------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 22 Ap;ril 2000 Issue : 06/17 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + Plane case: Prosecution takes back applications + Nawaz's appeal admitted for hearing + Nawaz appeal hearing + PML split around the corner + Contact with other parties to continue, says PML + GDA, PML stick to their stands + Nawaz fears economic collapse + India has no right to United Nation Council seat: adviser + PML blasts govt for not honoring C'wealth demand + C'wealth's condition for seat + Samjhota Express to run up to Wagha + India to deploy spy planes on LoC + India pondering attack, warns Qayyum + Ban on political activities to go soon: Musharraf + NAB aims to bring back looted money, says official + Citizenship Law amended + Passengers to NY, London will fly to Karachi first + Deweaponization to curb terrorism, says minister + Nusrat's condition stable + ICC tribunal not qualified to arbitrate: WAPDA + WAPDA wants original debt-equity ratio restored + HUBCO earned profit illegally: WAPDA counsel + Usman's appeal admitted for hearing + SHC restrains Asif's shifting + Wattoo's plea referred to CJ + Nawab Marri's bail plea rejected + Local Taliban warned against meddling + Attack on Iranian leader: Suspect escaped to Pakistan + Action against religious schools ruled out + NGOs need no clearance from Intelligence Bureau --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + Forex rules to be changed to attract investment + Fresh FCY deposits: Ban on foreign placement may go + IMF wants sample, not mass tax survey + IMF 'pleased' with new reform package: official + No fake budget figures in future: Shaukat + Debt rescheduling: G-77 backs Pakistan proposals + Software technology parks for three cities + Move to abolish wealth tax: CBR taps alternate sources of revenue + Stocks pass through lean session --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + The credit side and a hearing problem Ayaz Amir + Dispute resolution outside the court system Nasir Aslam Zahid + Timeframe & voting system M.H. Askari ----------- SPORTS + Pakistan defeat West Indies in first final + West Indies score 17-run victory over Pakistan + Pakistan beat Zimbabwe
=================================================================== DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 20000420 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Plane case: Prosecution takes back applications ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, April 19: The prosecution in the plane-hijacking took back its urgent applications from the roster of the Sindh High Court, saying it had no urgency to proceed with the appeals. The prosecution has filed two separate appeals in the High Court praying to convert the life imprisonment of Nawaz Sharif into death sentence and against the acquittal of the other six accused in the case. The advocate-general had also filed urgent applications with the appeals for fixing immediate hearing of these before the bench. When reporters contacted the roster branch of the High Court, they were informed that the prosecution had taken back the urgent applications and now these appeals would be fixed according to the roster. -PPI DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000419 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nawaz's appeal admitted for hearing ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, April 18: The Sindh High Court admitted for regular hearing an appeal by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif challenging his conviction in the plane conspiracy case. No date has been fixed for the hearing of the appeal. Defence counsel Azizullah Sheikh submitted before the division bench, comprising Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and Justice S.A. Rabbani, that while reading the impugned judgment of the ATC-1 judge, he found four more grounds in addition to the grounds he had mentioned in the appeal. As the defence counsel was continuing his arguments to seek admission of his appeal, the bench asked the counsel to confine his arguments to the grounds already mentioned in the appeal and the new points could be discussed by him during the hearing of the appeal. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000418 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nawaz appeal hearing ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, April 17: The prosecution has filed an appeal against the acquittal of six persons in the plane conspiracy case. Sindh Advocate General Raja Qureshi told Dawn that the prosecution had decided to file the appeal in the high court against the acquittal of Shahbaz Sharif, Syed Ghous Ali Shah, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Saeed Mehdi and Rana Maqbool "positively". He said that a separate petition seeking the enhancement in the sentence awarded to Nawaz Sharif had also been prepared. "As far as the filing of the appeal against the lesser sentence awarded to Nawaz Sharif is concerned, a decision would only be taken on Tuesday morning by the prosecution team, led by Barrister Zahoorul Haq," the AG said. When asked about the contents of the petition challenging the ATC verdict, the AG said he could not divulge anything about the petition until it was filed in the court. Azizullah Sheikh, leading defence counsel, when contacted, said he would argue on the grounds he had raised in his petition challenging the conviction of former Prime Minister on charges of hijacking and terrorism. In 31-point grounds raised for the acquittal of Nawaz Sharif in the petition, he said he had stated that the trial judge had not read the evidence of the witnesses as a whole while recording the convictions of the appellant. The ATC judge while passing the impugned verdict derogated from the well-entrenched principles of safe administration of justice. He said he had requested to the Sindh governor and later the advocate general that he required satisfactory security arrangements during the pendency of the appeal. He added that he made such a request on the advice of his client (Nawaz Sharif). Both the governor and the AG had assured him that he would be provided with security, he said and added that he had taken that step "out of abandon caution." He said he had held a meeting with the Sindh High Court Chief Justice who had told him that public was allowed to come in the courtroom to witness proceedings. He added that the chief justice had said that it should be in a disciplined manner, adding that nobody was allowed to raise slogans inside the courtroom or in the precincts of the court building and that they were free to demonstrate outside the compound. Two separate benches have been reserved for foreign correspondents and diplomats, he added. It is learnt that Nawaz Sharif has also signed Vikalat Namas of advocates Khawaja Sultan and Ejaz Batalvi at the Central Prison, Karachi, and they would also appear before the appellate bench. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000420 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PML split around the corner ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Faraz Hashmi ISLAMABAD, April 19: A split in the Pakistan Muslim League is just around the corner as the Sharif family has frustrated all attempts by the anti-Nawaz group within the party to have Nawaz Sharif replaced as party president, insiders told Dawn. A sizable group of Muslim League members has already rallied around Mian Azhar and Begum Abida Hussain, two of the five suspended MNAs who had developed differences with Nawaz Sharif even before the Oct 12 coup over his style of governance. At the recent PML meeting held in the federal capital the anti- Nawaz members were not allowed to express their views, frustrating what this group calls its last attempts to save the party from the looming split by replacing Nawaz Sharif with a consensus candidate as party chief. When asked why then the group has not yet announced its exit from the PML or has not so far formed a new party. The source said the group was now engaged in winning over as many members of the party as possible to its side and as soon as it succeeds in achieving the right numbers the needful would done. Besides, the group seems to be a bit apprehensive about splitting as it was not certain how the people would greet such a move when the fate of Mr Sharif was yet to be decided by court. Also, the group does not want to commit the same mistake as Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi had done when he left the PPP at the wrong time. They are seemingly waiting for the most opportune moment for making the move. "We know we are right and have no qualms about leaving the party but it is always good politics to choose the right time before making an important political move like leaving a party or forming a new party," said the source. According to the source, the decision to pass on the mantle of PML president-ship to Begum Kulsoom Nawaz was taken, in principle, by a coterie of elders at a meeting recently held in Lahore. Notwithstanding the repeated and firm denials by Begum Kulsoom that she does not want any office in the party, her elders have already directed her to prepare herself for carrying the party scepter in the absence of her husband who these elders are now certain would be out of circulation for at least another 10 years. After losing power and sustaining serious damage to the family business, the source said, the Sharif family was still not prepared to give up the party leadership. It had decided to fight back, with full might, all the pressure building up within the party for a change in the party leadership. The elders had reportedly asked Begum Kulsoom to establish contacts with the Muslim Leaguers who were not happy with the policies of Nawaz Sharif and who were now openly demanding immediate change of the party president, a source said. Acting on the advice of elders, Begum Kulsoom had extended an invitation last week to a member of the anti-Nawaz group to meet her at her Model Town residence. The way Begum Kulsoom managed to thwart attempts of the anti-Nawaz group to get a new president elected at a joint meeting at Islamabad of the central working committee and the PML parliamentary group is being regarded by the loyalists of Nawaz Sharif as her first political achievement, the source said. He said the impression that the Sharif family and a group of Nawaz loyalists had made elaborate plans to scuttle any move to replace the party president at the meeting was wrong. "What actually happened was that Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who is a very influential Leaguer in Punjab and who thinks that the time was not yet ripe to replace Nawaz Sharif had at the last minute put all his political weight behind Kulsoom," he added. The PML rebels had conditionally attended the joint meeting held in the capital last week. Raja Zafarul Haq had assured them at the residence of Begum Abida Hussain, where they had gathered before the meeting, that the meeting would be conducted in a democratic manner and everybody would be allowed to speak, the source said. Later when they were not given a proper opportunity to speak at the meeting, they left, one by one, halfway through the meeting. The party insiders were of the view that the idea to bring the former first lady into politics was not an incident of recent occurrence. It had been going on in the mind of the Sharif family since 1993 when the PML was in opposition. The source recalled that when Nawaz Sharif was asked by a party member during his train march in 1994 who would head the party if he was arrested or eliminated from politics, his spontaneous reply was: "Kulsoom, who else." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000416 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact with other parties to continue, says PML ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, April 15: Pakistan Muslim League decided to continue the process of establishing contacts with other political parties, including PPP, for the restoration of democracy. The PML central coordination committee convener, Raja Zafrul Haq, told PPI this after his meeting with the speaker of the suspended National Assembly, Illahi Bukhsh Somroo, and former federal minister Lt-Gen (retd) Majid Malik here Saturday. He dismissed the impression that the process, initiated by the PML, to establish contact with other democratic forces, was suspended, adding "we are in contact with the other parties and keep contact with them in the future." -PPI DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000421 ------------------------------------------------------------------- GDA, PML stick to their stands ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ashraf Mumtaz LAHORE, April 20: The GDA and the PML stuck to their respective stands on the key issue of "the restoration of democracy" as a three-member delegation held the first round of talks with Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan. The objective of the talks was to see if the two sides could join hands for the revival of the political process. The negotiators told reporters after their 90-minute meeting that they agreed on the need for the revival of democracy but they had their own points of view on the subject. Neither side expressed the desire for an alliance and no discussion was held on the possibility of launching agitation against the government. The major reason for keeping the two issues out of the agenda was that the PML had reportedly not given its delegation a clear mandate. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000421 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nawaz fears economic collapse ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, April 20: Deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif said that under the present government Pakistan had miserably failed on both the diplomatic and economic fronts. In a statement, signed by one of his counsel, Khawaja Naveed, Nawaz Sharif stated that the issue of India becoming a permanent member of Security Council was yet another diplomatic success of India, which clearly indicated that Pakistan would be further isolated in the international community. Till October 1999, no country was willing to support India to make it a permanent member of the Security Council. "But, things have dramatically changed after Oct 12 because during these days no civilized country approves military governments, which the present rulers failed to understand and accept". He said the situation on the borders was alarming whereas the military government was hounding the politicians and businessmen and their families. He also said prices were sky-rocketing. Petrol price had been increased twice in last six months. Railway and transport fares were up by 40 percent and unemployment was on the rise. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000421 ------------------------------------------------------------------- India has no right to United Nation Council seat: adviser ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent NEW YORK, April 20: The adviser to the chief executive on information, Javed Jabbar, said in an interview with CNN that if India was given a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council now "it would be a body-blow to the credibility and structure" of the world body. "A country which has blatantly violated UN security Council's resolutions has no moral, diplomatic or political right to such a seat," said Mr Jabbar. However, he said: "If India agrees to honor the resolutions for a negotiated settlement of the Kashmir issue, then the issue (of the UN seat) may be discussed." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000418 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PML blasts govt for not honoring C'wealth demand ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent ISLAMABAD, April 17: Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) has said that the military government's refusal to Commonwealth and other European countries' demand for restoration of democracy and abolition of the "state-influenced" conviction of the deposed Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, in the plane conspiracy case has isolated the country. A PML spokesman said that the visit of Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit to India, ignoring Pakistan, and the fruitless visits of Gen Pervez Musharraf to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and other countries and their refusal to accept the military government, was enough warning to the junta to immediately restore democracy and go back to the barracks. The spokesman said that at the domestic front too, the junta had failed to provide security to the life, honor and property of the people. He added that inflated bills of electricity, gas and water and increase in the prices of fuel and edibles had added to the difficulties of the people, which were tarnishing the image of the armed forces in the public eyes. He said that instead of providing economic relief to the people the government was staging the drama of local body�s elections, which had got nothing to do with the people's problems. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000419 ------------------------------------------------------------------- C'wealth's condition for seat ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DELHI, April 18: Pakistan cannot return to the Commonwealth until its military regime offers guarantees on the restoration of democracy, Commonwealth chief Donald C. McKinnon said in an interview with Indian state-owned Doordarshan television network. "We want to ensure that the Pakistani regime understands they cannot come back to Commonwealth until they make absolutely clear that elections are going to be held on such and such date and normally," McKinnon said. C'wealth chief McKinnon, who took up his post barely two weeks ago, said in the interview: "We hope that Pakistani people will keep the pressure on the military regime to announce the election date." He said the Commonwealth group of ministers would meet in May to review the latest situation in Pakistan. "This group, which will also review the political situation in Pakistan, may even suggest stronger measures against the military regime," the Commonwealth secretary-general said without elaborating. To a question on whether the group of ministers would recommend suspension of Pakistan from the Commonwealth, McKinnon said: "It is entirely up to the ministers to decide and not the secretary- general."He said it was still undecided whether the group would visit Islamabad or invite representatives from the military regime to London.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000421 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Samjhota Express to run up to Wagha ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DELHI, April 20: India's Northern Railway announced a revised schedule for the Samjhota Express which will run between Attari and Wagha stations on Mondays and Thursdays. The train, with a composition of eight general second-class coaches and two luggage- cum-brake vans, will leave the Attari Station at 1230 hours and reach Wagha station at 1245 hours. On its return journey, it will leave Wagha station at 1330 hours and reach Attari station at 1355 hours, a Northern Railway press release said here. It said the revised schedule will come into effect from Thursday. Under an agreement reached between the railway authorities of the two countries last week, India had agreed to run the Samjhota Express train upto Wagha checkpoint in Pakistan, rather than up to Attari in India. -NNI DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000421 ------------------------------------------------------------------- India to deploy spy planes on LoC ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DELHI, April 20: India is planning to buy aerial surveillance vehicles from Israel to boost defences along its border with Pakistan, Defence Minister George Fernandes said. In a written reply to a question in lower house of parliament, Fernandes said he was unable to disclose details of the unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) for "reasons of national security." Fernandes reiterated that recent intelligence reports had revealed a large concentration of Mujahideen massing on the Pakistan-side of the LoC. "Reports also indicate that Pakistan has been in the process of procuring special clothing and equipment over and above its normal requirements," he alleged.-Agencies DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000416 ------------------------------------------------------------------- India pondering attack, warns Qayyum ------------------------------------------------------------------- MIRPUR, April 15: Former AJK premier Sardar Abdul Qayyum has said that India was preparing to launch a forceful attack on Azad Kashmir any time in the near future. Talking to APP Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan referred to the recent unequivocal threatening statement of the Indian army chief about limited war by India in the region. "Such statement of the Indian army chief reflects the open aggressive designs of India against Pakistan and Azad Kashmir," he said. He said "we shall have to remain alert and vigilant every moment of the threats of aggression given by the chief of the Indian army staff." Sardar Qayyum also criticized the policies of the AJK government.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000422 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ban on political activities to go soon: Musharraf ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Faraz Hashmi ISLAMABAD, April 21: Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf said that the ban on political activities would be lifted shortly. Talking to reporters here after the conclusion of the national convention on human rights, he called the Nawaz Sharif government a "sham democracy". People today were enjoying more democracy than any previous democratic governments, he said. "We have done much more for democracy than any government in the past," he said and alluded to the freedom being exercised by media. The government was privatizing electronic media, which, he said, was a "bold step". Moreover, he added, the print media was "totally and absolutely" independent. "I have told them to write anything against me or my government," he said but added that anything written against Pakistan would certainly hurt him. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000419 ------------------------------------------------------------------- NAB aims to bring back looted money, says official ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, April 18: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) announced that it was focusing its attention primarily on bringing back the money looted through corrupt practices and deposited in foreign banks, instead of bringing the looters back to the country. "We are more interested in bringing back the looted money that had found its way overseas instead of bringing back the culprits," Farooq Adam, the prosecutor-general of the NAB, told a news conference here. "The people are also concerned about the money," he said. "The United States, Britain and Canada can keep these people (alleged plunderers of national wealth) with them, we are only interested in the money," he added. Referring to the NAB chairman's recent tour to the UK and other European countries, he said the bureau was in the process of acquiring the services of foreign "experts" to trace out the looted money and bring it back. He disclosed that the NAB had also consulted the Interpol to get to know the process which a country was required to adopt in bringing a fugitive of justice back from another country. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000419 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Citizenship Law amended ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, April 18: The federal government amended the citizenship law, providing that the children of Pakistani women married to foreigners would also be entitled to Pakistani citizenship. An ordinance called Pakistan Citizenship (Amendment) Ordinance 2000, stated that in section 5 of the Citizenship Act, for the word "father" wherever occurring, the word "parent" shall be substituted. An official of the law ministry said that the amendment was made on the recommendation of the Interior Ministry and was aimed at ending the discrimination. It had been the demand of those Pakistani origin women, mostly living in Europe and the US, that their children from non-Pakistani husband were not entitled to the citizenship. But on the other hand children of those Pakistani men who had married foreign women were entitled to citizenship of Pakistan. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000420 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Passengers to NY, London will fly to Karachi first ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, April 19: PIA said that it was rescheduling flights from Lahore to New York, London and Toronto since Lahore airport's runway would be closed to Boeing 747s from April 20 to June 30. The reason for the closure has been cited as necessary repair work. The change will affect all passengers flying out of Lahore and they will have to break their journey in Karachi. The reason for this, a Press release said, is that they will depart Lahore on an Airbus and be taken to Karachi from where they will continue their journey in a Boeing 747. The airline said that passengers leaving from Lahore can expect to spend "approximately 85 minutes" in transit at Karachi. The Press release said that flight PK 703 would now leave Lahore every Monday for New York and Toronto at 10 pm. Flight PK 711 for New York would leave every Friday at 1.15 am (the night between Thursday and Friday) while PK 757 for London would depart every Saturday morning at 4 am. The Press release said that all passengers would be first flown to Karachi in an Airbus A-300. There they will have to change planes and get on to a Jumbo before flying to any of the three cities. However, the passengers will not be inconvenienced, the airline said, because the boarding card issued to them in Lahore will still be applicable once they change planes in Karachi. The airline also said that all passengers leaving Lahore will have their customs and immigration done at Lahore airport. PIA also said that all flights from New York, Toronto and London to Lahore would break in Karachi with and all Lahore-bound passengers being flown in an Airbus. However, their immigration and customs would be done at Lahore. The airline also said that it hoped all passengers would cooperate with these measures considering that the repair work on the Lahore airport runway was of a necessary nature. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000420 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Deweaponization to curb terrorism, says minister ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent WASHINGTON, April 19: The adviser to the chief executive on information and media, Javed Jabbar, said he had told the American officials about the government's determination to curb activities of extremist groups and continue on the road to restoration of democracy. Addressing a press conference after visiting Los Angeles and Washington, Mr Jabbar said Pakistan would not allow terrorist groups in Afghanistan to undermine Pakistan's integrity. Mr Jabbar, who met various US officials in Washington, including Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Karl Inderfurth, said Pakistan's deweaponization program was specifically aimed at curbing terrorist groups. Conceding that many factors in the country - such as poverty, lack of economic progress, corruption, etc - were partly responsible for "invalid perceptions" regarding the posture of the government towards extremist groups. He added that the process of devolution would ensure that power was returned to the people. Asked if the grip of the feudal lords over power would be sapped, Mr Jabbar said once the people at the town and district levels were empowered, the feudal would disappear. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000416 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nusrat's condition stable ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent DUBAI, April 15: The condition of Begum Nusrat Bhutto was described as stable by family friends. She was taken to a private hospital for check up as she had complained of chest pain. She was later sent home. Sources close to Bhutto family said that Begum Nusrat Bhutto's health had deteriorated since the death of Murtaza Bhutto who was killed in a shooting incident in Karachi. They said that she is suffering from various infections and at times fails to recognize people. A nurse had been permanently posted at the residence of Begum Nusrat Bhutto in Dubai to attend to her. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000422 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ICC tribunal not qualified to arbitrate: WAPDA ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, April 21: The WAPDA counsel said that arbitration tribunal of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is not qualified to understand the subtleties of corruption culture in Pakistan, and the courts here should be allowed to adjudicate the dispute between WAPDA and HUBCO. Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim, the counsel for WAPDA said: "Each country has its own wheeling and dealing system, so to say its own culture of corruption". He said understanding such a dispute would be difficult for commercial arbitrators. "They are just not equipped to do so. Leave it to Pakistani courts to decide these matters of public law and public policy issue." The dispute raises an issue of such grave public and national importance and policy in Pakistan that it could not be arbitrated in a commercial tribunal, he added. He said that the acts of the sovereign states were non triable before such tribunals, and referred to American case law (Liamco versus Libya, US district Court for the District of Columbia, Jan 18, 1980) wherein the court held that an Act of State was non-triable in such like tribunals. The WAPDA counsel said that each State had the right to decide by way of public policy or legislation what issues it considered to be of national importance. Corruption in high public offices was a matter of grave public and national importance in Pakistan, he maintained. To deal with the menace of corruption in high public offices a series of statutes were enacted in Pakistan since 1996, e.g., the Ehtesab Ordinance 1996, followed by Ehtesab Act 1997, and the now in force National Accountability Bureau Ordinance 1999, he said. These enactments, he submitted, showed an intent that where issues of corruption in high public offices arose, the same should be adjudicated upon by special courts established particularly for that purpose. He said that arbitrators must resolve the dispute in accordance with the law governing the agreement. In this case the governing law of the agreement is English law, therefore all disputes under the agreement will be settled in accordance with English law. He said that each country has its own notion and definition of what constitutes corruption. The accountability legislation in Pakistan defined what constitutes corruption and corrupt practices. The present issue was a purely legal issue involving a very special criminal law of Pakistan. While the arbitrators can decide commercial disputes arising out of the PPA, their jurisdiction cannot be extend to decide criminal matters, he maintained. The arbitration clause in the PPA, he said, could not be regarded as an arbitration agreement between HUBCO and WAPDA to refer those matters for arbitration, which were triable under criminal law. It would be absurd to allow the issue of corruption under the affirmation clause, which relates to bribery of and payment of kickbacks to Pakistan officials, to be decided in accordance with English law, when the criminal proceedings in relation and said issues can only be decided in Pakistani courts in accordance with Pakistan law, he added. He said scope for the review of the award was limited to the allegations of misconduct on the part of arbitrators. Therefore arbitrators should not arbitrate a dispute involving grave national interest because it denies the parties right to challenge that award on the merits. Furthermore, in this case, the doctrine of second look will not be open to the parties at the stage of recognition and enforcement in Pakistan, that if award is to be enforced in Pakistan, he said. The counsel said the affirmation clause did not indicate that the parties had contemplated that allegation of fraud and corruption must also be referred to arbitration. He said in fact the affirmation is a declaration given by HUBCO recognizing that bribery, kickbacks, commissions, etc. are all serious offences in Pakistan for which they can be made accountable if it is found that they are involved in corrupt practices. Moreover, the affirmation clause does not suggest that the parties had contemplated that allegation of corrupt practices would be arbitrated but in fact it expressly provides that they would be dealt with by the courts of Pakistan. "This clause in fact excludes the jurisdiction of the arbitrators to examine allegations of corruption, and fraud," he added. Even the New York convention on the recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Agreements and Awards contemplates that there might be some matters which are incapable of being arbitrated. He said such contemplation suggests that the Convention recognized that the parties to the conventions might have a special interest in having certain matters adjudicated judicially than through private arbitral tribunals. The counsel, in his closing remarks said that books were being written about the new kind of imperialism established by the multinationals. The dispute is not on the CPP but on that CPP which was the result of corruption, fraud and abuse of authority. The court announced that it would sit in Lahore next week and conclude the case next Friday. Barrister Umer Bandial, another counsel of WAPDA, will start his arguments on Monday. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000421 ------------------------------------------------------------------- WAPDA wants original debt-equity ratio restored ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, April 20: The WAPDA counsel informed the Supreme Court bench hearing HUBCO-WAPDA case, that if the project cost of the HUBCO power plant was determined on the basis of original schedule, and the original debt-equity ratio was restored, the lingering dispute would end immediately. Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim, the WAPDA counsel, in response to the query by Justice Munir A. Sheikh stated that if HUBCO was ready to revert back to the original schedule and debt equity ratio of 80-20, the dispute would end immediately. The HUBCO counsel, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, said that he would respond to the query at his turn. The WAPDA counsels -Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim and Barrister Umer Bandial- continued their opposition to signing of amendments in the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The WAPDA counsel is attempting to persuade the court that the three instruments called, Supplemental Deed, First Amendment and Second Amendment were procured fraudulently, and in violation of public policy by HUBCO. The court also inquired from the counsel of HUBCO what would be his response if the matter was referred to expert for the resolution. The HUBCO counsel said that the court should not stand in the way of arbitration proceedings before the ICC's arbitration tribunal, and the members of the ICC tribunal were competent to deal with the technicalities of the matter. The HUBCO counsel stated that ICC arbitration tribunal consisted of Dr Kamal Hussain, a leading lawyer of Pakistan before the partition in 1971, and the arbitrator by HUBCO was an Australian judge. The Umpire judge was also a judge from Ireland. Barrister Umer Bandial, counsel of WAPDA, said that all the members of the tribunal were legal experts, and not experts of commercial matters. Justice Munir A. Sheikh inquired from HUBCO counsel that if WAPDA would be allowed to raise the question of fraud and corruption. The HUBCO counsel said WAPDA would be free to raise any issue and in fact had raised certain issues before the ICC's arbitration tribunal. Justice Ijaz Nisar inquired from HUBCO counsel why the matter should not be referred to an expert in Pakistan. The HUBCO counsel said that dispute resolution mechanism agreed by the parties should be allowed to take its course. Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim pointed out to the court that the provision of referring the matter to the expert was part of the original PPA. But it was deleted through the controversial amendments by the HUBCO in the PPA. The WAPDA counsel said that the matter was sub-judice in Pakistani courts and should not be taken to the ICC's arbitration tribunal. At the end of proceedings, the bench laid down time frame for the conclusion of the case. After consulting lawyers of both the parties, it was announced by the court that it would try to conclude the case by next Friday. Mr Ibrahim, would complete his submissions on Friday. The bench would assemble in Lahore on Monday and Umer Bandial, another counsel of WAPDA would complete his submissions within two days. On Wednesday, the Deputy Attorney General would take one hour to complete his submission. The HUBCO counsel said that he would conclude his winding up arguments on Friday. The bench made it clear that if the case could not be completed in the next week, then it would be delayed for months as the judges of the present bench would become part of the bench of the full court bench hearing the petitions challenging military take over on October 12,1999. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000418 ------------------------------------------------------------------- HUBCO earned profit illegally: WAPDA counsel ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Rafaqat Ali ISLAMABAD, April 17: A Supreme Court bench hearing HUBCO petition was told by WAPDA counsel that the company had made a profit of over Rs24 billion in 27 months on its total investment of Rs11 billion. Fakhruddin G.Ibrahim said the huge profit of 215 per cent of the total equity was made due to changes in the original power purchase agreement (PPA) through fraud, corruption and in violation of public policy. He was arguing in the appeal filed by the HUBCO against an order restricting it from taking the matter before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) for arbitration. The counsel said he would demonstrate that the amendments made in the original PPA, changing the whole economics of the project, were the result of corruption and fraud. He explained about the tariff under the original PPA, signed in 1992, and the effects of the amendments. He said the dispute with HUBCO was only confined to capacity power purchase (CPP) and the WAPDA had no dispute with regard to electricity power purchase (EPP). Mr. Ibrahim said the increase in tariff due to increase in inputs - furnace oil - fell in the category of EPP on which WAPDA had no dispute with HUBCO. The counsel contended that the PPA was the mother document, signed on Aug 3, 1992 for 30 years supply of electricity to WAPDA. Under the original PPA, HUBCO was to sell power to WAPDA at a levelized CPP tariff of 3.29 cents per kilowatt at 64 PLF (plant load factors). After two amendments and a supplemental deed the levelized tariff increased from 3.29 cents to 4.70 cents. As a result of these amendments, he said, HUBCO would earn $2.6 billion over the project life (30 years). The counsel said that because of this increase HUBCO made a profit of Rs24.85 billion during March 31, 1997 to June 30, 1999 against the equity of Rs11.5 billion. So far the company had earned over 215 per cent profit on its total equity of Rs11.5 billion. The statements that HUBCO had no finances left with it due to the dispute with the government and that the officials were getting their tickets on their credit cards were totally irrelevant, the counsel maintained. He said no business offered the profit of Rs24.85 billion on the total investment of Rs11.5 billion in 27 months. Justice Munir A. Shaikh inquired if WAPDA had offered any guaranteed return to the HUBCO on its investment. The counsel stated that HUBCO had guaranteed 18 percent return a year on the equity from the date of its induction. The counsel made a comparison of the tariff of HUBCO with other companies. He said HUBCO, being the bigger company, was in better position to reduce the tariff. The counsel stated that the levelized CPP was 3.29 cents under the original PPA for 30 years. But it increased to 4.70 cents CPP due to amendments. The impact of the excess amount after the amendments in the PPA was $3119 million. The counsel also presented a comparison of levelized CPP tariff of HUBCO with other IPPs. HUBCO CPP tariff (after amendments) is 5.06 cents; AES 3.30 cents; Fauji Kabirwala Power 2.89 cents; Habibullah Coastal Power 3.09 cents; Saba Power 2.83 cents; Japan Power 1.97 cents; Power Generation 1.74 cents; Liberty Power 2.90 cents; Rousch (Pak) Power 3.17 cents; and Southern Electric Power 2.69 cents. The counsel further stated that the dispute mechanism, provided under the original PPA, was deleted through these amendments. He said 45-paged schedule-VI had provided comprehensive mechanism for the dispute resolution. It provided that if there was any dispute it should be first referred to an expert. If the parties had no faith on one expert, they were empowered to appoint an expert of their choice each. The two experts would appoint an umpire. Clarifying WAPDA's position the counsel said a case was pending before the ICC and courts in Pakistan. Mr Ibrahim added, he would demonstrate that the courts should determine this dispute. Not only because of limitation of the arbitration clause in the agreement itself but also because of increase in tariff claimed under supplemental deed of Nov 16, 1993; amendments in PPA on Feb 2 and Oct 17, 1994, were the result of corruption, fraud and in violation of public policy, the counsel said. He said that he would show to the court that how these documents came into existence and how those documents had changed the PPA. Mr. Ibrahim is assisted by Barrister Umer Bandial. The SC bench consisted of Justice Mohammad Bashir Jehangiri, Justice Shaikh Ijaz Nisar, Justice Abdur Rehman Khan, Justice Shaikh Riaz Ahmed and Justice Munir A. Shaikh. The court announced that it would continue hearing of the case in Islamabad in the current week and if it was not completed, it would hear the case in Lahore in the week starting from April 24. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000418 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Usman's appeal admitted for hearing ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, April 17: An Appellate Bench of High Court of Sindh (SHC), comprising Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and Justice Wahid Bux Brohi, admitted for regular hearing appeal filed by Dr Usman Farooqui, Anisa Farooqui and Sharmila Farooqui, wife and daughter of Usman Farooqui, former Chairman of Pakistan Steel Mills. When the matter was called, Barrister Choudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, assisted by Raza Hashmi, submitted initial arguments. Mr Ahsan, leading counsel for the appellants, also moved two miscellaneous applications seeking suspension of the sentence and to enlarge the appellants on personal bonds. Mr. Ahsan referring to section 426 of CrPC submitted before the Bench that according to this section, the Bench can suspend the sentence, grant bail to the appellants or order their release on personal bonds. He also referred to NAB ordinance and said that the new law restricts grant of bail to the accused/appellants but remaining two options of suspending an impugned judgment/sentence and release of the accused on personal bonds are still with the Bench. He requested the court to suspend the sentence and to order release of the appellants on personal bond/or surety. The Bench after hearing him issued notices to the state for April 24. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000420 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SHC restrains Asif's shifting ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, April 19: A bench of Sindh High Court ordered that Sen Asif Ali Zardari not be shifted away from the Jinnah hospital till further orders. The bench, comprising Justice Abdul Ghani Shaikh, was hearing a contempt of court application filed by Asif Zardari, accused in the murder case of Mir Murtaza Bhutto and six others. When the matter was called, the additional advocate-general of Sindh, complying with the orders of the bench passed on the last date of hearing, placed a report from the medical board which examined Sen Zardari for his spinal chord problem. The bench after perusing the report put off further hearing till April 24. Farooq H. Naek appeared for the applicant.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000419 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Wattoo's plea referred to CJ ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, April 18: The Lahore High Court division bench referred former chief minister Manzoor Wattoo's appeal against his conviction in the plots reference to the chief justice as one of its members had prosecuted the reference before an LHC ehtesab bench prior to his elevation as a high court judge. As the appeal came up for preliminary hearing Justice Khwaja Muhammad Sharif, who along with his colleague, Justice Riaz Kayani constitutes the special appellate bench, recalled that he had appeared as special public prosecutor in the reference against Mr Wattoo before an ehtesab bench when he was advocate-general of Punjab. The reference, originally filed under the Ehtesab Act, was subsequently transferred under the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance to an accountability court that convicted the ex-CM on April 4. Justice Sharif observed that it would not be proper for him to hear an appeal against conviction in a case initially prosecuted by him. The bench accordingly decided to refer the appeal to Chief Justice Mian Allah Nawaz for an 'appropriate' order. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000421 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nawab Marri's bail plea rejected ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent QUETTA, April 20: A Balochistan High Court's division bench has rejected the bail application of Nawab Khair Bukhsh Marri in the Justice Nawaz Marri murder case. The court while rejecting the bail application observed in its judgment that the prosecution had leveled serious allegations of Nawab Marri's involvement in the murder of the late justice. Therefore at this stage bail could not be granted. The bail application was filed by lawyers of Nawab Marri after rejection of his bail plea by Mohammad Akbar Achakzai, judge of the Court for suppression of terrorist activities, in March. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000416 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Local Taliban warned against meddling ------------------------------------------------------------------- TANK, April 15: Tribal elders of South Waziristan warned Pakistani Taliban movement against any interference in the tribal system. Prominent tribal elders at a news conference said that some 10 million people in the tribal belt would strongly react if the Taliban tried to interfere in the tribal set-up. Tribal elders, belonging to Mehsood, Wazir, Burki and Betanni tribes and members of Tribal Union of Journalists said there was no Taliban movement for "promotion of virtue and prevention of vice" and decisions were made in the area under the traditional Jirga system. They said that people in tribal areas had formed a special peace committee to check crimes and to maintain peace. The committee had so far burnt 60 houses of criminals and handed over dozens of them to the local administration. The tribal elders denied reports that Taliban movement was holding a conference in Razmak, tehsil headquarter of North Waziristan, on April 20 and said the owners vehicles would gather in Razmak to press the government for incentives to the owners of non-customs duty paid vehicles.-NNI DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000419 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Attack on Iranian leader: Suspect escaped to Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- TEHRAN, April 18: A leading suspect in March 12 shooting of an Iranian reformist politician fled to Pakistan three days later aboard an airliner which mysteriously diverted to Karachi from an internal flight, the government newspaper Iran reported. The daily quoted an unidentified member of parliament as saying "the person who got off at Karachi was called Qassemi and had an active role in the attack" on Said Hajarian. Rumours have been circulating for several days that the organizer of the March 12 attack had "obliged" the pilot of the flight from Kerman, in southern Iran, to Tehran, to fly to Karachi. The newspaper quoted Hossein Marashi, the deputy for Kerman and secretary-general of the moderate Executives of Construction party, as demanding an explanation for the diversion of the plane from the civil aviation authorities. The March 15 diversion was explained at the time as due to a "technical malfunction" related to the navigational system of the IranAir Airbus. Ten people are due to stand trial in connection with the assassination attempt in the coming weeks in a revolutionary court in Tehran amid allegations by reformists that they are scapegoats covering up high-level involvement.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000418 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Action against religious schools ruled out ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, April 17: The interior ministry categorically said the government is not considering any action against Deeni Madaris (religious institutions). In a handout issued here, the interior ministry spokesman reiterated government's view that majority of the Madaris were doing good work and were imparting religious knowledge to the youth. Dismissing the reports in which the interior minister was quoted as having said that the government was considering action against Deeni Madaris, the spokesman said the minister had actually said that action was being considered against sectarian groups. "The government in fact wanted Deeni Madaris to expand their scope of education and include latest disciplines in their syllabus," the spokesman said, and added, "there was no question of any action against Deeni Madaris." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000421 ------------------------------------------------------------------- NGOs need no clearance from Intelligence Bureau ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, April 20: The NGOs in Sindh do not need to get a clearance from the Intelligence Bureau for registration with the government, it is learnt. According to sources, the Sindh Social Welfare Department has, however, started scrutinizing the workings of all the NGOs functioning in the province. The sources said the department had sought, among other things, from the NGOs the financial details such as sources of funding, areas of work, audited accounts of previous years, etc. However, unlike Punjab, the NGOs here are not being screened through the Intelligence Bureau. Responding to the Dawn queries, Sindh Minister of Social Welfare Shahida Jamil said so far the department had not received any intimation from the federal government about the screening of NGOs. Referring to reports about screening exercise in Punjab, she said "either the exercise is being carried out only in Punjab, or if it is for the entire country, the department here may get the intimation soon."
=================================================================== BUSINESS & ECONOMY 20000422 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Forex rules to be changed to attract investment ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Masood Haider NEW YORK, April 21: Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz told the Wall Street investment and fund managers that the government's economic revival programme would offer many opportunities for foreign investors in Pakistan. He said the new measures would increase the country's tax base and revive sick industries. Briefing the fund managers about Pakistan delegation's meetings with the officials of the US Treasury Department and the Bretton Woods institutions, Aziz said: "We have come to terms with the past mistakes." He said that the government had moved to liberalize the foreign exchange rules to encourage foreign investments. He also informed them that major multinational oil exploration companies had expressed their interest in Pakistan's vast resources of oil and gas and several companies were poised to come to the country for that purpose. Saying that our information technology industry lagged behind India, Aziz said Pakistan would encourage the Info- tech industries. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000422 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Fresh FCY deposits: Ban on foreign placement may go ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, April 21: Pakistan may soon allow both local as well as the foreign banks operating on its soil to invest their fresh foreign currency deposits abroad. Sources close to ministry of finance say the ministry feels it is time to withdraw the June 1999 restriction on investment of fresh foreign currency deposits abroad because Pakistan can no longer ignore the reservations voiced by the IMF on this issue. They say the IMF has told Pakistan economic managers that the restriction defied the spirit of the financial reforms launched with the World Bank assistance-and as a part of an agreement with the IMF. They say the restriction needs to be withdrawn for that simple reason in the first place-even if there are no other reasons. The sources say the restriction may go any time next month but after developing proper safeguards to ensure that placement of fresh foreign currency deposits abroad do not create any problem at home. They say that is very much necessary because some $345 million worth of fresh foreign currency deposits of the banks are now placed with the State Bank. These deposits form part of the gross liquid foreign exchange reserves. At present gross reserves are worth less than $1.5 billion and if banks are allowed to invest fresh FCDs abroad the stock of the $350 million deposits placed with SBP would either vanish or at least fall substantially. That depends on whether the State Bank stops accepting fresh foreign currency deposits of the banks or the banks are given the option to place these deposits abroad or continue to keep them with the SBP. The SBP started accepting fresh foreign currency deposits of banks in June last after refraining them from placing these deposits abroad. Banks had placed some $595 million worth of the deposits abroad before the ban was imposed. Senior bankers say all fresh foreign currency deposits raised by the banks after June 3, 1999 are lying with the State Bank though the banks were allowed to use them in the local corporate market. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000422 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IMF wants sample, not mass tax survey ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent ISLAMABAD, April 21: IMF has cautioned the Central Board of Revenue against a mass survey it intends to conduct for increasing sales tax and income tax collection and for documentation/ charging of the smuggled goods. The CBR plans to conduct these two surveys simultaneously from May 1, 2000. However, the IMF has objected to the scope of their coverage including volume of registration/ collection. Dawn was informed by knowledgeable quarters that the Fund officials monitoring tax policy/administration in Pakistan had expressed their opposition to the method of door-to-door and shop-to-shop visit by the survey teams. "They have asked the CBR to go for a sample survey of each sector/section of the under-assessing/non- registered scheduled taxpayer," a concerned senior official said. The mass survey would not be in the interest of tax policy implementation and administration both in terms of expanding the taxpayer net or collection of revenues. "Scope of the planned survey has already caused ripples in the country and the harassment involved is deemed to be larger than the gains expected," the IMF officials are said to have remarked. The questionnaire specimen which the surveyors are to get filled in by the person approached for information, and the non-stipulated punishment for providing wrong information has also drawn objections from the IMF officials. The sample survey proposed by IMF is for covering a limited section of each sector of targeted taxpayers; setting money/time wise targets for coverage and deposits plus registration; and involvement of fewer surveyors, most preferably by private companies. A meeting of the senior ministry of interior officials is scheduled for April 24, 2000, to which the CBR high ups have also been invited to discuss the issue in the light of IMF observations. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000421 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IMF 'pleased' with new reform package: official ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Masood Haider WASHINGTON, April 20: A senior official of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the Fund officials were "pleased" with the new economic reforms package submitted by Pakistan. The official who wished not to be named, told Dawn that prospects of an agreement on Pakistan's loan package looked "good" adding however, that a lot more was needed to be done before a final agreement was signed. The official said that Pakistan government's revelation that former government had given misleading figures to the Fund in the past "in fact helped" Pakistan's case combined with the commitment that in future no mis-reporting of figures would take place. "We want full transparency in the talks," the official said. Besides, the IMF official said that meetings of Pakistani financial team with the US treasury department officials would be very helpful when the Fund makes the final discussion for the resumption of loan package to Pakistan. An IMF mission would now visit Pakistan next month to continue talks with the government, and a final decision by the IMF board is expected by June or early July. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000419 ------------------------------------------------------------------- No fake budget figures in future: Shaukat ------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON, April 18: An admission by Pakistan's present rulers that the former government doctored budget figures to win cash from the International Monetary Fund shows they had made a clean break from the past, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said. Aziz told Reuters after weekend talks with senior IMF officials in Washington that he was "cautiously optimistic" that Pakistan would replace a stalled $1.56 billion IMF lending program with a new package by the end of June. "Our finding accounting errors, advising the fund and then taking measures to prevent the occurrence of such discrepancies in the future clearly goes in Pakistan's favor," Aziz said in an interview. "The IMF is going to review this matter in the next few weeks," he said. It was disclosed earlier this month that the Sharif government had grossly understated the budget deficit in the last fiscal year at 3.4 percent of gross domestic product instead of 6 percent. The IMF, stung by reports of misleading information and misuse of funds by several borrowing countries, said this weekend it would require independent audits of central bank statements for all countries with current or future loans. The IMF halted lending to Pakistan last July after the government lagged in implementing key tax reforms and resolving tariff dispute with Hub Power Co Ltd (HUBCO). The finance minister said the government had submitted a structural reform package to the IMF that would serve as the basis for a new lending program. He indicated Pakistan was not seeking to revive the existing $1.56 billion IMF plan. "Going back to the past may not be productive," he said, saying he wanted a plan finalized by fiscal year-end in June. He also said the government had a "very ambitious" privatization plan aimed at raising $2-4 billion within three years.-Reuters DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000420 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Debt rescheduling: G-77 backs Pakistan proposals ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Masood Haider UNITED NATIONS, April 19: Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz called on the Bretton Woods institutions to evolve an enduring and permanent solution of the overwhelming levels of external debt burden of middle income developing countries. Speaking at the third meeting of the Economic and Social Council (Ecosoc) and the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs) at the United Nations, Aziz proposed that a set of principles or guidelines might be adopted to promote a comprehensive solution of the debt burden of developing countries. He suggested that the middle income countries should be allowed debt rescheduling and debt re-profiling, enabling them access to debt servicing institutions and financial markets. He stressed that debt relief should be accompanied by the opening up of markets of the developed countries to the exports of developing countries. Aziz underscored that it was trade and not aid which would promote true development in the developing countries. He underlined the need for evolving a set of multilaterally agreed indicators for poverty eradication. Such indicators, he stated, would help in measuring the impact of the efforts being made by the developing countries in this regard. The leaders of the Group of 77 supported Aziz's proposals. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000418 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Software technology parks for three cities ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, April 17: Under a new Information Technology policy, being framed by the government, initially three Information Technology Parks will be established in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi to provide facilities to the people. Dr. Ejaz Hussain Khawaja, director general Pakistan Computer Bureau said that all facilities relating to Computer and Information Technology (IT) will be provided under one roof for use by the people. Even space will be allocated on payment in the said parks for use by private parties, he said. Dr. Ejaz said ten groups have been formed to firm up recommendations on Information Technology to be submitted to the government soon. To promote IT, a sectoral allocation of an estimated Rupees five billion will be required, he said and added that Pakistan has great potential to export software to earn foreign exchange for the country.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000416 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Move to abolish wealth tax: CBR taps alternate sources of revenue ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ikram Hoti ISLAMABAD, April 15: Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has launched an exercise to tap alternative sources of revenue to compensate for the loss caused by the proposed government decision to do away with the wealth tax (WT) in the next budget. CBR sources informed Dawn that the listing of alternative sources for Rs4bn targeted WT for the current financial year and Rs4.5bn for the next year, coincides with another exercise for clubbing together a number of tax stages on the Withholding Tax side, projected to earn Rs80bn in the current fiscal and Rs100bn in the next financial year. The clubbing together of the tax stages may involve loss of another Rs2-2.5bn to make up for which the CBR has been given the task of listing additional revenue sources under the Direct Taxes Schedule. The CBR is planning to induct certain adjustments in the withholding tax stages to make up for Rs6.5-7bn loss. This loss is expected to occur due to proposed minimizing these stages from 21 main- heads to 15 or even lesser, and due to removal of WT as a large resource chunk. These adjustments, say CBR officials, may have to be made mainly through these measures: effective and faster extension of Agriculture Income Tax to the specified large-income groups; improving coverage of the companies zones through better auditing; increase of withholding tax on import and export stages; improving deposits in rental, electricity/telephone bills, dividends and construction industry. Steps have been taken to improve the coverage in Agricultural Income taxation and a report of the joint committee on the subject is to be submitted to ECNEC on April 24 for incorporation of the proposals in the next budget. So far, the situation of deposits (July-March three quarters) in the areas where withholding stages are to be cut down, include: Sec 50 (1) (salaries) Rs6bn; Sec 50 (2) (securities) Rs10bn; Sec 50-2A (bank interest) Rs4bn; Sec 50-2B (cheques/TTs/DDs) Rs5m; Sec 50-3 (non-residents) Rs500m; Sec 50-3A technical fee) Rs300m; Sec 50-4 (contracts) Rs19bn; Sec 50-4A (commission) Rs1m; Sec 50-5 (imports) Rs12bn; Sec 50-5A (exports) Rs1.5bn; Sec 50-5B (bearer certificates) Rs20m; Sec 50-6 (transport) Rs550m; Sec50-6A (dividends) Rs 550m; Sec 50-7 (bonus) Rs10m; Sec 50-7A (auction) Rs450m; Sec 50-7B (rentals) Rs100m; Sec 50-7BB (construction) Rs30m; Sec 50-7C (prizes) Rs500m; Sec 50-7D (interest) Rs550m; Sec 50-7E electricity bills) Rs2bn; Sec 50-7F (telephone) Rs600m; miscellaneous Rs2bn. In view of the poor performance on these withholding section, where only Rs60.72bn have been collected in the first three quarters against a target of Rs75bn, the CBR expects to collect only Rs115bn in the Direct Taxes resources sections for the 12 months of the financial year. The target for this CBR wing is Rs125 bn. But this is twice revised downward target. The original target was Rs140bn. The officials say that having clubbed a number of stages under the new parameters for 2000-2001, the Direct Taxes wing will be facing a Rs7bn resources cut, and to meet it the auditing will have to be improved. For this purpose, the CBR is relying heavily on the property and assets/turnover survey to be conducted in May 2000 throughout the country. The figures to be collected in this survey will be computed for the direct taxes resource expansion for the next financial year, they added. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000422 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Stocks pass through lean session ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, April 21: The KSE 100-share index was off 33.18 points at 1,991.66. Trading volume fell below the 200m shares, reflecting that selling did not assume an alarming proportion on any of the counters and only extreme gains were further clipped. The market decline was led by some of the leading MNCs, leading among them being BOC Pakistan, Shell Pakistan, Knoll Pharma, Colgate Pakistan and Dawood Hercules, falling by Rs2.00 to 8.95. Clariant Pakistan, which announced a cash dividend of 25% for the financial year ended Dec 31, 1999 also fell by Rs4.00 on post- dividend selling. Among the locals, which fell sharply Adamjee Insurance was prominent, off Rs9.00, Bank of Punjab, IGI, Kohinoor Spinning, Blessed Textiles and Shaheen Insurance, which suffered fall ranging from Rs2.00 to 4.00.PSO and Pakistan Oilfields also fell by Rs3.00 to 3.50. Leading gainers were led by Orix Leasing, Gulf Commercial Bank, Millat Tractors, Singer Pakistan, Wah Noble Chemical, Nishat Chunian, Premier Sugar and Pakistan Gum Chemicals, rising by Rs1.90 to 5.25. But the largest gains were recorded by Javed Omer and SK&F, which rose by Rs 8.00 to 10.00. Trading volume shrank further to only 182m shares from the previous 326m shares. The most active list was topped by PTCL, lower 55 paisa at Rs31.65 on 35m shares followed by ICI Pakistan, off 35 paisa at Rs18.35 on 26m shares, Hub-Power, easy 85 paisa at Rs26.15 on 16m shares, PSO, off Rs3.50 at Rs232.00 on 12m shares and Chakwal cement, easy 20 paisa at Rs4.00 on 11m shares. Other actives were led by Ibrahim Fibre, off 50 paisa on 11m shares, D.G. Khan, up 25 paisa on 10m shares, FFC-Jordan Fertilizer, lower 45 paisa on 9m shares, Dhan Fibre, off 65 paisa on 6m shares, Lucky Cement, easy 30 paisa also on 6m shares and Sui Northern and Southern Electric, off 70 and 10 paisa on 4m shares each. DEFAULTER COMPANIES: Textile textiles shares again came in for active bouts of buying and selling on this counter under the lead of Crescent Spinning, unchanged at Rs3.50 on 33,000 shares followed by Khurshid Spinning, easy 10 paisa at Rs3.50 on 30,500 shares and Azam Textiles, lower 10 paisa at Rs2.50 on 16,500 shares. DIVIDEND: Central Insurance cash 50% plus bonus shares at the rate of 20%, Clariant Pakistan cash 25% and Crescent Spinning, nil. Market at a glance. TONE: easy, total listed 763, actives 317, inactives 446, plus 94, minus 174, unc 49. KSE 100-SHARE INDEX: previous 2,024.84, today�s 1,991.66, minus 33.18 points. TOP TEN: gainers SK&F Rs10.00, Javed Omer 8.00, Premier Sugar 5.25, Nishat Chunian 4.85, Singer Pakistan 2.00. LOSERS: Adamjee Insurance Rs9.00, Colgate Pakistan 8.95, Dawood Hercules 8.50, Shell Pakistan 5.00, Knoll 5.00. TOTAL VOLUME: 182.068m shares. VOLUME LEADERS: PTCL 34.965m, ICI Pakistan 26.135m, Hub-Power 16.151m, PSO 12.157m, Chakwal Cement 11.100m shares.Back to the top
=================================================================== EDITORIALS & FEATURES 20000421 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The credit side and a hearing problem ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ayaz Amir IN six months time General Musharraf's government has several surprising achievements to its credit. What would have seemed impossible in October last year is now coming to pass. Begum Kulsoom Nawaz is well on her way to becoming a national leader. So much for destroying the old and ushering in the new. If Begum Nawaz - who seems to have more innate political sense in her than Benazir Bhutto - becomes Pakistan's Indira Gandhi or, more startling still, Aung San Suu Kyi, this helpless nation, in thrall to one set of incompetents after another, will know whom to thank. Who would have thought that in six months the same people who had become sick and tired of the Muslim League's heavy mandate would start to think that anything was better than the mind-boggling confusion of military rule? But this is what has happened. The people's appetite for 'sham' democracy is being restored. General Musharraf also seems well set to equal if not break the record set by his predecessors for foreign travel. A curse seems to hang over this country. Its leaders - Benazir, Nawaz Sharif and now the reforming Generalissimo - just cannot seem to stay at home. Who would have thought it possible for any government to squander so much goodwill in so short a time? But this junta, more insular and inward looking than any to have preceded it, has done it. On the morrow of October 12 anyone could have been forgiven for thinking that the nation's heart beat in unison with that of the army command. As for the political parties, headed by the Muslim League, they were objects of popular ridicule and anger. A week, they say, is a long time in politics. On that time-scale six months is an eternity. Small wonder then if things have changed. The political parties, discredited as they were, are looking up while all that remains with the military leadership are the drawing-room classes (who have their own peculiar views about 'liberalism') and the Pakistani expatriate community in North America. I have had occasion to mention this before. I will seek the indulgence of readers to say this again. The winds of criticism may be howling about the ears of the military government, things may be falling apart, but the foremost priority of the army monitoring teams in Chakwal is to remove push-carts and vendors from the historic Chapper Bazar. Mr Shaukat Aziz talks of reviving business confidence in the country. He should come to Chakwal and see what has happened to business confidence here. Trading is down by half, so thorough has been the mayhem ordered in a city, which lies at the heart of the army's recruitment belt. Make no mistake about it. This is no apprenticeship of failure we are seeing but the real thing itself: failure in all its gaudy colors. Lack of direction is bad enough. But the problem is compounded when, instead of paying heed to the voices now rising to a swelling chorus from town and country, the government's trumpeters (a fearsome band) let no day go by without speaking of plans and theories which have not the slightest relation with reality or the real problems facing the country. Lt-Gen Moinuddin Haider sounds tough every other day. Why, for a change, cannot he act tough? If words alone could achieve wonders then by now we would have got rid of illegal arms, curbed sectarianism and banned extremist madrassahs. The Iron General has been able to do none of this in six months but he cannot resist the temptation of sounding and looking like Goering whenever he addresses a press conference or appears on television. Javed Jabbar is not to blame for anything. He is only doing what he has done throughout his life: talk incessantly, with passion, eloquence and little purpose. Shoukat Aziz, the finance wizard from abroad, is doing what all Pakistani finance ministers sooner or later are compelled to do: carry an ivory begging bowl before the IMF and the World Bank even while proclaiming that they are putting together home-grown nostrums for the country's economic revival and prosperity. Talking of homegrown things, whatever is happening to the original homegrown specialist, my friend Mushahid Hussain? Less out of concern for him and more out of plain curiosity, why are the military authorities guarding him? Do they think he will bring Tim Sebastian and Barbara Walters to Model Town? Have a heart Caesars, let him out. And Siddiqul Farooq too. What has the poor fellow done? As a matter of fact, the military authorities do not know what is good for them. One reason why Begum Kulsoom Nawaz is functioning so effectively is that she is uncluttered by too many high-profile advisers. To slow her down a little, to bog her down a bit, every Muslim League stalwart still in some sort of detention, beginning with my friend Chaudry Nisar Ali, should be let out. General Zia would have done this but then his political antennae were sharper. But to return to the wizards of this dispensation, the strangest case is that of Lt-Gen Tanvir Naqvi and his district devolution plan. No kidding, Gen Naqvi is a bright officer. Whoever heard him speaking during the Zarb-I-Momin military exercises when General Aslam Beg was army chief came away greatly impressed. But the profession of arms is one thing, politics quite another. Has he ever cast his vote in an election? Has he ever been near a village polling station in his life? I doubt it. If a delegation of NATO commanders were visiting Pakistan the best person to address them from the present crop of serving or retired generals would be Gen Naqvi. But if an election plan were being put together I would keep Gen Naqvi at a distance of a hundred miles. Every military government sets about re-inventing the wheel and this one is no exception. We needed a cleaning of the political fields after October 12. No doubt about it. If General Musharraf and his colleagues had picked up an avenging scythe and mowed down the heads of the most famously corrupt - politicos, mandarins, generals, judges and businessmen - the nation would have applauded and raised monuments of thanksgiving to the army. But that plainly has not been done. Nor perhaps was it possible given the Pakistan army's conservative character. What then are we left with? Neither reform nor a return to democracy. This is a policy void and a vacuum and it is being filled by two things: half-baked ideas, such as Gen Naqvi's district devolution plan, and a cast of civilian characters with the charisma of a Russian tractor. There have also been unexplained and gratuitous blunders along the way, three standing out in this regard. Whose brilliant idea was the Provisional Constitution Order? The judiciary was playing ball. It was not creating any problems for the military government. There was no need to humiliate it. But this was done. Why? Whose brilliant idea was it to go heavy on the so-called plane hijacking case and easy on the corruption cases against Nawaz Sharif and the rest of the Jati Umra plutocracy? Whose idea was it for Pakistan to abase itself in the dust and beg Clinton to come to Pakistan, if only for a few hours? What did we gain by that groveling except the kind of humiliation that even our children are not likely to forget in a hurry? Nawaz Sharif has been punished for trying to keep flight PK 805 away from Pakistani shores. Is there no punishment for these costly blunders? What accounts for the royal mess we are in? To a large extent it is a hearing problem. Initially, it is true, everyone with something to say was praising to high heavens General Musharraf's good intentions. That phase has passed. Blind and mindless adulation has turned to disappointment and frustration. But those who matter in this set-up just do not seem to be listening. Either they are contemptuous of public opinion or they lack the ability to assimilate criticism, in their case much of it well meant. The surprising thing is that individually those who matter in this set-up are fine, decent people. It is their collective performance, which is lending new meanings to the word disaster. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000421 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dispute resolution outside the court system ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Nasir Aslam Zahid HUMAN society has resorted to different methods for resolution or settlement of disputes. These can be divided into two main categories. One category comprises resort to proceedings before a court or tribunal set up by law for the purpose. Under this system, the entire proceedings, which are adversarial in nature, are conducted and decision taken in accordance with law. Prescribed procedure is required to be followed by the courts or tribunals in the conduct of cases. Decisions are then subject to appeals or revisions. All this takes time - a lot of time. Prolonged litigation is also very expensive, usually beyond the reach of the ordinary citizen - the common man. Delay in the final disposal of cases under this system has been gradually increasing. A civil suit may take 10 to 20 years before the final adjudication takes place. Criminal cases also generally take a few years for disposal. If this trend continues, a stage will be reached when there will remain no concept of justice for the common man. Article 37(d) of our Constitution casts a duty on the state to ensure inexpensive and expeditious justice. Access to justice is a fundamental right under the Constitution. It has been held so in several decisions of the superior courts of Pakistan. Bill of Rights or the chapter on fundamental rights is considered the heart of the constitution or the constitutional system of a country. But what good are rights when the common man has no access to justice. Law has to be moulded and new methods and tools evolved so that justice becomes accessible to the weaker and poorer sections of society. In India, a country with more than one billion souls and considered as the largest democracy in the world, the judicial system does not provide justice to the common man. In "India Today," a popular Indian journal, a detailed article appeared in its issue of June 30, 1988 on the judicial system. According to it, at that time, about 22 million cases were pending in Indian civil courts. Referring to the rate of disposal of appeals in a high court, the article noted that, unless there was an order for early hearing out of turn, an appeal in that high court was expected to be taken up for final hearing after 50 years of its institution. Twelve years have passed since that article appeared. The pending caseload must have crossed the 30 million mark. According to that article, there was no concept of justice for the common man in India. In his famous book "We, the Nation: The Lost Decades" Nani A. Palkhiwala, originally known as the author of "The Law and Practice of Income tax", standard work on tax law in the subcontinent, but then becoming the champion of human rights and economic developer, had this to say: "I am not aware of any country in the world where litigation goes on for as long a period as in India. Our cases drag over a length of time, which makes eternity intelligible. The law may not be an ass, but in India it is certainly a snail and our cases proceed at a pace, which would be regarded as unduly slow in a community of snails. Justice has to be blind but I see no reason why it should also be lame: here it just hobbles along, barely able to walk. A charitable trust, with which I am connected, filed a suit to recover possession of its building. It took thirty years to get the final decision of the Supreme Court. Even after that, the trust has been unable to recover full possession, because there are obstructionists' notices in the Small Causes Court (in respect of some floors) which would take another decade to dispose of. If litigation were to be included in the next Olympics, India would be certain of winning at-least one gold medal." In Pakistan apparently the position is not that alarming but still it is pretty depressing. Courts are overloaded with work. The judicial system is choking and groaning under the weight of pending cases. Increase in caseload is due to several reasons. There has been a population explosion in the Third World during the twentieth century. Pakistan's population has increased from 35 to 140 millions in just over 50 years. There has been more than a corresponding increase in litigation. Then, more and more complex cases are coming up before the courts. On the other hand, an increase in the number of courts has not taken place as required. For improving the judicial system in the country and tackling the problem of delays, law reforms commissions constituted in the past have made various recommendations, but regrettably dispensation of justice has never been a priority issue for any government in the country. The purpose here is not to discuss and dilate upon the recommendations of the law reforms commissions but to highlight the alternative methods for resolution of disputes, which fall outside the traditional judicial system (ADR). It may, however, be emphasized that urgent reform in the prevalent judicial system is required for its streamlining so that it may withstand the pressures and strains of ever increasing - and also more and more complicated - litigation. ADR techniques comprise arbitration, mediation, conciliation and negotiation. These techniques have been in vogue throughout the world in one form or the other since times immemorial and could be described as non-formal methods of resolution of conflicts but in recent times these methods have started to develop on an organized basis and may no longer be termed as non-formal. ADR techniques are now fairly developed in the US, Western European countries, Singapore, etc. In other countries also ADR is becoming popular and being relied upon for settling disputes. But in Pakistan there is hardly any progress in this area. No effort has been made by the government or even in the private sector for development of ADR techniques. A simple example will illustrate the point. Let us take the case of an ordinary citizen who has a small claim of money which is resisted by the other party, or his son has been injured accidentally in a traffic accident and he wants some compensation for his son's injuries and reimbursement of medical expenses. In case the other party resists or keeps quiet, what options the claimant has for redress? The only option he has is to give a notice usually through an advocate and file a suit. And then the claimant is subjected to the agony and tribulations of a litigation, which goes on and on, and which he is generally not able to sustain, cost wise and time wise. Is it not possible for a claimant to have his claim discussed, tested and possibly settled before he goes to court, in a matter of months if not weeks? As noted, at present there is no such mechanism readily available to a claimant and willy-nilly he has to resort to a civil suit. A few words here about the ADR techniques. Under arbitration the parties agree to refer their disputes to one or more arbitrators, whose decision (award) is binding upon the parties. However, law (Arbitration Act 1940) allows the award to be challenged in courts and the initial decision of the court on the validity or legality of the award is subject to appeals before higher judicial forums. The basic idea behind arbitration was the provision of a system, which could decide the controversy within a short time; but experience shows that arbitration process, including proceedings in judicial forums, takes more or less the same time and expense as a suit does. Taking advantage of amendments in arbitration laws in other countries, especially the UK and the US, our arbitration law can be stably amended to make this system less costly and more expeditious. Mediation and conciliation are the main ADR techniques. Here there is no judgement or award by a forum or arbitrator but the parties in dispute are aided by the mediator or conciliator to reach a settlement. Success of these methods depends on the personality of the mediator or conciliator. Besides being impartial and neutral, he must be a capable person with experience in the field to which the dispute relates. He should have the knack of reducing tensions between the contestants and bringing them closer to a settlement. In countries where ADR techniques are well developed, there are institutes or centers where lists of mediators and conciliators are available enabling parties to choose a suitable person. Then professional firms have also come up providing services of trained personnel to appear on behalf of the parties assisting them in the settlement of their disputes through mediation or conciliation. There is hardly any distinction between mediation and conciliation. These appear to be synonymous terms. Perhaps a distinction can be made out by interpreting conciliation as a process whereby the conciliator assists the parties to enter into discussions and settle their differences. In mediation, apart from being a conciliator, the mediator also suggests the terms of settlement. In these proceedings, conciliation or mediator does not take any decision or give any award; decision-making remains the jurisdiction of the parties. Basic advantages of the conciliation or mediation process are informality of proceedings in which the parties themselves get involved as opposed to the judicial process where, apart from formality, the parties generally are not involved in the proceedings which remain in control of the court and advocates. Then, cost and speed-wise, the non-formal process can be sustained by the common man. Experience of other countries, where ADR is now well entrenched, indicates that a large number of disputes do not make any entry in the formal judicial system as resort to ADR amicably resolves such disputes. Success of ADR has a very healthy effect on the formal judicial system. Firstly, it reduces considerably the case load of courts and, as a consequence, the quality of justice dispensed by the courts also improves as the courts then have a lighter burden on their hands and have relatively more time for cases they handle each day. However, there are no institutions, centers or organizations in Pakistan specializing in the structured development of ADR techniques. We have no institutions like the Center for Dispute Resolution in the UK, the Center for Public Resources in the US or the International Disputes Resolution Center established in 1995 by the American Arbitration Association. In some laws like labor and family legislation there are ad hoc provisions for reconciliation but so far these have not been a great success. In the Philippines constitution of 1987, Art 13(3) reads: "the state shall promote the preferential use of voluntary modes of settling disputes, including conciliation, and shall ensure mutual compliance by the parties thereof in order to foster industrial peace." In the US, Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 1998 refers to the finding of Congress that alternative dispute resolution, when supported by the bench and bar, and utilizing properly trained neutrals in a programme adequately administered by the court, has the potential to provide a variety of benefits, including greater satisfaction of the parties, innovate methods of resolving disputes, and greater efficiency in achieving settlements and that certain forms of ADR, including mediation, early neutral evaluation and early arbitration, may have the potential to reduce the large backlog of cases pending in US courts, thereby allowing the courts to process their remaining cases more efficiently. The US Act of 1998 requires ADR processes to be authorized in all district courts. These provisions of the US law require the courts to refer the parties to ADR techniques, where the dispute has already reached the courts, to explore all possibilities of a settlement before resorting to court trial. There is a very useful piece of legislation in Sri Lanka and it is the Mediation Boards Act of 1988 under which a commission headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court was constituted. Provisions of this law apply to Meditation Board Areas specified in the official gazette by the government. Once an area is so declared, the commission appoints a chairman and a panel of mediators for such an area and any person can make an application to the chairman of the panel for settlement by mediation of any dispute arising within that board area or any offence specified in the schedule to the Act which is alleged to have been committed within such an area. It is further provided in the Sri Lankan law that where a panel has been appointed for any area, no proceeding in respect of any dispute arising or an offence committed within such an area shall be instituted in or entertained by any court unless a certificate of non-settlement is produced by the person instituting such an action. Section 8 of the law provides that where an action is filed in any civil court having jurisdiction over a mediation board area, the court, with the consent of the parties, may refer the dispute to the chairman of the panel of the area for settlement by mediation. In Pakistan there is an urgent need for reform of the existing judicial system to cut down delays and improve the quality of justice. Along with such reform, ADR methods have to be introduced to tackle the majority of disputes outside the formal judicial system which will automatically reduce the case load of the courts thereby assisting the formal system in reducing delays and improving the quality of justice. ADR techniques on organized lines can be introduced under legislative cover (as in Sri Lanka) as without such cover desired results may not be achieved. ADR awareness programmes may have to be organized in various parts of Pakistan with help from countries which have achieved significant success in this field. This can be done through seminars, lectures, and articles in newspapers and debates and discussions on the electronic media. Considerable information about ADR in other countries is available on Internet. Structured training programmes on ADR techniques can also be introduced for lawyers and judges. Awareness programmes will create the right kind of climate for introducing ADR methods under statutory cover. The writer is a former judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000419 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Timeframe & voting system ------------------------------------------------------------------- By M.H. Askari JUDGING from what he said while addressing a group of Pakistanis in London the other day, the Chief Executive's adviser on information and national affairs, Javed Jabbar, seems to believe that the problems which Pakistan has been experiencing with parliamentary democracy over the years is mainly because of the voting system adopted for the country's elections. He was of the view that the first-past-the-post system adopted for election to legislatures did not truly represent the people's choice of their legislators and needed to be replaced by the proportional representative system. He also felt that if for some reason the present system had to be retained, only candidates securing 51 percent or more of the total votes would deserve to sit in the national or provincial assembly. Stressing that no final decision on the issue had been taken, Javed Jabbar also hinted that voting might be made compulsory for all citizens on the electoral rolls and those not exercising their franchise could be given some sort of token punishment. It must be pointed out even at the risk of stating the obvious that a voting system is as good as it is made use of as a basis for, as well as a touchstone of, representative government. Pakistan's experience with elections over the years leaves hardly any doubt that the basic problem in this country is that the system has not been allowed to work properly almost from the outset, it has been subverted and not given time to take roots. Not very long after the nation gained its independence, some key figures in the government began to develop strong reservations about democracy - a situation which persists to this day. Javed Jabbar's address to the Pakistanis also made it fairly clear, for the first time, that the military-led government might bring about changes in the Constitution if it felt the need to do so and especially if at any stage it became an obstacle in its way. This creates doubts about the prospects of a reasonably short time-frame for the restoration of democracy. Also, the constitution itself may look and read very different in the end in the process of providing cover for many of the changes and reforms being contemplated - some of them having important legal and constitutional implications. All this has a touch of deja vu about it. Pakistanis have for all these five decades lived under alternating spells of democratic and authoritarian rule. A democratic system has only been tried for a few years when people are told that the system under which they have been governed is not compatible with their needs and aspirations and would therefore require to be changed. The changed system has barely struck root when there has been yet another upset at the top, leading to yet another round of changes and inevitably to a period of uncertainty and confusion. When Pakistan was established as an independent state, its Constituent Assembly was given the dual responsibility of framing a constitution and also discharging the functions of a normal legislature. The Constituent Assembly took inordinately long years over its primary responsibility of drafting the constitution as it was much too preoccupied with the normal legislative functions. The weak and feuding leadership which came to the helm at various levels in Pakistan in the early years gave the civil and military bureaucracy the time and opportunity to gain control over the day- to-day governance. As Dr Ayesha Jalal has put it, taking advantage of the tensions and the power struggle within the state apparatus, "between October 1951 (after Liaquat Ali Khan's assassination) and October 1954, politicians, bureaucrats and generals jockeyed for positions amidst a complex interplay of domestic, regional and international compulsions (and) as this three-cornered game sapped political energies, the exercise of state power became increasingly far removed from any notion of responsible government." In the end, "real power came to rest with state officials unencumbered by such niceties as accountability to the people." According to Dr Ayesha Jalal, the installation of Khwaja Nazimuddin as prime minister on Liaquat Ali khan's murder was the beginning of the trouble. According to her, under the constitution (the Government of India Act 1935 as amended to meet Pakistan's needs), the central cabinet stood dissolved by virtue of the prime minister's death and normal constitutional procedure demanded that the governor-general select a new team of ministers. Instead, the incumbent prevailed upon the governor-general (Khwaja Nazimuddin) to take over as the prime minister. This set a precedent for the future: principles of succession so uncertain as to be non-existent and, more certainly, the irrelevance of the people or the parliament in the matter. What followed is too familiar to be recounted here. The then army chief, Gen Ayub Khan, who had managed to strengthen his position, mainly with the professional and political support extended to him by the Americans for their own reasons, sidelined the government of the day (October 7, 1958), abrogated the constitution and installed himself at the top. In the meantime, primarily to meet their cold war objectives, Washington sent out its "experts" to Pakistan to restructure not only the military set-up but a large part of the government machinery itself, and Ayub Khan managed to stay in power for over ten years. Indeed, he may have stayed longer but for his blunder of sending guerillas into Indian occupied Kashmir to bring about an uprising among the people there and in the process, risking a war with India. It would be unfair to regard the takeover by Gen Pervez Musharraf last October as a rerun of what happened in 1958. Nawaz Sharif and his colleagues had violated every rule of the game of constitutional and responsible governance, driving the people to an utter state of despair. What eventually sealed the fate of his government was the reckless manner in which he tried to get rid of the army chief, Gen Musharraf, on Oct 12 last year. However, the initial euphoria over the ouster of the Nawaz Sharif government has since been yielding place to a new mood of anxiety over what lies ahead. Nearly six months after the military take-over, there is no clear indication yet of how long it will be before representative rule in the country is restored by fresh elections. Gen Musharraf's reiteration during his meeting with the UN secretary-general that democracy would be restored in Pakistan, "not to please the international community but because it is in our own interest", is somewhat encouraging. Mr Kofi Anan's spokesman has confirmed that the discussions between the Pakistan Chief Executive and the UN secretary-general focused on two issues - plans for democratization of Pakistan and security. The assurance still falls short of a time-table for democratic restoration. Driblets of information about the plans for the future from Javed Jabbar and some others may be all very well. But it would be advisable for Gen Musharraf and his colleagues to take the people into confidence with regard to an approximate time-table for the restoration of democracy. There have been indications that various aspects of the future system of governance would be the subject of a national debate, but so far there have hardly been any tangible signs of any such debate. What people have been witnessing are the mostly one-sided panel discussions on the national television network. It would be naive to believe that such exercises can carry much credibility with the people.
=================================================================== SPORTS 20000420 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan defeat West Indies in first final ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Desk KARACHI, April 19: Pakistan successfully defended a modest score to go one-up in the best-of-three finals with a 17-run victory over the West Indies in Barbados. The West Indies were bowled out for 180 with three balls to spare while chasing 198 for victory. The West Indies suffered a dramatic collapse when they slumped from 99 for one in 32 overs to lose their last nine wickets for 81 in 17.3 overs. Shahid Afridi finished as the pick of bowlers with three for 16 from 21 balls. For Pakistan, it was the 13th time in 18 matches since the World Cup that they have won while defending targets. It was Pakistan's first victory over the West Indies after two defeats in the preliminary round matches. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000418 ------------------------------------------------------------------- West Indies score 17-run victory over Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Qamar Ahmed ST GEORGE'S, April 17: Pakistan made a valiant attempt to reach a difficult target of 249 but failed by 17 runs to beat West Indies in the last preliminary round fixture of the triangular series at the Queen's Park Stadium. Pakistan were all out for 231 in 48.1 overs as West Indies finished the league rounds with four victories in as many matches. The defeat, however, does not affect Pakistan's position in the series as they had already booked their place n the best-of-three finals against the West Indies. Pakistan will have to perform a lot better with the bat than they have done so far. There seems to be an eternal weakness in their batting approach and unless they are able to apply themselves with much more purpose and determination they may struggle against the West Indian bowling which has suddenly started to show its old dominance. Reon King, Franklyn Rose and Nixon McLean are looking quite dangerous and with Curtly Ambrose coming to join them in the finals things could be even more formidable for Pakistan. King picked up three wickets for 38 on Sunday, followed by McLean two for 47 and off-spinner Nehemiah Perry two for 54. Pakistan, having lost three for 24, were well served by Inzamam-ul- Haq and Yousuf Youhana, who between them put on a sizeable stand of 123 for the fourth wicket, to offer some hope. Inzamam made 69 off 95 balls with five fours while Youhana hit 56 off 77 balls with three boundaries. Imran Nazir lost his wicket to King while going for a big hit after he had striking the bowler for a huge six. Mohammad Wasim, playing for the first time on the tour, was run out after being sent back by Wajahatuallh Wasti without scoring. Wasti soon followed when King yorked him for 10. That made Pakistan 24 for three in the 9th over. Inzamam and Youhana then salvaged the innings with a mixture of sensible and purposeful batting. It looked rosy for Pakistan as long as they were together. But the stand was broken when Inzamam failed to reach his crease after stroking the ball into the covers. Rose, in his follow through, picked up the ball and hit the stumps with Inzamam stranded. Youhana reached his fifty with three fours off 71 balls but minutes later he drove uppishly and was brilliantly held by a diving Jimmy Adams for 56. At 162 for five in the 37th over, the run rate had already crept over seven runs an over. Abdur Razzaq and skipper Moin Khan put on 38 for the sixth wicket in an enterprising batting display but it was all in vain as the wickets kept falling. Razzaq (24) was bowled by Man-of-the-Match Reon King 24 and Moin's resistance ended when he lobbed one in the air off Perry to Rose at long-on in the 44th over. Pakistan lost their last six wickets for 84 runs in 13.4 overs. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000416 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan beat Zimbabwe ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Qamar Ahmed ST GEORGE'S, April 15: Pakistan have been set a target shade over four runs an over after restricting Zimbabwe to 204 for seven in 50 overs in the tri-series match at the Queen's Park Stadium. Pakistan were able to contain the Zimbabwe innings to a minimum was due mainly through some good economical bowling by spinners Mushtaq Ahmed and Arshad Khan, who were well assisted by all-rounder Abdur Razzaq. Mushtaq claimed one for 27, Arshad three for 43 and Abdur Razzaq was as much steady with two for 32. Zimbabwe were provided an excellent start by openers Neil Johnson and Craig Wishart after captain Andy Flower won the toss and decided to bat first. The openers put on 84 runs at about four runs an over to leave a launching pad to build on to for the rest of the batsmen. But once the two departed things started to slow down for Zimbabwe and the rest except Murray Goodwin were unable to pierce the gap regularly to increase the run rate. Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis bowled to a poor line in their first spells, conceding 27 and 21 runs respectively in their first six overs. The run rate started to slacken after Razzaq and Mushtaq were brought on. In the 23rd over Razzaq had Wishart caught at mid- wicket by Younis Khan to break the opening stand. Wishart made 45 off 69 balls with three fours. The next to go was Stuart Carlisle when Arshad forced him back and bowled him for five. Not much later Arshad took a catch off Mushtaq Ahmed at short mid-wicket to dismiss Johnson who made an attractive 43 off 94 balls with four fours. Andy Flower and Goodwin came together in a fourth wicket stand of 59. Goodwin was caught by substitute Shoaib Malik at short third man off a top edge as he went for a big hit for 35. Arshad, bowling a tight line, plucked a catch off his own bowling when Andy Flower was 31. *From 177 for three in the 44th over, Zimbabwe failed to force the pace as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. ------------------------------------------------------------------- You can subscribe to DWS by sending an email to <subscribe.dws@dawn.com>, with the following text in the BODY of your message: subscribe dws To unsubscribe, send an email to <unsubscribe.dws@dawn.com>, with the following in the BODY of you message: unsubscribe dws ------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to the top.
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