m shares, PSO, up Rs3.40 at Rs164.70 on 15m shares, ICI Pakistan, firm five paisa at Rs10.25 on 13m shares, Sui Northern, up 20 paisa at Rs11.50 on 11m shares, Fauji Fertiliser, higher 90 paisa at Rs51.10 on 11m shares, Engro Chemical higher Rs9.80 at Rs137.30 on 6m shares. Other actively traded shares were led by FFC-Jordan Fertiliser, higher 45 paisa on 8m shares, Followed by Nishat Mills, up Rs1.10 on 6m shares, Adamjee Insurance, up Rs1.45 on 5m shares, KESC, firm by 10 paisa on 3.246m shares, Bank of Punjab, steady by 10 paisa on 2.580m shares and Askari Bank, up 65 paisa on 2.437m shares. DEFAULTING COMPANIES: Shares of eight companies came in for trading under the lead of Mian Textiles, which was marked up by one rupee on 41,000 shares followed by Suzuki Motorcycle, higher 50 paisa on 6,500 shares. Among the other actives, Service Fabrics posted a gain of 35 paisa on 4,500 shares, while Allied Motors fell by 25 paisa on 1,000 shares.Back to the top
=================================================================== EDITORIALS & FEATURES 991205 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Clifton Boating Basin ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ardeshir Cowasjee A YEAR and a half ago, in my column printed on July 27, 1997, I wrote on just one of the mammoth land scams to which the city of Karachi has been subjected: "In August 1996, in the centre of Karachi, a lake and its peripheral park, together admeasuring 246 acres and notified as a public amenity area, was surreptitiously and illegally commercialized, and an agreement was signed to lease it out to a developer for him to thereupon build commercial property for pecuniary gain. "Is there anyone in this land of ours who is prepared to believe that this could have been done without the tacit approval or active connivance of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, her Chairman of the Environment Protection Agency doubling as her Minister of Investment, Asif Zardari, her now absconding Chief Minister in Sindh, Abdullah Shah, his now absent adviser, 'Tony Casino', and all their concerned ministers and official abettors? "And, is there anyone who could believe that such an agreement could have been made without a lot of money changing hands under the table ? "We go back twentyfive years. Under instructions from President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, his faithful Minister for Housing, Town Planning and Local Government in Sindh, the inimical Jam Sadiq Ali, had a scheme prepared for the development of the Clifton area of Karachi, and this then well planned area notified as Kahkashan, KDA Scheme 5, Clifton, was born. On December 6, 1972, the President approved the plan for implementation, whereafter, from 'Day One', all those empowered with 'discretion' to amend or change or relax rules and regulations, have so done, with impunity and regularity, for their own nefarious gain. "Amenity Block No.6, admeasuring 246 acres of the notified Scheme 5, comprises a seawater lake of 192 acres and a peripheral park area of 54 acres. This tidal lake, a portion of the eastern backwater of the port, within the jurisdiction of the Karachi Port Trust, is also known as 'The Boating Basin'. A stone embankment was constructed to contain the water, and the fenced in area was handed over by the lessors, the KDA, to the KMC for development. "Come the third PPP government, and in August 1994 it was decided to develop ponds for performing dolphins and seals and to build and operate an amusement park on 10 acres of the 246-acre area. International offers were invited. The only offer received was from the firm of Marine Animal Productions (MAP) in Gulfport, Mississippi, USA. The firm's professionals came to Karachi, discussed the project, and on March 28, 1995, a letter of intent was issued by the KMC informing MAP that they had been selected and that the KMC would negotiate with them exclusively. 'Terms of reference and guidelines' were formulated by the Parks Department and approved by the Legal Department of the KMC, envisaging the licensing of 5 acres of land and 5 acres of water to the licensees. "Then came the marauders. The MAP was sidelined without assigning any reason, the terms of reference were shelved. In June 1995, the project was taken over by the KMC Engineering Department and the Chief Engineer advertised in Jang on the 25th of that month announcing that : 'In compliance with Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto's Karachi Socio-Economic Package' public offers were invited to build, own and operate 'A dolphin park and sea-sports complex at Boating Basin, Clifton - the Diamond District of Karachi.' "Six local builders, developers, entrepreneurs submitted offers and the KMC selected developers Dolmen (Pvt) Ltd. After negotiations, the KMC Administrator Anzar Zaidi signed an agreement on August 19, 1996, with Dolmen's Managing Director Nadeem Riaz, son of Feroz Gittoo. The agreement, inter alia , envisages the leasing out to Dolmen all of the 246 acres for a period of 30 years and enables the KMC to 'consider to extend the lease for such period and on such reasonable terms and conditions as may be mutually agreed' between the two parties. It also permits Dolmen to construct on 34 per cent of the total land and water area 'buildings and structures of all kinds relating to the components defined in Clause 1 of the Agreement.' The 'components' include administration/office blocks, amphitheatres, exhibition centres (shops?), food outlets (shops?), merchandizing outlets (shops), games and other outlets, bowling alleys, billiard rooms, etc. It also envisages that 'the components shall, where appropriate, be updated and improved from time to time under intimation to KMC.' Of note are the words 'shall' and 'intimation'. No prior approval of the KMC is necessary. "Thus, Dolmen is virtually entitled to build and lease out a string of commercial complexes over an area of 84 acres (406,560 sq yds) of real estate now conservatively estimated to be worth some Rs. 25 billion. "In return, Dolmen is expected to provide recreational facilities and will be responsible for 'the diversion of sewerage from Nahr-e- Khayyam and the inlets from Chinna Creek.' It will pay to the KMC, by way of royalty, five per cent of the fees charged for entrance to the amusement park, with a minimum of Rs.5 per person. The lease rental for the total area has been fixed at Paisas 50 per square foot per annum (which with 'exemptions', totals Rs. 1,176,120 for the first year), compoundingly increasing by 15 per cent per annum, "Come this government, come Federal Nawaz and Provincial Liaquat Jatoi, and instead of cancelling and nullifying the disastrous agreement, they authorized the execution of a lease deed which was executed on February 23, 1997, by the Land Department of the KMC. However, the Diamond District can still be saved. Neither has the 'The Master Plan' submitted by Dolmen on May 22, 1997, been approved by the KMC, nor has physical possession of the area been handed over to Dolmen. "Block 6 is not the only block in the Diamond District that is being savagely desecrated. For reasons that no one can satisfactorily explain, the planning and building control jurisdiction of Blocks 8 and 9 have been handed over to the Clifton Cantonment Board. KDA, the lessor of these areas, maintains that plots 5 and 6 (between 'Yusuf Grand Square' and the PBS petrol pump) in Block 8, on the main Clifton Road, have not been legally and properly converted from residential to commercial plots, but complains that the CCB has approved plans for commercial highrises now being constructed thereon. Booking offices have opened - in Yousuf Grand Square for plot 5, and in the 'CTC Continental Trade Centre' for plot 6. "Similarly, residential plot G-7, in Block No 9 (on the corner of the main Clifton Road at the very busy road junction next to the Two Talwar roundabout) has not been legally commercialized but the CCB has allowed thereon the construction of 'The Plaza', a complex of 150 shops and 130 offices......." On July 29 1997, the matter of the Boating Basin having been brought to the attention of the then Additional Chief Secretary of Sindh, Ahmed Maqsood Hameedee, he addressed the following letter to me : "In response to your letter of 27.7.97 I have to inform you that the necessary instructions have been issued to the KMC to cancel the lease and to nullify the transaction. "The status of the plot (246 acres) remains unchanged. The area will remain as it is, as originally planned, as an amenity to be freely enjoyed by the people of Karachi." No action was ever taken by the KMC. Mr Hameedee's instructions were ignored. Now, at the end of 1999, Anzar Zaidi, the KMC administrator, who signed the agreement with Dolmen in 1996 (an agreement heavily weighted in Dolmen's favour), is the provincial secretary HTP, in charge of the KMC. Should he be in that position? Fahim Zaman, the KMC administrator when the scam was conceived in 1994, the man said to be the brains behind the entire dubious deal, is now back in the same post. Should he be where he is? As for the Karachi Port Trust, it should immediate claim back the portion of the eastern backwater lost to it by the misdoings of those in positions of power. Over to NAB, to suitably deal with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, former environmental champion Asif Zardari, former chief minister of Sindh, Abdullah Shah, former KPT chairman Rear Admiral Akbar Hussain Khan, and all the other dedicated servants of the people responsible for the Clifton Boating Basin scam. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991210 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The distinct sound of floundering ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ayaz Amir IF a bystander, his curiosity aroused by a strange sound, were to put his ears to the ground, chances are he would hear a stricken creature thrashing its arms about in an attempt to keep its head above water. Not to put too fine a point on it, this creature is the reformist government of General Pervez Musharraf, its elan already a bit withered and lost as it tries to fashion a coherent agenda from the rhetoric with which it has been trying to justify its assumption of power. There is certainly no dramatic turnaround in sympathy for Nawaz Sharif and his leading companions who now face the rough end of justice. But public memories being short, Nawaz Sharif's massive failings are being obscured and softened as time passes. Forget about the drawing room classes who preach high-minded reform and practise a different morality. Consider instead the mood of ordinary people for whom the hijacking case is not the obsessive thing that it might be for the army command. What has military rule meant for them? Prices have not fallen, new jobs have not been created and the administrative juggernaut (thana, tehsil, kutchery) is as rickety and corrupt as before. So much for the army's monitoring system. Earnest men in starched khaki, their collars and peak caps ablaze with red tabs, will of course bristle at these suggestions. In imperious undertones they can almost be heard saying, 'what do you expect in such a short time?' While they have a point they forget the rueful line that even a week is a long time in politics. And this regime has been around for nearly two months without much to show for itself. True, a small herd of fattened cattle victims has been brought before the altar of accountability. But the voyeuristic delight provided by this spectacle has already palled. As it was bound to happen unless a constant stream of sacrificial victims was produced to feed the public's appetite for this kind of drama, a piece of psychology the Roman emperors understood only too well. With no addition to this herd, and no public quartering either, the spectators in what can be described as our national arena are beginning to feel cheated. But by far more momentous is the regime's failure to set a clear course for itself. Where does it want to go? What is the holy grail it seeks? Good intentions abound but having heard too many of these in the past this is one thing the people of Pakistan are wary of. Pressed for answers, the Chief Executive, who is giving more press interviews than is good for him, falls back upon a clutch of well- rehearsed lines: he wants to remove inter-provincial disharmony, revive the economy and devolve power to the provinces, and from there to the districts. For good measure, every now and then a shot is fired across the bows of 'sham' democracy. But a crucial question remains unanswered. If in over a year the army has not managed to reform WAPDA, on what grounds of faith does it expect people to believe that over a similar or longer time span it can reform the nation? A word too about another myth currently being flogged to death: devolution. Quite apart from the fact that devolution of any sort and military rule are a contradiction in terms, no one has precisely defined what kind of devolution the Chief Executive has in mind. The impression being spread, however, is that when this still undefined concept acquires shape, 'real' democracy will arrive, bringing in its wake genuine 'empowerment', for the first time in their history, to the people of Pakistan. No one need be under any illusion that the steel-frame of the central administrative structure is going to be dismantled any time soon or that with the coming of the new millennium deputy commissioners and superintendents of police will disappear into the shades. Devolution of power is just a fancy name being given to the concept of local bodies. Even when they come into existence (when precisely only the oracles can say), power will remain where it has always been: in the steel-frame of the administrative structure which - even more than railways, caramel custard and the English language - is the most enduring legacy of Queen Victoria's Empire. Even in climes more salubrious than ours, local bodies are vehicles for delivering better municipal services. Nowhere - not in the US, Britain, France or Germany - are they a substitute for national democracy. While Pakistan can do with better garbage disposal, its foremost problem is finding better leadership and reducing the corruption, waywardness and lack of vision of its governing class, of which, as should be obvious, the military is also a part. This is a long-term process and not a trick which can be performed by pulling a switch. In any event, how will local elections a year or so hence address this problem? Or does GHQ think that by merely stepping into the ring and seizing power this problem stands resolved? All this is very confusing but, on examination, hardly surprising. This is a regime born in the midst of confusion, its leading lights themselves admitting that on October 12, in response to the action taken by the prime minister, they had to act on the spur of the moment. So the 111 Brigade, which is to us what the Praetorian Guard was for the Roman Empire and the Janissaries for the Ottomans, was sent in and after a bit of confusion at the TV station, confusion being the hallmark of these events, power was seized, the prime minister and his colleagues arrested and the Constitution, that raddled document abused so often in our history, thrown into the dark once again. Since dislodging a civilian government in Pakistan takes about as much time as fixing a complicated tyre puncture, sending Nawaz Sharif to the cleaners was the easy part. Creating some order out of the chaos of Pakistan's problems is more difficult. In coming to grips with this task the senior officers who removed Nawaz Sharif with so much aplomb look decidedly less sure of themselves. It is scarcely surprising, therefore, if what the nation is being treated to is a roll-call of dismal events: uninspired appointments, the hollow clang of good intentions and the swiftness of a pair of oxen making their way up a steep mountain. Even after two months the overriding impression is of an army trying to improvize on the march. This augurs ill for the future. Unlike a democratic government whose very legitimacy puts it under no desperate necessity to prove itself all the time, a government outside the constitutional pale has to justify itself by its performance. If it falters on this count it forfeits all reason to exist. General Pervez Musharraf's government, therefore, is under pressure to deliver. The question is, can it do so? As if other problems were not enough, there is another theoretical knot which remains to be untangled. The army command's whole case for removing Nawaz Sharif is built on a single premise: that by removing General Musharraf as he flew home from Colombo and installing Lt-Gen Ziauddin in his place, Nawaz Sharif was sowing the seeds of factionalism in the army. His removal, therefore, had become necessary. Fine. But what justifies suspending the Constitution and banishing democracy? Between the premise and the conclusions we are seeing there is no logical connection. If, however, the wider charge against Nawaz Sharif is that he was arbitrary in his ways and increasingly contemptuous of the institutional diversity of the state (a true enough accusation, by the way), how are matters helped by a retreat to militarism, a state of mind whose ruling principle is ad-hocism and the exercise of unquestioned authority? One can go on arguing like this till the moon rises but to no avail because in Pakistan today even elementary logic is open to abuse and imperial disdain. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991211 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Gothic horror story ------------------------------------------------------------------- Irfan Husain IT took a letter from the murderer to a newspaper and the police to uncover the most horrifying crime in Pakistan's history. The brutal killing of a hundred boys in Lahore by a psychopath and his gang has shocked a nation that has seen more than its share of horror. More than the crime itself, it is the fact that a hundred children could disappear from their homes in and around Lahore without the authorities being aware of it is a cause of so much anguish and anger. For months, the self-confessed murderer, Javed Iqbal, and his accomplices preyed on the boys at public places like Heera Mandi and Data Darbar, luring them to his home on Ravi Road with promises of money and video movies. There the boys would be sodomised, murdered, chopped up and then thrown into vats of acid. Meticulously, their clothes and shoes would be tagged and stored. The only reason this killing spree has come to an end is no thanks to the police: after he had killed a hundred victims, the murderer reached the target he had set himself, and wrote to the police and a newspaper. The police officer who first received the letter apparently consigned it to the rubbish bin, and news reporters reached the scene of the crime before the cops did. Had Javed Iqbal decided he would kill five hundred children, I have little doubt he would still be at his gruesome task, unhindered by the minions of the law. This gothic horror story has many lessons for our society, lessons I am sure we will conveniently forget as soon as the initial shock has worn off. As long as our immediate family is all right, we are quite happy to close our eyes to what is happening around us. We forget that sooner or later, the ills of society will enter through our front door and ultimately, nobody is exempt from crime and criminals. Even after the case had been handed to the police on a platter, the best they could do was to carelessly lose an alleged accomplice of the killer. Apparently, he managed to commit suicide while being interrogated by jumping through a second floor window. This is such a common occurrence that by now one would imagine the police could have thought of a better cover-up for death in custody. Transferring the DIG and the SSP after the event is a bit like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. The sad fact is that despite endless talk of police reforms, our police force remains as mired in inefficiency and corruption as ever. The reason so many parents did not report their sons as missing is that they were afraid of having anything to do with the police. Indeed, the experience of the vast majority who are forced to come into contact with our cops is anything but salutary; nine times out of ten, they are shaken down even when reporting a crime. But to be fair, this is true for most branches of the executive. The crime took place in a very heavily populated area of Lahore. It is inconceivable that Javed Iqbal's neighbours did not see scores of young boys coming to the house, or hear any sounds, or smell the stench of human flesh being consumed by acid. And yet nobody reported anything out of the ordinary. One reason could well be that Javed Iqbal pretended to be a police officer and understandably, the neighbours did not want to antagonize him. This again says something about the fear the police inspire among ordinary people. Every time we are hit by a natural or man-made calamity, an inquiry committee is set up. Its main purpose is to deflect public anger, give the impression that the government is doing something and to cover up the facts if they might embarrass the administration. The Javed Iqbal case has proved no different. The committee is going through the motions, and will one day, no doubt, produce a report that will gather dust in some cubby-hole in the Punjab Secretariat. Apart from a few transfers, the police officials concerned will remain unscathed and it will be business as usual until the next horror. What has to happen before a radical police reform is finally carried out? For years now there has been talk of a metropolitan system to replace the archaic, colonial set-up that has been discarded everywhere else. Not that this is any guarantee of an improvement: after all, the same cops would be manning any new system. But anything would be an improvement over what we have now. Although powerful vested interests have resisted reform tooth and nail, one hopes the new administration will not shy away from the tough decisions that are needed. When two schoolboys went on a shooting spree in their school in a small American town, President Clinton flew in to console the victims' families and to pray with the survivors. In view of the magnitude of the crime, surely General Musharraf could have made a similar gesture. Apart from the public relations value of such a step, it would have shown the bereaved families that this administration shared their loss. Such a sentiment cannot be adequately expressed through a formal message that appears in the inner pages of the newspapers. The whole macabre case underlines the terrible sexual frustration and perversion that lie just below the surface of our hypocritical society. The abuse of young boys is an unspoken but rampant aspect of everyday life here and sodomy is the dark - but all too common - side of sexuality here. This is one result of the gender segregation prevalent in traditional societies like ours that nobody wants to talk about. While pretending that ours is a community undefiled by sexual promiscuity, the facts are very different and often very ugly. What happened on such a staggering magnitude in Lahore recently occurs daily on a smaller scale elsewhere without outraged editorials being written or inquiry committees being formed. We are simply not prepared to concede that sexual frustration regularly leads to deviant acts among both sexes. Indeed, the whole subject is practically taboo: very little scholarly work has been done in this area, and journalists tend to tread warily around the whole question. But until we are willing to face the consequences of rigid sexual segregation, the violation of young boys and its attendant violence will continue to haunt us.
=================================================================== SPORTS 991210 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ICC confirms: Shoaib's bowling action under scrutiny ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Samiul Hasan KARACHI, Dec 9: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that speed merchant Shoaib Akhtar's bowling action is under scrutiny. However, the ICC has not barred the player from selection in the Australia-bound Pakistan team for the tri-nation series starting from Jan 9. ICC's Manager Cricket Operations, Clive Hitchcock, in a Dec 2 letter, has informed the PCB that the game's governing body has received a report from Match Referee, John Reid, and supported by two umpires Darrell Hair and Peter Willey. "A report has been received from the ICC referee in Australia Mr John Reid which has expressed concern about the bowling action of Shoaib Akhtar. "The report is supported by National Grid panel umpires Darrell Hair and Peter Willey," Hitchcock writes in the letter. Hair and Willey stood in the Perth Test which Pakistan lost by an innings and 20 runs to end a disastrous first half of the Australian tour. Interestingly, no objection has been made by the other three umpires - Daryll Harper (Australia), Eddie Nicholls (West Indies), Peter Parker (Australia) - who stood in the first two Tests. Willey also supervised the Hobart Test which Pakistan lost by four wickets. Hair has a history of doubting bowlers bowling action. He called Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan seven times in the Melbourne Test during the 1995-96 series. When Shoaib made his debut in 1997-98 against the West Indies, Raman Subba Row was the match referee while against South Africa in South Africa, Peter Burge was the match referee. Cammie Smith was the match referee in the series against India in India earlier this year. Shoaib Akhtar is the second Pakistan pacer whose bowling action has been referred to the ICC technical committee on illegal deliveries for clearance. Shabbir Ahmad was pulled out in October from the Australia tour after being selected. While Shabbir was asked to the withdrawn from the team by the ICC, no such condition has been laid in the case of Shoaib Akhtar. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991210 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik recalled in Tri-nation series ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ilyas Beg LAHORE, Dec 9: Discarded Test all-rounder ShahidAfridiand younginternational off-spinner Shoaib Malik were recalled to the 14-man Pakistan cricket team that will take part in the triangular one-day series beginning in Australia from Jan 9. Dropped from the 16-member team, which recently suffered a 0-3 defeat in Test series, are opener GhulamAli, pacemen Waqar Younis and Mohammad Akram and wrist spinner Mushtaq Ahmad. Talking to �Dawn' here on Thursday, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ad hoc committee secretary Shafqat Rana said that a short duration reconditioning camp would begin at the Gaddafi from Dec 15. He said that although the exact date for departure of the Pakistan team for Australia had not yet been finalised, it was expected to leave on December 29. The selectors also announced five reserves. They are: Shahid Nazir, Imran Nazir and Taufiq Umar, Hasan Raza and Faisal Iqbal. The National selection committee comprising Salahuddin Ahmad (chairman), Iqbal Qasim and Masood Iqbal, watched 17 players called for the trials in two sessions. The morning session began at 11:30a.m. instead of the scheduled time of 9:30 a.m.Afterthe lunch- break, another session of trials was held in which allthe three selectors watched all the players before recommending names of the 14 members of the team and five reserves to thePCB adhoc committee. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 991206 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Aisam-ul-Haq bags second international tennis title ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent LAHORE, Dec 5: Pakistan's tennis prodigy Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi won the International Tennis Championship crushing Viktor Bruthans of Slovakians in straight sets final at the National Tennis Complex courts, Dhaka (Bangladesh), according to a message received on Sunday. Aisam won 6-1, 6-4. It was the second singles title for Aisam in the International Men's Tennis which has raised his world ranking to among top 300. The first, he won in Indonesia last year. It may be mentioned that among top 300 only 16 players belong to Asia. Among these 16 only Aisam-ul-Haq and Danai Udomchoke of Thailand are below the age of 20 years age and among 300 world players only eight. On his way to the title Aisam beat Ashley Fisher of Australia in the pre-final, Lars Uebel of Germany in the quarter-final, Pune Maleka of South Africa in the second round and Sander Groen of Holland in the first round. ------------------------------------------------------------------- You can subscribe to DWS by sending an email to <subscribe.dws@dawn.com>, with the following text in the BODY of your message: subscribe dws To unsubscribe, send an email to <unsubscribe.dws@dawn.com>, with the following in the BODY of you message: unsubscribe dws ------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to the top.
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