------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 15 January 2000 Issue : 06/03 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
We encourage comments & suggestions. We can be reached at:
e-mail dws-owner@dawn.com
WWW http://dawn.com/
fax +92(21) 568-3188 & 568-3801
mail DAWN Group of Newspapers
Haroon House, Karachi 74200, Pakistan
Please send all Editorials and Letters to the Editor at
letters@dawn.com
(c) Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan - 2000
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + AJK premier dissolves cabinet + Restoration of Eighth amendment under study + Hijacking: US sees 'evidence' + FO slams ISF for arson in Valley + Harassment of diplomat decried + Javed Iqbal records confessional statement before magistrate + SHC judge refuses to hear plane conspiracy case + Plane conspiracy case: Nawaz's petition on jurisdiction rejected + Nawaz says country stands isolated + Saif made jailbreak plan, claims prosecution + Khair Bukhsh Marri shifted to Quetta jail + Marri remanded in police custody + High Court allows Asif's revision appeal + Natural gas regulatory authority established + WAPDA labor unions: ILO to get aid suspended if ban not lifted + US may not release list of Pakistan firms + UK govt split over arms embargo on Pakistan + UK cabinet split over licenses for arms export to Pakistan + UK urges immediate talks on Kashmir + LHCBA rejects any move to sign CTBT + FM protests against charge of treason --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + Sindh to move court against WAPDA on power billing + CE gets list of IPPs cases today + HUBCO's debt service payment released + Exports finance 83.97pc of imports during July-Dec '99 + HBL to be privatized in one go: Altaf + KSE 100-share index gains another 45 points + KSE records highest turnover + KSE automated system collapses + Trading suspended after KATS goes out of order --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + �Kuch ishq kiya, kuch kaam kiya� Ayaz Amir + Hijacking: where do we go from here? Shahid M. Amin + What's new, Charlie Brown? Irfan Hussain ----------- SPORTS + Pakistan score sensational last-ball victory over India + Shoaib's return throws ICC in turmoil + ACB blasts ICC's backflip on Shoaib + ICC to take up Shoaib issue next month + Razzaq inspires a 45-run win over Australia
=================================================================== DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 20000115 ------------------------------------------------------------------- AJK premier dissolves cabinet ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent MUZAFFARABAD, Jan 14: In an expected move, AJK Prime Minister Barrister Sultan Mahmood Choudhry on Friday dissolved his cabinet, comprising 17 members, to form a smaller cabinet. The action has reportedly been taken in the light of directives of the federal government. At the start of his government, the prime minister had formed only a nine-member cabinet on Aug 1, 1996. However, the strength of the cabinet soared to 17 by Aug 28, 1996. The third expansion in the cabinet was made on Dec 27, 1997, following the failure of the no- confidence move against the prime minister, which raised the figure to 19. However, one minister died later while the other resigned in September last year, bringing the strength down to 17. The sources said that the dissolution of the cabinet had been necessitated in the wake of clear directives of the new military government in Islamabad to the AJK PM for reduction in the cabinet. Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf had categorically asked the AJK premier at the budget meeting of AJK Council last year that he should cut the size of his cabinet. During his visit to Muzaffarabad on Dec 27 last year, the CE reiterated his directive. A nine-member new cabinet was likely to be announced in next few days, the source said. However, there was no decision on the part of the government about seven legislative assembly members and a non- elected adviser, enjoying the status of ministers. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000114 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Restoration of Eighth amendment under study ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ihtasham ul Haque ISLAMABAD, Jan 13: The military government before going back to barracks is expected to take steps to restore, through a revived or newly elected parliament, the defunct Eighth amendment. This would give back to the president powers to dissolve an elected parliament, remove a government and appoint the chiefs of armed forces. Official sources told Dawn that the Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf was in contact with constitutional experts, specially Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, discussing the restoration of the Eighth amendment so that army was not required to intervene every time when there was a political crisis in the country. Attorney General Aziz A. Munshi, sources said, has been entrusted with the job to work out details in this connection in consultation with the ministry of law. The sources said that Clause 58(2)(B) was needed to be restored by undoing the 13th amendment which was adopted by the suspended parliament. The chief executive, sources said, was of the view that the affairs of the country should be handled by the civilians and democratic elements and not by the army whose job should be to defend the country against internal and external threats. The sources said that the attorney general was also directed to complete the spade work to give a legal cover to the National Security Council (NSC). He has been asked to give a permanent role to the NSC in the constitution and its role should be endorsed and approved by the parliament. It may be pointed out that Aziz A. Munshi was the co-author of the Eighth amendment along with Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada. This amendment was passed in December, 1985 by the elected but non-party based parliament which voted the amendment as a trade off for the immediate lifting of the martial law. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000113 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hijacking: US sees 'evidence' ------------------------------------------------------------------- Shaheen Sehbai WASHINGTON, Jan 12: The Indians have provided "some evidence" to US officials on alleged Pakistan involvement in the Indian Airlines hijacking, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday. "We have spoken to Indian officials about the evidence they have. In fact, we have seen some of it. I can't say categorically that we have seen it all. That is something that we are working with them on," the official told Dawn. But observers said India was still far from convincing the US to declare Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism based on the evidence in the hijacking case. The real opposition to the Indian moves is coming from Congress and even pro-Indian congressmen do not believe that declaring Pakistan a terrorist state would help US policy and strategic interests. Congressman Sam Gejdenson said in New Delhi on Tuesday "declaring a country a terrorist state was a tough call and led to loss of leverage. Putting a country out is also a statement of failure. In Sudan, in Libya, it has taken decades to get any kind of progress," he said. The chairman of the influential Government Reform Committee, Congressman Dan Burton, issued a statement in Washington criticizing India for issuing inflammatory statements regarding the hijacking. "I would hope that the Indian government would stop making public statements regarding the hijacking. Every statement I have seen from the Pakistani government has condemned the hijacking and I am told that they are committed to seeking the arrest and prosecution of the hijackers," Burton, a close friend of Pakistan, said. He implicitly accused India of "trying to exploit the situation for domestic political purposes" and said "this is a time for all governments, including the US, to work together to bring these people to justice." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000113 ------------------------------------------------------------------- FO slams ISF for arson in Valley ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Jan 12: Pakistan condemned what it called a wanton act of arson committed by the Indian Security Forces (ISF) in the town of Pattan, north of Srinagar. Numerous shops and houses were gutted, and six firemen and three civilians were shot at and seriously wounded by the Indian security forces in the incident. A statement of the foreign office spokesman issued here termed the incident another glaring example of a willful campaign of brutal repression and atrocities being carried out by the Indian security forces since 1989. "This incident is reminiscent of a similar barbaric act by the Indian security forces committed on Nov 27, 1993 when they torched over 150 shops and houses in Sopore and killed scores of innocent Kashmiris," the statement said. The atrocities being committed by the Indian security forces in occupied Kashmir, the FO said, followed a consistent pattern, which had been repeatedly condemned by major international human rights organizations. The latest report of the human rights watch, titled "World Report 2000", stated that the Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir continued to violate human rights with impunity, and that military- led cordon and search operations in Muslim neighbourhoods resulted in violations of fundamental civil rights. "Pakistan calls upon the international community and human rights organizations to pressurize India to end its policy of brazen repression and honor the legitimate rights of the people of Kashmir including their inalienable right to self- determination," the statement noted. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000114 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Harassment of diplomat decried ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Jan 13: Pakistan has strongly protested against the harassment of an official of its High Commission in New Delhi on frivolous charges. The foreign office summoned a senior Indian diplomat and lodged a protest against the "harassment" of the official, sources in the foreign office said. The protest is related to accusations that the Pakistani official used fake currency notes to pay his son's school fees. The Indian diplomat was told that the "frivolous" allegation was aimed at harassing the official, the sources said. Commenting on the UNI report, they informed that the deputy high commissioner of India to Pakistan was summoned in the foreign office on Thursday and a protest was lodged against undue harassment and frivolous accusations against the Pakistani official. They said the High Commission obtained all its local currency notes from the State Bank of India. "Since the hijacking of the Indian airlines flight, there has been a concerted attempt to implicate Pakistan", they added. "This latest report is a part and parcel of the deliberate and vicious campaign of vilification against Pakistan", they concluded.-AFP/APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000114 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Javed Iqbal records confessional statement before magistrate ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Jan 13: The self-confessed killer of 100 children, Javed Iqbal, recorded his confessional statement before judicial magistrate Mian Ghulam Husain and later he was sent on judicial remand. Earlier on Thursday morning, police acquired for a day the physical remand of Javed and his co-accused Sajid, Nadeem and Sabir. The prosecution said they needed Javed's assistance to locate the press from where he got published the advertisements for lost children. The police also had to identify the place where he discharged the chemicals in which he claims to have dissolved the bodies of the murdered children. However, police returned with Javed to the court late in the afternoon and said they had located the place where he disposed of the chemicals and the printing press from where he got published advertisements. The police said the custody of the accused was not required anymore. The court asked the accused if he wanted to record his confessional statement. Javed and his co-accused had expressed their intention of recording such a statement on the previous date of hearing but the court had given them time to think the matter over. It had told the accused that the statement could be used against them during trial. The magistrate left them alone in the courtroom for some time to think over the matter and then proceeded to record their statement. Javed said he thought of killing the children when he was tortured by two people and left for dead. He had to sell his household items to pay for medical treatment. During this time his mother died from the shock of seeing him in distress. Then he decided to avenge his mother's death and kill children. He said initially he used to discharge the chemical in the manhole in his house but when the neighbours started feeling foul smell he chose Old Ravi for disposing the acid after dissolving the bodies of children in it. He said he attracted the children by promising to show them television. He made them unconscious by offering them tea containing sedatives and killed them. One of the co-accused, Sajid, said he was aware of 98 murders. Sabir said he was involved in one murder while Nadeem said he knew about 13 killings. Meanwhile, the police officers investigating the case claimed to have established the identity of two of the three boys whose remains were recovered from acid-filled containers from the Ravi Road house. One of the investigating officers said it has been established beyond doubt that the remains were of masseur Ejaz, a resident of Kasur, and Imran, a resident of Toba Tek Singh. The pictures of the boys were among the last snapped by the accused. "The younger brother of Ejaz has also identified the accused and the Ravi Road house," the officer said. He said: "Ejaz's brother told us that they were present near the Minar-i- Pakistan when a man accompanied by two youths approached them. They took the boys to the Ravi Road house for massaging a man (Javed Iqbal) who they claimed had suffered paralysis." "I left Ejaz at the house and went home. Ejaz did not return home in the night and when I went to the Ravi Road house in the morning I was told that he left shortly afterwards," Ejaz's brother told police. The name of Ejaz was present at number 97 in the list of the victims provided by Javed Iqbal while his picture was numbered 57. The officer said they have sufficient evidence to prove that some of the remains were of Ejaz. Police have recovered Ejaz's clothes, oil bottles and shoes from the house. He said the victim's brother would appear as a witness against him in the court. Similarly, the police have gathered sufficient evidence to prove that remains of Imran of Toba Tek Singh were present in the container. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000113 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SHC judge refuses to hear plane conspiracy case ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Shamim-ur-Rehman KARACHI, Jan 12: Taking serious notice of the presence of the intelligence officials in the courtroom, Justice Shabbir Ahmed, administrative judge of the Anti-Terrorism Court, refused to conduct the trial and transferred it to the court of Judge Rehmat Hussain Jafferi of ATC-1 for resuming proceedings on Jan 17. Originally, the case was initiated in the court of Judge Rehmat Hussain Jafferi, but the government amended the ATA ordinance to make it possible for a High Court Judge to try the case in view of its importance. After the amendment, the case was transferred to Justice Shabbir Ahmed, who was made administrative judge of the ATC through an amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act. The decision by Justice Ahmed came as a surprise to those present in the courtroom, especially the prosecution, which had earlier insisted that the court should proceed with the framing of charges against the ousted prime minister and five others. The uproar and commotion was prompted by Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. One of the six accused, who had complained that he had a feeling that they were not under the judicial custody and that in violation of the court's order intelligence officials were present in the courtroom - even sitting with the accused. Justice Ahmed inquired who was the person, and when Mr Abbasi pointed to an individual, who was sitting among the accused, he directed that the person should be taken into custody. By this time some of the officials of the intelligence agencies and the rangers in civilian dress slipped out of the courtroom. Taking advantage of the commotion when Muslim Leaguers and others drew the court's attention to the fact that there were many more intelligence personnel present in the court room. Justice Ahmed ordered the doors of the court room to be closed. The advocate-general of Sindh, Raja Qureshi, complained that no decorum was being maintained in the court. During this time one of the intelligence officials was brought before Justice Ahmed, who asked him who he was. When he disclosed that he belonged to the Rangers, Justice Ahmed asked the AG who had allowed them into the court. The AG pointed to an official of the Sindh High Court. It may be pointed out that entry into the court room is through a pass issued by the Registrar, SHC. Justice Ahmed then observed: "This is my court; no one can allow them in my court. I will not allow intelligence people in civvies in my court." After a little pause he ordered the intelligence and rangers officials to leave the courtroom and observed that "in these circumstances I can't try this case." He also observed that under these circumstances it was not possible for him to conduct the proceedings in a free and fair manner. In his brief order Justice Shabbir Ahmed said the "matter is transferred to the Court of Rehmat Hussain Jafferi, ATC No.1, Karachi, for disposal according to law." He also remanded the accused to the judicial custody, for production before Judge Jafferi on Jan 17. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000113 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Plane conspiracy case: Nawaz's petition on jurisdiction rejected ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Jan 12: Justice Shabbir Ahmed, the administrative judge of the anti-terrorism courts, dismissed the defence petition challenging the court's jurisdiction in the Oct 12 plane conspiracy case and held that the case was triable by the anti-terrorism courts. Ijaz Hussain Batalvi, counsel for Nawaz Sharif, had filed a petition under section 196 of CrPC and all other enabling provisions for declaring the proceedings against the petitioner coram non-judice, unlawful, without jurisdiction and without lawful authority. The accused - Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif, Syed Ghous Ali Shah, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Rana Maqbool Ahmed, Saifur Rahman and Saeed Mehdi - have been charge-sheeted under sections 120-B, 121, 121A, 122, 123, 365, 402B, 109, 324 Qisas and Diyat/PPC and sections 6 and 7 of the Anti-terrorism Act, 1997. Justice Shabbir recalled Mr Batalvi's reference to various offences, including the charge of hijacking and waging war against Pakistan and the lodging of complaint by Lt-Col Ateequzzaman Kayani. Mr Batalvi had cited many cases in defence of his petition on the triability of the case while praying that cognisance of the challan being illegal, without jurisdiction, without lawful authority, and void ab initio, no proceedings could be commenced or continued against the petitioner. After examining various cases cited by the defence and the prosecution and various other cases, appropriate to interpret the relevant law, Justice Shabbir ordered that "the case in hand is under special law. The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure are inapplicable to the proceedings arising out of the special law by virtue of sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Code and section 32 of the Act, 1997, has overriding effect." He thus ruled that there being inconsistency and difference between provisions of section 30 of the Act and section 196 of CrPC, the provisions contained in the latter would not be applicable to the proceedings of the special court. In view of the above-mentioned inconsistency, section 32 of the Act would come into play and the bar contained in section 196 of CrPC would not in any way affect taking of cognisance by this court in exercising power under section 19 of the ATA Act, the order said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000113 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nawaz says country stands isolated ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Jan 12: Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif claimed on that Pakistan today stood isolated and was threatened with being declared a terrorist state. Talking to newsmen before the commencement of proceedings in the Oct 12 plane conspiracy case, Nawaz Sharif said: "Pakistan's image has suffered and it has been isolated due to military takeover." Mr Sharif's remarks were seen as a criticism of the government's statement, countering Indian accusations pertaining to the hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane and international reaction to the statement made by Azhar Masood, one of the freed Kashmiri freedom fighter. Mr Sharif claimed that he had taken initiatives for a negotiated settlement of the Kashmir issue, but the dismissal of his government on Oct 12 had altered the situation and tension in the region had increased. "Pakistan's security is at stake as it has become dangerously isolated," said the ousted prime minister who claimed that no investment was taking place and the government was begging the IMF for the release of 280 million dollars assistance. He claimed that SAARC had disowned Pakistan and the Commonwealth had suspended its membership since the military coup which toppled his government. Later, commenting on the transfer of his case by Justice Shabbir to the court of Judge Rehmat Hussain Jafferi, Mr Sharif said the order had vindicated his contention that the government's intentions were mala fide. "The order has proved that the government is not interested in a free and a fair trial. They have arrested an elected prime minister and want to hang him," alleged Mr Sharif, claiming that he and his colleagues had not committed any act of treason or crime but the entire nation had been taken as hostage to punish one man. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000113 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Saif made jailbreak plan, claims prosecution ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Jan 12: The prosecution in the Oct 12 plane conspiracy case alleged that the former chief of the Ehtesab Cell, Saifur Rehman, one of the six accused, had planned a jailbreak in the Landhi prison. This was disclosed by the Sindh advocate-general, Raja Qureshi, while making his submissions before justice Shabbir Ahmed. Claiming that a map of the premises of the Landhi prison, where all the six accused are lodged, was recovered from the daughter of Saifur Rehman during a search after she had met her father on the Eid day. He feared a jailbreak had been planned. Justice Shabbir asked him to move a proper application before placing the relevant documents on record. Later talking to newsmen outside his office about the alleged plan, Mr Qureshi said "a sketch was recovered from the daughter of Saifur Rehman." He identified the daughter as Ayesha and said that even the suspended senator had admitted drawing the sketch but was now giving a different interpretation. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000113 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Khair Bukhsh Marri shifted to Quetta jail ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent QUETTA, Jan 12: The chief of the Marri tribe, Nawab Khair Bukhsh Marri, was shifted to the Quetta district jail on judicial remand official sources said. Nawab Khair Bukhsh Marri was arrested from his residence by the police in connection with the murder of Justice Mohammad Nawaz Marri. Nawab Marri was nominated along with his five sons in the FIR lodged by the nephew of the late Justice Marri, Shah Jamal Marri. However, others nominated in the FIR have not been arrested so far. Meanwhile, the murder case of the late Justice Marri had been handed over to the Crime Investigation Agency so that the killers could be arrested as early as possible, official sources said. A team of senior CIA officers had been constituted for investigation into the murder case. They added that during interrogation some suspects of the Marri tribe had divulged useful information. The police and the officials of the local administration continued to raid various areas for the arrest of the late Justice Marri's killers. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000114 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Marri remanded in police custody ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent QUETTA, Jan 13: Nawab Khair Bukhsh Marri who was arrested in connection with Justice Mohammad Nawaz Marri's murder case, was produced before the Special Judge Anti-Terrorism Court, Mohammad Akbar Achakzai, here on Thursday. The Special Judge, ATC remanded Nawab Marri in the police custody for 10 days. On this occasion heavy security arrangements were made around the court. Contingents of police, Balochistan Reserve Police (BRP), Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) and Frontier Constabulary were deployed on the roads leading to the Anti-Terrorism Court. No other person except police officials and local administration officials were allowed to enter the area. Nawab Khair Bukhsh Marri was brought in an official vehicle of the district administration while over two dozen vehicles of police and ATF were providing cover to the vehicle carrying Nawab Marri from District Jail to Anti-Terrorism Court. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000114 ------------------------------------------------------------------- High Court allows Asif's revision appeal ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, Jan 13: A division bench of the Sindh High Court allowed the criminal revision appeal of Asif Ali Zardari. The appeal was made against the judgment of the district and sessions judge Karachi Central for shifting proceedings of the double-murder case of Justice Nizam Ahmed and his son, Nadeem Ahmed, from a Special Court of Suppression of Terrorism Activities (STA) to an anti- terrorism court. The sessions judge had ordered the transfer of the case to an ATC on the application of the investigation officer (IO) of the case, a CIA DSP. In the application, he had requested for transfer of the matter to an ATC. Nizam Ahmed and his son, Nadeem Ahmed, were murdered with automatic weapons in PECHS area of Karachi on June 10, 1996. The police had proved involvement of Asif Zardari. The IO of the case had also prayed to submit the challan in an ATC. Farooq H. Naek, counsel for Asif Zardari, challenging the orders of the sessions court, submitted before a division bench of the SHC, consisting of Justice Hamid Ali Mirza and Justice Ashraf Leghari, that his client was not involved in any terrorism and was implicated in the case on political grounds. He said the police arrested Javed Pirzada and another accused, who named his client, after being tortured at CIA police stations.-PPI/APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000112 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Natural gas regulatory authority established ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Faraz Hashmi ISLAMABAD, Jan 11: The government on promulgated an ordinance seeking establishment of Natural Gas Regulatory Authority (NGRA), in a major legislative step towards the privatization of two major gas distribution companies of the country. The delay in creation of NGRA had stalled the whole privatization program of Sui Northern and Sui Southern gas pipeline companies, which has been on cards for the last a decade. The privatization commission of Pakistan despite its best efforts could not get the law passed in the previous Muslim League government as certain vested interests were not in favor of privatization of the two major gas distribution companies. The authority, comprising a chairman and two members - designated as member, technical, and member, finance - will have the exclusive powers to issue licenses and regulate gas distribution activity in the country. The authority, keeping consumers interests supreme, will also prescribe, review, approve and regulate tariffs, the ordinance said. It will also have the powers to determine the well- head gas prices for the producers in accordance with the relevant agreements or contract. The ordinance laid out a procedure for determination of gas prices for retail consumers. The authority, after determining total revenue requirement of a licenses, will prescribe the prices for different categories of retail consumers, it added. Under the newly-promulgated ordinance all the applicants for the distribution licenses would have to get themselves registered as a company under the provision of the companies ordinance 1984, unless specifically exempted by the authority. The authority will also be open to public scrutiny and as per the terms and conditions it will maintain public files containing all relevant documents. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000112 ------------------------------------------------------------------- WAPDA labor unions: ILO to get aid suspended if ban not lifted ------------------------------------------------------------------- By M. Ziauddin ISLAMABAD, Jan 11: The International Labor Organization (ILO) has warned Pakistan that if restrictions on WAPDA's labor unions were not lifted by May this year it will be constrained to ask the World Bank and the IMF to suspend aid to Pakistan . The ILO experts' committee which reviewed reports, received in case No 2006 in Nov 1999, had recommended that the ILO governing body approve a six-point indictment against the government of Pakistan. The case, No 2006, was initiated on a complaint filed with the ILO by the All Pakistan Federation of Trade Unions (APFTU) in Feb 1999. The Public Service International (PSI) and the International Federation of Free Trade Unions (CFTU) have also associated themselves with this complaint. The FOGSEW filed their complaint with the ILO on June 8, 1999. The ILO experts' committee has also recommended that the promulgation of Ordinance NoXX of 1998, which suspended the trade union rights of WAPDA workers and prevented the WAPDA Hydroelectric Central Labor Union (HCLU) from carrying out its normal trade union activities, be deplored. The committee urged the government to immediately repeal ordinance V, replaced by the subsequent Ordinance XIV of 1999, promulgated on Sept 24, with a view to re-establish the registration of the Pakistan WAPDA HCLU. It also requested the government to ensure that the practice of deducting trade union dues was resumed without delay. The committee further urged the government to reply, without delay, to the allegations of the Federation of Oil, Gas, Steel and Electricity Workers (FOGSEW), contained in a communication dated June 8, 1999. It also recommended deploring the fact that certain WAPDA and KESC union officials were retired forcibly. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000113 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US may not release list of Pakistan firms ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent WASHINGTON, Jan 12: The much-awaited list of Pakistan entities to be exempted from nuclear sanctions may not be released by the US, a senior state department official indicated. The release of the Pakistan list was expected soon after the commerce department exempted 51 Indian companies in the middle of December, but now the state department says there may not be a special list for Pakistan entities. "There may be a mis-perception that there was a separate Pakistan list that we were just getting ready to release," the official said when asked about the removal of sanctions on Pakistan entities. "We reviewed the entities in both countries (in December) and the list we came up with was released. We are continuing the review process and there could be further entities taken off, or added on. Its an on-going process. There was not supposed to be a Pakistan list as such," the official told Dawn. He explained that the process of removing companies from the sanctions list was not a political process. "It is a technical process. You can't separate on the basis of countries. It was not a special India list (released in December) and there is no special Pakistan list," he said. The same official had in December said the process was not a balancing act between India and Pakistan and the inter-agency committee would review the list of Pakistan entities and the same criterion would be applied. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000113 ------------------------------------------------------------------- UK govt split over arms embargo on Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Nasir Malick LONDON, Jan 12: The Labour government cabinet is split over a proposal to lift restrictions on arms sales to Pakistan and Defense and Industries Secretaries are pressing for an end to a freeze on 80 arms exports licenses imposed by the government after October's military take-over in Pakistan. According to leaked cabinet office papers, The Guardian claimed that cabinet ministers are embroiled in one of the biggest internal disputes since Labor came into power over the issue of lifting arms embargo from Pakistan. Quoting minutes from a cabinet office meeting last month, the paper said that Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon and Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers are pressing for an end to a freeze on 80 arms exports licenses imposed after last October's military take-over. But Foreign Secretary Robin Cook and International Development Secretary Clare Short are "implacably opposed" and still committed to the principle of an "ethical foreign policy". The British foreign secretary was in the forefront of a campaign that was aimed at having Pakistan suspended from almost every Commonwealth body following the military take-over. "The whole arms issue is one of the most emotive facing Labor ministers and MPs, exposing the line between support for the defense industry and support for democratic government and genuine aid projects," the paper said. The paper quoted a junior minister, opposed to the arms sales, as saying that: "If we lose this, it will be Indonesia next, and Nigeria after that. This is the filthy end of foreign policy." The paper quoted the minister as saying that Prime Minister Tony Blair's track record had been poor on arms, tending to side with the powerful DTI and the ministry of defense axis. The issue has cropped up at a time when British Defence Chief Sir Charles Guthrie will be arriving in Pakistan on Thursday for high- level talks with General Pervez Musharraf. Although no formal arms embargo was imposed by Britain, the paper quoted the Foreign Office as having confirmed on Tuesday that no new applications for export licenses had been approved since the army take-over. The leaked minutes disclose that senior civil servants from the Department of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Defence, Foreign Office, Department of International Development, Treasury and Customs and Excise met at the cabinet office on Dec 8. The minutes, dated the following day, record that "as part of our initial response to the October coup, the government decided to keep all current arms export applications for Pakistan under review until the situation becomes clearer. As a result, there are something like 80 pending applications and exporters are becoming increasingly impatient and suspicious." The minutes note: "EU partners seem to be doing business as usual and show no signs of wanting to contemplate an arms embargo." Crucially, they add: "MoD and DTI, therefore, wish to expedite the consideration of these applications in the normal way." According to the paper, other cabinet papers show that Mr Cook "agreed strongly" that there should be no return to the normal flow of military hardware until Pakistan provided firm commitments. Another paper said that Ms Short was "strongly opposed to the Whitehall consensus in favor of processing outstanding export license applications to Pakistan. "The secretary of state's (Ms Short's) view is that it is outrageous to consider arms exports before the International Monetary Fund program and aid have been re-engaged." International Development Secretary Clare Short had suspended an aid program for Pakistan after the military takeover in October. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000114 ------------------------------------------------------------------- UK cabinet split over licenses for arms export to Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent LONDON, Jan 13: The chances of new licenses for arms exports to Pakistan being approved by the British government look increasingly unlikely after the department of trade and industry said it would abide by the foreign office advice and not insist on lifting the ban. This was reported by The Guardian newspaper. It had carried a front-page story, based on leaked cabinet documents, claiming that there was a split in the cabinet with department of trade and industry and ministry of defense trying to expedite 80 export licenses frozen after the military take-over in Pakistan. It said that the foreign office and the department of international trade (DIT) were opposing the lifting of the unofficial embargo. In a follow-up story, The Guardian on Thursday quoted an un-named source in DTI as saying that said the trade and industry secretary, Stephen Byers, will not act against the advice of the foreign office on such matters. The paper said although the government officials did not publicly comment on the leaked documents but confirmed privately that the minutes were accurate. "If the battle between the DTI-MoD axis and the FO and international development duo had continued, the issue would have had to be resolved by 10 Downing Street," the paper claimed. Prime Minister Tony Blair played down the disclosures of a rift between ministers over foreign policy during the question hour in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon. He was pressed by Liberal Democrat leader, Charles Kennedy, who said he wanted to challenge him over his promise of pursuing an ethical foreign policy. "Now does he support the foreign secretary and the international development secretary in opposing the resumption of arms sales to Pakistan until democratic guarantees are in place?" Mr Kennedy asked. Mr Blair replied: "This question is based on a misunderstanding. As far as I am aware, there is no dispute between government departments at all. As far as I am aware, there are no proposed [arms] sales taking place." Later, Mr Kennedy wrote to Mr Blair: "It is reported in today's Guardian, based on a cabinet minutes of December 8, 1999, that there should be a return to normal sales of arms to Pakistan - a move that was strongly resisted by Clare Short and Robin Cook. Was that not the case?" Meanwhile The Times newspaper said on Thursday that Prime Minister Tony Blair had sent Gen Charles Guthrie, the Chief of the Defence Staff, to Pakistan as a special envoy to try to persuade the military leader to restore democracy. Gen Guthrie has known Gen Pervaiz Musharraf for many years. "The decision to use the good offices of Gen Guthrie came after a meeting between the prime minister, Robin Cook, the foreign secretary, and Geoffrey Hoon, the defence secretary," the paper said, adding that the foreign office sources said they agreed the general was in a unique position to talk frankly on a "military man to military man" basis with Gen Musharraf. It quoted foreign office sources as saying that the government was concerned that since the coup there had been little progress in returning Pakistan to democratic rule. The paper said although Sir David Dain, the high commissioner in Islamabad, had been underlining the government's concern about Gen Musharraf's failure to give a timetable for democratic elections, it was felt that a meeting with Gen Guthrie might provide additional pressure. "Although the 61-year-old chief of the defense staff is not a military contemporary of the 56-year-old Pakistan leader, their career paths have crossed on several occasions. Both were their respective country's army chief of staff. They also share a special forces background," the paper said . "Gen Guthrie spent several years in the SAS as a young officer and is the new commandant of the special air service. Gen Musharraf trained as a member of Pakistan's special services group commandos and saw action in wars with India in 1965 and 1971." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000114 ------------------------------------------------------------------- UK urges immediate talks on Kashmir ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Hasan Akhtar ISLAMABAD, Jan 13: Gen Charles Guthrie, British chief of the defense staff, expressed deep concern on the Kashmir situation and regional security environment and called for resumption of the stalled Pakistan-India talks as early as possible. The British chief of defense staff, who was speaking to a group of journalists shortly after having talks with Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf, said he was "deeply worried" over the Kashmir situation. Which, according to him, looked dangerous for some time because the two nations, Pakistan and India, had been at loggerheads over the Kashmir problem. He said he hoped Pakistan and India would "find ways to revive the Lahore process, addressing the issue bilaterally which divides them". The situation, he observed, had become more dangerous following the nuclear tests in 1998 by the two countries. Gen Guthrie said that among other subjects the two generals had also discussed the recent hijacking of an Indian airliner, and observed they agreed that terrorism was a scourge in the world and its perpetrators needed to be brought to justice. The British defense chief said Pakistan had not made any specific arms supply requests during the talks with Gen Musharraf. No arms embargo, he said, had been imposed against Pakistan but pointed out that existing Pakistan's requests for arms from Britain were taking long to process as it might happen in cases of requests from other states. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000113 ------------------------------------------------------------------- LHCBA rejects any move to sign CTBT ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Jan 12: A general body meeting of the Lahore High Court Bar Association unanimously rejected any move to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty after hearing the views of a former ISI chief and a nuclear scientist on the issue. Lt-Gen (retd) Hamid Gul described the pressure to sign CTBT as a conspiracy to deprive Pakistan of its nuclear capability and turn the people against their army. There was no need for a debate as the nation was determined to refine its nuclear devices and carry out explosions for the dual purpose of security and economic development. No government, particularly an unrepresentative one, has the authority to accede to the treaty. He distributed a booklet containing his views on the matter and urged the lawyers to mobilize public opinion against the signing of the CTBT. The former director of the Inter-Services Intelligence particularly criticised Foreign Minister Abdus Sattar for favouring the treaty after opposing it vehemently in a newspaper article co-authored by him, former foreign minister Agha Shahi and former PAF chief Air Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan on Oct 5 last. The objectives of the CTBT, he warned, are not confined to testing but embrace the whole gamut of nuclear research and Pakistan would eventually be asked to roll back its nuclear program. Foreign inspectors would land in Pakistan within 72 hours of a complaint lodged by any country and five monitoring devices are already lying with the US embassy in Islamabad to keep track of Pakistan's nuclear activities. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000113 ------------------------------------------------------------------- FM protests against charge of treason ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Jan 12: Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar has protested against the charge of treason being put on those who are favouring the signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), adding that there was no need to become emotional over the issue. In a statement issued here, the Foreign Office said that the foreign minister had protested against the charge of treason against those who had supported the signing of the CTBT in the ongoing debate over the issue. "He (the foreign minister) did not in any way, question the integrity and patriotism of Qazi Hussain Ahmad Sahib, Amir, Jamaat Islami, for whom he cherishes abiding respect, as he has informed Qazi Sahib in his letter of Jan 10. Nor did he made any comment in any conversation on the stance of Jamaat-i-Islami prior to 1947," the FO statement said. "We need to understand what this treaty is and what it is not. The nation should discuss and debate its merits. Only thus, can we rise above slogans to a higher and more sophisticated level of understanding of our national interests," the FO statement quoted Mr Sattar as saying. The statement said that the government was determined to maintain and develop Pakistan's nuclear capability to ensure a credible and reliable deterrence against manifest threats to its security. It said that as the foreign minister had explained in his analysis on Jan 4, that the CTBT aimed only and exclusively at the prohibition of further nuclear tests and it had no bearing whatsoever on the existing strategic arsenals or even on their enlargement. It said that whenever the CTBT came into force, every state would be bound to refrain from conducting any nuclear tests. "If, before the treaty comes into force, another state conducts a test, Pakistan too will have the option to do so irrespective of whether it has signed the treaty or not," the FO statement concluded.
=================================================================== BUSINESS & ECONOMY 20000115 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sindh to move court against WAPDA on power billing ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Sabihuddin Ghausi KARACHI, Jan 14: The Sindh government has decided to seek judicial injunction from the Sindh High Court on implementation of the award given two months ago by the Federal Arbitrator, Justice Shafiur Rehman, on its dispute with the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) on presumptive electricity billing. "We are approaching the Sindh High Court next week on the federal arbitrator's award on the issue of presumptive electricity billing by WAPDA," the Sindh Advocate-General, Raja Qureshi, told Dawn. Raja Qureshi was given the task to consider legal options available to the Sindh government after WAPDA reportedly rejected the position taken by the provincial government that it would accept the federal arbitrator's award but with correction in the liability payable to WAPDA to Rs1.15 billion from Rs2.7 billion. "The cause of action is in Sindh and the consequences are also here and therefore the Sindh High Court is the competent forum to take up this issue," Mr Qureshi offered the argument while disclosing that according to the information received by him. WAPDA too, had approached a civil court in Rawalpindi on the issue. "So far we have not been served any notice," he pointed out. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000115 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CE gets list of IPPs cases today ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Jan 14: The Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) will submit to the Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf the list of corruption cases involving Independent Power Producers (IPPs) which it proposes to pursue, an official told Dawn. The list is contained in a report which has been prepared by the WAPDA in the light of specific instructions from the chief executive Gen. Musharraf in his address to the nation on December 15 in which he had identified government's row with IPPs as a major irritant. Which he said had damaged Pakistan's image as an investor friendly country. HUBCO, KAPPCO and Uch Power are the three major IPPs which have remained under investigation. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000112 ------------------------------------------------------------------- HUBCO's debt service payment released ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, Jan 11: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has made available and released the foreign exchange for payment of the Hub Power Co Ltd's fifth scheduled debt service payment which was due on January 11, 2000. An amount of 50.9 million US dollars will now be remitted to the senior lenders to cover the principal and interest payments for HUBCO's Senior foreign currency debt, a press release of HUBCO said in Karachi Tuesday. The total debt payment in rupee equivalent of Rs 4052 million is greater than the foreign exchange component of 50.9 million US dollars as it includes a rupee component also, paid to the National Development Finance Corporation as well as Foreign Exchange Risk Insurance payments to the SBP. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000112 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Exports finance 83.97pc of imports during July-Dec '99 ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Muhammad Ilyas ISLAMABAD, Jan 11: The proportion of imports paid for by exports during the last six months declined by about 3.17 per cent, as compared to the period July-December, 1998. According to the provisional statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics, exports, totalling $4.1bn and 7.42% higher than the comparable period of last year, covered 83.97% of the imports ($4.88bn). In July-Dec, 1998, the ratio of imports covered by exports was 87.14%. Nevertheless, the figures show a slight improvement in the share of manufacturing exports. In July-December, 1998, their share in total exports was 88.83%. During the last 6 months, the exports covered 88.50% of total exports. However, these exports registered a growth rate of 7.0%. The textile manufactures totalled $2.68bn, 65.40% of total exports. During the comparable period of last year, their contribution to export receipts was 65.27%. The growth rate of these manufactures during the last six months has been 7.65%, compared to 8.93% increase during July-November, 1999. Lower growth is attributable to a decline of 3.21% during December 1999. Of this, 18.19% was constituted by the exports of cotton yarn. According to statistics, the country exported 227,869 tons of cotton yarn, up 14.75% from the corresponding period of last year. The statistics also show that the cotton yarn was exported at lower unit rate than last year. Consequently, in dollar terms, the growth rate was actually half that of the growth rate in terms of quantity. Similar trend is observed in respect of cotton fabrics. Although, quantitatively, their exports soared by 24.19%, the accrual in the shape of foreign exchange was only 3.18% higher. Yet, in terms of dollars, cotton fabrics come out on top. Their exports totalled $548.4m in the last six months. However, this reduces the share of cotton fabrics in total textile manufactures exports from 21.32% last year to 20.43% last year. Other textile manufactures, which have shown positive export trend, in the first half of 1999-2000, in dollar terms were: knitwear (9.67%), bed wear (1669%), readymade garments (10.21%), tarpaulin & canvas goods (13.96%), tule, lace embroidery etc. (106.29%), synthetic textile fabrics (0.49%) and other textile made-up (excluding towels & bed-wear) (18.72%). Towels, cotton bags/sacks and waste material of textile fabrics are the only items whose exports declined, respectively, by 13.82%, 10.39% and 3.16%. But their share in total textile manufactures is negligible. It is in the category "Other Manufactures" that the six-month period under report shows better performance (9.45%) than during the preceding five months (5.55%). The exports of this category of manufactures totalled $584.3 m, thus improving their share in total exports from 13.97 in July-Dec, 1998, to 14.24% in the same period of current financial year. In this category, highest accrual was from the export of leather manufactures - $184.4m. This is, however, 10.13% lower than during the same period in 1998-99. All the other items in this category including carpets, sports goods, surgical instruments, cutlery etc. have shown positive trend. Primary commodities: This category accounted for 11.50% of total exports, as against 11.17% during the corresponding period of last year. As usual, highest item of export was rice. The quantity of rice exported during this period was 744,233 tons, up 13.81% from last year. A slight improvement in price is also indicated, because in dollar terms, the accrual was up by 14.15%. As regards raw cotton, the country exported 12,046 tons,781.20% more than last year. But the slump in international market was translated into lower increase in quantity of its export - 420.27%. The price fetched by raw cotton this year was $773.5 per ton as against $1310.1 per ton last year. Imports: Petroleum group has again emerged as the top item of import during the period. In terms of dollars, their import bill has gone up by 80.54% in the last 6 months from $664.93m in July- December 1998 to $1.2bn in the corresponding period of current year. Partly, this is due to increase in international rate. For quantity-wise, the import of petroleum products went up by 16.14%, while that of petroleum crude has dropped by 6.68%. During July-Dec, 1999, the average price was $150.15 per ton for pet. products, as against $93.87 per ton in the same period last year. As regards pet. crude, the average import price rose from $91.04 per ton to $165.19 ton this year. In Dec, 1999, the price of both the groups of items underwent further increase - to $197.99 per ton for pet. products and $185.23 per ton for pet. crude, showing an increase of $32.91 and $3.64, respectively. Compared to Dec 1998, the per ton price is quite dramatic: $111.86 per ton for pet. products and $106.28 per ton for pet. crude. Quantity-wise, however, the import of both items decreased, respectively, by 3.91% and 2.35%. With two exception, imports of all the major groups show decline: Food group by 49.50%, Machinery group by 19.43%, Textile group, Agricultural & other chemicals group by 5.98% and miscellaneous group by 9.52%. In terms of dollars, Metal Group has increased its import bill by 22.78%. However, within the agricultural group, the import of insecticides went up by 22.53%. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000115 ------------------------------------------------------------------- HBL to be privatised in one go: Altaf ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Jan 14: The Government has decided to privatise Habib Bank Limited (HBL) in one go, Altaf Saleem, Chairman Privatisation Commission said. Earlier, there was a proposal to privatise HBL by offering its different networks - Middle East branches, foreign branches and local branches - separately. "We have finally decided to offer the HBL as a whole," the Chairman said here. HBL, one of the largest commercial bank of the country, was established in 1941 and operated in the private sector until it was nationalised in 1974. Apart from the huge network, it has at home, the Bank has its foreign network spread in Europe, Middle East, Far East, Asia, Africa and the United States. Responding to a question, the Chairman said, the Privatisation Plan is almost in final stages and will be ready by the end of the current month to be presented to the government for approval. "Once the plan is approved by the government, we will start the process," he said. -APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000115 ------------------------------------------------------------------- KSE 100-share index gains another 45 points ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Jan 14: The KSE index gained another 45 points or three per cent. The KSE 100-share index breached the second psychological barrier of 1,600 point during week, signalling that its next chart point could be 1,750.00 if all goes well with the current background news. It was last quoted around 1,626.10 as compared to 1,581.60 a day earlier, up 44.50 points or 3.5%. The total market capitalisation, showed a fresh increase of Rs13bn at Rs417.164bn as compared to Rs406.264bn a day earlier but it has to go a long way to match its previous peak level of Rs604bn hit some five years back. Plus signs were again strewn all over the list, with leading shares being in the forefront of leading gainers under the lead of IGI, PIC, Pakistan Refinery, Al-Ghazi Tractors, Packages, Lever Brothers, Rafhan Best Foods and Rafhan Maize, which posted gains ranging from Rs4.00 to Rs35.00. But the largest gain of Rs22.00 was noted in BOC Pakistan. Other good gainers were led by Dewan Salman, National Refinery, Glaxo-Welcome and several others, rising by Rs3.55 to Rs3.85 amid active trading. Losses on the other hand were mostly fractional barring Prudential Modaraba, EFU General, KASB Pumps, Century Paper and Nestle Milkpak, which suffered decline ranging from Rs1.45 to Rs11.00. Dewan Khalid Textiles and Dewan Textiles, which were quoted ex- dividend were also traded lower by Rs6.00 and Rs30.27 respectively. Trading volume rose to the third best figure of 275m shares in its trading history, the previous records being 290 and 315m shares as gainers maintained a strong lead over the last losers despite late selling. PTCL again topped the list of most active, up 70 paisa at Rs25.85 on 65m shares followed by Hub-Power, unchanged at Rs24.00 on 51m shares, ICI Pakistan, easy 10 paisa at Rs12.25 on 13m shares, PSO, higher Rs1.10 at Rs224.00 on 13m shares, Fauji Fertiliser, higher Rs1.30 at Rs59.75 on 10m shares. Other actively traded shares were led by Sui Northern, up Rs1.80 on 25m shares, followed by Dhan Fibre, higher by Rs1.65 on 11m shares, Japan Power, firm Rs1.20 on 10m shares, KESC, steady by 35 paisa on 9m shares, Adamjee Insurance, up Rs1.95 on 7m shares, Nishat Mills, higher Rs2.20 on 3m shares, ICP SEMF, firm 40 paisa on 2m shares and MCB, up Rs1.55 on 1.293m shares. DEFAULTING COMPANIES: Shares of six companies came in for alternate bouts of buying amid active ready off-take. While Allied Motors was marked up by 75 paisa on 2,000 shares, Suzuki Motorcycle fell by 15 paisa on 3,000 shares. Mian Textiles and some others accounted for 1,500 to 2,000 shares. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000113 ------------------------------------------------------------------- KSE records highest turnover ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, Jan 12: Karachi Stock Exchange registered the highest turnover of 314.769 million shares in its history. The previous record was that of 290.059 million shares on May 25, 1999. Another record was the highest number of trades in a single day: Wednesday (Jan 12) the market executed 50355 trades while the previous record was that of 42769 as on July 6, 1999. The KSE-100 index has also increased by 71 points and touched the mark of 1570.85. The total market capitalisation has increased by Rs16.18 billion reaching at Rs403.71 billion, the KSE added. At one stage the KSE 100-share index was up 90 points or 7 per cent but late selling pushed it down to finish around 1,570.85 points, up 71.05 points or five per cent as compared to 1,499.80 on last Thursday. The market advance was led by the energy sector where all the leading shares rose sharply under the lead of PSO and Hub-Power, which responded favorably to news that the central bank has allowed it to remit $50 million to clear its foreign debt. Trading volume soared to an all-time record of 315m shares as gainers held a strong lead over the losers at 169 to 36, with 30 shares holding on to the last levels. The most active list was topped by Hub-Power, up Rs1.60 at Rs23.65 on 88m shares followed by PTCL, higher 85 paisa at Rs24.60 on 62m shares. Sui Northern was higher Rs4.00 at Rs18.30 on 41m shares, PSO, up Rs11.00 at Rs223.95 on 24m shares, ICI Pakistan, firm 15 paisa at Rs11.40 on 23m shares, and Adamjee Insurance, higher Rs7.40 at Rs66.20 on 9m shares. Other actively traded shares were led by KESC,up 80 paisa on 15m shares followed by Fauji Fertiliser, higher one rupee on 10m shares, Sui Southern, higher by Rs.5.95 on 6m shares and Japan Power, up 45 pasia on 5m shares. DEFAULTING COMPANIES: Mian Textiles came in for active selling and was marked down by 10 pasia on 7,000 shares followed by Bilal Fibre, unchanged on 2,000 and Ravi Rayon,up five paisa also on 2,000 shares. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000114 ------------------------------------------------------------------- KSE automated system collapses ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Jan 13: Afternoon trading at Karachi Stock Exchange was suspended due to some technical faults in its Automated Trading System. The KATS refused to take in massive load of the rising volume thus bringing the entire system to a halt. Technical staff was able to re-establish the system in the evening. Some experts associated with the leading brokerage houses claim there could be more breakdowns of the system in future too, as "it is pretty difficult for the system to expand beyond its inherent intake capacity". DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000114 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Trading suspended after KATS goes out of order ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Jan 13: The Automated Trading System of the Karachi Stock Exchange refused to take in the massive load of the rising volume and went out of order and the management has to suspended trading for the afternoon session. The KSE index ended with an extended gain of 10.75 points at 1,581.60 points. The technical staff remained at the job all through late afternoon hours signalling to the KSE authorities that KATS is now perfectly in order and normal trading can be resumed. But some technical experts associated with the leading brokerage houses claim there could be more breakdowns of the system in future too as �it is pretty difficult for it to expand beyond its inherent intake capacity.� Another leading stock analyst said there could be some fault in the Central Depository System(CDS) but the technical staff is not coming out with a precise answer to the questions of the members. � The CDS system develops technical fault whenever the volume figure crosses the 250m share mark', he said added 'I presume the system is not capable of taking in large volume say over 250m shares daily.' Although official index figure was not available, it has certainly breached another psychological barrier of 1,600 points, breaking two barriers in identical sessions. In the morning session, the KSE 100-share index showed a fresh rise of 10.75 points at 1,581.60 and advancing shares held a modest lead over the losers at 84 to 75, with 41 shares holding on to the last levels, out of the 200 actives. Trading volume fell to 147.348m shares as compared to 315m shares a day earlier bulk of which went to the credit of PTCL and Hub-Power. The most active list was again topped by PTCL, up 55 paisa at Rs25.15 on 40m shares followed by Hub-Power higher 35 paisa at Rs24.00. Also on 40m shares, Sui Northern, lower 15 paisa at Rs18.15 on 6m shares, PSO, off one rupee at Rs222.90 on 5m shares and ICI Pakistan, easy five paisa at Rs11.35 on 3m shares. Other actively traded shares were led by KESC, easy 10 paisa on 2m shares, followed by ICP SEMF, higher Rs1,45 on 2m shares, Adamjee Insurance, up Rs1.75 on 2m shares, Japan Power, up five paisa on 1.665m shares and Fauji Fertiliser up 35 paisa on 1.602m shares.Back to the top
===================================================================
EDITORIALS & FEATURES
20000114
-------------------------------------------------------------------
�Kuch ishq kiya, kuch kaam kiya�
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ayaz Amir
THIS is the title of a short poem by Faiz in which he says that in
his life he did a bit of work and made some love but because his
attention was split he turned out to be a failure both in work and
love. Accordingly: Aakhir tang aakar, donon ko adhoora chorh diya
(in the end, getting tired of it all, left both half-done).
This has been the story of my life too: a victim of dreams and
vague yearnings, now trying one thing and now another and in the
process piling up few successes and a string of failures. And yet,
this being the important thing, not drawing any lesson from my
follies. Even now as I approach my 50th year I am far from being
the �magnanimous man� of whom Aristotle says he should have �a slow
step...a deep voice and a level utterance.� In many things I remain
a fool and even now a pretty dress or a well-turned ankle, to put
it no stronger than this, is enough to ensure the crumbling of what
little poise I possess.
I pen these confessions for no other reason than to make a feeble
point. And it is this: that in the singular inability to draw any
lessons from my past I find a remarkable affinity between myself
and my country. When in a harsh mood with myself over the waste of
my life, I derive perverse comfort from the knowledge that entities
greater than myself have also made a bonfire of their
opportunities.
What puts me in this maudlin strain this morning (the sky outside
being of the same cast as my humour) is the news from Karachi where
the high court judge hearing the so-called hijacking case against
Nawaz Sharif and his co-accused has, in a fit of pique or a state
of distress, sent the case back to the junior court where it was
originally being heard.
Now there will be more lawyers� arguments and the government will
be drawn further into this legal net. While this was supposed to be
an open-and-shut case, it is now more than three months old already
with some of the preliminary stages still to be cleared.
In some respects if not all, this case is reminiscent of Bhutto�s
trial more than 20 years ago. The years seem to make no difference
to the set patterns of our history: the exercise of arbitrary power
by one ruler followed by the vindictiveness of those who come after
him. Before we talk of making Pakistan a shining model of progress
we should at least learn how to manage an orderly transition of
power. I deliberately did not say a �constitutional� transition
because abiding by the spirit of the Constitution somehow seems
beyond our wildest capabilities.
Compounding the military government�s problems is its attempt to
sit on two stools at the same time. It is a military government in
all but name and therefore quite capable of being ruthless when it
perceives its real or imagined interests to be threatened. Yet at
the same time it is fiddling with open courts and a free press.
Long may this contradiction last (for if it does not I at least
will be out of a job) but in the plane hijacking case this
contradiction is giving the government a headache. As time passes,
it might cause further problems elsewhere.
That Nawaz Sharif was a high-flying figure of limited ability who
yet dreamt of being Prince Salim and the Emperor Shahjahan rolled
into one is something easily granted. But he has been deposed and
from the heights of power flung into the depths of Landhi prison.
The Greeks, contemplating this, would say this was tragedy enough.
Obviously our sense of justice is keener than that of the Greeks
because time and again we have proved that driving a fox into his
hole is not enough and that hunting honor is not satisfied unless
the fox is torn limb from limb in an orgy of blood.
If there were corruption cases against Nawaz Sharif it would have
been more worthwhile from the military�s point of view to pursue
them and go a bit easy on the hijacking case which, far from being
a national issue, is beginning to look too much like a Musharraf vs
Sharif standoff. But in its hurried wisdom the army has put
everything on this case and now that it is running into
difficulties the army leadership�s attention is bound to be
distracted from other things.
On the morning after October 12 there was a clear choice before the
army: (1) to assume the burden of government and in due course sink
into the mud like previous incarnations of the military spirit or
(2) to perform a quick act of surgery, cut its losses and leave it
to the political process to mop up the blood from the floor and get
on with the business of restoring the country to the constitutional
path.
The first was the easy and ready-to-hand option; the second
required a keen sense of judgement. True to our collective worth,
the first option was chosen and the second not even considered and
this is why, instead of soaring like the eagle and seeing things in
totality from a distance, the country�s new rulers are stuck with
their noses to the ground, involved in the nitty-gritty of everyday
things. If this were a command and staff exercise those opting for
this solution would have had some tough explaining to do.
But this is the real thing and not a mock exercise on a sand table
and its tragedy is that any explaining will come later while the
price of failure and confusion will be paid by the nation. When the
Ayubs, the Zia-ul-Haqs, the Marcoses and Suhartos sit in state on
their thrones they are immune from any questions. When they depart
into the shades of history with some of them as loaded with gold
as the pharaohs used to be on entering their tombs the wreckage
they leave behind has to be cleared up by others. Often it is so
great it has to be left where it is, poisoning both the soil and
the atmosphere. Are we doomed to repeat this cycle for sins
committed in an earlier life?
As an MPA in Punjab when Shahbaz Sharif was master of all he
surveyed, I sometimes was invited to high-level meetings where the
Punjab strongman (always very nice to me) used to ask my opinion
about sundry subjects usually connected with law and order. Shahbaz
was addicted to meetings and to setting up task forces for every
subject under the sun. Once or twice I could not help telling him
that he should take time out to sit by himself in the evening, lean
his head back and try to see things in perspective. Whether he took
my advice or not is beside the point. Apart from men of real worth,
most of us, when caught in a rush, are unable to see the wood for
the trees.
Commanding the Pakistan army, one might have supposed, was a full-
time job. But from Ayub Khan onwards, a succession of army
commanders have obviously thought otherwise. Which is why like
Faiz�s lover they have done a bit of this and a bit of that and
ended by doing nothing well at all.
The situation is not much different today. General Musharraf too is
in a rush: meetings, foreign visits, governance, reform,
accountability, Sattar�s strange obsession with the CTBT and, in
the midst of this confusion, trying to set, with the assistance of
an inept team, a direction for his regime.
To move beyond the sphere of municipal administration and the
removal of encroachments, twin activities to which the new order
has taken with great zest, the military government must have a
political plan. But it has none or at least none in sync with
reality. At the same time, it is afflicted with a strong sense of
infallibility which prevents it from thinking in terms of an
orderly withdrawal. So, despite appearances, it is stuck on the
same spot with the nation too condemned to mark time as it watches
with tired eyes a familiar drama being repeated one more time.
Apology: Last week I put my foot in my mouth by saying Hindus and
Muslims were two distinct �races� which was a sad and inappropriate
choice of words. For this very sorry.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
20000115
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Hijacking: where do we go from here?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Shahid M. Amin
THE week-long hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane on Christmas
eve, which so vividly gripped the attention of the peoples of the
subcontinent in particular and that of the world media in general,
is likely to cast a long shadow over Indo-Pakistan relations. Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has already come out with the
extraordinary statement that the world community declare Pakistan a
"terrorist state." This is unlikely to happen.
However, the very fact that such a categoric statement should have
been made by the Indian prime minister shows the extent of the
damage done by the events of the last fortnight to the already
strained adversarial relationship between India and Pakistan.
Vajpayee has had the reputation of being a relatively cool-headed
and moderate leader, notably in the context of Indo-Pakistan
relations. When he first became foreign minister in March 1977, in
a coalition government headed by Prime Minister Morarji Desai, he
had shown a certain keenness to open a new chapter in the bitter
long history of Indo-Pakistan relations. Thus, in February 1978, he
became the first Indian foreign minister to undertake a goodwill
visit to Pakistan.
Similarly, when Vajpayee became prime minister in 1998, one of his
first acts was to meet a visiting Pakistani sports team. He later
conducted the so-called "Bus Diplomacy" by visiting Lahore in
February 1999 to sign the Lahore Declaration, which seems virtually
defunct now. All that seems to have gone overboard and forgotten.
An embittered and openly hostile Vajpayee has emerged. This could
have ominous implications in the days ahead.
In fact, the most unfortunate part of last month's hijacking
incident seemed to be that no voices of moderation were audible,
either in India or in Pakistan. On the Indian television, the
degree of anti-Pakistan feelings displayed by all alike - including
top-ranking retired military officers and veteran diplomats - was
both striking as well as depressing. Joining the fray with
remarkable gusto and alacrity, the PTV had its own share of India-
haters. Indeed, both sides indulged in an astounding display of
pathological distrust, suspicions and gross distortions in a
competition to outdo each other in spitting venom and hatred.
During the course of the hijacking incident, the number of false
allegations and misrepresentations made by the Indian side - both
official and unofficial - were quite numerous. Some of them were
promptly and effectively demolished by the Pakistani side and, in
some cases, by Indian sources themselves. The allegations that the
hijackers had arrived in Katmandu by a PIA flight from Karachi and
had simply walked across to board the IA aircraft; and that one of
the hijackers, a certain "Mr Qazi," was given four other tickets by
the IA staff without specific identification. That the five
hijackers included a Nepali drug peddler, who later actually turned
out to be one of the hostages; and the disclosure of the "names" of
the Pakistani hijackers - these were just a few among the many
absurd charges made by the Indians which proved to be entirely
fictitious.
Similarly untrue was the allegation that Pakistan had delayed in
giving flight clearance to the Indian aircraft proceeding to
Kandahar for negotiations. While these were, of course, factual
inaccuracies of the various developments, much more disturbing were
the constant allegations of Pakistani connivance with, or actual
complicity in, the hijacking which were advanced without any valid
evidence.
On the Pakistani side also, there were many apparent
misrepresentations. In particular, the allegation that India itself
had staged the whole hijacking incident and that the hijackers were
RAW agents was advanced in all seriousness by certain official
appearing on the PTV and in the Pakistani official media. A survey
of Pakistani public opinion reportedly disclosed that 80 per cent
Pakistanis believed that the hijacking was an Indian-staged show,
carried out with the specific purpose of defaming Pakistan and
having it declared a terrorist state.
The main evidence produced in support of this allegation was as to
why the Indian authorities had allowed the IA aircraft to take off
from Amritsar for Lahore. The other leg of this argument was that
in 1971, India had staged a hijacking at Lahore which it had used
as a pretext to ban the over flights between West and East
Pakistan.
Demolishing the above theory was the fact that, at the end of the
hijacking in Kandahar, it was India that came out as the net loser.
It had to suffer the national humiliation of having to release,
under duress, three key Kashmiri militants in order to secure the
end of the hijacking. The mainly Indian hostages in the aircraft
underwent the trauma of one of the longest hijackings on record,
during which one passenger was killed and another badly injured.
Also, the Vajpayee government came under biting criticism in India
over the final deal with the hijackers and the handling of the
whole affair. It had to negotiate with the Taliban regime which it
had previously ostracized.
Another area of Pakistani criticism was that India had
procrastinated over resolving the hijacking crisis and had thus
shown callous disregard for the welfare of the passengers taken
hostage. However, it is a well-accepted tactic in dealing with
hijackers to delay matters with a view to exhausting the hijackers
and weakening their will and physical stamina.
Let it be said unequivocally that hijacking is an inexcusable and
heinous offence that must be condemned not only in words but also
by deeds. The world community is unanimous in opposing it. Those
who hijacked the IA plane in order to secure their objectives in
fighting the Indian occupation of Kashmir have ended up merely by
tarnishing the Kashmir cause. As the saying goes, the road to hell
is paved with good intentions. The Kashmir cause is hurt and not
served by senseless acts of terrorism. This particular hijacking
seems to have been the handiwork of the followers of Maulana Azhar
Masood whose release from an Indian jail was the main demand of the
hijackers, which they achieved.
There had been earlier attempts also to secure his release in which
some innocent foreign nationals had been kidnapped and killed.
Unfortunately, the fact that he is a Pakistani religious leader
does in some way implicate Pakistan in this sordid affair.
Therefore, it must be the endeavour of the Pakistani authorities to
do everything possible to catch, try and punish the hijackers if
they are found in Pakistan.
In the meanwhile, it must be sincerely hoped that Indo-Pakistan
relations would not enter a new phase of crisis. The two countries
are nuclear powers and need to act with the greatest sense of
responsibility in averting conflict. There is need for both sides
to think rationally and examine facts objectively without seeking
to throw the blame on each other.
In India, there must be a realisation that its defective security
arrangements, particularly at Kathmandu, were mainly responsible
for the hijacking. Secondly, the inability or unwillingness to
prevent the plane from taking off from Amritsar was a grave mistake
that greatly weakened India's ability to handle the crisis from a
position of relative strength. Hence, it is vain and perverse to
blame Pakistan for the problems that actually arose out of India's
own mishandling of the affair.
Similarly, the hawks in Pakistan need to remember that the present
climate is the worst possible to fight a war with India. Even a
conventional war would be devastating and must be avoided. Unlike
the previous two wars with India, Pakistan can at present expect
practically no help from outside. The country's economy is in dire
straits and cannot sustain any protracted conflict. The agenda of
the present regime in Pakistan is, and should be, to put the
country back on its feet. This cannot be achieved if there is open
conflict with India or even an arms race.
It should also be clear to any observer that there is no "give" in
the Indian position on Kashmir. Recent discussions on Indian TV
showed a singular lack of willingness on the part of anyone to
reconsider the Indian position on Kashmir, even though this was
clearly the main cause for the hijacking.
On the contrary, Indian opinion seems hell-bent on holding on to
Kashmir. Under the circumstances, no progress in resolving the
Kashmir issue seems to be on the cards. Therefore, insisting on
putting Kashmir at the head of our foreign policy objective seems,
at the moment, an unrealistic exercise.
Nations must learn to act within their means to secure attainable
objectives. It is said that when Deng Xiaoping assumed full power
in China, in the decade of 1970, he told his associates that China
must work to secure that which was attainable and leave aside, at
least for the time being, that which was not attainable. This could
also be the best advice for Pakistan.
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
20000115
-------------------------------------------------------------------
What's new, Charlie Brown?
-------------------------------------------------------------------
By Irfan Husain
ACCORDING to one old proverb, "Children and fools speak the truth";
according to another, "Children and fools have merry lives."
The children in the 'Peanuts' comic strip do both, but they are
also subject to melancholy, disappointment and despair. In short,
they reflect the human condition with its wide emotional spectrum.
Day after day, these cartoon characters entertained and instructed
millions of readers as the syndicated strip was published in 2,600
newspapers around the world. The recent retirement of Charles
Schultz, the creator of 'Peanuts' fifty years after he launched his
lovable characters, will leave a big gap.
Charlie Brown, the hapless Everyman, is constantly at the receiving
end of stinging barbs and snubs from the acid-tongued Lucy. In one
memorable series, she balances an (American) football on the ground
and invites Charlie Brown to kick it, only to pull it away at the
last moment. Time after time, Charlie Brown charges up to the ball,
only to be deceived and land hard on his backside. Linus, Charlie
Brown's friend, asks him why he falls for the same trick every
time. "Well", replies the victim. "I keep hoping that one day Lucy
will keep her word."
Like Charlie Brown, the Pakistani nation keeps hoping that the army
will keep its word and like the cartoon character, we keep falling
on our collective backside. The messiah of the day repeats the same
mantra his illustrious predecessors intoned earlier, and we duly
applaud yet another unconstitutional intervention. It is only when
the nation's rear end comes into contact with reality that we
realize we have been tricked yet again. To be fair, the generals do
not mean to fool us: they are as convinced as the rest of us that
they can deliver. But as time goes on and things remain the same or
get worse, the 'junta du jour' hangs in there, fooling itself that
it is doing a better job than 'those damned civvies'.
Take the latest round of Pakistan's recurring bouts of military
intervention: three months after he stepped in, all General Pervez
Musharraf has to show for his efforts is a few businessmen and
politicians in jail, eight billion rupees in returned loans and
some new faces in power. All this is an improvement over the last
government, but the price we have paid for cosmetic changes is far
too high. There have been no radical changes, no departure from the
trodden path. But expecting drastic reform from a basically
conservative institution shows our Charlie Brown-like naivete.
The whole business of having a general in charge while maintaining
a democratic facade is beyond me: the only possible justification
for military rule is that freed from constitutional restraints, the
administration can take drastic steps and cut through red tape. As
it is, we have the worst of both worlds: on the one hand, we have
lost the basic right to choose our government, while on the other,
we do not have the benefits of quick decision-making the army is
supposed to display.
A few examples will prove my point. Well over a month ago, the
Chief Executive had proclaimed that the vexing question of
independent power projects pricing would be resolved in 30 days.
That deadline has come and gone without any solution in sight.
Meanwhile, the verdict declaring interest to be un-Islamic has made
any future foreign investments in Pakistan almost unthinkable.
One of the most appealing elements in General Musharraf's first
address to the nation three months ago was his clear rejection of
religious extremism of any kind. The Charlie Browns among us had
hoped for some kind of firm action against the gangs of armed
zealots that have increasingly infested Pakistan since General
Zia's days. But far from calling them to heel, this government
seems to have given them greater licence than ever before. In the
aftermath of the Indian Airline hijacking last month, we have one
of the released prisoners, Maulana Masood Azhar, going around
threatening India and the United States with fire and brimstone
without the government lifting a finger.
As it is, Pakistan has long stood accused of harbouring terrorists
in our midst. After the hijacking, we had been thrown on the
defensive by the barrage of accusations from New Delhi, but instead
of acting circumspectly, we have added fuel to the fire by allowing
Pakistani citizens to act in a flagrantly provocative manner. So
much for the Chief Executive's liberal credentials.
And although this government's spokesmen have stressed its
commitment to fundamental rights, people like Mushahid Husain and
members of Nawaz Sharif's family continue to be detained without
charges. Surely three months should be enough to determine whether
there are grounds to prosecute or not. Just because Nawaz Sharif
and his bunch of thugs treated opponents in this manner does not
mean that those now in custody should be denied their legal rights.
Two wrongs never made a right.
What is lacking is a clear sense of direction and purpose. Despite
the calibre of some of the new team, we have received no signal of
what the junta proposes to do with its unlimited powers. Basically,
this government is doing what all its predecessors have done:
muddling along. By refusing to take the tough steps, it is forgoing
the possibilities that had briefly opened up three months ago when
there was universal euphoria at Nawaz Sharif's overthrow.
We need to be clear that Pakistan's very survival now depends on
reasserting the writ of the state; this in turn demands that the
politics of violence should cease. To achieve this goal, the
preachers of the gospel of hate and violence have to be strongly
discouraged, and ethnic and sectarian armies disarmed. Given the
organisation and the sophisticated arms they now possess, only the
army is capable of carrying out this task. So instead of recovering
defaulted loans and outstanding electricity bills, if our armed
forces were to concentrate on the more difficult but essential task
of restoring law and order, they would be making a genuine
contribution towards bringing peace and prosperity to Pakistan.
But if they choose to fritter away the goodwill they still enjoy by
carrying on with business as usual, it will not be long before
people start asking them why they entered the fray in the first
place. After all, even Charlie Brown will get wise one day to the
fact that Lucy will never keep her word.
=================================================================== SPORTS 20000112 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan score sensational last-ball victory over India ------------------------------------------------------------------- BRISBANE, Jan 11: Saqlain Mushtaq and Waqar Younis scrambled a bye off the last ball to lift Pakistan to a thrilling two-wicket win over India here on Monday. The eighth-wicket pair added 43 runs off 37 balls as Pakistan, replying to India's 195, fought back from the death to win the day- night encounter in a nerve-wrecking finish. Man-of-the-Match Yousuf Youhana hit 63 to help Pakistan recover from a disastrous 71-6 and post 196-8, their second win in two days in the tri-nation one-day series. Wasim Akram's men, who stunned hosts Australia in Sunday's opener, ended the double-header at the Gabba with four full points. Pakistan won despite being given only 49 overs to bat by match referee Cammie Smith of the West Indies for a slow over-rate in India's innings. "Saqlain and Younis have done it again," a delighted Akram said, referring to the pair's 57-run stand against Australia. "It shows that we fight all the way and don't give up easily. "I am not worried by the top order failing a second time. The main batsmen are too good to fail for long," Akram said. India's new-ball pair of Javagal Srinath and Ajit Agarkar ripped through Pakistan's top order, before Youhanna added 49 for the seventh wicket with Akram and 333 for the eighth with Saqlain Srinath, however, deceived Youhanna with a slower ball in the 43rd over which the batsman edged to the wicket-keeper and made Pakistan 153-8. Saqlain and Younis narrowed the gap with audacious hits, and left themselves 14 runs to get in the last two overs. They took eight in the penultimate over bowled by leg-spinner Anil Kumble, including a cut to the point boundary by Saqlain. Needing six off the last six balls, the pair cobbled up three off the first four deliveries before Prasad sent down a wide from the fifth. A single off the fifth legitimate ball ensured Pakistan a tie, and Saqlain and Waqar sealed a win with a bye off the last ball as wicket-keeper Sameer Dighe fumbled with the leg-side take. Saqlain remained unbeaten on 27 and Younis was 13 not out when team-mates rushed out to hug their unlikely heroes. It was Pakistan's first win over India in four meetings on Australian soil, and avenged the World Cup defeat at Old Trafford in June. A disappointed Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar said the 43 runs conceded in the end proved too costly. "The bowlers did well at the start, but we could not finish it," Tendulkar said. "Last-ball finishes can go either way. We did our best, but Saqlain and Younis took the game away from us." Shoaib Akhtar's lethal three for 19 appeared to go in vain as Pakistan found runs hard to come by against the Indians. Srinath, who finished with four wickets, and Agarkar rattled the top batsmen, before Youhanna led Pakistan's gritty fight back. India, electing to bat after winning the toss, slipped to 77-4 before Ganguly and Robin Singh added 66 for the fifth wicket. Left- hander Ganguly, who opened the innings, made 61 before he was fifth out in the 40th over, bowled by Shoaib. All-rounder Singh hit 50 off 84 balls, but India failed to register 200 when they lost their last three wickets for one run. The lower order batsmen undid the good work by Ganguly and Singh as both Agarkar and Kumble ran themselves out attempting a second run.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000112 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Shoaib's return throws ICC in turmoil ------------------------------------------------------------------- BRISBANE, Jan 11: The International Cricket Council (ICC) was thrown in turmoil yesterday after its stunning decision to allow banned Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar to return to international cricket. Former Australian captain Bob Simpson, a member of the ICC's bowling panel, expressed his shock at the backflip on Shoaib after he was banned nine days ago for an illegal action when bowling bouncers or faster deliveries. ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya of India on Sunday allowed Shoaib to play in the triangular one-day series against Australia and India, sparking unprecedented scenes at the Gabba yesterday. The 24-year-old rushed from Perth at dawn in a secret cross country dash, arriving at the Gabba 12 minutes into Pakistan's day-night clash with Australia. Dalmiya ruled that Shoaib should be allowed to play because bouncers were "no-balled" in one-day matches, effectively negating his problem with illegal deliveries. But Simpson admitted his surprise at the strange ruling from Dalmiya, insisting it was not just his bouncers which caused problems. "I'm a little shocked about the whole thing," Simpson said. "Myself and the other members of the committee would like to see some answers coming through. "The view of the panel was that it wasn't just the bouncer, it was also his faster delivery, and it was unanimously agreed that this action needed remedial work. "I don't know what the ramifications will be." Simpson said he had not been contacted by the ICC following the decision, but he had spoken with other members of the 11-man panel, who were equally shocked. Dalmiya and ICC cricket committee chairman Sir Clyde Walcott reviewed Shoaib's action after the Pakistan Cricket Board lodged an appeal against the original decision. Shoaib received a rousing reception when he was introduced to the sell-out Gabba crowed, acknowledging their support before he sent down his first over. Shoaib had been in Perth for the last week undergoing remedial work on his action, but dashed to Brisbane on a flight which left Perth at dawn and stopped over in Adelaide. He was jostled by media as he climbed out of a car at the Gabba while Pakistan were already batting against Australia. "I just got the news last night at seven O'clock (Perth time). I'm thankful to my God, thankful to my team-mates. I'd like to thank my manager, my skipper and my board. They backed me up all the way. "I put all my faith in the board and the ICC and the Pakistan Cricket Board, and that's all I have to say at the moment," he said.- Reuters DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000112 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ACB blasts ICC's backflip on Shoaib ------------------------------------------------------------------- MELBOURNE, Jan 11: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has set "a dangerous precedent" in lifting the ban on Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, Australia's top official said on Wednesday. Australian Cricket Board chairman Denis Rogers said he was worried at the procedure adopted to overturn the ban, and added his attempts to clarify the matter with ICC president Jagmohan Dalmiya had failed. "I am worried about the processes involved and the precedent it sets," Rogers told a press conference here. "Vetoes are dangerous. And that's why I want to see how this process worked." Dalmiya and ICC cricket committee chairman Sir Clyde Walcott cleared Shoaib to play in the tri-series against Australia and India, despite being banned by a nine-man committee dealing with bowling actions. Rogers said he had no problems with Shoaib resuming his career, but was disappointed to see a decision by the specialist ICC committee overturned so quickly. "I don't understand the process involved," he said. "I'm happy to have it explained to me and I've left no stone unturned in trying to get in contact with Mr Dalmiya, but I've had no luck." Dalmiya, meanwhile, stood by his decision, saying the initial ban on Shoaib was unfair. "We don't want to interfere with decisions taken by ICC committees, but there should be proper policy, principle and procedures followed," Dalmiya was quoted as saying during the ongoing under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka. Rogers called for a "quick and efficient" policy to be put in place to enable cricket to deal with suspicious actions. The issue appears to be high on the agenda at the next ICC meeting in Singapore in February. Rogers made it clear umpires should still have the right to call players for throwing, rather than refer them to the ICC's bowling committee. "We should never stop umpires umpiring," he said. ACB chief executive Malcolm Speed, meanwhile, expressed his disappointment at Australia's top umpires defending themselves against allegations of racism and bias. Speed said the umpires would not be punished for the outburst at a pre-series meeting of captains last week, but added their actions threatened their credibility. "Umpires have to make decisions without fear or favour," Speed said. "And a key to that is to be above the politics of the game." Speed, however, defended the performance of Australia's umpires, describing them as amongst the best in the world. "If any person suggests there is a degree of racism in Australian cricket then those persons should be held accountable," he said.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000112 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ICC to take up Shoaib issue next month ------------------------------------------------------------------- COLOMBO, Jan 11: The International Cricket Council (ICC) will next month take up the issue of the ban on Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar which was subsequently overruled, a report said on Tuesday. The Daily News quoted visiting ICC President Jagmohan Dalmiya as saying that the allegations against the Pakistani bowler were unfair and not justifiable. The report came as Australian officials said the ICC had set "a dangerous precedent" in lifting the ban on Akhtar, handed out for an allegedly illegal bowling action. However, Dalmiya said he and ICC cricket committee chairman Clyde Walcot acted after the Pakistan Cricket Board lodged an appeal against the original banning of Akhtar from international cricket. "We don't want to interfere with decisions taken by ICC committees, but there should be proper procedures followed," Dalmiya said. "We have a new situation here and it will be taken up at the ICC meeting coming up on February 9 and 10." Australian Cricket Board chairman Denis Rogers said he was worried at the procedure adopted to overturn the ban, and added that his attempts to clarify the matter with ICC president Dalmiya had failed. "I am worried about the processes involved and the precedent it sets," Rogers told a press conference here. "Vetoes are dangerous. And that's why I want to see how this process worked."-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000112 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Razzaq inspires a 45-run win over Australia ------------------------------------------------------------------- BRISBANE, Jan 11: Shoaib Akhtar inspired Pakistan to a stunning 45- run victory over Australia in the opening match of the tri-series here on Sunday. Shoaib, reprieved by the International Cricket Council on Saturday from a chucking ban, marked his return with three for 31 that sparked a brilliant Pakistani fight-back. The 24-year-old speedster removed Ricky Ponting and skipper Steve Waugh off successive balls as Australia, chasing Pakistan's modest 184 for eight, folded up for 139 at the Gabba. Michael Bevan remained unbeaten on 31, but could not prevent Australia from crashing to only the second defeat in their last 16 One-day Internationals. A sell-out crowd of 40,000 looked on in disbelief as the Australians, fresh from a 3-0 whitewash of both India and Pakistan in the Test series, slipped from 72 for two to 79 for seven. Seamer Abdur Razzaq, who ripped through the middle order with three wickets in five balls, was adjudged Man-of-the-Match with four for 23 from eight overs. Flash bulbs popped in the stands as Shoaib thundered in for his opening delivery and received standing ovation from the crowd after the over. Shoaib found success with the second ball of his fourth over when Ponting edged an overhead catch to Mohammad Wasim at second slip. Steve Waugh was trapped leg-before next ball, and even though Damien Martyn survived the hat trick delivery, there was little respite from Abdur Razzaq at the other end. The youngster had Martyn caught at point, forced Andrew Symonds to edge a catch to second slip and then bowled Brett Lee with a lightening delivery. Earlier, Symonds picked up three for 34 and leg-spinner Shane Warne two for 52 as the Pakistani top order gifted away their wickets. Pakistan were reduced to 127 for eight, before Saqlain Mushtaq and Waqar Younis put on a defiant stand unbroken stand of 57 for the ninth wicket. Saqlain returned unbeaten with side's top score of 37. Waqar made 23 not out, including a straight six off Glenn McGrath in the final over. Captain Wasim Akram hit 35 and vice- captain Moin Khan 33, but none of the first six batsmen crossed 12.-Reuters ------------------------------------------------------------------- You can subscribe to DWS by sending an email to <subscribe.dws@dawn.com>, with the following text in the BODY of your message: subscribe dws To unsubscribe, send an email to <unsubscribe.dws@dawn.com>, with the following in the BODY of you message: unsubscribe dws ------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to the top.
Dawn page
Webbed by Philip McEldowney
Last update: .