------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 17 March 2000 Issue : 06/12 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents | National News | Business & Economy | Editorials & Features | Sports
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CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + Musharraf, Vajpayee rule out Nuclear war + Ban to prevent disturbances: Parties told to purge corrupt + Rallies, strikes banned: Provinces told to enforce order + Clinton urged to avert India-Pakistan war + SC continues hearing plea against takeover + Lawyers boycott courts + Govt, millers claim no rise: Wheat prices higher in open market + Hijacking case trial: Lawyers satisfied with security + Verdict in Lahore case: Death sentence awarded to child killer + Kulsoom, PML leaders booked for provocative speeches + Pakistan's Nuclear site images released --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + Cost sharing with banks: SBP to pay Re1 per $ on home remittances + New three-year programme: Pakistan may get $2bn from IMF + Rehabilitation of sick units: Cabinet approves ordinance on CIRC + WB team's discussions continue: Talks to end subsidies begin + Tax reforms to yield Rs50 billion + Prize schemes to boost remittances + National Bank may float 10-20pc shares on KSE + Muslim Commercial Bank plans to shut 96 branches + Half of PTCL staff may be laid off + Action against 120 officials soon + Non-tariff barriers may go: Import of textiles under study --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + Lost in the woods Ayaz Amir + Judgment on riba: an analysis Iqbal Jafar ----------- SPORTS + Moin Khan determined to restore Pakistan's image + Pakistan crush Sri Lanka to win Karachi Test + Wasim picked in team for Sharjah + Qualifications of a cricket coach
=================================================================== DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 000313 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Musharraf, Vajpayee rule out Nuclear war ------------------------------------------------------------------- Masood Haider NEW YORK, March 12: Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee insisted in separate interviews with Newsweek that there is no possibility of a nuclear war over the Kashmir dispute. Mr Vajpayee said "I completely rule out a nuclear war." Nevertheless, in the backdrop of Mr Clinton's impending visit to the subcontinent, the Indian premier ruled out any role for the United States in resolving the dispute while Gen Musharraf maintained that President Clinton can 'facilitate a dialogue' between the two countries. But, Mr Vajpayee held out hope that "all problems, including Kashmir, will be solved by peaceful means," stressing "there is no role for any third party, however well intentioned". Gen Musharraf told Newsweek, which is to hit the newsstands on March 20, that he was pleased with Mr Clinton's visit to Pakistan. President Clinton leaves for Asia next week and will spend five days in India. On the way back, he will make a brief stay in Pakistan. Gen Musharraf said he was pleased with Mr Clinton's decision to visit Pakistan underscoring that "this is a recognition of the importance Pakistan has in the region and of the 52-year- friendship we have with the US and of the righteousness of our stand on Kashmir". The chief executive said he knew Clinton had said that he was not going to mediate on Kashmir. "But [he can] facilitate a dialogue between India and Pakistan." Gen Musharraf told the magazine that tension between the India and Pakistan won't escalate into a war. "I do not think it will get out of control. They (India) know that there is a deterrence in place on our side," he added. When asked whether he would help the US secure the arrest of Osama bin Laden, Gen Musharraf said: "The Taliban have their own reasons for allowing him sanctuary in Afghanistan. If anyone thinks we can order the Taliban around, he is wrong". He maintained that the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen was not a terrorist organization as the US has determined and he also declared that he was in "total" control of Inter-Services Intelligence. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000317 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ban to prevent disturbances: Parties told to purge corrupt ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, March 16: Interior Minister Lt Gen Moinuddin Haider on Thursday said that the latest ban on political rallies and strikes was neither meant to curb political activity in the country nor it had any connection with President Clinton's visit or the issue of the CTBT. "The national political parties are an asset of the country and the military government is not working on any agenda aimed at their annihilation," Haider told a press conference which was specifically convened to clarify the interior ministry's Tuesday's ban on meetings in public places, strikes and processions. He, however, indicated that these restrictions might be lifted in a few weeks if the political parties upheld healthy traditions and desisted from activities that were detrimental to the country's economy. "We can't afford to have politics of killings, strikes and damage to state property, " the minister said, adding that the military government was working on reforms that would evolve "genuine democracy" besides maintaining permanent peace and stability in the country. The minister said that the military government had not restricted the activities of any politician since Oct 12 military takeover. "Also, the government has not arrested any political leader merely because of his political activities," he said and reiterated that indoor political meetings and gatherings were still allowed. Haider said that because of tension at the LoC, the enemy was also involved in subversive activities and was getting opportunities to carry out terrorist acts during processions, rallies and strikes called by political parties. He asked the politicians to be extra careful. The minister brushed aside the impression that the latest ban was connected to US President Clinton's coming visit or was, in any way, related to the issue of the CTBT. He said if the PML wanted to hold a meeting on 23rd March, it could do so at a place like Alhamra, Lahore. To another question, the minister asked the print media to desist from printing speculative and baseless stories. He, however, added that the government had no intention of gagging the press. In response to a question about the public hanging of Javed Iqbal, the killer of 100 children, the minister said that no public hanging would be allowed as the government was determined to respect human rights in the country. APP adds: The minister said political leaders were free to give statements to the Press which was a free press enjoying complete freedom. The minister said it was also very important to reform the political culture of the country. He said that he had been meeting different political figures and advised them to "restructure and reorganise their political parties and see if their parties need internal elections or if the parties should get rid of people who damaged the party with their corrupt politics and also brought a bad name to the country." "Ultimately, we have to return to democracy and strong political parties free of corruption can sustain the democracy," he said adding that political leaders should also know that blocking roads, disrupting traffic, damaging other peoples cars and breaking windowpanes at airports was a service or a dis-service to the nation. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000316 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Political rallies, strikes banned: Provinces told to enforce order ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, March 15: The Ministry of Interior on Wednesday imposed country-wide ban on all political meetings at public places, strikes and processions with immediate effect. Indoor meetings are permitted, however, the use of loudspeakers for such political meetings is prohibited, said the ministry's press release. Meanwhile, the instructions have been issued to the provinces for ensuring strict implementation of the ban.-APP OUR ISLAMABAD BUREAU ADDS: The interior ministry warned that elements working against the interest of the state were preparing and planning hostile acts to create chaos and portray Pakistan as an irresponsible state. The ministry said that in the present geo-political environment and the interest of Pakistan's future, all political and religious parties will exhibit totally responsible behavior to curb unruly elements within their ranks and keep a watch on the intrusion of hostile foreign elements. "The main objective of the government is the restoration of order and harmony in the society with a view to provide security and prosperity to citizens," the announcement said, adding, "for this purpose clear goals have been set in the reforms agenda announced by the Chief Executive." In proceeding years, it said, the country had witnessed intense and frequent conflicts, disorder, indiscipline and breakdown of institutions. "The result has been the creation of a fractious society and incalculable damage to the economy," it added. The government's reform agenda, the release said, was an earnest attempt to pull the country back from the precipice. Attainment of the goals set forth in this agenda require serious and sustained hard work by all Pakistanis, with full commitment to building up social and economic strength, in an environment of peace and order. The interior ministry said that the country could not afford the luxury of agitation and violence-prone politics, which disrupted the normal public life. "Therefore, the ban on all political meetings in public places, strikes, and processions will continue to remain effective. Indoor meetings are permitted. However, the use of loud-speakers for such political meetings is prohibited." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000315 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Clinton urged to avert India-Pakistan war ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent WASHINGTON, March 14: About 25 unofficial US policy-makers, including former ambassadors to Pakistan and India and think tank have jointly urged President Clinton to try and stem the drift toward war between the two countries during his visit. The message has been conveyed to the president in an open letter signed by these top experts belonging to various foundations, organizations and think tanks. It urged India and Pakistan to take steps to reduce the chance of conflict over Kashmir, but advised the US to get directly involved in diplomacy relating to Kashmir, only if all parties expressed an interest, reflecting the standard US policy line. The letter urged the president to persuade Pakistan to embrace economic reform, the rule of law and a more responsible behaviour toward terrorism. These experts said in their letter that relations between India and Pakistan had sunk to a dangerous level which all too easily could lead to conflict. The effort was co-sponsored by the Brookings Institution and the Council on Foreign Relations. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000315 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SC continues hearing plea against takeover ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, March 13: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday continued hearing of the petitions challenging the military takeover, ignoring the strike call given by the Pakistan Bar Council to protest the murder of Iqbal Raad, the counsel of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. At the outset, the counsel raised the issue of the murder of Iqbal Raad. Chief Justice Irshad Hasan Khan said that he was so perturbed at the news that he could not sleep for one night. The court offered Fateha for late Iqbal Raad. When asked why he had not honoured the strike call given by the PBC, Khalid Anwar said the call was given to the high court bar associations and not to the SC. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000314 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Lawyers boycott courts ------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN Report KARACHI, March 13: Lawyers boycotted courts on Monday to protest against the killing of Iqbal Raad, one of the counsel for Nawaz Sharif in the plane conspiracy case. In the Sindh High Court, the judges were directed by the Chief Justice not to pass any adverse order on account of absence of lawyers. The courts working under the district and sessions judges, additional district and sessions judges, civil judges, family courts and small causes courts, also had similar instructions for the day. The number of lawyers attending courts was very small, and only a few courts were attended by them. A representative delegation of lawyers went to the governor's house where they represented their memorandum to the staff for the perusal of Sindh governor. Earlier at a protest joint meeting of Karachi Bar, the Sindh High Court Bar, Sindh Bar Council and Income Tax Bar, and Pakistan Bar Council at the Sindh High Court, lawyers expressed shock over the killing of Iqbal Raad and two other persons and demanded arrest of the killers at the earliest. The lawyers, wearing black armbands, said the manner in which Mr Raad was pursuing the famous case warranted proper and adequate security arrangements, "as he was apparently acting in furtherance of rule of law." However, some of the senior lawyers boycotted the day's protest, saying their representatives had violated the plan of their protest. Later, at a meeting of Sindh Bar Council with the Chief Justice, fateha was offered for the departed soul. LAHORE: Lawyers in Lahore observed a strike on Monday to protest against the murder of Advocate Iqbal Raad in Karachi. In the Lahore High Court, only urgent cases were taken up by judges in the morning. Many of them were adjourned when the counsel informed the court of the protest strike. Few cases were heard in the lower civil courts while sessions courts dealt only with bail matters. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000316 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Govt, millers claim no rise: Wheat prices higher in open market ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sabihuddin Ghausi KARACHI, March 15: The government and the millers on Wednesday claimed that the supply of wheat flour to the city had been improved with the commodity being sold at the officially-fixed price of Rs9 a kiolgram. However, reports from various parts of Karachi's five districts suggest that the flour prices have crawled up to Rs18 a kilogram. Owners of about 50 mills in the city were persuaded to set up 271 stalls besides opening 34 outlets at the weekly bazaars where a steady supply of flour bags is reported to have eased the supply position. A 15,000 ton increase in the wheat supply quota from the government stocks to the flour mills has also helped improve the situation. Simultaneously, the reports that the government considering lifting Section 144 Cr.PC in the four districts of the province - which restricted the wheat movement from Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad, Umerkot and Dadu - has also helped bring down the wheat prices in open market. Millers, however, say that a number of their wheat-loaded trucks are still held up in Mirpurkhas awaiting the clearance from the deputy commissioner. But the fact that the government had shown inclination to lift this restriction has brought down the wheat prices in the open market that had touched Rs1,050 for a 100-kg bag on Tuesday. The flour in the city's open market was being sold from Rs14 a kg to Rs18. "But this is chakki atta," Naeem Malik, a leader of the Pakistan Flour Millers Association, remarked, adding that the chakkis were not in the discipline of his association. He claimed that all the flourmills were offering flour at Rs9 for a kilogram. Prices of fine flour and "maida" have also increased. Fine flour was available from Rs1,150 to Rs1,200 for a 80-kg bag while the price of "maida" touched Rs1,400 for the same weight on Wednesday. Ibrahim Bhutto, secretary of the Ration Shop Merchants Association, said that on the government's instructions "awami atta" was being offered at Rs9 a kilogram. He, however, admitted that wheat flour prices in many parts of the city ranged between Rs14 to Rs17 a kilogram. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000316 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hijacking case trial: Lawyers satisfied with security ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, March 15: Khwaja Sultan, chief defence counsel for Nawaz Sharif and others in the plane hijacking case, appeared before the trial judge on Wednesday to inform him that the defence team was ready to join the proceedings as he was now "fully satisfied with the security arrangements". According to Advocate-General Raja Qureshi, all Lahore-based defence lawyers would be lodged at the annexe of the State Guest House as agreed by them. "I accompanied Khwaja Sultan and showed him first the Punjab House and then the State Guest House and its annexe," he said. The defence team will arrive here on March 19 and appear in the court on 20th - the day fixed by Judge Rahmat Hussain Jafferi of the ATC-1 for hearing the arguments of the prosecution. They will be staying in Karachi till the trial ends. The Lahore-based defence lawyers had refused to attend the case proceedings for "security reason" after the assassination of one of their team members, Iqbal Raad. The defence team had also demanded the shifting of the venue of trial from Karachi to either Lahore or Islamabad. However, the chief defence lawyer revoked his decision on the request of Nawaz Sharif, who was allowed to contact him on phone on Tuesday by the judge. Khwaja Sultan, who met the deposed prime minister for one-and-a- half-hours on the court premises on Wednesday morning, told reporters that his client was worried over the refusal of the defence counsel to attend the proceedings in Karachi. He said he had told Nawaz Sharif that his lawyers would defend the case, though the "risk was still there". He said the defence counsel would avoid to appear in public as a precautionary measure. Khwaja Sultan said he was now satisfied with the security arrangements. He said the defence counsel had demanded the security, but the authorities were doing too much and added that even the newspaper hawker was not allowed to reach his hotel room in the morning by the security personnel. "I have asked them to normalize the security. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000317 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Verdict in Lahore case: Death sentence awarded to child killer ------------------------------------------------------------------- Asad Ali LAHORE, March 16: Additional Sessions Judge Allah Buksh Ranjha on Thursday directed that for killing 100 children, Javed Iqbal Mughal and his co-accused Sajid in the presence of the heirs of the boys should be strangulated with the same iron chain which they used as weapon of offence, their bodies to be cut into pieces and put into a drum containing acid as they did with those of the dead children. The sentence was awarded as Qisas under Section 302-A of the Pakistan Penal Code. It was described as the first sentence under the Qisas law. A criminal law expert said under the Qisas law punishment could be awarded on the basis of confession or evidence which fulfils the requirements of Islamic Evidence Law. In this case, they said, the accused had confessed. The court awarded extended jail sentences to the two other accused, Nadeem and Sabir, who were minors. Javed Iqbal and Sajid were also awarded jail terms for destroying the bodies. All the sentences are subject to confirmation by the Lahore High Court and shall run consecutively and not concurrently. The court noted in its order "the prosecution has fully succeeded in proving the case and by grace of God I am fully convinced that the accused have committed Qatl-i-Amad of 100 children and after cutting their bodies into pieces have put them into drum recovered from the house of Javed Iqbal, the accused". Regarding the execution of the judgment against Javed Iqbal and Sajid, the court recommended to the government through the Lahore High Court that to set a horrific example, the sentence should be executed at an open place, preferably Minar-i-Pakistan. The verdict was announced at about 11:30am in a court room packed with journalists and lawyers. The four accused heard the verdict calmly except for a sentence uttered by Javed Iqbal as he was being taken by the police. The expressions of the accused remained unchanged after hearing the verdict. The only reaction came from Javed Iqbal who asked the court as to what was being done about the remaining accused who were not challaned in the case. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000312 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Kulsoom, PML leaders booked for provocative speeches ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent HYDERABAD, March 11: Cantonment Police Station SHO Inspector Hamid Ali Thaheem on Friday registered a case against Begum Kulsoom Nawaz and several PML leaders for making "provocative" speeches at the party's convention held at the residence of the district president of the party, Rais Allah Bukhsh Magsi, here on Thursday. The case was registered on behalf of the state under section 153, 153(A), 124(A) of the Pakistan Penal Code, section 16 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance read with section 7(A) and 7(B) of the Anti Terrorism Act, 1997 (amended in 1999). Besides Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, Rais Allah Bukhsh Magsi, AfzalGujjar, Imdad Chandio, Begum Tehmina Daultana, Shah Mohammad Shah, Mamnoon Hussain, Haleem Siddiqui, Ismail Rahu, Asghar Ghumman, Ms Ishrat Ashraf, Saud Ahmed Farooqi, Kanwar Jafar Ali, Rizwan Channar, Ali Bukhsh Shah, alias Pappu Shah, Roshan Baloch and Chaudhry Mazharul Haq were nominated as accused in the FIR. The PML leaders were charged with inciting the people against the present government and the army; trying to create hatred and enmity against the government; making announcement that they would commit self-immolation; and inciting the people to do likewise. The FIR also accused the leaders of trying to create unrest among the people and inciting them to take the law into their hands. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000316 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan's Nuclear site images released ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent WASHINGTON, March 15: A prestigious scientific organisation on Wednesday released pictures and satellite images of Pakistan's nuclear and missile facilities which, it said, provide fresh insight into the nuclear dangers on the Indian sub-continent. At a news conference in Washington the images were released to the Press while they were also put on the internet web site of the Federation of American Scientists http://www.fas.org. The high resolution images, acquired by the Federation of American Scientists from the Space Imaging IKONOS satellite, show details of Pakistan's weapons facilities previously known only to the secret intelligence world, the FAS said. The pictures were released on the eve of President Clinton's visit to Pakistan and India "to highlight the urgency of new initiatives to address the risk of nuclear escalation between these countries," the FAS said. The Federation's Public Eye project is acquiring imagery of nuclear and missile facilities around the world. In February it released imagery of the North Korean missile test facility, and imagery of additional facilities will be released in coming weeks. The imagery covers two of Pakistan's most important special weapons facilities, the plutonium production reactor at Khushab, and the nearby medium range missile base at Sargodha. It said plutonium from the Khushab reactor would probably be used in light-weight nuclear warheads for the M-11 missiles at Sargodha, which Pakistan acquired from China in the early 1990s. The new satellite imagery indicates that construction of the Khushab reactor is essentially complete, and that Pakistan has built a dozen garages for mobile missile launchers and associated vehicles at Sargodha. "Pakistan has laid the groundwork for a force of dozens of nuclear tipped missiles capable of striking Indian cities and military bases," the FAS said. "Pakistan is in danger of having most of its nuclear eggs in one basket, which would be a tempting target for a pre-emptive Indian attack in a time of crisis," according to John Pike, who directs the Federation's Public Eye project. "The US needs to work with India and Pakistan to reduce this temptation for launching disarming attacks. With Pakistan and India apparently moving ahead with deploying nuclear forces, the danger of such attacks will grow," Pike said.
=================================================================== BUSINESS & ECONOMY DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000317 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Cost sharing with banks: SBP to pay Re1 per $ on home remittances ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, March 16: The State Bank has told major banks that it would share their cost of mobilizing additional home remittances at the rate of one rupee per dollar. Senior officials of major banks view this development as a big morale booster. They say they would now speed up their efforts to attract incremental home remittances to be routed through them. The bankers say they have received a letter from SBP informing them of the incentive for bringing in more of foreign exchange earnings of overseas Pakistan back home. The letter says the banks who are able to increase remittances by introducing improved service and delivery within 24 hours or the ones that introduce new products in accordance with locally applicable laws would be compensated for incurring extra expenses in such efforts. It says that the State Bank would reimburse these banks at the rate of Re 1 per incremental US dollar mobilized by them as compensation for expenses of additional service charges incurred by them subject to certain benchmarks. Since the volume of home remittances handles by all five major banks vary each one of them would have a different benchmark. A source close to SBP told Dawn that the first compensation would be paid for January to June 2000 period. He said the amount of home remittances routed through a bank between January and June 2000 would form the benchmark for the next six months. That is a bank would be paid the compensation of one rupee per US dollar on the amount of home remittances that would exceed the amount routed through the bank in January-June 2000. The source said the State Bank had asked major banks to let it know by March 15 if they were willing to make efforts to attract more of home remittances and get the compensation. It could not be learnt how many banks have conveyed their willingness so far. Home remittances are the second largest source of forex inflow into Pakistan after exports. But a widening gap between official and open market foreign exchange rates has decreased the volume of home remittances through banking channels from $1.86 billion in 1994-95 to $1.06 billion in 1998-99. The trend continues with the figures for July-December 1999 falling to $519 million from $581 million in a year-ago period. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000316 ------------------------------------------------------------------- New three-year programme: Pakistan may get $2bn from IMF ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ihtashamul Haque ISLAMABAD, March 15: Pakistan is likely to get over two billion dollars under a new three years' IMF programme, expected to be finalised when the Fund's mission arrives here at the end of this month or early April. Sources in the multilateral agencies told Dawn here on Wednesday that Pakistan has been indicated about the new three years programme. The existing 1.5 billion dollar ESAF/EFF will converted into a proposed Poverty Reduction Growth Facility (PRGF). Although the size of the new assistance programme has not been firmed up, it could be 2 billion dollar or more and that it all depended on the outcome of talks and the government's ability to come up with detailed programme of acquiring the new funding line,sources added. The government has been told that a IMF mission to be headed by Ms. Sena Ekin could come to Pakistan at the end of March or early April or after the Fund's Interim Committee meeting being held in the middle of April in Washington. The sources said that the new three years programme will have the support of the Paris Club and the US government. If Pakistan gives us a strong programme of economic reforms we would oblige your government", a source said. Nevertheless the sources said that the IMF wanted a number of things to be done and given to it in the form of a detailed report about the state of the economy. The IMF has received some report from the ministry of finance but it wanted a new and thorough report much before the announcement of the budget for 2000-2001. Pakistan has been told to announce new measures related to the levy of General Sales Tax (GST) on small traders. The Fund officials believed that the issue should have been sorted out by working out some mechanism or formula and enforced effectively. The sources said that the IMF felt very strongly about the delay inthe levy of controversial GST programme and said that the same should have been imposed immediately after the military government took over. Similarly, the sources said that the government was expected to tax the agriculture income. In this regard the IMF wanted that the government should collect details about the top five per cent agriculturists and force them to pay their adequate taxes." We know that principles have been settled for the levy of GST and tax on agriculture income but then the government should have by now announced certain criteria or a formula for levying both these taxes", a source said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000316 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rehabilitation of sick units: Cabinet approves ordinance on CIRC ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, March 15: The federal cabinet approved here on Wednesday a draft ordinance which seeks to set up the Corporate and Industrial Restructuring Corporation (CIRC) to promote the revitalization of the nation's economy by reviving sick industrial units in the country. The meeting, which was presided over by the chief executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf, was told that the proposed CIRC will take over the non-performing assets of Nationalized Commercial Banks (NCBs) and the Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) which would ultimately lead to the revival of sick industries. The draft will be vetted by the law ministry before promulgation. Official sources said that the government would soon be seeking $400 million foreign assistance to revive 900 major sick industrial units through the CIRC. The cabinet was given a detailed briefing over the issue and told that by creating the CIRC, the government could rehabilitate at least 900 sick units out of total of about 4000 units. The proposed CIRC, sources said would undertake Balancing, Modernization and Replacement (BMR) of genuine sick industrial units for which it planned to contact the authorities of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) of Canada, Japan and couple of other countries for financial assistance. The corporation will start working within next few weeks. Also the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) were being contacted to offer loans for reviving the sick industrial units. Then the government-to-government contact would also be made to acquire soft term loans. Italy was specially being approached to also offer its industrial machinery for reviving these units. The sources said that initial contact with the government of Italy was encouraging as it had decided to look into the request of providing machinery to address the issue. The federal cabinet also took a number of decisions pertaining to different ministries to promote the socio-economic betterment of the people. The cabinet approved in principle, the replacement of the Insurance Act 1938 with a new legislation to update and modernize the provisions of the Insurance Act for general improvement of insurance in Pakistan and to correct the existing defects in the insurance market and regulatory system of insurance and effective enforcement of insurance laws. The cabinet approved a proposal by the ministry of commerce to initiate negotiations to finalize a draft for a bilateral trade agreement between Pakistan and Kuwait. The proposed agreement will help in developing and strengthening the existing commercial relations between the two countries. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000315 ------------------------------------------------------------------- WB team's discussions continue: Talks to end subsidies begin ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent ISLAMABAD, March 14: The World Bank-Pakistan talks on financial assistance for reforms in eight major sectors of the economy began here on Tuesday. The issue of elimination of all kinds of official subsidy on wheat to all consumers in the country also figures in the talks. Sources said the federal government on Tuesday informed the World Bank about the steps it was taking to de-regulate the wheat trade and eliminate the subsidy on wheat. The bank delegation, scheduled to stay in Pakistan for two days, will also hold talks with the federal secretaries of Ministry of Petroleum, Privatisation Commission, health, education, law and interior on issues such as deregulation of oil and gas sector, privatisation programme, health sector programme, education programme, judicial and police reforms in Pakistan. Earlier, here on Tuesday, the World Bank team led by John Panzer, in-charge of the programme desk on Pakistan, met Dr Zafar Altaf, Secretary of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, and discussed agricultural sector reforms expected to be funded by the bank. Later, the WB delegation also met the secretary Revenue Division in the evening and got a briefing on the ongoing tax reforms in the country. Giving details of the meeting between Dr Zafar Altaf and the WB team, the sources said they discussed in detail agriculture reforms in connection with the Agriculture Sector Investment Programme (ASIP) to be funded by the World Bank. The sources said the WB had promised a loan of Rs 3,850.20 million to Pakistan under its International Development Association (IDA) Scheme for the execution of a five-year mega agricultural project - the ASIP. But, later the negotiations were stopped due to a number of political developments taking place after October 12, 1999. The WB had also set some conditionalities for the release of funding. Sources said they also discussed in detail their opposite views on this project. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000315 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Tax reforms to yield Rs50 billion ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ihtasham ul Haque ISLAMABAD, March 14: The Tax Reforms Committee believes that if its recommendations were implemented in letter and spirit, government could generate additional Rs50 billion. Official sources told Dawn here on Tuesday that the committee headed by former advisor on finance Dr Hafeez A. Pasha has proposed tough measures for improving the revenue collection. Sources said, the government has already decided to take "ruthless measures" in the next budget to broaden tax base, specially by effectively recovering income tax, GST and agriculture income tax. The initial recommendations of the Pasha committee, sources said, called for collecting at all costs general sales tax (GST) from the next financial year for which the system was being simplified. A number of new measures would be announced in the new budget to deal with the issue. "Those who have not been paying their due income tax or were still out of the tax net will have a real rough time" a source said. Similarly, the government has been proposed to adequately tax the landed gentry so that considerable tax on agriculture income could be recovered from the next financial year. The collection target of Rs2 billion set by the previous government was termed as highly inadequate in this behalf. The Pasha committee also recommended to the government to encourage the competent and honest officers of the tax department by giving them important assignments. Many of them had either been given insignificant positions or made OSDs by the previous government. The debt management committee headed by a prominent economist Dr Pervez Hasan, sources said, also believed that the government should lessen its debt burden by finding out new resource mobilization. In this regard the members of the committee believed that revenues and exports needed to be drastically increased. The government was told that there was a need for early restructuring of the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) and the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) to increase their revenues and exports, respectively. The sources said that the government has also been recommended to retire most expensive and short term debt mounting to about $8 billion, out of total of $38 billion foreign loans. It was suggested that the Privatization Commission should be reactivated so that the process of disinvestment could be accelerated. The debt management committee had constituted three sub-committees to deal with the issue of debt by covering the aspects of macro framework, effectiveness of foreign aid and the creation of a vigorous set up. The committee has been directed to work out medium and long term strategy to reduce the country's huge debt burden by having inputs from three sub-committees. The members of committee so include Secretary General Ministry of Finance Moeen Afzal, Economic Advisor of the Ministry of Finance, Dr Ashfaq Hasan Khan, Secretaries Economic Affairs Division (EAD) and Statistic Division and Additional Secretary Government of Punjab, Tariq Sultan. The committee has also been entrusted the task of further getting interest rates of the commercial banks and the National Saving Schemes cut down with a view to reduce the accumulated burden of domestic debt. So far banks have reduced their interest rate by 4 per cent and the National Saving Directorate has slashed interest rate by 2 per cent. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20000315 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Prize schemes to boost remittances ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, March 14: Habib Bank would spend about Rs 200 million per year in the shape of prizes on Crorepati remittances scheme to bring back into its coffers what it had lost in winding up of Crorepati deposits scheme. Senior HBL officials say the bank hardly retained 10 per cent of Rs 20 billion plus it had generated through Crorepati deposit scheme phased out by the end of 1999. "We can regain through our new product a major chunk of the amount that flew out on winding up of the scheme," said an HBL official adding that it would also increase home remittances. At present $275 million worth of foreign exchange remittances are routed through Habib Bank every year. HBL executives say the figure could rise to $360 million-thanks to Crorepati remittance scheme. The State Bank gave a go-ahead to major banks early this year to launch prize schemes to attract more of foreign remittances. The move came after SBP realized that overseas Pakistanis needed some incentives to send foreign exchange back home through banks because they were getting a much better exchange rate in informal market. Home remittances fell to $519 million in July-December 1999 from $581 million in a year-ago period. Encouraged by SBP, United Bank introduced Remit N Win scheme towards the end of January. The bank retained the magic title of ZarAmad for the cheques to be used in the scheme in order to win back what it had lost in winding up of ZarAmad deposit scheme. United Bank had managed to retain around Rs 4 billion in its coffers at the end of 1999 out of Rs 13 billion it had attracted through its two deposit incentive schemes-CarAmad and ZarAmad. Senior UBL officials say the bank has attracted around Rs 1.5 billion through its Remit N Win scheme in the past one and a half months. They are confident that the success of Remit N Win scheme may not be eclipsed by the Crorepati remittance scheme of Habib Bank. "Total HBL payout in this scheme is Rs 198 million per year as compared to Rs 390 million on our scheme," said a UBL executive. UBL is offering one weekly prize of Rs 5 million and 100 Umrah tickets of Rs 25,000 each. Thus total sum of money being spent on the prizes every week comes to Rs 7.5 million-or Rs 390 million per year. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000316 ------------------------------------------------------------------- National Bank may float 10-20pc shares on KSE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Kamal Siddiqi KARACHI, March 15: Sporting handle-bar moustaches and wearing his standard shalwar-kameez suit, Mohammedmian Soomro looks more a feudal than the banker that he actually is: the president of Pakistan's largest bank, the National Bank of Pakistan. The bank head office is embarrassingly big, with large offices, several ante-rooms and row of secretaries sitting in luxurious surroundings while the actual bank branch below, where the money is made, is much different in its appearance. However, to his credit, Mohammedmian Soomro has been able to change things for the better by turning around this state institution which was known more for its "Sohni Dharti" advertisements than the business it did. Brought in by the previous government as part of a strategy to turn around the public sector banks, Mohammedmian Soomro was the first private sector banker to be inducted by the then government for this job and, would be, the last man to leave as well, being the only one taken on to face another challenge at yet another public sector bank. In his time at the NBP, Soomro has changed the bank's fortunes within a span of three years from the loss posted of Rs 1.26 billion in 1996 to an estimated pre-tax profit of Rs 3.5 billion in 1999. Soomro says that the profit, which is after amortization of cost of the bank's voluntary retirement scheme, could be higher by at least Rs 1 billion if a pending issue on Steel Mills bonds is finalized with the government. The significant growth in profitability has been through the bank's own resources, and without any injection of equity from the government. Deposits have grown by 8% YoY to Rs 297 billion in end 1999 despite the fact that the bank offered no lottery scheme. In November 1999, the NBP was given a rating of E+ by Moody's, which is the highest amongst ratings assigned to large Pakistani banks. Behind these achievements is Mohammedmian Soomro, who himself comes from a prominent political family but has been a banker all along. Trained as a nuclear physicist from Punjab University who later went on to do an MBA from the United States where he was then picked up by Bank of America in 1975, Soomro says that his three years with the National Bank have been "fulfilling and challenging." Soomro will move on to take charge of the Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan, which may be smaller in size but has problems much larger than the NBP. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000316 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Muslim Commercial Bank plans to shut 96 branches ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, March 15: Muslim Commercial Bank plans to shut down 96 commercially unviable branches across Pakistan after getting a go- ahead signal from State Bank. "We are waiting for the State Bank permission to shut down 96 such branches that had been unprofitable for past three years," said a senior official of the bank. The State Bank considers those areas un-banked where there are no branch of any bank within 2 kilometre radius. The MCB official said since all the 96 branches that his bank planned to shut down were located in un-banked the SBP permission was a must. He said MCB had closed 112 branches in 1998 but all of them were located in banked areas. At present MCB is running 1206 branches in all. MCB officials say the branches they have decided to shut down are located in such remote villages and hamlets that making them profitable was not possible. They say that most of these branches provide sort of social service to the rural population: they also realize that closing down of these branches would mean depriving the local public of a social cover. "That is why we are not pressing the State Bank hard to let us shut them down," a senior executive said. We are cooperating with SBP officials in their efforts to find a solution to the problem of maintaining unprofitable branches." Sources close to SBP say SBP officials are evaluating pros and cons of a couple of options in this respect. One of the options is that commercially unviable bank branches should either be put in the use of the proposed Micro Credit Bank: the other option is to let post offices use them for utility bills collection and yet other options is to allow the banks concerned to start periodical and limited banking through these branches-say once every week. "We had a meeting with SBP Deputy Governor R. A. Chughtai on this subject last week and we discussed these options in detail," said a senior MCB official. He said it was no upto State Bank to decide what course of action should be adopted by the banks that want to close their unviable branches. The official said the closure of 96 branches would not result in redundancies: these branches employ roughly 300 people all of whom would be transferred to other branches. "We are not planning any golden handshake. We will redeploy these 300 employees efficiently because many branches are understaffed." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000316 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Half of PTCL staff may be laid off ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, March 15: Large-scale retrenchment is likely to be carried out in the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) soon after Eid-ul-Azha, Dawn has learnt. The downsizing in the PTCL will be undertaken by the government on the recommendations of Goldman Sachs - financial advisers to the company appointed by the Privatisation Commission for the sale of 26 percent shares to strategic investors, an official source said. The downsizing in the company has been necessitated by the technological advancement in the field of communication, which has sharply reduced customers-employees ratio. There are an estimated 3,000,000 subscribers of the PTCL service while the total staff strength is over 50,000. According to international standards, this ratio is regarded as very high and, as such, it would be brought down by reducing the staff strength, at least, by 50 percent, the source added. The Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, had also given a go- ahead signal to the downsizing plan in the PTCL. The go-ahead signal was given by the chief executive at a recent briefing on the PTCL. Some executives of the company who had been employed by the Muslim League government at a very high remuneration, are also likely to come under the axe. The financial advisers have reported that some major players in the field of telecommunications at the international level have lost their interest in the PTCL because of the delay in its privatisation. The current chairman of the PTCL had been appointed by the previous government with an understanding that he would facilitate expeditious privatisation of the company. Given the tremendous growth potential in the field of telecommunication and the target set by the company for providing one telephone for every 100 people in rural areas in the coming years, some people, however, believe that retrenchment would not be advisable. With the expected growth, the staff-subscriber ratio would automatically come down to the desired level, he added. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000313 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Action against 120 officials soon ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sarfaraz Ahmed KARACHI, March 12: Inquiries conducted by various agencies have found over 120 senior government officials involved in financial irregularities, mal-administration, and known for their rigid stance towards present government's plan to bring about structural reforms in the system. According to some well-placed sources, the inquiries that were conducted in the interest of national reconstruction to introduce reforms have recommended sacking, transfer etc, of these officials in order to implement the decisions with regard to structural changes in the administration. The sources said these officials belong to various ministries, departments etc, and they have their postings in grades 18 and above. The sources said that removal and transfers on a massive scale will form the basis of Chief Executive's programme to introduce structural changes in the administration, which has been plagued by corruption, mal-administration, inefficiency and rigidity in attitude towards change in the status quo. The chief executive, the sources said, is expected to spell out his plan with regard to structural changes in the system in his Pakistan Day address to the nation with a pledge that the accountability process would remain across the board. The structural reforms would entail formation of advisory boards comprising individuals known for their impeccable character and expertise in the relevant fields, the sources maintained. His address, the sources said would be followed by various decisions, including the sacking of officials and massive reshuffling in the administration setup. The inquiries on the working and conduct of the bureaucracy all over the country have found out that there are hundreds of officials holding posts at various levels and they were neither interested in improving their working nor they were in a mood to welcome any shift in the status quo. Besides, inquiries have also discovered incriminating evidence against a number of officials who have been found involved in financial irregularities and misappropriation of government funds, the sources said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000312 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Non-tariff barriers may go: Import of textiles under study ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sabihuddin Ghausi KARACHI, March 11: The government is taking up steps to further liberalize the trade by phasing out the non-tariff barriers for imports and opening up market for foreign textile products and other items and framing the new economic laws and regulations to qualify for getting a $250 million loan from Asian Development Bank. The ADB has offered this loan for Trade Export Promotion and Industry programme (TEPI) which demands compliance of a set of conditions that could lead to further trade liberalization by way of withdrawal of import-related procedural restrictions except on those which are related to health, safety, security and environment. These restrictions would be valid only on acceptable standards set by the World Trade Organization and other international and multilateral agreements. A high powered Export Modernization Steering Committee that includes secretaries of several federal ministries, chairman of the Central Board of Revenue, senior representative of State Bank of Pakistan and members of the private sector organizations is taking stock of the steps taken so far and the further measures needed in direction of the compliance of these conditions. Officials say that the maximum import tariff rate has already been fixed at 35 per cent and number of non-zero tariff slabs have been reduced to four since March last year. Multiple rates for the end users of Pakistani products have already been reduced and more steps in this direction are to be taken in next budget. The ADB wants the withdrawal of exemption powers of the CBR which the officials maintain have been curtailed to a great extent under an amendment made in the 1969 Customs Act. However, the PML government reintroduced certain exemptions in the 1999 Finance Bill in respect to the housing and transport scheme on which the ADB expressed objections. Another condition set by the ADB on Pakistan government is to reduce the number of outstanding tariff-related user-specific SROs to 35 and suggested rescinding of a number of time-bound notifications. These included SROs related to deletion programme and some key ones related to thermal power sector projects for which agreements were reached in 1994 Power Sector Policy. Pakistan government has already committed to the ADB to remove import tariff barriers and withdraw the procedural restrictions on import. The ADB was informed that at present only 45 categories of import items are subjected to health and security requirements while 21 categories of items are subjected to procedure requirements. Export procedures have been simplified in case of cotton yarn, rice, cement, meat, a variety of engineering goods that are certified under ISO 9000 to 14,000 series and of the films. Abolition of Octroi and Zila tax in the 1999-2000 budget was also in compliance of the condition set by the ADB that suggested a study of the implications of the provincial and local taxes on import of goods for export. The ADB has suggested to study the implications of stamp duties which is now being done by the finance ministry. The ADB also wants the State Bank of Pakistan to progressively reduce exporters reliance on preferential interest rates and types of the financing. By implication this condition seeks phasing-out of the export refinance. The SBP has indicated to the government that the June 30, 2000 deadline set for total abolition of export refinance is yet to be negotiated with the International Monetary Fund. Winding up of the Cotton Export Corporation and Rice Export Corporation was done in compliance of the ADB condition attached with the TEPI loan. The ADB condition for the loan is to dispose off the assets of these two corporations and those assets which would be acquired by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan and to be sold off by June 2001. Accordingly, the ADB has been informed that out of total assets worth Rs1.02 billion of the CEC, assets valuing Rs123.98 million have been disposed off. In case of RECP the estimate of assets is Rs798.11 million, out of which Rs257.12 million have been disposed off. Pakistan government has been asked to frame laws on anti-dumping and countervailing duties, a legal cover for the Board of Investment and draft a legislation for setting up of the National Industrial Zones Authority (NIZA), amend the schedule of Price Control and Hoarding Act 1977 and also carry out amendments in Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Policies (Control and Prevention) Ordinance 1970, redraft and rationalize the labour- related laws and enact a new Patent and Design Act. According to the officials the government has already committed to carry out all these conditions and had in fact got the Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duty Bill approved by the suspended National Assembly in last July. Its enforcement is held up for want of ratification by the Senate which has now been suspended. The government may now enforce an ordinance with the next year's budget.Back to the top
=================================================================== EDITORIALS & FEATURES 000317 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Lost in the woods ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ayaz Amir �I assure you when it comes to choosing between the constitution and the country I will choose the country." Gen Ayub Khan-1958 "Constitution is meaningless if God forbid Pakistan does not exist." Gen Pervez Musharraf-2000 FOR all their loud patriotism - worn for the most part on the outer side of their sleeves - Pakistan's military saviours have never had much faith in their country's inherent strength. Only this can account for their fervent belief that but for their timely interventions in the political sphere the country would have gone to the dogs or ceased to exist. As the above quotes demonstrate, these saviours have also tended to look darkly at the constitution as if constitutionalism left unchecked - that is, not tempered by the benign influence of militarism - posed a threat to national integrity. This theory of politics is pretty self-serving. It also reveals a primitive state of mind. To state the obvious, a constitution, or indeed any system of laws, is not a divine covenant. It is a distillation of human experience meant to create (1)a framework for the orderly conduct of politics and (2) checks and balances against arbitrary or wilful behaviour. The caesar who chafes at such restraint is in fact saying that above all mortals he knows best what is good for the nation and in the exercise of this function let no man dare question him. The wonder is that military saviours should at all seek the mantle of legitimacy from judicial hands. They would save themselves much effort, and the judiciary much embarrassment, if they were to remember that a coup d'etat's claim to legitimacy rests on its achievements. If it secures the public good it needs no seal of approval from any quarter. If it adds to the misery of a people nothing can save it from the condemnation of history. If there had been anything remotely resonant about the Musharraf regime, nothing would have been heard, at least not for some time, about the need to restore democracy. But in five months time its lackadaisical performance has led even the greatest enthusiasts of military rule to a more sober assessment of its capabilities. No one is expecting miracles anymore. A lessening of the prevailing confusion would do but even that is not forthcoming. As time passes less and less is being heard of General Musharraf's initial seven-point agenda. What has happened to the removal of inter-provincial disharmony, for instance, about which there was such a great fuss in the beginning? Other items, like devolution of power to the districts, are being flogged to death without realizing that a military set-up and devolution of any sort is a contradiction in terms. Ideas, in any case, seem not to be this dispensation's strongest point. Which is why the nation, helpless as always, is being treated to a course in elementary civics. Whether in the fullness of time some crumbs are devolved to the districts or not, the army monitoring teams have already managed another kind of devolution: in the cities and towns where they are stationed they have looked at everything through the prism of municipal and sanitary administration. The great charge against General Zia was that he had depoliticized the nation. General Musharraf might yet succeed in municipalizing whatever passes for national discourse in Pakistan. The National Security Council is a redundant body, the cabinet a lack-lustre affair. It is a measure of the excitement these two bodies are generating that newspaper- reading has become a chore in this fourth military republic. In fact, not to put too fine a point on it, this regime is beginning to look like a carbon copy of its three predecessors. Naturally, the dramatis personae are different. But the play is the same. Even the lines are the same. Imagine the growing disenchantment of the champions of military rule. They had welcomed the military takeover on October 12 thinking that a new beginning - nay, the long-awaited moment of redemption - was finally at hand. Much of that revolutionary fervour has since subsided as it has become increasingly clear that it is not so much a brave new world we are entering as seeing a repeat performance. If, as a consequence, a feeling of dejection is taking hold, it is scarcely surprising. There is also a theoretical problem which dogs this regime. The case for its existence is built on a single premise: that in his attempt to dismiss General Musharraf, and appoint Lt-Gen Ziauddin Butt in his place, Nawaz Sharif committed the cardinal sin of playing politics with the unity of the army command. All the evidence we have reinforces this charge. Sharif showed the army a red rag and the army reacted like an enraged bull. In other words, Sharif forced the issue and his removal from power was therefore justified. So far so good but what about the train of events following his dismissal? If Sharif deserved what he got, what has the nation done to deserve the bitter and unwanted medicine being pushed down its throat? Suspending the Constitution and the assemblies, vilifying the political process, dealing harshly with selected political figures and drawing a self-serving distinction between 'real' and 'sham' democracy: there is no inevitable link between these steps, which affect the nation as a whole, and Sharif's offence which was his alone or that of his closest advisers. Politicians may be bad and indeed since 1985 they have not given a good account of themselves. Through a transparent and honest process let those who have sinned the most be punished. But why should the nation as a whole be made to suffer for their faults? General Musharraf and his colleagues are under the impression that the masses are rooting for them. They are mistaken. The masses want change but having been through these experiments before, they are also coming round to the realization that the answer to their dreams does not lie in the rhetoric and brave postures currently on offer. Thanks to military rule, Pakistan is marking time. It needs to move forward. It needs some dynamism in its affairs. Its people need hope and a sense of confidence about the future. This is not a nation without talent or promise. But it needs a sense of direction which military rule, even with the best intentions in the world, and especially of the kind that periodically rears its head in Pakistan, cannot give. Here mention might be made of a strange argument that has acquired currency among the drawing room classes (people in the streets having a better appreciation of political realities). Confronted with the pitfalls of military rule, they respond with the retort: do you want the return of Nawaz Sharif? As if the only choice before the hapless people of this land was between two pieces of real estate: Raiwind and GHQ. If Nawaz Sharif was a disaster, and there is little question that he was, there is no law which says that the nation should plunge immediately into another disaster. National life may have been derailed on October 12 but it should not mean that it remains derailed forever. We need a grand meeting of minds between soldiers and politicians so that the country, as quickly as possible and without incurring any more international odium, can be returned to the democratic path. An arbitrary list (an adjective used advisedly) of the corrupt names in politics can be drawn up so that these grandees are debarred from politics. My schoolmate Lt-Gen Amjad of NAB should become subject specialist of wars of attrition in the National Defence College and should have nothing to do with the preparation of this list because at his pace even the turtles will want to go home. Lt-Gen Aziz can head a permanent committee on Kashmir affairs. (Benazir Bhutto's one stroke of genius during her two terms as prime minister was to make Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan chairman of the Kashmir committee, a task which, besides advancing the national interest, kept the venerable Nawabzada busy.) The Chilean model, whereby General Augusto Pinochet was made Senator for Life when Chile was returned to democracy, can also be studied for its application to our circumstances. In short, anything that will get us out fast from the bleak and lonely woods in which, for want of a guiding star, we are rapidly losing our way. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000317 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Judgment on riba: an analysis ------------------------------------------------------------------- Iqbal Jafar The function of divine revelation is not to suspend human mind and to take over the province of independent human reasoning too. - The Supreme Court of Pakistan THE judgment of the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court on riba is an impressive document. It runs into more than two hundred thousand words, disposes of 55 appeals against the orders of the Federal Shariat Court regarding provisions of interest and other related matters in 20 different Acts and Rules, and deals with the controversy over the permissibility of bank interest under the Shariah from every possible angle. In the course of hearings spread over a total of 44 days, the court considered written and oral submissions made by 33 ulema, scholars, economists, bankers, and by a 7-member delegation of the Islamic Development Bank, led by its president, besides the counsel of the parties. The court also received books and articles by 12 other scholars who did not personally participate in the proceedings. The final outcome of this extensive scholarly inquiry is a document that is likely to become a source book on the subject. There is, however, one aspect of the proceedings before the court that leaves the readers a little disappointed. What disappoints the reader and what, in fact, disappointed the court itself is the lack of interest, bordering on dereliction of duty, shown by the counsel representing the government. The court has observed, with obvious displeasure, that the counsel for the Federation sought adjournment after covering only one-fourth of his arguments, and did not return to conclude his arguments "despite specific order of the court". The Attorney General, "despite being conscious of the questions raised in the application moved by the Federation and the viewpoint of religious scholars on the question, did not enter appearance to render assistance to the Bench on the important constitutional and legal questions in his capacity of the highest law officer of the country, what to say of presenting and elaborating the point of view of the federal government." Regarding the lesser legal lights representing the government, the court has observed that the Additional Advocate-General, Punjab, had stated hat he intended to argue after completion of arguments by the counsel of the Federation, but did not argue. The Additional Advocate General of the NWFP too did not argue, and submitted only a brief note. There is also reason to believe that the Federal Shariat Court had not taken kindly to those who had argued that bank interest was not riba of a kind that is prohibited under the Shariat. This can be inferred from the complaint by Mr. Khalid M. Ishaque before the Bench that the Federal Shariat Court had not allowed him to elaborate on certain matters, nor dealt with those aspects, nor considered them in its judgment. He pleaded, unsuccessfully, that the case be remanded to the Federal Shariat Court. These imperfections notwithstanding, the judgment handed down by the Shariat Appellate Bench does try to balance too many pleadings on one side and too few on the other, and at the end of a wide- ranging discussion of various aspects of the complex matter, has given 11 separate directions about what is to be done, how and when. The best part of the court's order is that all the five Provincial Money-Lenders Ordinances, that provide legal cover to money lending by individual lenders (invariably at usurious rates) shall cease to have effect from March 31, 2000. Thus, the abhorrent business of various forms of money-lending would, at last, cease to be legal. The most important part of the order, that will effect the whole financial system of the country, is the one that deals with bank interest. It has been held by the court that "any amount, big or small, over the principal, in a contract of loan or debt is riba prohibited by the Holy Quran, regardless of whether the loan is taken for the purpose of consumption or for some production activity." Consequently, the "present financial system, based on interest, is against the injunctions of Islam as laid own by the Holy Quran and Sunnah." The order of the court concludes by laying down that the other laws (i.e. other than Money-Lenders Ordinances that would cease to be operative from March 31, 2000) that have been declared to be repugnant to the injunctions of Islam shall cease to have effect from June 30, 2001. After the appointed day, the banks shall, as explained in the judgment, be "primarily financial intermediaries through equity participation or partnership." The banks may also "work as holding companies and may, where feasible, also directly engage themselves in commercial, industrial, agricultural and other enterprises and businesses" in addition to providing some other services subject to the fundamental condition of equity and risk participation. In reaching these conclusions the court has rejected the view that bank interest was not riba prohibited under the Shariah, though the view has the support of some highly respected scholars and ulema, namely, Mufti Muhammad Abduhu, renowned Egyptian scholar, his celebrated disciple Sayyid Rashid Rida, Shaikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, the Grand Shaikh of al-Azhar, contemporary Syrian scholar Dr. Maroof Daoulibi, Dr. Fazlur Rahman, late Justice Qadeeruddin, Mr. Khalid M. Ishaque, and a number of other scholars and ulema. The court has considered the views of these scholars, but has accepted the other view held by equally renowned ulema and scholars. Such being the case, it is pointless to engage in that debate here. Instead, one may only acknowledge that there are two views, and that in the academic circles this debate may never be conclusive. So far as Pakistan is concerned, the controversy has now been finally and legally settled by the Supreme Court. But adopting one of the two views on the nature of bank interest is not the end of our labour of faith, as implementation of the new system in actual practice is, perhaps, an even greater problem. As pointed out in the note submitted by Mr. Muhammad Ashraf Janjua, Chief Economic Adviser of the State Bank, a number of Muslim countries, including Pakistan, Iran and Sudan, have tried to introduce a comprehensive Islamic system during the past two decades, but there has not emerged any example of a really Islamic system of finance and banking. The reason, perhaps, is that interest-free banking that depends on sharing the profit and loss of the borrowers cannot be established by merely amending the laws relating to interest. The scholars and the judges who have argued in favour of interest-free banking agree that the question of interest should not be treated as an isolated matter. According to Dr. Umar Chapra, who argued in favour of abolishing bank interest and has been quoted extensively in the judgment, any "attempt to treat the prohibition of riba as an isolated religious injunction and not as an integral part of the Islamic economic order with its overall ethos, goals and values, is bound to create confusion." The Council of Islamic Ideology, as quoted in the judgment, is also of the view that "simultaneously with the introduction of interest- free banking system, strenuous efforts shall have to be made on a wide front to inculcate in society basic virtues such as the fear of Allah, honesty, trustworthiness, sense of duty and patriotism." Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed has dealt with this question in greater detail in his separate concurring note. He begins by saying that: "it has been said, and to my mind correctly, that a riba-free economy may be a non-starter if the same is introduced in a continually selfish, dishonest and corrupt socio-economic milieu, such as that which regrettably prevails in countries like Pakistan." He, then, goes on to enumerate the steps necessary to rid the system of numerous evils, to create an enabling environment. The steps enumerated by him may be summarized as follows: (1) an all-pervasive credit rating of the existing and proposed agricultural, commercial, industrial or other production ventures to be effected compulsorily; (2) a quantitative and qualitative change in the practice of auditors, with penalties provided for irresponsible conduct and for misconduct; (3) an all-out effort to document the entire gamut of trading activities; (4) spreading of tax burden equitably, and exemplary punishment for evasion not merely of assessees but also of conniving officials; (5) transparency and purposefulness in managing the shift to a riba- free economy; (6) no further loans to the government and its agencies; (7) quick debt-equity swap in so far as domestic loans are concerned; (8) firm resolve not to obtain any more foreign loans while seeking a write-off of foreign loans here possible; (9) a quick swipe may be directed at those who illicitly hoard abroad well over $100 billions; (10) all luxury imports must forthwith cease; (12) private automobiles be phased out in favour of public transport both on intra- and inter-city basis; (13) substantial export of value-added goods should be a priority area; (14) no more smuggling; (15) land reforms of the Ayub and Bhutto eras need to be duly enforced; (16) all bureaucrats, including bankers, be required to submit details of assets owned by them and by members of their immediate family; (16) cleaning up should not be confined to the bureaucracy alone, but should extend to judiciary, politicians and armed forces also. If we look at the wish-list beginning from "strenuous efforts to inculcate the fear of Allah, honesty, trustworthiness, sense of duty and patriotism" to phasing out of private automobiles, we would realize that this complex and wide-ranging transformation would not merely be a change in the financial system. What is being envisaged is nothing less than the emergence of a new breed of men. It is not, one must concede, beyond the realm of reason that such a Man may, indeed, emerge, but is it within the realm of possibility to expect that this new Man - Homo Islamicus - would, or can, merge out of this 'selfish, dishonest and corrupt socio-economic milieu' by the 30th day of June, 2001?
=================================================================== SPORTS 20000315 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Moin Khan determined to restore Pakistan's image ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, March 14: Pakistan's new cricket captain Moin Khan on Tuesday said he needs all the support he can get to restore Pakistan's dwindling image in international cricket. "I can't restore the image singlehandedly, I need the support of the whole team and the whole nation," he told reporters during the on-going third Test against Sri Lanka. Moin was appointed Pakistan's captain on Monday after Saeed Anwar stepped down from the job. "The results are causing problems but I am not afraid of failures and once we play more positively the problems will be over," he said. "The morale of the team is down but I will do my best to bring the team out from this lean patch and go back on winning track," Moin vowed. Moin said the lack of continuity in Pakistan cricket is affecting results. About his decision to decline an offer to lead Pakistan before the Sri Lankan series, Moin said: "There came a communication gap at that time and I was not ready plus Saeed Anwar was there to lead and now no one is there to lead the team. "I have accepted this as a challenge," he said. Pakistan will feature in a tri-nation limited overs tournament in Sharjah from March 22 also involving India and South Africa. "Our main target is the tour to the Caribbean where we have never won a series," he said. "If you look at the present West Indian team I think we are better as a unit so I am confident we will beat them," he said. Pakistan tour West Indies in April to play a three-match Test series and a tripartite one-day series also involving Zimbabwe.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000316 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan crush Sri Lanka to win Karachi Test ------------------------------------------------------------------- Samiul Hasan KARACHI, March 15: Pakistan crushed Sri Lanka by 222 runs with a day to spare to win the third cricket Test here at the National Stadium on Wednesday. Sri Lanka, who clinched the series 2-1, found themselves hapless against the charged-up Pakistanis and were dismissed in just 46 overs while scoring 228 in pursuit of a record 451-run victory target. Earlier, Pakistan were bowled out for 421 after resuming their second innings on Wednesday morning at 375 for seven. Pakistan's excellent and convincing victory not only helped them to boost their morale after a spate of losses but also maintain their remarkable 45-year unbeaten record at the National Stadium. They now have 17 victories and 17 draws. The victory also ended a five-match win drought after being whitewashed in Australia and then losing back-to-back Tests to Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi and Peshawar. The combination of coach Javed Miandad and skipper Moin Khan turned the fortunes of Pakistan cricket. The team which looked disjointed in the last five months, is gradually regrouping into a winning unit. The batsmen occupied the crease and put decent score on the board which helped the bowlers to fire on all cylinders without fearing that they had to defend a small total besides taking wickets. The fielders backed their bowlers by holding catches and in the meantime producing three run-outs, including two in Sri Lanka's second innings, which speaks of their agility and alertness. The star performer of the penultimate day's play was speedster Waqar Younis who bowled at a sizzling pace to virtually break the back of the Sri Lankan batting. He utilized all his experience when he produced speed and swing from the pitch which looked to have eased down. It was after a long time when Waqar was seen in full cry. He seemed to have regained his customary rhythm of old. The way he shattered Russel Arnold's confidence, after trapping Sanath Jayasuriya with an inswinger which deceived the left-hander, was in a class of his own. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 000316 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Wasim picked in team for Sharjah ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, March 15: Former captain Wasim Akram on Wednesday was named in a 15-man squad for the Sharjah triangular series 48 hours after being dropped on fitness grounds. However, Wasim will have to prove his fitness before the team leaves for the series involving South Africa and India and starting in the desert city from March 22. Pakistan play their opening game against India on March 23. "Wasim assured that he has fully recovered for a groin injury. He has been selected but will have to prove his fitness. Team coach Javed Miandad has been directed to report on Wasim's condition before the squad leaves on 20th," chairman of selectors Wasim Bari said. Wasim Akram bowled just 13 deliveries in the first Test at Rawalpindi before limping off with a groin injury which sidelined him for the rest of the series. The major exclusion from the squad was of Ijaz Ahmad who was named in the 18 probables. Reliable sources said it was because of the deadlock on Ijaz that delayed the announcement of the team for two days. Saeed Anwar (who made unavailable on Tuesday for fitness reasons), Irfan Fazil and Shahid Nazir are the other three players who missed the bus after being named in the 18 probables. The team is a combination of three openers, four middle-order batsmen, four past bowlers, two spinners, a wicket-keeper and a genuine all-rounder in Abdur Razzaq. Wajahatullah Wasti, Naveed Qureshi, Imran Nazir and Shoaib Malik have been picked in the squad after being overlooked for the three- match one-day series against Sri Lanka which the tourists won 3-0. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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