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Sunday,
June 23, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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5 Palestinians killed in Jenin Army takeover feared in Bangladesh 200,000 marooned WINDOW ON PAKISTAN
Expatriates plea for peace Attack on LTTE causes tension EU favours crackdown on stowaways |
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5 Palestinians killed in Jenin Jenin, June 22 Violence was sweeping the occupied territories, with four Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip and the army pouring into Nablus, hours after a gunman killed five Israelis yesterday, including a mother and three of her children, in a nearby West Bank settlement. Jewish settlers also shot dead a Palestinian man to avenge the deaths of the five settlers killed the previous day near Nablus, Palestinian medical sources said. Tensions were high in Jenin, the site of some of the heaviest fighting in the 21-month-long intifada, where Israeli tanks shelled a market where people believed a curfew had been lifted. Some shells struck about a kilometre to the north, killing four persons in the Hayal-Basatin neighbourood, medical sources said. The army later said it had killed by mistake three Palestinians in Jenin, as opposed to four. “An initial inquiry indicates that the force erred in its action,” an army statement said. The army said in a statement it had opened fire on a group of people who “broke the curfew” in the city of Jenin, where soldiers were carrying out “house to house searches in search of an explosive lab.” It vowed an investigation. However, medical sources said soldiers had fired randomly. Meanwhile, a report from Orland said US President George W. Bush had backed Israel’s retaliation for a series of Palestinian attacks, saying the US ally had “the right to defend herself.” JERUSALEM: Israel does not rule out taking over the civil administration of the autonomous Palestinian cities it is re-occupying in the West Bank, the director of the Defence Ministry told Israeli public radio on Saturday. “If the outcome of the operations underway is a long-term presence of the army on the ground, and if (the army) must answer the needs of the civilian population, then we will examine this and provide the answers,” Mr Amos Yaron told the radio.
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Army takeover feared in Bangladesh Dhaka, June 22 Talking to mediapersons last evening, about an hour after he submitted resignation, former President Chowdhury opined that he honoured the decision taken by the legislators. He asserted that his impeachment, as threatened by them, was not possible as the four conditions of impeachment did not exist. The country’s constitution provides that the President can be impeached on four conditions: violation of the constitution, gross misconduct (unspecified), physical or mental disability. Mr Chowdhary was in office for 220 days only. Dr Kamal Hossain, chief of the Ganotantrik Forum , a former Foreign Minister and an eminent constitutional expert who was involved in drafting the constitution, opined that the legislators could not decide the ouster of the president and the decision of the BNP parliamentary party was in violation of the constitution. Barrister Ishtiaque Ahmed, another constitutional expert and twice adviser in the two caretaker governments held the view that Mr Chowdhury did not come under any of the provisions for impeachment and his party’s request to him to resign was not only unprecedented but also unconstitutional as there was no such provision in the country’s constitution. Ms Sheikh Hasina, President of the main opposition Awami League termed the removal of the president as an ominous sign. She earlier hinted at forces of darkness working from behind the curtain to destroy democracy in the country. This is a hint at the possibility of a new military come back. Recently the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Harun Ur Rashid was forced to retire after wide spread rumours of a military takeover. The political analyst of the Dhaka daily Pratham Alo in a front page story today raised the question of the objective behind the harsh step of removing the President. He commented that the action had created a situation that would ultimately go against the BNP. The party legislators were Mr Chowdhury for not laying a wreath at the grave of former President Ziaur Rahman on the occasion of his death anniversary on May 30 and not mentioning him as the proclaimer of independence in 1971. |
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200,000 marooned in Bangladesh Dhaka, June 22 The officials said 100 persons were also injured when over 300 mud houses collapsed in the floods that destroyed roads and communications in the Mymensingh and Rangpur districts. “Some 500 persons were also evacuated to 20 shelters,” Manirul Islam, Deputy Commissioner at Rangpur, 350 km from Dhaka, told Reuters by telephone. He said nearly 50,000 persons had been marooned in Rangpur district. “The situation may deteriorate if the rains continue,” he said. Three children were killed in the Mymensingh district where 150,000 persons had also been marooned, officials at Mymensingh, 130 km from Dhaka, said. Meteorologists forecast more rain and gusty winds of up to 50 km ph over the country in the next 24 hours due to a persistent monsoon low over the Bay of Bengal and the central part of the country.
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WINDOW ON PAKISTAN FOR a poor country deeply in political morass, making a popular and acceptable budget is indeed a very tough task. Last week the Musharrf government tried this. Result, sharp criticism all around except, of course on the loyal PTV. Spare a thought and look at the fiscal situation. In Pakistan which has a direct bearing on the daily life of one hundred and forty million people. And, when the needs of the people are too many and the demands of its ruling classes too varied, priorities are often in conflict with each other. Let us look at the ground realities. Forty per cent people live below the poverty line. And only thirty per cent of the population is fully employed and below fifty per cent of the population are below the age of twenty and a very large number of women are not productively employed. The tax revenue collection is rather inelastic. Writing in the Dawn, Sultan Ahmed said, “ Hence one year’s failed target often becomes the target of the succeeding year. The current years estimated revenue was 457.7 billion rupees while the actual collection is estimated at four hundred and fourteen billion. Hence the target for the next year is four hundred and sixty billion.” And debt burden and servicing takes the main part of the cake. Debt servicing cost this year alone is Rs 320 billion, while the next year’s debt servicing will cost 289.7 billion leaving too little for other expenses and a large part of the left-over goes to defence which this year has been budgeted at 131.6 billion. In fact, the actual expenditure will be 151.6 billion. It is clear to most commentators that Pakistan has suffered as a result of the international sanctions that followed the nuclear explosions and that was followed by the sanctions, which came as a result of the imposition of the military rule. Then came the increasing military tension with India. Now add to this the expenses on the internal security of the country following rise in acts of terrorism and increase in major crimes. The government had also to abide by the rigid regime of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility of the IMF and the Structural Adjustment Programme of the World Bank. Poverty has been rising and in fact, the people living below the poverty line have virtually doubled during the 1990s. The government this time has proposed Rs. 136 billion next year and Rs. 161 billion in 2003-2004. “ But what matters is not the amount proposed to be spent reducing poverty but how effectively it reaches the targeted poor and how much it actually reduces poverty,” Dawn said. There is another paradox in fiscal situation .The contrast between the external economic sector and the domestic sector of Pakistan is very sharp. While the external economic sector is marked for its over six billion dollar foreign exchange reserve, two billion dollar current account surplus, a doubling of the home remittances to 2.2 billion dollars. The domestic front is marked for the fall in savings, investment and a sharp drop in revenues when the trade and industry registered a performance far below the targeted total revenue collection, which is to be Rs. 414 billion instead of the targeted Rs. 457 billion. Mr Ahmed was clear about future when he said, “The Public Sector Development outlay at one hundred and thirty-four billion is small compared to the needs of the country and the external assistance, which is becoming available. A larger investment is needed to increase the employment in the country. The country will register a deficit of four per cent of GDP against current year’s 4.75 per cent and that will indeed be heavy in monetary terms as the current expenditure including the Secretariat of the Chief Executive consumes a great deal of money.” The political parties are dissatisfied with the budget. They are more interested in how the people directly benefit from the budget, as they are their voters, not the investors. And the people will come to gain directly very little. The fact remains as in a recession-hit world; Pakistan is worse affected by adverse external factors. Nation’s editorial said, “The reaction to the Budget 2002-2003 has been generally unfavourable. The common man has been hit on certain key items, without corresponding relief. There is no shortage of those willing to speak on his behalf, particularly the opposition political parties. Another well-taken criticism is that the government has taken away some important items from the budget, which makes it less than reflective of the government’s activities and decisions on the average citizen’s household spending, by carrying out periodic rises.” Perhaps the most damning reaction has come from the business community, represented by the FPCCI, which nullified the government’s claims of business friendliness by declaring the budget the exact opposite. There seems to be disappointment that the government did not take into sufficient account the recommendations of the various industrial and trade bodies. Najm Sethi in the
Friday Times commenting on the economic management by the Mursharraf regime said, “The unsuspecting General was well briefed for his mass rallies during the referendum campaign. Forex Reserves are up to US$5 billion, he proclaimed, leaving the audience wondering what on earth he was talking about and how that was in any way related to the quality of their everyday lives in which jobs were harder than ever to find. Debt-rescheduling of up to US$12.5 bn has been accomplished, he thundered, without explaining why higher domestic oil and electricity prices had laid the public low despite falling oil prices in the international market. The trade balance has improved by nearly US$1 billion, he added for good measure, leaving importers and manufacturers gasping about their diminishing prospects in a stuttering economy. The IMF, World Bank and international donors are lining up to give us more foreign loans, he boasted, making nonsense of his earlier promises to reduce the national debt piled up by the dirty politicians.” In fact, Mr Sethi made a telling comment when he said,” The Musharraf government has mastered the art of making economic virtue out of political necessity. Up until September, it was stubbornly ploughing ahead with “regional and national security policies” designed to keep Pakistan in splendid international isolation regardless of the adverse economic impact of these policies on the lives of ordinary citizens. The dividend from peace and trade with India was spurned in favour of sponsoring jehad in Kashmir. The dividend from oil and gas pipelines from Iran and central Asia was wrecked on the altar of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Among the costs of this unholy nexus of garrison and mullah could be counted the rise of terrorism inspired by religious extremism, which in turn had a disastrous impact on the perception of the country by potential foreign investors. To add to our woes, the hostility of the Musharraf regime to the mainstream political parties suggested a throwback to a much abused and highly unstable political order. As for everyday lives, three years of Musharrafic restructuring did nothing to lift the pall of doom and gloom overhanging the economy. Every real economic indicator with a bearing on everyday lives remained negative and there were no signs of improvement.” |
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Expatriates plea for peace Islamabad, June 22 The “landmark communiqui’’ has called upon the governments of India and Pakistan to take all necessary measures to avoid war and to pursue peaceful dialogues to resolve all conflicts. Stressing the importance of the event, Mayor of Houston Lee Brown commented, “The Pakistani and Indian communities of Houston have followed the pioneering traditions of our great city in presenting the perfect paradigm for peace, harmony and progress.’’ Addressing the large gathering at steps of the City Hall in downtown Houston, U.S Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee stated that she was inspired by the steps taken by the two communities and pledged she would work ceaselessly in the Congress in bringing peace and equity for the people of the region.
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Attack on LTTE causes tension Colombo, June 22 The Defence Ministry also asked a top naval official to go to Jaffna for an investigation into the incident which took place on Thursday night, amidst fears that a friction in the area could undermine the ceasefire and a recently hammered-out solution to a dispute over the rebel group’s entry into the navy-controlled islands. The incident in which LTTE political functionary Semmanan was beaten up and was about to be kidnapped along with his deputy Dayalan at Velanai in Mr Kayts island, could have had serious consequences, as they had threatened to bite cyanide capsules, the LTTE said in a statement in
Jaffna. PTI |
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EU favours crackdown on stowaways Seville, Spain, June 22 Britain, Spain, Germany and Italy failed to persuade a two-day summit to back economic sanctions against countries that failed to combat people smuggling and comply with EU demands to take back rejected migrants. Instead, the leaders agreed to offer positive incentives to enlist the cooperation of third states and threatened unspecified political measures if they did not sign and enforce readmission agreements with the EU.
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USA TRYING TO END CROSS-BORDER TERRORISM FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICIALS UNDER FIRE TOP US COMMANDER TO VISIT PAKISTAN TODAY |
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