------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 22 September 2001 Issue : 07/38 -------------------------------------------------------------------
Contents | National News | Business & Economy | Editorials & Features | Sports
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CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + FO hopes for swift action by Taliban + No warship in Pakistan waters + Osama advised to leave voluntarily: Shura + No decision yet on use of Pakistan soil: FO + US planning to use Pakistan bases: Post + Taliban offer to hold talks with US: It's time for action: Bush + Religious parties reject president's argument + Wrong step can spell disaster: Musharraf + Pakistan backing US under pressure: CE briefs think tanks + 25 warships near Ormara + Pakistan to wait for US plans: Sattar + No step against country's interest: CE + ISI team back from Afghanistan + Last-ditch effort to ward off impending attack + All measures to be taken to protect country, says CE + Pakistan, Taliban forces take up positions + Taliban threaten war for aiding US + Pakistan not to join operations beyond borders + ARD asks govt to take nation into confidence + Beg warns of threat to nuclear installations + Emergency declared in PTCL + Afghan DPs pose security threat + UN seeks help for DPs + More FC men at Chaman border + Pakistan closes border with Afghanistan: People fleeing Kabul + Movement of Afghan DPs to be restricted + Asif moves court for acquittal in SGS case + Judge refuses to hear Zardari's appeal + SHC orders release of Hakim Zardari + Former FIA chief indicted + Four killed in Karachi: Partial strike across the country + Six killed in Sialkot blast + Badar remanded in custody till Oct 4 --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + Debt relief strategy being updated + SBP not mulling cut in discount rate + Talks with IMF to focus on PRGF: Team to visit US soon + Trading in bourses suspended + Petroleum ministry told to be vigilant + SC dismisses ABL plea against share sale + Extension in bourses shutdown feared --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + Al-Qaqa Ardeshir Cowasjee + A passion for selling ourselves cheaply Ayaz Amir + Red tide rising Irfan Husain ----------- SPORTS + Ex-Test stars unhappy with ICC's policies + ICC declines to reschedule NZ's tour of Pakistan + Pakistan makes fresh offer to Black Caps + Inzamam and Waqar beef up NBP + India 'preferred' venue for Knockout tournament
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 20010922 ------------------------------------------------------------------- FO hopes for swift action by Taliban ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Sept 21: The Foreign Office said that President Gen Musharraf's call on India to lay off was intended to repudiate the vicious propaganda campaign being carried out by India. The remarks had evoked strong and prompt reactions from Indian government and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had threatened to discontinue the talks process initiated in Agra. He reportedly said that they would have to reconsider their acceptance of President Musharraf's invitation to visit Pakistan later this year. However, the Foreign Office spokesman said Pakistan wanted to hold talks with India to address Kashmir and other issues. "Pakistan remains interested in the resumption of dialogue," he said. On the decree of Afghan Ulema, he hoped that Taliban leadership would take prompt action keeping in view the gravity of the situation, which was in the interest of Afghanistan and its people and would also satisfy the concerns and demands of the international community. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010921 ------------------------------------------------------------------- No warship in Pakistan waters ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Sept 20: No warship, either of the US or of some other country, has entered into Pakistani waters, official sources said. A number of multinational warships, including those of the US and Britain, are at present in the waters of Oman, the sources added. These warships are at present stationed 150 nautical miles south of Pakistani naval port Ormara. The vessels of Western countries have been concentrated ahead of a possible US-led military strike against land-locked Afghanistan. When contacted, ISPR spokesman Brig Saulat Raza said that there was no warship of any foreign country in the Pakistani waters and none of those present outside country's territorial waters was heading towards Pakistan at the moment. According to reports, the US military is in the process of deploying a massive armada of planes and ships around the Middle East. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010921 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Osama advised to leave voluntarily: Shura ------------------------------------------------------------------- By M. Ismail Khan PESHAWAR, Sept 20: A meeting of about 600 Afghan Ulema in Kabul urged the Taliban to persuade Osama bin Laden to leave Afghanistan for a place of his own choosing. The shura also issued a fatwa, making it obligatory for all Muslims to wage Jihad against the United States and kill those collaborating with it in the event of an attack on Afghanistan. In a resolution adopted at the concluding session of the two-day meeting, the Ulema authorized the Islamic Emirate to persuade bin Laden to leave Afghanistan on his own accord to a place of his choosing within a reasonable time. The non-binding resolution that would now go to Taliban supreme leader Mulla Muhammad Omar for endorsement or otherwise, said the Saudi dissident should leave voluntarily so as to arrest the present crisis and to prevent such misunderstandings in future. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010920 ------------------------------------------------------------------- No decision yet on use of Pakistan soil: FO ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Sept 19: Pakistan said that the United States had not shared its "specific plan of action" with it, and it would be premature to state if Pakistan would allow its soil to be used for mounting attacks on targets inside Afghanistan. Asked to define its offer of "fullest cooperation," Foreign Office spokesman Riaz Mohammad Khan said it was premature to state what assistance Pakistan would extend. He said the government was aware of its responsibilities and it had taken political, religious, and opinion-makers into confidence on the issue. The spokesman said that despite the fact that there was a difference of opinion as one section was opposed to extending any support to the US, there was no possibility of any civil war in the country. After examining all pros and cons, the government had made a decision and it would stick to that, he stated. About retaliatory attacks against Pakistan by Taleban in case of US strikes from the Pakistan soil, the spokesman said Pakistan had stood with Afghanistan in difficult times and it did not expect any hostility from Afghanistan. He, however, stated that Pakistan would take all necessary steps to protect its interests. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010920 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US planning to use Pakistan bases: Post ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent WASHINGTON, Sept 19: The United States is readying plans in cooperation with Pakistan for using bases in Pakistan as staging grounds for raids into Afghanistan as one of the options now being considered by the Pentagon. This is claimed in a report in The Washington Post, quoting officials in Islamabad and Washington, but stressing that no decisions have yet been made. A possible overseas deployment of US troops could begin within weeks. According to the report, Pakistani officials have said the Bush administration has not asked to station a large number of ground troops in the country in view of the political sensitivities involved. Instead, the US may propose raids by Special Forces on suspected terrorists in Afghanistan from troops based outside Pakistan and flown to Pakistan at the last moment. Pentagon officials are said to be discussing basing some forces abroad navy ships in the Arabian Sea and sending them in helicopters to Afghanistan. American troops may also be based in Gulf states such as Oman and Kuwait. The report added: "Military planners say a limited ground presence will be necessary to command any operation run out of Pakistan, including operating a headquarters and basing the Special Operations helicopters that would be used for the short trip over the border into Afghanistan. Officials said they are planning to keep the deployment as 'austere' as possible, with troops living in tents, and as many support functions as possible, such as intelligence analyses, being carried out elsewhere. .... 'You can run a limited war with the facilities that the US Navy has in the Arabian Sea,' a senior Pakistani naval official said. 'But they are no substitute to a solid support paraphernalia on the ground'." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010920 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Taliban offer to hold talks with US: It's time for action: Bush ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON, Sept 19: Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar said he was ready to hold talks with the United States, but appeared to rule out any swift surrender of Osama bin Laden. The White House quickly responded that it wanted action, not negotiations, saying President George W. Bush expected the Taliban to "take the actions necessary to no longer harbour terrorists - whatever form that takes". Omar said, however, that any evidence linking Bin Laden to the attacks should be handed over to the Afghan supreme court or to religious scholars of three Muslim countries. "We assure the whole world that neither Osama nor anyone else can use Afghan territory against anyone," he said. He also suggested the hunt for Osama had other aims. "The enemies of this country look on the Islamic system as a thorn in their eye and they seek different excuses to finish it off," Omar said. "Osama is one of these." Mullah Omar has called for a jihad against the United States if Afghanistan is attacked. The AIP said the Kabul gathering, a shura of scholars, was expected to take a final decision on Osama bin Laden's fate in accordance with Islamic law. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010921 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Religious parties reject president's argument ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Sept 20: Rejecting President Gen Pervez Musharraf's arguments for his pro-US policy, the religious parties declared they would go ahead with their agitation plan announced earlier. They said the strategy preferred by the military government could not safeguard national interests. The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam), meanwhile, strongly supported the course of action announced by the president in his address to the nation. Pakistan and Afghanistan Defence Council Chairman and JUI(S) President Maulana Samiul Haq said by telephone the president did not say anything new in his address to the nation. He rejected the pleas taken by Gen Pervez Musharraf regarding his government's strategy to tackle the situation. "One should not surrender before the enemy in the name of seeing reason. One should not also offer one's country to the enemy in a platter. The government must show courage and in this case, we will face hardships and problems but save our country." Maulana Sami said the nation would lose heart if the government showed "sagacity." If the army chief started showing wisdom the US would practically occupy Pakistan, he said. He said allowing America to use facilities in Pakistan would destabilize the region. In that case America would directly watch Central Asia, China, Iran and Pakistan. "America has never left the land it has stepped on and it will further destroy our economy besides creating other problems if allowed to use Pakistan's territory," he said. The Maulana said it was required to ask America as to why it wanted to use Pakistan for settling its differences with the Taliban. It was also required to be informed that Pakistan condemned terrorism and was itself a victim of it. He said through his address the president gave the impression that he was siding with America. But the examples quoted by him from the early Islamic history were not relevant as the agreements he mentioned were made to calm down the anti-Islam forces. But, he said, the present situation was different. Now an un-Islamic country wanted to use a Muslim country (Pakistan) to destroy another Muslim country (Afghanistan). "There is no such example in the Islamic history and right now America wants Pakistan to serve as a hired assassin," he said. He said the strike his organization had planned for Sept 21 was aimed at giving courage to the government and not creating any law and order situation or to seek any political benefit. He appealed to the people to observe the strike. Pakistan Awami Tehrik chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri supported the president and said the government's strategy was the best and according to the situation, averting the danger of war at least for the time being. He said India and Israel were striving to get Pakistan declared as a terrorist state, targeting its nuclear capability. The government's strategy was the best to tackle the prevailing situation. "We support all steps and decisions by the government and condemn every measure, attempt and demonstration that endangers the solidarity of the country," Dr Qadri said. He said all political and religious parties should see the reason and back the government "otherwise the history will not forgive us for any wrong decision." JUP Vice-President Gen K. M. Azhar (retired) said Gen Pervez Musharraf should take such a decision that could strengthen Islam and Pakistan and create unity among the nation. Punjab JUP General Secretary Qari Zawwar Bahadur said Pakistan must take a courageous stand. JUI amir Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that Gen Musharraf had demoralized the nation. Wisdom, of which the president talked so much, the maulana said, did not mean that people should be terrorized into submission. Also, he said, it was not fair on the part of the general to define the national interest the way he liked it. The maulana said the president claimed that he was trying to save the independence and sovereignty of the country, but the same would be gone once the US was allowed to use Pakistan's soil and other facilities against Afghanistan. He said it was a miscalculation of the government that by adopting a pro-US policy it would be able to save the nuclear installations or maintain its stand on the Kashmir issue. This policy, he warned, would hot up Pakistan's western borders and create unrest at home. Referring to the saying of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) quoted by the president, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the treaties signed by the Prophet (PBUH) were to save Islam while Gen Musharraf's strategy would weaken the same. He said religious parties would launch a movement against the government from Friday. Jamaat-i-Islami Secretary-General Syed Munawwar Hasan said it was a speech by a defeated general who was out to defend the US interests more than the interests of his own country. "Well not let him do that. We'll launch an unprecedented agitation both against the US and its supporters here. We'll also call upon the army to give the right advice to Gen Musharraf". The JI leader said Gen Musharraf had distorted facts and his speech writer did not seem to have much acquaintance with the Islamic history. Alleging that the US wanted to start an Iraq-like war in Afghanistan, Syed Munawwar Hasan said Gen Musharraf should not take dictation from the US. He said all decisions should not be left to one individual. Dr Israr Ahmad termed the president's address disappointing and said his argument were generally against the facts. He said Gen Pervez Musharraf claimed that the US war was limited to Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and terrorism. He said contention was against the statement of president George W. Bush who termed the war as a "Crusade". Dr Israr also contested Gen Musharraf's argument that his decision was in conformity with the injunctions of Islam. The president should have consulted the Council of Islamic Ideology before making such a claim, he concluded. Maulana Akram Awan said the president's address reflected his fear of America. It was not wisdom to accept Osama bin Laden without any proof. The president should seek from America the proof of bin Laden's involvement in terrorism and try to convince the Taliban. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010920 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Wrong step can spell disaster: Musharraf ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Sept 19: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said that Pakistan's existence, its economic revival, its defence of nuclear installations and the Kashmir cause were the four critical concerns that had made him extend support to the United States. "I am a sipah salaar of Pakistan's armed forces and I will defend my country first, then comes anything else," President Musharraf said in a televised address to the nation. He told the nation that the US had demanded intelligence information, use of Pakistani airspace and logistic support in its anticipated attack on Afghanistan. So far, the president said, the United States had not made any operational plans nor had it informed Pakistan about the specific support it required from Pakistan. "What we know is that the United States has the support of the United Nations, and that the UN General Assembly and Security Council have passed resolutions in this regard." He said the government decision was in conformity with the tenets of Islam and the principles of justice. "Where national interests are at stake, the decision should be taken with wisdom and sagacity," he said, adding, "it was not the question of cowardice or bravery." The president said his initial response to this situation was also aggressive but he gave it a cool thought as "bravery without an element of wisdom is foolishness". The nation, he said, was passing through the most critical phase since 1971. "Our decision will have far-reaching consequences for the country. Any wrong decision can spell disaster for the country's existence and jeopardize it's critical concern, including nuclear installations and Kashmir cause." A correct decision, he pointed out, could yield positive results, and claimed that because of this decision Pakistan could emerge as a responsible and dignified nation and solve its problems. CONSULTATION: The president said that he had consulted a cross section of society, including services chiefs, members of the National Security Council, the cabinet, politicians, religious scholars, think tanks, former foreign ministers and retired army generals, as he had done before attending the Agra summit. He said he intended to meet tribal chiefs to exchange views with them. The president noted that the opinion on the issue of extending support to the United States was divided. However, he said, a predominant majority was of the view that the government should demonstrate patience while a negligible number of people who were not more than 10 to 15 per cent of those consulted, appeared "sentimental". DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010919 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan backing US under pressure: CE briefs think tanks ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Sept 18: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said that the decision to extend "unstinting support" to the United States had been taken under tremendous pressure. Talking to Dawn, Gen (retd) Mirza Aslam Baig quoted the president as having revealed that the US authorities had asked the latter to reply in definite terms whether Pakistan was a friend or foe of the United States. The president apprised the select gathering that the US authorities had conveyed in categorical terms that Islamabad's decision would determine its future relationship with Washington. President Musharraf said the US had fixed a tight deadline for meeting its demands of extending support, including the use of Pakistan's airspace, logistics and intelligence information, in its fight against terrorism. A refusal could have serious consequences for the country, and there were fears of direct military action by a coalition of United States, India and Israel against Afghanistan and Pakistan, the president said. The participants were informed by the president that he had talked to leaders of friendly countries, including Saudi Arabia and UAE, and was also in touch with Iran and other countries. Some of the participants were of the view that the president should have consulted a cross section of society before taking any decision. Those who were invited were Sahibzada Yaqoob Ali Khan, Agha Shahi, Dr Bhatti, Dr Mubashir, Air Vice Marshal (retd) Ayaz, Lt-Gen Nishat, Lt-Gen Lodhi, Sartaj Aziz, Gen (retd) K.M. Arif, Dr Rifat Hussain and Laiq Ahmed. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010918 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 25 warships near Ormara ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Sept 17: About 25 French, British and US warships are in the waters off Oman in the Arabian Gulf. It has been learnt from some well placed sources that these warships are at present stationed 150 nautical miles south of Pakistani naval port Ormara. The vessels of Western countries have been concentrated ahead of a possible US-led military strike against land-locked Afghanistan. When contacted, the ISPR said it could not confirm the number of ships in that area. It added that of these ships, British vessels had been conducting some exercises in that area for some time. The ISPR spokesman, however, clarified that none of those ships was heading towards Pakistan. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010918 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan to wait for US plans: Sattar ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, Sept 17: Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar reiterated Pakistan's full cooperation in the fight against terrorism and said Islamabad would wait to know Washington's plans in this regard. "Pakistan will extend full cooperation in the fight against terrorism," the foreign minister said in an interview with CNN. As for the specifics, he said Pakistan expected consultations and "we understand from the news that a group of high-level officials from the United States will be visiting Pakistan in near future." "We would also like to know the plans that the United States has in mind and then we will discuss that to what extent Pakistan can be a partner in the fight against terrorism," Ms Sattar said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010918 ------------------------------------------------------------------- No step against country's interest: CE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Sept 17: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said that in the situation prevailing due to the terrorist attacks in America, no step would be taken without taking the nation into confidence. Talking to Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan chief of AJK Muslim Conference, who called on him, the president further said that the nation should rest assure that no step would be initiated against the solidarity, sovereignty and security of the country. Gen Musharraf said that in the current situation every step would be taken keeping the national interests high. He said that his government was fully aware of the sentiments of the masses and it will not fail the nation in taking any decision which was against the integrity and welfare of the people. He said that the government had sought consultation with the political leadership on every important issue and had implemented their positive proposals. He referred to the consultations with the politicians before embarking upon Agra summit which provided a firm basis to him for going to talks with the Indian leaders. The president said that the country was passing through most delicate time of its history when it needed unity more than any time in the past. He assured his guest that the government was determined to keep the national interest high while taking any decision and expressed his confidence that the nation will show a sense of unison with the government in its decision in the interest of the country. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010919 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISI team back from Afghanistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Faraz Hashmi ISLAMABAD, Sept 18: The high-level delegation led by ISI Chief Lt. Gen. Mahmood came back, leaving Taliban behind mussing over tough choices which would be further discussed at a meeting of 600 Afghan clerics in Kabul. No official announcement about the outcome of two-days discussions with the Taliban in Kandahar and Kabul was made after the arrival of the delegation. When contacted a highly placed government source said no official announcement was expected till a decision was made from Afghan Shura which is reportedly meeting in Kabul. "The delegation went to Afghanistan not for negotiations but to impress upon the Kabul regime the gravity of the situation," Foreign Office Spokesman Riaz Ahmed Khan told a news briefing earlier in the day. Unconfirmed reports said the Taliban had set three conditions including lifting of UN sanctions, commitment of financial assistance for restructuring of war ravaged country and trial of Osama bin Lander in a neutral country for handing over the Saudi millionaire and alleged prime suspect in World Trade Centre and Pentagon incidents. The foreign office spokesman did not offer any comment on the outcome of the talks or the three conditions reportedly set by Taliban. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010917 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Last-ditch effort to ward off impending attack ------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Correspondent ISLAMABAD, Sept 16: Pakistan hopes to convince the Taliban to hand over Osama bin Laden in a last-ditch effort to ward off an impending US-led allied attack on Afghanistan, but deteriorating relations between the two leave very little hope that the initiative will be successful. The Musharraf government has absolutely no doubt in its mind that the US holds Osama and his protector, Mulla omar, fully responsible for the Sept 11 kamikaze attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. It is sending a high-ranking delegation to meet Mulla Umar, headed by General Mehmood of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), to underline the point that the impending attack can destroy Afghanistan totally, and lead to a human catastrophe of unimaginable scale. General Mehmood, who was in Washington when the US faced its morning of terror, has been conveyed in no uncertain terms by the US officials what the mood in the United States is. Pakistan's plea is that while it is difficult choice for the Taliban but the costs of persisting with holding on to the line that proof of Osama's crime has to be produced before them to enable them to take a decision on the issue, will be death and destruction, and eventual fall of the Taliban government. At present according to government sources, the US does not make a difference between Mulla Umar's men and Osama bin Laden unless the Taliban supreme leader severs his links with him and hands him over to the US. For Pakistan the considerations behind making the desperate effort to convince the Taliban to show flexibility are domestic, regional and global. Pakistani decision-makers are worried about a severe domestic backlash from the Taliban lobbies in the mosques and the bazaars. Sunday's rallies all over the country - more are planned today -- against the anticipated US strikes are just a tip of the iceberg of larger trouble that can erupt when the US military operation starts. That is why all the law-enforcement agencies have been given additional powers and a fully-fledged internal security plan, prepared at General Headquarters, and approved by President Gen Pervez Musharraf has been put in place. The governors of all four provinces, along with the respective area corps commanders, have been readied to meet with any exceptional law and order situation with standing orders to use force where necessary. Even more stringent measures have been taken for Karachi and the border areas of the NWFP and Balochistan, where the Afghan refugees are present in the thousands. Special monitoring and surveillance of the sectarian groups is being done and all possibilities of a nation-wide reaction by religious parties have been worked out. But still fears are that this may not be enough. The Taliban threat delivered by their ambassador to Pakistan, Mullah Abdus Salam Zaeef on Saturday of invading any regional country that will provide bases or air space to the American-led strike force, has been taken seriously by the government. Pakistan officials say that they are extremely disappointed with this statement. They see this as audacious and uncalled for and a sad reflection on the sense of gratitude that the Taliban should have, considering that Pakistan, at grave risk to its own image, has been sticking its neck out for them. More than that Pakistani officials see in the threat a real potential for the Taliban in a moment of crisis using their Madaris links inside Pakistan to create upheaval and unrest. Pakistan officials also believe that there is a real danger of sectarian terrorism erupting in the wake of the strikes because the Taliban continue to harbor some of the most wanted sectarian criminals on their soil. The other danger to which the Musharraf government is paying attention to is that of random terrorism of the sort that Pakistan has experienced emanating primarily from Afghanistan. In the 80s and early 90s Pakistan cities and bazaars were repeatedly hit by bombs that went off in crowded places killing hundreds of people. However, Pakistan's biggest threat comes not from the ordinary Taliban or sympathisers of Osama bin Laden, but from that close circuit of friends who have the resources to carry out massive operations inside its territory. If the case that the US is building against Osama bin Laden has any factual basis, Pakistan is the most vulnerable state in the world to terrorism. That is why, some government military observers believe, intelligence sharing with the US is of vital importance. Because it will be Pakistan that will have to deal with the blow-back of the inferno that Afghanistan will become when the military operation starts against Afghanistan. Just as worrying are regional concerns for the Musharraf government. Pakistan is mortally fearful of the possibility of the facilities that it will grant to the US troops being misused. Military analysts admit that Pakistan will bear the brunt of a fully-fledged military operation in its neighbourhood because of its geo-graphic proximity to Afghanistan. More precisely, when the operation starts the sheer scale of it and the confusion it may generate can afford, according to senior military officials, an opportunity to take the risk of sabotaging Pakistan's strategic assets - the nuclear installations. This is the reason why extra measures have been taken to guard these installations and the air force has been instructed to hunt down any aerial danger in Pakistan's air-space. The details of which air-path can be used by the US-led forces have been worked out and there are other routes that are out-bounds for any alien aircraft. Pakistan policy-makers are also concerned about the possibility of an accidental or misfired hit at any of Pakistan's vital installations. Modern weapons especially aerial weapons that can move in all the wrong directions. Pakistan is equally concerned over the new political arrangement in Afghanistan. The strikes are surely going to leave the Taliban totally destroyed. For decades Pakistan has invested in the policy of having a friendly government in Afghanistan, and the Taliban, when they had not become an international pariah, were the closest it could come to that idea. However, with the Taliban likely to be destroyed as a political entity in the wake of the strikes and the movement disintegrating along its tribal and local lines, the emerging scenario can lead to a political arrangement that would not be according to the wish list of Pakistan. Pakistan officials still hope that they will be able to have a say in the final shape of the new Afghanistan government -- if it did come to that point. In fact this is one of the many issues that Pakistan has put forward to the US in its on-going discussions with Washington. However, it is not sure yet what will be the response of the international community, particularly the US, to Pakistan playing such a role because of late Islamabad has been, rightly or wrongly, seen by a majority of the countries around the world as part of the problem in Afghanistan. But the most immediate concern for the Musharraf government is the US pressure. Close associates of President General Pervez Musharraf say that he is under tremendous pressure because "events are moving at a bewildering pace." Saturday night's telephone call from the US President George Bush was not just to thank him on his support but to also ask what has Pakistan decided on providing logistical assistance to the military operation. The US is not keeping according to the schedule of Pakistan's final decision; it wants a decision and a final detailed yes according to its own plans - not all of which have been shared with Pakistan. Pakistan according to some officials wants the US to also provide it with some incentives: economic and military assistance, removal of sanctions, debt relief, active role in helping it to solve the Kashmir problem and no role of India and Israel in this military operation. However, the signals from Washington are that while these demands will be considered sympathetically, at this point in time the only incentive that is available to Pakistan is negative. "Pakistan has the option to live in the 21st century or the Stone Age" is roughly how US officials are putting their case. The pressure is being added by advice from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries that have sent message and emissaries to convey their sentiments to General Pervez Musharraf. Against this background, Pakistan's best hope is that its delegation will come back with the good news of Taliban changing its position on Osama bin Laden. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010917 ------------------------------------------------------------------- All measures to be taken to protect country, says CE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Sept 16: The Jamaat-i-Islami and two factions of Jamiat- i-Ulema Islam at a meeting of political and religious parties with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf opposed the government's decision to extend support to the United States for launching an attack against Afghanistan, official sources said. Except for the three right wing parties having close connections with Taliban all other main stream political parties supported government's decision to lend support to international community in fight against terrorism, an official source said. "Barring for these three parties there was a general consensus among the parties that the government is on the right course," the source said. A source said that the president informed the leaders about a delegation being sent to Kandahar for talks with Taliban. ISI Chief Gen. Mehmud who had returned from the United States on Saturday would head the delegation which would leave for Kandahar. Moreover he also briefed the leaders about the discussions held with the US authorities. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010917 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan, Taliban forces take up positions ------------------------------------------------------------------- By M. Ismail Khan PESHAWAR, Sept 16: The Pakistani and Taliban border forces have taken up positions at the Pakistan-Afghan border at Torkham as tension rises amid threats of war by the puritanical militia to neighbouring countries that facilitated a US attack on Afghanistan. The Taliban border-guards have installed 12.7mm anti-aircraft guns close to the border with Pakistan. The guns which have a straight shooting range of two kilometres and four kilometres in the air have been installed near the Taliban's intelligence offices close to the main gates of the check post and the customs offices. "The light anti-aircraft guns may not mean much in military terms but this is something very symbolic," a government official commented. "The guns have been positioned in the direction of Pakistan and this means something," he remarked. The Pakistani paramilitary forces, the Khyber Rifles, which man the Pakistan-Afghan border at Torkham, have also taken up positions. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010916 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Taliban threaten war for aiding US ------------------------------------------------------------------- KABUL, Sept 15: The Taliban threatened Pakistan with a "massive attack" if it helped the United States launch military strikes on Afghanistan in retaliation for suicide bombings in New York and Washington. The militia said it would regard such cooperation as an act of war. "The possibility of a massive attack by our Mujahideen cannot be ruled out if any neighbouring country offers its ground or air bases to US forces," a statement of the Afghan foreign ministry said. "It's possible that we will invade any country that provides access to the US. Our Mujahideen will force their way into their territory. "The responsibility for the grave consequences and instability of the region would then rest with them." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010916 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan not to join operations beyond borders ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Faraz Hashmi ISLAMABAD, Sept 15: Pakistan announced that it would extend full cooperation to the international community in its fight against terrorism without involving its forces in any action beyond its geographical boundaries. "Pakistan does not envisage taking part in any military operation outside its borders," Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar told a news conference held at the foreign office after a four-hour joint meeting of the National Security Council and federal cabinet. "The NSC and the federal cabinet reached consensus on the policy of lending full support to the world community in combating international terrorism," Mr Sattar said. Mr Sattar said President Musharraf would take the nation into confidence through consultation with the leaders of public opinion, including politicians. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010916 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ARD asks govt to take nation into confidence ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Sept 15: In the absence of any information from the government on demands made by the United States from Pakistan in the wake of terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre, New York, and the Pentagon, the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy declared that the government alone would be responsible for the consequences of any decision taken by it to meet the situation. The alliance demanded that political leaders should be taken into confidence to evolve national consequences to which PML (N) acting president Makhdoom Javed Hashmi immediately added that national consensus would not be possible unless former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Ms Benazir Bhutto were allowed to return to the country and join the process of consultations. He alleged that the government had already taken necessary decisions to deal with the post-attacks situation but it was deliberately keeping the nation in the dark. ARD President Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan opposed the reported US demand that Pakistan should give bases to enable American troops to take action against those responsible for the cataclysmic attacks. "We had opposed such a decision in the past, and we'll again oppose it now (if it is under consideration)", the senior leader said. The meeting was held at the Defence residence of PML (N) leader Begum Tehmina Daultana and leaders of almost all component parties participated. The Nawabzada recalled that he had vehemently opposed the permission to deploy the UN monitors on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border as the step amounted to infringement of Afghanistan's sovereignty. He said such teams could not be expected to confine themselves on keeping an eye on Afghanistan, but could also work against Pakistan. The ARD president said terrorist attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon were condemnable and they had confronted Pakistan with altogether a new situation. To be able to reach a right decision to meet the challenge, he said, the government should take the nation into confidence. He said religious minorities in Pakistan should be given full protection to save them from any possible reaction triggered by the situation. Javed Hashmi said if a world system was evolved to deal with the menace of terrorism and its rules were also equally applicable to the United States, there would be no harm in Pakistan becoming a part of the mechanism. However, he said, there should be no discrimination against any country, and the proposed setup should also address the situation prevailing in occupied Kashmir and Palestine. The Nawabzada said it was strange that the United States had yet to identify people responsible for the Sept 11 attacks, but it had started making various kinds of demands from Pakistan. ARD Secretary-General Iqbal Zafar Jhagra said the alliance would hold workers conventions in all four provinces. He said initially nine cities had been selected for these conventions, dates for which would be decided by the relevant provincial organizations of the alliance. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010916 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Beg warns of threat to nuclear installations ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Sept 15: Pakistan cannot afford to allow the United States to use its facilities for attacks on Kabul, former army chief Gen Mirza Aslam Beg (retired) said. Talking to newsmen, he said if the government took such a decision, the nation would reject it and rise against it. He warned that there was a serious threat to Pakistan's nuclear installations. Gen Beg recalled that Pakistan had twice cooperated in the past with the United States. He said on both occasions it was a net loser. He said Pakistan had extended the fullest cooperation to the US against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. But the day the defunct USSR pulled out its troops, the USA turned its back both on Pakistan and Afghanistan. Then, he said, Pakistan stood on the side of the US during the Gulf War, but the result was no different. According to him the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon had exposed the vulnerability of the security system of the United States and exploded the myth of the so-called super power. A country which could not challenge the aircraft hitting the WTC nor could take any other step to prevent the damage had implicated Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden within 24 hours. He said the US had no evidence against Osama or Afghanistan, but the media had created an atmosphere against them. "This is a trick to achieve a particular objective". He said it was not fair on the part of the United States to treat Pakistan like a client state. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010917 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Emergency declared in PTCL ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, Sept 16: Paramilitary forces were deployed at all sensitive communication installations in the country after an emergency was declared on the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited. Well-placed sources in Islamabad said the emergency had been declared and, the staff of the PTCL had been put on high alert following the situation that had arisen out of the United States' intended military strikes on Afghanistan. The sources said that all heads in the provincial, divisional and sub-divisional offices of the PTCL had been asked to remain ready round the clock. Other important installations and the gateway exchanges are also being guarded by paramilitary troops, the sources added. The directives, issued to the PTCL staff had also restricted them from sanctioning leave to its workers. However, no instructions were issued about those already on leave. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010921 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Afghan DPs pose security threat ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report PESHAWAR, Sept 20: Thousands of armed Afghan refugees living in several parts of the NWFP, particularly in Peshawar, appeared to be a major source of concern for the provincial government, according to official sources. Senior provincial government authorities told Dawn that though they don't expect an attack on the Pakistan territory by Taliban in the near future following the possible retaliatory US attacks on Afghanistan, thousands of armed Afghans - refugees and other Afghans - living in several parts of the province appeared to be the real source of concern for the provincial government. The armed Afghan fighters, present in large number in the refugee camps and other residential areas in and around Peshawar, said the sources, could create law and order problem in the provincial capital. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010921 ------------------------------------------------------------------- UN seeks help for DPs ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Sept 20: The United Nations agencies in Pakistan have called for assistance from world governments and donor community to deal with a developing regional humanitarian crisis where six million people face pre-famine conditions and 1.1 million are internally displaced. Three United Nations agencies, the World Food Program, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (UNOCHA), in a joint press conference at the United Nations Information Centre here, highlighted the risks to human life and a refugee crisis which can effect the entire region. The Afghans have been placed at an additional risk as a result of the repercussions of the September 11 attacks on the US, UNOCHA said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010921 ------------------------------------------------------------------- More FC men at Chaman border ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Saleem Shahid QUETTA, Sept 20: The government has deployed more personnel of the Frontier Corps at the international border with Afghanistan to observe complete closure of the border at Chaman. After sealing the border with Afghanistan the Pakistani authorities have put barricades and erected barbed-wire along with Afghan border to restrict the new influx of Afghan refugees who were arriving in thousand in Weesh to enter Pakistani border town Chaman. The Frontier Corps personnel were also seen patrolling along with the border area with heavy machine guns fitted at vehicles. "We have called out more FC men at the border just to tighten the security at the border," a senior border security official said adding that horse raiding FC men were also deployed at the border to keep a vigilant eye on the other side of the international border. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010918 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan closes border with Afghanistan: People fleeing Kabul ------------------------------------------------------------------- By M. Ismail Khan PESHAWAR, Sept 17: Pakistan placed a complete ban on the entry of Afghan nationals following a report from Kabul that the city had largely become deserted. "No Afghan national shall be allowed even with valid travel passport and visa," a short order issued by the NWFP home and tribal affairs department said. The order was issued to the Commandant Frontier Corps, whose forces control and command the Durand Line and the political administrations governing the tribal agencies straddling along the porous borders. It, however, said that Afghans proceeding to their country would be allowed to go back. The Commissionerate for the Afghan Refugees which looks after the 1.2 million refugees in the province, has issued another order, suspending the issuance of cross-border permits to refugees. The order shall remain enforced for 15 days. The border, however, is not sealed as goods covered under the trade regime are being allowed to go through, a senior official at the home and tribal affairs department said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010917 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Movement of Afghan DPs to be restricted ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Intikhab Amir PESHAWAR, Sept 16: The NWFP government has decided to restrict the movement of Afghans and confine refugees in their camps set up in several parts of the province in addition to increasing security personnel's deployment at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to curb infiltration of unauthorized Afghans to this side of the border, senior government officers told Dawn. A state of emergency prevailed in the provincial capital where senior officers of the NWFP government and 11 Corps, remained busy doing the needful as tension built up due to the possible US retaliatory strikes on Afghanistan and its repercussions for Pakistan, in general, and the NWFP in particular. Security has been beefed up in and around Afghan refugees' camps in and outside Peshawar and contingents of police have been deployed around the Jallozai makeshift camp, Shamshato camp and Nasir Bagh refugee camp to keep a close eye on refugees' movement. Besides, security has also been strengthened at all the sensitive buildings, military and civil installations, public places, important roads, squares in Peshawar as part of the government's precautionary measures to get ready for meeting any eventuality. Meanwhile, an official handout said the government has decided to set up an operation room in the Home and Tribal Affairs department, NWFP, "warranted by the tense situation. The Governor said that the law enforcing agencies should develop close coordination to effectively meet any eventuality," the handout said. The provincial government has also constituted two teams to establish contacts with the tribal elders and notables from Fata for the maintenance of law and order in the tribal areas. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010922 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Asif moves court for acquittal in SGS case ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Nasir Iqbal ISLAMABAD, Sept 21: Asif Ali Zardari has submitted an application before a Rawalpindi accountability court for his acquittal in the SGS pre-shipment inspection contract case praying that any retrial would amount to double jeopardy. The application had been moved under Article 13 of the Constitution which guarantees protection against double punishment and self- incrimination. Article 13 of the Constitution also states that no person shall be prosecuted or punished for the same offence more than once or shall, when accused of an offence, be compelled to be a witness against himself. The accused stated that he had already completed five years sentence, awarded by the Rawalpindi Ehtesab Bench of the Lahore High Court. Mr Zardari has been kept in a room of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), after declaring it a sub-jail, since February, 2001. Earlier he was kept at the Karachi Central Jail since 1996. An ehtesab bench, led by former Lahore High Court Chief Justice Malik Qayyum, had awarded Mr Zardari five years imprisonment with a fine of $8.6 million on April 15, 1999. The judge had also disqualified the former senator as a member of the parliament. Prominent lawyer Hafiz Pirzada, who had also pleaded the case of the accused before the LHC ehtesab bench, is representing him in the accountability court. Since he was busy in the Supreme Court on Friday, the hearing was put off for September 28, on which the application of Mr Zardari would be discussed. The former premier, Benazir Bhutto, and Asif Zadari are being retried in the SGS case. The Supreme Court on April 6, 2001 had declared the LHC verdict biased and ordered for retrial of the accused. The SGS reference was sent to the Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, which was later referred to the Rawalpindi accountability court for retrial. The couple has been accused of getting six per cent commission of the total revenue of preshipment for awarding the contract to the Societe Generale Survillence (SGS). The commission was paid to an offshore company, Bomer Finance Inc allegedly owned by Asif Ali Zardari, through his fiduciary agent Jens Schlegelmilch. The ultimate beneficiaries of the commission were Asif Ali Zardari and Benazir Bhutto, the prosecution alleged. Meanwhile the earlier notices issued to the respondents for the appearance in the court could not be served as majority of them lives abroad. The other respondents in the case are: former Central Board of Revenue (CBR) chairman A.R. Siddiqui; Jens Schlegelmilch of Switzerland; the then SGS vice-president, Colin Robey; the then SGS managing-director, Oliver De Breakeleer; three operation managers, Michael Lysewyes, Mickael Warrow and David Murray; two managers, R. Rijken and Ms Andrea Ralp. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010918 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Judge refuses to hear Zardari's appeal ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Sept 17: A division bench of the Lahore High Court declined to hear an appeal filed by former MNA Hakim Ali Zardari against his conviction by an accountability court. Mr Zardari was sentenced to one and a half year's imprisonment and a fine of Rs20 million for misuse of authority as chairman of the National Assembly's public accounts committee. He secured a loan from the National Development Finance Corporation for a petrol pump in the tourist village project but did not utilize it. Mr Zardari says the loan was repaid and that a reference based on the same charge was dismissed by the Lahore High Court. As the appeal came up before a bench comprising Justices Mian Nazir Akhtar and Mian Najamuzzaman, the latter recalled that he had prosecuted the reference as public prosecutor and it would not be proper for him to hear the case. The appellant's counsel, Barrister Saleem Sahgal, expressed his confidence in the bench but the judge remained firm on the question of propriety. The appeal will now be heard by the other bench adjudicating appeals against accountability court decisions. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010921 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SHC orders release of Hakim Zardari ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, Sept 20: A division bench of Sindh High Court while granting petition of ex-MNA Hakim Ali Zardari directed that he should be set at liberty on Sept 24 if not required in any other case. The bench comprised Justice Sabeehuddin Ahmed and Justice S Ali Aslam Jaffery. The petitioner had prayed that pending the decision of appeal filed by him against a verdict of the Accountability Court of Lahore he was entitled to remission granted to persons aged 65 and above. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010916 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Former FIA chief indicted ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Sept 15: An accountability court framed charges against FIA's former director-general Maj Mushtaq Ahmad (retired) in a corruption case. The accused pleaded not guilty. The court fixed Sept 22 for recording prosecution evidence in the case. The reference accused FIA's former official of acquiring assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. It is alleged that he owned 14 plots, had shares in different mills and bank accounts which he could not account for. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010922 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Four killed in Karachi: Partial strike across the country ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dawn Report KARACHI, Sept 21: Four people were killed, several others injured in clashes between the protesters and the police, the day of strike observed on a call given by the religious parties against the feared US military attack on Afghanistan. Elsewhere in the country, the strike was partial amid reports of stray incidents of violence. However, in Karachi, there was a complete shutdown and industrial/commercial activities remained suspended. Transporters also kept their vehicles off the roads resulting in thin attendance in offices. Most of the educational institutions remained closed. The police said two protesters were shot dead in an exchange of fire between the law enforcement agencies and the protesters on Super Highway near Sohrab Goth. The protesters beat a milkman to death in the Airport area and a private security guard shot dead one of the protesters when they attacked a flour mill in Mauripur industrial area. The angry mob burnt three police mobiles, a cinema house, and tyres on streets and main arteries of the city. Four Edhi ambulances were also damaged in attacks by the violent mob. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010920 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Six killed in Sialkot blast ------------------------------------------------------------------- Six labourers were killed and 44 others injured seriously in a bomb blast at Adda Mazdooran near Pul Aik on the Pasrur Road. Official sources told Dawn that some unidentified terrorists parked a bicycle at Adda Mazdooran with a high intensity bomb planted under the seat. The bomb went off at 8:40am killing six labourers on the spot. A large number of people, including passers-by, injured badly in a stampede which followed the blast. The injured were rushed to different hospitals of the city. Sources said it was an Indian-made plastic time bomb, weighing two kilograms. It was the second bomb blast which occurred at the same spot. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010920 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Badar remanded in custody till Oct 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, Sept 19: An accountability court remanded PPP leader and former petroleum minister Jehangir Badar in judicial custody till Oct 4. The court dismissed NAB's application for physical custody of the accused for another 15 days. Jehangir Badar was arrested on Aug 21 under the NAB ordinance for allegedly committing corruption by amassing assets and misuse of authority. Special Prosecutor Haroon Rasheed Cheema said the prosecution had some new allegations for which it required the custody of the accused. He said the accused as petroleum minister and chairman of the board of directors of the SSGP used his influence to make a payment of Rs15 million in favour of a contractor as escalation charges when the contractor finished the projects assigned to him with a delay of two years. The projects were supposed to be completed in 1986. The contractors' initial requests for the payment had been dismissed when the minister allegedly prevailed upon the board to release the amount. The PPP leader was also accused of issuing licences for PSO stations throughout the country. The prosecutor said the investigators had also learnt about a locker and a foreign currency bank account in the name of the accused. He said the locker had to be opened in his presence.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY 20010921 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Debt relief strategy being updated ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jawaid Bokhari KARACHI, Sept 20: Pakistan is updating its strategy focused on debt relief and long-term debt rescheduling at most concessional terms possible, given the past bilateral practices and options available in the guidelines set by IMF, World Bank and the Paris Club. Sources here said the strategy update has become inevitable to acquire fiscal space for carrying out responsibilities entrusted to Islamabad by the international community and to reduce the debt burden to a sustainable level. The new responsibilities and challenges emerge from the US strategy which has currently placed Pakistan at the centre of its campaign to fight international terrorism. Tanvir Agha, economics minister at Pakistan embassy, told a foreign news agency on Tuesday: "What we are looking after is that imparts sustainability to the debt burden and ensures that Pakistan does not have to go in for repeated rescheduling." As it appears, the country's cash-strapped and fragile economy would be subjected to dual strain in the near term. With US slowdown fuelling a global recession, Pakistan would not escape economic woes. And the mounting tension linked to a possible attack on Afghanistan has started unravelling its initial impact. Some foreign banks have hiked their lending rates by one percentage point. Foreign shipping lines have increased freight rates. Insurance and reinsurance companies are looking at country-risk involved in tracking down Osama Bin Laden. Whereas Japanese banks are believed to be in favour of Hubco's declaration of dividends, western banks are dragging their feet on the issue. The stock exchanges have been closed for three days and the anticipated Rs5 billion that go into the market's revival may not yield positive results. It is the external sector that may be subjected to a lot of pressure. Tensions linked to a possible attack on Afghanistan would dry up foreign investment, already reduced to the lowest levels. Informal and formal trade with Afghanistan may suffer despite the long porous border. Fear of a prolonged recession is raising the threat of protectionism which the industrialized states are trying to avoid. Pakistan may not be able to escape the consequences of a prolonged recession. Pakistan is therefore working on a "contingency plan" that would perhaps be financed by the benefits accruing from the responsibility entrusted to Islamabad by the US. To quote the Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz: "Clearly, as the relationship with US grows, I am sure that economic ties will grow, which would mean better market access, better treatment on debt rescheduling and more money, both directly and through the multilateral institutions." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010919 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SBP not mulling cut in discount rate ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Mohiuddin Aazim KARACHI, Sept 18: Despite the post-terror attack lowering of discount rates by the Federal Reserves and other central banks including the Bank of England, the State Bank of Pakistan is not considering such a move. "In view of the IMF stabilization program we are not linked with the international market as yet," said SBP Economic Adviser Dr Mushtaq A. Khan while explaining to Dawn why the SBP was not considering further cut in its discount rate. "We have already reduced our discount rates twice and are now waiting for the market to settle down." The SBP cut its discount rate from 14 to 12 per cent in two phases in the last two months to pull the economy out of a continuing slowdown. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010919 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Talks with IMF to focus on PRGF: Team to visit US soon ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Sabihuddin Ghausi KARACHI, Sept 18: A small mission of Pakistan is visiting Washington in next couple of weeks to work out details with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a smooth transition from a stringent conditionalities loaded 10 months standby facility to a relatively less restrictive three-year Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF). Sources close to the finance ministry in Islamabad say that composition of the Pakistan's mission will be finalized soon. The agenda for the meeting is also expected to be drawn up in next week or so. The 596 million dollars standby facility expires by end of this month, and Pakistan expects the release of last tranche of 133 million dollars sometimes next month. A narrowing down of the budget deficit to 5.2 per cent last fiscal from 6.3 per cent a year ago, building up three billion dollars plus foreign exchange reserves, besides major reforms in the taxation, in the financial, oil and gas sectors, and restructuring of state enterprises are few of the achievements being claimed by the government. "More important than all these achievements is the confidence that IMF has now in Pakistan", a senior banker close to the top people of finance ministry in Islamabad pointed out. The sources claim that Pakistan has regained lost credibility with the IMF and all other international financial institutions by "addressing all the relevant issues." Main focus in the forthcoming talks with IMF is expected to be on easy terms financing and a debt rescheduling programme to be drawn up with the donors. "With a foreign exchange reserve of 3.4 billion dollars, an impressive record of taking up an unprecedented reforms programme in all vital sectors of the economy, Pakistan's position in dealing with the IMF is much better than what it was a year ago", a senior banker pointed out. The American Business Council (ABC) representing 63 US companies in Pakistan have already asked the American President George Bush to lift all nuclear related sanctions on Pakistan. Pakistan has been identified as a "crucially important friend of the US and a moderate Islamic country." The US being one of the key stake holder in international financial institutions, IMF and the World Bank is expected to be much more favourable than in the past. "The World Bank has already offered 374 million dollars during April to June and may offer more assistance in many other areas," a source said. According to the source the World Bank offers about 200 to 250 million dollars a year assistance to those countries with 700 to 800 dollars per capita income. "Countries showing better governance qualify for greater assistance even with that level of per capita income," he said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010917 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Trading in bourses suspended ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Amjad Mahmood LAHORE, Sept 16: Trading in all the three stock exchanges will remain suspended for three days (Sept 17-19) "on the instructions of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP)" to protect them from further losses. The share market witnessed heavy losses due to uncertain conditions in the country after last Tuesday's terror acts in New York and Washington. The decision was taken unanimously at a meeting of the office- bearers of all the three exchanges held at the Lahore Stock Exchange. The Karachi Stock Exchange 100-share index hit its three-year low by losing 115 points, 50 during its weekend session, to 1,139 points since the US attacks, eroding as much as Rs26 billion from market capitalization. The analysts feared that the index would break the 1,000 barrier during the next trading sessions as the shares not included in the index had witnessed 40 per cent decline. The LSE had shed 23.43 points during the last three sessions as the index had come down to 227.06 from 250.49 points. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010918 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Petroleum ministry told to be vigilant ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, Sept 17: The petroleum ministry has been directed to remain extra vigilant about demand and supply position of the petroleum products and to further augment the reserves position, official sources told Dawn . This word of caution came at the meeting of Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet which reviewed the prices and availability of essential items in the country. Presided over by finance minister Shaukat Aziz the committee found that the stock position and movement of essential items like wheat, POL and fertilizers etc was satisfactory and that prices of various kitchen items remained by and large stable, an official statement said. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010922 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SC dismisses ABL plea against share sale ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Sept 21: The Supreme Court dismissed the petition of Allied Bank's management, demanding that federal government should not be allowed to dis-invest its 49 per cent shares to general public through stock exchange. The SC in its decision on Allied Management Group's (AMG) petition held, "The petitioner is neither interested to purchase the shares nor is permitting its sale in favor of general public." The AMG had sought a direction, from the Lahore High Court and later from the SC, that the federal government be restrained from transferring any portion of its 49 per cent shares, as some "greedy capitalists" wanted to grab the bank. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010922 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Extension in bourses shutdown feared ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Nasir Jamal LAHORE, Sept 21: "Would the country's three bourses reopen on Monday following a week long closing in the wake of an imminent attack by the US on Afghanistan?," is the biting question that is haunting investors and dealers alike. "The market will reopen on Monday," Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) chairman Dr Yasir Mehmood assured. "It is not good for the bourses to remain closed for a long period," he told Dawn. However, several dealers are skeptic of his statement and fear that the shutdown period might have to be extended for a few more days in view of the worsening regional situation as a consequence of the Taliban's defiance to extradite Osama bin Laden. The bourses were closed initially for three days amidst mounting concerns of possible US military strikes on Afghanistan. The closing period was extended for the remaining two days of the week in view of the looming, unresolved crisis in the region. The KSE-100 index lost 115 points, about 12 per cent, to close at 1,139, and the LSE-101 index lost 23.43 points, about 9.36 per cent, to close at 227 during the last three days of trading after the US attacks. About a dozen banks and non-banking financial institutions have committed early this week to inject Rs5 billion in the carry-over trade (COT) to shore up the equities.Back to the top
EDITORIALS & FEATURES 20010916 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Al-Qaqa ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ardeshir Cowasjee The spooks of Pakistan, with their highly sophisticated equipment, who cost us far more than we can afford (one of whose pastimes is to tap my telephones ) should rejoice. They are not the worst of the lot. The American intelligence which spends some $30 billion year of their people's money were not able to protect their own front yard. Having pondered deeply, the Americans have come to the conclusion that the prime suspect, the man responsible for the New York and Washington aircraft-bombs which exploded causing so many deaths, and massive damage to life and property (which any civilized man must find abhorrent) and the third hijacked crashed aircraft in Pennsylvania, is Osama bin Laden, also known as 'Al-Qaqa', The Prince, The Emir, Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Laden, Shaykh Usamah Bin- Laden, Abu-Abdullah, Mujahid Shaykh, Hajj, and lastly, in rather James-Bondish fashion, The Director. This man is the first amongst the ten most wanted fugitives on the FBI list. The FBI describes him thus: Born in 1957 (some say in 1956 or 1958) in Saudi Arabia (some say elsewhere), he stands 6 foot 6 inches high unstooped and 6 foot 4 inches stooped, he weighs some 160 pounds, is of thin build, has brown hair, brown eyes. He bears no scars or marks. His occupation is stated to be 'unknown'. It is said that he is the 'leader of a terrorist organization known as Al-Qaeda (The Base). He walks with a cane. Reports say the Saudis have now stripped him of his nationality and frozen his funds. He is armed and exceedingly dangerous. The government of the United States offers a reward of up to $5 million for information leading directly to his apprehension or conviction. The United States District Court of the Southern District of New York records that in 1998 the Grand Jury indicted Bin Laden on various charges, under indictment No.S(2)98 Cr.1023(LBS). Others indicted with him on similar charges are Mohammad Ataf, aka Abu- Hafs el Masry, Abu Hafs el Masry el Khabir, Taysir, Sheikh Taysir Abdullah; Wadih el Hage, aka Abdus Sabbur, Abd al Sabbur, Norman, Wa'da Norman; Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, aka Harun Fazhl, Fazhl Abdullah, Fazhl Khan; Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, aka Abu Moath, Noureldine, Marwan, Hydar; and Moahmed Rashed Daoud Al-'Owhali, aka Khalid Salim Saleh Bin Rashed, Moath, Abdul Jabbar Ali Abdel Latif. Osama may be reading this right now. The Taliban say he does not have a telephone line - which is true. He would be a dead duck were he to rely on the Afghan telephone network or for that matter on ours. But he is considered to be the most wired terrorist ever known, now running a holy war via satellite telephones and modems. The National Security Agency regularly listens to his unencrypted calls from his bat-cave in Afghanistan. He uses a portable INMARSAT phone that transmits and receives calls over spacecraft owned by the International Maritime Satellite Organization, the same system as is used by our smugglers and heroin traders. Osama is aware that the United States can and does eavesdrop on his international communications, but he does not seem to care. To impress cleared visitors, NSA analysts occasionally play audio tapes of bin Laden talking to his mother over an Inmarsat connection. US Intelligence operates what is probably the largest information processing environment in the world. Just one intelligence connection system alone can generate a million inputs per half hour. Filters throw away all but 6,500 inputs, only 1,000 of which meet forwarding criteria. Ten inputs are normally selected by analysts and only one report is produced. These are routine statistics for a number of US intelligence collection and analysis systems which collect technical intelligence. Inside Osama's cave, in rooms hollowed into the rock face, computer screens glow, fax machines whirr. US Intelligence believes that he e-mailed instructions from his cave to his supporters on the timing of the 1995 car bombing in Riyadh that killed five Americans. They also believe that he controls some $300 million (they at one time paid him $10 million) and kills with the 'send' button of his e- mail. Osama watches his diet. He lives on gritty bread, cheese and tea. One of the US spooks found him and his entourage of twelve sharing a meal of just four fried eggs. After picking him up and training him for their own purposes, the US still knows little about the man whose face has become the scariest icon in the past five days. Osama was born the seventeenth of the 52 or 53 children of Saudi construction magnate Muhammad Awad bin Laden. His mother (variously reported as either Palestinian or conservative Saudi) is derided as the billionaire's tenth and least favoured wife. Osama is the only child of this union. By all accounts he was a quiet and unremarkable boy who learned the family business in his school holidays. He is said to have graduated from a college either in Riyhadh, or Jeddah, or maybe London, with a degree in business management, or perhaps engineering. Most accounts have it that as a teenager bin Laden became fired with religious fervour whilst working on restoring the Islamic holy sites at Makkah and Madina. The Washington Post has it that he left school in 1973, caroused in bars and nightclubs in swinging Beirut, trading insults and punches over the attentions of pretty barmaids and sexy belly-dancers until the party ended with the Lebanese civil war in 1975. Now, before our spooks disrupt my communications systems, I tell them that all this information has been culled from the Internet, available with one click to anyone with access. Now we come home. Our president general, so to speak, now on the carpet, is capable of seeing us through this rather tricky patch. He must remember that all leadership demands a price and remember that the Americans still follow the solemn admonition of their first president, George Washington, delivered in his farewell address: "It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances, with any portion of the foreign world." Our help has been sought and it must be given. By their own admission, American memory is short. Today's friends of necessity become tomorrow's enemies. What we want, what we badly need, is to be asked upfront. We can do better than Hosni Mubarak, who by nimble adept footwork had Egypt's $9 billion written off. Pervez Musharraf is now a statesman and not a commando. He must unequivocally endorse the belated words of Atal Behari Vajpayee: "We must strike at the roots of the system that breeds terrorism. We must stamp out the infrastructure that imparts the perverse ideological poison by which the terrorist is fired up. We must hold governments wholly accountable for the terrorism that originates from their countries. In other words, to get at the terrorists the world community must get at their organizations, at those who condition, finance, train, equip and protect them. The world must join hands to overwhelm terrorists militarily, to neutralize their poison.... every Indian has to be a part of this global war on terrorism..... what happens in Mumbai one day is bound to happen elsewhere tomorrow, that the poison that propels mercenaries and terrorists to kill and maim in Jammu and Kashmir will impel the same sort to blow up people elsewhere." On Friday afternoon in Washington the Senate adopted a joint resolution. President George W Bush was "authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2011, or harboured such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons." Unanimous rapid-fire approval was given to a down-payment of $40 billion dollars for this purpose, twice the amount the President had asked for. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010921 ------------------------------------------------------------------- A passion for selling ourselves cheaply ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ayaz Amir It is a moot point which crumbled faster: the twin towers of the World Trade Centre or the imposing ramparts of Pakistani pride? Just a few threatening statements from President Bush and Gen Powell and Pakistan's military government, usually so tough at home, conceded everything the Americans were asking for. We did not say, as forgivably we might have, that we would look into the US demands. We did not say that we would consult public opinion before formulating our response. To some extraordinary outbursts of arrogance from Washington we succumbed first and only later was a show made of consulting leaders of public opinion. We buckled under pressure. Alas, no other construction fits our swift capitulation. Perhaps, as General Musharraf has been at pains to explain, we had no other choice. But must we have bent that swiftly? Even if only for form's sake, couldn't we have paused to take breath before agreeing to every last item on America's imperious list of demands? And, pray, what precisely were we afraid of? That the US in its blind anger would make an example of us, flattening our airfields, destroying our installations, taking out our 'nuclear strategic assets'? These wretched assets were supposed to be our ultimate defence. Now they turn out to be our biggest weakness, useless against the crude blackmail to which we have been subjected. Sadly, it's all in character. After India's nuclear tests in May 1998, a few threatening statements from that side threw us into a panic and made us carry out our own tests. Restraint would have won us international kudos and put India in a spot. But out of paranoia we frittered away an historic opportunity. It makes one wonder as to the kind of people we are. Listening to our bombast anyone would take us to be Greeks of the Homeric period. Anyone examining closely our national record would be struck by our pusillanimity. And our ability to shoot ourselves in the foot. But I bet the Americans who have a fair measure of Pakistan's capacity to withstand stress are not surprised. We have always been eager to serve their interests, often at great cost to ourselves and mostly without getting much in return. Once again we are gearing up for the same role despite bitter experience of having been repeatedly used and repeatedly abandoned. What handsome revenge for America's debacle in Vietnam was the savaging of the Soviet bear in Afghanistan. A handful of Pakistani generals enriched themselves during that momentous struggle. But what did the country get? Guns, violence, drugs and a sea of refugees. All the glory America's, all the recurring costs Pakistan's. Anyone could be forgiven for thinking that history is being repeated. Surely, a measure of self-serving calculation is involved in the decision General Musharraf has taken on behalf of the nation: a vision of gratitude dollars pouring in, of our debt burden easing, of India being outsmarted, and of Pakistan being treated as honoured ally instead of a country down on its luck. But what did we get before that we are hoping for the wheel to turn this time? We don't know what the US eventually decides. Afghanistan is not the easiest of battlefields and sending in ground troops carries enormous risks. But we do know that Pakistani territory and facilities will be used for any strike on Afghanistan. Such a concession, if at all to be given, should have come at the end of a process of mutual discussion and consultations, not right at the outset as we have done, hoping that the US out of the goodness of its heart will reward us later. We don't even know who'll take care of the refugees pouring into Pakistan. Should we then have pressed the panic button so quickly? Granted that it was our support for the Taliban which brought us into the focus of American pressure. But who was pushing the support-Taliban policy? The military, the ISI, the national security establishment. The people of Pakistan are now paying the price of this folly. There was no shortage of voices questioning the wisdom of our Taliban policy: that it was fanning the flames of religious extremism at home and proving a source of disquiet for our friends abroad. The notion of 'strategic depth', so beloved of GHQ, also made no sense because blind support of the Taliban meant not enhanced defence but importing another set of problems into our midst. But the experts remained unfazed. Now under duress we are doing what should have been done long ago: distancing ourselves from the Taliban. At long last the right policy but for the wrong reasons. We are being told, however, that if we had not acted first India, which was rolling out the red carpet for the US, offering it every last facility, would have stolen a march on us, leaving us out in the cold to face American anger alone. What nonsense is this? Must we see ourselves in India's mirror always? True, in order to paint Pakistan into a corner, India has tried to pander to American sensibilities (to its chagrin without much success). We had a duty to protect our flanks. But we could have paused for a moment. >From which bases in the Rajasthan desert can a ground assault be mounted on Afghanistan? The key to any land action against Afghanistan is Pakistan and if the Americans are serious about any such action they have perforce to use Pakistani facilities. Had our nerve held we could have played for time in order to see what the US was willing to give in return. Admittedly, Pakistan is not Vietnam or Cuba. Our leaders do not take Ho Chi Minh as their model. Still, must we have caved in so quickly? How would the Lion of Damascus, Hafez Al-Assad, have played his cards in such a crisis? He would have spoken no unnecessary word, would have guarded his silence like the Sphinx and made the paladins of the State Department and the Pentagon come to Islamabad, refusing only to meet the American official (was it Armitage?) who said it was for Pakistan to decide whether it wanted to live in the 21st century or the Stone Age. Credible threats Assad would have weighed carefully. Arrogance he would have treated with contempt. Above all, he would not have displayed his hand prematurely. This is not a summons to arms or any misplaced arrogance of our own. The winds blowing across our country may be too strong for us to deflect. But there is no reason for us to sully national honour by behaving in too supine a manner. In any case we are confusing two separate issues: support for the Taliban and bowing before American demands. Our Taliban policy was a prescription for folly. Even if we have friendly feelings for the people of Afghanistan, Pakistan cannot be sacrificed for the sake of any other country. But this is one thing, offering Pakistani territory for use against Afghanistan quite another. Have we carefully pondered the consequences of this move? How will our people take it? And what will be the cost to our already battered pride as a nation? We are being told to be wise. Wisdom does not lie in acting cravenly. What good is our half-a-million man army and our famous nuclear deterrent if in every crisis we are to crack under the first strain? This does not mean we take on the Americans. There is no need to tempt the gods or please our enemies by doing that. It only means that we let the Americans know, politely but firmly, that while we are only too ready to do the right thing, preferably under United Nations auspices, we are not willing to be pushed around or sell ourselves cheaply. Was it a sense of opportunity lost which made General Musharraf look so tense on Wednesday evening when he addressed the nation? It was not one of his best performances and certainly was a far cry from his conquest of Agra. He asked the nation to trust him. The nation has no choice: he is the captain on deck and it is he who must take the ship of state into safer waters. It would help, however, if even at this stage he opens the shut portals of his regime a bit to let in some fresh air so that decisions affecting the country's future are taken in a setting slightly broader than the cloistered world of the corps commanders. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010922 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Red tide rising ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Irfan Husain These are troubled times. Understandably, raw and powerful emotions like hatred, grief, pain and the atavistic demand for vengeance have taken over the discussion of how to deal with last week's trauma in New York and Washington. By nature, Americans are not a very introspective people, nor do they dwell too long or often on foreign affairs. During my brief sojourn and visits to the United States, I have found ordinary Americans to be open, warm and hospitable. Uncomplicated and straightforward, their eyes often glaze over in a discussion of international events. For them, their vast nation is world enough. We, on the other hand, are obsessed with national and international politics. This difference in outlook explains why the average American cannot equate his government's policies overseas with the hatred many foreigners feel for his country. To him, they are envious of the prosperity and freedom he enjoys as a citizen of the richest and most powerful country in the world. Many American leaders from President Bush downwards have described last week's suicide bombings as "attacks on liberty and democracy", naively or deliberately missing the connection between cause and effect. As the US-led juggernaut threatens to flatten Afghanistan together with the Taliban, there is a real danger that the lessons to be drawn from this tragedy will be overlooked in the rush of events. Although President Bush has vowed to "rid our children and our children's children of the scourge of terrorism", I fear that unless he and the international community are prepared to inquire into how and why this scourge is born and flourishes, future generations will continue to grapple with it. Despite the temptation to focus on action alone as the Americans go into Afghanistan with guns blazing, it is important that we ask ourselves why 19 seemingly educated, perfectly ordinary young middle-class Arabs killed themselves and thousands of innocent people on September 11. According to reports, several of them drank alcohol, had girlfriends or families, and led outwardly normal lives. Hardly the profile of fanatical suicide bombers. So what made them all board passenger aircraft one morning and fly them into the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre? Unless we are prepared to look at the motivation underlying their resolve, we cannot prevent similar horrors from visiting us in the future. Even if terrorist groups are broken up, their leaders killed and their banks accounts frozen, what is to stop individuals from driving a truck into a petrol station, or sinking a hijacked cruise ship? Not much training or resources are needed to carry out such random terror attacks. The truth is that it is virtually impossible to stop a person from committing mayhem if he is willing to die in the attempt. Most Americans - even well traveled, sophisticated ones - are convinced that suicide bombers have been brainwashed since childhood into killing themselves for whatever cause their parents support. This racist view assumes that certain races like the Arabs or the Tamils somehow love their children less than Westerners, and therefore bring them up to sacrifice themselves when required. The uncomfortable truth is that people take such a desperate step only when they have no other choice. We need to remember that no matter how devastating its effects, terrorism remains a weapon of the weak. Pakistan's leaders too, appear to have learned little from past experience as they walk a tightrope between becoming a pariah state and being wracked by internal dissension and strife. A decade ago, as the US sought to build a coalition against Iraq in the wake of Saddam Hussein's suicidal invasion of Kuwait, we grudgingly climbed on board. But instead of benefiting diplomatically and financially from being a partner of this coalition, we made our lack of enthusiasm clear, with Gen. Aslam Beg leading the way with his fatuous 'doctrine of strategic defiance.' Indeed, his total lack of appreciation and understanding of the situation made one doubt the efficacy of the army's promotion system: if somebody like him could head our defences, how safe were we? Fortunately, Gen. Musharraf seems to have a cooler and wiser head on his shoulders, and has never been more impressive than in this crisis as he strives to build a national consensus behind the entirely rational decision to help the Americans in their fight against terrorism. We must be in no doubt that this war is our war too. Pakistan has been a victim of more terrorist activity over the years than almost any other country. But in our case, most of the perpetrators have been home grown: violent ethnic and sectarian groups came into being under Gen. Zia's baneful rule, and after we were rid of him, successive governments encouraged the emergence of jihadi militias to further their agendas in Afghanistan and Kashmir. To add to this rich mix of terror, other countries have financed the operations of some of these elements in a proxy war on our soil, or to pay us back for our covert cross-border activities. Our leaders have tried vainly to distinguish between terrorism and jihad. Now, more than ever before, the world will accept no such distinction. Some commentators have suggested that support for the Americans implies a loss of sovereignty. This is nonsense: helping to root out terror and random violence is something we should all support. The Taliban are our very own Frankenstein's monster, and like the creature out of the novel, is now ready to turn on its creator. For years now, we have supported them militarily, financially and diplomatically, and have been constantly embarrassed by their bizarre behaviour. It is entirely appropriate that we have been dragged back to the frontline to help clear up the mess we were instrumental in creating. Given the licence we have granted extremist groups over the years, controlling the domestic backlash of anti-Taliban action will not be easy. Gen Musharraf will have to be very tough and not fall into the trap of trying to appease the fundamentalist lobby by half- hearted support for the Americans. If he does, we will end up in the same kind of situation we did in the Gulf War. If he can carry the army with him, there is no reason why we can't use this crisis to crush our domestic extremist groups, and rejoin the mainstream instead of being relegated to the periphery. I know this is asking a lot of a beleaguered government, but leadership calls for difficult and occasionally unpopular decisions and firm resolve. The thing to remember is that the people demonstrating in the streets against our support for the anti-terrorism coalition represent a tiny fraction of the population. Most Pakistanis are horrified by the loss of innocent lives (including Pakistani ones) in Washington and New York. If the government takes tough action against any agitator breaking the law, it will send a clear message that a street movement will not be allowed to change its decision. This is a military government after all, and now is the time it started acting like one.
SPORTS 20010921 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ex-Test stars unhappy with ICC's policies ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Reporter KARACHI, Sept 20: Pakistan's former Test stalwarts refused to digest International Cricket Council's explanation that it was not its responsibility to reschedule New Zealand's tour to Pakistan which is all but cancelled due to security reasons. Legendary Hanif Mohammad blamed the ICC for not showing professionalism while chalking out the 10-year program, a vocal former chairman of selectors Hasib Ahsan accused the game's governing body of bias. "I think the ICC should accept the blame of not keeping provision of unexpected happenings at the time of finalizing its 10-year calendar. Loopholes have been exposed in its planning," the Little Master said. "The ICC should take this incident as an eye-opener and revise its 10-year plan. There needs to be provision to reschedule tours if affected by events beyond their control," Hanif said. But Hasib took a shot at the ICC when he said: "The ICC is like United Nations. It appears to be non-existent when there are issues involving countries like Pakistan but suddenly surfaces when influential countries face some crisis. "If the ICC claims itself to be the game's controlling authority, then its responsibility doesn't end at all. It needs to reschedule New Zealand's tour so that Pakistan doesn't suffer any financial setback and receives equal treatment." The ICC, however, received an unexpected support from Zaheer Abbas when the former captain said: "It don't think the ICC can do anything. The present situation is beyond its control. "However, the ICC should press New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to honour the commitment at an appropriate time." Another former chief selector Salahuddin Ahmad opined that the ICC now needed to give assurances to the host board that the series would be rescheduled. "Pakistan is honoring its commitments but is getting a raw deal from others. The ICC needs to show some teeth and spine. If the ICC says its responsibility has ended, then it is conveying signals that it has limited powers." Arif Abbasi, the longest serving Pakistan cricket administrator, argued that if the ICC had taken the responsibility of arranging tours, it was its duty to monitor if the schedule was being followed. "If the ICC claims that it is all in all, then it has to act accordingly. The ICC is not United Nations but a company which is registered in Monaco. If the ICC cannot ensure the implementation of the 10-year program, then its better that the respective boards go back to the old format where tours were bilaterally decided." Abbasi, however, felt that Pakistan should have demanded the ICC to spell out its policy after India had refused to honour its commitment. "Pakistan should have asked for penalties then and there. Unfortunately, Pakistan lost out that opportunity." Pakistan stands to lose at least $5million which will be a terrible setback after it suffered a $15million and Rs 2million losses earlier this year - courtesy India. Ironically, both the countries generated revenues at least three times more than what Pakistan would have earned when the green- shirted cricketers toured India in 1999 and New Zealand earlier this year. Hanif, Zaheer and Arif Abbasi were unanimous in saying that there should be compensation and sanctions if a country doesn't fulfill its obligations even under friendly conditions. "There should be fines. The defaulting board should be penalized at least 50 per cent of what the host board would have earned," Hanif observed. Zaheer said: "If the ICC can't enforce itself, what's the point of having it. The least they can do is to impose fines or sanctions on team's not binding the agreement. "Why the host board should suffer because of atrocious policies of some government or its cricket establishment and ICC's ineffectiveness." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010920 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ICC declines to reschedule NZ's tour of Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Samiul Hasan KARACHI, Sept 19: The International Cricket Council (ICC) disowned its responsibility of rescheduling New Zealand's tour to Pakistan which is all but cancelled because of security concerns prevailing in the region. "It is not the ICC's responsibility to reschedule the New Zealand tour to Pakistan," the game's governing body said in a statement to Dawn. "(The) ICC sets the schedule with the 10-year tour program, but after that it is the responsibility of individual countries to fulfill the fixtures. "We (ICC) hope that this will be the case, but obviously it will depend on the political situation," ICC communication manager, Mark Harrison, said while replying to Dawn's questionnaire. Pakistan stands to lose approximately $5million over the cancellation of the New Zealand tour which is set to hamper the development and promotion projects in the country. Pakistan has already lost revenues estimated to be worth $15million after India cancelled a scheduled tour to Pakistan earlier this year. Pakistan also suffered another loss of Rs20million through title sponsorship when India refused to cross borders for the Asian Test Championship match scheduled between Sept 12 and 16 at Lahore. Ironically, the Black Caps were set to tour Pakistan according to the much publicized ICC's 10-year program which was constituted, approved and released last year. The ICC had masterminded the 10- year plan to provide equal opportunity to countries to play Test matches on home and away basis. The other objective of the 10-year plan was to award World Test Championship to the team accumulating highest number of points on cricket played in the first five years. The ICC's arrogant response is yet another example of its ineffectiveness. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010917 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan makes fresh offer to Black Caps ------------------------------------------------------------------- Monitoring Desk KARACHI, Sept 16: Pakistan will offer a series of seven one-day internationals to New Zealand for a short tour, a cricket official said. "We are exploring the possibility of having seven one-day internationals against New Zealand on a short tour of Pakistan," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) marketing advisor Zahid Bashir said. "It's not very tough to arrange limited over games and we have as many as five venues to stage the one-day games with two each in Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi." New Zealand was due to arrive in Pakistan last Friday but they put off the tour for eight days over fears of security problems in Pakistan. The PCB stands to lose around $2 million if no team plays in Pakistan this season. Pakistan's next home series will be against West Indies in February-March next year. Pakistan will wait for New Zealand's final reply until next week. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010919 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Inzamam and Waqar beef up NBP ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Reporter KARACHI, Sept 18: Pakistan captain Waqar Younis and vice-captain Inzamam-ul-Haq will represent National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in the Patron's Trophy first-class competition starting Sept 21. The two have agreed to play for NBP after being convinced by old pal Mushtaq Ahmad who will skipper the side. A NBP spokesman confirmed the participation of the two players, adding that it would be a great honour for the establishment. "We were approached by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) if we could accommodate Waqar Younis and Inzamam-ul-Haq. The matter was taken to the highest authorities who gave the thumbs up," the spokesman said. Waqar and Inzamam are without any departments. However, it was not immediately known at what financial package the two players will represent NBP. Squad: Mushtaq Ahmad (captain), Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Imran Nazir, Sajid Ali, Shahid Anwar, Mohammad Javed, Akhtar Sarfraz, Mohammad Sami, Shabbir Ahmed, Kamran Akmal, Hanif-ur-Rehman (wicketkeeper), Imran Javed, Naeem Tayyab, Qaisar Abbas, Naumanullah, Aleem Moosa, Athar Laiq, Khalid Latif, Salman Butt, Aurangzeb Khan, Zafar Iqbal, Naeem Khan. Mohammad Jamil (manager) and Saeed Azad (coach) will be officials of the team. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20010920 ------------------------------------------------------------------- India 'preferred' venue for Knockout tournament ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sports Reporter KARACHI, Sept 19: The International Cricket Council (ICC) still considers India as the preferred venue for next year's ICC Knockout tournament to be played in September. Although the formal decision on the host of the biennial tournament is expected to be made at Kuala Lumpur's executive board meeting, the ICC hinted that it would like the competition to be held in India. "India remains the preferred option for the Knockout tournament," ICC communication manager Mark Harrison said in a statement to Dawn. However, India might lose the rights to host competition if Pakistan stands firm on its policy of not playing the traditional rivals until they toured Pakistan. Besides, India has held back confirming holding the tournament because of tax problems and the unfortunate legal battle between Doordarshan and Star Sports over the television rights of the 1996 World Cup. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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