Hard work on the joint statement

ISLAMABAD: The October 4 Pakistan-India joint press statement issued after the foreign minister-level talks in Islamabad did not come easily. It took several hours of hard negotiations and four drafts before the four-page statement could be firmed up.

Apparently, officials on both sides worked on it till past midnight — exchanging drafts back and forth and arguing over virtually every word, sentence, comma and full-stop. The two sides were locked in discussions until shortly before the announcement of the statement the next day.

Not surprisingly the toughest negotiations were on the portion relating to issues of terrorism and Jammu and Kashmir, with both sides trying to give it their own spin. To quote one diplomat, the enormous time spent on finalizing the joint statement made it clear that both sides still have a way to go in meeting the trust-deficit existing between them.

IN A belated but welcome move the government of Pakistan has cleared the appointment of the Foreign Office’s first woman spokesperson.

Ms Tasnim Aslam, the new spokesperson, is the second director-general of the UN division at the Foreign Office to be given the additional charge of spokesperson, a high profile post. Mr Masood Khan, currently Pakistan’s permanent representative at the UN Mission in Geneva, was the first.

The appointment of Ms Aslam was made public by outgoing spokesman Naeem Khan soon after the joint press conference of Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and his Indian counterpart Natwar Singh on Tuesday. Apparently, Mr Kasuri had also introduced her to the Indian foreign minister during the Indo- Pakistan talks on Monday as his ministry’s new spokesperson. A woman has already served as spokesperson for the Indian external affairs ministry.

Ms Aslam had joined the Foreign Service in 1984. She has served in important divisions including Americas, Europe and Disarmament. Her last appointment was as director of the foreign secretary’s office. She has also served at Pakistan’s diplomatic missions in France, Holland and India. Her last posting abroad was at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi where she served from 1997 to 2001, initially as first secretary and later as counsellor, political.

She has a master’s degree in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Boston and in business education from the Punjab University in Lahore.

GAZA VISIT: Apparently the government is in the process of finalizing the composition of the Pakistan delegation to visit Gaza and Al Quds. It appears that the visit, which was initially planned for this month, has been deferred to a date in November.

According to those in the loop, the delegation will most likely be led by the secretary-general of ruling Pakistan Muslim League, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, who also heads the Senate standing committee on foreign affairs. He is also Pakistan’s representative to the OIC’s Commission of Eminent Persons, constituted to restructure and revitalize the 57-member body.

Apparently the government wants to maintain a low-profile on this visit and has decided to send a small delegation. Official circles believe the strength of the delegation may not exceed five or six members. It is said that the delegation will be a composite one and may include representatives of other political parties, retired diplomats, jurists and eminent personalities. As of now there is no plan to include foreign ministry officials or cabinet members.

While the Pakistan government has asked the Palestinian and Israeli authorities to facilitate the visit to the Gaza Strip and Al Quds, the delegation may also visit Ramallah which houses the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority.

The delegation will be going to Gaza and Al Quds at the invitation of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas which he had extended during his visit to Pakistan in May.

Interestingly, during Benazir Bhutto’s government a trip by her to Palestine was almost finalized through the good offices of Turkey. However, it fell through due to the Israeli government’s intransigence on the paperwork needed

Muslim party to back Lankan opposition

COLOMBO: After over a month of dilly dallying, the Sri Lanka Muslim-Congress (SLMC) on Tuesday announced it will back Opposition United National Party (UNP) presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe. The decision by the SLMC was made public along with that of the Tamil minority estate workers party, the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) which will also put its weight behind Wickremesinghe in the Nov 17 polls.

“We will, as we have done in the past, extend our fullest support for the victory of Mr Wickremesinghe. We always maintained that we will support the candidate who stood for peace and this is the reason we chose to back the UNP candidate,” leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), Rauf Hakeem, told Dawn.

The decision by the SLMC comes in the wake of a heightening controversy within the ruling SLFP concerning the party manifesto to be put forward by its candidate Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse. Following pressure by President Chandrika Kumaratunga for a manifesto that will be based on a federal solution to the ethnic conflict and the premier insisting on the manifesto being based on a unitary state, speculation is rife as to which concept would finally be made the official party stand.

“We were made to understand the SLFP might put out two manifestos.

“We learn that the prime minister will put out one manifesto while President Kumaratunga will amend it and release a different one.

“This creates confusion as to what will actually be implemented,” the SLMC General Secretary Hassan Ali said. Meanwhile five recognized Muslim parties have formed an alliance to be called the Muslim National Alliance to put forward its own presidential candidate.

Hafiz Nazeer Ahamed, an engineer by profession, hailing from eastern Batticaloa says he hopes to get at least 300,000 votes out of around 800,000 Muslim votes. “If Muslims vote for Mahinda Rajapakse, it will be war. “If they vote for Ranil Wickremesinghe it will be endorsing slavery to the Tigers,” says Ahamed, who had formerly been a member of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress. The Muslim National Alliance comprises three recognized parties, Democratic Unity Alliance, Muslim Katchi and United Muslim Peoples Alliance along with other Muslim civil organizations.

“This is a prime time for Muslim rights and aspirations. Any decision that Muslims make at this point is very crucial in deciding the self-determination of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka”, says Ahamed whose manifesto is to focus on the Muslims’ right to self-determination.

“We want the government to declare the East as a Muslim majority province,” states the MNA presidential candidate. “We will support any step that is taken to solve the grievances of the Tamil community. We cannot forget the atrocities committed against us by the LTTE. We want to settle this conflict through federalism. We cannot accept anything that is unitary.”

Cash still king for Indians

NEW DELHI: Kuldeep, a roadside peanut seller, fishes out a mutilated 20-rupee bill from his frayed pocket and hands it to a man hunched over a desk repairing old and torn currency.

The portly, moustachioed man sitting in a small dingy shop deep in Delhi’s old quarter examines the note carefully, and then gives Kuldeep two freshly minted bills worth just 15 rupees (34 U.S. cents).

The moneychangers do such an extraordinarily lucrative trade because they bridge a gap between the electronic banking system and the hard cash economy of the masses, facilitating a black economy that hides much of India’s commerce from the taxman.

“It is an art ... and a service to the poor,” said Madan Lal Anand, who has been in the business for three decades.

Even though moneychangers do not have official status, the practice is entirely legal. India’s central bank has never objected to its existence as the moneychangers offer a service to people outside the banking system and have helped fill the void during shortages of notes in the past.

Nearly 60 per cent of India’s billion-plus population has no bank account.

So, in tiny hole-in-the-wall shops across old Delhi, hundreds of men in starched white shirts toil with glue, tape and water to clean old bills before exchanging them for new ones at the bank.

Indians just love cash. Cheques are viewed with suspicion and credit cards a strict no-no, be it the grocery store, milkman or chemist. Many shops display the sign ‘Cash today, credit never’.

Credit is frowned upon because it leaves a clear paper trail. The central bank says there are 43 million credit cards in circulation, although commercial banks estimate only 7 million people use them, a number likely to include most of the mere 30-40 million who pay income tax.

In an attempt to capture some of the untaxed cash, the government decided this year to tax withdrawals of more than 10,000 rupees from bank accounts. The move drew widespread criticism, forcing it to raise the amount to 50,000 rupees.

D.H. Pai Panandikar, director of private think-tank RPG Foundation, said it would take years for plastic or other banking products to replace cash.

“A large part of our economy still prefers cash. Then there are other considerations like cash transactions may not be entirely legal or formal,” Panandikar said.—Reuters