------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 01 September 2001 Issue : 07/35 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents | National News | Business & Economy | Editorials & Features | Sports
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CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + Date for New York meeting finalized + Delhi wants nuclear talks with Islamabad + UN urged to depute more observers: Shelling by Indians along LoC + CE hints at giving assembly status to Northern Areas Council + Kashmir's peaceful solution our commitment, says Musharraf + Progress in ties linked to Kashmir: CE + Vajpayee, Musharraf to meet in New York + APHC will involve itself in peace process: Bhat + Religio-political parties reject UN monitors + US may lift sanctions against India next month + Pakistan an old friend: US + Nadra warns aliens not to apply for new ID cards + NADRA forms can be rejected at Islamabad + PML-N opposes interim setup + No confusion in local government system, says Naqvi + ARD declares govt steps illegal + Govt-PPP 'deal in offing' + 'Withdraw cases against Benazir, Zardari, Badar' + Pakistan gets Benazir's artefacts + Order reserved on Benazir's plea + Zardari's bail plea rejected + JI may say goodbye to PML-N, PPP + Judiciary opposes govt move to set up military courts + New police setup for Sindh by Oct 12: Rs651m sought + Four cops shot dead, 7 injured in ambush + 4 killed in Parachinar explosion + No extension in last date for Haj applications + Former minister remanded in RAB custody + Gen Javed appointed chief of staff to President + SHC orders release of former HBFC chief + Sentence in Ganji case set aside + Brohi joins Muttahida --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + IMF wants Pakistan to bridge fiscal gap + Reserves to be raised to safe level by 2004 + SBP removes Nostro limits + Operation of NDFC accounts stopped: Govt declares moratorium + $777m ADB loan by Dec + IMF wants no cut in revenue target + Formula for district govt funds under way + Rs30bn appears unaccounted for + Pakistan seeks 7-year extension: Deletion program + NBP shares' offer to test market appetite + Limited withdrawal from NDFC allowed + Banking courts get more powers + PTCL, US firm sign hi-tech service pact + Legal proceedings begin today: Pfizer, Parke Davis merger + No further closure of HBL branches + Stocks fall across broad front + Bulls and bears face 'no-win' situation --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + Justice? Ardeshir Cowasjee + India's 'hidden apartheid' Eric S. Margolis + Towards a junkyard of the spirit Ayaz Amir + Another day, another atrocity Irfan Hussain ----------- SPORTS + Pakistan crush Bangladesh: Dream comeback by Kaneria + Pakistan equal world record with 5 centuries + Bangladesh in trouble as Kaneria and Taufiq excel + Imran urges ICC to penalize India + Age appears to be catching on Jahan brothers + Lethargy of PFF exposed again
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 20010901 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Date for New York meeting finalized ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Faraz Hashmi ISLAMABAD, Aug 31: Pakistan said that the date for meeting between President Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in New York had almost been finalized. "Dates have almost been finalized, but these will be announced simultaneously by Islamabad and New Delhi later," Foreign Office spokesman Riaz Mohammed Khan said here at a press briefing. When asked whether the officials of two countries would meet before the summit-level meeting, he said no meeting of high officials was on the cards prior to the summit meeting. The spokesman said there was an agreement between the two sides in principle that President Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee would meet in New York. "Normally there is no fixed agenda for such meetings," he said, adding that official statement emanating from New Delhi had indicated that India wanted to pick up the threads from Agra Summit. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010901 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Delhi wants nuclear talks with Islamabad ------------------------------------------------------------------- Monitoring Desk NEW DELHI, Aug 31: The minister of state for external affairs, Omar Abdullah, informed parliament that India has proposed to Pakistan to hold an expert level official dialogue on nuclear confidence building measures (CBMs). In a written reply, he told the house that besides this issue New Delhi has again asked Islamabad to respond to the proposal for military-to- military talks at the Director General of Military Operations level, Nard Online and IANS websites reported. He said: "These proposals were handed over to Pakistan during the meeting of the foreign secretaries of the two countries in Colombo on the sidelines of the special session of the standing committee of the Saarc." During the meeting, Pakistan had agreed to continue with a dialogue process, the minister added. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010901 ------------------------------------------------------------------- UN urged to depute more observers: Shelling by Indians along LoC ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent MUZAFFARABAD, Aug 31: AJK Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan asked the United Nations to increase the number of its military observers along the Line of Control to effectively monitor blatant ceasefire violations by the Indian army. In his speech at a public meeting and later in a brief chat with reporters, he also called upon the international community to intervene and stop ruthless shelling by the Indian troops on civilians in Azad Kashmir. Indian forces resorted to intense shelling on villages in Kotli district's Nakyal sector on Thursday, injuring 12 people, including four women. " The shelling was unprecedented in recent history. I do not understand the reason behind the sudden escalation in shelling, particularly when Pakistan is exercising maximum restraint along the LoC," Mr Khan said, adding that artillery shells had hit even the office of the United Nations Military Observers Group in the Nakyal area. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010831 ------------------------------------------------------------------- CE hints at giving assembly status to Northern Areas Council ------------------------------------------------------------------- GILGIT, Aug 30: In a move aimed at removing sense of deprivation among the people of Northern Areas, President Gen Pervez Musharraf indicated that the Northern Areas Legislative Council might be given status of an assembly. President Musharraf said funds would be provided from Khushal Pakistan Programme for the development projects of Northern Areas. The president said that Pakistan would continue its moral, diplomatic and political support to Kashmiris till the resolution of Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people. He said Pakistan had a firm belief that without solving the Kashmir issue peace could not be achieved in the region. "The centrality of Kashmir issue cannot be denied and we will keep on emphasizing the point. Kashmiris also cannot be ignored in the process. We have to seek their opinion at some stage," the president said.-PPI/APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010830 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Kashmir's peaceful solution our commitment, says Musharraf ------------------------------------------------------------------- GILGIT, Aug 29: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said that Pakistan wanted to solve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people. Addressing the Frontier Constabulary troops here, he said Pakistan would continue to support the Kashmir cause as it was based on justice and fair play. The president said the primary task of the armed forces was to defend Pakistan from any external threat. However, we should not ignore the fact that the government had assigned the mission to them to defend it against internal threats as well. "Whenever there is any threat to Pakistan, the armed forces will always be there to defend it bravely," he declared. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010828 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Progress in ties linked to Kashmir: CE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent MUZAFFARABAD, Aug 27: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said he would meet Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in New York next month, as Pakistan had received indications that the Indian premier wanted to see him on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session. "There are indications from across the border that Mr Vajpayee would like to see me. There are some protocol matters. They (Indians) expect I should invite him. I don't believe in protocol, nor do I have any ego. I will invite him because I want to have a meeting with him," the president said while addressing the joint sitting of the AJK Legislative Assembly and the AJK Council. The president said there were bigger issues involved in the meeting (with Indian prime minister) and he did not want them to be left behind because of petty issues like who would invite and who would not. He said Pakistan had also invited Mr Vajpayee and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh to visit Islamabad and it was expected that they would visit Pakistan, though the dates had not been fixed yet. "But I want to make it clear that whether talks are held in New York, Agra or Islamabad, without settlement of the Kashmir issue Pakistan and India cannot make any progress in any area." This would be my main focus, he said, and added that the signals from India suggesting that he (Musharraf) was "rigid and unifocal" were incorrect. "I have never said that I do not want to discuss any other issue. We are prepared to discuss everything, but Kashmir will remain priority," he declared expressing the hope that "good sense would prevail across the border." Gen Pervez Musharraf said Pakistan and India could not achieve peace and progress without resolving Kashmir issue in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiris. "You cannot reach any solution on Kashmir without the involvement of the Kashmiris," he said amid desk thumping. Recalling the Agra summit, the president said: "We went there with good intentions." He said he did not take with him ministers for commerce or communications so that he could tell the Indians that he wanted to discuss political issues and not commerce, trade, and cultural exchanges. The president said he and Mr Vajpayee had reached an "agreed joint declaration" in Agra on July 16, but the Indians rejected it at the last minute due to their internal differences. "They would be in the know of its reason, but I felt sad that in spite of agreeing to a joint declaration we could not sign it." "I definitely asked Mr Vajpayee that what he wants to do next and how should they proceed now and has this process come to an end? To this he replied that the process should continue and he (Vajpayee) would try his best in this regard," said the president. He said there was a lot of support in Indian media and public that Islamabad and Delhi should resolve Kashmir issue through dialogue. "I am hopeful that talks will be held. But first we will seek acceptance of Kashmir as a dispute. Once this is done, then in the next step we will discuss how to resolve the issue," he said and added that discussion on the solutions at this stage could create complexities. Referring to the situation in held Kashmir, the president condemned the grant of special powers to Indian army and withdrawal of cases against the personnel of paramilitary forces involved in human rights violations, and said it was against all international norms. "Punitive military actions and human rights violations in held Kashmir are on the rise as New Delhi is applying more military pressure against the innocent citizens in Kashmir," he said. He reiterated Pakistan's diplomatic, moral and political support to the people of Kashmir struggling for their just cause. The president said he needed the cooperation of the nation to carry forward the issue of Kashmir in the interest of the Kashmiris and Pakistan. "I must say your support encourages, reinforces and strengthens me when I talk to Indian leadership," he said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010827 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Vajpayee, Musharraf to meet in New York ------------------------------------------------------------------- Monitoring desk LUCKNOW, Aug 26: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said he would meet President Pervez Musharraf during his New York visit next month and discuss Jammu and Kashmir and other bilateral issues. The prime minister said that he had accepted an official invitation to visit Pakistan and only dates were to be finalized for the visit. "Of course the Jammu and Kashmir issue will be taken up and, besides, I would like to improve economic understanding between the two countries," Mr Vajpayee said in reply to queries on his agenda for the possible talks in the US. The meeting in New York would take place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Mr Vajpayee welcomed Pakistan government's crackdown on Jihadi elements, claiming he had asked Gen Musharraf during the Agra summit that these elements could prove counter-productive for Islamabad. He, however, hastened to add that it was an internal matter of Pakistan. Invitation: President Musharraf has sent a formal invitation to Prime Minister Vajpayee for talks in New York next month, a Pakistan government spokesman told AFP in Islamabad. "The invitation was delivered to Mr Vajpayee through the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi on Saturday," the spokesman said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010827 ------------------------------------------------------------------- APHC will involve itself in peace process: Bhat ------------------------------------------------------------------- SRINAGAR, Aug 26: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference has said if a headway is made in the proposed meeting between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistan's President Gen Pervez Musharraf at New York, then the alliance will try to involve itself in the process of finding the solution to the Kashmir issue. The APHC Chairman, Prof Abdul Gani Bhat, however, ruled out any sort of dialogue with New Delhi in immediate future. He said the alliance had shot-off two letters to the leaders of the two countries before Agra summit as a goodwill gesture. But only Islamabad responded and the Hurriyat delegation met Gen Musharraf in Delhi. "We have had a long wait for the response from New Delhi. And we feel that further wait is meaningless. These developments do not favour a dialogue with New Delhi in near future," Kashmir Times quoted him as saying. "Should a Vajpayee-Musharraf meet take place in New York, and should that meeting make headway with regard to Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference will try to link itself with the process of talks," the APHC chairman said. "The APHC will not hesitate to play its role if the process of talks between India and Pakistan takes off." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010828 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US may lift sanctions against India next month ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Masood Haider NEW YORK, Aug 27: The economic and military sanctions imposed by the United States on India in 1998 following its nuclear tests could be removed as early as next month by the US Congress before President Bush's meeting with the Indian Prime Minister on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session. According to a report in the New York Times, the Bush administration would also seek to remove the sanctions imposed on Pakistan in 1998 because of its nuclear tests but economic sanctions, including those imposed after General Musharraf's takeover, would remain in place. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010828 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan an old friend: US ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Tahir Mirza WASHINGTON, Aug 27: Pakistan is a friend of long-standing that is an important Islamic and regional power, and the United States' evolving relationship with India is not directed at any other country. This was stated by State Department spokesman Richard Boucher at his press briefing on Monday in reply to questions about reports relating to the lifting of US sanctions against India, reports which also implied that there might not be similar or matching movement where sanctions against Pakistan were concerned. Mr Boucher said the US policy on South Asia sanctions was being reviewed, and no decisions had been made. He also pointed out that the US was committed to working with Pakistan, which was facing a series of difficult political and social challenges. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010827 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Religio-political parties reject UN monitors ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ahmed Hassan ISLAMABAD, Aug 26: A national conference of almost all religious and political parties here rejected the UN monitors deployment plan, describing it as "an act of discrimination and aggression" against Afghanistan and vowed to jointly resist what it termed the world body's "coercive measure." The conference, organised and presided over by its convener Maulana Samiul Haq, was attended, among others, by Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, chief of ARD, Raja Zafarul Haq and Javed Hashmi of PML-N, Ijazul Haq of PML-LM, Liaqat Baloch of JI, Afaq Ahmed of MQM (H), Gen Hameed Gul, Maulana Masood Azhar, Malik Faridullah of Millat Party, Haji Mohammad Adeel of ANP, Maulana Azam Tariq of SSP, Maulana Moeenuddin Lakhvi JAH, with representation of JUI (F), Lashkar Tayeba, Harkat Al-Jehad, Afghan ambassador Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef and other smaller organisations. While there was no representation of PPP, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani were conspicuous by their absence at the convention as their deputies represented them. A declaration adopted at the conference, criticised UN attitude which pursued the resolutions against Afghanistan vigorously but ignored their implementation when the issue of Palestine and Kashmir arose. The moot expressed the view that the real objective of the deployment plan was other than the declared one, with monitors likely to be assigned the duty of watching sensitive nuclear installations of Pakistan. The conference demanded of the government to reject the UNSC step outright. It demanded of the UN to shun arbitrary actions and recognise the Taliban government. It also urged the OIC to recognise Taliban Islamic government and assist in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. It appealed to the neighbouring big powers of Russia and China to take a realistic view of Taliban government and to play their role in foiling the international conspiracies in the region. Describing the defence of Afghanistan and Pakistan as a joint responsibility, the moot declared that the people of Pakistan will stand shoulder to shoulder with their tribal brethren in resisting the UN move. The gathering rejected the government's crackdown on 'Jihadi' organisations outright, describing it as negating the spirit of Jihad and violating the declaration in the Constitution that Allah Almighty was the real ruler of earth. The leaders vowed to work together for the larger interest of the country's solidarity. They said that if the deployment of UN monitors was not resisted, more serious problems could emerge. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010830 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nadra warns aliens not to apply for new ID cards ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Aug 29: The government warned illegal immigrants not to apply for computerized national identity cards (CNIC) and said those attesting their documents would be severely punished. A senior official of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) told newsmen that attestation of fake documents was an offence under the Nadra Ordinance, 2000, entailing severe punishment. According to an estimate, there exist around 10 million phoney identity cards in the country. It was very difficult to detect fake ID cards, he said, and added all old identity cards would be cancelled in December and the new cards would be very difficult to imitate owing to various security safeguards provided in them. He advised the attesting authorities to ascertain the identity of the applicants and only verify forms of Pakistani nationals and genuine documents. "Wrong attestation is bound to be detected," he added.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010829 ------------------------------------------------------------------- NADRA forms can be rejected at Islamabad ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 28: Application forms being submitted by people to get computerized national identity cards (CNIC) and being accepted at local offices, can be rejected at the head office of the National Database Registration Authority in Islamabad, Dawn learnt on Tuesday. Sources at the provincial headquarters of NADRA said forms were being received at district registration offices, NADRA's provincial headquarters and at makeshift counters in various places in the city. Forms were not being checked thoroughly due to paucity of time. However, attestation, thumb impression etc were being checked at a glance. This did not guarantee that those who had submitted their forms would get computerized ID cards. They said the application forms would be sent to Islamabad for preparation of CNICs where they would be thoroughly checked and scanned in the computer. The probability of rejection of a number of forms at Islamabad could not be ruled out. They maintained that the rejected forms would be returned at the present address of an applicant along with the marking of objection (s). It would be the applicant's responsibility to remove the objection (s), fill in a new form, meet all formalities and requirements and then resubmit the form. The sources, however, declined to state the procedure of resubmitting of forms saying they had not yet received any instructions in this regard from Islamabad "because such a situation has not arisen so far." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010828 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PML-N opposes interim setup ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Aug 27: Pakistan Muslim League (N) decided that none of its leaders would meet President Pervez Musharraf either on behalf of the party or in his individual capacity, and made it clear that any interim setup under his leadership would not be acceptable to the party. The decision was made at a special meeting of the central leaders of the party held at the residence of Begum Kulsoom Nawaz Sharif and presided over by Chairman PML-N Raja Zafarul Haq. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Acting President of PML (N) Javed Hashmi said the meeting dilated on the political changes in the country to devise a future political strategy. Terming the present government illegal and unconstitutional, he said no party member was allowed to meet Gen Pervez Musharraf in his personal capacity. To a question, he said the PML would not be a part of any setup announced by Gen Musharraf. Mr Hashmi further said the meeting refused to accept any plan to amend the Constitution and the setting up of National Security Council. He said the roadmap for democracy was pre-poll rigging therefore it was also not acceptable to the party. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010829 ------------------------------------------------------------------- No confusion in local government system, says Naqvi ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dawn Panel ISLAMABAD: In an interview with a Dawn panel, the Chairman of the National Reconstruction Bureau, Lt-Gen Tanvir Naqvi, spoke on various issues related to the local government system established on Aug 14. A little more time was taken in preparing the electoral rolls, as a result of which the local government elections had to be put forward slightly, thus giving less time to newly elected local representatives to set up their offices, explained Lt-Gen Naqvi when asked if the launching of the local government system could have been better planned. "The administrative machinery, namely, the district transition teams, headed by the District Coordination Officers (DCO), and the tehsil transition teams also took a little more time than expected to be established, thus, giving them less time to get organized," he continued. "Yet life is running normally at the district and tehsil levels and there has been no dip in service delivery, apart from some minor problems regarding domicile and citizenship matters, which are expected in any change in the system," reaffirmed Gen Naqvi. There was no confusion in the devolution law about the Nazim being the actual head of the district government, he said when asked to comment on the relationship between the Nazim and the DCO. "Working under the Nazims are all the officers of the district administration and all the government departments. The local administration has never been so coherently organized in this manner," he added. "We have ensured that the language in the devolution law is readable. We are in the process of translating it into Urdu to make the law more accessible to the common man," said Gen Naqvi. Asked if the police would be accountable to the Nazim or the provincial Inspector-General of Police, he said that as far as maintenance of public peace and order was concerned, the district police officer was responsible to the Zila Nazim. "As far as prevention of crime is concerned, the district police officer is answerable according to the laws as laid down in the Criminal Procedural Code (CrPC) and the Police Act. Under the CrPC, the judiciary will take care of any errant policeman. Under the Police Act, police behaviour will be checked by the chain of command or hierarchy," he said The NRB chairman said that although the new Police Act had yet to be passed, there was no vacuum in the functioning of the police. The new District Public Safety Commissions (DPSC) was the mechanism that was being established to allay public fears about the police being misused by the elected representatives or anybody else, said Lt-Gen Naqvi. "If the district police officer is given an illegal order, for instance, he can refuse to obey and seek recourse in the District Public Safety Commissions, which will then examine the case and pass instructions accordingly. The decision of the DPSC is final," reassured Lt-Gen Naqvi. There are also plans to establish such Public Safety Commissions (PSCs) at the provincial and national levels. Half of the membership of all levels of PSCs will consist of elected representatives while the other half will be people from the civil society. The latter will be identified by a panel of selectors who will give a list of twice as many names as is required for the commission. "There will be no police representation in these PSCs because they are meant to protect the public's interests from any errant police behaviour," said Lt-Gen Naqvi. A new comprehensive financial system was being carefully worked out for the local governments by a team of local as well as foreign experts on fiscal decentralization, replied Lt-Gen Naqvi when asked about the budget for the local governments. A formula will be worked out to determine the amount of money different cities and districts with different populations should be allocated. "Meanwhile, an interim financial system is in place to enable the local governments to function for the time being," said Lt-Gen Naqvi. "Under this system, the provincial governments will make the district budgets under different sectors of education, health, agriculture, soil conservation, etc. But authority is being given to the district governments to make intra-sector and inter-sector re-appropriations. "The district and tehsil Nazims must have the discretion to use the money in accordance with the priorities as dictated by the people," Lt-Gen Naqvi asserted. He said the districts would be empowered to collect users charges from those using the educational and health facilities. On the question of the need or otherwise for a constitutional amendment to constitute provincial finance commissions, Lt-Gen Naqvi said that the matter was being looked into and relevant inputs from various sources were being sought in order to come to an acceptable consensus on the issue. The NRB was working on two basic mechanisms to ensure transparency, and therefore efficiency and control of corruption, revealed Lt-Gen Naqvi. "One is the Public Information Act under which the minimum of information will be classified as confidential or secret at the district levels. The other is the National Reconstruction Information Management System through which the public will have access to information through the computer or the telephone. Under this system, there will be an IT office at every district and tehsil where the public can have access to information through a computer system. The NRB has already developed a software for this purpose and a pilot model is already running in the Chakwal district," Lt-Gen Naqvi said. When asked why local government elections had yet to take place in the Islamabad, Lt-Gen Naqvi said that the capital territory's case was a very peculiar one and its legal framework was also very different, and hence there had been different points of view on how it should be done. "More time is being taken to deliberate on it very carefully to ensure that the local government system established in Islamabad will be one based on a strong foundation. "The cantonments are also a peculiar if not complex situation and the NRB is studying it very carefully," said Lt-Gen Naqvi. He, however, he held out an assurance that the cantonments would have local governments eventually, by the end of this year or early next year. "We want to make sure that we develop a correct and durable legal basis for creating local governments in the cantonments. It will be a challenge of how to harmonize the cantonment system with that of the local government system." Lt-Gen Naqvi assured that the district monitoring teams, overlooking the functioning of the new local governments, would eventually be phased out along with the military government. "Being renamed as support teams, their job is only to act as catalysts to make sure that the district and tehsil local governments are established as they are supposed to, and that they are entrenched to function in the manner that they are supposed to," said Lt-Gen Naqvi. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010831 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ARD declares govt steps illegal ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, Aug 30: An important meeting of the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy, Sindh unanimously rejected the government's proposed roadmap for general election scheduled for October-2002 and alleged that all such steps are aimed at achieving desirous results out of polls. The meeting, chaired by PPP Sindh leader Nisar Ahmed Khoro at his residence, alleged that government is seeking to bring constitutional amendments through a committee consisting of favourites. The meeting declared all such government steps illegal and harmful to the nation and refused to accept amendments to Constitution. The right to amend the constitution rests with the elected parliament only and nobody else has any right even to touch it. The meeting termed the frequent constitutional amendments as conspiracy against the integrity of the country and an attempt to bulldoze democratic values. It demanded that government provide funds to the elected representatives, end confusion among them by taking some practical steps, and restore their confidence.-PPI DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010827 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Govt-PPP 'deal in offing' ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Sarfaraz Ahmed KARACHI, Aug 26: The Pakistan People's Party and the government are inching towards entering into a deal ahead of next year's general elections. Highly-reliable sources told Dawn that the government is looking forward to bring to an end, however for a brief period, Benazir's role in the country's politics. Notwithstanding the cases pending in courts against the PPP chairperson, the government is also looking towards Benazir's continuing absence from the country for the period between now and the next general elections. The sources told Dawn that the recent Makhdoom-Musharraf meeting had discussed the possibilities of providing an even-playing field to Pakistan People's Party in the next year's elections. The sources said the party would have to choose a new chairperson to replace Benazir in the near future in a bargain for an end to what the PPP calls political victimization of its leaders and workers. Given the PPP's performance in the recently concluded elections across the country, the establishment now finds it difficult to create any serious challenges for the party towards the elections except for weakening its base in Punjab from where the PPP has shown signs of re-emergence following its show in the local bodies elections. The man credited for this improved show is party's secretary general Jahangir Badar, who has recently been arrested by NAB in corruption cases. His absence would definitely remain conspicuous no matter how much more the party does in the country's largest province to strengthen its power base and brighten its prospects in the next general elections. The government offer also envisages the release of Jahangir Badar once the deal is formalised, the sources said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010827 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Withdraw cases against Benazir, Zardari, Badar' ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Aug 26: The Lahore organization of the Pakistan People's Party (women's wing) has urged the government to withdraw cases against party chairperson Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari and Jehangir Badar. A resolution to this effect was adopted at a meeting held at the Nicholson Road office of ARD chief Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan. The meeting was presided over by Lahore PPP women's wing president Sajida Mir. Through another resolution, the meeting warned the military regime against tinkering with the Constitution and said the masses would not accept any amendment to it. Sajida Mir said the defeat of government-backed candidates in LB polls had unnerved the rulers, and they had started arresting political leaders. She said the arrest of PPP secretary-general Jehangir Badar was the latest example in this respect. Women's wing activists would launch a protest drive against the government if Zardari, Badar and other political prisoners were not released within two weeks, she threatened. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010901 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan gets Benazir's artefacts ------------------------------------------------------------------- LONDON, Aug 31: An anti-corruption inquiry is poised to bring charges against former prime minister and PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari over claims that they used millions of dollars from illegal kickbacks on government contracts to buy properties in Britain, including a mansion in Surrey, south of London, called Rockwood House. A lawyer at the centre of a two-year investigation claimed there was overwhelming proof that Asif Zardari bought Rockwood, a $7.25 million nine-bedroom house set on 350 acres and "a number of other substantial" homes in London. William Pepper, an American attorney who is advising prosecutors in Islamabad, said the money used to pay for the deals "rightfully belongs to the government of Pakistan," not Mr Zardari or Ms Bhutto. The Bhuttos have consistently denied wrongdoing, saying they are the victims of a political conspiracy. In another significant development, artifacts left at Rockwood House when it was abandoned five years ago have been delivered to the Pakistan high commission in London. The belongings, including gifts given to the couple when they were in power, were handed over on Tuesday following a request from Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to Paul Keating, a building contractor who was left in-charge of the property. The goods included a framed picture of Ms Bhutto, a commemorative blue plate with her name engraved on it and a plaque with two first World War bayonets. An inscription on the wooden frame says: "Presented to Asif Zardari from Wilkinson's Swords". The NAB is also hoping to recover a stuffed Bengal tiger that was delivered to Rockwood. Mr Zardari, who is facing trial in Pakistan on other matters, has denied buying the house. Benazir Bhutto, now in exile in Dubai, has insisted that she knew nothing about the property. She believes the allegations against her and her husband have been trumped up by their political enemies as part of an effort to keep her from returning to the country and regaining power. Benazir Bhutto has told the London-based Guardian newspaper she had asked her husband "on 10 occasions" if he had bought Rockwood, and that he had consistently denied it. "I have never seen the paperwork to prove it. I do not believe he had anything to do with it." However, in a recent interview, Ms Bhutto conceded that Mr Zardari might have bought it after all. "Perhaps he did," she said. "Although he tells me no". She also distanced herself from her husband's work. "(He) never interfered in my work and I never interfered in his," she said. The net around the Bhuttos has been tightening since Gen Pervez Musharraf seized power two years ago. British Home Office agreed to give the NAB bundles of confidential documents relating to Mr Zardari's activities in the UK. The papers included the findings of an investigation, and statements given under oath by Mr Zardari's friends and business associates during private hearings at London's Bow Street magistrate's court. Investigators claim it is highly unlikely that Ms Bhutto would not have known that her husband, whom she appointed as investment minister in her last government, was taking kickbacks. Speaking in New York, William Pepper said: "There is no doubt that the Rockwood property was bought by Mr Zardari. There is no doubt about that at all. There are also substantial other properties in London. Meanwhile, the Pakistan High Commission in London confirmed that it had received artefacts from Rockwood House. "They will be sent to Islamabad. If the house did not belong to the Bhuttos, it's hard to understand why these personal belongings were there. Some of the artifacts appear to be gifts given to them when they were in power." The NAB has already brought a series of corruption charges against Ms Bhutto and Mr Zardari. In June, Bhutto was convicted in her absence for three years for failing to attend court hearings.- Dawn/Guardian News Service Meanwhile, an Indo-Asian News Agency report said that Pakistan was planning to seek the extradition of Benazir Bhutto from Britain to prosecute her for largescale transfers of money out of the country. Quoting well-placed Pakistani sources, the report said the move follows new evidence this week linking Ms Bhutto and her husband to the purchase of Rockwood Estate, a 350-acre estate in Surrey. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010826 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Order reserved on Benazir's plea ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 25: An accountability court reserved its order on an application filed for the acquittal of former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, in a corruption reference. Judge Muhammed Javed Alam of the AC-4 fixed Sept 1 for the pronouncement of the judgement on the acquittal application after hearing the final arguments of the prosecution and defence. Defence counsel Abdul Hafeez Lakho had moved on Aug 11 the application for his client's acquittal in the reference, pertaining to illegal appointments and promotion in different cadres and postings abroad in the PIA in violation of existing rules, regulation and procedure during her last tenure as prime minister. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010830 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Zardari's bail plea rejected ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, Aug 29: An accountability court, headed by Azizullah Memon dismissed a bail application filed by Hakim Ali Zardari. The accused was booked on the charge of misappropriating public funds and purchasing a super luxury flat in a main business district of Paris. The court rejecting the bail plea moved on medical grounds fixed Oct 3 to decide that whether the presence of the accused was required at the time when the charge would be framed against him. Mr Zardari has been exempted from attending the court on every date of hearing. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010830 ------------------------------------------------------------------- JI may say goodbye to PML-N, PPP ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ashraf Mumtaz LAHORE, Aug 29: Realizing that it negated its years of vigorous campaign against the PPP and the PML-N by joining hands with them in the recent local elections, the Jamaat-i-Islami is now thinking of distancing itself from them, party sources say. The party expects a furious reaction from its supporters against electoral adjustments made with these parties and the soft attitude adopted towards them, and is considering an appropriate strategy to appease them. To make them believe that the party genuinely repents what may be regarded as a shift in the policy witnessed in the recent past, the Jamaat will let its supporters and voters know that there is no change in its thinking about these parties and it still regards them as two faces of the same coin. The Jamaat also intends to carry out its future campaign against the present government from its own platform -- without forming an alliance with other parties. However, the three-party Jamhoori Group set up in Lahore at the time of elections will be kept intact. The party does not see any contradiction in working with the PPP and the PML-N locally and campaigning against them at the national level. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010829 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Judiciary opposes govt move to set up military courts ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Rafaqat Ali ISLAMABAD, Aug 28: A rift is developing between the government and the judiciary over the establishment of a parallel judicial system manned by uniformed officers for the trial of alleged terrorists. Sources told Dawn that the judiciary was opposing the government's move for the establishment of military courts for trying civilians and had discreetly conveyed to the government that it would not serve the purpose and boomerang. The government was also cautioned that the establishment of any kind of special court for the trial of terrorists would result in protracted litigation, they added. Besides, it was conveyed to the government that it would be difficult for the judiciary to countenance the military courts when it had already declared a parallel judicial system unconstitutional in 1999. However, sources said, the government had not abandoned the idea, though it may delay the setting up of these courts for a few months. The sources said the government, through a deliberate leak, conveyed to the chief justices committee (CWC), which met on Saturday to deliberate upon this issue, that it was going ahead with its plan. The sources said the military government, when faced with a threat of terrorism recently, sought quick solutions. The interior ministry suggested that terrorists were emboldened due to delay in the disposal of terrorism cases. The ministry held the judiciary responsible for the resurgence of terrorist activities. The sources said the chief justice was doing everything to dissuade the government from creating a parallel judicial system. There was also some straight talk at the CJC meeting where members defended the role of the judiciary. "The basic fault lies with the police which, in the first instance, do not arrest the accused, and secondly a number of innocent persons are also roped in, making it difficult for the courts to ascertain the innocence or guilt of persons named in the FIR," the CJP told the meeting. The CJC, comprising all the chief justices of the superior courts, asked the government to provide adequate manpower and infrastructure for the anti-terrorism courts for expeditious disposal of cases. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010830 ------------------------------------------------------------------- New police setup for Sindh by Oct 12: Rs651m sought ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 29: The Sindh police have sought Rs651 million from the provincial government to carry out the restructuring of the police department before October 12, under the devolution plan of the federal government. Well-placed sources told Dawn that a meeting between the officials of the provincial finance department and the Sindh police was held, where the finance department had agreed to sanction more or less Rs300 million to the Sindh police. The sources said that the exercise to implement the new police set-up in the province had almost been completed. The police set-up for Karachi would comprise an IG, five DIGs and SPs one each in 18 towns. Earlier, four DIGs were sanctioned to be working under the IG Karachi but the post for DIG, Crime Intelligence Department (CID) was created and notified by the provincial government. The sources said that the existing Anti-Terrorist Wing would be merged into the CID and it would work under the IG Karachi. The CID would track down terrorists and those involved in sectarian, ethnic or any other kind of terrorism. The CID would solve the cases, arrest the culprits and hand them over to the investigation department. It would also carry out certain measures to break the network of terrorists. The sources said 260 officials would be transferred to the CID from the existing police strength. The police would be transformed into a new set-up before October 12. The transformation would be carried out in phases. In the first stage, Sindh would be divided virtually into two separate parts on the basis of the police set-up. Two independent inspector generals of the police will be appointed in the province. The sources claimed the appointment of two IGs had become imperative after certain amendments in the Police Act 1861. According to the proposal submitted to the provincial government, an IG would head the Karachi district assisted by five DIGs - DIG Administration, DIG operation, DIG Investigation, DIG Traffic, and DIG CID. In the new set-up different sections would be divided on functional basis, and not on jurisdiction basis, to be headed by DIGs. Besides, the SP Special Branch, SP Central Reserves, SP Security, SP Training and SP Legal would be directly under the command of the Karachi police chief. All of these SPs would be in Grade 19. The DIG operation would be responsible for maintenance of law and order and 18 SPs of all the towns would work under his command. The DIG investigation would supervise eight SPs - SP administration, SP homicide, SP crime against person, SP crime against property, SP ACLC, SP forensics, SP Criminal Record Office and SP anti- terrorism. Eleven SPs would work under the DIG traffic who would be AIGP admin. The eleven SPs would be AIGP accident investigation, AIGP engineering and education, AIGP communication and transport, SP MVI Branch, SP driving licence branch and five traffic controlling SPs in the city. The sources said that the ranks of AIGP and SP were equal; SP worked in the field and the AIGP was the staff officer. The sources said that some police stations overlapped two towns or union councils which could create problems in future for the police and the elected representatives. So It has been proposed that the number of police stations- 98 at present- should not be increased. The sources said a police station would comprise two or three union councils. In some places it would comprise one union council depending on the population of the union councils. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010826 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Four cops shot dead, 7 injured in ambush ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 25: Four policemen were shot dead and seven others, including an under trial prisoner and two civilians, were injured in an ambush in Malir. A senior police official said Shoaib Khan, a businessman, allegedly involved in the kidnapping of his rival businessman, Haji Ibrahim, was being taken back to Landhi jail in a prisoners' van after hearing of the case in the anti- terrorism court-II in Sultanabad, when the van came under attack near Malir bridge. Shoaib Khan was hit by three bullets. He was rushed to Aga Khan Hospital where he was stated to be out of danger. Three passersby, were also injured in the firing. A senior police official said the statements of witnesses collected on the scene showed that the assailants were at least 10 in number, and they were standing on both sides of Malir bridge. As the prisoners' van and the police mobile climbed up the Malir bridge, the assailants opened intense fire. They had first targeted the driver of the Prisoners' van, Pervez Akhtar, who died on the spot, and the van stopped after hitting against a moving car. The assailants continued the firing for several minutes and then escaped in probably three cars. He said since the case was of a sensitive nature involving two businessmen, security was provided to the under trial prisoner. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010830 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 killed in Parachinar explosion ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report PESHAWAR, Aug 29: Four persons were killed and three injured in an explosion in Parachinar, an agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), reports reaching here said Wednesday. The political authorities said that ten persons had been arrested in connection with the blast. The explosion took place in Ziadan, three kilometres east of Parachinar city. According to one official, the explosives blew up in a small valley in the Koh-i-Saafi area which was being used as a training facility for alleged militants. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010826 ------------------------------------------------------------------- No extension in last date for Haj applications ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Aug 25: The last date for receipt of applications for Haj 2002 under regular scheme, which is Aug 28, will not be extended, well-placed sources in the ministry of religious affairs said on Saturday. All the banks have started receiving applications for Haj under regular scheme from Aug 8. This year, about 45,000 intending pilgrims would be able to perform Haj under this scheme. The banks, however, will continue to receive applications for Haj under sponsorship scheme up to Sept 8. According to the sources, the last date for receipt of applications with a late fee of Rs5,000 under sponsorship scheme is Sept 21. With double late fee, applications can be submitted up to Nov 30. As many as 75,000 pilgrims under sponsorship scheme would perform Haj in 2002. The designated branches of all scheduled banks have started receiving applications from the intending pilgrims from Aug 8. According to a survey, these banks have set up special counters to facilitate the intending pilgrims. The application forms are available in sufficient numbers with all the banks. The staff deputed at the special counters provide all the necessary information and assistance to file applications for Haj.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010829 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Former minister remanded in RAB custody ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report PESHAWAR, Aug 28: An ex-provincial minister, Mohammad Ayub Tanoli, was remanded in the custody of Regional Accountability Bureau (RAB) for 14 days by an accountability court. Tanoli was arrested on Monday night in Abbottabad on the order of NAB on the charges of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. He was produced here before the accountability court presided over by Miftauddin Khan for getting his physical custody. The RAB has claimed that initial investigation against the accused revealed that he owned property worth Rs25.3 million inclusive of two luxurious bungalows in Sherwan and Abbotabad. The NAB alleged that he purchased and sold cars and vehicles like Land Cruiser, Pajero, etc. on profit. Tanoli told newsmen in the premises of the accountability court that he was falsely implicated in the present case. He said that he did not possess any property and the one mentioned by the NAB belonged to his wife. "My father-in-law, Mohammad Afzal Khan, was a big landlord and during land reforms of 1964 the government took away 80,000 kanals from him," the former minister said, adding despite that he possessed 11,000 kanal of land. He said that he still practised law although he was 65 since he had no other source of income. The RAB, in its press release issued, claimed that the accused hailed from a middle class family and inherited land measuring 12 kanals- 15 marlas in his native village Sherwan, located near Abbottabad. The annual yield from that piece of land was estimated up to Rs10,000. Brothers of the accused were low paid government servants, which testified to the family's overall socio-economic status. Initial inquiry, the RAB alleged, revealed that during construction of the house in Sherwan, the accused had encroached upon government land measuring 15 marlas, the property of government hospital adjacent to it. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010829 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Gen Javed appointed chief of staff to President ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Aug 28: Deputy Director General Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) Lt-Gen Mohammad Akram has been appointed Military Secretary at the General Headquarters (GHQ), a defence official said. The transfer orders of Lt-Gen Mohammad Akram and Lt-Gen Hamid Javed, who has been appointed Chief of Staff to the Chief Executive, were signed by President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday, Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi, spokesman to the president, told Dawn. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010830 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SHC orders release of former HBFC chief ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 29: The Sindh High Court ordered the release of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's press secretary and ex-chairman of the HBFC, Siddique-al-Farooq, and also reduced his sentence and fine imposed by the accountability court. A division bench of the SHC comprising Justice S.A. Sarwana and Justice Mujeebullah Siddiqui found him guilty of misusing the corporation's funds but exonerated him from the charge of illegal appointments as its chairman. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010831 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sentence in Ganji case set aside ------------------------------------------------------------------- LAHORE, Aug 30: A Division Bench of the Lahore High Court set aside the sentence of life imprisonment awarded by the Judge, anti- terrorism court, Jhang, to co-accused in the Iranian diplomat Sadiq Ganji's murder case, and remanded the case for re-trial. The court also directed the appellant's counsel, Mohammad Iqbal Bhatti, to approach the trial court for bail of the accused. In an appeal filed through his counsel, Javed Ahmed, co-accused in the Sadiq Ganji murder case, said that he had been tried in absentia. He submitted that he had not been proved guilty in the trial and the court, declaring him an absconder, had convicted him. He further submitted that neither he had made a judicial confession nor an identification parade had been held. He prayed to the court to set aside the sentence awarded by the trial court and release him.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010831 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Brohi joins Muttahida ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 30: A noted literary figure of Sindh, Ali Ahmed Brohi, has joined the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. The senior Sindhi writer was a given a warm welcome by leaders of the party at Nine-zero. Later, the Muttahida chief, Altaf Husain, talked to Mr Brohi by phone, and thanked him for joining the party. Mr Husain said the permanent residents of Sindh were uniting together, and Mr Brohi's joining would strengthen the party in its struggle for the rights of oppressed people. It would also help in the struggle for achieving provincial autonomy for Sindh.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY 20010830 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IMF wants Pakistan to bridge fiscal gap ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, Aug 29: Pakistan will have to submit a set of new adjustment measures to bridge fiscal gap before the executive board of the International Monetary Fund, which meets in Washington next month. Sources in donor agencies told Dawn that these measures should include some revenue adjustments besides steps to contain expenditures to enable the IMF to release last tranche of about $133 million of the Standby Arrangement (SBA). Without quantifying the fiscal gap, these sources said that Pakistani authorities would submit this adjustment strategy to the IMF before the executive board meeting. Based on these measures, the IMF managing director would recommend the executive board to complete the final review under the ongoing SBA and facilitate talks on larger financing assistance of Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. Sources in the finance ministry agreed that the IMF mission's main focus during the just concluded talks was on bridging around Rs15 billion gap between revenue and expenditure but the emphasis was that adjustment measures should not touch the development budget. An IMF statement, however, said that the mission that left Pakistan on Wednesday morning would advise its managing director to recommend the completion of the final review under the current Standby Arrangement. This would enable Pakistan to receive the last tranche of the SBA worth about $133 million. The two sides would, however, start talks on the future PRGF next month in Washington and then in October in Islamabad. The statement issued by Henri Ghesquiere, the IMF's senior resident representative in Pakistan, said that the IMF team led by Klaus Enders left Islamabad following completion of discussions with the Pakistani authorities. "The mission team confirmed Pakistan's solid macroeconomic performance including low inflation, a strengthening of the balance of payments and reduction of fiscal imbalances," it said. The statement said the economic growth was expected to accelerate in the current fiscal year that ends in June 2002. The mission also held fruitful discussions on the government's strategy for poverty reduction and sustained economic growth with a view to providing support for the strategy with financial assistance under the PRGF. The Pakistani authorities intend to continue these discussions during the annual meetings in Washington at the end-September and with a follow-up IMF mission that will visit Pakistan in the second half of October 2001. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010829 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reserves to be raised to safe level by 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Correspondent ISLAMABAD, Aug 28: Pakistan is likely to have a fully flexible exchange rate in place by 2004 as by that time the country is expected to improve gradually its official foreign exchange reserve (FER) to a safe level of 12 weeks of imports of goods and services. This level of FER, about $3.6 billion in absolute terms (excluding gold, foreign assets relating to FCDs contracted after May 1998 (FE-25s), and short-term foreign exchange swaps and outright forward sales by the SBP), is expected to allow the State Bank enough cushion to absorb some short-term fluctuations that would follow the launching of a fully flexible exchange rate regime. But this happy scenario seems totally dependent on an official projection which shows the FER shooting up to over $2.3bn, (equivalent of 8.7 weeks of import bill) by the end of this year from last year's estimated $1.4bn (6.1 weeks of import bill). This amount is expected to go up to $2.8bn in 2002-03 (10.1 weeks of import bill) and then to $3.6bn (12 weeks of import bill). DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010901 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SBP removes Nostro limits ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, Aug 31: The State Bank withdrew restriction from the banks on their holding of foreign currencies abroad but it left intact the exposure limits for overbuying or overselling of foreign exchange. In plain words each bank was directed not to hold abroad foreign exchange worth more than 20 per cent of its paid-up capital. At the same time an exposure limit of 10 per cent was set for the banks. Or in other words each bank was supposed to keep its uncovered buying or uncovered selling of foreign currencies on a single day at not more than 10 per cent of its paid-up capital. An uncovered buying means buying foreign currency from A without selling an equal amount to B and vise versa. This restriction on uncovered buying and uncovered selling is still in place. Senior bankers said SBP has withdrawn Nostro limits of banks as part of further liberalization of foreign exchange program being followed on the insistence of the IMF. Further liberalization of foreign exchange regime was one of key conditions attached with the $596 million IMF standby loan approved for Pakistan in late November 2000. Pakistan will get the last tranche of this 10-month loan next month. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010829 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Operation of NDFC accounts stopped: Govt declares moratorium ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, Aug 28: All the branches of National Development Finance Corporation have been closed down with immediate effect following a moratorium on its accounts imposed by the federal government. The NDFC sources told Dawn that a letter issued by the Ministry of Finance declared moratorium on the NDFC and directed its headquarters in Karachi to close down all branches till further orders. The same letter was accordingly faxed to the NDFC branches throughout the country to inform them about the moratorium. This meant that there would be no transactions or payments from any of the 35 NDFC branches to the depositors and account holders. Banking sector sources said that moratorium was applicable for a minimum period of 180 days, but the NDFC sources said that finance ministry directive was silent on the subject. The decision is the follow up of a government decision to merge NDFC with the National Bank of Pakistan. The NDFC has a deposit base of around Rs24 billion and around 200,000 account holders. Around 900 employees were currently working with the NDFC throughout the country. A finance ministry official said the moratorium was just for a couple of days and situation for the account would be clear after this transitional period. Till recently, the NDFC was able to settle loans worth Rs700 million only and that too through the intervention of the National Accountability Bureau, out of a Rs15.8 billion non-performing loans portfolio. There were a total of 106 industrial units spread all over the country that owed Rs30 million or more to NDFC. In total, this amount comes to over Rs15.8 billion, of which the higher courts have already issued decrees for the recovery of Rs8.6 billion. The non-performing loan portfolio comprised three categories. Operating units stood at 50, closed units at 49, while restructuring was underway at seven units. The data that was compiled in the first week of July reflected the position of non- performing loans up to May 31, 2001, and included some of the big names from the business, industry and political circles. As regards 49 closed units, a total of Rs4.912 billion is outstanding against them and the higher courts have issued decrees for recovery of Rs3.989 billion. Non-performing loans of Rs8.66 billion are outstanding against the 50 operating units, and the higher courts have issued decrees for the recovery of Rs4.637 billion. The NDFC is the country's largest development finance institution that doled out politically-motivated loans worth billions of rupees in the past many years, resulting into a big portfolio of infected loans that impaired the financial health of the corporation. Among other activities, the NDFC was the lead manager of around $3 billion Private Sector Energy Development Fund (PSEDF) of the World Bank and other international financial institutions that financed the independent power producers (IPPs) in Pakistan. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010828 ------------------------------------------------------------------- $777m ADB loan by Dec ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Aug 27: The Asian Development Bank is expected to approve financial assistance of $777.2 million during current year for 13 projects and program loans, depicting surge by $70 million against sanctioned loans of $707 million during the year 2000. Of the total expected financial assistance of $777.2 million, an amount of $209.6 million has already been sanctioned under six loan programs while rest of $567.6 million is scheduled to be approved by December 2001 under seven projects and program financial assistance, well-placed sources told APP. Over $523m has been disbursed by the bank against sanctioned amount of $707m to date, sources stated, adding another technical assistance of $3.2 million is expected to be signed between the ADB and Pakistan by December 2001.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010829 ------------------------------------------------------------------- IMF wants no cut in revenue target ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Aug 28: The International Monetary Fund mission concluded its discussions with Pakistan officials on Tuesday, on a 'positive note' but asked for achieving the original revenue target of Rs457.7 billion at all costs. "Everything has gone well and the mission is leaving on Wednesday morning," a senior finance ministry official told Dawn after the wrap up meeting. He said that talks concluded positively but refused to elaborate. The reporters were asked to wait for an official IMF release but were informed at midnight that it would come on Wednesday. Informed sources said the visiting IMF delegation did not agree with the government on downward revision in the revenue target. It, however, agreed with the government side that it would be difficult to go beyond Rs445 billion on the basis of last year collection. The sources said that talks on the stand-by arrangement (SBA) had been successful and the last tranche of about $133 million was expected to be released after the IMF board meeting next month. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010826 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Rs30bn appears unaccounted for ------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Correspondent ISLAMABAD, Aug 25: The IMF has found an estimated over Rs30 billion unaccounted for on the expenditure side in the last year's budget. In its second review of the ongoing Standby Arrangement (SBA) which was completed in July and released in mid-August, the Fund staff has reported an "unidentified expenditure amounting to 0.9 per cent of GDP." The missing billions - a level comparable to the pattern of previous years -, according to the Fund review, could "partially account for the low level of recorded federal development spending." The government, however, has denied that defence spending was a part of the unidentified expenditure. "The authorities (Government of Pakistan) explained, however, that defence spending was monitored with particular attention and could not be part of the unidentified expenditure," the review added, without saying whether or not it agreed with the explanation. The review said that on the expenditure side, the medium-term framework assumed that defence spending would be kept stable in real terms; an expansion of poverty-related spending by at least 0.3 per cent of GDP each year over the next three years, and a wage and pension bill that would be constant as a share of GDP over the same period. Under this medium-term scenario of the Fund, the budgetary deficit is expected to come down to 3 per cent of GDP by 2003/4 as the revenue increased by 0.4 per cent of GDP on average annually over the next three years. The slightly less than previously envisaged increase in tax revenue has been attributed to the "expected medium-term negative impact of the business-friendly income tax reforms launched this year." "Income tax rates will be progressively brought down with significant reduction for banks and companies, surcharges will be eliminated, and the most distortive, presumptive and withholding tax schemes, including those on imports and contracts, will be phased out starting in 2002/03," the review projected. The negative impact of lower tax rates is expected to be progressively offset by positive supply-side and governance- enhancing effects, "as the reform will reduce sources of corruption in the tax administration, provided that these measures are accompanied by the envisaged fundamental reform in the CBR." The review advised the authorities to aim their reforms at phasing in over the next 2-3 years self-assessment and more automated procedures and thus reduce the need for face-to-face contact between taxpayers and tax officials. The review expressed concern once again about SBP's continued purchases on the kerb market and sales in the inter-bank market to finance oil imports, and emphasized the need for a truly market-based flexible rate, with minimum intervention. The IMF staff noted that some of the observed volatility reflected the 'exchange rate cycles' induced by SBP policy - a relatively stable exchange rate in the period following IMF programme target dates, leading to the depletion of official foreign reserves, followed by subsequent substantial exchange rate depreciation and interest rate increases to meet the reserves target as the next Fund program target date was getting closer. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010826 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan seeks 7-year extension: Deletion program ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Aug 25: Pakistan has decided to seek another seven- year extension in the deletion program for its automotive industry from World Trade Organization (WTO). The government had earlier secured two-year extension in 1999 that was to expire in 2001 but extendible for up to 2003. Now the government intended to get it extended till 2008 so that vendor and manufacturing sector was ready to compete international vendors. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010827 ------------------------------------------------------------------- NBP shares' offer to test market appetite ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Aug 26: The government will offer five to ten per cent of its shares in all the nationalised commercial banks, financial institutions and gas utilities to the general public through stock market provided the National Bank of Pakistan attracts encouraging investment next month. A senior official at Privatisation Commission told Dawn that NBP's initial public offering (IPO) was being launched as a pilot project to assess the market appetite. "This is going to be some sort of pilot project....a test case for the privatisation program and market potential as well. If the response is encouraging, the government would offer other banks and utilities to the general public in the same way," said the official. The official said that 10 per cent shares of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) would be offered to the general public in the last week of September in two equal lots of 18.5 million shares at par value of Rs10 per share. He said that all preparations for the subscription of initial 5 per cent NBP (18.5 million) shares have been finalised during meetings of Privatisation Commission, State Bank of Pakistan, and NBP in Karachi last week. In the coming week, prospectus of the issue would be presented to the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) for formal approval. A minimum of 1,000 shares would be offered to each applicant with the choice of multiple buying as well. This would be followed by a marketing campaign and hopefully the official advertisement for the subscription of initial 5 per cent NBP shares would be in the press by the second week of September. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010831 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Limited withdrawal from NDFC allowed ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 30: The State Bank announced that individual depositors of NDFC having deposits up to Rs100,000 will be able to draw the principal amount from September 5. It said the depositors would get profit on their deposits up to Aug 27, 2001 which implied that they would not get any profit on the deposits after this date. The NDFC sources said 35,000 out of over 100,000 account holders of NDFC have deposits up to Rs100,000 each. No official word was available about the total amount lying in the accounts of those who have deposits up to Rs100,000. But the sources said the amount was equal to or a little more than 10 per cent of the total deposits worth Rs27 billion. By end-December 2000, the NDFC had Rs28 billion deposits but that started declining as investors got wind of the government plans of either closing it down or merging it with some other institution. The SBP also said payment to individual account holders having deposits between Rs100,001 and Rs500,000 would be made by the NDFC in the third week of October before its amalgamation with the NBP in November. "The deposits of the remaining account holders will then be automatically transferred to the NBP." "To facilitate the smooth transfer of depositors' money to the NBP, their (NBP's) staff will be present at the NDFC branches to assist in the process," said a SBP press release. The release was issued after SBP Governor Dr Ishrat Husain had a meeting in his office with NDFC Chairman Badaruddin Khan and NBP President Ali Raza. The SBP said non-performing loans of NDFC will be transferred to Corporate & Industrial Restructuring Corporation for disposal through auctions. It said non-performing loans of NDFC were about 80 per cent of its total loan portfolio. It gave no numbers. Explaining the rationale behind the decision to amalgamate NDFC with NBP the State Bank said that the first option before the government was to revive or restructure the corporation as a viable and sustainable entity but upon close examination this was not found feasible. "As a second option, efforts were made to merge NDFC with IDBP but it also became clear on scrutiny that the proposed merger would not have achieved the purpose." But sources in the NDFC said the decision to amalgamate the corporation was taken to meet a key World Bank condition attached with its proposed $300 million loan for the restructuring of the financial sector. The condition calls for closure of unviable non-bank financial institution and the NDFC with a negative equity of Rs16 billion is one of them. The SBP said that "keeping in view the strong position of NBP and transfer of non-performing assets to the CIRC the proposed merger of NDFC with NBP will not have any adverse impact on the financial health or standing of NBP." Meanwhile, some 800 employees of the state-run National Development Finance Corporation are going to lose their jobs as a result of the corporation's amalgamation with the National Bank. The State Bank confirmed that the NDFC was being merged with the NBP and that the exercise will be completed by November this year. It said in a press release that the NDFC staff will be paid "severance pay as admissible under the rules in order to provide them financial relief." The term severance pay applies on the package offered to the employees of an organisation at the time of their retrenchment. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010831 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Banking courts get more powers ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Rafaqat Ali ISLAMABAD, Aug 30: President Pervez Musharraf promulgated an ordinance under which the banking courts would have the jurisdiction to decide suits involving recovery of loans defaulted, written off, released or adjusted on political reasons other than the bona fide business consideration. The new law called Financial Institutions (Recovery of Finances) Ordinance, 2001, has repealed Banking Companies (Recovery of Loans, Advances, Credits and Finances) Act, 1997. The ordinance was promulgated with the aim to strengthen banking loans recovery mechanism as required for getting banking sector restructuring and privatization loan. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010829 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PTCL, US firm sign hi-tech service pact ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Aug 28: A hi-tech service agreement was signed here on Tuesday between Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and M/s ABS Corporation (Inc) of the USA on Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Pilot Project. Mr Iftikhar Ahmed Raja, Member Technical, signed the agreement on behalf of the PTCL while Mr Derik Lee Jones, Co-Founder and Sr VP, Corporate Strategy, signed the accord on behalf of the ABS. Later, giving details of the agreement, a spokesman for the PTCL said that in Pakistan some unscrupulous operators/individuals had been involved in illegal termination of international voice traffic by bypassing the PTCL International Gateway Exchange through hi- tech arrangements. The introduction of the VoIP through this agreements, he said, was an important step to combat this illegal termination. Through this illegal operation, the PTCL and the government were being deprived of legitimate foreign exchange earnings, the spokesman said. He said that this agreement and other such agreements likely to be signed with international telecommunication companies in near future, would be in-line with the objective to effectively counter and mitigate the on-going illegal operations by capturing the off- shore Grey Area Traffic. He said that after the conclusion of the three agreements on VoIP, an estimated investment of $3.5 million was expected. The PTCL spokesman explained that through the said agreement, each contracting firm would capture 3-5 million minutes of international voice traffic per month to address the Grey Traffic challenge. M/s ABS Corporation of the USA together with the PTCL will set up VoIP infrastructure in Karachi and bring additional international voice traffic from the USA and Europe. Other companies with whom the agreements are expected to be signed will start their operations in Lahore and Islamabad. The spokesman said that about 17 bidders, including foreign and Pakistani companies, had submitted their bid documents to the PTCL against an open tendering which had been widely publicized by the PTCL. These bids, he said, had been evaluated by the PTCL through specially-constituted in-house Technology and Financial Committees and a Committee of the Board of Directors (B0D) specially constituted by the PTCL Board. The spokesman said that this would be a pilot project to introduce the IP technology in the country and a beginning for the PTCL to gradually migrate to the IP technology in line with other world countries. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010828 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Legal proceedings begin today: Pfizer, Parke Davis merger ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Sabihuddin Ghausi KARACHI, Aug 27: The Sindh High Court will consider a joint petition of the Pfizer Laboratories and Parke Davis, seeking judicial consent for amalgamation of the two companies. Objections on this proposed merger of the two companies have been filed by the minority shareholders of both the companies, Pfizer and Parke Davis. Those who object on this merger are Pakistan's leading financial institutions as well as individual shareholders. In their joint petition, both the corporations have informed the court of the adoption of a scheme of arrangement by the extraordinary general meetings (EOGMs) of their respective shareholders in May this year for an amalgamation of Pfizer and Parke Davis under which Pfizer is transferring and vesting Parke Davis of all the assets, rights, liabilities and obligations. "Amalgamation of petitioners (Pfizer and Parke Davis) is not in accordance with the law and is liable to be rejected" is the objection filed by four financial institutions of Pakistan who hold a total of 19 per cent shareholding in Parke Davis. The National Investment Trust (NIT) holds 14.4 per cent, the State Life Insurance Corporation (Slic) 3.8 per cent, Pak Libya Holding Company 0.7 per cent and Investment Corporation of Pakistan (ICP) 0.1 percent. "There has been a complete lack of transparency in the process leading up to the filing of petition before this honourable court," the NIT and three other financial institutions alleged in their joint petition. Zahid Husnain who holds 126,232 shares of the Pfizer Laboratories has serious objections on the compensation swap ratio for the shareholders. "The present shareholders of Pfizer Laboratories Limited will receive one share of Rs10 par value in Parke Davis Limited in lieu of 264 shares of Rs10 par value in Pfizer Laboratories," informs Mr Husnain in his objection filed on his behalf by his father Azfar Husnain. "This ratio of swap means that a Pfizer Laboratories shareholder is being offered 0.38 of one per cent of the par value of his share in Pfizer Laboratories," he contends. In money terms, Zahid will get 3.85 paisa worth of shares in Parke Davis for every Rs10 invested in Pfizer Laboratories. The NIT and three other minority shareholders of Parke Davis blame Pfizer Laboratories of being actively involved in transfer pricing by purchasing raw materials for its products from its parent company at more than market prices, which in turn has contributed towards its heavy losses. The amalgamation of Parke Davis, a highly profitable concern with Pfizer Laboratories, which has suffered heavy losses will "have disastrous consequences" for Parke Davis and will lead to erosion of value of the minority shareholders, while the "majority shareholders will continue to benefit due to transfer pricing", the NIT and three other financial institutions contend. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010828 ------------------------------------------------------------------- No further closure of HBL branches ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 27: President Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Zakir Mahmood has ruled out any further closure of branches in future. "We have already closed down 231 branches all over Pakistan till June this year and we have no plans for further shut down," he told newsmen at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). He said the government has provided Rs8 billion to the HBL to take a number of initiatives to improve the financial viability, besides meeting golden handshake expenditure. On privatization, he said the bank management is in the process of implementing various restructuring plans to make it a profitable bank in order to pave way for its privatization by June 2002. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010901 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Stocks fall across broad front ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Aug 31: The KSE 100-share index, therefore, lost the overnight gain and finished 6.54 points down at 1,258.44 as compared to 1,264.98 a day earlier as all the leading base shares fell, although fractionally under the lead of PTCL and Hub Power. The much-awaited fertilizer policy did not create stir as was speculated as it was short of the rumored incentive package needed to boost the industry. Shell profits at Rs.1.05 billion were off 19 per cent as compared to the previous year, and 80 per cent final dividend minus the bonus, as expected, kept its share value under pressure. Adamjee Insurance's loss of Rs.212 million owing to massive claims of Rs.1.67 billion in motor segment against the premium income of Rs.1.49 billion put it in the negative accounting year apparently for the first time after several decades. Minus signs dominated the list but some leading shares managed to finish with good gains on stray support, notably among them being Ferozsons Lab, Glaxo-Wellcome, Lever Brothers and Dreamworld, which posted gains ranging from Rs.2.00 to 4.00. Alico, Shell Pakistan, Allwin Engineering and Service Industries were others among the gainers, which rose by one rupee to Rs.1.25. Exide Pakistan, Dawood Hercules and Wyeth Pakistan, which suffered fall ranging from Rs.3.45 to 10.00 were leading losers followed by EFU Life, Artistic Denim, Burewala Textiles, Pakistan Oilfields and Aventis Pharma, off one rupee to Rs.1.90. Trading volume was low at 29m shares as losers further extended their lead over the gainers at 108 to 47, out of 203 actives, with 48 shares holding on to the last levels. PTCL led the list of actives, easy 10 paisa at Rs.15.95 on 7m shares, followed by Hub Power, lower 15 paisa at Rs.15.85 on 6m shares, PSO, off 25 paisa at Rs.125.85 on 3m shares, Engro Chemical, lower 50 paisa at Rs.53.95 on 2m shares and Nimir Risins up 45 paisa at Rs.2.50 also on 2m shares. Other actives were led by FFC-Jordan Fertilizer, easy by five paisa on 1.397m shares, WorldCall, off 60 paisa on 1.117 shares, Adamjee Insurance, lower 25 paisa on 0.996m shares, Fauji Fertilizer, off 35 paisa on 0.913m shares and Dewan Salman, lower 15 paisa on 0.727m shares. FORWARD COUNTER: Active trading was witnessed on this counters as investors took positions in the September delivery after offloading stakes in the ruling August contracts. As the duration of the new contract is one month as against previous 15 days, investor will have enough manoeuvring leverage to play on both sides of the fence depending on the objective situation, leading to bullish and bearish hella if prices fluctuate either way by Rs.1.50. Hub Power was actively traded as the trading volume swelled to 5m shares, although both the settlements ended lower by 18 and 16 paisa at Rs.15.82 and 16.06 respectively. PTCL followed, off 14 paisa at Rs.16.12 on 2.324m shares and PSO, lower 40 paisa at Rs.129.25 on 0.858m shares. Others were modestly traded. DEFAULTER COMPANIES: Allied Motors came in for renewed selling, and was quoted further lower by 65 paisa at Rs.2.80 on 4,000 shares, followed by Colony Textiles, easy 35 paisa at Rs.8.40 on 1,500 shares and Mehran Jute, up five paisa at Rs.0.20 on 1,000 shares. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010827 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bulls and bears face 'no-win' situation ------------------------------------------------------------------- Muhammad Aslam The KSE 100-share index, did not breach through the psychological barrier of 1,300 points during the week as disappointed investors started liquidating long positions after the sponsors of stock stabilization fund failed to give the needed support to the market. It finally ended the week, off 21.63 points at 1,268.62 as compared to 1,290.25 a week earlier, eroding Rs2 billion from the total market capitalization at Rs320 billion as compared to Rs322bn a week earlier. The relatively improved performance of the leading base shares, notably the PTCL, the Hub-Power and the PSO limited the losses to a manageable level. On the corporate front, the dividend from the MCB at 12.5 per cent, from the Atlas Honda at 40 per cent cash and 40 per cent bonus shares and 30 per cent from the Central Insurance and an identical announcements from the others were above the market perceptions and did push prices of their respective stocks higher under the lead of Atlas Honda, which surged by Rs10 but the weekend selling allowed it close with clipped gains. The omission of dividend by the ICI Pakistan worked against the underlying sentiment. Energy shares led the market decline under the lead of the PSO and the Shell Pakistan, which suffered fall followed by the Lever Brothers, the Pak Reinsurance, Sana Industries, the Merit Packaging, Al-Ghazi Tractors, the Clarinat Pakistan, Tata Textiles, Janan Demalucho Textiles and the Knoll Pharma. Other leading shares, which fell included Adamjee Insurance, Bata Pakistan, Murree Brewery and Adam Sugar. Nestle Pakistan was leading among the gainers up by Rs4 followed by Din Textiles, Artistic Denim, Burewala Textiles, Wyeth Pak, WorldCall, Service Industries, Lawrencepur Woollen, Dilon, Zaniab Textiles and Atlas Honda. Trading volume was maintained at the previous week's level of over 300 million shares, bulk of which was again shared by the PTCL, Hubco and the PSO, followed by the MCB, Engro Chemical, Fauji Fertiliser and the ICI Pakistan. Other actives were led by the WorldCall payphones, Adamjee Insurance, Telecard, the FFC-Jordan Fertiliser, Nishat Mills, Sui northern, the PIAC, Nimir Resins and several others.Back to the top
EDITORIALS & FEATURES 20010826 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Justice? ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ardeshir Cowasjee The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Irshad Hasan Khan, is today the highest authority responsible for the administration (or maladministration) of our courts of law which dispense justice. Lest someone should hasten to deem otherwise, this statement is not being made in this column in this newspaper with any intent to commit contempt of the Chief Justice, or of any other honourable justice of the Supreme Court, or of any court of Pakistan. Considering that I stand charged with the offence of contempt of court by no less than a bench of 14 judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (including himself) to which offence I have pleaded 'not guilty', the Chief Justice of Pakistan has done me a singular honour by asking his registrar to send me a copy of the historic suo moto Order delivered by him and his brother judge, Justice Shaikh Riaz Ahmed, on August 10 2001, in the matter of 'On perusal of Pakistan Law Commission's Report No.22 on the Criminal Justice System'. In his letter, the registrar has written "This is a matter of great public importance and may be of some interest to you." It is, indeed. The final paragraph of the order (34) reads: "The case being of great public importance shall be heard by a larger bench to be constituted by the Chief Justice. Meanwhile, notices shall be sent to the advocates-general of the provinces for a date to be fixed in office at an early date. The interior secretary, chief secretaries of the provinces, the home secretary, the advocates-general and the inspectors-general of police of the provinces shall appear personally and assist the court in the resolution of the above issues." Considering the time it will take to issue notices,and fix a date when all summoned will be available to present themselves in Islamabad, it may well be that Justice Khan will by that time have attained his retirement age and it may be that his successor in office, Justice Bashir Jehangiri, who only has 25 days as Chief Justice, will also have departed as he attains the age of 65 on January 31,2002. He will be followed by Justice Shaikh Riaz Ahmed, who will hold the office of Chief Justice until March 2003. With all due respect, I wonder if the honourable Chief Justice has had the time or occasion to read the report of our Human Rights specialist, I. A. Rehman, headed '4,500 languishing in death cells for 10 years', published in this newspaper on May 11, 2001. According to Rehman, a count taken on March 13 this year discloses that over 4,500 fellow citizens are confined in the death cells of its prisons. Of these, 4,300 were in jails in Punjab. By now this number will have increased as the average rate of increase is 600 per year. Rehman's report laments the fact that a large number of these condemned prisoners have been rotting in their cells for many years. The appeals of 1,600 are pending in the High Courts, of which 1,300 have been pending for well over three years, some 300 for well over five years, and 10 for up to 10 years. In the Supreme Court 217 appeals have been pending, ranging from periods of three to 10 years. Lying in the President's secretariat are 40 mercy petitions which have been waiting there from between five to 10 years. Two appeals against the death penalty lie in GHQ; one has been there for five years, the other for 10. As far as the mercy petitions are concerned, President General Pervez Musharraf recently declared to Karachi's CPLC chief, Jameel Yusuf, that no mercy petitions lie pending in his secretariat, so one must presume that the 40 have got lost somewhere between the federal ministries of interior and law. This state of affairs is unlikely to shock or surprise anyone who resides in this Republic of Pakistan. On January 18, 1999, in Lahore, a friend of artist Zahoorul Akhlaq walked into his studio, sat down, had tea and biscuits, then pulled out a gun and shot dead Zahoor and his daughter Jehanara, and severely wounded Jehanara's husband. The murderer was arrested, held in the police lock-up, later jailed, and in May 1999 court proceedings were instituted against him in an anti-terrorist court. The case was called 85 times, for one reason or another adjourned 55 times, heard 30 times, and the murderer was sentenced to death on May 9, 2001. Pretty swift, one might say. The convicted man will now appeal to the High Court, then presumably an appeal will be made to the Supreme Court. Making a rough guess, this will take at least five years. If the man's sentence is upheld, he will file a mercy petition which will get lost somewhere in Islamabad and lie around for a further ten years or so. We are looking forward to around 2016 before the man knows whether he is to live or die, by which time it may be that the death penalty will no longer apply in this country. Now take the case of the son of the former 'Lion of Punjab', Bilal Khar son of Ghulam Mustafa Khar. I distinctly remember being introduced to the 'Lion' by his trainer and benefactor, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in 1970. Bhutto was smoking a foot-long cigar, sitting on a silver-plated throne he had borrowed. That particular day two 'Lions' had called on him, one from Punjab and one from the Frontier, Mustafa Khar and Hayat Sherpao (later to be assassinated). Khar survived and thrived and succeeded in marrying (so far) ten wives and spawning a substantial brood of children. One son, Bilal, also addicted to multiple marriages, picked up and married a beautiful dancing girl of Karachi. During their three years of marriage, the girl, Fakhra, was subjected to constant physical abuse and finally returned home to her mother. In April this year, Bilal walked into the mother's house, grabbed the girl's head, held it back and poured acid over her face and neck which dripped on to her arms and lower body. The incident received much publicity in our press and in the foreign press (lately, Time magazine of August 20). Bilal Khar, who nowhere on record has denied his deed, has not been arrested, and walks free to throw acid again. It is inconceivable that the Chief Justice of Pakistan is not aware of this incident. Should he not contemplate suo moto action against the police who should have dealt with this matter and of course against the perpetrator of the crime? The man should be tried, chances are he will be convicted, and he should be put away to serve a sentence as a lesson to him and a warning to all the other many acid-throwers of this violence-prone country. Have our judges no wives, mothers, sisters, daughters? Are the women of this country destined for ever and with impunity to be treated as sub- humans, and subjected to cruelty and humiliation without our law- makers and dispensers of justice raising a finger in their support? Finally, to the tragic case of a young lawyer of Karachi, Shakir Latif. He went to school at St Patrick's, went on to the London School of Economics, was called to the Bar from Lincoln's Inn, returned to Karachi and joined a law firm. He lived with his parents in their Defence home. Their neighbour, Amjad Malik, one day in July invited Shakir over to his house and is alleged to have poisoned and killed him. A letter, 'A mother's plea for justice', was printed in this newspaper on August 12. How soon will it be before the judges of Pakistan decide the case of Amjad Malik who is now in police custody? How long will it be before the criminal justice system in this country can mete out due punishment? Shakir's parents weep over a letter written to Shakir by Roy Amlot, QC,Chairman of the Bar of England and Wales, on March 8, 2001: "I would like to offer you congratulations and my best wishes on your call to the Bar. This is the culmination of years of hard work and you have every reason to be proud. You have joined a great profession which welcomes everyone of talent and commitment. The strength of the Bar lies in its commitment to the principles of justice, independence and excellence. If you follow those principles your life at the Bar will be rewarding and successful. You will have your chance to help people, often at their time of greatest need. Your duty is to serve them and the court." Now, we must ask the question, who will serve the cause of the murdered young barrister? DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010830 ------------------------------------------------------------------- India's 'hidden apartheid' ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Eric S. Margolis In a uniquely Indian version of Romeo and Juliette, a teenage girl and boy were publicly lynched earlier this month in rural Uttar Pradesh. The girl's parents and hundreds of villagers watched and applauded. The crime? The girl was a Brahmin, the boy, a Jat. The girl's family had been 'defiled' by their daughter crossing the 'pollution barrier' to consort with a lower caste boy. The appropriate punishment was death. This grisly event was by no means an unusual event in rural India. At the end of August, India, a self-professed champion of human rights, will attend the UN conference on racism in Durban, South Africa. While the US is frantically trying to shield its protege, Israel, from charges of racism at Durban, India is just as frantically trying to prevent its caste system, which is often called 'hidden apartheid,' from being put onto the conference's agenda. For decades, India loudly denounced discrimination against blacks in the US and South Africa. But hidden from the world's gaze, India, according to many human rights groups, continues to practise and condone the world's largest, most pernicious system of institutionalized racism and discrimination, the caste system. Of India's one billion people, 160 million are untouchables, or 'Dalits'(meaning: 'broken people'). They are India's poorest people, performing society's most menial, degrading tasks. Dalit organizations in India call their people 'black slaves.' Shockingly, this writer learned a decade ago that anthropologists had actually discovered a caste that was lower than untouchables. They were a small number of outcasts whose status was so degraded that they were not permitted to appear in daylight. They lived in garbage dumps and emerged only at night to scavenge. Untouchables are barred from sections of villages inhabited by higher caste Hindus. A Dalit's 'unclean' shadow must never fall upon that of a Brahmin, lest he be defiled. Dalits may not draw water from higher caste wells, nor touch food implements of their betters. They may not enter higher caste temples, nor own land. Their children sit in the back of classrooms, or are simply denied schooling. The ancient Hindu caste system dates back to 1500 BC when fair- skinned Aryan tribes invaded northern India. The newcomers conquered India's dark-skinned indigenous Dravidian inhabitants. Though occupation and rank originally determined caste, over centuries caste came to be associated with skin colour. Even in overseas Indian communities, including Canada, caste still reigns. Marriage solicitations in India and among expatriate Indian communities routinely request 'light-skinned' boys or girls. Fair-skinned Brahmins, 3.5 per cent of the population, are India's ruling elite, holding 78 per cent of judicial positions and half parliament's seats. In recent tests, Indian scientists discovered that high-caste Hindus, particularly Brahmins, are genetically closer to Europeans than they are to dark-skinned Dravidian Indians. Caste became a rigid system whereby India's fair-skinned ruling class kept lower and swarthier orders in their places - as labourers, landless peasants, and servants - exploiting them in the name of religion. The Sikh religion and Islam both reject the Hindu caste system. Tens of millions of low caste Indians found refuge from racial oppression as Sikhs, Muslims, and, more recently, Christians. All three religions have been and remain subject to varying forms of persecution by India's Hindu majority, which is becoming increasingly intolerant of other religions. Dalits are forced to clean public toilets and remove human feces, usually with their hands. They sweep up after Indians defecate in the streets and move dead animals. According to an extensive report on caste by the respected Human Rights Watch, large numbers of dalit women are routinely raped and forced to become sex slaves for Hindu priests and land owners. Of India's estimated 40 million indentured labourers - a modern form of slavery - most are Dalit children, often sold into lifelong servitude by starving parents. When Dalits try to defend themselves against abuse and exploitation, they are attacked by higher caste gangs and local police. Their shanties are burned and their women gang-raped. Dalits, like Muslim Kashmiris, are frequently subjected to beatings, rape, torture and arson by India's brutal police, says Human Rights Watch. The recent case of India's famed 'Bandit Queen,' a Dalit woman who killed a score of higher caste men who had raped her, is but one dramatic example of the suffering inflicted by India's cruel caste system, which makes South Africa's former apartheid look benign by comparison. The caste system has also found its way into Nepal, which just officially banned it this summer; to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and to the Indian communities in Canada, the US, the West Indies, Fiji, South-east Asia, and South Africa. Even Indian Jews developed a caste system of their own under pressure from India's customs. Human Rights Watch gave their 2000 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award to Martin Macwan, founder of the India's leading human rights movement for Dalits. Macwan calls the plight of India's untouchables one of the world's gravest and largest violations of human rights. Modern India's father, Mohandas Gandhi, struggled against caste and called for liberation of Dalits. India outlawed discrimination against untouchables in the 1950s, and has enacted affirmative action programmes for Dalits in education, voting, and government jobs. Nepal just followed suit this summer. India's president, a ceremonial post, is a Dalit, though most of its leaders, like PM Vajpayee and Home Minster L.K. Advani, are high-caste, fair-skinned Hindus. Brahmins dominate the BJP and its 'politburo,' the shadowy RSS, which was patterned in the 1930s after Hitler's National Socialists and Mussolini's Fascists. 'The Indian government has been very successful at manufacturing an image as the world's largest democracy,' says Smita Narula, author of the Human Rights Watch report, ...'but none of its (anti- discrimination) laws are implemented and the constitution is not enforced.' Delhi simply winks at the wide scale oppression of Dalits across India, remembering them only at election time. India appears unlikely to make a major national effort to root out the deeply ingrained caste system until worldwide outrage shames India's elite into taking drastic action. Durban would be a good start. India won't achieve the international respect and great power status it so craves until the evil of caste is ended for good.-Copyright Eeric S. Margolis 2001. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010831 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Towards a junkyard of the spirit ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ayaz Amir OURS has never been a land famous for the birth of ideas. Mystics and poets we have had aplenty but original thinkers who could light the way for the rest of us, hardly any. Even so, whatever little potential we had in this regard was knocked out long ago by our political tribulations - our failure to evolve a stable polity. Political confusion exacts an economic price. This is a truism with which we are all familiar. Less often realized is another consequence of the same malady: the stifling of ideas. Tinpot leadership, and we have had no other variety, is responsible for this legacy. We are a nation rooted in the myths of the past, inimical to fresh ideas, challenged by originality of any kind. The only scientist of world renown we had was Dr Abdus Salam. Yet we did not accept him as one of our own because of his faith. There must be something seriously wrong with a society which can think along such lines. The government says it will bring madrassah learning in line with modern education. Of course it will do no such thing because any such undertaking is beyond the capability of the Pakistani state. All the same, can the irony embedded in this resolve be lost on anyone? The Islamic madrassahs are not the principal founts of ignorance in this country. The pass we are in is not because of madrassah education. When has the mullah held power? When has he been close to the decision-making process? Not that we should invite the Taliban in. We don't deserve that. But at least let us get the perspective of things right. Most of the baffling decisions which have marred the country's destiny owe their origin to the Sandhurst types (civilian and military) who have held the reins of power. Why did we go into the '65 war? Why couldn't we get the measure of Bengali aspirations? Why did Bhutto have to sully his government by his dictatorial methods? Why did Zia and his generals fight America's war in Afghanistan? What explains the corruption of Benazir Bhutto and the Sharifs? What drove us to test our nuclear devices? What teaching of Clausewitz encouraged the army high command to embark upon the Kargil adventure? Whence springs this zest for the irrational, for the course of action that, if you weigh the costs and benefits, makes no sense at all? Partly from political confusion, partly from the cultivation of ignorance at the highest levels of government. If we have turned the country into an intellectual graveyard it is bound to rub off on the calibre of the governing class. Let me cite two examples. The brightest minds then in government and the army conceived the steps which led to the '65 war. Had we consciously gone to war it would have been another matter. But Bhutto, Aziz Ahmed and Maj Gen Akhtar Malik, acting under the guidance of the subcontinent's only self-appointed field marshal, opted for a limited adventure in Kashmir and for their pains saw the country sucked into a full- fledged war with India. The folly of the exercise lay not so much in the clash of arms as in the miscalculation behind it. The second example. Prior to our nuclear tests in 1998, every card- carrying intellectual on Islamabad's seminar circuit was in favour of testing, more nonsense having been spouted on the nuclear question than perhaps any other subject in Pakistan. Three years later the earlier jingoism is no longer much in evidence, a nation of nuclear hawks having gone suddenly quiet. After an all-night binge, the morning-after feeling. Even the demotion from his commanding perch of the country's Oppenheimer, Dr A. Q. Khan, has passed without flap or protest. Of all changes in fashion this one is the most surprising. In the calculus of cause-and-effect wherein fits political failure? It determines much of our floundering as a nation because instability invites repetition. Every time we go off the rails, every time a fresh crop of generals comes riding into the arena, the country has to begin from the beginning, re-inventing the wheel, rediscovering the obvious, regurgitating the same rhetoric about politicians being villains and the country needing a strong hand on the tiller. So it is this time. General Musharraf and his knights are not stepping into the future; they are marching back into the past, taking the nation with them. The polity being fashioned is a throwback to the past, the methods are the same, even the politicos being fashioned into frontmen by the military government resemble nothing so much as the Convention Leaguers of the sixties or the Muslim Leaguers of the Zia era. Ayub Khan's political experiments had an air of novelty about them as they were being tried for the first time. Forty odd years later, and with many other experiments intervening, General Musharraf's political manoeuvres look about as fresh as the hills. Yet the nation is expected to perform a conjuring trick and see originality where there is none. The sixties gave us our first dose of full-blown authoritarianism. The gift of the seventies was half-baked socialism, from whose nationalizing consequences the country has still to recover. The eighties saw the crowning of a false Islamism whose most conspicuous features were hypocrisy and social regression. Then followed a period of corrupt and inept democracy. Now we are back to recycling Bonapartism. With the past having to be relived every now and then, it is hardly surprising if Pakistan gives an impression of a wheel forever turning at the same spot without moving forward. No wonder our political discourse, whether issuing from the lips of military paladins or out-of-work politicians, is so sterile. How are fresh ideas to be born in such a self-defeating climate? Failing to get politics right, what have we managed to create? A top-heavy state structure which allows nothing to grow in its shadow. Granted that Benazir and Nawaz Sharif were a couple of short-sighted politicians interested primarily in lining their pockets. But given the interventionist zeal of the military- bureaucratic oligarchy, even figures better than them would have had a hard time making a success of democracy. The pity of it is that even after so much devastation the oligarchs will not let go. Still determined to control the march of political events, they have learned no lessons from history. The only difference is that whereas previously the mandarinate made and unmade policy, it is now the corps commanders who are swept by the illusion of having all the answers. In war the record of the general staff has been at best indifferent. Now it wants to refashion the peace and in so doing is intervening in every aspect of national life from cricket and hockey to the recasting of the Constitution. It is another aspect of the past being revisited that the air is again full of talk of Zia's constitutional amendments being re-enacted. Even in our failures we refuse to be inventive. Anywhere else versatility would be considered a good thing. With us it has become a living curse. Earlier top mandarins went from job to job, leaving confusion and mayhem in their wake. Now it is generals trying their hands at different things. Take the devolution plan which has led to more confusion across the land than anything since the dissolution of the Sikh kingdom after the death of the great Maharaja Ranjit Singh. If it was such a good thing why did the military government not implement it first in Islamabad before trying it on the rest of the country? For reasons unknown Islamabad has been spared while the experiment rages elsewhere. Knowing something of the authors of this plan I am not surprised. It is hard to make out which is more frightening, their naivete or their complacency? Pakistan may not deserve much but it can do without these fresh experiments upon its tired and harassed body. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010901 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Another day, another atrocity ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Irfan Husain Earlier this week, this newspaper reported yet another atrocity against Ahmadis. A mob of zealots in Sheikhupura district had been goaded by mullahs from the Sipah-i-Sahaba and the Khatm-i-Nabuwat parties to attack a peaceful group of Ahmadis watching a religious TV transmission in their 'place of worship' which was burned down by the frenzied mob. As usually happens in such cases, those locked up (in 'protective custody') were the victims, not the criminals. In fact, it is still not clear whether the police have even registered a criminal case against those instigating the fanatics and those who participated in the attack. Apparently, what infuriated the worthies of Syedwalla village was the fact that the Ahmadis were watching the televised address of their spiritual leader, Mirza Tahir. Ironically, the same issue of this newspaper carried a clarification relating to the system of separate electorates: according to a spokesman of the law ministry, no summary proposing that the system of joint electorates be restored was being moved as had been reported in a section of the press. In fact, I had read this bit of happy news just a day earlier, and was preparing to write a column welcoming this development. In my naivet�, I had assumed that this government was following up on its banning of a couple of extremist religious parties by finally enfranchizing our minorities who had been so cruelly marginalized by Zia and his pernicious separation of the minorities from the mainstream. Incidents like the recent one in Syedwalla are commonplace, and invariably the perpetrators are never touched; indeed, they are regarded as heroes protecting the faith. It is fortunate that none of those attacked was killed; but even if there had been a fatality, one can be sure the murderer would not have been arrested by the police. Such is the state of security for our persecuted minorities. In the recently concluded local bodies elections, apart from the blatant pressure tactics used by the establishment to ensure 'positive results' in certain constituencies, we had the odd situation where minority candidates could not contest the seats of nazim and naib nazim even in areas where they are in a majority. Thus, Muslims will be running local governments in the few pockets where Hindus or Christians outnumber them. The basis of this travesty is the system of separate electorates. I was shocked and saddened that Omar Asghar Khan, the minister for local bodies, who supposedly presided over this exercise, did not raise a finger to correct this gross injustice. I have long respected him for his strong advocacy of the underprivileged, and had welcomed his appointment. Alas, power seems to have diluted his sense of justice, and he has opted to take the path of least resistance. And what shall we say about Shahida Jamil, the minister for law and justice? If her ministry has not moved a summary proposing the end of the separate electorate system, should it not have done so? As the minister for justice, should not Ms Jamil be concerned about the deplorable state of our minorities, and do something to improve it? At the end of the day, it is far easier to strike liberal postures on Islamabad's cocktail circuit than in cabinet meetings. I have long maintained that by disenfranchizing the minorities, we have effectively removed whatever feeble protection the state of Pakistan provides the disadvantaged. Since non-Muslims are barred from voting for mainstream candidates and parties, they are in turn ignored and neglected by them. And as the local MPs (and now the local governments) see no electoral benefit in interceding with the police and other minions of the state on behalf of the minorities, this reality inevitably weakens their position in society. Ahmadis are possibly in an even less enviable position than Hindu, Christian and other non-Muslim citizens because they consider themselves Muslims. Without wishing to get into the rights and wrongs of this debate, I can only express my outrage over the fact that these unfortunate people are legally persecuted even for reciting verses or phrases from the Holy Book. Ironically, we are delighted when a (white) foreigner is able to say "Assalam Walaikum." Scores of Ahmadis are rotting in jails around the country for having committed this 'crime.' Our record for human rights, never very bright, has been further tarnished because of our inhumane treatment of the Ahmadis of which the recent violence in syedwalla is only one relatively mild example. Organizations like Amnesty International and the Human rights Commissions regularly document and highlight these transgressions against internationally accepted norms. Earlier in its tenure, this government had made some refreshingly liberal noises that led the optimists among us to assume that it meant what it said, and that religious extremism would no longer be officially encouraged. But a spate of sectarian killings soon belied this expectation. Even the recent arrests of activists from extremist parties proved to be no more than a stage-managed showpiece as most of them were soon released. Similarly, the 'ban' on fund-raising by jihadi outfits was illusory as these groups have openly defied this edict. It is this kind of backtracking that has emboldened these small but well-organized and armed gangs. Both politicians and generals have repeatedly demonstrated a distinct yellow streak when it comes to facing their responsibility and putting a stop to the sectarian violence that is destabilizing the country. The basic problem, of course, is that these very armed and dangerous groups are being used to further the establishment's agendas in Afghanistan and Kashmir. Our rulers refuse to comprehend the basic truth that religious extremism is not divisible: we cannot have sectarian peace and quiet at home while exporting violence beyond our borders. By permitting training camps to function, millions to be collected and volunteers to cross our borders, the government is viewed - both internally and externally - as encouraging and strengthening extremist elements. Whether the activities of these groups is called 'terrorism' or 'jihad' is a matter of semantics: it matters little to the families of those killed and wounded by their actions. It is high time our rulers and our citizens understood that until we draw a line and take tough action against those persecuting Ahmadis, those gunning down Shias in Pakistan or Hindus in Kashmir, all of us are at risk from the growing menace of intolerance and sectarian violence. General Musharraf has shown that he can talk the talk. But he has yet to demonstrate that he can walk the walk.
SPORTS 20010901 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan crush Bangladesh: Dream comeback by Kaneria ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Samiul Hasan MULTAN, Aug 31: Danish Kaneria completed a dream comeback when he bagged a match haul of 12 for 94 as Pakistan sent minnows Bangladesh spinning to defeat by an innings and 264 runs well inside three days of the Asian Test Championship opener remaining at the Multan Cricket Stadium. He claimed six for 42 in the first innings, followed up with six for 52 in the second as Bangladesh were bundled out for 148 some 45 minutes before an extended first session of the third day. The newest Test nation had resumed this morning at 55 for three and required 412 to make the reigning champions bat again. The victory margin was also the sixth biggest in the 122-year-old history of Test cricket and second largest since the West Indies beat New Zealand by an innings and 322 runs at Wellington in 1995. Pakistan had also equaled Australia's world record of five centuries in an innings in this Test when Saeed Anwar, debutant Taufiq Umer, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana and Abdur Razzaq reach three figures. Waqar Younis' promise of securing maximum points was also fulfilled when Pakistan collected 24 points - 16 on the basis of an innings win and four each for bowling and batting. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010831 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan equal world record with 5 centuries ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Samiul Hasan MULTAN, Aug 30: Pakistan equaled the world record of five centuries in an innings as the home batsmen continued to enjoy the run feast in the Asian Test Championship opener against minnows Bangladesh at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Centuries by Saeed Anwar (101), debutant Taufiq Umer (104), Inzamam-ul-Haq (105), Yousuf Youhana (102) and Abdur Razzaq (110) carried Pakistan from an overnight 219 for two to 546 for three declared in reply to Bangladesh's modest 134. Bangladesh, left to play for pride after trailing the home team by 412 runs on first innings, had limped to 55 for three when curtains were drawn for the second day's play. Pakistan secured maximum batting (four) and bowling (four) points awarded on the first 100 overs of the first innings while Bangladesh failed to get any. An expected victory by an innings would earn Pakistan 16 more points. Pakistan equalled Australia's 46-year-old record when five of their batsmen scored centuries in the 1954-55 Test against the West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica. Had Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis not declared immediately after the 27-year-old Youhana guided Mohammad Sharif towards third man boundary to bring up his seventh century in 34th Test, Pakistan might have gone on to establish a new record. Around 15,000 festive and appreciative spectators had their money worth when they were thoroughly entertained by high quality and ruthless batting display by the elegant Pakistanis against a pedestrian, inexperienced and mediocre Bangladesh bowling resources. However, local hero Inzamam was not that fortunate when he had to retire hurt because of dehydration a ball after completing his 15th Test century in 75th Test. But Inzamam's return to the dressing room piled up more agony on the tourists as Abdur Razzaq virtually blew them away with a whirlwind unbeaten century. The batting all-rounder scored 110 off 100 balls with 16 boundaries and three sixes during his 124-minute vigil at the crease. Razzaq, who came when Youhana was batting on 60, raced to 70 against Youhana's 77 at tea in Pakistan's 478 for three before registering his second career century off 92 balls with 14 boundaries and three sixes. It was the second quickest century by a Pakistani after Majid Khan whipped a 74-ball century before lunch against New Zealand at Karachi in 1976-77. Sir Vivian Richards holds the record for quickest century when he reached three figures off just 56 balls against England at St John's in 1985-86. Youhana was as elegant as ever and remained cool and composed despite watching Razzaq murder the Bangladesh bowlers from the other end. His innings contained 13 exquisitely timed boundaries from 154 balls faced during 220 minutes of batting. Youhana and Razzaq added 165 runs in 124 minutes after the former and Inzamam had put on 123 in 116 minutes. Inzamam and Taufiq Umer put on 80 in 88 minutes for the third wicket. Inzamam, the 31-year-old burly right-hander, fulfilled his promise of enthralling his home crowd when he laced his 105-ball innings with 15 boundaries and a six. Inzamam now has century against every country except South Africa and India. Interestingly, it was Inzamam's fourth century only on home turf. The other notable point is that 11 of his centuries have come in the crucial first innings while eight centuries have helped Pakistan win Tests. On a record-breaking day, Taufiq Umer became the eighth Pakistan batsman after Khalid Ibadullah, Javed Miandad, Salim Malik, Mohammad Wasim, Ali Naqvi, Azhar Mahmood and Younis Khan to score century on debut. He had started the day at 77 and was the only Pakistan wicket to fall when he was caught at the wicket after an attractive 104. Taufiq, the 20-year-old from Lahore, now has five first-class centuries in 33 matches. He batted for 231 minutes and punctuated 15 boundaries in his 163-ball innings. Taufiq showed excellent temperament, concentration and showed no signs of nervousness when he stayed in the 90s for 19 balls, including 13 balls on 96. Unfortunately, his brilliant effort fell in the background after Pakistan stroke-makers went on a run- scoring spree. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010830 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bangladesh in trouble as Kaneria and Taufiq excel ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Samiul Hasan MULTAN, Aug 29: Right arm leg spinner Danish Kaneria, debutant Taufiq Umer and veteran Saeed Anwar shared limelight on the opening day as Bangladesh found out the harsh realities of top level cricket in the Asian Test Championship opener at the Multan Cricket Stadium. The 20-year-old Danish, playing his third Test, captured six for 42 - his Test best figures - to help Pakistan spin out Bangladesh for a paltry 134 some 40 minutes before tea. Later, 20-year-old left- handed opener Taufiq Umer carried on his fine form by celebrating his Test debut with a strokeful and attractive unbeaten 77 as Pakistan finished the opening day's play at a healthy 219 for two from 46 overs, a lead of 85 with eight wickets in hand. Veteran Saeed Anwar also had reasons to smile on a hot and humid day when he became the sixth Pakistan batsman to complete 4,000 Test runs while reaching 49 on way to a scoring a fluent almost run-a-ball 101. It was his 11th century and first in 11 innings from seven Tests. His last was against Sri Lanka in Galle last year. Saeed, the 33-year-old playing his 55th Test, smashed 17 blistering boundaries and a six before falling to 16-year-old Mohammad Sharif. Trying once too often to play his elegant wristy on-drive, the enigmatic former captain, was caught at square leg by Hasibul Hossain. Faisal Iqbal failed to take advantage of heaven sent opportunity of getting some runs under his belt. The 19-year-old was bowled by Sharif to a delivery that kept low and crashed onto the stumps after taking the inside edge of the bat. Danish bowled exceptionally well and pushed the ball in the air while picking up his wickets in just 13 overs. He was devastating, mean and bowled with purpose. The leg spinner got the ideal start which a wrist spinner wants to apply the pressure and pick the line as early as possible. An over- pitched delivery was belted by opener Mehrab Hossain but Faisal Iqbal picked up an extraordinary reflex action catch at silly point. Catches like this are not seen too often and only shows the brilliant reflexes Faisal has. From then on, there was no stopping Danish as he mixed up his deliveries intelligently and spun the ball from the right areas. Off-spinner Shoaib Malik, who also earned a Test cap, picked up two cheap wickets while Waqar Younis who made the early breaks accounted for two. Wasim Akram remained wicket less in his 10 overs but he should consider himself unlucky when Saeed dropped a waist- high catch in the first slip. The former captain, who was as mean as ever, could have been a different bowler had Saeed not showed greasy palms. Taufiq Umer, who stroked a masterly 113 against the same side in the three-dayer, matched Saeed Anwar with stroke by stroke. The trademark of Taufiq's innings was his ability to stroke boundaries in front of the wickets. Bulk of his 11 boundaries were either straight or through the covers as he fully cashed in on the half volleys and over-pitched stuff hurled by the tourists. Taufiq was as confident against pacers as against the slow bowlers when he worked them around to maintain the flow or runs. His also displayed his hunger for big innings when he became cautious after reaching his half century from 55 balls with nine boundaries. At stumps, he had faced 123 deliveries and looks well poised to become the eighth Pakistani to score a century on debut. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010831 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Imran urges ICC to penalize India ------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Representative MULTAN, Aug 30: Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan demanded the International Cricket Council (ICC) to impose sanctions on India after they withdrew from the Asian Test Championship. "The ICC should penalize India for not honouring the commitment," the legendary Khan said from Islamabad. The Asiad was left in a spin by India when it withdrew two weeks before the commencement of the championship citing security fears and political hassles. However, the event manager decided to go ahead with the tournament. "Had they not confirmed participation, it would have been a different issue. But withdrawing two weeks back is a serious crime and it should not go unnoticed. The ICC should impose penalty on India for breaking the commitment," Imran, who led Pakistan to the World Cup glory at Melbourne in 1992, said. "I am perplexed as India has no problems playing Pakistan in any other sport except cricket. I am sure there is some other reason behind," he said with reference to India's acceptance to send a 350-athlete contingent for October's SAF Games in Islamabad. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010827 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Age appears to be catching on Jahan brothers ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Reporter KARACHI, Aug 26: Age proved to be catching on the two veteran Jahan brothers - Zarak and Zubair - when they failed to reach the next qualifying round of the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) squash championship at the Roshan Khan/Jahangir Khan squash complex here Sunday. Zarak was outgunned by rising Shamsul Islam Khan 15-10 15-4 15-10 while his sibling lost out to Egyptian Wael El Hindi in 15-11 15-8 15-7 in just 25 minutes. Another upset result of the day was the ouster of talented youngster Zubair Ali Khan who crashed out to Malaysian Mohammad Azlan Iskander after a putting up a challenging fight. Zubair, ranked 139 in the world, secured the first game from Iskander, ranked 59, at 15-11 before the Malaysian came roaring back at the Pakistani to first draw level at 15-6 and then surge to a 2-1 lead by winning the third game at 15-14. Zubair managed to level the games at 2-all by winning the fourth game at 15-8. But in the meantime, ran out of gas as the Malaysian virtually toyed with him before winning the game at 15-1. In yet another interesting duel, Mohammad Ilyas beat a fighting Naseem Takhali 15-5, 15-12 4-15 15-14. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010827 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Lethargy of PFF exposed again ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Shazad Ali KARACHI, Aug 26: Pakistan has been forced to skip the Asian Under- 14 football championship because of the non-existence of a squad - another proof of lethargy of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF). Although a PFF official claimed that it was due to scarcity of time for the preparations that Pakistan won't participate, the prime reason behind the decision of backing out from the tournament is not having an Under-14 squad. "We received the invitation on Aug 22 from our Bangladeshi counterparts. But we have no time to raise and prepare a formidable team for the tournament. Therefore, we have decided against participating in the event," secretary of the PFF, Agha Liaquat, said from Lahore. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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