| 27 February 2004 | Friday | 06 Muharram 1425 |
US dilemma in Iraq
Train passengers' woes
Condition of Hyderabad
Police behaviour
Production of prisoners in court
Declining population of vultures
Microsoft in Pakistan
PTCL's working
A question
Destruction of girls' schools
Pensioners' grievances
Fleming's record
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With the imposition of strict rules by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), some of the companies listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange are trying to take refuge in delisting through buy-back scheme. The repurchase price of such shares as determined by the exchange is mostly between Rs10 and 25.
According to listing regulation IX-32(C), the buy-back price is proposed by the company and, if considered inadequate, it is revised by the Karachi Stock Exchange.
It is suggested that the buy-back price should not be based on the market value of the share, book value, average market price, earning multiplier, etc. The repurchase price should only be based on the breakdown value of the fixed assets according to the day's current market value of land, machinery, building, etc.
Although the plant and machinery has depreciated, its scrap value has a large contribution. The price of land has no doubt appreciated and multiplied several times.
An industry which was started in the 1970s with a capital of Rs8 to 10 million will today require a capital of more than Rs300 million (i.e. 30 times more) to set up. Considering this aspect a repurchase price of Rs10-25 for a 10-rupee share is injustice to the investor.
Considering the fall in the value of rupee the government should fix a minimum repurchase price. For the industries set up in the 1970s, the minimum repurchase price should be at least six times the par value. For the industries set up in the 1980s, the minimum repurchase price should be 3-4 times the par value of the share.
The SECP should not only further tighten its grip over the companies, it should also guide the minority share-holders not to sell their shares in the open market for Rs3 or Rs4. The actual worth of these shares is several times above its par value.
If the minimum repurchase price is fixed by the government, it will give some relief to the minority shareholders, most of whom are retired people holding their investment for 30 to 35 years.
FAROOQ FAZAL
Karachi
(2)
I want to bring it to the notice of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan that I am a small shareholder of M/s Hussein Industries Ltd and my folio number is M-3804. I sent 337 shares to the above company for transferring them in my name. In reply I received a transfer receipt bearing 161, dated 12.11.2003, in which it was mentioned that after 45 days, i.e. on December 27, 2003, the my above shares would be ready for delivery. So, on December 31, 2003, after putting my signature on it, I sent the receipt, with a covering letter, through a registered post vide receipt #1254, dated December 31, 2003.
After more than 50 days I contacted the company several times on phone 5018536-38 but always received the reply that there was no one present in the shares department and that I should phone them again. Once I happened to speak to one person in the shares department. I explained my problem to him and he acknowledged to have received the above-mentioned receipt of transfer sent by me. He promised to send the shares very soon. I regret that the shares have not yet been sent to me.
Again on January 22 I sent 24 shares by the urgent mail service - vide number UMSAJ 26383KHI. It has been more than one month now but the company has sent me neither its transfer receipt nor the shares after transferring them in my name.
I request the SECP to look into the matter and take necessary steps to resolve the problem.
M. NAZAKAT ALI KHAN
Karachi
US dilemma in Iraq
To conquer land is one thing but winning hearts is another. US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair expected support from the downtrodden Iraqi people who had been living a miserable life under a despotic ruler for over quarter of a century. Their hopes have, however, been dashed.
Iraqis, though divided in factions or ethnic groups - 60 per cent Shias, 30 per cent Sunnis and the rest Kurds who are Sunni but ethnically separate from both - have given the boot to US forces.
Now, after winning the shooting war, the US is losing it on the political table. It has no peace there, has to face suicide bombings, is unable to form a government - transitional or permanent - and does not know when to hold elections to bring democracy cherished by the West and unknown to Arabs.
The chief concern (as the Los Angeles Times reported), as contemplated by the US-appointed leaders and everybody else, is the three-person presidency: a Shia, a Sunni and a Kurd.
This kind of idea has failed in Bosnia-Herzegovenia which has multiple ethnicities, but a similar system has worked in neighbouring Lebanon whose population is half Christian and half Muslim, though both have their own sub-divisions. It works on a rotation basis. If, for a term, the president is Christian, the prime minister is a Muslim and vice versa.
It can work in Iraq, too. If it is the presidential form of government, the president should be a Shia, the prime minister a Sunni and the vice-president or the deputy prime minister a Kurd. In case of parliamentary system, the prime minister should be a Shia and the president a Sunni. The third slot should always belong to the Kurds.
S. M. KAZIM NAQVI
Karachi
Train passengers' woes
The residents of Narang Mandi, Sheikhupura district, are facing difficulties in availing themselves of the train facility. There is usually a great rush of passengers at the railway station due to which people cannot get tickets well in time. Sometimes there are even quarrels and fights over tickets.
If the ticket window is opened an hour or so before the arrival of a train, there will be no pushing and shoving and the people will get tickets without any hassles. Moreover, tickets should be given to only those who are standing in a queue.
Crowded train compartments is another serious problem. Some time back I bought a ticket of the Allama Iqbal Express to go to Lahore. It was very difficult to get a seat because of rush in the train coaches. When I tried to get into a first class sleeper just behind the engine, a constable stopped me from entering it. I had no other option except to sit on the buffer to reach my destination.
On the way I saw some 20 to 25 people dangerously perched on the engine's rooftop. When the train gathered speed, the cold air forced them to ask the constable to open the first class sleeper. The policeman initially seemed willing to oblige but at once changed his mind, seeing the number of people wanting to get in. When the train reached Shahdra, the people atop the engine went into an economy class bogie. Such situations, apart from causing great inconvenience to passengers, can also result in serious accidents involving loss of life and injury. People should, therefore, be allowed to use first class sleeper passages in such situations.
Another problem relates to accumulation of rainwater in front of the station master's office in Narang Mandi. It creates much slush and filth around, causing great discomfort to passengers.
ZAHEERUDDIN BABAR KHOKHAR
Sheikhupura
Condition of Hyderabad
Hyderabad is known as one of the glorious cities of Pakistan, but unfortunately its development and maintenance have been stopped during the recent years. The condition of the city is at its worst but it seems to have escaped the attention of those who are responsible for its upkeep.
There are a host of problems which the city people are facing. Among them damaged roads and litter are the main problems.
President Musharraf visited Hyderabad a few months back, noticed its problems and sanctioned a heavy amount for its development. But unfortunately it was just a dream. When did the amount come? Where did it go? Who has it?
For years this city has been suffering from the apathy and negligence of government officials. Due to damaged roads, the people are facing numerous problems. They also have the litter problem, which leads to pollution. No proper attention is being paid to this problem, too, and as a result the ratio of pollution has increased and causing disease.
I, on behalf of the people, ask District Nazim Makhdoom Rafiq-Uz-Zaman as to who is responsible for the poor condition of our city.
SYED ASFANDYAR HUSSAIN
Hyderabad
Police behaviour
Please refer to your editorial of February 16 on the above subject. Police personnel from the top down to the constable are rude to the extent that you will prefer dealing with a problem yourself instead of getting it solved with the help of the police. If you visit a police station, you will be meted out treatment which is indecent and shocking.
I had to visit a police station in New Jersey in connection with a certain problem. I was welcomed in the police office by a lady receptionist who very politely asked me to wait in the waiting room.
Hardly after 10 minutes an officer came down and asked me to accompany him. Job done, he accompanied me back to the waiting-room and bade me farewell, shaking hands and saying: "Sir, thank you."
But police officers in Pakistan are very unhelpful and indifferent to the common man. Consider this: Some time back I sent an application to the DIG (traffic) in connection with the problem one has to face in the central driving licence police office to obtain a computerized driving licence. The DIG has not yet replied to me.
ABDUL RASHEED KHAN
Karachi
Production of prisoners in court
A majority of defendants in criminal cases are not produced in court owing to a shortage of police vans. This leads to judicial delays and the accused have to suffer for no fault of theirs.
Further, policemen exploit this situation and demand bribes from the families of such accused for producing them in court.
It is very unfortunate that all successive governments have neglected the issue of the legal system's delays. If only a fraction of the amount needed to purchase a single F-16 is instead used to purchase police vans for transporting prisoners to courts, this problem can be solved.
ANIL KHAN LUNI
Karachi
Declining population of vultures
In 2000, it was pointed out that over the previous three or four years the population of vultures in India had suffered a mysterious decline, with possible extinction in about five years.
Across India vultures show the same symptoms: a drooping neck and lethargy. Weak birds eventually fall out of trees and die. The disease is said to be viral in nature and already prevalent in Nepal and Pakistan. There is a danger of its spreading to Africa via the Middle East.
Ornithologist Vibhu Prakash talks of a complete 'wipeout' of vultures even in protected areas. At a Bharatpur bird sanctuary in Rajasthan, India, he recorded 350 nesting pairs in 1987. In 1997 there were 25 pairs, and in the year 2000 there were none.
Doctor Lindsay Oaks, a veterinary microbiologist, Washington State University, Pullman, on a visit to Pakistan in 2000 (National Geographic News, January 28, 2004) found so many vultures that he got bored looking at them. Now four years later the raptors are nearly gone. Within a few years they may be extinct.
Recently the culprit, Dr Oaks and his team believe, appears to be a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, diclofenac-akin to aspirin and ibuprofen, which has become a popular treatment for avian livestock throughout the subcontinent.
The majority of the vultures, including the Oriental White-backed Vulture (OWBV), died from kidney disease caused by a toxin. Vultures feed on dead cattle, and the researchers have found that tissues from the affected vultures contained traces of diclofenac.
In the wake of the above discovery, Dr Khan, BZU associate professor, has concluded: "... experiments found high diclofenac residues in the OWBV dying of renal disease". On the contrary, Professor Nawaz, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, has observed (February 11) that these results are misleading because diclofenac is not a commonly-used drug in domestic animals.
More appropriate reasons for the decline in the population of OWBVs seem to be ecological conditions as the desolate areas are decreasing and populated areas increasing. Additionally, carcass disposal has become a commercial activity because meat and bones of dead animals are used for the poultry feed, thus carcasses are not available for the scavenger vultures.
Professor Nawaz seems to have arrived at a logical conclusion. Here in Gujrat, more than 45 years ago, vultures were a common sight, perched on treetops and telegraph poles. They used to forage rubbish and unexpectedly would appear as if from nowhere hovering in hordes over carcasses in suburbs tugging at the flesh with their curved beak, strongly prehensile feet and long curved claws. Not anymore because all those desolate areas have been populated and the urbanization goes on mercilessly.
PROFESSOR (DR) P. NASIR
Gujrat
Microsoft in Pakistan
During the course of panel discussions at the "IT Summit 2004" held in collaboration with Microsoft and the NDC on February 19 in Islamabad, it came to light that Microsoft is being launched to provide instantaneous service to IT-related human resources development in Pakistan.
In order to provide protection and ensure growth of this industry, it is proposed that copyright and piracy laws should be enforced. Pakistan's experience with energy development through the IPPs has been very sad. Won't the history of IPPs repeated, with Microsoft launching without necessary safeguards?
It is suggested that no restriction should be imposed on the import and usage of hardware and software already available in the country from cheap sources of procurement, otherwise it will have negative effects and create more poverty.
ALI ASHRAF KHAN
Islamabad
PTCL's working
I have been a PTCL customer and user/subscriber of telephone No. 6650987 since 1990 and pay my bills regularly and in time. However, some PTCL staff have been harassing me for some time. They demand a certain amount every month to get what they call trouble-free telephone service.
I have informed the high PTCL officials about the harassment and lodged complaints on 18, 106 and the helpline in Islamabad. But none of the PTCL staff has ever bothered to either acknowledge my requests or take any action.
I have served some British companies and studied for nine years in London. Maybe my expectation is a bit higher, but I cannot understand why highly responsible officials in the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited do not reply to a customer's letters/faxes/ complaints.
SYED M. HAQUE
Karachi
A question
On February 16, Dawn published a statement by the chief election commissioner that anyone who wants to register himself as a Muslim voter must sign a declaration under oath.
May I ask the government in which other Muslim country such a declaration is required? Is it not clear that the government seems to have come under the influence of obscurantists?
The last quarter of a century provides ample proof that any ruler who relied on such elements to prolong his rule met an unenviable end.
MUHAMMAD ISHAQUE SOOFI
Rabwah
Destruction of girls' schools
Seven girls' school buildings, constructed under the Social Action Programme six years ago in several villages in Gilgit and administered by the government of Pakistan, were blown up simultaneously with explosives, with precision timing on the night of February 15.
The incident did not evince interest of the local administration. Another girls' school building in Chilas met with the same fate on the night of February 19.
It has become a norm that religious leaders, especially in the backward areas, incite innocent people to such extremist steps.
The Northern Areas administration must apprehend the people behind the Gilgit and Chilas terrorist acts. Also, it is incumbent on the 'tabblighi'groups to visit these backward areas and enlighten the people there.
SYED G. B. SHAH BOKHARI
Peshawar
Pensioners' grievances
This refers to the letter "Old pensioners grievance" (February 19). I am not surprised to read that the ministry of finance has been doing things against the established norms.
The ministry is too happy to extend its patronage to those who invest in foreign lands and are not prepared to pay taxes. We, the old pensioners, do not expect any succour from the representatives of the International Monetary Fund.
It is intriguing and shocking that the president who has an eye for details and is prompt in taking decisions took more than half a decade to approve the summary submitted by the ministry.
MUHAMMAD RAFIQ
Karachi
Fleming's record
Captain Stephen Fleming smashed a brilliant century to guide New Zealand to a five-wicket win against South Africa in the second one-day international on February 17, at Jede Stadium, Christ Church. However, his personal achievement of 6,000 runs was mentioned in a single line of a Dawn report on February 18.
It is true that there are so many cricketers who have reached that mark before him, but Fleming's case is totally different because he is the first in the Kiwi team to reach that remarkable milestone. Stephen Fleming has made 6,004 runs at an average of 31.98 in 214 one-dayers played by him so far.
SHEIKH ABID RASHEED
Lahore
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