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Sunday,
March 2, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Weapons destruction ‘begins’
Pak may
not back US move on Iraq |
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WINDOW ON PAKISTAN High-tech peeping tom
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Weapons destruction ‘begins’ Baghdad, March 1 The official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity, said the destruction occurred in the Al-Taji area, 30 km north of Baghdad, which has several factories involved in missile production. A spokesman for the UN weapons inspectors, Mr Hiro Ueki, said a team of inspectors was headed to the site. “As soon as they arrive the destruction will begin,” he said. “I do not believe that it has begun, but it’s a matter of minutes.” The Iraqi official insisted the destruction had begun at 1 pm local time (6.30 am IST). Mr Odai al-Taie, head of the Information Department at Iraq’s Information Ministry, said a team of UN weapons inspectors would also seize a mould used to make solid fuel at the Al Rasheed Company “in order to prepare it for destruction tomorrow.” Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix ordered the destruction of the finned, white rockets and all their components, fuel and design systems because tests indicated some fly farther than allowed. He praised the Iraqi decision to comply with his order, saying: “It is a very significant piece of real disarmament.” Mr Blix’s chief deputy, Mr Demetrius Perricos, met this morning with Mr Saddam Hussein’s scientific adviser, Lt-Gen Amer al-Saadi to finalise details of the destruction. Mr Al-Taie said the two sides discussed technical points and “agreed on a schedule and a work plan for the coming days.” He said they also agreed on “the sites of destruction, the manner of destruction and the priorities.” Mr Ueki also announced that the inspectors had resumed interviews with Iraqi scientists, interviewing a biological weapons expert and a missile expert yesterday — the first such interviews since February 7. “This is positive news,” Mr Ueki said.
AP |
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Pak may not back US move on Iraq Islamabad, March 1 “Most likely it would abstain if the resolution were put to vote,” Pakistani officials were quoted as saying by local newspapers here. Islamabad indicated its stance yesterday to visiting US Assistant Secretary of State Christina
Rocca, who was here to seek its support for the second resolution on Iraq introduced by the USA, the UK and Spain. Ms Rocca met Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf and other leaders and laid out a strong case for Pakistan supporting the US war on Iraq. During the talks, Pakistan officials reportedly told Ms Rocca that Islamabad preferred to wait till UN Chief Inspector Hans Blix submitted his report to the UN Security Council. “Until he submitted his report, we (have) put our decision on hold because this is our national interest”, an official was quoted as saying by The Nation.
PTI |
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WINDOW ON PAKISTAN THERE are ample dollars in the kitty of Pakistan. Then why are the poor getting poorer and the economic slowdown that set in 12 years ago not halting. Why these huge funds are not helping the people. The rise of Islamic parties in the country and their good showing in elections is being explained by analysts in terms poverty and unemployment touching monstrous levels. There is at one level a very rosy picture of the state of fiscal health. Foreign exchange reserve has skyrocketed from $ 1.8 billion in 2001 to $ 7.5 billion in 2002. Remittances from abroad have jumped from $ 1 to $ 2.5 billion. Interest rate has remained steady at 4 per cent. For fighting the war against terrorism, the Americans gave Pakistan $ 600 million as grant and rescheduled its debt of $ 3 billion. While many commentators like Ayaz Amir [in Dawn] think that Pakistan has sold for peanuts and Turkey had had a better deal of $ 25 billion, the USA might write off $ 1 billion. This certainly makes a poor state as rich. Then how does one explain one-third of 140 million Pakistanis living on just a dollar a day? Many cannot afford even cooking oil or bread. The prices of these in one year have jumped by 15 to 17 per cent! South Asian Tribune in a commentary said: “The infant mortality rate — 78 per 1,000 live births — is higher than the rate in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. And even though the illiteracy rate is 57 per cent, Pakistan has one of the lowest expenditures on education — 1.4 per cent of its gross domestic product. As a result only 40 per cent of girls are in primary school and many families are forced to send their children — mostly boys — to Pakistan’s estimated 10,000 madarasas or religious schools. There, they learn basic reading and writing and focus on the teachings of the Qoran. The madarasas have become a breeding ground for Islamic militancy. Is the State of Pakistan suffering birth pangs? Over the five decades, corruption, faulty economic planning and a huge defence budget have left domestic development in the cold. Pakistan’s powerful military has ruled the country for more than half of the nation’s 56-year history, fully integrating itself into every facet of the economy and draining state coffers with generous benefit plans for its officers. The long-standing territorial dispute with India over Kashmir has allowed the military to overthrow elected politicians who challenge them. In the past three years alone the annual defence budget has averaged $ 2.5 billion, compared with $ 105 million for health and $ 35 million for education, according to the National Statistics Bureau. “Its also difficult when corrupt military officers have siphoned off more than $ 1.2 billion in the past 10 years to purchase such amenities as land, mansions and luxury cars,” according to a recent report by Pakistan’s Auditor-General. It is interesting to look at basic facts to understand the sickness of the political economy. Federal tax revenues have been largely static in Pakistan, both in terms of tax: GDP ratio and overall revenues. The tax: GDP ratio was moving between 12 and 14 per cent of the GDP for long and much of that growth has been in the largely non-tax paying agricultural sector and the less tax paying service sector. One good sign is that after many years the tax revenues could break out of the Rs 300 billion bracket and Rs 400 billion bracket was reached last year. It remains to be seen when the budget will break out of the Rs 400 billion bracket. How would this alleviate the poverty is yet to be demonstrated. Well-known economist Ravian in Daily Times on February 28 summed up the situation: “There is much hand wringing about anaemic economic growth (under 4 per cent per annum) in the past 12 years. Weak economic growth has translated into disappointing poverty outcomes. About a third of the population remained mired in poverty in the past 10 to 12 years. The link between growth and poverty is employment. The ordinary citizen understands this well. He has a healthy scepticism regarding claims that growth is picking up or that poverty is about to be banished from the land of the pure. However, employment and wages are yet to translate into incomes and that is what improves the quality of life. All else is smoke and mirrors.” The economists also rubbish the system of collection of data on economic and fiscal matters. “Efforts in the past 20 years or so have been pathetic. The Economic Survey put out by the government every year, which is the best source for data on economic activity in the country, present evidence on employment and wage trends that are downright counter-intuitive”. In the topsy-turvy politics of Pakistan, corruption, cronyism have marked each tenure, both civilian rulers as well as of military dictators. The present ruler and his elite commanders who have been selling public assets and grabbing land are no exception. This sad situation only makes Osama-bin-Laden as heroes. |
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High-tech peeping tom Hong Kong, March 1 The 26-year-old was found to have more than 40 pictures taken beneath women’s skirts on his Nokia 3650 phone, which has a digital photograph-taking function, when he was arrested yesterday. The suspect was caught as he tried to take a picture up a woman’s skirt in a book shop in the city’s Kwai Chung district, a police spokesman said.
DPA |
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17 tourists killed Taipei, March 1 The four-car train carrying about 150 passengers derailed while travelling over a bridge and one of the cars tumbled into a ravine, said the Council of Agriculture, the cabinet agency in charge of forestry. Officials said 17 passengers had died, including three children, while about 100 were injured as of 4.30 p.m., about five hours after the accident. All victims are Taiwanese. Two of the cars were hanging off the bridge in mid-air, and five helicopters had been dispatched to evacuate victims from the remote mountain site.
Reuters |
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