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DAWN WIRE SERVICE
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Week Ending : 25 September 1999 Issue : 05/39
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Contents | National News | Business & Economy | Editorials & Features | Sports
The DAWN Wire Service (DWS) is a free weekly news-service from
Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, the daily DAWN. DWS
offers news, analysis and features of particular interest to the
Pakistani Community on the Internet.
Extracts, not exceeding 50 lines, can be used provided that this
entire header is included at the beginning of each extract.
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mail DAWN Group of Newspapers
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Please send all Editorials and Letters to the Editor at
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(c) Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan - 1999
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CONTENTS
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NATIONAL NEWS
+ COAS denies differences with govt
+ Pakistan to resume Nuclear test if India does
+ US waives sanctions on environment
+ GDA rally today: Tension mounts as police raid leaders' houses
+ Benazir says Nawaz to go by December
+ Nawaz flays opposition's policy of agitation
+ Station master, 2 others held for Wah accident
+ Downing of plane: Pakistan moves ICJ for damages
+ Rs100 billion corruption in Pakistan each year: UN report
+ LHC summons Benazir
+ Navy begins war-games
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BUSINESS & ECONOMY
+ Support price of wheat increased
+ IPPs issue forces IMF to hold $280m
+ Tax evasion in Pakistan stands at Rs152 billion
+ Move to reduce gas prices may affect foreign investment
+ New pricing mechanism for gas offered
+ Unregistered consumers to pay 15% GST
+ Cabinet okays new laws to raise revenues
+ Salaried class exempted from filing of returns
+ Tax-payers audit on one-time basis: CBR
+ CBR sets up Development Tax Committee
+ CED on petrol, furnace oil, diesel notified
+ Ban on jobs goes in Sindh
+ Gold prices up in Punjab
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EDITORIALS & FEATURES
+ 'Non-official component' Ardeshir Cowasjee
+ The country deserves a fresh start Ayaz Amir
+ A question of faith Irfan Husain
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SPORTS
+ Pakistan make clean sweep of one-day series
+ 8th SAF Games gets under way today (99/09/25)
+ Asian Sailing Championship begins today
+ Commission issues show cause notice to Ata
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NATIONAL NEWS
990924
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COAS denies differences with govt
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ISLAMABAD, Sept 23: Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf on
Thursday dismissed reports of differences with the government as
disinformation.
"There is no misunderstanding between the government and the army,"
Gen Musharraf told reporters at a reception marking the national
day of Saudi Arabia.
He refuted reports that he was planning to quit amid an alleged
rift with the government over the handling of the recent Kashmir
conflict with India.
"I am going to complete my tenure," he said. Mr Musharraf was
speaking after chairing a meeting of top military commanders.
It followed an unusual warning by the United States on Monday
against any "unconstitutional move" to remove the government of
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The US statement was issued after talks between Sharif's brother
Shahbaz Sharif and US officials in Washington last week.
"I don't think there is mention of the army" in the US statement,
the COAS said.
Musharraf refused to comment on the current opposition campaign to
oust Sharif's government over its domestic and foreign policies.
"I am not a political or constitutional expert," he said.
"I am a soldier and I don't want to comment on the government-
opposition relations."-AFP
Our bureau adds: On the recent statement of Niaz A. Naik, the COAS
said: "Mr Naik unnecessarily created a controversy."
Brushing aside an impression that the government had not been taken
into confidence over the Kargil operation, he said it was the
government's decision and added that army was part of the
government.
He denied that the Kargil operation had scuttled the back- channel
diplomacy or come in the way of an agreement on Kashmir. Rather, he
said, it was the Kargil issue which had prompted the back-channel
diplomacy.
When asked to comment on the propaganda being waged by the Indians
at the international level against the Pakistan Army, he said, in
fact, Indian army was a rogue army. Look what they have been doing
in Kashmir, he added.
On the efforts being made by the government to counter the Indian
propaganda, he said "a lot more could be done."
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990921
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Pakistan to resume Nuclear test if India does
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Sept 20: Pakistan has been quietly told by the US in
back-channel diplomacy to sign the CTBT conditionally, with a
provision to restart nuclear testing if India does so,
knowledgeable sources revealed on Monday.
They said Pakistan had shown willingness to accept the US demand
provided Washington made some move which could be used by Islamabad
as a face-saving device to move forward since Pakistan had
explicitly and publicly laid down its conditions for putting its
signature on the treaty.
This back-channel diplomacy on CTBT, mainly conducted by the Punjab
Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, comes shortly after a similar
effort on Kargil, spearheaded by former foreign secretary Niaz
Naik, ended in complete disaster, with everybody getting burnt in
the process.
Shahbaz Sharif is trying to reach some agreement on how to appease
the Clinton administration so that Washington does not put
obstacles to the release of the vital $280 million tranche by the
IMF in the next few days, something which could spell disaster for
the Nawaz Sharif government and Pakistan as a whole.
The sources said pressure was being put on Pakistan to sign the
CTBT conditionally because the Clinton administration was stuck in
Congress and almost unable to meet the conditions for signing the
treaty laid down by Islamabad.
These conditions include ending the atmosphere of coercion, removal
of sanctions, restoration of assistance and some recognition of
what the Indian nuclear and missile programme, as enunciated by
their doctrine, had in store for the region and what the Americans
proposed to do about it.
It is generally believed here that unless President Clinton
achieves some significant progress on CTBT in South Asia, his
expected visit may not take place and that would deprive Mr Clinton
of something he very seriously desires -- a nuclear restraint
agreement in South Asia and a visit to that region before he bows
out to the new US president in January 2001.
A senior Pakistan embassy official on Friday tried to dilute the
importance of Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz's statements on the CTBT
by putting the blame on the media and saying that it had not been
properly reported.
"Basically about the position which emerged from the FM's
statement, I don't know how far it was accurately reported, but he
has said so, and I know that the position is that we would want to
sign the CTBT, we would like to stick to and honour the commitment
which was made on the General Assembly floor last year except that
the ground situation has to be so prepared to enable us to go ahead
and sign the CTBT," the embassy official said.
The situation in Congress is that the Brownback Amendment, which
was adopted by the Senate, has got stuck in the House of
Representatives where the Indian lobby is so strong that they would
not let any legislation move ahead which even remotely helped
Pakistan.
The committee, headed by Benjamin Gilman, is now considering a move
by Mr Gilman himself which, if adopted, would allow transfer of
dual-use technology to India while keeping all the restrictions on
transfer of military equipment on Pakistan under the Pressler and
Glenn Amendments.
The administration was trying to get the Brownback Amendment passed
so that the president gets the authority and flexibility to
manoeuvre by resorting to some give and take, but it appears that
the waiver authority would not be extended for five years.
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990923
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US waives sanctions on environment
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By Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Sept 22: President Clinton on Tuesday waived sanctions
against Pakistan and India until Oct 20. But the waiver applies
only to assistance to the Asian Elephant Conservation Fund, the
Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Fund, and the Indo-American
Environmental Leadership Programme.
A White House text of the presidential determination No99-38 said:
Pursuant to the authority vested in me as President of the US, and
consistent with section 902 of the India-Pakistan Relief Act of
1998 (Public Law 105-277), to the extent provided in that section,
I hereby waive until Oct 20, 1999
the sanctions and prohibitions contained in sections 101 and 102 of
the Arms Export Control Act insofar as such sanctions and
prohibitions would otherwise apply to assistance to the Asian
Elephant Conservation Fund, the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation
Fund, and the Indo-American Environmental Leadership Programme.
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990925
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GDA rally today: Tension mounts as police raid leaders' houses
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Shamimur Rehman
KARACHI, Sept 24: Tension mounted in the city on Friday as the
police arrested over 900 activists of the GDA's component parties
to prevent the opposition from staging a rally at Schon Chowrangi
on Saturday.
According to the opposition sources, more than 700 activists of the
PPP and over 100 of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement had so far been
picked up.
The government on Friday night declared that it would not allow the
opposition to hold the rally as there was Section 144 Cr.PC in the
city which banned such public gatherings. Police commandos had
taken up positions at vantage points while patrolling had been
intensified. The opposition vowed to defy the ban come what may.
Late in the night, dozens of the police mobiles cordoned off the
area around the MQM head office at Azizabad and Bilawal House, the
residence of opposition leader and PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto.
All streets around the MQM office were surrounded by the police and
the party claimed that the police had threatened the people not to
participate in the rally.
Similarly, the police surrounded the Bilawal House and nobody was
allowed to leave or enter the building.
PPP sources said the police had raided the residence of Sindh PPP
chief Nisar Khuhro but women members of his family did not allow
the police to enter the residence without showing arrest/search
warrant.
Police also raided the residence of PPP MNA Prof N.D. Khan. The
family said that around 50 policemen in 15 vans entered the Bon
Vista apartment in Clifton, harassed the watchmen and raided their
apartment. They searched each and every room and asked about the
whereabouts of the MNA who was not home at the time.
The family said the police did not show any arrest warrant and
entered forcibly in the house. They harassed the family and said it
was their duty to obey the orders to arrest Prof Khan.
The house of PPP leader Qaim Ali Shah was also surrounded by the
police in the small hours of Saturday.
Meanwhile, the provincial secretary-general of the Awami National
Party, Farooq Bangash, was picked up by the police at Shah Faisal
Colony, party sources said.
In two localities of District South - P&T Colony and Dehli Colony -
scores of people were taken into custody and till late in the
evening, a heavy posse of the police was seen picking up people.
A PPP spokesman said the police had arrested its over 700 activists
and raids were continuing at different places. He alleged that
shopkeepers in and around the designated area of the rally were
being told by the police to keep their shutters committee for Sindh
and Balochistan appealed to the international human rights
organizations and democratic forces to take notice of the regime's
fascist policies and abuse of state power.
It said the regime had created unemployment, usurped political and
economic rights of smaller provinces by not releasing their due
share in the NFC and water accord and by making the provincial
legislature ineffective and indulging in persecution of the
opposition. The Nawaz regime had no right to remain in power, the
coordination committee said.
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990925
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Benazir says Nawaz to go by December
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Sept 24: Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto predicted
here on Thursday that the Nawaz Sharif government would fall before
December.
The PPP leader was talking to Pakistan correspondents at the office
of lobbyist Mark Siegal. The office has been made her temporary
headquarters with big PPP and Pakistan flags put up at its
entrance.
She has been meeting top US officials and human rights
organizations during the last five days and will stay in Washington
until early next week. She is due to come back to Washington again
next month.
Ms Bhutto, who talked to correspondents for more than an hour,
appeared to be in her usual prime ministerial mode and talked at
length about the achievements of her government vis-a-vis the
failures of the Nawaz Sharif government.
Asked how long in her view the Nawaz Sharif government would last,
she said: "Before December they will go."
To the question whether and when she saw herself back in power, the
twice-ousted prime minister said: "I don't know that but I can say
one thing for sure. If I am not given back power, no other leader
in Pakistan can handle the country's affairs."
When told by a questioner that her claim that only she could handle
the country's affairs would break up the 19-party alliance trying
to throw Nawaz Sharif out, as each one of them saw himself as the
next prime minister, she said: "They all can throw their hats into
the ring when the next elections are held and whoever gets the
mandate of the people will rule."
Ms Bhutto strongly refuted the impression that the statement issued
by the state department warning against a military coup in Pakistan
was in support of the Nawaz Sharif government. "I went over the
statement with US officials and I find there is nothing which
supports the Nawaz government," she said.
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990925
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Nawaz flays opposition's policy of agitation
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Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Sept 24: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that the
people have rejected the politics of agitation and confrontation
which is not only disrupting the schedule of their daily lives but
also badly affecting the efforts at socio-economic development.
According to a press release issued by the Prime Minister's House
PID camp office the prime minister said this while talking to the
parliamentarians at the PM House here on Friday. He said that the
opposition must learn to abide by the rules in true spirit of
democracy.
The opposition should, therefore, shun negative politics as those
obstructing the development activity in fact strengthening the
hands of those elements who want to keep us backward, he added.
The chief of Jamiat-i-Ahle Hadith, Senator Sajid Mir extended full
support to the government on behalf of Jamiat and said that it
would stand by the government through thick and thin. He also put
forth certain suggestions to check price hike and combat terrorism.
The members of the National Assembly apprised the prime minister of
the problems being faced by the people in their respective
constituencies and pace of development work.
The prime minister assured them of a quick solution of the
problems.
Those who met the prime minister included Senator Prof Sajid Mir,
MNAs, Raja Muhammad Afzal, Maulana Moeen uddin Lakhvi, Mian Mahmood
Ahmad Khan, Adnan Noon, Mian Muhammad Farooq and Mumtaz Ahmad
Tarar.
The chief whip of the PML parliamentary party, Sheikh Aftab Ahmed
was also present on the occasion.
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990920
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Train Accident: Station master, 2 others held for Wah accident
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Syed Irfan Raza
RAWALPINDI, Sept 19: The death toll in the Chenab Express accident,
which took place late onSaturday night at Wah, has risen to 20
while over 100 passengers of the Karachi-bound train remain under
treatment at different hospitals of Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Wah.
The accident took place when an engine parked at a separate track
started rolling due to uneven surface and went to the track on
which the Chenab Express was coming at a high speed. Twenty people
were killed on-the-spot when the passenger train collided with the
out-of-control engine. The deceased included nine women, eight
children and three men. One aged woman, identified as Khan Bibi,
succumbed to her injuries on Sunday.
The injured were rushed to the POF Hospital Wah, Tehsil
Headquarters Hospital, Taxila, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi,
and District Headquarters Hospital, Rawalpindi.
The number of injured was stated to be over 100. Some of them were
discharged after necessary medical aid.
The Karachi-bound Chenab Express, which had started its journey
from Peshawar, met with a horrible accident near Wah at 10.42 pm.
The rescue operation was started after half-an-hour of the accident
and the injured were admitted to the hospitals of Rawalpindi at
about 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
Troops were called out to assist the local administration for the
rescue operation which continued for almost five hours.
Railway traffic, which was suspended due to the accident, was
restored on Sunday at about 2:30 pm after the removal of wreckage.
The two engines and two bogies were destroyed in the accident while
some of the bogies of Chenab Express were derailed.
The station master (on duty), the driver of the engine and the
fireman have been arrested for alleged negligence.
The chief minister Punjab, who is on an official visit to the US,
contacted the Chief Secretary, Punjab, A.Z.K Sher Dil, on telephone
and asked him to visit the site of the accident.
The inspector of Railways (federal) will hold formal inquiry into
the cause of the accident at the site viz Taxila Cantonment Station
on September 22 at 10 a.m. and the inquiry report will be submitted
within 15 days to the government and will be made public.
The Federal Minister for Communication, Raja Nadir Pervez, on
Sunday visited the site of the accident and ordered a high-level
inquiry. In this connection, a committee has been formed which will
present its report shortly.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has sought a detailed report
on the train accident within 24 hours. He has also asked the
Railway authorities to uncover the causes of the accident.
The prime minister in his condolence message expressed deep sorrow
and grief over the loss of valuable lives in the accident of Chenab
Express near Wah late Saturday night. In his separate messages
addressed to the aggrieved families, he prayed that Allah Almighty
may rest the souls of the deceased in peace and give courage to the
families to bear this irreparable loss with courage and fortitude.
Our correspondent from Lahore adds: The Pakistan Railways has said
that 20 passengers were killed and 45 injured in the accident
between Budho and Taxila railway stations on Saturday night.
The Karachi-bound Chenab Express (12-Down) collided with a shunting
locomotive as a result of which two coaches of the train (nos 1479
and 1189) and its locomotive were damaged. The shunting locomotive
was running from Taxila to Bhudo Railway Station when the Chenab
Express collided with it.
According to the press release, a compensation of Rs.100,000 for
the legal heirs of the deceased and Rs.50,000 for "seriously"
injured passengers has been announced.
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990922
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Downing of plane: Pakistan moves ICJ for damages
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ISLAMABAD, Sept 21: Pakistan on Tuesday filed a case in the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) to seek compensation from
India for shooting down a navy plane last month, killing 16 persons
on board, officials said.
Pakistan approached the ICJ arguing that "India is under an
obligation to make reparations to Pakistan for the loss of the
plane and compensation to the heirs of those killed", a foreign
office statement said.
It accused India of violating the United Nations charter and
provisions of international treaties by shooting down an unarmed
naval surveillance plane.
The August 10 downing of the plane by Indian jets' air-to-air
missiles killed all 16 officers and sailors on board.
"This act of blatant military aggression was unprovoked and in
contravention of all universally accepted international legal
norms," the statement said.
Officials said the plane was on a routine training flight inside
Pakistani airspace when it was shot down.
The statement said Pakistan decided to seek legal recourse as India
refused to accept a UN inquiry and also rejected the demand for
damages.
In its case filed with the Hague-based ICJ, Pakistan said India was
obliged to make reparations for the loss of the French-made
Atlantic plane and compensation for the heirs of the 16 persons
killed.
Pakistan appealed to the ICJ after India rejected its demand for
more than $60m in compensation.
Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz had written last week to UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan, requesting him to send a fact-finding mission
to Pakistan to ascertain the truth.
Last month Pakistan had lodged an official complaint with the UN
calling the incident an of aggression and demanded from India $60.2
million in compensation for the loss of the plane and its 16
personnel.-AFP/dpa/Reuters
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990920
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Rs100 billion corruption in Pakistan each year: UN report
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DHAKA, Sept 19: A United Nation report released here on Sunday said
corruption was costing south Asia billions of dollars a year.
The UN Development Programme report said corruption was costing
Pakistan five per cent of its Gross National Product (GNP).
It added: "The magnitude of corruption in Pakistan alone exceeds Rs
100 billion a year or five per cent of the total GNP."
The report said democracy in South Asia was being eroded and that
corruption was on the increase.
The report said: "In Bangladesh, the implicit 'private taxes' - the
costs of corruption - of setting up a business come to 340 per cent
of the estimated initial official costs."
The UN Development Programme report characterised democracy in the
region as "one step forward, two steps backward."
The report blamed South Asia's poverty largely on natural
disasters, but also on efforts to expand nuclear capabilities and
the global economic slow-down.
India and Pakistan carried out tit-for-tat nuclear tests in May
last year, prompting international economic sanctions that were
partially lifted in December.
The Human Development in South Asia report, prepared by the
Islamabad-based Mahbub ul Huq Human Development Centre, was
released at a news conference in Dhaka by David Lockwood, chief of
the UN Development Programme in Bangladesh.
"Democracy is South Asia is not about people, it is about access to
state power," the report said, adding that despite their democratic
leanings, south Asian states had failed to provide their people
with freedom from the worst forms of deprivation. Reuters
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990924
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LHC summons Benazir
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By Our Staff Reporter
LAHORE, Sept 23: The LHC has summoned opposition leader Benazir
Bhutto on Oct 18, according to Barrister Javed Iqbal Jafree. She
has been summoned in a petition moved by the barrister for
repatriation of politicians' bank deposits and other assets abroad.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Tehrik-i-Insaaf chief Imran Khan
are among the 18 respondents.
It was on this petition that Justice Ihsanul Haq Chaudhry had
passed the first order for freezing of Ms Bhutto's accounts the
world over.
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990922
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Navy begins war-games
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KARACHI, Sept 21: The Pakistan Navy's annual wargames Hammerhead 99
began here on Tuesday. The opening brief of the naval game was held
at Pakistan Navy Tactical School. Admiral Fasih Bokhari, Chief of
the Naval Staff, was the chief guest on the occasion.
Hammerhead 99 is the 21st of a series of conceptual exercises
conducted annually by the navy as a prelude to the SEASPARK series
of winter exercises. Though the exercise primarily revolves around
the maritime scenario, all relevant aspects like the parallel land
and battles are also taken into consideration.
Rear Admiral Fayyaz-ur-Rehman as the head of the control team
highlighted the aims and principal objectives of the exercise.
Later, the force commanders presented the concepts of various
syndicates entrusted with the responsibilities to conduct their
side of the operations.
The aim of this exercise is to evaluate the prevalent geo-strategic
environment including national, economic and diplomatic compulsions
in order to formulate maritime strategy in the next millennium, a
press release said here.-NNI.
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BUSINESS & ECONOMY
990923
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Support price of wheat increased
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Bureau Report
ISLAMABAD, Sept 22: The cabinet on Wednesday increased support
price of wheat from Rs240 for 40kg to Rs265 for the same weight to
encourage wheat production in the country. It directed the
authorities to ensure that there would be no increase in the prices
of flour and roti.
The decision was taken at the second day of the cabinet meeting
held here with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the chair. Owing to
the decision, an additional expenditure of around Rs2.5 billion
will be met by the government.
The cabinet decided to release Rs12.5 billion for Taamir-i-Watan
Programme to help generate employment and improve the quality of
life of the common man through farm-to-market roads and provision
of gas and electricity on a large scale, even to the economically-
backward areas.
The meeting postponed a formal approval to the recommendations of
the four-member ministerial committee headed by Finance Minister
Ishaq Dar. The recommendations aimed at improving revenues,
increasing exports, eliminating smuggling and restoring confidence
of the foreign investors.
The committee was asked to further deliberate on the issues and put
forward its recommendations at the next cabinet meeting.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Information Minister Mushahid
Hussain said the cabinet had approved the setting up of a special
cabinet committee to rationalize the prices of medicines to make
them affordable for the poor.
He said the prime minister had told the meeting that the government
would not pass any burden to the common man, and whether it was the
issue of atta or roti or the prices of essential medicines, the
government would try to alleviate the difficulties of the poor
sections of society.
The PM said that agriculture was the backbone of the economy and it
was one of the objectives of the government to enhance wheat
production which, in turn, would lead to self-sufficiency in wheat.
He said the government was sympathetic to the farmers' genuine
needs for an increase in the support price of wheat and added that
the decision would help the poor, promote productivity in
agriculture and would also be an incentive to the farmers.
The information minister said that the cabinet had taken serious
note of the discrepancy in the prices of essential medicines and of
the fact that often spurious and expired drugs were being openly
marketed.
He said it was decided to constitute a four-member committee on
health which would be headed by Health Minister Makhdoom Javed
Hashmi and consisted of Labour Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad,
minister of state for water and power, Haleem Siddiqui; and
chairman of the Board of Investment, Humayun Akhtar.
The PM directed the health committee to lead a national
consultation on the prices of medicines as well as the question of
spurious and expired drugs with doctors, pharmacists, drug-
manufacturing companies, provincial governments, hospitals and
concerned citizens. The committee would report back to the cabinet
in three weeks. It would also invite suggestions from the people
through media and through public hearings.
The prime minister said that issues of health were important among
priorities of the government, and directed the committee to work
out proposals aimed at free provision of life-saving drugs to poor
patients suffering from serious ailments.
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990924
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IPPs issue forces IMF to hold $280m
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Shaheen Sehbai
WASHINGTON, Sept 23: IMF Managing Director Michael Camdessus
confirmed on Thursday that the disbursement of $280 million tranche
to Pakistan had been "somewhat delayed".
Answering a question at his opening press conference at the
IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Washington, he said Pakistan had
not fulfilled some of the conditions it had pledged to do.
"There are difficulties with a few conditions. That is why the
disbursement which was expected, has been somewhat delayed," the MD
said.
His remarks came two days after World Bank President James
Wolfensohn told his opening news conference that the IPPs issue was
an obstacle to the IMF and World Bank lending to Pakistan and
unless it was resolved the lending would not resume.
Mr Camdessus said the talks between the IMF and Pakistan would
continue next week when we would see the Pakistan authorities
during the annual meetings.
"We will see if they can clarify these things so that we can
continue extending to Pakistan the support it needs," he said.
The talks he was referring to were with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar
who was due here on Thursday to attend the World Bank/IMF meetings.
During the IMF's periodic reviews, Mr Camdessus said, it was found
that Pakistan had not fulfilled some of the conditions that were
pledged.
One of the main conditions was the imposition of the GST but the
Pakistan government had tried to resolve it in a peculiar way and
it was not yet clear how the IMF would react to the solution found
by Pakistan.
The IPPs issue is basically a World Bank issue but since the bank
and the IMF work in close coordination, Pakistan has to fulfil all
the conditions of both these organizations to get a go-ahead by the
IMF's executive board.
Pakistan has recently been complaining that the IMF is also
imposing political conditions like the signing of the CTBT for the
release of the much-needed tranche.
A State Department official on Wednesday denied that the US was
putting any pressure on the IMF to include CTBT signatures as part
of the IMF conditions.
"They have to look at the economic performance to decide," the
official said.
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990924
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tax evasion in Pakistan stands at Rs152 billion
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Sept 23: In Pakistan, total annual tax evasion stands at
Rs 152 billion -sufficient to clear off the entire fiscal deficit
without any additional tax levies.
This was stated in the Human Development in South Asia 1999 Report
issued here on Thursday.
The report says that in Pakistan as much as 50 per cent of the
total urban income goes un-reported.
Similarly tax evasion in India was estimated to be 18-21 per cent
of GDP in 1980. Recently India was ranked among the top five
countries noted for tax evasion in a sample of 53 countries.
For every dollar of public expenditures that is spent on social
sectors, Pakistan spends more than four dollars on defence and debt
servicing. India spends 70 per cent more on defence and debt-
servicing than on social sectors. For every dollar on social
sectors, defence and debt servicing receive $8.65 in Pakistan and
$3.12 in India.
HOW TO RULE: "Democracy in South Asia is not about people, it is
about access to state power." This is the harsh conclusion of the
1999 report which analyses the crisis of governance that grips the
region.
All the South Asian countries, except Bhutan, share at least the
formal trappings of democracy. Why then, despite their democratic
leanings, have South Asian states failed to provide their people
freedom from the worst forms of deprivations?. This paradox forms
the political crux of South Asia's crisis of governance, and it is
such central question that the report addresses.
The report stresses the need to establish democracy and
participation beyond mere voting. It points to some disturbing
features of the state of democracy in the region.
Confidence in state systems varies, with only 30 to 40 per cent of
voters in most countries feeling they have access to elected
representatives. It seems that people trust institutions but not
the individuals who run them.
In India and Pakistan, between one-third and one-half of
parliamentarians are landlords. In addition, big industrialists,
civil and military bureaucrats, and political dynasties remain
power players to varying degrees across the region.
The civil service is growing- the size of the public sector has
increased between two and four times since the mid 1970s;
overstaffed (especially at lower levels); underpaid; politically
influenced; and unable to deliver public services to people
transparently and equitably.
Parliaments are elitist, poorly attended, dominated by the
majority, and not open to women and minorities. Women form just 2
to 11 per cent of the region's parliamentarians.
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990919
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Move to reduce gas prices may affect foreign investment
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Kamal Siddiqi
KARACHI, Sept 18: In what is being seen as a disincentive to
foreign investment in Pakistan, the ministry of petroleum is
pressing oil and gas exploration companies operating in the country
for blanket revision of producer gas prices to cover the life-time
of their discoveries.
This proposal has come from the ministry's side after some leading
companies in the field made an offer of a longer term revision in
prices. "This gesture of goodwill has been misinterpreted by the
government to include the whole industry and we are all going to
suffer," said the head of one of the international companies in
this sector, while asking not to be named. But what may be termed a
short term victory for the ministry of petroleum, may end up being
a long-term loss for Pakistan's foreign investment prospects, oil
and gas exploration companies have warned the Pakistan government.
The crux of the problem between the oil and gas exploration
companies and the Pakistan government relates to pricing - the rate
at which the government buys gas from the companies that have
discovered it.
Under the 1994 petroleum policy introduced by the Bhutto
government, the sale price of gas was linked to international oil
prices so that international oil and gas companies would take the
risk to come into Pakistan with their expertise and make
discoveries.
Economists were predicting that Pakistan will be facing a shortfall
of gas if new discoveries do not come on line within the next ten
years. Pakistan meets 37% of its energy requirements from natural
gas compared to 46% from oil. But recent government moves suggest
that dependence on natural gas will grow considerably in the
decade, tilting the ratio against oil.
One option that the government was considering was importing gas
from either Qatar, Turkmenistan or Iran. However, discoveries made
under the 1994 and 1997 petroleum policies by oil and gas
exploration companies were better than ever: over the past four
years, the companies have discovered over 8 TCF (trillion cubic
feet) of gas - almost equal to the reserves in Sui.
In 1998, when Pakistan exploded its nuclear devices and
subsequently suffered from economic sanctions imposed by G-8
countries, one of the first areas to suffer were the oil and gas
exploratory companies which saw payments due to them from the
government gas distributors being withheld on account of a resource
crunch. On pressure from international financial institutions,
however, this matter was resolved in 1999.
In July 1999, the government dropped a bombshell when it informed
the international oil and gas companies that it was not possible to
honour agreements signed with the companies under the 1994 and 1997
petroleum policies.
Much to the anger of the companies, most of which are large
international players which have come to Pakistan after much
thought on their side and incentives on the government's side, the
government asked them to negotiate a new gas pricing structure.
The problem was simple: after international oil prices rose to a
20-month high of $20 per barrel, the government could not match the
payments it made to the gas companies. Understanding the
predicament that the government was in, the representative body of
the Pakistan Petroleum Exploration And Production Companies
Association (PPEPCA), entered into talks with the government of
resolving the issue. But gas companies say that they are prepared
for re-negotiations on the prices of gas for "specific short term
period of interim relief." The government wants the scaling down of
prices for a longer term. It has threatened to make the issue, till
now being conducted in a very civil atmosphere, into a more IPP's
like situation.
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990923
-------------------------------------------------------------------
New pricing mechanism for gas offered
-------------------------------------------------------------------
KARACHI, Sept 22: Pakistan has proposed a new pricing mechanism to
gas producers for buying new discoveries that offers a minimum
price but caps increases caused by higher international oil prices,
a senior government official said.
Gas company sources say they were willing to discuss the formula
with the government but want the pricing floor to be inflation
indexed.
Industry analysts have said if the dispute over what the government
is willing to pay for gas is not resolved, it could end up
mirroring the fight with foreign-backed independent power producers
where a tariff row has hurt the investment climate.
'There is no policy change. This is an option if they are ready to
talk to us, otherwise the government will go strictly by the
policy,' said the official from the Ministry of Petroleum and
Natural Resources.
The 1994 petroleum policy links gas prices to the weighted average
of the C&F price per barrel of a basket of imported crude oil, but
with oil prices hitting a 32-month high of $23 a barrel the
government has become reluctant to buy the gas.
Under the policy the government is not bound to buy the gas, but at
the time the companies were not worried because planned
privatisation was expected to create other customers.
Those privatization plans have since been delayed, leaving the
companies to sell to financially troubled state-run firms or to
industrial consumers, but with added distribution costs.
Ceiling on gas prices: Industry sources said the government was
using a legal loophole to push down prices, but the ministry
official said the policy was drafted in consultation with the
industry.
The official said under the new mechanism, the government would pay
the policy price if international oil prices were between $10 to
$15 a barrel.
But when oil prices are above $15 and up to $20, the policy price
would go up by 50%, by 30% for above $20 and by 20% when oil prices
went above $25 a barrel.
'It's not a fixed ceiling, it's a moving ceiling,' he said.
A senior executive at one foreign oil and gas company said the
industry was discussing the formula with the government but wanted
an allowance for inflation.
'Without indexation of the floor and ceiling (prices), we will not
be able to convince our parent organisations,' he said.
The ministry official said: 'From our side they are still free, but
so far only one discovery has been declared commercial, which is
Lasmo's Bhit. If the discoveries are not at a commercial stage then
there cannot be any question of an offer.' The Bhit field in Sindh
is operated by the Pakistan unit of Britain's Lasmo Plc and has
reserves estimated at 700 billion to 800 billion cubic feet.-
Reuters
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990919
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Unregistered consumers to pay 15% GST
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Our Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Sept 18: All gas and power consumers including domestic,
commercial and industrial, not registered with the Sales Tax
Department will pay 15 per cent GST in full , according to a
Central Board of Revenue (CBR) announcement here on Saturday.
The CBR has projected that during the course of the year it would
be able to collect Rs 8 billion from power consumers and Rs 12
billion from gas consumers. A general order No 8/99, dated
September 18, 1999, has been issued by the Sales Tax Department
which says that the GST levied on gas and electricity from August
16, 1999 would be deducted in full from the non-registered
consumers.
Only the registered persons (who number about 60,000 throughout
Pakistan), would be eligible to claim input adjustment (refund) of
about 6 per cent. Out of the total GST levy of 15 per cent payable
on the registered persons' electricity and gas bills, the tax
payable would be about 9 per cent.
The registered persons have been asked to approach the billing
sections of their respective gas and elasticity supplying companies
to ledger their ST registration numbers against their consumer name
and address.
The ST General Order No 8/99 reads: ST on "electricity" and also on
"natural gas" has been levied with effect from August 16, 1999. The
electricity bills and the gas bills, issued by the electricity and
gas distribution and supplying companies shall be treated as the
Sales Tax invoice under section 23 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, and
shall show the amount of ST payable by the consumers and customers.
This amount, as paid by the consumer and customer, during a tax
period shall constitute input tax to determine the tax liability of
a registered person in terms of section 7 (1) of the Sales Tax Act,
1990, provided that such electricity and gas bill is in the name of
the registered person.
Since a tax invoice, under section 23, requires printing of the
name, address and registration number of the recipient, all
commercial and industrial enterprises, registered with Sales Tax
Department, are required to intimate to the billing section of the
relevant electricity and gas supplying company about the full and
correct name of the business enterprises (registered person),
address at which the taxable activities and supplies are made,
sales tax registration number and Common Taxpayer Identifier (CTI)
number (if any) requesting them to insert these in their computer
programs urgently.
The registered persons should also pursue such corrections by the
respective billing companies and ensure that it is arranged as per
the requirement, by October 31, 1999, respectively.
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990922
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Cabinet okays new laws to raise revenues
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ihtashamul Haque
ISLAMABAD, Sept 21: The federal cabinet on Tuesday approved, in
principle, the report of the four-member ministerial committee to
substantially increase revenues by framing and enforcing "stringent
tax laws".
Finance and Commerce Minister Ishaq Dar presented the committee's
report at the cabinet meeting which was presided over by Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif. The meeting will continue on Wednesday to
approve the recommendations of the committee.
The report, according to informed sources, demanded that all kinds
of political meddling in tax-collection process should be removed
so that adequate collection of taxes could be ensured.
The report called for removing all prevailing tax exemptions and
the areas like FATA and Azad Kashmir should also be brought under
the tax net and that those who did not pay their taxes should be
awarded "exemplary punishment".
Winding up of the all 48 diplomatic bonded warehouses was proposed
with the committee proposing that only five such warehouses should
be allowed to function.
Sources said that the report further called for liquidating loss-
making industries, specially those in the public sector. The report
proposed that committees, headed by the concerned MNAs, be formed
in the four provinces to curb smuggling.
Constituted by the prime minister, the four-member committee
consisted of Mr Dar, Water and Power Minister Gohar Ayub, Labour
Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, and state minister for water and
power, Haleem Siddiqui.
The prime minister directed the finance ministry to take such "bold
and imaginative" measures which simplified procedures and promoted
economic revival.
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990925
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Salaried class exempted from filing of returns
-------------------------------------------------------------------
ISLAMABAD, Sept 24: The salaried persons who have no other source
of income are not required to file income-tax returns.
According to Central Board of Revenue sources, the salaried persons
are, however, required to file the employers' salary certificate
which will meet the income-tax return formality.
The salary certificate can be filed collectively by the concerned
department of the employees, or the employees themselves
individually.
The CBR sources clarified that if an employee had some other source
of income, he would have to submit the income-tax return. Those
whose income exceeds Rs200,000 per annum are also required to file
wealth tax return.
Previously, the limit for wealth tax return was Rs100,000 which has
now been increased to Rs200,000 in the budget for fiscal 1999-200.
September 30 is the deadline for filing employers' salary
certificate and income-tax returns.-APP
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990924
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Tax-payers audit on one-time basis: CBR
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Sept 23: Central Board of Revenue has announced that in
future the audit of taxpayers by the Sales Tax and Central Excise
be carried out on one-time basis.
Both the ST and CED auditors would be visiting the taxpayers'
premises together, and a simpler method of auditing would be
applied.
According to a press release issued by Sales Tax Department here
Thursday the following criteria has been laid out for conduct of
audit of registered units/persons with a view to streamlining the
audit of registered units/persons including composite units paying
excise duty as well as sales tax and to eliminating the grievances
of the trade and industry in this regard:
Audit of any registered person/unit in routine will be conducted
once during a financial year. However, in exceptional circumstances
and under the specific instructions in writing by the collector
concerned, a particular registered person/unit can be re-audited
for that financial year or within that financial year.
In case of composite units manufacturing and supplying excisable
and sales taxable goods, a joint audit will be conducted by the
team of officials of sales tax and excise collectorates. Whenever
such a registered person is selected by sales tax collectorate for
audit, the respective excise collectorate will be informed at least
10 days in advance and the collector excise may nominate hi9s
representative for conducting a joint audit. The team will prepare
a report for the respective collectorates regarding any discrepancy
in the records and any tax liability thereon.
The staff of the directorate general of intelligence and
investigation (customs, excise and sales tax and directorate
general of inspection, internal audit and training (internal audit
and inspection wing) will not undertake any audit of any registered
person/unit 3except under specific written authorisation by the CBR
in each such individual case. However in case of any information
regarding evasion of sales tax or any other illegal activity on the
part of any registered person, the respective directorate will pass
on the information to the concerned collector of sales tax who will
order for the audit of that particular unit by the sales tax
auditors/special auditors. The representative of the said
directorate/directorate general may also be associated while
conducting such an audit of the said registered person/unit.
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990922
-------------------------------------------------------------------
CBR sets up Development Tax Committee
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Correspondent
ISLAMABAD; Sept 21: The Central Board of Revenue has announced on
Monday that Haji Maqsood Butt, MPA, and Muhammad Umar Saliya have
been appointed co-chairmen of the 40-member Development Tax
Advisory Committee (DTAC) responsible for ensuring smooth
collection and monitoring of the Development Tax.
The CBR announcement says: In pursuance of the decision taken with
representatives of the trade community held on Sept 8/9, '99, and
in compliance of para 6 of the Revenue Division's Circular No 2/99,
dated Sept 14, the DTAC is hereby constituted. It shall, initially,
meet every month (or more often as per need) to ensure proper
compliance and implementation of the DT Scheme.
The committee may form provincial, divisional, district, city/town
and market chapters for the purpose of enforcement, collection and
monitoring of the DT.
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990924
-------------------------------------------------------------------
CED on petrol, furnace oil, diesel notified
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Correspondent
ISLAMABAD, Sept 23: The federal government has imposed Central
Excise Duty on furnace oil, high speed diesel oil, light speed
diesel oil, petrol (motor spirit), aviation spirit, spirit type jet
fuel, JP-1, JP-4 and methyl tertiary butyle ether (MTBE).
The Central Board of Revenue here on Thursday issued two separate
notifications to withdraw Customs Duty and in its place levy CED.
Both notifications dated Sept 22, 1999, bear the same number: C. No
2 (5)-CEB/999.
The Customs notification says that import duty so far levied at the
rate of 10 per cent on petroleum crude oil, and all the above items
has been withdrawn.
According to these two notifications, central excise duty of Rs
35.25 per ton has been imposed in place of 10 per cent Customs duty
on furnace oil.
In case of high speed diesel oil, Customs duty of 10% has been
withdrawn while CED at Rs 0.25 per litre has been imposed.
Light speed diesel oil would now be levied CED at Rs 0.04 per litre
in place of the Customs duty previously charged at the same rate.
Motor spirit, previously charged Customs duty at 10 per cent ad
val, would now be charged CED at Rs 0.88.
In case of JP-1 and JP-4, CED at Rs 0.06 per litre has been
imposed. JP-1 has previously been charged Customs Duty at 10 per
cent ad val while JP-4 faces no change in rate as converted from
the Customs to the CED regime.
Spirit type jet fuel, previously levied Customs Duty at Rs 0.06,
would now be charged CED at Rs 0.88.
Aviation spirit, previously levied Customs Duty at Rs 0.88 per
litre, would now be charged CED at the same rate. The same goes for
the methyl tertiary butyle ether (MTBE) CBR has also clarified that
there has been no levy of GST on furnace oil during the past few
days.
It says: it is incorrectly reported that the federal government has
imposed 15% GST on furnace oil during the last few days.
The exemption from sales tax on all petroleum products (including
furnace oil) was withdrawn on 16th August, 1999 vide notification
No SRO 922(I)/99. No further or new GST has been imposed on furnace
oil since then.
Furnace oil is used for generation of electricity or for further
production of goods. The GST paid on furnace oil will be fully
adjustable against the GST payable on the output (for e.g. sales
taxable electricity and other sales taxable goods) and, therefore,
the effect of GST on furnace oil will be fully neutralized.
There will be no price effect on electricity or any other taxable
industrial production due to withdrawal of exemption of sales tax
on furnace oil which has already taken effect from 16th August,
1999.
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990922
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ban on jobs goes in Sindh
-------------------------------------------------------------------
KARACHI, Sept 21: The prime minister's adviser on Sindh affairs,
Syed Ghous Ali Shah, on Tuesday announced lifting of ban on
government employments in the province.
Presiding over a meeting of the Sindh Advisory Council members,
which was also attended by provincial secretaries, Syed Ghous Ali
Shah announced lifting of ban on jobs.
Mr Shah said that employment of Grade 11 to 15 had been exempted
from the purview of the Public Service Commission and the concerned
department had been authorised to recruit the required staff.
He also announced an increase in the quota for disabled persons
from one per cent to two per cent. Mr Shah also urged that all
recruitments should be made in a transparent manner.
Regarding the NFC award, he said that this award was for five years
which was announced after getting consensus of all the four
provinces.
He said that he was in contact with the federal government and
Sindh would soon get a special grant from the federal government
for various heads.
Mr Shah contradicted a news report in which it was alleged that
around 9,000 employees from local bodies' institutions were being
sacked.
He informed the participants that the National Highway Authority
(NHA) in all the provinces received the toll tax.
He informed the meeting that the issue of contract doctors was
under review of the government and soon some compromise solution in
this connection would emerge.
Briefing about the Annual Development Programme, the Additional
Chief Secretary Planning and Development informed the meeting that
during the current financial year work on 336 development schemes
were taken in hand on which Rs1376 million were being spent.-APP
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990924
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Gold prices up in Punjab
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Reporter
LAHORE, Sept 23: All gold varieties in Punjab bullion markets have
got dearer by over Rs100 per 10 gm during the last couple of days.
According to Lahore Division Sarafa Bazaar Association, the gold
tezabi price has moved up at Rs4,664 from Rs4,553 per 10 gm two
days ago.
Gold 22 carat, which sold at Rs4,173 few days ago, is now
available at Rs4,276. The 21 carat variety of gold has also become
dearer at Rs4,081 from Rs3,984. Association leader Ahmed Khalid
said short supply of gold in the international markets was mainly
responsible to push up its rates.
The new gold rate, he said, were not Pakistan specific. The gold
price had gone up globally, he added. Markets here reported normal
business on Thursday.
"Most gold dealers have been doing normal business as new
fluctuation seem to have made no mark on buyers. There is no short
supply of gold. No panic selling or buying", a goldsmith at the
main sarafa bazaar here said.
Reports from Multan Sarafa Bazaar and bullion market of Faisalabad
also reported increase in gold rates but no noticeable change in
business pattern.
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990925
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Stocks fall across broad front
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 24: Stocks on Friday fell across a broad front as
investors sold in a bit haste amid reports that the Hubco has
sought sovereign guarantee from Pakistan owing to reported failure
of the WAPDA to meet its payment obligations. The KSE 100-share
index shed 8.42 points at 1,191.84.
There was a near-panic in the rings after the trading resumed as
investors failed to understand the implications of Hubco and
followed the lead of the leading ones, who were in haste to
liquidate positions fearing a big sell-off.
At one stage its share fell as low as Rs18.30 but late speculative
support aided by news that WAPDA has indicated to settle the
dispute with the Hubco and some positive statement is due any time.
It finally finished off the day's bottom rate at Rs18.90.
Invoking of the sovereign guarantee clause by the Hubco in its
London meeting stipulates, under the power purchase agreement, that
the government of Pakistan will have to take a stake in its equity
worth over $400 million owing to the protracted row over the tariff
cut.
'The Hubco issue has now assumed an alarming proportions, closing
the door for any amicable settlement', this was the general
consensus among the stock analysts.
Investors, notably the small ones have suffered massive battering
during the last about 30 months, eroding a bigger part of their
saving in the form of price erosion.Its share has fallen from
Rs60.00 to Rs18.90 after touching the low at Rs7.65 at one stage,
they added.
However, the market will behave will be known by the next week when
investors will be able to fathom the implications of Hubco move.
Minus signs dominated the list, with most of the leading shares,
notably the MNCs being the major losers under the lead of Galaxo-
Welcome, Knoll Pharma, Shell Pakistan, Singer Pakistan, which
suffered fall ranging from Rs3.00 to Rs7.50.
Other leading losers were led by Bank of Punjab, Islamic Bank,
Cherat Cement, BOCK Pakistan, Pak Leather and Diamond Industries,
falling by Rs1.05 to 2.20.
Gainers were led by Rafhan Best Foods, which again came in for
strong speculative support after two days lull and was marked up by
Rs46.85 to Rs.234.35 but only 100 share changed hands owing to
shortage of the floating stock.
Other good gainers were led by Bannu Woollen, Colgate Pakistan and
Lever Brothers Pakistan, which rose by Rs2.50 to Rs10.00.
Trading volume showed further fall at 117m shares as compared to
145m shares a day earlier as losers forced a strong lead over the
gainers at 99 to 50, with 48 shares holding on to the last levels.
Hub-Power topped the list of most actives, lower 15 paisa at
Rs18.90 on 44m shares, followed by PTCL off 20 paisa at Rs20.95 on
37m shares, PSO, up 65 paisa at Rs 134.25 on 19m shares, ICI
Pakistan, easy 10 paisa at Rs9.20 on 4m shares and Fauji
Fertiliser, off 25 paisa at Rs46.65 on 3m shares and KASB Premier
Fund, up 10 paisa at Rs3.00 on 2m shares.
Adamjee Insurance led the list of other actives, off 80 paisa on
0.711m shares, Engro Chemical, off Rs1.60 on 0.709m shares, Dewan
Salman, unchanged on 0.620m shares, Dhan Fibre, easy 10 paisa on
0.568m shares, FFC-Jordan Fertiliser, lower 10 paisa on 0.505m
shares, Sui Northern, down five paisa on 0.482m shares and PIAC, up
45 paisa on 0.420m shares.
DEFAULTING COMPANIES: Active trading was again witnessed on this
counter as eight share came in for trading and generally finished
steady under the lead of Mian Textiles, which was quoted unchanged
on 5,00 shares.
Gammon Pakistan, which fell by 70 paisa on 1,000 shares was the
only exception, which ended lower, while National Modaraba, Suzuki
Motorcycle and Turbo Tec were traded higher by 20 paisa and
unchanged respectively on 1,000 shares each.
DIVIDEND; Pakistan Papersach, cash 35% for the year ended June 30,
1999 and PILCORP, cash 7.5% for the same period. Market at a glance
TONE: easy, total listed 769, actives 197, inactives 572, plus 50,
minus 99, unc 48.
KSE 100-SHARE INDEX: previous 1,200.26, today's 1,191.84, minus
8.42 points.
TOP TEN: gainers Rafhan Best Foods Rs46.85, Colgate Pakistan
Rs4.00, Bannu Woollen Rs2.50, Lever Brothers Rs10.00, Packages
Rs0.70.
LOSERS:Knoll Pharma Rs7.50, Singer Pakistan 4.00, Glaxo-Welcome
3.20, Shell Pakistan 3.00,ICI Pakistan (r) 2.35.
TOTAL VOLUME: 116.733m shares.
VOLUME LEADERS: Hub-Power 43.969m, PTCL 37.357m, PSO 18.546m, ICI
Pakistan 3.739m, Fauji Fertiliser 2.485m shares.
TOTAL VOLUME: 116.733m shares.
Back to the top
===================================================================
EDITORIALS & FEATURES
990919
-------------------------------------------------------------------
'Non-official component'
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ardeshir Cowasjee
IF we are to leap into the next century and, after the passage of
half a century, be capable of standing on our own feet and dealing
with the First World our people will have to be educated in the
profound sense of the word.
A few, very few, have been advocating education for all since early
this century. Nawrojee Nusserwanjee Pochajee, an enlightened Parsi
of Karachi, left half his considerable fortune for the building of
a school, specifically a girls' school, and his money was the seed
money with which the Mama Parsi Girls' School was established in
Karachi in 1908. As he rightly put it, it is girls who become
mothers and at whose feet children learn what no school or college
can teach them.
Up to 1947, the school restricted itself to girls of the Parsi
community, but then, on the request of Mohammed Ali Jinnah it
opened its doors to those of all communities. Now, 52 years later,
95 per cent of the girls learning there are Muslims.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif recently gave a birthday present to the
daughter of his erstwhile benefactor, General Zia-ul-Haq, drawing
money from public funds provided to him to be used at his
discretion. He later realized his mistake and reportedly has
reimbursed the fund. The question arises : should he have used
public funds for personal gain? Would a truly educated man do so?
Some maintain that he knowingly did wrong, others that he did so
truly believing that the people's money is his to do with as he may
please. Whichever way one looks at it, the pointer is towards an
uneducated man.
According to this newspaper's calculations, our prime minister has
so far, during this his second round, made 51 foreign trips. On
each, he has taken with him as many joyriders as his, or our, large
Boeing can accommodate, and the expenses of each trip have been
debited to the people. His flunkies follow suit. Some of his
governors and chief ministers fly around the country in their
special planes on personal and pleasure trips claiming that to do
so is their 'entitlement.'
The trip record entitlement reportedly stands with our Rhodes
Scholar, Wasim Sajjad, the Permanent Chairman of the Upper House,
who sits one breath away from the presidency. It is said that since
he sat in his chair he has made over 88 trips abroad at the
people's expense. There may be a corrective letter from his office
claiming he has not made 88 trips, but what the letter will not
inform us is that he has actually scored 93 and is well on his way
to his century.
My friend Ilahi Bakhsh Soomro, boss of the Lower House, is
endeavouring to catch up. He uses his entitlement to depart every
two to three months with a clutch of MNAs who form a 'parliamentary
delegation' to attend various meetings around the world. We are not
told whether they go to learn or to instruct, but we do know that
they return home as educated as they were.
This 'entitlement' attitude is pernicious and destructive. One of
Benazir Bhutto's governors, Kamal Azfar, grew up in the house of
his father, Mohammad Azfar, an officer of the ICS and later of the
CSP, a man who cannot be faulted, and who today is the oldest
living civil servant in the country. A frail man, he has always
lived within his means and can hold his head high as he has the
rare distinction of having left the service on differing with Ayub
Khan on a point of principle. He and his wife brought up their
children well. Kamal went to Baliol at Oxford, one of the world's
finest colleges, and was called to the Bar from the Inner Temple.
He then studied with the famous scholar Gunar Myrdal.
As Governor of Sindh Kamal gave from his discretionary fund a sum
of Rs.10 lakhs to the rich Karachi Golf Club for it to build a
gallery in which a plaque with his name engraved upon it would be
placed. Now, again we must ask whether an educated man would do
this?
Following Kamal's example, the famous banker M. B. Abbasi, before
he ran the NDFC dry, gave Rs.15 lakhs from our financial
institution to have his name engraved on a plaque to be placed on a
pavilion.
Following the example of Mian Nawaz Sharif, would both these
gentlemen be willing to repay the public exchequer? Should either
claim to be in a state of virtual penury, as a member of the Golf
Club I will vote that the Club repay what it wrongfully accepted,
enabling them to pay back to the people what they wrongfully used.
Now we come to what the Foreign Office calls the 'non-official
component of the Pakistan delegation' to the United Nations General
Assembly. Each year the Assembly meets for about three months and
non-officials are invited by the government to go on a jaunt to New
York at its expense. Each delegation of five to ten members is
scheduled to stay fifteen days at the UN. This time I was put in
the ring by the FO on the prime minister's directive. Why? The
prime minister knows me well enough, he says he reads what I write.
We have known each other for some time and he knows what I think of
him as a man (I like him) and as a prime minister (a complete
disaster). Would an educated man have included my name in the list
of UN delegates?I informed the foreign secretary that I would not
go. The next day I read in this newspaper that the non-official
components consisted of "Senator Akram Zaki, Ahsan Iqbal, MNA, and
Chairman 2001 programme, Fakhr Imam, MNA, Mr Pervaiz Malik, MNA,
Senator Javed iqbal (former chief justice, LHC), Dr Nasim Hasan
Shah (former chief justice, Supreme Court), Syed Sharifuddin
Pirzada, S M Zafar, Dr Hamida Khuhro, Dr Attiya Enayatullah, Dr
Alexander John Malik, Bishop of Lahore, Mr P K Shahani, Mr S A
Rahman, ambassador-at-large, Mr Mehdi Masood (former ambassador) Mr
Hameed Haroon, Mr Ardeshir Cowasjee, and Ms Nasim Zehra." How many
of these joy-riders will go (Nasim has refused) ?
Then I read "It is widely expected that either Ardeshir Cowasjee or
Nasim Zehra will make a statement in the Fourth Committee of the
General Assembly reaffirming the government's adherence to the
principles of freedom of speech and the press in Pakistan."
Widely expected? By whom and why? Are Nasim and I not expected to
know what is happening in this country? Have I not seen the marks
left by the beatings inflicted on journalist Hussain Haqqani's
bottom? Do we both not know how editor Najam Sethi's house was
broken into by government goons in the middle of the night, how he
was dragged away blindfolded and kept for a month in solitary
confinement in safe-houses ?
Then there arrives a letter from the Foreign Office saying, "Please
be informed that the Prime Minister has been pleased to nominate
you as a special envoy to visit West Coast cities and Washington to
explain post-Kargil situation to public representatives, think-
tanks and media."
The Prime Minister may not know, but surely the Foreign Office
does, what happens when private individuals address think-tanks and
the media in the US and how he is questioned? What could I possibly
have told them about Kargil other than, as I have declared
publicly, that it was an unmitigated disaster. Do I tell them that
I come from an illiterate country of 140 million whose Senate
Chairman, the same Rhodes scholar, will not permit debate or
discussion on what is euphemistically known here as 'honour
killings,' thus legalizing murder? Or, that I come from a country
where the government sends in a mob to raid the Supreme Court to
obstruct the course of justice, a raid filmed by the international
media and by the court's own cameras, for which raid it was much
later held by three judges of the same court that no one was
responsible, implying that in actual fact it never took place? What
do I say about the 'extra judicial' killings and of killings whilst
in police custody?
As far as Kargil is concerned, we should do everything possible to
put a damper on it, to try and make the world forget. Scapegoats
are always created after blunders, and today it is the army that is
being blamed. Some are led to believe that the prime minister was
not aware of the operation. Whether he was or not, he must know
that the buck stops at his table, or at the table of the Supreme
Commander of our Armed Forces, President R. A. Tarar.
Things could be different if the fun-seekers and looters of the
people's wealth ruling over us from Islamabad were answerable to a
public that is literate and educated in the greater majority.
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990924
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The country deserves a fresh start
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Ayaz Amir
IT IS hard to figure out which is worse: the conspiracy of silence
or the conspiracy of stupidity which holds sway over this country.
Take Kargil, now no longer just the name of a region in the
Himalayas but a synonym for national humiliation. While it was a
product of stupidity, its authors are being protected by the rules
of silence which are always observed when self-inflicted disasters
hit Pakistan.
It is hardly a secret any more that at a briefing in late
October/early November last year various options for pepping up the
freedom struggle in occupied Kashmir were presented by the top army
leadership to the prime minister. Amongst these options was a
proposal to exploit a wide gap which existed in the Indian defence
line in the Kargil sector.
There was nothing new about this idea. As part of the army's
contingency planning (it being the business of armies to plan for
the future), it had been on the cards since the mid-eighties.
Whatever the justifications advanced for this particular option
(one of these being that inactivity on our part could encourage
India to do another Siachen on us), the long and the short of it is
that it was broadly accepted, the prime minister giving his
concurrence to it. Had he not done so this plan would have been
still-born.
Arguably, the top army leadership (and in this context the
adjective 'top' is of special significance) should have proposed
nothing of the kind. The army has always fancied itself as the
conscience and brains of the nation. Conscience, fine, but where
were its brains when a forward thrust in Kargil was being outlined
for the prime minister's benefit? This was the top army
leadership's blunder, compounded, of course, by the circumstance
that most of the formation commanders were kept in the dark. At the
time they had no inkling of what was about to be done in the army's
name.
As for the prime minister, not only did he hear the scheme out and
approve it, he went a step further and, ever a man in a hurry, said
its time-frame should be compressed. It has been suggested in the
prime minister's defence that he did not fully understand the
implications of what was being discussed. Perhaps. But then he has
no business being where he is.
There was no discussion of the Kargil forward movement in the DCC.
Even the other service chiefs were not consulted. In other words,
while a war tattoo, with all the potential of escalating, was being
contemplated, there was a total absence of institutional
consultation. In other words, a near-repeat of 1965. Which shows
the respect Pakistani leaders have for the lessons of history.
To be fair to the top army leadership, the Vajpayee visit confused
it. This visit and the preparations in hand for Kargil were at odds
with each other. When this oddity was pointed out (to the quarters
concerned), the answer in effect was: you do your work while I do
mine. Thus was the route charted for the nation's greatest
humiliation since General Niazi's surrender before the victorious
Indian army in 1971.
In any other country after such a mess a guillotine would have been
erected and heads would have rolled. After the breakthrough of the
German army in France in 1940 Chamberlain found it impossible to
continue as prime minister of Britain. He had to make way for
Churchill. After the Suez crisis of 1956 Anthony Eden had to step
down as prime minister. He had to accept responsibility for the
debacle.
Pakistan obviously is a different country. Its leaders think they
can get away with murder. No wonder both the civilian and military
architects of our Suez seem little concerned about national
humiliation. What they are looking out for is their survival. A
tempest might be howling about their ears but they are hoping that,
somehow, they will be able to ride out the storm.
Survival of course is a great political imperative and there is
nothing wrong with wanting it, especially in a dump like ours where
power is everything and the wilderness full of nameless terrors.
But two things should be clear.
First, after such a disaster its twin architects have forfeited
their respective mandates. To their titular authority they may
cling on but their moral right to continue in their respective
offices lies buried in the snows of Kargil.
Second, Pakistan will know no peace unless the spectre of Kargil is
exorcized from its mind. Obsessed with survival, the government
will be looking over its shoulder all the time and as a consequence
unable to think or look ahead. The country will remain rooted to
the same spot. The top army leadership too will be in a similar
predicament, its effectiveness undermined by its uneasy conscience.
The people of Pakistan may be guilty of many things but they don't
deserve this.
But how is this spectre to be exorcized? The fates which rule our
destiny are unlikely to be propitiated except by an offering of
blood. In plain words this means that those responsible for this
disaster must not only read the writing on the wall. They must also
take a page out of history and look hard at the examples of
Chamberlain and Eden.
Just before Chamberlain's fall, Leo Amery, a senior MP, borrowed
these words from Oliver Cromwell to make his case for Chamberlain's
departure: "You have sat too long here for any good you have been
doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of
God, go." The National Assembly is not the House of Commons and in
the dumb and silent ranks of the Muslim League there are no Leo
Amerys. Even so, Cromwell's words fit the situation we face. Those
responsible for the Kargil fiasco should go. This is the least
favour they can do the nation.
But there is an important caveat. Since the responsibility for this
fiasco is two-fold, both the cooks of this broth should go. No
scape-goating and no passing the buck. Either a two-fold cure or
none at all. Half a solution will set nothing right and will only
prolong the country's distress.
But there is a serious problem. Who will induce the twin architects
of Kargil to follow the Roman example and fall on their swords?
Pakistan's affairs are out of order. The old system of checks and
balances has collapsed. Parliament has abdicated its authority to
the prime minister who in turn is guided in his decisions by a
small and secretive group of advisers. The overriding aim of
government is not what may loosely be defined as the national
interest but the greater glory of a single family. In such a
Byzantine circumstance accountability becomes an alien concept.
It is a barometer of our self-respect that leading Pakistani
politicians are swept by gratitude, and a sense of their
importance, if they can get someone to see them at the State
Department. It is a measure of our pathetic condition that
Washington should be telling us from the house-tops how to conduct
our affairs: warning the army to desist from extra-constitutional
actions; advising the government to respect democratic liberties.
Even a banana republic would consider such public lecturing crude
and excessive. But then we are hardly in a position to complain.
This is what in our pitiable condition we have brought on
ourselves.
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990925
-------------------------------------------------------------------
A question of faith
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Irfan Husain
ALTHOUGH it often seems like a chore, going through my fan mail and
hate mail as it arrives daily via the Internet gives me an
invaluable insight into readers' concerns.
The other day, a Pakistani expatriate wrote saying that a Syrian
friend of his was of the view that for historic reasons, democracy
was unsuitable for Muslims. And in support of his argument, he
cited the case of Pakistan as a Muslim country that had been trying
to make the system work for years with scant success. Despite
several military interventions, an inordinate number of elections
have been held, but the governments they produced have been largely
incompetent and corrupt. As a result, they have rarely completed
their term of office.
While my reader's friend may have indulged in a rather sweeping
generalization, it is an unpleasant but undeniable fact that Muslim
countries are, largely speaking, governed by one authoritarian
model or another, ranging from monarchy to military dictatorship to
one-party rule. In Algeria and Turkey, the army has intervened to
keep Islamic groups out of power although they had won a popular
mandate. In Indonesia, there is growing concern about a military
coup.
In Pakistan, too, the US government has felt it necessary to voice
its opposition to extra-constitutional methods to unseat the Nawaz
Sharif government. In virtually the entire Islamic Crescent from
Turkey to Indonesia, human rights are trampled under foot by ruling
oligarchs and despots. It is tempting to assert that this condition
prevails across the Third World, but the fact is that countries
like India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and much of Latin America
have, despite many problems, evolved working democratic systems.
These may be flawed and far from perfect, but are nevertheless
functioning and responding to the people's needs.
So what is it that has prevented democracy from taking root in
Muslim countries? True, these countries have a long history of
autocratic rule, but other nations have evolved from the same
starting point to various stages of participatory government. Why
is our environment so hostile to notions of human rights, equality
and freedom? The lack of economic development cannot be cited as a
valid reason as we have just observed that several underdeveloped
countries have successfully made the transition from autocratic
rule to democracy. Also, many oil-rich Islamic states have a high
per capita income but are ruled by powerful monarchs.
There is one common thread running through Islamic societies, and
that is the subordinate position of women. Although not all of them
share the harsh fate of their Afghan sisters, it is an unfortunate
fact that, by and large, Muslim women do not enjoy the same social,
economic and political rights that women in the rest of the world
do. Another common factor is the general lack of tolerance for
other points of view that is so widely prevalent in much of the
Muslim world. This is a prerequisite for democracy, and its absence
could go a long way in explaining why we have generally failed in
internalizing democratic norms and values.
Looking at successful democratic models, we note that without
exception, they are all secular in outlook, having separated the
church from the state at relatively early stages of their political
development. In the case of Israel, the only state apart from
Pakistan created in the name of religion, Jews and non-Jews vote
together, whereas here Muslims and non-Muslims vote on the basis of
separate electorates. Unfortunately, the difference does not stop
here: Pakistani non-Muslims have been the targets of state-
sanctioned persecution through controversial legislation that has
drawn protests from human rights groups in and out of the country.
So does secularism hold the key to democracy? Clearly, this
question and its answer has major implications for the entire
Islamic world. But it is important to take note of the fact that
secularism by itself is no guarantee of democracy: Iraq and Syria
are both secular states, both have unenviable human rights records,
and both are ruled by men who are re-elected periodically. Needless
to say, neither is opposed in the polls as they lead one-party
regimes.
Nevertheless, by de-linking religion from politics, successful
democracies have managed to lower the temperature of political
discourse. In Islamic countries attempting to take the democratic
route, we have the widely observed phenomenon of religious parties
substituting dogma for substance. Also, the introduction of faith
in the hurly-burly of politics reduces the space for rational
debate by reducing arguments to black and white.
In all religions, we accept certain tenets as articles of faith
without subjecting them to the acid tests of logic and reason.
Indeed, the fundamentals are not open to question. This acceptance
of a truth higher than our comprehension is essential for the
unquestioning belief that underpins universal adherence to various
faiths that attract the devotion of hundreds of millions around the
world. However, because of schisms within Christianity, together
with the bloodshed they caused, European nations separated the
Church from politics centuries ago. Partly as a result, the level
of tolerance increased over time and came to be central to a
democratic dispensation.
The Islamic world, too, has witnessed splits and schisms from a
very early period. More blood has been shed in the name of faith
than in any other cause. But because of our belief that Islam
provides a complete way of life and does not govern only the
spiritual sphere, most Muslim countries have enshrined the
provisions of the faith in their legislation. However, as a result
of the existence of different schools of jurisprudence within
Islam, it is not always possible to accommodate all their divergent
views. This is bound to create tensions and differences that erupt
into open warfare from time to time.
Although the teaching of Islam urges believers to practise ijtihad
to find answers to the challenges of our times, blind followers of
dogma have so far prevented such an enlightened approach. The
result is a total calcification of institutions and a paralysis of
the spirit of inquiry. These factors have not only resulted in a
uniform environment of repression, but in all-round economic,
social and intellectual backwardness that has come to characterize
much of the Muslim world.
If we are to leave this prison and take our rightful place in the
comity of nations, we will have to break the shackles we have bound
ourselves with.
===================================================================
SPORTS
990921
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Pakistan make clean sweep of one-day series
-------------------------------------------------------------------
TORONTO, Sept 20: Pakistan made it a clean sweep in the three-match
one-day cricket international series on Sunday with a decisive
seven-wicket victory over the West Indies in the final game.
Set just 162 to win after another lackluster West Indian batting
effort, Pakistan cruised to the target for the loss of just three
wickets with more than 10 overs of the 50-over contest to spare.
Pakistan began their run chase disastrously when Wajahatullah Wasti
was bowled by Courtney Walsh in the first ball of the innings.
But that was really the last gasp of the Windies in an inevitable
result.
Hasan Raza strode to the wicket to join in-form Abdur Razzaq, a
half century maker on Saturday. The pair took the score along to 50
in the 13th, tested out along the way by some hostile, short-
pitched bowling by Merv Dillon and Walsh.
A change of bowling eventually brought about a much-needed wicket.
Jimmy Adams had Raza caught by Wavell Hinds at silly mid-off for 11
in the 13th over.
Inzamam-ul-Haq joined Abdur Razzaq at the crease and, after an
early scare when Inzamam was dropped on the boundary after skying a
hook shot, the pair quickly stamped their authority on the match.
Delightful sweep and pull shots were a feature of Inzamam's
innings.
The West Indies spinners - Adams, Gales and Chanderpaul - were not
of the same quality as Pakistan's, putting pressure back on the
pacemen to make a breakthrough.
But Inzamam and Razzaq were solid in defence when required, and
particularly savage on bad balls, taking the score along to 136 for
two and almost certain victory by the 32nd over.
Razzaq was finally out for a well-made 57 when he lost patience and
was caught by Powell in the deep trying to hit the ball over the
mid-wicket fence.
With only 26 runs required for victory, Inzaman and Yousuf Youhana,
Pakistan's hero and century maker in Saturday's match, chipped away
at the target with ones and twos to reach a total of 163 for three
in just the 39th over and claim victory.
Razzaq won the Man-of-the-Match award for solid all-round
performance. He took one for 31 in his eight over bowling spell and
added 57 with the bat - his third One-day International half
century and his second in as many days.-Reuters
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990925
-------------------------------------------------------------------
8th SAF Games gets under way today
-------------------------------------------------------------------
KATHMANDU, Sept 24: Sri Lankan golden girl Damayanthi Darsha will
carry her country's medal hopes into the 8th South Asian Federation
Games but India are hot favourites to dominate when the
extravanganza gets under way here on Saturday.
Asian Games sprint queen Darsha is entered in three events, and is
Sri Lanka's standard bearer in the absence of three of the
islanders' top track stars.
"We have definitely become quite weak due to the absence of
Susanthika Jayasinghe, Sugath Tilakaratne and Chinthaka De Soyza.
At least, 5-6 certain golds are in doubt now," said Jagath
Jayasuriya, the Sri Lankan chef de mission.
But Jayasuriya is confident Darsha can repeat her successes from
the Asian Games in Bangkok last December.
"Darsha will now take up the 100m, 200m and 400m. if everthing goes
according to plan. She won't have any difficulty winning all three
golds," he said.
Elsewhere in the seven-nation multi-sport gala, India are poised to
take a stranglehold of the overall medal tally.
Having snaffled more than 100 golds at the last SAF Games, the
strong Indian squad have set their sights on another similarly
impressive haul.
With 161 golds on offer in 12 disciplines, most of the attention is
expected to focus on the battle for second place in the medal-
rankings, with hosts Nepal determined to give their home fans
something to cheer about.
Nepal sports officials are aiming for 15 gold medals and a third
place ranking at the very least.
The introduction of martial arts disciplines taekwondo and karatedo
at the Games has boosted Nepal's chances of posting their best-ever
finish, according to team officials.
"Considering the depth that Nepal enjoys in these sports, Nepal is
looking forward to winning at least 15 gold medals and a third
place on the podium," said Dawa Gurung, the Nepalese chef de
mission.
Many of Nepal's competitors in the two disciplines have warmed up
for the SAF Games by taking part in various international
tournaments, said Gurung, a top karate instructor in Nepal.
Gurung is also looking to athletes in other sports to bring home
the medal booty.
"I am expecting some good results from our players in other
disciplines like boxing, table tennis and shooting," he said.
In the team events, India is again expected to hold sway although
arch-rivals Pakistan should mount a tough challenge in volleyball
and kabaddi.
"We are well prepared for this occasion," said Khawaja Saeed
Hassan, a Pakistani kabaddi offcial. "Our players have trained
really hard for these Games and anything short of gold would be a
disappointment".
A total of 1069 athletes are taking part in the Games. Most of the
contingents have already arrived here for the ten-day mega-event of
the South Asia.
While five countries, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri
Lanka are participating in all disciplines, the Maldives and Bhutan
will only contest in six and five of the sports.
Pakistan and India play on Monday.-AFP
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990925
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Sailing Championship begins today
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 24: Eleven gold medals will be at stake, when the 9th
Asian Sailing Championship begins on Saturday morning at the
Defence Authority Marina Club.
Thirteen of the top nations in Asia will be vying for the top
honours in this prestigious event in which 120 sailors, both male
and female, will be matching their skills in the Enterprise,
Europe, 420, Optimist, 470, Mistral and Laser events.
With Bangladesh and Kzakhstan pulling out of the championship, the
remaining nations in the competition are China, Chinese Tapei,
Indonesia, Japan, Kirgyzstan, Kuwait, South Korea, Sri Lanka,
Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and the hosts Pakistan.
The first race begins at 10.00 a.m. after the Governor of Sindh,
Mamnoon Hussain, inaugurates the gala at the colourful ceremony.
On the opening day the first races in the Enterprise, Optimist,
Europe and 420, will get under way. The best of seven races with
one discard will be conducted in all the 11 events.
Pakistan once a force to be reckoned with in the Enterprise and 470
Class, will have to exploit their own conditions, like the wind and
the water to dominate these events.
According to Monica Azon, the Spanish coach for the home team,
Pakistan has a great chance in picking up the gold medal in the
Enterprise and 470 Class.
She also thought Pakistan will do extremely well in the Optimist
Class, both in the boys and girls events, not to mention the
European Class for girls.
The hosts, however, will be facing an extremely daunting task from
the South Koreans, who dominated the last sailing championship in
the 1998 Asian Games held at Bangkok in the Enterprise, Laser, 470
and Optimist.
Singapore will be another striking force, picking up gold medals in
Bangkok in the Ladies 420 and Europe Class.
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990924
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Commission issues show cause notice to Ata
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Correspondent
LAHORE, Sept 23: Test paceman Ata-ur-Rahman was issued a show cause
notice on Thursday for resiling from his statement before the one-
man inquiry commission comprising the High Court judge, Justice
Malik Muhammad Qayyum. Ata-ur-Rahman has been asked to appear
before the commission on Sept 30.
The judge asked Ata-ur-Rahman why action should not be taken
against him for changing his statements. Ata's lawyer Tariq Shamim
pleaded with the learned judge that because he was presiding over
the inquiry commission, under section 476 of the PPC he could not
use powers of a High Court judge. Justice Malik Muhammad Qayyum
directed the High Court registrar Abdul Salam Khawar to provide a
copy of the video-cassette to Ata-ur-Rahman.
Ata-ur-Rahman had accused Wasim Akram of promising him to pay Rs
200,000 and had paid him Rs 100,000 for bowling badly in a match in
New Zealand.
Later, he resiled from his statement. On the third occasion, Ata-
ur-Rahman accused Test opener Aamir Sohail of persuading him to
level charge against Wasim Akram of having paid him Rs 100,000 for
bowling badly in the match against New Zealand.
The commission played video-cassette in the court provided by Test
wicket-keeper Rashid Latif in which former captain Salim Malik's
voice could be heard. The learned judge asked Salim Malik to
explain on the next date of hearing what he meant by his wordings
in the cassette.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
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