------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 10 February 2001 Issue : 07/06 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents | National News | Business & Economy | Editorials & Features | Sports
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CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + US to spur India, Pakistan on talks: Policy on S. Asia unchanged + German envoy wants India to open dialogue + CE ready to meet Indian premier, says report + SC verdict on military take-over stands; polls in 2002 + Pakistan refuses new camp for Afghans + New Delhi frees 160 fishermen + Kashmir may provoke war, apprehends US + Ban on raw material sale: ordinance issued + Frontier Post case may be resolved soon, says official + Duty, tax evasion by small power producers + Pakistan presses for opening political route + UK paper's report on Benazir's conviction + F-16 deal: Report leakage to be probed + Free education, health care for all demanded: SAARC + TJP, SSP leaders still under detention --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + Privatization Commission to invite EoIs for PTCL this month + Govt, World Bank agree to salvage SAP-II + CE says Economy revival top priority + Business demands cut in lending rates + Talks with IMF team begin + Agriculture ministry set to fight legal battle + US firm sues govt, minister for $2.9m compensation + Pakistan Steel Mills will return Rs11.3 billion to five banks + Business forum launched: Trade promotion with Japan + Cut in expenses of embassies okayed + Pakistan suggests trade exhibitions in Saudi Arabia + 100% rise in imported milk powder price --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + Karachi warned Ardeshir Cowasjee + In this hammaam who is covered? Ayaz Amir + Rush to judgment Irfan Husain ----------- SPORTS + Team leaves for New Zealand today: New millenium to bring success + Pakistan to get more money for playing in Sharjah
=================================================================== DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 20010210 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US to spur India, Pakistan on talks: Policy on S. Asia unchanged ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ihtashamul Haque ISLAMABAD, Feb 9: The US ambassador to Pakistan, William B. Milam, said on Friday that the Bush administration would encourage Islamabad and New Delhi to initiate dialogue on various issues, including on Kashmir. Talking to reporters, Mr Milam said the US interests in S. Asia were unchanged and the new administration would continue to encourage India and Pakistan to resolve their differences through peaceful means. "The new Bush administration is still being formed but it will certainly look for forging better relations with India and Pakistan," he said. The ambassador pointed out that the US Secretary of State Gen Powell had, in a policy statement the other day, said that the US would improve its relations with India, but at the same time it would not ignore Pakistan. "Our priorities have changed after the collapse of the Soviet Union at various places, including in China, but our policies and interests in South Asia are unchanged". He said the US government was encouraged to see certain accommodation on Kashmir by both Islamabad and New Delhi, and added that the dialogue process should be pursued to resolve all the issues. India, he said, was the largest practising democracy which evoked US interests there. The ambassador, however, ruled out the possibility of US mediation on Kashmir. "But as a superpower and a great power we will continue to play our certain role wherever it is required". In reply to a question, he said the new Bush administration was equally concerned over nuclear proliferation despite the rejection of the CTBT by the US Senate. Asked whether the US had asked Pakistan not to flight-test its ballistic missiles in response to similar flight-tests by India, he said: "We are against the weapons of mass destruction and we have conveyed our displeasure to India over the issue". If any country, including Pakistan and North Korea, was engaged in building ballistic missiles they would have to face the resistance by the Americans, warned the ambassador. He appreciated de-escalation on the Line of Control, adding that it would facilitate holding of dialogue between the two countries. "I believe both India and Pakistan will have to maintain the same momentum to achieve a negotiated settlement." In reply to another question, the ambassador observed: "The Jihadi organizations (in Pakistan) are working against the best interests of the people of the region." However, he said, the best judge was the government of Pakistan to resolve the issue. The ambassador said that a delegation of the US Congressmen would soon be visiting Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. In India, he elaborated, the delegation would make estimates of losses caused by the earthquake and in Afghanistan issues relating to drought and weather would be assessed. "They have a wide range of agenda". Talking about the revival of democracy, he hoped that the chief executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf, would hold elections before October 2002. "We are much interested to see democracies sustained in the world and we do not feel happy when democracies are replaced by military rules or any other system," He said the US wanted to see the restoration of democracy in Pakistan as soon as possible. "And we can see the road-map for establishing democracy following the holding of local bodies elections and the initiation of the devolution plan," he said, adding that his government was waiting and watching the process because "we are concerned about democracy". DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010209 ------------------------------------------------------------------- German envoy wants India to open dialogue ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Feb 8: German ambassador to Pakistan Hans Joachim Daerr on Thursday hoped India would make some decision to start dialogue with Pakistan for settlement of their outstanding issues. "I hope that India will make some decision towards starting dialogue with Pakistan," he told APP after a literary evening with a German writer, Felicitas Hoppe, organized by the Academy of Letters in collaboration with Goethe Institute Karachi here. Daerr said he did not know what drove India away from the composition of All Parties Hurriyat Conference's (APHC) delegation particularly when it had made a decision to begin stalled talks with Pakistan. "The process may be long and complicated but there is a decision to go ahead. Both sides have made careful moves," said the German envoy. He said one might be disappointed over slow pace of movement towards dialogue between New Delhi and Islamabad but one has to be patient. To a question on Osama bin Laden, he said, no country wanted a "projection of terrorism out of Afghanistan." Bin Laden is accused by the US of being involved in acts of terrorism. Afghan government has refused to hand over bin Laden unless the US provides evidence of his involvement in terrorism. "This is not only a problem of America, many Islamic countries are concerned about that kind of projection", of terrorism, said the envoy. Mr Daerr visited Kandhar and Herat on Tuesday and met with Taliban representatives there. He went there as part of Afghan support group which was working to support the Afghan people. Mr Daerr said he had a close look at the refugee camps to have first hand knowledge of their conditions.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010207 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CE ready to meet Indian premier, says report ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf was quoted on Tuesday as expressing his willingness to meet Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in Islamabad or New Delhi but said an offer could be made firmly only if there was a degree of certainty that it would not be rebuffed. An Indian news agency quoted Gen Musharraf as telling the Dubai- based Gulf News that he regarded the Indian prime minister as a moderate man who was surrounded by hawks. An Indian foreign ministry spokesman, asked to comment on Musharraf's reported plans to invite Vajpayee to Islamabad, said New Delhi was not aware of any such move. He said the prime minister, external affairs minister and the home minister had time and again clearly spelt out India's approach to its relations with Pakistan. "Our policy has been consistent. Our stand remains unchanged," the spokesman said. A day earlier Pakistani diplomats in New Delhi had denied reports that Musharraf had ever planned to visit the quake- hit Gujarat state. "Vajpayee is the only moderate (in the Indian leadership) and he is surrounded by hawks, so if we have to move in a substantial way, it can only be done in a dialogue between him and me," the United News of India news agency quoted Musharraf as telling Gulf News. Musharraf said he was "absolutely willing" to invite Vajpayee. But the agency quoted him as stressing that "when one initiates such an act, one has to be very careful that the initiative is accepted." Asked if he would be just as willing to visit India, if invited, the chief executive said "yes, certainly." Musharraf said the ice had been broken as a consequence of his first-ever telephone conversation with the Indian prime minister last week. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010208 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SC verdict on military take-over stands; polls in 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rafaqat Ali ISLAMABAD, Feb 7: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to change its earlier order of validating the military take-over on the basis of the doctrine of necessity. Dismissing the review petition filed by the PML through Wasim Sajjad, chairman of the suspended senate, the court held that the period of three years was granted to the military government after considering all the "relevant factors" and "practical realities". The government, which was asked by the apex court on Tuesday to come up with its election plan, "reaffirmed" its assurance of holding elections before Oct 12, 2002. Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada, counsel for the federation, stated: "Under instructions from the competent authority, I reaffirm the assurances which have (already) been given." He also referred to the chief executive's recent interview in which he was quoted as saying that the Supreme Court order, requiring restoration of elections within three years, would be adhered to. Under the Supreme Court judgment passed on May 12, the military government is required to complete the process of elections within three years, starting from Oct 12, 1999. In its 22-page short order on the review petition, the 11-man bench said: "We are firmly committed to the governance of the country by the people's representatives and we reiterate the definition of the term democracy to the effect that it is government of the people, by the people and for the people, and not by the army rule for an indefinite period." The court held that it would not make any comment on the exile of former prime minister as the matter was sub judice. Similarly, it said, the matter relating to accountability under the National Accountability Bureau was also sub judice. The court held that the validation and legitimacy accorded to the present government was conditional and inter-linked with the holding of general elections to the National Assembly and provincial assembles and the Senate within the time-frame laid down by the Supreme Court, leading to the restoration of democratic institutions. The court further stated that there was no glaring or patent mistake floating on the surface in the judgment under review. "Nothing has been overlooked by the court, nor has it failed to consider any aspect of the attending matters." Due to the situation prevailing on or before October 12, 1999, for which the Constitution provided no solution, the armed forces had to intervene to save the state from further chaos and to maintain peace and order, economic stability, justice, good governance as well as to safeguard the integrity and sovereignty of the country as dictated by the highest considerations of the state, necessity and welfare of the people, the court maintained. The court held that the petitioners could not be permitted to re- argue the case and seek reversal of conclusions earlier reached by the Supreme Court after the full application of mind. It observed that no one could disagree with the opinion that Pakistan must have democracy, and any obstacles in respect of achieving that goal must be overcome. The bench held that when the country was faced with grave crisis, the constitutional maintenance demanded that the court should interpret the proclamation of the PCO in such a way as to authorize whatever power and measures were necessary to cope with the emergency. The court recalled that Khalid Anwar, who had argued the original petition of the PML, had rightly said that he would not request the court "to do the impossible." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 010210 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan refuses new camp for Afghans ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Feb 9: The United Nations said on Friday that Pakistan had refused its request to open a new refugee camp, leaving 80,000 Afghans stranded in a squalid field where conditions were rapidly deteriorating. With the number of Afghan refugees fleeing to Pakistan since September placed at 170,000, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said existing facilities were now full. "(The) UNHCR has requested the government to provide a new site. However, Pakistan has rejected our request," the refugee agency said in a statement. "The granting of a new site is now a matter of the utmost urgency." Pakistan, saying it cannot afford to add to the estimated 2 million Afghans already within its territory, has closed its borders to fresh refugees despite UN warnings that conditions in Afghanistan verge on famine. "UNHCR is extremely concerned about the plight of Afghans who have flocked to Jallozai in the last two weeks," the statement said of the site near Peshawar, where most of the new arrivals have gone.. It said little assistance could be provided to the makeshift site, which had no sanitation and had little water. It warned that conditions were deteriorating, arousing fears of epidemics and fire. "The Afghans are squeezed in a little parcel of land where they have pitched flimsy tents made of plastic sheets, which offer no protection against temperatures that dip below zero at night," the UNHCR said. The United Nations, facing chronic shortfalls in its funds for Afghan relief, has launched urgent appeals in the face of the flood of refugees into Pakistan to escape dire conditions inside their homeland. Pakistan wants the UN to set up more facilities in Afghanistan to keep refugees from leaving.-Agencies DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 010210 ------------------------------------------------------------------- New Delhi frees 160 fishermen ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DELHI, Feb 9: India said on Friday it has ordered the release of 160 Pakistani fishermen from its prisons in a move an official described as underscoring New Delhi's "sense of goodwill" towards its neighbour. The release appeared to be the latest in a series of gestures by both sides aimed at creating the conditions for a resumption of long-stalled peace talks. Foreign ministry spokesman Raminder Singh Jassal told a news conference that New Delhi had asked Islamabad to make urgent arrangements for the repatriation of the fishermen, who were detained at various times for illegally entering Indian waters. An official who asked not to be identified said about 127 Indian fishermen were still in Pakistani custody but could not say how many Pakistani fishermen would remain in Indian jails following the latest release.-Reuters DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010209 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Kashmir may provoke war, apprehends US ------------------------------------------------------------------- Tahir Mirza WASHINGTON, Feb 8: India was on Wednesday alleged to have received ballistic missile technology from Russian firms, which were also said to have provided the same technology to China, Iran and Libya. In a rare departure from the usual practice when it was often Pakistan that alone appeared to be in the dock, CIA director George J. Tenet told a panel of the US that India continued to enjoy a superiority in conventional arms over Pakistan. During his annual public presentation of the threats facing the United States, he said there was a good chance that there could be another round of nuclear tests in South Asia. China, claimed Mr Tenet, had also increased its exports of missile technology in recent years to Pakistan, Iran, North Korea and Libya, and now must be "watched" to see if its leaders abided by the terms of the non-assistance pledge they made last November. He said Russia provided assistance to Iran's civilian nuclear programme that "could be used to advance its weapons programmes as well." Mr Tenet noted that relations between India and Pakistan remained volatile, making the risk of war between them "unacceptably high". He said the military balance in which India enjoyed advantages over Pakistan in most areas of conventional defence preparedness remained the same. This, he pointed out, included a decisive advantage in fighter aircraft, almost twice as many men under arms, and a much larger economy to support defence expenditures. "As a result, Pakistan relies heavily on its nuclear weapons for deterrence." Describing the latest peace process under way in South Asia as "tentative and fragile," Mr Tenet said that if any issue had the potential to bring both sides to a full-scale war, it was Kashmir. Kashmir, he pointed out, was at the centre of the dispute between the two countries. But, nuclear deterrence and the likelihood that a conventional war would bog down both sides argued against a decision to go to war. "But both sides seem quite willing to take risks over Kashmir in particular, and this - with their deep animosity and distrust - could lead to decisions that escalate tensions," the CIA chief observed. Mr Tenet said that Chinese help had enabled Pakistan to move rapidly towards serial production of solid-propellant missiles. In addition to Pakistan, he claimed, firms in China provided missile- related items, raw materials, or other help to several countries of proliferation concern, including Iran, North Korea, and Libya. Chinese undertakings on non-transfer of missile transfers, Mr Tenet said, were being closely scrutinized. "We are worried, for example, that Pakistan's continued development of the two-stage Shaheen-II MRBM will require additional Chinese assistance." He said that recent statements by Indian and Pakistani leaders had left the door open for high-level talks and added that only last week Indian prime minister A.B. Vajpayee and Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf conversed by phone, perhaps for the first time ever, to discuss the earthquake disaster. However, he said, the process was fragile. Neither side had yet agreed to direct, unconditional talks, and tension could easily flare once winter ended, or by New Delhi or Islamabad manoeuvring for an edge in the negotiations. He further said that leadership changes in either country also could add to tensions. He said that India had been trying to engage selected Mujahideen groups, but those groups had kept up their attacks through the recent ceasefire. In addition, the decision by the government in occupied Kashmir to conduct local elections - the first in more than 20 years - would provoke Mujahideen who saw the move as designed to cement the status quo. There was no sign of improvement in the competition between the two countries on development of missiles and weapons of mass destruction. India decided to test another Agni MRBM last month, reflecting its determination to improve its nuclear weapons delivery capability. Pakistan may respond in kind, said the CIA director. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010208 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ban on raw material sale: ordinance issued ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ikram Hoti ISLAMABAD, Feb 7: The federal government has slapped a ban on sale of industrial raw materials to un-registered taxpayers through a Presidential Ordinance issued here on Wednesday. The Ordinance stipulates that the industrial raw materials imported by commercial and industrial importers to persons and firms not registered with the Sales Tax department, would be an unlawful act. So far, the un-registered persons have been paying 1.5 per cent extra tax on the supplies of such materials. The persons enrolled under the Sales Tax Act 1990 would also be authorized to obtain such materials. The government has been authorized through this Ordinance to issue notifications for stipulating the raw materials the supply of which to un-registered persons would be banned. Primarily, the plastic granules, steel/iron scrap and yarn would be the items which would be the target of this Ordinance, said CBR officials. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010207 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Frontier Post case may be resolved soon, says official ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ahmad Hassan PESHAWAR, Feb 6: The Frontier Post, a local English daily's case of publication of a blasphemous letter on January 29 seems to be getting close to a resolution. The Home Secretary, Syed Mazhar Ali Shah told Dawn on Monday that the in charge editorial page's confession had made the task of the investigators easy and, hopefully the case will be resolved soon. Although the judicial inquiry tribunal is yet to start work, all indications point towards one thing that the publication of the sister newspapers may be allowed to be resumed on the insistence of the journalists bodies in order to save a large number of press workers from starvation. This, the sources confided to Dawn, this became possible due to the positive attitude of the religio-political parties who have called off their protest campaign for one month and, the journalists who avoided publication of sensitizing material. A highly placed source said that the government has reached the conclusion that the majority of the FP staffers held on the first day of publication of the said letter could be released any moment. The home secretary also told Dawn that the police action against daily Jasarat, Peshawar bureau was being reviewed and redefined according to law. A police party has been deployed outside the Jasarat bureau office to nab its chief to be involved in the investigations on the publication of a translation of the blasphemous letter. The police and the NWFP administration have been convinced by the confession of the in charge editorial page that the panic and chaos on the publication of blasphemous letter had occurred due to human error of judgment and there was no conspiracy involved. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010206 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Duty, tax evasion by small power producers ------------------------------------------------------------------- Faraz Hashmi ISLAMABAD, Feb 5: The government is suffering a loss of Rs600 million a month on account of duties and taxes being evaded by the private power producers generating upto 1,000 MW a month, a Wapda official told Dawn. For the power generated and sold by the small power producers no tax or duty or hydel-surcharge is being paid to the government or Wapda, a source said. All the concerned departments including Wapda, central excise, general sales tax and other responsible are turning a blind eye towards the evasion of taxes and duties by small power producers (SPPs), he said adding that: "The power production has become most lucrative business after drug trafficking." The SPPs, who got permission from respective provincial governments to set up their own generators in 1994, had been allowed to sell surplus power to their sister industrial units or the ones located in their close vicinity, he added. These SPPs had been allowed to charge B-3 tariff, the same charged by Wapda from industrial consumers, he said. Wapda tariff is composed of several components including 10.4 per cent hydel surcharge, three per cent excise duty and 15 per cent general sales tax. Hydel surcharge is paid to NWFP, excise duty and GST go to the federal government. Moreover, Wapda also has to pay cross subsidy to domestic, and agriculture consumers as well as to residents of FATA from its profits from commercial and industrial consumers. However SPPs have not been paying any such cross subsidy. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010205 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan presses for opening political route ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hasan Akhtar ISLAMABAD, Feb 4: Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar proposed to India here on Sunday that a natural course to reduce militancy in Jammu and Kashmir was to open political route and involve All Parties Hurriyat Conference in the settlement process. The foreign minister was answering questions at a press conference on the eve of the Kashmir Solidarity Day to be observed on Monday, about India's insistence that it was imperative that Pakistan should restrain militancy in Kashmir before talks on the issue could be resumed between the two countries. Mr Sattar said that it was important to recall that the freedom uprising in 1989 was launched by the Kashmiri people entirely as a peaceful political agitation and protest against the Indian domination. However, it was only because of Indian government's decision to bring in hundreds of thousands of army, police and paramilitary forces that the political agitation became impossible and the struggle, as a consequence, went underground. There was a nexus between the political and militant struggle and Pakistan's logic was that political route had to be opened that would automatically lead to de-emphasis on militant route, the foreign minister said. But conditions could not be prescribed in advance to curb militancy as that would lead to a stalemate, he stressed. He said that in order to create right atmosphere for Kashmir dialogue, it would be necessary to enable involvement of the APHC as the representatives of the Kashmiri people in the settlement process according to their wishes. The foreign minister said that Pakistan had already welcomed the recent initiatives taken by India in Kashmir including suspension of the military action against people although it was incomprehensible why India was taking half-steps and extending it month by month instead of accepting termination of use of military force, violence and repression. As a next step, he said that Pakistan was waiting for India to allow the Hurriyat delegation to visit Pakistan for consultations although the matter had been hanging fire for about two months, because delegation was facing difficulty in getting passports endorsed for Pakistan. However, Pakistan expected the delegation to be allowed so that they could discuss here initially the association of the Kashmiri people with the dialogue on the issue. He said delay in the visit of APHC's delegation would not be conducive to the maintenance of the momentum in favour of peace. However, Pakistan expected the delegation to be allowed so that they could discuss here initially the association of the Kashmiri people with the dialogue on the issue, he added. The foreign minister described the present state of atmosphere between the two countries as "less tense" and recalled that the recent terrible earthquake in the Indian state of Gujarat had led to profusion of strong human sentiments which resulted in dispatch of three planeloads of relief goods by Pakistan for the quake victims. Chief executive Gen Pervez Musharraf during his telephone call to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had also offered additional assistance if required and the Pakistan High Commissioner in New Delhi had been instructed to stay in contact with the Indian authorities, he said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010205 ------------------------------------------------------------------- UK paper's report on Benazir's conviction ------------------------------------------------------------------- M Ziauddin ISLAMABAD, Feb 4: The guilty verdict handed down to Benazir Bhutto and her husband by the Lahore High Court in 1999 in the SGS/Cotecna reference case was rendered highly suspect by startling disclosures made in a report published by a respected British newspaper on Sunday. Benazir's appeal against the verdict sentencing her to imprisonment for five years and nearly $10 million fine is coming up for hearing in the Supreme Court on Feb 26, 2001. Justice Malik Qayyum of Lahore High Court had allegedly announced a pre-written judgment in the case, the Sunday Times story revealed quoting tape recorded conversations between the judge and the former Law Minister, Khalid Anwer, the former chief of Accountability Bureau, Saifur Rehman and the former Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Justice Rashid Aziz. The newspaper story has claimed that it had obtained the copy of a letter along with the tapes sent by an officer of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to the President of Pakistan on Jan 29, 2001. The newspaper said that on being approached Justice Qayyum said he could not remember the conversations recorded by the IB. "I don't recall any such calls," he said. "I don't know anything about it." Abdur Rahim, a deputy director in the IB, who said he was told to monitor the office, home and mobile phones of Justice Qayyum at the very start of the Cotecna case, has explained, according to Sunday Times story, that following a crisis of conscience, he had decided to send an affidavit and hour-long tape to the President, with copies to Gen Pervez Musharraf, the chief justice and others. The bugging allegedly disclosed that the former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, was intent on securing Benazir Bhutto's conviction at any cost. Rahim is quoted to have said in his letter to the President that during the process he was astonished that the judge was being dictated to obtain a judgment of their choice against Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari by Khalid Anwer, Saifur Rehman and Justice Rashid Aziz. All the three men, Rahim alleged, were acting on the orders of Nawaz Sharif and the tapes allegedly showed that the judge was threatened with removal if he did not agree to conclude the trial quickly. According to Sunday Times Rahim was presently outside Pakistan and has appealed to the President for protection, saying he feared for his life and for his family. The tape transcript reproduced by the newspaper shows that Justice Qayyum even asked Saifur Rehman for advice on the sentence. "Now you tell me how much punishment do you want me to give her?" DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010204 ------------------------------------------------------------------- F-16 deal: Report leakage to be probed ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nasir Malick ISLAMABAD, Feb 3: The Chief Executive Secretariat has directed the ministries of foreign affairs and agriculture to investigate how a report regarding the F-16 payment deal was leaked to daily Dawn. A letter issued by the Chief of Staff Branch of the CE Secretariat and signed by Brig Haroon Sikandar Pasha said that the report appearing in the daily Dawn, which exposed the scandalous deal signed by the officers of foreign and agriculture ministries for the re-payment of F-16 money, has "caused embarrassment to the government". The letter from the CE Secretariat named Dawn reporter Rauf Klasra, for exposing the deal, in his June 20, 2000 and Nov 30, 2000 reports. "In both these cases, mentioned above, Rauf Klasra had used confidential US official communications leaked to him in Islamabad," the CE directive, issued on Jan 27, said. Dawn stories had informed the readers how the Pakistani government officials had agreed to the shameful conditions in the deal, resulting in huge financial loss to the country. Instead of initiating inquiry against the foreign ministry or agriculture ministries' officials, who had signed this questionable deal, the CE Secretariat has directed the two ministries to "investigate in detail the source of this leak and forward findings and recommendations to this Secretariat for further necessary action". The letter also called upon the two ministries to "ensure proper security of confidential and classified information and avoid recurrence of such incidents". The Chief Executive Secretariat has issued another directive to all the ministries and divisions in which it "observed with concern" that classified information and reports were being leaked out and disclosed to unauthorised individuals and correspondents of print media through various quarters, "which on occasions, has caused serious consequences and embarrassment to the government. This practise is a serious breach of trust and security and needs to be addressed at appropriate level, the letter said. The competent authority has directed that all the ministries, divisions, departments should adhere to utmost confidentiality, in accordance with the Official Secrets Act and existing rules/regulations while handling sensitive and confidential information." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 010210 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Free education, health care for all demanded: SAARC ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sarfaraz Ahmed KARACHI, Feb 9: Renowned medical expert Prof Adibul Hasan Rizvi has called upon the Saarc countries to work towards providing free education and health facilities to their people. He was delivering his keynote address at the Fourth Congress of Nephrology, Urology, Transplantation Society of Saarc countries which was inaugurated by the society's chairman Prof Rezvi Sherrif of Sri Lanka at a local hotel on Friday. Prof Rizvi, who is the chairman of the organizing committee and president-elect of the society, said that health care was a highly- productive area which, according to him, was a productive wealth. Investment in health care is above all the investment in human capital, which eventually leads to greater economic growth and productivity. "This is particularly important for developing countries whose people and their potential are great wealth," he said. Calling for free health and education for all in Saarc countries, Prof Rizvi said, "It is our religious and constitutional obligation and in conformity with economic realities." Presenting a "pathology of poverty", Prof Rizvi said only 45 per cent of the people had access to water, 22 per cent to sewerage and sanitation; 2million annually die of malaria, 3million of tuberculosis, 4million diarroheal diseases. Besides, millions are infected by Hepatitis B and C. At present, he said, the developed world is abuzz with unprecedented advancements in medical science such as gene therapy, cloning, and artificial organs. But, he added, whether the people of this region would ever be able to benefit from these advancements. He said it is important to ensure that nobody dies just because he cannot afford to live. In this respect, he spoke about the role being played by the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation where doctors act as catalysts for the support being provided by government and community, focussing on the patient. Prof Sheriff, in his presidential address said that the people of the region were groaning under the double burden of diseases. While there were communicable diseases which were required to be controlled, new emerging noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension were also alarmingly on the rise. He underscored the need for community-government participation in providing health care to people, and praised the role being playing by SIUT. In his welcome address, Prof Anwar Naqvi said that the programme, which is being attended by 650 delegates from home and abroad, was aimed at providing the latest techniques and knowledge to all participating delegates. Dr Iffat Yazdani, secretary general of the society, in her report said that since the society's conception in 1994 three congresses had been organized, and added that for the last two years, there had been a burst of activities in the field of nephrology, urology, and transplantation in the South-Asian region. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010208 ------------------------------------------------------------------- TJP, SSP leaders still under detention ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, Feb 7: The leaders of the Tehrik-i-Jaffaria Pakistan (TJP) and Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), detained on Tuesday morning, were on Wednesday taken to some "unknown destination". "They have been told to hold talks and prepare an undertaking that they would end differences and stop attacks on each other. They have been further told that they would not be released until and unless they submitted an undertaking to the government in this respect," the sources in the police told Dawn. The office-bearers of the two religious groups also said that their leaders, who had been lodged at different police stations, were taken to an unknown destination. The police and administration had assured them that their leaders would be released soon. Two TJP activists Muzaffar Kirmani and Nazeer Abbas were shot dead by unidentified armed men near Hussaini Blood Bank in Soldier Bazaar on Monday night. Tension prevailed on Wednesday in the locality in the aftermath of these killings. The police and law-enforcement agencies were deployed in Soldier Bazaar to maintain law and order. The security was also tightened in the entire city with law-enforcement agencies patrolling the roads and streets. The police put 28 persons in jail custody after they were produced before the court. Police had resorted to teargas shelling and baton-charge on the enraged mourners near Imambargah Shah-i- Khurasaan in Soldier Bazaar on Tuesday. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010208 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan suggests trade exhibitions in Saudi Arabia ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent RIYADH, Feb 7: Pakistan has suggested the holding of joint trade exhibitions with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the three major cities of Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam. The idea is to hold the trade fairs either in May or in September this year, after the peak summer months are over. Saudi Chamber officials have appreciated the initiative and are expected to respond officially to it soon. Convenient dates are being looked at for holding the exhibitions. In order to stimulate interaction between the business houses of the two countries and to promote the level of bilateral trade among the two states, the idea of joint trade exhibitions was floated, said Mohammad Saleem, Pakistan's Commercial Counsellor in Jeddah while talking to Dawn. This would ensure greater interaction and participation of the Saudi business community in the event as compared to single country exhibitions, he commented "The joint Pak-Saudi trade fairs will help the private sector identify new areas and products for enhancing the level of bilateral trade. This will reduce the communication gap between the private sectors of the two states. Through this exercise the Saudi business community will come to know of the export potential of Pakistan." They will also have the opportunity of identifying items from Pakistan, such as quality bed sheets and other products, which until now is being imported here from costlier western sources. This will also provide the opportunity to the Pakistani traders to know goods, which Pakistan can import from Saudi Arabia. Until now in our minds Saudi Arabia is a country which exports only oil in abundance. The situation is quite different from that," said Mr Saleem.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010206 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Privatization Commission to invite EoIs for PTCL this month ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ihtasham ul Haque ISLAMABAD, Feb 5: The Privatization Commission (PC) is inviting Expression of Interests (EoIs) from the interested parties in the last week of this month to privatize Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) by June next, positively. Sources in the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCOP) said on Monday that the officials of the PC were told that by June 2001, the majority shares of the PTCL should be disinvested along with the transfer of management to new buyers. The bidding process for the PTCL transaction will be completed during March, April and May. "So that every thing should be in place to handover the PTCL to a new buyer in June this year," a source said. A number of interested parties from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Australia and Lebanon have expressed their keen interest to take part in the privatization of the PTCL. Sources said some more foreign buyers have contacted the financial advisor for the PTCL, Goldman Sachs to purchase majority shares of the company. The representatives of Goldman Sachs are believed to have completed due diligence so that nothing went wrong at the eleventh hour of the privatization of the PTCL as had been the case in some of the deals previously. Sources said Chief Executive Gen. Pervez Musharraf has also called for the early privatization of the PTCL. In one of the meetings held recently, he said that privatization process should now be accelerated specially when the relevant law was put in place by the government to discourage the challenging of various privatization deals in courts. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010208 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Govt, World Bank agree to salvage SAP-II ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent ISLAMABAD, Feb 7: Pakistan and World Bank representatives agreed here on Tuesday to salvage the Rs500 billion Social Action Programme (SAP-II) by bringing radical changes in its future role and transferring its funds to provincial finance commissions (PFCs) for distribution among the local governments. A source, who attended Wednesday's meeting with the representatives of World Bank, told Dawn that the government had agreed to transfer the funds to the local governments through PFCs. The emergency meeting was called after Dawn reported that the fate of this big social welfare project was in jeopardy due to serious differences between the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) and the planning commission about the future role of the SAP-II. The NRB was supporting SAP's integration with its devolution plan to make it effective, while the planning commission was opposed to the idea. Official sources told Dawn that the planning commission had given in at the meeting, after the donors threatened to close the programme. They agreed in principle to save the project from collapse. Sources said the WB delegation, led by its country director John Wall, comprised the Bank's local operation manager Abid Hasan, South Asian in charge, Tehseen Syed, and other concerned. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010209 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CE says Economy revival top priority: Loan of 84 units rescheduled ------------------------------------------------------------------- Faraz Hashmi DANDOT, Feb 8: Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday that economy revival of Pakistan, which had been turned into a "graveyard of sick industrial units", was his government's top priority. About 190 industrial units were either closed or placed in the category of sick units, said the CE in his speech at a function in the Dandot cement factory. He said the recently-established Corporate and Industrial Rehabilitation Corporation had rescheduled loans and liabilities of 84 industrial units. Dandot cement factory near Khewra, over 200km from Islamabad, is the first of 190 dead or sick industrial units that has been revived. It resumed production last year after a closure of 30 months. Gen Musharraf called upon the owners of the industrial units to share their profits with the employees. Workers should also put in their best efforts for the success of their establishments, he said. He announced the setting up a girls schools, vocational institute, construction of 400 housing units for workers as well as two T.B sanatoriums. Pakistan, he remarked, was bestowed with immense resources, and with little hard work it could move towards development. "We have fertile land, natural resources, ample waters, sea, manpower and brain," he said, adding that all what the country needed was that politicians, Ulema, trade and industry leaders should work in harmony. The CE invited overseas Pakistanis to invest in the country so that its economy could be revived and it could be put back on the road towards development. Gen Musharraf stated that his government was working to transfer power to people through its devolution plan. However, he pointed out, the success of the plan could only be ensured through the participation of people. He urged the people to elect honest and forthright representatives without any fear and favour, and added that honest people should come forward and contest elections to provide better leadership. Dandot cement factory was a public sector unit set up in 1982. It was privatized and handed over to its new owner in 1992. However, it went into losses and closed down. The CE hoped that the revival of the factory would herald the rehabilitation of all sick industrial units and restoration of economy. Earlier, Gen Musharraf unveiled a plaque marking the revival of the units. SITUATION IMPROVED: Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf has said that situation in Pakistan has improved tremendously from what it was on Oct 12, 1999. In an interview to the Egyptian daily Al- Ahram, on Thursday, the Chief Executive said the downward slide in economy had stopped. He said the Government had revived investors' confidence and the government's revenue receipts had improved. "We have crushed corruption and there was no incident of bribery or exploitation of personal influence on governmental level," Gen Musharraf claimed. He said the administration was being modernized and the economy was being re-structured.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 010210 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Business demands cut in lending rates: Credit body meets next week ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sabihuddin Ghausi KARACHI, Feb 9: Business leaders are coming up with demands of more bank credits and reduction in lending rates in the State Bank of Pakistan's Credit Advisory Committee next Thursday. A four-point agenda for the meeting incorporates the demand of construction sector for allocation of bank credit. The textile sector too, is unhappy on the increasing trend in lending rates of banks and particularly on the recent decision of one per cent rise in export refinance. A leader of the construction sector wants banks to treat his business at par with other industries after it has been declared an industry by the government. "With all its related fields, land, cement, steel, labour, construction is one of the most powerful tool of reviving and promoting the economy", argues leader of the construction sector who plans to take with him leaders of Association of Builders and Developers in the meeting next Thursday at the State Bank. The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Pakistan Bedwear Exporters Association want the committee to discuss the trend of increasing rates in mark-up on bank loans. They want to focus on recent one per cent rise in export refinance. Coupled with utilities and transportation cost and the rise in cotton prices, the additional one per cent financial cost on export business is being described as 'crippling'. The textile exports are virtually stagnated at a little over $3 billion in first seven months of this fiscal as well as in same period of last fiscal. "In actual terms, this should be considered a decline in exports", Shabbir Ahmad, Chairman Pakistan Bedwear Exporters Association said. He holds abrupt rise in lending rates, increase in utility cost, problems in availability of industrial inputs and finally one per cent rise in export refinancing for the slump in export. "Unless the textile export starts moving up in next four months, there is no hope of total exports touching even $9 billion mark", he said. Spinners and leaders of the value added sector in textile are complaining of credit scarcity. "The working capital limits given by the banks have proved to be insufficient", Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, Chairman of the FPCCI Committee on Banking, Finance and Credit informed the SBP in his letter. He said these limits have proved insufficient because of rise in cotton procurement prices and he wants to plead for a review of these credit limits. Spinners are coming with a demand for bank loans to do their balancing, modernization and replacement. Liquid crunch has forced many banks including the major ones to squeeze their lending and oblige only those who in their judgment are credit worthy. The credit advisory committees have been formed on the instructions of the SBP Governor at every station where the State Bank functions. This committee at each of this station comprises the head of the local SBP, the regional chiefs of five major banks and the leaders of various business groups. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010209 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Talks with IMF team begin ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Feb 8: Pakistan began talks with an International Monetary Fund mission on Thursday, keen to convince it that a revenue shortfall should not prevent payment of a second tranche of a standby loan, officials and analysts said. Analysts said the mission, led by Sena Eken, assistant IMF director for the Middle Eastern region, was likely to find Pakistan's efforts sufficient to meet economic goals set by the IMF during seven months of the fiscal year under review. Government officials predicted that the talks would clear the way for the payment of the second tranche of the $596 million standby loan, which had been approved last year on Nov 30. "We are very confident that we have met all the targets, except a minor shortfall in revenue collection, agreed with the IMF to get a favourable review," a Pakistani government official told Reuters. The deficit target is 5.2 per cent for the fiscal year that ends in June against 6.4 per cent in the previous year. Officials of the Central Board of Revenue said on Wednesday that Pakistan faced a shortfall of about 13 billion rupees in tax collections from the target in the first seven months of the fiscal year that ended in January.-Reuters DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010209 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Agriculture ministry set to fight legal battle ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent ISLAMABAD, Feb 8: The Agriculture Ministry has decided to file a counter case against a US-based firm in a Pakistani court, which had earlier sent notices through a US court to the government and the Agriculture Ministry for payment of compensation. The firm had approached a US court in Columbia district, which had issued notices to the Government of Pakistan and Agriculture Minister for payment of $2.9 million as compensation to the company. The US court issued summons to Islamabad and Agriculture Minister Khair Muhammad Junejo on the petition of plaintiff IT Consultants, for the breach of an out of court settlement, which was also ratified by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the federal cabinet on Sept 4, last year. Informed sources told Dawn that the counter case against the firm in a local court was being filed to foil the efforts of the US firm to drag the Government of Pakistan and the Agriculture Minister in the US court. Mr Junejo has been asked to pay $1.5 million from his personal pocket as the firm has accused him of interfering in the matter of payment of compensation "arbitrarily and without any legal authority" as the decision to make payment was made by the ECC and the Minister could not block this decision. The sources said that the suggestion to file a counter case had been given by the Foreign Ministry whose officials had "advised" the Agriculture Ministry to get tough on this issue. The sources said that the government was developing its case against the US firm on the grounds that although it had entered into a contract with the firm worth $10 million in 1995 to manufacture, fabricate and install a geo-synthetic lining system in irrigation canals and water courses in Pakistan, it had to cancel the contract in 1997 because the firm was behind the agreed targets. The Ministry is of the view that it had also paid Rs100 million to the firm despite slow work on the project but it could not satisfy the government due to its poor performance. The sources said that the Agriculture Ministry was of the view that this single ground was sufficient to file a case against the US firm. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010208 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US firm sues govt, minister for $2.9m compensation ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rauf Klasra ISLAMABAD, Feb 6: A US court has issued two separate notices to the Pakistan government and the federal agriculture minister for paying $1.4 million and $1.5 million compensation to a Virginia-based firm. The government, in an out of court settlement, had signed a memorandum of understanding with the plaintiff for paying it Rs80 million but failed to do so. The MoU was ratified by the economic coordination committee (ECC) of the cabinet on September 4, last year. The US court has asked the agriculture minister, Khair Mohammad Junejo, to pay $1.5 million in his personal capacity. Notices have also been sent to Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and Law Minister Shahida Jamil to explain their positions in the affair. Sources told Dawn that the company, IT Consultants, had informed the US court that the Pakistan government had violated two agreements, the first signed in 1998 and the second in June 2000. The company informed the court that in 1995 it had entered into a $10 million contract deal to manufacture, fabricate and install a geo-synthetic lining system in canals and watercourses in Pakistan. The contract was, however, unilaterally terminated by the government in 1997. However, a year later, after negotiations the Pakistan government signed an agreement for the settlement of the issue but did not implement it. Last year another agreement was signed for out of court settlement under which Islamabad again agreed to pay $1.4 million and Rs10 million to the plaintiff, but the payment was never made. It told the court that the second settlement agreement was signed to terminate a lawsuit instituted by the plaintiff in the court against Pakistan. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010208 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan Steel Mills will return Rs11.3 billion to five banks ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ihtashamul Haque ISLAMABAD, Feb 7: Pakistan Steel Mills has agreed to return Rs11.35 billion which it owed to five commercial banks at a fluctuating rate of interest. Earlier, it was agreed that the PS will pay off its loans at 11 per cent fixed interest rate or the treasury bills rates, which ever was low. Chairman Pakistan Steel Mills, Col (retd) Mohammad Afzal Khan held a detailed meeting with secretary-general finance Moeen Afzal and the governor of State Bank, Dr Ishrat Hussain, here on Wednesday and was asked to agree to a new formula as the previous formula was not acceptable to HBL, NBL, UBL, ABL and MCB which lent Rs11.35 billion to the PS. "This was our very long outstanding issue with five banks and today this had been resolved as we agreed to pay back the loan at a fluctuating rate of interest rather than fixed 11 per cent or treasury bills rates, which ever was low", he said. He told Dawn after the meeting that financial health of the mills has considerably improved and now it could pay back its huge loan relatively on tougher terms. However, he said a number of new proposals of the Steel Mills had been accepted on Wednesday by the chairman CBR which will help the organization to further improve its financial health. Giving the details, Afzal Khan said that chairman of CBR has issued orders to pay Rs1.1 billion refund to Steel Mills. "Then we have been allowed by the CBR to pay customs duty relatively at a lower rate for 50,000 tons of pig irons which was imported fraudulently by former chairman of the Mills Usman Farooqi at an exorbitant rate of $204 per ton against the then international market rate of $130 per ton", he added. This was imported only to get kickbacks, he alleged. This pig irons, he pointed, was rusting at Port Qasim which would now be brought in the mill, though it was imported without any need. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010207 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Business forum launched: Trade promotion with Japan ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sabihuddin Ghausi KARACHI, Feb 6: Pakistan and Japan are working together in many fields including bilateral trade, despite sharp differences on signing of the Comprehensive Treaty for Banning (nuclear) Tests (CTBT) by Pakistan, remarked the Federal Commerce and Industries Minister Razzak Dawood on Tuesday. Speaking at the launching of Pakistan-Japan Business Forum, at the residence of Japanese Consul General Kazumi Dekiba, the commerce minister said, "he will lead a delegation of the forum to meet the Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday. The delegation will discuss bilateral trade and economic issues. The bilateral trade figures, he said, give a surplus balance in favour of Japan but then there is an immense potential to expand where Pakistan can gain and make a big leap. There will be a marked change in the trade pattern next year, following an impressive reduction in duty rates in new budget, the minister said, adding, "negotiations are being held with the Central Board of Revenue on this issue". The launching ceremony of Pakistan-Japan Business Forum was attended among others by the Sindh Governor, Mohammadmian Soomro; the Sindh Finance Minister, Abdul Hafeez Sheikh; Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Sadaaki Numata, top business leaders and officials of the federal and provincial governments. Razzak Dawood said, his government considers private sector the engine of growth and has assigned it a pivotal role in the development of the economy. We are restructuring the economy, and though it is a painful process but in the end it will provide immense pleasure, the minister revealed. The Sindh Governor Mohammadmian Soomro in his brief speech said, "Pakistan offers a lot of investment opportunities and is an appealing market". Earlier, in his address of welcome the Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan Saddaki Numata spoke of the Pakistan-Japan Business Forum as a "significant milestone" in the sense that business communities of both the countries, on their own have established an avenue through which they can actively search for kinds of answers both governments ponder about. He said the forum is the realisation of genuine desire of businessmen, "to jointly explore ways of expanding trade and investment activities between Japan and Pakistan". The Japanese envoy expressed his desire of "forging national consensus on signing of the CTBT, which according to him, "will help in getting us out of the dilemma between our national compulsions against nuclear weapons and the genuine yearning of our people to help Pakistan". He declared that the $120 million technical cooperation and humanitarian grant by his government to Pakistan in the year 2000, remains the highest amount of assistance. Besides this, he said Japan has also extended active support in getting relief on $1.8 billion debt rescheduling, of which "Japan's assistance to Pakistan will amount to $565 million". The Japanese envoy also spoke of the private sector collaboration between the two countries referring to Engro-Aashi plant, launching of new Suzuki 1000cc car 'Cultus', Attock refinery upgradation and expansion, and the Chashma Hydro power project. Numata also quoted the State Bank of Pakistan's figures of Japanese investment amounting to $59 million in 1998-99, which has declined to $17.7 million in 1999-2000. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010207 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Cut in expenses of embassies okayed ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, Feb 6: The chief executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf, has approved 25 per cent cut in the rental expenses of Pakistan missions abroad besides bringing down the number of officials in these missions to 1404. The education subsidy has also been withdrawn for school going children of diplomats serving in additional eight missions to save unnecessary costs. The government is also reviewing all the properties abroad to be sold. Foreign ministry sources told Dawn that the chief executive had approved a number of recommendations formulated by Lt-Gen Hamid Javed for the restructuring of the missions abroad. The reorganization of the missions was delayed following strong reaction within the ministry against certain aspects of the package prepared by the Gen Javed several months back. The sources said that the chief executive had partially approved the general's recommendations as the foreign office had been unwilling to accept different aspects of the plan. He had recommended that over 30 Foreign Service officers (FSOs) be called back from the missions abroad; more than 200 staff members belonging to the ministry be reduced and over 300 locally-recruited employees by the missions be sacked. A total of 270 diplomats are at present serving in 78 missions and 20 consulates abroad. The strength of lower staff in theses missions is 1367. Contrary to what was recommended by the committee, according to sources, the chief executive has decided that the strength of FSOs be reduced from the existing 270 to 254. The total strength of the staff, including both locally-recruited and Pakistan based, working under the ministry, is being reduced to 1150. The strength of attached departments like information, commerce, defence, officiating in the missions has also been reviewed. It has also been decided that there will be 29 officers and 71 staff members in commercial sections; 13 officers and 41 staff in community and welfare sections; three officers and six staff in audit and accounts and 17 officers with 36 staff in press sections of the missions. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010208 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan suggests trade exhibitions in Saudi Arabia ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent RIYADH, Feb 7: Pakistan has suggested the holding of joint trade exhibitions with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the three major cities of Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam. The idea is to hold the trade fairs either in May or in September this year, after the peak summer months are over. Saudi Chamber officials have appreciated the initiative and are expected to respond officially to it soon. Convenient dates are being looked at for holding the exhibitions. In order to stimulate interaction between the business houses of the two countries and to promote the level of bilateral trade among the two states, the idea of joint trade exhibitions was floated, said Mohammad Saleem, Pakistan's Commercial Counsellor in Jeddah while talking to Dawn. This would ensure greater interaction and participation of the Saudi business community in the event as compared to single country exhibitions, he commented "The joint Pak-Saudi trade fairs will help the private sector identify new areas and products for enhancing the level of bilateral trade. This will reduce the communication gap between the private sectors of the two states. Through this exercise the Saudi business community will come to know of the export potential of Pakistan." They will also have the opportunity of identifying items from Pakistan, such as quality bed sheets and other products, which until now is being imported here from costlier western sources. This will also provide the opportunity to the Pakistani traders to know goods, which Pakistan can import from Saudi Arabia. Until now in our minds Saudi Arabia is a country which exports only oil in abundance. The situation is quite different from that," said Mr Saleem. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010209 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 100% rise in imported milk powder price ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter KARACHI, Feb 8: The price of imported skimmed milk powder has increased by 100% whereas the vegetable fat milk is costlier by 17%. The rise in prices has created a shortage in the local market. Importers said the price hike is the result of phenomenal global price hike. Milk powder prices in Europe has jumped to $2,300 per metric tons in January from $1,400 in July last. In the local market, the prices of Ireland skimmed milk rose by 100% to Rs6,000 per 25 kg bag in the domestic market in just one month from Rs3,000 per 25 kg bag. Chairman, Milk Powder Standing Committee of Pakistan Commodity Traders Association (PCTA), Abdul Rahim Janoo told Dawn that the UK dairy crest milk powder prices have gone upto Rs7,000 per 25 kg bag from Rs3,800 per 25 kg bag. Similarly, he said, vegetable fat milk prices in Jodia Bazar are now being quoted at Rs4,100 per 25 kg bag from Rs3,500- 3,600 per 25 kg bag. Importers are now reluctant to open letters of credit (LCs), due to all time global prices as imported milk powder is already selling at under cost rates. The landed cost of vegetable fat milk comes to Rs4,300 per 25 kg bag as compared to current selling price of Rs4,100 per 25 kg bag. He said the domestic market is now facing shortage of milk powder as importers have dragged their feet for further bookings. The 12.5% rupee devaluation against the dollar during July-December 2000 has further increased the landed cost of imported milk powder. According to Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS), import of milk, cream and milk food for infants dropped by 39.46% in terms of value and 42% in quantity during July- December 2000-01 to 6,413 metric tons ($11m) from 11,073 MT ($18.45m) in the same period of 1999- 2000. Imports in December 2000 fell by 86% in quantity and 82% in dollar value as compared to the same month of 1999. He said there was a shortage of buffer stocks of milk powder in Europe coupled with lower production of fresh milk. Janoo has also sent a letter to the KCCI president on February 7, suggesting the government to allow milk powder import from India, where prices range between $1,300-1,500 pmt. He added that the PCTA has found very reliable suppliers of milk powder in India. Currently, total expenditure (including customs duty, income tax and other levies) comes to 38% and there is no sales tax on the import of milk powder.Back to the top
EDITORIALS & FEATURES DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010204 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Karachi warned ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ardeshir Cowasjee THERE must be millions of citizens of Karachi who wish their day to commence by their being able to say : 'I am well, the sun is shining. Rioters, bigots and arsonists permitting, I will venture forth, arrive safely at my place of employment to find it intact, and return home to find my house as it was, undamaged, unviolated.' To the literate amongst these citizens who read newspapers, I recommend that the first thing they read each morning should be the page headed 'Miscellanea' in this newspaper. They will there find cartoons detailing the daily life of the Gambols, the happenings in the Kingdom of Id (a place where I would be happy to spend the remainder of my days), the doings of Archie, and a few others. For some time, the adventures of Hagar the Horrible have been missing. Why? Surely the old Viking still lives. A few days ago, the little King of Id, wearing his crown (a cross between a Gandhi cap and a Bohra pugree) was shown addressing his subjects from his turret top : 'Your beloved king has eliminated crime in the city parks.' The crowd applauds: 'Hooray,' cry some, others ask 'How did you do it?' The King replies : 'I legalized mugging.' The subject of the safety of those who live in buildings in Karachi has once again arisen. This particular aspect has been dealt with again and again, it Is boring in the extreme, but it is vital, The Nizami-spawned Karachi Development Authority and its twin, the Karachi Building Control Authority, remain as corrupt, as crooked, as devious, as damaging as they were in the beginning, and unless something radical happens they are likely to remain so now and for evermore. The KDA is headed by its director-general, at present Brigadier Zaheeruddin Kadri, a fiscally honest man but a confused man, surrounded as he is by a large number of surplus and dishonest men. Being a military man he has a military mind, and he wishes to demolish what he terms to be his enemy, the governing body of the KDA. He is desperately trying to do so with the assistance of his minister, Dewan Mohammad Yusuf Faruqui ( sadly not a patch on his father, my friend Dewan Umar Faruq Faruqui). For the first time in the GB's existence, the private members who sit with me happen to be (by accident) men who wish no favours or plots from the KDA. They are now engaged in combat with the Sindh government on the issue of its intention to regularize illegal/unauthorised/ faulty/dangerous buildings. The majority of highrise buildings which stand in Karachi fall under the 'faulty' classification. Now, as to how these buildings managed to be built. The builders of highrises, higher than ground plus four storeys, are expected to send in plans which meet with the rules and regulations, making the building suitable to withstand 'Zone 2' earthquakes as defined by the Uniform Building Code of the US. The KBCA is expected to have the plans vetted by their engineers and an external panel of proof engineers. This seldom happens. The plans are normally merely stamped and approved. What the builders then build are not even in conformity with the plans so dishonestly approved. 'Noora Kushti' then comes into its own. The KBCA makes ostensible objections and sends notices to the builders. The builders employ lawyers known for their ability to 'grease', and they rush to court. These men of law manage to get court orders of sorts restraining the KBCA from taking any action and allowing the builders to continue construction. The judges concerned, knowingly or unknowingly, effectively become the Chief Controller of the concerned buildings. Others involved, criminally or not, are the builder, his architect, his engineer, his lawyer, his aiders and abettors - the KBCA Building Controllers and the KBCA lawyers. The buildings are completed, no occupancy/completion certificates are asked for by the builders or issued by the KBCA. In fact, no such certificate has been issued to any highrise built since 1994. The buildings are then allowed to be unlawfully occupied by the allottees/buyers who themselves are not interested in establishing whether or not they are occupying a safe and lawfully constructed building. By law, the KBCA should evict the occupants. This they never have done, using various excuses as a cover. This same series of events was routine in Turkey prior to the 1999 earthquake, and from what one can now judge, it is the same in India. In the event that an illegally and badly constructed building collapses, and people die or are injured, everyone from the judge downwards is responsible. There have been various claims, counter- claims and judgments regarding illegal buildings, but the two judgments which hold the field are 1999 SCMR 2089 Messrs (Excell Builders & others vs Ardeshir Cowasjee & others) and 1999 SCMR 2883 (Ardeshir Cowasjee & others vs Karachi Building Control Authority- KMC & others). The judges in both cases were Chief Justice of Pakistan Ajmal Mian and Justices Mohammad Bashir Jehangiri, Mamoon Kazi, Shaikh Riaz Ahmad and Chaudhry Mohammad Arif. Both judgments, which cover most aspects of illegal constructions, stand unchallenged. The barrister on the winning side was none other than the indefatigable Mohammad Gilbert Naim-ur-Rahman who often rises for the people without being paid. Strangely, some lower courts still decide contra to what Ajmal Mian has so painstakingly set forth in these two judgments of merit. With regard to the latest 'regularization' misadventure on which the siblings, KDA and KBCA, are now bent, the private sector members of the governing body have sent in a note which the endangered species of Karachi may wish to read: "1) The law presently allows 'regularization' of buildings that have contravened the approved plan - the deviations of which fall within what the Regulations permit. All these can be processed immediately. Minor excursions outside the Regulations will have to be removed/eliminated so that the remainder of the structure is 'regularizable'. "2) Before processing such action each unauthorised/illegal building/structure will have to be thoroughly examined and technically certified by Vetting Engineers of integrity for earthquake and structural-safety compliance. "3) For the rest of the unauthorized/irregular constructions and so-called 'sealed' structures the following five steps must be taken (steps enumerated). "4) Problems with mass and unlawful 'regularization' of illegal buildings include : a) the illegal structures are potentially dangerous and may collapse in the next UBC Zone-2B earthquake to hit Karachi. Naturally, for a fee, numerous 'brief case' structural proof engineers will be willing to certify that individual illegal buildings are 'safe'. b) Mass 'regularization' will establish that the government is not interested in implementing the writ of law. Further illegal construction will be promoted and will mushroom. c) Corrupt KDA/KBCA officials will get away scot free - and will make more illegal money in the 'regularization' process. d) Who wants 'regularization'? Who is being affected? Builders? Allegedly they run away and cannot be found to be prosecuted and punished. Allottees? They have allegedly already occupied the so- called 'sealed'/illegal buildings and obtained sub-leases, utility connections, etc. Government? The penalty monies cannot be used to pay salaries. e) Profits on illegal buildings range from Rs.4 crores to Rs.90 crores per building. Will the so-called 'deterrent' regularization penalties be comparable? In any case, the recalcitrant illegal builders will not be affected : they will pass on the penalites to the buyers. f) Why is the present non-political committed-to-implementation- of-the-law government allowing this dishonest issue to be 'fired from the shoulder'? How can the present government assume responsibility for the thousands of lives which could be lost in the future when such 'regularised' buildings collapse? "5) 'Regularization' penalties are a form of 'development charges' and must only be used to upgrade the utilities and infrastructure of the localities affected by the concerned unauthorized construction. The funds cannot be diverted for any other use, particularly not towards non-development uses such as the salaries of a bloated bureaucracy. "6) The concept of mass 'regularization' is a violation of the citizens' fundamental 'right to life' as guaranteed by the Constitution. The government cannot trample on the rights of millions of citizens to favour a few." Stop press: Good news. As it appears in column one of page two in the Dawn of February 3, it should be believed. Headline - 'Government plans to demolish illegal buildings'. This was reportedly 'decided at a meeting held here on Friday with the provincial secretary for housing and town planning department, Qamar Zaman, in the chair.' Those who have e-mailed me and who are worried about the cracks they have noticed in their buildings since the earthquake at the end of last month may please contact Engineer Roland deSouza of SHEHRI (telephone 5211656 and 5211542) for technical advice. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010209 ------------------------------------------------------------------- In this hammaam who is covered? ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ayaz Amir WHAT the publication of the Hamoodur Rahman Report did for the army, the Justice Qayyum tapes as revealed by the Sunday Times have done for the higher judiciary. We had a fair suspicion of what the Eastern Command did in 1971 but the message was really brought home by the details in the Hamood Report. So too with the judiciary. We all knew such things went on. But for the cameras to catch a revealing episode: this is the value of the Qayyum tapes. The light they cast throws in sharp relief the judiciary's feet of clay. Are the tapes genuine or doctored? There shouldn't be any doubts on this score because authenticity is writ large over them down to His Lordship Justice Malik Qayyum addressing Khalid Anwer, Nawaz Sharif's then lord chancellor, as "sir" and declaring himself to be his servant (khadim). Read the lines carefully. The tone and inflection are genuinely Pakistani. No one, not even a Booker Prize author, could have invented them. Need we be surprised by the audacity of the interference and the readiness of Justice Qayyum to oblige his interlocutors? Not really. Prolonged authoritarianism has taken its toll, even on judges sworn to uphold the cause of truth and justice. After all who appoints judges? The executive, acting in all cases through the law minister. Security of tenure (as in established democracies) encourages independence. Insecurity breeds pliant and sycophantic behaviour. It's nothing more complicated than this. When Zia promulgated his Provisional Constitution Order in March 1981 some judges were asked to take the oath while others were dropped. The same happened with Gen Musharraf's PCO in 2000. A few judges were again quietly dropped. Civilian rulers have treated the judiciary no better, each one of them seeking pliant judges. Judges too have demeaned themselves by seeking small favours. Such a state of affairs hardly encourages independent behaviour. As for high court judges, the years have dealt more harshly with them. Although still attended with outward pomp, it does not stretch belief to imagine them sirring the lord chancellor of the day. For far too long has the judiciary sought refuge behind a narrow interpretation of the law of contempt. But the old barriers have broken down. Just as repeated military interventions have demystified the military, repeated invocations of the doctrine of necessity have damaged the judiciary. The ISI no longer commands the awe it once did. A similar fate has befallen the other holy cows whose shadow once fell on the county. With regard to Justice Qayyum, moreover, these subtle considerations in any event do not apply. In the sacred precincts of the Lahore High Court he has enjoyed a special standing because of his identification with the personal problems of the Sharif dynasty. Anything affecting the family's interests has come to him for adjudication, almost as if he alone possessed the requisite delicacy to handle these matters. The division of the family's assets between its contending factions, cases involving the family's huge bank loans, and even the banking loans of Nawaz Sharif's principal errand boy, Saifur Rehman, were all attracted, as if by a powerful magnet, to Justice Qayyum's court and no other. This no doubt was the preferred style of the Sharifs, not only fashioning a personalized administration, with loyalists at key positions, but also arranging for a personalized form of justice. When their name was involved in the cooperatives' scandal of 1991, the Supreme Court judge selected to hold a judicial inquiry into the affair was Justice Lone who exonerated the Sharifs of any wrongdoing. Later, during Nawaz Sharif's second stint as prime minister, Lone became a PML senator. Justice Qayyum (whose brother, incidentally, was a PML MNA) is a throwback to those interesting times. Small wonder if it was he who was chosen to be Benazir Bhutto's and Asif Zardari's principal nemesis. All the important cases against them were heard by him. To Justice Qayyum also belongs the triumph of reducing Benazir Bhutto to tears in open court, so zealous was he in the pursuit of justice. All this forms the backdrop to the tapes revealed by the Sunday Times. Justice Qayyum had been hand-picked to hear the cases against Benazir Bhutto because, as the contents of the tapes make clear, he was considered a loyalist who could be counted upon to do what was expected of him. And yet Nawaz Sharif not only kept the pressure on Justice Qayyum through Khalid Anwer and Saifur Rehman. He also ordered all of Justice Qayyum's telephones to be bugged, probably just to make sure that his zeal did not flag. In this saga the then chief justice of the Lahore High Court, Justice Rashid Aziz, also makes a cameo appearance. He too carried word from the prime minister that the axe should fall swiftly on Benazir. What did Nawaz Sharif want? He had everything going for him. Benazir was no threat and wanted merely to be left alone. Why this obsession with vengeance? Benazir and Asif were no angels (we can say that again) but in having them prosecuted Nawaz Sharif was not seeking justice. He was pursuing a vendetta (just as Benazir was pursuing a vendetta when she had the Sharifs in the dock). None of the above, however, is surprising: not the fact that Justice Qayyum listened to Khalid Anwer and called him sir; not the fact that Saifur Rehman was acting as the prime minister's errand boy, after all this being one of his duties; not even Chief Justice Rashid Aziz's brief appearance. By Pakistani standards all this is fairly tame stuff. What I find surprising, although hardly distressing, is to see Khalid Anwer, erudition and all, to be performing the role of prime ministerial pressure-boy. Why did he have to do it? Hanging on to office (and worthless office at that) when Nawaz Sharif was having the 13th and 14th amendments raced through a pliant Parliament was bad enough. But holding a clock to Justice Qayyum's head and urging him, at the prime minister's bidding, to dispense justice fast is a reflection less on the hapless Justice Qayyum than on the learned Khalid Anwer. Peter Mandelson is out of office in the UK on the basis of what to Pakistani ears would sound a quibble. Over here Khalid Anwer, who can quote Cicero and I daresay Demosthenes, is engaged in something far more serious and when caught out, takes refuge behind a lapse of memory. He does not remember having had such a conversation. Then goes on to say that even if such a conversation took place all he is alleged to have said is that the case should be disposed off quickly, which suggestion on his part was strictly in accordance with the requirements of the law. It is hard to say which is worse: the original sin or this prevarication? Anyhow, there is nothing in this whole affair which would really startle anyone even remotely familiar with the nexus between the judiciary and the founts of executive authority in Pakistan. The Nusrat Bhutto case which enshrined once again the doctrine of necessity; the hanging of Bhutto; the various judicial decisions validating Benazir Bhutto's dismissals from power; the one decision invalidating Nawaz Sharif's dismissal from power; the judges' revolt against Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah; the Supreme Court's inability to give any clear-cut verdict in the Supreme Court storming case (in which PML storm-troopers were involved); and the readiness of judges to abide by various provisional constitutional orders: these events do not constitute the judiciary's finest moments. None of this makes the judiciary any worse than other institutions. It only goes to show that in the Turkish bath of Pakistani politics everyone is naked, including, let me say for the record, the press which too often has taken a self-serving view of where its true duty lies. In this humid arena there are no heroes, nor even any outstanding villains, great villainy requiring some qualities of head or heart. Read the transcripts of these conversations again and what comes across most strikingly is the mediocrity on display. Despotism being put to what uses? So much effort being expended to what end? DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 010210 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rush to judgment ------------------------------------------------------------------- Irfan Husain IN a country that has witnessed so many political, financial and judicial scandals over the years, we ought to have become fairly shockproof by now. But as the recently published transcripts of the taped conversations between Justice Qayyum, ex-Law Minister Khalid Anwar and Nawaz Sharif's chief enforcer Saifur Rehman showed, there are some depths of depravity we had still not explored. The pressure applied by various powerful figures in Nawaz Sharif's government on the judge in the corruption case against Benazir Bhutto and her spouse is scarcely believable. In most countries, resignations would have been tendered, warrants of arrest issued and suo motu notice taken by the Supreme Court. Here, hardened as we are to the sight of the higher judiciary constantly bending to the will of the executive, all we are likely to see are a few editorials and articles plus a couple of weak denials by the actors in this new drama, and we will then sit back and wait for the next episode. In his evasive defence, Khalid Anwer, once respected as an upright constitutional lawyer, said: "...I am alleged merely to have asked that the case be decided expeditiously in accordance with the provisions of the law." In the transcript, however, there is more than a hint of steel in the ex-law minister's words: "...But the gentleman [Nawaz Sharif] is very unhappy, because of the situation. There was discussion regarding this issue and I was wondering that a problem might arise. Now I am thinking if you could reach the final result within the outside limit of two weeks..." In his letter to the president (said not to be received in the Presidency, but reproduced in The Sunday Times), Abdul Malik, the deputy director of the Intelligence Bureau, who had been given the task of bugging the High Court judge, has quoted from his tapes, and alleged that Justice Qayyum had discussed the sentence to be passed and confirmed that the judgment had been written before the defence had even concluded its arguments. Most Pakistanis would be ready to believe that this is not the first instance of blatant interference by the executive to obtain favourable judgments. However, reading the alleged words of those then in power reminds us yet again how precious a thing judicial independence is, and how its absence has shaped our tortured political history. Predictably, there have been proforma denials of varying degrees of conviction from Justice Qayyum and Khalid Anwar. Both claim to have no memory of any such conversations. However, the genuineness of the tapes can be easily established: everybody's voice has a specific and unique audio signature, and it would be a simple matter to compare the voice prints of the principal actors with the tapes made by the IB. Although tapes on their own are not normally accepted as evidence in our judicial system, the Supreme Court could order such a comparison given the magnitude of the can of worms opened under its nose. Khalid Anwar has sought to cast doubt on the IB deputy director's motives by saying that if he had the tapes for two years, why has he chosen to release the tapes to the media now, merely three weeks before the Supreme Court is due to take up Benazir Bhutto's appeal against Justice Qayyum's judgment? She and Asif Zardari had been awarded seven-year jail terms each plus a huge monetary fine, including confiscation of their property in Pakistan. In his letter to the president, Abdul Malik has claimed that his conscience was shaken by the events he has described. Unfortunately, we have become too cynical to accept a "crisis of conscience" as a reason to stick one's neck out over anything. And the timing of this bombshell is too close to the hearing of the appeal to be entirely coincidental. In the murky world of Pakistani politics, we have to stir the muck below the surface in an attempt to get at the truth. Apparently, Malik and his family are currently abroad to escape official or political reprisals. Now flying off and living abroad takes a fair amount of money, and a deputy director in the IB is by no means well off. One possibility is that the PPP discovered the existence of these tapes, and persuaded Malik to transcribe them and leak them to the press. In this scenario, he would have been promised a comfortable exile until the party returned to power and rewarded him suitably. However, knowing the PPP's unerring instinct to trip over its own feet, one feels the whole thing is too complex and subtle for the party's capability; indeed, it has all the hallmarks of an intelligence operation. Just supposing that with Nawaz Sharif out of the way and elections due next year, it had been decided at the highest level to do a deal with Benazir Bhutto to enable her to return to power. The first step needed would be to rehabilitate the ex-PM, and lift the ban restraining her from holding public office for ten years imposed by Justice Qayyum. This could be done by giving Benazir Bhutto's appeal before the Supreme Court greater substance. If the tapes are found to be genuine - and the Sunday Times would have been unlikely to print the transcripts if they had any doubts on this score - then a verdict of mistrial could well be the outcome. Whatever the truth, Benazir Bhutto's claim to be a victim of a vindictive Nawaz Sharif and a pliant judiciary has been vindicated. Most of her supporters are hardly likely to make the distinction between the accuracy of evidence provided before the court and the judge's rush to pass a verdict under pressure. In the case in question, a wealth of documentary evidence, duly certified by a Swiss judge, was produced by the prosecution to link Benazir Bhutto and her spouse to kickbacks paid by the Swiss inspection company Cotecna. Had Nawaz Sharif not been in such a hurry to get a conviction, chances are that the judge would have reached the same verdict. As it is, the sudden appearance of the tapes has cast a doubt on the entire trial. Basically, Sharif's impatience with procedures and due process has proved to be a boon to his rival. This can only be good news for Benazir Bhutto and her party. Suddenly, she has been rehabilitated in her supporters' eyes. Even non-partisan Pakistanis are beginning to doubt the validity of the charges against her. The biggest loser is the judiciary as public confidence in this crucial institution - never very high - has now hit rock-bottom. All eyes will now be fixed on the Supreme Court when it begins to consider Ms Bhutto's appeal later this month.
SPORTS DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 010210 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Team leaves for New Zealand today: New millenium to bring success ------------------------------------------------------------------- Samiul Hasan KARACHI, Feb 9: Pakistan cricket team jets off to Auckland on Saturday evening hoping to put recent disappointments behind them and begin the new millennium on a winning note. On a six-week New Zealand tour, Pakistan will play five one- day internationals and three Tests. "Obviously we have let our supporters down in the last couple of years. But we are hoping to win back their (supporters) confidence by beating New Zealand," Pakistan captain Moin Khan said, adding: "I am confident that the new millennium will change our fortunes." Pakistan lost four home series between October 1998 and December 2000 while also suffering their first-ever whitewash in Australia in 1999. But their last series defeat in New Zealand was way back in 1984-85 when Geoff Howarth's men beat Javed Miandad led Pakistan 2-0. "The team is the same but some of the additional pressures that have been distracting the concentration of the players are no more there," he said with direct reference to allegations of betting and match-fixing against some of the leading players. "A pep talk by the PCB chairman was a perfect tonic before we embark on the tour. He has once again assured his full support and faith in the players and told us to perform in the field while promising to take care of the rest." The Pakistan skiper made no predictions over the results but said if Sri Lanka can lead New Zealand 4-0 in the five-match one-day series, Pakistan can match it if not perform better. "I believe the return of Shoaib Akhtar has given an altogether a different dimension to the Pakistan team. Although he has not played competitive cricket for sometime but he is a great fighter and looked sharp during the training sessions. "Naturally, we have to be careful while playing him because we don't want to lose him again," he said. Shoaib, as fast as Australian Brett Lee, has not played for Pakistan since April last during the tri-nation one-day series in the West Indies before breaking down with a series of injuries. MAKE-OR-BREAK TOUR Moin admitted that the visit to New Zealand would be a make-or- break tour for him. "I am on a crucial juncture of my career. I have neither played well nor have led the side as effectively as I am capable of. "I know that I don't stand a chance of retaining my position (after the tour) if I can't deliver as captain and player on the tour. But I believe once the team starts winning, things would start falling in the right places," Moin said. He said wicket-keeping was extremely difficult on Pakistani wickets where the surfaces are low and doubled paced. He recalled that Ian Healy also faltered in Karachi in the 1994 Test as Pakistan snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. "I will be more at ease in New Zealand where the ball would carry nicely to me. "As regards wicket-keeping and captaincy together, I don't mind it at all because I have been doing it for the last 10 years or so at the domestic level. I believe winning is all matters." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010206 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan to get more money for playing in Sharjah ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter ISLAMABAD, Feb 5: The Sharjah-based Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) has agreed to Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) demand of enhancing participation fee under a new contract expected to be signed in April next. This was stated by PCB chairman Lt-Gen Tauqir Zia while talking to Dawn on Monday. "Tentatively CBFS have agreed to our demand of making the Pakistan's participation fee comparable to India,". Pakistan has been getting half the amount India was receiving. Sharjah Cup to be hosted in April will be the last tournament under the current contract. Without disclosing the amount the PCB chief said that under the new contract Pakistan would get paid equal amount to what India gets. The PCB chief was unhappy with the on-going controversies generated by the the past and present players and claimed it was tarnishing the image of Pakistan cricket and urged them to shun their personal differences and get united and work for the game's promotion. "Here, the cricketers are not united. One day you hear Sarfraz Nawaz critical of Ramiz Raja, the next day Raja goes to the court. Then stories on Javed Miandad's row with Moin Khan and other players are published and so it continues," the general added. Commenting on the selection of New-Zealand bound team, the general said that Azhar Mahmood has been given preference over all rounder Yasir Arafat because of experience. The doctors have cleared Azhar as fit and the selectors thought his experience will be vital at that level of cricket, he said. ------------------------------------------------------------------- You can subscribe to DWS by sending an email to <subscribe.dws@dawn.com>, with the following text in the BODY of your message: subscribe dws To unsubscribe, send an email to <unsubscribe.dws@dawn.com>, with the following in the BODY of you message: unsubscribe dws ------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to the top.
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