An institutional graveyard

By Shahid Javed Burki

THERE is good news from Islamabad. Some 80 potential donors met in the city and pledged over $6 billion to help the country recover from the ravages of the earthquake of October 8. Most of the funds raised are to be used to rehabilitate the more than three million people left homeless and without economic assets. If money was the only constraint, this would spell the end of the country’s travails. But that, unfortunately, is not the case.

Faced with this enormous burden to reconstruct an economy on which some 10 million people depend, the Pakistani state will also need to rebuild itself. Over the last 60 years, the state has been weakened to the point that it barely functions.In the last couple of columns, I have drawn comparisons between the Indian and Pakistani situations to make the point that there are things about India that gives it enormous advantage over Pakistan in many fields. This is particularly the case in the effort by the two countries to develop and modernize. India will succeed in spite of the fact that some of the economic and social problems it faces are more serious than those that we face. After all, India is much more crowded than Pakistan.

With some 15 to 20 per cent of the world’s poor, the burden of poverty it carries is also much heavier. There is great inequality not just among its more than one billion people. Some of the Indian states in the country’s north and east have a per capita income that is one-fourth of the average achieved by some of those in the west and south. There are serious social and political problems in the country that the various systems in play are barely able to handle.In many parts of the country, women still face great discrimination. Wife burning to punish young women for not bringing sufficient dowry for the groom’s household is sufficiently common to worry sociologists and social workers. The system of roads, railways, bridges and ports is straining under the impact of a rapidly growing economy. India has done even less than Pakistan to improve the physical infrastructure it inherited from the British. The Indian bureaucrat, in spite of all the investment the country has made in its fabled Institutions of Management, continues to believe that his job is to obstruct rather than to facilitate. And yet, India now has the reputation of a country that works; Pakistan that of a country poised on the edge of an abyss.

There are many reasons for this of which I count four as being really important. The Indians do a much better job of representing themselves outside the country than we do.This helps to bring in foreign capital, technology and management expertise. They have also invested much more — and much more intelligently than we have done — in creating a highly skilled and well informed work force. I commented on these contributors to India’s growth in last week’s article. Today I will write about one other difference between the two countries — a difference that gives India a better chance of succeeding than Pakistan in the new global economic and political order.

India today has a much stronger institutional base than we do. Over the last half century — certainly after the assumption of power in 1971 by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto — Pakistan has systematically destroyed the institutions it inherited from the British Raj. India did the opposite by significantly improving upon its institutional inheritance.

In the institutional graveyard we find in Pakistan, tombstones carry such names as the civil administration and the system of governance; the judicial and legal systems; political parties, and the political system; the systems for formulating and implementing economic and social strategies; colleges, universities and the system of education.Two institutional structures that have survived are the military and the press, the latter because of the relative tolerance displayed by a number of recent administrations, especially the current one. However, I will suggest in a later article that a free press without a political system that represents all segments of the people cannot do its job adequately. It can only point out the blemishes that exist in society but cannot correct them.Why have we created this graveyard of institutions?

The question has been asked and answered several times. Unlike leaders and leadership groups in India, those who have ruled Pakistan came to believe that the institutions that were in place stood in the way of their ability to reach their goals. Some of the time the goals were personal enrichment or concentration of power in a single pair of hands. Even when the rulers’ aim was to improve the welfare of common citizens, most institutions were regarded as bumps in the road to be traversed.The process of institutional decay began the moment Pakistan gained independence. The country’s first generation of rulers did not have a firm political base. Not prepared to trust the masses, it bypassed them. Thus began the tradition of rule without consultation, discourse or representation.

At the same time, the urgent need to rehabilitate and resettle millions of refugees who had arrived from India led to the use of unconstrained state power. Evacuee property — the assets left by the departing Hindus and Sikhs — was disposed off at the will of administrators whose actions could not be easily questioned in the courts. The seeds of corruption that was to mar the Pakistani landscape in the decade of the 1990s were, in fact, planted in the soil immediately after the country was founded.The first seven years of President Ayub Khan’s administration were committed to the economic development of the country, a goal that was achieved with considerable fanfare at home and celebration abroad. For some time, Pakistan was feted as the model of development.Nonetheless, Pakistan’s first military ruler did not appreciate the important point that the process he had begun could not be sustained without a functioning judicial system, representative politics and freedom of expression.

In this approach he was encouraged by a number of development theorists who believed at that time that strong military governments led ably by visionary leaders could deliver their countries from economic and social backwardness. There was not much point in consulting the people with the help of a representative system of government or giving them voice with the help of a free press. Even an independent judicial system was seen as obstructing the path to rapid economic development.

Ayub Khan came down hard on the judicial system, on the development of political parties, on developing a representative system of government, and on the press. On the other hand, he developed a sound system of economic planning and management, a local government structure that brought the state closer to the people and an educational system that began to improve the level of human development. Had he not suppressed the first set of institutions he and his government would not have fallen so easily to the predatory designs of an ambitious general who was much less well equipped to govern.

Ayub Khan would not have succumbed had he allowed the press to freely report on some of the economic tensions that were caused by his model of development, had he put in place a political system that could find relief for those who felt that they had been left behind by the fast pace towards reaching economic goals that were once believed to be unachievable, had he permitted the judges and the judicial system to keep the fast moving economic and social systems within legal bounds. Ultimately, the institutions he did not build, or those that he did not develop, destroyed those he had created with tender loving care.

The destruction of institutions continued under Ayub Khan’s successors, General Yahya Khan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The two together put away the system of bureaucratic management. That system may have had many faults but it also attracted high quality human resource to its ranks and provided reasonably good governance. It worked well in the area of economic management. And Bhutto’s heavy hand fell on the system of education, bringing politics into college and university campuses. Bhutto also continued the Ayubian practice of suppressing the freedom of expression and manipulating political processes to achieve personal goals.

Once again, as had happened to Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan before him, the institutions that could have saved him from being dislodged by the military were simply absent when they could have served a useful purpose for him. In fact, tragically, Bhutto was sent to the gallows by an institution — the judiciary — that he had himself subverted.President Ziaul Haq continued to show not only the same disdain for institution-building that was shown by his predecessors. He went one step further and began to use the state to bring religion into politics, the economy and society. In doing so, Zia was not responding to public demand: he, like some of his predecessors, was putting in place what he thought the people needed or should require.Zia’s Islamization programme left a legacy with which the country is still trying to come to terms. While bringing religion into many spheres of public life, the Zia administration did practically nothing to resurrect the institutions without which societies simply cannot develop. The political system remained largely unrepresentative, political parties continued to be manipulated to serve the ruling master, the judiciary was forced into submission and the legal system atrophied.

Eleven years of civilian rule interspersed with five general elections underscored one important point about institutional development: that periodic reference to the people, without the support of institutions, is not a recipe for the development of a representative form of government. The two mainstream political parties that were given the opportunity to govern made no effort to prepare the ground for erecting a permanent structure of governance in which people would openly participate. That had been accomplished in India; given the chance once again, the Pakistani leaders let the country down once more. Theirs was total failure which once again encouraged the military to step in.My assertion in the first article of the present series that the military takeover saved the country from plunging into a political and economic abyss has been contested by some of my friends who were very active in politics at that time. I continue to believe that a break was needed in the trajectory the country was pursuing at that time. But the question is whether progress has been made since October 12, 1999.The answer has to be in the negative. Once again there is a belief that institutions are not important; what are needed are the leader’s goodwill, determination and vision.

Under President Pervez Musharraf there has been no progress in terms of developing civilian institutions, improving the state of the judiciary, strengthening the legal system, developing the capacity to do strategic thinking in economic affairs, forcing the development of political parties, and laying down rules for succession. And by requiring the military to enter not only politics but also many civilian activities, he may have hurt the one institution that had survived the general decay in the country’s institutional foundation. Dawn

Progress can be derailed if reforms not undertaken: SBP governor

Pakistan's economic progress could be derailed in case we do not undertake judicial and educational reforms, said Governor State Bank of Pakistan Dr Ishrat Husain.

He said that with the financial sector restructuring, capital allocation in an efficient manner will be achieved. However, to sustain the economy on a high growth path requires efficiency in human utilisation and an environment of social justice through reform of judicial system.The Governor of the Central Bank was paying a farewell visit to the Business Recorder office on Saturday.

Dr Husain was of the opinion that he had done justice with his job and was leaving his office with a sense of fulfilment and a feeling of performing the task with maximum effort and the best of abilities. He acknowledged that reforms in our country are not received well and people ask the need of such reforms and criticism becomes a norm.He reminisced the time when he was in London to attend a symposium, arranged by the Bank of England; many other chiefs of the central banks from different countries were there. A consensus was reached among them that in a market-based economy it had become necessary for them to manage expectations instead of a few knowledgeable players dictating market sentiments.Dr Husain was asked to characterise Pakistan's economy: Whether it was agriculture or industrial ie manufacturing. The governor said that it has changed over as contribution of agriculture was as high as 40 percent of the GDP and now it is below 25 percent, whereas manufacturing share has increased from 7-8 percent in 1969 to 26 percent. He felt now its strength is based on manpower.

He said individually Pakistani professionals are better than any one but collectively they some how fail to gel as a team. The SBP governor said the economy went into reverse gear after nationalisation. In the 80's under General Zia it was in maintenance mode and the Islamisation process, unfortunately, created fissures that were dangerous for the society.He made it clear that the economy's strength lies in the services sector. He said that he has worked in 50 countries and thinks that Pakistani professionals are better than many. The problem is our egoistic approach that blunts the pace of progress. We are yet to work as a team, he continued.

Dr Husain recalled his latest speech where he had stressed the need of quality professional education. He negated the notion that literacy was a major factor behind producing quality skilled workers. He had the example of India that has a literacy rate of 60 percent compared to 100 percent of Sri Lanka. But, he said the Indian scientist, IT professionals, bankers etc skilled workers are better. That proves the utility of specialist education. Human resource is the anchor for a knowledge-based economy.

The SBP governor did not accept a pointer from one of the participants that the Central Bank had failed to beef up its research department. He said that the SBP was sending two employees every year to do their Masters at William College in USA. Some have also gone in PhD programme and we have an excellent team; all doing excellent work in the field of research and were developing various models of the economy.

He was told about the disparity in society that vaporises the gains made to the economy. The SBP governor said that social sector should be stabilised as we have structural problems in Pakistan. There are overlapping and clarity is often absent and that is the reason that the social sector is in a mess.

Dr Husain narrated his experience that he had encountered in rural school. He visited the school and saw children playing in the classroom but the teacher was no where to be seen. On inquiry he was told that the teacher had been transferred by the provincial government and his replacement is yet to join. Schools operated by local governments have employees under provincial authorities. Similarly, there is overlapping in colleges and universities with all the three tiers interfering in each others domain and a better of the turf is the norm. It is a case of overlapping and different horses pulling the cart to the different directions.The division of educational process to different departments causes the educational mayhem. In his opinion higher education should be the exclusive domain of the Higher Education Commission. Local governments should have the schools, provincial governments should manage the colleges and the universities should be the responsibility of the federal government.

Dr Husain sadly described the two major ailments eating away our society; ego and the turf. Our vanities do not allow us to work in cohesion and selflessness has been confined to the dictionaries only. He criticised the wrong priorities and aimlessness in our society. He aptly gave the example of banks and the NCBF. He said he willingly transferred regulation of NBFIs from SBP to SECP as he saw that the banks were doing business to the extent of 95 percent and the NBFIs had the remaining 5 percent. But the allocation of staff for regulating the two was equal.Dr Husain mentioned about the SBP that has 6000 field officers and 1000 staff manned the SBP head office. It was a torture and waste of time for a governor to worry about the field officers and their performance. He acted to finish this unnecessary administrative hurdle by creating SBP Banking Services Corporation (SBPBSC). The day to day work is now managed by SBPBSC MD and the governor can concentrate on policy.

On being congratulated by for bringing a fresher look to the economy and asked about the ways to drag the economy and the country on the right track. He thought that the financial, judicial and educational reforms were the tools to cure the country's ills. He said that poverty not only gives hunger pangs and a collective deprivation, it also blocks the way to the social justice as well.Courts were overflowing with the case backlogs and justice was delayed which amounted to the justice denied.

Dr Husain was unsympathetic with the role of Monopoly Authority. He said it has become a parking lot. He said we send a bureaucrat as a punishment to NIPA. It was sordid idea as a disgruntled person was least appropriate to teach the younger bureaucrats.He expressed his dislike about the rhetoric in the country. Armchair intellectuals inundate the nation with their far-fetched ideas. Rhetoric is harming Pakistan and it should be curtailed.

The SBP governor said foreign investors somehow still feel that economic policies will change with the change in government. He talked about the single risk phenomenon. While appreciating the good work of President Musharraf they still fear that in case he is not at the helm the country would go to the dogs. This is the only worry expressed by them in the road shows conducted by us.

He agreed that the recent earthquake had traumatised the victims. The trauma could be erased if we respond in a positive manner. We are taking about reconstruction and rehabilitation. The latter is more important to heal the scars of the devastation. Rehabilitation involves both economical and social help. The victims had to be dealt with psychologically, he stressed.

Dr Husain said it was the nation that underwent pain due to the upfront leading conditionalities by the IMF. We were seeking long-term profiling of our debt. Between 2000-2002 IMF was dictating us, while from 2002 onwards we were on the driving seat as our debt had been re-profiled.The SBP governor said he was worried as the work on creating strategic framework was incomplete. We need to complete it and to update it continuously. He said fiscal responsibility law, the media and the market will force government to maintain macro-economic stability and keep a balance between resources and expenditure. Business Recorder

World Bank for change of POL price mechanism

The World Bank (WB) is pressing for giving up the current mechanism for fixing petroleum products prices, and assigning the job to some independent organisation to equally protect all stakeholders' interest.Sources told Business Recorder on Monday that a WB team had met the officials of Ministry of Petroleum (MoP) last week to convey that the existing oil prices review system was not 'independent' as it represented only the oil marketing companies.Although the Bank has not directly demanded that Pakistan should hand over the role to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra), MoP officials said they were quite clear that this was its ultimate aim. They said they were also clear that Ogra is the only independent body, which has the required expertise and system in place to take up the job to restore the consumers' confidence.The World Bank and other international donors are critical of the current oil prices' review system and want the job to be done by an independent body.Sources said that MoP officials told the World Bank team that the government was already mulling changes in the exiting system to review the oil prices.The government has hired an international organisation to study the system and suggest some workable mechanism to fix oil prices. The government is expecting the report of the international agency shortly.

Buisness Recorder

New mobile phone users mainly from rural areas

The six mobile phone companies operating in Pakistan have added six million new mobile phone users in the first four months (July-October period) of the current fiscal year 2005-06. By the addition of new mobile phone users in the country, the national exchequer has received around Rs three billion as activation tax, an official at the ministry of information technology and telecom told the Daily Times on Saturday. Pakistan Mobile Communi-cation (Mobilink) remained number one by adding 2.832852 million new mobile phone subscribers in its network during the July-October period. The company has deposited R 1,416.426 million in the national exchequer as activation charges during the period. Warid Telecom stood second by booking 1.154202 new subscribers during the July-October period and has paid to the government Rs 577.101 million as activation charges on new connections. Pak Telecom Mobile remained third by netting in 0.999102 million new subscribers in its network during the July-October period and has deposited Rs 499 million in the head of activation tax in the national kitty. Telenor Pakistan stood fourth in the market by adding 0.532659 new subscribers during the July-October period and has deposited Rs 266.3295 million as activation tax to the government for the period. Paktel is at the fifth position by adding 0.436405 new subscribers to its operations during the July-October period. The company has deposited Rs 218.2025 million as cellphone activation tax in the national exchequer for the period. Pakcom has secured sixth position by booking 0.039493 million new subscribers into its network during the July-October period and has deposited Rs 19.7465 million in the head of activation tax in the national exchequer during the period. The government is charging Rs 500 per connection activation charge as federal tax from the mobile phone providers. The fresh addition of new mobile phone subscribers in the country shows that there are still opportunities available for companies that provide quality service on competitive rates. The total numbers of mobile phone users have crossed over 18 million mark in the country and the new subscribers are mainly from rural areas where these companies have been able to establish their network for providing their services. The addition of new subscribers into the mobile phone companies network was due to the continuous reduction in the activation charges and mobile phone call charges during the past few months and expansion of the network in the areas where demand still exists. The mobile phone operators who have recently started their operations in the country are also getting good response from the subscribers. The mobile phone operators were aggressively expanding their networks in remote areas of the country and few million more new subscribers were expected to be added in the next two years taking the total number to more than 30 million in the country, the official said.

Mobile number-switching by April 2006: PTA
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) will implement mobile phone number portability by April 2006, said PTA Chairman Maj Gen (r) Shahzada Alam Malik during a press conference on Monday.“Over 50 percent of the groundwork has been completed and cellular phone companies have finalised the terms of reference (ToRs),” said Malik. The equipment needed will be purchased and installed before the deadline, he added.Under the facility, subscribers to a cellular phone operator will be able to switch to another operator without having to change their numbers. The PTA chairman said Pakistan would be the first South Asian country to introduce the facility. He said cellular phone users had demanded the service.Malik refused to comment about negotiations between the federal government and Etisalat over the privatisation of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited. “I will not answer any question regarding PTCL and Etisalat but hope that both parties concerned will reach a settlement,” he said.All cellular phone operators are providing satisfactory service according to the latest PTA survey, said the chairman. He said the survey’s results would be made public within 10 days. He hoped Wireless Local Loop (WLL) services would expand in the country because it provided quality telecommunication to subscribers. There are 450,000 WLL subscribers in the country.Malik said the PTA, Kashmir and Northern Areas Ministry and the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government were negotiating a policy allowing cellular phone operators to operate permanently in AJK. Cellular phone operators were allowed to operate in AJK for two months to help in relief operations for October 8 earthquake victims. PTA will extend the period for three more months, he added. Daily Times

Politics: challenges and responses

By Riaz Missen

Before the October 8 earthquake had jolted Pakistan, civil society and media were busy consoling the rape victims who had joined the ranks of Mukhtaran Mai. Mullahs were actively defending Osama and condemning the government for allegedly following the footsteps of an ‘anti-Islam’ power, the US. The Opposition was planning to wage a protest campaign to restore the 1973 Constitution as it existed before Musharraf’s takeover. Will politics return to its normal course is anybody’s guess. Has the tremor changed ground realities in Pakistan?Thousands of lives were lost due to the powerful earthquake on 10/8. Millions have no roofs as the winter sets in.

The warning by geologists about the disaster had fallen on deaf ears. From the political parties to civil society, no one took the matter seriously. The present government that has set a target to make Pakistan the fastest growing economy in the Asian region and a hub of regional trade was caught off guard by the natural calamity, which the UN chief has described as greater than the Tsunami.Pakistan Muslim League, the ruling party of the country, wanted to hold an All Parties Conference to chalk out a viable strategy to tackle the post-quake situation. Even though the conference was held with a lot of fanfare, nothing concrete has come out of it.

The state witnessed only a brief lull on the political front after the earthquake jolted its northern parts. The earthquake has apparently not changed ground realities in Pakistan. Politics still remains divorced from society for the very fact that parties represent the aspirations of only a meagre portion of it. A few hundred families living far above the poverty line are not dependent on the teeming millions for the comforts of life they happen to enjoy. So there is nothing common between the objectives of political parties and the masses they optimistically claim to represent.

The political parties of the country represent only clans and tribes who want an appropriate place in the ruling camp. The maximum they want is not less than having empires. Democracy, therefore, is not a proper means to serve their interests. Why will a feudal lord want to see a commoner sitting right next to him? How can a spiritual leader afford his followers to demand equal treatment in society? Can a Khan see his tribesman as prosperous as him? Mullahs too are a part of the conspiracy the powers-that-be hatched against the people of this region centuries ago.

There exists a fair chance that a protest movement may be launched against the government. Charges of delayed response and mishandling of the crisis have already been aired by the Opposition. It may also not allow General Musharraf to continue with the war on terror. They might even demand the army’s return to barracks. Who will rule the 150 million people and how, are questions that will definitely remain unanswered in the minds of the protesting souls.When General Musharraf took over, he was seen as a liberator by the political parties who were blaming Nawaz Sharif for misusing his heavy mandate. Pakistan Peoples Party’s life-long chairperson was in self-exile, while her spouse was in jail on charges of corruption. The religious rightists were eager to have a change in the system that had little space for it at that time.

The man in the street also attached many hopes with General Musharraf who promised to put the economy on a stable course. He vowed to impart true democracy to the silent majority. Two years after he took over, the American friends also saddled him with the agenda of clearing the mess created by ‘jihad’ against the Soviet Union. Similarly just before the earthquake, construction of Kalabagh Dam had become his top priority and he also wanted to make the LoC irrelevant.

General Musharraf claims he has made his best efforts to put national affairs on a straight course. He also admits that there still remains a lot to be done beyond having a functional parliament and improved macro-economic indicators. So he wants to continue in his dual position as the President and army chief, in the best interests of the nation. His political fellows, belonging to all segments of society, are welcoming him while he confronts no serious challenge from his opponents.

The real problem for Musharraf is not that his enemies will outnumber his friends. Rather, he has a limited space to accommodate people who want to join his camp. As the outsiders keep pushing in, there are also rifts among the insiders. Striking a balance among the contending forces of society has become his real job, which he is trying to pull off in the given circumstances. In a nutshell, the status quo remains intact while the ‘silent majority’ does not lose hope.In the past earthquakes and foreign invasions used to be a source of political change, but this reality has come to be proved as irrelevant in the case of the Land of the Pure. Here revolution only means a change of guard. There are strong chances that Pakistanis will continue with a ‘sham democracy’ and an ‘ambitious general’.

On the other hand, change is gradually creeping into the body politic. General Musharraf says he does not believe in the LoC, PML is welcoming the issuance of a visa to Nawaz Sharif on humanitarian grounds, and Qazi Hussain Ahmad is supporting the idea of getting Kashmir demilitarised. The militants of the past are actively engaged in relief work (though nobody knows whether they have dropped the idea of capturing the Red Fort).

Add to all this the activism of the electronic media, which has got too nationalistic. It is praising the heroic role of the people in providing relief and comfort to the quake victims.We confront now a country where change and continuity exist side by side. Though one can’t be sure of exactly which side has more weight, it is true that commoners choose the best in chaotic times. They don’t necessarily believe in the destiny of pundits. Unusual circumstances may force people to choose their own path.

The writer is a freelance columnist- The Post

Traditional political families hold sway in local elections

By Raja Riaz

No new face could emerge following the elections of the district nazims in Punjab which were swept by old political families, negates the government claims that common people would be empowered through the devolution of power to the grass-root level. The list of newly-elected district nazims includes candidates backed by same political families: Leghari, Mazari, Dreshak, Jatt and Rajpoot. Here is a brief detail of the elected district nazims, their families and relationships. Attock District Nazim Major Tahir Sadiq is new in the politics as he entered the field in the 2001 local government elections. He is brother-in-law of PML-Q President Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain. It is leant that District Nankana Sahb, the 35th district of the province, was created to accommodate Syeds of this area. District Nazim Mumtaz Ali Shah is uncle of Brig Syed Ejaz Shah who has served as the Punjab home secretary and now is serving as the chief of a secret agency. Brig Ejaz has personal links with President Pervez Musharraf and nomination of Mumtaz Ali Shah was the result of it. Bahawalpur District Nazim Tariq Bashir Cheema is the son of Bashir Cheema who is a noted personality of the area and has served in the Nawab of Bahawalpur’s cabinet. Tariq Cheema was backed by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and has served as the provincial food minister in the Watoo government. The Cheema family is politically influential in two districts—Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar. Bahawalnagar District Nazim Mian Mumtaz Mitiana resigns his National Assembly seat to contest the election. Bhakkar District Nazim Hameed Akbar Niwani is brother of Provincial Minister for Jails Saeed Akbar Niwani and MNA Raheed Akbar Niwani. The three brothers are nephews of Azam Khan who was an MNA in 70s and a retired police officer. Chakwal District Nazim Sardar Ghulam Abbas is in politics for the last decade and had a strong political background. This district created some waves in the political arena on General Majeed Malik’s issue. Dera Ghazi Khan District Nazim Sardar Maqsood Ahmad Khan Leghari is the first cousin of Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari, former Pakistan president and chief of the Leghari tribe. Faisalabad District Nazim Rana Zahid Tauseef Khan belongs to an influential Rajpoot family of the area. He served in the Nawaz Sharif cabinet and as the provincial minister for communication and works. The Gujranwala district nazim is a son of noted politician Hamid Nasir Chatta. The Chatta family has been playing an active role in politics since the creation of Pakistan. Gujrat District Nazim Chaudhary Shaffat Hussain is the brother of PML-Q Chief Chaudhary Shujat Hussain and cousin of Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi. Hafizabad District Nazim Mubashar Hasan Bhatti is brother of MNA Mehdi Hasan Bhatti and uncle of provincial minister Shaukat Ali Bhatti. The Bhatti family got power in 1985 in non-party basis elections and since then they are in the power corridors in various capacities. Jhang District Nazim Sahibzada Hameed Sultan is a retired bureaucrat and brother of former PPP and now PML-Q leader Sahibzada Nazir Sultan. Nazir Sultan was elected MNA from Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan’s (JUP) platform in 1970 elections. Jhelum District Nazim Farukh Altaf is son of former Punjab governor Chaudhary Altaf Hussain and PPP leader. Farukh Altaf is the nephew of Lahore High Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary. Kasur District Nazim Rana Hayat Ahmad Khan is the nephew of late Rana Phool Muhammad Khan who won the first election in the Ayub era and did not lose any election till his death. Hayat’s cousin Rana Iqbal has served as the Kasur District Council chairman and provincial minister. Khanewal District Nazim Ahmad Yar Hiraj is brother of state minister Ahmed Yar Hiraj and cousin of Ali Raza Hiraj and son of former federal minister Allah Yar Hiraj. The Hiraj family entered in politics in late 80s. District Nazim Khushab Ghulam Muhammad Tiwana is a member of influential family of the area that dominates at the political scene of the district before the partition of the sub-continent. They have links with the establishment and political families. Lahore District Nazim Mian Amir Mahmood started his political career as a councillor. He does not hail from any political family. Backed by Mian Azhar, then PML-Q chief, he became the district nazims but parted his ways and joined Chaudhry of Gujrat. Layyah District Nazim Ghulam Haider Thind has a strong political background. He has been in the power corridors since 1985. Lodhran District Nazim Abdur Rehman Kanjo is the son of late Siddique Kanjo. Mandi Bahauddin District Nazim Chaudhary Riaz Asghar is brother-in-law of Chaudhary Shujaat. Mianwali District Nazim Haji Obaidullah Khan Shadikhel is a tribal chief of the area and has a political background. Multan District Nazim Faisal Mukhtar is a businessman and entered in politics with the support of the Chaudhries of Gujrat. Muzaffargarh District Nazim Abdul Qayyum Jatoi belongs to an influential political family. His cousin, Nasrullah Jatie, was a minister in Ghulam Haider Wyne’s cabinet. Narowal District Nazim Dr Nematullah Javed is father of Provincial Minister for Health Dr Tahir Ali Javed and is new in politics. Okara District Nazim Syed Asad Gillani is cousin of Provincial Minister for Housing Syed Ali Raza Gillani and nephew of Syed Afzal Shah Gillani. The Syeds of Hujra are in power corridors for the last four decades. The family has established links with the military too. Pakpattan District Nazim Rao Naeem Hashim is a PPP leader and one of his brothers is a senior bureaucrat. Rahimyar Khan District Nazim Sardar Rafique Haider Leghari is also a relative of the Legharis of DG Khan. He recently changed his loyalties to get the district nazim slot. Rajanpur District Nazim Ali Raza Dreshak is son of MNA Nasrullah Dreshak and brother of Punjab Finance Minister Hasnain Bahadar Dreshak. Rawalpindi District Nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas is a former provincial minister and has contacts with the military establishment that ensured his nomination to this slot. Sahiwal District Nazim Rai Mansab defeated the nephew of the provincial minister and senior PML-Q leader, Arshad Khan Lodhi. He belongs to a Rajpoot family of the area and has political links with Farooq Leghari. Sargodha District Nazim Inamul Haq Piracha also changed his loyalties to get the top slot. The Piracha family is an influential family of the area and has been in politics for the last decade. Sheikhupura District Nazim Mian Jalil Sharqpuri is the son of Mian Jameel Ahmad Sharqpuri who is a spiritual leader and entered in politics in 1977 from the PNA platform. His brother Saeed Sharpuri was an MPA. Sialkot District Nazim Akmal Cheema is brother of Provincial Minister for Industries Ajmal Cheema. Ajmal Cheema’s son is married with the niece of Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain. Toba Tek Singh District Nazim Chaudhry Abdussattar belongs to an influential Arian family of the area. He entered in politics with support of Gen Ziaul Haq. Vehari District Nazim Syed Shahid Mehdi Naseem is a PML-N leader and started political career in 1988. His father Syed Mehdi Hasan was an influential landlord.The Post

Quake compensation raised

APP

The government Monday increased the compensation amount for the earthquake-hit North Western Frontier Province and Azad Jammu and Kashmir from Rs 20 billion to Rs 80 billion. The decision to this effect was taken on recommendations from NWFP Chief Minister Muhammad Akram Durrani and AJK Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan at a meeting of the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) and the Federal Relief Commission. The meeting, chaired by President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, was convened as a follow-up of the donors’ conference that was held on November 19 in Islamabad and was successful in raising the required donations. The meeting also discussed the revival of income opportunities, creation of industry and improving the life of people in the earthquake-hit areas, which ultimately would lead to the conversion of this “challenge into an opportunity”, as put by President Musharraf. During the meeting, it was decided that an amount of Rs 125,000 would be given for each affected house in NWFP and AJK. This amount would be in addition to the already announced amount of Rs 25,000. It was also decided at the meeting that an additional amount of Rs 25,000 would be paid as an incentive to those affected houses the owners of which would adopt the earthquake resistance standards laid down by the government. Thus every affected house will ultimately get a total amount of Rs 175,000. The matters about detailed follow-up actions for the realisation of pledges and maintaining a database were also discussed at the meeting. President Musharraf said data would be posted on a Website and would be available to all for study and follow-up. As regards sponsorship programmes, the data would be maintained on the Website of the ERRA to ensure proper organisation and transparency and enable donors and sponsors to track their donations right up to the user level. During the meeting, it was decided that all this databasing, administrative and organisational aspects would be completed during the lean period of winters so that reconstruction can commence in top gear in the coming spring and the affected people settle before the onset of the next winter. Talking about the ongoing relief activities, President Musharraf laid emphasis on the governments of AJK and NWFP for quick disbursement of money and helping the affected people in the outlying areas in the construction of their houses for which the National Voluntary Movement is also being launched. At the end, the president expressed satisfaction over the achievements of the donors’ conference, saying that the pledges of the world community show its trust and confidence in the government of Pakistan. Brushing aside criticism from certain quarters within the country, the president said actions speak louder than words and the results of the donors’ conference are its clear manifestation. Meanwhile, an earthquake of moderate intensity jolted northern Pakistan Monday but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, officials said. The tremor measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale was the biggest to hit the country since a 6.0-magnitude shock on November 6. A total of 1,340 aftershocks have rattled the region since the October 8 disaster. “It was a moderate aftershock,” Meteorological Department official Arifullah said, adding that it was felt simultaneously in Peshawar, Abbotabad, Mansehra, Batgram and Islamabad at 1:26pm. According to preliminary analysis of the Peshawar Meteorological Station, the epicenter lied about 200 kilometres north east of Peshawar in Hazara Division. Arifullah said two mild aftershocks of 5.0 and 4.0 magnitude were felt in the same region Sunday morning.

PM forms MPs’ relief committee:Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Monday constituted a committee of parliamentarians to review relief and rehabilitation work in the quake-hit areas, and summoned its first meeting for Wednesday. The Parliamentary Committee headed by the prime minister himself would have eight members from the opposition and nine from the treasury. The members of the committee from the opposition benches are: Maulana Fazlur Rehman (MMA), Makhdoom Muhammad Amin Fahim (PPPP), Qazi Hussain Ahmed (MMA), Ch Nisar Ali Khan (PML-N), Imran Khan (PTI), Mehmood Khan Achakzai (PKMAP), Abdul Rauf Mengal (BNP) and Mian Raza Rabbani (ANP), while members from the treasury benches are: Ch Shujaat Hussain (PML-Q), Rao Sikandar Iqbal (PPP-P), Dr Muhammad Farooq Sattar (MQM), Justice (r) Abdul Razaque Thahim (PML-F), Munir Khan Orakzai (FATA), Sardar Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari (PML-Q), Hamid Nasir Chattha (PML-Q), Wasim Sajjad (PML-Q) and Muhammad Naseer Mengal (PML-Q). Invitations to the committee members are being sent for participation in the first meeting of the committee scheduled to be held at 5pm tomorrow.

Global warming hits Himalayas

By Robin McKie
NAWA Jigtar was working in the village of Ghat, in Nepal, when the sound of crashing sent him rushing out of his home. He emerged to see his herd of cattle being swept away by a wall of water. Jigtar and his fellow villagers were able to scramble to safety. They were lucky: ‘If it had come at night, none of us would have survived.’Ghat was destroyed when a lake, high in the Himalayas, burst its banks. Swollen with glacier meltwaters, its walls of rock and ice had suddenly disintegrated. Several million cubic metres of water crashed down the mountain. When Ghat was destroyed, in 1985, such incidents were rare — but not any more. Last week, scientists revealed that there has been a tenfold jump in such catastrophes in the past two decades, the result of global warming. Himalayan glacier lakes are filling up with more and more melted ice and 24 of them are now poised to burst their banks in Bhutan, with a similar number at risk in Nepal.But that is just the beginning, a report in Nature said last week. Future disasters around the Himalayas will include ‘floods, droughts, land erosion, biodiversity loss and changes in rainfall and the monsoon’. The roof of the world is changing, as can be seen by Nepal’s Khumbu glacier, where Hillary and Tenzing began their 1953 Everest expedition. It has retreated three miles since their ascent. Almost 95 per cent of Himalayan glaciers are also shrinking - and that kind of ice loss has profound implications, not just for Nepal and Bhutan, but for surrounding nations, including China, India and Pakistan.Eventually, the Himalayan glaciers will shrink so much their meltwaters will dry up, say scientists. Catastrophes like Ghat will die out. At the same time, rivers fed by these melted glaciers — such as the Indus, Yellow River and Mekong — will turn to trickles. Drinking and irrigation water will disappear. Hundreds of millions of people will be affected. ‘There is a short-term danger of too much water coming out the Himalayas and a greater long-term danger of there not being enough,’ said Dr Phil Porter, of the University of Hertfordshire. ‘Either way, it is easy to pinpoint the cause: global warming.’According to Nature, temperatures in the region have increased by more than 1C recently and are set to rise by a further 1.2C by 2050, and by 3C by the end of the century. This heating has already caused 24 of Bhutan’s glacial lakes to reach ‘potentially dangerous’ status, according to government officials. Nepal is similarly affected.‘A glacier lake catastrophe happened once in a decade 50 years ago,’ said UK geologist John Reynolds, whose company advises Nepal. ‘Five years ago, they were happening every three years. By 2010, a glacial lake catastrophe will happen every year.’An example of the impact is provided by Luggye Tsho, in Bhutan, which burst its banks in 1994, sweeping 10 million cubic metres of water down the mountain. It struck Panukha, 50 miles away, killing 21 people. Now a nearby lake, below the Thorthormi glacier, is in imminent danger of bursting. That could release 50 million cubic metres of water, a flood reaching to northern India 150 miles downstream.‘Mountains were once considered indomitable, unchanging and impregnable,’ said Klaus Tipfer, of the United Nations Environment Programme. ‘We are learning they are as vulnerable to environmental threats as oceans, grasslands and forest.’Not only villages are under threat: Nepal has built an array of hydro-electric plants and is now selling electricity to India and other countries. But these could be destroyed in coming years, warned Reynolds. ‘A similar lake burst near Machu Picchu in Peru recently destroyed an entire hydro-electric plant. The same thing is waiting to happen in Nepal.’ Even worse, when Nepal’s glaciers melt, there could be no water to drive the plants. ‘The region faces losing its most dependable source of fresh water,’ said Mike Hambrey, of the University of Wales.A Greenpeace report last month suggested that the region is already experiencing serious loss of vegetation. In the long term, starvation is a real threat. ‘The man in the street in Britain still isn’t sure about the dangers posed by global warming,’ said Porter.‘But people living in the Himalayas know about it now. They are having to deal with its consequences every day.’—Dawn/The Observer News Service

The Pakistan the world doesn't see

By Khusro Mumtaz
Some of the feedback on last week’s column (‘Virtual Reality’ — November 21), particularly from the United States, seemed to misconstrue its intent. The writers thought I was implying that Americans were racist or bigoted and had therefore ignored Pakistan’s calls for help in the wake of the October 8 earthquake that devastated the northern areas of the country. That certainly wasn’t what I had said. I was commenting on the American television’s coverage (or lack thereof) of not just the earthquake but events of global importance around the world. For fear of low ratings, if it didn’t directly affect America, it was that much less likely to get on American television. If it didn’t get on American television Americans were that much less likely to be aware of it. The less aware of it the less interested. The less interested the less vested. The less vested they were the lower the television ratings. It’s a classic Catch-22 situation.
The trick is to look beyond mere ratings (or immediate ratings, in any case). If the purpose of the news is to inform then events should be covered regardless of their origin. Of course, each country or region will naturally be more interested in happenings closer to home but it behoves this planet’s citizens to be better informed about the whole world. Being informed is likely to lead to less misunderstandings, greater cooperation and fewer conflicts. This process of informing and being informed may be a long, drawn out one but once completed the level of interest is likely to rise which, in turn, is likely to lead to higher ratings.
America impacts the rest of the world more than any other country. But, unfortunately, Mr Joe Average American knows less about the world than Mr Jean Average European or Mr Joginder Average Asian which makes it that much easier for his government to lead him into wars based on lies and more lies. But American television networks and news channels are more concerned about ratings and the related advertising dollars than the death count of citizens of other countries. Educating the audience is too much hard work or at least perceived to be by television executives who constantly underestimate the intelligence of their audiences. Even if there is no other agenda (there are those news channels which claim to be ‘fair and balance’ but are anything but) catering to the lowest common denominator, feeding Mr Joe Average junk and keeping him sated is considered the easiest way to prop up the ratings and the advertising dollars flowing. Of course, the governments of the day of all countries also have their own role to play in trying to ensure that their citizens see only certain images of a demonised enemy and purported friend to suit their own needs.
I’m generalising here. But the point is that what we see on our television screens influences the way we perceive this world. And bad news gets more coverage than good. It’s also easier to reinforce preconceived notions than to challenge them. Severe looking, wild-eyed, bushy-bearded mullahs and ayatollahs leading rallies against America are more likely to appear on Fox News than pictures of a much larger majority that goes about its life peacefully, smiling, laughing, or weeping as the case may be and without hate in its heart. CNN is not likely to carry a news report on the World Performing Arts Festival currently underway (November 19 to November 28) in Lahore where performers from all over the world are gathered in a celebration of the arts and their healing and therapeutic abilities and their power to unite diverse cultures and peoples. Performing will be dancers from India, Pakistan, Germany, France, and the USA; puppeteers from Turkey, Poland and Argentina; jazz musicians and rockers from Norway, Pakistan, Serbia and Montenegro, and Slovenia; pop musicians from France, USA and Sri Lanka; sufi music from Pakistan, Norway and France; and classical musicians from India and Pakistan. There will also be musical and dance collaborations between east and west — a Pakistani qawwal with a Spanish flamenco dancer, a German ethnologist performing a traditional Moroccan tea dance, a fusion of traditional eastern classical singing and Norwegian jazz/folk; theatre from India, the Czech Republic, England, Italy, Pakistan and Norway. There will be films from all over the world. The whole affair will be (as it was last year) patronised by a large number of people, smiling and laughing and purely out to enjoy themselves.
It’s a happy, festive occasion. And so is the Kara International Film Festival in Karachi, which will be celebrating its fifth year starting December 1 and continuing for another 10 days after that. The festival grows each year, features films (features, documentaries and shorts) from dozens of countries and provides the often beleaguered citizens of its host city and lovers of cinema with much needed entertainment. This is another side of much-maligned Karachi, which will likely never see coverage in the international media. Andreas Stroehl, the Director of the Munich Film Festival and one of the Kara jurors last year, went away from Pakistan with a completely different impression of the country from the one with which he had arrived. Despite the technical difficulties and other logistical problems associated with the festival he went back to Germany having thoroughly enjoyed his visit. Though a little taken aback by the heavy presence of armed guards and police in the city, he was highly appreciative of the Pakistani people (and surprised that they weren’t all dark and swarthy) and their hospitality and generosity. Even the sellers in the markets weren’t pushy or aggressive, he said.
Overwhelmed with the way they were welcomed with such open arms in Pakistan, visitors from India also found many of their long-held beliefs shattered when they visited Pakistan in the thousands to watch the Tests and One-Day cricket match series between India and Pakistan in early 2004. Confronted with the reality the myths couldn’t stand.
Pakistan has a huge number of problems, many — if not most — of which are self-created. And these problems are what the rest of the world, by and large, associates with the country. But Pakistan also has a positive side. That the world never gets to see.

Author's email: khusro_m@yahoo.co.uk

The News International

Donors' conference raises $ 5.8 billion in pledge

The international community pledged $5.8 billion to help Pakistan rebuild following the October 8 earthquake at the Donors’ Conference here on Saturday, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz announced.“It’s a very successful day for Pakistan. The results are better than our expectations,” Aziz told a press conference at the conclusion of the conference. He thanked the foreign countries and international donor agencies for helping Pakistan and hoped the total amount pledged would increase further.He gave the break-ups of the grants and soft loans and said countries like Australia and Canada would announce their pledges very soon. He said representatives from 75 countries and international organisations participated in the conference. He added there was no confusion about the damage assessments because they were made by Pakistan in collaboration with international donor agencies.Aziz said every Pakistani should be proud that the entire international community had helped the country. “It shows that we are not isolated. These are the fruits of our policies and recognition of Pakistan’s role in the region.” The prime minister promised transparent spending of the grants and loans. He said the United Nations would set up a website containing all financial and other information about the rehabilitation and reconstruction projects in the earthquake-hit areas.He said the President’s Relief Fund would be audited by Pakistan’s auditor general and private firm Ford Rhodes.To a question, he said the government had tried its best to get the opposition onboard. He said the date for the meeting of a parliamentary group on the earthquake would be fixed on Sunday (today).Aziz dismissed opposition claims that the government had decided everything without consulting parliamentary and opposition parties. He said the real work would start after the collection of the pledged money.He ruled out the possibility of new taxes to collect money for the rehabilitation and reconstruction process. He added that it was very important to convert the pledges into actions.The prime minister said the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority had engaged NESPAK as consultants for rehabilitation and reconstruction projects. He said the primary objective was to provide permanent shelter to the homeless people.He said the soft loans pledged to Pakistan would not affect its economy and the reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes would create jobs for the quake-victims. He said Pakistan’s foreign reserves were not a spending amount and hence could not be used in reconstruction and rehabilitation projects. Rana Qaisar adds: In his address of welcome at the conference, Aziz presented a detailed account of the deaths and damage to economic assets, infrastructure, social services delivery and administrative machinery caused by the earthquake.He said the earthquake killed over 73,000 people, injured many more and left about three million without shelter. “Families have lost their bread winners, senior citizens left alone and children without parents,” he said, adding that the grim statistics were rising as mountainous areas became accessible.Aziz said the spontaneous response of Pakistanis both home and abroad was on an unprecedented scale. Pakistan had been overwhelmed by the response of the world community and voluntary organisations. He said Pakistan was looking forward to building a partnership with donors and hoped that they would stay engaged throughout the reconstruction and rehabilitation process.List of pledges by donors.

Banks pledge $2.5b
The World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) pledged $2.501 billion for relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation following the October 8 earthquake in NWFP and AJK at the Donor’s Conference here on Saturday. The World Bank pledged $1 billion, the Asian Development Bank another $1 billion and the Islamic Development Bank $501.6 million. Praful Patel, WB vice president for South Asia, said at the conference that post-earthquake reconstruction will take many years and the bank would be a partner until the job is done. “We are prepared to provide at least $1 billion over the medium term for earthquake reconstruction,” he said. “In the two weeks immediately after the earthquake we put together a $470 million package of assistance as an immediate response.” The bank would provide another $300 million in emergency recovery credit before the end of December, and a similar amount, or more, in the next two years, he said. “These responses will of course align with government priorities, the findings of the Preliminary Damage and Needs Assessment, and delivery of aid from other development partners. Most of this will be a soft loan from the International Development Agency. Our board has also taken the unusual step of providing $5 million as grant,” Patel said. “One of the principles of our engagement must be to secure and safeguard development gains. The preliminary cost of reconstruction is equal to nearly four percent of GDP, and much of these costs will fall to the government due to the rebuilding of public social and physical infrastructure and the need by those affected for government assistance. A Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) for $300 million supporting key economic reforms was already planned for this year,” he said. Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank, said the ADB would dedicate a programme of $1 billion in concessional support. This will be provided in a number of stages. “On the 14th of this month our board approved $105 million from loan savings in quick disbursing budget support. The funds should be disbursed next week. The same day the board also approved the establishment of a Pakistan Earthquake Fund - including an initial contribution from ADB of $80 million in grant financing.” “Very shortly, we will also present to our board a proposal for a $300 million Earthquake Emergency Assistance Project, inclusive of the $80 million from the Pakistan Earthquake Fund. These funds will be used to rebuild and restore roads, power supplies, schools and hospitals, and to support governance and institutions. The balance of our support is expected to be finalised in 2006, with flexibility to address the remaining high priority needs of rehabilitation and reconstruction.” Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali, president of the Islamic Development Bank, said the IDB Board of Executive Directors had allocated $501.6 million for Pakistan. sajid chaudhry.Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Here is a list of pledges that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz released at a media briefing. The figures aggregate money already distributed with new donations made at the conference and also combining grants, loans and assistance paid in kind.ADB $1 billion World Bank $1 billionSaudi Arabia $573 millionUnited States $510 millionIDB $500 million China $326 million Iran $200 million Turkey $150 million France $124 million Britain $120 million Japan $120 million European Union $110 million Germany $100 million UAE $100 million Kuwait $100 million The Netherlands $70 million Norway $70 million Canada $66 million Aga Khan Network $50 million -AFP

Indo-Pak ties facing trust deficit: Aziz

DHAKA, Nov 13: India and Pakistan exchanged tough words on Sunday over a slow-moving peace process, casting a chill on attempts to end decades of rivalry and renewing doubts about any rapprochement.The diplomatic tussle between the nuclear neighbours came as a two-day summit of South Asian nations ended here raising fresh questions over whether the group would be able to overcome differences between its two biggest members.“There is clearly a trust deficit between the two countries,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told reporters as the meeting of the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) drew to a close.He said that as far as Pakistan was concerned, the core dispute with India was over Kashmir.Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was quick to respond, agreeing about the lack of trust between the two countries and claiming that Pakistan had failed to live up to its obligations to end violence in India by militants.“There has been some reduction but unfortunately it is our feeling that all that needs to be done has not been done,” he told reporters. “We have ... assurances that the future will be different from the past and we eagerly await for that to happen.”He said the two sides needed to build up trust.“Using harsh language in public is not the best way to promote dialogue and understanding,” Mr Singh said referring to India-Pakistan peace moves. “I don’t think anything great is achieved by conducting this dialogue in full glare of the public.”He reiterated that investigations into a series of bomb blasts in New Delhi last month, which killed 66 people, had shown the attackers had “external linkages”. Indian police suspect the bombs were the handiwork of Pakistan-based militants.Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the tensions between India and Pakistan were the main reason for Saarc’s failure to achieve more.“Saarc is mired in conflict, you cannot deny it,” he said. “The truth is we need to take issues head-on and come up with solutions, whether it’s Pakistan-India or any other countries in the region.”He added that Pakistan saw a lack of trust in ties with India despite a year and a half of peace talks, although regular meetings between the two sides are helping remove misgivings.“There is clearly a trust deficit between the two countries,” Aziz told reporters at the end of summit.He said as far as Pakistan was concerned, the core issue with India was the dispute over Kashmir.“We must make progress on Kashmir and then we can move in parallel on other issues. We do not subscribe to the view that let’s do everything else and Kashmir will resolve itself.“For sustainable peace, we must address Kashmir.”Mr Aziz said the tensions between India and Pakistan were the main reason for the lack of progress by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) since its inception 20 years ago.“Saarc is mired in conflict, you cannot deny it,” he said. “The truth is we need to take issues head-on and come up with solutions, whether it’s Pakistan-India or any other countries in the region.”Nevertheless, Mr Aziz said his talks with Mr Singh were productive because keeping the dialogue going was a bonus.“The India-Pakistan relationship is such that any extent of dialogue and discussion can only help,” he said. “This was another step in the right direction.“I hope that by actions of both countries the trust deficit will gradually be chipped away.”—Reuters

Congress approves $698 m for Pakistan

WASHINGTON, Nov 13: The US Congress has approved a $698 million assistance package for Pakistan as part of the foreign appropriations bill for 2,006. The package was approved as presented by the Bush administration. It includes $300 million for military financing and $300 million in economic support fund.President George W. Bush had announced a $3 billion, five-year assistance package for Pakistan in June 2003 after a meeting with President Pervez Musharraf at the Camp David presidential resort.Under this arrangement, Pakistan is to receive $600 million a year, equally divided between military financing and economic support.The House Appropriation Committee had initially reduced the allocation by $80 million but finally agreed with the administration and the Senate to restore the full amount.The package also includes $40 million for narcotics control and law enforcement, $29 million for development assistance and $20 million for child survival and health projects.Overall, the house has approved $20.9 billion in foreign aid, which includes assistance to US allies in the war against terror, such as Pakistan.On a 358-39 vote, the house signed off on the spending package that provides $20.9 billion for foreign policy programmes and financial aid to poor nations for health, education, counter-narcotics and military initiatives.Overall, the package provides $1 billion more for State Department programmes than the budget year that ended on Sept 30 but about $2 billion less than what President Bush wanted, reflecting budget constraints caused by the Iraq war, hurricane recovery and the soaring deficit.A compromise between the house and Senate measures, the bill commits millions of dollars more to fight the spread of AIDS and other diseases in Africa and poor countries elsewhere. It is slated to get $2.8 billion - $629 million above last year’s total and $268 million more than what the president sought for this year.However, lawmakers sliced the administration’s request for the Millennium Challenge programme, a hallmark in President Bush’s effort to spread democracy to underdeveloped countries by tying foreign aid to political, economic and human rights reforms. The programme has been slow to get off the ground.The administration had wanted $3 billion for the effort, but lawmakers sliced that to $1.8 billion, citing budget pressures. Nevertheless, the Millennium Challenge programme will still get $282 million more than it did last year.Lawmakers also drastically reduced the administration’s $459 million request for economic and security programmes for Iraq to $61 million. They say that more than $3.5 billion remains from the original $18.4 billion Iraq reconstruction package. Dawn

Natioalists of smaller provinces converging to press for their demands

QUETTA, Nov 13: The Jamhoori Watan Party has decided to formally invite Baloch nationalist leaders to form a single political party to launch a collective struggle for the rights of the people of Balochistan.The decision was taken at a two-day executive meeting of the party held at Dera Bugti to discuss the prevailing political situation, especially additional deployment of troops allegedly aimed for launching a military operation in Dera Bugti, Kohlu and Gwadar. The meeting was chaired by JWP chief Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti.Talking to newsmen after the meeting on Sunday, JWP leader Senator Amanullah Kanrani said a committee headed by Agha Shahid Hussain Bugti would meet Baloch leaders.He said the delegation would visit Karachi to formally invite Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri, leader of Baloch Haq Tawar; Sardar Ataullah Mengal, chief of Ponam; Dr Hayee Baloch, chairman of the National Party; Ghulam Mohammad, president of the Baloch National Movement; and others.Referring to Nawab Bugti’s proposal of May 15, urging Baloch nationalist leaders and tribal elders to merge their political groups into a single political organization to struggle collectively, Senator Kanrani said that the party delegation would discuss with Baloch leaders the formation of a single party.Mr Kanrani said that in the first phase a meeting of those Baloch writers, intellectuals, students who have registered their names to attend deliberations for formation of single political party would be convened in Quetta to ascertain their views on the objectives and aims of the proposed organization.

LARKANA, Nov 9: Sindh National Front chairman Mumtaz Ali Bhutto has said a new alliance of nationalist parties of Sindh will be formed within three weeks which will work to protect geographical, economic, political and cultural rights of the province.He was speaking at a press conference after presiding over a meeting of different nationalist parties at his residence here on Wednesday.He said an advisory committee, headed by Ibrahim Joyo, would finalize recommendations keeping in the objectives in two weeks which would then be placed before heads of parties concerned and given a final shape in three to four days.Mr Bhutto said that soon after the recommendations, including the name of the alliance, were approved, the date of launching the alliance would be announced.He said Sindh was passing through crisis. He said Sindh’s agriculture land, water and other resources were being looted and employment opportunities in the province were being offered to outsiders.When asked why a new alliance was being formed in presence of the Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement, he said: “The new alliance will not be in clash with Ponm and even after formation of this alliance, we will sit in Ponm.” He said Balochs had formed an alliance for their rights and they were also sitting in Ponm. He said Ponm had a wider spectrum.He said he was not power hungry, adding that he had told participants of the meeting that he would not head the alliance.When asked would there be any room for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement in the alliance, he said no.When asked would the alliance launch a struggle for Sindh’s rights by remaining within the framework of the 1973 Constitution, he replied in negative and said: “We need a new constitution.”Answering another question, Mr Bhutto said participants of the meeting were of the view that the Khokhrapar route should not be opened.He did not rule out contacting Rasool Bux Palijo and other nationalist parties once modalities for the new alliance were finalized.On this occasion, Abdul Jabbar Hakiro, a brother of Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz leader Abdul Sattar Hakiro, accused agencies of picking up his brother and not disclosing his whereabouts. He appealed to nationalist leaders to come to his help.Mr Bhutto demanded that the arrest of Sattar Hakiro should be shown and if any case was pending against him, he should be produced in the court.Earlier, the Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party, Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz, Jeay Sindh Mahaz, Sindh Democratic Party and the Sindh National Council attended the meeting. The meeting unanimously recognized the progressive council of intellectuals as a member of the new alliance. Dawn

Tricklr down effects within five years

KARACHI: Dr Ashfaque Hasan Khan, economic adviser to the Ministry of Finance, has assured the poor masses of Pakistan that benefit of growth in economy would start trickling down to them within five years.He was talking to the audience while presenting his paper on "Pakistan's Economic Future: Challenges and Opportunities", organised by South Asia Forum at a local hotel on Friday.Dr Ashfaque, who has Doctorate in Economics from the John Hopkins University, USA, was one of the main architects that reinvigorated the country's ailing economy.He told the audience about the dark days of Pakistan economy when it was at par with the poor African countries of Rwanda and Malawi. "The economic fiasco of the 90s was so appalling that it was termed ' The Lost Decade' by some economists. "The country was on the verge of bankruptcy and it was feared that it would be declared a defaulter. But thanks to the careful planning and disciplined debt management it became possible to salvage the economy and bring it to the present position," he continued.The advisor enumerated the policies that were adopted to improve macroeconomic environment of the financial scene. "We did it by reducing the "Twin Deficits", keeping the inflation low, building forex reserves, maintaining stability in exchange rate and by consistency and continuity in policies," he explained.Dr Ashfaque said that initiating such steps as formulating fiscal responsibility and debt limitation law, fiscal transparency, tax reforms, agricultural reforms, privatisation, capital market reforms and industry and investment reforms revived the economy.He said, "GDP growth in 1999-2000 was 3.9 percent, while it was 8.4 percent in 2004-05, and showed the significant improvement. Foreign investment has also risen as evident from meagre $376 million in 1998-99 to a whopping $1.5 billion in 2004-05. The fiscal deficit percentage of GDP in 1998-99 was 6.1 while it slid down to 3.8 percentage. In 1998-99 the imports was $9.6 billion and export was $7.5 billion but in 2004-05 the imports jumped to $18.7 billion and the export came to $14.3 billion."Dr Ashfaque said that he was optimistic about the further growth in economy because the good governance had made it possible. " The economy has acquired a concrete firmness and it is safe to say that it would continue on the upward path," he added.The advisor said that the recent earthquake had thrown a real challenge to the economy. The process of relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction was a gigantic task and needed conviction and determination to do it with flying colours. "I think it would not burden the national budget to a large extent," he said.The government has substantial amount in the relief fund and intended to distribute Rs 20 billion to the victims," Dr Ashfaque concluded.Earlier, South Asia Forum Chairman Syed Jawaid Iqbal welcomed the finance ministry advisor and praised him as the outstanding economist of the country.He lauded the debt reduction strategy of Dr Ashfaque, calling it a work of genius that changed the gloomy economic scene of the country to a rosy one.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2005

Manmohan: failed states are a worry

Sounding a note of caution against the emergence of failed states, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said strategic security experts must keep an eye on disaffection, alienation and conflict not only in India but also across its neighbourhood so as to "be alert to these developments and plan accordingly to deal with the dangers that lie ahead."
Delivering the 40th Foundation Day lecture of the government-funded Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA) here, the Prime Minister explained that regional disturbances in neighbouring countries could affect India by generating an inflow of refugees and destabilising the border areas. "The danger of a number of failed states emerging in our neighbourhood has far-reaching consequences for our security and for the well-being of our people,'' he said hours before leaving for the SAARC summit in Dhaka.
Apart from regional disturbances, the Prime Minister outlined the breakdown of effective international mechanisms as another external challenge to internal security. This was being witnessed in the international regime against proliferation, which he described as being under "stress.'' The unequal and discriminatory rules have permitted unchecked proliferation by some while preventing countries such as India from acting in its economic and security interests. Another manifestation of non-uniform global norms was the manner in which the world had tackled terrorism earlier. As long as terrorism was seen as a phenomenon that was "elsewhere," the international community was unwilling to adopt an effective coordinated strategy.
Just as there were multifarious challenges to internal security not restricted to a sense of alienation being exploited by anti-India forces, options to address challenges to security are not limited to application for force. Policy analysts must adopt inter-disciplinary approaches and develop multi-pronged responses since non-military measures play a major role in evolving durable solutions.
The Prime Minister and, before him, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also the IDSA president, devoted a considerable part of their addresses to the IDSA's contribution to strategic planning.
Complimenting it for strategic studies and institution building in an area of vital national concern, Dr. Singh asked think tanks to enable a shift from reactive to proactive policy making — a situation where an analysis of potential causes of conflict leads to timely action to deal with them without taking recourse to arms. The Hindu

'Quake to have diverse impact on economy

By Ansar Abbasi

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have warned Pakistan that the October 8 earthquake will have an adverse impact on the country’s economy hitting the official GDP, fiscal deficit, balance of payment, economic growth, current account, poverty reduction besides considerably shaking the budget 2005-06.
"The earthquake will have an adverse impact on the economy, most notably on the fiscal deficit of the Government of Pakistan," said the WB-ADB draft report on preliminary damages and needs; assessment of Pakistan’s earthquake 2005, a copy of which was provided to The News.
Assessing the macroeconomic effects of the earthquake on the country’s economy, the report said in the absence of any offsetting revenue increases and expenditure reductions, the earthquake is projected to increase the financial year 2006 (FY06) of the government of Pakistan by 0.6 per cent of GDP, from a projected 3.8 per cent of GDP to 4.4 per cent of GDP.
On quake’s impact on external sector, the report said, "There will be a negative impact on the balance of payments, but pressures on the external sector are arising from strong aggregate demand and factors not directly related to the earthquake."
"A delay in PTCL privatisation and of aid inflows to finance GoP earthquake expenditures could aggravate these pressures," the report added. About the real sector, the report said that the impact of the earthquake on Pakistan’s official GDP (which excludes GDP from AJK) is expected to be relatively small, in the order of 0.3 per cent.
"FY06 GDP growth was projected in June at 7 per cent; however, recent data on the outcome of the cotton and sugarcane suggests that growth will be around 6.5 percent. The additional impact of the earthquake is likely to bring output growth further down, to around 6.2 percent. This loss is due to a projected reduction in NWFP output for FY06."
The impact of the earthquake on the budget of the government of Pakistan, the report said, is expected to be considerable. "Based on this preliminary assessment of damages and assuming a certain pace of relief and reconstruction activities, the earthquake is likely to increase the 2005-06 fiscal deficit to 4.4 per cent of GDP (ie by $730 million). This includes (i) about $20 million in lost revenue, (ii) as escalation of $185 million in operating budgets of administration for the overheads of relief and future reconstructions work; (iii) a minor increase in pension (and G P Fund) payments for government employees who died in the earthquake; (iv) an increase of $665 million in grants for deaths and injuries, livelihood, housing and a $42 million grant for AJK; (v) a $30 million increase in provincial (NWFP) expenditure; and (vi) a $100 million increase in development expenditure for reconstruction work. On the other hand, the government has indicated that some of the development funds (about $253 million) could be reallocated from the development budget towards financing the reconstruction programme."
The report said that the earthquake has created additional expenditure needs for relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation cost.
"These pressures could pose difficulties for the country’s macroeconomic balances and may impact on long-term development goals, unless additional concessional financing is made available by the international community. The government has indicated that it would be prepared to absorb the impact of the budget by making appropriate adjustments in the budget2005-06. Increasing the pass-through of energy prices to consumers and the tax-to-GDP ration by redoubling efforts on tax administration and policy could make an increased contribution to reconstruction. These adjustments would be needed irrespective of the amount and type of financing that may be available from the donor community. Nonetheless, given the magnitude of resources that would be required to rehabilitate the affected areas, it would be difficult for the government to neutralise the fiscal impact of earthquake without significantly affecting the public sector development activities and therefore reducing future economic growth and poverty reduction."
The report added that Pakistan’s trade balance is projected to deteriorate over the coming year. "Relief and reconstruction needs will have some additional impact on import demand, due to higher demand for fuel, steel and possibly cement. This, in addition to the strong import growth arising from an overheating economy, will place an additional strain on reserves.
"The impact on the current account could also be considerable. Although both remittances and forcing direct investment have shown healthy increases during the first months of the current fiscal year, during July-September 2005, gross official reserves have declined by $0.5 billion to $9.5 billion. To help the government meet immediate needs, the World Bank made available $200 million of program loans as well as $230 million of project loans. Even with this immediate emergency assistance, a significant financing gap will remain in the balance of payments. The delay in privatisation of PTCL, which was expected to add $2.7 billion in financing, may also affect the current account negatively."
"In the absence of additional international assistance, and of much needed actions by the government to curb demand, additional funds raised by the government through a possible Eurobond issue will be insufficient to finance the current account and keep imports at a level of at least 3 months of imports." The News

US oil giants defend profit

AFP

The heads of US oil giants defended the record profits their firms have been making while drivers around the globe are forced to pay mounting prices at the pump.
At a combative hearing in Congress called to address charges of oil company "price-gouging," Exxon Mobil chief executive Lee Raymond said that huge investment, hurricanes and increasing demand had all contributed to rising prices in the United States.
But Pete Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, highlighted growing public anger over gasoline prices.
"Is somebody rigging the price of oil?" the New Mexico Republican asked the executives at a hearing that saw Republicans join Democrats in taking the oil majors to task.
"Most Americans in most of the polls show that our people have a growing suspicion that the oil companies are taking unfair advantage of the current market conditions to line their coffers with excess profits," he said.
Domenci noted a proposal led by some Democratic senators for a windfall profit tax on oil company gains above 40 dollars a barrel. Prices are now just under 60 dollars a barrel.
Domenci cast doubt on such a tax but said he still wanted the oil companies to give assurances about how they plan to use their recent profits to stabilize supplies and to lower prices.
Republican Senator Olympia Snowe, decrying "atrocious price-gouging," said: "People across the country are outraged that they continue to bear record-high fuel prices while oil companies rake in enormous profits."
Raymond, whose company last month reported quarterly profits of 9.92 billion dollars, the biggest in US corporate history, was one of five oil chief executives to defend the industry's actions.
"Our numbers are huge because the scale of our industry is huge," the head of the world's biggest oil company told the senators, stressing that there were no "quick fixes" to the world's energy problems.
Exxon Mobil had made "massive investment" in recent years, he said, while hurricanes Katrina and Rita had been a "one-two punch to the petroleum industry as well as to many of your constituents."
Many drilling facilities in the Gulf of Mexico and refineries on land were knocked out of operation by the killer storms in August and September.
Raymond predicted that over the next 25 years there would be a 50 percent rise in global energy demand, with oil and gas providing the bulk, necessitating big new investment by oil firms.
The Exxon Mobil chief said the US government can "best help by providing a stable and predictable market environment," and expressed opposition to "hastily crafted" measures such as a windfall tax.
Other oil bosses also highlighted their major investment and the impact of the hurricanes.
Ross Pilari, the head of BP America, said his firm had invested between 13 billion and 15 billion dollars annually in recent years.
Chevron chief executive David O'Reilly said his company's investments flow to the "greatest opportunity", namely those that show the potential for "long-term returns."
US gasoline prices shot up to average more than three dollars a gallon (3.78 litres) in early September after Katrina struck.
While they have since fallen back, the high petrol prices coupled with expectations of steep heating bills this winter have contributed to the falling poll ratings being suffered by President George W. Bush.
The White House said Wednesday that Bush -- who like Vice President Dick Cheney is a former oil man -- shares public concerns about high energy prices.
"It is important for all of us, government, private sector, individual Americans to do their part," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

JAD MOUAWAD and SIMON ROMERO
NY Times: October 28, 2005
A sudden interruption in oil supplies sent prices and profits skyrocketing, prompting Exxon's chief executive to call a news conference right after his company announced that it had chalked up record earnings.
"I am not embarrassed," he said. "This is no windfall."
That was January 1974, a few months after Arab oil producers cut back on supplies and imposed their short-lived embargo on exports to the United States. Oil executives, including J. K. Jamieson, Exxon's chief executive at the time, were put on the defensive, forced to justify their soaring profits while the nation was facing its first energy crisis.
Three decades later, their successors are again facing contentions that oil companies are making too much money and have failed to expand production.
Politicians and other critics are asking why the industry allowed its refining capacity to tighten.
Exxon Mobil, the world's largest oil company, said yesterday that its third-quarter net income jumped 75 percent, to $9.92 billion. Its profit in the first nine months of this year - $25.42 billion - already equals its full-year earnings for 2004. This year's sales, which topped $100 billion in the last quarter, are expected to exceed those of Wal-Mart.
Another oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell, reported a 68 percent jump in profits yesterday, to $9.03 billion. Chevron is expected to post a profit of more than $4 billion today.
This year is shaping up as an exceptionally lucrative one for the oil industry, thanks to strong global demand, tight supplies and high prices for oil and natural gas. While the idea that the Bush administration was considering imposing a windfall profits tax was knocked down yesterday by officials, longstanding resentments against Big Oil are resurfacing and could end up imposing some additional burdens on the industry.
The sense that government should step in to curb the phenomenal wealth and power often enjoyed by oil companies goes back to Exxon Mobil's corporate ancestor from the late 19th century, the Rockefeller oil trust known as Standard Oil.
Today, Republicans and Democrats alike, aware of the politically sensitive issue of high energy prices, are putting increasing pressure on the oil and gas industry to return some of its profits. The ideas include forcing the industry to invest in more refining capacity, to increase inventories to cushion energy shocks, or to provide money directly to the government program that helps low-income people pay heating bills.
Simmering resentment of the oil industry has heated up as gas lines reappeared in some cities this summer and gas prices rose above $3 a gallon, a record even when adjusted for inflation. Gasoline prices, already well above what Americans are accustomed to, spiked after two Gulf Coast hurricanes curbed domestic production and briefly pushed oil prices above $70 a barrel.
This winter, Americans can expect to pay much more for heating their homes than they did last year.
Senator Bill Frist, the Republican leader, said yesterday that executives of major oil companies will be summoned to Capitol Hill to testify about high energy prices. Some of Mr. Frist's language harked back to the 1970's and early 1980's when cries of price gouging at gasoline pumps were common.
"If there are those who abuse the free enterprise system to advantage themselves and their businesses at the expense of all Americans," he said, "they ought to be exposed, and they ought to be ashamed."
Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, was even more heated: "Big Oil behemoths are making out like bandits, while the average American family is getting killed by high gas prices, and soon-to-be-record heating oil prices."
This week, J. Dennis Hastert, Republican of Illinois and the speaker of the House, called on companies to build or expand refineries in the United States and explain when a pipeline deal will be reached to bring oil and natural gas from Alaska.
Oil companies, however, bristle at suggestions they should be taxed more. The last time a windfall tax was imposed on the industry, intended to punish it by capturing additional revenue beyond the taxes collected through the normal corporate income tax, was the period 1980 to 1988.
Oil executives, echoing arguments heard in boardrooms around the world, say their business is highly volatile, with alternating periods of high and low prices. Only seven years ago, oil was at $10 a barrel.
"What happens when we don't have a year like this one?" asked Red Cavaney, the president of the American Petroleum Institute, the industry's main lobbying group.
The lure of higher margins from the refining business - rather than Mr. Hastert's encouragements - prompted one Houston energy concern, Marathon Oil, to announce plans to expand its refinery in Garyville, La. The company expects to increase production there to 425,000 barrels a day by 2009 from 245,000 barrels a day currently.
Exxon was forced to defend its record of investing in refining capacity. The company said it had increased capacity at its existing refineries by 2 percent a year over the last decade, bringing in an additional 400,000 barrels a day through successive expansions.
For the full year, Exxon plans to invest about $18 billion for both exploration and refining, a 21 percent gain from last year.
"You have to look over a longer term," Henry Hubble, Exxon Mobil's vice president for investor relations, said in a conference call with analysts yesterday. "If you're trying to encourage supply growth, it seems odd to put in disincentives. You've got to let the market work."
For the last quarter, the company said its capital investments totaled $4.4 billion, up 22 percent from the quarter last year.
But in a sign that oil companies are making more money than they can plow back into their business, Exxon returned $6.8 billion to shareholders either by buying back shares or paying dividends.
In an interview on Fox News 10 days ago, Lee R. Raymond, Exxon's chief executive, sought to quell some of the criticism. "Profit is not a dirty word," he said. "And it's absolutely required in our industry to have an adequate level of profit to be able to continue to invest."
Later in the program, when asked whether Exxon's profits were "obscene," he said: "No, I don't think they're obscene. I don't think they're obscene at all."
On Tuesday, the chief executive of BP, Lord John Browne, also tried to dismiss the issue of higher taxes. BP reported that its third-quarter profit rose 34 percent, to $6.46 billion.
When asked how much pressure he was feeling about a windfall tax, Lord Browne quickly replied, "None." He said higher prices would have a cooling effect on demand, which would lower prices, and make a windfall tax unnecessary.
But not everyone is persuaded by the argument that higher taxes would stunt investments and curb future production.
"The industry says a windfall profit tax would limit investments," said Philip K. Verleger, a consultant and a former senior adviser on energy policy at the Treasury Department. "That's wrong."
"You can come up with a tax that would not impact investments but might in fact stimulate them," Mr. Verleger added. "You allow the industry to recoup its investments and make a good return. Then you look at incremental revenue and tax that."
Because of the hurricanes, Exxon said that its average oil and natural gas production fell 4.7 percent in the quarter. The company produced 2.45 million barrels of oil a day. Natural gas production fell 9 percent, to 7.7 million cubic feet per day. But Exxon said its production in the quarter would still have dropped 1 percent, excluding the effect of the hurricanes.
Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, yesterday called on eight of the largest American energy concerns, including Citgo Petroleum, which is controlled by the government of Venezuela, to contribute 10 percent of their profits to heating-aid programs this winter.
But Samuel W. Bodman, the energy secretary, said he was against any effort to impose taxes on the oil industry as a way of assisting poor families with energy costs. He said the Bush administration was considering requiring the industry to keep emergency stockpiles of gasoline and other refined products to guard against supply disruptions.
This year's backlash may be reminiscent of what the industry went through during the oil shocks of the 1970's. But oil companies, subject to price controls throughout much of the decade, seem better able to fend off their critics today.
"Our public image," Mr. Jamieson, the Exxon chief executive in 1974, said then, "is at a low ebb."
Heather Timmons contributed reporting from London for this article.