------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 25 August 2001 Issue : 07/34 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents | National News | Business & Economy | Editorials & Features | Sports
The DAWN Wire Service (DWS) is a free weekly news-service from
Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, the daily DAWN. DWS
offers news, analysis and features of particular interest to the
Pakistani Community on the Internet.
Extracts, not exceeding 50 lines, can be used provided that this
entire header is included at the beginning of each extract.
We encourage comments & suggestions. We can be reached at:
e-mail dws-owner@dawn.com
WWW http://dawn.com/
fax +92(21) 568-3188 & 568-3801
mail DAWN Group of Newspapers
Haroon House, Karachi 74200, Pakistan
Please send all Editorials and Letters to the Editor at
letters@dawn.com
(c) Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan - 2001
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS
CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + Democracy roadmap satisfies Commonwealth + EC proposes elections on Sept 5, 2002 + Transfer of powers to provinces under review + Rallies to be allowed 90 days before poll + General election on party basis: official + EC may not assign the job to Nadra: Electoral rolls preparation + Vajpayee to visit Pakistan to pursue peace talks: Advani + Delhi asked to overcome hardliners' position: Haq + Chances of New York meeting still exist + US denies mixed signals on sanctions + US opposes Pakistan to go under Afghan influence + ARD evolves strategy to counter arrests + ARD won't boycott election + Obscurantist policies won't get dominance: CE + Jihadi groups demand Moin's removal + No plan to ban Jihadi groups: minister + Accounts of banned outfits to be frozen + Jihadi groups' offices in Karachi sealed + Jihadi outfits angry over Sindh govt curbs + Curbs placed on Jihadi outfits + Over two dozen LJ, SMP activists arrested + 17 injured in Lahore blast + Govt concedes failure on child rights front + Khyber agency's stupas face extinction + Pakistan denies Indian attack + Benazir's retrial to start next month + Asif's contempt plea elicits jailers' regrets + PPP criticizes arrest of its leader + Jehangir Badar arrested by NAB + Ghous evades questions about links to PML-N + Ghous Ali Shah released + RAB arrests ex-MNA + PML-LM meeting begins today + Haj forms to be issued from Sept 1 + Gen Ghulam Ahmed killed in car crash --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + New ABL chairman, directors nominated: Cases referred to NAB + SBP unearths clandestine move to take over ABL + SBP to be made autonomous to manage reserves + State Bank softens lending rules: Private limited cos + PIA suffers Rs7bn loss in 18 months + IMF mission unwilling to allow revision: Rs457bn revenue target + IMF asked to write off debts: Meeting with labour leaders + Talks with IMF mission begin: $2.5bn poverty reduction facility + Pakistan mulls action against Paris firm --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + Can the people ever win? Ardeshir Cowasjee + Clear and present danger Irfan Husain + Heaven and its suburbs Ayaz Amir ----------- SPORTS + Saqlain misses Asian Test + Pakistan Test stars accuse India of double standards + India defends decision to withdraw from ATC + Wisden criticizes PCB chairman + PCB protests at referee Reid's appointment + Pakistan hockey faces rocky road ahead
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 20010824 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Democracy roadmap satisfies Commonwealth ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD Aug 23: The visiting Secretary General of Commonwealth Donald C. Mckinnon said here on Thursday that he was satisfied with the roadmap for Pakistan's return to democratic rule by October, 2002, as announced by President Pervez Musharraf. "The military government was certainly moving in the right direction," the Commonwealth SG told a news conference soon after his meeting with the president. He offered technical assistance if the Pakistan government needed it for completing the election process in a smooth way. The C'wealth SG stressed upon the president to defer plans, if any, of introducing amendments to the Constitution for the future elected parliament. He, however, said he was told by the president that nothing had so far been finalized on the proposed amendments to the Constitution. He claimed getting assurance from the president that the 8th Amendment would not be re-introduced in the constitution. The president had said, "that has not been addressed right now." He, however, quoted the president as having said that there was a need for putting in place a mechanism to ensure a balance of power between various institutions of the country. Mckinnon said: "It was satisfying to note that the local government elections had been held by August this year strictly in accordance with the commitment made by the president last year." He said the president had promised to give financial and administrative independence to the Election Commission to bring it out of the influence of the government. He said the president assured him that the proposed district support teams (consisting of army officials) would not interfere with the functions and responsibilities of the local government representatives. "They are to watch these institutions' smooth functioning for a brief period," he commented. The president had further assured him that the elections would be held on party basis but he did not commit as to when the curbs from political activities would be lifted. Replying to questions, Mckinnon said the National Security Council (NSC) would be a very important part of the future government apparatus. He, however, stressed that such a body should be a part of the Constitution and a clear majority of NSC members should be elected. The CW official said the president had told him that the NAB was functioning strictly according to the parameters set by the Supreme Court. Mckinnon further stated that he was assured that all arrests will be made while keeping the legal norms in view. Besides, he maintained, he had stressed on equitable and free access to the state-controlled media for all political parties of the country. Referring to the Agra summit, he said the process of dialogue, which had started on an optimistic note, must be continued. "It was important for the political parties to engage with the government to discuss the process," he commented. He hailed Gen Musharraf's consultations with the politicians before he embarked upon the crucial Agra summit meeting with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpaee. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010823 ------------------------------------------------------------------- EC proposes elections on Sept 5, 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Faraz Hashmi ISLAMABAD, Aug 22: In the light of the roadmap for democracy unfolded by President Gen Pervez Musharraf, Election Commission of Pakistan has prepared a tentative schedule for holding general elections on Sept 5, 2002, Dawn reliably learnt. As per the tentative schedule, which has already been forwarded to the Chief Executive Secretariat, the polling for the provincial and national assemblies will be held simultaneously on Sept 5. Election process will begin with the issuance of a notification inviting nomination papers under section 11(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1976, on July 22, 2002. The last date for the filing of nomination papers by the candidates with the returning officers will be July 27. Scrutiny of nomination papers will be carried out from July 29 to July 31. Last date for filing of appeal against the decision of returning officers for rejecting or accepting the nominations will be Aug 3, and the last date for decision of the appeals by the election tribunals will be Aug 10. Aug 12 will be the last date for withdrawal of candidature and the list of candidates will be published on Aug 13. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010822 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Transfer of powers to provinces under review ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Habib Khan Ghori KARACHI, Aug 21: The National Reconstruction Bureau is reportedly reviewing the concurrent and central lists of powers to transfer some of the departments to the provincial governments from the centre which stands depleted following the shifting of its 12 departments to the local governments, leaving only 11 departments at its disposal. The NRB is also contemplating increase in the number of seats of the senate, national assembly and provincial assemblies to give adequate representations to people in the legislatures following the expansion of the electorate college due to reduction in the age of voters from 21 to 18 years. A question likely to be addressed before the general elections is whether the polls be held on the basis of proportional representation. The sources said that all aspects of the elections would stand crystallised once the president announced the package of constitutional amendments as indicated in his address to the newly elected Nazims on Independence day. The circles close to the NRB said that the transfer of powers from the centre to the provinces would be effected much before the announcement of the election schedule for the October 2002 polls to be held on party basis as had been pointed out by the government spokesman. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010820 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rallies to be allowed 90 days before poll ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, Aug 19: The government will lift an existing ban on political rallies 90 days before general elections due in October next year, press secretary to the president Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi said here on Sunday. �We will lift the ban 90 days before the holding of elections," he told AFP. Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi said general elections would be held on party basis and there would be no restrictions on public meetings or rallies. He appealed for a peaceful campaigning period and urged political parties to remain within the law. Preparations for elections would begin in September and culminate in June 2002, while the new federal and provincial governments would take over in October and November 2002, he said. Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi said "the government has no intention to keep the parties out of parliamentary elections. Anyone can participate in the elections, except those barred under election rules" he said, referring to former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif Benazir Bhutto. "Both these people, who are facing charges of corruption and loot would be debarred from contesting the polls under the elections rules," he said. "If they are convicted, there is little we can do about it." But, he said, both Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto were free to contact the court if they wanted to contest the elections. The law will take its own course and "we will abide by the law," he said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010819 ------------------------------------------------------------------- General election on party basis: official ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Aug 18: The Pakistan government has announced that the elections, scheduled for October 2002, would be held on a party basis in line with President Pervez Musharraf's resolve to restore democracy in the country, according to IANS website. A government spokesman told BBC that reports that some other system was being introduced instead of the parliamentary one were baseless. Online news agency quoted the spokesman as saying: "The three years' timeframe and authority to introduce constitutional amendments given by the apex court to the military clearly says that only such amendments are authorized that are essential for smooth handling of state affairs and which should not affect the federal and parliamentary structure envisaged in the Constitution." Asked why the roadmap to democracy, announced by Gen Musharraf did not mention the election of a prime minister, the spokesman said the president had announced the formation of federal and provincial ministries, which implied that prime minister, along with chief ministers of all the provinces, would also be elected. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010822 ------------------------------------------------------------------- EC may not assign the job to Nadra: Electoral rolls preparation ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Sajid Iqbal LAHORE, Aug 21: The Election Commission of Pakistan may prepare the electoral rolls for the forthcoming general elections itself instead of entrusting the job to the National Database and Registration Authority, it is learnt. According to a proposal being seriously considered by the ECP authorities, the commission will hire the services of teachers and other government employees from the provincial government for conducting a door-to-door survey and preparing the draft rolls. These lists will be put on display to invite claims and objections before preparing the final lists. The final lists prepared manually will then be handed over to Nadra which will print the computerized lists. "The National Database and Registration Authority was entrusted with the job of preparing electoral rolls for the recently- concluded local body polls and was provided Rs450 million from its regular budget for the purpose," an ECP official told Dawn on Tuesday. However, the draft voter lists prepared by Nadra for holding LB elections in Sargodha and Dera Ghazi Khan divisions and other parts of the country contained serious mistakes and were rejected by the ECP. The ECP hired manpower from the administration on a emergency basis and got the lists prepared afresh. Nadra was, however, allowed to prepare the voter lists in the subsequent phases with the ECP staff undertaking the task of correcting those rolls at two stages. In the case of Lahore, the correction of voter lists and registration of voters continued till less than two weeks before the polling day. According to the official, the ECP tried to get back the state-of- the-art computers and other equipment purchased for the preparation of computerized rolls from Nadra. But, he said, the proposal did not materialize as the ECP was not granted permission by the Establishment Division to recruit IT experts and other staff needed to operate the equipment. As a resultant, the ECP started considering the proposal allowing Nadra to have the printing job but keeping the preparation of electoral rolls with itself. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010820 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Vajpayee to visit Pakistan to pursue peace talks: Advani ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jawed Naqvi NEW DELHI, Aug 19: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would visit Pakistan to pursue peace talks with General Pervez Musharraf, Indian newspaper reports quoted Indian Home Minister Lal Krishan Advani as telling journalists in Lucknow. Mr Advani also announced initiation of stiff measures to check the growth of the Students Islamic Movement of India in the country. "There is a reasonable prospect that Vajpayee and Musharraf will meet in New York during the last week of September," the usually reliable daily The Hindu said in a front-page story. Vajpayee is expected to address the UN General Assembly on Sept 25 and General Musharraf is likely to speak the day before. "General Musharraf is reported to be planning an extended stay in New York from the third week of September. Mr Vajpayee will be there for a shorter period. But there is enough of an overlap for the leaders to meet in New York and pick up the threads from their unfinished conversation at Agra last month," The Hindu said. The report took into account a Pakistani spokesman's opinion a day earlier that such a meeting did not seem to be on the cards. The point was later clarified by Foreign Secretary Inam ul Haq, who said the statement reflected the absence of formal intimation from New Delhi rather than Pakistan's reservations which don't exist. The Hindu endorsed the view, saying that the Indian government had not made up its mind completely on the issue. But it added: "The indications here, however, are that India has conveyed clearly to Pakistan that such a meeting is under consideration." Advani, in separate remarks, was quoted by the Deccan Herald newspaper as saying that Vajpayee would visit Pakistan to pursue peace talks. "Our stand is clear that peace should not be held hostage to the resolution of differences on any issue with Pakistan," Advani said. The remarks, coming from a key minister regarded as an anti- Pakistan hawk, acquired even greater significance since they were made in Lucknow, Vajpayee's parliamentary constituency and capital of Uttar Pradesh where crucial elections are due soon. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010820 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Delhi asked to overcome hardliners' position: Haq ------------------------------------------------------------------- staff Correspondent NEW YORK, Aug 19: Foreign Secretary Inamul Haq called upon India to resume dialogue with Pakistan on the basis of understanding reached at the Agra summit and continue talks in the same spirit. Talking to journalists after his Washington visit, Mr Haq observed that both countries should not indulge in the blame game and instead work for the resolution of Kashmir and other issues which have strained relations between the two countries. He reiterated that President Musharraf was willing and ready to meet Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session and hoped that India would be willing to continue the Agra peace process. "We have to continue with the spirit of Agra dialogue," said Mr Haq, hoping that India would reciprocate by creating atmosphere of understanding and dialogue. The foreign secretary also expressed the hope that a meeting between the US President George W. Bush and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf would take place in New York, saying it could help in prodding both countries to remain engaged in dialogue on the issues. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010819 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Chances of New York meeting still exist ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent WASHINGTON, Aug 18: Pakistan has still not entirely ruled out a meeting between Gen Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee when the two leaders are in New York for the UN General Assembly session next month. This was the impression gathered at a news conference held by Foreign Secretary Inamul Haque at the end of his two-day visit to Washington during which he had intensive discussions with senior US officials. Both at the news conference and during an address at the Woodrow Wilson Centre, the foreign secretary maintained a positive, restrained attitude to questions on Pakistan-India relations and the Agra summit, and said he would not be drawn into indulging in a 'blame game'. Asked to comment on a Pakistan Foreign Office statement that a Musharraf-Vajpayee meeting did not seem to be 'on the cards', Mr Inamul Haque said if the two leaders were in New York at the same time and a meeting could be arranged, Pakistan would welcome the development, but if the Indians were not interested then obviously there was nothing to be said about it. Mr Vajpayee is expected to be in New York on Sept 23 and will spend five days in the US during which he will also undergo medial tests. Mr Haque said the perception that a meeting in New York might not materialize could be due to the fact that when he had talked to the Indian foreign secretary during the Saarc gathering in Colombo last week, he was told that the possibility was under consideration. But later the Indian official had made a statement in Chenai that had left the question vague. However, he pointed out, Mr Vajpayee had accepted an invitation to travel to Pakistan for talks with Gen Musharraf, and this might happen in December or early next year. The Indian and Pakistani leaders would also be together at the forthcoming Saarc summit. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010823 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US denies mixed signals on sanctions ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent WASHINGTON, Aug 22: The United States has denied that it is sending mixed signals on the removal of sanctions against Pakistan. This is stated by The Washington Times which had reported separate comments on the issue from Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and from State Department spokesman Philip Reeker and implied that the two comments were contradictory. Mr Reeker in a press briefing last week had said sanctions against Pakistan could not be lifted until the president (Bush) determined that a democratically elected government had taken office. Mr Armitage on Friday told reporters in Australia that the Bush administration was considering lifting some of the sanctions. On Tuesday, Mr Reeker pointed out to The Washington Times that he and Mr Armitage were talking about different sanctions. While he was referring to democracy sanctions imposed after the military takeover, Mr Armitage was referring to nuclear-related sanctions. "There are absolutely no mixed signals .... You are completely confused on the subject matter," Mr Reeker reportedly told The Washington Times. Pakistan knows that the democracy sanctions will not be removed till elections are held and a democratically elected government is in place in Islamabad, but it has been urging the US to lift nuclear-related sanctions at the same time as it removes similar sanctions against India. Mr Armitage's comment in Australia was seen by Pakistani diplomats as the most direct public indication that the US might be inclined to do so. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010820 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US opposes Pakistan to go under Afghan influence ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent WASHINGTON, Aug 19: The United States has said that increased US engagement with India was not an attempt to establish a strategic counterweight to China. This was stated by US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage while talking to the press in Sydney during the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue. According to a transcript of Mr Armitage's press talk posted on the State Department website, the deputy secretary said that increased US-China ties were based on various perceptions. Mr Armitage said his remarks on the lifting of sanctions would also apply to Pakistan. "We have some similar sanctions on Pakistan and some different, because Pakistan is not a democracy. When Musharraf did away with the democratic process, no matter how shaky it was, then some other sanctions came into play. But clearly we have to move somewhere with Pakistan. The United States is not interested in Pakistan becoming more under the influence of Afghanistan. There has to be a way out for Pakistan. We're going to try to play an effective role." He added that the United States was "looking forward" to a meeting between President Bush and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee when both are in New York next month for the United Nations General Assembly session. "We're looking forward, hopefully, to a meeting between our President and the Prime Minister of India at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Beyond that, we will have a series of meetings and exchanges and hopefully positive developments in our relationship." Pakistan has also proposed a meeting between Gen Musharraf and Mr Bush during the general's visit to New York, and the request was said by Foreign Secretary Inamul Haque to be "under consideration". Incidentally, an Indian newspaper said fairly definitively that Mr Vajpayee would also meet General Musharraf in New York. This is seen as echoing the view advocated both by Pakistan and within US administration and think-tank circles that the military regime in Pakistan needs some measure of backing because the alternative might be greater Taliban-type, extremist influence over policy-making. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010825 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ARD evolves strategy to counter arrests ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Faraz Hashmi ISLAMABAD, Aug 24: The heads of component parties of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) met to evolve future strategy against what they said "the recently-adopted way of arrest and repression of political leaders." The ARD leaders, who met at the residence of Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, also exchanged notes on the All Parties Conference being convened by Jamaat-i-Islami here in the federal capital next month. Almost all the component parties including Pakistan People's Party have separately committed with the host to attend the moot. "All of us have already accepted the invitation therefore the issue whether ARD should attend the conference did not come up for discussion," acting President PML (N) Javed Hashmi told Dawn after the meeting. The moot is being viewed with great significance by the political observers who believe that it might develop better understanding among religious and political parties for launching a united struggle against the government. When asked whether the APC could pave the way for forging of a broad-based alliance comprising all the religious and political parties, he said such a possibility can never be ruled out when the political parties meet. Mr Hashmi did not disclose the details of the strategy hammered out by the ARD against the arrests of politicians in corruption cases. The ARD had put off its plan of holding a public rally on Aug 14, in Rawalpindi. Mr Hashmi said that the alliance would soon revive its mass contact campaign and the new programme would be announced by the ARD convener Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan. He said the ARD was also contemplating a proposal to develop better coordination among the component parties at the grass roots level. The ARD component parties, he said, had been lacking understanding and cooperation among its workers at district and tehsil level. The alliance, he said, held detailed discussions on strengthening the organizational structure at tehsil and district level. Reports about the possible arrest of Mr Hashmi had been doing the round for the past few days. However, so far the National Accountability Bureau or any other agency has not taken any action against the acting president of PML (N). The party had also set up a committee which would take the charge of acting president in case of his arrest. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010819 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ARD won't boycott election ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Aug 18: ARD Secretary-General Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said in categorical terms that the opposition alliance would not boycott the general elections in any case but would force the government to hold the polls on the terms set by the 16-party coalition. "We'll not talk of staying away from the elections in any situation as our struggle is for restoration of democracy. We'll force the government to hold elections on our terms," the ARD secretary- general said while talking to Dawn. Mr Jhagra said the alliance was making preparations for an anti-government campaign and for this purpose it was extending its organizational structure to districts. According to him, the districts where the alliance organizations had not so far been set up, would be constituted during the next 10 days. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010821 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Obscurantist policies won't get dominance: CE ------------------------------------------------------------------- MOSCOW, Aug 20: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said Pakistan is a progressive Muslim state and there is no reason to fear that obscurantist policies will gain dominance in the country. He made these remarks in an interview with a Russian newspaper, Kommersant. "Pakistan is an enlightened, moderate and progressive Muslim state. There is no reason to fear that obscurantist policies will gain dominance in Pakistan." Responding to a question on Afghanistan, the president said the Taliban enjoyed support of the Afghan people and that was why they controlled 95 per cent of the country. It would be unfair to view the Taliban's success through the narrow prism of sectarian affiliations, he added. He denied allegations that Pakistan was assisting the Taliban. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010825 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Jihadi groups demand Moin's removal ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Aug 24: Demanding removal of Interior Minister Lt-Gen (retd) Moinuddin Haider, Punjab chapters of seven leading Jihadi organizations announced starting a fund-raising and mass contact campaign in the province. "We are starting the campaign from today," announced the Punjab leaders of the seven Jihadi outfits after a meeting at the provincial headquarters of one of them, Tehrikul Mujahideen. A joint committee was constituted in the meeting under Tehrikul Mujahideen Punjab Amir Shakilur Rehman Nasir to start a dialogue with Ulema and leaders of political parties and to "apprise them of their responsibilities in the present situation." The committee will also counter the propaganda campaign of the government against the Jihadi outfits, the leaders informed reporters, adding they were disappointed with the silence of the politicians over the Jihad issue. They said there was no ban on any of their activities including the fund-raising in Punjab but they were starting the campaign here in view of the "expected future conditions." When asked about their reaction to any such ban in Punjab, they said it will be known to everybody and they will not hold the traditional demonstrations. Replying to a question about the indication of a ban on all Jihadi outfits, they said President Gen Pervez Musharraf had been supporting Mujahideen's cause here in Pakistan and during his recent visit to India. Right now it was the interior minister who was talking different things and his removal will settle the entire controversy. They said the ban will "push the things much forward as we move with the speed of the government." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010824 ------------------------------------------------------------------- No plan to ban Jihadi groups: minister ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter RAWALPINDI, Aug 23: The federal minister for Religious Affairs, Dr Mehmood Ahmad Ghazi, said on Thursday that the government had no plans to ban Jihadi organizations and religious seminaries. Speaking at a Meet the Press programme of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club here, the religious affairs minister said that only public display of arms and open soliciting of contributions for Jihad had been restricted. About religious seminaries, the minister said the government wanted only to put these institutions on modern lines by preparing their texts as had been mentioned in the recently-promulgated ordinance. According to the ordinance, a board would be established to prepare the text and control the Madaris. But those institutions which would like to remain independent would not be interfered in, he said. The Board would only prepare the text for and award degrees to those private institutions which opted for affiliation and other affairs would be run by the institutions concerned, he said. Apart from the religious subjects, the other subjects to be included in the syllabus of the Madaris are: English, Math, General Science, Social Studies and computer science. These subjects will only form 35 per cent of the total studies of these schools. The minister denied there was any international pressure to bring these changes in the affairs of the Jihadi organizations and religious seminaries. He said the religious ministry was planning to establish three model religious institutions one each in Islamabad, Karachi and Sukkar in the Haj buildings in these cities. The Board meant for the Madaris will devise their system and plans to run their affairs. He said the ministry would also request the NWFP government to hand over the charge of four Madaris being run by it to the Board. A women Madressah would be opened in the Haji Camp, Rawalpindi, he said. Dr Ghazi said these Madaris would produce such scholars and ulema who, apart from the religious studies, would be well-versed in the modern education and be in a better position to preach the religion in the West and other countries of the world. About the holy war in Kashmir, he said Pakistan had always supported the Kashmiri Mujahideen and it would continue to do so in future also. "We condemn India and Israel for resorting to terrorism and support the ongoing Jihad there." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010824 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Accounts of banned outfits to be frozen ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, Aug 23: The State Bank has asked all the banks and non- bank financial institutions "to take immediate steps to freeze the accounts" of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and Sipah-i-Muhammad. It has also asked them to furnish by Aug 31 a statement of frozen funds of the militant groups that were banned on Aug 14 for being involved in sectarian terrorism. The SBP, instructed all the banks and NBFIs to include in the required statement the names of the banks/NBFIs, the title of the accounts frozen and the amount deposited in them. Senior bankers said they would start scanning the accounts being operated by Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and Sipah-i-Muhammad from Friday. But they clarified that since both militant outfits were believed to be operating underground they might not be operating their bank accounts under their own title. Officials of the leading local banks reached by Dawn said they had no idea whether the two organisations were maintaining any account with their banks under their own title. "Maybe they have bank accounts under different titles...but we will have to scan our books thoroughly to see if they maintain an account with us," said an executive of a state-run bank. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010823 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Jihadi groups' offices in Karachi sealed ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 22: In a day-long crackdown in the city, the police sealed dozens of offices of Jihadi organizations and arrested scores of activists. The crackdown follows a government decision banning the display of signboards at the offices of the Jihadi organizations and placing of fund-raising boxes at public places. A senior police official said the orders for crackdown had been received on Tuesday night. About 250 activists were arrested by the afternoon, but the "situation" then changed and those arrested were subsequently released. The representatives of Al Badar, Jaish-i-Mohammad, Lashkar-i-Taiba and other Jihadi organizations said that although they had removed signboards and donation boxes from public places, yet the police raided their offices and sealed them. Senior police officials were divided on the issue of conducting raids on the Jihadi groups' offices and about the number of arrests. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010822 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Jihadi outfits angry over Sindh govt curbs ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 21: The Jihadi organizations have refused to comply with the Sindh government orders banning placing of fund-raising boxes at public places and installing signboards at their offices. A day after the provincial home department announced a set of curbs against the Jihadi outfits, DIG Karachi Tariq Jamil said, "we have not yet received any notification to take action against those disregarding these orders." "No action has yet been taken," Mr Jamil told Dawn, adding that although the orders had been reported in a section of the press, these were yet to be notified. However, police mobiles reportedly went to some of the offices of jihadi organizations and asked them to take the fund- raising boxes inside their premises. They, however, did not object to signboards. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010821 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Curbs placed on Jihadi outfits ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 20: The Sindh government has restrained the Jihadi organizations from displaying signboards and placing donation boxes at public places. A spokesman for the Sindh home department said that "it has been noticed with grave concern" that the Jihadi organizations were displaying their signboards and collecting contributions by placing boxes at shops and roadsides. "It has been decided that no Jihadi organization will from Aug 20 onwards display signboards on their offices and collect financial contributions by placing boxes on public places," he said, adding any deviation from the order would be seriously viewed. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010820 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Over two dozen LJ, SMP activists arrested ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent FAISALABAD, Aug 19: The police arrested over two dozen activists and leaders of outlawed Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and Sipah-i-Muhammad. Police teams raided the residences of suspects in various parts of Faisalabad, Jhang and Toba Tek Singh districts. A majority of the arrested were booked under Anti-Terrorism Act. Toba Tek Singh police arrested over a dozen leaders and activists including Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan district president Qari Muhammad Owais. Sources told this correspondent that the operation would continue for two more days in the districts.. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010821 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 injured in Lahore blast ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Aug 20: Seventeen people, including two women and four children, were injured critically when a bomb exploded at the crowded Dabbi Bazaar, Rang Mehal. Packed in a polythene shopping bag, the device had been abandoned close to a water-tap, eyewitnesses told reporters and said: "It went off with a bang at around 12:45pm. The bomb left around two inches crater in ground when it exploded." According to the bomb disposal squad, the bomb was a local made time device. "It was weighing one kg, loosely packed in the bag," an official of the BDS said. Splinters of the explosive device hit the customers in all four directions and also caused them burns. It also damaged some six shops and windowpanes of several houses. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010822 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Govt concedes failure on child rights front ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Aug 21: The government in a national consultation on state of child rights here on Tuesday accepted its failure to implement the National Plan of Action on child rights due to resource constraints. Federal Minister for Women Development, Social Welfare and Special Education, Dr Attiya Innayatullah, conceded that Pakistan's End Decade Review (EDR) report clearly indicated that during the last decade, the plan of action remained largely on the drawing boards and in committee rooms and the funding for the plan was not forthcoming. She said that much more "needs to be done than has been accomplished" as the nation's children did not get the first priority on national resources as committed in the World Child Summit. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010820 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Khyber agency's stupas face extinction ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Intikhab Amir PESHAWAR, Aug 19: Due to lack of financial resources and expertise required to conserve archeological sites apparently the Buddhist dynasty's stupas in the Khyber Agency are under threat of extinction. Indifference on the part of provincial and federal authorities concerned appears evident from the deteriorating conditions of the two 2000 year-old Buddhist worship places situated along the Peshawar-Landikotal road inside Khyber Agency. The one situated at the Changay Tambu area is worst hit due to illegal excavations and apathy of the concerned department. Only the base of the stupa exists whereas the upper part of the relic, made of stone and sand, has vanished at the hands of illegal excavators. The second stupa, popularly known as Sphola stupa, is also pleading for attention. According to sources the political agent of Khyber Agency had promised help conserve the Sphola stupa but he got transferred and nothing was done. The Peshawar-based officials of the federal and provincial departments of archeology blame each for not doing enough to conserve the ancient relics. "Being covered by the Antiquity Act of 1975, amended in 1976, - which is a federal law - responsibility to conserve archeological sites in Fata rests with the federal government's department concerned," said a senior officer of the provincial government. The federal government officials attributed their inaction to lack of financial resource and inadequate facilities. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010820 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan denies Indian attack ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Aug 19: An ISPR spokesman categorically denied an Indian claim that its forces had attacked a Pakistani post in the Kotli sector of Azad Kashmir. The Indian media had earlier claimed that Indian troops had killed nine soldiers deputed at the post. Commenting on the report, the spokesman termed it baseless and concocted, adding that the Indians were indulging in unfounded propaganda. "No such incident, whatsoever, took place in the area," he said. INDIAN CLAIM: A senior Indian army official claimed at least 12 Pakistanis - nine soldiers and three civilians - were killed when Indian forces retaliated to shelling along the Line of Control (LoC). Brigadier P.C. Das alleged Pakistani troops had used 82mm and 60mm mortars and "heavy calibre weapons" to target Indian posts in the districts of Poonch and Rajouri on Saturday night and Sunday. "They used anti-aircraft guns with muzzles lowered to hit our posts," Das said. Quoting Indian army intelligence reports, he said three Pakistani civilians were killed, along with nine soldiers when Indian troops returned fire. Six Pakistani soldiers were also wounded in the firing, he added. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010823 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Benazir's retrial to start next month ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Rafaqat Ali ISLAMABAD, Aug 22: The Prosecutor General Accountability said that the NAB was still interested in prosecuting Ms Benazir Bhutto and her retrial in a corruption case, sent back to the accountability court by the SC, would start from the first week of September. Raja Mohammad Bashir, PGA, talking to Dawn said it was a wrong impression that the NAB had lost interest in the prosecution of Ms Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Asif Ali Zardari. The case will proceed from the first week of September and it would be the endeavour of the prosecution that it should be disposed of as expeditiously as possible, Raja Bashir said. On April 6, a seven- judge bench of the apex court had ordered retrial of the case by a court of competent jurisdiction. The court had observed that the element of bias in the present case was floating on the surface of the record. On the basis of the same judgment, two judges, Justice (retd) Rashid Aziz Khan, and Justice Malik Qayyum, were asked to leave the institution of judiciary. After the SC order, an accountability court at Rawalpindi, headed by Judge Mansoor Ali Khan, had taken up the case in May and issued notices to all the respondents. No proceedings took place afterwards. Legal experts say that after the amendments in NAB ordinance the prosecution would be at liberty to place additional records in the case as the Supreme Court had not made any direction that prosecution should not be allowed to fill in the lacunas in the case. Asked whether the NAB would place more evidence on the record of the court, Prosecutor General Accountability (PGA) Raja Mohammad Bashir said the case was starting afresh. The PGA said if the prosecution felt that it should place additional material on the record of the court, it would be at liberty to make a request to the Accountability Court. If the court permitted, additional record could be placed before it and added that it was the discretion of the court to allow or deny the placement of additional evidence, he said. Experts observing the case proceedings say that the NAB, after getting a favorable verdict under section 31 of the NAB Ordinance, was not so keen on starting fresh prosecution of Ms Bhutto. The government, these experts say, was more interested in placing Ms Benazir Bhutto in the category of "convicted persons" only. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010823 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Asif's contempt plea elicits jailers' regrets ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Nasir Iqbal RAWALPINDI, Aug 22: Judge Rustum Ali Malik of accountability court No I dismissed Asif Zardari's application in the Pakistan Steel mills (PSM) reference to appoint a commission to record the statement of his father Hakim Ali Zardari. The application had asked the court to appoint a commission to record the evidence of Hakim Ali Zardari, who was confined to a hospital at Karachi as he was unwell and therefore could not be brought here. Meanwhile, Mr Zardari had given up three defence witnesses including Faqir Hisbani, Ali Akbar Jamali and Haji Allah Bux Lakhoo, for whom he had earlier pressed to be summoned. The court during the last proceedings had issued bailable warrants against these witnesses with a direction to the prosecution to produce them. The witnesses were given up when they failed again to appear on Tuesday. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010823 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PPP criticizes arrest of its leader ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 22: Pakistan People's Party has termed the arrest of secretary-general Jahangir Badar an act by the present government aimed at denying the party an even playing field in the forthcoming general elections. Speaking at a press conference at his residence, PPP deputy secretary-general Mian Raza Rabbani demanded the release of party's top leader and said that his arrest was the first of all those arrests to be made by the present government to browbeat the party after the results of local bodies elections, particularly in the province of Punjab. He further said that it appears that with this process of political victimization, the regime wanted to sabotage the holding of general elections in the country. He said in the second phase of election process scheduled between July and September, the government had chalked out a plan to manipulate election results in this period. For this purpose, he said, the government was looking forward carving out delimitations of provincial and national assemblies constituencies in a way so as to facilitate and favour the candidates supporting its rule in order to brighten their victory prospects. The electoral rolls, he said, would be prepared through a government agency NADRA and not through Election Commission of Pakistan so as to manipulate the rolls for its advantages. Thirdly, he said, the government has decided to carry out selective purge of leaders of liberal, progressive and mainstream parties, particularly PPP. According to him, there would be little or a low-scale rigging on the election days as the government wanted to achieve its designs prior to the holding of the elections. Giving the reason, he said, there would be international teams of observers monitoring the elections and the government could ill-afford to go for massive rigging on elections days. "The arrest of Mr Jahangir Badar is the beginning of the selective purge," he said. The government, he said, wanted to create a situation enabling it to bring about amendments. "Notwithstanding the Supreme Court judgement, Chief Executive cannot be granted powers to amend the constitution for its sole prerogative of an elected parliament," he emphasised. Speaking on the recently introduced amendments to the NAB ordinance, the PPP leader termed those violative of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution. He said the ordinance has been amended making it mandatory on the bank and financial institutions to make available to NAB the accounts of any individual. "The amendment is an infringement of the privacy of the citizens and impinges upon the confidentiality of banking transactions that is recognized world over," he said. According to him, this amendment will have far-reaching consequences as far as the business community is concerned and will be another nail in the coffin of the economy. Further, it is a violation of fundamental rights. Similarly, he added, the amendment relating to acceptance of documents from a foreign government without being subject to the law of evidence "is an attempt to over-ride the judgement of the Supreme Court in Ms Bhutto acquittal appeal by the Supreme Court". The amendments also provide a legal cover to the surveillance of citizens and the reports submitted by the agencies involved in surveillance work would be considered a piece of evidence in the court of law, he said and added that "this is something highly condemnable" "The NAB law is blackest of all black laws in the world," he said, and added "nevertheless such tactics by the military government could not dampen the spirit of party, which can register a landslide victory in any free, fair and transparent elections". DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010822 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Jehangir Badar arrested by NAB ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Asad Ali LAHORE, Aug 21: The National Accountability Bureau, Punjab arrested PPP Secretary-General Jehangir Badar on charges of corruption and misuse of authority. The NAB said the PPP leader during his tenures as a public office holder acquired assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. He is alleged to have been involved in illegal appointments as well as receiving kickbacks. The assets which he is said to have illegally accumulated and could not account for are shares in Bakhtawar Hotel, Dubai Hotel, International Hotel and National Tourism Hostel in Lahore; shares in hotels in Dubai, London and Toronto; a petrol pump in Virginia, USA; shares in a Kamani factory on the Bund Road; shares in Usman Plaza; Lahore Hotel; Macleod Road and Butt Plaza, Badami Bagh; two houses in Allama Iqbal Town, Lahore valuing approximately Rs20 million; an under-construction house on a 10-kanal plot in Ali Town, Raiwind Road and a two-kanal commercial plot near Thokar Niaz Beg, Lahore. The NAB said the accused misused his authority in making illegal appointments in the ministry of petroleum; received kickbacks and monetary benefits from various deals involving exploration of oil and other natural resources and obtained 12 kanals of commercial land belonging to the Auqaf department in Ali Town in violation of rules and regulations. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010821 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ghous evades questions about links to PML-N ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, Aug 20: The former adviser to Nawaz Sharif, Ghous Ali Shah, has said that he will try to remove misunderstanding between the two factions of the Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz group and Qasim group. Talking to newsmen at the National Institute of Cardiovas-cular Diseases, where he got himself admitted shortly after his 23-month detention, he parried questions as to which faction he belonged to, saying that "to me, both the factions are worthy of respect because the leaders of both sides used to meet me whenever I was produced before the court". Mr Shah's allegiance to the PML(N), Sindh, become controversial when the general-secretary of the PML(Q) presented his resignation from the post of the PML(N), Sindh, president at a time when he was under detention. He said he had submitted an application to the interior ministry, asking to be allowed to go abroad for medical treatment. He claimed that he suffered from such a "fatal disease" which could not be treated in the country. "After a medical examination, a team of government doctors asked the government to send me abroad," he said, claiming that if he continued to use the medicines he was taking at present, his eyes and lever would be adversely affected. -PPI DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010821 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ghous Ali Shah released ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 20: Syed Ghous Ali Shah, a leader of the Pakistan Muslim League and former defence minister, was released from judicial custody after being granted bail by the Sindh High Court in a corruption reference. The PML leader, arrested immediately after the removal of the Nawaz government on Oct 12, 1999, is facing charges of illegally appointing 122 people in the Civil Aviation Authority. He was also arraigned in the Oct 12 plane hijacking case, but he was exonerated from all charges by the then presiding judge of the Anti-terrorism Court No 1, headed by Rahmat Hussain Jafferi, on April 6, last year. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010824 ------------------------------------------------------------------- RAB arrests ex-MNA ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 23: The Regional Accountability Bureau, Sindh, arrested the former secretary-general of the UBL employees federation of Pakistan, Abdul Aziz Memon, says a press release. Memon was arrested on charges of corruption, misuse of powers and accumulation of assets beyond sources of income. The press release adds that Memon started his career as a clerk in 1971. Being the president of the staff union, he had a lot of nuisance value. His assets include a bungalow worth Rs10 million in Defence, Phase 5, a bungalow in KDA, scheme 1, etc. In order to contest National Assembly elections in 1993, Memon had his resignation back-dated. As a member of the National Assembly, he received bribes which he showed as "gifts". He also set up many fictitious companies and obtained loans from banks. He pressured bank employees to invest in his illegal companies. He misappropriated the entire investment. The press release says that Mr Memon obtained loans from banks in the name of the yellow cab scheme. He got commission from insurance companies for the scheme. He had lent many bank cars to his friends, some of which are still untraceable. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010825 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PML-LM meeting begins today ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD Aug 24: A crucial two-day meeting of the central executive committee of the Pakistan Muslim League (like minded) is beginning here at party's central secretariat from Saturday. The PML-LM CWC will be presided over by the party president Mian Mohammad Azhar and is expected to be attended by some 100 members from all over the country. According to the party sources, the meeting is being held at a crucial juncture when it has to decide between going for the much touted re-unification with League factions or to enter into electoral alliance with like-minded political parties. The party sources have disclosed to Dawn that two clear groups appeared to have emerged in the League one led by party president Mian Mohammad Azhar and the other by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. The former is strongly opposing every possibility of accepting the terms of estranged PML(N) but the latter due to some internal differences with party president is convinced that the party can not fare any good in the ensuing general elections unless the league is reunified and strengthened. The party stalwarts also expect a stormy session for, those having soft corner for the ousted premier Nawaz Sharif were not happy with the military regime over breaking of many promises. They are openly criticizing the party top brass in failing to achieve anything promised with them from time to time. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010824 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Haj forms to be issued from Sept 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Aug 23: The Haji camps established at Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta will start issuing application forms under the Open Haj Scheme, 2002, from September 1. The application form, after being completed by the intending pilgrim, would be received from November 1 to 15 at the same Haji camp from where it was issued, official sources said here on Saturday. Under this scheme, the applicants would be required to make the following arrangements: passport, airline ticket, papers to show confirmed arrangements of accommodation in the holy cities duly attested by the director of Haj, necessary foreign exchange as per regulations of the State Bank, and Rs2,000 to be paid to the ministry of religious affairs as processing fee per person. The pilgrims would be allowed to take accommodation at Harmain-al- Sharifain and airline of their choice and can continue their journey to any other country after performing Haj. The scheme is meant for those who intend not to perform Haj under government arrangements. A total of 120,000 Pakistani pilgrims, 75,000 under sponsorship scheme and 45,000 under regular scheme, would perform Haj next year.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010825 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Gen Ghulam Ahmed killed in car crash ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter RAWALPINDI, Aug 24: Lt-Gen Ghulam Ahmed Khan, Chief of Staff of the Chief Executive's Secretariat, was killed and his wife and two daughters were injured when a truck crashed into their car near Talagang on Friday. The family was on their way to Rawalpindi from Mianwali when the truck collided with their car head-on at the Mial Chowk, officials said. Local people rushed to the site of the accident and pulled out the victims from the wreckage of the car and shifted them to the Fauji Foundation hospital. Gen Ghulam Ahmed died on way to the hospital, officials said. The truck driver identified by the police as Mohammad Asif was arrested by the Tomman police and his vehicle was impounded.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY 20010824 ------------------------------------------------------------------- New ABL chairman, directors nominated: Cases referred to NAB ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 23: The State Bank of Pakistan has referred the cases of the four senior executives and two senior employees of ABL involved in financial dealings with the Fateh Textile Mills (FTML) to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB, and nominated new chairman and three directors on the board, the State Bank Governor Dr Ishrat Hussain informed newsmen. The four senior executives, including the former chairman and the chief executive of the ABL, three directors and two senior employees were found to be main characters involved in financial dealings with the Fateh Textile Mills. A State Bank Committee had noted two serious irregularities in these dealings which were (i) FTML availed export refinance from the SBP through ABL Station Road Hyderabad branch against fake shipment documents and (ii) the ABL, through its Foreign Exchange Branch, Karachi and Station Road Branch Hyderabad extended financing facility to the FTML, which were used for purchase of shares held by the employees of the ABL. He said that the ABL executives have replied to the removal notices served on them early this month and have asked for certain documents from the State Bank. Dr Ishrat said that a new Chairman of the ABL Board and three directors have been nominated. He hoped that after compliance with all legal formalities, the ABL would approve the annual report and make it public. Responding to a question on the fate of Prudential Bank, the SBP Governor remarked "wait for some good news in near future" dropping the hint that this bank would be merged with "some bank". He did not identify the bank with which the Prudential Bank is being considered to be merged but said that negotiations are in final stages. He agreed that the recent decision to reduce discount rates twice in quick succession by two per cent was shift in the monetary policy of the State Bank. "We have foreign exchange reserves of three billion dollars plus, the inflation rate is well under control and the cotton season is about to set in. Therefore, it is appropriate time to bring down lending rates," Dr Ishrat said. Discount rate has been used as an effective monetary tool when the rupee was under tremendous pressure of dollar, and now the situation is by and large stable and satisfactory. The State Bank Governor was confident that trade and industry would avail of his situation by accelerating the pace of business activities in the country. The SBP Governor hoped that with changing times the family business in Pakistan would gradually convert into corporate entities. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010823 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SBP unearths clandestine move to take over ABL ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Sabihuddin Ghausi KARACHI, Aug 22: A four-member Standing Committee of the State Bank of Pakistan headed by a deputy governor has found that the former Chairman of the Board and the Chief Executive of the Allied Bank of Pakistan (ABL) and three other directors had also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with a California-based corporation- Interlink Company-to conduct a buyout of ABL's employees shares and to bid for other 49 per cent shares held by the State Bank and the government. All these four directors were declared "unfit and undesirable persons to be associated with any banking institution" by the Governor of State Bank Dr Ishrat Hussain in his order issued early this month. They were found colluding with Fateh Textile Mills Limited (FTML), a major defaulter of ABL, in extending financial accommodation and full logistic support to enable it to clandestinely purchase the ABL shares and eventually take over control of the bank. This order was passed on August 3, pursuant to section 41-A of the Banking Companies Ordinance 1962 by the SBP Governor. It also dismissed two other senior employees. All these five were found to be actively involved in providing Rs2 billion financing facility to Fateh Sons against insecure collaterals and securities. Bulk amount of this money was eventually used to buy shares from the ABL employees. Those removed from the ABL and found unfit to be associated with any banking institution were Rasheed Chowdhry, the third Chief Executive and Chairman of the ABL after its take-over by the management-employee group, Allied Management Group (AMG), in 1991. The three directors found guilty were S Jauhar Hussain, I.A. Usmani and Saleem Sheikh. Two employees who were removed from ABL were Ashfaq H Qureshi and Aslam Qureshi. The four member Standing Committee headed by the Deputy Governor of SBP R.A. Chughtai carried out its probe and gave its report to SBP Governor in June. It detected a document, which showed that all these four directors in their personal capacities had entered into an MoU with Interlink Company in November 1998. The Committee mentions seven specific clauses of this MoU which "reflect gross misconduct on part of the said directors and establish they were acting against public interest, against the interest of ABL" to promote their own interests. For example, the one of the clauses stipulated Interlink to enter into an agreement with Rasheed Chowdhry, Saleem Sheikh, Jahuar Hussain and I.A. Usmani to purchase their personal shares at 2 dollars a share. According to the SBP Committee report Rasheed Chowdhry and two directors Jauhar Hussain and I.A. Usmani sold away their shares to Fateh Textile Mills at Rs100 a share while Ashfaq Qureshi and Aslam Qureshi got a price of Rs84.78 per share. A large number of ABL employees in Karachi, Hyderabad and other parts of the country were made to sell their shares at Rs15 and Rs20 a share. Original price of share was Rs70 on which the government had offered ABL to its employees in September 1991. Under the MoU, the ABL directors wanted the Interlink to retain them on the Board with its own directors after it takes over and provide them a long term performance based pay-benefits package of 250,000 dollars per director. They also wanted a pay package increase for the Chairman and directors that should double their present basic and benefit package while providing a 25 per cent rise for other employees. Rasheed Chowdhry and directors committed to assist in preventing the existing shareholders from selling their shares to other buyers and committed to lobby for Interlink in the government and Privatization Commission to acquire or underwrite 49 percent shares of the government. The SBP Committee also quotes from another document, a letter from the Interlink addressed to Rasheed Chowdhry in January 1999 to express its concern on ABL directors discussing with another business group the proposed sale of ABL shares. An earlier report of the Audit and Inspection Division of the ABL last year has accused the then President of ABL Rasheed Chowdhry and directors of misusing their position for personal gains by providing bank funds against bogus foreign bills to fateh Textile Mills for purchase of banks' own shares. The SBP had directed the ABL board in August last year to "dig out all cases pertaining to misappropriation of export refinance and extension of facilities to Fateh Textile Mills for facilitating purchase of ABL shares to determine the volume of misuse of bank funds and export refinance facilities from January 1997 to June 2000." Mukhtar Malik, a government nominated director on the ABL Board was also associated with the Audit Committee probe and found that total exposure of bank to Fateh Textile Mills was over Rs2 billion. Of this hardly Rs300 million was covered by the securities and remaining amount was doubtful recovery. Based on evidence of witnesses, the report has mentioned the directors and senior employees actively involved in opening counters for buying shares of the ABL employees in various branches. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010825 ------------------------------------------------------------------- State Bank softens lending rules: Private limited cos ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 24: The State Bank has further relaxed rules for the banks in making advances to a private limited company. Previously no bank was allowed to make advances to a private limited company without obtaining personal guarantee of the directors of the company in addition to the normal security that the bank may require. Now a SBP circular issued to all banks says that in the following cases the requirement of obtaining the directors personal guarantee will not be applicable: (i) Advances fully secured for all times against approved securities such as treasury bills and federal/Pakistan investment bonds. (ii) Directors who are full time paid employees of the company and the position of director is held by them owing to their professional and technical capabilities; and (iii) Directors who are nominees of corporate entity/financial institution and a guarantee has been given by the corporate entity/financial institution nominating such person as director. Earlier, in May this year the requirement for the banks to obtain personal guarantee of the directors of a private limited company was relaxed under the following situations: (i) In cases of foreign controlled private companies whose directors in Pakistan are merely paid directors either the personal guarantee of the directors in Pakistan or bank guarantee from the holding company abroad may be obtained. (ii) Advances made to private limited companies including foreign controlled companies resident in Pakistan against lien on foreign currency deposits held with the lending banks would be exempt from the requirement of obtaining personal guarantee of directors of the company. (iii) Advances made to private limited companies including foreign controlled companies resident in Pakistan against lien on foreign currency deposits would continue to be exempted from the requirement of obtaining personal guarantee of directors of the private limited company when the foreign currency deposits are replaced with special US dollar bonds registered in the name of the borrower issued by converting US dollar deposits. At that time SBP had further decided that in cases where the advances made to private limited companies (including foreign controlled companies incorporated in Pakistan) are fully secured by lien on rupee deposits held with the lending banks, the requirement of obtaining personal guarantee of directors of the company may be waived by the banks at their discretion. At present the requirement of obtaining personal guarantee of the directors of the company is also not applicable in case of advances made to private limited companies including foreign controlled companies resident in Pakistan where the advances are fully secured by way of: (i) Lien on foreign currency deposits held with lending banks and (ii) Lien on foreign currency deposits when the foreign currency deposits are replaced with special US dollar bonds registered in the name of the borrower issued by converting US dollar deposits. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010825 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PIA suffers Rs7bn loss in 18 months ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Dilawar Hussain KARACHI, Aug 24: Pakistan International Airlines suffered loss of Rs7 billion for the 18 months (January 2000 to June 2001), which works out to a loss of Rs12 million per day. The Airline unveiled. At June 30, 2001, PIA was carrying accumulated losses of over Rs13 billion on its balance sheet. This covered the Airlines equity of close to Rs4 billion, more than three times over. After tax loss for the financial year 2000 stood at Rs5.2 billion, 147 per cent higher than the loss of Rs2.1 billion the year earlier. Loss for the latest six months to end-June 2001 amounted to Rs2.4 billion, about twice the deficit of Rs1.3 billion made by the Airline in the corresponding period of 2000. The depressing results were greeted with a 35 paisa drop in the Airline's 10-rupee stock price on Friday, which already trading at a discount, closed the day at Rs3.45. There was of course no question of a dividend for the shareholders. And a dividend does not appear to have accrued for a long time; the last payout was a bonus issue, one-for-ten (10 per cent) in 1994. Shareholders could only be looking at PIA's soaring losses: For the year ended December 31, 1998, it had reported net profit of Rs2.0 billion. But that profit figure had, benefited from the write back of Rs1,800 million that the airline had made in respect of provision for pension liability, which it said, was no longer required. For 1999, PIA dived into net loss of Rs2,052 million and the numbers disclosed on Friday, show that over the period of last 18 months, the Airline has been heading, uncontrollably and head foremost towards the ground. The disturbing aspect of both the 2000 full year accounts and of those for the first half of current year, is that the airline's revenue falls short of its costs and expenditure, resulting in a net operating loss situation. Financial charges, which also falls in the region of billions of rupees add to those losses. Simplifying the data, it is seen that for the 18 months, PIA earned Rs61 billion in revenue, while its expenses worked out at Rs65 billion, leaving gross loss of Rs4 billion. Financial charges amounted to Rs3 billion, taking aggregate losses to Rs7 billion. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010822 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IMF mission unwilling to allow revision: Rs457bn revenue target ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ihtashamul Haque ISLAMABAD, Aug 21: The visiting four-member IMF review mission, headed by Klaus Anders, is unwilling to allow the government to revise downward revenue collection target from Rs457 to Rs447 billion due to Rs12 billion shortfall registered in the last financial year. Official sources said that the issue will be discussed in detail again on August 23 when both sides will have policy-level discussions. Secretary General, Ministry of Finance, Moeen Afzal will lead the Pakistan side, which also includes Secretary Finance Younus Khan and the Economic Advisor of the Ministry of Finance Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan. While the mission was not initially agreeing to allow scaling down of revenue targets, it was, however, not asking the authorities to introduce additional taxes in the shape of mini budget during 2001- 2002. The CBR officials, had been saying that they were given "stretched targets" despite considerable shortfalls seen in 2000- 2001. The sources said that the Fund officials expressed concern that three-time revised Rs406 billion revenue collection target of 2000- 2001, which was originally set at Rs436 billion, had not been achieved and that there was a need to streamline the process to avoid future slippages. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010822 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SBP to be made autonomous to manage reserves ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jawaid Bokhari KARACHI, Aug 21: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) would be made autonomous for management of foreign exchange reserves. Sources here said that the draft revisions to the SBP Act to guarantee autonomy to the central bank in respect of management of reserves is expected to be ready by the end of current month. The amended SBP Act will also ensure that the governor and other members of board can only be removed by what is described as 'legal cause'. The sources said that the last review of the stand-by arrangement (SBA), now under way, will focus on financial sector reform, and the issue of SBP autonomy may come up for discussions with the visiting IMF mission. The government is committed to the Fund to make SBP autonomous to manage reserves. The IMF officials say that the government will complete the implementation of the recommendations arising out of the Fund's recent assessment of the SBP's financial safeguards in the coming months. The State Bank governor Dr Ishrat Hussain will be in Islamabad on August 24 to discuss policy issues with the Fund officials. Starting from July 1, 2001, the definition for IMF monitoring of variables have also been changed. Reserves money includes scheduled banks' required and excess foreign currency deposits with the State Bank but excludes the special deposit accounts of the commercial banks with the SBP on account of frozen foreign exchange deposits. The move to make SBP autonomous for management of reserves follows the adverse impact of freezing of foreign currency accounts in May 1998 (involving a sum of $11 billion) on investment and the economy as a whole. As part of the annual audit, the sources said the external auditors will prepare a separate report on net foreign assets reported to the IMF. Under the new dispensation, the State Bank allowed banks and non- banking financial institutions, effective from April this year, to freely utilize foreign currency deposits mobilized by them for lending/ investment/ placement in Pakistan or abroad. But banks and NBFIs are required to maintain cash reserves in US dollar equivalent to not less than 25 per cent of their total deposits on daily basis (5 per cent cash reserve and 20 per cent cash reserves). The reserve ratios are changed from time to time. To improve safeguarding of reserves, says a Fund report, the State Bank is required by the IMF to reduce its term deposits with the Pakistani banks to $100 million by end-September and eliminate such deposits by end of 2001. Current account deposits will be capped at $120 million throughout this period. The State Bank is expected to prepare IAS-compliant reporting format and comparable IAS financial statement for previous years ending June 20, 2000. The Central Bank is required to get an independent review of SBP internal audit function. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010821 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IMF asked to write off debts: Meeting with labour leaders ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, Aug 20: A four-member fact-finding mission of the IMF had to defend the Fund's position more than once during a meeting with top labour leaders. The mission members received verbal thrashing by a whole bunch of hostile labour leaders who accused the IMF of pushing Pakistan deeper into debt trap and creating joblessness in this developing country. Sources privy to the meeting said the labor leaders told the mission that general perception in Pakistan is that people are committing suicides due to ruthless IMF policies. They said the labor leaders drawn from various national institutions were of the view that the IMF and the World Bank should write off major external debts of Pakistan. "If it is not done the country could hardly survive, let alone whether it implements your reforms or not," said one of the labour leaders. He and several others told the mission people in Pakistan want the IMF to stop promoting the pro-rich policies here as well as in other developing countries. That forced the mission members to defend the IMF position saying that it does not frame policies for Pakistan or any other country. "We only come into picture on the request of a country for a bailout...and it is your government that frames policies." The mission was headed by Klaus Anders and included senior IMF representative in Pakistan Henri Ghesquiere; Jean Lee Dem and Marcio Ronci. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010821 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan mulls action against Paris firm ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, Aug 20: Pakistan is considering penalizing a Paris-based telecom company for dishonouring its agreement to launch a strategic $500 million geo-stationary satellite - Pakistan Satellite (PAKSAT). "Yes, we are consulting our legal advisors to examine whether or not we can take action against the company under the contract and seek fiscal compensations," confirmed an official source in the ministry of science and technology. "The loss is colossal from the strategic point of view even if not in fiscal terms," said the source who asked not to be named. Another source said it was clearly mentioned in a recent cabinet meeting that "Alcatel should be held accountable for its failure to fulfil its contractual obligations." The non-implementation of the agreement by Alcatel has left Pakistan uncertain whether it would ever be able to share or launch a space satellite system that was necessary to become the backbone of country's defence, telecom, telecast and information technology needs. Authentic official sources and documentary evidence available with Dawn suggest that the federal cabinet has already authorised Minister for Science and Technology Dr Ata-ur-Rehman early this month "to take appropriate steps/decisions in the matter to safeguard national interests". The cabinet was informed that Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) had initially planned to launch (38 deg E and L) space satellite in 1983 and filed an application with ITU. Five locations were allotted and Pakistan invited bids for its launch in 1994. Four companies had applied for a licence but Alcatel of France was granted an LoI in 1996 and then granted a 15-year licence in 1998. The agreement was however subject to an implementation agreement which could not be signed because of delaying tactics used by the company and the licence expired in December last year. Under the cabinet directive to utilise Pakistan's only space allocation before April 2003, the ministry of science has already invited fresh and open-ended (both old and new satellite locations) bids for positioning a geo-stationary fixed satellite in 38 degree E orbital location to meet the strategic and commercial interests. In view of the very limited options available, the cabinet has also directed that Pakistan should not only aim at a temporary solution by way of an old satellite but should simultaneously ask the companies to bid for the new satellite. The bids would be kept as open as possible with a provision for the vendors to provide a financial package as well. "This means that companies would be free to submit bids for the new satellite or for the repositioning of some existing ones," an expert at the ministry explained. Simultaneously, Maj-Gen Khalid Bashir, acting chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has been asked to look after the project in consultation with the ministry. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010821 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Talks with IMF mission begin: $2.5bn poverty reduction facility ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ihtasham ul Haque ISLAMABAD, Aug 20: Formal talks have begun between the visiting IMF review mission and the Pakistani authorities to look into Islamabad's request to have $2 to $2.5 billion Poverty Reduction Growth Facility (PRGF). Official sources said that the head of the IMF review mission, Mr Klausse Enders has arrived Pakistan and started holding discussions with the senior authorities. The IMF and the World Bank, the sources said, were jointly helping the government in the preparation of a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) which was a "pre-condition" for seeking PRGF by the present government after the expiry of $596 million Standby Agreement (SBA) on Sep 30 this year. The Deputy Director of the IMF for Middle East Department Mr Burton is also due to arrive here on Aug 29 to discuss Pakistan's request for new financing package. Later, the finance minister will leave for Washington to further discuss with the IMF authorities the PRGF, without which Paris Club would not reschedule Pakistan's $3.5 billion debt nor the country's credit rating will be improved by the New York-based credit rating agencies - Moody's and Standard & Poor. "But nothing is likely to be finalized during the IMF review mission's visit to Islamabad. Whether Pakistan should get PRGF or not will be debated and finalized at a meeting of the Pakistan Development Forum (PDF) being held in early November here," a source said. However, he said the finalization of PRSP by the government with the help of the World Bank and the IMF will lay a basis for future assistance.Back to the top
EDITORIALS & FEATURES 20010819 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Can the people ever win? ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ardeshir Cowasjee NO. They can't. Corruption persists. While no one in the city of Karachi can deny that the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) of the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) is riddled with graft (the governor's Dissolution Order of 1996 conferred upon it the title of 'Nest of Corruption'), it seems that it is virtually impossible for the government to identify the bad elements in the organization and to take action against them. In 1995, the citizens of Karachi, helped by Shehri, the environmental watchdog group, stepped up their campaign against the proliferation of illegal buildings that was slowly destroying the quality of life in the metropolis, particularly that of the inner city. The government and the KBCA, during that year and in 1996, were compelled by public pressure to seal some 260-odd unauthorized structures, carry out minor cosmetic demolition, and initiate disciplinary action against 29 KBCA officers who had colluded with the highly corrupt builders' mafia. In January 1997, an inquiry into the conduct of these 29 officers was conducted by secretary, housing & town planning, Nur Ahmad Shah, one of our rare honest and fearless bureaucrats. He exonerated 14 of them, and recommended major penalties against: Akhtar Iqbal Usmani, Zaidiul Wasti, Rauf Akhtar Faruqui, Iqbal Aziz, Kazi Mumtaz Iqbal, Arshad Jamal, Sultan Mohammad Zuberi, Mohammad Bux Qasmi, Anwar Kamal Kazmi, Khwaja Badi-uz-Zaman, Munawar Azam, Mohammad Ali Qaimkhani, Iqbal-ur-Rahman, Abdul Waheed and Abdul Sattar Pasha. These 15 were charged and suspended. In 1996, to block their dismissal from service, the 15 filed a suit in the High Court of Sindh, pleading 'political victimization'. By an interim order the single bench of the court reinstated them, pending the outcome of the case. One amongst them, Rauf Akhtar Faruqui, a favourite of many a politician of many a political party, not only survived multiple changes of government but grew in stature with each change. His rise from assitant controller to deputy controller to controller and finally to the plum post of chief controller of Buildings, KBCA, was, as they say, 'meteoric'. It was during his tenure as CCOB that many unlawful approvals were given, inter alia, to Glass Towers (a portion of which was later demolished on the orders of the Supreme Court) and Saima Trade Towers (against which litigation is pending). Faruqui later rose to be director-general of the Malir Development Authority. The High Court dismissed the suit, declared that the court had no jurisdiction, and directed the plaintiffs to approach the Services Tribunal. They did not do so, but instead appealed to a double bench of the SHC which upheld the decision of the single bench. Undeterred, they filed a petition for leave to appeal in the Supreme Court. In the year 2000, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition. Leave was not granted. No one will be surprised, and certainly not shocked, to learn that these 15 servants of the public are still on the payroll of the KBCA and that we are paying their salaries. What can also not surprise any citizen of this country is that now, at this late stage, the Sindh department of housing and town planning wishes to exonerate these men, using one excuse or another. What is surprising is that the military government-posted Brigadier Zaheer Kadri, director-general of the KDA, and Brigadier Zafar Malik, chief controller of the KBCA, are both supporting the department's move. But then, who is motivating the department? At the tail-end of the meeting of the governing body of the KDA held this August 9, without any notice, a 37-page dossier was presented to the members by DG-KDA Brigadier Kadri. The DG, who is also the chief executive of the KBCA, has stated : "The case of the exoneration of the 15 officers has been taken up in the backdrop of the housing and town planning department's letter No.SO(G)/HTP/4- 5/197 dated 8/6/ 2001 which has provided clear guidelines for processing the case" [it does nothing of the sort]. The governing body members were further informed: "Points for decision. In the light of above paras, the Governing Body is requested to kindly consider to exonerate 15 officers from the allegations/charges together with reinstatement of eight officers and set aside the inquiry report." The governing body decided not to follow the DG's recommendations. "No," they emphasized. According to press reports, our Karachi Nazim, Naimatullah Khan, is to now be the chairman of the governing body. Heaven alone knows, what this devolution plan has thrown up for us. Moving on to the draft of the governor's ordinance to regularize 260-plus unauthorized and/or illegal buildings, a meeting was called by Housing and Town Planning Minister Dewan Mohammad Yusuf on August 17, at which the builders' mafia and the Association of Builders and Developers (together with their "supporters") were fully represented. None of these worthies could give any explanation as to why they, in collusion with the corrupt officers of the KDA and KBCA, had purposefully, deliberately and grossly violated the building code, building in some cases as much as 200,000 sq.ft. in excess of what is permissible. On this issue, the legal member of the oversee committee of the KBCA, Barrister Qazi Faez Issa, has given his opinion which was published in this newspaper on August 17. The general public and the country's president and chief executive, from whose shoulder the gun is being fired, should read this carefully. In neighbouring India, in the city of Trivandrum, which has been Indianized and is now simply and briefly known as Thiruvananthapuram, the hometown of my late lamented friend Girjaramprabhushankar Vitianandashivaramakrishna, the 'Regularization of Unpermitted Constructions and Deviations' recently cropped up. In Kerala, officials do not use their kidneys as brains, and the following was ruled: "(143) Power of the secretary to regularize certain constructions: The secretary shall have the power to regularize construction or reconstruction or addition or alteration of any building or digging of any well commenced, being carried on or completed without obtaining approved plan or in deviation of the approved plan. Provided that such construction or reconstruction or addition or alteration of any building or digging of any well shall not be in violation of any of the provisions of the Act or these rules. "(144) Submission of application and procedure for its disposal : (1) Application for regularization shall be submitted in the form in Appendix A. (2) The application for regularization shall be accompanied by documentary evidence of ownership of plot, site plan, elevation, building plan, service plan, parking plan wherever the building requires parking, and other details and specifications as are necessary in the case of an application for new building permit; in the case of deviation from approved plan, the approved plan and permit already obtained shall also be submitted. (3) The procedure for disposal of an application for regularization shall be that followed in the case of an application for new permit. (145) Application fee : The application fee shall by as specified in Schedule I. (146) Decision to be intimated : (1) The secretary shall by written order either grant or refuse to grant regularization. (2) The secretary shall, if the decision is to grant regularization, intimate the fact to the applicant in writing specifying the amount to be remitted as compounding fee and the period within which the amount has to be remitted. (3) The secretary shall, on receipt of the compounding fee, and compliance of the condition, if any specified, issue order as in Appendix - I absolving the person from all liabilities and regularizing the construction, and record the details thereof in a register to be kept as a permanent document in the form in Appendix - J. (4) The compounding fee shall be equal to permit fee specified in Schedule II plus fifty per cent of that amount. (5) The secretary shall, if the decision is to refuse regularization, intimate the fact to the applicant specifying the reasons for such refusal and the period within which such building or part of building has to be demolished or the well filled up: "Provided that an application for regularization shall be refused only on such grounds on which approval of site or permission to construct or reconstruct a building or well may be refused. (147) Demolition of buildings not regularized: (1) Where the owner fails to demolish the building or part thereof or fill up the well as directed in the order refusing regularization or fails to remit the compounding fee within the time specified, or fails to comply with any condition stipulated in the order granting regularization within the time specified, the secretary may himself cause the building or part of thereof demolished or the well filled up as the case may be, and the expenses therefore shall be recovered from the owner as if it were an arrear of property tax due under the Act. Provided that in the case of an order refusing regularization, the building or part thereof shall not be demolished or the well filled up or prosecution initiated as in sub rule (2) until and unless the time prescribed for filing an appeal from such an order has not expired. (2) Not withstanding anything contained in sub-rule (1), the secretary may also take prosecution proceedings against the owner." The law-makers and ordinance-drafters of Pakistan should note the preamble "provided that such construction or reconstruction or addition or alteration of any building or digging of any well shall not be [repeat, shall not be] in violation of any of the provisions of the [relevant] Act or these rules." The law was upheld. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010820 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Clear and present danger ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Irfan Husain As I write this on Independence Day, I realize that it is exactly 54 years ago that our family crossed over from New Delhi to Karachi by train. I was three years old, and my only recollection of the momentous events of 1947 is a fuzzy memory of a chowkidar trying out different keys to unlock a door late at night. When I was older, I was told that our train had been attacked by Sikhs, and only the presence of a platoon of Pakistani soldiers had saved us from being hacked to death - a fate that was common enough among refugees crossing the border in both directions. In those early years of Pakistan, my father told us of him and his colleagues in the government using scraps of paper for office noting and thorns from trees as pins. There was a fervour and a patriotism that we lost somewhere along the way. My 30-year experience in the civil service was characterized more by cynicism than by any idealism: most people I have worked with were concerned more about their pay and perks and what they could get away with rather than any sense of what they could do to improve things and serve the people. But as one reflects on the decline of standards in virtually every field, the shrinkage in the writ of the state becomes most striking. Whereas district officers and SHOs in British India controlled the law and order situation effectively and ruthlessly, successively weaker leaders in Pakistan (and India, too, one suspects) allowed criminals to flourish as the police were used to batter political opponents rather than pursue crooks and stamp out crime. Now, despite all the resources at their disposal, the police simply cannot take on the might of Jihad Inc. Our heavily armed fanatics outgun our cops, and in any case enjoy a quasi-immunity because of the nexus they have formed with mainstream political parties, and now with the army as they serve the agenda of successive governments in Kashmir and Afghanistan. When the army staged its latest coup nearly two years ago, I had suggested that it should focus its energy and organizational resources on a very short agenda with its first priority being the eradication of the bands of armed religious fanatics of every stripe that had proliferated across the country. Alas, General Musharraf became too involved in other, less important, matters and our jihadis continued to commit mayhem at will. It has taken a particularly vicious string of killings over the last few weeks to nudge the government into initiating action against them. Banning two of the many militant parties and putting another two on notice is the very least that could have been done under the circumstances. The problem with a ban is that the members of these bands can either float new parties under different names or join the many other armed groups that continue flourishing. What needs to be done is to make it a crime to preach hatred against another religious community or sect. Next, activists who have been involved in violence need to be locked up. Over the years, our many intelligence agencies have built up a considerable data bank concerning these zealots. If they haven't, they should be disbanded for inefficiency. The current crackdown needs to be ruthlessly implemented: far too often, militants are picked up only to be released after a few days. The sputtering campaign against illegal arms has yielded predictably meagre results, reflecting poorly on a military government: most people simply don't think it means business. Some religious groups have defended their right to bear arms. Here again, our many under-cover operatives should have a pretty good idea about the arsenals that have been built up over the years, or they have been wasting the taxpayer's money. The whole problem boils down to one of political will, and so far, this government has not shown that it has enough of it to effectively tackle this difficult issue. In mid-nineties when the MQM was on a rampage in Karachi, Benazir Bhutto and her interior minister, General Babar, demonstrated that the state is not entirely helpless in the face of armed and dangerous groups. Despite the excesses committed by that government against many innocent citizens, the fact is that the pain inflicted on the armed faction of the ethnic group served as a highly effective deterrent. It is this kind of commitment that is lacking in the present campaign. One problem is that the MQM had no constituency in or out of the government or the army to shield it from the might of the state. It had completely alienated every major political party and ethnic grouping. Jihad Inc, on the other hand, has some important backers. Our army itself is not free of their influence, and elements are engaged in furthering their hawkish agendas in Kashmir and Afghanistan. Also, most of them hail from Punjab as do our soldiers and bureaucrats. Thus, it is difficult to see how the state can or will use the full force of its apparatus against these dangerous elements. Again, having taken a first step against these organizations, the regime must not falter in its campaign. With these elements wantonly spilling blood at will, it is hard to imagine foreign or Pakistani investors putting their funds into a country where their lives are constantly at risk just because of their faith. Everybody in this government from the president and his finance minister downwards has been almost begging investors to invest, offering them all kinds of incentives and guarantees. But can they guarantee them physical security? And until there is new investment, no new jobs will be generated to absorb the million-plus young men entering the job market every year. Without jobs, many of them will (and do) turn to drugs and crime; and some of them are recruited by Jihad Inc. As I have said in these columns before, this task can only be undertaken by the army as the police have neither the resources nor the training and motivation to take on the hydra-headed monster created by Zia to serve as his constituency. For years after him, successive leaders and governments have been content with issuing statements and making the odd arrest, only to release these activists under pressure. The police have been too demoralized to even attempt to do their duty against these elements, especially as they have seen them sprung from prison by their political masters time and again. The time has come for General Musharraf to stand firm and take this rampaging bull by the horns. He has made a beginning of sorts, but he must see this campaign to the end. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010824 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Heaven and its suburbs ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ayaz Amir Since early manhood I have been trying to become a better person: prudent, dutiful and punctilious about my responsibilities. Alas, without much success. In moments of desperation I have called upon the Lord to give me the strength to overcome my weaknesses. I have struggled hard but my bad habits persist. A grim prospect stares me in the face. What will I say, what explanations offer, when the final trumpets sound. How will I get past the pearly gates? Of the writer and dramatist Simon Raven, who died recently, his obituary in the Guardian started off like this: "The death of Simon Raven, at the age of 73 after a stroke, is proof that the devil looks after his own. He ought by rights to have died of shame at 30, or of drink at 50. Instead he survived to produce 25 novels..." The obituary went on to list his literary achievements and also to recount the highlights of his life of debt and dissipation. "His considerable earnings," we are informed, "went on food, drink, travel, gambling and sex..." The judicious reader will get the picture: gloom-and-doom formed no part of Raven's view of life. You are inclined to think that someone like him may well bluff his way past the pearly gates. I can only look with envy at a life lived thus to the full. My failings are of the small, not the swashbuckling kind: sloth, selfishness and a love of indolence. In my 20s I was much given to thoughts of being involved in great causes and of manning the barricades. I loved the sound of this word, barricades, and would throw it into conversation at the slightest opportunity. Now I find that my reserves of highmindedness are not what they used to be. My eyes are still capable of becoming wet if I read a moving story or listen to a rousing piece of music. At such moments I am transported to a different world: a world of make-believe and romance, usually false because it is a product of day-dreaming and not anything real. But mention of worthy causes leaves me cold probably because I have seen too many worthy causes transmuted, as if by magic, into personal gain. I would not have minded this alchemy had I shared some of the profits. Since I clearly have not, I find myself slipping into cynicism. But regarding the pearly gates, would someone like Simon Raven really like to go past them? Would the perfect world beyond them appeal to a scapegrace like him? Ordered hours, straight avenues, permanently wise conversation, wine that causes no hangover, houris perfect in all respects, goodness and light abounding everywhere - these are the rewards awaiting the man or woman who has eschewed worldly temptation and kept the devil at arm's length. Those worthy of these rewards will constitute the highest circle of the elect when the final sums are counted. But what about lesser souls who, while assured of a place in heaven because of something in their lives finding favour with the All- powerful, may yet be tormented by the bad habits acquired during their earthly sojourn? How will they adjust to the perfection of the cypress-lined pathways where gravitas and good order rule? Gypsies becoming staid and not dancing, Cleopatra forgetting her winning ways, Ghalib keeping healthy hours, the great Hafiz not sighing for his Turkish beauty (the one who lived in Shiraz), Falstaff not getting into a brawl in a tavern - these images fit no received conception of paradise. In his short story The Celestial Omnibus - reading which, for some reason, always brings tears to my eyes - E. M. Forster gives a glimpse of heaven and of some of the personalities residing there. Amongst them is Mrs Gamp, the nurse with a strong partiality for gin from the Dickens' masterpiece, Martin Chuzzlewit. Mrs Gamp drinks her gin on the sly and because of the quantities she takes her nose is perpetually red. But she is a 'character' which is why she is in paradise along with Achilles, Sir Thomas Browne and the other figures whom the boy-hero of the story meets when he alights from the Celestial Omnibus. And in an essay which has long been a favourite of mine, Likes and Dislikes, this is what James Agate, English journalist and essayist of the first half of the last century, has to say of his idea of heaven: "There must be a paradise for the simpletons as for the picked spirits...I want a Valhalla which shall not be a palace, but a home. I think I could trust Lamb to make a sufficient welcome, though it is to Falstaff I should look to discourse of honour in a strain bearable to soldier ears. Nectar and abrosia may be good taking, but there must be familiar grog and laughter and good- fellowship. I want a heaven in which horses shall be run, and the laying of odds allowed a sinless occupation." There you have it - a convivial and inviting heaven in which time shall not hang heavy and the shadows of ennui are kept at bay. But Agate is even more demanding: "I want not only the best the celestial architects may contrive in the way of saloons, but I want the atmosphere of bar-parlours; I want pipes of clay and pint-pots of jasper, common briars and spittoons of jade." Only in one particular do I disagree with him. Why should the place he describes be only for simpletons and not for picked spirits? Ghalib would feel at home there and so would Hafiz and Falstaff. Imagine the revelry and singing in a celestial saloon where such diverse characters congregated. Who would be the master of ceremonies? By turns Ghalib and Hafiz. Come to think of it, even Shakespeare would far prefer something close to a bawdy house to spend his evenings in than a temple dedicated to the discussion of virtue and morality. Who would sing at these celestial suppers? Take your pick, for each of us has his or her favourite singers. But I would bet on Saigol to do the honours and when the night was far advanced snatches from Wagner - played by an orchestra waiting in the wings. At the foundation of all art lie similar qualities: gusto, enthusiasm, clarity and imagination. Poets, musicians, singers - no matter which age they come from or in what language they have expressed themselves - belong to the same brotherhood. In heaven will reign a hierarchy of excellence and not one graded according to time and place. Ghalib and Shakespeare will not be strangers to each other. Nor at such an assembly will Captain Pistol's rodomontade be out of place. These be good humours, indeed! Shall pack-horses, And hollow pamper'd jades of Asia, Which cannot go but thirty mile a day, Compare with Caesars, and with Cannibals, And Trojan Greeks? Nay, rather damn them with King Cerberus; and let the welkins roar. Shall we fall foul for toys? This speech comes in a quarrel between Ancient Pistol and Mistress Doll Tearsheet, with Falstaff watching the proceedings before pitching in, at the Boar's-head Tavern in Eastcheap. Ever heard of comparisons between caesars and cannibals or of Trojan Greeks? But the rhetoric is splendid and puts Pistol by the side of Mrs Gamp as one of the denizens of paradise. There's one problem, however. Heaven is for perfect people while some of the heroes I have mentioned are far from perfect. They can fit only into a region somewhere between heaven proper and the eternal fires below. The outskirts of heaven: that's where most of the swaggerers will reside, where late hours will be kept, swords will occasionally be drawn and the convivial spirit will last long into the night. If I had a choice in the matter that's where I would like to be.
SPORTS 20010825 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Saqlain misses Asian Test ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Reporter KARACHI, Aug 24: Off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq will miss the Asian Test Championship opener between Pakistan and Bangladesh starting at Multan from Aug 29. The chairman of selectors, Wasim Bari, who watched the first day's proceedings in the three-day match involving the visitors, told newsmen that Saqlain would return on Sept 13. Bari said Saqlain had some pressing domestic commitments in England. He, however, clarified that his engagement had nothing to do with English county Surrey. The chief selector said the team for the Multan Test would be handed over to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Sunday. He said it would then be upto the establishment when to release the squad to the media. Nevertheless, Bari hinted that the team for the match had already been decided. "There are question marks against a couple of players. But we have been discussing the team amongst ourselves while Waqar Younis has already been consulted." The chief selector said the playing lineup would be selected by the captain as his committee's job would end with the picking of 15 players. Until last year, the selection committee used to decide the playing lineup. But the change has probably come after Waqar Younis threatened to quit if his views were not given due consideration while finalizing the playing lineup. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010823 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan Test stars accuse India of double standards ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Reporter KARACHI, Aug 22: Former Pakistan stalwarts accused New Delhi of double standards and believed that India had pulled out of the Asian Test Championship because they were afraid of losing. Intikhab Alam, a former captain and coach, said: "It's a senseless decision. In my personal opinion, the Indians are afraid of losing to Pakistan." Hasib Ahsan, another vocal Test off-spinner, went a step ahead when he suspected Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) involvement in the withdrawal. "I suspect that BCCI themselves asked their government not to clear the tour because they know they can't go anywhere after losing to Pakistan in Lahore," he said. Intikhab said: "This decision spells politics and politicians would be the only gainers and cricket will be the loser." Intikhab questioned New Delhi's policy of only targeting cricket. "Yasin Merchant won the Asian snooker championship in Karachi in June while an Indian player appeared in a squash tournament in Peshawar earlier this month. In October, India will be sending its contingent for the SAF Games. But when it comes to playing cricket, they disallow permission. "New Delhi's policies and logic are mind-boggling in the background that they had said in April that they had no objection if India plays Pakistan in any multinational tournaments," Intikhab said. Intikhab demanded New Delhi to spell out its policy and come out clean rather than confusing the situation and playing ping pong with Pakistan. Wasim said New Delhi's decision has not only dampened the hopes and dreams of cricketers of the two countries, it has also spoiled the party of billions of fans. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010823 ------------------------------------------------------------------- India defends decision to withdraw from ATC ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DELHI, Aug 22: Indian Sports Minister Uma Bharti defended her government's blocking of India's Asian Test Championship match in Pakistan, saying the decision was due to strained ties between the countries. Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee made the decision at a meeting with the country's foreign and home ministers late on Tuesday. "The country's foreign policy is bigger than sports. When we weighed national interest with sports interest we felt the scales tilted towards national interest," Bharti told Aaj Tak television channel on Wednesday. "It was a very apt decision keeping in mind the current situation and the relations between the countries," she said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010819 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Wisden criticizes PCB chairman ------------------------------------------------------------------- Monitoring Desk LONDON, Aug 18: "You [the media] sort out one issue with me today: do you want to build the team or do you want to take it down? The choice is yours." Strange that the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Tauqir Zia, thinks the media has more influence over the national team than he does. But that was not the end of Lt Gen Tauqir's extraordinary attack on Pakistani journalists during a recent briefing in Karachi, observes highly respected Wisden cricket monthly in its latest edition. Zia was on a war footing: "I want to know what your problems are with the establishment, players, selectors? I have been observing for the last year and a half that whenever a tournament or series is round the corner, controversies start." His observations had been fuelled when the Pakistan manager Yawar Saeed handed him a file of press cuttings. As Tauqir ranted, key officials in the PCB looked on. There is a distinct impression that Tauqir means well but is badly advised - it is difficult to imagine how these bullying tactics could ever be deemed worthy of the head of any organisation, the magazine writes. Naturally, Pakistan's journalists were agog at this outburst. Tauqir's statement arises from a grave misunderstanding of the function of the media, and is doubly regrettable since the man who appointed him, Pakistan's president General Pervez Musharraf, says he supports a free press, the magazine says. The media is not responsible for building up the team - Tauqir Zia is. Journalism should not be about massaging the egos of the bigwigs at the PCB but about commenting critically on the policies of the board and the performance of the team. Journalists have a responsibility to their readers not to the establishment, players or selectors. It is particularly rich to accuse the media of stirring trouble when the PCB is so skillful at making bad decisions, it says. The other aspect that Tauqir would do well to remember is that it is his own officials and players who regularly leak "controversial" stories to Pakistan's grateful media, says Wisden. Tauqir Zia's tirade ended with a statement he will surely regret. "No matter how much you criticise me or the PCB," he fumed, "I don't care. At least my education is more than you all, while my style of working and knowledge of the game is at least more than a million times [better] than you, barring a couple." You can almost hear press knives being sharpened. Let's face it, the PCB does itself few favors. Take the recent obsession with mind games. They have decided that Pakistan's players do not need a coach to refine technique but a Mr Motivator, Wisden observes. The galactic brains at the PCB have overlooked the simple point that they need to first explain why international players need motivating, Wisden questions. Moving at speed Pakistan have appointed a psychologist. There is little to suggest that psychotherapy has any benefit on team performance, and it is not clear what experience Dr Aamer Siddique has in this field. If that wasn't a shaky enough basis for the whole exercise, the PCB has given him the laughable title of "Thought Leader and Team Counselor." Amateur psychology will likely do more harm than good. Tauqir should also rethink his own ill-judged mind games and if he is badly advised perhaps he might try thinking for himself, Wisden concludes. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010820 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PCB protests at referee Reid's appointment ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Reporter KARACHI, Aug 19: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has protested against the appointment of veteran New Zealander John Reid as match referee for this month's Asian Test Championship game against Bangladesh. Hours after the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) said Reid has been appointed match referee and another controversial figure Darrell Hair as the umpire for the Multan match, the PCB said it has lodged a protest against the New Zealander. "Our stance (on Mr John Reid) is known to the International Cricket Council (ICC). We don't need to repeat it," a spokesman of the PCB said. The Pakistan cricket officials had come down hard on the former New Zealand all-rounder after he fined and suspended Waqar Younis for one match after finding the pacer guilty of ball tampering during a match in the Sri Lankan tri-series last year. Reid, a former captain, had also fined and warned Azhar Mahmood on the same charges. Interestingly, Reid had taken a unilateral decision as the two umpires had not complained to the match referee. Prior to the Sri Lankan incident, Reid had raised suspicion on the legality of Shoaib Akhtar's bowling action on Hair's report during the Perth Test in 1999. Shoaib was suspended by the ICC before being allowed to play one-day cricket. Dr Zafar Altaf, current PCB chairman's predecessor, had declared Reid persona non grata saying that the New Zealander was not welcome in Pakistan after his dual policies while tackling Shoaib's issue. An ACC official admitted that it has received PCB's objection which will be forwarded to the ICC for its consideration. "Now it is for the ICC to decide whether they stick to Reid or appoint a new match referee," ACC sources said. The ICC are bound to accept PCB's request after it admitted Sri Lanka's protest and removed Hair from all the 1999 World Cup matches involving Sri Lanka after the umpire had called Muttiah Muralitharan seven times in an over during the Melbourne Test in Australia in 1995-96. The ACC spokesman said while Hair will be the ICC nominee, the second umpire would be appointed by the technical committee of the ACC. He said either a Sri Lankan or an Indian will stand in the match. The ACC also approved the points system recommended by its technical committee comprising Sunil Gavaskar (India), Zaheer Abbas (Pakistan), Asantha De Mel (Sri Lanka) and Gazi Ashraf (Bangladesh). A team winning a match by an innings will get 16 points and an outright victory will fetch 12 points. In addition, bonus points have also been provided in the first 100 overs of the first innings of both teams. Scoring 250-299 runs will earn one point, between 300-349 will fetch two points, between 350-399 three points and above 400 runs four points. On the bowling side, a team taking four to five wickets will get one point, six to seven will earn two, eight and nine three points and four points for all 10 wickets. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010820 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan hockey faces rocky road ahead ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Reporter KARACHI, Aug 19: The situation of uncertainty engulfs Pakistan hockey after the team finished a poor fourth in the Azlan Shah Cup in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month. The worst result came after a mixed European tour where Pakistan finished second behind Germany in the four-nation tournament in Hamburg, won the series against world champions the Netherlands. But surprisingly, lost to Belgium and drew a game with Spain, not considered as formidable sides as the Netherlands and Australia in hockey world. With skipper Ahmad Alam already calling it a day, apprehensions are that more is in store and the team management might have to pay the price of an otherwise poor showing in the last three months. But the big question is: Can the PHF afford to make drastic changes in the team and its management with the Champions Trophy scheduled to begin in Lahore from Nov 3 and the World Cup starting in Kuala Lumpur next February. According to a Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) spokesman, a line of action has been initiated and the PHF secretary and the team management is to meet on Aug 22. "I can't comment whether there should be changes in the team management or otherwise. I have started to analyze the seven- month performance of the management. Once the process is complete, the report will either be put up in the Council meeting or the president PHF," secretary of the PHF Brig Musaratullah said from Lahore. He added: "The federation will be able to make a future strategy by the end of this month." ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.
Dawn page
Webbed by Philip McEldowney
Last update:
.