-Caveat Lector-
Y2K isn't about computer readiness... It's all political. It's the
perfect excuse to call in the troops whether computers work or not.
Jamie
>From Nando Media,
http://www.nando.net/noframes/story/0,2107,500062879-500103959-500457354-0,0
0.html
-
Y2K trouble predicted for Pakistan's vital services
Copyright © 1999 Nando Media
Copyright © 1999 Associated Press
By KATHY GANNON
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (November 29, 1999 3:28 p.m. EST
http://www.nandotimes.com) - Pakistan is not prepared for the millennium
computer bug and could face a serious disruption of vital services, the head
of the country's Y2K team warned Monday.
Ijaz Khawaja said none of Pakistan's airports have fully converted their
equipment and computers to guarantee a smooth transition when computer
clocks turn from 1999 to 2000.
Moreover, the power grid in Pakistan's largest city and life-sustaining
devices at most hospitals could fail.
"First we had no money. Then we found the money, but we had no people. And
now if you could give me all the money and all the people, we don't have
enough time," Khawaja told The Associated Press.
International analysts generally classify Pakistan among the bulk of
developing countries in terms of Y2K readiness - with a moderate risk of
serious disruption of unforeseeable scope and duration.
But Pakistan's situation is in one sense singular: It has just been jolted
by a military coup.
Pakistan's Y2K preparation was painfully slow under Premier Nawaz Sharif's
tenure. When the military deposed him and took control on Oct. 12, all Y2K
efforts froze, Khawaja said.
He said the nation's financial institutions, telecommunications and rail
system are Y2K compliant. And the Civil Aviation Authority promises the
airports will be ready by the end of the first week in December.
"But that doesn't give much time for testing, and we're still not sure that
they will be able to meet that deadline," he said. The airports have missed
every deadline so far, beginning with a Sept. 30 deadline when airports
worldwide were to be Y2K compliant.
The national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, may ground all its
flights from 6 p.m. Dec. 31 until noon Jan. 1, Khawaja said.
"Aviation is an area of very grave concern to us," he said.
Elsewhere, the Karachi Electric Company has been unable to fix one of its
main generating stations to ensure it won't have problems. The company
supplies electricity to Karachi, the industrial and manufacturing heart of
Pakistan and the home to 14 million people. The problem could black out the
entire city, Khawaja said.
The contingency plan is to supply Karachi from the national power grid.
There is enough surplus electricity available, but Khawaja said the request
will have to be made well before Dec. 31.
Much of the equipment in government-run hospitals is not threatened by the
millennium bug because it does not contain computer chips. But some is at
risk and "much of that equipment is life-sustaining," Khawaja said.
"We're telling hospitals to make alternate arrangements now if they have
equipment about which they are not sure," he said.
Khawaja said his team received full assurances from the Pakistan Atomic
Energy Commission that Pakistan's one nuclear power plant is ready for Y2K.
But there was no information from the defense establishment in Pakistan,
which last year declared itself a nuclear-weapons state.
"The defense people don't talk," said Khawaja. "But the message we are
getting is that they are ready and that they have taken care of everything."
--
Dan S
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