P A G E
Thursday, November 11, 1999
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E D I T O R I A L P A G E |
Thursday, November 11, 1999 |
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Kalyan
Singh’s exit
FISCAL CRISIS IN PUNJAB
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Mansion
at the centre of corruption
Silencespeak
Nov 11, 1924
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Kalyan Singh’s exit AFTER an interminable delay the Big Four of the BJP grasped the nettle and showed UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh the door. It was no doubt a difficult decision made more difficult by his insistence on Prime Minister Vajpayee personally requesting him to step down and the latter’s known distaste to oblige him. The upshot is ugly; the party high command had to virtually sack him and he, in turn, administered a snub by ignoring a call to come to Delhi and instead going to Ayodhya to raise a war cry. The inevitable damage control exercise has actually damaged the image and cohesion of the party state unit. This has not been helped by the choice of Mr Ram Prakash Gupta, a noncontroversial (read faceless), ancient RSS worker, to succeed Mr Kalyan Singh. He may be acceptable to the ousted leader since he has not been among his detractors, but may not be wholly welcome to the allies and the party rank and file who are yet to recover from the devastating election result. Mr Gupta is aware of the daunting challenges he faces and has started safely by acknowledging his predecessor as his leader and seeking his endorsement before assuming office. The two allies are peeved that they had not been consulted on the crucial decision of a change of guard, though they have not made it an issue in their continuing participation in the BJP-led government. These are but initial hiccups and it will take time and political and administrative skill beyond the ken of the new Chief Minister to heal the hurt feelings of the rival factions. Mr Kalyan Singh will not cause immediate problems and instead will build his image as a victim of high caste politics, an area in which he has shown much expertise in recent months. Senior leaders of the
BJP have not learnt the art of stooping to conquer. As in
Gujarat some years ago, so in UP now they dithered until
forced to intervene and then opted for a very harsh
measure. In the first case it was expulsion from the
party of a tall leader and in the second it is the
dismissal of a popular politician, albeit an
embarrassment to the party bigwigs. Uttar Pradesh is too
important a state for the BJP leadership to tolerate
infighting even for a day. Not only was the open warfare
allowed to fester, but the high command itself was taking
sides. Mr Kalyan Singh did not get along with Mr Vajpayee
and the latter reciprocated the feeling in full measure.
He would visit Lucknow but avoid the Chief Minister,
preferring the company of Cabinet Minister Lalji Tandon.
When his victory margin in the Lucknow constituency slid
by about a lakh of votes, everyone accused Mr Kalyan
Singh and no one denied the serious accusation. It is
apparent that long accumulated grudge against him led to
his ouster although the election reverses were a powerful
trigger. The BJP would like to believe that it has solved
the Kalyan Singh problem for ever. Far from it. He has
opened a second front where the party leadership is weak.
He has accused the high command in general and Mr
Vajpayee in particular, of abandoning the Hindutva plank
in favour of capturing power. Next only to Mr L.K.Advani,
he has impeccable credentials to advocate the Ayodhya
temple issue and he threatens to campaign for it in the
days to come. A Kalyan Singh out of power may be more
inconvenient than in power. And it is just the beginning. |
Necessary increase AT first glance, the increase in the sugarcane prices announced after a meeting of the State Sugarcane Control Board of Haryana, chaired by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, on Tuesday seems considerable but if seen in the light of the massive rise in the costs of agricultural inputs like diesel, fertilisers and electricity, the upward revision by Rs 15 per quintal in the case of early varieties and Rs 13 per quintal for middle and late varieties is barely adequate. To that extent, the claim that the prices are the "highest ever" is a misnomer, considering that the prices just cannot remain frozen at previous years' level. Sugarcane growers have been clamouring for at least Rs 125 per quintal but the price will go up to only Rs 110 in the case of early varieties and would be less than that in the case of others. As such, it is unlikely that the Chief Minister will win too many friends and influence people in the farmers' lobby. At the same time, what needs to be understood is that fixing the cost of agricultural products involves watching the interests not only of farmers but also those of millers and consumers. It can be a difficult display of jugglery. While the first category will be pleased to some degree at the increase, others are bound to oppose it equally vehemently. Under the circumstances, even this much increase should be welcomed. In fact, there was speculation that the increase would be no more than Rs 5 per quintal, whereas it has come to be nearly thrice that much, at least in the case of early varieties. The political situation
in the State is such that every action and inaction is
seen with electoral glasses. Speculation is rife that the
increase has been announced with a view to
"preparing" the farmers' lobby for the
elections which may be held early next year. That may or
may not have been the actual intention of the Chief
Minister but it is true that no leader worth his salt
would like to be on the wrong side of the powerful group.
At the same time, any increase in the price of sugar will
negate various gains. The farmers themselves are in an
unenviable position. The increase in the cane prices
addresses only one of their problems. They are also
suffering because of the ill-treatment meted out to them
by various sugar mills. Payments are rarely on time.
Arrears run into crores of rupees. The Chief Minister has
issued a stern warning to the millers in this regard.
Only when it has the desired result would the average
farmer rest easy. Farming is a tough vocation in itself.
Making a grower run from pillar to post to get what is
his due is the surest recipe for alienating him. He does
not ask for any "pampering"; all that he
requires is a regime that looks after his interests. |
Bill Gates gated MR Bill Gates has only himself to blame for Friday's court ruling which put a big question mark on the future of the behemoth called Microsoft. In the 207-page "findings of fact" Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson upheld the complaint that Microsoft was indulging in monopoly trade practises and that it "has demonstrated that it will use its prodigious market power and immense profits to harm" its rivals. The stock market is no respecter of any name, even if it that of the world's richest individual. Not surprisingly when trading opened on Monday Microsoft stocks took a nosedive before regaining a bit of lost glitter. In stock exchange terminology the recovery was not strong enough "to stop $10 billion from being shaved off the firm's market capitalisation". The case against Microsoft, the world's biggest information technology firm, was based on the complaint that it was bundling its version of an Internet browser with Windows, the globally most popular system for operating personal computers. The bundling of the browser with Windows meant that firms producing only browsers had a limited market for their product because up to 90 per cent PC-users across the globe are believed to be "hooked" to Windows operating systems. Mr Gates is without doubt a victim of his own inflated opinion of himself as the unchallengeable "information czar". Otherwise, two years ago when the US Justice Department was preparing the anti-trust case against his firm, a settlement could have been negotiated. His arrogance has now put into jeopardy the future of Microsoft as the leader in the field of information technology. He has not only taken a
beating in the "browser war" but has also lost
the confidence of the stockholders in his ability to
protect their interests. The supplementary ruling in the
case has also rebuked him for holding up innovation in
the field of information technology by abusing his
control over the market. As far as the consumers are
concerned, the effects of the verdict against Microsoft
will not be immediate. That Mr Gates is a mean
businessman, critics contend, is evident from the way he
marketed his Windows operating system. He could have
introduced the top of the line system in 1995 itself. But
he preferred the "dribs and drabs" approach in
introducing the Windows operating system with the sole
objective of optimising profits at the expense of
PC-users who ended up spending a fortune in upgrading
their systems to Windows '95 followed by the '97 and '98
versions and the new Windows NT. There are those who
believe that the ruling against Microsoft may open the
flood(Gates) of litigation on similar lines. It is up to
him to decide whether he wants a settlement with rivals
and aggrieved consumers on the basis of the
"findings of fact" before Judge Jackson gives
the final verdict. The findings would be available to
private plaintiffs for use in their lawsuits. If Mr Gates
does not bend now, his potential rivals including
Netscape and Apple would not mind paying for Microsoft's
funeral from their expense account. |
FISCAL CRISIS IN PUNJAB FINANCES of the Punjab government are in extremely bad shape. A state once known as a model of financial management is being bracketed with poorly managed states like Bihar and U.P. Punjab is finding it difficult to perform routine duties of paying salaries to its employees and pensions to the retired ones. As a temporary measure, the funds earmarked or borrowed for development are being diverted for revenue expenditure. The credit rating of the state has gone so low that no international agency is ready lend money to the state. Even nationalised banks are refusing to lend the state government. The government has become “poor” in a prosperous state. The state government is not in a position to meet its obligations towards local bodies and autonomous institutions like universities. Consequently, there are a large number of government departments which have become non-functional (for want of funds), and vital institutions are moving towards being paralysed. The capability of the government is so undermined that it has no funds for development purposes and no credibility to mobilise resources from financial institutions. The crisis has come at such a time when the government is expected to play a very active role to put the economy back on the rails. There is general deceleration in the rate of growth of the economy in the 1990s compared to even the bleeding years of the 1980s. Agriculture is stagnating and experiencing negative growth in alternative years. The rural poverty jumped from a low level of 3.20 per cent of the population in 1988-89 to 12.50 per cent in 1993-94. There are nearly 15 lakh educated unemployed youth in the state. In the matter of unemployment and its increasing dimensions, the Planning Commission has bracketed the state with Bihar, UP and Kerala. Incidentally, Maharashtra had overtaken Punjab and Haryana in 1992-93 in per capita income. Maharashtra’s per capita income is now more than 10 per cent higher than that of Punjab, which is likely to lag much behind Maharashtra. Gujarat may also leave Punjab behind. Both states are experiencing very high growth rates. They are growing respectively at 9.5 per cent and 8 per cent (during 1991-92 to 1996-97) per annum compared to Punjab’s 4.7 per cent. There is urgent need to attend to the problems of the economy of Punjab and accelerate its growth process. The government must come forward to provide a leading role as it did in the past. This requires that the financial health of the state must be restored. In order to work out a solution to the crisis it is necessary to analyse and identify the major contributing factors. A look at the trends of expenditure and revenue collection makes it clear that the government expenditure has been expanding at a much faster rate compared to the rate of growth of revenue collection. In the early 1980s (rather up to 1985-86) the state budget used to be moderately surplus on revenue account when the expenditure was 13.93 of the gross state domestic product (GSDP) compared to the revenue of 14.02 per cent, but the expenditure on revenue account rose to 18.30 per cent of the GSDP in 1997-98 when revenue was 15.79 per cent. The state’s deficit on revenue account was Rs 1,121.42 crore (2.51 per cent of the (GSDP) in 1997-98. There are two major factors on the spending side which have made government expenditure far exceed its revenue. One relates to the orientation of the government towards law and order rather than development. This orientation was moulded during the disturbed years of the 1980s. The police budget used to be 3.53 per cent of the government budget in 1980-81 but it went up to more than 6.96 per cent (Rs 570.24 crore) in 1997-98. If this share is made to stand at the 1980s level more than Rs 280 crore could be released. Incidentally, Punjab’s police budget is 1.81 times that of Haryana and 2.32 times that of Kerala. Another factor which derailed the government finances relates to high interest and debt repayment obligations. This head accounted for 11-12 per cent of the budget in the 1980s which has remained between 22-29 per cent during the 1990s. If this share was to stand at the 1980s level nearly Rs 800 crore could be released. Thus, these two factors have created an additional liability for the state to the extent of Rs 1081 crore which is nearly equal to the deficit of the state in 1997-98. The mounting debt obligations are caused by wilful fiscal indiscipline by the successive governments (including the present one) to depend on public borrowing rather than tax collection to meet their expenditure needs. It is estimated (as reports suggest) that Rs 24,000 crore is standing as debt against the government. The government’s attitude has been casual towards resource mobilisation and irresponsible towards spending, financed through the soft option of borrowing which accumulated debt obligations through the 1980s and the 1990s, and continues even today. It is being wrongly reported and attributed by the government spokespersons that employees and their salaries are the major cause for the fiscal crisis in the state. The pay revision of the employees took place in 1997 whereas the crisis has been much older. When pay revisions were introduced it was obligatory on the part of the government to meet its increased expenditure requirements through tax collection. The government avoided a drive towards greater tax collection and compliance and announced several subsidies, some of them irrational and unsustainable, and put the burden on boards and corporations. These boards and corporations were to be compensated by the state government in lieu of the subsidies offered by these organisations on behalf of the government. But the government shirked its responsibility while passing on the burden to the boards and the corporations. This led to the collapse of the working of these organisations due to financial crunch. It is intriguing that the government is no more facing the law and order problem of the proportion of the 1980s, yet it did mot economise on this front. It could change the orientation of the administration towards development and tone up tax collection to meet its growing spending needs. It is a sad commentary on the situation that between 1995-96 and 1997-98 the general sales tax collection has declined from Rs 903.26 crore to Rs 891.06 crore, indicating massive evasion by the business community. At present the state is collecting 2.90 per cent of the GSDP from sales tax. If this doubles it (5.80 per cent), which would be still less than the progressive states like Maharashtra and Gujarat, it could nearly tide over the present crisis. In fact there is much taxable capacity in the state. Without raising tax rates, the proper collection of taxes would convert the financially crisis-ridden state into a state with the abundance of resources. A way has been found in the case of octroi collection. The record available with the octroi posts can be used to trace tax evasion and tax evaders. There is need to reintroduce the “C” form to have a proper record of business transaction for appropriate tax collection. Instead of taking the issue of tax collection seriously, the state government continues with the old attitude to please tax evaders. The recent decision of the government to abolish the enforcement wing of the Taxation Department in the name of ending the harassment of evaders (the trade and business community), and to withdraw the order empowering the SDMs to detain the illegally plying vehicles are a pointer in that direction. It is very well known even to a layman that the business community will not oblige the government by depositing tax in the treasury collected from the consumer without proper enforcement of tax compliance based on a proper record of transactions. It is evident that the non-serious government is pushing the state towards an economic collapse of the Bihar variety. The proposals like closing down Sugarfed, Spinfed, the Punjab Seed Development Corporation, etc, smack of casualness and a lack of understanding. In view of liberalisation and the need for diversification of agriculture, how will the state move in the absence of these corporations? If right steps are not taken now the state will have to pay a very high price for its ill-advised decisions. It is a well-known principle that the economy cannot be sustained for long, keeping it on oxygen of external (central) help/packages. Such packages make the internal metabolism of the economy weak and dependent. It is by building internal strength alone that we can sustain the economy in the long run. Moreover, a state, which cannot manage its finances properly, would find it difficult to assert its autonomy in the matter of economic policy. Those who come to financially bail out the state also suggest a package of policies. These suggestions may be in accordance with the state’s requirements or not, they become mandatory. We have very specific problems for which we have to work out solutions from the perspective of the state economy. There are a large number of such concrete and viable proposals submitted by various study groups and expert panels as remain unimplemented for want of funds. It is, therefore, obligatory on the part of the government and individuals at high positions to take a serious view of the fiscal crisis and prepare a systematic plan with timeframe with a view to solving it and developing the capability and credibility of the government to regenerate the economy of the state. It is high time the state acted firmly. An indecisive and evasive attitude would result in social imperilment. (The author is
Professor, Department of Economics, Punjabi University,
Patiala). |
Treat Kashmir as war zone WHAT happened in 15 Corps HQ, in Srinagar, on November 3 is indeed indefensible, at once an eye-brow-raiser. It makes one sit up, particularly one who has been associated with the Army for long, for decades. The question that comes to one’s mind is: what do you do if an enemy is at your doorstep and is likely to attack? Obviously, keep awake and be prepared for any eventuality. How do you keep prepared? Have a foolproof, competent intelligence network and keep strict vigil on the activities and movement of the enemy — and potential rivals. The Army seems to have forgotten that intelligence and the provision of cover for guards at sensitive places is the basic concept of military science any trainee is taught. Only a few months ago the whole nation wondered how Pakistan-backed infiltrators and its army regulars crossed the Line of Control in the Kargil sector and went as deep as eight to ten km along the line and built permanent bunkers in the occupied Indian territory. The Kargil operation cost India dearly. The point to stress here is that the enemy dug itself in vantage positions for months, but India’s intelligence agencies failed to find out what was going on. The Indian Army’s 15 Corps, based in Srinagar, was the first target of attack for its failure to know or act on reports which were supplied to it months before the actual Operation Vijay began in the Kargil sector. The Corps is making news again for its failure on two fronts — intelligence and proper guarding of its headquarters, claimed to be heavily-guarded. For the first time in more than a decade-old militancy in Kashmir a four-member “squad” of militants attacked the Corps HQ at the Badamibagh cantonment in Srinagar, lobbing several grenades before forcing their way in, killing the guard at the gate and then going up to the Office of the Public Relations Officer of the Corps, and then gunning down the PRO, a Major, two JCOs and two soldiers. The attack on the Corps HQ in Srinagar, which is an extremely high-security area, was so well-planned that at about 5.30 p.m. the militants lobbed a grenade just in front of the gate of the Corps HQ and three militants scaled the wall and jumped into the compound of the PRO’s office. Ironically, only a few hours before the incident, the Corps Commander, Lieut-Gen Krishan Pal, who makes news quite frequently these days, had addressed a Press conference. He claimed that militancy was under control and that militants’ hideouts were under constant watch. He had also reportedly given out that after Operation Vijay in Kargil, about 1200 militants were hiding in the valley. They were under strict surveillance in their hideouts. despite this, four militants managed to get into the Corps headquarters building and killed the officer who had arranged the Press conference. The incident was clearly a lapse and none should call this observation as irresponsible. Another intelligence lapse took place less than 24 hours after the Srinagar tragedy. Some Pakistan-backed militants fired rockets on an Army camp in Poonch district. It is another matter that the four rockets fired on the camp exploded in the air without causing any casualty or damage to property. But the fact remains that the militants managed to get to the place from where they could fire the rockets, unnoticed by the Army unit guards until they were fired upon. It is difficult to believe that knowing full well that a large number of militants have sneaked into the valley after the Kargil operation, the Army commanders at all levels failed to take the required precautions. Actually, the entire Kashmir area now needs to be treated as a war zone. It is normal that when a unit is deployed in an area close to the enemy positions in war-like situations the guards at the entrance of the unit, as well as in the quarter-guard, it is provided a cover. For a layman, if anything happens to the first guard, the “cover guard” takes position. In fact, in some sensitive areas, even two “cover guards” are positioned to handle emergency situations, as happened in Srinagar and Poonch the other day. This should have been done if the norms of posting of guards have not changed since we learnt them over 40 years ago. The posting of guards may have been done at a much lower level in the chain of command, but the Corps Commander and his Chief of Staff cannot be absolved of their responsibility, keeping in view the fact that their corps is deployed in an area where the enemy is hovering around and a war-like situation exists. These officers and the troops under their command need to remain alert to ensure that military intelligence officers kept 24-hour vigil on the movement of militants. In fact, there was need — and it continues to be so even now — to have closer day-to-day coordination with other Central and state intelligence agencies. This should have been tied up after the mess created in the Kargil sector. As a matter of fact, the requirement was for a coordinated action between the Army-led security forces and the government — at the Centre and in the state. Everybody knows the existence and activities of the militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir. Various intelligence agencies are thus expected to undertake Pakistan’s ISI-like operation and hire local people to intrude into these organisations to get day-to-day, hour-to-hour and minute-to-minute information about the activities of militants. If this kind of intelligence had been organised, incidents like an attack on an Army Corps HQ would never have taken place. There is no denying the fact that the intelligence agencies totally failed in Kargil. But one expected them to at least wake up now, particularly when there have been more than a dozen attacks by well-armed militants on Army units and civilian offices during the past three months. The militant outfits have actually changed their strategy after their defeat in Kargil, by organising attacks on security forces instead of civilian population. Despite this knowledge, the security forces commanders failed to protect themselves and their men, which was in no way a difficult task. Actually, what is urgently required now is to work out a drastic change in the forces’ strategy to handle the militants. The need now is to work
out more aggressive and frequent cordon-and search
operations. Having done that, the militants should either
be made to run away from the Line of Control at gun-point
or killed then and there. After all, when they are
regularly killing our people a harsh action has now
become absolutely necessary for restoring the sagging
morale of the security forces engaged in the
anti-terrorist operations in Kashmir. Already, the
psychological fall-out of such attacks has spread a
feeling of vulnerability in the security forces as well
as the civil population. Its continuance will only be at
the nation’s peril. Pro-active offensive now can no
more be delayed —INFA |
Silencespeak STATELY stands on the right bank of the mighty Ganges the Siddhapeeth. Spread over an area of a kilometre and a half on the outskirts of the temple town of Vindhyachal in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, it affords a panoramic and panoptic view from every suite. Built by the benevolent Birlas amidst the salubrious surroundings, this riverside retreat provides a perfect milieu to the seekers of divine bliss who throng to the historic shrine to gain a glimpse of the Goddess Bountiful. Those with an urge to spiritual splurge spend a day or two at this pastoral place. What sets Siddhapeeth apart, in this sleepy city, presumably kept awake by the incessant chiming of temple bells and the perpetual playing of devotional songs, is its serenity of silence. Lazing around on the lush lawns, one can distinctly hear the rustle of leaves, cooing of birds and the gurgling sound of the river. Myriad moods of the Ganges became manifest as the runaway clouds cast their shadows to weave prolific patterns on the vast sheet of water. Alternating shades of dark grey and bright brown merge meaningfully with the emerald green landscape all around. Gazing grossly at the volumes of water has a rejuvenating effect on mind and body. A welcome relief from the humdrum existence of the hurly-burly city life. Time flew by as I sat looking intently at the glorious green interspersed by the rainbow row of flowers, a sparkling amalgam of the majestic and the mysterious. It was not before a shrill whistle of a distant train broke my reverie when I was rudely returned to my earthly existence. In a flashback, I recalled myself communicating with the nature and her creations, though speechlessly and wordlessly. But this communication was much more profound and perfect than I could have ever imagined to have, with all the “wordly and worldly” skills at my command. Once again I was led into the lane of introspection. Is silence the most effective means of communication, I mused. Someone said, I recollected, that Mahavira and Buddha, though they never met each other, communicated through their powerful minds. Just as a dumb person cannot describe his experience through speech, profound realities lend themselves only to the sound of silence which, Kabir discovered, could be deafening at times. They indeed transcend sense organs of the mortals. Those who practice “mauna-vrata” would know it better. It is in total silence that one tends to achieve inner integrity and establish communion with God. The sound of silence is beatific in as much as a mantra when recited soundlessly bestows greater good and glory on our consciousness and cosmic existence. But language is the archives of history as also the dress of thought. It mirrors one’s soul. But what do you do when the word IMPOSSIBLE split as I — M — POSSIBLE turns you topsy turvy! In conclusion, we do need words to communicate but would do would well to heed this poet’s counsel — A careless word may kindle strife, A cruel word may wreck a life. A bitter word may hate instill, A brutal word may smite and kill. A gracious word may smoothen the way, A joyous word may light the day. A timely word may lessen stress, A loving word may heal
and bless. |
Mansion at the centre of
corruption THE mansion on the brow of the hill looks a little shabby and overlooks a 355-acre estate that is overgrown and unkempt. The rooms are bare, the indoor swimming pool dirty, the outhouses next to the proposed polo pitches derelict. Visitors would never know that Rockwood House in the Surrey countryside, South of London, was being turned into a palace, or that it was part of a corruption scandal that had seen the downfall of successive administrations in Pakistan. Three years ago, Benazir Bhutto’s government was dismissed amid accusations that Rockwood was bought by her husband, Asif Ali Zardari with money made from illegal kickback he received on government contracts. He denied the claims and investigators in Pakistan have tried without success to establish direct links between him and the estate, which was bought by an offshore company, Romina Properties Ltd. His story will come under intense scrutiny this week when the builder responsible for the multi-million pound renovations at Rockwood goes to a civil court to claim $590,000 he claims is owed to him. Speaking for the first time about his involvement with Rockwood, Paul Keating (47) has given details of meetings he had with the former Prime Minister’s husband and how he referred to preparing the house for “BB” — Benazir Bhutto’s nickname. She has always denied any knowledge of the property. Mr Keating claims Mr Zardari was in overall charge of the renovations, approving designs and visiting the estate to make sure the work was going according to schedule. He claims Mr Zardari stayed overnight on at least one occasion, in April, 1996. “The project was supposed to be top secret, but I was never in any doubt that Rockwood was his property or that he intended to move in at some stage,’’ said Mr Keating. “Mr Zardari made that quite clear. I think he intended the house to be their family home. The plan went wrong when he was arrested for corruption.’’ Mr Keating was also instrumental in the arrangements to air freight artefacts and furniture from Pakistan, including items which are alleged to have come from the Bhutto’s home in Karachi. The deliveries included rifles engraved with Mr Zardari’s name and antiques which Benazir’s successor, Nawaz Sharif, claimed might have been stolen from a museum in Lahore. That claim has always been denied by Mr Zardari and his wife. Mr Keating was one of a handful of people who knew about the shipments — Benazir Bhutto has denied knowing anything about them. Mr Keating kept documents and photographs — seen by the London-based Guardian newspaper — which show crates of furniture and other valuables were taken to Rockwood after they were flown to Heathrow. Months later, shortly before Mrs Benazir Bhutto’s government fell, they were packed up and taken away. Mr Keating has an inventory of the items and is prepared to give a copy to Pakistani investigators, if it helps establish where they came from. Mr Keating described how he worked on Rockwood House from October 1995, shortly after it was bought by Romina Properties with money provided by another offshore company, Olton Consolidated Ltd. He was asked to get involved by Javaid Pasha, a friend of Mr Zardari, whom he had worked for before. Mr Keating is suing Mr Pasha and his wife, Shabnam, and their company FMS International Ltd, claiming they were masterminding the renovation work on behalf of Mr Zardari. He says they owe his firm, Grantbridge Ltd, £375,000. The case will come before the Central London county court on Friday. Mr Pasha is defending the claim on the basis that he was not acting as an agent for the company that commissioned the work. Mr Keating’s evidence includes minutes of meetings with Mr Pasha, invoices, photographs and architects drawings. ``We were told by Javaid we could not disclose to anyone who the house was for,’’ he said. “Unfortunately word soon got out, mainly because of Mr Zardari himself. He went to the local pub in Brook, the Dog and Pheasant, and offered to buy the place. When he was told it wasn’t for sale, we had to build a replica of the bar in the basement of Rockwood House. I would say Mr Zardari was not the subtlest of men.’’ The landlord of the pub, who would not be named, confirmed the story yesterday. Mr Keating said he met Mr Zardari in a London hotel in April, 1996, to discuss the building work. “Then we drove down to Surrey in a limousine. He did not stay overnight on that occasion, but I must have seen him at Rockwood on three or four occasions. I also have photographs of Mr Zardari meeting one of the architects in Lahore.’’ The work on the house, which cost more than $2.6m, continued throughout the spring and summer. There were plans for a stud, a helipad, a nine-hole golf course, an extension to the indoor swimming pool, and a paddock for the polo ponies. A $110,000 security system was installed. Curtains worth nearly $80,000 were made for the bedrooms, the bathrooms were laid with marble, doors on the ground floor were copper-plated and the master bedroom was reinforced with girders to make it effectively bomb-proof. Mr Keating said the crates of artefacts, which weighed 7.5 tonnes, were delivered to Rockwood House in February and March, 1996. They contained 14 antique rifles, 19 bundles of carpets, furniture — including a 30ft cut glass Italian table — a stuffed tiger, wood carvings, statues, and 16 oil paintings. Mr Keating said Mr Pasha told him these were personal items owned by Mr Zardari and Benazir. He took photos of many of the items and has given copies of them and the inventory to The Guardian. Mr Keating claims the building work stopped abruptly in October, 1996 — a month before Mrs Benazir Bhutto’s removal — when he received a call from Mr Pasha ordering him to pack the furniture and artefacts immediately. “We were told that they weren’t needed in the house anymore,’’ said Mr Keating. Some of the artefacts were taken by Mr Keating to the Pakistani High Commission in London. “We were told to make sure we weren’t being followed. Javaid was worried that the couple’s political enemies were watching the house day and night.’’ The bulk of the goods — Mr Keating estimates 90 per cent — were taken off in lorries to a number of other destinations. Some things were too big to move at short notice. Two 7ft-long root carvings which came from Pakistan were left in a barn on the estate. They are still there. The Italian table is one of the few pieces of furniture which was not removed from the house. Mr Keating claims payments for the building work stopped after Mrs Benazir Bhutto’s government was dismissed. “Mr Pasha asked me to sign a confidentiality agreement after the government fell and told me to destroy all the documents I had,’’ said Mr Keating. “I said I would, but only when I was paid for the remainder of the work. I still haven’t been paid. I have kept quiet hoping to settle this amicably.’’ Mr Pasha confirmed yesterday he was a friend of Mr Zardari’s and had worked with Mr Keating. He said he was not responsible for organising the renovations at Rockwood House and he did not know who had bought it. He added that any documents which linked him to Rockwood House had been forged. “I can’t help you. I have never been to Rockwood House. I don’t know where it is. I have read about it in the newspapers that’s all. I didn’t have anything to do with it at all. I’m afraid I can’t say anymore. “This is in the hands of my lawyers,’’ Benazir Bhutto, whose government was dismissed for “corruption, misrule and nepotism’’, said and added she was aware of the rumours about Rockwood House, but insisted she had nothing to do with the purchase or the shipment of furniture. Speaking from her sister’s flat in West London, where she lives in self-imposed exile, she said yesterday: “I have never been to Surrey”. “I don’t know anything about this house. I have been told by people for a long time that my husband bought the house. I have asked my husband on 10 occasions if this is true and he said it is not. I have never seen the paperwork to prove it. I do not believe he had anything to do with it,’’ she said. Supporters of Mrs Benazir Bhutto believe she and her husband, a former minister in her Cabinet, are the victims of a smear campaign orchestrated by her successor, Mr Sharif, who set up an accountability bureau to investigate their alleged fleecing of the state. Mr Sharif was deposed in the military coup led by Gen Pervez Musharraf, who has said he intends to root out the “plunderers of national wealth’’. The inquiry into the former Prime Minister and her husband, who is in jail in Pakistan, is likely to continue shortly. Benazir Bhutto added: “The new government in Pakistan has promised to investigate all allegations of corruption and I welcome the initiative.’’ In April, the high court
in Lahore found Mr Zardari and Mrs Benazir Bhutto guilty
of corruption and sentenced each to five years in jail
and a fine of $8.3 million. Mr Zardari has been in jail
since November, 1996. — By arrangement with
The Guardian, London. |
Nov
11, 1924 A MEMBER has given notice of a resolution to attend the recent circular of the Government regarding grants-in-aid to educational institutions. The resolution, while recognising the need of keeping in view the interests of backward communities, lays down that “no existing school receiving a grant will have its grant stopped.” If the resolution is carried, the circular in question, which has created such a storm in the province, will be shorn of its most objectionable feature, because in its present form it amounts to nothing else than robbing Peter to pay Paul. It cannot be the
intention of any Government, much less a Government
actuated by the professed desire to promote the
educational advance of the Province in the shortest
possible period, to retard the progress of education
among those communities which have shown a zeal for it;
and we hope the resolution in question will commend
itself to the Council and the Education Minister. |
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