------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 30 December 2000 Issue : 06/50 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + Country needs sincere leadership, say Tarar, Musharraf + Advani sees possibility of talks with Pakistan + 54 injured as bomb blasts rock four cities + Mushahid freed: Aims to unite PML + Dismissal of army officers: Dawn's view + Anti-Nawaz group to fight loyalists + Cabinet to discuss pact with IMF + Reforms to stay even after govt goes + Ikhwan withdraws march call + Islamabad wants fugitives' back + 3,480 contesting in four NWFP districts: Union council election + UAE bans import of cattle from Pakistan + Singing legend Noor Jehan is dead + Guns fall silent in Siachen --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + Petroleum prices to go up after Eid + Report on Pakistan: IMF wants three-year rolling budget + Smuggled, reclaimed oil hit OMCs + IMF arrangement ignores ground realities + Defence ties with Iran to get a boost + January rates announced: SBP wants banks to place FCY deposits + Money market tight, rupee stable + Economy sees slump in first five months + NWFP cuts Rs1bn from ADP + PAP funds not utilized fully --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + 'Jungle ka badshah' Ardeshir Cowasjee + The messiah Chakwal chooses to ignore Ayaz Amir ----------- SPORTS + India not reviewing tour decision
=================================================================== DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 20001225 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Country needs sincere leadership, say Tarar, Musharraf ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Dec 24: President Mohammad Rafiq Tarar and Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf have stressed the need for a sincere leadership which could revive the spirit of the independence movement and lead the country towards the path of progress and development. The President and the Chief Executive expressed these views in their separate messages to the nation on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The President urged the people to pledge to turn the country into an Islamic welfare state which was the dream of the Muslims of South Asia, who fought for the independence of Pakistan. He said it was imperative to discharge our individual and collective responsibilities to the best of our abilities. The President prayed to Allah Almighty "to guide us in our endeavours and bless us with a leadership which is able to revive the spirit of the independence movement to make Pakistan stronger and prosperous." CE'S MESSAGE:The Chief Executive said that the country needed a leadership having the spirit to serve the country and make it a strong and stable nation and accelerate the pace of progress and development. He said Pakistan needed a leadership of impeccable character which could be fully trusted, and we can achieve it by following the brilliant model of Quaid- i-Azam and by focussing our attention on collective interests instead of personal ends. Reiterating his resolve to abide by the Government's Seven- Point Agenda, the Chief Executive asked the people to make a pledge to work unitedly for the progress, welfare and stability of Pakistan by following the Quaid-i-Azam's motto of 'Unity, Faith and Discipline' and that "we will devote all our individual and collective energies for the task of nation-building." December 25, he said, was the day to celebrate the birthday of the great leader and to enliven the spirit of the unprecedented struggle launched under his leadership.-APP BENAZIR: PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto has warned that unless the rule of law is established and everyone is treated equally, the future of our country will be exposed to internal and external threats, adds our Islamabad correspondent. She expressed these views in a message issued by the PPP Media Cell here on Sunday in connection with the birth anniversary of Quaid-i-Azam. She felicitated the nation on the Quaid's birth anniversary , and urged the people forge unity in their ranks, to restore democracy in the country. She condemned the politics of blackmail and victimization being pursued and which has been rejected by the people of Pakistan. She also asked the people to "get united and not allow anyone to foist a totalitarian and dictatorial regime on the country." JAVED HASHMI: Pakistan Muslim League on Sunday said that Pakistan was the fruit of the indefatigable efforts of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who had united the disarrayed Muslims of the subcontinent on one platform and redeemed them from the collective yoke of British-Hindu imperialism. In a message to the nation on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of the Quaid, acting president Pakistan Muslim League, Makhdoom Javed Hashmi said, being the founder of the motherland, Quaid-i-Azam chose democracy as the system to run the country and started making legislations to save the country from any military adventurism. He said, the Quaid had determined the role of the armed forces soon after the country came into being and had announced in no uncertain terms, on a number of occasions, that the country would be a democratic state. But, Hashmi regretted, the military adventurers propagated the concept of military rule in flagrant violation of the principles laid down by the Quaid, derailing democracy time and again, to achieve their ulterior motives. He said, frequent martial laws had brought a bad name to the country at the international level but the military had not learnt any lesson from its mistakes. He urged the people to continue their struggle for liberating the country from military rule and assured that they would emerge as the ultimate winners. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001225 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Advani sees possibility of talks with Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- Monitoring Desk NEW DELHI, Dec 24: Indian Home Minister L KAdvani on Sunday indicated the possibility of talks with freedom fighters groups such as Hizbul Mujahideen and did not rule out dialogue with Pakistan after an "assessment" of its behaviour during the extended ceasefire peace initiative in occupied Kashmir. "That possibility is there," he said when asked about the chances of the Centre starting a dialogue with freedom fighter groups in occupied Kashmir in the wake of its bold peace measures. In an interview to PTI, the minister said the situation with regard to the ceasefire would be reviewed after the Republic Day when the extension is set to end. On the possibility of talks with the Mujahideen groups, Advani said "I would like to emphasise that dialogue with our people in Jammu and Kashmir would naturally have to include all sections like the ruling National Conference, the main opposition Congress, BJP and leftists and representatives from Jammu and Laddakh." "And if militant organizations like the Hizbul Mujahideen are prepared to lay down arms and become part of the dialogue, they are also welcome," the home minister said. Hurriyat Conference on Sunday denied playing any "mediatory role" between India and Pakistan in resolving the Kashmir issue but said it wants to apply the "keys with a purpose of unlocking the doors of goodwill and understanding." "I do not agree (to the role of mediator), we are a party to a dispute and no party to a dispute can pass for a mediator. We would, however, as the principal party choose to apply keys with a purpose to unlocking the doors of goodwill and understanding," Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Bhat said. HIGH ALERT: Indian airports were put on high alert on Sunday to guard against strikes by freedom fighters who stunned the nation with a shock attack on New Delhi's historic Red Fort, agencies add. A spokesman at India's Bureau of Civil Aviation Security said 15 airports across eastern India including Calcutta international were on their "highest state of alert" after Friday night's shooting, in which Mujahideen killed three people. "The home ministry has asked us to maintain 'all-out vigilance'," he said, adding that a security cordon has also been put in place at all domestic and international airports. The Red Fort attack sent a message to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee that his Kashmir ceasefire initiative held little meaning for freedom fighters. Abu Usama, commander of the Lashkar-i-Toiba which staged the attack at Red Fort, summarised the Mujahideen's position in an interview to The Pioneer newspaper on Sunday. "It is immaterial whether Pakistan, India or Kashmir have appreciated the Indian prime minister's ceasefire gesture. We are working for the freedom of Kashmir from Indian security forces," Usama said. Asked if groups such as his would face difficulties if Pakistan changed tack on Kashmir and came down on the militants, Usama said: "I really do not see it happening." Lashker-i-Toiba chief Hafiz Saeed on Saturday told India to expect more attacks. "There will be more (attacks) on soldiers, army installations but not civilians," Saeed said. On Friday night, two Lashkar gunmen killed a soldier, an army barber and a civilian as the military garrison held a party at the Mughal-built fort. Red Fort is the venue from where prime ministers address the nation on India's annual independence day celebrations on Aug 15. It has also housed hundreds of captured Kashmiri freedom fighters. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001227 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 54 injured as bomb blasts rock four cities ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dawn Report LAHORE, Dec 26: Fifty-four people were injured in four powerful bomb explosions in Lahore, Hyderabad, Faisalabad and Kharian on Monday. In Lahore the blast occurred in a roadside stall at the busy Lunda Bazaar, adjacent to the CIA Kotwali building. Placed beneath the second-hand clothes, the device went off at 2.20pm, leaving more than 40 people injured. Three women, five teenaged boys and a six- year-old were among the victims. Officials of the bomb disposal squad said it was a locally made device. The low-intensity, half-kilogram explosive had been wrapped in a polythene bag with a timer. Thirty-three of the injured were admitted to the Mayo Hospital. Others were taken to the Nawaz Sharif Hospital as well as some private clinics. Doctors said that at least nine of the injured were in a critical condition. All of the victims had suffered multiple injuries and burns, and legs of three had been blown away, they added. The victims included Mohammad Sajid, Atia Iqbal, Alamgir, Mohammad Rashid, Abdul Jalil, Feroz, Shahnawaz, Ahmad Nadeem, Sabir, Mohammad Hanif, Abdul Ghaffar, his father Mohammad Akram, Asadullah, Arshad, Habibur Rehman, Wasif Raza, Mohammad Ishfaq, Mohammad Saleem, Jugni, Zubair, Khattak Khan, Mushtaq, Humayun, Taza Gul Khan, Ashraf, Mukhtaran, Mohammad Akram, Makhoo, Azam Khan, Maqsood Ahmad and Abdul Sajid. Later, the authorities "beefed up" security in the city by deploying police teams at various places. Some police officials termed the blast a "retaliation of some incidents in India." FAISALABAD: The half-kg, locally-made device was planted in an electric water cooler on platform No 1 of the railway station, according to experts. It went off at 8:38am. Some passengers and the railway employees (six in all) were hit by flying splinters. They were taken to the adjacent divisional headquarters hospital. They were identified as Ghulam Murtaza, Mohammad Aslam, Mohammad Bashir, Amir Mohammad, Mohammad Yaqoob and Iftikhar Hussain, a tea-stall owner. Doctors described their condition as stable. HYDERABAD: Six people, including three minors, were injured when the bomb exploded in a bus at the Latifabad railway crossing. The bus (JE-2588) was going from Qasimabad to Latifabad. It was waiting the gate at the railway crossing to open when the blast occurred shattering its window panes. Officials said the device, hidden in a cardboard box, had been placed under seat numbers 13 and 14. They recovered the timer device and battery cells. The injured were taken to the Bhittai Hospital where two boys, Saeed and Shoban Malik, were admitted and the rest - Faqir Mohammad, Nauman, Mairajuddin and Abdul Waheed - discharged after first-aid. KHARIAN: The explosion occurred on a ground outside the assistant commissioner's courts. Some persons, according to the police, had set heaps of garbage on fire. There was a big bang when some firecrackers lying under the trash, exploded. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001227 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mushahid freed: aims to unite PML ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ihtashamul Haque ISLAMABAD, Dec 26: Former information minister and PML leader Mushahid Hussain Syed was released after 14 months and 14 days of detention, here on Monday. Mushahid had initially been kept in a solitary confinement in the Punjab House for about two weeks. Later, he was allowed to live in his own house but with no permission to receive visitors other than his family members. He was among those PML leaders who had been arrested immediately after the military takeover on Oct 12, 1999. Mushahid told reporters on Tuesday that he had no plan to give up politics and that he was very much in politics. "I intend to work for the unity of the Muslim League but I will not work for personalities," he elaborated. He claimed that he had never taken any loan or misused the secret funds of the government. Every thing was documented and "therefore, I'm not afraid of any thing," he said, adding that he had worked for the PML media centre without getting any thing and that he had been earning his bread and butter by writing for local and international newspapers and magazines. When reminded that he was very close to Nawaz Sharif, the former information minister said he never took part in talks with the army or the United States. "On both these issues Shahbaz Sharif and Chaudhry Nisar used to talk and advise Nawaz Sharif and I had nothing to do with that." "The time has now come to bury the politics of vendetta and revenge and to harness energies for nation building. Pakistan today needs a healing touch," said a statement issued after his release. Another close compatriot of Nawaz Sharif, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan is expected to be released soon because of a compromise he had reportedly reached with the military authorities. Chaudhry Nisar, who is under house arrest, is said to be enjoying the facility of visiting the city late at night. People close to him claim that he had distanced himself with Nawaz Sharif to have his freedom soon. "My release in Ramazan is a vindication of my faith that truth ultimately prevails. The holy Quran sustained and strengthened me in my 440 days incommunicado detention during which I only bowed before Allah," Mushahid stated. He termed his detention a "character building experience" and said he had emerged with a larger heart. "One lesson that I have learnt is that you may be deprived of your physical freedom but no one can take custody of your soil," his statement said. Mushahid vowed to continue fighting for Pakistan and its people. He said he had entered the public life as a duty and an obligation to serve and not to use it for personal enrichment or advancement. During the detention, he said, his wife had been a great source of inspiration and satisfaction for him. "She is an iron lady and I am proud of her". The former minister thanked those who had stood by him and prayed for him, including human rights organizations, particularly Amnesty International "where I was honoured by being declared as a prisoner of conscience. My family, friends and well-wishers, plus the media, were sources of tremendous strength." People from all walks of life visited the residence of Mushahid Hussain and congratulated him on his release. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001227 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dismissal of army officers: Dawn's view ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Dec 26: The clarification issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations, describing as exaggerated a report in Dawn on Dec 25, has, in fact, confirmed the report by accepting that six army personnel have been dismissed. In the news item "Many army officers dismissed", appearing on Dec 23, Dawn correspondent Ansar Abbasi had reported the dismissal of "an unusual number of army officers" for tampering with their service record. The ISPR clarification gave an impression as if Dawn had reported the dismissal of 15 officers, despite the fact that no figure had been mentioned in the report. Before filing the report the correspondent had waited for three days for the ISPR (through Colonel Saulat) to confirm or deny the dismissals but it did not come up with any reply. Finally, ISPR chief Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi and the Adjutant-General of GHQ, Lt-Gen Ali Mohammad Jan Orakzai, were contacted for the army's version, and their comments were duly accommodated in the report. Dawn stands by its report. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001227 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Anti-Nawaz group to fight loyalists ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ashraf Mumtaz LAHORE, Dec 26: Anti-Nawaz PML leaders have worked out a two- pronged strategy to 'demoralize' loyalists of the deposed prime minister by reducing their level of support in the suspended national assembly parliamentary party, and then by removing Mr Javed Hashmi as acting party president through the general council. Some Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) leaders have started to to use the PPP's influence to have the PML (N) expelled from the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy to pave the way for cooperation between the ARD and the GDA. The PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto has reportedly been asked to work to replace Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan as ARD president. "New political alignments will take place during the next few months", an important GDA leader said, expressing his optimism that the GDA and ARD would soon join hands. Some PML leaders have decided that if Illahi Bux Soomro, speaker of the suspended national assembly should be asked to call a parliamentary party meeting. It is being argued that since Mr Soomro is supposedly an 'impartial' person, attendance at the proposed meeting would be encouraging. The leaders admit that being a custodian of the entire house, Mr Soomro should avoid calling a meeting of only the PML parliamentary party. But a precedent was set when a provincial PML parliamentary party was convened by the suspended speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi. Anti-Nawaz leaders claim that their support is growing. A few months ago, some 38 suspended MNAs had turned up at their meeting in Islamabad. The number almost doubled (71) at a meeting hosted by former governor Mian Muhammad Azhar. Any increase in the number of anti-Sharif elements, one leader said, meant that the deposed prime minister was losing support in the parliamentary party. (The PML had joined the ARD after abandoning their demand for the revival of the assemblies and adding their voice to the call for fresh elections). According to an anti-Nawaz MNA, efforts are also being made to elect a new parliamentary party leader as a substitute for Mr Sharif, who, with his family, was already sitting in Saudi Arabia. The election of a new parliamentary party leader, he argued,would let the party as well as the government know as to who enjoys the confidence of the suspended legislators. There are indications that more parliamentary party meetings would be held to 'corner' the Sharif loyalists. Almost all anti-Nawaz elements are opposed to the appointment of Mr Javed Hashmi as acting president of the party. It is also being thought to challenge his nomination in a court of law on the ground that having been convicted by a court, Mr Sharif was not eligible to appoint his substitute. At the same time, the possibility of a general council meeting is also being considered to have the former health minister ousted as party chief. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001224 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Cabinet to discuss pact with IMF ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ihtashamul Haque ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: Chief Executive Gen Pervez Mushsrraf has asked senior officials of the ministry of finance to brief the federal cabinet on agreement with the IMF and its consequences. Official sources said that another briefing will be given to the cabinet on unemployment. Both the issues would be separately discussed by the cabinet shortly, they added. The sources said the briefing on the IMF was being held in the backdrop of various reports that the Fund authorities had set tough conditionalities for resuming Pakistan's assistance, including 5.2 per cent GDP budget deficit, which was still a difficult target although it was originally set at 4.6 per cent in the budget for 2000-2001. The sources said the cabinet would be told that the government had no option but to accept what was termed a"harsh recipe" to qualify for 595 million dollar standby loan which, in fact, would help acquire an overall 3.5 billion dollar bailout package from the international donors. The sources said the government had received an upfront tranche of 190million dollars, out of 595 million dollar loan, while its remaining three instalments had been subjected to clearance by the IMF executive board. The cabinet would be told that the IMF was expected to extend the second tranche in March next year. The sources said the cabinet would be further informed that the agreement with the IMF hasd paved the way for the resumption of assistance by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank( ADB). They said the ADB had just approved $707million for seven projects, including $350 million for energy sector, and $150 million for the Microfinance Bank to finance $1.6 million small- income generating activities. The sources said the World Bank was now expected to offer $500 million, including $350 million structural adjustment loan. The cabinet would discuss threadbare all the aspects of the IMF agreement, they said and added that it was necessary to take all members of the cabinet into confidence. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001225 ------------------------------------------------------------------- All promises being fulfilled: Reforms to stay even after govt goes ------------------------------------------------------------------- Habib Khan Ghori KARACHI, Dec 24: Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf has said that the process of reforms and restructuring initiated by the present government cannot be reversed. "Let me tell you today that even after 2002 there will be checks and balances and nobody can reverse the process of reforms and restructuring." Gen Musharraf was talking to newsmen after declaring open Bagh-i- Quaid-i-Azam in the premises of the mausoleum of the Father of the Nation here on Sunday evening where earlier he offered Maghrib prayers along with governors, ministers and civil and military officials. When asked whether he would fulfil his promise for restoration of democracy in the county, he said all promises he had made so far had been honoured. Giving example, he said he had promised to give devolution plan on March 23, which had been fulfilled. Likewise, he said, the promise to announce local bodies election process on Aug 14, had been made public as promised. Referring to some newspaper reports, Gen Musharraf said that some press report stated that an interim government was being installed, while some said that he (CE) was going to step down. "All this is absurd. We have never thought about it. We will not go without accomplishing our mission," he declared. KASHMIR: Replying to a question about Kashmir, the chief executive said that we had taken a number of initiatives and India had also taken some initiatives for which he would give credit to the Indian government. But, he said, these initiatives were not enough and India had to show that it was sincere not only to hold talks but also for the resolution of the Kashmir issue. India ought to come forward and Insha Allah the process of resolving Kashmir dispute would make progress. When asked if he intended to visit India, the chief executive said at present there was no programme, pointing out that he could not undertake the Indian visit without any invitation. About terms of reference for talks with the delegation of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Gen Musharraf said that there were three parties to the Kashmir dispute - Pakistan,India and Kashmiris. Pakistan, India and the APHC should sit and hold talks for resolving the Kashmir dispute. He said Pakistan has invited the APHC delegation and we have asked India to also talk to the APHC to be followed by negotiations between Pakistan and India. RED FORT INCIDENT: The chief executive refused to make any comment on the attack by Mujahideen on the Red Fort saying that it was a matter of law and order and an internal affair of India. To another question, he said the freedom struggle in the occupied Kashmir has its own dynamics and mechanism while on the other hand the Indian occupation forces were resorting to atrocities on Kashmiris, they should also be stopped. He said Pakistan has strengthened the ceasefire on the line of control and has also withdrawn troops from the LoC. When asked if India had also withdrawn its forces from the LoC, he said, "not as yet." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001225 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ikhwan withdraws march call ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Dec 24: Senior government officials on Sunday met Tanzimul Ikhwan Amir Maulana Mohammad Akram Awan who withdrew his announcement to march to Islamabad with his supporters on December 26 to force the government to implement Shariat in the country. This was claimed in an official handout issued here. It said the meeting decided to constitute a Qaumi Ulema Council to frame infrastructure for the implementation of Islamic order in the country. According to the handout, Punjab home secretary Brig Ejaz Ahmad Shah, IGP Malik Asif Hayat and representatives of the federal government held talks with Maulana Awan and other leaders of his party at Darul Irfan Minara. It was decided that in order to frame the basic infrastructure, the Qaumi Ulema Council would be constituted which would take necessary steps for enforcement of Shariat at national level by evolving a strategy in accordance with the injunctions of Islam. Our Islamabad Bureau adds: The Tanzeemul Ikhwan has once again postponed its call of storming the federal capital up to March 1, after the army high command agreed to accept their demand of forming a committee of Ulema to implement Islamic system in the country. "We were given assurances by the corps commander, Rawalpindi, and other generals in the GHQ, as well as the interior and religious affairs ministers, on telephone today (Sunday) that the government has agreed to form a committee of Ulema to suggest and simultaneously implement Islamic laws," Maulana Saqib, a spokesman for Ikhwan, told Dawn on telephone. The organization had earlier threatened the government that it would storm the federal capital on December 26 with trained people, mostly ex-armymen, to force the government to implement Islamic system in the country. Maulana Saqib said the Punjab home secretary and IG police arrived at Ikhwan's headquarters early this morning and held talks with the organization's chief, Maulana Akram Awan. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001225 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Islamabad wants fugitives� back ------------------------------------------------------------------- KABUL, Dec 24: Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider will ask the Taliban to hand over around 60 people wanted by Islamabad during a visit there next month, officials said on Sunday. "This issue will top the agenda," Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan Arif Ayub said. The Taliban has not responded positively to several Pakistani requests to deport Pakistani nationals wanted for sectarian killings and other crimes, the envoy told journalists. "The lists we have given includes roughly 60 people. Most of them have killed Shias and some policemen," Ayub said. "We have received no replies yet," he said, adding talks with Taliban Interior Minister Mawlawi Abdur Razaq during his trip to Islamabad earlier this year and subsequent contacts were yet to bear fruit. The ambassador added he was not optimistic about a breakthrough this time either. A Taliban Interior Ministry official Saturday hinted the militia would not hand over the fugitives. Pakistan was the first country to recongize the mainly Sunni Muslim Taliban regime and remains only one of three countries to do so.- dpa DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001227 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 3,480 contesting in four NWFP districts: Union council election ------------------------------------------------------------------- Intikhab Amir PESHAWAR, Dec 26: Some 3,480 candidates will be contesting the 1,600 seats in the four districts of NWFP in the union council elections to be held on Dec 31, according to sources. In all 5,219 candidates had initially filed nomination papers for 2,835 seats (all five categories) in four districts of NWFP - Bannu, Lakki Marwat, D.I. Khan and Tank - which comprise 135 union councils. "One third of the candidates got elected unopposed," said a Peshawar-based senior official of the election commission. For the 270 nazim and naib-nazim seats, some 526 nominations were filed. Some 387 candidates are in the run for the nazims and naib- nazims seats which means more than 60 candidates got elected unopposed. There are well over a hundred seats for which not a single candidate filed nomination papers. Of all the 135 reserved minorities seats (one seat per union council) 31 papers were rejected, only nine will be contesting. Almost 120 seats would remain uncontested. A total of 1,889 will contest the general (Muslim) seats in the four districts. And, 853 (men) and 77 (women) will contest for the seats reserved for peasants/workers; 265 for the seats reserved for women, and nine for minority seats. The four districts have 1,080 general seats, 540 peasants/workers (men) - 270 women; 540 seats reserved for women; 135 for minorities, and 270 for nazims and naib-nazim seats. Bannu district: Has 272,567 registered voters which include 120,306 women. Some 421 candidates will contest the general seats; 200 for the peasants/workers (men) seats - eight women; 26 for the reserved seats for women, two for minority seats; 127 for the 80 nazim and naib-nazim seats. Bannu has 40 union councils with 320 general seats, 160 reserved for women; 160 for peasants/workers (men) - 80 for women, 40 minorities, and 80 for nazim and naib-nazim seats. Lakki Marwat: Has 215,647 registered voters. In this district 504 candidates will contest general seats; 142 peasants/workers (men) seats - 12 women; 59 reserved women; 89 will contest 66 nazim and naib-nazim seats. Lakki Marwat comprises 33 union councils with 264general seats; 132 reserved for women; 132 for peasants/workers (men) - 80 women; 33 minority seats, and 66 nazim and naib-nazim seats. D.I.Khan: Has 363,577 registered voters including 162,688 women voters; some 751 candidates will contest the general seats; 420 for reserved peasants/workers seats (men) - 45 women; 174 women seats; seven minority seats; and 133 for 92 nazim and naib-nazim seats. The district comprises 46 union councils with 368 general seats; 184 women seats, 184 seats for peasants/workers (men) - 92 women; 46 minority seats; and 92 nazim and naib-nazim seats. Tank: Has 96,146 registered voters including 44,540 women. A total of 213 candidates will contest general seats; 91 reserved for peasants/workers (men) - 12 women; six women seats; and 38 will contest the 32 nazim and naib-nazim seats. With a total of 16 union councils, the Tank district comprises 128 general seats; 64 seats for women and, as many seats for peasants/workers (men) - 32 women;, 16 minority seats; and 32 nazim and naib-nazim seats. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001227 ------------------------------------------------------------------- UAE bans import of cattle from Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent DUBAI, Dec 26: The United Arab Emirates imposed a three-month ban on Monday on the import of cattle from Pakistan. The decision was taken unanimously at a meeting of the joint technical committee of the ministry of agriculture and fisheries and the general secretariat of the UAE municipalities. Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Saeed Mohammad al- Raghabani described the decision as a precautionary move. A statement issued by the Dubai municipality on Tuesday said the decision had been taken by the joint committee to protect public health and safeguard UAE livestock. It said the suspension of the imports would continue till the implementation of measures to stop the foot-and-mouth disease was ensured by the Pakistani authorities. The import of cattle from Pakistan was allowed last year after a ban since 1993 aimed at preventing bovine diseases. The Dubai municipality had banned the import of cattle in November after two shiploads of cows were returned to Pakistan since the animals had been proved to be suffering from foot-and- mouth disease. The largest number of cattle are brought into the country through the ports and other entry points of Dubai. Earlier this month, the municipality of the neighbouring emirate, Sharjah, said its inspectors had found the cows from Pakistan to be free from any disease; therefore, it had continued to allow the import of cattle from Pakistan through its ports. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001224 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Singing legend Noor Jehan is dead ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sarfaraz Ahmed KARACHI, Dec 23: Legendary singer Madam Noor Jehan died on Saturday afternoon after a protracted illness, bringing eternal silence to a melo-dious voice, which enthralled both the young and old for over half a century. She was 75. She is survived by sons Akbar Husain Rizvi, Syed Asghar Husain Rizvi and daughter Zil-i-Huma from her first marriage with the late director-producer Syed Shaukat Husain Rizvi and daughters Shazia (alias Mina), Hina and Nazia (Tina) from her second marriage with filmstar Ejaz Durrani. Her death has been mourned by people from all walks of life from across the world, particularly the subcontinent. They include great artists such as filmstars Dilip Kumar, Nadeem, singers Lata Mangeshkar, Aasha Bhonsle and Farida Khanum, music director Naushad and director-musician-storywriter Gulzar. Noor Jehan, who started as a child artist and immediately won accolades for her versatile talent in early 40s in India and became an instant hit both as a singer and an actress, remained Pakistan's most popular singer for around half a century and sang around 20,000 songs for Urdu and Punjabi language films in both Pakistan and India. Family sources said Noor Jehan, who captured the spotlight of film world of Bombay with one of the most memorable songs in South Asian history in the form of "Awaaz Day Tu Kahan Hai, Dunyia Meri Jawan Hai," stopped singing for films after she suffered from cancer in 1989. Noor Jehan also had earned reputation of inspiring the soldiers and citizens alike in times of challenges to the security of the country. Her funeral prayers were attended by a number of film and TV stars. According to family sources, Noor Jehan had been suffering from various ailments and was also on dialysis for the past many months. Her condition deteriorated at the residence of her son-in-law, former Pakistan hockey captain Hasan Sardar, in the afternoon and she died on her way to a nearby hospital. A wave of gloom pervaded at 46, Khayaban-i-Bahria residence of her daughter where Noor Jehan, who sang thousands of songs for well over five decades in both Urdu and Punjabi and made herself an all- time most popular singer of the century, had been staying. All of her wailing daughters moved out of the house amid loud shrieks when the body was taken out from the house for funeral prayers at the mosque. Their shrieks could be heard by a milling crowd that continued to swell with the movement of the procession, which made a stop before the nearby mosque situated hardly 50 yards from the house for funeral prayers. The size of crowd further grew with the conclusion of Taraweeh prayers at the mosque with people joining prayers for her. In a caravan of vehicles she was taken to Defence graveyard where her burial could not take place till our going to the press as the family waited for the arrival of her sons from Lahore amid unconfirmed reports about a dispute over the place of her burial- Karachi or Lahore. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001227 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Guns fall silent in Siachen ------------------------------------------------------------------- Jawed Naqvi NEW DELHI, Dec 26: Guns have fallen silent in Siachen, the world's highest battlefield, after 16 years of relentless firing between Indian and Pakistani troops, but Mujahideen groups still deeply suspicious of New Delhi's peace initiatives have stepped up their armed campaign - stretching from the heart of the Indian capital to the heart of the matter, in Kashmir, officials and news reports said on Tuesday. "There are claims by the media and the government that people in Kashmir are tired of fighting - that they want peace," Syed Ali Shah Gilani, a senior leader of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) told the Dawn. "These attacks serve to remind all concerned that Kashmiris have little or no interest in the peace of the grave. There is no constituency for a ceasefire in Kashmir. There is a struggle on for a just solution." At least 10 people, most of them army personnel, were killed in Srinagar on Monday when a suicide car bomber blew himself up near the army's heavily guarded headquarters. Another audacious attack was carried out on Friday night right inside Delhi's Red Fort, now serving partly as a high security army interrogation centre, when two Lashkar-i-Taiba Mujahideen killed three army personnel there. The Jamiatul Mujahideen and the Jaish-i-Mohammad, the outfit which Maulana Masood Azhar currently heads, have both claimed responsibility for the Srinagar blast. The latter identified the bomber as Abdullahbhai, a resident of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes was visiting Srinagar on Monday, but he did not go to the blast site. Fernandes earlier in the day flew over the Siachen glacier where more Indian and Pakistani troops have died from frost bite than howitzer firings that began in 1985. The NDTV news channel, whose correspondent apparently travelled with Fernandes, said: "The firing had come to a complete halt. "The Ramazan ceasefire has had a lot of impact on the ground," NDTV correspondent Sanjay Ahirwal reported. "For the first time in 16 years, guns are silent at Siachen. In the last one month, there has not been any firing from the Indian side. Firing from the Pakistani side has also been negligible." He quoted Fernandes as saying that talks with Pakistan appeared to be a distinct possibility. "Whatever indications we have received till now, it appears that Pakistan is also stepping towards peace," Fernandes said. Pakistan had responded recently to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's announcement of a ceasefire in occupied Kashmir first with an order to its troops to observe maximum restraint on the Line of Control and later by announcing a partial withdrawal of its forces. The NDTV quoted a senior Indian army official on Tuesday as questioning the veracity of Pakistan's move. It quoted Major General Sheru Thapliyal, GOC, Northern Command, as saying: "Troop withdrawal is not as simple a thing as telling your people, 'Just go back'. It takes time and it has to be planned as to who will move, from which area, how many. So it is a complex problem. It is not so simple that he tells his people, 'pack up and move out'. We have not seen any withdrawal."
BUSINESS & ECONOMY 20001228 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Petroleum prices to go up after Eid ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent ISLAMABAD, Dec 27: The government has decided to increase petroleum rates immediately after Eid to cover the Rs7 billion deficit, anticipated at the end of the year because of the volatility of world oil prices during the current fiscal year. This was stated by Secretary Petroleum, Abdullah Yousef. "Despite recent reduction in the international oil prices, we will have to revise upward these prices to remove the consistent gap of about Rs7 billion," he further stated. This gap, he said, had widened because domestic oil prices were not revised in line with the fluctuations in the world oil prices as and when they occurred. Talking to Dawn here on Wednesday, he said that review of the petroleum prices had been completed which will be announced immediately after Eid. This review, he pointed out, had been conducted for the quarter relating to the months of September, October and November, 2000 during which the international prices continued to increase in the world market. He agreed that the international prices had gone down to 20 dollars a barrel whose positive effect would definitely be passed on to the people in March next when the government will have another quarterly review of the oil prices. Responding to a question he said that this would unfortunately be a fifth increase in the oil prices since December last year. "Yes there had been a 40 per cent increase in oil prices in one year," he admitted, adding that since the oil prices had been linked with the international prices, the government was constrained to adjust these prices accordingly. "We will have to follow the system of reviewing oil prices after every quarter and furnace oil prices after ever month", he said. Asked for his comment on the reports that the expected increase in the oil prices would be in the range of eight to 10 per cent, the secretary petroleum said that price increase would vary from product to product. "It is difficult at this stage to give a firm figure, you will have to wait for the final announcement", he added. To a question he said that the government could not avoid increasing oil prices due to international prices."And then the agreement with IMF does not allow us not to increase oil prices when they have already gone up in the international market", Abdullah Yousef said. However, he said that the rates of furnace oil were likely to go down further. But informed sources maintained that the proposed increase in oil prices at this stage was not justified specially when the government was importing a significant amount of oil on deferred payments from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They claimed that Pakistan did not pay anything to Saudi Arabia and UAE for importing oil after May 28, 1998 when Islamabad decided to go nuclear. "This is high time the government should tell the nation about the windfall gains it is making by not paying anything on the import of oil and still planning to increase these prices for the fifth time in 12 months," a source said. He said the decision of the government to increase oil rates would not go well with the public which was already burdened with acute price hike. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001228 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IMF wants three-year rolling budget: Report on Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- M. Ziauddin ISLAMABAD, Dec 27: The IMF has asked Pakistan to prepare a three- year rolling budget from the next year by costing the existing policies for at least two years beyond the budget year. The Pakistan Report on the observation of standards and codes (ROSC), prepared by the IMF fiscal affairs department, in its recommendations has asked the government to develop revenue forecasts as a baseline forecast assuming no change in revenue policies for the next two years. And at the same time the government is obliged to ask all ministries to extend their budget forecasts, including identified additional costs that arise from implemented projects, beyond the budget year by two years. The report has advised the finance ministry to use current wage and price assumption and any parameter changes applied on an aggregate basis for the purpose. Along with this exercise the government has been asked to initiate a formal review process to improve efficiency and /or reduce permanent budget costs as well as strengthen coordination with the planning commission to establish an integrated process for examining and setting priorities among all forms of new expenditure. The report has also urged the government to initiate a detailed review of long-term sustainability of fiscal policy with particular emphasis on the ratio of debt-to-GDP and an examination of all future liabilities, including pension liabilities to civil and defence personnel, and contingent liabilities. It has also asked the government to strengthen the core fiscal accounting and reporting process; widen and deepen fiscal information provided in the budget process and; define more clearly the roles of different levels of government and the relationship between government and commercial activities. The government is also obliged to give immediate priority to consolidating improvements in fiscal reporting and re- establishing control process. In order to sustain and develop the improvements achieved, the government has been advised to take following actions: When satisfactory standard of reliability and timeliness of monthly fiscal reports has been attained, the finance ministry should make a quarterly (and eventually monthly) fiscal bulletins available to public showing the status of the budget relative to original estimates. Similar processes should be promoted at provincial level in consultation with their authorities. Internal audit and control processes should be improved with particular emphasis on control of staff strength, establishment of effective internal audit, and development of a general procurement law and an effective administration to oversee compliance with procurement. The federal and provincial legislatures should establish effective and timely public accounts committee processes on priority basis. Accounting training, development of improved government accounting standards and explicit policies like policy on disclosure of contingent liabilities should be particularly emphasized as part of the IMF-funded project to improve fiscal reporting and auditing. The range and quality of information provided in budget and accounts documents should be progressively improved. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001227 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Smuggled, reclaimed oil hit OMCs ------------------------------------------------------------------- Aamir Shafaat Khan KARACHI, Dec 26: Smuggled petroleum products and reclaimed lubricants are rapidly improving their market share in Pakistan as rising prices of imported POL products have forced many buyers to hook on them. Oil industry sources and officials in oil marketing companies (OMCs) told Dawn on Tuesday that the smuggled lubricant products (mainly from Far East) and reclaimed lubricants had captured 30- 40 per cent share of the market. The sources say several things are giving crippling blow to the genuine POL producers and OMCs - which include smuggling of petrol and diesel in NWFP and Balochistan from Iran, influx of lubricants from illegal channel and availability of locally-made sub-standard lubricants. The World Bank Mission, in its recent report on oil sector presented to the government also noted growing incidence of smuggling. It said: "although it is accepted that part of the increased demand is being met through smuggled gasoline, the magnitudes are difficult to quantify." The report said that the overall consumption of petroleum had grown by 4 to 5 per cent per annum in recent years. Consumption of diesel and motor gasoline was also fairly robust - 3.5 per cent per annum and 2.5 per cent per annum, respectively. During 1995-99, the number of vehicles on road had grown up by about eight per cent per annum and it is estimated that an average usage (km) per vehicle had also increased. The petroleum consumption in the transport sector had risen by only 4.2 per cent. "We have informed the government that smuggled petrol and diesel are cheaper by 30-40 per cent in parts of Balochistan," Chairman Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA), Abdul Sami Khan said. He said most of the smuggled POL products are coming in from Iran. In case of locally-manufactured lubricants, he said sales are not picking up due to influx of sub-standard lubricants from Far Eastern countries that find their way into Pakistan through Iran and Afghanistan. Quite a number of people also use discarded oil (i.e. oil discarded by motorbike and car users after a specific period and sold to unregistered producers of reclaimed lubricants.) These producers, after adding some acids and chemicals, heat up the used oil at a certain temperature until it becomes viscous and changes its colour from black to light golden. Another sub-standard quality is also being produced. Specific used tyres and rubbers are being melted down after severe heating and then remixed with some colours in order to sell in the local markets as engine oils. Besides, some producers purchase lube base oil from the refinery and directly fill it in tin cans bearing different names without blending it. Majority of autos (two-wheelers) sell sub-standard lubricants in loose quantity which are cheaper by Rs20-30 per litre as compared to branded lubricants. Vehicles owners, having no knowledge, easily fall prey to the sellers of inferior quality lubricants. An official in Pakistan State Oil (PSO) said that the share of smuggled and spurious lubricants range between 30-40 per cent. An official of Shell Pakistan also shared the same view. An official in National Refinery Limited (NRL), producer of lube base oil, said the company in 1999-2000, could not sell lube base oil in the market at higher prices since it was facing severe competition from foreign lube base oils, which were available in the country at lower prices. The sale of lube base oil fell to 152,916 tons compared to 176,172 tons in 1998-99. Production of lube base oils was kept lower at 176,596 tons as compared to 177,751 tons. The official said that the demand of lube base oil is 220,000 tons per annum. Substandard oil is disastrous for vehicle engines and affects their durability and quality. Pakistan is highly dependent on the imports of POL products for meeting domestic petroleum needs. Pakistan's economy is highly vulnerable to international movements in petroleum prices, mainly due to high dependence on imports of petroleum products. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001227 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IMF arrangement ignores ground realities ------------------------------------------------------------------- Jawaid Bokhari KARACHI, Dec 26: Studies carried out by foreign banks and domestic security houses indicate that IMF mandate under Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) is too ambitious. It ignores ground realities and was formulated against the background of Pakistan's failure to adhere to its conditionalities. Financial analysts at a brokerage house question as to "exactly how feasible the IMF prescription is in the stipulated time framework." "Too much is expected in too short a time of 10 months for which the SBA is valid," says a senior economist. A foreign bank research report points out that the "agreed actions go beyond the nature of traditional Stand-By Arrangement, designed to provide short-term balance of payments support." Under the current SBA, there are a total of 31 required policy actions plus 12 prior actions. In the SBA 1995-96, only five performance criteria were stipulated. A detailed financial analysis by Taurus Securities indicates that economic targets are fairly out of reach, given the performance of the economy so far this year. It would not because of absence of corrective policies but because of short period that would keep indicators below the set targets. On an optimistic note, the security house study arrives at the conclusion that as long as overall policies are in the envisioned direction and economic indicators move towards their targets, the IMF should refrain from suspending the SBA programme. The optimism in the financial market is also shared by a leading foreign bank ABN-AMRO. While the degree of conditionality associated with the current SBA appears imposing, the bank study says, "prior actions already undertaken, indicate striking "extent of forward movement that has already taken place over the last one year". The principal achievements are substantial exchange rate adjustments and quarterly adjustment of domestic petroleum prices in response to international oil prices. Dispelling erroneous impressions, the bank's research study clarifies that under any IMF programme, the required policy measures are characterized as either performance criteria, indicative targets or as benchmarks. Performance criteria represents the most binding set of targets/conditions, before the Fund makes the disbursement. Non-compliance, therefore, results in the automatic shut-down of the disbursement pipeline, until and unless a specific waiver, is approved by the IMF executive board. Indicative targets and benchmarks are less binding with a great in-built tolerance for deviations from agreed levels. Any inability to meet them, does not necessarily disrupt the schedule of disbursement. Financial analysts say that the most important targets under the IMF programme are GDP growth at 4.5 per cent, inflation at six per cent, forex reserves at $1.7 billion and a fiscal deficit at 5.2 per cent of GDP. All these have to be in place by June 2001. These four targets will be drivers of monetary and fiscal policies. The GDP growth target will not be easy to achieve. Both the wheat and cotton crops for fiscal 2001 are estimated below last year; so the thrust of growth is expected to come from manufacturing. Setback to sugar industry reduced industrial expansion to 0.7 per cent last year. Sugar production is not expected to show any dramatic turnaround this year due to water shortage. Textile indicates strong growth but other sectors are not that promising. Enhanced investors' confidence outside the value addition textile sector remains a question mark. Taurus Securities estimates the GDP growth rate at around 3.7 per cent for fiscal 2001. The fiscal deficit target at 5.2 per cent will be a formidable task to accomplish. The State Bank quarterly report shows revenues trailing behind set targets. In the first quarter, the total tax collection was Rs6.7 billion short of Rs87 billion. Financial analysts forecast revenues at Rs375 billion, Rs55 billion short of the year's target. Economists say that the elevated target for the CBR revenue is surprising and questionable especially in the light of IMF's own observation that "significant uncertainty surrounds the short-term impact of revenue measures on the budget position. "Instead of setting revenue target, it would have been more prudent to designate policy action relating to widening tax base, as a structural performance criterion." The IMF is aware that the target cannot be met. It has identified expenditure cuts in the region of Rs7 billion in case of shortfall in revenue. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001225 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Defence ties with Iran to get a boost ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Dec 24: Iran and Pakistan are keen to cooperate in defence sector, particularly in naval field. In an interview with IRNA, Naval Chief Admiral Abdul Aziz Mirza said Pakistan had been desirous of enhancing cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries and the Iranian authorities had also been laying stress on their desire to expand defence ties with Pakistan. Admiral Mirza, who at the head of a high-powered military delegation, had recently visited Tehran, termed his meetings with the Iranian authorities successful. -NNI DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001224 ------------------------------------------------------------------- January rates announced: SBP wants banks to place FCY deposits ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, Dec 23: The State Bank made desperate moves on Friday and Saturday seeking fresh foreign currency deposits from banks immediately after selling about $250 million to them in one-month swap against rupee. "We are receiving frantic calls from the State Bank seeking an immediate placement of foreign currency deposits with them," said treasurer of a foreign bank. Several other banks confirmed this to Dawn. They said a number of banks had already placed less than a hundred million dollars with SBP in two days and a few others are to follow suit. That explains why the State Bank announced on Friday the rates of return on placement of foreign currency deposits for the month of January. Normally, SBP announces the rates on the last working day of the month. Bankers said SBP had told them that they would continue to get 4.0 per cent return on foreign currency deposits for one week; 4.25 per cent for one month and 4.50 per cent for three months in January. Bankers said SBP was seeking foreign currency deposits to keep their net foreign assets within the limits set by the IMF. Under the conditions of $596 million IMF standby credit, the SBP is to keep its NFA at minus Rs8.2 billion at end-December 2000: the central bank is to keep its net domestic assets at minus Rs26.3 billion. SBP has been making moves to meet the twin targets, but lately its efforts have remained focussed on containing NDA. Bankers say the SBP decision to sell dollars to banks in one-month swap for rupees was aimed at easing off the liquidity crunch in the market to avoid a rush of banks on its discount window that could have increased its NDA. But bankers say by selling the dollars the SBP had in its accounts in the shape of foreign currency deposits of banks it also reduced its liabilities frustrating its own efforts to contain NDA. SBP officials seem to have realised this. That is why they are asking banks to place more of the foreign currency deposits with SBP. Bankers say the $250 million swap made by the SBP in the past one week or so is also creating problems for the central bank in meeting its target of net foreign assets. That provides the SBP another reason for bringing back into its books a major chunk of the $250 million it has sold to banks in one-month swap for rupees. INSTITUTIONAL FCY DEPOSITS: Meanwhile, bankers say they find it less profitable to buy two-week special treasury bills out of the rupee equivalent of institutional foreign currency swap deposits. On Friday, SBP had asked banks to purchase two-week T-bills out of their special rupee deposits, equivalent of institutional swap funds. The central bank wanted banks to do this to reduce its own stocks of T bills and bring its NDA down to targeted level at the year-end. It had told the banks that they would get the same interest rates on the T bills, so purchased that they were getting on the rupee equivalent of swap funds. But, bankers say they need a higher interest as they will have to keep five per cent of the treasury bills purchased under this arrangement as cash reserves and will also have to pay more in withholding tax. On their rupee deposits equivalent to the institutional swap funds, banks are getting around 15 per cent return: They are also not keeping five per cent of these deposits as cash reserves and are paying only 10 per cent withholding tax. They will have to pay 30 per cent withholding tax on the treasury bills purchased out of these deposits. Sources close to SBP said it might enhance the interest on the T bills purchased out of the rupee equivalent of institutional swap funds, keeping these factors in mind. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001224 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Money market tight, rupee stable ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, Dec 23: The ongoing liquidity crunch intensified in the inter-bank market on Saturday and banks had to resort to discounting from the State Bank. Bankers said Rs8-10 billion worth of discounting was reported at the close of the day. They said overnight call rates hovered around 13 per cent whereas two-week term call rates oscillated between 16-18 per cent. Banks have been short of liquidity at the year-end due to pre- Eid and year-end withdrawal of deposits, particularly from the state- run banks. Both public sector organizations as well as private companies are paying monthly salary for December before the close of the month due to Eid. Individuals and companies have also withdrawn and are still withdrawing money from banks to meet year-end and pre-Eid expenses. All this is resulting in a draw down on bank deposits intensifying an ongoing liquidity crunch in the market. But the liquidity crisis has kept the rupee stable. Bankers said the rupee traded around 57.70 to a dollar for some time on Saturday showing 30 paisa gain over the previous close of 58 to a dollar. But it closed almost at the same level at the day-end. Tight money market conditions force banks to sell dollars to generate rupee funds. That in turn stabilizes the local currency. The liquidity crunch in the inter-bank market has been so severe these days that forward premiums on rupee-dollar swaps rose to 60 paisa per dollar a coupleof days ago. Bankers say the market may remain tight in the days to come as more withdrawals from deposits are expected. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001224 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Economy sees slump in first five months ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ikram Hoti ISLAMABAD, Dec 23: The Central Board of Revenue has informed Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf that there has been a slump in the economy and slow-down in certain tax-generating sectors resulting in poor collection of tax revenues in July- November. In a briefing to the CE held here on Saturday, CBR Chairman Riaz Hussain Naqvi explained that all the economic indicators related to the generation of tax revenues had shown a downward trend in this period, hence a shortfall of revenues. However, the achievement of tax receipts of Rs141 billion, against a target of Rs149 billion, was no mean accomplishment, in the circumstances, the Chairman informed the CE. He reportedly claimed that the shortfall occurred basically due to poor imports of major customs revenue-earning items, which also helped increase the sales tax and income tax at import stage and gave an impetus to the locally generated sales tax, income tax and central excise duty receipts. There were a few other factors which frustrated the plan to collect Rs6.5 billion in July-November 2000 through additional GST measures. Only Rs800 million were collected as GST against a target of Rs3.6 billion from retailers, distributors, wholesalers, dealers and non-regular suppliers of taxable goods. Another Rs2.9 billion that were estimated to be received from the Services sector could not be received. Sales tax received from the cotton and sugar sectors was Rs4.05 billion, against Rs5.67 billion collected last year (July- November). The actual receipts for cement and electricity sectors were Rs1.76 billion as GST against a target of Rs2.32 billion. Due to these failures, the CBR recorded an overall shortfall of Rs5.1 billion in the GST collection as Rs55.3 billion were collected during this period against the target of Rs60.4 billion. However, the collection recorded slump basically due to late start of the cotton season, poor imports and the financial constraints of the utilities sector preventing it from paying its tax dues. Apart from these factors, delay in realization of tax on the basis of stocks-in-trade also caused the slump on tax receipts. The stocks-in-trade were basically to be documented through Tax Survey, but section 13 of the Survey relating to the stocks was removed, and the stocks were to be mentioned through the income tax returns for assessment year 2000, the last date for which was extended up to November 30. The CBR staff is now visiting the business premises in 13 major cities for physical verification of stocks in the light of IT declarations. The Tax Survey was meant to bring at least Rs20 billion in the July-August period, but the data collected on its basis was processed in November, and the income concealers were duly sent letters to explain and pay taxes, the results of which would appear only in January 2001. The CBR also explained to the CE its position on exporters' claims for sales tax refunds. It was brought to the notice of the CE that in two major Sales Tax collectorates of Karachi and Lahore, 4,104 export refund claims are pending with an unpaid amount of Rs8.67 billion on account of incomplete supportive documents with claims to be filed in the light of conditions of notification No SRO 417 (Refund Rules 2000). DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001228 ------------------------------------------------------------------- NWFP cuts Rs1bn from ADP ------------------------------------------------------------------- Intikhab Amir PESHAWAR, Dec 27: NWFP government has readjusted its Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the current financial year in line with a Rs1 bn reduction in the ADP's size, official sources told Dawn. Failing to raise enough funds, as surplus from its current revenue account, to support the on-going fiscal year's ADP the NWFP government introduced a cut of Rs1bn in the provincial contribution's component of the ADP. "Reduction in the ADP's size and the subsequent readjustment of the development programme was necessitated on the part of the provincial government, after it raised just Rs600 million for the ADP during the first six months of the current financial year," said a well-placed official of the provincial government. The NWFP government had projected a Rs9.2 billion ADP for the current financial year of which an amount of Rs3.3bn was to be raised through external resources, Rs2.3bn was to be provided by the federal government for its Poverty Alleviation Programme. Whereas, the province was to raise, for the first time as support to its ADP, a total of Rs3.15bn from its internal resources. Of the provincial contribution, a sum of Rs550m was to be diverted to the federal government's Poverty Alleviation Programme, whereas the remaining of the Rs3.15bn, which was to be raised as surplus on revenue account, was to be spent on ADP schemes. Whereas, Rs550m have been released as the provincial share in the poverty alleviation programme, the resource crunch did not allow the government to save enough from the revenue account and it could only specify a total of Rs600m for the ADP. "Out of the Rs2.6bn amount, which had been anticipated as provincial contribution to the ADP, the province should have raised at least Rs1 bn during the first six months of the current fiscal against which only Rs600m was specified, affecting the execution plan of the ADP," said the official. Disbursement of funds much less than the stipulated plan, said the sources, had seriously affected the execution of several ADP schemes, rendering slow down pace of almost all the development schemes, being executed presently. Non-availability of funds, as a result of reduced payments from the federal divisible pool and shortfall recorded under the net hydel profit releases by WAPDA during the first half of the current financial, incapacitated the provincial government to specify any thing for the ADP during the second quarter of the fiscal. "During the first quarter of current fiscal, Rs600m was released to fund the ADP from the provincial resources, whereas the resource crunch did not allow the government to allocate anything during the second quarter," said the official sources. In the wake of Rs1 billion cut, the government readjusted the ADP thereby execution of schemes would be done on priority basis during the second half of the fiscal. The foreign funded projects would be given the first preference in releasing funds to them as local component, whereas schemes near completion would get second preference in resource allocation during the second half of the fiscal. Similarly, the on-going schemes - at any completion stage - would come third in the priority list. "After meeting all these obligations, there would be left around Rs800 m from the slashed ADP account. The money would be utilized in line with the priority areas to be listed out by every provincial minister in his/her sector," said the official sources. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001228 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PAP funds not utilized fully ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report PESHAWAR, Dec 27: The NWFP is not likely to fully utilize the Rs2.8bn funds of the poverty alleviation programme (PAP), during the current financial year, sources told Dawn. Almost six months of the current fiscal have passed and the concerned PAP execution agencies have not been able to fully utilize the Rs550 m funds, the provincial government had allocated from its own resources, according to sources. "The pace of execution of PAP schemes is slow, so much so, that even Rs600 m funds, which the federal government had released to the province for the execution of these schemes before June 30, 2000 were not utilized fully till yet," a senior official of the provincial government said on request of anonymity. Federal government had released Rs600 m amount to Peshawar in May, last. The same was supposed to be utilized 100 per cent before June 30, 2000 in line with the chief executive General Pervez Musharraf's directives. However, the amount was carried forward to the current financial year's account after the PAP could not take off before the June 30 deadline because of non finalization of the programme's details. Of the Rs1.15bn total amount, placed for the PAP schemes' execution in NWFP [including Rs600 m carried forward funds], not more than half of the amount could be utilized since the PAP was launched six months ago. A total of 836 small developmental schemes, in different sectors, had been identified for execution under PAP in the NWFP. Of these 276 were completed, whereas work on some 560 schemes is under progress at different stages of completion. In view of the funds utilized so far and the original size of the PAP designed for the 2000-2001 financial year, the development planners of the provincial government appeared skeptic about the 100 per cent utilization of the total PAP funds. In addition to Rs600 m PAP funds carried forward from the last financial year, provincial government has designed a Rs2.84 bn poverty alleviation programme for the current financial year. Apart from Rs550 m provincial share, which has already been released, a sum of Rs1.9 bn would come from the federal government as its share whereas an amount of Rs395 m would come as grants, which would also be arranged by the federal government. However, the slow pace of PAP's execution in the last six months left serious doubts about the PAP executing agencies' ability to achieve what they had been set for the current financial year. According to sources, federal government, at the start of December, transferred Rs750 m PAP funds to NWFP government's account, but the same was not placed with the local government department for its onward disbursement among different PAP executing agencies. "The Rs750 m funds may not have been released to the local government department - which coordinates the efforts of different PAP executing agencies - because there are ample funds with the executing agencies, which are not yet utilized," said a senior official of the provincial government. Non utilization of Rs1.15 bn funds, so far allocated for PAP schemes, was attributed to slow identification of developmental schemes, procedural delays and several tiers of monitoring.Back to the top
EDITORIALS & FEATURES 20001224 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Jungle ka badshah' ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ardeshir Cowasjee WE don't learn from history, we don't learn from experience, we don't learn from our elders, we don't learn from what we were taught at school. And to boot, we are led by the corrupt and the ignorant. This generation may well say they had no elders to teach them to differentiate wrong from right. And right now, most of the eight citizens of this country born each minute have no schools to which they can go to be taught. A few fortunate ones do have parents to teach them, and even teachers, and friends to encourage and help. The world's sole superpower, the US, goes to war and kills millions when it wishes to while at the same time preaching and upholding the concept of human rights, tolerance, and democracy. Such is the privilege of the Jungle ka badshah. For the uninitiated : a child once asked his father how the lion, the king of the jungle, produces its young. The wise father answered : Sher, jungle ka badshah hai, Marzi ka malik hai. Kabhi anda daita hai, kabhi bachcha daita hai.' For the foreseeable future, the US will dominate the world. It has the good sense to listen to and heed the intelligent and the hardworking. It has made an industry out of education and earns $13 billion per year through educating students from other countries. It has sound work ethics. The first traffic jam of the day on many a highway leading to the large cities is recorded at 0600 hours. All this is sustained by a sense of justice and fair play. In the recent election crisis it was the judges of the Federal Supreme Court who said what they had to say and settled the issue. The loser did not storm the court, he did not even complain; he gave in with considerable grace. The winner did not crow; he acknowledged his victory with humility. We move to the other badshah we must live with, our good friend and ally, the inscrutable one who rules over a land replete with black gold. He has helped us, but does not wish us to make known how or why. Today, newspapers carried a statement issued by the Saudi information ministry on the alleged payment of millions of dollars to obtain the release of Nawaz Sharif: "Pakistan is far above compromising on its values, dignity and magnanimity and the Kingdom does not underestimate the history and nobility of Pakistan and will not accept any slur on the dignity of Pakistan ..... The Kingdom has never needed to adopt a posture such as this to offer help to its Arab and Muslim brothers.... The reports are devoid of any truth. The Kingdom has always responded without any hesitation to its humanitarian commitments toward the ex-Pakistani prime minister with a view to finding a solution to the crisis .... The response of Pakistan to a demand by the Kingdom is only in conformity with the ideals of the Islamic and historic relations between the two countries." The king has spoken. He has demanded. The sovereign state of Pakistan has acquiesced. Subject closed. Throughout history there have been many exiles, perhaps the most famous being that of 1815, the case of the Emperor Napoleon of France, who, after his defeat at Waterloo and capture by the allies was sent in exile to the remote lonely island of St Helena.. Nawaz Sharif's sole resemblance to Boney is in height and posture; the corporal-turned-emperor brought glory to his country through his conquests, he brought it gains and riches. He gave it a code of law which exists to this day. A meticulous man whom no detail escaped, whilst in exile he had more than time enough to reflect upon his past, its triumphs and its failures. His attention span was remarkable as can be gauged from the following list attached to his Will, made at Longwood, St Helena, April 15, 1821 : I. 1) The sacred vessels used in my chapel at Longwood. 2) I entrust them to Abbe Vignali, who is to give them to my son when he is sixteen. II. 1) My weapons, namely : my sword, the one I carried at Austerlitz; Sobieski's sabre; my dagger; my sword; my hunting knife, my two pairs of Versailles pistols. 2) My golden toilet case, which I used on the moorings of Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena, Eylau, Friedland, the island of Lobau, the Moscowa, Montmirail. It is for this reason that I want my son to hold it dear. Count Bertrand has had charge of it since 1814. 3) I charge Count Bertand to care for and preserve these items and give them to my son when he is sixteen. III. 1) Three little ebony chests : the first contains thirty-three snuff boxes, or bonbonnieres; the second, twelve boxes with the imperial arms, two small spyglasses and four boxes found upon Louis XVIII's table in the Tuileries, March 20, 1815; the third, three snuff boxes decorated with silver medals, for the emperor's use, and sundry pieces of toiletry, according to the inventories numbered I, II, and III. 2) My camp beds, which I used in all my campaigns. 3) My campaign telescope. 4) My silver toilet cases, one of each of my uniforms, a dozen shirts, and a complete set of each of my sets of clothes, and generally of everything I used for my toilet. 5) My washbasin. 6) A little clock which is in my bedchamber at Longwood. 7) My two watches, and the chain made of the empress's hair. 8) I charge Marchand, my head valet, to keep these items and give them to my son when he is sixteen. IV. 1) My collection of decorations. 2) My silverware and the Sevres porcelain I have used on St Helena (lists B and C). I charge Count Montholon to keep these items and give them to my son when he is sixteen. V. 1) My three saddles and bridles, and the spurs I have used on St Helena. 2) My five sporting guns. 3) I charge my huntsman Noverraz to keep these items and give them to my son when he is sixteen. VI. 1) Four hundred volumes selected from those I made most use of in my library. 2) I charge St Denis to keep them and give them to my son when he is sixteen. He then wrote his 'Advice to My Son' : "My son must not think of avenging my death; he should rather learn a lesson from it. He must always bear in mind the remembrance of what I have accomplished. He is always to remain, like myself, every inch a Frenchman. He must strive to rule in peace. If he were to try to begin my wars all over again out of a mere desire to imitate me, and without the absolute necessity for it, he would be nothing but an ape. To begin my work over again would be to assume that I had accomplished nothing. To complete it, on the other hand, will be to prove the strength of its foundations, to explain the complete plan of the edifice begun. Such work as mine is not done twice in a century. I have been compelled to restrain and tame Europe with arms; today it must be convinced. I have saved the Revolution as it lay dying. I have inspired France and Europe with new ideas which will never be forgotten. May my son make everything blossom that I have sown. May he develop further all the elements of prosperity which lie hidden in French soil." Napoleon died less than a month later, on May 5. His son, Napoleon-Francois-Charles-Joseph Bonaparte, King of Rome (the traditional title of the heir to the Holy Roman Empire) and L'Aiglon (the young eagle), was born in 1811 at the height of his father's power and glory. His mother, the Empress of France, was Marie Louise of Austria, eldest daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. After Napoleon's capture and exile in 1815 he was rechristened Duke of Reichstadt and kept at the court of Vienna under constant tutelage in Hapsburg traditions, though he remained faithful to the memory of his father. He suffered from repeated illnesses and died of pulmonary tuberculosis in the Palace of Schonbrunn, Vienna, on July 22, 1832, at the age of twenty-one. Napoleon's hopes came to naught. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20001228 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The messiah Chakwal chooses to ignore ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ayaz Amir WHEN a fellow-Chakwali makes it big I feel happy and bask vicariously in his glory. When he makes it big on the strength of what someone versed in the military arts might call bluff and bluster I feel happier still because straight virtue I have always found boring. It is the buccaneering spirit which catches my fancy. I write all this after not knowing whether to laugh or to cry at the splash in the papers made by Maulana Muhammad Akram Awan's 'threat' to march on Islamabad with lakhs of his followers to press for the promulgation of Islamic laws in the country. With such consummate skill and exquisite sense of public relations has the Maulana orchestrated this threat from his stronghold of Munara (which is at one end of Chakwal tehsil) that he has had the puissant government of Punjab reeling on its feet. It was not surprising therefore if it sent two of its most important officials - Home Secretary Brig Ejaz Shah and Inspector-General of Police Malik Asif Hayat to parley with him. After protracted negotiations a nation caught in suspense was informed that the Maulana had graciously agreed to defer storming the capital till early March pending the acceptance of his demands. Nor was this all. Dr Mahmood Ghazi, General Musharraf's in-house bishop, also travelled to Munara to talk to the Amir of the Tanzeemul Akhwan, an organization which (you will have to take my word for it) has less of a presence in Chakwal than on the front pages of the national press. Thus it is that what might suitably have been handled by the In-charge Police Post Buchaal (which is next to Munara) or at most by the Station House Officer, Kalar Kallar, had to be settled by powerful emissaries from Lahore and Islamabad. When the Maulana issues his next threat of an assault on the capital will he be satisfied with lowlier ambassadors? When I was MPA in the era of the Heavy Mandate, an occasion arose when the local Pasbaan, an auxiliary wing of the Jamaat-i-Islami, threatened to take matters into its own hands if there was any dancing at the annual urs of the Karsal Darbar, a village not far from my own village. Administrative officers even remotely competent would have known how to deal with this threat. But at the time there were posted in Chakwal two of the most useless officers I have ever had the misfortune to encounter: Deputy Commissioner Rauf Khan and Superintendent of Police Saleem Asghar. Thrown into a panic, they summoned what looked like the entire police reserve of Rawalpindi Division to maintain order in Karsal. I told them that by overreacting to a non-existent threat they were merely providing a handle to bigoted elements to make a similar nuisance of themselves in future. But they would not listen and so the Karsal mela (since restored to its original state) that year became a police tamasha. Hardly a fortnight later what was sowed in Karsal was reaped in Chakwal. A group of people wanted to hold a devotional qawwali in one of the city's main graveyards. Getting wind of this, a local religious organization issued a warning that there should be no music at the qawwali and if there was any every musical instrument would be smashed. The frightened organizers ran to the DC (the same Rauf Khan) for protection but the DC, instead of taking adequate steps to ensure that no breach of the peace took place, asked the organizers to go and talk to the very maulana who was threatening to disrupt their qawwali. Till nightfall the hapless organizers kept beseeching the maulana to relent but to no avail. When the qawwali began some of the maulana's supporters, armed with sticks and rods, stormed the venue. During the ensuing melee a shot was fired and a deputy superintendent of police fell to the ground, dying on his way to the hospital. Firmness would have averted this incident; vacillation and weakness only encouraged it. But then if the DC and SP had panicked in Karsal, it is hard to think how, only a fortnight later, they could have behaved with any more valour in Chakwal. Maulana Akram must be laughing up his sleeve. He sure has his followers (mostly from outside Chakwal) a few thousand of whom were camped in Munara. But knowing something about Maulana Akram I can say with some surety that he was as likely to march on Islamabad as I am to march on Moscow. Yet he has managed to build quite a reputation for himself and, to read some of the front-page stories during the last ten days, it almost looked as if the most redoubtable army of holy warriors that ever collected in these parts was just waiting for the Maulana's signal to lay siege to Islamabad. What can I say? Maulana Akram in any case has a following of sorts. There are jokers who have none but who get a regular build-up in the press because they know how to go about the subtle art of cultivating the press. The late Shorish Malik (also from Chakwal) had a name for this: he used to call it balti-gosht journalism. Even so, to be fair to the Maulana, knowing how to play the press is not the sole reason for his formidable reputation in some quarters. Some time ago at lunch with the French ambassador (no, I am not name-dropping, only illustrating my argument) I was solemnly informed by his political counsellor who was also in attendance that one Maulana Akram had a lot of influence among middle-ranking officers in the army. I have heard this line from other sources as well. Whence does it come? If the Pakistan army of today is anything like the institution I served 30 years ago, then I say in all seriousness that it deserves to be disbanded if the Tanzeemul Akhwan has any sort of ideological influence in its ranks. To be sure, the Pakistan army is not famous for turning out intellectuals. But to come down to this? Since the dark days of Ziaul Haq the Jamaat-i-Islami is supposed to have made ideological inroads into the officer corps. Now on the strength of a spurious reputation, spread in no small measure by a section of the press, there is no shortage of gullible souls who take this proud son of Chakwal, Maulana Akram, to be some kind of an ideological anchor in the armed forces. Munara where Maulana Akram's spiritual headquarters are located was part of my provincial assembly constituency in 1997. With a tough fight on my hands, I went from village to village and even to remote hamlets to beg for votes. But I do not remember going to Maulana Akram's Dar-ul-Irfan for his support. This does not mean the Maulana is a man of no consequence. In the eyes of his many followers he is a great man. How shall I put it? It never crossed my mind to seek his support. Indeed after the elections one of the Maulana's sons with whom I am on friendly terms said that I should meet the Maulana. My answer was that a confirmed sinner like me did not deserve to enter the presence of such a holy personage. There the matter rested. None of this is to say I do not admire the Maulana. He is a man of many qualities, having risen from obscurity to a position where the home secretary, Punjab, and inspector-general of police negotiate with him in order to assure him of the government's Islamic intentions. No ordinary man can do this. How I wish I could ride the vehicles he does and have the armed guards he has or use the finances he commands. Anyone can have worldly ambition. It is not given to everyone to realize it. So my cavil, believe me, is not against the Maulana. Indeed, if guaranteed safety, I will wait upon him not so much to seek his blessings (although I stand in need of those as well) as to try to figure out the secret of his undoubted success. My grouse is against the proud and powerful Republic of Pakistan. Why is it fair game for every mountebank or adventurer who happens to cross its path?
SPORTS 20001225 ------------------------------------------------------------------- India not reviewing tour decision ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DELHI, Dec 26: The Indian government has no plans to review its decision to cancel a cricket tour of Pakistan, an external affairs ministry spokesman said on Tuesday. "There is no proposal at present to review the decision regarding our cricket team visiting Pakistan," Raminder Singh Jassal told a news conference in New Delhi. Last month the Indian government cancelled the tour scheduled from December to February. India were to have played three Tests and five one-day internationals in Pakistan. Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Lieutenant General Tauqir Zia had said on Monday he had received positive signals that the Indian team will undertake a short tour of Pakistan next month. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had last week urged the government to review the cancellation of the tour. Pakistan's cricket board stands to lose millions of dollars in sponsorship money if the Indian tour does not materialize. No Indian team has visited Pakistan for a full Test tour since 1989- 90. Sachin Tendulkar led an Indian team to play three limited over games in Pakistan in 1997. Pakistan played three Tests and a triangular series in India last year despite threats from Hindu fundamentalists to disrupt the tour. The two countries have few sporting contacts because of strained relations. India had pulled out its cricket team from the five-match Toronto series against Pakistan in 1999 and 2000. It also refused to send entrants for the South Asian Federation shooting contest in November and declined visas to Pakistani rowers earlier this month. However, Pakistan sent its football team to India in July and two snooker players took part in an invitational tournament in the neighboring country last month.-Reuters/AFP ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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