------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 3 June 2000 Issue : 06/21 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents | National News | Business & Economy | Editorials & Features | Sports
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CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + Day-to-day hearing in plane case from 12th + Nawaz, Saif indicted in helicopter case + Traders' strike enters 5th day + Musharraf renews talks offer to India + President issues ordinance: Corrupt civil servants to be removed + All grades included: Suspended CBR officials' list released + Shaukat on new measures: More taxes to come under SAS + Traders' stand is weak, says Moin + Top judges to face Ehtesab + Officials can be retired after 25-year service + Oil, gas discovered in Potohar + US missile system: Arms race risk among China, Pakistan, India + Devolution of power: Provincial autonomy not to be affected: CE + Army to assist in tax compliance + Punjab wants wheat dues paid + Anti-Terrorism Act amended + Budget on 17th June, says Shaukat --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + LSE sets deadline for defaulting brokers + Pakistan to export 1 million ton wheat + New trade policy urged to meet global challenges + Black money growing fast + SBP keeps strict watch on forex market + Pasha committee gives formula for cut in budget deficit + IMF okays reform agenda + More time for filling tax survey forms + Presumptive tax: CBR not to reopen cases + Unofficial band revised: Dollar rises in inter-bank market + 5% growth rate projected for next year + $ trades in new band + Karachi Stocks plunge --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + The educated of Sindh Ardeshir Cowasjee + The more things change Ayaz Amir ----------- SPORTS + Pakistan crush Bangladesh by 233 runs + Qayyum says Pakistan team now free of match-fixing + Adams leads West Indies to a dramatic series triumph + Asian teams threaten to boycott ICC trophy
=================================================================== DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 20000603 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Day-to-day hearing in plane case from 12th ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Sarfaraz Ahmed KARACHI, June 2: The Sindh High Court on Friday admitted for regular hearing state appeals seeking enhancement of sentence of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and challenging the acquittal of six others in the plane hijacking case. Headed by Chief Justice Syed Saiyed Ashhad, the full bench also ordered the issuance of non-bailable arrest warrants for Shahbaz Sharif, Saifur Rahman, Ghous Ali Shah, Saeed Mehdi, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Rana Maqbool. Earlier on May 26, the SHC had reserved judgment after hearing arguments from both sides. The court would start regular hearing from June 12. Proceedings would be held daily with no adjournment. The court said the Supreme Court had laid down principles in the cases of maximum punishment and added that it would examine under what circumstances a lesser punishment was awarded. In its ruling on the appeal seeking enhancement of sentence of Nawaz Sharif, the court observed that the law was clear on the point that where an offence was punishable with death or life imprisonment, then the normal sentence to be awarded was death sentence. "In awarding the lesser sentence of imprisonment for life, the court has to give reasonable, satisfactory and plausible grounds for not awarding the maximum sentence of death, and that in the absence of any reasonable, satisfactory and plausible grounds having been mentioned by the trial court for awarding the lesser of the two sentences, trial court cannot be said to have discharged the responsibility which lays on it in awarding the proper and correct sentence on finding a person guilty of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life," the court ruled. It observed that the cases of Manzoor Ahmed v the State (1999 SCMR 132), Sharafat Ali v the State (1999 SCMR 329); and Mohammad Aslam Sajjan v Liaquat Ali and others (1998 SCMR 1555) could be referred to. And in all those cases the accused were tried for the offence of murder punishable with death or imprisonment for life. The trial court on finding respondent Nawaz Sharif guilty had awarded him life imprisonment, the SHC said and added that the Supreme Court, while hearing the appeals filed by the accused challenging their conviction and award of sentence of life imprisonment, had observed that the normal and ordinary sentence for the offence of murder was death sentence, and life imprisonment was to be awarded if some mitigating circumstances were made out, justifying the award of the lesser sentence. "We are mindful of the fact that in all afore-cited cases, the Supreme Court was dealing with the offence of murder and not with offence of hijacking," the court said. However, it added, the principle involved in awarding the sentence where the law provided for a particular offence would be applicable to all such offences which had been made punishable by two different sentences. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000603 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nawaz, Saif indicted in helicopter case ------------------------------------------------------------------- ATTOCK, June 2: A National Accountability Court in Attock Fort indicted Nawaz Sharif and Saifur Rehman on Friday in the helicopter case and summoned evidence for June 9. The punishment of the offences, if proved, is 14 years' rigorous imprisonment. Nawaz Sharif was charged under Section 10 of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance read with section 9 (a)(5) and Saif was charged with aiding and abetting Nawaz Sharif in the crime. Judge Farrukh Latif read out the four charges framed against Nawaz Sharif and his co-accused Saifur Rehman, and asked them whether they pleaded guilty or not guilty. Nawaz Sharif and Saifur Rehman started casting aspersions on the system of justice and accusing the NAB. They said everything in the reference was cooked up against them. The judge asked both the accused again and again if they pleaded guilty or not guilty. Recording the statement of the accused afterwards, the judge assumed that they were pleading not guilty. Earlier, the defence counsels filed three applications seeking adjournment on different pretexts. First application was filed by Advocate Malik Manzoor, saying that since he had joined the case on Friday, he might be given time to consult his client. The judge rejected the application, observing that it would happen every time a new lawyer joined the case. Already three adjournments had been given on this ground, he added. Another application put forward by the defence was about the documents attached with the reference, which, according to the defence counsels, were not legible. The prosecution informed the court that a few of said documents were fax copies and they had faded with the passage of time. However, they said, the documents that were photocopied would be provided to the defence again.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000603 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Traders' strike enters 5th day ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Our Staff Reporter KARACHI, June 2: Traders continued to show their resentment against the tax survey by keeping their businesses closed on the fifth day of the strike. The strike was called by various trade bodies and All Pakistan Organization of Small Traders and Cottage Industry (APOSTCI). All main markets and shopping centres remained shut while in some areas like Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Nazimabad, Water Pump F.B. Area - traders observed partial strike. Members of Karachi Electronic Dealers Association (KEDA) in Saddar area continued their business as usual. However, the tax survey forms are being normally distributed by tax officials to industrial, commercial offices and residential areas as the strike did not deter their working. APOSTCI, which had planned to hold protest rally at Empress Market, was not allowed by the law enforcement agencies. These agencies kept the association's chief Umer Sailya under house arrest and restricted him to hold protest rally. However, APOSTCI's members managed to hold the rally at Lal Masjid at Boulton Market followed by rallies at Jinnah Road Quetta, Masjid-e-Shuhada at Lahore and Mohabbat Khan Masjid at Peshawar, claims Umer Sailya in a press statement. He also claimed that around 73 traders had been arrested during the protest rallies at various places in the country. Sailya again urged the government to hold negotiations without any further loss of time so that the economic stability could be restored. He, through a press release on Friday, again reiterated his decision to continue complete shutter down on Saturday and Sunday. According to convener, Imran Saeed, Karachi Tajir Action Committee, all the major markets like Tariq Road, Bahadurabad, Hyderi, Saddar, jewellery markets, tyre markets, paper market, pan mandi, Babar Market Landhi, Khori Garden remained shut throughout the day. "We will not accept the survey forms without taking traders into the confidence," he said adding we will continue to observe shutter downs. Acting President, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Sardar Raza Mohamamd urged the chief executive to hold talks with representatives of small traders so that they could end their strike. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000601 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Musharraf renews talks offer to India ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, May 31: The chief executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf, made a fresh offer to India on Wednesday to resume talks to settle the Kashmir issue. "I am trying to say that I am prepared to go anywhere, travel anywhere and meet the Indian leadership at any time to start the dialogue to reduce tensions, to bring permanent peace to this region," he said in a programme aired live by CNN. "I am a man of peace, irrespective of the fact that I don a uniform." The CE stressed the need for mediation by the United Nations or any other third party because "bilateralism has failed" between Islamabad and Delhi. But he said he was open to bilateral dialogue "if it suits India", which has rejected all proposals of a third- party involvement in Kashmir. "There is no terrorism going on in Kashmir, it's a freedom struggle," Gen Musharraf said. "People have risen against India, let that be very clear." Indian occupation troops, he said, were committing atrocities and violating human rights in fighting a decade-old freedom struggle in Kashmir. Pakistan, he pointed out, wanted a reduction of such violations and tensions. India and Pakistan, he stated, ought to be responsible and "initiate a dialogue as soon as possible" to avoid a Kargil-like situation. He maintained that Pakistan was not engaged in an arms race with India despite Delhi's recent 28 per cent increase in its defence budget. But Pakistan would never allow its security to be compromised and would maintain a "minimum deterrence level," he declared. He said Pakistan was concerned about its security but would not need a substantial increase in the defence budget to meet a minimum deterrence level. "Pakistan's economy within the present state also can certainly afford what we are spending on defence," he said. The CE pledged to restore civilian rule before Oct 12, 2002, in line with a verdict by the Supreme Court. The apex court had given his government a three-year timeframe to leave office, Gen Musharraf told the 20th anniversary programme of Cable News Network. He said Pakistan was fully conscious of its position vis-a-vis nuclear weapons. "This is a huge responsibility on our shoulders and let me assure the world that we will discharge our responsibility sincerely." In reply to a question, he said: "We are not entering into any kind of race with India, and I have brought all nuclear assets under an excellent command and control arrangement." He said Pakistan's nuclear capability was purely for self-defence and the country had no aspirations for world power status.-Agencies DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000528 ------------------------------------------------------------------- President issues ordinance: Corrupt civil servants to be removed ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rafaqat Ali ISLAMABAD, May 27: The federal government on Saturday promulgated an ordinance, empowering the chief executive to dismiss, remove or send on premature retirement the civil servants involved in corruption or even having a bad reputation. The "Removal from Service (Special Powers) Ordinance, 2000" says the competent authority, after inquiry by a committee, can dismiss, remove, compulsorily retire or relegate an official to a lower post or pay scale, or impose one or more minor penalties if he is inefficient, corrupt or involved in subversive activities. The competent authority under the law is the chief executive, or an officer authorized by him. The person against whom the action has been initiated will be required to appear before an inquiry committee. He/she will be able to file a review appeal before the chief executive within 15 days and also approach the federal service tribunal for redressal of his grievance. Action against the civil servants will be taken after informing him of the reasons and giving him opportunity to show cause within 15 days. He will be proceeded against if he is: a) inefficient, or has ceased to be efficient for any reasons; b) guilty of misconduct; c) corrupt, or may reasonably be considered as corrupt; d) engaged, or is reasonably believed to be engaged in subversive activities, and his retention in service is prejudicial to national security, and or he is guilty of disclosure of official secrets to any unauthorized person; and, e) found to have been appointed or promoted on extraneous grounds in violation of law and the relevant rules. A corrupt official has been defined as "he or his dependent(s) or any other person, through him, or on his behalf, is in possession of pecuniary resources or of property, for which he cannot reasonably account for and which are disproportionate to his known source of income, or has assumed a style of living beyond his known sources of income." An official against whom action is proposed can be placed under suspension with immediate effect. The competent authority can, in an appropriate case, for reasons to be recorded in writing, instead of placing an official under suspension, order to proceed on such leave as may be admissible to him. The CE can constitute one or more inquiry committees to scrutinize the conduct of a person in government or corporation service, or a person in corporation service who is alleged to have committed corruption, has a bad reputation or is involved in subversive activities. The committee after providing reasonable opportunity of hearing, will give recommendation to the competent authority within 30 days regarding the punishment or other appropriate action. The committee, however, can refuse to provide opportunity of hearing if it is satisfied that such an opportunity is not in the interest of the security of Pakistan. The inquiry committee will have powers to summon and enforce attendance of any person and examine him on oath; b) to require the discovery and production of any document; c) to receive evidence of affidavits; and, d) to record evidence. The inquiry committee will have power to regulate its own procedure, including the fixing of place and time of its sitting and deciding whether to sit in public or in private, and in the case of corporate committee, to act notwithstanding the temporary absence of any of its members. Every finding and recommendation recorded by the inquiry committee will be submitted to the competent authority and the competent authority may pass such order if he deems it proper. A person who has been dismissed or removed or compulsorily retired from service or reduced to a lower post or pay scale or against whom any order has been made, may, within 15 days from the date of communication of the order prefer a representation to the CE or an authorized officer. Provided that where the order has been made by the CE such person may, within 15 days, submit a review petition to the CE. The chief executive, or an officer on authority, may, on consideration of the representation, confirm, set aside, vary or modify the order in respect of which such representation or review petition is made within 60 days. Any official aggrieved can file an appeal against the order of CE, within 30 days, in the federal service tribunal. The provisions of this ordinance shall have effect, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Civil Servants Act, 1973 (LXXI of 1973), and the rules made thereunder and any other law for time being in force. All proceedings initiated on the commencement of this ordinance in respect of matters and persons in service, provided for in this ordinance, shall be governed by the provisions of this ordinance and rules made thereunder. The law has provided that all proceedings pending immediately before the commencement of this ordinance against any person whether in government service or corporation service under the Civil Servants Act, 1973 (LXXI of 1973) and rules made thereunder, or any other law or rules shall continue under the said laws and rules, and as provided thereunder: Notwithstanding anything contained in this Ordinance the payment of pension or other benefits to a person retired or reduced to a lower post or pay scale under this Ordinance shall, if admissible, be regulated in accordance with the law for the time being in force relating thereto. The federal government can, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Ordinance. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000529 ------------------------------------------------------------------- All grades included: Suspended CBR officials' list released ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ikram Hoti ISLAMABAD, May 28: The Central Board of Revenue on Sunday suspended for six months the services of its 1,040 employees on charges of corruption and inefficiency. The suspended employees belong to all grades - from grade 1 to 21. The grade 21 officials were: Abrar Ahmad Khan, member of the Income Tax settlement commission, Karachi; Tahir Latif Sheikh, officer on special duty, CBR; and Nazir A. Saleemi, OSD. Seventeen officials of grade 20 were: Sultan Ahmad, commissioner of IT (Appeals-V), Karachi; Yousuf Sharih, commissioner of IT (Appeals) Multan; Sheikh Ihsan Ilahi Tariq, commissioner of IT (Appeals-V), Lahore; Saadat Saeed, commissioner of IT, Companies zone-III, Karachi; Munir Ahmad Sheikh, commissioner of IT, Companies zone-1, Lahore; Mukhtar Ahmad Gondal, OSD, Training & Research (IT), Lahore; Nawal Raj N. Oad, OSD, CIT, Sukkur; Umar Khan Mohmand, CIT (Appeals-II), Peshawar; Mohammad Aslam, OSD in CBR, Islamabad; Khawar Khursheed Butt, CIT, zone-B, Lahore; Qadirul Jalil, CIT, Companies, zone-II, Lahore; Raja Sikandar Khan, CIT, Sialkot zone; Masood Ali Jamshed, commissioner of IT, Companies zone, Faisalabad; Sardar Irshad Shaheen, commissioner of IT, Sargodha zone; Abdul Munim Jafri, commissioner of IT, Companies zone-V, Karachi; Zaheer Ali Shah, commissioner of IT, zone-E, Southern Region, Karachi. There were 27 grade-19 IT officials: Sartaj Yousuf Mohmand, OSD, Corporate Region, Karachi; Mohammad Arif Khan, OSD, directorate of inspection (Direct Taxes), sub-office, Bahawalpur; Sajjad Haider Afzal, OSD, directorate of inspection (DT), Karachi; Inayatullah Kashani, OSD, directorate of inspection (DT), sub-office, Gujranwala; Mushtaque Hussain Qazi, OSD, Southern Region, Karachi; Masood Akhtar Shaheedi, inspecting additional commissioner, Northern Region, Islamabad; Shaukat Ali Soomro, Ali Akbar Deepar, Bakht Zaman Khan and Amjad Malik, IAC/departmental representatives, Corporate Region, Karachi; Shahid Nadeem, inspecting additional commissioner (IAC), Southern Region, Karachi; Sardar Munawwar Zaman, OSD of Corporate region, Karachi; Mushtaq Ahmad Sehto, IAC, Southern Region, Karachi; Sikandar Aslam, IAC, Southern region, Karachi; Noorul Amin Hatiana, IAC, Eastern Region, Lahore; Mohammad Asif Hashmi, IAC, Eastern Region, Lahore; Naseer Ahmad, and Mohammad Zulfiqar Ali, both IACs, Eastern Region, Lahore; Mohammad Aslam Gohar Baluch, additional director inspection (DT), Karachi; Soulatr Nasir Pasha, IAC, Northern Region, Islamabad; Bandah Ali Memon, assistant director of inspection, DT, Hyderabad; Anwar Ali Shah, additional director of inspection (DT, Lahore; Shahid Zaman, IAC, Central Region, Multan; Sajjad Ahmad, IAC, corporate region, Karachi; Yousuf Ghaffar Khan, IAC, Northern Region, Islamabad; Saeedullah Khan, IAC, Northern Region, Islamabad; and Mohammad Iqbal Khan, IAC, Corporate Region, Karachi. Ijaz Ali Shah, a Customs Group officer, appointed by Chief Executive on Friday to inquire into the import of contaminated palm oil case involving chairman CBR, Riaz Hussain Naqvi, has been suspended from service. His other colleagues, suspended from service here on Sunday are: Raja Tahir Majeed, secretary CBR, Liaqat Agha, OSD; Jawaid Zia Qazi, OSD; Siddiq Mirza, assistant collector; Atta Malik, Assistant Collector; Malik Khalid, Aziz Ahmad additional collector, Karachi; Shafqat, additional collector; Khwaja Tanveer, Ali Mohammad Sheikh OSD; Nadir Hoti, Chief of Customs Rebate, CBR; Wadood Khan, collector Lahore; Khalid Bashir, additional collector; Shaukat Bhatti, collector Lahore; Hussain Ahmad Shirazi, grade-20, Islamabad; Iftikhar Tabassum, collector Lahore (now OSD); Azhar Iftikhar, Chief ST Policy, CBR; Liaqat Ali Agha, collector Karachi (now OSD); Ali Mohammad Sheikh, collector Multan (now OSD). Grade 18 Income Tax officials suspended include: Shehr Bano Walaji; Shafqat; Razzaq Dhanwar; Raheem Soomro; Manzoor Haider Zaidi Bahtiar; Rai Talat; Shams Hadi and Rukhsana Saeed. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Shaukat on new measures: More taxes to come under SAS ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, June 1: Minister for Finance Shaukat Aziz said on Thursday that the government would be introducing wide range of tax measures, including introduction of self-assessment scheme (SAS) for filing of other categories of taxes and reduction in number of provincial taxes. Addressing business leaders during his visit to Institute of Textile Technology and Management (ITTM) he, while justifying the need of tax survey, said that the country could not be run with a huge budget deficit running up to Rs180 billion. After introducing SAS for filing of return of other taxes, 20 per cent of cases will be picked up at random for detailed audit and scrutiny, as had been done in income tax. However, Shaukat Aziz said that a choice would be given to a taxpayer to accept official audit or select one from 20 audit firms approved by the government for which the cost would be shared equally by both the sides. The minister said the government had been working on the multiplicity of taxes and is going to reduce 22 provincial taxes to nine in the next budget (2000-2001). Shaukat Aziz said a tracking system will also be introduced in the next budget so that sales tax refunds were promptly paid and for duty drawback it would be best that no duty no drawback' system was introduced for eliminating corruption and false claims. He assured that all the decision and understandings reached with business community on tax survey and other matters would be given legal cover. "I will ask you to forget about the past and start afresh as no case will be reopened because the government intends to issue notifications in a day or two," Shaukat Aziz affirmed. He pointed out that the government had already given concessions and incentives by withdrawing sales tax penalty, additional tax and reduction in income tax but still we would relax tax related laws by giving more concessions in the forthcoming budget 2000-2001. Shaukat Aziz said that action would be taken against more corrupt officials because the government would like to plug revenue leakages which were to the tune of Rs150 billion. "Instead of giving this amount in tax compliance why don't you give the amount to the government which will help in overcoming the revenue problem." he asked the businessmen present on the occasion. Responding to a point raised by an industrialists, he said that there was not much problem in surveying the industrial units where there could be only a problem of under assessment. The industry, Shaukat Aziz said, by and large the industry is documented therefore, we do not feel that special form was needed for its survey. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Traders' stand is weak, says Moin ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent LAHORE, June 1: The interior minister, Lt-Gen Moinuddin Haider, said the traders had a weak legal and moral stand on the issue of tax survey and the government would not budge from its principled stand. He observed that by resorting to strikes traders were losing more than they would if they paid taxes. He added that the earlier the traders accepted the reality, the better. The minister stated 50,000 forms had so far been distributed in the 13 cities that were being subjected to survey at present and the government was making more arrangements to provide keen traders with forms. People, he said, would also be eligible to collect forms directly from the offices nominated by the government. As for the traders' point of view, the minister said the government was already aware of it as talks with them had been going on for the past five years. The new survey forms, he pointed out, had been designed in view of the difficulties mentioned by the traders. The minister denied the accusation that tax money was going into the pockets of corrupt officials. If everybody paid tax according to his assessment, no official could extort money from them, he argued. He said over 1,000 corrupt officials had already been removed and the 'clean-up' operation would continue till all departments were purged of such elements. He said tax structure was being improved and a number of steps in this regard would be announced in the next year's budget, adding that a World Bank representative had been entrusted with the matter. WAPDA BILLS: The minister said the Inter-Provincial Coordination Committee (IPCC), which had met in Islamabad on Tuesday, had decided that the provinces should clear their current Wapda bills. As for the outstanding bills, he said, a decision on them would be taken in three months' time through judicial arbitration or by a committee under the chairmanship of the finance minister, the composition of which was acceptable to all provinces. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Top judges to face Ehtesab ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rafaqat Ali ISLAMABAD, June 1: The government has decided to start accountability of the members of the superior judiciary, and will hand over evidence of corruption by them to the chief justice of Pakistan, Dawn has reliably learnt. After scrutinizing the evidence, Chief Justice Irshad Hasan Khan would call the concerned judge and confront him with the charge. If the judge agreed to resign, then no action would be initiated. But, in case he disputed the evidence and showed eagerness to clear his name, then the case would be referred to the Supreme Judicial Council by the President. "We will hand over all the evidence against the judges to the Chief Justice and if he is satisfied, only then the proceedings will be initiated under Article 209 of the Constitution," a source said. He explained that the move was not aimed at victimizing the judicial institution and was, in fact, being done on the insistence of the judiciary itself. Soon after taking over as chief justice, Chief Justice Irshad Hasan Khan had laid emphasis on the accountability of the judiciary, and repeatedly said the process could be started only under the existing constitutional mechanism. The CJ had also activated the Supreme Judicial Council and held its first meeting after nine years. The Constitution provided for the establishment of the SJC for the accountability of judges. However, the SJC remained dormant for most of the time as only four cases were referred to it over the last 52 years. The existing mechanism for accountability of judges is laid down in Article 209, which provides for an SJC, comprising five judges, headed by the chief justice. In case of charges against a member of the SJC itself, the judge next in line in terms of seniority is to take his place. The only cases referred to the SJC so far involved Justice Sheikh Shaukat Ali and Justice Ikhlaq of the Lahore High Court, and Justice Fazle Ghani and Safdar Ali Shah of the Supreme Court. No case has been sent to the SJC for the last two decades. The superior judiciary consists of Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court, and the four provincial high courts. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials can be retired after 25-year service ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ansar Abbasi ISLAMABAD, June 1: The President on Thursday promulgated an ordinance to amend Civil Servants Act, 1973, paving way for premature retirement of inefficient officials on completion of 25 years of service. The ordinance, called Civil Servants (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000, substituted section 13 of the Act, empowering the competent authority to retire any official who has already completed 25 years of service. A spokesman for the establishment division when contacted explained that the amendment was aimed at getting rid of "dead wood" from within the bureaucracy. He said those officials who would be considered inefficient and had completed 25 years of service could be retired by the competent authority after issuance of show-cause notice. The civil servant will, however, be given in writing the reasons for his compulsory retirement. He said this amendment would only target the inefficient officials and not the corrupt bureaucrats who had been covered exclusively under the ordinance issued on May 27. The amended ordinance substituted section 13 of the act with the following sections: "13. Retirement from service:- (1) A civil servant shall retire from service:- (i) on such date after he has completed twenty-five years of service qualifying for pension or other retirement benefits as the competent authority may, in public interest, direct; or (ii) where, no direction is given under clause (i), on the completion of the sixtieth year of his age. "(2) No direction under clause (i) of sub-section (1) shall be made until the civil servant has been informed in writing of the grounds on which it is proposed to make the direction, and has been given a reasonable opportunity of showing cause against the said direction." The chief executive is the competent authority in case of officers in grade 20 and above. In grades 16-19, the competent authority is the secretary of the concerned division or head of department, subordinate office or organization. For grades 1 to 15 officials, the competent authority is an officer nominated by the secretary of the division/head of the organization. The spokesman said a similar provision had been present in the law during mid-70s but it did not contain the condition of issuing show-cause notice. The provision, he said, was scrapped after a court declared it un Islamic. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000531 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Oil, gas discovered in Potohar ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent ISLAMABAD, May 30: Federal Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Mr Usman Aminuddin said here on Tuesday that oil and gas was discovered in Pariwali area of Potohar region by Pakistan Oil Filed Limited (POFL). The discovery was made at Well No. 3 of Pariwali. The minister termed it a significant find because this proves Dhak Pass Formation bears oil and gas. He said the new discovery would save a sum of US $50 million annually. During production test at 40/64 choke the well flowed 2500 barrels per day of oil and 8.3 MMSGFD of gas at a flowing pressure of 1000 PS1. The gravity of oil is 39.2 degree AP1. Pariwali field was discovered by POFL in 1994 after side tracking of original Pariwali Well No. 1 drilled by the then joint venture operator M/s Occidental to a depth of 15,264 feet in Sakesar Formation of Eocore age. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000529 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US missile system: Arms race risk among China, Pakistan, India ------------------------------------------------------------------- Masood Haider NEW YORK, May 28: The United States intelligence officials have warned that if US decides to build a limited national missile defence system "it could set off a cold-war-style arms race between China, India and Pakistan". In a front-page lead report the New York Times says "while the American officials have repeatedly said an anti-missile defence is not aimed at Beijing, even they acknowledge that the system being designed could significantly undercut or even neutralize China's small nuclear force. "That could lead China to add to its nuclear arsenal. And if China built up its force, its regional rival India could do the same, as could India's rival Pakistan, heightening tensions along the world's newest nuclear frontier,' the paper said. The Times says that "such a scenario, which officials are expected to outline for President Clinton in an official intelligence estimate due in June, has raised questions about the administration's own efforts to try to slow the spread of nuclear weapons and the ballistic missiles needed to launch them. "If China increases the number of missiles it has, would India think it has to increase its missiles?" said a senior United States official familiar with the analysis being prepared. "And if India increases its missiles, then Pakistan does." President Clinton has said he plans to decide later this year whether to proceed with a missile defence based on four criteria: the missile threat, technological viability of the program, the effect on arms control and cost. The response from China and Russia is an important factor in Mr. Clinton's decision. The NYT notes that "China's expanded force of nuclear-tipped long- range missiles might not be directed at India, they say. But it would be a capability that the Indians could not ignore, and as a result India might build up the short-range missiles it used to defend against China. " It says that "Administration officials are divided over whether India would respond in such a way, but the emerging analysis has dramatically raised the stakes. "Seeking to balance its concerns over stability in South Asia with its interest in missile defence, the Clinton administration is likely to redouble its negotiating efforts with the Chinese and perhaps even explore new forms of arms control with Beijing. By all accounts, however, Washington has a difficult job ahead, the paper said. "The basic point we have made is that a missile system is not aimed at them, that we are comfortable with deterrent relationship with China," a senior Clinton administration official told the Times. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000530 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Devolution of power: Provincial autonomy not to be affected: CE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, May 29: The chief executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf, said here on Monday that, contrary to speculation by some quarters, the devolution of power plan in no way impinged upon provincial autonomy to which the government was fully committed. Presiding over the first meeting of the governors' committee on devolution of power and responsibility, he directed the governors to constitute provincial task forces on devolution of power, to be headed by them, and to include provincial ministers, respective chief secretaries and some other members. The chief executive stressed upon the need for a new relationship between the districts and provinces, preparation of new rules of business, preparation for provincial financial awards to the districts, and training of district government officers. The committee has been set up with an aim at laying the foundation of genuine democracy in the country. In his opening remarks, the chief executive dwelt at length on devolution of power and responsibility. He said devolution of power was an important decision for the benefit of the people. He said the concept envisaged empowering the impoverished people of the country, making them masters of their own destiny, subordinating government functionaries to the people, granting financial autonomy to the local governments, making them capable of generating their own resources, working out of provincial financial awards to the districts, and provision of speedy justice at the doorsteps of the people. He said the governors committee and the cabinet committee on devolution should be merged and should meet once a month to analyze the devolution plan, provide feedback and inputs to finalize the plan, which would be announced by him on August 14. The chief executive directed the governors to keep the people informed about the devolution plan through regular media briefings and meetings. The chairman of the National Reconstruction Bureau, Lt-Gen Syed Tanvir Hussain Naqvi (retd), later gave a detailed presentation to the participants regarding the proposed plan for devolution of power. Gen Musharraf informed the participants that a media campaign aimed at inviting suggestions for improvements in the plan had been launched through the print and electronic media. The meeting was attended by the governors of the four provinces, the ministers for local government, the minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas, adviser to the chief executive on national affairs and information, respective corps commanders, the chairman of the National Reconstruction Bureau and other senior civil and military officials. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000601 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Army to assist in tax compliance ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent ISLAMABAD, May 31: Assistance of army officials and personnel would also be acquired for ensuring tax-compliance after the submission of business and assets details through survey forms. This was stated here on Wednesday by Chief GST, CBR, Iftikhar Qutab, who is also monitoring the performance of the survey teams throughout the country on daily basis. Briefing newsmen about the performance of the survey teams so far, Mr Qutab said the CBR has not been expecting that there would be a distribution of 31,000 forms in only four days. When asked how would the CBR ensure compliance on declarations made by those submitting their turnover, property, assets and income details, especially in the areas declared as "problem areas" by the CBR, Mr Qutab said: The government is evolving a mechanism to involve the army officials and personnel also for ensuring that those declaring their taxable incomes etc through the survey forms, do not deviate from their declarations. The compliance from the declarants in this connection would be a problem area. But we are making efforts to make sure that the opportunity of having data on the economy in such a thorough manner does not go waste due to poor compliance. Qutab added that the army's assistance would be acquired in the post survey period for maintaining surprise checks. The declarants would be visited, as authorised by the survey-related Presidential Ordinance issued last week, for exact details on compliance by a declarant. He also informed newsmen that the government had, initially, decided top issue national tax number within 48 hours of the submission of the filled-in survey form by a declarant. "But now we are even in the process of deciding that the NTN be issued the moment a declaration through the survey form is made. Qutab said that the majority of the forms recipients during May 27- 29 were from the business sector while about 44 percent of them were residential. A total of 13,703 forms were distributed on May 31, 2000. Out of these, 6008 were residential and 7694 business. On May 30, total forms distributed were 12518. Out of these, majority were business. On May 29, 9298 forms were distributed (5218 business and 4056 residential), while on May 27 (May 28 being Sunday), the total forms distributed were 6966 (breakdown not given). Qutab said the intelligence agencies havealready gathered data on government officials' properties , assets and incomes coming from un-declared sources. This data would be verified through the currently conducted survey. He, however, desisted from replying as to how the government would be confirming that the relative or front-man of a government official owning a property/business in fact benefits a certain official, as a source of income. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000528 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Punjab wants wheat dues paid ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent ISLAMABAD, May 27: The federal government has directed the NWFP, Sindh and Balochistan governments to immediately arrange payment of Rs2.4 billion to the Punjab on account of wheat they had purchased to meet their food needs during the last couple of months. Official sources told Dawn here on Saturday that the provincial governments, however, expressed their inability to pay the amount, saying "they are facing serious financial crunch and cannot at present pay the money to the Punjab government." The sources said that the federal minister for food, agriculture and livestock, Dr Shafqat Ali Shah Jamote, had, however, assured the Punjab Governor, Mohammad Safdar, that these provinces would soon release the outstanding money. The sources said that earlier the Punjab government, in a letter to the federal government, had asked it to direct the three provincial governments to pay their dues of Rs2.4 billion immediately on account of sale of 2500,000 metric tons of wheat during the last couple of months. The sources said that the Punjab government had also asked the federal government to play the role of a "guarantor" and help the provincial government recover its outstanding amount. The issue of the recovery of the outstanding amount was raised during an inter-provincial ministerial meeting recently held and presided over by Dr Jamote. The Punjab representative pointed out that the province was promised early release of the funds by the provinces, but so far, it regretted, Punjab had not received money from the three provincial governments. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Anti-Terrorism Act amended ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, June 1: President Rafiq Tarar on Thursday amended the Anti-terrorism Act, 1997, by promulgating an ordinance. The ordinance called Anti-terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000, shall come into force at once. It shall be deemed to have taken effect from the date of the commencement of ATA, 1997, (XXVII of 1997). The ordinance reads: "Further to amend the Anti-terrorism Act, 1997; whereas it is expedient further to amend the Anti-terrorism Act, 1997 (XXVII of 1997), for the purposes hereinafter appearing; And whereas the National Assembly and the Senate stand suspended in pursuance of the Proclamation of the Emergency of the fourteenth day of October, 1999 and the Provincial Constitution Order No 1 of 1999; And whereas the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary to take immediate action; Now, therefore, in pursuance of the Proclamation of Emergency of the fourteenth day of October, 1999, and the Provincial Constitution Order No.1 of 1999, as well as Order No 9 of 1999, and in exercise of all powers enabling him in that behalf, the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is pleased to make and promulgate the following Ordinance: 1. Short title and commencement: (1) This Ordinance may be called the Anti-terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000. (2) It shall come into force at once and shall be deemed to have taken effect from the date of the commencement of Anti-terrorism Act, 1997 (XXVII of 1997). 2. Amendment of Section 18, Act XXVII of 1997: In the Anti- terrorism Act, 1997 (XXVII of 1997), hereinafter referred to as the said Act, in section 18, in sub-section (1), after the word "Court" the words "or a High Court and Supreme Court of Pakistan" shall be inserted and shall be deemed always to have been so inserted from the date of the commencement of the said Act. 3. Amendment of Section 25, Act XXVII of 1997: In the said Act, in section 25, in sub-section (4), after the words "Attorney General", the words and commas "Deputy Attorney General, Standing Counsel" and after the words "Advocate General" the words "or an Advocate of the High Court or the Supreme Court of Pakistan appointed as Public Prosecutor, Additional Public Prosecutor or a Special Public Prosecutor" shall be inserted and shall be deemed always to have been so inserted from the date of the commencement of the said Act."-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Budget on 17th June, says Shaukat ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, June 1: The federal budget for fiscal year 2000-2001 will be presented on June 17, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said here on Thursday. The budget would be "positive and encouraging for investors. It will include measures which will encourage investors and revive their confidence, as it is very important for the country and the economy", he said while speaking at the opening ceremony of real time market quotations on internet at the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) premises. The minister said economic indicators for fiscal 1999-2000 were "very positive and encouraging. GDP is expected to grow by 4.5 per cent by the end of current fiscal year." Mr Aziz said agriculture sector had performed well. Except for sugar, manufacturing sector, including buoyant textile sector, had also shown positive results, he noted. The minister attributed the sugar industry's negative growth to bad sugarcane crop. However, wheat registered a record production this season. The surplus quantity would be exported, he added. The wheat crop is expected to bring around Rs60 billion liquidity flow into the poverty-stricken rural areas. Liquidity flow would have major impact on poverty alleviation in the rural areas, he stated. He said exports would increase by 10 to 11 per cent during this fiscal. He felt inflation will confine to four per cent, and if it could be managed, interest rate would be lowered. The minister said revenue collection had also improved by 17 to 18 per cent during this year and that it would rise in the next fiscal.-PPI
=================================================================== BUSINESS & ECONOMY 20000603 ------------------------------------------------------------------- LSE sets deadline for defaulting brokers ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Nasir Jamal LAHORE, June 2: The board of directors of the Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE), which remained closed for yet another day Friday, has given its six defaulting members the last opportunity to meet their exposures by Saturday afternoon or get declared defaulters. Acting LSE chairman Asim Zafar told this reporter after hectic meetings spanning over 12 hours that the LSE board had decided to give a last chance to six brokers, including Iftikhar Shafi whose losses are said to running into crores of rupees, responsible for the crisis to deposit funds to meet their exposures by Saturday. "If they fail to meet their exposures, we will declare them as defaulters and proceed against them according to the rules," said he. He said the losses of all brokers except Shafi are manageable and they are willing to pay the difference to meet their limits. The exact amount of losses suffered by these brokers could not be known though some LSE members said these ranged between Rs250-400 million. "Now we are waiting for a response from Shafi whether he wants to pick the shares (by paying the amount outstanding against him) or face default. We are going to meet again at 1pm on Saturday to take final decision after hearing Shafi's response," Zafar added, expressing the hope that the exchange would reopen for trading on Monday after settlement of the clearing today. In case Shafi does not settle his deposits, he said, "the exchange has received firm commitments from some financial institutions to buy his shares at the prevailing market price and his clearing would be settled out of the funds thus raised". The crisis had erupted on Monday after LSE members working for investor Nisar Danka crossed their exposure limits, and failed to settle their clearing. The crisis, unprecedented in its magnitude in history, led to its closure for two days, i.e., on Tuesday and Friday, in one week and sudden suspension of floor trading on Thursday. The LSE had invited Aqeel Karim Dhedhi who is also a member of the LSE from Karachi to broker a deal with Nisar Danka and Shafi, who blame the changes in the exposure limits by the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) for the crisis. They accuse the KSE management for changing the limits just to damage the positions taken by them in the issues of Adamjee Insurance, Bank of Punjab, Nishat Mills and some other companies. However, Dhedhi, who offered the defaulting brokers and Nisar Danka to get their shares underwritten for some three months by financial institutions failed to convince them to pay their dues. Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Chairman Khalid Mirza also arrived in the evening and went straight into a meeting with the LSE directors to "facilitate" them to work out a solution to the crisis. Sources in the LSE said "his presence had helped the directors muster courage to finally ask the defaulting members to settle their clearing or face suspension". They said the SECP chairman had been sent to Lahore by the finance minister when he received an SOS call from the LSE board of directors. Meanwhile, the LSE remained tense all the day with its members criticising the management for its failure to stop the defaulting brokers from taking positions beyond their limits. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000531 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan to export 1 million ton wheat ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent ISLAMABAD, May 30: The government in an unprecedented move here on Tuesday announced to export one million tons of wheat, worth about $350 million, from its two million surplus production during fiscal year 2000-2001. Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe have already expressed their interest to buy the commodity from Pakistan following the reports of bumper crop in the country. This was disclosed by Federal Agriculture Minister Dr Shafqat Ali Shah Jamote at a press conference in his office here on Tuesday. The minister said: "We have produced 22 million tons of wheat against the target of 20 million tons in 1999-2000. Thus, we have decided to export one million tons." Dr Jamote said priority would be given to the wheat deficient country of Afghanistan. He added that 600,000 tons would be exported to Afghanistan and 400,000 tons to some other countries. Unlike the past wheat export would be on government-to-government basis, Jamote said. He added that 40,000 to 50,000 tons would be dispatched to Afghanistan every month. Answering a question, Jamote said: "We will sell the commodity in the international market, and would make it sure that our good quality wheat gets competitive price." The minister said so far the federal government had procured 6.5 million tons against a target of 7 million tons. The federal and provincial agencies had been directed to purchase the commodity from the growers without caring about their targets. He admitted that the federal and provincial governments were facing serious shortage of storage and jute bags as "no body was expecting such an unprecedented bumper crop." Dr Jamote said the centre had already issued directions to the provincial governments to revise their procurement and storage policies for next year to cope with the problem in future needs. He added that the government would introduce farmers-friendly policies to maintain the current level of production so that sustainable results could be achieved in future. SUBSIDY ON WHEAT: The minister said that the government this year would not withdraw subsidy on wheat as had earlier been indicated. The final decision to this effect would be taken next year, he added. FARM GROWTH RATE: The minister claimed that the agriculture sector had registered a recorded growth rate. However, he did not give the exact percentage of the growth saying the government was currently engaged in compiling the production figures of different crops. On the agriculture income tax, Dr Jamote said the government had so far not taken any decision. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000531 ------------------------------------------------------------------- New trade policy urged to meet global challenges ------------------------------------------------------------------- Muhammad Ilyas ISLAMABAD, May 30: Prominent economists have urged the ministry of commerce to devise the new trade policy keeping in view the fact that after 2005, special concessions provided to developing countries under WTO agreements would be phased out and that their exports need to be contended with restrictions based on non- economic issues. The old practice in commerce ministry of formulating the trade policy in isolation and basing it almost exclusively on demands for endless concessions by the businessmen and industrialists, rather than the overall requirements of national economic development will not work, they remarked at a seminar organized by the Foreign Trade Institute here. Dr Shaukat Ali of the Planning Commission noted that the maximum tariff rate had been reduced from 120 per cent to 35 per cent over the past decade. Besides, the government had allowed a myriad of concessions and incentives such as duty-drawback, bonded warehouses, export refinance etc. However, their impact on exports had not been assessed. In the first half of 1980s, exports had multiplied by 5.3% per annum, whereas during the last 5 years, their growth rate had slowed to 3.5% per annum in real terms. This proved that tariff reduction was not the only solution, he stressed. Exports were beset with certain structural rigidities, he said, pointing out that 75% of our exports were directed towards only 25 countries. He suggested to the government to come out from microhandling of individual items and declare to the private sector the tariff regime for the next five years. He noted that in the last 17 years, productivity of large scale manufacturing sector had improved by only 2.4%. As regards exchange rate changes, these too have not been used optimally in this country. Invariably, whenever rupee was devalued, it was not meant to give a pre-emptive edge to our exporters. Instead, it was resorted only to compensate for inflation which took place in the past. Thus while the inflation rate in domestic economy was 55%, real devaluation in terms of parity purchasing power was only 22%. Competitiveness had also been eroded by increase in utility prices. Between 1991 and 1999, the manufacturing price index had gone from 100 to 195, while the price index of raw materials soared to 256 and that of fuels, lighting and lubricants etc peaked to 249. According to a study by the American Business Council in Pakistan, the electricity was much expensive in Pakistan than in USA, UK and Saudi Arabia. Ashraf, a senior member of the commerce group, and some of his other colleagues criticized the policy of heaping concessions on the businessmen, out of proportion to the benefits thereof to the economy. Dr Aqdas Ali Kazmi, Chief of Tax Policy, Central Board of Revenue stated that in the last 10 months, the pay-outs to businessmen on account of duty drawback amounted to Rs40 billion, that is 16% of total revenue receipts of Rs310 billion. One of the fundamental reasons why exports have not picked was that Pakistan has had no industrialization policy for the past several years. The Rs124 billion PSDP for 2000-2001 adopted recently provided only Rs7 billion or a mere 0.5% for industry. Referring to post-2005 scenario, Dr Kazmi wondered whether commerce ministry had done any homework for ensuring competitiveness of our textiles against emerging competitors like Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Germany etc. Dr Kazmi suggested to government to ask the private sector to provide a major portion of the investment of Rs330 billion required for the ministry's plan to increase exports to $14 billion in two years. After all, the present-day textile tycoons owe their position to the loans advanced to them by the public sector financial years, he observed. Ninety per cent of total trade, Dr Abdul Wahab, former Vice Chancellor of Karachi University said, is domestic trade, the remaining 10% being constituted by exports and imports. The trade policy was only about the latter, while there is no attention paid to improving the former. The former is not taken into account The latter is stagnant because the malpractices in domestic trade seep into foreign trade, he remarked. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000531 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Black money growing fast ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, May 30: Pakistan's parallel economy has been increasing at "an alarming rate year by year", and 'black money' circulating within the country which was estimated at Rs 16.96 billion in 1972, jumped to Rs 491.109 billion in 1996, with an average growth rate of 22.93 percent. According to statistics with the Central Board of Revenue, taxes amounting to Rs 202.561 billion were evaded in 1996, while the calculated rate of tax evasion is more than 58 percent. The high rate of taxes and the lack of confidence among tax collectors and tax payers is encouraging underground economy.It was one of the root causes hampering process of development progress in the country. Officials said the Tax Amnesty Scheme 2000 has been evolved in best interest of the country and is aimed to discourage black money. The objective of the scheme is to control inflation by eliminating black money or underground economy. They said government has already closed various avenues of whitening black money and provided opportunity through the Amnesty Scheme to declare undisclosed income. This scheme is perhaps the final opportunity of whitening of untaxed income in the country.- PPI DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000530 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SBP keeps strict watch on forex market ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, May 29: Some local and foreign banks may face certain action-may be a cut in their NOPs or prescribed limits for doing foreign exchange business-from the State Bank for speculating in foreign exchange market. Sources close to the SBP say these banks- half a dozen in number - are holding up stock of foreign exchange anticipating that the rupee may soon fall against the dollar. Currency dealers in the kerb market also say that a couple of local and foreign banks are driving speculators towards greater buying of greenbacks. "One of the reasons for the dollar shooting up is that some banks are encouraging speculative buying," says the chairman of Pakistan Forex Association Malik Muhammad Bostan. The Association reported on Monday that the dollar closed at 54.50 and 54.60 for spot buying and selling in the kerb market up from Rs 54.30 and Rs 54.40 a week ago. But currency dealers frankly admit that they were selling the greenback on higher prices. Bankers say some of them are buying the dollar 20 paisa over the quoted rates from leading brokerage houses. Malik Bostan does not deny it: "I can understand that. It happens when banks start making speculative buying indirectly," he told Dawn by telephone. "If this trend is checked effectively the dollar may come down to Rs 54.50 within a week," he claimed. Sources close to the SBP say the SBP officials have put on watch some of the local and foreign banks that are holding up positions on foreign exchange for speculations. But they say this cannot draw a direct action from the SBP because they are not breaching their net open positions in the process. "What the banks are doing is wrong but so far they are within their NOPs the SBP cannot take an action," one of the sources said. He said the SBP officials do not rule out a revision in NOPs of the banks "if they do not start behaving." Sources close to the SBP say the SBP officials are currently awaiting the outcome of the IMF-Pakistan talks in Islamabad before making any move in the foreign exchange market. "Let the talks be over and then you will see certain things happening," said one of the sources. IMF and Pakistan are currently ironing out some issues relating to foreign exchange market including purchase of foreign exchange by the State Bank from the kerb market and existence of what bankers call an unofficial cap on inter-bank forex market. Bankers say Pakistan rupee has been under pressure in the inter- bank market also because of the continuing fall of its Indian counterpart against the dollar. Indian rupee closed at a new record low of 44.48 to a US dollar on Monday reflecting a 1.2 per cent depreciation within two weeks. Sources close to the SBP say the SBP high-ups including its governor Ishrat Husain are keeping a watch on Indian forex market but they do not think that the weakening of Indian rupee should be reflecting on Pakistan inter-bank exchange rates. Currency dealers say the ongoing tax survey and consequent tussle between the government and traders has also triggered panic buying of dollars in the kerb market that continues to weaken the rupee. "This buying spree would be over soon," hopes Malik Bostan of Pakistan Forex Association. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000530 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pasha committee gives formula for cut in budget deficit ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ihtasham ul Haque ISLAMABAD, May 29: Former Advisor on Finance and the head of the Macro Economic Framework Committee of the Economic Advisory Board (EAB) Dr Hafiz A. Pasha has given report to the government to resolve major economic issues specially by achieving 4.75% budget deficit of the GDP in 2000-2001. "Strategy for Budget 2000-2001, a 50:50 Formula" worked out by Dr Pasha says the revenue deficit should also be eliminated in two years (2000-2001 and 2001-2002) so that from next financial year onwards all borrowings are for development purpose. Fifty per cent reduction (equivalent to about 1.5% of the GDP) has been proposed in 2000-2001 and the remaining 50% in 2001-2002. He is of the view that 50% of the reduction in revenue deficit should be managed by raising the revenues to GDP ratio by 0.75% of the GDP and 50% by reducing the current expenditure to GDP ratio by 0.75% of the GDP. This will imply raising CBR's revenues by Rs75bn next year. Fifty per cent will come from normal growth and 50% from new taxation proposals and reduction in tax evasion (through documentation and tax survey). Fifty per cent increase in revenue from direct taxes and 50% from indirect taxes. Major share of the fall in current expenditure to GDP ratio will be due to containment of interest payments and defence expenditure. Continuing with his 50:50 formula he says that 50% of the decline should be in interest payments (of 0.37% of the GDP) and 50% in other expenditure. The fiscal space of 1.50% of the GDP should be used as follows: Fifty per cent to raise development expenditure from 2.75% to 3.50% of GDP, including higher allocations for the poverty alleviation programme. Fifty per cent to bring down the fiscal deficit from 5.50% of the GDP to 4.75% of the GDP. Pasha says that if fiscal deficit target of 4.75% of the GDP is achieved, this will imply a primary budget surplus of 1.75% of the GDP and enable the debt to GDP ratio to be reduced by almost 3% points of the GDP in 2000-01. The former advisor on finance believes that the CBR revenue target of an increase by 1% of the GDP is ambitious and should be achieved by minimum dislocation of the economy, in which the large scale manufacturing sectors is currently in a state of recession, and there is danger that increases in tax collection may lead to a corresponding fall in private savings and investment. "An increase in development expenditure of over 40% will pump the prime economy and stimulate economic activity and generate employment. It will also enable some poverty reduction", the former advisor on finance claims. The financing of the fiscal deficit, he maintains, is still uncertain especially in terms of the likely level of external assistance. If significant exceptional financing becomes available as part of renegotiated IMF programme, the strategy of bringing interest rates down on new domestic debt becomes feasible. Otherwise, interest rates may have to be kept unchanged or even raised. Another imponderable at this is the fiscal deficit target negotiated by the government with the IMF.If the target is kept low, say, 4% of the GDP, the proposed strategy is no longer viable. "It is unlikely that revenues can be pitched even higher, given the state of the economy. Consequently, the entire revenue deficit reduction will have to be used for a corresponding reduction in the fiscal deficit, thereby negating any possibility of enhancement in development expenditure for achieving the objectives of higher growth and poverty reduction", Pasha argues. Fiscal deficit, he says, is still too large and needed to be brought down to reduce rapidly the high debt to GDP ratio and to maintain low rate of inflation and low interest rates for promoting economic revival. Likewise revenue deficit is too large. Almost half the incremental borrowings are for financing of public consumption. Therefore debt servicing capacity is falling rapidly. There is a need to cut revenue deficit sharply to ensure that borrowings in future are devoted mostly to development. Poor performance in resource mobilization, falling tax-to GDP ratio which needs to be raised without adverse effects on the production process primarily by curbing tax evasion. Simplification of tax system, extension of tax net to undertaxed sectors and better tax administration is required. Sharply declining level of development expenditure is contributing to recession in the economy. "Big jump is required in development activity for economy revival and higher employment". There has been a zero growth in large-scale manufacturing sector in '99-2000 and the private investment was down and there is a need to make tax and other policies more investor friendly. The incidence of poverty is rising sharply and there is a need for more funds for wider and deeper social safety nets. Many of these objectives are potentially in conflict with each other and that lower fiscal deficit achieved through higher tax revenues for lower development expenditure may run counter to economic revival. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000530 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IMF okays reform agenda ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, May 29: The visiting five-member IMF review mission has approved the reform agenda of the government, specially the broadening of tax net. Official sources said here on Monday that the first round of talks between the review mission and the senior officials of the government had concluded, with Sena Ekin, the leader of the mission, approving the reform agenda that also included stabilization programme and macro-economic framework. The mission has appreciated the government's move to collect additional Rs100 billion in the next fiscal year by recovering General Sales Tax (GST) from small traders and ensuring effective levy of tax on agriculture income. No meeting took place on Monday due to some other engagements of the officials of the finance ministry. The sources said the mission would stay till June 2. Basically, the mission was not here to discuss Pakistan's funding requirements, both for balance of payment support and a new Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Nevertheless, the sources said, the government gave its priority to pursue the new PRGF programme and improve its fragile foreign exchange reserves, which stand at $1.23 billion. "We want our reserves improved, specially as we did not get a single dollar from the IMF and elsewhere since May, 1999, which forced us to buy dollars from the open market," said an official. He said the IMF's support was necessary in not only improving the reserves and launch the new PRGF programme but also for seeking fresh loans from foreign commercial banks. Finance minister: Pakistan is hopeful it will get a three-year 2.5-billion-dollar loan package from the IMF, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz told AFP. The talks with the IMF mission were "satisfactory and we hope that we will get the first instalment in next three months," after approval of the package by the fund's board, he added. The IMF suspended a previous 1.56bn dollar loan programme last year. Pakistan badly needs the new credit before payments of $4.6 billion on its 38-billion-dollar foreign debt becomes due next year, financial sources said. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) had approved 2.8 billion dollars in assistance over three years but its disbursement had been linked to resumption of the IMF lending, they added.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000601 ------------------------------------------------------------------- More time for filling tax survey forms ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, May 31: The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has allowed 12 to 14 days' time for collecting the duly filled tax survey forms being distributed these days to assess the income and assets in industrial, business and residential areas. Earlier, the time limit for collecting duly filled tax survey forms was only 4 to 6 days, but on demand from FPCCI and other trade bodies the CBR has agreed to extend it. Meanwhile, the local tax offices distributed on Wednesday around 2,243 tax survey forms in different areas of the city. Some 1,412 survey forms were distributed among business and industrial establishments and about 831 forms in residential areas by 16 survey teams working in the five districts of the city. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000601 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Presumptive tax: CBR not to reopen cases ------------------------------------------------------------------- Parvaiz Ishfaq Rana KARACHI, May 31: The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) on Wednesday assured not to reopen the cases of those taxpayers who had filed their income tax returns under presumptive tax regime. The CBR pointed out that where correct and complete statements under Section 143-B had been filed, full and final tax liability discharged in respect of income chargeable under Section 80C, assessment would not be reopened in respect of such income. However, it has further stated that income falling out of the ambit of presumptive tax regime is subject to assessment under other provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance, 1979. This issue had been hindering the survey teams from distributing questionnaire forms to importers who mostly file their returns under presumptive tax regime under which full and final tax liability is discharged at the time of filing of return. As a result of this the survey teams were unable to distribute forms to such prime areas like Jodia Bazar where the offices of the leading importers were located. For the last four days leaders representing importers were holding meetings with local tax officials and had been arguing that their members could not accept questionnaire forms till such time proper changes were made. They asked the high officials of local tax offices to exempt the importers and all those who file their tax returns under presumptive tax regime from filling those columns in which details about expenditures, including utility bills etc of a business concerns were sought. The matter was taken up with the CBR by the local tax authorities on the ground that legally the assessment framed under section 80C on the basis of statement filed under section 143B, cannot be reopened for seeking information about business expenses, such as utility bills etc. The CBR on Wednesday issued an explanation stating: "This is to clarify that where correct and complete statement under section 143B has been filed and full and final tax liability has been discharged in respect of income chargeable under section 80C the assessment cannot be reopened in respect of such income. Income falling out of the ambit of presumptive tax regime is subject to assessment under other provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000601 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Unofficial band revised: Dollar rises in inter-bank market ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, May 31: Banks would buy and sell the dollar within a new unofficial band of Rs51.95 and Rs52.10 in the inter-bank market from Thursday. Bankers said they were informed verbally by the State Bank on Wednesday that the present unofficial band of Rs51.75 and Rs51.90 had been revised. The State Bank made no statement. In fact the SBP officials always deny the existence of what bankers call an unofficial cap imposed on inter-bank exchange rates immediately after the rupee float in May 1999. Senior bankers told Dawn that they were informed of a new band of exchange rates after inter-bank trading was over on Wednesday. That was why the greenback did not change hands at the new rates in spot transactions on Wednesday. Bankers said the dollar would move within the new band from Thursday. The rupee had been under pressure for the past two weeks on higher corporate demand and on speculations of all sorts fuelled by the fact that the visiting IMF mission and the government had been in talks over issues related to exchange rates. In addition to this a 1.3 per cent depreciation in Indian rupee against the US dollar in the past two weeks also intensified buying pressure on Pakistan rupee. The intensity of this pressure could be gauged from the fact that importers had started booking dollars up to Rs53.30 for six months; Rs52.50 for three months and Rs52.25 for one month. The trend in the inter-bank market also reflected in the kerb market. President of Pakistan Forex Association Malik Muhammad Bostan said the dollar closed at Rs54.55 and Rs54.65 for spot buying and selling in the kerb market on Wednesday. He cited the developments in the inter-bank market as one of the reason for increased demand for the greenback. Some currency dealers said they sold the dollar on even higher prices-up to Rs55. Bostan did not challenge this: "Those who buy dollars in big quantities for speculation often pay higher rates." Exporters welcomed the change in the exchange rates in inter- bank market. The immediate past chairman of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, Humayun Elahi Sheikh said though the change in exchange rates was small in percentage the fact that the rates had been allowed to move upwards is welcome. Senior bankers said the upward revision in the unofficial band of inter-bank exchange rates was the first step towards full liberalization. "This is just the beginning. I hope there would be no unofficial band or cap in place in near future," said head of treasury of a leading European bank. Foreign banks were hit hard by the presence of an unofficial cap on exchange rates as they used to earn huge profits in the past in foreign exchange transactions. But the State Bank officials always insisted that it was not any cap or sort of thing which had kept the rupee stable in inter- bank market. Instead the rupee drew its strength from economic fundamentals. The SBP officials had also turned down demands of the exporters to remove the cap by saying that a low inflation of 4 per cent that nearly matched with many of Pakistan business partners had resulted into a real effective exchange rate that did not demand any immediate correction. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 5% growth rate projected for next year ------------------------------------------------------------------- M. Ziauddin ISLAMABAD, June 1: The finance ministry has proposed a 05 per cent growth rate for the next year against a projected achievement of about 4.5 per cent in the GDP growth rate for the current fiscal year. The proposed growth rate for the next year has been fixed on the hope that the rate of inflation during the year would be kept pegged to 4.5 per cent and monetary expansion to 09 per cent. Next year the exports are projected to grow by a hefty 11 per cent and imports by a lowly 3.6 per cent as the government expects a sustained growth in agricultural production, a significant revival of the manufacturing sector, lower prices of oil and its products and a marked increase in competitiveness in the external sector. The trade account for the next year is projected to be in deficit by $1.30 billion against a projected deficit of $1.86 billion for the current year by end June 30. All these estimates are expected to be finalized by the National Economic Council meeting scheduled on June 3. The meeting is expected to be presided over by the chief executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf. The prospects for the invisible account have been projected by these estimates to continue to be governed next year by the behaviour of workers' remittances, and the inflow of remittances for 2000-2001 are projected at $1.1 billion against $950 million this year. Allowing for other invisible receipts and payments, the surplus on invisible account is anticipated to decline to $44 million from a surplus of $167 million in 1999-2000. With a deficit of $1.30 billion on the trade account and a surplus of $44 million on the invisible account, the current account deficit is estimated to decline to $1.26 billion (2 per cent of GDP) in 2000-2001 from $1.70 billion (2.8 per cent of GDP). The capital account is projected to improve next year because of the expected increase in the flows of both official and private long-term capital, with gross disbursement of official development assistance going up to $2.0 billion, largely on account of disbursement of programme loans and commodity aid. Private long-term capital is expected to increase significantly and after allowing for other capital movements (outflow), a surplus of $896 million is projected to occur in the overall balance next year as compared to a deficit of $1.60 billion during 1999-2000. However, taking into consideration transactions of the banking system and a build-up of $1.12 billion in foreign exchange reserves, the financing gap is projected to decline from $4.08 billion in 1999-2000 to $1.82 billion next year. The focus of the fiscal policy during 2000-20001 is proposed to be kept on reducing the fiscal deficit and on enhance the development expenditure. The reduction in fiscal deficit is expected to help reduce the debt burden, which has over the years reached an alarming level. By increasing the development expenditure, the government hopes to give a boost to the economy for sustained recovery and poverty alleviation. These objectives are proposed to be achieved by keeping a check on current expenditure and stepping up resource mobilization. Resource mobilization is expected to come through expansion of the tax base, shifting of taxes from investment to consumption and reduction of tax rates and their number. It is also envisaged to improve the administrative machinery and to reform rules and regulations etc to plug tax evasion. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- $ trades in new band ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, June 1: The US dollar traded within a new unofficial band of Rs 51.95 and Rs 52.10 in spot transactions in the inter-bank market on Thursday - 20 paisa over previous rates of Rs 51.75 and Rs 51.90. In the kerb market the dollar closed at Rs 54.60 and Rs 54.70 for spot buying and selling showing a five paisa gain overnight. Senior bankers said there was a great demand for the greenback in the inter-bank market with forward premiums ranging between Rs 1.15- 1.30 for six months; 55-65 paisa for three months and 20-25 paisa for one month. They said importers were anxious to make forward booking of foreign exchange fearing that the rupee would fall further. On Wednesday SBP had verbally allowed the banks to quote the US dollar within a new unofficial band of Rs 51.95 and Rs 52.10 on higher corporate and trade demand. Taking it as clue for a further fall of rupee speculators made huge buying in the kerb market where the dollar shot up to Rs 54.55 and Rs 54.65 the same day. Currency dealers said as the buying spree continued the dollar moved up to Rs 54.60 and Rs 54.70 for spot buying and selling on Thursday. They said the buying spree may fade way within days. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Karachi Stocks plunge ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, June 1: Karachi stocks on Thursday again took a big plunge on nervous selling amid reports that the trading on Lahore Stock Exchange has been suspended as some of its members failed to settle their over-exposure limit accounts, agreed on Tuesday. The rumours of a possible default of half a dozen of its LSE members sent shock waves in KSE trading hall", said a leading stock broker. The KSE index fall over the day was 89.08 points or 6 per cent at 1,447.57, as compared to 1,536.65 a day earlier, eroding Rs20 billion from the market capitalization. "The KSE board decision to declare Mohammad Hanif Moosa as defaulter and to auction his assets including membership card, office premises telephone booths and shares as already under- written to clear his outstanding dues had also a negative impact", he added.Back to the top
=================================================================== EDITORIALS & FEATURES 20000528 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The educated of Sindh ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ardeshir Cowasjee MINE was the pleasure and the honour to be the first man upon whom Governor of Sindh, Air Marshal Azim Daudpota, called after he had been appointed; mine was also the pleasure and the honour to be the last man to call upon him on the evening of the day he relinquished his governorship. My first thought on hearing of his appointment was, 'How will this man, officer and gentleman, survive the politicians, the boors, the wrigglers and wanglers; how long can he last?' I rang to congratulate him and asked if I may call at his house to meet him. He thanked me, said no, I may not. He drove over to my home to meet me. Soon after General Pervez Musharraf took over the country, he invited the air marshal to Islamabad and told him that it was the unanimous decision of the corps commanders, and also his choice, that he be appointed governor of Sindh. The air marshal agreed and was duly sworn in on October 25. Seven months later, on May 24, he received a telephone call from the Chief of Staff at GHQ, Lt-General Ghulam Ahmed, telling him that 'they' wished to remove him and he had the choice between resigning and being sacked. He chose to relinquish his post, which he immediately did. The strange inexplicable fact was that it had only been a matter of hours since he had been with the Chief Executive, who had made no mention of his removal or resignation. On September 14, 1933 in Bombay, a son, Azim, was born to Umar Mohammad and Karima Daudpota, their fourth child, three daughters having preceded him. He was schooled at St Patrick's in Karachi, went on to the Dayaram Jethmal Sindh College, and then joined the Pakistan Air Force. He was sent in 1952 to be trained at the Royal Australian Air Force Academy at Point Cook from where he graduated in 1955. In 1962 he was given command of two Fighter/Bomber Squadrons at Sargodha and Masroor. He graduated from the PAF Staff College at Drigh Road, was sent to our high commission in Delhi as air adviser, then to the Royal College of Defence Studies in London, and returned to Sargodha as base commander. In 1983 Zimbabwe asked for a Pakistani officer to organize and command its air rorce and Daudpota was sent off, taking with him the present air chief, Pervez Mehdi Qureshi, to assist him. In 1986 he returned to Pakistan to be appointed as managing director of PIA, and in 1989 in addition became its chairman. As chairman, one fine day when seeing off Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto at the airport, she casually introduced him to Arif Abbasi and told him that with immediate effect Abbasi was to take over as MD. Taken aback, the air marshal quietly enquired from one of Benazir's hangers-on if he knew how long he was to remain chairman as he needed to know whether to rent out his own house or not. Don't, he was told. Sure enough, he was soon moved out and sent to head PIDC, normally a three-year tenure. Come Nawaz Sharif in 1990, and the all-powerful, wily, corrupt and now absconding bureaucrat, Salman Faruqui, persuaded his equally corrupt master to get rid of the air marshal and appoint cousin Bilal Faruqui in his place. Daudpota found a job in the private sector, where he remained until uprooted to become governor of Sindh. Today, he is jobless, and not having been corrupt faces financial restraints. He now has all the time in the world to play bridge. On the night of May 24 I drove over to the desolate governor's mansion to commiserate and ask if he needed any help in moving out. He told me that he would have already moved had there been any water in the tank at his Defence house and had his telephones been working. He intended to settle matters in the morning and move out. The first time I had heard the not so common name Daudpota was when I was a student at the BVS. We were told that the new Director of Public Instruction (DPI - the head of education, schools and scholastic institutions of the province) Dr Umar Daudpota, who had just suceeded that other fine scholar, Nabi Bakhsh Kazi (A G N Kazi's father), was to inspect the school. Umar Daudpota, a true son of Sindh, was born in 1896 in the village of Talti, where he also went to school. He later joined the Sind Madressah and then the D J Sindh College from which he graduated with a first class first BA and MA. A scholar, a linguist, fluent in Arabic, Persian and German, he then gained admittance to Emmanuel College, Cambridge to do his Ph.D. Returning to Karachi, he was appointed principal of the Sindh Madressah. In 1930, he went to Bombay as professor of Arabic at Ismail College, and returned to Karachi in 1939 as DPI in which post he remained until 1948. Umar Daudpota was honoured by the British with the prestigious title of 'Shams-ul-Ulema'. Nabi Bakhsh Kazi, a tall handsome man, was always immaculately dressed in a three-piece suit and a Fez. He spoke little and was held in great awe by the other scholar, the principal of our school, the BVS , Dr. Maneck Bejonji Pithawalla, a doctor of science, a geologist and a geographer. The Kazi family has produced some notable men - all straightforward honest and talented individuals, amongst them Allama Kazi, Justice Mamoon Kazi, formerly of the Supreme Court (who managed not to sit on the Bench when I was hauled up last year for contempt and the then Chief Justice of Pakistan Saiduzzaman Siddiqui convened a full-court bench), Akhtar Ali Kazi, another former judge who, incapable of rigging, has the honour of being the only sitting chief minister of Sindh to lose an election, the late Judge Imam Ali Kazi, and the extremely proper and well-mannered anaesthetist, Haleem Kazi, who has the added distinction of being the husband of the very substantial Professor Doctor Hamida Khuhro whose sense of humour matches her bearing. Before the quick-firing generals take aim at other good people within their range, let us remind them that they chose well when they inducted into the Sindh cabinet the talented educationist, Professor Anita Ghulam Ali. She well knows the value of education and is of the firm conviction that education and education alone can thwart and repulse the present invasive, insidious, and rife bigotry with which this country is stricken. She is the daughter of that enlightened and charming couple, now sadly both departed from this world, Feroze Ghulamally and Shireen Nana. Feroze was a distinguished judge of the Sindh High Court. Anita is the granddaughter of another educationist, Nuruddin Ahmad Ghulamally Nana, a fine moustachioed figure of a man, also a former DPI of Sindh; and she is the great-granddaughter of another Shams-ul- Ulema, Mirza Qaleech Beg, author of 392 books. More needs to be written about the Nanas. General Pervez Musharraf is a forward-thinking man of liberal thought. If well advised, he has the capacity to lead us out of the mess we are in. He was taught, as was Azim Daudpota, at one of Karachi's finest schools, St Patrick's High School, where boys in those days learnt all about gentlemanly behaviour, manners, and what is and what is not done. Musharraf was actually in Karachi the day his chief of staff called Daudpota to give him his marching orders and had been with Daudpota a few hours earlier, when no mention of any change was mooted. The right and proper thing would have been for Musharraf to drive to the Governor's House, meet the air marshal, who is ten years his senior, and say to him, "Air Marshal, Sir, we wish to make a change, and appoint a less bothersome junior man to sit in the governor's chair. May I have the privilege of dining you out and driving you home?" He chose the craven, rather than the correct, way of ridding himself and his corps commanders of a man who was capable of saying what he felt had to be said. The general can still make amends. He can dine out the Air Marshal and ensure that he receives the perks and privileges to which a former governor is entitled. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The more things change ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ayaz Amir AN army can pursue the path of self-destruction by fighting wars it cannot win but it cannot successfully be confronted at home as long as its internal unity remains intact. The PPP failed to understand this elementary lesson in statecraft in its time just as Begum Kalsoom Nawaz is finding it difficult to understand it now. The Papadopoulos junta in Greece fell when it tried to annex Cyprus. The Argentinian generals had to go home when they provoked the Falklands war and could not win it. Nearer home, the Yahya junta collapsed because of the debacle it faced in East Pakistan. Otherwise, there was no way it would have been cowed by any politician. The Musharraf regime for all its tough-talking vis-a-vis India will not be trapped in any adventure along the Line of Control, certainly not after Kargil whose ghosts, because of what this adventure cost Pakistan, still haunt the minds of the high command. With or without public support, the army's domestic position is therefore secure. If it abides by the three-year timeframe set down by the Supreme Court, the people of Pakistan, unused to such exercises in self-denial, will treat this event as the minor miracle that it will undoubtedly be. But if there are twists on the road to Damascus, if the army feels that the task of 'national reconstruction' (a dread phrase) remains unfulfilled, the nation will take that too in its stride and resign itself to events not in its power to alter. As for the Supreme Court, whenever the national interest has so demanded, it has risen to the occasion. There is no reason to think it will not do so again. The only danger lies in the last temptation: the beckoning example of Indonesia before Suharto's fall when the military had permeated every facet of national life. Already a disturbing trend is visible with serving and retired officers making smart career moves and getting cushy appointments. Once entrenched such attitudes are difficult to eradicate. General Musharraf may well be free of guile or vaulting ambition. But what about others under him? Where there is power there are also perks and privileges. And there is patronage. All politics is about jobs, said the American politico, Tip O'Neil. Which is as true of civilian governments as anything dressed in martial regalia. Forms change, the runners are different but the substance of patronage remains the same. Anyhow, three years may not be a long time for a nation used to measuring its misfortunes in decades, but it is a long time for people of my generation who have crossed the psychological watershed of fifty. I have a few black hair still left. After three years how many will remain? If great things are happening the excitement thereby generated carries one along. But what if, like so often in the past, instead of progress there is only paralysis? How then to fight the onset of ennui, the worst of human afflictions? What did Nawaz Sharif say about his nights in jail? That they never seemed to come to an end. I would have put such poetry past him but then jail is a harsh teacher. All the same, military rule in countries such as ours always comes with the promise of movement and ends up delivering stagnation. Not because intentions are insincere, very often the opposite being true. But because an army such as ours is a force for social stability, not a force for social reform. It is not a people's liberation army shaped by the etching experience of something like the Long March but an institution which, despite a thin veneer of Islamic rhetoric, remains very much true to its British moorings. Where in the world has a British-trained army led a social revolution? Why should it be any different in Pakistan? Yet, cutting through the opaque verbiage of the seven-point agenda, what General Musharraf and his team avowedly want to deliver is a radical transformation. They may lack the means or indeed an understanding of cause-and-effect but they continue to aspire for the moon. What is actually happening is a bit different. The nation and the junta are set on two different tracks, parallel if you will, with no meeting point between them. The government is in a self-created bubble convinced both of the correctness of its chosen path and of the support of public opinion. In contrast to this, anyone not totally blind or prejudiced can have little difficulty in sensing the extent of public frustration that has built up over the government's lack-lustre performance or in seeing how completely the euphoria that had set in after the military takeover has evaporated. True, traders are fighting a losing battle, their defiance more irrational than principled. How long can they withstand the might of the state? But even if the hoped-for revenues start coming in (although dissident voices can be heard saying these are being over-projected) what happens to the task of reforming the state which is the key to national renewal or redemption, the second word being more in accord with the messianic psychology of the Pakistani masses? The Chief Executive wants the press to be his eyes and ears. A laudable aim but one not founded on reality. Who reads newspapers in Pakistan? Certainly not anyone in authority. Benazir had no time for them nor did Nawaz Sharif. From what I have been able to gather, things are no different nowadays. Freedom of the press is being tolerated not because of any eyes-or-ears reason but because of external considerations. A crackdown on the press would invite international censure and further spoil the image of a regime being asked to restore democracy. Who are the leading figures in this dispensation? The Chief Executive of course, followed, at a short distance, by his two principal field marshals heading respectively the General Staff and the ISI. Behind them a couple of other staff officers at GHQ. The corps commanders are supreme in their own areas of jurisdiction but the aforementioned nucleus at GHQ constitutes the nerve-center of the junta, the source from where the key decisions flow. The governors are figureheads in their sprawling provincial mansions much in the way President Rafiq Tarar is a figurehead (and a living nightmare) in the presidential mansion. The provincial ministers, as is only to be expected, are nobodies. In the federal cabinet the majority of ministers are nonentities while a few, such as Moinuddin Haider and the inevitable Javed Jabbar, enjoy a derivative importance because of their putative closeness to the source of all light, the Chief Executive. Munshi remains useful, as any law minister in a military government would, for his legal skills. But, if appearances are not deceptive, the person truly spreading his wings is Citibank's gift to Pakistan, the finance minister. When he first arrived on these shores after October 12 last year he had to appear before a selection committee at GHQ. It is a measure of how far he has come that his position now needs no buttress from any quarter. How did the Soomro, who was a banker, get appointed as Sindh governor? Who's brought in the new PIA chief? While feverish guesswork in this connection could be right or wrong, what seems fairly certain is that the new PIA chief has no airline experience. What's more, an uncertain reputation follows him from the time he worked for the Saigols in Saudi Arabia. After listening to such tales I am inclined more than ever to respect the transparency and the ascendancy of merit which are as much features of the New Republic as they have been of all governments past. The more things change...
=================================================================== SPORTS 20000603 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan crush Bangladesh by 233 runs ------------------------------------------------------------------- DHAKA, June 2: Abdur Razzaq took three for five as Pakistan thrashed Bangladesh by 233 runs in the four-nation Asia Cup on Friday. The Bangladeshi batsmen capitulated without a fight, scoring only 87 in reply to 320 for three against the firepower of the Pakistan seam attack. Razzaq wrecked the home innings in four overs - one a maiden. Bangladesh were in trouble even before their innings began because opener Shahriar Hossain was unable to bat after he was injured while fielding. Facing a top Pakistani bowling attack, Bangladesh lost four quick wickets in the first 16 overs for only 50 runs. They lost another four wickets in following 10 overs with the scoreboard at only 74. Bangladesh skipper Aminul Islam was run out for a duck. Only two of home players were able to reach double figures - Habibul Bashar (23) and Mushfiqur Rahman (12). Azhar Mahmood plucked two for 22 while Wasim Akram, Mohammad Akram and Arshad Khan took one wicket each to humble Bangladesh out before a packed but dissolutioned home crowd of over 35,000 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. Earlier, the visitors ploughed through the relatively weak bowling and fielding of Bangladesh to pile up a massive 320-3 in their 50 overs. Opener Imran Nazir led the Pakistani batting assault by hitting 80 off 76 runs followed by Yousuf Youhana, who plundered 80 runs off 104 balls in a spirited partnership. Pakistan, who had never won this tournament, crossed the 100 mark in just 15 overs. The run spree continued with Inzamam-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi, hitting 75 off 61 and 45 off 32 balls respectively, to take the total to a record Pakistani score of 320 in Dhaka. Opener Saeed Anwar, who was playing his first match for over two months, was first to go after making 31 off 32 balls, bowled by off-spinner Naimur Rahman.-Reuters/AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000529 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Qayyum says Pakistan team now free of match-fixing ------------------------------------------------------------------- LONDON, May 28: Judge Malik Mohammad Qayyum, who investigated allegations of corruption in Pakistan cricket, said on Sunday he thought his country was now free of match-fixing. "So far as Pakistan is concerned I don't think there is any match- fixing now," Qayyum said when interviewed by BBC Radio Five Live. The recommendations of the judge's report led to Pakistan's former captain Salim Malik and discarded Test pace bowler Ata-ur-Rehman being banned for life by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last Wednesday. Six other Pakistan cricketers, including ex-skipper Wasim Akram, were fined either for bringing the game into disrepute or failing to co-operate with the inquiry. Qayyum was asked during the interview if he thought matches involving England players had escaped bribery attempts. The judge said: "The evidence which was presented to me didn't speak of any Pakistan-England match being fixed, except for one match which was a one-dayer in England. But that was just heresay, there was nothing concrete." Qayyum said he thought it was in 1994 "when Pakistan had won the Test series and it was followed by the one-dayers". Pakistan, in fact, did not tour England in 1994. They did so in 1992 and 1996. Pakistan played Australia at home in the three-Test series. It was that series after which three Australian players accused Salim Malik was offering them bribe. The judge said: "There was no suspicion of any English players. The only thing which was said was that Wasim (Akram) and Waqar (Younis) bowled badly in that match. Nobody accused any English players. They only said the Pakistan team bowled badly."-Reuters DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000530 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Adams leads West Indies to a dramatic series triumph ------------------------------------------------------------------- ST JOHN'S (Antigua), May 29: West Indies survived a Pakistan bowling onslaught to win the final Test, and with it the series, by one wicket on an enthralling, tension packed fifth day on Monday. West Indies still needed 19 runs when they lost their ninth wicket but last man Courtney Walsh, who has one of the worst batting records in Test cricket, and captain Jimmy Adams hung on grimly to reach their target of 216. Pakistan, inspired by paceman Wasim Akram who took six wickets in first innings and five in the second, twice thought they had won the match and their first series in the Caribbean. They claimed Adams had edged a Wasim Akram delivery to Moin Khan with the score on 200 and missed a glorious runout chance, when both batsman were caught at the same end, with the score on 203. Captain Jimmy Adams, unbeaten on 48 off 212 balls, was the West Indies hero, batting through the day as wickets fell at the other end and doing everything possible to shield the tailenders from the strike. West Indies seemed to have a straightforward task as they resumed on 144 for four but superb Pakistani bowling, led by the irrepressible Akram, put them under pressure. Akram, who bowled Wavell Hinds for 63 with the last ball on Sunday, made a crucial breakthrough for Pakistan when he trapped Ramnaresh Sarwan lbw for six to leave West Indies on 161 for five. They made another breakthrough when Ridley Jacobs, who survived several loud appeals, was run out for nought by a throw from Yousuf Youhana at short fine leg with 169 on the board. Franklyn Rose followed for four when he smashed a delivery from Mushtaq Ahmed into the hands of Akram at long on, leaving West Indies 177 for seven and still needing 39 for victory. Curtly Ambrose, batting in what could be his last Test match on his own ground, was lbw to Saqlain Mushtaq for eight off the last ball before lunch. Walsh, unbeaten on four, and Adams survived 73 minutes at the crease as they steered West Indies to victory. A fascinating finish to an evenly balanced series, which saw the first two tests drawn, was set up on Sunday when Pakistan were bowled out for 219 just after lunch on Sunday to set the West Indies 216 for victory. Wasim Akram, who demolished the West Indies first innings with six for 61, quickly dismissed West Indies openers Adrian Griffith and Sherwin Campbell with the score on 31, then made it 144 for four when he bowled Wavell Hinds for 63 with Sunday's final ball. HINDS LOSES COOL: A reckless stroke by Wavell Hinds conceded a pivotal West Indies wicket to Wasim Akram and Pakistan just prior to a rain-induced end to the penultimate day of the match on Sunday. In a volley of strokes, Hinds was leading West Indies to the verge of a memorable and significant win in a knock of 63 when he gave his wicket away playing the hook shot that had cost opening batsmen Sherwin Campbell and Adrian Griffith their hands. His dismissal in the growing gloom and imminent showers that enveloped the ground on his retreat to the Sir Vivian Richards Pavilion left West Indies 144 for four. Hinds has been the most prolific batsman in the series on either side with 340 runs at an average of 68.00 including his maiden Test hundred in the previous Test in Bridgetown. In only his fifth Test, his dismissal showed he still has much to learn about the psychology of the game. Except for Wasim, none of the other Pakistani bowlers seemed to trouble him in an innings that lasted 3 1/2 hours, 128 balls and contained seven fours and two sixes, both of leg-spin bowler Mushtaq Ahmed, who has been his nemesis in the earlier part of the series. Hinds however, got into a wrangle with Saqlain Mushtaq and on one occasion barged into the off-spin bowler for no apparent reason. This confrontation seem to knock him off the tracks, since his timing and his concentration was askew after it. When Moin Khan played his "ace" late in the day with the end beckoning, Hinds clearly had lost sight of his purpose. On 60, he was dropped by second slip Mohammed Wasim, flying to his left to get a hand to the ball, off Wasim Akram and eventually dragged a short-ball from the champion left-arm fast bowler into his stumps to be bowled in his following over. It was a sorry way to end such a promising innings.-Reuters/AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000601 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Asian teams threaten to boycott ICC trophy ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, May 31: The Asian cricket playing nations have threatened to withdraw from October's International Cricket Council (ICC) knock out tournament in Nairobi, Kenya. According to sources, the Asian Cricket Foundation (ACF) has warned the ICC that if the development funds for Asia were not increased, the teams wouldn't participate. Of the four, Bangladesh are on the threshold of Test status. The ACF has urged the ICC to decide about the increase in their development funds in next month's meeting. The officials said the present funds for Asia were smaller than the North Americans were getting for development of the game from the ICC. Sources said the move has been generated by Jaghmohan Dalmiya who takes over as ACF president next month after completing his term as ICC chief. The PCB has also supported the proposal. Officials claimed that the ICC was earning more from Asia than from any other continent because of sponsors and television rights. "Therefore, our share from the profits and funds should be more than other continent." A percentage from the profits of the ICC tournaments are equally divided amongst Test playing countries while a certain percentage is allocated for development. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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