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news wednesday 8 may, 2013
sharif poised to take over mess in Pakistan LAHoRE AGENCIES
After 14 years out of power, Nawaz Sharif is a man in a hurry. As his motorcade speeds to another campaign rally ahead of a general election next week, the politician tipped to be Pakistan’s next prime minister is frank about what he will inherit - “a mess”. “The challenges are huge,” the portly Sharif told Reuters in his bullet-proof car. “We have to bail out the economy.” With the nuclear-armed nation in crisis after decades of either military or socialist rule, it’s a job few might be able to handle. Sharif, who vows to bring in free market enterprise and ease economic controls, says speedy growth is the only answer. According to opinion polls, his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is expected to win the May 11 general election after capitalizing on the failures of the outgoing Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), a left-leaning party. The powerful military still calls the shots in Pakistan but it is the first time that an election is being held to decide on a transition between civil-
ian governments. Nevertheless, the new prime minister will have to work with the generals, who control foreign policy and security. The new civilian government will also have to play its part in Pakistan’s difficult relationship with the United States. Washington has a deep alliance with Pakistan, but is troubled by elements in the country supporting Islamic militants fighting US troops in neighboring Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden was found and killed in a Pakistani town in 2011. In addition, the economy is stuttering. Chronic power cuts have infuriated Pakistanis and crippled key industries. Corruption and poverty are rampant, and infrastructure is crumbling. Sharif seems to have matured as a politician since he was toppled by former army chief and president Pervez Musharraf in a bloodless coup in 1999. As the main opposition leader, he has avoided antagonizing Pakistan’s powerful generals, or bringing down the unpopular PPP-led coalition government when it was in trouble. Instead, he waited patiently for an opportunity to rule and now that his moment has come, he is in a hurry to fix Pakistan. Sharif how-
ever acknowledges that if he wins, the honeymoon will be short. NEED FOR REFORM: Pakistan needs billions of dollars from donors to avert a balance of payments crisis but the cash may not flow to the South Asian nation unless politically sensitive economic reforms are implemented. So far, one politician after another has failed to muster the courage to bring change. Sharif ’s background suggests he may have the stomach for it, based on his attempts in the past to reverse socialist policies and open up the economy. “I think Nawaz Sharif will be very capable of making tough decisions,” said Zaffar Abbas, editor of Dawn newspaper. “He has proven this before.” Sharif, who was born into a family of wealthy industrialists in 1949, served as prime minister twice in the 1990s, when he tried to
promote free market policies. His family is from Lahore, the capital of Punjab, Pakistan’s most prosperous and populous province. Now he says he is willing to again risk a backlash, and cut government expenditure by 30 percent in order to secure international backing for the economy. “you see privatization, free market e c o n o m y, deregulation - have been hallmarks of our party in government,” Sharif told Reuters. “We are going to pick up the threads from where we left off.” Despite his reform credentials, Sharif may raise concerns in the West because of his conservative Islamic values: in 1991 he tried to make sharia the country’s supreme law. More recently he has been accused of failing to act against militant groups which have a breeding ground in Punjab. He is one of the
few major politicians not on the hitlist of Taliban insurgents who have vowed to disrupt the elections. His two terms as prime minister in the 1990s were marred by allegations of graft and he ordered Pakistan’s first nuclear tests in 1998. THE MILITARY CONNECTION: Nawaz was a protégé of military dictator General Zia ulHaq in the 1980s. But he became a victim of the powerful military when he was overthrown by Musharraf. He was then convicted of corruption and given a life sentence for hijacking, because he refused to allow an airliner carrying Musharraf to land in Pakistan. Sharif went into exile in Saudi Arabia, but never lost hope of returning to politics one day. “In private conversations, Nawaz still gets very emotional when he remembers that period,” said a senior journalist who has reported on Sharif for decades. “He has not forgotten being handcuffed and walking through the airport. His face still gets red in anger when he recalls those days.” No surprise, then, that he now talks tough against the army meddling in civilian affairs - a risky
stance in a country ruled by generals for more than half of its 66-year history, either through coups or from behind the scenes. Sharif’s attempt to fire Musharraf as army chief ultimately cost him his job in 1999. If elected he will have to avoid any other errors in judgment, especially when it comes to Pakistan’s top army officers. Musharraf attempted a political comeback of his own in March when he returned after nearly four years of self-imposed exile hoping to contest the election. Instead, he has been barred from public office for life and is under house arrest at his luxury farmhouse as cases against him grind through the courts. With his nemesis humiliated and out of the picture, politics has come full circle for Sharif. He has patiently plotted his own return to the top from his lavish, 700-acre estate near Lahore where peacocks strut on the lawns. “I think we have a track record. We have contributed to the country in the past,” said Sharif. “Wherever I have been during this campaign, the response of the people has been very emotional and charged.”
Most new-born deaths in India; Pakistan, Bangladesh fare better: report
tauqir sadiq sentenced to three years in prison
NEW DELHI
StAFF rEPOrt
RAWALPINDI
ONLINE
Of every 100 newborns that die in the world, 29 die in India. A report on 186 countries on Tuesday revealed that in Indian as many as 300,000 babies die on the day they are born every year while infants fare better even in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The report showed that 40 percent of the world’s first-day deaths occur in South Asia, which accounts for 24 percent of the world’s population. It said Bangladesh and Pakistan also have large numbers of yearly first-day deaths at 28,000 and 60,000 respectively with chronic malnourishment of mothers one of the major factors for the fatalities in the region. “Progress has been made, but more than 1,000 babies die every day on their first day of life from preventable causes throughout India, Pakistan and Bangladesh,” said Mike Novell, the regional director of the charity. Non-governmental organisation, Save the Children, compared first-day deaths in 186 countries for its “State of World’s Mother Report”. Luxembourg has the least new-born deaths, India the most, the reports says. While infant deaths in India have come down by almost half as compared to 1990, the rate has been slower than that in, say, Nepal. The statistics only get worse. More than half the child deaths in India happen in the first month. And India has the biggest disparity between the rich and poor in child deaths.
NFC inks agreement with NlC for fertilizer transportation LAHoRE PrESS rELEASE
National Fertilizer Corporation(NFC) has signed an agreement with National Logistics Cell (NLC) for efficient, swift and safe transportation of fertilizer inside the country. As per agreement, NLC would ensure safe and speedy transportation of urea from ports to various NFML stores spread across the country. During transportation of fertilizer, NLC would ensure safety of the fertilizer. In this regard, Commander NLC Brig Hamid Raza and GM NLC Col Asif Mehdi called on Chairman NFC Rizwan Mumtaz Ali. Also present in the meeting were Managing Director NFML Tariq Shafique Khan, GM NFML Fakhar Ali Cheema and GM NFC Shahid Amin.
RAWALPINDI: PML-N President Nawaz Sharif addresses a public meeting on Tuesday. INP
sc takes exception to ashraf’s misuse of bhasha, lowari funds ISLAMABAD ONLINE
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday questioned how could former prime minister Pervez Ashraf utilise funds allocated for Bhasha dam, Lowari Tunnel and HEC in his own constituency. He gave the remarks while presiding over an SC bench while hearing the case of misuse of funds by the former PM in his own constituency and acquisition of supplementary grants illegally. The concerned officers and lawyers appeared in court. The finance secretary told the court that PM had the power to release discretionary funds and no bar could be imposed on him on this count. The CJP remarked, “Can the PM can utilise the entire country’s funds in his constituency? If the prevailing state of affairs continues, what will happen in the country?”
He regretted the way the former PM issued such a huge amount for the uplift projects and then got supplementary grant amounting to Rs 30 billion. J u s t i c e Azmat Saeed remarked how were supplemen tar y grants of Rs 30 billion obtained. “Is the PM a monarch to get such a huge grant?” Tariq Mehmood advocate appeared and prayed the court that certain contractors who had no relevance with the former PM’s schemes had been barred from doing work. The CJP observed, “We have not barred anyone from carrying out
work. We want work be done per law and constitution. Development fund can neither be transferred to the PM’s constituency nor could it be utilised therein. Former PM transferred funds allocated to projects of national importance like Bhasha dam, Lowari Tunnel and HEC to his own constituency. No one will be allowed to plunder national wealth.” The court issued notices to the housing secretary and directed him to present record of all ongoing development projects under PWD within 10 days. The hearing of the case was adjourned for 10 days.
Former OGRA chairman Tauqir Sadiq was sentenced to three years in prison on Tuesday by an accountability court for failing to appear for the hearing for a corruption reference against him. Furthermore, the court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Sadiq and ordered the freezing of his assets and properties. Sadiq, the main accused in a Rs 82 billion scam, fled from the country after the Supreme Court declared his appointment as OGRA chief illegal on November 25, 2011, and ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to start an investigation against him. Sadiq, who was sentenced in absentia, is currently in the UAE and sources said that some influential figures in the former government had been using their clout within the country and abroad to protect the former OGRA chief.
tribal clash leaves five dead in Jhal Magsi MoNIToRING DESK At least five persons were killed during exchange of fire between two groups in Jhal Magsi district of Balochistan on Tuesday morning A Levies official Abdul Jabbar said that five tribesmen had died and that both groups used heavy weapons against each other in the clash that was the result of a tribal feud. He said the bodies were shifted to Gandawah hospital for postmortem. Levies and police reached the area and investigations into the incident went underway. Earlier in April this year, an independent election candidate, Abdul Fateh Magsi, and three other persons from Balochistan’s Jhal Magsi area were killed by unknown assailants, prompting the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to postpone the elections in the areas PB -32 constituency. According to the police and relatives of the deceased, was kidnapped on Monday night and his bullet-riddled body was found on Tuesday morning.