------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 11 August, 2001 Issue : 07/32 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + Islamabad, Delhi vow to build up confidence + Chinese aspect did not figure at talks: FO + CE offered to retake land ceded to China: Vajpayee + India's conditional offer for talks + US mediation on Kashmir opposed + US assures Pakistan of fairness on curbs issue + Beijing denies sale of missile parts to Islamabad + China exported missile parts to Pakistan: paper + CE has no extra powers as president: LHC + CJ violating Constitution: SCBA + Provide safe exit to Musharraf: Beg + Provinces delay views on $130m ADB loan offer + NAB empowered to get details of bank accounts + Fire destroys ICP offices in NBP headquarters + CE for transparent sell-off process + SHC sets aside trial court order: Benazir's presence in court + Court notice to NAB on Benazir's plea + Benazir will return when nation wants her: Asif + Muttahida meeting + Nazims to be at mercy of provincial governments + PAT-PML(LM) alliance to become powerful: Qadri + Provinces get green light for crackdown: Terrorist activities + Data may be used against Pakistan: UN curbs on Taliban + Embassies fail to get response from Kabul + Gas pipeline near Much catches fire + Benazir wants Rubina's conviction commuted + Drugs case against Zardari adjourned + Asif Sehgal convicted in second case --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + $459m debt repayment accords signed + IMF-World Bank mission due on 14th + WB to provide Rs8bn for road rehabilitation + IMF facility this year: More assistance likely: minister + $200m aid for Gwadar, Makran projects soon + Energy sector faces financial crisis: ADB report + $2 billion power investment plan hits snags + Merger, winding up of financial institutions on cards + IFC backs out of $260m pledge: Funds for 23 cos + Seed corporation's sale on donors' agenda + Institutional traders shunt bears out of market --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + Two wrongs can make a right Ardeshir Cowasjee + The last of the cold warriors Ayaz Amir + Going to the dogs Irfan Husain ----------- SPORTS + ICC probe Wasim and Inzamam + Pakistan edge out India in thriller + Shoaib's attitude no problem + Waqar's threat irks officials + Waqar threatens to quit if not consulted + Saeed admits he could be next on the chopping block + Pybus contacted for short-term contract
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 20010811 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Islamabad, Delhi vow to build up confidence ------------------------------------------------------------------- COLOMBO, Aug 10: Pakistan and India discussed nuclear tensions, and vowed to build "trust and confidence" in their first talks since the Agra summit failed to end a deadlock over the Kashmir dispute. The foreign secretaries of the two countries described their 75- minute closed-door talks as "friendly and very useful" in building on the process begun at the summit. India's top diplomat Chokila Iyer warmly shook hands with her Pakistan counterpart Inamul Haq as they went into the talks on the sidelines of a Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) meeting here. "There is determination on both sides to resolve issues that separate us and remove impediments to the improvement of relations," Mr Haq said after the talks. He said the meeting itself was an indication that the two countries wanted to take forward the process begun by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf at the summit. "This (meeting in Colombo) in itself should be rated as progress," he added. Ms Iyer too said she was upbeat about the meeting and reiterated the talks with Mr Haq had been "very useful". "We had a very useful exchange of views," she said. "We discussed the importance of continuing the dialogue process started by my prime minister by inviting President Musharraf to the summit at Agra. "It is important that we continue the dialogue process." An Indian diplomat said Ms Iyer had asked Mr Haq that India was awaiting a response from Islamabad to its offer to send a senior military official to discuss military-to-military contacts. Mr Haq told Ms Iyer another proposal to send a group of experts to Pakistan to discuss nuclear risk reduction was also under active consideration, the diplomat said. While both sides emphasized the "positive atmosphere" at the talks, it was clear that they were sticking to their respective positions on issues like Kashmir. At a press briefing, Ms Iyer said the issue of Kashmir had figured in the talks but said it would not determine the progress of bilateral ties. "We reject that Jammu and Kashmir is the core issue ... it is not the central point for the improvement of relations," she said, adding New Delhi wanted broad-based ties with Islamabad. Mr Haq reiterated that Kashmir was the problem impeding India- Pakistan relations. A statement circulated by India said Ms Iyer had raised the issue of "cross-border terrorism" with Pakistan. It said: "We cannot accept the insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir with its foreign mercenaries and generous assistance from abroad is anything but cross-border terrorism. "The daily killing of innocent men, women and children cannot be glorified as Jihad," it added. An Indian diplomat said: "The Pakistani side dismissed the killings as the work of renegade elements." Talking to reporters, Mr Haq said cross-border terrorism was a "pejorative word". "Jammu and Kashmir is the issue that needs to be resolved." Both sides said dates had yet to be worked out for future meetings between Indian and Pakistani leaders at the political level. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010809 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Chinese aspect did not figure at talks: FO ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Hasan Akhtar ISLAMABAD, Aug 8: Pakistan rejected the allegations made by Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in parliament, criticizing President Pervez Musharraf's presentation of Islamabad's stand on Jammu and Kashmir at the Agra summit. Responding to Mr Vajpayee's statement, the foreign office spokesman reiterated the "position of the government of Pakistan that misrepresentations and intemperate remarks could neither alter reality nor promote the cause of normalization of relations" between the two countries. The spokesman rejected Mr Vajpayee's charge about cross-border terrorism and described it "an attempt to denigrate the Kashmir freedom struggle and to draw away from the massive violations of human rights of the Kashmiri people by the Indian forces." The spokesman underlined that President Musharraf had, in his talks with Prime Minister Vajpayee, "emphasized the centrality of the Kashmir dispute. The president had expressed his readiness to discuss all other outstanding issues as well." The spokesman described Mr Vajpayee's contention that no election had ever been held in Azad Kashmir as an "incredible display of lack of knowledge" of the situation. He added that elections had regularly been held in Azad Kashmir and unlike the fraudulent elections in Indian-held Kashmir, their validity had not been contested. As regards Mr Vajpayee's remarks about the Pakistan-China border agreement of 1963, the spokesman stated that "no such discussion took place at any stage. The Indian prime minister's outrageous claim is, therefore, a figment of his imagination". The spokesman noted that "there were many other elements in Mr Vajpayee's statement, which bore no resemblance to reality. However, Pakistan does not wish to engage in a diatribe with India." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010808 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CE offered to retake land ceded to China: Vajpayee ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jawed Naqvi NEW DELHI, Aug 7: President Pervez Musharraf has offered to take back the part of Kashmir ceded by Pakistan to China in 1963 if an agreement is reached with India to resolve the 54-year-old dispute, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee told parliament. Vajpayee used his reply to the discussion on the Agra Summit in the Lok Sabha to tell Gen Musharraf that he must curb what India calls cross-border terrorism in Kashmir for progress on future talks over the Himalayan region. But he said the peace process would continue anyway in other areas. Vajpayee said he reminded Musharraf during their Agra talks that "Pakistan has given away our territory to China. By what authority did they give it away? He said never mind, if we succeed in an agreement (on Kashmir), we will take back the land from China. I said no one will trust you with that. Therefore please accept reality." Indian politicians have accused China in the past of illegally holding the area in the Shaksgam Valley that was ceded by Pakistan. Analysts said this could be the first time that a Pakistani leader has promised to take the territory back from China. India says China continues to be in illegal occupation of about 38,000 sq-km of Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to the 5,180 sq-km of Indian territory that Pakistan ceded. Vajpayee said when he asked Gen Musharraf to check cross-border terrorism in Kashmir he replied that it was freedom struggle that was going on there. "I said this was completely unacceptable to us. It was at this point that the atmosphere was completely spoilt for the talks to progress." Vajpayee said there were violent incidents happening inside Pakistan that were rooted in terrorism. "Terrorism is creating problems for their government also," he said. Relations with Pakistan were rarely even. There were ups and downs. "Sometimes there is friendship, sometimes war and sometimes we have a cease- fire. This is the brief story of our relations over 50 years," Vajpayee said. "Our effort is always to improve relations with neighbouring countries." Vajpayee said President Musharraf may have been influenced by the assessment of some Pakistani journalists who thought that Kashmir was like a ripe fruit waiting to be dropped into his lap. "There should be no confusion here. India is ready to repulse any attack and meet any challenge inside our territory." Vajpayee said President Musharraf did not want to include the Shimla and Lahore agreements in the draft declaration being prepared in Agra. "In fact the name of Shimla appeared to spoil the taste in his mouth. We said this won't do." Vajpayee said Musharraf defended the invasion of Kashmir by tribesmen in 1947. "I was surprised, I want to take the house into confidence, when he said that had the tribals not attacked Kashmir at that time, Pakistan would not have had even that part of Kashmir. I said Kashmir might be a piece of territory for you, it is a core of our lives." "He said the other Pakistani leaders who had discussed Kashmir with India had not pressed hard enough. I said if you are going to press hard, the talks will stop just there." Vajpayee said he would not close the door for talks. "We have spelt out our point of view. Pakistan will have to respect it. I hope Pakistan too will change its approach to the talks." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010807 ------------------------------------------------------------------- India's conditional offer for talks ------------------------------------------------------------------- Monitoring desk NEW DELHI, Aug 6: India said it would pursue the peace process with Pakistan but warned Islamabad against continuing with "compulsive and perpetual hostility" towards New Delhi. "The caravan of peace is in motion. The dogs of war cannot deviate this process," External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh was quoted by the Press Trust of India website as having said during the debate on the Agra summit in the Lok Sabha. Mr Singh said Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and he had accepted invitations to visit Pakistan dates for which would be worked through mutual convenience. Giving an account of the Agra summit, he said New Delhi had made it clear that occupied Kashmir was at the core of the Indian nationhood and asserted that division on religious grounds as propounded by the two-nation theory was not acceptable to India. India also told Pakistan that Islamabad's proposition that Kashmir be treated as a "territorial dispute" was "totally unacceptable" to it. Mr Singh cautioned Pakistan that its "encouragement to cross- border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir would have grave consequences in that country similar to the social and political anarchy that was being witnessed in Afghanistan." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010806 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US mediation on Kashmir opposed ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Aug 5: Chairperson of the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI), Shireen Mazari has opposed American mediation on Kashmir, saying that US intervention has not restored peace in the Middle East and other parts of the world. "Look at the Middle East, there was Camp David, Oslo, but what happened? There is no peace in the Middle East. In fact, the Palestinians cut off the military struggle prematurely because of Camp David and Oslo. But they got no peace in return," Ms Mazari told IRNA in an exclusive interview in Islamabad. "The Americans want quick solutions, quick fixes. There are no quick fixes. Look what the Americans have done in the Balkans, they use NATO bombings in Kosovo. All intentions were to get rid of Milosovic. Now they have got rid of Milosovic but the problem is still there in the Balkans," she said. She maintained that the Americans had achieved nothing even in Northern Ireland as Clinton's intervention did not bring peace there. Opposing Pakistan's quest for American mediation on Kashmir, Ms Mazari said it would be extremely negative, specially from Pakistan's perspective. "I think we would make a big mistake if we ask the Americans to mediate, she added." Ms Mazari, however, said mediation on Kashmir could be done by the United Nations, specially by the office of the secretary- general. The chairperson of the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad favored continuation of armed struggle in occupied Kashmir because it was pressure that would make India finally agree to have dialogue with Pakistan. "Pakistan does not like a lot of the things the Taliban are doing. But it is difficult task to force the Afghans not to do what they want to do. "If you engage with the Taliban you can influence them. If you push them into isolation, they will become more extreme," she added. Pointing out Pakistan's problems due to Afghan policy, she said, the problem for Pakistan is that everybody, especially the West is supporting anti-Taliban alliance. The chairperson of the institute said there will not be stability in Afghanistan and because there will be a stalemate as the Northern Alliance is getting enough arms to cause military stalemate. ''If the rest of the world destabilize Afghanistan, here is a big problem".-NNI DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010807 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US assures Pakistan of fairness on curbs issue ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Syed Talat Hussain ISLAMABAD, Aug 6: The Bush administration is likely to lift nuclear-related sanctions simultaneously against Pakistan and India, senior government officials told Dawn. During her visit to Pakistan, the US assistant secretary of state for South Asian Affairs, Christina B. Rocca contradicted the impression conveyed by some quarters that the US might use a discriminatory approach in the lifting of the sanctions, removing the curbs against India first and Pakistan later. "We have been assured that the decision on the issue will be even- handed," said an official. He, however, pointed out that while India will immediately get out of the wring of sanctions, for Pakistan the multi-layered nature of the nuclear-related sanctions can cause problems. "The simultaneous lifting of the sanctions will only take care of curbs imposed under the Glenn amendment that came into effect after Pakistan in response to India's nuclear tests carried out its own. However, before Glenn, Pressler and Symington curbs were already in place against Pakistan. Our effort now is to work towards getting all three sets of sanctions lifted in one go," said the official. The official said the Bush administration was looking at the entire range of nuclear-related sanctions against Pakistan while doing the review. "It is good for Pakistan as removing Glenn and not removing Pressler, for instance, does not solve our problem. Our ties with the US will still remain stuck in sanctions' mire" he said. While the Brown Amendment of 1995 and the Harkin-Warner Amendment of 1997 had considerably diluted the impact of the Pressler Amendment, but even the remains of it considerably restrict US economic, technical, business, and military aid assistance and cooperation with regards to Pakistan. The official said that the process of reaching a final decision will get accelerated in the coming months, if not weeks. "The relevant committees will look at them, and then the House approval will be sought. However, as far as the Bush administration's choice is concerned we are quite positive that Glenn Amendment-related sanctions will be lifted," the official said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010808 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Beijing denies sale of missile parts to Islamabad ------------------------------------------------------------------- BEIJING, Aug 7: China denied a US newspaper report alleging it had transferred a dozen batches of missile components to Pakistan in a breach of a Sino-US non-proliferation accord. A foreign ministry statement said the report in the Washington Times newspaper was "not worth commenting on." "This American newspaper always disseminates irresponsible and groundless rumor aimed at slandering China as a proliferator," it said. Quoting unnamed US intelligence sources, the Washington Times reported US spy satellites had detected the latest shipment of components as it arrived by trucks at the China-Pakistan border on May 1. The paper said the China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation supplied the components for Pakistan's Shaheen-1 and Shaheen-2 missile programs. US intelligence agencies have detected 12 such missile component transfers sent by ship and truck, according to the paper, which has close contacts in the intelligence community. The alleged export of missiles and components by Chinese state firms to potential US adversaries or unsettled regions of the world is one of the most contentious issues in the fractious US-China relationship.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010807 ------------------------------------------------------------------- China exported missile parts to Pakistan: paper ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Tahir Mirza WASHINGTON, Aug 6: A US newspaper alleged that a Chinese state company had transferred missile components to Pakistan. The Washington Times said US satellites detected the latest shipment as it arrived by truck at the Pakistan-China border on May 1. The paper named the company as China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation and said it had supplied the components for the Shaheen 1 and Shaheen 2 programs. The Times said US intelligence agencies had detected 12 such missile component transfers sent by ship and truck. The US State Department refused to comment over the newspaper's allegation, but said it remained concerned about what it called Chinese transfer of systems like this to other countries. The subject of such transfers was raised by US Secretary of State Colin Powell with Chinese authorities during his visit to Beijing late last month. According to the State Department, it forms part of the overall context of the US-China relationship. The anti-China right-wing has been critical of what it sees as the secretary's appeasement of China and has suggested that this is another area where there are policy differences between the State Department and the White House. The Washington Times report can be interpreted as being part of the anti-Powell campaign by the conservative media. It insinuated that China was asked to meet several specific conditions before Mr Powell went to China, but had not done so and that the secretary had, thus, gone ahead with his visit without obtaining any guarantees on this score. Asked if China's arms sales could trigger sanctions against Beijing under US weapons proliferation laws, an official told The Washington Times: "I can't speculate. None have come to my attention at this point." During his China visit, the report quoted another official as saying, Secretary Powell "didn't sit there (in Beijing) and detail the cases that we're concerned about with the Chinese. But they have been refusing to have conversations or discussions, a dialogue on export control and on proliferation .... We are not there yet with the Chinese on what we really need to do on even getting a process in place. And that's something we're going to be pressing pretty hard on between now and the president's visit to Shanghai." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010811 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CE has no extra powers as president: LHC ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Shujaat Ali Khan LAHORE, Aug 10: The assumption of the office of president by the chief executive does not enhance the CE's powers as the head of the state was already bound to act on his advice during the period of constitutional deviation, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday of the Lahore High Court observed. Dismissing a Pakistan Lawyers Forum petition challenging the CE's orders 2 and 3 of 2001, dissolving parliament and provincial assemblies and providing for the CE's induction as president as being repugnant to the basic features of the Constitution, including its parliamentary character, the judge declared that "the assumption that any amendment has been made in the basic law is fallacious". Justice Ramday, who has already upheld the validity of the impugned orders in a previous petition, observed that the present era is one of "extraordinary constitutional deviation(s)" and a strict and literal compliance with the letter of the law may not be possible. The order said: "According to the provisions of para 3(1) of the Provisional Constitution Order No. 1 of 1999, since validated, the president was to act only on and in accordance with the advice of the chief executive. Meaning thereby that the power of the president to act in his discretion or to act in consolation with certain designated authorities, stood withdrawn during this period of Constitutional deviation and all executive powers thus got vested in the chief executive. Therefore, assumption of the office of president did not involve assumption of any power which did not belong to the chief executive. Thus the submission that CE's order No 2 or 3 had the effect of concentration of power in one person, is misplaced. It may be added that nothing could be demonstrated to exist which could persuade me to hold that the impugned orders were in any way detrimental to the good of the people or were an impediment in the ordinary orderly running of the state or that the same were in any way prejudicial to the attainment of the declared objectives of the chief executive. It is true that (the) hon'ble Supreme Court had, through para 270 of the judgment in Zafar Ali Shah's case declared its commitment to the Constitutional and democratic governance of the country by the people through their chosen representatives but at the same time, it is also true that on account of the detailed reasons given by their lordships, the Supreme Court had felt compelled to validate intervention by the armed forces and had consequently permitted a temporary deviation from the said mode of governance. The petitioner needs to accept the fact that the present is the era of an extra-ordinary constitutional deviation where, either on account of the compulsion of the extra-ordinary circumstances or because of the absence of the requisite infrastructure, as in the present case, strict and literal compliance of the letter of the Constitution, may not be possible. It may also be added that in the matter of running the affairs of a state, the actions of the chief executive, especially in a situation like the one in hand, could not be judged on golden scales. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010805 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CJ violating Constitution: SCBA ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: The Supreme Court Bar Association said that the chief justice of Pakistan had violated the constitutional provisions and the apex court's judgment by becoming the acting president of the country and had "incurred disqualification to remain chief justice any more." In a resolution passed at the executive committee meeting, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) said it had taken "serious view" of the violation of Judges Case by the chief justice (CJ). "The Judges Case is binding upon the chief justice and the violation of the same is violation of Article 189 and 190 of the Constitution of Pakistan." It said: "This act (acting president) of the chief justice amounts to contempt of the judgement of the Supreme Court." The meeting, which was presided over by SCBA president Abdul Haleem Pirzada, was attended by 17 members of the executive committee. They also discussed the issue of administration of president's oath to Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf by Chief Justice Irshad Hasan Khan. The SCBA resolution said the lawyers' community was deeply disappointed and distressed and "widely condemned the event that the chief justice of Pakistan had administered oath of office of president to Gen Musharraf and took oath as acting president, and by doing so has incurred disqualification to remain chief justice of Pakistan any more." It said no constitutional package providing for any amendment to the Constitution, whatsoever, would be acceptable to the Bar, and called upon the chief executive not to temper with the Constitution, notwithstanding the judgement of the Supreme Court in Zafar Ali Shah's case. It further said no interference with the constitutional provisions relating to the judiciary, whether pertaining to the appointment of judges, age of retirement of the judges, or power and jurisdiction of the courts, would be tolerated. It stated that assumption of presidency by Gen Pervez Musharraf was clearly "unconstitutional" and was indicative of the intention of the military rulers to perpetuate themselves in power. It said the Bar strongly felt that designation of the chief justice and his assumption as acting president was clearly "unconstitutional" and a violation of the principle of separation of judiciary from the executive. The SCBA resolved that it would challenge the assumption of office of president by Gen Pervez Musharraf and administration of oath by the chief justice under 184(3) of the Constitution, either jointly with bar councils and high court bar associations or by itself, as early as possible. In the second resolution, the SCBA took serious exception of the chief justice's refusal to hand over two rooms on the first floor of the SC building to the Bar. Mr Pirzada informed the committee members that when he approached the chief justice for the matter, the chief justice refused to entertain the request in a highly objectionable manner. The EC took serious exception to the remarks of the chief justice. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010808 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Provide safe exit to Musharraf: Beg ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Aug 7: Politicians must start developing a consensus for providing a safe exit to Gen Pervez Musharraf when he will transfer power next year. This was stated by Gen Mirza Aslam Beg (retired), chief of Awami Qiadat Party, while addressing a press conference here on Tuesday. He said the parliament had approved 69 amendments to the Constitution, including Article 58-2(b), and ratified all acts of the martial law regime before President Ziaul Haq transferred power to the government headed by Muhammad Khan Junejo. Gen Musharraf would not be an exception, Mr Beg said. "He needs indemnity laws. An insurance policy before transferring power to civilians. It is up to the politicians to provide him with an escape route if they want a smooth transition," he said. Mr Beg predicted that the next set-up would suffer from inherent problem of pulls and pushes from different sides because not a single party was going to win next elections. This situation puts an added responsibility on politicians to develop some kind of agreement for running the country in the future, Mr Beg said, adding that the absence of such a consensus would make things difficult for the nation. About allegations of armymen meddling with polls to ensure election of "right candidates" and its possible resulting in the division of the army, he said: "The establishment's interference in the elections has always backfired. The same will happen this time. Look at Azhar Saeed Butt's case. He was virtually living with the 114 Brigade but lost elections. I don't think that a wishful thinking of getting "desirable candidate" elected works. Let the army play its hand and see the results for itself." He did not agree with Qazi Hussain Ahmad's assertion that army's role in elections can create divisions in it. "The army works as an institution. There is no dissent in it nor one should fear for one." He also expressed his fears for weakening of two main political parties -- the PPP and the PML -- and their diminishing role in the national politics. This does not augur well for the future of democracy in the country, he said. About the recent Agra Summit, Mr Beg hinted at "some kind of behind-the-scene understanding." Dilating upon his explanation of the secret agreement, he said that it could revolve around what Chaudhry Shujaat had asserted -- division of Kashmir along the Line of Control -- when he was in the US. But, he warned, that no solution could work unless approved, and participated in, by the mujahideen and the All Party Hurriyat Conference. The government should not make the mistake of ignoring the Kashmiris in any future set-up. The US is pushing both countries towards a solution because it is scared of rapidly increasing Chinese influence in the region and wants to counter it by manufacturing a solution to Kashmir, the retired general said. The Chinese investment in the Gwadar port and a highway along the Arabian sea is part of its long-term strategic goals. During the next decade, China would be importing 80 per cent of its oil from the Gulf and through Pakistan. Instead of seeking a guarantee from Pakistan, it was developing its own infrastructure there, Beg added. He also feared for the future of Afghanistan. "Pakistan is really in a bind on this issue. It can neither ignore nor interfere in Afghanistan without incurring a heavy diplomatic cost. Taliban are the real rulers of Afghanistan but protecting and projecting them would cost dearly to our country. Pakistan must develop a long-term policy to deal with the Afghan issue," he said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010807 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Provinces delay views on $130m ADB loan offer ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Rafaqat Ali ISLAMABAD, Aug 6: The provinces have not responded to the federal government's query whether the ADB soft loan offer of US $130 million for judicial reforms should be accepted or not. All the provinces were required to give their views by July 28, but even after a lapse of over a week, they have not furnished their replies. It was learnt from official sources that the federal government had decided to write to the provinces to solicit their views at the earliest so that it could reply to the lenders. An appraisal mission of the ADB is coming to the federal capital in the next fortnight to discuss the details of Access to Justice Program for which it has offered soft loan of US $130 million. All the four high courts have opposed the creation of Judicial Ombudsman under the ADB's judicial reform program in the country. The idea of Judicial Ombudsman was discussed at length by the representatives of the provincial governments in a recent meeting held in Islamabad, presided by Secretary Law and Justice. The representatives of the provincial governments were of the view that the function of Judicial Ombudsman was being performed by the Inspection Teams headed by the judges of the high court and there was no need for multiplication of the institutions. The meeting headed by law and justice secretary was attended by the secretary finance, registrars of all the high courts, finance and law secretaries from the provinces. It had been recommended by the consultants of Access to Justice Program (AJP) the office of Judicial Ombudsman, headed by a high court judge, should assume the role of coordinating the program's activities in each province of the country. Under the plan, Judicial Ombudsman would be responsible for producing an annual report on the status of the judiciary in the province. The report would include statistics, analysis of the problems faced by the judicial systems and proposed solutions including legislative reforms. The proposal is that the ombudsman would work closely with the registrar and inspection team on responding to complaints lodged by the citizens, litigants or lawyers and would include in the annual report a listing of all complaints received and the solution provided to the complainants. If the loan offer is accepted, it would be mandatory for the government to enact Freedom of Information Law, allowing the citizens to have access to public information. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010811 ------------------------------------------------------------------- NAB empowered to get details of bank accounts ------------------------------------------------------------------- By M. Arshad Sharif ISLAMABAD, Aug 10: The government amended the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance, 1999, making it mandatory for the banks and financial institutions to provide information about accounts of any individual. The amended law also empowers the NAB chairman to conduct surveillance of any person to be used as evidence in a trail. Amending section 19 of the Ordinance, the National Accountability Bureau (Amendment) Ordinance 2001 requires all banks and financial institutions to provide any information relating to any person, including copies of entries made in a bank or financial institution's books, record of information and transactions saved in electronic or digital form. The keepers of the books and records shall be obliged to certify the copies in accordance with the law, according to the provision of the Ordinance. Under the amended NAB Ordinance 2001, documents or any other material transferred to Pakistan by any foreign government shall be receivable as evidence in legal proceedings notwithstanding anything contained in the Qanun-i-Shahadat Order, 1984 or any other law for the time being in force. Where there is any reasonable suspicion that any person is involved in or is privy to an offence, the NAB chairman may, with the approval in writing of a high court concerned, direct that surveillance of that person may be carried out through such means as may be necessary in the facts and circumstances of the case. The ordinance further states that the information so collected may be used as evidence in the trial under the Ordinance. However, it added that the copies obtained or information received or evidence collected shall be confidential and not used for any purpose other than for legal proceedings under the NAB Ordinance. The government, while implementing the unanimous verdict of the Supreme Court on NAB Ordinance 1999, has reduced the disqualification period of convicts who held the public office from 21 years to ten years in the NAB (Amendment) Ordinance 2001. "Where an accused person is convicted for the offence of corruption or corrupt practices, he shall forthwith cease to hold public office, if any, held by him and stand disqualified for a period of ten years, to be reckoned from the date he is released after serving the sentence, for seeking or from being elected, chosen, appointed or nominated as a member or representative of any public body or any statutory or local authority or in service of Pakistan or of any Province." The amended Ordinance while defining the procedure for appointment of chairman NAB states that the chairman NAB shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of Pakistan for a period of three years on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the President and shall not be removed from service except on the grounds of removal of a Supreme Court Judge. About removal of the deputy chairman NAB, the Ordinance states that he can only be removed on grounds of misconduct as defined in the Government Servants Efficiency and Discipline Rules of 1973. Laying down the procedure for appointment of Accountability Judges in line with the SC directives, the NAB (Amendment) Ordinance 2001 states that an Accountability Court shall consist of a Judge who shall be appointed by the President of Pakistan in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned and shall hold office for a period of three years on terms and conditions as may be determined by the President. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010810 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Fire destroys ICP offices in NBP headquarters ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Bahzad Alam Khan KARACHI, Aug 9: At least one person died as a fire gutted the headquarters of the Investment Corporation of Pakistan. "The record of the ICP as well as furniture and computers were completely destroyed," the chief fire officer of the fire brigade services of the KMC, Attaur Rehman, said. Though the fire broke out at around 9.30pm, no serious attempt was made to extinguish it by 10.45pm as the first effort of using a snorkel failed because the water thrown with it could reach only the 6th floor. The deputy commissioner of the South district, Shoaib Siddiqi, said the NBP had rented out the top floor to the ICP. He added that at the moment it was hard to ascertain the cause of the fire. He said the situation was in control. According to official sources the ICP, whose paid-up capital is around Rs2.5 billion, has 26 mutual funds. It has been operating at a loss as all the sum is invested in the stock market and its share prices are quoted at huge discount to the par value. They added that the government was considering merging the ICP with the National Investment Trust so that they could be privatized afterwards. The employees of the ICP were opposing the privatization move. With the burning of the ICP record, the investors would make a run for the invested money, taking advantage of the absence of the record. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010810 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CE for transparent sell-off process ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Aug 9: President Gen Pervez Musharraf directed the Privatization Commission to speed up the sell-off process and make it "fully transparent". He told the privatization minister to look into the possibility of extending 5 per cent shares of commercial banks and state enterprises to people with a view to broadening their ownership. The directives came at a meeting presided over by the president. The meeting was held to review the performance of the Privatization Commission. "The president was informed that nine oil wells, the PTCL and the UBL will be privatized by the end of 2001 as all the spadework in this behalf has been completed. Then, in very near future, Pakistan State Oil, Oil and Gas Development Company, and Pakistan Petroleum will be disinvested." Mr Saleem said the president had expressed satisfaction over the performance of the Privatization Commission. He said the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation would be privatized during 2002. Talking about the PTCL, he said the privatization process would be fully transparent and that there was no question of offering it to any buyer without following the biding process and meeting the required criteria. "We have received 11 EOIs for the PTCL and why should we give it to anyone without following the set criteria," he said, adding that whoever would offer a bigger price, would get the PTCL. Mr Saleem said the government was following the decision of the previous government to transfer the PTCL management to a buyer who would be interested even in buying its 18pc shares. "But we in the PC are motivating people, both local and foreigners, to go for 51pc of the shares of the state enterprises, including the PTCL". In 1990, he said, PTCL's 12pc shares were disinvested at a value of Rs55 per share and added that the government had earned $900 million through that. "But now the PTCL share being quoted on the stock market is just Rs15 per share". The secretary-general of finance, Moeen afzal, regretted that there were some misleading reports in newspapers that the PTCL was being given to a particular foreign group. "There is no question to have any underhand deal about the PTCL," he assured. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010811 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SHC sets aside trial court order: Benazir's presence in court ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 10: The Sindh High Court set aside an accountability court's order of personal attendance of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in the accountability court for the framing of modified charges in PIA references against her and others. The references pertained to alleged illegal appointments, transfers and postings in PIA and misuse of authority. The accountability court judge had passed the order while disposing of an application filed on behalf of Ms Bhutto, praying for recalling the orders of an AC of June 2, whereby she was told to be present in the court for alteration of charge. According to him the procedure of framing charge and alteration of charge is different, and at the time of alteration, no plea is required to be recorded. Hence the personal attendance of the accused at the time of alteration of charge is not necessary. He also contended that personal attendance of his client had been dispensed with under Section 205 of CrPC, and the counsel appearing on her behalf was competent to hear the charge in the absence of the accused. The AC judge, while dismissing the recall application, had not concurred with the counsel for the accused on the above two points, and had observed that in the present case the attendance of the accused had been dispensed with by the Supreme Court on May 17, 1999 and charges were read out and explained in her absence by an Ehtesab Bench on October 20, 1998. The plea had been recorded but neither the signatures of any person were available on the plea nor in the plea had it been mentioned as to who had pleaded on behalf of the accused. Under these circumstances, the court found necessary that the altered charge be read out and explained to the accused in person and her plea be recorded accordingly. The AC judge also recalled that while dispensing with the personal attendance of the accused the Supreme Court had authorized the trial court that at any stage the accused could be told to appear in person and to take appropriate steps to enforce her attendance. While praying for setting aside the two orders of the AC, Mr Lakho contended that the trial judge had erred in considering extraneous matters such as recording of the statement of the accused under Section 342 of CrPC while dispensing with the request limited only to the extent of allowing the accused to be represented by her counsel at the time of reading out and explaining the amended or altered charge. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010810 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Court notice to NAB on Benazir's plea ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 9: A division bench of the Sindh High Court has put the deputy prosecutor-general of NAB on notice for Friday, on an application in which the order of the trial court to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has been challenged. Apparently the prosecution had summoned her to modify charges in the PIA references, pertaining to alleged illegal appointments in the national airline. Counsel for Ms Bhutto has taken the position that his client had been exempted by the court from appearing in court, therefore her presence was not necessary. The counsel for Ms Bhutto contended that the trial of accountability reference against his client was pending in the AC- IV Karachi, which was based on malafide intentions, PPI adds. On July 11, Judge Muhammad Javed Alam of the AC-IV, dismissing an application of Ms Bhutto on exemption from appearance in the proceeding of reference, ordered her to appear in the court on Aug 11, as he would frame charges of the reference on all accused, and it was necessary to appear before him. The petitioner's counsel contended that it was not necessary to appear personally in the proceeding of charge framing. He prayed the court to exempt Ms Bhutto from appearing in the trial court. The high court will take up on this matter on Friday. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010811 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Benazir will return when nation wants her: Asif ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Aug 10: Mr Zardari was talking to Dawn in Justice Mansoor Ali Khan's court, where he had been brought under tight security. He had appeared in the retrial of the ARY gold case. When asked about former prime minister's return, Mr Zardari did not rule out the possibility of Ms Bhutto's immediate return if all the newly-elected councilors, who had won with the PPP support, appealed to her to return. "Together with the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy leadership, if these councilors ask her to come back, she will immediately fly back home", he said. The former senator said that a time would come when people opposing military rule would feel the need for a genuine leader, and that was the time when she would return. "As of today, she is much better off outside presenting the case of Pakistan's political parties vis-a-vis the military regime. "if she comes back at a time when the political situation in the country is not ripe, the regime will simply put her under house arrest and throw away the keys. In which case the opposition which is gathering momentum will also suffer a serious set back", he maintained. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010809 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Muttahida meeting ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 8: A meeting of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement's coordination committee will be held to discuss the the local body elections in the province and particularly in the city. The deputy convener of the coordination committee, Aftab Ahmed Shaikh, said that the agenda for the meeting would be the results of the elections, political gerrymandering, and use of money in the elections in Karachi. He added that he had reports that a very heavy amount of money had been passed for the City Nazim's election right under the nose of the army. The way the city had been handed over to a known fundamentalists' party under a calculated scheme was highly deplorable, he maintained. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010807 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nazims to be at mercy of provincial governments ------------------------------------------------------------------- By M. Ismail Khan PESHAWAR, Aug 6: In a major shift from earlier drafts, the proposed Local Government Ordinance, 2001 has given more powers to the provincial governments in terms of checks and balances over the functioning of district Nazims, leaving them literally at the mercy of future elected governments. The proposed ordinance, which is likely to be promulgated by the governments of Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan sometimes this week ahead of Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf's long- awaited address to the nation on August 14, represents a major departure from the earlier draft proposals submitted to the governments for their views and observations. A senior government official said the proposed ordinance has been vetted by the provincial law department and has now been sent to the Governor NWFP, Lt-Gen (retd) Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah to seek approval of his cabinet before promulgating it. No date has been set as yet for the provincial cabinet meeting but the official believed it could be held this week. One of the main objections raised against the earlier draft, and which has now been addressed in the proposed ordinance, was that it had given virtually no powers to the provincial chief executives or, for that matter, the elected provincial assemblies of overseeing the affairs of district governments. Section 22 of chapter III provides that the chief executive of the province may suspend the zila Nazim, if he is satisfied that a grave emergency exists or is likely to occur which necessitates immediate removal of the zila Nazim. The suspension of the zila Nazim shall be subject to ratification by the provincial assembly within thirty days. Section 3 says that a zila Nazim shall stand removed from his office if the provincial assembly by a simple majority of its total membership ratifies his suspension. The orders of the chief executive of the province, however, will cease to have effect, if the provincial assembly does not ratify the suspension of the zila nazim. During the period of suspension of a zila Nazim, the government shall appoint any other person to act as zila Nazim as it may deem appropriate till a new zila Nazim is elected in accordance with the laid-down provision of the ordinance. According to section 23 of the proposed ordinance, the chief executive of the province may move a motion in the Provincial Assembly stating grounds for the recall (removal) of the zila Nazim, if in the opinion of the chief executive of the province, the continuation in office of a zila Nazim is against the public policy or interest of the people or he is guilty of misconduct. The zila Nazim shall cease to hold office immediately, if the motion is approved through a resolution passed by a simple majority of total membership of the provincial assembly. As for the internal removal of the zila Nazim, the proposed ordinance provides a detailed procedure by way of which a member of a zila Nazim seconded by another member can give notice to move a motion in the zila council through the Naib Nazim for recall (removal) of the zila Nazim. If the vote is approved by majority of the votes of its total membership in the zila council, the election authority shall cause a vote to be cast by the members of the union councils in the district whose simple majority in favor of the motion will remove the zila Nazim from his office. The proposed ordinance also provides for the setting up of Provincial Local Government Commission comprising a chairman of the rank and status of a provincial minister, two 'non-executive' members from amongst the members of the provincial assembly - one each from the treasury and the opposition to be nominated by the speaker of the provincial assembly and two technocrat members having expertise in economics, law or management. The tenure of the Provincial Local Government Commission shall be four years. The commission will conduct annual and special inspections of the local governments and submit its report to the chief executive of the province, conduct on its own initiative or so directed by the chief executive of the province, an inquiry by itself or through the district government or conduct special audit and resolve disputes between any department of the government and district government or between two district governments. According to chapter XIV, section 3 & 4, the (provincial) government may provide guidelines, render advice and give directions to the district government through the zila Nazim concerned for achieving the ends of the government policy and for promoting economic, social and environmental security of the province. Section 5 of the same chapter provides that where the situation demands immediate action and the zila Nazim fails to comply with directions given to him under section 4, the chief executive of the province may direct the district coordination officer and district police officer to take such actions as the situation may require. Where in the opinion of the chief executive of the province, the zila Nazim is deliberately avoiding or failing to comply with such directions, the chief executive of the province shall proceed against the zila Nazim for his suspension. Apparently, the checks and balances mechanism was introduced in the proposed ordinance in order to allay apprehensions caused by the NRB's earlier draft ordinances that would have made the chief executive of the province and the provincial assembly mere post offices between the federal and provincial governments. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010807 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PAT-PML(LM) alliance to become powerful: Qadri ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Latafat Ali Siddiqui TORONTO, Aug 6: Dr Tahirul Qadri, president of Pakistan Awami Tehrik, has claimed that his party's newly-formed alliance with PML-LM would emerge as a very powerful political group ahead of next year's general elections in the country. Talking to newsmen here he said three major political groups are likely to contest the promised 2002 polls. Qadri, who is currently on a visit to Canada, said besides his party's alliance, religious parties might get together to put up joint candidates in the parliamentary elections. Similarly, the PPP, the PML(N) and the Awami National Party might forge an alliance. He said there is a great possibility that some other political parties led by Asghar Khan, Imran Khan and Sardar Farooq Leghari will join the PAT-PML(LM) alliance. Answering a question he said that there is also every likelihood that MQM of Altaf Hussain may join PAT's alliance. Earlier, speaking at a gathering of Pakistani community members here, he reiterated his resolve to bring about revolutionary changes in his country. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010805 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Provinces get green light for crackdown: Terrorist activities ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ihtasham ul Haque ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: President Gen Pervez Musharraf presided over a meeting which approved a plan for massive crackdown on terrorists and hardened criminals. An inter-provincial conference on law and order gave the green light to the law enforcement agencies for an all-out offensive against terrorists and their outfits. The meeting was also attended by the four provincial governors. The conference also discussed and approved draft amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 which shall now be promulgated as an Ordinance. The amendments seek to prevent acts of terrorism, particularly ethnic and sectarian. The president declared that there should be no inhibition against use of every available force and all available resources to combat terrorism in all its forms. He directed the provinces to make use of the police force, the rangers and other paramilitary troops to track down the terrorist groups and bring them to justice. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010808 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Data may be used against Pakistan: UN curbs on Taliban ------------------------------------------------------------------- By M. Arshad Sharif ISLAMABAD, Aug 7: Serious apprehensions exist in the country's security apparatus about the composition of the United Nations team of monitors and the high-tech gadgetry that is to be used for enforcing the arms embargo against the Taliban government. Officials told Dawn that a Foreign Office official had gone to New York to brief the UN officials about the security concerns of Pakistan. They said the Bush administration was reviewing its policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the data to be provided by the UN monitors could be used for imposing sanctions against Pakistan and for putting it on the list of the terrorist countries. UN resolutions, co-sponsored by the US and Russia, require the Taliban to fulfil Washington's demand that Osama bin Laden be handed over for trial either in the United States or a third country. The Saudi billionaire faces the charge of masterminding the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in East Africa. The US assistant secretary of state for South Asia, Christina B. Rocca, after her recent visit to India and Pakistan, is on record having said that Washington wants Osama extradited on terrorism charges, but added that "Osama is not the be all and the end all. He is only one problem and he continues to be a threat." Ms Rocca had further said that the Taliban "continue to harbour terrorists" and that there can be no "serious progress unless their support for terrorists stopped." The move of posting UN monitors is being interpreted in the official circles as a step to tighten the noose around Osama. Questioning the legitimacy of posting UN monitors, the director- general of the Institute of Strategic Studies, Dr Shireen Mazari, told Dawn that the deployment of the UN monitors in the region was an indirect way of putting pressure on Pakistan. She suggested that the UN monitors should carry no arms and their activities should be closely monitored. Foreign Office officials told Dawn that the composition of the UN team of monitors was of vital concern to Pakistan. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010808 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Embassies fail to get response from Kabul ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Syed Talat Hussain ISLAMABAD, Aug 7: Attempts were in vain by the embassies of the United States, Australia and Germany to get permission for sending officials to Kabul to inquire about their nationals in the custody of the Taliban as no response came from Afghanistan on Tuesday. Diplomatic sources told Dawn that the American embassy wanted to send a consular level official, and the Germans and the Australians were likely to join him provided the permission from Kabul was granted. The planned visit is part of the ongoing efforts to seek more information about the workers of the Shelter Now International, a non-governmental organization that has been working in Afghanistan for years. The aid workers, including two American women and four Germans, were arrested on the charge of spreading Christianity. They were rounded up by the Taliban's ministry of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in a raid on their offices. Since then little is known about them, sources said. The Taliban embassy in Islamabad has not been able to make much headway on getting information from their headquarters back home. This is an unusual practice, for in all such incidents when the foreigners get into trouble their embassies are formally informed about the situation, the sources said. However, the Taliban have only conveyed through indirect channels about the condition of these workers. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010806 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Gas pipeline near Much catches fire ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Saleem Shahid QUETTA, Aug 5: A gas pipeline caught fire following an explosion suspending gas supply to the coal township Much. Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) officials confirmed the incident and said that three teams had been dispatched to the area for investigation about the gas pipeline explosion. Sources said that the pipeline was drawing gas from the main transmission line for Much and some other areas of sub-division. The cause of explosion was not known. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010806 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Benazir wants Rubina's conviction commuted ------------------------------------------------------------------- Monitoring Desk LONDON, Aug 5: Benazir Bhutto has asked President Pervez Musharraf to prevent the execution of an illiterate Pakistani woman. "Compassion is part of Islam's heritage and Pakistan's image can be enhanced by sparing Rubina Ansari, who is just 24 years old, from death by hanging," Bhutto was quoted as saying on a PTI website. Rubina was sentenced to death for murdering a 70-year-old woman in Sargodha in Pakistan. If Musharraf does not cut the sentence she will be hanged as early as tomorrow. She would be the first woman to be executed in Pakistan for 16 years. Ms Bhutto said the murder of 70-year-old Hajjan Aziz Begum was a ghastly crime deserving punishment, but commuting the death sentence granted to Rubina to life imprisonment will serve the ends of justice by ensuring a harsh punishment. Amnesty International stated that Rubina's trial had "appeared to have fallen short of international standards". Since Pakistan's independence, eight women were executed by hanging. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010808 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Drugs case against Zardari adjourned ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Aug 7: The Lahore district and sessions judge on Tuesday fixed Sept 8 for arguments on an application filed by the prosecution seeking permission for the production of documents which contain details of the assets which former Senator Asif Ali Zardari allegedly acquired by the money earned through drug trafficking. The documents were recorded by a UK court. The court is seized of a narcotics case against the former senator. The case was registered under sections 6, 8, 12, 15 of the Control of Narcotics Substances Ordinance by the Qila Gujar Singh police on Oct 19, 1997. The police had initially arrested two persons, Arif Baloch and Shorang Khan, in another case. The two said they had worked for Zardari and the alleged statement formed the basis of the instant case. The court directed the Kot Lakhpat jail superintendent to get in touch with the Adiala jail superintendent to ensure Zardari's presence in the court on the next date of hearing. In case the order was not implemented, the two superintendents would have to submit an explanation. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010805 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Asif Sehgal convicted in second case ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Aug 4: An accountability court convicted industrialist Asif Sehgal of willful default on bank loans and sentenced him to seven years imprisonment. He was also fined Rs10 million. This is his second conviction. The court also sentenced his brothers Abid and Arif Sehgal, who did not join the proceedings, to three years imprisonment for absconding. Perpetual warrants of arrest were issued for them. The court directed that the fine be recovered under Section 386 of the Criminal Procedure Code by way of attachment and sale of convicts' assets. In this case, Asif Sehgal was accused of willful default on payment of Rs16.526 million to Askari Bank Limited. The loan was issued in the name of Mohib Exports Limited. The complainant said Mohib Exports Limited was allowed a finance facility in 1993 which after enhancement amounted to Rs25 million. The facility was secured by personal guarantee of the three brothers. The court noted the accused did not deny having availed the facility and did not dispute the execution of the last agreement dated Aug 18, 1998, according to which a sum of Rs15 million was shown as the principal amount. The liability was to be discharged in February 1999. From August 1998 till the institution of the complaint, he paid a sum of Rs4.133 million which were adjusted towards the principal amount. The court held the defendant's pleas baseless. It said the fact that the bank had filed a suit for recovery did not absolve the accused from the criminal liability for willful default. It said the plea that default by Mohib Group of Industries was caused by unwise illegal actions on the part of other creditors of the group was not covered under the relevant provisions of the NAB Ordinance. The reference was submitted to the court on May 8, 2000. The charges were framed on Oct 27.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY 20010808 ------------------------------------------------------------------- $459m debt repayment accords signed ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Aug 7: Pakistan has concluded debt rescheduling accords worth $459 million with eleven donor countries. The rescheduling treaties with the rest of the seven donor states are due to be inked by the deadline (Aug 31), official sources told APP here Tuesday. The pacts with donor states, which are in the pipeline, include USA - $392 million, Japan - $598 million, South Korea - $166 million, Switzerland - $18 million, the Netherlands - $17 million, Sweden - $40 million, Belgium (Non-ODA) - $8 million and Russia - 17 million. The debt agreements inked with eleven donor states include Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium (ODA), Spain, UK, Canada and Austria. Pakistan will also sign rescheduling accords worth $23 million with non-Paris Club members including Czech Republic, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Libya, completing the whole rescheduling process of $1.8 billion before September 2001, the sources added.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010808 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IMF-World Bank mission due on 14th ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Aug 7: A four-member joint team of International Monitory Fund and World Bank is due to arrive here on August 14, to review the report of task force on reform of tax administration. Sources in the CBR told Dawn on Tuesday that Mr. Richard Highfield will lead the review mission, which included Graham Holland, Ross Humpahries, and a representative of the World Bank Michael Engelshalk. The team is expected to stay in Islamabad from August 14 to 25, sources added. During their stay, sources said, the review mission would go through the report and review the modalities of the recommendations made by the task fore for restructuring the tax machinery. Sources said that donor agencies had shown discontent over the current environment of cumbersome procedures, vast discretionary powers, poor monitoring and lax supervision couple with almost zero accountability, which provided a fertile ground for rampant corruption in the tax machinery. They said that for generating more revenue the mission was expected to suggest to the government for streamlining of the existing process, recommend reduction of exemptions and broadening of tax base by bringing more people into tax net. To speed up the revamping of the tax machinery, the newly-appointed CBR Chairman Riaz Ahmad Malik has already constituted a special cell - Policy and Tax Reform Cell. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010809 ------------------------------------------------------------------- WB to provide Rs8bn for road rehabilitation ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Aug 8: World Bank has agreed to provide financial assistance of Rs8 billion for the rehabilitation of 10 sections of Karachi-Lahore-Peshawar National Highway which also includes making Lahore-Gujranwala section six lane. According to National Highway Authority (NHA) sources, a high-level delegation of World Bank headed by Navaid A. Qureshi held talks with Chairman NHA Maj-Gen Tariq Javed at the head office of the authority. They discussed in detail matters relating to rehabilitation of Karachi-Lahore-Peshawar National Highway. Talking to the delegation Chairman NHA said the government was giving high priority to the construction and rehabilitation of highways as highways network play a significant role in the socio- economic development of the country. He expressed satisfaction that World Bank had agreed in principle to provide financial assistance for rehabilitation of 10 sections of Karachi-Lahore-Peshawar National Highway which also includes making Lahore-Gujranwala section six lane. He said the whole project would be completed at an estimated cost of Rs12 billion, out of which the World Bank had agreed in principle to provide Rs8 billion. He said the remaining Rs4 billion would be provided by the government. This amount will be used for development and rehabilitation of highways and its proper use will be ensured, he added. He said NHA had adopted a new system of toll collection from highways in the country under which the amount of toll tax will be used for construction and maintenance of highways which will help reduce load on the national exchequer. He expressed hope that this cooperation would continue in future.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010805 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IMF facility this year: More assistance likely: minister ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Aug 4: Pakistan is likely to get $2 billion to $2.5 billion Poverty Reduction Growth Facility (PRGF) from the IMF "within this year" as the United States is encouraging the International Financial Institutions to help improve the country's economy. "The US government is providing an active support to improve our economy specially by getting for us maximum external resources through the IFIs," said Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz. "Their (US) positive aptitude will help us get the PRGF within this year to alleviate poverty and invigorate growth," he said. Speaking at a news conference, he said a high-powered IMF mission to be headed by Mr Clausse Enders would arrive here on August 15 to hold negotiations on the PRGF as the current $596 million Standby Arrangement (SBA) would expire on September 30. Responding to a question, he said he had a very important and fruitful meeting with US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Ms Christina Rocca. He said he was assured by Ms Rocca that her government was actively considering lifting sanctions against Pakistan. "I am told that they are actively reviewing the issue." He said although there were sanctions against Pakistan, the US government was extending all possible support specially by abstaining from the Boards meetings of the IMF and the World Bank to help extend required external assistance to the country. He said that Ms Rocca told him that the United States appreciated Pakistan's reform program and would do every thing possible despite sanctions. He said that he told Ms Rocca that sanctions could be counter-productive and that they must be lifted. Shaukat Aziz expressed hopes that his meeting with Ms Rocca would also help obtain financial assistance from the US Exim Bank, USAid and Opec. When asked whether the US official linked the lifting of sanctions with the restoration of democracy, the minister said: "She did not raise this issue before me." Shaukat said he could not say whether she had taken up this issue with other people she met during her visit. The finance minister said he had urged the United States during his meeting with Ms Rocca that Pakistan should be provided a level- playing field to have an access in US markets. "I told her that Pakistan should be given duty-free access for its goods in USA like Bangladesh, Kenya and Jordan," he said, adding that Pakistan believed in fair market competition. He said Pakistan had made it abundantly clear that it wanted better trade relations with the United Nations and was 'not' interested in aid. The finance minister told reporters that President Musharraf would announce the initiation of a number of development projects on August 14, for which he would also travel across the country for four to five days. "Some of the projects will be physically launched on Aug 14 while announcement would be made for some other bigger development projects on that day," he said. He said Pakistan had lined up huge foreign resources for these development projects from Saudi Arabia, China, UAE, Oman, Japan and international donor agencies. He said Saudi Arabia would extend $250 million soft loan for various projects. The minister said $8 million were being provided by Oman for the construction of runway at Gwadar, provision for electricity and providing better boats to the fishermen of the area. He said Saudi Fund for Development was also considering offering funds for the development of coastal highways in Balochistan. "I am leaving for China on Monday to finalize negotiations for a number of development projects for which Beijing announced substantial assistance during Chinese prime minister's visit to Pakistan few months ago," Shaukat Aziz said. To a question, the minister said that he would discuss with the Chinese authorities financing for manufacturing/procurement of 69 locomotives, procurement of 29 electric locomotives, Lakhra Coal Mine project, Saindak copper project and a dryport project. He said he would meet the Chinese foreign minister, minister for foreign trade and the finance minister. He said he was hopeful to have a substantial Chinese funding for various development projects to be announced on August 14. "I will be back before August 14 with more details about Chinese financing for our projects." Answering a question, the finance minister denied that any particular investor from Lebanon was being sold Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited. "We receive foreign investors every now and then but that does not mean that any special or undue favor is being offered to anyone," he said. He said investment climate had improved in Pakistan which was attracting foreign investors to invest in Pakistan or take part in the disinvestment process. The whole privatization process would be transparent, he assured. He told a reporter that Standby Arrangement (SBA) was not being extended and it would end on September 30 as per schedule. The finance minister said the murder of PSO managing director Shaukat Mirza was very tragic and unfortunate. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010811 ------------------------------------------------------------------- $200m aid for Gwadar, Makran projects soon ------------------------------------------------------------------- BEIJING, Aug 10: Pakistan and China signed a formal agreement, under which the Chinese government will provide financial support of $200 million for construction of the first phase of Gwadar deep- sea port and Makran coastal highway. The agreement was signed by Chinese Minister for Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Shi Guangsheng and Pakistan Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz. The first-phase construction of the two gigantic projects is to start by December this year, and will be completed within a period of three years. The port will have three berths, equipped adequately to handle trade by sea. The first-phase will cost $250 million, of which $200 million are to be provided by the Chinese government while the remainder amount is to be arranged by the Pakistan government. -APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010811 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Energy sector faces financial crisis: ADB report ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ihtasham ul Haque ISLAMABAD, Aug 10: Pakistan's energy sector is facing a financial crisis which basically stems from weak governance, political interference in decision-making, poor staff morale, and disregard of prudential business practices. According to an ADB report made available to Dawn, the weak governance and worsening problems in other areas have had a major impact on the financial performance of the utilities and have hindered the effectiveness and sustainability of the energy sector. "Weak governance has resulted in inefficient utility operations, power theft, reduced billing and collection, and non-payment of arrears," the report said. These practices have affected the poor segment of the population more than the affluent and contributed to the financial crisis in the sector. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010806 ------------------------------------------------------------------- $2 billion power investment plan hits snags ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Faraz Hashmi ISLAMABAD, Aug 5: Reluctance on the part of the government to prepare a model Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) has become a major bottleneck in the $2 billion investment plan by a Swedish company to set up a wind-powered electricity generation project, Dawn reliably learnt. Interestingly, the WAPDA Chairman, Lt-Gen Zulfiqar Ali Khan, has already issued a letter of intent to Milergo AB of Sweden and M/s Golden Valley Company for setting up two wind energy stations to produce 20MW of electricity, a source said. The WAPDA chairman, after a detailed presentation by the representatives of the Swedish company on the benefits of wind- propelled power generation, was so impressed that he went out of his way and issued an LOI, knowing full well that it was the prerogative of the federal government to allow any company to undertake a project. In the LOI, WAPDA permitted the Swedish company to immediately undertake a feasibility study of wind energy generation in Pakistan. The company, through the LOI, was given an assurance that WAPDA and the KESC would extend all possible assistance to the sponsors in securing the various consents, approvals and permits from the government of Pakistan, respective provincial government and local authorities for the smooth execution of the project. Bureaucratic rigmarole at the Ministry of Water and Power and Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) have become a stumbling block in the way of $2 billion investment in the country, he added. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010808 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Merger, winding up of financial institutions on cards ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ihtasham ul Haque ISLAMABAD, Aug 7: The government has decided to reduce the number of Development Financial Institutions (DFIs) from 17 to 3 only, through their mergers and, in some cases, by altogether disbanding them. Official sources said that poor performance of most of the DFIs has forced the authorities to either disband them or manage their mergers, preferably before the end of 2001. They said that the best way to save the financial sector from political interference was to privatise all the National Commercial Banks (NCBs) and to reduce the number of DFIs from 17 to 3. The World Bank was expected to extend $250 million loan for restructuring the NCBs and the DFIs. The restructuring plan of the NCBs seeks to achieve a cost/income ratio of 0.65 per cent through staff reduction (40 per cent), branch closure, and outsourcing of non-core activities. The plan envisages privatization of two NCBs (Habib Bank and United Bank) within the tenure of the present government and to prepare a third bank (NBP) for the purpose. Because of the distressed conditions of these banks (high-cost structures and depleted balance sheets), potential buyers have indicated they are not interested in taking over banks in their present conditions. The government is, therefore, seeking Word Bank's support during 2001 to finance the cost of banks restructuring to improve their prospects for sell-off. According to a latest World Bank report, NCBs stemmed operating losses through staff reductions (30 per cent) and closure of 500 loss-making branches. A third of the stock of loan defaults was recovered by the end of 1999. The current government, says the report, has supplemented loan recovery through the establishment of a government agency - the Corporate and Industrial Restructuring Corporation (CIRC) - which was in the process of assuming the NCBs' and DFIs' all private sector non-performing loans of amounts above Rs10 million and which already have court orders for recovery. The WB believed that disclosure standards, banking regulations and supervision were also strengthened through a major independent central bank; improved corporate governance through the introduction of private sector boards and management in state-owned banks; and reduced intermediation costs. These measures helped the banking system improve capital adequacy, asset quality, efficiency and profitability. "However, as the banking crisis eased and financial institutions began to heal, the reform process slowed down," the report noted. In May 1999, political interference resumed through new centrally- mandated credit programs; loan recovery weakened; and bank privatization stalled. However, the work to strengthen the central bank's regulatory capacity did continue with good results. Despite some setbacks, the WB continued, through its policy dialogue and technical assistance to the central bank, to encourage the government to deepen the banking reforms. At the request of the present government, a financial sector update was completed in May 2000. It laid the basis for the government's banking sector reform program. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010807 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IFC backs out of $260m pledge: Funds for 23 cos ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ihatshamul Haque ISLAMABAD, Aug 6: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has cancelled $260 million funds it has committed to 23 private companies in Pakistan. According to World Bank's latest report on Pakistan Country Assistance Strategy (CAS), the IFC's ability to do business in Pakistan has been constrained. The 1998 balance of payment crisis, the large external indebtedness, political instability, dispute with investors (specially in the power sector), and the loss of investors confidence have increased the perceived risk and discouraged new investment. Moreover distortionary policies - for cement, automotive, oil and gas for example - further deter private investment and handicap IFC's support. "The IFC, which is a subsidiary of the World Bank, has therefore focussed on restructuring its own portfolio, while helping existing clients restructure and strengthen their companies' balance sheet. This had led to the cancellation of some 260 million dollar in commitments to 23 companies. As a result now Pakistan ranks as IFCs 8th largest exposure, down from 6th in December 1998," the report said. IFC's disbursed own account portfolio is currently 447 million dollar in 45 companies of which 38 per cent is in five Independent Power Producer (IPP) projects. All the IPPs are now operational. The IFC's B Loan portfolio is currently 254 million dollar in 13 companies, with a strong concentration (57 per cent) in power. Of the 45 portfolio companies, 9 are not current, 64 million dollar are overdue and in non-accrual, while reserves for loan losses are 80 million dollars. IFC recently committed a 100 million dollar Trade Enhancement Facility, which will make available additional resources for confirmation of imports of letter of credits. This would be of particular help to smaller companies. IFC, according to the report, is considering further investments in the financial sector, and in the gas sector, where foreign investment is needed to help the development of proven gas reserves. "However, the pace of further IFC investment will depend on continued progress towards economic and political stability, a more transparent, non-discretionary and market-based policy environment, and privatization of banks and other public enterprises," the report said. Subject to such progress, priorities for future IFC investment are to develop the financial sector to improve access to finance by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and micro enterprises, and improve the efficiency of commercial banking; investments in gas production and transportation; support for private investment in infrastructure; and investments in industries with strong prospects, which can be competitive without dependence on government protection or subsidies. The report also said that with approximately 111 million dollar in Political Risk Insurance (PRI) cover, Pakistan is MIGA's(Multilateral Investment Guarantee Authority) tenth largest country in terms of net exposure. The portfolio covers investment in the financial infrastructure (including three IPPs) and manufacturing sectors. MIGA's activities in Pakistan have also been hampered by Pakistan's poor investment climate. "Nonetheless, while foreign investors have adopted a wait-and-see attitude towards Pakistan, interest in MIGA guarantees in the country remains strong, as evidenced by numerous inquiries, received by the agency in various sector, including financial, agricultural, construction and oil and gas," the Bank's report said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010806 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Institutional traders shunt bears out of market ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Muhammad Aslam The KSE 100-share index after hitting the week's low at 1,229.00 showed smart recovery as most of the leading base shares rose and finished with a modest rise of 10.45 points at 1,252.29 as compared to 1,242.84 points a week earlier. The total market capitalization also rose to Rs316 billion from the previous low of Rs314.00 billion as the heavily-capitalized shares, notably the PTCL and the Hub-Power recovered. The important KSE decisions include, among others", the cash deposit waiver on share business up to Rs50 million, the cut in share transaction fee and the extension of the settlement period for futures contract to one month from the current 15 days. Although, the board meeting did not take up the issue of T+3 trading system, and its negative impact on the daily-traded volumes could be taken at an appropriate time after giving it fair chance. After touching the year's low level of 1,229 points, the KSE 100- share index did recover and finished above the support level at 1,252.00, no one was sure how it would behave in the very next session despite the revival of the strong covering-purchases by institutions in the PTCL. The selective buying in some of the leading base shares, notably the Hub-Power and the PTCL could put the market back on the rails, if it is sustained for another couple of sessions at the current lower levels. The dividend announcements at the rate of 50 per cent; 11 per cent and an interim bonus shares of 30 per cent by Arif Habib Securities, the BSJS Balanced Fund and Jahangir Siddiqi Investment Bank were in line with the market expectations but failed to generate fresh buying in their shares. An interim dividend of 3.5 per cent by the KASB Premier Fund was also well-received. According to the sources, the floating stock of Rs5bn to 6bn is in the market, which is keeping the sentiment bearish. Although minus and plus signs equally matched, some leading shares managed to post fresh gains under the lead of Clariant Pakistan, Haroon Oils, Mitchell's Fruits, Knoll Pharmaceuticals on the reports of higher profit for the half year ended June 30,2001.The losers were led by Millat Tractors, Gul Ahmed Textiles, Adamjee Insurance followed by Arif Habib Securities, International Investment Financials, Alico, Nimir Resins, the Attock Refinery, Pakistan Oilfields, National Refinery, Bolan Casting and several others but the losses were fractional. The trading volume did not expand despite the late week's active short-coverings in the PTCL totalled 303m shares. Other actively traded shares were led by the Hub-Power, the PSO, the Engro Chemical, the ICI Pakistan and Adamjee Insurance, along with the Sui Northern, the Fauji Fertiliser, the MCB, the Nishat Mills, the FFC-Jordan Fertiliser, the Knoll Pharma and some others were also actively traded. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010808 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Seed corporation's sale on donors' agenda ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Amjad Mahmood LAHORE, Aug 7: After the provincial food departments, the Punjab Seed Corporation is the next target of the world donor agencies insisting on the introduction of open market forces in the agriculture sector of the country, it is learnt. Various multinational companies operating in the seed business are exerting their pressure on the government through the donor agencies for the privatization of the PSC, the Asia's largest seed supplying company. Sources say that the step will be taken in the name of projecting the local private sector in the trade though the local firms have no required scientific system and experience for seed research, multiplication, processing, storage and quality control. There are over 380 registered private concerns active in the field. They fear that after the disbandment of the public sector institution, the local farmers will be left at the mercy of the multinationals which are already fleecing them in the sale of pesticides. This step coupled with deregulation of the irrigation sector will leave no room for the farming community to face the challenge of the WTO regime, they add. The PSC, established in 1976, is the only public sector institution which is providing certified seeds to farmers of all the four provinces without getting any financial aid from the government. It is also earning foreign exchange through the export of seeds by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, and is also meeting the seed requirements of the World Food Programme. Sources in the corporation say that the PSC is also supplying quality seeds to Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Iran and Afghanistan. They say India had tried to capture the Asian market through cheap supplies but failed as its seeds could not give the projected yield in Bangladesh. The private concerns are marketing cotton seed of various quality at rates ranging from Rs10,000 to Rs40,000 per bag in the local market, while the PSC is supplying international standard seed at Rs8,000 per bag. Kissan Board President Sadiq Khakwani has at a forum stressed the need for strengthening the PSC instead of privatizing it in the larger interest of the farming community. He says the presence of the corporation is necessary to save the farmers from fleecing by the multinationals and hoarding by the local private firms.Back to the top
EDITORIALS & FEATURES 20010805 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Two wrongs can make a right ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ardeshir Cowasjee On August 11, 1947, Mohammad Ali Jinnah spoke to the members of his country's first Constituent Assembly. His first observation: "You will no doubt agree with me that the first duty of a government is to maintain law and order so that the life, property and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the state." Fifty-four years later this 'duty' remains unfulfilled. Citizens of this country are gunned down in the streets merely because of their religious beliefs. Most properties are unprotected by the law and its agents. There actually is no law, no order. And now, yet again, since the writ of the law cannot be effectively implemented, the government of the province of Sindh has decided to change the law in much the same way as is done in the kingdom of Id. Says the King to his people: "Your beloved King has eliminated crime in city parks." "How?" ask the people. "I have legalized mugging," explains the king. In Karachi, the King of Sindh tells us: "The 260-odd buildings, illegally and unlawfully constructed, cannot be regularized under the present law. So, we will change the law." In my column last Sunday I wrote about the building mafia and how it has managed to 'persuade' the Sindh government into believing that if the illegally constructed buildings are legalized the building industry in Karachi will be revived. How? one may ask. A recent survey has it that there are at present approximately 100,000 flats built by speculators which are lying vacant awaiting buyers, and that there are approximately 200,000 plots of all sizes and shapes which have been bought but not yet built upon. On July 24, the Sindh cabinet in its finite wisdom decided to promulgate an ordinance "To further amend the Sindh Building Control Ordinance, 1979." The ordinance reads: Now therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 8 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Governor of Sindh is pleased to make and promulgate the following ordinance: (i) This Ordinance may be called the Sindh Buildings Control Ordinance, 2001. (ii) It shall come into force at once. Sub-section (1-A) of Section 19 [SBCO 1979] is hereby substituted with the following amendments for a period of twelve (12) months commencing from the date of promulgation of this Ordinance. 'The Authority or any person authorized by it in this behalf may compound any offence under this ordinance, including change of land use on deposit of prescribed composition fee ranging from 200 per cent to 300 per cent of the existing rate of composition and other necessary fees as approved by the Authority, depending upon the socio-economic conditions of different localities, on production of a certificate of structural stability duly verified by a Licensed Structural Engineer, on such terms and conditions as prescribed, except the buildings which have environmentally degrading activities such as manufacturing, storage of dangerous/inflammable materials, or caters to the service sector to transport, conversion of parking spaces to other uses until such spaces are restored to their original function, the reservation of road widening scheme and violation of property line or any hazardous use.' Proviso of sub-section (1-A) of Section 19 of SBCO 1979 is hereby substituted with [the] following new proviso: 'Provided that building works carried out in violation of Karachi Building and Town Planning Regulations and rules framed thereunder in respect of foot print, compulsory open space, excess covered area and projection of the building shall be compounded subject to realization of composition fee enhanced by 400 per cent from existing rate of composition and other necessary fees as approved by the Authority if the deviation does not exceed beyond 20 per cent of the permissible limit on the terms and conditions as prescribed by the Authority.' This last paragraph of the ordnance in effect permits rules to be broken purposefully and with impunity to the extent of 20 percent. Senseless? This was followed by a letter dated July 28 addressed to those concerned (e.g., me as member of the KDA governing body and a member of the KBCA oversee committee) by Brigadier Zafar Ahmed Malik, an honest but misguided retired army officer who is the present Chief Controller of Buildings of the Karachi Building Control Authority, which informed us, inter alia: The presentation on regularization of buildings was given to the President of Pakistan on 2/6/2001 and thereafter on the instructions of the Honourable Governor of Sindh the draft notification for regularization was forwarded to the government on 15/6/2001. A presentation on the subject was given to the cabinet and Governor Sindh on 24/7/2001. I am glad to inform you that the cabinet approved the proposal... In this respect there are certain apprehensions which I would like to clarify that every building will be regularized. Cabinet has fixed certain parameters for regularization which will be strictly adhered to. Buildings which are structurally unsound or lacking adequate facilities for safety of the occupant will not be regularized. Citizen safety is of paramount importance. With the decision of the cabinet a long outstanding issue has been resolved. Before the cabinet decision the subject was deliberated at length at various forums for a considerable period. People were demanding it for a long time. [What sort of people? The intentional law breakers? Not a single written request is on the brigadier's files.] Majority were of the view that the problems should be resolved as per recommendation of the committee. We welcome the government decision and hope this will help in reviving the building industry. [How?] KBCA will make every effort to make the process as transparent as possible [Apart from the brigadier, most of the KBCA men are corrupt]. KBCA will publicize the matter through media TV/newspapers and also by holding public seminars/workshops for the awareness of the general public. The approval will be granted after due scrutiny and verification of stability of structure on payment of composition fee as approved by the cabinet. This badly drafted ordnance will win the approbation of the vocal minority - five hundred illegal builders and a couple of hundred people who have invested in flats and shops. The silent majority - the millions of citizens of Karachi - have been safely ignored. It will be a long time before anyone realizes that the penalties being paid by the mafias who have broken the law is peanuts compared to the penalties being paid by the honest citizens of this unhappy metropolis who will have to live with the consequences of the 'regularization'. For a small 'regularization' fee, anyone living in Karachi can have his residential house legally converted into a shopping mall, or a school, or an office, or a beauty salon, or a pakora parlour. Even if not required to be used as such today, the message is: convert it now while the going is good as an investment for the future. One does not have to worry about the restrictive covenants of the plot lease obtained from the KMC, or BOR, or KDA, or a cooperative society. 'Regularization' will override all other laws, contracts, leases, agreements, articles, and understandings. In 1985, at a cost of $ 40 million, a master plan was made for the city of Karachi, but it was apparently never notified or legalized. The program now is to borrow again, almost half of this amount from the World Bank and update the old plan. Why waste money? Why increase the debt of the citizens of this country? The 'regularization', ipso facto, makes the builders' mafia the new town planners. In its wisdom, the mafia will decide, within existing schemes such as Clifton, PECHS, Nazimabad, Garden East, etc, where urban renewal is to be carried out, which houses are to be changed into flat sites, which amenity spaces are to be converted into commercial plazas, how much open space is required within plots, how many floors are to be allowed, how the traffic will flow, on which public streets children will play cricket, and on which public streets they will play football. Just take the case of a building on Sharea Faisal. The builder has constructed 250,000 square feet of excess unauthorized office space. How? By purposefully breaking the law? Or was it an oversight? This builder breaker-of-the-law is now jumping with joy. He will, with the greatest delight, cough up Rs 300 per square foot as 'regularization' penalties, which will total Rs 75 million, an amount which to him is negligible. A selling price of Rs 2,000 per square foot will leave him with a clear illicit profit of Rs 1,200 per square foot, which for the entire illegal 250,000 square feet totes up to a neat profit of Rs 300 million. However, help is at hand. The governor of Sindh, the chairman of the Economic Development Council, is busy 'devolutionizing'. The vice-chairman of the EDC, the well-meaning Shahid Feroz whose imagination soars in the direction of grandiose visions, has been made aware that the ordinance, as drafted, is faulty in the extreme. He has promised to take up the matter with his chairman. To quote Shahid: " The draft ordnance needs to be refined ." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010810 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The last of the cold warriors ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ayaz Amir There may be many Delhis that historians or other specialists would know of but as I make the Lahore-Delhi run for the second time in less than a month there are two I am getting familiar with. One is the happening city, a fizz in its air, which leaves many Pakistanis a bit green with envy. Why can't their cities be like this? The other is Fortress Delhi, a holdover from the cold war, where the old shibboleths still cast their spell. In so many areas India is fast moving ahead. It does not take long for a visitor from Pakistan to notice the difference between the cosmopolitanism of Delhi and the provincialism of even our larger cities. Lahore, once the pride of this part of the world, now has the mindset (psychology, system of values) that would fit a village. Who were the two choices for Lahore district head or nazim in the just-concluded local election? Hafiz Salman Butt and Mian Aamir Mahmood, both of whom would not look out of place in a movie about toughs and underworld heavies. Between the MQM and a succession of weak and bungling provincial overlords we have tried our best to pull down Karachi. If it still retains aspects of its commercial glory, it is no thanks to its godfathers but purely because of its own resilience. Islamabad is neither here nor there, its pretensions and pomposity being a heavy burden on the land. So Delhi then is cosmopolitan. More happens here on a crowded evening than in Islamabad for an entire year. All the more astonishing then that Fortress Delhi, the counterpoint to all this openness, still retains the flavour of the Berlin Wall. In this Fortress there is no window more tightly shuttered against the elements than the one which opens on Pakistan. Miss Haversham's world with its cobwebs and a clock which has forgotten to tick. Behind the barred window this is the room from where time has been evacuated. Media people in India are easy to deal with. Finding a common wavelength with them is not difficult. When they indulge in self- criticism a Pakistani is encouraged to admit to the reigning follies on his side of the divide. A genuine conversation starts in which the participants talk to each other instead of at each other which has been the standard procedure in Indo-Pak face-offs. Sure, the media world has its fiery priests but in the English language part of it such fundamentalists are few in number - those who think diplomacy best functions when only one side, that sitting across the table, makes the concessions. The majority do not belong to this narrow church. If they did, Pakistani wordsmiths would not have been allowed to have their say on Indian TV. But the kitchen in Fortress Delhi is not in the hands of any doubting Thomases; people inclined to question established verities. It is in the firm control of a breed vanishing elsewhere but alive and well in this part of the world: cold warriors to the last man and fighting woman. To see them in play or action is a humbling experience. It is enough to turn the most peaceable dove into a wild-eyed hawk. For these clerics of the rigid line the memory of Agra rankles. Not so much for what it failed to achieve but for what it gave the Pakistanis: a credible media victory on Indian soil. General Musharraf's performance at his famous breakfast meeting with Indian editors has not been forgiven. It continues to be painted in various colours of treachery and betrayal as if the televizing of it by Star News was a dark plot on the part of the spin doctors who formed part of the Pakistani delegation. But wherein lay the mischief? Not in the act of televizing but in the fact that Musharraf came out of it looking articulate and masterful. It is this success which rankles and this which has not been forgiven. If Musharraf had been savaged by the editors, had he been mopping his brow under their questioning or come out of the encounter bruised and bleeding, and if the whole thing had then been shown on television, Musharraf would have been commiserated with and given lectures on the values of a free society. Since it turned out otherwise, the cold warriors who act as pilots on Kashmir and Pakistan are finding it difficult to keep their indignation in check. In an encounter in which the Pakistani side appeared lighter-footed than its Indian counterpart their one consolation has come in the form of the summit's eventual failure. If a joint declaration incorporating the Pakistani position on Kashmir had been signed their world would have crumbled. It is important to get the context of the summit right. The invitation to General Musharraf was offered from a height, as an act of condescension from an India basking in the warm glow of its perceived superiority. It was not part of the script that someone not long ago reviled as a dictator and mastermind of "cross-border terrorism" should in any way turn the tables on his hosts. But when this is what started happening, the discomfort on the Indian side became palpable. What had been showcased as a symbol of Indian reasonableness - the invitation to Musharraf - was turning into a public relations nightmare. It was not the televizing of the breakfast meeting which thwarted the signing of a declaration but the gathering Indian realization that Pakistan was getting away with too much. This is not to say that masters of trench warfare exist only on the Indian side. They have their happy counterparts in Pakistan as well, liberators of Kashmir who would willingly fight to the last Kashmiri. The generals and diplomats of this hard school are interchangeable. Their briefs may be different but the attitude which informs them is to a striking degree the same. Between them there will be no solution of the Kashmir problem. Not now and not in the next fifty years. But it's amazing how some people in Pakistan fall prey to the most absurd illusions. There are no Kashmir solutions being studied in Fortress Delhi. Academics and other people on the fringes of power may occasionally toy with different theories. But they don't matter. The keys to the drawbridge are not in their hands. Those who have the keys operate from fixed positions, none of which allows any flexibility on Kashmir or nothing that even remotely calls into question the sacrosanctity of existing frontiers. The subcontinent is a cruel place for such luxuries as the flowering of hope. But is there any alternative to talking? At the risk of appearing to wear my patriotism on my sleeve, I think Pakistan has handled matters with India in a mature manner since Agra. For instance, it has mercifully chosen not to respond to MrVajpayee's uncharacteristic outburst against Gen Musharraf for knowing neither history nor the rules of international diplomacy. India has been embarrassed by these remarks and not Pakistan. To have shown umbrage at them would have been a lapse of judgment. Agra was a good thing because it played before a wide audience. Far from being blamed for this outcome, the media deserves praise for lending excitement to what otherwise would have been a bleak and sterile affair. People in both countries haven't suffered for being made aware of each other's viewpoint. In the long line of Indo-Pak summits which stick in the mind? To some extent Tashkent. Certainly Simla. The rest are a blur. Agra will be remembered for the excitement it brought even though, unlike Tashkent and Simla, the firing of no guns preceded it. For a change India and Pakistan should learn to get excited about peace if at all they are to move out of their loveless embrace. I have written the above lines in New Delhi. In Pakistan I probably would not have written on this subject because I know that most people are sick and tired of Agra. They are also aware that going on and on about the General's performance there can only be calculated to inflate his head and lead to further extensions in his presidential term. But I was invited to Delhi for a panel discussion on the Agra breakfast meeting - the ethics of it and so on - and have put down the impressions that I gathered after listening to some eminent cold warriors. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010811 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Going to the dogs ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Irfan Husain Ever since opinionated people began recording their views, every generation has expounded at length on how things are going to the dogs. In most cases, this is just a case of calcified minds unable to come to terms with a changing world. But in Pakistan, there is clearly some justification for this refrain, and when we talk about a continuous deterioration, we can actually quantify it. On my recent trip (too soon over, alas), I traveled to England, Canada, the United States and Turkey, and in each country, solicitous friends asked in hushed tones how Pakistan was doing, almost as though they were asking about the health of a terminally ill relative on a life support system. Although I knew these well-meaning people were genuinely concerned, I must confess to a flash of irritation whenever I faced this question. And while I replied glibly that the patient was limping along in the fashion of many Third World nations, I knew in my heart that things were far worse than I implied. In most countries similarly placed half a century ago, there has been significant progress with very few exceptions. Indeed, it will be difficult for the younger generation to believe that Pakistan was often cited as a model developing state. To this day, many old PIA hands will tell you that the Pakistani flag-carrier had played a crucial role in setting up Emirates Airlines. They do not often reflect on the irony of the fact that Emirates is today one of the best airlines in the world, while PIA is among the very worst. In many ways this reversal in fortune parallels the trajectory Pakistan has followed. A couple of months ago, the Pakistan Institute of Labor, Education and Research (PILER) organized a seminar on PIA, and it was interesting to note that the airline management largely blamed the "Open Sky" policy that opened up the country's airports to foreign competition for their present woes. I pointed out that this policy had made life a lot easier for the traveling public as competition had forced airlines to lower fares, and that it is not the function of the state to support an inefficient organization at the cost of its citizens. However, one factor that was rightly highlighted was the absurd practice of making the defence secretary in Islamabad the chairman of the airline while the managing-director in the PIA head office in Karachi had very limited powers. Also the MD was changed as often as the Pakistan cricket team's captain. In both cases, such short tenures are a formula for failure. Management also cited low labor productivity as a major factor contributing to its decline. For instance, a certain check on the Airbus took other airlines 11 days, while PIA engineering staff took over 35 days. In their turn, the unions blamed the management for PIA's flawed policies, and said, while union activity had been banned, senior managers were not held accountable. Given the tension between the management and the workers as well the low morale, it is doubtful if this once- proud organization can pull out of its slump. With accumulated losses of over 11 billion rupees, the airline has been haemorrhaging red ink over its balance sheet for years. Pakistan Railways is another national institution that has been run into the ground. An efficient and profitable outfit until the sixties, its slow but steady decline began when the government began starving it of resources and shifting its attention to road transport. It is currently creaking along, incurring huge losses every year. Hardly any train now arrives on time, and journeys in its once comfortable coaches is a torture. Other public sector departments such as health, education and engineering are in similar free-fall. While our engineers worked with distinction on construction projects abroad until a few years ago, now we have to import these skills if we want decent roads or bridges. Water mains and sewage lines are a mess our engineering staff wisely leaves well alone. WAPDA and KESC are kept afloat through massive subsidies. The performance of all these organizations is measurable by that most pitiless of all yardsticks: the bottom line of their balance sheet. Or since physical and social infrastructure departments prepare no profit and loss accounts, their output can be gauged by the state of public education, health and roads. Granted there is a uniform shortage of resources that affects efficiency, it can hardly be said that in its infancy. Pakistan was rolling in money. The sad fact is that this sharp decline in standards has been caused more by mediocrity and demoralization than lack of funds. Friends as well as many readers over the years have complained that I always dwell on the negative aspects of life in Pakistan while failing to highlight any positive developments. While admitting to a certain innate pessimism. I must say in my defence that as I have watched the decline and deterioration of much that was good in this country, I find that I am honestly unable to balance this with whatever has been achieved. Currently I am involved with running an ambitious private sector educational institution, and my colleagues and I are evaluating applications for new admissions. I must say that every year we are appalled by the falling standards of those passing the intermediate examination and seeking a professional education. Probably the worst of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's many disastrous policies was his government's nationalization of private schools and colleges. After nearly three decades, several generations of boys and girls have suffered the consequences, and now enter adulthood ill-equipped to compete. This single factor is responsible for many of Pakistan's woes as products of an increasingly ramshackle educational system assume positions of responsibility. According to received wisdom, our social indicators are poor because the government does not spend enough on this sector. However, given the chronic leakage of resources, the quality of manpower and the low level of motivation of the staff manning state institutions in these areas, I doubt that there would be much improvement if we were to even double the budgets of these departments. Indeed, this is true of virtually every public sector institution. This is a frightening prospect. All along, we had assumed that our under-development was caused by a paucity of resources, and if we could somehow curtail our defence expenditure, things would improve overnight. But if in truth our backwardness is the result of deeper causes, we have to look elsewhere for answers.
SPORTS 20010811 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ICC probe Wasim and Inzamam ------------------------------------------------------------------- Monitoring Desk LONDON, Aug 10: Inzamam-ul-Haq, Wasim Akram and Brian Lara are among the cricketers being investigated by the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit. "We are still working on other cases that at present are not in the public domain," confirmed the head of the unit, Lord Paul Condon. Lord Condon did not name names but Telegraph Sport understands that these three cricketers are among the ones he was referring to. As already revealed by Telegraph Sport on July 3, there have been suspicions for some time regarding Inzamam. They center round his performance against Australia in the one-day match at Cardiff on June 9. In the match Inzamam was out second ball, stumped by Adam Gilchrist off Shane Warne for a duck. Simon Briggs, reporting the match, which Pakistan lost, for Telegraph Sport, wrote that Inzamam appeared to react to the stationing of a silly point by "sallying pointlessly down the pitch". The suspicion is that Inzamam's sally may have been anything but pointless and investigators are looking into whether it could have been part of some spread-betting operation. Inzamam has not so far been questioned by the unit, and if he is this would not be the first time he has figured in cricket corruption inquires. Judge Malik Mohammed Qayyum questioned him during his inquiry into alleged Pakistani match-fixing, the judge eventually censuring his behaviour and fining him. Lara, meanwhile, is now being investigated by Elliott Mottley, the Barbadian QC, as part of the West Indian board investigation into alleged match-fixing. Lara, like Wasim, has always denied any match-fixing and vehemently rejected claims by the Indian bookmaker, Mukesh Gupta, that he was paid $40,000 to under perform in two one-day games. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010806 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan edge out India in thriller ------------------------------------------------------------------- KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5: Asian giants Pakistan edged old rivals India 4-3 in a tense and dramatic match to grab full points in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. Pakistan raced to a 2-0 lead after just 27 minutes only for India to draw level before the break. Kashif Jawwad deflected a cross from Muhammad Nadeem in the 18th minute while Muhammad Sabbir made it 2-0 nine minutes later. India pulled one back in the 28th minute when Daljeet Singh Dhillion converted their first penalty corner of the match while Deepak Thakur scored a filed goal for the equalizer. Undeterred by the setback, Pakistan continued their attack in the second half. They needed just a minute of the second half to go back in front. Once again it was the Nadeem-Kashif combination which brought the goal, with Kashif deflecting another cross from Nadeem past the Indian keeper. Play swung from end to end with both sides having chances to change the score line. But it took India until the 53rd minute to equalize when 18-year-old Jugraj Singh's crisp shot from a penalty corner flew into goal. Just as it looked like India would escape with a point, Sohail Abbas scored the winner 10 minutes from time with a brilliantly executed flick from Pakistan's second penalty corner of the match. Speaking after the game, Indian assistant coach Raipudaman Singh: "The boys played above themselves today. The result did not matter as what is important is the players' performances. "Some teams would have to win and some lose so, I'm not disappointed. It was an exciting match and the difference was that Pakistan had Sohail Abbas in their side." Pakistan manager Brig Khalid Sajjad Khokhar: "Our game plan was to score an early goal - which we did by scoring twice. "Unfortunately, we made the mistake of playing an attacking game even after we led by two goals and this allowed the Indians to come back and force a draw." Meanwhile, England held Commonwealth Games champions Australia to a 1-1 draw. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010807 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Shoaib's attitude no problem ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Reporter KARACHI, Aug 6: The manager of the Pakistan cricket team Yawar Saeed said the youngsters would not be affected by the humiliating exit of some of the senior players for the training camp which began at the National Stadium. He also dispelled impressions that `bad boy' Shoaib Akhtar's negative attitude had polluted the dressing room atmosphere and team's morale. "I don't think the youngsters will be mentally affected by the absence of senior players. I haven't discussed this issue with them nor I intend to because it is not their concern," Yawar told reporters. Wasim Akram, who began his glittering career when some of the camp attendees might have been toddlers, and Moin Khan were dumped by the selectors for a reconditioning camp for the forthcoming season during which Pakistan will play 12 Tests and 20 odd one-day internationals. Yawar refused to agree to the logic that situation of uncertainty must be prevailing in the Pakistan camp in the background of Wasim and Moin's controversial ousters. Yawar desperately tried to cover up the follies of the selectors when he said players not invited for the camp would get chance to impress the selectors in practice matches. He said the decision had been taken by the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Lt Gen Tauqir Zia. "I make one thing very clear. It is not necessary that the squad for the season opening Test will be composed from the 27 probables invited for the camp. Any players performing in practice games will stand a good chance to earn a recall," Yawar said. He said the camp rejectees would form a squad which would test the abilities of the squad comprising camp trainees. He said the matches will be played on Aug 14 and 20 under lights. "Although I am not part of the selection committee, in fact I am not in any decision-making committee, but I do air my views, observations and recommendations. "I would not comment on the exclusion of Wasim Akram but there can't be no two opinions that he is one of the greatest. I was a selector when he first appeared on the scene, then I was the manager of the team in which Wasim first went as a player. I have seen the graph of Wasim's performance reach sky-high," he said. Yawar said during the tour of England, Wasim was a role model for the youngsters. Ironically, Faqir Aizazuddin, who went as manager on the tour to New Zealand, had claimed in his report that Wasim was a negative influence over the players. On Shoaib Akhtar, who has become a permanent liability on the PCB, Yawar said he was not a bad influence on the team. "Everybody has an attitude, positive or negative. But I confirm that his attitude is not affecting the team," Yawar summed up Shoaib's approach in a diplomatic manner. The manager said he or the captain would have no objection to Shoaib's inclusion if he was fit. "A fit Shoaib is an asset." Yawar said he has been conveyed by the establishment that a coach would be appointed during the camp. He, nevertheless, said that the concept that coach would change everything was wrong. "I believe its the captain who is the coach in the field. It's the captain who has to get the best out of his boys." Yawar said the basic objective of the training camp would be the make the players mentally and physically stronger. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010809 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Waqar's threat irks officials ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Reporter KARACHI, Aug 8: Waqar Younis' outburst and threat has upset the administrators. According to highly placed sources, the top hierarchy of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) contacted manager Yawar Saeed and Waqar Younis to inquire about their point of views. Waqar threatened Tuesday that he would quit if the selectors didn't give due consideration to his point of view in selection of the squads. The sources couldn't confirm if a show cause notice would be served to the Pakistan captain. But he added that if any disciplinary action was taken, it would be confined to four walls and under the roof. "The PCB is determined to maintain the sanctity and dignity of the Pakistan cricket captain. His outcry, nevertheless, has not impressed the PCB," sources said. Meanwhile, manager of the Pakistan cricket team Yawar Saeed said the four practice matches would be held on Aug 11, 14, 17 and 20. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010808 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Waqar threatens to quit if not consulted ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Reporter KARACHI, Aug 7: Pakistan captain Waqar Younis demanded more say in selections and threatened that he would not play if his views on team compositions were not given due consideration. Waqar, who looked fit and enthusiastic, revealed that he had not been consulted on the selection of 27 probables. "I would like to have more say in team selections. If the selectors won't listen to me, I will not play," Waqar warned a week after being retained captain until the home series against New Zealand. Waqar's stubborn and apparently inflexible stand clearly conveys the message that no matter what steps the cricket managers take to include Wasim Akram, he would decide the fate of his one-time deadly new ball partner. In an apparent somersault, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said last week that practice matches would be organized and those not invited to the camp would be considered for selection if they impressed in those matches. Waqar rested all the blame on the selectors for the omission of former captains Wasim Akram and Moin Khan. "I was told at the last minute about the 27 probables. I can't say if I had pressed for the inclusion of senior players had I been consulted. But I was told late that Wasim had not been invited for the camp," the skipper told reporters. The paceman said the selectors should be questioned what was the basis of selecting 27 probables for the camp. He, however, said he believes that the selectors wouldn't have considered them good enough to be invited. "I mean the best players are in the camp and the immediate answer to the exclusion of senior players means they might not be good enough. But I am not talking specifically of Wasim or Moin, there were some deserving young boys who have not been called." When asked if he was satisfied with the probables at his disposal in the background that Mohammad Sami, Shabbir Ahmad and Shoaib Akhtar lack match fitness, Waqar said: "I can't say if I am satisfied because I have not been consulted on these players. "I have been given these boys to prepare for the season but that doesn't mean that they form the nucleus." Waqar said Wasim has never been a "problematic" character for him. "It is insulting for a great cricketer to say that he has been dropped or discarded. "The simple fact is that when you struggle, you take time off and sort out things," Waqar, who has seen rough times in the recent past, remarked. The toe-crusher, however, later toed the line of the selectors and the administrators when he said the policy of the PCB is to prepare a young team for the 2003 World Cup. He said inviting more youngsters could be in line with that strategy because more players in the camp means lesser opportunity for the youngsters to impress the selectors. Waqar said he would ensure that there was no inconsistency in selection because he thought it was also one of the reasons for Pakistan's four successive home series losses. "I haven't played much in those series' and was only called in the last games or so, but I will try to end the win drought and see that there were not many changes in the team." Waqar said he was satisfied at being retained captain for the first half of the international season and he was also personally keen to judge his fitness and form on series-by-series basis. "In the past, a captain has been appointed on a long term basis but has been sacked if his performance drops in two series'. By going on series-by-series basis, the captain can be replaced but not sacked," he said with direct reference to Moin Khan. Waqar said the entire forthcoming season would be important but the showpiece match would be the Test against India at Lahore from Sept 12 and 16. "It (match against India) will be the most important and showpiece game of the season. I am anxiously looking forward to it." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010810 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Saeed admits he could be next on the chopping block ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Reporter KARACHI, Aug 9: Former captain Saeed Anwar admitted that he could be next on the chopping block. "Definitely, I could be the next and it is in the back of my mind," the left-handed opener told reporters at the National Stadium. The Pakistan selectors sent a loud and clear message to the rest of the players that no one should consider themselves "indispensable" and shouldn't expect any sympathy from them as found out by Wasim Akram and Moin Khan. "I have made five comebacks through my performances. It's my belief that if I continue to perform, I will not be dropped. The only way to avoid the axe is performance" Saeed said. The computer engineer is believed to be the next whom the selectors will be looking to replace, particularly after he had a lean time in Tests. His last 10 innings have only produced 183 runs with just one half century against England at Faisalabad. However, Saeed's performance in the one-dayers has been brilliant though he has yet to score a century in 16 matches. He aggregates 661 runs at 41.3. "There are always ups and downs. But for me, form has never been a problem. It's the fitness which has restricted me from playing big innings. I haven't had a chance to reclaim fitness because of a packed international calendar," Saeed, whose fitness graph has plunged because of knee injuries, said. Saeed's both the knees were required treatment last year and he took a three-month lay-off from cricket. But he believed knee injuries sometimes took eight to 12 months to heel completely. "I have now started taking injections and feel more comfortable. I am looking forward to regaining my form and fitness this season," he said. Saeed admitted that a player should be dropped if he doesn't perform but urged the selectors to give the out-of-form player of proven ability proper opportunity and confidence to regain form. Saeed also defended himself by saying that inconsistency at the highest level in the last 18 months have also affected his and team's performance. "There have been so many changes in the administration and team which have directly affected the players. New people bring in new theories and everyone looks upon me and asks me to perform according to his likings and planning�s. "Then there is always a new (opening) partner with me which automatically puts me under pressure," Saeed, who has had more than a dozen partners since Aamir Sohail fell out with the administrators, said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010808 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pybus contacted for short-term contract ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Reporter KARACHI, Aug 7: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) authorities are still trying to persuade Richard Pybus to change his mind and resume his duties as coach of the team for the forthcoming season. Skipper Waqar Younis told reporters that he had convinced the PCB officials to get in touch with the England-born South Africa- based coach as he was the right choice. Although no official of the PCB was available to confirm or deny the story, sources said the PCB has offered Pybus a short-term contract. "He has been offered a three-month contract until the tri-nation one-day tournament in Sharjah in November," sources said. The sources added that Pybus has not spurned the offer and has instead asked for a week's time before he conveys his decision. Pybus, last month had declined to continue as coach because of domestic commitments. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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