------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 10 March 2001 Issue : 07/10 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents | National News | Business & Economy | Editorials & Features | Sports
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CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + Reforms will be protected: Musharraf + Export of petrol from next quarter + Islamabad bans sugar import from Delhi + Shaukat meets WB officials + CE, other heads of state perform Haj + RAB arrests two former ministers + Cameras from Asif's room removed, court told + Situation belies ceasefire claim: FO + 8 Pakistanis among stampede victims + PPP seeks SJC inquiry into tapes + NWFP cuts excise duty target by Rs100m + Tribunal holds editorial responsible for publication of letter + Kulsoom says she has given up politics --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + Banks see lower cash withdrawal on Eid + Govt sees $9.4 billion exports by June + Trade deficit swells to $1.18bn + CNG operators raise prices by 15% + 33% increase in sales tax collection + Govt to take over NCBs bad assets + ADB to release $250 million for capital market + Shell, Caltex to import diesel: Shipment due in April + Private sector to get benefit from IDB arm + Baggage rules being relaxed: Customs officials to settle cases + Stringent measures to reduce debts sought --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + We quake Ardeshir Cowasjee + Clothes to fit a general Ayaz Amir + The fire next door Irfan Husain ----------- SPORTS + Cricket: Pakistan enjoy measure of control
=================================================================== DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 20010310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reforms will be protected: Musharraf ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ihtashamul Haque ISLAMABAD, March 9: The chief executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf, said on Friday that an "institutionalized system of checks and balances" was being put in place to ensure continuity of structural reforms initiated by the government since Oct 12, 1999. Talking to federal secretaries and provincial chief secretaries, the CE assured that all required legislation would be done to protect his actions and the reform programme. Informed sources quoted Gen Musharraf as saying that anybody who tried to hinder his reform programme, particularly the steps aimed at improving the economy and making the devolution plan a success, would be taken to task. A question-answer session took place on the occasion at which the CE said that he had a "very good team of civil and military officials" that was providing all necessary support to him to rehabilitate the government structure. The structure, he regretted, had been destroyed by successive governments over past many years. Earlier a few weeks ago, the CE had told editors and senior journalists that he would like to have the continuity of his reform process. Meanwhile, he has directed ministers to decentralize functioning by delegating authority to secretaries who should subsequently delegate power to their juniors, said a handout. The CE also said that action should be taken against those who were corrupt and incompetent as there was no place for them in the government. He stated it was unfortunate that in the past individual and group interests had taken precedence over national interest which was the root-cause of the country's problems, adding that in future the supremacy of national interest would be ensured. He exhorted the civil servants to play their role as leaders and make use of the new working environment created by the government and live up to the trust reposed in them. There were no favourites or personal requirements, therefore, it was imperative to have faith in Allah and take decisions on merit, he said. Earlier, the CE gave an overview of the matters being addressed by the government on a priority basis, including the revival of economy, good governance, poverty reduction and the setting up of a new political structure. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Export of petrol from next quarter ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, March 9: Pakistan is expected to start export of petrol from the next quarter that will earn $100 million of foreign exchange annually for the country, official sources told APP. After the commissioning of PARCO, the refining capacity has doubled and the country will have surplus petrol, which can now be exported, the sources said. "Eventually there will be 0.5 million tones of petrol available for the export and through it the government will earn $100 million annually," they added. According to the sources, Iran has shown keen interest in importing Pakistani petrol while some other countries have also shown their desire in this respect. "The deal will be finalized soon", said the sources. Responding to a question, the sources said, the government is taking special steps to enhance the gas production of existing 2.2 billion cubic feet a day to 3.2 billion cubic feet in next couple of years. He said this would enhance the existing capacity of production to 45 per cent in the next couple of years. "We are only utilizing 15 to 20 per cent of our total gas potential in the country," the sources said while adding, the government has opened up this sector for investment to tap its full potentials for the economic prosperity. To another question, the sources said, the Ordinance to set up Petroleum Regulatory Authority (PRA) has been sent to the Cabinet for approval. After its approval, the PRA will be put in place and the existing Gas Regulatory Authority (GRA) will be merged into it, he added.- APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010309 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Islamabad bans sugar import from Delhi ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ihtashamul Haque ISLAMABAD, March 8: The government has decided to place a ban on the import of sugar from India, saying that there are adequate stocks available. Speaking at a press conference here on Thursday, the minister for commerce, industries and production, Abdul Razzak Dawood, said the letters of credit opened till March 7 would be honoured to import sugar from India. "The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet had decided on Feb 28 to ban the import of sugar from India to save the local sugar industry from a collapse." The minister said: "There is no political reason whatsoever to ban the import of sugar from India." He warned that in case of an emergency or price hike engineered by the local industry the ban would be removed. He said the ECC had disallowed the import of sugar from India on Feb 28 but the decision had not been made public. When it was pointed out that a hand-out issued by the government last month said that no decision had been taken over the issue and it would be reviewed after Eid, the minister admitted that the decision about the ban had been kept secret for various reasons. Mr Dawood admitted that the import of sugar from other countries was expensive as there were more duties on it. He disclosed that the ministry of commerce had estimated 2.2 to 2.4 million tons of sugar production during the current year. He added that the estimates of consumption had been worked out to be 3.3 million tons. "But there is no need to be worried as we have 600,000 tons of sugar in our stocks," he said. The commerce minister said a long-term policy was being considered with the help of all stakeholders, including the sugar industry, consumers' representatives and farmers, to make sure that there was no shortage of the commodity. Answering a question, he said one of the reasons why the import of sugar from India had been banned was its inferior quality. The minister dispelled the impression that the government was discouraging trade and economic activity between the members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. "It is a question of pure economics that we do not need more sugar from our neighbour," he said.He said 1,26,477 tons of sugar was still to be imported from India under the commitments for which LCs had been opened till March 7. The minister said the government had allowed processing of 600,000 tons of raw sugar by the local industry to save foreign exchange and keep the local industry functional. He recalled that the government had allowed the import of sugar from India last year to end a shortage. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Shaukat meets WB officials ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent WASHINGTON, March 9: Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz met senior officials of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on the sidelines of a seminar here on Thursday. He discussed with them the status of the IMF programme for Pakistan. A review of the programme's implementation in the last quarter is in progress, and the IMF board is due to meet at the end of this month to finalize its conclusions. Mr Aziz reportedly met James Wolfensohn, president of the World Bank, Horst Kohler, managing director of the IMF, and Eduardo Aninat, deputy managing director of the IMF. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010305 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CE, other heads of state perform Haj ------------------------------------------------------------------- ARAFAT, March 4: Some 2.5 million Muslims performed Haj here on Sunday. Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf, along with other heads of state and government as well as members of the Pakistan delegation, performed the Haj. The Chief Executive prayed to Allah Almighty for progress and prosperity of Pakistan and unity of Ummah. The members of the Chief Executive's delegation included Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and Pakistan envoy Lt-Gen (retd) Mohammad Asad Durrani. At sunset, the Chief Executive, along with other pilgrims, will proceed to Mazdalifah from Arafat to offer Maghreb and Isha prayers together and also later perform Fajr prayers. After an overnight stay at Muzdalifah, the pilgrims will proceed to Mina to complete the Haj rituals. The Chief Executive, along with delegation members, remained in Mina overnight, where Gen Pervez Musharraf offered Zuhr, Asr, Isha and Fajr prayers. At dawn, he left Mina for Arafat. In his sermon at Arafat, the Imam, al-Shaikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah highlighted the significance of sacrifice and piety (Taqwa) and urged the Muslims to follow it to know the requirements of their faith. He called the faithful to shun their narrow-minded thinking and controversies to regain the glory of Islam. Al-Shaikh Abdul Aziz said it was incumbent upon every Muslim to protect his other fellow-believers. He referred to Huqooq-ul-Ibad and Huqooqullah and called upon the faithful to fulfil the given obligations as a true Muslim. The Imam Saheb prayed to Almighty Allah to bestow the Muslim world with more natural resources and water reserves so as to enhance greenery of their fields. He also sought Allah's blessings for the Muslims everywhere.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- RAB arrests two former ministers ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporter LAHORE, March 9: The former federal minister and chairman of the Sialkot district council, Chaudhry Abdus Sattar, and his nephew, former provincial minister Khush Akhtar Subhani, were arrested under the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance on Friday by the Regional Accountability Bureau (RAB) on charges of corruption. A charge-sheet issued by RAB says that between 1988 and 1996 Chaudhry Sattar misused his public office to accumulate wealth disproportionate to his known income. He allegedly acquired 850 kanals of farm land and set up industrial units in Sialkot. The charge-sheet says his assets include a share in a Rs45 million bungalow in Sialkot built over 11.42 kanals of land, a Rs3 million residential plot measuring two kanals in the name of his son, Manzoor Subhani, and three shops in the name of his son in Sialkot's main bazaar. The charge-sheet adds that as the chairman of the district council, Chaudhry Sattar, in collusion with his brother, former MNA Chaudhry Akhtar Ali Variyo, granted an export tax rebate to contractors causing a loss of Rs3 million to the exchequer. He illegally allotted a shop in his name and obtained funds for development projects which were misused. He also ordered the release of funds to contractors for the construction of schools for girls in the Jodewali and Channi Atal Garh villages. The schools were never built. The charge-sheet accuses the former provincial minister, Khush Akhtar Subhani, of acquiring assets disproportionate to his known income. He was the Punjab minister for housing, physical planning, population and prisons during the early 1990s. It says a piece of agricultural land belonging to his family increased from 950 kanals in 1985 to 3,300 kanals in 1997. Other illegally acquired assets, the charge-sheet adds, include a share in the Rs45 million bungalow in Sialkot, Rs1 million shares in Grace Hotel, Lahore, residential plots in Sialkot, Narowal and Burewala, Rs7 million shares in UNIS PAK Rubber Manufacturing and Rs5 million shares in MIZPAAH Garments Factory. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Cameras from Asif's room removed, court told ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rafaqat Ali RAWALPINDI, March 9: The prosecutor-general of accountability stated on Friday that cameras installed in the room of Asif Zardari, had been removed. The former senator, who was produced before an accountability court here, had pointed out that his room was being monitored through a closed-circuit TV. He had requested the court to restrain the government from employing "dirty tricks". The counsel for Mr Zardari requested the court to restore A- class status to his client, including the provision of a dish antenna. Mr Zardari then himself addressed the court to make the request for the facility. The case was adjourned to March 16 as the senior counsel for Mr Zardari was not present. Talking to journalists, Mr Zardari said that during the PPP government there was no restriction on the movement of the US currency, but even then a dollar was available for Rs36. Now, he pointed out, after the government had imposed a number of restrictions on the movement of dollars, one dollar was available at the rate of Rs63. He claimed that during the PPP government Pakistan's economy was going on right track but a vicious propaganda was launched against those policies. The country was receiving investment during the PPP government but now even the medium-sized industrialists were leaving the country, he said. The former senator claimed that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia had changed their laws to attract Pakistani investors. If the rulers remained stubborn and did not realize the gravity of the situation, nothing would be left in Pakistan, he warned. In reply to a question, he said the PPP was still in a position to pull the country out of trouble and added that this time the PPP would not trust the establishment unless their was a "guarantor". DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010309 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Situation belies ceasefire claim: FO ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, March 8: Pakistan on Thursday said the Indian claim of "ceasefire" belied the continuing killings, arrests, torture and disappearances in Occupied Kashmir. Islamabad has rejected the Indian Home Minister L.K. Advani's statement in the Indian parliament on Wednesday saying it "completely distorts the objective realities," in the Indian Held Kashmir. "Advani's claim that the Indian forces are observing a "ceasefire" in Occupied Kashmir belied the continuing arrests, torture, disappearances and killings of innocent civilians, including custodial and extrajudicial killings, and by other human rights violations and atrocities being perpetrated by the Indian forces," said a statement by a foreign office spokesman here. "The Indian claim of a "ceasefire" has also been rejected by the Kashmiri people," it said. Pakistan "regrets the decision of the Government of India not to allow the five-member APHC delegation designated by its chairman to visit Pakistan for consultations on the commencement of a peace process on Kashmir". The genesis of the Kashmir dispute lies in the denial by India of the right of self-determination to the Kashmiri people. The struggle of the Kashmiri people for the exercise of this right is being led by the APHC.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010309 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 Pakistanis among stampede victims ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, March 8: Eight Pakistanis, including six women, are among those crushed in a stampede during the "stoning of Satan" on Monday, officials said on Tuesday. The religious affairs secretary and Haj director visited hospitals to inquire about the health of many Pakistanis injured in the stampede. The Pakistan embassy and Haj directorate are in constant touch with the Saudi authorities and different hospitals in Mina. Officials say that some Pakistanis are also missing after the Monday's incident and search is continuing to trace them. Those who died are: Zarina Begum (Fateh Jang), Maqsoodah (Lahore), Anwar Begum (Karachi), Aziza Fatima (Bhalwal-Sargodha), Noor Ahmad (Sialkot), Pervez Begum (Hyderabad) and Ruqiya Begum (Bhalwal- Sargodha). Name of another Pakistan could not ascertained.-NNI DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010309 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PPP seeks SJC inquiry into tapes ------------------------------------------------------------------- Faraz Hashmi ISLAMABAD, March 8: The former law minister and a PPP leader, Iftikhar Hussain Gilani, on Thursday demanded of the government to refer the audio recording of telephonic conversation between Justice Malik Abdul Qayyum and former Ehtesab bureau chief Saifur Rehman to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC). "The Supreme Judicial Council also has investigative powers and it can look into the veracity of these tapes," Mr Gilani said at a press conference where the tapes were played for the first time before the press. Mr Gilani, who termed the surfacing of tapes a "divine providence," hoped that the government would come out clean and accept the tapes. Commenting on the political fall out of the cassettes on the newly- developed relationship between the PPP and the PML in the ARD, the PPP leader said: "We will certainly seek a public apology from the former ruling party." Asked whether the cassettes would have any bearing on the ARD's future, he said the alliance had been formed on the one-point agenda of restoration of democracy. "There is no dispute among the political parties on that agenda." Referring to the conversation of Justice Qayyum with Saifur Rehman, Shahbaz Sharif and Khalid Anwer, the PPP leader said it was not an isolated request by a government functionary to a judge requesting for some favour. "It was rather a concerted campaign by a government to ensure a decision of its liking against its arch political foes from the high court," he said. Mr Gilani said the conversation had proved PPP's stand that the judgment against Benazir Bhutto had been written even before the conclusion of the arguments of the defence counsel. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010306 ------------------------------------------------------------------- NWFP cuts excise duty target by Rs100m ------------------------------------------------------------------- Intikhab Amir PESHAWAR, March 5: The NWFP government has brought down the recovery target of excise duty and other fees by Rs100 million. Official sources told Dawn the annual recovery target was brought down to about Rs400 million from the initially set target of Rs503 million. Downward revision was made effective after the provincial excise and taxation department moved the finance minister in this regard. The department took the stand that the target had been set at higher side by the finance department at the time of preparation of annual provincial budget for 2000-01. Interestingly, the sitting secretary excise and taxation, who has now sought reduction in the annual target, had played important role in fixing the recoveries target for different departments for he was the additional secretary-IV in the finance department at the time when the budget was being prepared. The reduction was sought after the excise and taxation department recorded a massive shortfall in recoveries made during the first six months of the current fiscal. The first six months' target, on proportionate basis, was missed by Rs145 million after the recoveries in that period stood at just Rs105 million against six monthly target of over Rs250m. According to sources, a further reduction in the annual target - which has now been fixed at Rs400m - is expected shortly as the excise and taxation department has already moved the quarters concerned for reduction in the tobacco cess target by some Rs40m. The annual target of tobacco cess had been set at Rs150m, but couple of weeks ago, the excise and taxation department moved the provincial finance minister for bringing it down to Rs110m. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Tribunal holds editorial responsible for publication of letter ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohammed Riaz PESHAWAR, March 9: A judicial tribunal on Friday submitted to the government its findings about the publication of a blasphemous letter by Frontier Post on Jan 29. According to the tribunal's findings, the managing editor, news editor, one sub-editor and a composer were responsible for the publication of the letter. The tribunal, headed by Justice Qaim Jan Khan of the Peshawar High Court, opined that the incident had taken place "due to the sheer negligence of the sub-editor as well as the general negligence of the other staff such as composer, news editor and last of the all the managing editor". The tribunal also referred to the crippled financial position, a lack of professionalism and efficiency, and sheer negligence on the part of the newspaper management. The tribunal said: "The statements of various independent witnesses clearly show that there was a mis-management in the newspaper and a single individual had to perform duties of five to six persons. "It is very much astonishing that a man like Munawar Mohsan Ali who had never worked on the editorial page, admittedly the most important page, was to sit on the said desk. The said Munawar Mohsan mainly worked on (the) Afghan Page and is admittedly a drug addict for the last ten years. He was discharged from the Government Mental Hospital Peshawar, rather he himself ran away from the ward a couple of days before the publication of the said blasphemous letter." The tribunal recommended that the Seventh Wage Award should be implemented for improving financial condition of the journalists. It also suggested the formation of a "press council" for acting as a bridge between the employers and employees, and between pressmen and the government. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010304 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Kulsoom says she has given up politics ------------------------------------------------------------------- MADINAH, March 3: Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, feels relaxed after the release of her husband from incarceration, says she has given up politics because the mission which she had assigned to herself has been completed. "I want to be a pure and simple housewife again. I want to return to that job which I had neglected because of Mian Saheb's ( Nawaz Sharif) detention by the military regime," she said during a meeting with her party members in Saudi Arabia. The president of the Pakistan Muslim League's women wing in the Kingdom, Safia Ishaq who led a delegation to her earlier this week, told scribes later that Kulsoom has been feeling happy at the family reunion, according to a Dubai newspaper. She was forced into politics by circumstances, taking a leaf from the life history of the Bhuttos, where during incarceration of the late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, his wife Nusrat and later daughter Benazir Bhutto had to take care of the party affairs. Kulsoom, who had never appeared in the public prior to the overthrow of her husband from the coveted office of the prime ministership in October 1999, took control of the party which her husband had helped to revive after 40 years. She had said then that her role in politics will be for a limited duration. Kulsoom campaigned for the release of her husband and succeeded in getting him out of the jail and to Saudi Arabia in December last year. However, she said that she and the family "will return to Pakistan" but fixed no date for that, knowing fully well that she is bound by an agreement between the Pakistan and the Saudi governments, which prohibits the Sharifs from taking part in politics and also bars them from returning home before 10 years. "We will perform Haj and then settle down at our new place in Jeddah where I will take care of the house, of my husband. I will cook and serve the family members. I am not a politician, so I don't want to be in politics again. The days I spent in politics would be memorable ones. They will remain fresh in my memory for a long time to come. Those were arduous days, difficult days," she said.-NNI
BUSINESS & ECONOMY DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010309 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Banks see lower cash withdrawal on Eid ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, March 8: People took out lesser amounts of money from their bank accounts on this Eidul Azha compared to what they had withdrawn last year. Senior bankers said they witnessed much lower cash withdrawals on this Eidul Azha compared to Eid related withdrawals in the past. "We used to see Rs2-3 billion Eid related cash withdrawal in the past but this year it was not more than Rs1-1.5 billion," said senior executive of a state-run bank. Executives of several other leading local banks made a similar statement. Officials of some foreign banks engaged in consumer lending said they too had witnessed the trend. Bankers said total pre-Eid withdrawals from the banking system could not be ascertained at this stage as hundreds of bank branches scattered across Pakistan were busy sending data to headoffices. They said Rs5-10 billion are normally taken out from the banking system every year adding that this year the amount might close at the lower side. Executives of leading local banks said preliminary estimates showed a declining trend in cash withdrawals: some of them said they witnessed up to 50 per cent fall in Eid-related withdrawals. Does the trend mean people postponed part of their spendings during this Eidul Azha? One senior central banker said the answer was 'Yes'. "Though the exact fall in Eid related cash withdrawals is yet to be ascertained if the bankers say they have witnessed a fall it means people postponed some spendings," he said. Reports about lesser- than expected buying of sacrificial animals also confirm that people did defer their spending though one reason for this could be oversupply of livestock. In Pakistan, it is difficult to analyse consumer buying trends - at least immediately - due to lack of scientific surveys. MONEY MARKET: Inter-bank money market was short of liquidity on the first working day after Eid holidays, with overnight call rates hovering around 12.90 per cent. Bankers said banks had to borrow Rs7.5 billion overnight funds from the State Bank mainly to keep their mandatory cash reserves at the prescribed levels. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Govt sees $9.4bn exports by June ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ihtashamul Haque ISLAMABAD, March 9: Pakistan's exports have registered an increase of 8.6 per cent during the first eight months of 2000-01, which will subsequently help to have an overall $9.4 billion exports by June 30, this year. Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Commerce Minister Razzaq Dawood said the government was anticipating a 10 per cent increase in exports during next four months with a view to have $9.4 billion at the end of current fiscal. Speaking at a news conference on Friday, he said the government was getting closer to $10 billion exports target and that all efforts were being made to substantially increasing exports, specially by going into value addition. He said there was an increase of $475 million in exports during the first eight months (July-Feb) of the current fiscal year, compared to corresponding period last year. "Even if there is no increase in exports during the next four months, we will end up having $9.3 billion exports by June 30, this year". Imports, the commerce minister said, were down by 2.2 per cent in the first eight months and that the import bill would be up by 8.7 per cent. He said the imports had mainly decreased because the oil prices had gone down. Total imports during the first eight months were to the tune of $7.1 billion compared to $6.5 billion of corresponding period in 1999-2000. "This is a big gap by February," he admitted. Giving the details of exports, he said there had been 13.6 per cent increase in the exports of rice in terms of volume but in terms of value, it had gone down by 5.3 per cent. "But I am happy that we got our share in the market and we would make sure that we should also have increase in terms of value of our rice." He pointed out that rice prices had gone down in the international market. "But as a businessman, I see a great potential for the export of rice in future," he added. The commerce minister said that raw cotton had registered an increase in exports, while there had been an increase of 8.3 per cent in fish and fisheries. Likewise, leather export was up by 31 per cent, carpet nine per cent, petroleum products 94 per cent, leather manufactured 28 per cent and chemicals 81 per cent. Regarding textiles, he said towel exports registered an increase of 27 per cent, synthetic textiles 21 per cent, knitwear 6.4 per cent, readymade garments 8.6 per cent and bed linen 4.3 per cent. "But there are grey areas as well and we have decided to analyze why the exports of a number of products have gone down," the commerce minister said. He regretted that the export of fruit and vegetables have gone down by 45 per cent, textile yarn 0.5 per cent, cotton cloth 10 per cent, sports goods four per cent and molasses 35 per cent. Responding to a question, he said during July to Feb total exports was $5.99 billion against $5.5 billion of corresponding period, last year. He said there was no conditionality of the IMF that Pakistan must achieve $10 billion target set for 2000-01. "In fact the target given to the IMF was 9.2 billion dollar and it was the commerce ministry, which had decided to keep the target at $10 billion," he said. Dawood told a reporter that fish and fisheries, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, chemicals and fruits have registered an increase in exports. "In these areas there was an increase of 28 per cent, which is very satisfying for us," he said adding that real efforts of the government was to diversify exports specially by coming out of the textile syndrome. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Trade deficit swells to $1.18bn ------------------------------------------------------------------- Correspondent ISLAMABAD, March 9: The trade deficit of Pakistan shot up to $1.18 billion during July-February 2000-01, showing 8.97 per cent more deficit than in the corresponding period of previous fiscal, according to foreign trade statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics here Friday. In rupee term, however, the deficit was up by 19.23 per cent during the same period, because of sharp drop in the value of local currency. In absolute terms, the trade gap registered an increase of about 100 million dollars. The trade policy for the current year had envisaged the trade imbalance to be limited to $800 million. In reality, at the end of seven months, it is already more than 35 per cent ahead of the target for the whole year. According to the statistics, the merchandize exports of Pakistan rose to $5.99 billion during the period under report, denoting an increase of 8.61 per cent over the corresponding period of 1999- 2000. For the first time in the current year, the exports are ahead of the target for the seven-month period. The annual target stipulated in the trade policy was $10 billion. At the end of the first seven months, the exports should have been a little over $5.83 billion. The statistics, however, show an increase of over $150 million over the target for seven months. A significant feature of the statistics is slower rise in imports during the period under report. These totalled $7.17 billion, 8.66 per cent more than in the same period of previous year. In spite of the slight difference between increase in exports (8.61%) and imports (8.66%), the ratio of trade gap to exports continued to register deterioration. In the period July-February, 1999-00, the trade deficit was equivalent to 19.70 per cent of exports. During the first seven months of current year, however, it rose to 19.77 per cent. The lower rise in imports notwithstanding, the ratio of exports to imports also deteriorated. In the first seven months of current fiscal, the portion of imports covered by exports was 83.50%, as compared to 83.54% in the corresponding period of previous year. During February 2001, the statistics indicate a significant slow- down when compared with the preceding month (January 2001). The exports, at $751.32 million, registered a decline of 1.13%. The imports totalled $799.81 million, down 17.78% from the preceding month. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010304 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CNG operators raise prices by 15% ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report ISLAMABAD, March 3: The Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) operators on Saturday unilaterally increased CNG prices by 15 per cent. There is no official announcement with regard to increase in the price of natural gas. The CNG operators, however, have made the increase anticipating increase with retrospective effect. Jehangir Bashar, official spokesman for the ministry of Petroleum, when contacted said that no increase in the prices of natural gas had been announced as yet. "Those who are increasing the prices are doing it at their own," he said. When asked whether the government had any plan to take action against them, he said, the ministry had no formal information of the increase and it had learnt from newsmen on Saturday. He, however, said that since the prices of CNG had been deregulated the government expected the market forces to regulate the prices. It was announced on Feb 21 that the Cabinet had mandated the ministry to increase prices of natural gas and a formal announcement would be made after making fresh calculations. So far there is no formal announcement. A CNG cylinder (50 bar) which was refilled at Rs172, is now being refilled at Rs202, an increase of 15 per cent. The increase has been made after media reports, quoting unnamed official sources, said that the increase in gas prices would be announced along with an announcement of nominal decrease in the prices of petrol and diesel after Eidul Aza. These reports had also hinted that increase in natural gas, announced in the mid of March, would take effect from March 1. At present over one 100,000 cars and other vehicles use the CNG. The officials of the ministry of petroleum, however, said that fresh calculations, as directed by the cabinet in its meeting on Feb 21, had been completed. With the exception of fertiliser feedstock all other sectors commercial, industrial and CNG (vehicle fuel) will experience a raise of 15 per cent. According to fresh calculations domestic tariff of natural gas for those consuming up to 100 cubic metres would remain unchanged. The consumers going beyond 100 cubic metres would have to pay more. An average rate for 125 units will come to an average 6pc on monthly bill basis and then the tariff will go on increasing for every 25 units. The domestic tariff will end up with 37 per cent increase for 500 units or 26 per cent on total bill of 500 units. The ministry had proposed across-the-board 15 per cent increase for all consumers but the federal cabinet had decided to exclude lower income group with first 100 units monthly consumption. The increase in gas tariff increase is being made under the dictates of the IMF with the objective of achieving Rs15 billion revenue in the shape of gas development surcharge. Latest official figures put total gas production at around 2,220 MMCFD (million cubic feet per day) of which slightly over 1,900 MMCFD comes from state-owned producers like Mari Gas Company Limited (MGCL), Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL). The Petroleum Ministry is soliciting about 50 per cent increase in consumer gas price if the Sui Gas price was brought on a par with new gas discoveries in the private sector. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010306 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 33% increase in sales tax collection ------------------------------------------------------------------- Parvaiz Ishfaq Rana KARACHI, March 5: A sustained rise in sales tax collection during first eight months (July-February) of current fiscal, had been achieved with a growth of 33.20 per cent over the corresponding period of last year, official sources disclosed on Saturday. The sales tax collectorates (East and West), Karachi, have collected Rs18.203 billion during first eight months of current fiscal as against Rs13.665 billion, made in the same period of last fiscal. The remarkable increase in sales tax collection has been reckoned by officials due to higher ratio of audit carried out by the ST department of the registered persons. In the past, on an average there had been 50 to 60 monthly audit of registered companies/ persons, where as of now the authorities are doing around 200 to 250 audits of registered units. Sources said the ST department with the help of computers as of now has started "targeted audit" as a result higher revenue collection has been achieved during last eight months. Furthermore, sustained efforts to enhance the number of taxpayers under the ST net has also helped to increase tax collection. According to official figures, there is around 104pc increase in taxpayers during the first eight months of current fiscal. The sales tax collection of both the collectorates during the month of August 2000 was the highest at Rs2.341 billion as against Rs1.088 billion of the corresponding period, last fiscal. Other details provided by a high official of ST department disclosed that collectorate of east during first eight months made a collection of Rs14.100 billion or 39.29 per cent higher than the same period of last fiscal. During July 2000, the ST East gave an outstanding performance by achieving 162 per cent growth in revenue collection at Rs1.608 billion compared to Rs613.594 million of the corresponding period of last fiscal. Similarly, the collectorate of West made a collection of Rs4.103 billion or 15.81 per cent more over the corresponding period of last fiscal. During the month of August 2000, the collectorate registered a growth of 69.40 per cent at Rs578.012 million over the same period of last fiscal, when collection stood at Rs341 million. There is an outstanding achievement in new registration, which grew by 103.89 per cent in first eight months of current fiscal. In total 6,747 new taxpayers have been netted in the ST during this period as against 3,309 during the corresponding period of last fiscal. The collectorate of East during the period under review netted 4,100 new taxpayers showing a growth of 105.61 per cent over the same period of last year when 1,994 taxpayers were registered. The number of net taxpayers netted by collectorate of west stood at 2,647 during first eight months of current fiscal, showing a rise of 101.29 per cent over the corresponding period last fiscal. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010309 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Govt to take over NCBs bad assets ------------------------------------------------------------------- Jawaid Bokhari KARACHI, March 8: The government will take over unsold bad assets at tax-payers expense to facilitate privatization of nationalized commercial banks (NCBs). Sources said the NCBs to be privatized would get long term bonds with profits in lieu of non-performing assets. In this way, the NCBs will have clean balance-sheets. An 18-24 month time-frame has been set by the Privatization Commission (PC) to sell the HBL and UBL. Of the 106 cases sent so far, the Corporate and Industrial Restructuring Corporation has taken over 35 non-performing units in sectors like textiles, tanneries and electronics. All the remaining non-performing industrial projects of six lending institutions - UBL, HBL, NBP, NDFC, IDBP and ADBP - will be revived and evaluated by government approved independent agencies. More cases would be sent after a final round of negotiations between lenders and borrowers for recovery of non-performing loans with the help of an official committee set up for the purpose. After evaluation, CIRC expects these units would be sold through public auctions, hopefully by the end of the year. CIRC sources said they would pick up only those cases, about which they were confident they would be able to sell. In the current economic environment, financial analysts feel that the market does not have any appetite for purchase of bad assets. It is evident from the fact that short-term goals set by the PC have not been realized. Of the 24 per cent MCB shares offered for public subscription, only nine per cent have been subscribed. Sources said the PC had decided to annul its decision to offer 49 per cent shares of the Allied Bank for public subscription which, it realized from its bid for underwriters, was a wrong tactical move. As the ABL Employees Group and their associates hold a major stake, the management could be taken over by purchase of 5-10 shares in collusion with the existing non-government stake-holders. The bid for underwriters has therefore been cancelled. Now the PC intends to invite tenders for sale of the entire block of 49 per cent shares to a strategic investor. The restructuring of the bank would become essential for its privatization. Currently, ABL president Khalid Sherwani is a nominee of the government, but the major stakes are held by shareholders from the private sector. Similarly, the targets set for sale of government stakes in oilfields LPG business and initial public offering of nationalized commercial bank shares have not been achieved. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010309 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ADB to release $250 million for capital market ------------------------------------------------------------------- Muhammad Ilyas ISLAMABAD, March 8: Asian Development Bank (ADB) may extend the long-awaited second tranche of its $500 million loan to Pakistan for its ongoing capital market development programme as token of its satisfaction with its implementation so far. This was indicated in an ADB letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). The letter was addressed to SECP Chairman Khalid A. Mirza. The ADB has already provided $250 million for the capital development under which Pakistan government had established a hugely expanded SECP in place of the defunct Corporate Law Authority. In view of the programme that has been made so far by the government, the letter stated, the ADB was considering to provide $250 million to Pakistan for further implementation of its programme for capital market. While appreciating the work so far done, the ADB official stressed on the necessity of further strengthening the commission as an independent regulatory body. "This is of utmost importance to undertake meaningful reforms in the capital market. The role of the regulator," he went on to stress, "is to ensure transparency in the stock market operations and to provide a voice and protect the interests of small investors." The financial and operational autonomy of SECP, he said, was, therefore, essential and "we support the various activities undertaken in this direction". A particular challenge, he continued, was the effective regulation of brokers, as evident from the experience in other countries. The brokers act as frontline intermediaries for stock market investors, and investor confidence had a direct link with the conduct of brokers. "We, therefore, feel that SECP should, as agreed under the Capital Market Development Programme, pay utmost attention to develop rules, regulations and adequate internal capacity to ensure the integrity of brokers, including adequate inspection and enforcement." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010309 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Shell, Caltex to import diesel: Shipment due in April ------------------------------------------------------------------- Aamir Shafaat Khan KARACHI, March 8: Shell Pakistan Limited (SPL) and Caltex Oil Pakistan (COP) have jointly finalized arrangements to meet the country's 25 per cent diesel import requirements and the first shipment is due in the second week of next month. The ship carrying 50,000 tons of diesel will reach Pakistan's port during April 13-15, followed by another one with a diesel load of 60,000 tons after April 20. "Negotiations are already underway with the international firms to line up next shipments," Ayaz Bukhari, Manager, Retail Marketing and Public Affairs, SPL told Dawn on Thursday. He added that this is the first time after at least two decades that oil marketing companies (OMCs) have been given green signals to import diesel directly. He said the company is negotiating with few firms, but eventually we will have a term agreement in the long run. The government, he said, has allowed OMCs to import 25 per cent of the country's total diesel imports of 4.4 million tons per annum. "We will have to import around 1.1 million tons of diesel in one year, starting from next month and ending on April 2,002," he added. Country's demand of diesel is seven million tons per annum out of which local refineries produce 2.6 to 2.8 million tons and the rest is imported. Ayaz did not confirm the price of the diesel imports as well as the country's origin of the import but said "diesel is being imported at normal prices." He said both companies will ensure no interruptions in its supplies. Shell has 32 per cent share in domestic diesel market followed by 60 per cent of Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and eight per cent by Caltex. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010306 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Private sector to get benefit from IDB arm ------------------------------------------------------------------- Jawaid Bokhari KARACHI, March 5: The Jeddah-based Islamic Corporation for Development of private sector (ICD) will begin accepting proposals for financing of investment trade and privatization as soon as Islamabad ratifies the agreement for subscribing to the charter and the share-capital of the corporation. Sources said as many as 38 out of 58 member-countries of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), which has sponsored the ICD, have ratified the agreement and private sector from these signatory- states have become eligible for equity and funding through term finance certificates and other modes of Islamic financing. As a shareholder of the IDB, Pakistan will become a stake-holder in the ICD, without having to pay for the subscribed shares. The stock dividend in IDB would provide the bonus share for the ICD. Profits made by IDB are ploughed back in business and are not distributed as dividend. Sources explained that the ratification by Islamabad was likely to be delayed because of the constitutional requirement that was needed to be fulfilled to subscribe to the ICD charter. With the constitution and parliament suspended, legal issues have to be taken care at the highest levels. A bank source said the financing would be deal-based and differ according to sovereign and projects risks. The higher the risk, he added, the higher would be the pricing. Equity would vary for short-term investment, trading and long-term capital-intensive projects. The pricing would be done by the ICD at market rates. The corporation would also offer consultancy services. He said a well- known business group of Karachi has approached the ICD for modernizing its plant, whose products have over the years, acquired country-wide acceptability. Run on commercial lines, the corporation will have stakes from public sector as well as private institutions. It would also raise funds from the international money market. The IDB funding is however priced at one per cent less than its normal rate of return if the finances are used for trading between two member-countries. The IDB extends this concessional facility of about $1 billion to Pakistan for oil imports from Muslim states. On behalf of Pakistan, IDB has also borrowed from banks at its own risk to enable its member-state to tide over its emergency needs. Sources in the bank said there has been no request from Pakistan for financing of any long term project. The ICD has an authorized capital of $1 billion and paid-up capital of $500 million. IDB has subscribed $250 million, 30 per cent of the stakes go automatically to the IDB-member states and shares of about $100 million have been acquired by public sector organizations in Iran, Kuwait and other Gulf states. In the short span of its operational life, the ICD has floated an Islamic rating company, which would not only determine sovereign and project risks but also whether a particular mode of financing is Sharia-compliant. ICD started functioning in September last year. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010305 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Baggage rules being relaxed: Customs officials to settle cases ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ikram Hoti ISLAMABAD, March 4: The government is liberalizing its policy for accompanied or unaccompanied baggage to facilitate passengers arriving from abroad, an official source said. Under the amended policy, instead of referring the cases of under- declared baggage to the Central Board of Revenue for determining the penalties, the cases would now be settled by the customs authorities at the port of arrival. The passengers would also be saved from legal action in case they mis-declare the baggage by a certain percentage of value, officials said. However, persons bringing items banned under Import Policy Order will face legal action. At present, the under-declared goods are seized before procedural action is initiated. Since the powers of customs officials are limited to only referring such cases to the CBR, the goods are not released even if the passenger offers to pay the full duty on under-declared, mis-declared or undeclared items. The CBR authorities feel that this system is not only tedious, but also against the government's policy of facilitating the taxpayers and overseas Pakistanis. The customs authorities have been proposing amendment to the procedures applicable for clearance of objectionable baggage for the last two months as the cases referred to the CBR have been piling up without getting settled in time. Now a decision has been taken by the CBR authorities to make an amendment, which provides for brisk clearance of such baggage. The new method would authorize the customs officials posted at baggage clearance counters to take on-the-spot decision regarding penalties to be imposed for mis-declaration, non-declaration and under-declaration. Once empowered, the clearing officials would be determining the amount of penalties in view of the percentage of under-declaration as per the amended customs procedure. The penalties for taking out dutiable items through green channel will, however, remain unchanged. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010304 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Stringent measures to reduce debts sought ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, March 3: The Debt committee of the Federal Finance Ministry has recommended concerted efforts for achieving the ambitious targets for exports and revenues growth and re-doubling of privatization besides preparation of integrated economic revival and debt reduction macro-economic strategy for next 10 years. Chairman of the committee, Dr Parvez Hasan, in a presentation to the Sindh Government here on Saturday recommended that the government should issue a 'Debt Policy Statement', adopting the goals of external and public debt reduction. The presentation was attended by the Sindh Finance Minister Dr. Hafeez Shaikh, Chief Secretary Sindh besides secretaries of different departments of Sindh. While speaking on the key findings and recommendations, he said since waste of government resources could not be controlled yet, so it is imperative that the institutional capacity in economic management be strengthened and delivery of public services especially in education sector be given more attention. He said contingency plans for managing shortfall in key targets like exports and revenues should be drawn up focused primarily on expenditure cuts and restraints. Normal term borrowing from ADP and IBRD should be largely eliminated for the next few years and the government should be extremely selective in entering into committing for new projects, he suggested. He said a major review of the existing public sector development programme should be undertaken by the planning commission. A strong institutional framework, centred on a high level debt policy co- ordination office in the ministry of Finance should be put in place as soon as possible, he added. Talking about the exit strategy, he said the goals of such a strategy should be that further assistance from the IMF beyond the proposed PRGF be avoided, external debt burden be reduced to the sustainable level of less than 200 % of foreign exchange earnings by mid 2005, ability to withstand unexpected economic shocks by building gross foreign exchange reserves to $5 billion by mid 2004 and obtaining exceptional foreign assistance of $6 billion during the next few years be on concessional terms.. Dr. Parvez Hasan, highlighting the key factors which have contributed to the heavy debt burden, said the large and persistent fiscal and balance payment deficits and heavy losses of public enterprises worsened the economic conditions. According to him imprudent use of resources such as borrowing for non-development, undertaking of low economic priority development projects and poor implementation of foreign aided projects also contributed to the poor health of the economy, he added. A weakening debt capacity i.e. stagnation or decline in real government revenues and exports, rising real cost of government borrowing, both domestic and foreign were also important factors leading to debt growth, he said. High public and external debt burden has contributed to sharp slow- down in Pakistan's economic growth to around 4 %. In 1990s nearly one third of investment was financed from foreign savings. During 2000-4 only about 5 % of investment is likely to be financed from net foreign savings, he inferred. Large government domestic borrowing of around Rs133 billion in 1999-2000 is keeping domestic interest rates high and discourage private investment, he said. As a consequent of the debt growth, the shortage of complimentary infrastructure and an inadequate skilful development was adversely affected which left a serious dent on the private investment, he said.-APPBack to the top
EDITORIALS & FEATURES DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010304 ------------------------------------------------------------------- We quake ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ardeshir Cowasjee HOW often of late have we read statements made by our captains of commerce and industry and by the robber barons, those who robbed with impunity the country's exchequer and banks, hand in hand and with the connivance of our two delinquent leaders of the 1990s, Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and their team-mates? A selection of such statements : We are not loan defaulters, we have not robbed the peoples' banks, we have committed no crime. Honest to the core we are, we never fleeced the beloved people, we gave no support to our corrupt leaders, we have never connived at their misdoings. NAB has not nabbed us nor have our arms been twisted, the million and million of rupees we have now agreed to repay to the exchequer is paid of our own free will and out of the goodness of our hearts. It is not stolen money, it is all kosher, a gift to the nation. The latest statement we have read is that of former senator Gulzar Ahmed Khan, great friend and admirer, and host of Benazir in Islamabad with whom she stayed before she bought herself a house there. According to a news item, dateline Lahore March 3, he has 'agreed' to pay Rs.19.7 crores to the Punjab Cooperative Board for the liquidation of a claim against him made by the National Industrial Cooperative Finance Corporation. The man has also "dropped his claim on around 2000 kanals of land located at Niaz Beg Thokar and other places." Have the two former prime ministers no idea of the extent to which they impoverished this nation of 150 million? There is a government meteorological complex on University Road, Karachi, the proud owner of an observatory which has the good fortune to possess instruments and scales to monitor seismic and climatic changes, many of them donated by our friends, the people of Japan. The equipment is operated by electricity and is designed to run on a round-the-clock basis. When the KESC supply is cut off it is geared to operate on emergency generators which in turn are fuelled by oil which at times is not available, because of the paucity of funds at the disposal of the observatory. The recent earthquake at Bhuj has woken us up. The plight of the people there is still dire. The death toll was in the range of 30,000, the injured were about 60,000 and 200,000 were rendered homeless. Since this quake, two seminars were organized in Karachi, both well-attended. One was held by the KDA/KBCA and the Association of Consulting Engineers of Pakistan, on the subject of 'Seismic Activity in Karachi: its impact on building design and structures.' The second was hosted by the Directorate of Civil Defence, Sindh, on 'The Coordination of Disaster Management in a Changing Environment.' Both organizers felt compelled to invite as the chief guest the Sindh minister of housing and town planning, Dewan Yusuf Faruqui. Presumably this was done by the flunkies employed to toady to their minister. Luckily for all of us, the minister obliged by not attending either and time was saved. Perhaps the many fawning flunkies of our governments and administrations may be enlightened by a true story related to me by the Marquis of Orellana, the Spanish ambassador to the Court of Ayub Khan. A career diplomat, one of his first postings was to his country's embassy in London, then headed by (if I remember rightly) the Marquis de Santa Cruz. According to Pereco, as we knew Orellana, Santa Cruz was a practical man. He often would line up the juniors on his staff and tell them 'Tomorrow you will not come; tomorrow we are working.' Now to revert to the serious, and to a bit of rare good news. Vice- Chancellor Abul Kalam of the Nadirshaw Eduljee Dinshaw University of Engineering and Technology, has established an Earthquake Engineering Study Centre manned by Professors Dr Sahibzada Rafiqui, Dr Sarosh Lodi (engineers) and Dr Abid Khan (a geologist), with which and with whom NEDian Engineer Roland deSouza of SHEHRI will coordinate. The Centre, apart from conducting studies, hopes to enlighten the corrupt briefcase developers and builders and their architects. At a meeting held with the above gentlemen, they were asked to clarify certain misconceptions in a question-answer form: Q. What are the effects of earthquakes on buildings which were designed according to the Code (upgrading of our zone from 2 to 2B)? A. The change in zone factor from 2 (1980) to 2B (1997) requires a strength evaluation of buildings designed and constructed during the period between 1980 and 1997. However, small dwellings and structures which are not normally designed to be seismic-resistant can pose problems. Concerned people such as small contractors, briefcase architects and such need to be educated. Q. What is the difference/correlation between 'magnitude' and 'intensity'? A. Magnitude and intensity are two different units of measurement quantifying an earthquake. There is no co-relation between them. Magnitude is defined as the amount of energy released as a result of the slip of faults. There is only one magnitude of an earthquake. Normally it is expressed in terms of the Richter Scale (origin 1930) named after Charles Richter, an American geologist (1900-1985). Intensity is the measure of how an earthquake is felt at a particular location. It is based on human observation and, to a certain extent, on damage to structures. It is expressed in terms of the Modified Mercalli Scale (origin 1920) named after Giuseppe Mercalli (1850-1914). En earthquake has several intensities. Intensity is an indirect measure of ground acceleration which depends on factors such as epicentral distance, type of soil, depth of water table, amount of energy released at the epicentre, etc. Q. What was the magnitude of the Bhuj earthquake? A. 7.7 on the Richter Scale as reported by the United States Geological Survey. Q. What was the magnitude in Karachi? A. An earthquake has only one magnitude measured at the epicentre. Q. What was the intensity in Bhuj? A. Between X and XII on the Modified Mercalli Scale (I = imperceptible, XII = total destruction). Q. What was the intensity in Karachi? A. Around IV on the MMS. Q. How can one design 'earthquake-proof buildings'? A. Buildings can be and are merely designed to be earthquake- resistant, never earthquake-proof. There are many more questions/answers to come. Pakistan, for all intents and any useful or earning purposes, closed for business, for productivity, for work, for progress, for disaster or catastrophe, for attacks from outer or inner space, at noon on Friday March 2 and, for all serious intents and purposes will remain in a state of closure, suspended in celebration, until Monday, March 12. Most of the authorities, including Chief Executive General Musharraf and his entourage, Governor of Sindh Mohammadmian Soomro and his right-hand man Brigadier Akhtar Zamin, Sindh Home Secretary Brigadier Mukhtar, are away performing. Those who are in the country have all proceeded 'home'. One must hope that Abdul Sattar Edhi is around and that no calamity strikes Karachi during the coming week. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010309 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Clothes to fit a general ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ayaz Amir PAKISTAN is receiving an object lesson in military efficiency and foresight. What should have been done at the dawn of this dispensation is being attempted now, after almost a year and a half of unrelieved drift and muddle: winning political allies and putting democratic makeup on naked military features. Anyone could be forgiven for thinking that GHQ would be adept at this ritual. Or that in its inner sanctuary there would be a ready primer for all would-be national saviours: Ten Steps (or less) to Civilianisation. Something on these lines. After all, we are speaking of an event which has acquired all the overtones of a spiritual ceremony: the military marching into the political arena and then, after a suitable interval, seeking a 'democratic' transition. Only now are General Musharraf and his colleagues understanding the necessity of these initiation rites for all budding redeemers. The efforts afoot to remake the Muslim League so that once again it fulfils its historic role of nanny to a military order are part of this intellectual awakening. The Muslim League, to give it its due, was ready to play this role right after the October Revolution. Given the right signals it would have made short work of the Sharifs. But prey to their own illusions, the generals had other ideas. Thinking they stood in no need of political support, they let the moment pass, thus allowing Kulsoom Nawaz to step into her imprisoned husband's shoes. The remaking of the Muslim League was stalled. It has only now gathered pace with Nawaz Sharif's exit to the Holy Land and the onset of some measure of realism among Musharraf and his knights of the round table. The switch in Punjab is already done. In other places, including the centre, it should soon follow. Mian Azhar and his 'like-minded' group were reviled as turncoats not long ago. As they begin to straddle the political field they are increasingly seen as winners. Thus do fortunes swing in politics. True, many Muslim Leaguers are still testing the wind and making a virtue of fence-sitting. But they will know which way to jump when the outlines of the emerging game plan become clearer. One thing though is for sure. Nawaz Sharif is history, this being the inescapable logic of his escape to the Holy Land. Exile and the kingdom: with such exiles kingdoms are not restored. Consider how his fortunes have already diminished. The red-carpet welcome he received was read by simpletons at home as testimony to his continued political relevance. As the days of his exile lengthen, the possibility of a political comeback by him recedes into the distance. Allowing Nawaz Sharif to go and thus burn his boats was the smartest move made so far by the military government. Its dividends in the shape of the Muslim League's remaking can now be seen in a clearer light. Justice Qayyum or no, Benazir Bhutto too is history. It is not simply that Musharraf and his generals have ordained the expulsion of Benazir or Sharif from politics. Their doom is a consequence of the hubris they displayed when in power. Benazir continues to shout her innocence, her articles and statements being models of prevarication in this regard. It is to no avail. Not only did she and her husband cover themselves deeply in corruption and misrule. They were also blind to the consequences of their actions. Such heedlessness does not go unpunished. The same holds true of Sharif. Talk of an elective monarchy: that is what, to all intents and purposes, he was aiming at. Not content to have his brother in Punjab and a family favourite in the presidency, he wanted his own man, someone personally loyal to him, as chief of the army. This was his undoing: just a step too far. Returning to power (as in 1997) when the umbrella of democracy still held is one thing, staging a comeback when the rules of the game have changed is different. To emphasize the eclipse of both these super-democrats is not to revel in their discomfiture or drive more stakes into the heart of the political class. It is to draw attention to an enduring characteristic of military rule in Pakistan. Political parties can fight amongst themselves, they cannot fight the army. One would think this was elementary wisdom except that whenever a military intervention occurs elements in the political class are swept by the illusion that sooner or later military rule will give way before the pressure of objective circumstances. It never happens this way. Shedding its trappings and acquiring democratic symbols, military rule, after a suitable interval during which there is much talk of reform and renewal, acquires a political colouring. In the two models we have before us--the Ayub and Zia regimes--this is what happened. Barring miracles or acts of God, it promises to be the same again. Seen in this perspective, Mian Azhar and other veterans of the Muslim League are on the right side of history. Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, not to mention his nominee Javed Hashmi, are on the wrong side. Granted that this has been a confused and bumbling government. It could have done things differently, it could have done them better. But bowing to the dictates of necessity, it is finally doing what other military governments before it have done. That in the process accountability has lost its lustre and is being used as a selective weapon to attain political ends is only natural. When Musharraf seized power only the hopelessly naive thought that accountability would be the chosen instrument of wholesale national cleansing. Khomeini-like accountability beloved of such armchair revolutionaries can only happen in a setting where one class overthrows another, not in the kind of chocolate coups which are the staple of change in Pakistan. Yet there are people who profess feeling betrayed over the course taken by the Musharraf revolution. Simplemindedness of this sort is touching and incurable. There is also another aspect to this situation. The romantic phase of Pakistani politics is over. There was a time when genuine faith was put in the prospect of change. Great things were expected of Benazir in 1986. Wonders were expected of Sharif in 1997. More dyed-in-the-wool optimists saw the outlines of another Ataturk in Musharraf. Different prophets and redeemers having been tried in quick succession, the national mood is one of resignation. The atmosphere is thus propitious for any number of political innovations: the retooling of the Muslim League; the dining out of His Holiness the President; the 'election', to popular acclaim, of the Generalissimo as President; the Supreme Court concurring solemnly with the assertion that its deadline has been met and democracy restored. The religious parties are not an option. They never were. The temper of the Pakistani masses allows only for swimming in the political mainstream, not anywhere near the banks. Zia's rule saw an artificial importance being given to the religious parties. But that was an aberration and things are now returning to normal. There is no rolling back the October Revolution. The only realistic possibility is to transform it so that its more comic aspects are curtailed. The futility of army monitoring (a bizarre innovation), the demoralization of the bureaucracy as a result, the corps commanders as regional satraps, the multiplying of lines of authority, the army trying to run everything and in the process becoming the butt of popular anger and ridicule: such absurdities cannot be continued indefinitely. President Musharraf, Prime Minister Muhammad Azhar, His Holiness the Pope back from where he came, to the sound of bugles a change of guard at GHQ, the Muslim League getting a new coat of paint and declaring that it has won back democracy, Benazir getting to be a regular newspaper columnist, Nawaz Sharif wanly weighing the costs of Saudi hospitality: not such a bad scenario. In any event, a vast improvement on the stagnant ditch-water which characterizes the state of the nation today. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The fire next door ------------------------------------------------------------------- Irfan Husain If Mulla Mohammad Omar, Afghanistan's reclusive leader, had put a gun to the world's head, he would not have received more instant attention than he has done by ordering the destruction of his country's most precious cultural icons. Countries as far apart as Japan and Norway have expressed their horror and consternation over this decision. As rockets and tank shells are said to have blasted the magnificent giant Buddha statues at Bamiyan, the crescendo of criticism has grown. All kinds of proposals have been put forward, including the suggestion that a wall be built around the offending Buddhas. There have been offers to dismantle them and transport them to more hospitable lands. Smaller statues have been smuggled out of the war-ravaged country to private collections around the world. Japanese collectors have long been notorious in commissioning Pakistani and Afghan freebooters to dig up and loot all kinds of early Buddhist relics. For a country in desperate need of international assistance, Mulla Omar and his fellow Taliban have been acting rashly in squandering any lingering goodwill they might have enjoyed. Their bizarre, stone-age attitudes have continued to shock world opinion; the current manifestation of religious fanaticism is only the latest in a series of self-inflicted wounds. At a time when drought threatens to devastate what is left of their agriculture and poverty is driving growing numbers of Afghans from their homes, one would have thought the Taliban would be more, not less, conciliatory. But perhaps they have been driven to this extreme measure by tightening United Nations sanctions. With nothing to lose, they may be lashing out at the West where these spectacular statues are more admired than they are in a country travelling back in time. This is literally a case of cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. To be sure, this latest bout of iconoclasm is nothing new: Moses urged his followers to smash all idols as they found their Promised Land. Byzantine Christians witnessed a movement to destroy all icons representing Christ. The civil war in England saw the destruction of hundreds of representations of Madonnas and the Infant Christ. The Wahabi movement in Saudi Arabia supervised the destruction of early and pre-Islamic relics. But acts are judged in the context of the times, and it is currently unacceptable to destroy national cultural heritage. Mulla Omar has based his decision on his vision of Islam, but it is a vision shared by very few of his fellow Muslims. Even Maulana Samiul Haq, the Pakistani cleric whose madressahs have trained much of the brawn and the brains of the Taliban, has advised the Afghan leadership to sell the Buddhist statues to the West and use the money to benefit their people. But Mulla Omar is adamant that he is merely carrying out the Islamic edict to bar idol worship, never mind that there are no Buddhists in Afghanistan to actually venerate the statues, and for years there have hardly been any tourists to admire the gigantic masterpieces. But this latest act in an increasingly perverse but tragic drama in Afghanistan is in line with the Taliban's weird notions of Islam. >From their harsh treatment of women to their fixation about facial hair, they have attributed their wildest actions and edicts to religion. The problem is that even the most orthodox Muslims have refused to accept the Taliban's obscurantist interpretation of the faith. When women are punished publicly for accidentally showing an inch of their ankles, it is difficult to reconcile this with Islam's message of forbearance and forgiveness. And when music is banned on Afghan radio, it is not easy to understand how it flourishes in other Muslim countries if indeed Islam frowns upon it. Basically, we need to understand the cultural context the Taliban have grown up in. Many of them are the children of the war of liberation their fathers waged against the occupying Soviet army. They grew up in refugee camps in Pakistan, and received such education as they got in madressahs where the only texts were the scriptures taught by barely literate mullahs. Most of them are Pashtun villagers from the most backward parts of a very backward country. Their grasp of religion is based on a literal interpretation of poorly understood texts, and there is a tendency to ascribe ancient tribal customs to Islam. Thus, the traditional place accorded to women in a very backward tribal society has acquired all the weight and solemnity of religious dogma. Indeed, it can be argued that religion is generally blended with social and cultural mores as it is integrated into a society. The marriage customs of South Asian Muslims, for example, have less to do with Islam than with traditional rites prevalent in the region. Similarly, we have absorbed Hindu attitudes towards caste, which are at variance with the Islamic notions of egalitarianism. But in both cases, ignorant people will swear that these customs have religious sanction. All over the world, people hold beliefs that are not found in any religious texts, and yet ascribe them to the faith they follow. In unsophisticated, insular societies like Afghanistan where years of war have either killed or driven away the educated elite and middle class, there are no countervailing opinions and views to temper their extreme (and untenable) interpretation of Islam. As the Taliban have conquered most of their benighted land (with Pakistani assistance, let it be remembered), they have come to believe that their military success is due to the purity of their faith. This makes it harder for them to accept that they may be wrong in their view of what constitutes the correct vision of Islam. Pakistan is the only country in the world to have any leverage with Kabul. We not only aided the Afghan resistance to Soviet rule - suffering a tidal wave of heroin- and Kalashnikov-related crime as a result - but both our establishment and fundamentalist organizations have given crucial military, moral and diplomatic support to the Taliban. But for their own reasons, our rulers have chosen either not to influence the Afghan leadership to moderate its extremist policies or have decided not to interfere. In either case, Islamabad has shown a short-sightedness that runs counter to our interests. The rest of the world sees Pakistan to be almost as blameworthy as Afghanistan. Encouraging an extremist regime next door carries a price tag, and we are paying that price now. The Taliban are ferociously opposed to the shias of Hazara, and this attitude is mirrored among sunni militias in Pakistan. The recent spate of sectarian killings is an indicator of the cost of fanning extremist fires around us. Islamabad has made the serious mistake of thinking it can neatly separate what is happening in Afghanistan and Kashmir from events in Pakistan. Unless our leadership can douse the fire it has helped lit in the neighbourhood, it will consume our nation as well.
SPORTS DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010310 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Cricket: Pakistan enjoy measure of control ------------------------------------------------------------------- AUCKLAND, March 9: Pakistan fought back from a shaky start to enjoy a measure of control at the end of a rain-abbreviated second day of the opening Test with New Zealand here Friday. The tourists recovered from a collapse early in the day to make 346. They then put New Zealand firmly on the backfoot with Waqar Younis and debutant Mohammed Sami removing the home side's opening pair with just a solitary run on the board. New Zealand ended the day on 65 for two with captain Stephen Fleming on 32 and Mathew Sinclair unbeaten on 28. The pair survived a testing examination from a four-pronged Pakistani attack and still have plenty of work tomorrow on a seemingly placid pitch. Although rain wiped out about four hours' play the match ignited in gloomy conditions this afternoon with Pakistan duo Moin Khan and Mushtaq Ahmed adding 52 in eight overs to carry the tourists to the brink of 350. Waqar and Sami then took centre stage swiftly removing Matthew Bell and Mark Richardson to have New Zealand in disarray. Bell, in his comeback Test after an 18-month break since a poor showing against India, was unlucky to be undone by a poor umpiring decision from the fourth ball of the innings. New Zealand umpire Doug Cowie adjudged Bell caught behind first ball although replays indicated the ball had brushed his back pad en route to Moin.-AFP ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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