------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 5 August 2000 Issue : 06/29 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + Pakistan not to export Nuclear material, says FO + New Delhi begins talks with Hizb nominee: 30 killed in Kashmir + Musharraf to meet Clinton, Vajpayee at UN summit + Need stressed for third party mediation in Pak-India disputes + Chief Executive for no-war pact with India + Benazir, Nawaz have no role in politics: Chief Executive + Nawaz not to challenge Attock court judgment + Special bench: Nawaz's plea dismissed by Supreme Court + Court freezes assets of Sherpao and his family + Nawaz's charges rejected + Information & media development to set up Advisory council soon + Government-traders contact revived + 89,735 survey forms received + Talks with traders on Saturday on fixed tax payment formula + Government modifies devolution plan + Women to get 33% seats: NSC, cabinet opt for separate electorate --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + Minister hints at auto-parts export: + Crack down on bookmakers recommended + Alternative to IMF loans ready: SBP chief + 300 flour mills threaten closure + Asian Bank to provide $150m loan: Micro finance sector + SBP cuts yield on FCY deposits + IMF objects to import of industrial inputs: Undocumented facility + New Tax Amnesty Scheme on 5th August + Gold prices move up as rupee falls + Micro-Finance Bank ordinance 2000 promulgated + Stocks, sale checking from 25th August + Special quotas for jobs abolished --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + The revelation at hand Ayaz Amir + Treemazar - 3 Ardeshir Cowasjee ----------- SPORTS + Justice Ebraheem criticises PCB action against players + Moin available for Singapore series + No word about Indian acceptance of tour + Reid's decision has blotted my career, says Waqar
=================================================================== DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 20000805 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan not to export Nuclear material, says FO ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hasan Akhtar ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: Pakistan has dubbed a British newspaper report as "tendentious" and vowed not to export any sensitive material to any country. A foreign office spokesman in a statement here on Friday reiterated Islamabad's unequivocal commitment not to export any nuclear materials, equipment or technologies. He was referring to the report carried by the Guardian on Thursday, suggesting that Pakistan is prepared to export sensitive materials and equipment contrary to its assurances and public posture against such transfers. "Nuclear activity in Pakistan is restricted to the public sector and the question of unauthorized transfer of sensitive materials does not arise," he maintained. He said the export of nuclear-related substances and equipment was governed by SRO 782, issued on July 6, 1998, which completely prohibited the export of all fissionable materials including uranium, plutonium, etc. He said: "Our export control procedures are vigorously applied. Our record is impeccable." In pursuance of its dialogue with the United States and consistent with all International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) norms, he said, Pakistan was considering further procedures to strengthen its export controls. The Guardian story, he said, was based on a public notice issued by the commerce ministry, published in the local press on July 24 which was clarified two days later. According to the clarification, the procedure for the export of nuclear-related substances and equipment was still under consideration by the relevant ministries and agencies and would be made public in due course. KASHMIR KILLINGS: The spokesman rejected Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's accusations that Pakistan was behind the recent mass killings in the disputed Kashmir and demanded an impartial probe. Mr Vajpayee has accused "foreigners backed by Pakistan" for the gruesome violent acts, in which over 100 people were killed on Aug 1 and 2 in parts of the held valley, he stated. He said: "The Pakistan government once again rejects these baseless allegations as part of the Indian government's effort to divert attention from its own atrocities against the Kashmiri people and to malign the Kashmir freedom struggle". "Pakistan has already condemned the killings of civilians and called for an impartial, neutral, and third-party mechanism to carry out a full investigation", he said. He added that India's lack of response to the proposal demonstrated clearly that it was only interested in exploiting these incidents for propaganda purposes against the Kashmir freedom struggle and against Pakistan and had no interest in objective determination of the truth. Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar had expressed on Thursday Pakistan's deep shock and concern at the violent incidents and demanded that the US should exercise its influence to arrange an international impartial inquiry into the incidents which occurred soon after the announcement of cease-fire by Hizbul Mujahideen. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000802 ------------------------------------------------------------------- New Delhi begins talks with Hizb nominee: 30 killed in Kashmir ------------------------------------------------------------------- Monitoring Desk KARACHI, Aug 1: The process of talks between New Delhi and the Hizbul Mujahideen was set in motion on Tuesday as Indian home ministry officials contacted the outfit's nominee for negotiations here. Fazal Haq Qureshi, a veteran freedom struggle leader heading the Jammu and Kashmir People's Political Front, nominated as the negotiator by Hizbul Mujahideen, confirmed that officials of the home ministry spoke to him on phone on Tuesday morning. However, Qureshi refused to divulge details of his interaction with the officials but said: "I told them that I am available for anybody," according to a PTI report monitored here. He said he was waiting for "guidelines" from the Hizbul Mujahideen to go ahead with the talks with New Delhi. Qureshi said he had been in touch with the Hizbul Mujahideen prior to its announcement of unilateral ceasefire for three months. "I am in touch with the Hizbul Mujahideen as before. Even before they (Hizb) announced the ceasefire, I was in contact with them". APPEAL: The Hizbul Mujahideen appealed on Tuesday to other groups to lay down their weapons and urged Indian forces to suspend operations in occupied Kashmir, says an AFP report from Srinagar. In its statement, the Hizbul Mujahideen said: "We appeal to other groups to support the ceasefire and we expect the Indian troops to suspend their offensive operations against all the groups." The statement said authorities had been asked to contact a leader, Fazal-Haq Qureshi. BREAKTHROUGH: The sudden and unprecedented truce between India and the Hizbul Mujahideen has kindled a flicker of hope for peace in occupied Kashmir. Some believe the developments that have unfolded so rapidly in recent weeks could culminate in a meeting between Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at the UN Assembly next month. That would indeed be a breakthrough given that since last year's undeclared war in Kargil, New Delhi has refused to hold talks with Islamabad. But analysts say such hope could easily be snuffed out by New Delhi's reluctance to include Islamabad in negotiations on Kashmir, and its unwillingness to make concessions on sovereignty. There could also be an escalation of violence as diehard groups - such as Lashkar-i-Taiba and Jaish-i-Mohammad - try to undermine the unilateral ceasefire implemented by the Hizbul Mujahideen last week. The first evidence came quickly, with the Lashkar-i-Taiba launching a fierce attack on an Indian army camp in occupied Kashmir on Sunday night. CURFEW: Meanwhile, an indefinite curfew was imposed on Tuesday in a district of occupied Kashmir after the killing of 23 people, including five Hindu pilgrims at a crowded marketplace, a police official said. The official said a group of unidentified gunmen swooped on a market in Pahalgam, 97kms south of Srinagar, and fired indiscriminately at shoppers. "The Pahalgam market which was targeted lies on the Hindu pilgrimage route to the holy Amarnath cave in southern Kashmir. That is why the dead and the injured are mainly from the Hindu community," said the official. "This incident could spark off a lot of communal violence. That is why we have cordoned off the area and stepped up security." A team, led by a senior police officer, rushed to the spot as people from the Hindu community thronged the streets shouting anti- Muslim and anti-government slogans outside police stations, hospitals and government buildings. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000802 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Musharraf to meet Clinton, Vajpayee at UN summit ------------------------------------------------------------------- Masood Haider NEW YORK, Aug 1: Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf would meet US President Bill Clinton and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee during the United Nations Millennium Summit here next month. Diplomats and officials here say that besides exchanging pleasantries, the leaders of Pakistan, US and India could hold bilateral meetings at the sidelines of the summit which will be held from September 6 to 8. The US officials have indicated that they would encourage a meeting between Gen Pervez Musharraf and Atal Behari Vajpayee in the backdrop of the sudden and unprecedented truce between India and Hizbul Mujahideen group which has kindled a flicker of hope for peace in Kashmir after a decade of violence and diplomatic deadlock. That would indeed be a breakthrough since last year's Kargil incident which brought India and Pakistan closer to their fourth war, said observers. Ever since President Clinton's visit to South Asia last March, the US officials from the Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbot to the Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Pickering have asked India to transcend Kargil and open dialogue with Pakistan. India has steadfastly refused to hold talks. But now that the main condition which India stipulated for holding talks has been met it will be hard for India to say no to talks with Pakistan, said an official. "Things have changed dramatically and India would be hard pressed to give valid reasons for not engaging Pakistan," officials observed adding "without engaging Pakistan there can be no viable solution to the Kashmir dispute." Mr Vajpayee who is scheduled to begin an official visit to United States on September 15, would be prompted by the image he would convey in the American media specially in the backdrop of reports of persecution of Indian minorities, in particular the Christians, which has become an issue with the lawmakers at the Capitol Hill. Vajpayee is expected to address a joint session of US House of Representatives and the Senate. The issues of Kashmir, Khalistan and persecution of minorities are expected to be raised by US senators and congressmen who are being lobbied by their constituents in the United States. When a State Department official was asked by Dawn to comment on reports emanating from India and Pakistan that a meeting between the Indian and Pakistani leaders could take place in New York during the summit, he said "obviously US would support any kind of dialogue between the two countries as soon as conditions permit." The official pointed out "President Clinton has repeatedly called upon India and Pakistan for the renewal of dialogue." However, the official said that State Department was unaware of any American effort towards the proposed meeting, adding "we would encourage any peace talks." Last week when State Department spokesman Philip T. Reeker was asked about the ceasefire call in Kashmir, he said: "Our position on Kashmir is well known. When the president (Clinton) visited India earlier this year, he called for mutual restraint, a respect for the Line of Control, a renewal or resumption of dialogue between the parties with a stand against violence, rejecting violence, and making efforts to reduce tension and resolve this peacefully. And that will continue to be our position." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000802 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Need stressed for third party mediation in Pak-India disputes ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: Reaffirming Pakistan's position on the Kashmir issue the Information Minister, Javed Jabbar, on Tuesday said the government was committed to build a "Policy of friendship and peace with dignity and honour with India." Mr Jabbar said this while speaking at a seminar entitled "South Asia: Prospects for Peace," which was organized by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute and was held at a local hotel. He added: "Our government is committed to building policy of peace in South Asia including India." He said that Pakistan had shown its commitment on various occasions and referred to the Chief Executive's, Gen Pervez Musharraf, speech at the South Asia Media Conference held in Islamabad in which he had called for the immediate convening of summit meeting of South Asia Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in a bid "to dilute the intensity and harshness of bilateral relations." The minister said that Gen Musharraf had called for the expansion of the scope of the SAARC's charter to specifically include political dialogues and had also called for the early resumption of official dialogue between the two countries. Mr Jabbar said: "It is an inescapable reality that the Pakistan- India relationship is the most complex relationship of any two nations on the planet. The relationship between Pakistan and India go far beyond the Koreas' relations where there is common ground of ethnicity and faith, or the relations between the former East Germany and West Germany. This has to be the single most difficult, intense, deep and multilayered relationship." He added that in view of this relationship there was the need for third-party intervention to resolve their disputes. He said that the Kashmir issue cannot be termed as a bilateral issue, instead he said: "Kashmir is the first and foremost a disputed territory fully recognized by the United Nations as a dispute between two sovereign states. Reality cannot be brushed aside. However much time goes by, 50 years or another 50 years. You cannot rewrite or fabricate what has occurred in history." He added:"You may wish to bypass Pakistan but Pakistan cannot be bypassed. The 130 million of Pakistan have to be taken seriously." The minister said that All Parties Hurriyet Conference must be recognized as the true representatives of Kashmiri people. He denied the often repeated Indian allegations that Pakistan was sending "infiltrators" into held Kashmir and questioned: "How can we infiltrate people through 500,000 or 600,000 troops." He said that India must realize the "indigenousness of the roots" of the freedom struggle. He added: "Kashmir remains the core issue. Kashmir has become so deep rooted into the Pakistani psyche that it is not going to be possible to deal in any rationale way the Pakistan-India relationship unless it is addressed." He said that even after the Kashmir issue was addressed successfully the complexity of the relationship would remain and that it would not be easy to manage and would be forever full of hazards. He added: "Such a situation poses challenges to us and we should be ready to deal with it." Mr Jabbar said that Pakistan had accepted India as a reality, "We have no problem with accepting India. The difficulty in accepting has been on the other side and not on our side." In this regard, he cited an interview of Quaid-e- Azam with a German journalist on March 11, 1948 who stated: "The root of the Pakistan-India relationship has to be the principle of equality. The government and people of India must recognize that Pakistan is a equal, sovereign state that has come to stay." He said that Pakistan was the only country in the region "which has the capacity to effectively neutralize the basic asymmetry in South Asia. It was well before the nuclear deterrent came into existence. The people of Pakistan know that no force can effectively threaten its sovereignty and endurability as a state." He added: "With the nuclear deterrent, we can say that despite the fact we have a smaller coastline as compared to our neighbour and other limitations of our geographic construct, we are in military terms, the only country in South Asia that can withstand effectively and with credibility, any threat to our security." Mr Jabbar said that Pakistan was not entirely India-centric and said: "It is true that India is the biggest threat to Pakistan's security. Yet we are not obsessed by India." He substantiated his contention by referring to Pakistan's imperishable bonds of friendship with Iran, Middle East, Afghanistan and China.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000801 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Chief Executive for no-war pact with India ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, July 31: The chief executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf, has suggested signing of a no-war agreement with India, and said that he would hand over power to the civilians according to the deadline set by the Supreme Court. In an interview to the London-based Arabic daily Al Hayat, he asked India to sign an agreement for preventing wars between the two countries instead of New Delhi's insistence on signing a pact on no first use of nuclear weapons. "I will not remain in power after 2002. I will certainly hand over power to the civilians, and I do not intend to get involved in politics at all". He said that definite dates for elections had not been decided yet, but "these will certainly be held in 2002". Gen Musharraf ruled out "any serious help" to the US to arrest Osama bin Laden. "All that we can do is act through diplomatic channels to help Washington and Kandahar resolve their pending problems between them," he said, adding "our stand towards Taliban is dictated by Pakistan's national interests." Dispelling impression that his government was mulling over establishing diplomatic ties with Israel, he said "this is unlikely to happen at present as it is not a priority of the government." In reply to a question, the CE said: "What I did was not a coup but a counter-coup to the coup Nawaz Sharif staged when he dismissed me from the army." In reply to another query, he said: "Full reforms cannot be achieved in three years". The reforms are a constant and continuing process. "We are acting to rectify the major issues and stop deterioration". The CE denied Nawaz Sharif's accusation that he had interfered in his trial. "This is nonsense. The judiciary is independent and no one interferes in its affairs."-NNI DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000803 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Benazir, Nawaz have no role in politics: Chief Executive ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Aug 2: Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Wednesday that former premiers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif had no place in politics, and that he was trying to create a new leadership. In an Internet interview with BBC, the CE said he would meet a three-year deadline set by the SC to restore democracy. He denied he had set out to victimize the two former prime ministers. But both leaders had "tried twice and they failed the nation" in the short-lived terms as prime ministers they alternated between them. "So I am only voicing the concern...and the impression of the people of Pakistan that these two have been tested, tried and they have failed. They have failed the country and they have no place in Pakistan's politics," he said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000802 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nawaz not to challenge Attock court judgment ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rafaqat Ali ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: Nawaz Sharif has decided not to challenge the Attock accountability court judgment that has convicted him of corruption in the helicopter case, Dawn learnt from sources close to the deposed prime minister. Under the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance the aggrieved party can challenge the judgment within 10 days of its announcement. The government, too, has decided not to challenge the acquittal of co-accused Saifur Rehman. Headed by Judge Farrukh Latif, the court had awarded 14 years rigorous imprisonment to Nawaz Sharif in the case. As both Nawaz Sharif and Nab have decided not to challenge the verdict, the decision would become final on August 2. Earlier, Nawaz Sharif had refused to receive the judgment served through the jail superintendent. He is sticking to his position which he took before the accountability court. He had boycotted the proceedings on the grounds that since he did not accept the validity of Nab Ordinance, promulgated by a "usurper", he would not take part in the trail initiated under the same law. He had dubbed the ordinance "Nawaz accountability bureau ordinance". He was also disheartened with the Lahore High Court's order on his petition challenging the establishment of the accountability court in the 16th century Attock Fort. "Certain remarks by the members of the (LHC) bench which heard his petition, have convinced Nawaz Sharif that verdict of the accountability court would remain the same," sources said. Nawaz Sharif said he had challenged the ordinance in the SC under its direct jurisdiction. Nab, he believes, is violative of the fundamental rights guaranteed in the constitution. But he was saddened when the apex court did not take up his petition filed by Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan a few months back. The apex court had announced on May 12 that a number of petitions challenging the Nab ordinance were pending, and that they would be taken up for hearing at an appropriate time. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000805 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Special bench: Nawaz's plea dismissed by Supreme Court ------------------------------------------------------------------- Shujaat Ali Khan LAHORE, Aug 4: The Supreme Court dismissed on Friday ousted premier Mian Nawaz Sharif's petition against the creation of a special bench in the Sindh High Court for out-of-turn hearing of appeals in the hijacking case against him. Sindh Advocate-General Raja Qureshi produced an SHC order saying that all criminal appeals, including those filed under the Anti- Terrorism Act, should be heard speedily even during the summer vacation. Due to the shortage of judges, the order made by the SHC chief justice said, only one division bench could be set up to hear the ATA appeals. A copy of the order was sought by the three-member SC bench seized of the ex-PM's petition when the AG submitted on Thursday that all ATA appeals were being heard expeditiously and that the hearing of the hijack case appeals was not being rushed. The AG also produced a copy of the SHC rules empowering the CJ to constitute benches and assign them cases. He reiterated that the hijack case was a case of first impression in that it involves commission of the offence by taking control of a plane from ground. Only Pakistan law (Section 402 of the PPC) provides for such hijacking. Barrister Azizullah Sheikh, the ex-PM's counsel, rejoined that the SHC order produced by the AG did not meet his objection that one particular case was being hurriedly disposed of while 40 appeals filed under the same law (the ATA) much earlier were awaiting hearing. The CJ, he said, may constitute and reconstitute benches but he cannot use this power arbitrarily. As for the interpretation of the PPC provision on hijacking, the lawyer maintained that there is an authoritative pronouncement by a division bench of the Lahore High Court in the case of Mohammad Ibrahim Haleemi alias Abu Abdullah Mohtasib, a Palestinian, involving hijacking from ground. The SC bench comprising Justices Mohammad Arif Chaudhry, Munir A. Sheikh and Qazi Mohammad Farooq dismissed the petition after hearing the two sides. The petition sought leave to appeal against a three-member SHC bench order upholding its constitution to hear the hijack case appeals on day-to-day basis. The bench, which consists of Chief Justice Syed Saeed Ashhad and Justices Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Wahid Bux Brohi, is scheduled to resume hearing of the appeals from 15th of this month. Anwar Saifullah: The SC bench issued notice to the attorney-general in a National Accountability Bureau petition for leave to appeal against a Lahore High Court order granting bail to former petroleum minister Anwar Saifullah Khan. Appearing for the Bureau, Prosecutor-General Farooq Adam Khan said the high court had no power to grant bail to a NAB accused. Notices were also issued in a petition moved by the ex- minister for reduction of the bail amount of Rs 20 million. Arguing the petition, Advocate Shahid Hamid said the NAB Ordinance empowered the high court to grant bail under its Section 24 (D). However, the amount of security fixed by an LHC full bench was too high to allow the petitioner to avail of the concession. The bench observed that both the petitions would be heard together in Islamabad after summer vacation by a larger bench since the LHC bench which granted bail consisted of five members. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000801 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Court freezes assets of Sherpao and his family ------------------------------------------------------------------- Intikhab Amir PESHAWAR, July 31: An accountability court ordered here on Monday the freezing of the movable and immovable assets of the former NWFP chief minister, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, his wife, two sons and two daughters. The court also ordered the freezing of their bank accounts. The court, headed by judge Attaullah Khan, handed down the decision in a case filed by the National Accountability Bureau under section 12 of the accountability ordinance, 1999. The same court had declared the former chief minister proclaimed offender in the NAB reference pertaining to illegal appointments in the provincial education department during his chief ministership. Mr Sherpao is co-accused and the former provincial minister for local government and rural development, Habibur Rehman Tanoli is the main accused in the case. The judge in his two-page decision ordered the collectors of Charsadda and Peshawar to freeze the properties of the co-accused and his family members in the two districts and take their vehicles into possession. Besides, the judge directed the heads of the financial institutions and banks to freeze their accounts. The court further held that all the properties whether movable or immovable should not be disposed of in any way or delivered to the accused or to any other person. Copies of the decision and list of properties/vehicles/bank accounts were immediately dispatched to the deputy commissioners/ collectors of the two districts, the managers of Muslim Commercial Bank, Sherpao village, Habib Bank, Safaid Dheri, Peshawar and Citibank, I.I. Chundrigar road, Karachi, along with instructions for compliance of the order. The main reference against Mr Tanoli would come up for hearing before the accountability court No 2 on Aug 10. The former chief minister has gone under ground since Jan 12, fearing his arrest by the NAB. The vehicles to be seized include a Mercedes Benz, worth Rs8.5 million, a Land Cruiser, Rs2.5 million; a Toyota Corona car, Rs500,000; another Toyota Corolla car, Rs400,000; and a Suzuki car, Rs350,000. The details of Mr Sherpao's bank accounts are: Citibank, I.I. Chundrigar Road branch, Karachi, Rs10,249,998 ($202,243); in the time deposit $102,069; saving account, Rs253,184; in the MCB branch of Sherpao, Charsadda, and Rs45,101 in the Habib Bank Safaid Dehri branch. Mr Sherpao's properties, to be frozen, include: a house in sector E-7, Islamabad; seven kanals hujra at Sherpao village, Charsadda; 133-110 kanals land (already attached); 23 kanals agriculture land at Hawara, Charsadda; 246 kanals at Charsadda; 234-188 kanals (already attached); 46 kanals agriculture land and six kanals residential/ shop at Moza Kiramat Shah, Charsadda. According to the court decision the following properties of Mr Sherpao's wife, Nighat Aftab, will be attached: 814 kanals land at Moza Kiramat Shah, Charsadda, two plots of two kanals each at Hayatabad township and at Rehman Baba Road, University Township, Peshawar. The properties in the name of his elder son, Sikander Sherpao, are: four plots of two kanals each at Hayatabad township, Peshawar, a house in Islamabad, measuring 1777.77 square yards and 359 kanals agriculture land at Zaim Tehsil, Charsadda. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000801 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nawaz's charges rejected ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, July 31: Information Minister Javed Jabbar has rejected allegations levelled against the government by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in his written speech read out at a Pakistan Muslim League meeting on Sunday. "We reject all allegations and the extreme language used against the government," he said while responding to questions at a luncheon meeting with Islamabad-based leading columnists and senior journalists on Monday. "It (written speech) was a strange combination of contradictions. We have to sift as to which part of the statement is based on facts and which is not." Mr Jabbar said that on the one hand Mr Sharif had asked his party to hold dialogue with the government while on the other, he had hurled serious allegations against the government. He said the present government had not made any attempt to persecute or physically torture anybody. "A particular person and a clique was involved in corrupt practices. It is one of the most important responsibilities of the government to initiate accountability," he said and added,"if in that process he (Nawaz) had to face some hardship, then it cannot be termed a biased attitude."-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000801 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Information & media development to set up Advisory council soon ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent ISLAMABAD, July 31: The Ministry of Information and Media Development has decided to establish an advisory council on information and media development. This was stated by the Federal Minister for Information and Media Development, Mr Javed Jabbar, on Monday. The council will comprise prominent citizens and specialists from a broad range of disciplines with a particular interest in the field of mass media. The main objective of creating the council is to enable the government in general and the ministry in particular to benefit from the vast experience and the valuable insights of private citizens from different fields who could provide independent critical observations. The ministry is of the opinion that such a council will help the on-going process of formulating a formal and written information policy. The basic principles of the information policy are: strengthening the freedom of the Press, introducing private and independent electronic media channels, enhancing the professional autonomy of the PTV and the PBC, facilitating free flow of information, refining existing institutions, establishing new institutions, and increasing access of the people to mass media. The council will meet once a month in Islamabad and the four provincial capitals by rotation. The members of the council will serve on voluntary basis and will also receive remuneration. The ministry will only bear their travel and incidental expenses. The government will be represented by the Ministry of Information and Media Development as the convener of the council. The Secretary of the Ministry and the Director General of ISPR will participate as observers. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000801 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Government-traders contact revived ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ikram Hoti ISLAMABAD, July 31: The government-traders contact was revived here on Monday after the talks between the two sides broke down on July 26. Sources in the trade circle told Dawn that the overtures were made on Saturday for "an amicable solution to the problems, and for breaking the deadlock. On Monday, a marathon session of the representatives of all the major trade bodies from 13 major cities of the country, was held at the Rawalpindi Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Sources told Dawn that they discussed the government's offer to restart the talks. The government has asked for a package draft from the trade bodies. "We discussed a draft and will hopefully present it at the 26- member committee of the trade bodies meeting here on Tuesday", said a senior trade leader. "We will submit it to the higher authorities. Once this process is over, we hope to be talking to these authorities, in three to four days", he said. When asked whether the CBR officials have been involved in this process, he said: "They (CBR officials), according to our information, will join us after once we have met the authorities", he added. The draft, he added, included a tax payment system which would be similar to the fixed tax scheme, evolved by the CBR in the shape of development tax, last year. The finance ministry spokesman, Dr Waqar Masud, told Dawn that the government did contact the trade leaders and "this time we are inviting a larger group of them to talks." When asked whether the government's negotiating team (at talks on July 25-26) had taken up the issue of two per cent turnover tax and its clubbing with the income tax, with the higher authorities, he said: "We did take it up with the higher authorities (supposed to be the chief executive). About the proposed fixed tax scheme of the traders to which the government has already expressed its aversion, he said: "Let us see what they come out with; talks will, in all circumstances, continue; it will be an un-interrupted process" he said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000803 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 89,735 survey forms received ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent ISLAMABAD, Aug 2: Out of 337,139 survey forms distributed among the businessmen in 13 major cities of the country, only 89,735 (26.6 per cent) returned these forms by Aug 2. According to the latest figures released by the Central Board of Revenue, the poorest returns have been recorded in Multan, Faisalabad and Karachi. In Rawalpindi, businessmen returned only 1322 forms out of 28419 (4.6%). Faisalabad businessmen received 28,694 forms and returned only 5276 (18%). Businessmen of Lahore topped by returning 25,222 forms out of 86,012 distributed (29.3%). Businessmen of Karachi returned only 15,564 forms out of the total 72,969 distributed (21.3%). The performance of survey teams in distribution of forms in Karachi, the largest business centre of the country, remained poor than their performance in Lahore, as they distributed 13043 forms and collected 9658 less forms in Karachi. In Sialkot, 18433 forms were distributed among the business community and 15796 were retrieved (85.6%). Multan businessmen received 22,138 forms and returned only 1959 (8%). In Gujranwala, the total forms distributed among businessmen were 21,809, while the forms retrieved were 7861 (36%). DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000803 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Talks with traders on Saturday on fixed tax payment formula ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent ISLAMABAD, Aug 2: The talks between the government and the trade bodies for a fixed tax-payment formula will be held on Saturday, official sources told Dawn Wednesday. The talks will be initiated if the trade bodies agree to certain modalities of payment meant to secure achievement of a revenue target set for the retail sector, sources said. The nominees of both the sides will first negotiate, on Thursday or on Friday, to finalize a draft formula for the scrutiny of a technical committee to be set up by Saturday. The committee, will be "fully empowered to give shape to the amendment in the law for the fixed tax scheme to be applicable to the retail sector below the annual turnover of Rs5m. "The modalities will be such that if the trade sector did not help achieve the target, the scheme will be scrapped", said a senior official. The package will be based on a combine of sales tax and income tax. The rates of the two will be reduced for the specific sector and clubbed together for one-time clearance of the liability- the mode of payment to be set up differently from those applicable under the normal circumstances. The sources also said that the rate of income tax will be fixed somewhere between Rs 0.25-0.75, and that of sales tax at 0.5%. The retailers in 13 major cities will be allowed to avail the immunity from physical verification of the income-source records in case of making declarations under the Self-Assessment Scheme. "This will satisfy the demand of trade bodies to do away with the new policy in which basic SAS-based immunity is not available to trade sector in 13 major cities", sources added. They said the committee will be comprised ministry of finance/CBR officials and the representatives of the trade sector and it will be empowered to deal with issues relating to net revenue generation from the scheme. "It will also finalize a strategic component of the scheme which will make it binding upon traders to pay dues under the formula" , they added. When asked whether such a scheme will be floated during August, a CBR official said: "Already much precious time has been lost in deciding whether the provisions of the Finance Ordinance 2000 are to be followed strictly. There is no provision for fixed tax under this ordinance. However, revival of a fixed scheme has been allowed as businessmen with turnover up to Rs5m have been offered a 2% Turnover Tax package. So why not allow another scheme, and settle the issue which has so far prevented the government and traders from striking a deal", he said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000803 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Government modifies devolution plan ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Aug 2: The National Reconstruction Bureau has modified its devolution plan, to be unveiled by the chief executive on Aug 14, to accommodate provincial governments' demand for a neutral administrative machinery under the district mayor. Sources told Dawn that following objections from the provincial governments the NRB has amended its plan to allow chief secretaries to appoint the district police chief, district coordinating officers (DCO), and other senior officials in the district government. The chief mayor, who is called district mayor under the modified plan, will not be the appointing authority for such officials. The provision of ratification of such appointments by the district assembly has also been rubbed out from the original plan. The original plan had authorized the district mayor to make such appointments and the district assembly was authorized to ratify them by a two-thirds majority. However, the NRB is still insisting that the two-thirds majority of the district assembly should have the right to remove the DCO, but provincial governments believe it will lead to the worst form of politicization in the bureaucracy. The annual confidential report of the DCO will be written by the chief secretary whereas the counter-signing authority will be the district mayor. The NRB also quashed the earlier condition of holding run-off elections for the district mayor and deputy mayor in the planned district governments. Provincial governments and some other authorities had opposed the idea and insisted that the candidate who would bag the maximum votes should be declared successful. In the original plan, the NRB had said that when no candidate for elective office received more than 50 per cent of the votes, the election authority would within one week conduct a run-off election between the two candidates who polled the highest number of votes. The NRB has also made certain additions with regard to the qualification of candidates for the district mayor and also for members of the district and other assemblies. It has proposed that the candidates contesting for the slot of district mayor and deputy mayor should, at least, be graduate whereas the minimum qualification for members of the assemblies should be fixed at intermediate. There has also been a lot of opposition to the proposed allocation of 50 per cent seats for women in the district, tehsil and Zila assemblies but the NRB has decided not to compromise on this issue. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000805 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Women to get 33% seats: NSC, cabinet opt for separate electorate ------------------------------------------------------------------- Faraz Hashmi ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: A two-day joint meeting of the National Security Council and federal cabinet, which started here on Friday, decided to fix 33% seats for women in the proposed district governments and hold elections on separate electorate basis, Dawn reliably learnt. The meeting will finalize the devolution plan, which is to be announced by Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf on Aug 14. The first session put off till Saturday the discussion on other issues, including the question whether the police should be placed under the administrative control of district mayors or under the proposed police safety commission. The National Reconstruction Bureau chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Tanveer Naqvi, who presented the plan, suggested that the police should be under the control of district mayors who would be an elected person and accountable before the district assembly. Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider, however, differed with him and insisted that they should be under the proposed police safety commission which would also have public representation. Gen Musharraf put off the discussion on the issue till tomorrow, an official said. In the original plan the NRB had proposed that women should be given 50 per cent representation in the district governments. However, in view of reservations, expressed by some members of the NSC, the meeting decided to reduce the number of seats to 33 per cent as recommended by Beijing conference, he said. The issue, whether the elections should be held on joint or separate electorate basis, was also discussed thoroughly and finally it was decided not to change the existing system. In the existing system, minority communities elect their members for special seats reserved for them. Later an official statement said the meeting was attended by NSC members, the federal cabinet, governors, four corps commanders, and some senior officials of the army, the election commission, NADRA, NRB as well as chief secretaries. Initiating the deliberations, the chief executive commended the efforts and hard work done by the NRB in preparing the plan, which will empower the people by making the system of governance directly responsive and accountable to them. The plan proposes strategic and far-reaching changes in the local government system in order to lay the foundation of enduring and participative democracy and good governance. The proposals on devolution, originally announced on March 23 by the chief executive, have been widely debated all over the country during the past four months. The governors, NSC members, the federal and provincial cabinets have also consulted a cross-section of the people throughout the country. Over 1,600 written analysis have also been received. The print and electronic media have also projected a comprehensive debate on the plan.
=================================================================== BUSINESS & ECONOMY 20000802 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Minister hints at auto-parts export: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Aug 1: The government is evolving a policy-cum-strategy in consultation with car assemblers and vendors to have a long-term and broad-based vision of the whole engineering sector. Minister for commerce, industries and production Razak Dawood held a meeting with leading car manufacturers on Tuesday and asked them whether they will like a tariff driven strategy or a time-frame deletion programme. He asked them to expedite deletion programme. The commerce minister urged the industry to come up with a new direction for the industry which encompasses the export of auto- parts. He assured the car industry all-out help from the government and offered support for export. "Growth of auto-part industry will not only boost export rather it will also generate employment which is one of the prime objective of the present regime", the minister said. He urged car manufacturers to come up to the expectation of the nation and expedite the indigenization process and discussed with representatives the problems of the industry and achieving maximum indigenization of the product. Representatives of car vendors i.e. Toyota, Suzuki, Honda, Fiat, Nissan, Hyundai etc. participated in the meeting. Secretary industries and production, vice chairman, Engineering Development Board and other officials of the ministry of industries and production were also present. The car manufacturers' representatives expressed views about deletion programme and the participants discussed the possibility of auto-parts exports. They discussed the problems like smuggling, under-invoicing,mis- declaration of the autoparts with, connivance of dry port authorities which had harmed the vendor industry and loss of government revenue. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000802 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Crack down on bookmakers recommended ------------------------------------------------------------------- Samiul Hasan KARACHI, Aug 1: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has suggested to the government for a crack down on bookmakers. Lt Gen Tauqir Zia said the suggestion was made about two months ago and expected that the raids would begin in the near future. "We have been provided with all the details of the leading bookies in Pakistan. If we manage to get hold of them, we would be able to unearth more information besides helping the game of cricket by keeping the people from harming the sport," he said. He said he had a meeting with President Rafiq Tarar on May 25 in which he had suggested this move, arguing that it would help control the menace of match-fixing. "Frankly speaking, match-fixing or betting cannot be eliminated. But it can be controlled. Elaborating the steps taken by the PCB, the general said mobile telephones have been banned in the dressing room and the telephone calls in the hotel would come through the team manager. He said the players have been banned from night-outs. He admitted that there have been one or two incidents where the players were reported to be attending parties. "But they were minor issues and have been tackled." "It has been decided in principle that the Pakistan team during series' would only attend two functions - receptions by the local cricket association and Pakistan Embassy/High Commission." To another question, Tauqir Zia said the PCB has received four audio cassettes of Salim Malik's alleged interview with News of the World. He said quality of three cassettes was very poor. However, he refused to given details of the fourth cassettes which he admitted was audible. The general admitted that the transcripts available with the PCB were very damaging and contained Malik's remarks about the honourable judge. But he said the transcripts have so far not been provided to Justice Qayyum. He, nevertheless, said they would be made available to the judge. SALIM MALIK: The PCB chairman said Salim Malik has been given 15 days to inform the board whether he was contemplating appealing against the life ban imposed on him. He said the deadline for the reply expires on Friday. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000802 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Alternative to IMF loans ready: SBP chief ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, Aug 1: State Bank on Tuesday said it had prepared an alternative plan if the International Monetary Fund (IMF) refuses to approve loans following a crucial post-budget review. "If we cannot make a deal with the IMF, we have prepared an alternative to cope with the situation," State Bank Governor Ishrat Husain told AFP, without elaborating on the details of the plan. An IMF team is expected to visit Pakistan by the middle of this month to discuss a loan under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Fund. "We are not going to disclose our alternative plan till finalizing the talks with the IMF," he said. Pakistan hopes to get up to 2.5 billion dollars in loans from the IMF to help pay off massive debt servicing bill. Pakistan needs about six billion dollars to cover interest on its debts due in 2001 but its forex reserves are hovering around 1.1 billion dollars. Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz has said he hopes the first tranche of the proposed IMF package, the details of which have not been disclosed, will be made available by the end of September. Analysts said they could see no sign that the central bank had any contingency plan if the funds were not approved. The 2000-2001 budget targets a fiscal deficit of 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product, well below last year's 6.1 per cent. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000802 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 300 flour mills threaten closure ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sabihuddin Ghausi KARACHI, Aug 1: About 300 millers of Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan are closing down their flour mills on Saturday to protest against a Punjab government decision, forbidding them from buying wheat directly from farmers and allowing its mills to supply the flour to the three provinces. "We are holding a meeting of the millers from the three provinces in Karachi on Wednesday to formalize the decision of closing down our mills from Saturday", Malik Nazir, Chairman of Pakistan Flour Mills Association, (PFMA) Sindh zone said. Mr Nazir, during a visit to Dawn's office here on Tuesday with Anwar-ur-Rehman, a former chairman of the association, explained that the soaring price of wheat - Rs9,500 a ton in the open market in Karachi - had rendered their operations non-feasible. The Sindh government, too, is not releasing the subsidised wheat to the 126 millers in the province who are now forced to buy it from the open market where prices are going up. The two leaders of the millers made it clear that from Saturday the flour price in the open market would be Rs12 a kilogram. The price of chakki atta, considered to be a premium quality, would be Rs15. The millers argue that they should be allowed to buy the commodity direct from the farmers. It will have two impacts, they believe. Firstly, they will get wheat at a lesser price. Secondly, the wheat price in open market in Punjab will go up and the farmer there will get a fair deal without intervention of the Punjab government. Early this month, the federal government had decided to increase the supply of subsidised wheat to 6.72 million tons from 6.13 million tons to 724 flour mills in all the four provinces. However, the quota of 450 mills of Punjab was increased and the 126 mills of Sindh were refused any increase. The government has provided loans of Rs37 billion at 16 per cent mark-up to the provincial authorities in Sindh, Balochistan and NWFP to enable them buy wheat from Punjab after refusing the millers to make direct purchases. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000801 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Asian Bank to provide $150m loan: Micro finance sector ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ihtashamul Haque ISLAMABAD, July 31: A high-level meeting chaired by Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf on Monday was told that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was expected to offer $150m for micro finance sector including the recently established Micro Finance Bank (MFB). "The government has provided Rs one billion equity for the MFB while $150m were likely to be extended by the ADB for the micro finance sector as well as for the Bank", said Additional Secretary and the Spokesman of Ministry of Finance, Dr Waqar Masood Khan. He told Dawn the meeting was informed that the MFB will be the most important instrument for the poverty reduction strategy. He said that the ADB was also expected to provide technically assistance to remove poverty from the country. Chief Executive appreciated the efforts put in by all concerned to conceive and implement a strategy aimed at assisting the poor becoming masters of their own destiny. He said the government was committed to the implementation of a policy supported by concrete financial measures, so that any poor person prepared to work for his own betterment and uplift does not face problems of raising or arranging capital and credit. He said the key to the success of the MFB was selection of persons on merit who were prepared to devote time and energy for the betterment of the people and not simply job seekers. The chief executive directed the participants, including the Finance Minister, Shaukat Aziz, Secretary General finance, Moeen Afzal and senior officials of the Micro-Credit Bank to focus on the less developed areas and take steps to encourage spirit of participation among the people who would benefit from the scheme. He said the Micro-Credit Bank was not merely a bank by another name but an important partner of the people in projects for their uplift and wellbeing. Ghalib Nishtar, Chairman, Micro Finance Bank gave a presentation to the meeting apprised the participants about the scope and objectives of Micro-finance including challenges, mythology, business strategy, milestones and progress achieved so far. Nishtar informed the participants that 70% of the poor population live in rural areas and so far only 5% of their requirements are met through the formal and semi-formal sector. He dwelt at length on effectively meeting the requirements of the poor and the creation of a delivery system of financial services to them. Nishtar said the Micro-Finance Bank was based on the participatory development paradigm with the aim of reaching the poorest, educating and training them as well as promoting the fraternity of members. He gave out the measures undertaken for establishing the institution which included preparation of business and financial models, signing of MoUs with Asian Development Bank and other strategic partners, approval of legislation by the Cabinet, establishment of dialogue with donors and identification of pilot sites. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000801 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SBP cuts yield on FCY deposits ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, July 31: The State Bank on Monday announced slashing of 15-20 basis points in the rates of return it would offer on foreign currency deposits of banks in August. The SBP said it would give 4.60 and 4.30 per cent return on three- month and one-month deposits instead of 4.80 and 4.50 per cent respectively. It said one-week deposits would attract 4.10 per cent return instead of 4.25 per cent. Senior bankers say the decision is aimed at forcing banks to lend their foreign currency deposits in the domestic market or use the same for dollar-rupee swap between themselves. But they say there is little chances for the banks to do either of the two. "Domestic lending in foreign currency is very difficult for the banks because there are almost no good borrowers," said head of treasury of a leading foreign bank. "Exporters do not want to borrow in foreign currency because they can do it only against future export proceeds and have to convert the borrowed amount into rupees," explained the banker. "So far importers are concerned...only multinationals can be expected to borrow in foreign currency...but most of them have the facility of borrowing from overseas through their principal offices." Bankers say the very reason that there are not many borrowers of foreign currency in domestic market refrains banks from using foreign currency deposits for dollar-rupee swap between themselves. "When we swap dollar for rupee you do it to meet some commercial transactions. If a banks swaps dollar for rupee where on earth he would use these dollars when there are no borrowers around?" questioned a banker. If using foreign currency deposits in the domestic market is so difficult what else the banks can do with them particularly when they are not supposed to employ them abroad. "The answer is they should continue placing these deposits with the State Bank and get whatever return it offers," says treasurer of a state-run bank. That is where the crux of the problem lies. Banks are earning a cool return of up to two per cent through placement of foreign currency deposits with the SBP after paying 1.0-2.0 per cent return to the holders of these deposits and meeting operational cost. But this is leading to further dollarization of economy without the economy being directly benefited with it. That is why many bankers feel that the rate-cut announced by the SBP is aimed at discouraging mobilization of foreign currency deposits any more. "We think the rate-cut would continue till the time when banks would find it difficult to pay any interest on foreign currency deposits forcing its growth to stop," said head of a local bank. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000804 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IMF objects to import of industrial inputs: Undocumented facility ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ikram Hoti ISLAMABAD, Aug 3: IMF experts have objected to the facility of undocumented trade of industrial raw materials allowed in Pakistan on payment of 1.5% extra sales tax under the Finance Ordinance 2000. According to official sources, the objection "of serious nature" has been communicated to the Central Board of Revenue after examination of the changes made in the tax structure in Federal Budget 2000-2001, over the last one month. "They have objected to this facility as the rate of extra sales tax has been reduced in the new budget from 3% last year to 1.5% for the new financial year, and that Pakistan is the only country with such a huge volume of undocumented industrial inputs", said a senior CBR official. The IMF experts have pointed out that more than 90% of 350,000 tons of plastic industry's raw materials annually imported falls into the hands of fake buyers, who sell it to the manufacturing units evading taxes and duties by keeping their inputs undocumented. They have pointed out to the CBR that while on the one hand the government is conducting the documentation survey, on the other hand it has allowed trade of undocumented industrial raw materials only by paying 1.5% extra sales tax to the unregistered buyers, from whom the tax-evading manufacturing sector purchases these materials for keeping the inputs undocumented, which also helps evade income tax. These raw materials are imported by commercial importers and used by sectors which have been listed by the CBR for being the top tax- evading manufacture sectors of the country. CBR investigations reveal that most of the tax evasion they commit is with the help of commercial importers from whom they receive undocumented raw materials. CBR officials, when asked what they are doing to plug this evasion and satisfy the observation made by the IMF experts, told Dawn that a summary had been moved by the Sales Tax Wing to do away with the large scale evasion, after scrutiny of a number of reports indicating raw materials' disposal in specified sectors. The summary for proposal to ban this trade was based on reports and their due verification by the CBR, both from the industrialists and the sales tax collectorate officials. The IMF experts have also pointed out that the organized sector, which forms only about 10% of the total of the manufacturing sectors of plastics, steel, textiles and tanneries, have been subjected to severe auditing due to their being documented in all aspects, while the unorganized sector has been allowed to occupy 90% of the trade in raw materials by paying only 1.5% extra sales tax. Notice has also been taken of a number of complaints from the relevant associations of the industrialists in the organized sector who have been complaining that their units were being rendered uncompetitive due to the sale of industrial raw materials to unregistered persons. This trade at cheaper prices (due to being non-tax-paid) has impacted the organized sector to the extent that many of them are near closure. When the attention of the relevant CBR officials was drawn toward the fact that delay in introducing a pronounced ban on trade of undocumented sale of raw materials in these specified industries would retard the industries, they said a number of proposals are being examined in this connection. The chief proposal was to ban sale of these raw materials to persons who do not hold manufacturing licence and sales tax registration number, but the CBR's officials said "it would be against the spirit of self- assessment and free trade under the sales tax laws, which do not allow imposition of such restrictions. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000801 ------------------------------------------------------------------- New Tax Amnesty Scheme on 5th August ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ikram Hoti ISLAMABAD, July 31: The Central Board of Revenue will announce the new tax amnesty scheme-2000 on Aug 5, say CBR sources. The scheme will, be applicable with immediate effect. The CBR officials told Dawn Monday the rate of tax for whitening the undeclared assets/incomes etc will be finalized in a presentation to the finance minister in a day or so. Three rates have been suggested: 12.5%, 13% and 15%. "Most probably, the 13% tax rate will be accepted as applicable", said an official who added that the declarants will be given two months time to declare incomes, assets etc. When asked what will be the treatment of assets and incomes declared through the scheme but have been declared through the survey forms as well, the source said: "those assets and incomes declared through survey forms, cannot be declared for availing of the concessional rate of tax under the second TAS-2000". When asked how will the CBR know whether such assets and incomes have already been declared through forms, the officials said a provision is being inserted into the scheme to make it binding upon the declarants that, while submitting the TAS declaration form, they should attach a photo copy of the survey form already submitted. This would help the CBR to ascertain whether double declarations have been made. "If we allow double declarations of the same assets and incomes, this will jeopardize the entire exercise of survey which is meant to expand the net and avail tax amounts as per the operative rate, and not at the concessional rate", said a senior official. He said that though the government has not set a target of tax collection and volume of assets and incomes, "we hope that this time the declarants will receive the scheme with the same fervour and avail of its benefits due to two reasons: firstly, the survey is going on through which declarations will be taxed at the normal (non-concessional) rate, and this would be an opportunity to declare at a concessional rate. Secondly, the post-survey scrutiny of the incomes and assets to be conducted, which is indicated from the kind of declarations required to be made through survey form, is going to be thorough enough to help dig out incomes and assets kept undeclared even through the survey form", he added. Other CBR officials indicated that the government is considering to create a mechanism in the post-survey (of 13 major cities) for maintaining records of assets, turnover, assets and holdings on city, locality and ownership basis. "This will be a kind of watchdog on movement of finances and materials, investments and profiteering through black market", they said. "The CBR will seek cooperation of banks, development finance institutions and private sector companies keeping records on investments and transactions, finance-based litigation etc, in this connection". DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000803 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Gold prices move up as rupee falls ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, Aug 2: Prices of gold have risen sharply in Karachi and Lahore respectively after the removal of the cap on inter-bank exchange rates on July 20. On 20th July 24 caret gold was selling for Rs4980 per 10 gm in Karachi and for Rs5040 in Lahore: on Aug 2 the rates rose to Rs5050 and Rs5075 respectively. In Lahore, gold was selling for Rs5150 per 10 gm on Tuesday but on Wednesday the price fell dramatically to Rs5075. But bullion traders said the fall was temporary adding that the price would soon hit back past Rs5100. "One reason for gold prices moving up is that the dollar has become dearer in the inter-bank as well as in open market," said chairman of All Pakistan Gem Merchants and Jewellers Association Kamran Khan. He said gold importers purchase dollars from the open market to finance their imports and as such any change in exchange rates reflects in the local prices of gold. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000805 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Micro-Finance Bank ordinance 2000 promulgated ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: President Rafiq Tarar on Friday promulgated an ordinance for the establishment of the Micro-finance Bank for rendering micro-finance services to the poor for alleviation of poverty. The ordinance is entitled "Micro-finance Bank Ordinance, 2000," and extends to the whole country and is effective immediately. The bank shall be a corporate body with perpetual succession and a common seal, with powers subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, to enter into contracts, acquire and hold both movable and immovable property, and shall by the said name sue and be sued. Its shall be in Islamabad and the bank may, with the approval of the State Bank, establish regional offices at such other place/places in Pakistan as it may think fit. The bank shall, in accordance with prudential regulations and subject to the terms and conditions of the licence issued by the State Bank, render assistance to micro-finance institutions and provide micro-finance services in a sustainable manner to poor persons, particularly poor women, with a view to alleviating poverty. The Micro-finance Bank shall not undertake or transact any kind of business other than that authorised by or under this Ordinance. It shall not be deemed to be a banking company for the purposes of the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 (LVII of 1962) or any other law for the time being in force relating to banking companies. Provided that the federal government in consultation with the State Bank may by notification in the Official Gazette, apply to the bank, the provisions of Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 or any other law for the time being in force relating to banking companies. The authorised capital of the bank shall be Rs5 billion to be subscribed by such banking companies, financial and other institutions as the State Bank may, from time to time, determine. The initial paid-up share capital of the bank shall be determined by the State Bank and be subscribed in such a ratio as the State Bank may permit.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000805 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Stocks, sale checking from 25th August ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ikram Hoti ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: The on-the-spot checking of stocks and sales of the trade and manufacturing sectors for matching them with their declarations made through the survey forms to be launched on August 25. Sources attached to the survey scheme told Dawn here on Friday that the physical checking of stocks and sales of the traders and factories would be launched after the completion of scrutiny of the survey-form based declarations of utilities consumption by the residential section. When contacted, Member Sales Tax, CBR, Sarfraz Ahmad Khan told Dawn that scrutiny of utilities bills is going to take another 15-20 days, after which the physical verification of declarations by the business section would "hopefully" be launched. "The work of physical verification is planned to be completed before Sept 30, when the income tax returns are scheduled to be filed. The business section filers of IT returns have also been offered the option of declaring the hidden stocks through the Tax Amnesty Scheme, at a concessional rate. The CBR needs to be updated on the stocks and sales for netting those assessees who neither declare their hidden stock through the IT returns, nor through the TAS, while under-declaring them through the survey forms". He added that a three-pronged strategy has been prepared for completing this work. In the first phase, he said, the survey teams' work, presently being carried out in only the posh areas of the 13 major cities of the country, is being extended to the non- posh vicinities of these cities. In the second phase, the physical verification of stocks and sales of the business sections would be conducted, while in the third phase, the survey teams would be asked to expand the scope of their work to the non-mega towns, approximately 50. However, he said, the most important work presently on hand is the scrutiny of utilities consumption declarations by residential section, which are being matched through the computerized data of the utilities companies in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, while in other cities, where the data is not computerized, the work is being taken up manually. Apart from this, said Mr Khan, the extension of survey work to the other (non-posh areas and smaller towns) is intended to expedite declarations of hidden assets. "In areas where the survey is currently being conducted, hefty declarations of assets and properties etc have been made through the TAS, while in non- survey areas these declarations were negligible. Once the survey work is extended to non-posh and smaller towns, which we plan to begin before the expiry of the present TAS-2000, the TAS would attract more attention", he added. He further said that notices for registration with the Sales and Income Tax departments would have to be sent to the non- assessees whose sales and incomes, as per their declaration already made through survey forms, have been found taxable. They would be issued National Tax Number (NTN). "All this work has to be completed by the end of September 2000. We are acquiring services of more officials to join us in the survey and scrutiny work", said Mr Khan. Other CBR officials told Dawn that the income tax department is preparing a strategy to approach the issue of under-declaration of incomes by existing IT assessees, and approaching those non- assessees who, through the survey forms and through their utilities consumption charges, enjoy taxable income. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000804 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Special quotas for jobs abolished ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ansar Abbasi ISLAMABAD, Aug 3: All special quotas reserved for fresh recruitment and contract appointments in the government service have been abolished, and it has been decided to fill in the vacancies on the regional quota-based merit. The policy guidelines providing legal cover to special quotas have been deleted, according to an official order issued on July 17. The reservation of 20 per cent of the total number of vacancies for direct recruitment for the poor and needy, and another 20pc for contract appointments, covered under the office memorandum of Aug 4, 1999, has been deleted. All the vacancies would now be filled on merit based on regional/provincial quota as protected under the constitution, official sources said. Paragraphs 5 and 6 of the 1999 memorandum have been scrapped by the latest order. The para 5 said that 20pc of the total number of vacancies earmarked for direct recruitment should be reserved for the poor/needy and the disabled. It said that the selection against the quota for poor/needy and disabled people would be made through the prescribed selection process, and merits of each case would be determined by the selection committee. Of this 20pc, the earlier order said, 2pc posts would be reserved exclusively for the disabled. Such people would be eligible for appointment only against the jobs for which their disability might not be considered a disqualification, it added. The para 6 said that 20pc of the vacancies would be reserved for contract appointments which would require approval of the prime minister. The contract appointees, the order said, would be eligible for regular appointment if they fulfilled the prescribed conditions of educational qualification and experience.Back to the top
=================================================================== EDITORIALS & FEATURES 20000804 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The revelation at hand ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ayaz Amir SO, some of the confusion about Kashmir stands dissipated. A few things are revealed more clearly: for one the indigenous nature of the Kashmir uprising. India's willingness to talk to the Hizbul Mujahideen is tacit admission of the fact that the Hizb belongs to Kashmir and is not a creation of the ISI. Otherwise, would India be willing to talk to the ISI on Kashmir? Whether anything comes of the Hizb announcement of a unilateral ceasefire - and I am convinced that India eventually will see to it that nothing does - it has, at a stroke, laid the ghosts of "cross- border terrorism" to rest. India will still go on shouting about cross-border interference but after acknowledging, if only by implication, the Kashmiri roots of the Hizb, it becomes difficult to pin the blame for every armed encounter in occupied Kashmir on the ubiquitous shoulders of the Pakistan army. Those accusing the Hizb of rashness are not grasping this point. Kargil was a mortal blow to the Kashmiri resistance, obscuring its achievements and giving India a propaganda advantage it milked this past year for all it was worth. Now at last, whether we recognize this or not, the tables have been turned. By having made a peace offer which India has accepted, the psychological advantage has shifted to the Resistance. The onus is on India now to come up with a matching response. Even the Amarnath massacre and the other killings in Kashmir in the last few days, unfortunate as all these sad events are, have drawn attention to the indigenous nature of Kashmir's troubles. Spread over four decades, a long enough time by any calculation, India had the chance to bring Kashmir into the Indian mainstream. But it failed. Instead of reaching out to the people it nurtured quislings like Farooq Abdullah. If Farooq is not hailed as their deliverer by the people of Kashmir, is Pakistan to blame? Pakistan tried to manufacture unrest in Kashmir in 1965 (Operation Grand Slam and then Gibraltar) and for its pains got a full-scale war it had not bargained for. There is nothing foreign about the Kashmiri uprising since 1989. The ISI could not have manufactured it even if it had the resources of the CIA ten times over. Kargil obscured this fundamental reality. The Hizb initiative now restores it in its true colours. If the Hizb has done this on its own, it deserves a medal for sharp diplomacy. If Pakistan is involved, then GHQ has shown an intelligence it has rarely shown in the past. If the Americans have anything to do with it, they deserve our thanks. What is Qazi Hussain Ahmed so miffed about? That after his American tour he will be taken for an American puppet? Or that the Hizb announced their decision without consulting the Jamaat-i-Islami politburo? That's the trouble with us Pakistanis. We can never let things be but must try to impress our crude stamp upon them. We did this in Afghanistan: trying to remote control the Afghan resistance. Had we allowed a true, unified leadership to emerge from the chaos of the Afghan war, that unfortunate country might have been spared many of its subsequent troubles. We should not be walking the same path in Kashmir. If the Chinese had listened to Stalin, they would never have got their revolution. The Kashmiris will never achieve their aim if they allow themselves to be pushed around by outsiders. Qazi Hussain Ahmed should get over his sulks. The Hizb announcement is the best thing to have happened to the Kashmiri resistance for a long time. Will anything come of it? I am sure not. India is a big country but because it is still trying to climb up the greasy pole of world stardom, and because one half of it is stuck in the bullock age even as the other half tries to create a path for itself across the skies, it lacks the imagination to think big. Its mentality is still that of the village chaudhri who wants no diminution in his authority because he thinks that any concession, no matter how trifling, is an invitation to the peasant to rise in revolt. India therefore is incapable of meeting the Kashmiris halfway. If the past is any guide, it will try to exploit the Hizb initiative for short-term gains, to weaken and fragment the Kashmiri resistance. If India cannot stomach autonomy for its quisling, Farooq Abdullah, how can it accept tripartite talks which put the future of Kashmir on the discussion table? And how can anything less satisfy the Hizbul Mujahideen and the other lights of the Kashmiri resistance? This initiative therefore is destined to wither away. The people of Kashmir are destined to suffer some more because they are caught between the high mountains and implacable forces. And also because the subcontinent lacks the genius of statesmanship. We are clever people but often too clever-by-half. Oily and subtle pandits, fractious and hair-splitting mullahs, volatile Bengalis: these are the dominant subcontinental types. From these types are not fashioned the instruments of statesmanship. If the Congress leadership had been wise, the subcontinent would not have split up. After all, the Muslims were not a priori separatists and as late as 1946 were ready to go along with the Cabinet Mission plan which foresaw a united India. But a nationalism based on narrow religious symbolism drove them to call for a separate homeland. If the Pakistani leadership had been wise, East Pakistan would not have become Bangladesh. With tact and imagination on India's part, Kashmir would not be the bleeding wound that it is. With what false arguments is not the Kashmir cause assailed? Forget about Kashmir, we are told, and concentrate on development as if Kashmir is the difference between perdition and the promised land. Suppose, becoming subcontinental Arafats, we gave up on Kashmir. Would corruption disappear from our land and would our governing elite undergo a conversion on the road to Damascus? Kashmir does not stop us from giving a proper education to our kids or from cleaning our hospitals. It is not because of Kashmir that our affairs are in such a mess. What has the end of the intifida brought the Palestinians? The institutionalization of greed and corruption in the Palestinian Authority. What has peace brought Egypt? A certain amount of American dollars, not progress in the real sense of the word. In the hands of a corrupt ruling class wealth and resources, what to talk of a peace dividend, are soon wasted. For proof look no further than Nigeria, Indonesia and the oil-rich Arab states. Even so, let us not forget the schizophrenia of which the people of Pakistan are such unsuspecting victims. Ours is a land with a split personality, with an elite and a governing class whose concerns are aeons away from the heartbeats of the masses. The Pakistanis who favour and support the Kashmiri resistance are 'native' Pakistanis, not the pseudo-westernized elite which hogs the corridors of power. 'Native' Pakistanis go in for hopeless causes. Many Pakistanis have died in Kashmir. How many of these from the drooling classes? There was this news item two days ago about a ceremony at the headquarters of the Anti-Narcotics Force at which a Ms Sison from the US embassy (the Charge d'Affaires) was handing out good performance certificates and cash awards, ranging from Rs 25,000 to a lakh, to officials of the force. Tough-looking men in army and police uniforms gratefully took their awards from Ms Sison (from her picture a fetching face). In attendance at the ceremony were high-ranking army and police officers. What business is it of the US embassy to be awarding prizes and money to (in other words, infiltrating) a department of the Pakistan government? By cracking down on narcotics are we doing a favour to the US government? In big matters the US kicks us around the way it pleases. If memories are short on this score, Bill Clinton's lecture to Pakistan need only be remembered. But in small matters we cannot help licking up to the Americans. In this as in other instances our split personality is at work: the wretched of the country ready to lay down their lives for distant causes; senior officials of the government conducting themselves in a manner which shows up the servility and inferiority complex of our governing class. The commitment to Kashmir preserves some of our self-respect. Take that away and all we will be left with is the batman mentality which distinguishes our national behaviour. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000730 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Treemazar - 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ardeshir Cowasjee FOR AS long as man exists there will be greed in his world, and, as in a case such as ours, the longer he remains uneducated or semi- educated the greed will grow greater. Today this nation stands at 140 million strong (or rather weak) and with the uncontrolled rabbit-like real birth rate (as opposed to the government's fudged figures) it is estimated that by 2020 the figure will increase to 200 million. Frightening! This column deals with one battle so far won by the people of Pakistan against the gangs of marauders, land and property grabbers, desecrators of public lands, and the perpetrators of like crimes, and with the aiders and abettors of these criminals - our civil and our military governments. Over half a century ago, in 1947, a man achieved his ambition and shortly thereafter died, in the dark of night on September 11, 1948. Mohammad Ali Jinnah had created a country and lived but 13 months after so doing. I and millions of others were there, at dusk the next day to see him buried on a rocky barren hillock in Jamshed Quarters. For years afterwards his grave lay covered by a tent. Architects came and went, discussions were held suggestions made, draft plans drawn up and destroyed. In 1956 the Quaid-i-Azam Mausoleum Committee was formed by that clever prime minister of ours, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, and it had the good sense to seek the advice of Khan Bahadur Suleiman, a former chief engineer of the Public Works Department of undivided India. He called in architect Mehdi Ali Mirza and his junior, the young architect Khwaja Zaheeruddin. They did the correct thing. They approached the International Union of Architects in Paris and set about organizing an international competition for the design of a suitable monument. A jury, including men of world renowned stature - architect Sir Robert Matthew of Britain, architect and designer Geo Ponti of Italy, the famous structural engineer Pierre Luigi Nervi also of Italy, architect Eugene Beaudouin of France, and architect Georgis Candalis of Greece - was formed to judge the entries. The competition attracted worldwide attention and 57 entries were received. In 1958 the jury assembled in Karachi and the design sent in by young architect Raglan Squire of Britain was selected as the winner. It was a beautiful design, striking in its simplicity, a huge concrete flowing canopy. All were in no doubt that it far surpassed all others in its perfection. Then in stepped the obdurate Miss Fatima Jinnah. No domes? No minarets? No fancy furbelows? She pulled rank and prevailed upon the government of the day to reject Squire's design. At her insistence Yahya Merchant, an architect from Bombay was brought in. He is the designer of what stands today. President General Ayub Khan, fitting in with Fatima Jinnah's wishes, in 1960 approved of the design. Construction was started, work progressed at a snail's pace until in 1969 President General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan appeared on the scene, banged down his swagger stick, and the mausoleum was magically completed in December 1970, 22 years after the death of the man in whose honour it was conceived. The main area of the mausoleum (marked A on the sketch and the peripheral areas (marked B, C, D and E) were fenced in. A shortage of funds, of water, of initiative, and of will ensured that nothing was done about the landscaping. Yahya and East Pakistan fell. Then came the marauding democratic governments of the greedy grabbing new political classes. Schemes were floated by the politicians, the professional land-grabbers and the builders' mafia to commercialize demarcated areas of the Mazar land and raise money-making structures. In 1994 the people of Karachi got together and formed the Treemazar project, with the intent of planting trees in the barren peripheral Mazar areas. This newspaper printed articles on the project and help came in cash and kind. The land was saved, water supply was organized, trees, bushes, shrubs and plants were planted. In 1999, yet another military government took over, that of General Pervez Musharraf. Sleepy but good architect Zaigham Jafery of KDA has been revitalized and he and a team of engineers of 5 Corps headed by Engineer Brigadier Asif Gazali have been put to work and landscaping of all the areas is going on in full swing. The Treemazar project, its objective achieved, has for the time being suspended its tree planting and nurturing operations. The people of Pakistan must thank and remain grateful for the time and effort dedicated to the project by: Architect Husnain Lotia, Dr Ghazala Aziz, Architect Qaisar Colombowalla, Lawyer Mahmood Mandviwalla, Agricultural Scientist Mahmood Futehally. For help in kind, for digging and filling, for material, and for land survey, thanks and gratitude go to former chairman of Pakistan Steel Mills, Lt-General Sabeeh Qamar-uz-Zaman, Engineer Matlub of the PSM and his men who worked on the project. Gratitude also goes to former IGP, Sindh, Afzal Shigri, who also put many of his men to work in the areas. We are most grateful to the Zoroastrian Association of Pakistan (ZAP), particularly to office-bearers Hutoxy Cyrus Cowasjee, Engineer Naval Dinshaw Dastur, for collecting funds and planning, planting and nurturing the Ruttie Jinnah Grove (marked E on the sketch) and for handing over the completed garden to the Quaid-i- Azam Mazar Managing Board in March 1999 for further and continued upkeep and maintenance. And many thanks from us all to those who voluntarily came forward and donated sums of money ranging from Rs.100 to Rs.100,000 : A.M.I. Montesori Centre, Al-Karam Textile Mills, Al-Ameen Chemicals, Major-General M Kamal Akbar, Brigadier Mujahid Alam, Dr Zaeema Alavi Ahmed, Ashir, Javed Abbasi, Fahim Ahmed, Hasan Tayab Ali, Syed Aijaz Ali Abbasi, Younus Afridi, Yusuf Alavi, Zulfikar Alavi, Murtaza Anjarwalla, Q. S. Ansari, Abdul Aziz, Arsalan Aziz, Dr Ghazala Aziz, Laila Aziz, anonymous donors (7). Beaconhouse Students, Commodore R. U. Bajwa, Gulzar Bano, Asif Bhoora, M. M. H. Baig, Noorjehan Bilgrami, Shahnaz Babar. Casa Dei Bambini, Ciba Geigy, Commercial Union Insurance, Crescent Investment Bank, Crescent Steel & Allied Products, Clothesline, Collector of Customs, M Rafi Chawla. Dhan Dossabhoy, Daud Dadabhoy, M Hussain Dadabhoy. Futehally Chemicals, Foundation Public School students. V C Gonsalves. Hakimuddin Hormusjee, Homeopathic Store & Hospital, Rasheed Khurshid Hussain, Faisal Khurram Hidayatullah, Habibullah, Nizam-ul-Hassan, Syed Mohammad Hussain, Zain Hussain, Salim Harianawalla, Talib Halai. International Inner Wheel, IBM Club, Irfan Mawji Fund, Kunwar Idris, Almas Ilyas. Kalakot Union Football Club, Kandawalla Trust, Kotwal's Casa, Maki Kureishi, Rashid Khoso, Khaliq. Dr H. M. Jafri, Nawab Jan. Anwar Ali Khan, Captain Javed Khan, Iftikhar Kachi. Lever Brothers, Amir Lotia, Ismail Lotia, Nasir Lotia, Sakina Lotia, Zavera Lotia, Javed Latif, Khalid Lakhani. Mariner Agencies, Mackinnon Mackenzie, Abdul Karim Mirza, Aziz Mohammad, H. W. Matschulat, Ismail Ahmed Mansoori, Jamshed Mehta, Liaquat Merchant, Murtaza Mandviwalla, Naila Masud, Yaqub Malim, Perin Mooraj. Colonel S. A. R. Naqvi, Farukh Ismail Nami, Iqbal Noorani, Syed Nooruddin, Nazli. Printing Services, Pakistan Kuwait International, Pakistan Military Academy - Kakul, Pakistan Petroleum, Pakistan Refinery, PIA Training Centre, Usman Hussain Panjwani, Zafar Pishori. Iqbal Qureshi, Munawar Ali Qureshi, Mrs Bilal Qureshi. Reliance Insurance, Lt-General M. Attiqur Rahman, A Rahim. Sophia Textile Mills, Star Textile Mills, St Joseph's College students, Sunflo Cit-Russ, Ahsan Sadiq, B. A. Siddique, Farrukh Shaikh, Hassan Jafferali Saleh, M. H. Sidique, Maheen Sadiq, Mahmood Saeed, Muneeza Shamsie, Natasha Suri, Rahat Salahuddin, Rashid Shaikh, Raza Sangji, Sikandar Shah, Sophia Sarwar, Ali Syedain, Zubair Laiq Suri, Bashir Sadiq, Aamir Sadeqain. Tapal Tea, Amir Tapal, M. H. Turbani. Sohail Usman. Volkart Pakistan, Ali Raza Vazir. Lt Mohammad Zubair, Yaqub Zamindar, Zohair.So far so good!
=================================================================== SPORTS 20000802 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Justice Ebraheem criticises PCB action against players ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, Aug 1: Former Supreme Court judge, Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebraheem, on Tuesday criticized the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for taking action against eight top players primarily on a recommendatory report. He also called for an inquiry into the mishandling of the publication of Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum Commission report and stressed that concerned authorities should be taken to task for allowing the release of the document which tarnished the image of the country and dmaged the reputation of the cricketers. He was also critical of Justice Qayyum's recommendations arguing that he had suggested penalties against the players despite admitting in his report on several occasions that no evidence had been found against them. The former Governor of Sindh, speaking at a seminar on betting and match-fixing organized by Helpline Trust, based his opinion on the extracts from Justice Qayyum Commission report. "The report is unbelievable," he said. "In paragraphs number 51, 52 and 53, the honourable Judge declares Salim Malik `not guilty' and still recommends life ban and a cash penalty of Rs one million. "Wasim Akram has been declared `not guilty' on three charges and is still fined and recommended to be removed from captaincy and not to be given any post. Similarly, all the players have been penalized and censored despite the judge admitting that there was no evidence. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000802 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Moin available for Singapore series ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, Aug 1: Pakistan captain Moin Khan has confirmed his availability for the triangular one-day series in Singapore later this month. Talking to mediamen, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, however, added that he would again have a discussion with the wicketkeeper before deciding whether he should be allowed to take a risk by plying in the competition. Moin is currently in England for his knee treatment. The general added that vice-captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq would not be available. The PCB chairman said Moin would return from England on Aug 5 and that he confirmed his availability a couple of days ago. He added that Wasim Akram has expressed his willingness to play in the five-match series against India at Toronto and then in the three-match one-day series against England at home. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000801 ------------------------------------------------------------------- No word about Indian acceptance of tour ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, July 31: No official of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was available to confirm if it has received confirmation from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) about their team's tour later this year. Yawar Saeed, director of the PCB, had said on Sunday that he was hoping to get information from across the border on Monday. But all efforts went in vain to contact him to seek clarification. At least half a dozen calls were made to the PCB secretariat in Lahore but every time it was said Yawar Saeed was in a meeting. In the evening, this scribe was told Yawar had left office. But he was neither available on his mobile telephone nor in the hotel where he is staying. One wonders if it is advisable for the PCB officials to speak on matters which are beyond their ccontrol. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000804 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reid's decision has blotted my career, says Waqar ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, Aug 3: Pakistan's leading fast bowler Waqar Younis admitted on Thursday that he was disappointed by match referee John Reid's decision which has left a blot on his distinguished career. The pacer, who joined the training camp in progress here for the Singapore tour after returning from Australia on Wednesday, said: "I am obviously disappointed because all my achievements have been undone by Reid's decision." Reid, acting on law 42.5, had suspended Waqar for one match and fined him 50 per cent of his match fee "for tampering with the ball" in the match against Sri Lanka during the triangular series last month. Interestingly, the two match umpires had given Waqar a clean sheet when Reid contacted them on walkie talkie to check the condition of the ball. The ball remained in play and was not changed which had allegedly breached the law thus casting doubt on the veracity of Reid's decision. "It (suspension) was quite depressing. I have played cricket honestly and with dignity. But I am extremely thankful to the Pakistan Cricket Board which stood by me and challenged the suspension and fine," Waqar, after a lengthy workout in the nets, said. Waqar, who is only the second bowler in cricket history to have taken 300 or more wickets in both forms of the game after Wasim Akram, urged the board to pursue the case and help him in getting his name cleared. "Words are not enough to express my thanks for the support they gave me when I needed most. But I request them to pursue my case and help me in getting my name cleared," said Waqar. He said the PCB should find out from the ICC according to which law he had been suspended and fined "because the law which was applied contradicts the laid down procedures." When further pressed on the issue, the speedster said he would first seek clearance from the PCB chairman, Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, before giving his side of the story as to actually what happened during the game. "I don't want to breach the Code of Conduct. But I can surely say that I have been penalized contrary to the laws of the game." The speed merchant said he hasn't yet decided to be selective on the competitions. He said he was looking forward to playing in every tournament because that would help him stay in rhythm. "Since I am a bowler who relies on rhythm, the more I play, the better I will get. That's precisely why I am here because I don't want to waste any time. I am a different bowler from Wasim Akram who depends more on swing and control than pace. If I am not in rhythm, I am an extremely expensive bowler. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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