------------------------------------------------------------------- DAWN WIRE SERVICE ------------------------------------------------------------------- Week Ending : 08 June 2002 Issue : 08/23 -------------------------------------------------------------------
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CONTENTS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS + US assured Pakistan will not begin war: Musharraf + Proposal be formally conveyed: Pakistan + S. Asia paying heavy price for standoff: Musharraf + Indian official says attack plan ready: Defence ministry + Nuclear war unthinkable: Musharraf + All resources to be used if attacked, says Aziz + Pakistan not to strike first: ISPR + Envoys off to explain policy on Kashmir + Pakistan condemns staffer's abduction + US forces launch search operation + Troops redeployed in Kurram Agency + All parties conference opposes change in Kashmir policy + PPP leaders advise govt to contact Benazir Bhutto + ARD's white paper on referendum + ATC bars defence from showing video: Pearl case + Order reserved in Pearl video case + Mariane Pearl dropped as prosecution witness + New lady comes in focus Daniel Pearl case + Delegates for Loya Jirga elected + Lone's son inducted into APHC body + FSC acquits Zafran of adultery + NWFP govt to oppose Zafran Bibi's death sentence in FSC + Sherpao, ex-senator record statements: Ring Road case hearing + Sherpao released on bail + US proposes new rules for visitors + PML-QA not to join NA, says Pervez + 43 die as bus falls into ravine near Jhelum --------------------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMY + Defence budget to go up + Maleeha tipped as next FM + Sattar wants to quit as FM: Health grounds cited + Union Bank to take over Emirates branches + Border concerns turn equities into volatile temper + Stocks end weekend session on subdued note --------------------------------------- EDITORIALS & FEATURES + For what do we fight? Ardeshir Cowasjee + Pakistan's crisis of destiny Ayaz Amir + Halting the slide toward war Henry A. Kissinger + The view from London Irfan Husain ----------- SPORTS + Mudassar hopes Australia will tour Pakistan
DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS =================================================================== NATIONAL NEWS 20020607 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US assured Pakistan will not begin war: Musharraf ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Hasan Akhtar ISLAMABAD, June 6: US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said that although the situation was quite complicated and volatile, President Gen Pervez Musharraf had assured him he would avoid war with India. After having talks with the president, Mr Armitage told reporters: "Well, of course, the situation is quite complicated and volatile but I am very heartened to hear President Musharraf's desire to have war avoidance". The US envoy said he (the president) was very articulate on his hopes and aspirations for the people of Pakistan - pointing to the future. The president made "it clear that nothing is happening across the Line of Control," he said. Some of the excerpts from Mr Armitage's press talk: Q: Have you discussed with the president the diversion of troops from western border to the Kashmir area? A: We did have a short discussion on that. Of course, on CNN this past weekend, I noticed the president discussed it very openly and said that some elements had moved. But the main activities on the western border seem to be unaffected from my point of view. Q: Do you feel closer than or further than the kind of scenario people were talking about one week ago about a conventional engagement between India and Pakistan that might escalate beyond that? A: I don't know that I can characterize it. I said that President Musharraf has made it very clear that he is searching for peace; that he won't be the one who would initiate a war and I will be looking hopefully for the same type of assurances tomorrow in Delhi. Q: When President Musharraf came back from Almaty he had said he thought tensions had been reduced over the past few days or week. Did he convey that assessment to you? A: We discussed the actual situation. He is doing what he feels he can to reduce tensions and I have noticed in newspaper accounts both here and in India, an apparent lessening of tensions. But I'll just leave it at that. Q: Do you think that in the presence of such a large number of troops infiltrations from Pakistan is possible, and what is your opinion about the UN monitors along the LoC? A: Well, the president has made it very clear that nothing is happening across the Line of Control. We are looking for that to hold over the longer run. On the question of UN observers, it seems to be something that the Indians have dismissed off hand. We are discussing all sorts of monitoring mechanisms without any prejudices to one way or the other. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020606 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Proposal be formally conveyed: Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, June 5: Pakistan, in a cautious response to the Indian proposal of joint monitoring of the Line of Control, has reiterated its willingness to discuss all such proposals as part of a comprehensive dialogue. Responding to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's suggestion of joint patrolling of the Line of Control, a foreign office spokesman observed that given the level of confidence between the two countries such a mechanism was unlikely to work. However, he said if the proposal was in right earnest it should be formally conveyed to Pakistan. "If India is serious in making such proposals, it should convey these formally to Pakistan," he said. The spokesman further said the proposal of joint patrolling was not new. "Similar proposals had previously been tabled with regard to the international boundary by India," he said. The Indian and Pakistani forces are monitoring and patrolling their respective sides of the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, he added. He pointed out that UNMOGIP already had a mandate to monitor the Line of Control. "It may be expanded to perform this role more effectively." Pakistan, he maintained, had already expressed its willingness to accept neutral monitoring of the LoC. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020605 ------------------------------------------------------------------- S. Asia paying heavy price for standoff: Musharraf ------------------------------------------------------------------- ALMATY, June 4: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said the people of South Asia were paying the price for what he termed India's unwillingness to end the standoff over disputed Kashmir. "The people of South Asia continue to pay a very heavy price by the refusal of India to resolve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people," Musharraf told the Conference on Interaction and Confidence- building Measures in Asia (CICA) here. "For the past several months, tension along our borders with India and the Line of Control is high, stirring deep fears in South Asia and around the world over the real possibility of conflict," the president said. "We do not want war. We will not initiate a war. But if war is imposed on us, we will defend ourselves with the utmost resolution and determination," he said. "We have stated repeatedly that instead of accusations, threats and dangerous escalation, India should return to the path of dialogue and negotiations, which is the only sane option, especially in the dangerous environment of South Asia." In his address Musharraf said state oppression could lead to terrorism. "We cannot allow individual or group terrorism on any pretext. Similarly, we cannot condone for any reason the rapacious policies of certain states that forcibly occupy territories and deny freedom to peoples for decades on end," he said. "Global peace has remained hostage to the expansionist ambitions of such states and their ruthless campaigns to suppress, through brutal use of force, the legitimate struggles of people to gain their internationally recognized fundamental right to freedom and self-determination. "Terrorism by states, apart from inflicting massive suffering on occupied people, spawns a spiral of violence and terrorism." He said that "denial of freedom, and the resulting desperation and humiliation, are the breeding grounds for extremism." To eradicate terrorism, he said "we must address the root causes by eliminating injustice and honouring the commitments consecrated in the Charter principles." Global peace, he said, has remained "hostage to the expansionist ambitions of such states" and their ruthless campaigns to suppress, through brutal use of force, the legitimate struggles of peoples to gain their internationally recognized fundamental right to freedom and self-determination. Pakistan notes with satisfaction, he said, that the Almaty Act to be adopted by the CICA summit had reaffirmed the core principles of the UN Charter, namely: respect for sovereign equality and territorial integrity of states; respect for the right of self- determination of peoples under occupation and colonial domination; peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and international intercession and mediation; and mutually beneficial cooperation. Gen Musharraf said: "Our faith in the validity of these principles has been reinforced by the unfortunate history of South Asia." President Musharraf said he travelled to Agra nearly a year ago in the hope of setting into motion a dialogue process to address Kashmir and all other outstanding issues with India. Regrettably, he said, the summit remained inconclusive. The president said the end of the Cold War and the elimination of the danger of global annihilation, heightened prospects for global peace. Ten years later, he said "that optimism has been tempered by unfortunate events and trends." "New threats and new prejudices darken the horizon," he warned. In these circumstances, he said, interaction, dialogue and confidence- building have assumed greater urgency "for the revival of a fading promise." "We must ask ourselves whether the present situation has been brought about because of a sudden eruption of violence and terrorism by misguided individuals and desperate groups that threaten to destabilize the international community. Or is there a deeper malaise and terrorism is a symptom of this malaise." September 11 brought home to the world "the horror of terrorism and galvanized inter-national resolve to fight and eliminate this modern day scourge." "Targeting of innocent people cannot be justified under any circumstances. We do and we must reject terrorism in all its forms and manifestations." However, as we wage war on terrorism, there also is the need for introspection. "Violence in the world is not because of terrorism alone." -Agencies Text of president's speech at Almaty conference: ISLAMABAD, June 4: The following is the text of the speech by President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday to the 16-nation Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Almaty, Kazakhstan. I congratulate you, Mr President on the fruition of your vision embodied in the initiative for the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA). We admire your sustained guidance that helped to identify the principles for cooperation among our countries for peace and a better future. The culmination, your initiative at this summit meeting in the beautiful city of Almaty, located at the very centre of Asia is needed auspicious for the Asian continent. Mr Chairman, you had initiated this noble venture nearly 10 years ago at a time of great hope and promise arising from a momentous upsurge for freedom witnessed around the globe. The end of the Cold War and the elimination of the danger of global annihilation, heightened prospects for global peace. Ten years later, that optimism has been tempered by unfortunate events and trends. New threats and new prejudices darken the horizon. In these circumstances, interaction, dialogue and confidence building have assumed greater urgency for the revival of a fading promise. We must ask ourselves whether the present situation has been brought about because of a sudden eruption of violence and terrorism by misguided individuals and desperate groups that threaten to destabilize the international community. Or is there a deeper malaise and terrorism is a symptom of that malaise. September 11 brought home to the world the horror of terrorism and galvanised international resolve to fight and eliminate this modern day scourge. Targeting of innocent people cannot be justified under any circumstances. We do and we must reject terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. However, as we wage war on terrorism, there is also the need for introspection. Violence in the world is not because of terrorism alone. The international community had identified the root causes of violence more than five decades ago and had enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the principles and the framework for global peace. Disregard of these principles constitutes the main source of violence and suffering in the world and lies many a time at the door of member states themselves. We cannot condone individual or group terrorism on any pretext. Similarly, we cannot condone for any reason the rapacious policies of certain states that forcibly occupy territories and deny freedom to peoples for decade on end, with total disdain for Charter principles and decisions of the United Nations. "Global peace has remained hostage to the expansionist ambitions of such states and their ruthless campaigns to suppress, through brutal use of force, the legitimate struggles of peoples' to gain their internationally recognised right to freedom and self- determination. Terrorism by states, apart from inflicting massive suffering on occupied people, spawns a spiral of violence and terrorism. Denial of freedom and the resulting desperation and humiliation are the breeding grounds for extremism. To eradicate terrorism, we must address the root causes by eliminating injustice and honouring the commitments consecrated in the Charter principles. Mr chairman, we note with satisfaction that the Almaty Act to be adopted by the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia has reaffirmed the core principles of the UN Charter namely: * respect for sovereign equality and territorial integrity of states, * respect for the right of self-determination of peoples' under occupation and colonial domination, * peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and international intercession and mediation, and * mutually beneficial cooperation. Our faith in the validity of these principles has been reinforced by the unfortunate history of South Asia. The people of South Asia continue to pay a heavy price for the refusal by India to resolve the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the relevant U.N. resolutions and the wishes of the Kashmiri people. I travelled to Agra (India) nearly a year ago in the hope of setting into motion a dialogue process to address Kashmir and all other outstanding issues with India. Regrettably, the summit remained inconclusive. For the past several months, tension along our borders with India and the Line of Control is high, stirring deep fears in South Asia and around the world over the real possibility of a conflict. We do not want war. We will not initiate a war. But if war is imposed on us, we will defend ourselves with the utmost resolution and determination. We have stated repeatedly that instead of accusations, threats and dangerous escalation, India should return to the path of dialogue and negotiations, which is the only sane option, especially in the dangerous environment of South Asia. Mr chairman, the continent of Asia is a cradle of diverse civilisations, cultures, religions and traditions. Confidence- building, understanding and peace in Asia can transform the world. Imagine the change in global environment, if all the participants of this conference were to resolve their differences and conflicts on the basis of equity, justice, international law and the principles of the U.N. Charter. Imagine the creative energy that would be released and the development and progress that would result in the new scenario for the deprived people of Asia and the blessings it can bring to the entire world. This objective should define the CICA undertaking and our common efforts to promote it. We, therefore, welcome the principles and the mechanism elaborated in the Almaty Act. We believe that this mechanism supplements and reinforces the commitment of the member states to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter. In this age of information, when we can instantaneously share the pain and joy of our fellow beings anywhere in the world, it is vital to promote understanding among peoples and cultures through a sustained effort. "We, therefore, fully endorse the positive elements of the "Declaration on Eliminating Terrorism and Promoting Dialogue among Civilisations", which are inspired by the idea of greater interaction and cooperation among civilisations. We reject the flawed and dangerous postulate of an unavoidable clash of civilisations, which can only resurrect medieval prejudices and fears and lead the world on a dark and dangerous path of confrontation and conflict. I conclude, by expressing sincere gratitude and appreciation for the warm hospitality and courtesies extended to me and my delegation since our arrival in this beautiful city of Almaty. I Thank you Mr Chairman.-Reuters DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020604 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Indian official says attack plan ready: Defence ministry ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DELHI, June 3: The India military categorically ruled out the use of nuclear weapons in case of war with Pakistan. "The government makes it clear that India does not believe in the use of nuclear weapons. Neither does it visualise that it will be used by any other country," the defence ministry said in a statement in New Delhi. The hastily-issued statement appeared to be a damage-control exercise following comments from Indian Defence Secretary Yogendra Narain saying that India would retaliate with nuclear weapons if Pakistan used its atomic arsenal, and that both countries must be prepared for "mutual destruction." Narain, the country's most senior defence ministry bureaucrat, also said in an interview with Outlook magazine that India's command- and-control, or the nuclear button, was in place and ready. "Everything is finalized. It is in the hands of the civilian government and we don't expect any delay in issuing orders," he told the news weekly. It was the first such public comment by a senior bureaucrat on the country's nuclear command structure. In his interview, Yogendra Narain had said that the Indian army had a "moral and legal right " to launch a punitive attack on Pakistan, adding ominously: "We can strike at three hours' notice." In an interview likely to further dismay the international community, Narain said the Indian government was actively considering "surgical strikes" against its nuclear rival. He revealed that New Delhi had originally planned to attack Pakistan in the wake of an raid by militants on India's parliament building last December. But it changed its mind after Gen Pervez Musharraf promised to clamp down on militant groups. He hinted that the plan had now been revived. Although nothing has been ruled out, New Delhi is believed to favour a symbolic punitive attack on "terrorist" training camps inside Azad Kashmir. Narain told the magazine that India was entitled to cross into Pakistani territory and attack militant training camps. The government was prepared for the possibility that any confrontation with Pakistan might turn nuclear, he said. "Pakistan is not a democratic country and we don't know their nuclear threshold. We will retaliate and must be prepared for mutual destruction on both sides," he added. India's Hindu nationalist-led coalition government appears to be considering two main options: a short, swift special forces raid on training camps or precision air strikes on the camps and their infrastructure. Supporters of this strategy point out that the militant bases are located close to the line of control and say a plane could hit the target and return to Indian territory in five or six minutes. But both plans have several flaws. In previous conflicts the Pakistanis have picked off India's warplanes. There are also doubts whether Indian intelligence is up to the job of correctly identifying militant training camps, many of which are little more than ramshackle structures. There are also grave uncertainties that how Pakistan would respond. Last week Gen Musharraf promised to take the battle "into Indian territory" if attacked - in effect, opening up a new theatre of war somewhere else. The other unknown factor is how Gen Musharraf - who last week carried out three tests of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles - would respond if Pakistan's conventional army crumbles. It is this uncertainty, more than any pressure from the international community, that has so far prevented New Delhi from acting. Narain admitted that "surgical strikes" would probably take place if diplomacy failed. "We know that there will be retaliation on other parts of the border from Pakistan. It will escalate and will not be confined to one region," he predicted. Highly-placed military sources said Narain's comments have sent alarm bells ringing in India's civilian establishment.-AFP/ Guardian News Service DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nuclear war unthinkable: Musharraf ------------------------------------------------------------------- WASHINGTON, June 1: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said that a nuclear war between Pakistan and India was all but unthinkable, the CNN reported. "I don't think either side is that irresponsible to go to that limit," Gen Musharraf told CNN in an exclusive interview, a preview of which was shown on PTV. "I would even go to the extent of saying one shouldn't even be discussing these things, because any sane individual cannot even think of going into this unconventional war, whatever the pressures," CNN online quoted the president as saying. The president dismissed as "absolutely baseless" charges that Pakistan had moved nuclear missiles towards the border with India. "That Pakistan ever moved any nuclear asset or deployed its missiles is baseless, absolutely baseless," Gen Musharraf said in reply to a question. He added: It was an absolutely baseless accusation that Pakistan ever moved nuclear weapons or deployed nuclear assets, and that holds good even now. If India has moved their missiles this is extremely dangerous and a very serious escalation, an extremely serious escalation. The international community must take note of this because you can't distinguish what is conventional and what is unconventional. "Let us hope good sense prevails (and) this does not lead to escalation. It has not because we are restraining ourselves, and let Indians not test our patience and restraint because it will be very dangerous." The president said: "We've called for a no-war pact (with India), that there shouldn't be any war. We've called for denuclearization of South Asia, so we've called for reduction of forces." Gen Musharraf said he was willing to meet Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the sidelines of a regional summit next week. He said he was willing to talk to Mr Vajpayee in Kazakhstan, where both leaders would attend an Asian summit from June 4. "It depends more on Prime Minister Vajpayee," President Musharraf said. "I have no problem with meeting him, I have been saying that all along so that question must be put to him." Musharraf said that his country is "against militancy" and "will fight militancy in any form." But, the president said, Kashmiri separatists are engaged in "a genuine freedom struggle" to force the implementation of a UN resolution calling for the right of self-determination. Musharraf insisted that "nothing is happening across the Line of Control," but noted that "it should not end there. There has to be some movement forward," he said. "And the movement forward is certainly the issue of addressing, initiating the process of dialogue, and squarely addressing the dispute of Kashmir."-Agencies DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- All resources to be used if attacked, says Aziz ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, June 1: Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Abdul Aziz Mirza has warned that if war is thrust on Pakistan, all resources would be utilized to safeguard the sea flank of the country. "Pakistan Navy is fully alert and alive to the present situation. It will protect the motherland against any threat from the seaward and will respond with full force," he said. He observed that though the nuclear capability and missile technology had provided the navy with parity with India, the need for a credible defence in the conventional field still existed. India should not be allowed to bully Pakistan under the garb of cross-border terrorism, for the latter had repeatedly condemned terrorism in all its manifestations and had provided full support to eradicate that menace at the international level, he added.-APP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan not to strike first: ISPR ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, June 1: Pakistan reiterated its position that it will not be the first to initiate a war against India but if one was thrust upon Pakistan it will respond with full might. "Nobody should have any illusions or miscalculations about it," said President Pervez Musharraf's spokesman and DG ISPR Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi. Talking to Dawn, he said Pakistan had made it amply clear to India and the world that "if our territory or airspace is violated we will defend and respond." The President's spokesman stated this in response to a report in the daily Christian Science Monitor Thursday that India was planning a 10-day "limited assault in Kashmir if infiltration does not significantly drop." According to a senior Indian military official quoted in the report, the limited military operation would be undertaken to capture territory and dismantle the militants' infrastructure. Maj-Gen Rashid Qureshi categorically dismissed the report as deserving of contempt and termed it "an utterly ridiculous assertion." DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020603 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Envoys off to explain policy on Kashmir ------------------------------------------------------------------- KARACHI, June 2: The government has dispatched special envoys to many countries who will explain Pakistan's policy vis-a-vis the Kashmir issue, which has been a major cause of dispute between Pakistan and India. The former chief of the army staff, Jehangir Karamat, said the world should know that the Kashmir issue was the main cause of dispute between Pakistan and India. Talking to APP at Karachi Airport before his departure to Rome, Italy, the former army chief said that he was going as special emissary of President General Pervez Musharraf to tell the European countries about Pakistan's point-of-view in the present tense situation between India and Pakistan. "I will inform the governments of these European countries that since long Pakistan has been offering mediation to solve the Kashmir issue," he said, adding that he would also brief the world leaders why the solution of the Kashmir problem was essential to ease tension in South Asia. He said that some kind of mediation process had already been initiated and many high-level officials from the UK and the USA had been visiting both the countries. He said the US defence secretary was also expected to visit Pakistan and India next week. Mr Karamat said that besides Italy, he would visit Paris, Madrid and Denmark and meet the heads of governments and states there. He said the main purpose of his visit as special envoy of the president was to deliver special letters to the heads of governments. He said Pakistani missions in these countries had already been informing their host states about the just stand of Pakistan, but he would personally meet the heads of governments to deliver the president's message. Another special envoy of the president of Pakistan, Najamuddin Shaikh, left here late Saturday night for Bangkok on his way to Singapore. He will also visit Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan where he will deliver special messages from President General Pervez Musharraf to the heads of government and state of these countries. Talking to APP prior to his departure, Mr Shaikh said that as he would be trying to meet opinion leaders in all these countries in addition to delivering letters to their 'higher destinations,' he would be away from Pakistan for about 20 days. "I have been directed by the president to visit Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan to deliver as a special envoy the letters that he has addressed to the heads of government of these countries with regard to the current situation in South Asia," he added. "I think that there is an understanding in the world that peaceful negotiations particularly in South Asia with large armies on both sides is the only way in which a catastrophic situation can be avoided," he said. The former chairman of Senate, Wasim Sajjad, has said that war is not a solution of problems bet countries. Talking to APP at Karachi Airport before his departure to Damascus as special envoy of President General Pervez Musharraf, the former chairman of Senate said that he would tell the leaders of Muslims countries that India had initiated war-like situation and gathered its forces along Pakistan borders. Mr Sajjad said that besides Syria he would also visit Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon and meet heads of these countries to inform them about Pakistan's stand. "I will request the leadership of these countries to use their influence to defuse tension in the South Asian region," he said, adding that as special emissary, he would deliver special messages of President General Musharraf to the heads of these countries. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan condemns staffer's abduction ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Hasan Akhtar ISLAMABAD, June 1: The Pakistan government condemned the abduction, unlawful detention and torture of an official of its high commission in New Delhi, Amir Shabbir, by the Indian intelligence operatives, said a foreign office statement. It said the government had lodged a strong protest with the Indian government over "the reprehensible action" against Mr Shabbir. Islamabad called upon New Delhi to take appropriate action against those responsible for the abduction and torture of the official. Meanwhile, New Delhi has also made a similar charge against Islamabad for alleged unlawful abduction and temporary detention of its mission's official in Islamabad, Kulwant Singh. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020603 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US forces launch search operation ------------------------------------------------------------------- ISLAMABAD, June 2: Hundreds of US troops launched an operation in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan to hunt down Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters, the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported. It said the operation had been mounted in Nangarhar province, across the Torkham crossing on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The operation is focused on the mountainous terrain of Shamshad south of Torkham, the Pakistan-based private news service said. US troops blocked all routes leading to Shamshad, and occupied the pedestrian trails from Pakistan to Afghanistan. They also barricaded the popular Sasobi track which is used daily by thousands of Afghans to cross into Pakistan, it said. The AIP said the US forces have taken up positions along the route, with cover from helicopters flying overhead.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020607 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Troops redeployed in Kurram Agency ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Zulfiqar Ali PESHAWAR, June 6: Pakistan army troops took over charge of some checkpoints on the Kohat-Parachinar road after the personnel were redeployed in the Kurram tribal agency to reinforce search for suspects and check illegal crossing of the border from the Afghanistan side. Reports reaching here said the army troops moved into the area and assumed charge of Chapari and Alizai checkpoints in the Lower Kurram Agency, close to the Khost province, where coalition forces have launched a fresh operation against fugitive Taliban and Al Qaeda elements. Besides, the troops were also deputed on various checkpoints in Kohat, Hangu and Thall to check vehicles coming from the tribal areas. The personnel of the Frontier Corps and Thall scouts are also assisting the troops in the area. The troops, earlier deployed in different parts of the tribal territory, including both North and South Waziristan Agencies, had been withdrawn from a number of checkpoints in the Kurram Agency and the settled areas due to the ongoing stand-off between Pakistan and India. Last week, president Gen Pervez Musharraf stated that Islamabad might pull out its troops from tribal areas, deployed along the western border to check the infiltration of Al-Qaeda suspects and Taliban from the war-battered Afghanistan. The statement worried many a stockholder, including Washington, that the troops withdrawal from the western borders would affect the coalition forces' operation against the fleeing Al-Qaeda men and Taliban. The coalition forces also moved into Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province to flush out the hiding fighters of Al-Qaeda and Taliban. Eyewitnesses claimed that the US troops operating in Gorako and Dor Baba areas, close to the Pakistan border, blew up many caves. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020603 ------------------------------------------------------------------- All parties conference opposes change in Kashmir policy ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, June 2: An All Parties Conference of some 30 Kashmiri parties unanimously demanded that the government should resist pressure to change its Kashmir policy because no solution but one based on the right of self-determination would be acceptable to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The APC, convened by AJK Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan at Kashmir House, deliberated on the wave of Indian repression and use of force to curb Kashmiri's demand for self-determination and the situation arising out of the Indian aggression against civilians. Prominent among the participants were AJK President Sardar Mohammad Anwar, AJK Muslim Conference President Sardar Attiq Ahmed Khan, Ghulam Mohammad Safi and Syed Yusuf Naseem of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Abdur Rashid Turabi of AJK Jamaat-i-Islami, Sahibzada Atiqur Rahman Faizpuri, Maulana Nazir Farooqi, Amanullah Khan, Abdul Majeed, Mohammad Hayat Khan and Prof Mohammad Ashraf Sarraf. No leader from PPP AJK turned up. It unanimously adopted the following declaration: "All Parties Kashmir Conference pays rich tributes to the valour and determination of the people of Indian occupied J&K who infused a new life into the Kashmir issue which remained dormant and have thus shattered Indian hopes of bringing the Indo-Pakistan border to the Jhelum/Neelum river. "The conference deems it necessary to reaffirm its pledge that notwithstanding the level and volume of Pakistan's support, the Kashmiri people in any case will continue with their struggle for the liberation of Kashmir. "The conference salutes the courage and grit of the men, women and children of AJ&K who were braving severe Indian hostilities on the Line of Control and were standing like a solid rock between Indian armed forces and the territories of Pakistan. "The conference holds India responsible for disturbing peace and tranquillity in the region and for creating an unprecedented tension when the armies of both nuclear powers face each other eyeball to eyeball. It becomes imperative to make it known that in case of any eventuality the people of J&K, particularly hundreds of thousands of Mujahideen and ex-servicemen, will stand firmly along with Pakistan army to defend every inch of AJK and Pakistan. "The conference pays glowing tributes to the leadership of Indian occupied Kashmir and assure them that the people of AJK as well as the kashmiri refugees settled in Pakistan were determined to play a full blooded role in the resistance movement. They well know that the sanctity accorded to the ceasefire line by the United Nations resolution was applicable to the armed forces of India and Pakistan and not to the people of J&K and they were free to move anywhere in their own state. "The APC of Kashmiri parties reaffirms that the ongoing resistance movement in occupied J&K was in conformity with the canons of UN Charter and thus just and legitimate and the Indian occupation force and their secret agencies themselves carry out acts of terrorism to malign the just struggle of the people. "It reiterates that no war can ever bring a lasting solution to a dispute like Kashmir, it can only be achieved through peaceful means for which negotiations and across the table talks were a pre- requisite.'' DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020604 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PPP leaders advise govt to contact Benazir Bhutto ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, June 3: Pakistan People's Party leaders said that the policies pursued by the military regime had failed to solve the thorny problems facing the country. There was, therefore, a dire need for the restoration of democratic system. They said the regime should establish contact with Ms Benazir Bhutto before the situation slipped out of control and the masses took to the streets to hold the rulers accountable. The warning shots came at a ceremony at which some important Pakistan Muslim League leaders from Gujranwala joined the PPP. PPP's Punjab president Qasim Zia, who presided over the meeting, cautioned the government against any move to 'deform' the constitution which was a consensus document, enjoying support of all political parties. Time had come, the player-turned-politician said, for all political and religious forces to join hands. "Pakistan stands isolated at the international level. The foreign policy has failed. The country needs a popular leadership. The farce of referendum has established that the conglomerate of the puppet parties has failed to produce the results desired by the regime." Underlining the need for immediate fresh elections, Mr Zia said a representative government would be in a better position to steer the country out of the crises. Former PPP secretary-general, Ahmad Mukhtar, said all policies of the military rulers had backfired and claims that foreign investment was streaming in were misleading. In his opinion, a political system needed to be restored without delay so that the armed forces could focus on their primary duty - the defence of the country. PPP federal council secretary-general Khalid Kharal said the government should evolve national consensus by establishing contact with the political leadership. Using derogatory language against former president Farooq Leghari, he strongly criticised the regime for sending such a person as Pakistan's emissary to various countries to present the country's point of view on the standoff between the two nuclear armed neighbours. Khwaja Muhammad Saleh, Noman Butt, Farooq Ansari, Mian Muhammad Iqbal Ansari, Chaudhry Muhammad Anwar Kamboh from Gujranwala and Mian Zahid Aslam Butt from Faisalabad formally joined the PPP. Some of the speakers claimed that the PPP would now be in a position to sweep the general elections in Gujranwala division. Provincial information secretary Naveed Chaudhry and media incharge Iqbal Sialvi also spoke on the occasion. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020604 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ARD's white paper on referendum ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, June 3: The Alliance for Restoration of Democracy issued a white paper which questions the validity of the April 30 referendum on constitutional, factual and political grounds. The paper, released by the alliance's deputy information secretary Munir Ahmad Khan, alleged that the turnout claimed by the Election Commission was highly exaggerated and at some places the votes polled had outnumbered the registered voters. The instances of misuse of the public money have also been highlighted in the document. This is the third white paper on the subject. The earlier two had been released by the PML(N) and the Jamaat-i-Islami. All parties are of the view that Chief Election Commissioner Justice Irshad Hasan Khan had failed to hold an impartial and fair referendum and thus must be removed without delay to ensure free and fair general elections. The ARD white papers says that no sane person will believe in the fiction presented as facts: "No less amazing is the turnout in Lahore where 1.9 million electorates out of a population of 4.0 million came out to vote in the referendum, regardless of the gross under-reporting of true facts by many a biased and characterless hacks. It means that the people of Lahore had come out on the streets to vote in more than double the reception Imam Khomeini got in Tehran in 1979 or two-time greater than the mob that came to receive Ms Benazir Bhutto in 1986. Under the leadership of district Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood the Lahorites have broken, at least, two records. Similar is the story of Karachi where the MQM, the PPP, the PML(N) and the Jamaat boycotted the referendum, but the Naib Nazim set even much healthier record. Can any sane man believe in these figures? In Muzaffargarh district, when the people were forced to cast their votes, some people cast their votes and mentioned the name of Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, Mian Nawaz Sharif, Pir Pagara, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Nawab Akbar Bugti, Wali Khan, Qazi Husain Ahmad, Maulana Fazlur Rahman and other leaders. On the other hand, the women of this area cast their votes and mentioned the name of Ms Benazir Bhutto, Naheed Khan and other women. A chapter on "Drop Scene of referendum on April 30" says: There were 60 million ballot papers for 87,074 polling stations, 163,641 polling booths, and over 0.4 million staff who carried out referendum to facilitate voters above the age of 18 years. "More than 3,000 unconventional polling stations were set up in parks, government offices, factories, railway stations, bus stands, petrol pumps, hotels and offices of political parties. Referendum day proved bleak for the government machinery, which tried its level best to bring the people out of their homes for casting ballots in favour of Gen Musharraf. On April 30, polling stations were giving deserted look and the polling staff was seen sitting outside polling stations or playing cards, due to lack of voters. The administration filled ballot boxes with stamped ballots on the eve of the referendum and sent them to different polling stations. Seeing terribly low turnout, Nazims and councillors forced people to cast their vote. But after failing in getting them to polling stations, they used another method. They visited different polling stations with several groups of 25 sweepers and gardeners and cast their votes at least for eight times. In the afternoon, police officials were directed to visit different polling stations and cast multiple votes and wherever polling officers resisted them, they thrashed them and forcibly cast votes. Police deployed at railway stations and bus stands forced commuters to cast their votes at every station and stop. Interestingly, district coordination officers and SPs were responsible for boosting the turnout. In this regard, they kept on getting directions from chief secretaries and inspectors general of their respective provinces. In various polling stations, small children and foreigners also cast vote and nobody stopped them. In different government departments, ballot papers were released before April 30 and the employees were forced to cast their votes with a threat of being fired from their jobs. Pakistan Television kept on broadcasting old films of elections because they could not capture even a single crowded polling station throughout the country. Administration kept on taking groups of people to the polling stations which were to be visited by Gen Musharraf, governors and the Chief Election Commissioner, in order to show them activity there. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020607 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ATC bars defence from showing video: Pearl case ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent HYDERABAD, June 6: Judge of the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Syed Ali Ashraf Shah restrained the defence counsel, Rai Basheer Ahmed, from displaying or exhibiting the video CD (VCD) containing images of the gruesome murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl. The order was passed on an application filed by the advocate general, Sindh, Raja Qureshi, seeking an order of restraint against the accused, their agents, or all those who were acting on their behalf. The trial of the case has come to a standstill till June 10 because a division bench of the Sindh High Court, Karachi, did not announce the order on criminal revision application of the advocate general, Sindh, today. The order has been reserved by the bench after hearing the prosecution and defence counsels. The advocate general told journalists that in case the order was not announced on Monday, then the hearing would resume immediately on the next day if the Sindh High Court announced the order. The examination-in-chief of the investigating officer (IO), Hameedullah Memon, has been completed and his cross examination has been reserved till Monday by the defence. Defence Counsel Rai Basheer Ahmed claimed that in case the high court rejected criminal revision application of the advocate general, Sindh, then he and Abdul Waheed Katpar would need two days to prepare themselves for cross examination of the investigating officer after viewing the VCD with the experts. By way of his application, the advocate general, Sindh, has requested a division bench of the Sindh High Court to set aside the order, passed on May 28 by the anti-terrorism court, Hyderabad, ordering the release of the VCD. The advocate general, Sindh, informed journalists that the trial had come to a standstill because the trial court would have to await the order of the SHC which could be announced any day. He claimed that he filed the application seeking order of restrain against defence on the basis of newspaper reports that the defence counsel wanted to show the VCD at the press club on Wednesday. He said that the defence counsel denied that he had shown the VCD on Wednesday and undertook not to do so in future as well. He claimed that the application was filed because section 8(c) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 declared the conveying or exhibition or displaying of movies or visual images with sound which conveys terrorism to be schedule offence. To a query that whether the same applied to journalists, he said that if the video, obtained by way of unauthorised means, contained images, which spread terrorism, it fell within the mischief of the ATA, and added that the video had some images of terrorism in theshape of the slaughtering of the American journalist. However, if the video was obtained through lawful means and from the court of law, then it would mean lawful acquisition, he clarified. He said that he did not know whether the video of the American journalist was available on the internet. Responding to another question, the advocate general said that reality is reality, and a movie, showing scenes of terrorism and violence, is after all a movie. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020605 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Order reserved in Pearl video case ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, June 4: The anti-terrorism appellate bench of the Sindh High Court reserved order on the prosecution's application for setting aside the trial court's order for providing the video cassette showing Daniel Pearl's murder, to the accused, but at the same time held that the impugned order would remain suspended. Besides the principal accused, Ahmed Umer Saeed Sheikh, Sheikh Mohammad Adil, Syed Salman Saqib and Fahad Nasim, who are facing trial in Hyderabad Central Jail, are respondents in the application. While the prosecution's line of argument was that providing the tape to the accused at this stage would be inexpedient in the public interest, counsel for the accused maintained that it was the case property and being used as an evidence against them. Therefore they must have it to defend their clients. It was all the more necessary because some international websites had put the video for viewing. When the matter came up, Raja Qureshi, the Advocate-General, Sindh, read out the order of the trial court on earlier two applications in this regard. He tried to convince the court to first watch the video and then decide whether to hand over the recording to the accused. At this point Justice Siddiqui asked the AG to first argue on whether the accused were entitled or not to be provided the video tape. Mr Qureshi submitted that the said "video is not a document but a crime article and therefore it cannot be given to the accused." He then referred to section 2( b) of the Qanoon-i-Shahadat and section 29 of PPC to define what was document. He also referred to section 8 (1) (c) of the Anti-terrorism Act of 1997, which was also one of the sections under which the charge had been framed against the accused. It was his contention that the above section of the AT Act made the video to be crime article as it contained a recording of visual images and sound which was threatening and creating a sense of fear and insecurity. It was likely to stir sectarian hatred. "It is a crime article because it conveys through modern devices the commission of crime and promotes terrorism," he submitted. The AG submitted that the said video was delivered at the US consulate two days before Eidul Azha, perhaps to send the message to the world how Muslims treated Jews. That could have generated a backlash against Muslims. Justice Siddiqui intervened, saying this line of argument did not seem to be convincing, perhaps as the video was reportedly on international websites. The AG argued that the original video tape was displayed through an FBI agent, John Moligan, on May 14 and he was cross-examined on May 16. Both the original and copy were watched by the accused, defence team and prosecution team in the presence of the presiding judge on May 14. Such request had not been made then. What was the purpose of making such a demand when the last prosecution witness, ie, the investigation officer, is to be examined on Wednesday. What would be the justification of providing copy of the crime article which had been returned and taken away by the FBI agent to Washington DC, with the permission of the trial court, he argued. He also invoked articles 40 and 5 of the constitution. Article 5 deals with loyalty to the state and obedience to the constitution and the law. Article 40 deals with strengthening of bonds with the Muslim world and strengthening international peace. "The viewing of the video reflecting the slaughtering of an American Jew, Daniel Pearl, would be an instrument of advancing acts of terrorism internationally, and therefore if it is released it could occasion massacre of Muslims and religious sects nationally and internationally," the AG has contended in the application. He was also opposed to providing the video to the defence because it was "likely to incite hatred and contempt on religious, sectarian, or ethnic basis to stir up violence, or is likely to affect the external affairs of Pakistan." When the AG referred to the risk of disclosure to the public at large, nationally and internationally and sectarian hatred, Justice Siddiqui observed that sect is a subdivision of a religion. Jews are not a sect. "If it is perceived to be between the followers of the two religions, will it fall under sectarian hatred clause (section 2 (h)," he asked. Mr Qureshi referred to the definition of sectarian hatred under the AT Act. Counsel for the accused Abdul Waheed Katpar believed it was a faked video, and said during the cross-examination, the FBI agent had said that science had developed to such a level that such things could be faked. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020606 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mariane Pearl dropped as prosecution witness ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent HYDERABAD, June 5: The prosecution in the Daniel Pearl kidnapping- cum-murder case dropped Mariane Pearl as its witness following a written statement filed in the Anti-terrorism Court on her behalf stating that she was unable to travel to Pakistan or London for an indefinite period. Barrister M. Jamil, counsel for the slain journalist's wife, filed the statement. She is the 15th witness dropped by the prosecution another one being the former presiding officer of the case, Arshad Noor Khan who, earlier, had not been allowed by the Sindh High Court to depose in the case. The prosecution has so far produced 23 witnesses including two FBI agents and a US consulate official. The prosecution's application seeking appointment of a commission to record Mariane Pearl's statement in London has been rendered infructuous after the filing of her fresh statement by her counsel. The cross-examination of an investigation officer, Rao Aslam, was completed whereas examination-in-chief of another investigation officer, Hameedullah Memon, was started. Later, the Chief Prosecutor and AG Sindh, Raja Qureshi, told newsmen that he had no choice but to drop Mariane Pearl as PW as she was unable to travel. However, he added, her non-examination would neither harm nor help the prosecution case at this point of the time because she was not an eyewitness to the kidnapping or murder. He said that she was an important PW because the FIR was lodged by her and that she had produced some e-mails before the court which were now the case properties. He said that the proceedings had to be completed within a stipulated time and the court could not wait for her appearance for an indefinite period as her statement pointed out. Regarding appointment of commission to record Mariane Pearl's statement in France, Mr Qureshi acknowledged that the application was rendered infructuous because Pakistan and France had no treaty to allow such a commission in that country. The Defence Counsel, Rai Basheer Ahmed, told newsmen that Mariane Pearl's withdrawal from the PW list had demolished the foundation of entire case. He said that there was no one left now to endorse the testimony of PW, Nasir Abbas, a taxi driver. Rai Basheer recalled that Mariane Pearl had claimed that her husband had gone in the taxi in her presence. Meanwhile, the ATC Judge, Syed Ali Ashraf Shah, made the cross- examination of the IO, Hameedullah Memon, subject to the announcement of an order by a division bench of the Sindh High Court, Karachi, on a criminal revision application filed by the Advocate General Sindh otherwise the trial would come to a standstill. Partly allowing the application of the Defence Counsel, Rai Basheer Ahmed, about the suspension of proceedings till that announcement, the judge adjourned the matter till Thursday. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- New lady comes in focus Daniel Pearl case ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent HYDERABAD, June 1: The Anti-terrorism Court, Hyderabad, examined Rao Aslam, the first investigating officer of the Daniel Pearl's kidnapping-cum-murder case. During his cross-examination, which continued till the court adjourned the hearing till June 5, Rao Aslam deposed that 'for security reasons' he avoided making any entry at the Rawalpindi police station or calling police help in connection with his visit to Akbar Hotel where Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh had stayed. He admitted that he did not prepare map of the hotel and the room where Omar Sheikh stayed. Cross-examination of another prosecution witness Mehmood Iqbal Hashmi, administrator of an internet service provider's office, has been completed by defence counsels. The court did not pass any order on the application of the Chief Prosecutor and AG Sindh, Raja Qureshi who had sought appointment of a commission to record statement of Mariane Pearl, wife of the slain journalist. She has given birth to a baby boy two days back in France. Raja Qureshi opposed the long adjournment on the ground that the proceedings were being on a day-to-day basis as mandated by law. On June 4, the prosecution and defence lawyers would be busy attending Sindh High Court, Karachi, in connection with hearing of criminal revision application, filed by the AG Sindh. The AG has prayed to the court to set aside an order of the ATC Hyderabad calling for the release of a video cassette containing material related to the murder of Daniel Pearl. Meanwhile, the ATC has allowed meeting of veil-observing female relatives of accused in presence of a female warden inside the jail. Raja Qureshi told newsmen that Barrister Jamil did not furnish any fresh communication on behalf of his client, Mariane Pearl, and added that her arrival from France depended on her doctors' permission. He said that Rao Aslam produced before the court the documents related to e-mails and other recoveries made in the case. The e- mails, the AG stated, contained photographs and messages concerning Daniel Pearl and were sent to Miss Asra Nomani, the host of Daniel Pearl, though the actual addressee appeared to be Mariane Pearl. Giving details of cross-examination of Mehmood Iqbal Hashmi and Rao Aslam, the defence counsel, Rai Basheer Ahmed, said that Hashmi admitted that he had no record of e-mails which could prove that these were sent by the accused. He said that the e-mails were sent to Miss Nomani, who claimed to be a freelance journalist. He pointed out that Miss Nomani, a Pakistani, had dual nationality of USA and Pakistan. The counsel said that there was no mention of Miss Nomani in the entire prosecution case in spite of the fact that she had stayed with Daniel Pearl and accompanied him to a village restaurant when he was abducted. Owner of the Zamzama Street residence at Clifton, Rai Basheer claimed, the same lady was also involved in correspondence/ negotiations with kidnappers through e-mails. He further informed the newsmen that the US immigration authorities had twice refused visa to the lady to travel to Pakistan but she got the same with Daniel Pearl's favour. About examination-in-chief and cross-examination of Rao Aslam, the defence counsel said that the IO admitted he did not secure any rent agreement of Mariane Pearl's house but categorically denied having come across Miss Nomani. The counsel pointed out to the IO that the lady could be the main accused or a witness in the case had she been included in the investigation. According to Rai Basheer, the IO told the court that he did not collect any evidence proving that Amir Afzal was an employee of Akbar International Hotel and also did not record the hotel manager's statement. The counsel pointed out that the IO did not include Arif in the investigation although the person was referred by one of the friends of Asif Mehfooz Farooqui. The counsel argued that Arif had taken Asif Farooqui and Daniel Pearl to the hotel for a meeting with Pir Mubarak Ali Shah Gillani whose statement was recorded by the IO in Lahore. The counsel said that Asif Farooqui did not disclose the identity of his friend who sent Arif to him although he could be the main accused. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020603 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Delegates for Loya Jirga elected ------------------------------------------------------------------- KANDAHAR, June 2: Elections to select delegates to the Loya Jirga were held here, with many candidates declaring they would back former Afghan king Mohammed Zahir Shah and his ally Hamid Karzai at the traditional assembly. Karzai should be appointed prime minister with Zahir Shah named head of state at the Loya Jirga which will select a new transitional government, they said. "We want the Loya Jirga to bring security and to determine the destiny of the country. We will elect somebody who is well known and who has proved he will serve the country," said Amanullah from Zabul. "Zahir Shah is acceptable for the country. Zahir Shah should be the leader and Karzai should be the prime minister," he said.-AFP DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020604 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Lone's son inducted into APHC body ------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW DELHI, June 3: All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) formally inducted Bilal Lone, son of assassinated Hurriyat leader Abdul Ghani Lone, into the group's seven-member executive council. Bilal is the eldest son of the late leader. In an obvious show of unity, all the major leaders of the group attended the meeting, Star news reported. After his father's death on May 21, Bilal was elected the President of the Supreme Council of the People's Conference, his father's political party. After the ceremony in Srinagar, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, regarded as a moderate voice within the pro-freedom alliance, said that the group planned to write letters to the leaders of India and Pakistan, appealing for peace and a dialogue process to resume between the two. "I have made a suggestion to the Hurriyat that we should write separate letters to both Prime Minister Vajpayee and General Musharraf to resume the dialogue process. We are aware that the situation along the borders is causing the loss of innocent lives on both sides. War is no solution to this crisis," the Mirwaiz said.-J.N. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020607 ------------------------------------------------------------------- FSC acquits Zafran of adultery ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, June 6: A three-member Federal Shariat Court bench acquitted Zafran Bibi, who had been awarded stoning to death punishment by the district and sessions judge, Kohat, for having committed adultery. Leaders of human rights organisations had approached high government officials, including federal and provincial ministers, seeking repeal of the Hudood laws which, they said, were based on "misinterpretations of the injunctions of Islam." The prosecution while instituting the case had alleged that Zafran Bibi had committed adultery with the brother of her husband as a result of which she gave birth to a child when her husband was in jail on murder charge. The district and sessions judge, Kohat, had found the woman guilty of the offence and had sentenced her to death by stoning. Zafran Bibi had filed an appeal with the Federal Shariat Court which had summoned both the convict and her husband. The three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Fazal Elahi Khan, Justice Fida Mohammad and Justice Ejaz Yousaf, was told by Zafran and her husband that the allegation was totally ill-founded. They submitted that the child in question was their daughter, and that the defence counsel distorted the case. The court in its order observed that since Zafran Bibi and her husband have denied the commission of the offence the question doesn't arise of their conviction. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020603 ------------------------------------------------------------------- NWFP govt to oppose Zafran Bibi's death sentence in FSC ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Waseem Ahmad Shah PESHAWAR, June 2: The NWFP government has decided to oppose the sentence of death by stoning in public slapped on Zafran Bibi by a trial court in Kohat, before the Federal Shariat Court, which has fixed June 5 for hearing the case in Islamabad. "We will definitely oppose the sentence purely on legal grounds," NWFP Advocate-General Barrister Jehanzeb Raheem told Dawn here. He said the government believed that in the instant case the sentence should not be awarded under Hadd. The principal law officer of the province said in the present circumstances the government could not support the controversial verdict at any cost. The provincial government would be represented before the shariat court by the provincial advocate-general and Additional Advocate- General Mussarat Hillali. In the legal circles Mr Raheem, a former president of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association, is considered a progressive lawyer, whereas Ms Hillali is a known human rights activist who had also served as vice-chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Sources in the law department told Dawn that the legal brains of the government believed that the verdict of the additional district and sessions judge, Kohat, was suffering from various lacunas and even the requirements given in the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance 1979 were not fulfilled before awarding such a harsh sentence. It was due to the same reason that the spouse of the NWFP Governor, Ms Iftikhar Hussain Shah, provincial Law Minister Athar Minallah and Ms Hillali, visited Kohat prison and met Zafran Bibi there, a government official said. Moreover, he stated, under the ordinance there were two conditions which had to be fulfilled before awarding a sentence under Hudood: confession by an accused; or evidence of four truthful male Muslim witnesses. The shariat court in two of its judgments (PLD 1986 FSC 274 and PLD 1988 FSC 42) had placed certain restrictions on recording confessional statement of an accused for awarding a sentence under Hadd and in the present case those restrictions were not followed by the trial court while recording the statement of the condemned female, he claimed. It is worth mentioning that a three-member bench of the Federal Shariat Court, which will be headed by Chief Justice Fazal Illahi Khan, will hear on June 5 the appeal of Zafran Bibi and reference of the Kohat sessions court for confirmation of the sentence. Malik Fakhre Azam and Zafarullah Khan will represent the female. The appellant's counsel claimed that she had never recorded any confessional statement. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020607 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sherpao, ex-senator record statements: Ring Road case hearing ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report PESHAWAR, June 6: A former chief minister, Aftab Ahmad Sherpao, and former senator Haji Gul Sher recorded their statements before an accountability court in the Ring Road land acquisition case. The statements were recorded under section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code by presiding officer Said Maroof Khan before the case was adjourned to June 13. In his written statement, Mr Sherpao said he had been falsely implicated in the case. He stated that he was not in office when the compensation for the land acquired for the project was fixed. Mr Sherpao said the only allegation against him was that he had not given approval to a summary that sought to file an appeal against the fixation of compensation at inflated rates. He added that when the summary was moved the appeal was time-barred. Haji Gul Sher said he had no relations with the mutations of the land produced by the prosecution. He added that the land acquired for the project belonged to his brothers and not him. He said the compensation was not fixed at exorbitant rates as the lands acquired by the government were commercial land, and therefore its rates were high. Mr Sherpao has already been granted bail in the instant case by the Peshawar High Court. Five of the co-accused - former provincial minister Habibullah Kundi, Haji Khatam Gul, Jam Sher and Juma Sher, and former land acquisition collector Syed Ayub Shah - have been absconding in the case. They were earlier sentenced in absentia to three years rigorous imprisonment. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020605 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sherpao released on bail ------------------------------------------------------------------- Bureau Report PESHAWAR, June 4: The former chief minister of NWFP, Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, who was released from central jail, Peshawar has called for a dialogue between the government and political parties to fight uncertainty in the country. Addressing party-workers outside central jail, Sherpao said: "The country's interests should come first. He urged the politicians to focus on national issue and not on petty differences." A single bench of Peshawar High Court allowed bail to Sherpao in the Ring Road Peshawar land acquisition scandal. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had arrested Sherpao on his return from Britain on Jan 6, 2002. He was acquitted in two of the accountability cases pending against him and his three years' sentence in absentia was also set aside by the court. The only case pending against him is the Ring Road land acquisition scam in which he was granted bail. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020607 ------------------------------------------------------------------- US proposes new rules for visitors ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Masood Haider NEW YORK, June 6: Thousands of visitors from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and some other Middle-Eastern countries would have to register with the US government and be fingerprinted according to new rules being proposed by the US Justice Department, the New York Times said quoting Bush administration officials. The paper says that the initiative, the subject of intense debate within the administration, is designed for "individuals from countries who pose the highest risk to our security," including most visa holders from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and many other Muslim nations. More than 100,000 foreigners, including students, workers, researchers and tourists, all foreigners from designated countries who do not hold green cards, would probably be covered by the plan, the Bush administration officials said. New arrivals from the designated countries would be fingerprinted at airports or seaports, and be required to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service after a 30-day stay in the country, officials said. Violators could be fined, refused re-entry into the United States or possibly deported, officials said. The plan will be published in the Federal Register. After a comment period, it will become a Justice Department regulation. The Times said that the proposal ignited a raging debate in the Bush administration. White House officials supported the proposal, but the State Department lodged objections, fearing diplomatic repercussions with allies in the war on terror. The civil liberties and Arab-American groups expressed outrage at the proposed requirements, arguing that such a policy was a blatant example of racial and ethnic profiling. "What's the logic of this?" Jeanne Butterfield, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, was quoted as saying by the Times. "Anyone who's truly dangerous is not going to show up to be registered." James J. Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, a policy organization, said the registration plan would be "an overtly discriminatory, inefficient and ineffective way to deal with the problem". The authority for proposing the new registration requirements rests with a long-dormant provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, administration officials said. A section of that law requires all foreign visa holders to register with the government if they remain in the United States for 30 days or longer. The law also required the fingerprinting of virtually all foreigners who were not permanent residents, except for diplomats. The law remained on the books, but enforcement fell off in the early 1980's when the volume of visa holders climbed rapidly and the immigration service's budget and staffing dropped. In 1979, the year when Iranian hostage crisis occurred, Iranian students were required to register with the government. After the attacks last year, most visa holders from Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Libya were fingerprinted as they entered the United States. But the terrorist attacks had given fresh impetus to a much broader program. One administration official told the paper that the new registration proposal would help the government in identifying the highest-risk foreign visitors now living in the United States. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020607 ------------------------------------------------------------------- PML-QA not to join NA, says Pervez ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter LAHORE, June 6: The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam) will not join hands with the National Alliance headed by former caretaker prime minister Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, Chuadhry Pervez Elahi, the party's Punjab president, announced. In a statement issued here, he said the party had taken the decision after due consultation. On account of their pro-government positions, the PML-QA and the National Alliance had been expected to form an alliance to challenge the Pakistan People's Party and the PML(N) in the October general elections. About cooperation with other PML factions, Mr Elahi said his party was willing to give party offices to those merging their factions with the PML-QA. But, he said, the party would not yield the offices held by its senior leaders. Instead of forming any alliance, he said the party would make adjustments with the Jamaat-i-Islami, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam and other parties having a similar ideology. He said the next election would be contested primarily between parties which had created Pakistan and the one which, according to him, was responsible for its dismemberment. He was critical of Ms Benazir Bhutto's statements during her visit to India. These statements, he alleged, showed that interests of other countries were darers to the former prime minister than her own country. The PML-QA leader said Ms Bhutto had confined her politics to the "Sindh card." Meanwhile, the PML-QA has called a meeting on June 12 at the residence of Chaudhry Shujaat Husain in connection with the consultations for the elections. Mian Azhar will preside over the meeting. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020603 ------------------------------------------------------------------- 43 die as bus falls into ravine near Jhelum ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Hamid Asghar GUJAR KHAN, June 2: At least 43 people were killed and 10 others injured when a bus fell into a ravine near Dina, Sunday morning. Sources said that when the Rawalpindi-bound luxury coach reached Bakrala Bridge, it hit the fence and fell into ravine. According to Superintendent of Police, Jhelum, Saleem Bhatti, there were 53 passengers in the bus. He said 40 passengers died on the spot, while three more died on way to hospital. The area people with the help of cranes and dumpers straightened the twisted bus and removed bodies from the wreckage. The bodies and the injured were shifted to the DHQ hospital, Jhelum. The district police officer told Dawn that passengers belonged to different areas of Punjab, including Gujranwala, Khushab and Lahore. He said so far 32 bodies had been identified, while efforts were being made to ascertain the identity of the remaining bodies. He said out of eleven unidentified bodies, six had been handed over to Mayo Hospital and four to Services Hospital. Three of the injured have been referred to the DHQ Hospital Rawalpindi, six have been admitted to DHQ Hospital Jhelum, while an injured armyman has been shifted to Combined Military Hospital Mangla, the district police officer added. Governor Khalid Maqbool also telephoned the DCO Jhelum and expressed shock over loss of lives. He directed the district administration to extend full cooperation to the victims of the accident.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY 20020607 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Defence budget to go up ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ihtasham ul Haque ISLAMABAD, June 6: The federal budget, which is being presented on June 15, will have an increased allocation for defence spending for the first time in three years. "Our defence budget, in actual terms, has been static for the last three years but now we need to offer certain increase in it in the budget for 2002-2003, said Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz. Talking to Dawn here on Thursday he, however, declined to give any figure or percentage about the increase in the defence budget. "We are carefully examining the issue as we cannot ignore issues relating to our security," he added. India had increased its defence budget by 28 per cent, 14 per cent and 8 per cent in 2000-2001, 2001-2002 and 2002-2003, respectively. "We have to look after the defence requirements of all the three services, keeping in view the fast changing security environment in the region," the finance minister said. A decision has been taken to introduce a 100 per cent self- assessment scheme from July 1, he said, adding that the purpose behind this move was to build confidence between the taxpayers and tax collectors. "But self-assessment scheme does not mean that you start paying tax less than what you paid previously," he said, adding that some more relief could be offered to the public in the next budget by ensuring that inflation remained under control. A number of irritants that were blocking new investment will also be removed in the next budget on the recommendations of the Cabinet Committee on Deregulation. In this behalf, he said, hurdles created by the labour and social security departments will be eliminated to help the business community. Responding to a question, he said the government will achieve 3.3 per cent GDP growth rate as agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the current financial year. This growth rate, he said, could even touch 3.5 per cent as manufacturing and agriculture sectors have performed well. He said India had envisaged a GDP growth target of 5.7 per cent but it had hardly managed 4 per cent growth and, as such, "our position is better than India's". Similarly, exports have picked up and the CBR has started receiving considerable import duties, which otherwise had been declining due to the Sept 11 events, he said. To a question, he said the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) was making all-out efforts to achieve the revised Rs414 billion revenue collection target for the outgoing year. During June, he said, CBR has to collect roughly Rs50 billion to Rs55 billion. "We are also having a lot of non-tax revenues from petroleum levies, dividends, provinces and Wapda, which will help in the collection of adequate revenues by June 30 this year," he added. The finance minister said that revenue collection target for 2002- 2003 could be in the vicinity of Rs445 billion to Rs450 billion. He said that the National Economic Council (NEC) - the highest body on economic decision-making - will be meeting on June 8 to approve various budgetary proposals, including the size of new Public Sector Development Programme. The Annul Plan Coordination Committee had approved last month Rs140 billion PSDP for the next financial year. When asked whether the NEC, to be presided over by President Gen Pervez Musharraf, will increase the size of the new PSDP, he said it all depended on resources. Before the NEC, Aziz said, Economic Advisory Board (EAB) will meet on June 7 to discuss the state of the economy and offer various proposals to further improve it. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020608 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Maleeha tipped as next FM ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Correspondent WASHINGTON, June 7: Pakistan's ambassador in Washington, Dr Maleeha Lodhi, declined to comment on reports in a section of the press that she was likely to replace Mr Abdul Sattar as foreign minister. The reports said Mr Sattar had submitted his resignation to Gen Pervez Musharraf, saying he wanted to leave office due to health reasons. Dr Lodhi's name was mentioned among those likely to succeed Mr Sattar. The other names mentioned were those of the present foreign secretary, Mr Inamul Haq, and former foreign secretary Najmuddin Shaikh. Mr Sattar had been keeping a low profile for the past several months, and senior US administration officials (like Secretary of State Colin Powell) who wanted to get through to the military leadership would talk directly to Gen Musharraf. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020606 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sattar wants to quit as FM: Health grounds cited ------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Correspondent ISLAMABAD, June 5: Foreign Minister Abdus Sattar, who underwent a three-hour long complicated surgery requiring endoscopy has requested the president to relieve him of his cabinet duties at the latter's earliest convenience. The surgery, though having cured Sattar's chronic nasal complication following successful removal of the nasal polyps, is said to have left the foreign minister too weak due to the three- hour long anaesthesia and the strong medication he is being administered for recovery and recuperation. This is said to have made it very difficult for Sattar to do justice to his onerous tasks as the foreign minister at this critical juncture in the country's history and, therefore, sources added, he has asked to be relieved. Appreciating Sattar's difficulties, the president is said to have been deeply disturbed at the prospect of losing a highly capable member of his team at this very crucial time. However, the president is said to have taken no decision one way or the other, so far. Meanwhile, sources said, the president has started looking at a short list of names to choose the right person from, in case he is left with no option but to finally accept Sattar's request. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020608 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Union Bank to take over Emirates branches ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Dilawar Hussain KARACHI, June 7: Union Bank Limited - a private sector listed commercial bank - proposes to take over all 10 branches of Emirates Bank in Pakistan at an 'amalgamation price' of $18 million. Union Bank was understood to have entered into an agreement with Emirates Bank International PJSC (EBI), a banking company incorporated under the laws of the United Arab Emirates, for amalgamation of Pakistan branches of EBI located at Karachi (at I.I.Chundrigar Road and Clifton); Lahore (at Edgerton Road and Gulberg); Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Peshawar. Union Bank confirmed that the State Bank of Pakistan had given its 'approval in principle' on June 6. An extraordinary general meeting of shareholders in Union Bank has been called for June 29 at the bank's registered office in Faisalabad. The meeting would be asked to approve increase in bank's authorized capital from Rs1.5 to Rs2.5 billion and to endorse the 'draft scheme of amalgamation' of the Emirates Bank Pakistan branches into the Union Bank. A similar consent would be sought from the majority of members of Emirates Bank, after which the scheme would be presented to SBP for its sanction. Union Bank expects the effective date of amalgamation of two banks to fall on June 30. The news of proposed takeover of Pakistan branches of Emirates Bank comes just as Union Bank prepares for the upcoming privatization of United Bank Limited. Union Bank and associates is one of the three parties who have been pre-qualified to bid for 51 per cent shares and management control of UBL. The bidding is set to take place next June 10. Union Bank did not say on Friday how it proposes to raise the purchase price of $18 million- equivalent to a billion rupees. Its attempt last year to ask shareholders for cash in right issue was greeted with a cool response; the bank receiving just Rs157 million in subscription against offer of Rs540 million, for shares in the ratio of two for three. But at the end of December last year, the Bank held cash & cash equivalents in the sum of Rs4.60 billion including Rs1.35 billion being balance on deposit accounts with banks outside Pakistan. Total assets of the bank stood at Rs 30 billion. Deposits were Rs21 billion and advances Rs14 billion. In the three years, 1999 through 2001, the bank has concentrated on cleaning up the balance sheet, which resulted in aggregate provisioning of Rs421 million against non-performing loans, including Rs200 million provided last year. The bank earned operating profit of Rs207 million and after-tax profit of Rs31 million in the year ended December 2001. Union Bank has 32 branches in 17 cities and employs 858 people. It is to be seen if jobs-in either of the banks- would be axed, as a result of the merger. But the hard-nosed chairman of the bank, Shaukat Tarin is reputed for effectively applying his right-sizing model at the country's largest bank-Habib Bank Limited- in times of its greatest financial distress. At the last count on end-December 2001, institutional investment in the Union Bank equity was nominal and nearly 90 per cent of the interest in the bank was vested in 8,870 individuals. But of those, one individual was noted to hold 47.8 million shares, equivalent to 59 per cent of the bank's capital. Dr. Abdullah Mohammad Abdullah Basodan, a member of the Supreme Economic Council of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has been identified by the Bank as the 'sponsor'. He sits as a director on the eight-member board of Union Bank. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020603 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Border concerns turn equities into volatile temper ------------------------------------------------------------------- Muhammad Aslam The KSE 100-share index earlier in the week did rise by about 15 per cent on the hopes of a peace being brokered by the US and Russia, later it reacted on the negative news. The end was subdued as an abortive effort to breach through the psychological barrier of 1,700 points failed. It ended the week around the previous level of 1,663.3, off only 0.13 points. The market capitalization also suffered a modest decline of Rs1.008 billion at Rs387.160 billion. The big gainers were led by the Engro Chemical, the PSO, the Shell Pakistan, the Wyeth Pakistan and the BOC Pakistan. These were followed by the Kohinoor Weaving, the Security Papers, the Wyeth Pakistan, the Mari Gas, the Tri-Pack Films, the Noon Sugar, the Siemens Pakistan, Dawood Hercules and some others. Later selling, however, allowed them to finish with clipped gains. Losses on the other hand were fractional barring the Treet Corporation, the BOC Pakistan, the Ferozsons Lab, Shafiq Textiles, the Packages and many others. Trading volume showed a modest rise at 570 million shares as compared to 486 million shares a week earlier, bulk of which went to the credit of the current favourites such as the Hub-Power and the PTCL followed by the PSO, the MCB, the Sui Northern, the KESC and the FFC-Jordan Fertiliser. Other actives were led by the Engro Chemical, the ICI Pakistan, the Pak PTA, the National Bank, the Japan Power, the World Call, Dewan Salman and several others. FORWARD COUNTER: Speculative issues on the forward counter also followed the lead of their counterparts in the ready section, although on-balance closing was mixed barring the PSO, which came in for heavy selling but on the other hand the Engro Chemical and some others managed to finish with good gains on strong buying. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020608 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Stocks end weekend session on subdued note ------------------------------------------------------------------- Staff Reporter KARACHI, June 7: The KSE index suffered a fresh setback of 23.56 points at 1,691.29 amid low volume. Leading losers were led by National Refinery, Pakistan Oilfields, Shell Pakistan, PSO and Wyeth Pakistan, falling by Rs.1.35 to 12.65, followed by Central Insurance, National Refinery, Abbott Lab, Engro Chemical and Tri-Pack Films, which fell by one rupee to Rs.1.35. Barring Dawood Hercules Lever Brothers, which rose by one rupee each, gains were mostly fractional and confined to below one rupee. Turnover figure shrank to 79m shares from the previous 160m shares as leading investors held on to their positions rather than following the lead of bears. Losers led gainers by 175 to 55, with 39 shares holding on to the last levels. Hub-Power led the list of actives, off 55 paisa at Rs.23.10 on 27m shares followed by PTCL, easy 30 paisa at Rs.16.05 on 15m shares, National Bank, unchanged at Rs.18.55 on 6m shares, FCC-Jordan Fertilizer, lower 20 paisa at Rs.6.55 on 5m shares and Pak PTA, up 15 paisa at Rs.5.50 on 4m shares. Other actives included Adamjee Insurance, up 25 paisa on 3.514m shares, MCB, lower 60 paisa on 2.656m shares, Bank of Punjab, off 45 paisa on 2.543m shares, Sui Northern Gas, easy 30 paisa on 2.007m shares and Engro Chemical, off Rs.1.15 on 1.974m shares. FUTURE CONTRACTS: Speculative issues on the forward counter also followed the lead of their counterparts in the ready section and fell, major losers among them being Engro Chemical and PSO, falling by Rs.1.20 and 2.65 at Rs.59.05 and 130 respectively. PSO was traded for 1.915m shares. Hub-Power again came in for active selling, off 50 paisa at Rs.23.30 on 14.240m shares followed by PTCL, easy 35 paisa at Rs.16.35 on 3.389m shares and FFC-Jordan Fertilizer, lower 15 paisa at Rs.6.65 on 1.002m shares. DEFAULTER COMPANIES: Crescent Board came in for active selling and fell by 50 paisa at Rs.3.80 on 16,000 shares followed by Mehran Jute, unchanged at Re.1 on 12,000 shares. Others were traded modestly.Back to the top
EDITORIALS & FEATURES 20020602 ------------------------------------------------------------------- For what do we fight? ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ardeshir Cowasjee Reacting to my column of last week in which I quoted Albert Einstein's (probably apocryphal) remark after he had seen the effects of the atom bomb on Japan about wishing he had been a shoemaker rather than a scientist, a reader responded saying that it should be clockmaker. However, one observation of Einstein's which is not apocryphal, but a recorded fact is: "If relativity is proved right, the Germans will call me a German, the Swiss will call me a Swiss citizen, and the French will call me a great scientist. If relativity is proved wrong, the French will call me a Swiss, the Swiss will call me a German, and the Germans will call me a Jew." This calls to mind our physicist, the Ahmadi, Professor Abdus Salam, my contemporary. When he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1979, he was recognized and lauded as a Pakistani and a Muslim, although the 1973 Constitution did not admit to the latter. When I met him in the mid-1980s, I asked him whether he was still considered to be a Pakistani and a Muslim. He held my hand, smiled, and replied, "Does it matter?" But, then, I was talking to a profoundly educated human being. Another reader has forwarded to me a paper published in 1999 by Russell D. Hoffman on 'The Effects of Nuclear Weapons'. It sets it all out very neatly. This paper has been checked by our present nuclear physicist, Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy, who confirms its contents to be reasonably accurate, qualifying at the same time that the effects described therein are for a 1,000 kiloton bomb and that Pakistan and India profess to only possess bombs ranging from 20 to 25 kilotons. Let us remember how, during the latter half of May 1998, there was much joyful dancing in the streets of both India and Pakistan. Why? Because, in all probability, nine out of ten of the people of both countries had no idea of the effects of a nuclear blast. They still do not know, because the leaders of both countries, irresponsible and self-serving, have not bothered to tell them. They do not know there is nothing to dance about in either the possession or the use of nuclear weapons - they are not known as weapons of mass destruction without valid reason. The US, the sole world superpower and the sole possible intermediary in the dangerous game now being played on the subcontinent, knows well that as many as nine out of ten who die from a nuclear blast do not die in the explosion itself - they are not simply and neatly instantly vaporized. The State Department is now considering the evacuation of some 63,000 of its citizens (amongst whom are my three lovable Jack Russell terriers of Virginian origin) who now reside in South Asia. There is, naturally, no reason why any foreigner, and for that matter any Pakistani or Indian, should be vaporized merely because of the shenanigans of stupid men. Current estimates are that 12 million will be killed outright in a nuclear exchange between the two warring countries, and countless more millions will linger on, dying slowly, painfully, horribly. Taking Hoffman's 1,000 kiloton blast as an example, those within a radius of, say, six square miles will be killed by the gamma rays emitted by the blast. They will be the lucky ones. They will have no warning, no idea as to what it was that cooked them. Outside the circle, for another ten miles or so, every living thing, human or animal, will be instantly blinded by the bright light from the explosion, many times hotter than the sun, whether their eyes be open or closed. And from fifty miles away from the epicentre, those who happen to be looking towards the detonation will lose their sight. The initial gamma burst will be followed, a tenth of a second later, by a multi-spectral heat blast, followed over the next few seconds by a pressure wave which will cause all living things in its way to bleed from every orifice of their bodies. The wave will be accompanied by high-velocity winds, as great as 70 miles per hour as far away as six miles from the epicentre, which winds, carrying dangerous debris, will cause multiple wounds and injuries. The wave and the winds will cause the death of many, and those that survive, over perhaps an area of a hundred square miles, will later suffer from vomiting, skin rashes, and an unquenchable thirst. Their hair (dyed or natural) will fall out in clumps, their skin will peel off. After all this, there is more to come. The next immediate threat is a firestorm of intense heat and hurricane force, that can, in the case of a one megaton blast, cover a hundred square miles, driving towards the centre where the mushroom-shaped cloud is rising, miles up into the skies, reaching out to cover an area of almost ten miles across. The cloud will dissipate within an hour, and then comes the invisible untrackable spread of death and disease. The cloud's drift will carry a deadly cargo for thousands of miles, over international borders into countries which have no involvement in the India-Pakistan dispute. More fun to come. Further death and destruction, and no dancing in the streets in which the asphalt is melting and burning as burning people try to run along them. Those on fire who can find water in which to jump will catch fire again when they surface. Survivors of the initial blast who have lived through all these subsequent horrors will die over the next few weeks as their bodies begin to break down internally, at the molecular level, life ebbing away painfully as they slowly bleed to death from each and every orifice and pore. Other deaths will occur much later from the widespread release of radioactive materials into the environment. Cancer, leukemia and other genetic damage will strike generations to come. For the first day or so after the blast, visible pieces of fallout will appear, some like great chunks of marble. Later, and continuing on and on, the fallout will be invisible and trackable only with geiger counters carried by men in moonsuits which, under the circumstances, would be unobtainable. The final manifestation is the Electro-Magnetic Pulse caused by the nuclear blast, which can be as large as the subcontinent and as deadly. It can electrify metallic structures in such a way that an entire country can seem to have been struck by lightning in one fell swoop. To cite just a few of the happenings, pacemakers will cease to work, aircraft will fall from the skies, train tracks and telephone wiring will carry the charge, and whatever does not explode will cease to function. There are no benefits, none at all, to be had either from the possession of, or from the use of, nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Our jihadis may console themselves, and fool others, by propagating that so far the Indian nuclear arsenal is far inferior to ours. Nuclear physicist, Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy (hoodbhoy@Ins.mit.edu), has prepared a 35-minute video documentary film which takes a critical look at what the bomb has done for the two countries. He has suggested to our moribund PTV that it show this film so that the people know what is what when it comes to their precious nuclear arsenal, but typically PTV has refused. Obviously, its useless mandarins are too afraid. Should anyone, prior to their impending possible vaporization, wish to see this video they may obtain a copy from Pervez. All going well, I should be writing again next week. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020607 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pakistan's crisis of destiny ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Ayaz Amir "You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go." - Cromwell to the Long Parliament when he thought it was no longer fit to conduct the affairs of the nation. Terrible words which fitted the gravity of the hour. The same words were thrown at Neville Chamberlain, Britain's prime minister, in the House of Commons soon after the outbreak of the Second World War. They were said to have shattered him but he held on to office. It took the fall of France to make him finally hand over the seals of office to Churchill. We need to get the dialectics of our present predicament right. We don't face the threat of war. Not when one side has decided to suffer every provocation without taking offence or offering any resistance. Fears of the subcontinent being vapourized are therefore a bit premature. What we do face is a Chamberlain situation: a weak and bumbling leadership whose very weakness is inviting Indian belligerence and foreign pressure. First the capitulation to American threats. Now the helplessness before Indian threats. It is a measure of our diplomatic ineptitude that no one believes us. We are being painted as liars and supporters of terrorism while India, which has yet to live down the infamy of the communal carnage in its state of Gujarat, is coming off as the aggrieved party in Kashmir. The bankruptcy of the line we've been following since September is thus complete. Helping America in its war on Afghanistan was supposed to furnish us with ironclad guarantees for our security. Used and abandoned by the Americans before, we were told it would be different this time. It has been different this time in the sense that after having been used we are now being pummelled by a combination of American pressure and Indian threats. As India mounts the moral high horse, everyone, from Bush downwards, is hectoring us. In any defensive battle the Pakistan army is more than a match for the Indian army. What do the textbooks say? That, in order to gain a decisive victory, an attacking force should have a 3-to-1 superiority over the enemy (at least at the point of attack). With the scales about evenly matched along our eastern frontier, India does not have this kind of advantage. So why is Pakistan so fearful of a conventional war? Saying the above does not amount to beating the drums of war. Pakistan has already lost the propaganda battle so completely that even within the country any reference to military statistics is read as evidence of jingoism and of disregard for the consequences of a nuclear war. Who is talking of a nuclear exchange and why should things come to that pass? Some of us are confusing the issue and thereby becoming the apostles of appeasement. Appeasement does not pave the way to peace. It encourages more bullying as is happening these days. When the uprising in Kashmir was at its peak India never made an issue of "cross-border infiltration". Why is it doing so now? Because of Pakistan's weakness and its susceptibility to external pressure. But we have to realize one thing. Even if we accept all of India's demands, even if we accept Mr Vajpayee's proposal of joint Indo- Pakistan patrols along the LoC, more demands will follow. Which doesn't mean both states should live in a state of perpetual hostility, pursuing an arms race which mocks the poverty of their people. It only means that for an enduring peace between two hostile neighbors there has to be an element of give-and-take. At the moment, given the weakness and bumbling of the military rulers, that element is missing. India wants all the take while giving nothing in return. So what should Pakistan be focusing on? On the symptoms or the root causes of the present crisis? The tension with India is a symptom of our weakness, not the cause of it. The cause lies in the nature of our present leadership. As long as this fundamental problem is not addressed, confusion followed by humiliation is destined to be our reward. Without the military easing its stranglehold on power and politics there is no way of getting out of this mess. It is perhaps fair to say that the army as an institution has lost any appetite for further mismanaging the nation's affairs. Unless it is more thick- skinned than it is generally supposed to be, it is also perhaps cognizant of the loss of prestige it has suffered because of over- involvement in civilian affairs. But against institutional sentiment we must balance the weight of individual ambition. Even when institutional advantage lies in one direction, vested interests can often pull in the other. This is the problem we face today: the country made hostage to the whims or, more charitably, the limited vision of a few individuals. Seen in this light, the referendum was a gift from the gods for the people of Pakistan for it achieved the impossible: reducing the level of arrogance and cockiness flying about in Islamabad. Referendum say pehlay (before the referendum) and referendum kay baad (after the referendum) are two different stories. Who could have imagined a military overture to the political parties before the referendum? Now as former heresy becomes present necessity, a certain desperation is perceptible in the invitation to the political parties to come to Islamabad. So what is to be done? The political parties must reach out to the men now in control for the sake of national unity. But the military rulers must also reach out to the political parties for the same purpose. Ruling in isolation, as we have all too vividly seen, has been a prescription for disaster and a source of sustained embarrassment for the Pakistani nation. We were beggars always. But today, insulted from all sides, our cup of humiliation is full. None of the above means we should have been on the side of the Taliban or exported 'jihad' across the LoC. These policies should have been re-examined a long time ago, much before September caught up with our delusions. But failing to do the needful on our own, we have been arm-twisted and pushed into falling in line. We thought in September, soon after receiving Powell's famous telephone call, that by becoming an American satellite for the duration of America's onslaught on Afghanistan, we were putting India in its place. As events have shown, this turned out to be our biggest fallacy. By delivering a defiant speech on May 27 Gen Musharraf seemed to be giving the impression that he had finally drawn a line in the sand beyond which there would be no more retreating. But events since have dispelled this impression. The very defiance of the speech was a smokescreen behind which Pakistan continues to receive insults and lectures from other countries. With such a record of failure any dispensation would lose the Mandate of Heaven. This is what has happened with the Musharraf regime whose ability to govern stands impaired with the conjoining of two fatal circumstances: (1) the folly of the referendum and (2) the perception of weakness in the face of Indian threats. But we have to be mindful of realities. No one surrenders power voluntarily and Gen Musharraf is not about to set an example in this regard. Taking Pakistan into safer waters has to be a joint undertaking. Reaching out to each other, the military and the political parties must cover common ground in preparation for the October elections. Let the people choose whom they will for the task of running the country while all concerned can agree to keep Gen Musharraf as president: safely out of harm's way in the vast spaces of the presidency and in no position to do more harm to the country. God knows Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif were epic disasters in their own right, blowing their chances and ruining the prospects of democratic rule. But if the truth be told, their excesses pale before the achievements of military rule. The military then should not be reinforcing failure, a cardinal violation of military strategy. "They also serve who only stand and wait..." said Milton. In like manner, often the highest patriotism is to know when to quit. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020606 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Halting the slide toward war ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Henry A. Kissinger US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld's visit to the Indian subcontinent to help arrest the slide toward war is one of the most complex assignments undertaken by an American official in recent years. For the conflict between India and Pakistan takes place on many levels: the passions of both sides override traditional calculations of self-interest; the two countries possess nuclear weapons and delivery systems and have threatened to use them; important interests of major powers are involved. Nevertheless, no country - not even the world's only remaining superpower - is in a position to impose a solution. The Kashmir issue is one of the residues of the settlements of the period immediately following World War II. The subcontinent had had a high degree of geographic, cultural and religious cohesion but no unified political framework prior to British rule. Britain brought about political structures based on western political values and institutions. These values raised the issue of the coexistence of the Muslim and Hindu religions in a country where Hindus formed the vast majority. Britain tried to solve the problem by partition: regions with a Muslim majority (more or less) were formed into the state of Pakistan; the rest of the territory became contemporary India. All this was accomplished amid unspeakable massacres carried out by both sides. But the borders could not be drawn unambiguously; today's India retains a population of 150 million Muslims, making it the second most populous Muslim country in the world after Indonesia. In 1971, East Pakistan seceded, aided in no small part by an Indian military invasion, forming the present state of Bangladesh. The current crisis in Kashmir goes back to the bloody days of partition. In 1947, hesitation by the Hindu ruler of the predominantly Muslim population in Kashmir precipitated interventions by both Indian and Pakistani troops and eventual accession of the ruler to India. The conflict ended, to the satisfaction of neither party, essentially along the existing line of demarcation - the so-called Line of Control - leaving the largest part of the population and the most important territory on the Indian side. In 1948, a UN resolution called for a plebiscite to determine the will of the population. That vote has never taken place. In the half-century since, the issue of Kashmir has become embedded in the fabric of how the two nations justify their existence. For Pakistan, Kashmir symbolizes its claim to governing those parts of the Indian subcontinent where Muslims are in a majority. For India - which today has a larger Muslim population than Pakistan - the future of Kashmir is a test of its national cohesion. For, were the Pakistani claim sustained, the political future of the 150 million Muslims in India might be in play. No wonder there have been three wars over the future of Kashmir. And, inevitably, the issue of Kashmir has proved unsuitable for mediation; there is no compromise foreseeable between the clashing passions. Pakistan calls for American mediation to add pressure to its claim for a change in the Line of Control. India rejects any mediation and, indeed, any outside role because it will not grant the principle of the Pakistani claims. Neither the United States nor Russia - or any other group of countries - has been able to do more than ameliorate the impasse. Matters have once again reached the boiling point because, for at least a decade, Pakistan has been supporting guerilla activity in Kashmir by tolerating infiltrators crossing the Line of Control, frequently with the support of Pakistani intelligence services. Since the Line of Control runs along mountain ridges, many of them above 10,000 feet in elevation, support camps have been established to facilitate these border crossings. Paradoxically, this state of affairs, however painful, was tolerable to India so long as Pakistan was isolated. And for several decades, Pakistan was governed by civilians who mismanaged its economy and finances and, since October 1999, by an unelected military government headed by Gen. Pervez Musharraf. These governments sought to sustain themselves by appeals to Islamic fundamentalism. But the attacks of Sept. 11 brought home to Musharraf the vulnerability of Pakistan's position. He overcame diplomatic isolation by turning full circle. He abandoned the Taliban in Afghanistan, turned on fundamentalists in his own country and opened Pakistani territory to American operations against Al Qaeda. These measures were widely welcomed in America. In India, they raised the spectre of a Pakistan modernizing with western help and investment, re-linked to the United States by cooperative ties, but continuing to support terrorism against India, thereby giving the open wound in Kashmir a sub-continental scope and turning Pakistan into a permanent thorn in India's side. The Dec. 13, 2001, terrorist attack on the Indian parliament provided a pretext to settle the Kashmir issue, and perhaps the challenge of Pakistan itself, conclusively. The temptation is great to turn the issue of global terrorism against Pakistan and to reduce Pakistan's capacity to serve as a symbol for India's Muslim population. And precisely because Pakistan's leaders view India's motives in a similar manner, they are making nuclear threats that have a certain plausibility. In this manner, the issue of Kashmir merges with some of the basic principles of Indian foreign and security policy. These are naval supremacy in the Indian Ocean, friendly regimes on India's borders and pre-eminence in the entire arc from Singapore to Aden. The single-minded pursuit of this policy has provided occasions for most of India's neighbours to experience India's considerable military prowess. This confluence of motives has brought about a situation dangerously close to developing its own momentum. In terms of the war against global terrorism, the United States opposes the violation of demarcation lines by terrorist groups and the use of terrorism against civilian populations. This is why the Bush administration has used its influence in Pakistan to press ever more insistently on an end to infiltration and the closing of the camps near the Line of Control facilitating it. The United States also has a major geopolitical interest in cooperative relations with India, the world's largest democracy. A position of major influence for India in the region between Singapore and Aden is - or can be made to be - compatible with America's strategic interests in both the Middle East and Southeast Asia. But the dynamics of the situation are far from clear-cut. The Al Qaeda terrorists are on Pakistan's side in the war in Kashmir. But they despise Musharraf for siding with the United States in Afghanistan. They would celebrate his downfall either because he appears weak vis-a-vis India or because he loses a war. Thus, even while Musharraf says (and probably sincerely) that he is trying to control cross-border actions, he may lack the ability to enforce it. And many elements of the Al Qaeda (and perhaps some in the Pakistani intelligence services) have a vested interest in Musharraf's downfall by ignoring his orders and starting a war. This danger confronts America with a grave dilemma. Even though the Pakistani regime has serious flaws, Musharraf has been a staunch ally in the battle against the Taliban, Al Qaeda and Islamic fundamentalism since Sept. 11. In January, Musharraf separated Islam from cross-border violence and began a process of controlling the Islamic schools teaching global jihad. Were the most moderate Islamic regime in the region to collapse while America looks on, the consequences for Afghanistan and the entire region could be serious. Radicals would gloat about the precariousness of friendship with the United States and the unreliability of American security assurances. Our military forces in Afghanistan would lose their rear area; Al Qaeda might rediscover a base territory. Osama bin Laden in Kabul is one thing; Osama in Islamabad would be devastating. The situation could easily get out of hand if India would feel obliged to respond to terrorist attacks by elements not controlled from Islamabad (and even more so to deliberate provocations). Even if its intentions are limited, India may misjudge the Pakistani "red line" at which the war escalates, perhaps into the nuclear field. For Pakistan is in a position vis-a-vis India analogous to which the United States perceived itself to be in Europe during the cold war. In the face of the superiority of the Indian conventional army, Pakistan treats nuclear arms as the indispensable balancer. Hence its threshold for nuclear use is lower, and renouncing nuclear weapons may, in fact, make a war more likely. But the major nations have no reason to accept the counsel of despair that the momentum of events is beyond control, especially on an issue where their interests are so congruent and so engaged. Indeed, the tensions along the Line of Control are an almost a unique case of crisis calling for multilateral diplomacy. Russia will not look lightly on a radicalization of the Islamic world - this is why Russian President Vladimir Putin has been personally so active. China has a relationship with Pakistan stretching over a decade - partly as a counterweight in the Sino-Indian border disputes. Europe - especially Great Britain - has a historic interest in a peaceful evolution of the area. All these countries - whatever their other differences - seem to agree with the parameters outlined earlier: opposition to terrorist infiltrations, opposition to the weakening of Pakistan. In these conditions, the United States cannot confine itself to exhortations; it must instead take the lead in crystallizing these general interests into a more precise calculus of incentives. American policy must help chart the narrow path that presses Musharraf to prevent infiltration across the Line of Control, while making clear to India that a war would seriously weaken India's vital interests, including the cooperative Indian-American relationship that has been making such significant progress. Finally, there is the issue of the use of nuclear weapons. The world has listened to the reciprocal threats of both sides with amazing equanimity - almost as if nuclear war were a natural disaster like the weather, beyond human control. But nuclear war on the Indian subcontinent would cross a dividing line heretofore resistant to all passions, in all wars of the nuclear age. The other nuclear powers - especially Russia and the United States - should not accept that nuclear weapons become conventional. All aspirations to nonproliferation will disappear if the risks of nuclear use are not made to exceed those generating resort to them. At least Moscow and Washington - possessing the largest nuclear capabilities - should convey to the parties their insistence on this dividing line and begin urgent studies on specific measures to give effect to these warnings. But these measures can work only if there is a de-escalation of the military buildups along the Line of Control side by side with the end of infiltration.-Copyright 2002, Los Angeles Times Syndicate International. DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS*DWS 20020608 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The view from London ------------------------------------------------------------------- By Irfan Husain After witnessing the colorful pageantry and the tumultuous celebrations that took place in London to mark Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee, it is difficult to imagine that India and Pakistan are still eyeball-to-eyeball in the summer heat of the subcontinent. My wife drove me straight to Buckingham Palace from Heathrow in the evening to participate in the proceedings. The Palace grounds were full, as were the adjoining parks, so we walked to Hyde Park's Speakers' Corner where a couple of giant screens had been set up to view the pop concert. Tens of thousands of people sat around, stood or danced to the music. Many picnicked or swigged from cans of beer. The atmosphere was relaxed and laid back: there was no sign of anger or aggression as the multi-ethnic crowd milled amiably in every direction. The next day, we went to the St Bartholomew fair where a number of brass bands played in an area of London that dates back to the early part of the 12th century and now houses Smithfield, an old food market. Appropriately, the festival celebrated food with farmers and butchers from all over the country selling everything from arrays of cheese to cooked sausages. Again, the festival was inclusive, with people of every skin tone imaginable eating and shopping side by side. That afternoon, we watched the final carnival and flypast before Buckingham Palace on television before I finally succumbed to jet- lag. But nowhere in the entire proceedings was there any discord or unpleasantness as the entire nation celebrated the Queen's 50th year as monarch of the British Isles. The next morning I went through the newspapers and saw there had been no breakthrough at Almaty, and both Vajpayee and Musharraf had stuck to their public postures without attempting to reach any kind of reconciliation. To be fair, the Pakistani leader did repeat his open offer to talk to the Indians 'at any time and at any place'. However, the Indians continued to insist on preconditions. If the Pakistan army cannot or will not put an end to the infiltration that is supposed to be taking place, why can't the Indians, with over half a million men in uniform in Kashmir, intercept the intruders? One only wishes the leaders of both countries could see how ridiculous they seem to people across the world. Today's Daily Telegraph likened the animosity between the countries to a 'Punch and Judy show', referring to the popular puppet show in which the two leading characters belabor each other with sticks to the merriment of their infantile audience. The only reason the world is paying any attention to the current tension on the subcontinent is that both protagonists are now nuclear powers. I remember how indignant I used to get years ago when the West attempted to prevent us from developing a nuclear capability, considering this an expression of the lingering imperialist and racist mindset that still held sway in western capitals. But I now realize that neither India nor Pakistan is mature enough to handle the responsibility that comes with this kind of power. The current stand-off reminds me of an old joke: what do you say to a gorilla with a machine gun? You say 'sir!' Just before leaving Karachi, I read in the newspapers that General Musharraf had dispatched a number of envoys around the world to brief leaders and opinion-makers about the Kashmir issue. Now this might come as a bit of a surprise to our president, but this is precisely what our ambassadors have been doing for the last five decades. In fact, the mileage racked up by the special envoys sent from Islamabad over the years to brief the world on Kashmir would have filled the large gap in our budget had they been kept home. I don't think we have any idea of the profound boredom the mere mention of the word 'Kashmir' inspires in the chanceries of world capitals. I can understand Musharraf's dilemma and can even sympathize with him: having dumped the Taliban under American pressure, he is having a hard time doing the same thing to the Kashmiri mujahideen because the Indians are demanding it. Having supported both extremist groupings (or rather, different manifestations of the same phenomenon) for years, the army is now loath to ditch them. And on their part, the Indians are offering no quid pro quo, thus making it even harder for Musharraf to break away from the policy he inherited and has carried forward during his tenure. But tough times call for tough decisions, and that's what leadership is about. Given the tension on our borders and the very real danger of war with all its imponderable consequences, somebody has to blink first. Musharraf has said in his otherwise uncompromising speech last week that Pakistan would not export extremism or militancy. If he can deliver on this pledge, we should welcome his statement of intent. There has been some talk of joint patrols to ensure that border crossings in Kashmir are halted. If this can be implemented, it could be the first step towards de- escalation. Perhaps secret talks on neutral territory with third party facilitation would help both countries pull back from the brink. On the plane, I read a long account in The Observer about panicky scenes at New Delhi airport as thousands of foreigners scrambled to leave, heeding the warnings emanating from London and Washington. Conventional wisdom has it that India can afford the present stand- off much better than Pakistan. While this is true, it is also a fact that tourism is much more important for India than it is for Pakistan, and the threat of a nuclear holocaust is not the best inducement for foreigners planning a vacation. Both countries have a strong motivation to stand down their forces and regain some kind of normality. But normality in the context of the subcontinent does not translate into normal, friendly relations between two neighbors. Far from it. Travel remains an ordeal; there are virtually no business relations; and propaganda fills the airwaves. The cricket teams of the two nations can't even play against each other, thanks to a bizarre edict from New Delhi. If we have come so far only to revert to the usual prickly and poisonous relationship that has obtained for years, we might as well give up on the entire region. Surely in this era of globalization and international cooperation, why can't our leaders show some sign of maturity and statesmanship?
SPORTS 20020607 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Mudassar hopes Australia will tour Pakistan ------------------------------------------------------------------- MELBOURNE, June 6: Pakistan coach Mudassar Nazar is hoping Australia will proceed with their tour of Pakistan later this year in spite of security fears. "We're hoping it will go ahead. We anticipate the Australians coming to Pakistan, for the time being," Mudassar told reporters at Melbourne's Docklands Stadium. "It is my earnest desire that the Australians come to Pakistan," he added. "Yes, I can easily understand their reluctance. But if it doesn't take place in Pakistan then hopefully it will take place somewhere else." New Zealand cut short their tour of Pakistan in May after a suicide bombing outside the team's hotel in Karachi killed 14 people. As President Bush tries to calm tensions between neighbours India and Pakistan in the dispute over Kashmir, Australia are pursuing the possibility of shifting the series in Pakistan to a neutral venue such as Morocco or Sharjah in September and October. Pakistan will play South Africa and Sri Lanka in a triangular one- day series in Morocco in August, pending approval of the venue by an International Cricket Council inspection party later this month. "I suppose that (Morocco) could be one of the options," Pakistan team manager Yawar Saeed told reporters. Yawar said details of Australia's proposed tour were being handled by the two controlling boards. He said he had heard the Moroccan facilities were far superior to those of Sharjah. "However, we are all very keen that they should come to Pakistan, and whatever discussions that are required will be done by me at this level," he said. "But the real decision-makers are the two boards. We have had a Test series (in Sharjah this year) at a neutral venue against the West Indies." Australia will play hosts to Pakistan for a three-match limited overs series starting next week. The first two games will be played indoors at the Docklands Stadium on June 12 and 15, with the third game in Brisbane on June 19. The Pakistan team flew into Melbourne Thursday and inspected the drop-in wicket at the Docklands.-Reuters ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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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