------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 11 November 2000 Issue : 06/43 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + Tarar to inaugurate IDEAS-2000: 160 foreign firms to take part + General Pervez Musharraf to attend Doha summit + Govt to complete tenure: ISPR + Musharraf, Nazarbayev hold talks + CE pledges to change police character + Al-Khalid tank production to begin soon + New plane, radar system to be displayed + Law soon to dismiss 'corrupt' officials + Pakistan says DPs create problems: Closure of Borders + Pakistan supports India-Iran pipeline + Govt-traders talks inconclusive + Benazir urges European Union pressure on Govt + Kuwait refuses to lift ban on Pakistanis + Pakistan facing expanding deserts, warns UN --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + Foreign loans stand at $32.7bn: Deficit may not be contained + ECOtalks end with accord on energy + World Bank brokers talks with HUBCO + South Africa levies dumping duty on Bed-linen import + Pakistan exports reach $2.9 billion during July-Oct + Islamic Development Bank to disburse $150m soon + Star TV secures licence in Pakistan + Islamabad pushes for oil, gas from Central Asia + State Bank report hints at IMF accord by month-end --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + Laughing at ourselves Ardeshir Cowasjee + The suave and the cheerless Ayaz Amir + The deepening contradiction Irfan Husain ----------- SPORTS + Probables named for Test camp
=================================================================== DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 001105 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 160 foreign firms to take part: Tarar to inaugurate IDEAS-2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Nov 4: President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar will be the chief guest at the international defence exhibition "IDEAS-2000" being organised in Karachi from Nov 14. Indigenously produced, upgraded and improved conventional weapons, besides defence equipments, uniform and machinery would be displayed at the exhibition that will conclude on Nov 17. It is hoped that the country would be able to make a major breakthrough in the competitive international weapon market by organizing such a high profile event. Though the defence production is being exhibited for the attraction of the buyer for the first time this year, it will be a permanent feature in the future thus enabling the country to earn foreign exchange in a bid to restrengthen the national economy. Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf is taking keen interest in the Defence Exhibition, which is evident from the fact that he himself has extended invitations to the leaders of different countries and recently visited the site of the Exhibition to remain abreast of the progress of the project. Over 1,000 foreign guests from around 41 countries all over the globe have confirmed their joining the moot. The countries like France, Italy, China, Romania, Malaysia, Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey beside Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE, Syria, Palestine have confirmed their participation. Seven defence ministers, six chairmen/chiefs of defence staff and seven chiefs of staff are among the delegates who are arriving to attend the exhibition. A comprehensive plan has been chalked out to introduce these delegates to foreign and domestic exhibitors besides their meetings with the president, chief executive and other high ranking officials have also been planned. All activities regarding the guests arrival and their visits have been worked out. A mobility display at the exhibition venue and PN Show at the Naval Dockyard will begin the same day besides the Governor's reception in honour of the delegates would be among the highlights of the first day events. The next day, apart from the exhibition at Expo Centre the delegates, high ranking officials, corporate executives and prominent citizens have also been invited to a gala evening while the last day features include live firing, aerial display by PAF fighter planes at PAF firing range Sonmiani. In the firing display two F-6 will perform a fly past, one Super Mushak and one K-8 will perform Solo Aerobatics while a Mirage will carry out a supersonic run. Two F-16 with two MK-84 bombs, four F-7 with 25, 30MM ammo will undertake strafing attack while two Mirages with two MK-82 pre-frag bombs, two Mirages with 1 PSD- 1 and two F-16s with 12 KM-82 bombs will perform through Air Platform. Tank T-59 MII, Baktar Shikan, Tank T-85 will perform the "Static Firing" and "Firing on the Move" along with Anza and TAM display with live mines. The HQ 5 Corps has been given the responsibility of the security, local coordination, communication and traffic control while HQ Commander Karachi will receive the delegates besides arranging the Naval display. HQ Southern Air Command is looking after the firing display whereas the provincial home secretary is looking after the coordination with local civic agencies, he added. In the exhibition 40 companies are representing Pakistan out of a total of 200 companies, 20 countries altogether have around 100 stalls while Pakistan, China, Turkey, Romania and Italy have their separate pavilions.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001111 ------------------------------------------------------------------- General Pervez Musharraf to attend Doha summit ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Nov 10: Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf will lead Pakistan delegation to the Ninth Islamic Summit being held in Doha from Nov 12 to 14. In view of the current grave situation in the occupied Arab territories, the issue of Palestine is expected to occupy centre- stage at the Summit. The Foreign Office said on Friday that the Ninth Islamic Summit will also focus on the Kashmir issue and is expected to consider two separate draft resolutions on "The Jammu and Kashmir dispute" and "The escalation of tensions in Jammu and Kashmir." The situation in Jammu and Kashmir will also be extensively discussed in the meetings of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir. Representatives of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) from both sides of the Line of Control and the Prime Minster of Azad Jammu and Kashmir are also expected to attend these meetings. Pakistan delegation will actively participate in a number of issues of importance to Pakistan including, Afghanistan, Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo, the question of reform and expansion of the Security Council, and security and solidarity of Islamic states. As in the past, Pakistan will present a number of proposals in the field of security and disarmament for endorsement by the Summit.- APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001106 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Govt to complete tenure: ISPR ------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON, Nov 5: Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi, press secretary to the chief executive and head of ISPR, has told the Washington Post that there is no question of any civilian setup as the Musharraf government will continue till it completes the task undertaken by it. The Washington Post quoted him on Sunday as saying: "There is no question of deviating from the objectives. There is no thought of any change or any civilian setup. We will continue and complete the task we have undertaken." In a dispatch from Islamabad, the newspaper's correspondent said that while there had been reports in the Pakistani media recently about Gen Pervez Musharraf meeting an array of political leaders and was said to be considering their recommendations to move up the elections, establish a semi-civilian or caretaker government or even restore the National Assembly, "military officials denied that any such changes are being contemplated". They said the chief executive was determined to continue with his reforms and hand over political power on schedule. Gen Qureshi told the newspaper, "there has been a little frustration and bewilderment about why the Pakistani media is not giving the government a fair chance." The report said the chief executive was concentrating on improving tax collection, pursuing financial corruption and decentralizing political power by holding non-partisan elections, starting at the grassroots level.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001107 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Musharraf, Nazarbayev hold talks ------------------------------------------------------------------- ASTANA, Nov 6: Kazakhstan pushed for a role as peacemaker in the ongoing Afghan civil war on Monday during a two-day visit by the Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf. The brutal Afghan conflict between the Taliban and opposition Northern Alliance was a key theme in talks between Gen Musharraf and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president's press office said. Nazarbayev told Gen Musharraf that Kazakhstan was prepared to "regulate contacts and hold talks with representatives of all movements and groups in Afghanistan, including the Taliban," according to the press office. Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerlan Idrisov stressed the need for all warring factions to reach a truce. "Even if one of the groups... gains complete power in the country it is not a path to peace. We think the path to peace can be decided through a wide consensus of all participants of the situation in Afghanistan," Idrisov said. "Kazakhstan has no allergy towards any single group...in Afghanistan. All we want to see is a government which...can bring the country to peace and bring it into the international community as a fully fledged member," he said. Gen Musharraf, meanwhile, welcomed Astana's "readiness to enable an inter-Afghan settlement in the name of lasting peace", the press office said. Gen Musharraf's visit follows hot on the heels of that of Saudi Defence Minister Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. Saudi Arabia also recognizes the Taliban.-AFP/Reuters DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001111 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CE pledges to change police character ------------------------------------------------------------------- SIHALA, Nov 10: Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf on Friday called upon the police to establish the writ of the state by ensuring supremacy of the law of the land, and provide justice to the poor across the country. He was addressing police officers and men at the Police Training College Sihala on the outskirts of Rawalpindi, here on Friday. "Police must establish the writ of the government, ensure law and order, and provide justice to the common man," he exhorted the police officials. The police should step forward to change the current image of Pakistan that, "it is a soft state where laws are not adhered to and law enforcing agencies do not check it." "People have lost trust of the police, it must be restored as police is not to rule but to serve the people," said Gen Musharraf. The government, he said, was committed to providing Rs 40 billion for introducing police reforms and to ensure the requisite facilities to it, before pinning hopes on it to improve its performance. The Chief Executive said the police should never maltreat the poor, rather it should not allow the influential to do injustice to the common man. Police should treat the masses in a polite way and should not try to subjugate them, he added. General Musharraf said he did not hold police responsible for the present state of affairs prevalent in this force because its politicization during past decades had affected its performance. The merit and the requisite training for the police were ignored. Those who joined police on the basis of merit and those who were recruited without any calibre became equal. This has affected its performance as a law enforcing agency. Sharing the common perception prevalent among the masses, he said, the poor suffered because the police took side of the affluent or those with resources. It really pained him when police resorted to be harsh with the poor who is already perturbed owing to many other tribulations. This should not be done. Rather police must help change the present culture of the police stations across the country. Gen. Musharraf said the government would provide accommodation, transport to the police stations and would also revise pay structure of all the employees once the needed funds were available. He said that he was cognizant of the requirements. He said once all the needed facilities are available to the police only then he would have expectations from police to deliver the goods and prove itself to be the custodian of the law. He lamented that unfortunately there were some people who take pride in breaking the law or violating the traffic signal. On the other hand, the credibility of law enforcing agencies had touched the lowest ebb as they would not check the influential but would apprehend the poor who had no clout. The Chief Executive said he considered army and police as sister organizations as they were men in uniform and had almost similar thinking. There are good or bad people in every department, he added. Referring to the use of teargas and baton charge during one day match between Pakistan and England at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium recently, he said, people without tickets, managed to enter while those with tickets were standing outside. He lamented "why cannot we organise anything in a proper way." This is an unfortunate situation and if it is not checked, the prevalent conditions of the country would not improve, he said.- APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001107 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Al-Khalid tank production to begin soon ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Nov 6: Pakistan is all set to start serial production of its main battle tank Al-Khalid. Al-Khalid, developed by Pakistan, underwent extended and extensive tests and trials by the army before it was approved for pilot production. The chairman of Heavy Industry, Taxila, Lt-Gen Hamid Javaid, said on Monday:"For its design Pakistan has collaborated with major tank designers of the world, including China,the United Kingdom, France, Ukraine and a number of other countries." Project director Brig Asaad said:"The tank is equipped with a modern weapons system. Al-Khalid is a result of the advanced technology that is available in the world today.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001111 ------------------------------------------------------------------- New plane, radar system to be displayed ------------------------------------------------------------------- Shamim-ur-Rahman KARACHI, Nov 10: A four-day international defence exhibition, which will begin here on Tuesday, will mark the launching of Pakistan-built Super Mashak aircraft and Grifo-7 radar system, besides exposing the indigenously-built tanks and other military hardware to an international military audience, sources said on Friday. The aircraft and the radar system had been developed by the Kamra aeronautical complex, they added. The sources said Grifo-7 radar was a coherent fire control system, designed to fit into the cockpit nose of F-7P aircraft, and added that the system had been developed in collaboration with an Italian company. The Super Mashak was a single-piston engine aircraft, with a seating capacity of three, the sources said. The only Mirage rebuild factory in the world was located at Kamra whereas about 2,500 Mirages were flying the world over. To draw buyers' interest to Kamra rebuild capabilities, a Mirage aircraft would also be on display in the "Ideas 2000 Pakistan, arms for peace,"the sources said. In addition, the locally-developed Al-Khalid and Al-Zarar tanks, which represented upgradation of T-59 tanks, with a 125mm smooth bore gun and 700 HP engine; plus armoured personnel carriers, tank-crossing bridges, missiles and communication systems, developed in the country, would also be on display, the sources said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001110 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Law soon to dismiss 'corrupt' officials ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ansar Abbasi ISLAMABAD, Nov 9: The government is currently busy in finalising a draft law that will equip the government with the power of summarily dismissing "corrupt" and "inefficient" bureaucrats. Official sources told Dawn here on Thursday that the draft being discussed by the authorities, suggested the removal of "known corrupt" by merely issuing the show-cause notice. The authorities intend to avoid being dragged into normal disciplinary proceedings which include holding of proper inquiry to judge whether the accused officer is really involved in the charges he is facing. Sources said that the draft law had already been discussed at the highest level during the last week. A high-level committee headed by law minister Aziz A Munshi and comprising Tariq Aziz, principal secretary to the chief executive and secretaries of the law, cabinet and establishment divisions as members is assigned by the CE to evolve the strategy for getting rid of known corrupt who are otherwise untouchable owing to non-availability of concrete documentary evidence. The military government is reportedly finding its hands legally tied up in tightening the noose around the corrupt officials. The authorities admit that the government is facing a dilemma - it knows the bureaucracy contains corrupt officials but cannot remove them owing to the non-availability of the evidence. The new legislation, according to a source, was being contemplated to get a solution to this problem. The draft law, which was not yet final, suggested that the corrupt officials should be removed from service merely by issuing a show-cause notice, the source added. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001111 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan says DPs create problems: Closure of Borders ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Nov 10: "There has to be an end to the influx of foreigners, Afghan refugees, into Pakistan," Hasan Raza Pasha, secretary of the Interior Ministry, said on Friday. Talking to Reuters, he said: "It has created all sorts of problems, not just economic." The move, foreshadowed by growing complaints about the burden of sheltering millions of Afghans, comes as the number of refugees has been rising again because of severe drought and a upsurge in the civil war in Afghanistan. The United Nations, while expressing understanding for Pakistan, appealed for it to drop the closure and admit those who have legitimate reasons to leave Afghanistan. "I think it is fair to say that Pakistan cannot afford any more Afghan refugees; it has been more than 20 years," said Ahmed Said Farah, the Islamabad-based head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees programme for Afghanistan. "However, we would prefer to see a continuation, particularly with this new group," he said in an interview with Reuters television. "If the border is closed we can never tell who is coming here on the basis of conflict, who is coming on the basis of drought. I am sure it will create further difficulties." Khalid Mansour, spokesman for the UN's World Food Programme said 2,500 families - 15,000 individuals - had arrived and sought assistance in the past three months. An unknown number did not need help and were outside the refugee camps. "We had discussions with the Afghan government back in May that we would require valid travel documents for all who wish to cross over," Pasha said. "There has to be an end to this open-door situation so we have asked the provincial governments to enforce the decision." STRAINS ON PAKISTAN: Pasha said the move had been prompted mainly by the economic and social strains of hosting millions of Afghans. Officially there are some 1.2 million refugees - down from a peak during the fighting against Soviet occupation in the 1980s - but the undocumented numbers in Pakistani cities put the total above two million. Pasha said a secondary reason for the closure was security concerns, following a series of unexplained bombings in cities in recent months. Pakistan told Sadako Ogata, then the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, during a visit in September that it wanted Afghans to go home - a view also expressed by Iran, which has been forcing out some Afghan refugees. Pakistan has also accused the West of losing interest in the problems created for Pakistan by the Afghan fighting once Soviet troops were driven out a decade ago. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001109 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan supports India-Iran pipeline: Tarar opens ECO energy moot ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Nov 8: President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar said on Wednesday that Pakistan's backing to the Iran-India gas pipeline project showed its commitment to closer regional economic ties. Inaugurating the ECO Energy\Petroleum Ministers Meeting held under the auspices of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, the president said that Pakistan-Turkmenistan gas pipeline project with possible extension to India was another example of sector cooperation between ECO member states. The project, he said, had run into some difficulties due to the reasons beyond Pakistan's control, but it was still a viable venture. The president said that the ECO should pool its capabilities and resources for the mutual benefit. He said that the ECO region, with its vast human and natural resources, had the potential of emerging into an effective international economic force. Out of total ten members of ECO, three deputy ministers of Turkey, Iran and Turkmenistan participated in the conference. Afghanistan was not invited to attend the conference as most of the members do not recognise the Taliban government. The president said that one of the biggest challenges being faced by the ECO region was the attainment of sustainable economic growth through peaceful co-existence and global political cooperation. Success in meeting these challenges, he said, lied in putting up a united front through greater regional cooperation. The president said that common cultural heritage of ECO countries provided a fundamental basis for a long-lasting bond. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001108 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Govt-traders talks inconclusive ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ahmad Hassan PESHAWAR, Nov 7: The meeting between traders and a government team held in Islamabad on Tuesday remained inconclusive owing to non- release of the traders detained by the local administration in three days of clashes with the police last week. A traders delegation had left for Islamabad in the hope that their colleagues would be released by the time the talks began. However, that could not happen due to out-of-Peshawar engagements of NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar. Sources told Dawn that there was a difference of opinion between the traders and the administration over the commitment made with them during their meeting with the governor. According to traders, it was agreed that all the detainees would be released as a gesture of goodwill. The government side, however, insisted that the "proved miscreants" would have to undergo interrogation and trial. The deputy commissioner of Peshawar told this correspondent that 51 traders had so far been released, leaving 33 others behind and none of them was likely to be released on Tuesday. Haji Haleem Jan, president of the Peshawar Traders Action Committee and member of the delegation that attended the meeting in Islamabad, told Dawn by telephone that the trade leaders during a "brief" meeting with the government team headed by Privatisation Commission chairman Salim Altaf and chief executive's principal secretary Tariq Aziz had clarified that no talks could prove fruitful until all the traders were released. "Hence, today's meeting was postponed and next meeting was fixed for Saturday on 11.30am," he said. Ihtashamul Haque adds from Islamabad: The government accepted a major demand of traders for inducting their nominees in the CBR teams that would scrutinize income tax returns filed under the self-assessment scheme. The representatives of the traders met Mr Saleem and Mr Aziz and discussed with them the implementation of the agreement reached with the government on Aug 27. Mr Saleem told Dawn that the purpose of the meeting was to solve the traders' problems relating to income tax, turn over tax, stocks, etc. He pointed out that now there had been left no major contentious issues that needed clarification to have a better government- trader relationship. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001111 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Benazir urges European Union pressure on Govt ------------------------------------------------------------------- Shadaba Islam BRUSSELS, Nov 10: Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto on Wednesday urged European Union governments to step up pressure on Pakistan's rulers to steer the country back to democratic rule. The appeal comes only days before EU governments send a high-level mission to Islamabad to resume political contacts with Pakistan after a year-long freeze in relations following the military take- over. The EU delegation is expected in Pakistan on November 21-22. Speaking to Dawn while on a brief visit to Brussels, Ms Bhutto said the EU must understand that only democratic rule could ensure the "stability and unity" of Pakistan. "Pakistan is drifting in a sea of violence and conflict" that could only be ended through a return to democratic rule, the former premier claimed. "Pakistan's unity and integrity can best be generated by democratic government," she stressed. The EU and the United States must therefore increase pressure for a return to democracy and work to reschedule Pakistan's foreign debt burden, Bhutto added. The PPP leader claimed she saw no proof of Western support for General Pervez Musharraf. "I find the international community has serious reservations about the military junta but wants to engage in dialogue to address its concerns about certain issues." "There is total lack of backing for the junta," she maintained. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001110 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Kuwait refuses to lift ban on Pakistanis ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent ISLAMABAD, Nov 9: Kuwait has refused to lift ban imposed on the issuance of work permits and visas to Pakistanis saying they were involved in drug trafficking and pose a security risk. The refusal has been communicated to Islamabad through a letter sent by Kuwait government recently. The Kuwait government imposed restrictions on the issuance of new work permits and visas for Pakistani workers suspecting them of being involved in drug trafficking. Kuwait's response has come in the wake of Islamabad's request to lift restrictions imposed by Kuwaiti immigration authorities on the issuance of work permits and visas to Pakistanis. Pakistan Labour and Overseas Pakistanis Minister Omar Asghar Khan last month visited Kuwait where he met Kuwaiti Minister for Social Affairs and Labour Abdul Wahab Al Wazzan and discussed this matter. In its letter, the Kuwait government has formally turned down Pakistan's request and told Islamabad that another reason to impose restrictions on Pakistani nationals along with national of some other countries is that Pakistanis are also a "risk to its national security". The Kuwait government said that before taking a final decision regarding lifting restrictions on Pakistani workers, the Pakistani and Kuwait interior ministries need to hold a meeting to evolve a mechanism to stop the unwanted practice of drug smuggling. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001109 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan facing expanding deserts, warns UN ------------------------------------------------------------------- BANGKOK, Nov 8: Widespread desertification is threatening large swaths of land in India, China and Pakistan and could have catastrophic consequences on human and animal populations, the United Nations said here on Wednesday. "The desert is encroaching on massive areas in western China, affecting areas containing 400 million people," Hama Arba Diallo, Executive Secretary to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification said. "The desert has moved to within 100 miles of Beijing, and in the long-term this desertification will have serious effects on food scarcity and people's health and will force more people to migrate," he said. Chinese officials earlier this year said their country was losing 2,460 square kilometres of land per year to desertification. Diallo, who was attending a conference in Bangkok on combating desertification, told AFP that Pakistan and India also are beginning to suffer the same fate as China. "We are seeing climate changes and similar encroachments of the desert in Rajasthan and parts of Pakistan," he said. And dust from Asian deserts is blowing into the Korean peninsula and even Japan, decreasing air quality, Diallo said. Much of the desertification is caused by overgrazing, the hacking down of forests for timber and fuel, climate change, slash-and- burn agriculture and erosion. UN officials were hopeful that Asian countries would be able to halt desertification but warned that they would need assistance and funding. "China and India have made strides on this issue, but these are not countries that have all the resources of their own to address all the problems they are facing," Diallo said. Asian states must develop alternative energy sources and cut down on logging and overcultivation in order to roll back the deserts, he said. The Asian Development Bank and other multinational organisations must provide loans to help China, India and Pakistan address the desert problem, he said. Chinese officials earlier this year said the government had launched an emergency campaign to prevent the capital Beijing from being engulfed by the encroaching deserts of inner Mongolia. Officials reportedly had been unnerved by the record 12 major dust storms that had hammered northern China this year, adding that the desert was moving towards Beijing at 1.8 kilometres per year. Deserts currently make up 27 per cent of China's land, mostly in the northern areas.
=================================================================== BUSINESS & ECONOMY 001107 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Foreign loans stand at $32.7bn: Deficit may not be contained ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, Nov 6: Pakistan had to sail through troubled waters for the second consecutive year in 1999-2000 and despite a 4.8 per cent growth in the economy average income of each Pakistani stood below Rs2000 per month. The State Bank of Pakistan annual report, released here on Monday said that the GDP (gross domestic product) grew by 4.8 per cent mainly due to a 7.2 per cent growth in agriculture sector. The report for the last fiscal revealed that the growth was far higher than 3.1 per cent in 1998-99 but fell slightly short of targeted 5 per cent. Whereas major crops recorded an impressive growth of 13.1 per cent against targeted 3.2 per cent, manufacturing sector saw a nominal growth of 1.1 per cent against the targeted 6.2 per cent. Within that large manufacturing sector recorded a regression of 0.7 per cent. The services sector grew by 4.5 per cent against the target of 5.2 per cent. The country avoided to default on foreign debts. It managed somehow to pay $3.7 billion to foreign creditors - and deferred payments of $3.9 billion through reschedulings and roll-overs. The report says that in the current fiscal the country may have to defer foreign debt payments of $2.2 billion - through reschedulings and roll-overs. The report says that at the end of June 2000, total foreign exchange liabilities stood at $37.3 billion or 61.3 per cent of GDP including foreign debts of $32.7 billion or 53.8 per cent of GDP. The total debt including domestic and foreign debts stood at Rs30.95 trillion or 97.5 per cent of GDP in 1999-2000, up in volume from Rs29 trillion in the preceding year but down in terms of GDP percentage. In 1998-99, the total debt of the country was almost equal to the GDP. Commenting on debt servicing in the current and next fiscal years the report says that "actual repayments on commercial credit will dominate debt payments." That will be the case "as rescheduling of commercial credit has been done over a much shorter time frame than the terms of the Paris Club agreement." The report says that in 1999-2000, Pakistan managed to cut its current account deficit to $1 billion from $2.2 billion in 1998- 99. What made it possible was a reduction in trade deficit and the State Bank buying of $1.6 billion from the open currency market. The report says the SBP would continue to buy dollars from the open market to finance the external deficit but it admits that "this is not a sustainable avenue to procure foreign exchange." It says three steps must be taken to rectify the structural external imbalances that compel the country to buy dollars from the kerb: (i) official remittances should be increased from those countries that are showing a significant decline in the same (ii) imports should be contained particularly of edible items and import of consumer/luxury items be discouraged and (iii) export sector should be placed onto a different trajectory with focuses on value-added cotton items and non-traditional exports. The report calls for special attention to a declining flow of workers remittances from the Gulf region and attributes this fall mainly to the Hundi network operating there. The report says that in 1999-2000 the government was supposed to retire Rs7 billion of bank credit but net government sector borrowing shot up to Rs78 billion. This was in a sharp contrast to 1998-99 when the government had retired Rs74.5 billion bank credit. The report says the government had little choice but to increase its bank borrowing in the face of limited external finance and lower volumes of non-bank resources. On the other hand non-government sector borrowing fell sharply to Rs26.2 billion in 1999-2000 from Rs118.8 billion a year ago. The borrowing of the private sector declined to a paltry Rs15.4 billion from Rs68.9 billion. The report says that consumer inflation fell to about 3.6 per cent in 1999-2000 - the lowest in three decades - mainly due to improved availability of agricultural and food products. But inflation is likely to go up this year due to higher oil prices coupled with increased domestic interest rates and a sharp depreciation in the rupee value. Future outlook: The report says preliminary projection for GDP growth is 4.5 per cent for the current fiscal year - down from 4.8 per cent in 1999-2000. That is so because "the impressive growth rate attained by the agriculture sector in 1999-2000 is unlikely to repeat itself as the base has already risen significantly." It says consumer inflation is projected around 6-7 per cent for this fiscal whereas current account deficit is expected to slide further to 1 per cent of GDP. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001111 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Economic Cooperation Organization talks end with accord on energy ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Nov 10: The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) members states have agreed to cooperate in the area of sustainable development and use of all forms of energy. An agreement to this effect was made in the form of a unanimous joint statement at the concluding session of the first Energy \ Petroleum Ministerial Meeting of the ECO here. The ECO members states agreed that the range of cooperation will span planning, development, human resources training, information exchange, trade and transportation, and encouraging private sector participation, where appropriate, including but not limited to, the following energy areas: i) Resource investigation, exploration, assessment, planning and development; ii) Scientific and technological research, development and demonstration; iii) Transfer of technology; iv) Energy efficiency and conservation techniques; v) Upgrading of environmental impact assessments resulting from different activities in energy production, processing, handling, transport and utilization; vi) Standardization of energy related facilities; vii) Human resources development and safety promotion programmes in various energy fields, including production, processing, handling, transport and utilization; viii) Energy security arrangements for emergency situations; ix) Exchange of information of technical exports, technology transfer, operational experience, research and technical publications as well as energy strategies, programmes, policy and implementation experiences; x) Maintenance of conducive environment for trade and investment opportunities in relation to energy resources, materials and equipment; xi) Safety programmes in the entire chain from exploration, development, production and distribution of various energy products; xii) Promoting a more conducive environment for commercial and investment opportunities in all aspects of the energy sector; xiii) Energy policy and planning; xiv) Transit, transportation and trade of oil, gas and power within and outside the ECO region; xv) Utilization of available transportation infrastructure in the ECO Member States for energy resources supply to other ECO Member States and international markets. It was also agreed that the Member States and the ECO Secretariat shall endeavour to make optimum utilization of latest tools of information technologies for facilitating cooperation as envisaged in this Joint Statement. Recognizing that energy planning is an instrument to strengthen each country's capability to optimize energy resources development, allocation and utilization, it was agreed the Member States shall endeavour to cooperate in the sharing of information on standards, methodologies, techniques, technology, skills and experiences in national energy planning,conducting regional studies on energy as and when the Member States desire,developing strategies to promote energy-related trade within and outside the ECO region; and developing strategies to promote energy and environmental planning as well as environmental impact assessment and mitigation plans/measures. In the field of cooperation in Energy Development, the Member States shall endeavour to cooperate in studies on various energy development management measures; and expediting the facilitating energy development schemes of common interest. Recognizing that improving energy efficiency is of concern to all the Member States, the meeting agreed to cooperate in pursuing energy conservation measures of common interest, undertaking various energy management and conservation activities, and sharing information on energy conservation studies and activities of their own countries. The ECO Member States, in the light of their mutual interests and long-term objectives to improve indigenous capabilities, also agreed to cooperate in Research and Development (R&D) and Human Resource Development (HRD) activities in all fields of energy.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001111 ------------------------------------------------------------------- World Bank brokers talks with HUBCO ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Nov 10: The World Bank has arranged a meeting between Pakistan and Hub Power Company (HUBCO) in Dubai on 15th to sort out their differences on tariff issue with a view to ensuring future foreign investment in the country. Official sources told Dawn here on Friday that the World Bank President, James D Wolfenson, had written a letter to Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz requesting him to meet HUBCO directors in Dubai on Nov 15 to discuss and remove over the three-year-old differences on the tariff issue. The meeting has been arranged by the World Bank in Dubai on the request of HUBCO due to various legal difficulties being faced by the directors of the company in their travel to Islamabad. Earlier, this meeting was scheduled for Oct 6 in Islamabad which could not be held due to the inability of the finance minister to confirm through a letter to HUBCO Chairman Sheikh Mohammad Alireza that the tentative agreement reached in New York on Sept 10 in the presence of Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf was acceptable to the government of Pakistan. The sources said that a senior official of the World Bank would also participate in the talks. The government, the sources said, had welcomed the mediation by the World Bank specially after it concluded that HUBCO's tariff was still higher than that of M/s AES of the United States. The sources said that some senior officials of the World Bank were expected to meet HUBCO board of directors in Dubai to convince them to further lower their tariff rates as was being demanded by Wapda chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Zulfikar Ali Khan. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001111 ------------------------------------------------------------------- South Africa levies dumping duty on Bed-linen import ------------------------------------------------------------------- Parvaiz Ishfaq Rana KARACHI, Nov 10: South Africa has imposed 13.57 per cent anti- dumping duty on imports of bedlinen from Pakistan. The official regulatory body, BTT has taken this action on its findings that during 1998 material injury was caused to their textile industry. According to reports coming from Johannesburg, the Board of Trade and Tariff (BTT), South Africa has with immediate effect imposed provisional anti-dumping duties on bedlinen imports from Pakistan. In consequence to BTT action, Pakistani companies who have exported during investigation period i.e. 1998, will have to wait for a year, from the date of imposition of final duty before they can apply for a normal review. About two months back as a follow-up of investigation initiated in December last year, a team from Johannesburg also visited Pakistan to have on-spot physical inspection of manufacturing facilities of exporters. This is the second time that South African has imposed punitive duty on imports of bedlinen from Pakistan because about six years back a similar duty was imposed but was withdrawn only five months later. Exports of bedlinen are already under tough competition from other countries and have registered a fall of about 20 per cent in the month of September. Exporters fear that this development will further give an edge to their competitors over their exports, particularly when there is no response from the government. Since the anti-dumping has been imposed across the board the new shippers will also have to submit review application after the BTT has made its final determination. Under the law all aggrieved parties could submit their review application within 30 days which gives them Dec 10, 2000, as a cut-off date. This will mean that the BTT would only be able to publish their final finding early next year, since the last date for government Gazette publications is Dec 15, 2000. Meanwhile, some importers are looking into the possibility of taking legal action because they have some reservations about the BTT's injury analysis. Legal action is being deemed necessary as only few companies can be excluded from the duty as new shippers. Exporters are highly critical of Export Promotion Bureau's (EPB) role and feel that it has been not been giving due attention to problems facing exporters. Citing an example an exporters said there is hardly any progress with regard to sales tax refunds, which was put before the EPB chairman in a meeting, held a month back. "We will suggest to government to take the issue at diplomatic level so that the matter could be sorted out at the earliest, if the country desires to achieve $10 billion export target," a leading bedlinen exporter said. Presently, South Africa is also holding countervailing investigation against bedlinen exports from Pakistan, but not much progress has been reported in this regard. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001110 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan exports reach $2.9bn during July-Oct ------------------------------------------------------------------- >From Muhammad Ilyas ISLAMABAD, Nov 9: Pakistan's merchandise exports totalled $2.97 billion during the period July-October 2000, showing an increase of 13.36 per cent over the corresponding period of previous year. The imports also soared by 14.95 per cent to $3.69 billion during the same period, cancelling the positive effect of impressive rise in exports on the balance of payments situation, according to the aggregate trade figures made available by the ministry of commerce. Consequently, the trade deficit rose to $720 million in the first four months of 2000-01. This is 22 per cent more than that in the corresponding period of previous year. The government had announced that the trade deficit during 2000-01 would be reduced to $800 million. The target for exports set out in the trade policy for the current fiscal is $10 billion. The statistics showed that the country has achieved only 29.7 per cent of that target. This means that the country has to cover over 70 per cent of the target in the remaining 66 per cent of the year. As a result of huge jump in imports during the period under review, the proportion covered by exports also registered a sharp decrease. Whereas in July-October 1999, exports had accounted for 81.62 per cent, their ratio to imports dropped to 80.49 per cent this year. Merchandise exports during the month of October 2000, amounted to $744 million, which is 9.9 per cent more than the figure for October 1999. It also showed an increase of 6.29 per cent over the exports during September 2000. Further analysis of the foreign trade statistics showed that in the single month of October 2000, the export-import gap at $216 million was double than that in the corresponding month of last year. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001109 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Islamic Development Bank to disburse $150m soon ------------------------------------------------------------------- BEIRUT, Nov 8: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has agreed to expedite disbursement of $150 million to Pakistan under the trade financing schemes. Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz met the Vice President (Operations) of the IDB, Ousmane Seck, here on Wednesday to hold discussion in this regard. Secretary Economic Affairs, Naveed Ahsan also attended the meeting. Ahsan, later told APP that during the meeting Pakistan asked the IDB to speed up the disbursement of fund amounting to $150 million, being extended under the trade financing schemes. "The IDB has agreed to our request to speed up disbursement of funds," he said while adding that the agreement has been signed in this respect and will soon be sent to Islamabad. The total allocation for Pakistan for the year, under the trade financing schemes of the Bank, is to the tune of $350 million. Pakistan has already received $200 million out of it which was utilized on the import of petroleum products. The Bank has now agreed to expedite disbursement of the remaining amount, which included $70 million under the Export Financing Scheme and another $80 million under the Import Financing Scheme, the secretary economic affairs said. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz met his counterparts of the various Islamic countries including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, who were here to attend the 25th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the IDB. He discussed with them matters of bilateral interest and means to further enhancing economic ties between Pakistan and other Muslim countries. The minister told them that Pakistan government was pursuing a comprehensive policy to revive the economy and place it on sound footing. "The primary objective of revival strategy is to unleash growth from sectors where its benefits would quickly accrue to the poor," he said. He also informed that the performance of the present government in the first year in office is quite encouraging. Both the agriculture and industry have performed remarkably well.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001110 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Star TV secures licence in Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- HONG KONG, Nov 9: Hong Kong-based Star TV said on Thursday it has been granted the first pay TV licence by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). The licence permits Star to distribute its pay TV to Pakistan viewers and enables local cable operators to redistribute Star TV channels legally. Star chairman and chief executive James Murdoch said in a statement the granting of the licence presented a "unique opportunity to meet the burgeoning demand for pay TV services in Pakistan." Pakistan has some 8,000 cable operators across 49 cities with more than 1.5 million households connected to cable television.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001108 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Islamabad pushes for oil, gas from Central Asia ------------------------------------------------------------------- ASTANA, Nov 7: The chief executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf, voiced strong support on Tuesday for developing new oil and gas pipeline projects with resource-rich Central Asia. "We would like to be part of the arrangements for gas from Turkmenistan and eventually oil from Kazakhstan," said Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar, who accompanied Gen Musharraf. His comments came after Gen Musharraf revealed he had made a brief stopover in Turkmenistan, during which he discussed bilateral relations with Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov. Mr Sattar said talks had again focused on the multi-billion dollar, 1,600-km gas pipeline proposal from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan. The project was suspended in 1998 due to the Afghan civil war. "We continue to hope we can build a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to Pakistan," said Mr Sattar. "Both of us recognize that the instability and the strife in Afghanistan is a major hurdle (to the project) and therefore Pakistan and Turkmenistan lose more than any other set of countries from the Afghan conflict," said Sattar. Mr Sattar said energy issues had also been discussed in Kazakhstan, which recently announced the discovery of what could be one of the world's largest offshore oil fields on its sector of the Caspian sea. Mr Sattar said Kazakhstan was also interested in exploring a pipeline via Iran and then also via Pakistan.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001108 ------------------------------------------------------------------- State Bank report hints at IMF accord by month-end ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sabihuddin Ghausi KARACHI, Nov 7: The State Bank of Pakistan expects the country to reach a 10-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) with the International Monetary Fund before the end of this month. In its annual report for the year 1999-2000 released on Monday, the SBP has devoted considerable space to Pakistan's "chequered record" with IMF, particularly during nineties when there were frequent changes of the government, the nuclear blasts in May 1998, the military takeover in October last year and finally the detection of data irregularities in December 1999. The report refers to the discussions held between Pakistan and IMF in March this year after the change of guards in Islamabad on October 12 last year. It hopes that these negotiations would lead to a Stand-By Arrangement which would enable Pakistan to reschedule its debts with official and commercial creditors from January next. "This will also trigger fresh inflows of concessional assistance from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank", the report expects and further hopes the "Export Credit Agencies of the OECD may also consider favourably providing cover to Pakistani risk". All these expectations in SBP's report are being made in the context of difficulties the country had to endure in the last fiscal year when in the absence of flow of any assistance (with the exception of $120 million inflow from the ADB in end June), Pakistan was a net supplier of funds to the international financial institutions (IFIs). Simultaneously, the escalation in international oil prices (from $16.3 a barrel in June 1999 to $31.6 in June 2000) and the slump in world cotton prices had an impact of a double-edged sword. "The urgency to have the IMF on board is not so much in terms of financing a difficult external sector, but to get the needed rescheduling after the consolidation period ends in December 2000", says the report. State Bank is more than confident that a successful implementation of the proposed 10-month Stand-By Arrangement with IMF should lead to a three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGC) which it hopes, "may consolidate the gains of macroeconomic stability and accelerate the economic revival". The proposed PRGC, it says, will mainly focus on five points which are (i) a further reduction in fiscal deficit by raising the tax- GDP ratio (ii) increase in development and social sector spending (iii) a sharp decline in the ratio of interest payments to the GDP (iv) improvement in exports to generate a current account surplus and (v) a modest increase in investment rate. The report traces Pakistan's relations with IMF since 1988, when the first three-year Structural Adjustment Facility involving $516m was launched and completed after a year's delay. Since 1988, Pakistan has obtained 13 different fund facilities from the IMF. Of these seven were suspended for one reason or the other. The last such arrangement an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) covering period 1998-2001 was suspended after the May 1998 nuclear blasts. This programme was reactivated in January 1999 but was suspended again in September that year, according to the SBP report.Back to the top
=================================================================== EDITORIALS & FEATURES 001105 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Laughing at ourselves ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ardeshir Cowasjee BY God's grace, day follows night despite whoever in Islamabad may be responsible for our destiny in Karachi. The sun rises each morning and each evening it sets, and the tides meticulously rise and fall. Our last two prime ministers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, who drained the nation as they did, impoverishing the already impoverished of their country, were each allowed a second round in power, a repeat performance. Neither has denied they were corrupt, nor that they robbed and plundered. They justified their actions by informing the world that they were 'freely and fairly elected' and were deposed by force of one sort or another. When the end finally came, rather than hiding their faces in shame, and disappearing into the wide world to live off their spoils, they are both attempting a comeback. Upholding the old tradition of honour amongst thieves, they are now trying to form an alliance. Benazir Bhutto spoke to the BBC in London on Friday. She was asked how come, with the mutual loathing she and Nawaz have for each other, she is now in the throes of forming an alliance with his party. Well, she said, there is a hope that the Generals are looking for an exit point and if they are, we, the PPP, will do all we can to help them find a point from which they may exit gracefully. On the other hand, if they are not seeking an exit point and intend to entrench themselves, then in the interests of democracy and our beloved people the only way left to us is to all get together and form a force of sufficient strength to remove the generals. All is in the larger national interest. This grand alliance is being formed under the tattered old umbrella of the Hookahmaster, well described by a perceptive correspondent to this newspaper whose letter was published yesterday. "Who is this great man?" he asked. From childhood we have been incessantly listening to and reading and watching an old, fragile looking but hookah-bearing mystery man. No matter what is the political situation of the country, which political party is in power, who is heading the government, what is the form of government, he always remains very much on the negative side of affairs ..... "Who is this great man, what are his qualifications, what are his services to Pakistan and the masses? Can somebody enlighten the new generation about the background of this asset of this unfortunate country.S Well said, young Mahmood of Sarghoda! As my late lamented friend Pandit Abu Kureshi used to say, a politician in this country never dies. Even if you go to his funeral and see the body interred safely six feet under, never be sure that he truly is dead until you have attended the Chehlum. Justice being what justice is, we Pakistanis being what we are, allies and enemies being who they are, I am not willing to lay one rupee against the possibility of either of the two champions of democracy, Benazir and Nawaz, being 'freely and fairly' elected once again to occupy the Islamabad hot seat for the third time. And justice being what justice is, both candidates are now claiming they are all in favour of an independent judiciary, that they worked their fingers to the bone to ensure that the honourable judiciary not only remained independent but was, under their great legislative abilities, assured even more independence. This, of course, is to be expected, now that both are out of power. Nawaz Sharif, being an honourable man, has never claimed that it was not he who engineered the November 1997 storming of the Supreme Court. He has never formally denied that in order to save his own skin he did not suggest a handy way out. In December 1997, the new Chief Justice of Pakistan, Ajmal Mian, in an attempt to redeem the honour of his court, and prodded by protests by the people, ordered an enquiry into the storming. Justice Abdur Rahman Khan of the Supreme Court was appointed to head it. He got nowhere. Then a Bench was formed to further enquire. On the Bench sat Supreme Court Justices Nasir Aslam Zahid, Munawar Ali Mirza and Abdur Rahman Khan. They enquired, and then initiated contempt proceedings against seven PML minnows. It took them almost a year and a half to conclude that no one had committed contempt as no one was responsible for the storming, that in fact it was doubtful if the storming had even taken place, since no alleged stormer could be identified even on Supreme Court's own CCTV cameras (which cameras were removed during the enquiry proceedings.) There had been no plan, no order ordering disorder, no storming, no contempt. Earlier this year, with Nawaz deposed and safely incarcerated in an ancient Northern fort, the present Chief Justice of Pakistan, Irshad Hassan Khan, in the face of much public outrage at the outcome of the initial enquiry, and in another attempt to redeem the honour of his court, formed a Bench to hear an appeal filed praying for initiating de novo proceedings in respect of the 1997 storming of the Court. The Chief Justice headed the Bench, with Justices Muhammad Jehangir Bashiri, Shaikh Riaz Ahmad, Chaudhri Mohammad Arif, and Munir A Shaikh sitting with him. The formerly acquitted minnows were found to actually be guilty of contempt and were sent to jail for a month. The Bench also ordered that the IGP Islamabad institute a further enquiry to be conducted by an SP 'to identify the miscreants involved in this incident and thereafter proceed in accordance with the law.' The people understand this to mean that not only should additional stormers be brought to book but that the planners of the operation should also be nabbed. A superintendent of police is now expected to do what a Supreme Court judge, with the power he had, failed to do. In deference to the Supreme Court order, the IGP Islamabad has appointed SP Khalid Mahmud to further enquire into the storming. And where is Khalid Mahmud now stationed? In the Aiwan-i-Sadar, in charge of the security of the President of Pakistan, Rafiq Ahmad Tarar. And what was Rafiq Ahmad Tarar on the day the Supreme Court was stormed in 1997? He was an honourable Senator, installed in the honourable Senate by Nawaz Sharif. And to where did Tarar journey a couple of days before the eventful day the Supreme Court was stormed, the same day on which the Quetta Bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Irshad Hassan Khan (the present Chief Justice of Pakistan) and the Peshawar Bench of the Supreme Court (headed by Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, who succeeded Ajmal Mian as Chief Justice of Pakistan) handed down their orders against their then sitting Chief Justice, Sajjad Ali Shah? He went to Quetta, secretly, in the dark. To quote Benazir Bhutto, from her speech entitled "Guaranteeing the Rule of Law and Independence of the Judiciary in Pakistan", delivered in London to the Commonwealth Ethnic Bar Association, reproduced in the national press on November 1: "A judge [Tarar] who dishonestly legitimized the overthrow of my first government was elected President of Pakistan. This same man stands accused by a former President [Leghari] of "taking briefcases of money" to bribe other judges in the famous 1997 case. The Election Commission rejected Justice Tarar's nomination for the presidency. Justice Qayyum, on leave for his mother's funeral, rushed back to grant a stay. And Tarar was elected. As for the bribery charges, Tarar, as a former judge, like former generals, is immune to prosecution in real terms." We laugh a bit more. Tarar was despatched to Quetta by Nawaz Sharif in a special flight which landed at Quetta at night. Now, the Quetta airfield is not normally lit up after nightfall as no flights land. The runway was specially lit up for Tarar and the security man on duty is reported to have noted in his log: "Instructions have been received from Islamabad that the details the special flight carrying the visiting dignitary, senator Rafiq Ahmad Tarar, must be kept confidential and not reported" (or words to this effect). Now poor SP Khalid Mahmud will also have to question the present Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Lieutenant General Rana, who on the day the Supreme Court was raided in 1997, headed the ISI spooks. He reported the then COAS, General Jehangir Karamat, at the dawning of November 27, that Nawaz's cohorts were to raid the Supreme Court in the morning. All this is written in jest, in an effort to alleviate the pervading atmosphere of gloom and doom. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001110 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The suave and the cheerless ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ayaz Amir As I watched on Wednesday morning the BBC coverage of the American presidential elections, I found myself caught between easy suavity on one side and plodding gloom on the other. On the TV screen was the BBC anchor, David Dimbleby, smooth, suave and very competent (I quite envied him). By my side were that morning's newspapers with President Rafiq Tarar solemnly warning the nation to be prepared for more bomb attacks and saying that the recent wave of bomb blasts was linked to the forthcoming defence exhibition in Karachi. A day before, the interior minister, Lt Gen Moinuddin Haider - surely Pakistan's answer to Saatchi and Saatchi - had said the same thing. The defence exhibition in Karachi? It requires imagination and audacity for such a brainwave. Is the defence exhibition being read as a mortal threat by anyone? Is India scared of its regional impact and therefore bent upon sabotaging it? Is anyone even bothered by it? Of all the likely explanations for the sporadic bomb blasts taking place in the country this has to be the most bizarre. Yet nothing really should be surprising in Pakistan any more, certainly not with the kind of helmsmanship we have had since the October Revolution. Pakistan was always known for some element of confusion and avoidable errors in its higher politics. But the kind of confusion we have had these past twelve months is unequalled even by our turbulent standards. Everything has been stood on its head. Needless fronts opened in every direction and then as suddenly closed and forgotten. The already battered economy pushed into a deeper recession. Investor confidence, never very high, demolished completely. (Even the State Bank governor has come round to admitting this.) All for what? True, the military inherited a bad situation. (Haven't we had enough of this cliche?) But then it should have improved it instead of making it worse by bad management. The test Clinton applies to his presidency is to ask the question: is the US better off today than it was eight years ago? What if we apply the same test here. Is Pakistan better off today than it was a year ago? Forgetting everything else, take tax collecting about which the military government waxes so eloquent. Close to October 31, the last date for submitting individual income tax returns, the Central Board of Revenue was still revising the format of the tax forms. The last date has since been extended twice, yet such is the prevailing uncertainty that the urgency which used to accompany this yearly ritual has gone, to the detriment of tax collection. So much for military homework. In a nation where paying taxes is considered a form of dishonour, the worst offenders are traders and shopkeepers. For long they have had their way. Zia did not touch them, considering them to be part of his constituency. The PPP was afraid of their street power. The PML, part of the same spiritual brotherhood, openly pampered them. The last sanction against the greed of this class was the fear of the army. Now even this is gone because of the ill-conceived way in which the army was thrown into tax documentation. The traders have come into contact with what they feared and are no longer impressed. And Mr Shaukat Aziz is hoping to expand the tax net. This government, in any case, seems to have a touching faith in documentation. It seems to think that anything put into a computer turns out fine at the other end, free of warts and errors. This is the reasoning behind the computerization of voting lists and the creation of a database organisation with the strange acronym, NADRA, and headed - you've guessed it - by a serving major general. Who says the old voting lists were fraudulent? I have had first- hand experience of elections, local and national, since 1979 and can say with some authority that, by and large, there was nothing wrong with them. As for bogus voting, the best defence against it was the presence of opposing polling agents at polling stations. If a candidate did not have a polling agent at a particular station, or if he had an ineffective one, the imbalance thus accruing naturally went in his opponent's favour. But where candidates were evenly matched, only over someone's dead body could bogus voting be carried out. But who is to educate the nation's saviours? If they say the old voting lists were packed who is to gainsay them? Thus in a country already burdened with too many white elephants, we have another one, NADRA, which is taking the old voting lists and putting them on hard disk. But since this exercise is unaccompanied by any field survey, the old errors, wherever they existed, are being faithfully reproduced. What is more, fresh errors are creeping into the new lists because of the haste with which this task is being accomplished. Such examples of military achievement can be multiplied. But no need to go through a familiar list. In any event, how many marks does General Musharraf give to his government's performance? Five out of ten, he says with becoming modesty. In his annual confidential report an army officer is put in one of four grades: below average, average, above average and outstanding. Although an unbiased observer would probably give the Generalissimo's government less than five marks, even if his own marking is accepted, five out of ten is just average, not good enough for staff appointments or promotion to senior ranks. In my three or four years in the army I got very bad reports from my commanding officers (a dismal lot, if you ask me), the only passably good report I earned being for the '71 war. Seeing that I was not cut out for the army, or because I did not have it in me to make a splash in it, I opted out and joined the foreign service (thanks to my father, an MNA in Mr Bhutto's government). It turned out that I was no good as a diplomat either, getting exceedingly bad reports from the late Mr S. K. Dehlavi. So I thought it best to opt out again. Admittedly, quitting in the face of adversity is no virtue. But I was quitting for different reasons: because I did not want to be a burden on myself and others. Is the military government likely to do any better in the future than it has done uptil now? The signs are not promising. It has already exhausted its initial momentum. The popular acclaim with which its advent was greeted has long since evaporated. Accountability has forfeited public trust. For all of these reasons the national mood is depressive, the atmosphere heavy with theories of doom. Even in defeat a nation's mood can be upbeat and defiant. Conversely, even when at peace, a nation which is prey to morbidity can have its inner strength sapped by feelings of despair. Such is Pakistan's situation today. The prevailing national mood is linked to no defeat or disaster. It stems from an abdication of faith in the nation's leadership. And this mood is made worse by a feeling of helplessness: that it lies not in the hands of the people of Pakistan to effect a change. Zia was about the worst ruler Pakistan could have had: mendacious, hypocritical and living in the middle ages. But even during his long stay at the helm, the hope remained alive that when the darkness he symbolized came to an end, a new dawn would arise. (What the Daughter of the East made of that dawn is of course another story.) Benazir's and Nawaz Sharif's shenanigans were rooted in a democratic order and even if that order rested on shaky foundations it presupposed the existence of alternatives. If Benazir was bad, she could be replaced by someone else; if Nawaz Sharif persisted with his follies, he would lose his Heavy Mandate. What do you do with a dispensation whose power rests on the strength of its bayonet and which therefore is answerable only to itself? The military should have got out a fortnight (no later) after seizing power. A year is already an eternity. How to bring this eternity to a close? This is the foremost test facing Pakistan today. Just consider, as a parting thought, the absurdity of what we are going through. The military seized power because Nawaz Sharif tried to deal with the army command in a cavalier manner. General Musharraf himself is on record as saying that if the then prime minister had not tried to remove him, he (that is, Nawaz Sharif) would still be in office. A candid admission and therefore to be welcomed but one which casts more lurid light on our predicament. The military's action should have suited (and remained confined to) the provocation offered. As the last twelve months show, the events flowing from that fateful evening, and what the nation has had to endure as a result, far exceed any sin that may have been committed by the Wonder of Raiwind. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 001111 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The deepening contradiction ------------------------------------------------------------------- Irfan Husain AS the debate over the army's role in politics meanders along, a recent remark by retired General Aslam Beg in an interview carried in the October issue of the "Herald" drew remarkably little attention. Perhaps we have become so hardened to military intervention that such comments have lost the power to shock. Replying to a question about the army's and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)'s role in the 1988 and the 1990 elections, General Beg did not reveal anything new, but his justification is nevertheless remarkable. This is the question Musbashir Zaidi asked the former army chief: "The former ISI chief, Hameed Gul, now admits that he created the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad in 1988 to stop Benazir Bhutto's PPP from gaining a clear majority in the elections. Similarly, another ISI chief, Asad Durrani, has admitted to giving money to politicians in 1990. Both of them now claim they did it in the 'national interest.' What would have happened if Benazir had won the 1988 elections with a greater majority?" Aslam Beg: "The army, perhaps, would not have allowed the transfer of power to Benazir Bhutto. There is a strong feeling in the army that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was responsible for the East Pakistan debacle and that he maligned the army... So, to ensure that power was smoothly transferred to Benazir Bhutto and democracy restored, the IJI was formed by the ISI. This was done with the clear knowledge that it wouldn't stop the PPP from forming the government... I set up a fake competition by creating the IJI to ensure that a democratic government could be formed... Let me categorically state that the decision to hold on to or relinquish power rests squarely with the army... It would not be out of place to mention that even though the courts do provide moral support to justify army actions, a lingering subconscious guilt continues to haunt those who cause a rupture of democracy..." Obviously, successive military juntas have been very good at concealing this "subconscious guilt." But Beg's reply, forthright as it is, is more interesting for what he left out rather than what he said. He does not mention, for example, that controlling a government that does not have an outright parliamentary majority - as the PPP didn't in 1988 - is far simpler than a government with a substantial majority. The underlying thrust of his reply is that the army has the right to either wield power directly or pull the strings when an 'elected' government is in power. At no point in his interview did Beg seem aware of the irony of what he was saying. For example, he sees no contradiction between his repeated use of the term 'democracy' and the army's blatant rigging of successive elections. For him, the 'fake competition' he and his colleagues set up by cobbling together the IJI is perfectly acceptable. Worse, the politicians who accepted large amounts from the ISI have not been disbarred by the Election Commission. But above and beyond the disturbing questions raised by Beg's comments, there is the larger issue of the army's role in politics. Virtually from Pakistan's creation, generals have dabbled with the country's destiny, weakening democratic institutions as a result. It has almost become a cliche to say that the corruption and inefficiency of our politicians have combined to encourage frequent military interventions. However, it can be said with equal validity that the army has almost never allowed elected governments to function normally. Also, with the exception of the present military government, the press was never free to highlight the graft and incompetence of earlier juntas. Thus, at least in the media, civilians have suffered in comparison to the generals. It is a fact that the army is the most organized and efficient sector in the country where its own clearly defined duties and responsibilities lie. However, General Musharraf and his colleagues must also realize that they simply do not have the training or the expertise to cure the many ills (some of them caused by their predecessors) that face Pakistan today. Just take the example of the mess our power supplies are in: despite inducting officers and jawans at every level, WAPDA and KESC remain organizational and financial nightmares. Similarly, attaching battalions of retired and serving officers to civilian departments has in no way enhanced efficiency. The only change is that decision-making, never very swift, has slowed down even further. A soldier spends his adult life in giving or taking orders. His world is insulated from the chaos and bedlam of civilian life. He achieves senior positions in the hierarchy by doing what he is told and efficiently controlling the men under his command. He is discouraged from questioning the orders he receives, and similarly expects those under him to toe the line. In short, he identifies the order around him with unquestioning and uncritical discipline. When he looks over the barracks wall, he sees confusion and inefficiency. Talking to his brother officers in the mess, he complains about the "bloody civilians" and their inability to get their act together.He does not understand that unlike even junior military officers, a civil servant cannot have a subordinate locked up for not carrying out orders. Nor does he grasp the fact that much of the physical and social infrastructures is falling apart because the bulk of the government's resources are going into the defence budget. With his limited understanding of the realities of real life, he is convinced that military discipline will sort everything out. It is only when he and his colleagues take the plunge and take over that they realize that they have stepped into quicksand. It is about time the army learned that ultimately, it has no solutions to offer, no magic wand to correct all that is wrong with the country. The only solution lies in strengthening civil society and supporting democratic institutions. There are no shortcuts, no panaceas. By constantly meddling in politics, the army not only weakens the system, it ultimately weakens itself. In this day and age, a military government is anathema to much of the world. In Pakistan's context of looming bankruptcy, this translates into a drastic drop in economic assistance and private investment. The bottom line is that constant overt and covert military intervention has put the country at risk. Ironically, the biggest risk to our security is now internal, and to face it, we need a free and functioning democracy that is not being forever destabilized by generals in the wings. But as the experience of so many countries shows us, there is no inherent contradiction between a democratic dispensation and a strong army.
=================================================================== SPORTS 001107 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Probables named for Test camp ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Our Sports Reporter KARACHI, Nov 6: Budding leg-spinner Danish Kaneria is among the 18 probables, announced on Monday by chairman of the national selection committee, Wasim Bari, for a six-day training camp before the Pakistan squad for the first Test against is named on Nov 13. Besides Kaneria, Karachi fast bowler Mohammad Sami has also been asked to join the camp at the Qadhafi Stadium in Lahore alongwith batsman Qaiser Abbas of Sheikhupura. Qaiser top-scored for Patron's XI in both innings in the tour game against England at Rawalpindi. The following players have been asked to report to national coach Javed Miandad at 10.00 a.m at the Qadhafi Stadium on Wednesday (Nov 8): Moin Khan (captain), Saeed Anwar, Imran Nazir, Salim Elahi, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Shahid Afridi, Wasim Akram, Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed, Danish Kaneria, Qaiser Abbas, Mohammad Sami, Faisal Iqbal and Shoaib Malik. Meanwhile, Test batsman Younis Khan has pulled out of the NWFP Governor's XI squad for the four-day match against England, starting on Wednesday at the Shahi Bagh Stadium in Peshawar, because of a domestic reason. Younis has been replaced in the Governor's XI squad by Karachi batsman Nomanullah. Peshawar's Akhtar Sarfraz is also a late addition to the squad in place of originally selected Kashif Afzal of Wah Cantt. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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