------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 14 July 2001 Issue : 07/28 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + Summit: security agencies put on alert + Pakistan to propose Mandela for Kashmir mediation: paper + Itinerary of Musharraf's stay in India + Permanent LoC can't be accepted: Musharraf + Vajpayee wants talks to continue + UN resolutions not enforceable + Musharraf says no bargain on Kashmir + Coalition partners to boycott high tea + India regrets Pakistan's invitation to APHC + President links all other issues to Kashmir + Talks success Islamabad's prime concern + Islamabad rejects border talks proposal + Kashmir will get disputed status, hopes CE + APHC leaders to meet Musharraf + India terms invitation to APHC an irritant + Summit to focus on Kashmir dispute + Summit not to focus on Kashmir: Vajpayee + Tibet shown as part of Kashmir in papers + No Indian POWs in jails: Moin + Offer to reopen Rajasthan route + New Delhi assured of gas pipeline security + Summit not to provide relief to Kashmiris, says Benazir + Wali optimistic about talks + Henry Hyde to urge Bush to lift sanctions + CE's self-elevation as president challenged + NSC will oversee civilian govts: Moin + NAB Ordinance to be amended soon + Power game in AJK begins + Imran accuses govt of planned rigging in polls + CE escapes unhurt in road crash + Asif ready to make deal with government + Asif challenges court's jurisdiction + Rules stop Zia's son from contest for Nazim's slot + LHC stays sale of Saif's properties + Saudi Arabian special plane leaves + PIA plane escapes disaster + Corrosion ruptured pressure bulk-head + 15 feared dead in massive landslide + Over 2,000 tourists stranded in Naran rescued + Mohammad Ali's condition improves + Salamat Ali Khan is dead + Qateel Shifai passes away + Sindh govt authorized to privatize Lakhra --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + $10.1bn export target in new trade policy + IMF okays third tranche of $131m + NDFC insolvent, says WB report + $150 million loan expected from ADB + Accord signed with WB + 11th EoI for PTCL sell-off received + Weekend profit-selling pushes index down by 7 points --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + Twenty years to zero Ardeshir Cowasjee + A fresh line in cosmetics Ayaz Amir + The spirit of Southall Irfan Husain ----------- SPORTS + Pakistan crashes out from Asia Cup + Controversial Shoaib and Sohail face Australians + Razzaq signs for Middlesex + Hussain out of second Test + Pakistan Open squash in Lahore on portable court
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 20010714 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Summit: security agencies put on alert ------------------------------------------------------------------- AGRA, July 13: Indian security forces went on full alert against a "high level of threats" on the eve of President Pervez Musharraf's arrival. "Intelligence reports have cautioned against a high level of threats ... from terrorist and fundamentalist elements who are not in favour of the summit," the police said in a statement. Although security officials have not named any group as being a particular threat, they are on alert for action from right-wing Hindu groups as well as Muslim radicals.-Reuters DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010714 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan to propose Mandela for Kashmir mediation: paper ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DELHI, July 13: Pakistan may propose former South African president Nelson Mandela as a mediator for the dispute over Kashmir at this weekend's summit with India, an Indian newspaper said. The Hindustan Times quoted unnamed sources in Islamabad as saying that President Pervez Musharraf intended to suggest the appointment of an international facilitator when he sits down with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Sunday. "But rather than propose the U.S. or the U.N., both of whom say the dispute is a bilateral issue, Musharraf plans to suggest a person of global stature whom New Delhi would find embarrassing to reject," it said. New Delhi rejects third-party involvement in the dispute.- AFP\Reuters DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010714 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Itinerary of Musharraf's stay in India ------------------------------------------------------------------- Monitoring Desk KARACHI, July 13: President Pervez Musharraf arrives in Delhi on Saturday morning. He will be greeted by Indian President K.R. Narayanan at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential residence. This is to be followed by a visit to the Mahatma Gandhi memorial - a traditional stop-off for visiting dignitaries. President Musharraf is then expected to return to the president's residence for scheduled meetings with the Indian home and foreign ministers, and leaders of the opposition Congress Party. After lunch President Musharraf will visit his ancestral home in Daryaganj, and visit the shrine of the 13th century Sufi saint, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. On Saturday afternoon, President Musharraf will attend a high tea at the Pakistani High Commission. The High Commission has invited Kashmiri leaders, including leaders of the All-Party Hurriyat Conference, to the tea party. On Saturday night Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee is expected to fly to Agra for the summit next day. He will be welcomed at Agra airport by Uttar Pradesh Governor Vishnukant Shastri and Chief Minister Rajnath Singh and senior officials. DAY 2: On Sunday morning, President Musharraf will leave for Agra for the summit. The President is expected to reach Agra at 9:45am (9:15am PST), where he will be received by Uttar Pradesh Governor Vishnukant Shastri and Chief Minister Rajnath Singh. President Musharraf and his wife are expected to be given a traditional welcome, and garlanded by little girls when they arrive at their residence in Agra, the Amar Vilas Hotel. Hotel employees have been told to wear Rajasthani clothes on that day. The president is expected to leave the Amar Vilas hotel at 11:15am (10:45 PST) for Jaypee hotel for talks with Prime Minister Vajpayee. Later in the evening at 4:00 pm (3:30pm PST) the president will visit the Taj Mahal. Later he is expected to attend a dinner hosted by the governor of Uttar Pradesh. DAY 3: President Musharraf leaves for Ajmer, in Rajasthan, to visit the shrine of Hazrat Khawaja Moin-ud-din-Chishti. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010713 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Permanent LoC can't be accepted: Musharraf ------------------------------------------------------------------- DUBAI, July 12: President Pervez Musharraf was quoted as saying no Pakistani leader could accept continued Indian control over most of the disputed territory of Kashmir and expect to stay in power. Speaking ahead of a Pakistani-Indian summit at the weekend, Musharraf said no one in his country would accept the Line of Control (LoC) which divides the two rival countries in Kashmir as permanent. "Now, who in Pakistan will ever accept this (LoC). Nobody in Pakistan can accept this and expect to stay in power...," Musharraf was quoted as telling the Dubai-based Gulf News in an interview to be published on Friday. "I think it will be very unrealistic for any Indian leader to expect any leader of Pakistan to go and accept the permanence of the Line of Control," Musharraf said, according to the text of the interview, sent to Reuters by Gulf News. "Respecting the LoC is a different matter, accepting it as a permanent solution is another matter," he said. Musharraf said he was willing to sit with the government in New Delhi and extend his trip by another 48 hours if Delhi was serious about finding a solution, Gulf News said. -Reuters DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010713 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Vajpayee wants talks to continue ------------------------------------------------------------------- By M. Ziauddin NEW DELHI, July 12: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has expressed the hope that the summit talks between him and President Pervez Musharraf would herald a new process of cooperation between the two countries. In an exclusive interview to Dawn, the Indian premier said that historical bonds and contemporary realities both called for India and Pakistan to become partners in the process of peace and help take South Asia from poverty and under-development to collective prosperity and development. "I firmly believe that both India and Pakistan would greatly benefit from the establishment of good neighbourly relations," he added. Answering a question, he said it was not possible to evolve a time- bound arrangement for bringing the dialogue to successful completion. Mr Vajpayee sounded optimistic about the forthcoming summit, saying "it is always good to keep on talking." He gave the impression that his focus at the summit would be to ensure that it did not end as a one-shot event. He simply smiled when the Indian media flap over invitation to Hurriyat leaders to meet Gen Musharraf was mentioned. He gave a hearty laugh when told that if the two countries were to remove their foreign offices from their midst, they would perhaps come to a lasting settlement rather quickly. Mr Vajpayee agreed with the suggestion that there was not such a gulf of difference between Pakistan's position that it would like to treat Kashmir as the core problem at the summit and that it was not averse to discuss other issues as well, and India's position that it wanted to discuss all the problems, including Kashmir. He even mentioned the letter of President Musharraf which the General had written to him accepting the invitation, and said the letter had made this point very clear. In reply to another question, he said his country had always held that nuclear weapons were not weapons of war... "their use in war will be crime against humanity and nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought." When asked how he reconciled his government's position that Kashmir was a part of the Indian union with the fact that India had itself taken the problem to the UN and there were the Security Council resolutions defining this to be a dispute yet to be settled, Mr Vajpayee said that India had approached the UN "to vacate an aggression in Jammu and Kashmir." Vajpayee hopes for new era of cooperation DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010713 ------------------------------------------------------------------- UN resolutions not enforceable ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jawed Naqvi NEW DELHI, July 12: India ruled out the involvement of any third party to mediate in its dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir, but significantly pointed to China as the country holding a part of Kashmir, which, it alleged, had been "illegally ceded by Pakistan." The Indian minister for external affairs and defence, Jaswant Singh, did not name China in his remarks during a pre-summit news conference but it was clear he meant Beijing as the recipient of the "illegally ceded" territory in the 1960s. �Jammu and Kashmir is not the core issue, but it is the core of Indian nationhood," he told a questioner who wanted to know if there would ever be a plebiscite in the region. I have continued to assert that Jammu and Kashmir is not the cause, it's a consequence. So as far as the question of self-determination or plebiscite is concerned, please go back to 1948. And let me remind you that the first reference to the United Nations about Jammu and Kashmir was made by India not Pakistan. Secondly, India made the reference about Jammu and Kashmir which Pakistan had subsequently converted into the larger question of India-Pak relations. This is a matter of fact. Thirdly, what you are referring to - the UN Security Council resolutions - they had three integral components, ceasefire, truce - truce meant vacation of all Pakistan troops from the total Jammu and Kashmir state and reimposition of administration, and thereafter only the question of plebiscite or referendum. Because the first two were never fulfilled by Pakistan the third just simply could never be fulfilled. "Those resolutions are not enforceable. When you talk of referendum or plebiscite, are you talking of the total state of Jammu and Kashmir which has Ladakh in it, which has Jammu in it, which has the Srinagar Valley in it. You must also remember that it is also the northern areas which are not treated as part of the Pak Occupied Kashmir. Please also remember that the Shaksgam Valley of the state of Jammu and Kashmir has been illegally and wrongly ceded by Pakistan. "So where are we talking of holding a referendum. And therefore if you related to what I am saying, that India has not and cannot subscribe to denominational nationalism, it is civic nationalism, the question of referendum does simply not arise." "Although India and Pakistan experimented with multilateralism between 1947-67, that phase was over with the Shimla Agreement of 1972," Mr Singh said. "Whenever there is any attempt to introduce any kind of multilateralism or any other third element, they bring with it their own agendas which in our subcontinent always result in further complicating and destabilizing rather than solving the issue," he said. HIGH TEA: Mr singh said India was disappointed by President Gen Pervez Musharraf's invitation to the All Parties Hurriyat Conference but was equally vocal in emphasizing that the event had not cast any shadow on the summit meeting. He told reporters that contrary to speculation in the Indian and perhaps Pakistan media, Gen Musharraf would be given full courtesy and respect as the head of state of Pakistan, including a tri- service guard of honour. "The government has made its position clear," an annoyed Singh retorted to persistent questioning on the issue that had gripped a large section of the major newspapers and channels. "I don't have to repeat it ad infinitum that the invitation to His Excellency General Pervez Musharraf Sahib was to meet with the Prime Minister of India. These are extraneous elements that have been brought into the situation. We are disappointed by this. We feel that so far as the meeting is concerned it will go on as planned." Asked if the APHC's proposed meeting with Gen Musharraf had cast a shadow on the summit, he shot back: "The shadow seems to be cast much more on the media than on the summit. So far as the government is concerned we are approaching the summit in the manner and spirit in which the invitation was extended. It is, of course, our expectation that the spirit in which the invitation was accepted by Pakistan and by General Pervez Musharraf Sahib, that spirit shall be maintained. But so far as the summit is concerned, I am not seeing any shadows. Certainly not the shadows that the media seems to be chasing." NEW DELHI, July 12: India ruled out any discussion of a proposal to run a multi-million-dollar overland gas pipeline through Pakistan, when leaders of both countries meet this weekend. "The gas pipeline is a bilateral issue between India and Iran," Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh told reporters, adding that the project was not subject to Pakistan's veto or agreement.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010712 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Musharraf says no bargain on Kashmir ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Faraz Hashmi ISLAMABAD, July 11: President Gen Pervez Musharraf consulted Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah and UAE President Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan on his forthcoming meeting with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The president talked by telephone to Prince Abdullah and the UAE leader about his July 14-16 visit to India, Information Secretary Anwer Mehmood and president's spokesman Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi told a press conference. President Musharraf also met Chinese Ambassador to Islamabad and gave him a letter addressed to Prime Minister Zhu Rongji. CE'S DELEGATION: The information secretary said that the president's entourage would consist of Foreign Minister Abdus Sattar, Foreign Secretary Inamul Haq, Chief of Staff to Chief Executive Lt-Gen Ghulam Muhammad, Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi and himself. The official delegation would leave on Saturday morning and would arrive in New Delhi at 8:15am Indian Standard Time, he said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010712 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Coalition partners to boycott high tea ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DELHI, July 11: The atmosphere before the weekend's Pakistan- India summit turned bitter when all members of India's governing coalition decided to boycott the reception at Pakistan's High Commission for President Pervez Musharraf. "It was decided that no one from the National Democratic Alliance will attend the high tea at the Pakistan High Commission," NDA convener George Fernandes told reporters after a meeting of coalition leaders. The tea party has sparked off controversy with its invitation to the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) - to attend and meet the president. New Delhi had wanted the Hurriyat excluded from President Musharraf's visit and had "advised" the high commission here against extending the invitation. Some members of the Hurriyat have themselves decided to turn down the tea invitation on grounds that they have been excluded from the summit. "We are prepared to discuss all the issues," foreign ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao said of the upcoming meet in Agra. The discussions will be based on the broad framework of a "composite dialogue which sets the tone for future direction", Rao said, adding trade and commerce were part of the issues India was open to negotiating on. "And, so, all issues of the composite dialogue will be logically part of the talks," she added.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010712 ------------------------------------------------------------------- India regrets Pakistan's invitation to APHC ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jawed Naqvi NEW DELHI, July 11: India said it regretted the decision by Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf to invite leaders of Kashmir's All Parties Hurriyat Conference to a tea party in New Delhi. Minister for External Affairs and Defence Jaswant Singh told Doordarshan in an interview: "The invitation to Gen Musharraf was sent by the Prime Minister for talks between the two leaders in Delhi or Agra. If there was any other intention about the visit from the other side it should have been expressed. It is regrettable that it all happened like this." Mr Singh's remarks followed a decision by the ruling National Democratic Alliance to boycott the reception to be hosted by Pakistan's High Commissioner Ashraf Jehangir Qazi who invited the APHC leaders to the tea party at the president's behest. Singh said Pakistan could choose to project the agenda for the forthcoming talks the way it wanted, but there was no way in which it could underplay issues related with confidence building measures that India has proposed in a recent burst of press announcements. "These measures involve the people of our countries and people cannot be peripheral issues," Singh declared. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010712 ------------------------------------------------------------------- President links all other issues to Kashmir ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, July 11: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said that with the world attention focused on the India-Pakistan summit he was going to New Delhi with the firm idea of finding a resolution to the Kashmir issue. "I go there with all seriousness and aspirations," Gen Musharraf told television. "I go there with all seriousness to initiate a process of movement towards the resolution of the Kashmir dispute," he said. "I consider this extremely essential ... because this is not only my hope but it is also the hope of the people of Pakistan. I think also it is the hope of the people of India. "And, may I also add it is the hope and aspiration of the people of the entire world," Gen Musharraf said. "The entire world's attention is focused on this dialogue. So I only hope that we achieve progress in the dialogue towards resolution of the core dispute of Kashmir."-AFP/APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010708 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Talks success Islamabad's prime concern ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Syed Talat Hussain ISLAMABAD, July 7: Pakistan is keen that the meeting between President Gen Pervez Musharraf with All Parties Hurriyat Conference in Delhi takes place, but a successful summit with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is at present the prime concern of Islamabad, officials told Dawn. Responding to the reports emanating from India that Delhi's tough position on the meeting is souring the atmosphere of the summit meeting, officials said the perception that Musharraf-Vajpayee meeting was in danger of being cancelled over the APHC controversy was baseless. "A lot has gone into the preparation of the summit, and a lot is at stake for both sides. We do acknowledge the centrality of the Kashmiris to the final solution to the Kashmir problem, however there is no evidence, either from our side or from India, that the meeting between the two leaders can be held hostage to this controversy," an official said. He also denied that at any stage Pakistan intended to deliberately score a point against India by extending an invitation to the APHC. "Let us get our facts right. The invitation to the APHC is for a meeting over tea. It is not a structured dialogue where issues will be debated methodically. President Musharraf has returned a courtesy of writing to APHC for he had received a letter from them. Now India is the host country. We hope that they would play the good hosts, but if they chose not to, the summit meeting will still take place," the official said. Responding to a question on the criticism of some APHC leaders that Pakistan has ditched them, the official said all such talk is senseless. "We have stood by them through thick and thin. There is no such thing as anyone being ditched," he said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010710 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Islamabad rejects border talks proposal ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, July 9: Pakistan turned down an Indian proposal that their senior military officers meet on Tuesday and said such a contact could be made only after the July 14-16 summit. A foreign ministry spokesman said Pakistan's position on the matter had been conveyed to India by High Commissioner Ashraf Qazi. Earlier on Monday, an unnamed official spokesman said Pakistan had not received any proposal from India that its Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) visit Islamabad on Tuesday for talks on promoting peace between the two countries. "But if there is any such proposal (for a meeting) it will be processed and assessed by the government and an appropriate decision will be taken. It will be premature to say more on the issue at present," Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi, head of the Inter- Services Public Relations, told a press conference earlier. - Reuters Delhi seeks dialogue on nuclear issue: India has formally proposed to Pakistan to start an official dialogue on the nuclear issue, official sources here said. The proposal to hold expert-level talks was conveyed to Pakistan's high commissioner Ashraf Jehangir Qazi when he called on foreign secretary Chokila Iyer, the sources said.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010709 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Kashmir will get disputed status, hopes CE ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Syed Talat Hussain ISLAMABAD, July 8: President General Pervez Musharraf hopes to get Kashmir acknowledged by India as an unsettled dispute in the joint statement to be issued at the end of the summit meeting with prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, diplomatic sources told Dawn. Providing an insight into the minimum objective which president has in mind for the summit meeting, western diplomats who met Gen Musharraf recently said his prime concern is to pin Indian down to accepting that Kashmir is an issue that has to be addressed. "That way he is not looking for much. He simply wants that the final outcome of the summit must contain an unequivocal statement from Delhi that Kashmir is a problem. He hopes that the proceedings of the summit with regards to Kashmir will go beyond India's position that the 45 per cent of the territory that it controls is non- negotiable and its only the future of the area under Pakistan's control which has to be sorted out," said the sources. The sources said Gen Musharraf is also aiming for a timeframe to be set within which Kashmir must be addressed. "A time bound framework for the solution of Kashmir, or even a clearly carved roadmap for the negotiations to proceed on Kashmir, is another objective he may strive for," said the sources. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010711 ------------------------------------------------------------------- APHC leaders to meet Musharraf ------------------------------------------------------------------- Monitoring Desk NEW DELHI, July 10: Hurriyat Conference leaders would have a closed-door meeting with President Pervez Musharraf and Foreign Minister Abdus Sattar during a reception at the residence of the Pakistani high commissioner on July 14, Hurriyat sources said. The reception is likely to be attended by six out of the seven executive members of the Hurriyat Conference as Yaseen Malik, who represents JKLF, is away in London. While three leaders, including Hurriyat Conference Chairman Abdul Gani Bhat, Sheikh Aziz and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq were camping in the capital, fire-brand Jamaat-i-Islami leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Gani Lone and Maulana Abas Ansari would be flying in here before the week-end. When asked to confirm the reports about the meeting, Bhat said: "I refuse to comment on this. The Hurriyat Conference wrote to Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. While the former responded, the latter is yet to reply." About the possibility of a meeting, he quoted Musharraf's letter in which he had said: "I look forward to an opportunity to meet you during my visit to India." Bhat said he viewed "the word opportunity with great significance and obviously the reception provides the same." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010708 ------------------------------------------------------------------- India terms invitation to APHC an irritant ------------------------------------------------------------------- Monitoring Desk ISLAMABAD, July 7: India has firmly told Pakistan that the invitation to Hurriyat leaders to the 'High Tea', to be hosted by Pakistan High Commission for President Pervez Musaharraf during his visit to India, would "vitiate" the atmosphere for the Indo- Pakistan summit. The reservations over the change in Pakistan's stand overriding Indian objections were conveyed by Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad Vijay K. Nambiar to Pakistan Foreign Secretary Inamul Haq,official sources said. Mr Haq heard the Indian viewpoint and promised to convey it to the Pakistan leadership. The two officials also discussed the preparations being carried out by both the countries for the July 15 summit meeting at Agra between President Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the sources said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010711 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Summit to focus on Kashmir dispute ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ihtasham ul Haque ISLAMABAD, July 10: Talks between President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will focus on Kashmir. Briefing reporters, President's Press Secretary Maj-Gen Raashid Qurashi and Secretary Information Syed Anwar Mahmood said that a number of issues would come up for discussion but Kashmir will be the focus of two-day discussions being held from July 14 in India. They said that since Pakistan and India recognized that Kashmir was a dispute, they both would try to resolve it with a view to bringing peace in the region. In this regard, they also referred to President Musharraf's statement that Pakistan and India needed to take steps to settle the 53-year-old dispute. Maj-Gen Raashid Qurashi, said there was no fixed agenda for talks and that all issues could come up for discussion between the two leaders. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010710 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Summit not to focus on Kashmir: Vajpayee ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DELHI, July 9: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee won the full backing of opposition parties as he pledged to stop Kashmir becoming the sole issue at the summit with President Pervez Musharraf. "Pakistan says Kashmir is a core issue and India doesn't want to talk about Kashmir. This is not true," Vajpayee told an all-party meeting in New Delhi. "Even now there is no reservation about talking about Kashmir. But Kashmir is not one issue alone. It has to be seen in its entirety," Vajpayee was quoted as saying by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan. As well as Kashmir, India wanted to raise issues like cross-border terrorism and trade, as well as ways to improve economic ties and people-to-people contacts, Vajpayee said.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010709 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Tibet shown as part of Kashmir in papers ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jawed Naqvi NEW DELHI, July 8: The controversial document that India holds as the basis of its claim on Jammu and Kashmir also acknowledged then ruler of Kashmir Maharaja Hari Singh as the ruler of Tibet, a true copy of the document made available to Dawn reveals. Indian and Pakistani officials declined to be drawn into a discussion on the Instrument of Accession signed by the ruler on October 26, 1947 and accepted by Lord Mountbatten the following day. But analysts said the former princely state appeared to have at least some claim on Tibet although they declined to say if it was the Aksai Chin region that China now controls and Delhi claims as belonging to India. "Since the Indian case rests on the legality of the Instrument of Accession, India cannot, or at least should not, ignore the paper which it cites to seek legitimacy over Jammu and Kashmir," a diplomat told Dawn. "Since Tibet is mentioned in the paper as part of the former ruler's domain, India should go public in explaining where it stands on that claim." The photocopy of the Instrument of Accession was made available to some other journalists too. Pakistan officials say privately that the document was forged, a charge not accepted by the world players with stakes in the region. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010710 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Offer to reopen Rajasthan route ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jawed Naqvi NEW DELHI, July 9: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee went into a Nehruvian mode on Monday, announcing the revival of an old land route to Pakistan that links Rajasthan with Sindh, and signalling the resumption of normal civilian traffic between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar in Kashmir with the promise of an easier instant visa regime. Indian foreign ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao said Vajpayee had ordered that "henceforth Pakistani passport holders will be allowed to come by the road route and obtain visas at the check post at Attari." She said an additional checkpost would be opened at Munabao, in Rajasthan. "Similar checkposts will also be opened at designated points along the International Border and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir. Administrative arrangements, including those for transport, will be urgently put in place so as to implement the prime minister's decision within three months," Rao declared. Indian officials said, however, that the humiliating rule which requires most Pakistani visitors to report their arrival in each Indian city they visit was not going to be changed. They added though, in reply to a question, that the controversy over the Jinnah House in Mumbai, which has stalled the re-opening of the two countries' consulates in Mumbai and Karachi was "not a stumbling block" to progress in that direction. Analysts said this comment could signal a shift in India's position and that the house that the Quad-i-Azam owned in Mumbai would be home to a Pakistani consulate. Analysts said the road link in Rajisthan-Sindh could be followed by a resumption of railway traffic. Some existing links between the two countries are not currently in use; for example, the metre gauge rail link between Khokrapar in the Sindh Province of Pakistan and Munabao in Rajasthan of India, analysts said. A similar announcement regarding the proposed visit of the head of India's military operations seemed to have caught even President Pervez Musharraf by surprise. It was eventually declared that the two DGMOs did speak. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010711 ------------------------------------------------------------------- No Indian POWs in jails: Moin ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Masood Haider NEW YORK, July 10: The federal minister for interior, Moinuddin Haider, said here that he believes that there are no Indian prisoners of war languishing in Pakistani jails since the 1971 war. Responding to reports in Indian and some Pakistani papers that some Indian families have sought release of the prisoners, Haider told Dawn before leaving for New York that he had asked his department to look into the reports and search the jails for any such prisoners. He said that "if such prisoners are found government would take appropriate action. But he reiterated "I think there are no such Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010708 ------------------------------------------------------------------- New Delhi assured of gas pipeline security ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, July 7: Pakistan has completed its preparatory work on the gas pipeline project - involving Pakistan, India and Iran - but it is unclear whether the subject will be on the agenda of the forthcoming summit meeting, Petroleum Minister Usman Aminuddin said. "The agenda is not final as yet and it is up to the president (Gen Pervez Musharraf) to decide. We have done our preparatory work so that we are ready in case the issue is discussed," the minister told a press conference. When asked whether Pakistan was interested to discuss the issue with India bilaterally, he said: "It has to be decided by the president." However, he pointed out, Pakistan had offered through Iran guarantees on throughput and safety issues of the pipeline. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010709 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Summit not to provide relief to Kashmiris, says Benazir ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent DUBAI, July 8: The summit meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is not expected to provide any relief to the Kashmiri people, former premier Benazir Bhutto said. In an interview to Dawn from London she said that the talks would not lower violence in the Valley and focus on nuclear issue, Kargil re-deployment, gas pipeline, and trade. "I hope that I am proved wrong, but I do not see any breakthrough," she said, adding that one lobby has too much expectations from the meeting between the leaders of the two countries. "As a result of the talks, only the divided families of the Kashmiris on the two sides of the Line of Control would be able to meet each other," she said stressing that India and Pakistan should be able to manage the conflict. She said General Musharraf was not elected president so whom he will be representing at the talks with Vajpayee? "We feel that the talks are being held under pressure from some foreign powers on both countries. Also, Gen. Musharraf wants to release the pressure from Afghanistan, which is reeling under sanctions, and save his chair as head of the country," she claimed. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010708 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Wali optimistic about talks ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD July 7: Veteran politician, Khan Abdul Wali Khan has expressed cautious optimism about a positive outcome from Musharraf-Vajpayee summit meeting. Talking to Dawn at Islamabad airport prior to his departure for London on Saturday for medical checkup, the leader of Awami National Party (ANP) said: "He (General Musharraf) is likely to come back with some good news". He however warned, "no immediate conclusions should be drawn as Kashmir is an old and chronic issue and its settlement may take some time". He was however pleased about what he termed "a good start which we have been advocating for decades and in turn being branded as Ghaddars (traitors)." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010709 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Henry Hyde to urge Bush to lift sanctions ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent CHICAGO, July 8: The chairman of the House of Representatives' foreign relations committee, Representative Henry Hyde, made a commitment that he would urge the Bush administration to lift economic sanctions against Pakistan. He reiterated his often expressed view that the sanctions had outlived their utility and the purpose for which they were applied was no longer applicable. It was understandable that Pakistan should have carried out its nuclear tests because it was India that had set off that particular episode in South Asia, Mr Hyde pointed out. Representative Hyde, however, stressed that a full restoration of democracy and the holding of free elections were "very important" for the United States-Pakistan relationship to gain its real potential. He referred also to Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar's visit last month to Washington and his meetings here that he described as "very impressive", but said what happens in the next few months in the context of restoration of democracy would be carefully watched. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010710 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CE's self-elevation as president challenged ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, July 9: The Supreme Court received a petition challenging the "self-induction" of Gen Pervez Musharraf as president and removal of the elected president and dissolution of the National Assembly. Chaudhry Shafiq Ahmad, an advocate of Supreme Court from Rawalpindi, in his petition filed under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, made Gen Pervez Musharraf, chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Chief of Army Staff, and chief executive of Pakistan as respondent in the case. "Yes the office has received the petition and is examining it," an official of the SC stated when approached. The petitioner stated that "the respondent (Gen Pervez Musharraf) has committed high treason as envisaged in Article 6 of the Constitution." Stating the grounds for his petition, he contended that under Article 5(2) of the Constitution, obedience to Constitution and law was an inviolable obligation of every citizen. "But contrary to this constitutional obligation, the acts of the respondent of self-assumption and self-induction as president of Pakistan, the removal of elected president and dissolution of National Assembly, are not only the acts of disobedience and subversion but flagrantly unconstitutional, illegal, against all norms of justice, equity and fair play." The petitioner stated that the act of becoming president was highly violative of Article 41 of the Constitution wherein the complete and detailed procedure for the election of the president had been provided. "The whole exercise of styling, adopting, assuming, induction himself as President of Pakistan on the part of the respondent is absolutely unwarranted and alien to the Constitution." The petitioner stated that the respondent being a confirmed public servant in the Pakistan Army and receiving remunerations for his services, was ineligible and incompetent to become the President of Pakistan. "Even in case of election of the president the respondent in his capacity as Chief of Army Staff, stood disqualified even to become a candidate and to file a nomination papers in this behalf." He further stated that the removal (or in case of resignation of Mohammad Rafiq Tarar) is absolutely in complete disregard and contrary to the provisions of Article 47 and 44(3) of the Constitution. The petitioner prayed to the court to declare the self-induction of Gen Pervez Musharraf as President of Pakistan, removal of the elected president, and dissolution of National Assembly as illegal, ultra vires of the Constitution, without lawful authority and of no legal effect. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010712 ------------------------------------------------------------------- NSC will oversee civilian govts: Moin ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent NEW YORK, July 11: Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider said here that the National Security Council would oversee the civilian governments in the future. Talking to newsmen, Mr Haider said that in view of the record of civilian governments it was essential that a body be formed to ensure the continuity of reforms instituted by the military regime. "This was essential to give signal to the international community that economic reforms instituted by the present regime would not be derailed by the civilian government," he added. Asked whether the NSC would act like a supervising authority over the future governments, he said: "Yes." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010708 ------------------------------------------------------------------- NAB Ordinance to be amended soon ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Rafaqat Ali ISLAMABAD, July 7: The government will soon amend the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance, permitting the placement of any document acquired from a foreign country, showing corruption of any Pakistani, in the Accountability Court. The amendments are being introduced after NAB authorities faced difficulty in convincing the Supreme Court on the appeals of Ms Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari in the SGS case that the documents acquired from the foreign jurisdiction were legally admissible. It was pointed out to the Supreme Court bench that there was no provision in the NAB Ordinance which permitted the prosecution to place documents acquired from a foreign country for the record of the court. The Supreme Court had asked the government to bring the NAB court under the existing judicial system. The willful defaulter, under the amended law, would be given 30 days by NAB and on the expiry of that period he would also be entitled to another notice of seven days to be given by the Governor of State Bank of Pakistan, before the state apparatus would step in for the recovery of the defaulted amount. The maximum period of remand from 90 days would be reduced to 15 days. There is, however, no bar on NAB to keep the accused in custody for 90 days without registration of any case. The only change in the original law would be production of the accused in the court of law after every fortnight. Under the amended ordinance, NAB chairman would have powers to freeze the assets of an accused for 30 days only. A person, not accused in any case, but his assets were frozen on suspicion that he is not the real owner, will be given relief in the amended law. The amended law would provide 10 years disqualification for the convict as against the original period of 21 years. The next NAB chairman would be appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of Pakistan for a minimum period of two years. The sitting chairman, however, would continue in his office for three years from the day he assumed his office. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010713 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Power game in AJK begins ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ahmed Hassan ISLAMABAD, July 12: Tense behind-the-scene manoeuvres for the formation of new Azad Jammu and Kashmir government have begun amidst reports of making and breaking of alliances in the power game, reliable sources told Dawn here. In a related development, Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan, Sardar Abdul Qayum Khan and his political heir son Sardar Atique Ahmed Khan have held separate meetings with GOC Murree Maj-Gen Shahid Aziz, in charge of Azad Kashmir affairs, over the last 24 hours. Earlier, prime minister Barrister Sultan Mehmud Chaudhry had held a similar meeting with military high-ups the other day and discussed with them political moves in the Azad Kashmir state. The military government, which has won laurels for showing absolute impartiality in the just concluded AJK polls, continues to play a behind-the scene role by providing guidance where needed. The central government was extra cautious in dealing with the AJK political affairs to avoid a mishap of far-reaching consequences, specially at the historic moment of Pakistan-India Agra summit. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010709 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Imran accuses govt of planned rigging in polls ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, July 8: Alleging that rigging had been rampant in the union councils elections in Karachi and Lahore, Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Imran Khan, said the government, in a planned way, had ensured the success of the Hamkhiyal group candidates in Lahore. He said that rigging certainly had taken place in Karachi, but not in an organized manner. He alleged that huge amount of money had been spent to bribe the presiding officers. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010710 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CE escapes unhurt in road crash ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Mohamed Asghar ISLAMABAD, July 9: President Gen Pervez Musharraf escaped narrowly in a road accident while his gunman and the driver of his escorting car sustained injuries when a car smashed into their vehicle near Islamabad Airport, police sources said. The accident occurred when a private car appeared from the left side and smashed into the car escorting the VVIP convoy near the entrance gate of the Islamabad International Airport. As a result, the driver of the escorting car Mohammad Tariq and the chief executive's gunman Sadiq sustained injuries and their car was damaged. The accident created panic among the security officials who immediately cleared the road and impounded the private car and arrested the driver. The Airport police confirmed the incident and registration of a case against Abdul Hafeez. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010708 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Asif ready to make deal with government ------------------------------------------------------------------- By M.H. Khan HYDERABAD, July 7: "The rulers want to hang me and I am being taken to the same course that had led to the judicial murder of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Yes! I am ready to make a political deal in the larger interest of the country but there is no question of any personal deal". This was stated by Asif Ali Zardari, while talking to Dawn. About the return of Benazir Bhutto to Pakistan, he said although he was not in touch with her but "she would return home at proper time". He said that she was struggling for democracy at proper forums outside the country in her own way because she could not have done it by remaining within the country as her movement would have been restricted here. "Our rulers always look toward the pressure mounted by foreign powers. They have in fact improved our image politically. We are worried about the masses. Let the military rulers utilize all their energies in dealing with the affairs of the country. The Chief Executive is keeping five portfolios in his hand at a time. And under these circumstances, any handpicked prime minister would be useless," he said. About reports that a deal is going to be finalised between him and the government on the pattern of Nawaz Sharif, he said, "I am ready for any political deal and that too in the larger interest of the country. The question of any personal deal simply does not arise." About the retirement of Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum of the Lahore High Court, Mr Asif Zardari said that the Almighty had ensured justice to him, and added that he (Asif) had not lost courage because the masses were with him and he would continue his legal fight. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010708 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Asif challenges court's jurisdiction ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent HYDERABAD, July 7: Asif Ali Zardari was produced before a Civil Judge and First Class Magistrate (FCM), Mr Saudagar Ali Solangi where his objections along with the statements of two prosecution witnesses were recorded in the double murder case of a former federal secretary, Alam Baluch, and his gunman, Imdad. Although advocates Farook Naek and Yusuf Leghari remained present in the courtroom throughout the proceedings, yet they did not represent Mr Zardari in the matter formally. While Zardari's co-accused remained standing, he was provided a chair in the dock. Zardari sought permission for making some oral statement. He claimed that he wanted to know that under what authority he was brought to Hyderabad and for what purpose. "I was picked up from Islamabad where I was admitted in the PIMS, put on a Karachi-bound plane and was shifted to Karachi Central Jail. Today I was brought to Hyderabad. This is just illegal. I do not know anything about the proceedings of the case. I do not know the law. I want to use my right of defence and the same should be given to me under the constitution of Pakistan. You should take notice of all that has happened to me. I was not served any notice for production. My objection should be brought on record and then the court may proceed with the matter," Mr Zardari argued, and asked the judge whether he was taking any notice of his complaint. He said "I have not been able to engage counsel nor consult any counsel nor do I know the facts of the case. I should be given an opportunity to engage and consult counsel which is my constitutional right. Despite my objections this court has recorded the statement of witnesses that shows bias and malice of the court towards me. I have no faith in this honorable court. I am an under- trial prisoner of the STA Court, Hyderabad, in judicial custody and can be produced only with the prior order of the trial court. At present, my police custody is illegal." The hearing of the main double murder case in the STA Court, Hyderabad, has been fixed for July 28. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010714 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rules stop Zia's son from contest for Nazim's slot ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Tariq Saeed TOBA TEK SINGH, July 13: Former MPA Dr Anwarul Haq could not announce his candidature for Toba Tek Singh district nazim's slot because he was not a registered voter. It is essential for a candidate to be a registered voter in a district from where he or she is willing to contest. Sources disclosed here that Dr Anwarul Haq had applied for his registration as voter to the Punjab Election Commission. The commission sent his application to the Toba Tek Singh election commissioner with remarks that the plea should be "considered under rules". The sources said that the application was received in the office of the election officer on July 7 without having any documentary proof of movable or immovable property in the district. In the meantime, schedule for district nazim poll was announced and the election officer sent back the application to the Punjab election commissioner. It is said that former federal minister and PML (like-minded) central leader Ijazul Haq had sought tickets for Faisalabad and Toba Tek Singh district nazims for former MPA Zahid Nazir and his brother Dr Anwarul Haq. His request for Zahid Nazir was rejected and party ticket was given to Col Ghulam Rasool Sahi (retired), brother of former MPA Chaudhry Afzal Sahi. But in the case of Toba Tek Singh, the ticket was given to Dr Anwarul Haq. The minister dispelled the impression that the government was backing the candidates of a political party. The government has nothing to do with any political party, he added. Mr Khan said the government would disqualify those candidates for district and tehsil nazim slot who would exceed the approved limit of expenditures during election campaign. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010712 ------------------------------------------------------------------- LHC stays sale of Saif's properties ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, July 11: The Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, restrained the authorities from selling the mortgaged properties of Saifur Rehman and his family till the disposal of Habib Bank suit for the recovery of Rs388 million from his Redco group. The order was passed by Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi, on the apprehension of the Saifur Rehman's family that the property which was mortgaged for obtaining the loan was likely to be sold by the government. Habib Bank's suit for recovery of Rs388 million from Redco is pending in the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi bench, for the last few month. The family is also defaulter of United Bank Limited of Rs916 million. For obtaining loan they had mortgaged Redco plaza and Pre-casting Factory in Islamabad. In case the suit was decreed by the court, the mortgaged properties might be attached for recovering the defaulted amount. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010710 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Saudi Arabian special plane leaves ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, July 9: The special plane that arrived here from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a top-level delegation on board, left Chaklala Airbase authorities said. The delegation, led by Sad-al-Harari (a Saudi national of Lebanese origin), was received by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz at the airport, they said. The special plane belonging to Saudi Oger Company was carrying Sad- al-Harari, the son of Lebanese prime minister Rafiq-al-Harari, who had shown interest in buying the Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation and had held negotiations with top Pakistani authorities in the past, a government official said. The delegation which was driven to Islamabad with the finance minister, returned to the airbase after completing negotiations with the Pakistani authorities, the source said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010711 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PIA plane escapes disaster ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter RAWALPINDI, July 10: A Pakistan International Airlines jet miraculously escaped disaster once again bringing into limelight the negligence of the engineers of the national flag carrier. The nose wheel of a Jeddah-bound flight PK 753 burst immediately after taking off from Peshawar airport. Sources blamed the engineering section for the mishap. No sooner had the plane took off than a massive vibration was felt and the plane made an emergency landing at Karachi airport safely. The plane after few hours' maintenance again took off for its destination. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010711 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Corrosion ruptured pressure bulk-head ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Nasir Malik ISLAMABAD, July 10: Experts who examined the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) Airbus A-300's damaged "pressure bulk-head" have found that its lower area had corroded, a highly reliable source privy to the inspection of the aircraft told Dawn . The pressure bulk-head was ruptured when the aircraft was cruising at 28,500ft on its way from Lahore to Karachi on May 25. Because of the sudden rupture, the rear toilets had disintegrated and everything like toilet rolls, tissue papers, towels, were sucked into the stabilizer compartment, where the entire tail control system is located. The debris damaged the green hydraulic system, ruptured APU fuel line and jammed all control cables because of which the aircraft started going into pitch-up mode (take-off position) and it was almost approaching stalling position, when the pilots succeeded in controlling the aircraft. The source said that the structure of the pressure bulk-head is a "fail-safe structure", which means that even if any member of the structure fails it cannot disintegrate. The source said that the repairs were accordingly carried out but even then the bulk-head ruptured on May 25. During examination conducted through x-rays after the accident, the corrosion was found on the inner ring i.e. lower surface under cleat, which cannot be seen by the naked eye. The source insisted that it was a structural fault of the bulk-head but the organization was trying to shift the blame on the engineering section. He said that first the director engineering was sacked and later two engineers were suspended for a fault which was entirely structural. "When it is a fail-safe part, how could the engineering department be accused of negligence," the source asked adding that the manufacturer of the part was responsible for the fault and these parts needed to be changed in all the A-300 Airbus aircraft in the PIA fleet. He said that a similar problem was found in two other. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010711 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 feared dead in massive landslide ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Mohammed Riaz and Rashid Javed PESHAWAR/ABBOTABAD, July 10: At least 15 people were feared dead and six others injured after a massive landslide destroyed the Kaghan-Naran Road, blocking the River Kunhar. Six vehicles were reportedly buried after a big chunk of a mountain in Chitta Katha fell on them. The Frontier Works Organization has declared an emergency in the area and its workers were busy in the rescue operation till our going to press. It started evacuation of villagers from the Chitta Katha village after the river water entered the village. At least two- kilometre area around the river and the main Kaghan-Naran Road has come under water because of the blocking of the river flow by the landslip. According to APP the Kaghan police officials fear that more than 15 people have been killed in the accident. "We have rescued seven critically injured people from the site of the incident," the officials said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010713 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Over 2,000 tourists stranded in Naran rescued ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Intikhab Amir NARAN, July 12: Over 2000 tourists made their way out safely from Naran during the last two days, according to civil and military officials here. They told Dawn that the exact number of those who died after the mudslide at Chita Katha near here was still unknown. "Presently, efforts are being made to rescue the tourists stranded at Naran," said Major Naveed of the Corps of Engineering presently posted at Frontier Works Organisation (FWO). A total of 13 vehicles were missing as per reports with the Kaghan police station, an official said. "Except for two persons all those traveling in the missing vehicles escaped narrowly," said an official of the FWO. According to FWO officials, the mud slide has spread over a one kilometre radius and piled upto 15 feet in height. The road to Naran from Chita Katha has yet not been opened to traffic. The flow of river Kunhar was now normal except that the stream had slightly eroded land on its left bank. Rescue operations through choppers were cancelled. Kaghan police officials said air-lifting of stranded sick and tourists was not possible due to bad weather. Senior FWO officials said air-lifting was cancelled on the presumption that it might create unrest among the stranded tourists. Some of the tourists, talking to Dawn said that airlifting was only meant to rescue family of a senior officer - a point which was rejected by Major Kiyani of Corps of Engineering. According to eye-witnesses several people got buried under the debris. However officials of different agencies has no idea about the number of victims. Power supply to Naran was yet awaited as work was continuing on the WAPDA transmission line. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010712 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohammad Ali's condition improves ------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Correspondent LAHORE, July 11: The condition of veteran film star Mohammad Ali further improved at the intensive care unit of Sheikh Zayed Hospital. He underwent a major operation after a massive abdominal haemorrhage. He was kept in the hospital's intensive care unit for two days. Doctors attending him have expressed satisfaction over the improvement. They say Ali is almost out of danger now. However, the 64-year-old film luminary of yesteryear is being kept under strict observation. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010712 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Salamat Ali Khan is dead ------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Correspondent LAHORE, July 11: Eminent vocalist of the subcontinent, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan is dead. He was 70. The great exponent of classical music, who was conferred Sitara-i- Imtiaz for his services to this discipline of performing arts, had been suffering from a host of diseases. He leaves behind his widow, four sons and four daughters and a large number of his fans. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010712 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Qateel Shifai passes away ------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Correspondent LAHORE, July 11: Qateel Shifai, a great lyricist of the subcontinent, died. The 82-year-old poet was in Sheikh Zayed Hospital's intensive care unit for many days without much improvement in his condition. He had suffered paralysis and a stroke. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010709 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sindh govt authorized to privatize Lakhra ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, July 8: The President Gen Pervez Musharraf has authorized the Sindh government to privatize the 150-MW Lakhra Power plant and has constituted a committee to monitor the progress. Official sources told Dawn that the committee comprised Sindh Finance Minister Dr Hafeez Sheikh, secretary of Privatisation Commission and officials of the Sindh Coal Authority and Provincial Privatization Commission. Meanwhile, the Privatization Commission has complained that WAPDA has not identified two distribution and generation companies for privatization despite an agreement on June 20 this year. To date WAPDA has offered only one of the three power plants of Jamshoro Power Company Limited (GENCO-1) for privatization which is 150MW coal-fired Lakhra Power Plant (LPP). �The LPP is small in size, suffers from low efficiency, low availability with reduced overall capacity of the power plant to approximately 25 per cent its total capacity", said Secretary of Privatization Commission Zafar Ali Khan in a position paper to the Chief Executive Secretariat and the Finance Ministry. "WAPDA confirmed in the federal steering committee meeting for monitoring the financial restructuring and privatization of the KESC held on 20 June 2001 in the finance division that now it agrees to the privatization of one GENCO. WAPDA has not identified the GENCO to be privatized," said the secretary of the Privatization Commission. The secretary said that privatization plan of Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco), the likely DISCO for privatization, included strategic sale of 26 per cent equity interest with management control to a strategic buyer. The secretary however forgot that WAPDA retook the management of a generation company (Kot Addu Power Company) with 36 per cent shareholding of the private sector. The Privatization Commission was of the view that the sale of LPP in isolation of the remaining power plants of GENCO-1 was a difficult transaction due to its relatively small size, coal-based technology, low efficiency, low availability and other operational problems. The transaction if initiated was unlikely to be successful.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY 20010710 ------------------------------------------------------------------- $10.1bn export target in new trade policy ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, July 9: Pakistan's new trade policy has been announced which seeks to achieve a conservative export target of $10.1 billion and contain imports at $11 billion during fiscal 2001-2002. The policy also offered incentives and rewards for exporters to diversify products and markets with main focus on South America and Eastern Europe. The import target was set at the same level of last year while export target was nudged up by $100 million to $10.1 billion from last year's $10 billion. The minister for commerce and industries Razzaq Dawood admitted that poor export performance last year was due to the "inability to create export culture and overall investor-friendly environment" besides drought and unfavourable exchange rate. The main thrust of the trade policy is to reduce the anti- export bias and lower the maximum tariff to 25 per cent from 30 per cent and pursue the demand-led strategy to get a greater market share in major products like textiles, leathers and rice. The development of sectors like fisheries, fruit and vegetables, gem and jewellry will continue but greater focus would be diverted on engineering, chemical and ceramics in view of tariff reforms. The exporters with at least 10 per cent growth over last year's exports would be allowed to retain 50 percent of additional exports in their local foreign currency accounts to use it for the purchase of machinery, equipment, raw material and payment of commission and promotional expenses. The subsidy on export finance has been withdrawn as part of commitment with the IMF and interest rates linked to Market-based Treasury Bills (MTB). A kind of an "open line of credit" would enable the banks to get SBP to reimburse the credit extended to exporters without the restriction of deposit ration requirement. A pre-shipment export finance guarantee scheme would be separately announced on July 16 to facilitate SMEs to access bank financing for working capital. A new private sector "Pakistan Export Finance Guarantee Agency (PEFGA)" would process the finalizing arrangements with international credit insurers to provide post-shipment cover. A $150 million foreign currency export finance facility (FCEF) will enable the exporters to meet their import requirements by borrowing at LIBOR 2 per cent (plus or minus) to be repaid from export proceeds. The political risk guarantee (PRG), to be launched later this month, seeks to convert Pakistan's triple C country risk into triple A risk. The facility will effectively transfer key Pakistan country risk into Asian Development Bank risk to keep Pakistan's country limits open for international banks confirming import L/Cs. This covers inconvertibility, debt moratorium, change of law, expropriation and political violence. The government has decided to expand the zero rating of dollar exports to Afghanistan on safety matches, furniture, water storage tanks, tobacco leaf, gur, agricultural machinery, leather manufacturers and footwear and confectionery items. A deregulation committee comprising representatives of relevant ministries and provinces has been constituted to review commercial regulations and laws constraining competition and imposing high and unnecessary compliance costs. The committee would also suggest measures to reduce public- private interface to a minimum and remove entry barriers. For the export of entire range of services, following facilities would be provided: (i) Retention from export proceeds for commission etc at the rate of 35 per cent (ii) Permission to export equipment without a bank guarantee and its free re-import upon conclusion of contract (iii) Facilities from banks for bonds, performance guarantees and advance payments. Financial, architectural, educational, engineering, construction and technical services are expected to benefit from this. A new Emerging Electronics Products Assembly Scheme (EEPAS) has been introduced for the assembling of mobile phones, cassette players, electronic calculators and DVD players etc. This would be an ongoing scheme and shall have no deletion program for the next 5 years. CKD kits would attract customs duty of 5 per cent and EDB and CBR would work together with stakeholders for necessary survey reports. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010713 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IMF okays third tranche of $131m ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Tahir Mirza WASHINGTON, July 12: Pakistan got through another hurdle when the executive board of the International Monetary Fund completed its second review under the country's standby arrangement, a process that will allow Islamabad to draw a further SDR 105 million (about $131m). This is the third tranche sanctioned for Pakistan, which has so far drawn SDR 255 million (about $324.6m) under the standby arrangement, approved on Nov 29 last year. The IMF move comes in the wake of the approval of a structural adjustment credit of $350 million approved by the World Bank last month. The IMF board also approved waivers for performance criteria on tax revenue collection and the elimination of interest subsidy element of the export finance scheme under the arrangement. Pakistan embassy spokesmen greeted the IMF approval as indicative of better implementation of the country's program to get out of both its external and internal economic and fiscal problems. It should help in facing the debt overhang, in the program to eradicate poverty and in regulating macro-economic instability, all three being inter-related. IMF managing director Horst Kohler pointed out after the board meeting that Pakistan's further progress with structural reform would be necessary for attracting private investment, achieving higher growth and alleviating poverty. On the fiscal side, he underlined the need for broadening the tax base, strengthening the tax administration, and reforming the civil service, tasks which Mr Kohler was quoted as saying in a press release were of particular importance. He said financial markets would need to be integrated, the financial position of public enterprises improved, international trade liberalized and privatization accelerated, all of which have now become integral to IMF conditionalities. The Asian Development Bank and the World Bank are to consider adjustment loans in support of Pakistan's structural reforms, and a meeting of the Paris Club is due to be held in January for rescheduling both the country's accumulated debt arrears and its debt-servicing liability to the club's creditors. Following the IMF board's discussion on Wednesday, Mr Eduardo Aninat, deputy managing director and acting chairman, issued the following statement, which seems on the whole to reflect the Pakistan government's explanations of its fiscal and economic policies: Pakistan's achievements under the (restructuring) program supported by the Stand-By Arrangement have been encouraging. The authorities have made a determined effort to implement the program, and most of the program targets have been achieved. Inflation has been better than expected, and the budget deficit remains in line with program assumptions. Economic activity was somewhat lower than expected because of severe drought, and this has contributed to lower-than- expected tax revenues and a weaker external balance. The implementation of important structural reforms has been well on track. To consolidate these achievements and build a solid foundation for sustainable high growth over the medium term, the authorities will need to pursue further macro-economic adjustment and structural reform. The key challenge will be to implement the recently announced 2001/02 budget. The budget includes a package of direct and indirect tax reforms that will broaden the tax base, reduce distortions, strengthen incentives for investment, and reduce governance problems inherent to the current system. Together with planned improvements of tax administration, these reforms will help to boost collections, a key precondition for containing the fiscal deficit while increasing social and development spending. Another key challenge will be to achieve the targets for foreign exchange reserves, which will require good coordination of monetary and exchange rate policies and further progress toward a genuinely market-based exchange rate policy. Other reform priorities are to further improve governance in the management of public resources and the ongoing restructuring of public enterprises, and to strengthen the soundness of the financial system. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010709 ------------------------------------------------------------------- NDFC insolvent, says WB report ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, July 8: The World Bank has termed National Development Finance Corporation (NDFC) "capturer" of the multi-million-dollar Long Term Credit Fund (LTCF) and a future risk to administer fund flows in view of its "insolvent state". In a report submitted to the federal government and NDFC, the Bank said, "NDFC's ability to continue to administer the Fund is tied to its own future, which is in question given its insolvent state. It is unclear that the NDFC would be in a position to remit funds held on deposit on behalf of LTCF without liquidity assistance from the State Bank of Pakistan." Presenting a depressed analysis of the NDFC's role as a fund administrator, the bank has recommended the government to replace the NDFC as the administrator, given its inability to effectively manage the Fund and to put in place an interim arrangement to monitor the current portfolio of assets. "Unfortunately, the government has not yet made suitable arrangements to safeguard the assets of the fund or address its future." Following the loss of confidence by private investors in Pakistan, the Bank (World Bank) has agreed with the GOP that spinning off the LTCF as a separate financial institution was no longer warranted as both the NDFC and the GOP had failed to act on the establishment of the LTCF as an autonomous and commercially-oriented institution. "However, concern remain about how surpluses generated by the Fund and reflows from debt service payments by the IPPs will be used by GOP", said the report. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010712 ------------------------------------------------------------------- $150 million loan expected from ADB ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ihtashamul Haque ISLAMABAD, July 11: The Asian Development Bank is expected to offer $150 million to help improve Pakistan's legal system that aims at benefiting the common man. A four-member ADB fact finding mission for the proposed $150 million Access to Justice Program Loan (previously called legal and judicial reforms) has completed its deliberations on July 10 by meeting the high officials including Secretary General Ministry of Finance Moeen Afzal. During its stay, the mission visited all the four provinces and held extensive discussions with high-level officials of the federal and provincial governments, as well as with members of the judiciary, the donor community, and other stockholders. The overall development objective of the proposed Access to Justice Program Loan is to improve access to justice so as to (i) provide security and justice to the citizens, particularly the poor, (ii) strengthen legitimacy of state institutions and (iii) create conditions for revival of growth by fostering confidence of investors. The following five major outcomes are expected by the ADB: 1. Enactment of laws and regulations, consistent with the constitution, to carry out reform policies for the judiciary, police and decentralized administration. These include laws for freedom of information, consumer protection, and accountability of public servants and government officials, as well as the Local Government Ordinance 2001 and the Police Ordinance 2001. 2. Greater efficiency, timeliness and effectiveness in judicial, police and administrative services. Measures include improved records and information management linking courts, prisons, and police facilitation fair and expeditious justice, and implementation of small causes courts, and amendments to Family Court Act. 3. Greater equity and accessibility of judicial, police and administrative services for vulnerable poor. Some steps in this regard could be the publication of laws in Urdu, functioning on conciliation at the district level, and the establishment of a legal empowerment fund to encourage representation of justice interests of the vulnerable poor. 4. Improved predictability and consistency between fiscal and human resource allocation and requirements of reformed judicial, police, and administration institutions. This would involve the approval a judicial sector medium-term budget and expenditure framework to provide a more predictable and increasing fiscal and human resourcing for the sector. 5. Greater transparency and accountability in performance of judiciary, police and administration. Steps include the publication of annual performance reports by the federal and provincial high courts, and establishment and proper resourcing of the public safety commissions at national, provincial and district levels. Further work on this loan would be conducted during the latter half of August with the fielding of the appraisal Mission by the ADB. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010714 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Accord signed with WB ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, July 13: Pakistan and the World Bank signed a Japanese Grant Funds Agreement amounting to $515,769. Secretary Economic Affairs Division Nawaid Ahsan and the World Bank Country Director for Pakistan and Afghanistan John W.Wall signed the agreement. The Japanese Ambassador to Pakistan, Saddaki Numata, was also present on the occasion. He spoke about the importance of supporting under-privileged women in the development efforts of Pakistan. The grant has been provided out of Japan's Social Development Fund (JSDF), which was formally launched by the Japanese government and the World Bank in June 2000.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010714 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 11th EoI for PTCL sell-off received ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, July 13: Turkish firm Fintur Holding BV Ltd joined 10 other investors interested in taking a 26 per cent stake in state- run Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL), officials said. "It was in the pipeline... in all now 11 firms have submitted their EoIs," a senior official of Privatization Commission told Reuters from Islamabad. The commission has now also accepted the EoI of the Turkish firm, officials said. The investors that had shown interest included three from the United States - Align Technologies, Crescent Investment Management LLC and Khanjee Holding Incorporated - and Australia's Queste Communications. Others were Egypt's Orascom Telecom, Saudi Oger Limited of Saudi Arabia, Nahayan Mabarak Al-Nahyan Abu Dhabi Group of the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait's Yousif S.F. Al Sabah, and Commercial Nework Ltd and Pakbell-Pacetel (Pvt) Ltd of Pakistan. Although the government would retain a majority stake, the strategic investors would have management control.-Reuters DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010714 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Weekend profit-selling pushes index down by 7 points ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, July 13: Stocks failed to extend overnight recovery as weekend profit-selling by jobbers and short-term dealers clipped most of the gains netted during the last two sessions, pushing the KSE 100-share index down by 7.73 points at 1,312.11 points. The market appears to be not that optimistic about the success of the Agra parleys, says a leading broker. "It should have given a hearty send off to the president after demonstrating its inherent strength, a right occasion to react that way." However, the activity on the forward counter was fairly brisk where PSO came in for massive speculative support and encountered two consecutive bullish hella, the final closing being Rs.3.75 higher at Rs.130.00, which incidentally was the day's highest bid. Leading investors seem to be progressively opting for futures trading as the increasing volumes in Hub Power and PSO indicate. PSO being in an oversold position because of early week sell-off may, to a certain extent, justify the current run-up, others may not, stock analyst at the WE Financial say. "But it appears to be the work of leading institutional traders who have both the liquidity and manoeuvring leverage to play speculative games forbidden and no go area to the have-nots," he said. Stock analysts at the Finex Securities say the tempo of speculative trading building up on the futures options will certainly spill over the ready counter causing sympathetic price flare-ups as it did in PSO on Friday. However, the market weekend sell-off was not in line with market's general perceptions as leading brokers were expecting the extension of the last two sessions' run-up. "The market should have given a hearty send off to the president when he takes off tomorrow for summit talks with the Indian prime minister to secure peace and resolution of the Kashmir dispute," most brokers, commenting on the market's relatively weak performance, said. But some others said leading investors are making larger commitments on the forward counters rather than taking a big stake in ready apparently awaiting the outcome of Agra parleys. Trading volume was around the overnight level of 66 shares but losers held a strong lead over the gainers at 91 to 53, with 46 shares holding on to the last levels. PSO again actively traded, sharply higher by Rs.4.15 at Rs.130.00 on 23 shares followed by Hub Power, off 25 paisa at Rs.17.75 on 20m shares, PTCL, lower 20 paisa at Rs.16.80 on 10m shares, Engro Chemical, easy five paisa at Rs.53.60 on 2.329m shares and FFC- Jordan Fertilizer, lower five paisa on 1.851m shares.Back to the top
EDITORIALS & FEATURES 20010708 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Twenty years to zero ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ardeshir Cowasjee Following my column of June 17 'Give him a fighting chance' and subsequent columns in which I complimented General Pervez Musharraf I have been under verbal fire from my friends, acquaintances and from known and unknown web surfers via e-mail. Why am I supporting a military man? was the grouse expressed. My simple answer is that I would support anyone, in or out of uniform, who makes an effort to live in peace and to coexist with Big Brother India. One friend who fired a verbal rocket is self- appointed goodwill ambassador of Uzbekistan to Pakistan Haji Mohammad Aziz Alex Haji Dossa, another my evergreen friend, perennial politician Ilahi Bakhsh Soomro. Alex was very angry. He sent me a letter accusing me of being a 'lifafa' journalist and of having accepted an envelope from Musharraf. So I called him over to share with me the contents of the envelope in question. Needless to say, he was apologetic explaining that he had been overcome by the heat of the moment. He was most distraught over another matter and asked if I had read his letter in Dawn on July 1, 'Killing of a doctor', which indeed I had. According to statistics maintained by the Pakistan Medical Association, of the 64 doctors who have been murdered in Karachi since 1995, 59 were killed merely because they happened to be Shias. Four of these Shias, Doctors Mohammed Hussain Dhevjani, Abdul Kassim Jiva, Sibtain Dossa, and Mahomad Raza Pirani, were Alex's friends. Pirani was gunned down on June 26 in the midst of busy Soldier Bazaar. Alex had just condoled with Pirani's pregnant widow and four children. He asked, "Why don't you ask your friend Musharraf to find the assassins rather than allowing them to cross our northern border and join their friends the Taliban ?" With sad eyes he watched my sad-eyed English Basset hound, Humphrey Hasdrubal, my Virginian Jack Russell terrier Bopp, his New York mate Billie, my Australian sulphur crested cockatoo, Sardar Benjamin, and my Bath Island cats Tessa and Tobie, all romping around together and drinking water from the same bowl. They are from four different continents but all have been brought up in Pakistan. They are intelligent and tolerant. They have no Sunni-Shia Deobandi-Barelvi problems. Aziz left with the hope one day in this country Shias and Sunnis will be able to learn to live together in harmony, each respecting the other's beliefs, differing but not killing. Ilahi Bakhsh attacked me in his chaste Sindhi accent, "How can you support an unelected army man?" "Can beggars be choosers?", I asked. "Look at what we have on the ground as leaders. On the one side is the extremely corrupt Benazir with her even more corrupt husband, the remnants of Nawaz's PML who call themselves the like- minded lot abandoned by the corrupt but still hopeful aspiring Ameer-ul-momeneen, and the obscenely corrupt Chaudhrys. On the other, we have Musharraf and his medals and the baggage he carries with him. Which would you have?" Without hesitation, he said, "The last option." "So, then, what are we arguing about?", I asked, "What are we waiting for? A 'farishta' from heaven riding a white charger?" All he could do was to hum and hah. An irate young Parsi woman, after reading my column 'Dastur-an- Dastur', launched another attack on me for being wrong in my title. She maintained that Dr Narriman Maneckji Dhalla was not a 'dastur- an-dastur' (a high priest of high priests) and the only 'dastur-an- dastur' we Zoroastrians of the sub-continent have had was Dasturji Meherji Rana (1510-1591). I asked her had she ever met Dastur Dhalla to confirm from him whether he was or was not a 'dastur-an- dastur'. Of course she had not. She was barely born when he died. Had she asked him, he would have told her it mattered not a whit. The Moghul Emperor, Akbar, was wont to hold discussions on religion with the priests and scholars of the different religions in India. Meherji Rana, the most learned Zoroastrian priest of the time, was invited to Akbar's court to participate in one of these sessions and Akbar was so impressed by Rana and his clarity of expression that he made him a permanent member of his court. History records that Emperor Akbar summoned to his court crowds of learned men from all nations, and sages of various religions and sects, all of whom were honoured with private conversations. According to Akbar, "The superiority of man rests on the jewel of reason." He invited representatives of all the religions in his Empire to a conference, pledged them peace and issued edicts of toleration for each cult and creed. As evidence of his own neutrality he married wives from the Brahmin, Buddhist faiths as well as from his own faith. The Emperor took no stock in 'other-worldliness' and accepted only that which could justify itself with science and philosophy. A tale is told of Akbar and Meherji Rana. Rana had his own chair, reserved for him at the Emperor's darbar. A time came when at several successive darbars Akbar noticed that Rana's chair was vacant. Worried that he may have hurt his feelings in some way, he sent for Rana. He asked him if he had somehow upset him. Rana said, 'no, of course not, you have done nothing. But I am tired of sitting and listening to flatterers and their non-stop flattery'. Akbar accepted his reason, and asked if there were anything he could do for him. 'There is one thing', said Rana, 'just one thing. Send for me every six months or so, summon me before your full court, ask me to approach you and then whisper in my ear. Any old nonsense will do, just as long as everyone notices you are confiding in me. Just that will ensure that I will remain unhindered and live in peace and comfort.' Now we jump five centuries. Musharraf heads a country, the woes and ills and setbacks of which he cannot cure. It will need at least 20 years of strife-free existence under good leadership for the country to return to zero point. His sincerity is not in doubt. He is now making an effort to coexist with India, to live with it rather than against it. He is going to meet a man who was born on the same day as the official birthdays of Issa of Nazareth and of Mohammad Ali Jinnah of Pakistan, and possibly also of the exiled, disgraced Nawaz Sharif. If age brings with it wisdom, Atal Behari Vajpayee, who was born in the Year of the Lord 1924, has a head start of 19 years over Musharraf. Musharraf will talk to a man who describes his profession as 'Journalist and Social Worker'. Vajpayee has been the editor of the monthly magazine 'Rashtra-dharma', of the weekly magazine 'Panchajanya' and of two daily newspapers, 'Swadesh' and 'Veer Arjun'. He has been elected eight times to the Lok Sabha, and has been prime minister of his country twice. The first term was from May 16, 1996, to May 31, 1996, during which few days he also held the portfolios of external affairs, chemicals and fertilizers, civil supplies, consumer affairs and public distribution, coal, commerce, communications, environment and forests, food processing industries, human resource development, labour, mines, non- conventional energy sources, personnel, public grievances and pensions, petroleum and natural gas, planning and programme implementation, power, railways, rural areas and employment, science and technology, steel, surface transport, textiles, water resources, atomic energy, electronics, Jammu and Kashmir affairs, ocean development, space, outer space and beyond. >From 1996 to 1997 Vajpayee was leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and as of March 19, 1998, has again been prime minister. Commando-Gunner Pervez Musharraf is our president, our chief of army staff, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee, and the country's chief executive. He started professional life in a military academy and has reached the summit of his career. Both men are sincere in their quest for peace. The sun does not rise and set in Kashmir alone. We must all wish them success. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010713 ------------------------------------------------------------------- A fresh line in cosmetics ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ayaz Amir If a college of cynics, duly certified as a professional body by its examiners, had been charged with the task to write a primer on how not to prepare for a summit, it could not have bettered the script followed by General Musharraf and his team of advisers. Everyone and his uncle have been called for consultations with General Musharraf. There in the mock-ornate setting of the Prime Minister's House (which Pakistan's supreme ruler uses for his office) Pakistan Television's captive audience has been treated evening after evening to shots of the general listening serious- eyed to his various callers regarding the line to take in the summit with Mr Vajpayee. In the last few days no one could have been more free with press and TV interviews than the general. Is he hoping to conquer Agra with this media blitz? Are we getting ready for a circus or a serious round of talks? Talking endlessly about the core issue is fine for a domestic audience. But it is doubtful whether it can have much effect on India. In any case, it doesn't hurt to keep things in perspective. Can we make the ground shift from under Mr Vajpayee's feet? What leverage have we at our disposal to make India share our perceptions on Kashmir? To suppose even for a foolish moment that any serious plans about settling the Kashmir issue will be floated in Agra--Chenab formula or whatever--is to live in a wonderland of our own creation. On offer at Agra will be a new range of cosmetics, or rather an old line of cosmetics wrapped in fresh paper: trade, travel, easing of visa restrictions, and the like. In other words, makeup or, at best, plastic surgery. No more. Not that in displaying this range India would be guilty of any particular deviousness. There is little we can do to change its marketing strategy. Yes, India would like militancy to die down in Kashmir. Yes, a Kashmir on the boil hinders India's march to great power status. Even so, we don't exactly have India on the mat. As such we cannot wring from it any major concession. This is not rocket science but simple common sense. If Gen Musharraf's planners are choosing to see it in a different light that's their problem. Ladies of fashion or beauty who are used to attention take compliments (and even passes) in their stride. In response to the Vajpayee invitation the Musharraf government has simply gone overboard. Its tremulous state of excitement has been evident in the build-up to the summit--a build-up out of sync with what is on offer. If the mood in the Chief Executive's office had been a trifle more restrained, expectations could have been pitched low, in which case even old perfume in new bottles could have counted as an achievement. With expectations pitched unrealistically high, the danger is that a sense of frustration and disillusionment could set in if no tangible progress is made on Kashmir. It is no good saying amidst the hoopla and noise that we expect nothing dramatic from the summit. The build-up itself, and the CE's relentless consultations and interviews, tell a different story. Mr Abdul Sattar will have a job on his hands once the pageantry is over. Having to look serious (not a difficult task for him) he will have to read deep and portentous meaning into the slim offerings at Agra. Unless of course the talks are to be blasted as a failure and India accused of intransigence. Which is unlikely, given the overall climate which is not conducive to such histrionics. Not that India-Pakistan relations do not stand in need of a facelift. They do indeed. We need more trade and travel and other forms of exchange to lower the barriers of hostility and mistrust between us. But while doing so, and making the best of a bad job, there is no need to fool ourselves. While we have a position on Kashmir-- and perish the thought we should ever abandon it--we lack the means to change the status quo to our advantage. Nor is it likely that India will give away on the negotiating table what we have failed to wrest from it on the battlefield. That Kashmir is disputed territory, its disputed status underwritten by UN resolutions, is not something writ on water but a fact carved in stone. If the people of Kashmir do not want to have any truck with India, or if they want to strike out on their own, who are we to sell them down the river? But at the same time no discernible purpose is served by remaining locked in a state of permanent hostility with India. For our sake, if not India's, we need to come out of the mental trenches of the past. Trade will benefit both countries and perhaps Pakistan more than India. And reducing the burden of militarization will allow scarce resources to be put to more productive uses. That is, if on both sides of the divide, the national security establishments which have a vested interest in the continuation of hostility permit such an outcome to emerge. Look at the subcontinent's poverty and then consider the pretensions on parade. The two things are a world apart. A thousand hard-liners, however, from the comfort of their armchairs can be heard declaiming that peace and cooperation with India while the Kashmir dispute remains unresolved is an unthinkable proposition. Why? China's unalterable claim to Taiwan does not stop it from having profitable links with Taiwan. Just as Hong Kong's being a British colony did not prevent China from having extensive contacts with it. Japan has never given up its claim to the four Northern Islands captured by Soviet troops at the end of the Second World War but that does not stop it from engaging with Russia in other spheres. Why can't we be similarly pragmatic? Why should sensible relations with India be considered tantamount to the loss of national manhood? Let us overcome our internal problems, let us attain political stability and build a strong Pakistan. Let us trade with India and try to reduce our absurd arms expenditure. And at the same time let us remain faithful to our position on Kashmir. These three aims are not contradictory. Statesmanship lies not in playing zero-sum games (either/or) but in relating national goals to national strength. Such a definition of statesmanship, however, flows from a calm way of looking at things. The circus atmosphere allowed to grow around the Musharraf visit is the exact opposite of this mood. What we are expecting from India regarding Kashmir is related more to our wishes than to the facts on the ground. When India does not accede to our wishfulness will we relapse into sullenness or seek refuge in false interpretations? But caveats apart, let us count our blessings. The momentum generated by this visit is all for the good for even fanfare and empty pageantry have their uses. After this visit, even if nothing else is achieved, it will not be easy for either side to revert that quickly to the rhetoric of the past. Meanwhile, an important point worth remembering is about the peace clothes General Musharraf is wearing to India. They represent an enduring and not a passing phenomenon. Musharraf's foremost priority is consolidating his rule and giving it a democratic face- lift, plastic surgery being the rage in Pakistan as much as in India. For achieving this aim he has to be more politician than soldier. Small wonder then if from the various corps headquarters right down to monitoring teams in the districts an intense effort is underway to choose the right kind of district nazims for the August 2 election. There is nothing surreptitious about this process. Generals and brigadiers are openly telling candidates as to who is on board and who is not. General Musharraf has promised to devolve power to the grassroots. Whether this promise is kept or not, grassroots interference by the army of the kind now being seen is a first for Pakistan. This is democracy army-style and the sounds it is conveying are the birth pangs of a new Convention League to act as civilian handmaiden to another military strongman. It is for outsiders-- those who accuse Pakistan of adventurism-- to draw their own conclusions. With the army leadership engaged in these political manoeuvres, it should be obvious to anyone that the army's agenda is peace not war. There can be no better augury for the Agra summit. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010714 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The spirit of Southall ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Irfan Husain Visiting London at a time when race riots are rife, and the newspapers are still referring darkly to pitch invasions by supporters of the Pakistani cricket team, it was natural to expect a certain amount of tension in racially mixed areas. So it was a pleasant surprise to go to Southall, the ultimate example of a South Asian-dominated suburb. I was there last twenty years ago when friends took us for a desi dinner. With its loud filmi music, its almost exclusively subcontinental faces and accents, and its spicy aromas, I understood why my son Shakir, then five years old, asked if we were back in Lahore. Since then, I have not been tempted to return for the reason so many Indians and Pakistanis go there: authentic desi food. On my short visits to London, I prefer to check out the latest Italian and French restaurants. But as it's the mango season and the only mangoes I have found in Kensington are inferior African and Mexican varieties, I thought we would get the genuine articles from Southall. So off we went on a warm Sunday mid-morning, following signs until we reached a bazaar scene straight out of the subcontinent. The vibrant colours, the loud music and the unique, mouth-watering smells of curries cooking were light years away from the bland, strait-laced British streets one normally walks through. In terms of atmosphere, I might easily have been in Karachi's Saddar area, or Lahore's old city. However, the contrasts with the subcontinent soon became apparent: the streets, despite the crowds and the cacophony, were very clean; there were no beggars; and, above all, there were at least as many women as there were men, and nobody ogled them or made obnoxious remarks. There was very little swagger or male macho on display. People shopped, ate at the many restaurants and generally went about their business without pushing, shoving or being unpleasant in any way. Another major difference was the presence of so many communities in a relatively small area. There were Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims shopping peacefully side by side; there were even a few token white and black Brits. Nobody was hassling anybody as we made our way up the main street. The shops carried signs with names indicative of all the faiths practised in South Asia, and impartially drew customers from every region. To complete this picture of ethnic diversity, there was even a (Halal) Chinese menu at the Punjab Karahi Centre we entered for lunch. I thought we had been very clever by bringing a couple of cans of beer with us, but when I asked the waiter if we could open them, he whispered he would move us to a corner table if we were under a 'compulsion to have a drink. I assured him there was no such 'compulsion', and got on with the business of ordering lunch. The nihari, the saag-gosht and the kebabs were all absolutely authentic, as was the lassi. Outside the Punjab Karahi Centre stood a splendid Karachi bus decked out in bright colours and mythical beasts and shiny metal bits. passers-by gaped at it, and has themselves photographed standing next to this fine example of Pakistani folk art. The manager informed me that it had been driven to Turkey and shipped from there; it was used to transport baraats at weddings and was often hired for birthday parties. We next bought a couple of kilos each of excellent chausa and sindhri mangoes for 10 pounds - hardly extravagant when considering their quality and transport costs. Finally, we bought some superb gulab jamans and gajar ka halwa from the Ambala Sweet House. On our way home, we talked about how a microcosm of the best of the subcontinent had been so successfully created thousands of miles away. For centuries, serious travellers and casual tourists have remarked on the marvellous cultural mosaic that invasions, conquests and migrations have created in South Asia. The ethnic mix there is probably richer and more varied than in any comparable land mass, and apart from occasional religious and language riots triggered by chauvinistic individuals and parties, the different elements of the subcontinental mosaic have lived in relative peace and harmony. This balance was disturbed by the system of separate electorates for Hindus and Muslims introduced by the British nearly a century ago, and this policy found its logical conclusion in the partition of 1947. Since then, the forces of intolerance and chauvinism have gained ground in both India and Pakistan. They are far stronger in Pakistan as the latter was created in the name of religion, and despite the early secularizing influence of Mr Jinnah, its founding father, it has gone down the path of fundamentalism and enforced homogenization. We have thus robbed ourselves of the happy medley of cultures and influences that enriched and informed our lives until not very long ago. By trying to impose a rigidly uniform vision of Islam and an alien Middle Eastern culture on a basically multi- religious, multi-ethnic South Asian society, we have destroyed many of the threads that made up the fabric of a once-rich, vibrant and creative culture. More and more, we define ourselves by our "un- Indianess", and in doing so, we hack away at our cultural roots. And yet as my brief visit to Southall showed me, there is no fundamental problem in South Asians of different faiths living, working and praying next to each other. Whether our political and religious leaders like it or not, the commonalties between the various communities of South Asia far outnumber the differences. Unfortunately, over five decades of politically generated hostility and poisonous propaganda have taken their toll of tolerance and understanding on both sides of the border. Two generations of brainwashed Indians and Pakistanis have grown up to blindly mistrust and even hate each other. Nevertheless, these same young men and women become fast friends away from the corrosive passions of the subcontinent. Clearly, fifty-odd years of history cannot be forgotten or wished away. But if these wasted years are to serve any purpose, we need to draw lessons from them if we are not to be condemned to making the same mistakes. The most important lesson is that it takes more than an artificially drawn line across the map to obliterate our rich cultural heritage. The history of the subcontinent is one of religious conversions, inter-faith marriages and inter-cultural mingling on a vast scale. To pretend that any part of this region is religiously or culturally 'pure' is to delude oneself. Finally, if South Asia is to play its rightful role on the world stage, its leaders have to remember there is great strength in diversity. General Musharraf and Mr Vajpayee would do well to keep the Southall model before them when they sit down to talk next week.
SPORTS 20010713 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan crashes out from Asia Cup ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, July 12: Pakistan's dream of qualifying for next year's World Cup were shattered when they crashed out of the inaugural Pro-Am Asia Cup Snooker Tournament after losing both their league matches to Hong Kong and Malaysia. Third seed Pakistan defeated United Arab Emirates in the opening match 4-3. But after leading 3-0 from Hong Kong in their second league round they went down 4-3 after their opponents won the last four matches at trot. Hong Kong and Malaysia joined China and hosts Thailand in the semi finals of the competition which also guarantee four countries a place in next year's World Cup in England.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010713 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Controversial Shoaib and Sohail face Australians ------------------------------------------------------------------- TAUNTON, July 12: Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar and former captain Aamir Sohail are to line up against Australia in their three-day tour match against English county Somerset. A spokesperson for Somerset said the pair had been recruited to strengthen the side to ensure Australia were given a good match. The four-day match with Somerset starts on Friday and is the Australians' last game before the second Test against England beginning at Lord's on July 19.-Reuters DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010712 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Razzaq signs for Middlesex ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Reporter KARACHI, July 11: Abdur Razzaq has signed a two-year contract with the English county side Middlesex. Razzaq, who toured England with the Pakistan squad recently, will play for the division two county side in 2002 and 2003. Middlesex coach John Emburey was delighted at Razzaq's signing for the north London club. "We were primarily looking for a strike bowler and Razzaq fits the bill perfectly. He is a magnificent addition to our squad and the club is very excited at obtaining his services for the next two years," the former England off-spinner commented. Razzaq, who bats and bowls right-handed, was also quite excited. "Once I knew of their interest, Middlesex was the only place I wanted to go. The prospect of playing at Lord's is a dream come true." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010710 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Hussain out of second Test ------------------------------------------------------------------- LONDON, July 9: England captain Nasser Hussain was ruled out for three weeks with a broken finger, meaning he will miss the second Ashes Test against Australia. The news was confirmed after Hussain visited a specialist, England physiotherapist Dean Conway said. Hussain fractured the little finger of his left hand on Sunday while batting during England's defeat by Australia in the first Test at Edgbaston.-Reuters DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010714 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan Open squash in Lahore on portable court ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, July 13: The Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) has decided to host this November's Pakistan Open at Lahore for which a portable four-side glass wall court will be imported. Sqn Ldr. Sajid Waheed, the new squash secretary said that the court would be imported by the PSA while the federation would look after all the technical aspects of the tournament. The US $80,000 Pakistan Open is pencilled in for November 7 to 12 with the qualification rounds to be held on November 5 and 6. Before the tournament was allotted to Lahore, either Karachi or Islamabad were to host the tournament. But the Executive Committee of the PSF which met in Rawalpindi unanimously decided to give the hosting rights to Punjab. The final trials to pick eight players from the group of 10 will be conducted in Karachi in early September. Based on their international ranking and their performance in the CAS International Championship at Peshawar, Hong Kong Open and the CNS International at Karachi and their standing in the trials the team for the SAF Games and the World Team Championship will be selected. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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