PML-N's fact sheet on corrupion of our saviours in Pakistan Army

Here is an account of the first three years of corruption by General Musharraf and his cronies in Pakistan Army (1999-2002) documented by PML-N. It may be noted that the level of corruption by the military and civil establishment in Pakistan was much higher in the subsequent 6 years, 2002-2007. Source

In the words Aal-e-Hashmat, there are certain innocent questions which beg answers :

· Why the flag-bearers of NRO scenario are blind towards this aspect of institutionalized corruption in Pakistan.

· Why only politicians and bureaucrats should be punished under NAB ordinance and not the army officials.

· Why the Parliament never thought of causing an amendment in the Army Act if the Generals cannot be investigated by NAB and cannot be tried in ordinary courts.

· Have any President of Pakistan, being Supreme Commander of forces, ever bothered to gather the statistics of inquiries or court martials conducted in connection with corrupt army officers and their organizations.

· Have the Supreme Court of Pakistan ever thought of initiating a suo moto action over any financial scam involving army generals.

· Have any Bar Association ever thought of moving a petition before the Supreme Court to bring corrupt army generals in the ambit of ‘equal citizenship’ given in the Constitution of Pakistan.

· Have any prominent anchor of media like Kashif Abbassi, Hamid Mir, Dr Shahid, Mazhar Abbas and Talat Hussain ever tried to float an opinion inviting discussions and comments of intelligentsia over the issue that if politicians and bureaucrats are being dragged in the streets of public consent then the generals should also be treated at par.

Let us hope that the Supreme Court steps forward to provide justice on the basis of equal basic rights for all and no citizen of Pakistan or institution be declared as ‘sacred cow’ now.

FACT SHEET

Track Record of Musharraf Regime

Released by Muhammad Siddique-ul-Farooque Central Information Secretary

Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) at a press conference on Sunday , October 06,2002.

The government of General Pervez Musharraf, which forced its way into power on October 12, 1999, has completed the tenure allowed to it by the Supreme Court under the controversial Rule of Necessity. It is time that the people of Pakistan take stock of the three-years performance of this regime, and decide through ballot whether they would like their elected government to continue the policies and mode of government introduced and practiced by the military rulers, or they want a government more open, more competent, more efficient, more sincere, more answerable and more responsive to the needs and aspirations of the nation.

CORRUPTION

One of the reasons, belatedly stated by General Musharraf for his capture of power, was that he wanted the country rid of corruption. In fact, his move was designed to provide protection to the most corrupt element in Pakistan -- the top brass of the armed forces. Out of the 135 billion rupees of defense budget, about one third of the amount, or 45 billion rupees are normally spent on purchase of weapons and equipment. And, as this fact sheet would show, an estimated amount of 31.64 billion went into the pockets of corrupt generals and other senior officers.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, fully aware of this situation, had decided to eliminate this corruption. For the first time in Pakistan’s history, he dismissed Admiral Mansurul Haq for receiving illegal gratification in the submarine deal. The Prime Minister had decided to arrest the admiral and recover the amount that he had looted, but his colleagues in the military urged the Prime Minister to limit the action against Mansurul Haq to mere forced retirement in order, what they called, to protect the image of the institution, and then the same friends helped Mansurul Haq to flee abroad.

However, the corrupt generals, feeling the sword of accountability dangling over their heads, planned removal of the elected government, and then launched a campaign to malign politicians and the political institutions. The objective was to keep public attention away from their own misdeeds. General Pervez Musharraf made it clear on the out set that that the National Accountability Bureau, headed by a serving general, would not probe into alleged corruption of the military and the judiciary. Later, publication by courageous pressmen of revealing reports about massive bribes, commissions kick-backs in armament purchase deals, and projects handles by the Army Welfare Trust, Shaheen Foundation, Defense Housing Authority etc. forced the regime to take token action against Admiral (retd.) Mansurul Haq, who was let off after recovery of a meager amount of 750 million rupees out of his huge ill-gotten assets worth $100 million, i.e. 6 billion rupees.

The fact remains that corruption is deep rooted among the higher ranks of the armed forces and the institutions under military control, and the regime blatantly refuses to check it. NAB Prosecutor-General Raja Muhammad Bashir categorically stated on August 6, 2002 that the NAB law would not be invoked in any way against the members of the armed forces. The military spokesmen have been arguing that the armed forces had their own internal system of accountability. As a matter of fact, that system is a fraud. A large number of cases can be cited to prove that culprits awarded heavy sentences by the military courts were freed by the high command after a few weeks of imprisonment. Commodore Shahid’s case is one example. He was sentenced to 7 years of hard labor, but was freed after he spent six weeks of imprisonment at his home!

1. Land Grabbing: The colonial tradition of land grabbing by military officers continued unabated during the past three years.

a) 111 armed forces men have allotted to themselves at least 400 or more kanals each of prime land in Bahawalpur and Rahimyar Khan districts, heart of Punjab, "to defend it from the enemy," at the throw away rate of Rs 47.5 per kanal, while the real price in those areas ranges 15,000 to 20,000 rupees per kanal. Thus 35,000 kanals of land were distributed among 111 military men in one case alone. Theypaid 1,662,500 rupees at the nominal rate of 47.5 rupees per kanal, while the real price comes to 700 million rupees. The list includes the names of:

· General Pervez Musharraf, Current President, 400 kanals in Nouabad village, Yazman, Bahawalpur.

· General Moinuddin Haider, Current Interior Minister, 400 kanals in Chak DB/43.

· General Aziz, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, 400 kanals in Chak DB/44.

· Lt. General Khalid Maqbool (Current Governor Punjab), 400 kanals in Chak 54/p.

· Major General Muzaffar Usmani (Later promoted to Lt General and retired recently as Deputy Chief of Army Staff Musharraf), 400 kanals in Chak 93/p.

· Lt. General Muhammed Afzal Janjua, 400 kanals in Chak 54/p

(i) 64 serving and retired officers of colonel to general rank got 400 kanals or more. They include:

10 Generals, 9 Lt. Generals, 16 Maj. Generals, one Admiral, one Air Marshal, 18 Brigadiers, 5 Lt. Colonels and 3 Colonels.

They paid 19,000 rupees for 400 kanals of land worth 400,000 rupees at market ratesif the land is unirrigated. The value of irrigated land in these areas is much higher.

(ii) 47 non-commissioned officers also got plots of agricultural land measuring 200 kanals or less.

Many of the generals have already sold their lots earning millions of rupees in profit at market rates, while others have turned into feudal lords with hired labor toiling for them.

b) Former Chairman of national Accountability Bureau Lt. Gen. Muhammed Amjad was allotted a 2-kanal (1000 sq. yd.) plot in Lahore, with a market value of 10 million rupees, against mere 800,000 rupees payable in 20 years. Invested in Defense Saving Certificates, those 800,000 rupees would multiply to 225 million rupees. He immediately sold half of the plot for 4.5 million rupees earning a profit of 8.2 million rupees on one plot.

c) General Musharraf has acquired a commercial plot, with the market value of 20 million rupees, in Defense Society, Lahore, for mere 100,000 rupees that he will pay in installments spread over 20 years. The General has neither showed this piece of land in his assets, nor sold it. If 20 million rupees are invested in the Defense Saving Certificates, they would grow up to about 500 million rupees. He owns several plots in other localities with a total market value of 200 million rupees. He has gifted a house with a market value of 20 million rupees to his daughter, which he has not shown in his assets. The 400 kanal agricultural plot that he got in Bahawalpur is also not mentioned in his assets.

d) The ISI has forced Environment Minister Shahida Jameel to allot 100 acres of land in the Margalla Hills National Park, one of the big attractions of the capital city. The agency wants to construct a new and “safe” Headquarter as well as, quite intriguingly, a housing colony for its officers. An official summary generated by Barrister Jameel’s ministry has been sent to President Pervez Musharraf, for an urgent decision. Initially the Environment Ministry response was one of alarm, as giving away 100 acres on these hills would almost destroy the whole area as a natural park, which needed to be preserved. When the ISI bosses learned about it, they immediately contacted the Minister and “convinced” her about the immediate need of 100 acres. The lady, naturally, could not resist the pressure. Again, the Generals would grab the best pieces for their homes.

e) Another 100 acres is being selected in Bahawalpur for the outgoing Naval Chief. Defense officials’ teams have been seen visiting Bahawalpur to select these 100 acres, while an offer had also been made to the outgoing Chief to become Pakistan’s Ambassador to Tunisia. The Chief wants to be Ambassador to France and his argument is that his force has a lot to buy from France, like the Augusta submarines his predecessor Admiral Mansurul Haq bought.

f) In a report, after a random check of 4 out of 11 military estate offices in 2000 –2001, Director General of Audit of the Defense Services has found close to five billion rupees loss caused by misuse of land, mismanagement and encroachments. According to an analyst, “the report is an outright indictment of the military, as it not only shows the monumental size of the lands acquired, but also the losses being caused are gigantic, compared to peanuts for which politicians are persecuted day in and day out.”

g) The Defense Housing Authority has been grabbing large chunks of valuable residential land at nominal prices around the country for the exclusive benefit of officers of the armed forces. For instance, in January 2001, the Sindh Governor bypassed the Sindh High Court stay orders, and permitted sale of highly valuable 200 acres of coastal land along Clifton, Karachi, at embarrassingly low rates to Defense Housing Authority. The land valued at market rate of Rs. 4,000/- per square yard was sold to Defense Housing Authority at Rs 20/- per square yard. Thus, the governor caused a staggering loss worth billions of rupees to the exchequer! An acre contains 4840 square yards. The real cost of 200 acres, multiplied by 4,000 per sq. yd. comes to 3.872 billion rupees.

2. Defense Purchases: The submarine purchase scam involving Mansurul Haq is only a tip of the iceberg. Many more such deals with heavy kickbacks are hidden in the military closets. A large of deals for purchase of tanks, submarines, mine hunters, Mirage aircraft and army jeeps were signed through the Army Welfare Trust, Sheen Foundation and Bahria Foundation. It is estimated that various military officers pocketed commissions totaling 5.7 billion rupees in these deals.

a) A former NAB Chairman is reported to have written to the three service chiefs to provide records of certain arms deals, but NAB still awaits an answer.

b) The records could provide proof to the allegation that a former air chief Abbas Khatak received three million dollars (180 million rupees) in the purchase of 40 old Mirage aircraft for 120 million dollars. He is also accused of receiving kickbacks in deals for French missiles and Italian radars.

c) Another former air chief Farooq Feroze Khan is suspected of receiving 5 percent commission on purchase of 40 F-7 aircraft for 271 million dollars.

d) In 1996, Army bought 1047 GS-90 jeeps at 20,889 dollars per jeep, while the market price of the jeep was 13,000 dollars. NAB sources have been reported saying that some senior army officers pocketed 8.5 million dollars (510 million rupees).

e) The British Inland Revenue Services wrote a confidential letter to the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) in Islamabad to confirm a payment of five million pound sterling (450million rupees) in commission to an Islamabad-based Pakistani citizen who had acted as an intermediary between the British agent of an American company and the Pakistan Army for an 80 million pound sterling deal.

When summoned to the CBR in Islamabad for confirmation about the payment he had received from London, the Pakistani agent stunned the then chairman CBR Moinuddin Khan by acknowledging, unhesitatingly, that he had received the amount mentioned in the letter.

This shadowy businessman soon dropped a bombshell by disclosing that he got only 200,000 (2 lakh) pounds from the total payment of five million pounds (50 lakh pound) while the remaining amount was distributed among four senior officers of the Army. He also provided an actual breakdown of the payments and impressed upon the then CBR chairman that the then Chief of Army Staff had personally authorized the contract, meaning the COAS was also involved in corruption.

Within next few days a retired major general, who was the former Director General Weapons and Equipment (DGW & E) at the GHQ and had structured the deal with the American company through its British agent, approached the top CBR official and briefed him as how the disclosure and any probe into this deal would jeopardize the national security interest of the country.

After a flurry of activities between the CBR and some retired military officials, the CBR shelved the matter. This controversial deal is understood to be in the knowledge of the present military set-up, but there is nothing on the ground to suggest that it is being probed afresh.

f) Around June/July this year, Pakistan Army awarded a contract for purchase of 1000 Hino trucks at $40,000 per truck, while the Gandhara Industries had offered Isuzu truck of same specifications at $25,000. As per standard procedures for bulk military purchases in Pakistan, no international tenders were invited but tender documents were sent to four pre-selected companies for procurement of 1,000 5-ton 4x4 trucks (ammunition carrier vehicle) by the director general military purchase on April 10. Gandhara Industries sources dispute the Army's claim that their vehicle was not approved as 5-ton ammunition carrier. The Isuzu trucks were delivered to the Army for extended trial in February and after two months of trials the vehicle was finally short-listed and approved as 5-ton ammo carrier at the GSEEC meeting held on April 13. However, the top brass made final decision in favor of the Hino trucks. The loss to the national exchequer in this deal, at the rate of $15,000 per truck amounted to $15,000,000 (900 million rupees).

g) Pakistan Army's purchase of more than 3,000 Land Rover trucks in 1995 had also generated controversy with the allegation that the owner of Sygma motors, which had supplied the vehicles, was closely associated with the then chief of general staff of the Pakistan Army. Corruption amounting to 2 billion rupees is alleged in that deal.

h) The Field General Court Martial (FGCM) sentenced former Naval Intelligence Chief Commodore Shahid to 7 years of hard labor, but former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Fasih Bukhari wrote off his sentence after three months, which he had spent in the comfort of his home. It is believed he was freed after he threatened to disclose many more shady deals including a 250 million dollars purchase of mine sweepers.

i) In April 2001, the Public Accounts Committee ordered court trial of 22 corrupt officers of Garrison Engineers (Army) Rawalpindi for causing over a loss of over one billion rupees to the national exchequer with dubious purchases and embezzlement. Defense Ministry officials present at the PAC hearing opposed publication of the culprits’ names, whereupon senior PAC member Lt. General Talat Masood (retd.) admonished them and said that hidden faces involved in corruption must be exposed.

3. WAPDA: The Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), controlled by army officers, has raised power rates 13 times during the past three years totaling 40 percent rise over the 1999 levels. The authorities always take shelter behind the pretext of budget deficit. But analysts have pointed out that the deficit is mainly due to mismanagement and rampant corruption. One instance of blatant corruption is as follows:

WAPDA purchased over three million electricity meters during past three years at exorbitant prices of Rs 1,050 and Rs 1,125 per meter. All these purchases were made by bypassing the due process of open tenders and made through closed-door negotiations. The real cost of a meter comes to around Rs 456 per piece. Thus, 1.65 billion rupees were pilfered in this deal.

4. Motorway: The Motorway Project was a product of creative imagination of Prime Minister Muhammed Nawaz Sharif. He completed the Lahore-Islamabad motorway, and the contract for Islamabad-Peshawar motorway was given to a Turkish firm. It was to be completed by December 2000. The military regime, after cutting the size of six-lane road to four lanes, forced that contractor to withdraw by delaying payments and creating administrative hurdles. Later, the contract was awarded to a new Pakistani consortium lead by Husnain Construction, without floating any tender. The firm hired the services of Brig. Aftab Siddiqui (retd.), father-in-law of Musharraf’s son Bilal, as consultant. Husnain Construction owner Yousaf Sheikh told a news conference in Islamabad that Brig Siddiqui was to be given a share of 2 percent in the profit, and that his company’s business under the current military rule included purchase of about a dozen of “sick industrial units”.

5. Karakoram Express: Pakistan Railways, headed by former ISI chief, made a deal of purchasing 175 passenger coaches from a Chinese firm for 200 million dollars despite the fact that the Pakistani factories were fully competent to manufacture the coaches, which have even found many foreign buyers. When 35 of these coaches arrived in August, they were found to be much wider than the railway platforms in the country could accommodate. Millions of rupees had to be spent on trimming the platforms. Many more millions were earlier spent from the national exchequer on numerous visits of the Railways chief and his experts to China. It appears that their concerns in those visits were other than discussing technical details of the deal. It was a test case for probe into suspicions of corruption, as well as lack of foresight and competence. But neither an inquiry for fixing responsibility was announced nor any heads were seen rolling.

6. UBL Sale: The Privatization Commission of the Musharraf regime sold 51 percent shares of the United Bank Ltd. for 12.35 billion rupees to a consortium with foreign participation through an out of the process re-bidding that in no way can be termed as transparent.

UBL is Pakistan’s fourth largest bank with 1,400 branches in the country and 16 international branches, manned by 11,000 strong work force. Senior officers of the Finance Ministry had been expecting to get a price of 20 billion rupees, while the successful bidder was also reported to be willing to pay 17 billion rupees. However, the Privatization Commission let it go for mere 12.35 billion, and the regime immediately issued a Letter of Acceptance. The so-called financial wizards of General Musharraf conveniently passed over the chance of getting 7.65 billion rupees more for the national exchequer, but they cannot do away with widespread allegation that this amount was pocketed by officials.

7. Pak-Saudi Fertilizers Ltd.: The regime also sold Pak-Saudi Fertilizers Ltd. for just 7 billion rupees with huge profits, stocks and work in progress. The government failed to watch the interests of the nation in that deal also. It is alleged that corruption of about 2 billion rupees was committed in this deal.

8. Police Cars: The military regime officials have made it a regular practice of making huge purchases without calling tenders. For instance, in May 2002, the interior ministry purchased 349 luxury cars of up to 1300cc for investigation wing of the police. No tenders were called, and 259 million rupees were spent at the sweet will of the concerned officials. The officials have been committing this sort of corruption, because they are sure to get all of their illegal actions indemnified with the force of the gun.

9. Golf Club: Pakistan Navy spent 13.112 million rupees on installation of air-conditioners and sprinkler irrigation system in the Islamabad Golf Club, which is in the hands of a private organization. Public Accounts Committee was informed that the money was spent under a directive of former president Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari now chief of the Millat Party, who happens to be one of the staunchest supporters of General Musharraf. In fact, the regime has condoned all misdeeds of Mr. Leghari, including the Mehran Bank scandal and renovation of his ancestral home with government money.

10. Special Education Fraud: Like the other departments of the military regime, the education department has also been indulging in corruption. It was reported in August 2002 that officers of the Special Education Directorate have pilfered 95 million rupees earmarked for education of handicapped children.

Conclusion

We present these facts to the people of Pakistan to illustrate the grim reality that deep-rooted corruption of the generals has soiled the reputation of national armed forces. It is, therefore, our considered opinion that mere internal system of checks in any institution fails to conduct impartial, transparent and effective accountability due to personal relationships and mutual interests.

The process of accountability should be impartial, uniform and across the board. The Musharraf regime has targeted the institution of politics as the bedrock of corruption. In reality, the corrupt have turned the institution of the armed forces into the most corrupt element of the society. It is essential that this institution, which used to be the pride of the nation, be saved from further disgrace, and its respect, credibility and prestige be restored with effective measures.

A high-powered representative commission with judicial authority should be set up to purge the armed forces of black sheep and recover the monies plundered by billionaire retired-generals and other officers. The commission should include Supreme Court judges of unblemished reputation, President and General Secretary of Pakistan Bar Council, Leader of the Opposition and the leaders of other parliamentary parties. This demand of ours is justified in view of fact the generals who captured power time and again from 1958 to 1999, mostly confined accountability to the politicians, while the generals alone were responsible for grave crimes of breaking the country and unmatchable corruption. Until big criminals are apprehended, the cause of justice would not be served and all claims of rooting out corruption would prove to be mere mirage.

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A relevant comment:

By i_shah: (source: pkpolitics)

let us try to answer the questions raised in the article:

· Why the flag-bearers of NRO scenario are blind towards this aspect of institutionalized corruption in Pakistan.

-Most of these flagbearers of the NRO cause are opportunists, who cannot resist the urge of mid-term elections and the chances of themselves getting popular with all the hypethey are creating over the issue. Sadly the public is equally responsible for this attitude as is shown by the growing popularity of coas kiyani in gallup surveys, desspite the fact that he and his corps cmdrs are the main shield hindering the proseqution of military corrups

· Why only politicians and bureaucrats should be punished under NAB ordinance and not the army officials.

-the army considers itself above the law, getting away scot free from even gruesome incidents like the humiliation of a teacher by petty army guards. i believe no action was taken against them. in a civilized society a teacher occupies the prime position of respect- not so in ours. there was some hue and cry but ultimately it died out and now we as a nation hardly remember the incident – again a case of apathy on our parts.

· Why the Parliament never thought of causing an amendment in the Army Act if the Generals cannot be investigated by NAB and cannot be tried in ordinary courts.

– the parliment seems afraid that kiyani and co will send them packing if they dare tread that path. the “bedaar” media keeping mum over the issue and eulogising kiyani every now and then is certainly of no helf either. the parliment is helpless even as army personell-even lowly ranks- are not ready to pay a meagre Rs. 5 toll tax over roads and bridges. when they can not extract this small amount how can we expect them to recover millions out of the corrupt generals.

· Have any President of Pakistan, being Supreme Commander of forces, ever bothered to gather the statistics of inquiries or court martials conducted in connection with corrupt army officers and their organizations.

-the supreme commander has never been acknowledged as such by the army. how can we expect him to act and court martial corrupt army officers. kiyani and co will act over night and depose him in “supreme national interest” with his huge unpopularity and corruption being cited as primary reason-by the corruption of the current president is nowhere near that of his military counterparts ayub/zia and old mush and even other generals/A.Ms/admirals.

· Have the Supreme Court of Pakistan ever thought of initiating a suo moto action over any financial scam involving army generals.

-the supreme court can only act within the ambits of the constitution, which sadly doesnot allow for them to be prosecuted in ordinary courts. even if the CJ takes action, there will be a lot of hue and cry raised in the name of the army getting demoralised in the middle of war on terror. interestingly, it was zia who laid the eggs of terrorism, which hatched into the present brood of terrorists in the form of taliban, laskar e jhangvi etc.

· Have any Bar Association ever thought of moving a petition before the Supreme Court to bring corrupt army generals in the ambit of ‘equal citizenship’ given in the Constitution of Pakistan.

-i guess the public’s sypathies for the army -as indicated by kiyani’s popularity graph from gallup surveys- hinders the prospect of such a scenario taking place

· Have any prominent anchor of media like Kashif Abbassi, Hamid Mir, Dr Shahid, Mazhar Abbas and Talat Hussain ever tried to float an opinion inviting discussions and comments of intelligentsia over the issue that if politicians and bureaucrats are being dragged in the streets of public consent then the generals should also be treated at par.

-thats one question that should be put to these popular anchors- and ourselves who make these anchors popular

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PPP and PML-N must stick together to foil the establishment's designs against democracy

There is reconciliation in the air -- and not of the NRO sort. Nawaz has heroically thrown himself between the conspirators and the president. The prime minister announced that the president is ready and willing to give up Article 58(2)(b). The Q League is meeting the MQM; Shahbaz is meeting the MQM. The chief ministers are all visiting the Quaid's Mazar together; the provinces are on the same page regarding the contentious distribution of finances. Even the PPP's CEC is considering reviving Aitzaz's membership. Has the political leadership matured from the politics of vendetta and opportunity? And pigs can fly. It is surprising what self-concern can make politicians do. You see, the threat is not only to the PPP and its chief; the threat is to the system.

Stopping the inevitable

Sunday, November 22, 2009 (The News)
Gibran Peshimam

There is reconciliation in the air -- and not of the NRO sort. Nawaz has heroically thrown himself between the conspirators and the president. The prime minister announced that the president is ready and willing to give up Article 58(2)(b). The Q League is meeting the MQM; Shahbaz is meeting the MQM. The chief ministers are all visiting the Quaid's Mazar together; the provinces are on the same page regarding the contentious distribution of finances. Even the PPP's CEC is considering reviving Aitzaz's membership.

Has the political leadership matured from the politics of vendetta and opportunity? And pigs can fly. It is surprising what self-concern can make politicians do. You see, the threat is not only to the PPP and its chief; the threat is to the system.

That is not to say that the "Zardari-goes, democracy-goes" paradigm is tenable ideologically, but it certainly is practically.

Consider the rumours of the apparently pressing desire to remove Zardari, who is himself digging his heels in, figuratively, as in his "there is nothing wrong" statements, as well as literally, as in literally not leaving his presidential bunker. He's not leaving voluntarily anytime soon.

The PPP is in no mood to remove him -- and even if they are, they certainly do not have the spine or the will to do it. So if we accept the premise that the president is unacceptable, and must go for the perennial powers to be happy, how will he be removed?

The answer is simple: a coup d'état. Sound implausible? It is. But not out of the question.

There are some misconceptions that involve the possibility of such a drastic step. There will be no bloodletting and rioting by the masses demanding a return of the PPP or the system itself. The inefficacy of the government, its near-comical lack of authority and the resurfacing of corruption-related horror stories (these are not just made up, they have also been mentioned in international bodies' reports) mean that democracy, or at least the current set up, has managed to blow its lot at an incredibly fast rate.

Juxtapose this with the flourishing image of the military, that steadfast torch-bearer of the subz hilal parcham, thanks to operations in Swat and South Waziristan, and you no longer have a situation wherein the "Army is too vilified" or "it is too soon for them." You see, this is not the 90s. This is an age where the armed forces are fighting a war that is winning them many laurels -- enough for them to be welcomed back.

It will not take them another decade to win back their credibility, or for the politicians to lose theirs. That is apparent. That murmurs of how things were better under Musharraf is not just a whimsical comment anymore. It is the product of heavy disillusionment with the performance of the PPP-led government.

The banter of increasing foreign interference, where fanciful stories of Blackwater and the United States' plans to secure our nukes are winning a disconcertingly large audience; the reality of increasing violence across the country, where attacks are daily and the lives lost are many. Schools had been closed, and we are living in a state of emergency.

All of this has created a siege-like mindset in Pakistan -- which is ideal for those unhappy with the president to step in and not have as much as a whimper from the masses. All that has to be done is to co-opt the usual unscrupulous lot of politicians and smaller regional parties to ensure that everyone is satisfied. The nationalist parties in Sindh will take care of any expected Sindh-backlash -- whatever that may be.

Taking it from there, if there is a coup, it certainly cannot be a long one. While they may be welcomed, the military really does have its hands full with the current security situation. A swift strike then?

Here's the kicker. When we say that this is "not the 90s" we also do not have the luxury of having a bunch of elections one after another like we did from 1988 to 1997. The current security situation will not allow elections in a vast majority of the country.

No President Kayani; no elections: what does that leave us with? A caretaker government. One that will be in place for an extended period of time, a la Bangladesh, until elections can be held in a secure environment. Don't see such an environment in the near future?

That's the point.

So when Nawaz has heads turning by saying he will "not allow" the minus-one formula, he is not saying it because he respects that the president was elected democratically, or because he wants to defend democracy. It does not mean that he and his party have become more mature and patient when they meet the MQM. When the president says he is willing to give up 58(2)(b), it does not mean that he has grown a conscience overnight.

It is a sign. It means that they see it coming; they see the machinations unfolding. And they know that in a caretaker set up, they will have no future. More time in political oblivion -- this time perhaps without an escape, complete with furniture and cooks, to the holy land.

When Shahbaz Sharif says that the derailment of democracy will have serious repercussions, he is right. However, the repercussions will not exactly be for the public.

The N would only be too happy to see the back of Zardari -- legally or otherwise -- if it meant that they would come to the fore again. But they're resisting. And that is a telling sign of the times.

Upheaval is upon us. And the very people that are coming to the "rescue" now are the ones who brought it to this.

However, if it is self-concern that does the trick, then so be it. The political parties must stick together, as they are trying to do now, to survive. How long they can keep it up, that is the question.

Or is it too late?

The writer is city editor, The News, Karachi. Email: gibran. peshimam@gmail.com

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The real conspirators - By Ahsan Iqbal

Article suggested by Syed Ali Raza: Although the author may not align himself with the political views of "Let us build Pakistan", he offers a valuable perspective on present deferring and escapist tendencies in our society.


The real conspirators
By Ahsan Iqbal

There are so many conspiracy theories for what is happening to us that at times it becomes difficult to keep track of them. USA, West, Israel, and India most commonly get referred to in those conspiracy theories. The conspiracy syndrome isn’t just limited to uneducated, very often educated and elite are also vocal champions of such theories. If we analyze the psychology of conspiracy theory syndrome, it can be safely said that it provides a safe refuge for finding an explanation for all the negative events and outcomes, which we don’t like and about which we are not willing to do anything in order to bring a positive change.

These theories are escapists’ heaven providing comfort, catharses, and solace to the pain of mind and soul. What they conceal and block is the path of introspection. The believers in conspiracy theories find all the faults and responsibilities with conspirators, who are villains, and view themselves as victims of treachery, who are innocent, hence throwing all the blame on the conspirators for their sufferings.

The first cardinal principle of diplomacy is that each nation is entitled to act in its own best national interest. Therefore, to expect that any other nation will watch some other nation’s interest is contrary to this basic axiom of international politics. The nations may cooperate but they do so to the extent that their national interests converge. Therefore, what is a national interest for one nation may well look like a conspiracy to another nation or society beyond its shared interest. In Pakistan, thanks to a long history of dictatorships, we have developed a strong culture for conspiracy theories, as lack of information and disempowerment, become key drivers of this culture. We seldom try to analyze the root causes of our problems. After 62 years, if we are still mired in poverty, under development, and political instability with little sovereignty, who has afflicted these wounds on our soul and body? Before we fix responsibility, we should draw wisdom from history of rise and fall of nations and societies.

The literature on this subject throws many explanations for development and decline of nations. Some of these factors are unique while others are general in nature. The law of history is that sovereignty, prosperity, and development have neither been bestowed upon nations in charity nor in aid. Dignity, prosperity and progress are earned and manufactured by the nations through the work of the following seven factors; i) leadership and vision, ii) knowledge and skills, iii) justice and peace, iv) governance and merit, v) enterprise and hard work, vi) integrity and trust vii) team work and synergy. No matter what circumstances nations may face or resources they are gifted with, it is the work of the above seven factors that determines their prospects and rendezvous with destiny.

Where Pakistan is today and where it will be tomorrow, it only reflects the choices we make as a nation. The difference between a successful person or a nation and an unsuccessful person or nation is in its belief and outlook. Successful individuals and groups take responsibility for what they are while unsuccessful individuals and groups try to blame circumstances and others for their failures. The public discourse in any society plays very important role. It helps in understanding its agenda and also drives its future. Therefore, it should be of paramount concern to any society how the agenda of its public discourse is shaped. If we believe that all our problems are due to some sinister conspiracies being hatched against us by others then the logical implication of this thinking is that others are being unfair and devilish with us. This argument shuts the lens for introspection and objectivity in analyzing the past, present, and future. In order to understand why we are where we are, it is important that we analyze our situation in the light of the seven above mentioned factors of progress and development. The first factor is vision and leadership. Both vision and leadership are part and parcel of each other. Leadership without vision is a journey in circles and vision without leadership remains an abstract reality. All small and big success stories are born out of a compelling and a shared vision and a committed and a competent leadership. Vision is what determines what an organization or society is going to try to accomplish. Without a clear vision any society will be pulled in many different directions and nullify its effort.

The story of Pakistan’s creation is itself a proof of this principle. It was the vision of freedom, democracy, prosperity, and social justice in accordance with the principles of Islam that galvanized the Muslims of South Asia to launch Pakistan movement, and the dynamic and competent leadership of the Quaid-i-Azam made this dream come true. Unfortunately, after early death of Mr Jinnah, strong civil and military bureaucracy hijacked the state as political institutions were weak and in early formative stage. This led to blurring of our founding vision, giving rise to parochial thinking and politics.

Our military dictators ruled for over thirty three years playing havoc with rule of law and institutional governance in the country, which led to weakening to federation and unequal distribution of wealth across regions and groups further denting the founding vision of state. Our judges granted legitimacy to the dictators, our bureaucrats served them, and there were always willing politicians to join them while the people accepted it as their destiny. Was this some conspiracy against us or our collective failure to resist most glaring deviations from our founding vision? The second factor is knowledge and skills. Societies, which understood the importance of human resources and invested in developing strong intellectual and human capital, have always performed well. Development is the process by which human beings become aware of opportunities and challenges, formulate responses, make decisions, and initiate organized actions. This process follows the sequence from knowledge to inspiration to action. Human beings acquire knowledge, they become aware of opportunities and challenges. When that knowledge matures, they acquire a motivation or inspiration to translate that knowledge into action. No matter how great the opportunity or how dire the necessity, without that knowledge no adaptive response occurs. In earlier stages of development, land and minerals constituted the principle resources for development. Knowledge was rudimentary. Human beings were valued mainly for their physical labour. Today, information and knowledge have become increasingly important inputs to the development process. All economic activities are becoming more knowledge-intensive. In this context, where do we stand, we are rated at 141st position in the Human Development Index out of 172 nations and sixth out of seven South Asian countries. Our education system from primary to tertiary levels is in a mess with multi-class system with lowest budgetary allocations in the world. Has any country ever stopped us from providing our children best education and from producing quality scientific research in our universities? If almost half of our population is illiterate and we have worst form of class based education apartheid with purposeless education without offering the marketable skills then who is to be blamed?

The third factor is justice and peace. Martin Luther King said, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.” Justice and peace are preconditions for an enabling environment that can attract investments and talent for the development of any society. Absence of justice means no rule of law and without rule of law societies become jungles in which might is right, leading to chaos and anarchy. Under such circumstances, society fails to produce stability and order as necessary conditions of progress. If we are mired with inequality, injustice, and strife today whose fault is it? In all those countries, which we call as conspirators, sitting heads of governments can be put to trial but we are finding it difficult to initiate legal proceedings against former president General Musharraf.

The fourth factor is governance and merit. Governance can be described as the process and capability of a society to set and achieve its goals. Good governance has 8 major characteristics. It is participatory, merit based, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. It assures that corruption is minimized, and the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. It is also responsive to the present and future needs of society. While good governance helps build confidence of local and foreign investors in the economy merit recognition guarantees best standards of performance. According to World Governance Indicators Pakistan’s ranking is 162 out of 179 countries even behind Afghanistan. If we have failed to establish good governance in our country, according to the above criteria, is it not entirely our own doing and choice. There is no evidence of any foreign hand involved in enforcing poor governance on us.

The fifth factor is enterprise and hard work. Strong and stable societies are built on successful economies and no economy can prosper without entrepreneurial spirit and hard work. There is enough empirical evidence to suggest that societies that exhibit higher levels of entrepreneurial effort are more innovative and successful. Likewise, there is no substitute for hard work. In Quran, Allah says, “Man will only get for which he strives”. Has any foreign country ever asked us not to harness entrepreneurial skills of our people and to not work harder in our offices, educational institutions, factories, and professions?

The sixth factor is integrity and trust. Development has two dimensions, hardware and software. While physical infrastructure lays the foundation it is ethics and values infrastructure of any society, shaping social attitudes and social capital, which determines its level of success.

Following Fukuyama, this social capital can be defined as the “set of informal values or norms shared among members of a group that permits them to cooperate with one another”. Obviously the level of trust capital is key for fostering cooperation and comfort. Trust is developed among members of group through mutual respect, honest transactions and tolerance. How much integrity and honesty is there in our work and dealings? Has any conspiring nation ever asked us to indulge in adulteration, be unfair in measures, and not be honest in our dealings and transactions?

The seventh factor is teamwork and synergy. As Henry Ford said, “coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success.” High performing organizations and societies are good at transforming individual excellence of their members into collective competence in a way that combined effect is greater than sum of individual effort, which means there is harmony and positive synergy in the system. It is said that in the new economy the basic unit of work is team rather an individual, which means group dynamics of nations have become critical for their success. How good are we in collaborative modes? Has any foreign power forced us to be divided on parochial lines and not to work together as a united nation and communities?

If we look at the above seven factors, one doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to find out that we alone are responsible for our failures. No one is conspiring against us as we are guilty of conspiring against ourselves. Instead of blaming others we need to focus on our shortcomings and take responsibility for our destiny. This is the only way forward to become a dignified, a strong, and a prosperous nation. Source

The writer is an MNA and former minister of education. Email:betterpakistan@gmail.com

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Transparency, Corruption and Nawaz Sharif

Special interview of Nawaz Sharif with Hamid Mir and Sohail Warraich
Geo TV: 17 November 2009

A column in defence of Nawaz Sharif - by Ataul Haq Qasimi

What do oridnary Pakistanis thinks?
Source: friendskorners; pkpolitics

http://www.siasat.pk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=12687

taffembank said:
nawaz sharif avoiding hamid mir questions,hamid mir tried to ask him 4 times about his factories but he was not answring n talking to suhail warriach,

listen at 6.00 hamid mir was trying to ask him about the mills but nawaz sharif ignored him.

fanstasticman said:
Nawaz reply to Hamid Mir question of setting up a mill in Saudi arabia : "kya bhookay marjatay, bheek mangtay saudia jakar, kuch tu karna tha na"

hahahahaha.

shkanjabeen said:
he didnt answer so many questions.for example,he didnt explain the details of his assets shown to the election commission.

if you put him to a LIE DETECTOR,90% of his discussions are just LIES.
you can see his body language.he gets so uncomfortable while answering.
his political drama is also coming to an end Inshallah.

Graang2 said:

Saala kitna ghareeb ban raha hai...awam ka paisa loot kar saala bhikari banne ki koshish kar raha hai.

thetruepal said:
He is doing better than many politicians and have positively influenced PPP Govt. in many matters including Judges restoration, NRO and reverting Musharaf's constitution amendments. Overall, his approach is positive and constructive but he need to come up with a solid vision and action plan rather than status quo among PPP and Punjab Govt. He needs to show leadership and vision and be more intellectual; he should try eating lots of Almonds everyday in the morning and have head message with warm oil :-). Well, I still respect him because I believe he is sincere with nation and trustworthy politician.


haaji007 said:

buhat halaat kharab hai iss becharay kay.....

"Benazir Income Support Program" say issay bhi kuch milna chahiya

aftab said:
After listening to his conversation in the beginning of the show it came as cross that he did do corruption to make up for the loss of his assets and was hiding something when HM tried to cross question him and NS avoided answering those questions.


Waqar ur Rehman said:
I am supporter of PML N but unfortuanetly NS couldnt satisfay me on the first question asked by Hamid Mir……………he was clean bowled……….

Instance over war on terror and relations with India was also shaky………..no clear cut apporach………

rest interveiw was just ok…………..look like an interview from ordinary man………….

sorry Nawaz sb u disappoint me today……..

Dilsher Nawaz said:
I am not a great supporter of his, and he clearly was evasive. But for a businessman to shelter his taxes under a corporate entities and family foundation is not without reason. He does not pay a lot of personal income tax but probably pays a significant amount of corporate tax.
In any case when it comes to overt corruption any comparison between Zardari and Nawaz is a no contest, Zardari by a gazzilion miles

Masood Ahmad said:
I don’t know why we wish to have angels as our leaders, and we ourselves don’t even stop our cards on red lights.

In such a crisis of morals, i think even people like Nawaz Sharif are good for the country. Well if nothing else, atleast they have courage to stand up to some matters.

I don’t even want to discuss the replacements available …. you know it very well.

So for God’s sake, let somebody be there for the time being, until we grow higher as a nation.

rafay79 said:
…and to think this nincampoop is going to be at the helm of affairs when the government changes now. Zardari may be many things but an absolute idiot he aint!

NS is so lucky he had Zia to take him through the development phase and as with all guys who are willing throw their money around and share ‘awaam ka paisa’ with the ‘awaam kay khaadim’, managed to get a team around him which served him well. Even now, he has got very good people like Ahsan Iqbal, Kh. Asif, Saad Rafique etc. who make him and his party look good. On his own, he is an absolute waste of space!

جناب! شکر کریں پاکستان میں امریکا کی طرح صدارتی سیسٹم نہی ہے انتخابات میں. کبھی خدا نہ کرے آپ کا کسی سیاست دان کے ساتھ مباحثہ ہو جاتا تو جس طرح کے سہانے جواب آپ نے اس انٹرویو میں دے ہیں اس کے بعد تو آپ کے ووٹر منہ چھپاتے پھر رہے ہوتے. باقی رہ گیئ جناب کی بات، تو پہلے کب شرم آی ہے جو اب آ جائے گے.

بات کرتے ہیں ہم اس کے سٹانس کی؟
آرٹیکل ٦ کرتا کرتا نہی تھکتا تھا. ایک چکّر سعودی عرب کا لگا اور ساری ہوا نکل گیے غبارے میں سے.
ایسے ہوتے ہیں لیڈر؟
ایسی پتا نہی کتنی باتیں ہیں جو لکھنے بیٹھو تو صبح سے شام ہو جائے.
خواتین و حضرات! یے ہیں آپ کے ملک کے اگلے پی ایم. اور اگر ہمیں پھر بھی عقل نا آی تو اگلی باری بلاول بھتو زرداری (المعروف پارک لین اسٹیٹ والے) اور اس کے بعد حمزہ شہباز یا حسین نواز اور اس کے بعد پھرمحترم بلاول بھتو زرادری صاحب اور پھر کوئی میاں اور پھر کوئی بھتو. بیچ میں ایک آدھا جرنیل بھی ڈال لیں منہ کا ذائقہ بدلنے کے لیے.

rafay79 said:
@Dilsher Nawaz
Dude! Corp tax and personal tax are two totally different things. A company is an entity on its own. It pays corporation tax on its earnings. The directors pay personal tax on their income, perks and drawings from the company. To say a person doenst pay personal tax cos he pays lots of corp tax is therefore incorrect.

And remember, this guy is someone who spends 3.5 million rupees a day. Or thats what his spokesman Siddiq-ul-Farooq would like us to think anyway.

Shujaat Ali said:
1) very fuzzy answer about self tax, question was very straight but he was just trying to fool nation and gave very lenghty answer without any logic
2) currently the most important issue is war on terror and again on this, he did not give straight answer infact no answer…may be he dosn’t want….becuase he is not sure current govt policy will work or not…and he knows this will be the hot issue in next election..so her again showing his real character
3) doesn’t want to destablize current system, he was trying to project that he has principal stand but in fact he is saving his own govt…and if mid term election will happen then he knows in current situation he popularity is down….

block said:
I am convinced that Nawaz Sharief is a very poor man and need our financial help.

Parvez said:
NS and his family has made money from business and he is not easy to buy with a few million dollars. He is pragmatic, seen the ups and downs of politics. If he gets to be a leader, you will see growth in economy and social stability. He needs to spend more time organizing his part at grass roots.

Bawa said:
نہایت ہی فضول انٹرویو، حامد میر اور سہیل وڑائچ نے اسی قسم کا انٹرویو کیا جیسا نجم سیٹھی نے پرویز مشرف اور الطاف حسین کا کیا تھا. سر آپکی بیگم کیسی ہیں، بچوں کا سیاست میں آنے کا ارادہ ھے کیا، حمزہ شہباز تو سیاست میں آپکے شاگرد ہیں وغیرہ وغیرہ. ان نام نہاد انکر پرسنز کو یہ نہیں پتہ یہ اس لیول کے لیڈر سے ان حالات میں کس طرح کے سوالات کرنے ضروری تھے. صاف دکھائی دے رہا تھا کہ نواز شریف کو سوالات پہلے سے تیاری کے لیے دیے گئے تھے

نواز شریف نے اس انٹرویو سے ان لوگوں کی امیدوں پر پانی پھیر دیا ھے جو سمجھتے تھے کہ نواز شریف نے ماضی سے بہت کچھ سیکھا ھے. وہ ابھی تک عوام کو بیوقوف بنانے کی ناکام کوشش کر رہے ہیں. سو دفعہ یہ اقرار کرنے کے باوجود کہ میں نے دس سال نہیں بلکہ پانچ سال کا معاہدہ کیا تھا. اب کہ رھے ہیں کہ ہم اپنی مرضی سے نہیں گئے تھے بلکہ ہمیں زبردستی بھیجا گیا تھا. سعودی عرب کے بارے میں کہ سعودی عرب کو پاکستان کی سیاست میں نہ گھسیٹیں تو بہتر ہوگا اور ہمیں سعودی عرب کا احترام کرنا چاہئیے اور انہیں پاکستان کے اندرونی معاملات میں ملوث نہیں کرنا چاہئیے، جو ملک ہماری اعَلیٰ ترین عدالت کے منہ پر تھپڑ مار کر ہمارے شہری کو ہمارے ہی ملک سے اغوا کر لے جائے کیا وہ ملک ہمارے لیے قابل احترام ہو سکتا ھے؟ جنرل کیانی کی شہباز شریف اور چوہدری نثار سے رات کے اندھیرے میں خفیہ ملاقاتوں کے سوال کا جواب بھی بچگانہ تھا. جنرل کیانی مسلح افاج کے سپریم کمانڈر اور وزیر دفاع کی اجازت کے بغیر سیاستدانوں سے رات کی تاریکی میں کیونکر ملاقات کر سکتے ہیں؟ کیا انکا یہ قدم فوج کو دوبارہ سیاست میں ملوث کرنے کے مترادف نہیں ھے؟ .

غرض انٹرویو انتہائی مایوس کن تھا. نہ تو ملکی صورتحال پر گفتگو کی گئی اور ان ہی موجودہ مسائل کو حل کرنے کے لیے نواز شریف نے اپنا کوئی پلان بتایا. ہاں البتہ یہ بتانا بہت ضروری سمجھا کہ شہباز شریف ہمارے خاندان کا نوجوان سیاستداں ھے میری بیگم نے ملکی مفاد کے لیے بہت کام کیا ھے اور میں اسکا شکریہ ادا کرتا رہتا ہوں. وہ جن لوگوں نے اسکی عدم موجودگی میں پارٹی کو زندہ رکھا انکا کوئی ذکر نہیں کیا. پارٹی کے اندر جمہوریت کے بارے میں سوال کا جواب تک نہ دیا. اپنے کاروبار کا نقصان گنواتے ہوئے ضیاء الحق کے دور میں اٹھائے جانے والے فوائد چھپانے کی مجرمانہ کوشش کی

Faarigh Jazbati said:
@ Bawa and all

السلام و علیکم
جیسے کے ہارون رشید نے کئی دفعہ کہا اور لکھا ہے کہ یہ سیاستدان ابھی تک ٨٠ اور ٩٠ کے دہائی میں رہ رہے ہیں اور ان کو پتا ہی نہیں کہ دنیا بدل چکی ہے زمانہ بدل چکا ہے . یہ لوگ خیالوں اور خوابوں کی دنیا میں رہتے ہیں. یہ نرگسیت کے مارے لوگ ہیں اور ان کا سواۓ اس کے اور کوئی علاج نہیں کہ ان کو اٹھا کر تاریخ کے کوڑے دن میں پھینک دیا جاۓ . ہمیں ایک نئی قیادت کی ضرورت ہے جو ہم میں سے ہی ہو . جو ہمارے مسائل اور مشکلات کو سمجھتی ہو ، ان کا ادراک کرتی ہو ، جو عصر حاضر سے آگاہ ہو ، جو عالمی سیاست کی باریکیوں اور نزاکتوں سے واقف ہو اور ان کی چالوں کا جواب دینے کی اہلیت رکھتی ہو ، جو عوام کو حکومتی معاملات میں شریک کرے اور انکو اپنے جیسا ہی سمجھے . جن کے بچے اور کاروبار پاکستان میں ہی ہوں. جو اداروں کا احترام کرنا جانتی ہو ، جو اپنے آپ کو قانون کے سامنے پیش کرنی سے نہ ہچکچاتی ہو اور قانون سب کے لئے یکساں پر ایمان رکھتی ہو . جو کاروباری ذہنیت نہ رکھتی ہو اور جن کے کوئی کاروباری مفادات نہ ہوں . موجودہ سیاسی قیادت چاہے وہ مسلم لیگ ن ق ع ف ہو یا پیپلز پارٹی، چاہے وہ مذہبی سیاسی جما عتیں ہوں یا
so called لسانی /علاقائی سیکولر جما عتیں ، سب کی سب اپنے اپنے مفادات کی اسیر ہیں .
ہمیں ایک نئی سیاسی جماعت اور ایک نئی سیاسی سوچ کی ضرورت ہے ، ایک نئے سیاسی نظریے کی ضرورت ہے ، ایک نئی
سیاسی ثقافت کی ضرورت ہے . ایسا سیاسی نظریہ اور ثقافت جس میں افراد کی بجاۓ اصولوں کی بات ہو ، جس میں افراد کی بجاۓ اداروں کی بات ہو، جس میں سیاسی خانوادے نہ ہوں ، جس میں سیاسی میراث کا کوئی تصوّر نہ ہو ، جس میں سیاسی جانشینی کا کوئی تصوّر نہ ہو ، جس میں سیاسی مزار نہ ہوں جس میں سیاسی بندر بانٹ نہ ہو ، جس میں جرنیلوں کی جوتیاں چاٹنے والے نہ ہوں . جس میں جرنیلوں کو سرکاری ملازم سے زیادہ اہمیت نہ ہو ، جس میں پلاٹوں کی سیاست کی کوئی گنجائش نہ ہو ،

کیا کروں آج دل بہت ہی دکھا ہوا ہے اور بھڑاس نکالنے پر تلا ہوا ہے. یہ جو اپنے آپ کو رہنما اور نہ جانے کیا کیا لکھتے اور سمجھتے ہیں اور سمجھتے ہیں کے ہمارے عقل و شعور کی توہین کریں میں ان سے بیزاری اوربغاوت کا اعلان کرتا ہوں اور ان کو اپنا رہنما ماننے سے انکار کرتا ہوں

FJ

mujtaba-ali said:
باوا جی
اور دوستو…
میرے خیال میں اس کو بات نہیں کرنی آیی آج تک … پی پی پی والے اسی بات پر اتنی آرام سے نکل جاتے ہیں .. یہ تو سادہ سا مسلہ تھا .. لیکن بھایی صاحب نے سیدھا جواب دیا ہی نہیں …. مثلا اگر میں آپ ہوتے تو یہ کہ سکتے تھے … کہ ….. بھایی ایکشن کمیشن کی جو ضرورت تھی اس کے حساب سے جو بنتا تھا بتا دیا … وہ ٹیکس پوچھتے ہیں میں نے بتا دیا … ذاتی دولت کا پوچھتے ہیں بتا دی … اب جو دولت خاندان ک نام ہے یعنی بزنسس کے نام ہے … اس کا نہ وہ پوچھتے ہیں نہ بتانے کے ضرورت ہے ….
اور بھایی جان نے ایک اور بات کی جو ذرا اچھی تھی … کہ ٥ پانچ ہزار بھی زیادہ ہیں ایک سیاست دن کا ان چیزوں سے کوئی لینا دینا نہیں ہونا چاہیے …

hafizmughal said:
A popular pakistan leader but when he will know to make a difference between public speeches and talking on tvs?

Even he is not clear about his directions. Sorry.

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We support Sardar Khosa's fling at the Scandinavian mujra

From the editorial team of Let Us Build Pakistan

Many readers of this blog have drawn our attention to PML-N's senior leader Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa’s participation in a Scandinavian mujra recently. We support the Sardar’s participation. By gracing the mujra party through his such a prominent and for-the-entire-world-to-see presence, the Sardar has made a very timely political statement. In Pakistan where the Taliban have made all forms of entrainment and cultural expressions haram, we need more and more political leaders to come forward and patronize culture. PML (N) leaders can make more contribution than any other leaders because they have more influence on the Punjabi middle class than any other party.



This video is a big slap on the faces of the Hamid Mirs, Shahid Masoods, and Ansar Abbasis of the Talibanic media of Pakistan. Had it been a People’s Party leader in place of Sardar Khosa, they would have gone mad with anger and demonized him in no uncertain terms. But these princes of darkness of Pakistani media kept silent over this video. This is the reason we want more and more non-PPP leaders to come forward and emulate Sardar Khosa. Nawaz Shairf’s talent for singing Hindi songs is no secret. He can raise a lot of money for charity through his God-given singing talent.

Meanwhile, enjoy the show!
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PPP and PML-N are united against the Friends of Taliban and their designs against democracy

vs

Friends of Taliban in the Pakistani media and politics are very upset with this development. For example, read Nazir Naji's column on the frustration of the Taliban lovers and democracy haters in Pakistan. http://letusbuildpakistan.blogspot.com/2009/11/triple-s-brigades-ill-wish-and-zardaris.html

President enjoys immunity under Constitution: Nawaz
Updated at: 1815 PST, Monday, November 16, 2009 (The News)

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-N Chief Nawaz Sharif Monday said the President enjoys immunity under the Constitution and the courts will reach a verdict in the backdrop of this fact.

He said this in an exclusive interview given to Geo News’ anchors Hamid Mir and Sohail Waraich.

Nawaz Sharif pointed out that the matter of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) is subjudice.

“Terrorism flourishes uner martial law,” he asserted, adding, the door leading to martial law will have to be closed to eradicate terrorism there.

The PML-N Chief observed that it is consistent democratic regimes in India that have blocked the way to terrorism.

PML-N rejects minus-1 formula, says Nawaz

Thursday, November 05, 2009 (The News)
LAHORE: PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif has said that the party has never talked about the impeachment of the president nor has it demanded his resignation.

While speaking in a private TV channel programme, Nawaz said that the PML-N would not destabilise the system rather it wanted to strengthen it. He said not tabling the NRO in parliament was a good decision. Otherwise it would have brought a bad name to the assembly.

To a question, he said that the PML-N had already given its stance on the NRO. He added that the NRO had neither any future nor will it ever survive. He said that such issues need to be resolved wisely. Nawaz said that the PML-N has performed its national responsibility; however, the government must also resolve the issues of poverty and unemployment.

Similarly, he said that issues of minus and plus are highly regrettable. He said that the PML-N rejects the minus-one formula. He further said that it was up to the government to think about how to strengthen democracy.

To another question regarding the trial of Gen Musharraf, he said that his party’s stance was quite clear and the 17th Amendment must be abolished. He said that status quo is continuing despite Musharraf’s departure. He said if all these issues had been addressed from day one of the PPP government then such a situation would not have occurred.

No terror in India due to democracy, says Nawaz

Daily Times Monitor

LAHORE: Terrorism cannot prevail in India because of the strong democracy in that country, a private TV channel quoted former premier Nawaz Sharif as saying on Monday.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief said the democratic regimes in India had barred terrorism from the country. Nawaz said terrorism flourished in dictatorial regimes. To eradicate terrorism, he said, the door should be slammed shut on martial law forever.

He said the National Reconciliation Ordinance was still before the court and added that President Asif Zardari enjoyed immunity under the constitution and the courts would take note of that. Source
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Nawaz Sharif's morality and democracy in Pakistan

The PML-N adopted a highly moral disposition of not condoning corruption through the NRO and maintained that none of its leaders benefited from the NRO. However, the information available on November 12 showed that some PML-N members in Punjab benefitted from the NRO. On the same day the cases were discovered in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) record going back to the year 2000 that accused Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif of money laundering. Some PML-N leaders have described these charges as political victimisation by NAB. Hopefully, they would now view the NAB cases against the PPP leaders in the same manner.

Democracy and politicians —Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi

Both the government and the opposition are strong in verbal commitment to democracy but their political discourse and activities are not always helpful to democracy

The current domestic political situation does not promise a secure future for democracy in Pakistan. If anything, the people’s trust in the political institutions and leadership in power is fast eroding, increasing the space for manoeuvre for state-institutions and non-democratic forces.

Pakistan began the current democratic era with a lot of optimism for the future of democracy for understandable reasons. The relatively fair and free general elections in February 2008 brought forward two genuinely popular parties — the PPP and the PML-N. The regional political parties that acquired salience were willing to cooperate with the nationwide political parties.

Twenty months later, the optimism of the earlier days has waned and a large number of political observers are expressing doubts if the present political arrangements at the federal level can stay intact until the second anniversary. The Zardari-Gilani combine may find it extremely difficult to sustain itself without making drastic changes in personnel at the top and policy management.

These threats are not being posed by the Taliban and other extremist Islamic groups. It is ironic that the threat comes primarily from within the political class that is sharply polarised and different political parties and leaders cannot rise above their narrow partisan interests. Both the government and the opposition are strong in verbal commitment to democracy but their political discourse and activities are not always helpful to democracy. The PPP-led government wants to hold on to power on its terms for as long as possible and use state patronage to advance its partisan agenda. The opposition, especially the PML-N, cannot hide its desire to knock out President Asif Ali Zardari from the presidency and force mid-term elections on Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

The PML-N pursues its confrontation with the government in an election campaign style. The general pattern is to pick up a particular issue and launch a massive political offensive in a now-or-never style. The PML-N’s political discourse on the restoration of the Chief Justice after the PML-N Punjab government was replaced with governor’s rule was non-democratic and highly confrontational. Later, the issue of the trial of General Musharraf was taken up. This was replaced with the Kerry-Lugar bill and then the NRO. The opposition to the NRO was based on the hope that its abolition would revive corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari and reopen criminal proceedings against some MQM activists.

The PML-N adopted a highly moral disposition of not condoning corruption through the NRO and maintained that none of its leaders benefited from the NRO. However, the information available on November 12 showed that some PML-N members in Punjab benefitted from the NRO. On the same day the cases were discovered in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) record going back to the year 2000 that accused Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif of money laundering. Some PML-N leaders have described these charges as political victimisation by NAB. Hopefully, they would now view the NAB cases against the PPP leaders in the same manner.

The political leaders are unable to recognise that their never-ending effort to delegitimise each other undermines the political institutions and processes. The charges they often frame against each other are subsequently used by the military to exclude them from any role in politics.

Another development that adversely affects democracy is the tendency of the opposition to rely more on extra-parliamentary pressures and make only limited use of parliament. For example, the PML-N spearheaded the long march for the restoration of the chief justice but it did not move any resolution or adjournment motion in the National Assembly on this issue. Similarly, its members bitterly criticised the Kerry-Lugar bill (mostly outside parliament) but they never moved a resolution in the National Assembly condemning its provisions or rejecting it altogether.

The main constraint on the capacity of parliament to function as the supreme law-making body and the pivot of power is not necessarily the 17th amendment that enhanced the powers of the president. The constraints are political, which will continue to adversely affect the performance of parliament even if the powers of the president are reduced. The political leaders need to assign primacy to parliament in their political gaming. The National Assembly often faces a quorum problem; its meetings are brief and attendance poor. The National Assembly barely meets the constitutional requirement of minimum working days. The political parties rely more on extra-parliamentary measures, i.e. street protest, press conferences, political talk-shows on private sector television networks, etc, to advance their political agendas.

If the opposition role has not been helpful to democracy, the PPP and its allies have not shown much interest in strengthening the civilian institutions and processes. The political institutions and leaders have lost credibility with the people, mainly because of poor governance and the failure of the government to address their socio-economic problems.

The federal government’s poor management of the key policy issues like the restoration of the chief justice, the sugar crisis, the Kerry-Lugar bill, the NRO, gas load management and two weekly holidays shows that it suffers from poor policy making and management, failure to pre-empt a difficult situation, and a lack of consultation with the stakeholders for policy-making.

The presidency’s constant effort to dominate policymaking and management has exposed the presidency and made it vulnerable to criticism. President Zardari has become more controversial now than was the case when he contested the presidential elections in September 2008.

The presidency appears to rely on the advice of people who have a poor rapport and reputation inside and outside the PPP. The decisions on key issues are taken without paying much attention to the ground political realities. Consequently, the presidency had to backtrack on the restoration of the chief justice and other judges. It was completely out of touch with the domestic political realities when it agreed to the language of some provisions of the Kerry-Lugar bill in the pre-approval stage. The refusal of the coalition partners to support the NRO shows that the presidency did not consult them before sending it to the National Assembly. The unnecessary delay in amending the constitution in the context of the Charter of Democracy has done maximum damage to the credibility of the presidency.

The sugar crisis shows the inability of the presidency and the federal and provincial governments to force the mill owners to bring the sugar to market at a fixed price. The gas load management issue is another example of a self-created problem by not taking the relevant business quarters into confidence.

The opposition and the government need to mend their ways if they want democracy to become viable. Greater responsibility falls on the government, which needs to improve governance relating to the socio-economic problems of the people if it wants to retrieve its credibility at the popular level. The presidency needs to step back from its overstretched role and the prime minister needs to bridge the gap between official rhetoric and performance. The president and the prime minister need to replace some advisers/ministers with people who enjoy better credibility in the PPP and the opposition circles. The political status quo at the federal level has become non-viable.

Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi is a political and defence analyst. Source

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‘Sharifs used paper mill to whiten money’ - Ishaq Dar's confession

By Azaz Syed
Friday, 13 Nov, 2009
Dawn

Senator Ishaq Dar, while accusing Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif of money laundering, also implicated himself by confessing in the court that he had opened fake foreign currency accounts in different international banks.

ISLAMABAD: The Musharraf government prepared a money laundering reference against PML-N leaders Mian Nawaz Sharif and Mian Shahbaz Sharif in 2000 on the basis of a statement recorded by one of their trusted lieutenants, Senator Ishaq Dar, according to a court document seen by Dawn here on Thursday.

Senator Dar’s handwritten statement, given before a magistrate back on April 25, 2000, had alleged that Sharif brothers used the Hudaibya Paper Mills as cover for money laundering during the late 1990s.

The reference was prepared on the orders of then president Pervez Musharraf, but it was shelved after the Sharif brothers went into exile in December of the same year.

The Musharraf government tried to reopen the reference in 2007 after Nawaz Sharif announced his return to the country.

The confessional statement of Senator Ishaq Dar was recorded before a district magistrate in Lahore. He was brought to the court from a jail by Basharat Shahzad, who was then serving as assistant director in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

According to legal experts, the senator’s deposition was an `irrevocable statement’ as had been recorded under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

Senator Ishaq Dar has always been regarded as one of the closest aides of the Sharif family, and is now also a relative as his son is married to Nawaz Sharif’s younger daughter.

However, the NAB record clearly shows that back in 2000 he had agreed to give a written statement against the Sharifs about their alleged involvement in money laundering.

The top PML-N leaders had hit a rough patch by then as some of their lieutenants were busy developing a new political system for Gen Pervez Musharraf after his Oct 1999 military coup.

In the statement, Ishaq Dar accused Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif of money laundering in the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case.

At one point in the 43-page statement, Mr Dar said that on the instructions of Mian Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif, ‘I opened two foreign currency accounts in the name of Sikandara Masood Qazi and Talat Masood Qazi with the foreign currency funds provided by the Sharif family in the Bank of America by signing as Sikandara Masood Qazi and Talat Masood Qazi’.

He said that all instructions to the bank in the name of these two persons were signed by him under the orders of ‘original depositors’, namely Mian Nawaz Sharif and Mian Shahbaz Sharif.

‘The foreign currency accounts of Nuzhat Gohar and Kashif Masood Qazi were opened in Bank of America by Naeem Mehmood under my instructions (based on instructions of Sharifs) by signing the same as Nuzhat Gohar and Kashif Masood Qazi.’

The document shows Dar stated that besides these foreign currency accounts, a previously opened foreign currency account of Saeed Ahmed, a former director of First Hajvari Modaraba Co and close friend of Dar, and of Mussa Ghani, the nephew of Dar’s wife, were also used to deposit huge foreign currency funds provided by ‘the Sharif family’ to offer them as collateral to obtain different direct and indirect credit lines.

Senator Dar had disclosed that the Bank of America, Citibank, Atlas Investment Bank, Al Barka Bank and Al Towfeeq Investment Bank were used under the instructions of the Sharif family.

Interestingly enough, Ishaq Dar also implicated himself by confessing in court that he — along with his friends Kamal Qureshi and Naeem Mehmood — had opened fake foreign currency accounts in different international banks.

Mr Dar said an amount of $3.725 million in Emirates Bank, $ 8.539 million in Al Faysal Bank and $2.622 million were later transferred in the accounts of the accounts Hudaibya Paper Mills.

He said that the entire amount in these banks finally landed in the accounts of the paper mills.

The Hudaibiya Paper Mills case is still pending in the National Accountability Bureau.
If it is opened again, the Sharif brothers may be in for a rude shock: a confidant is to blame for the albatross around their necks.

In this regard Dawn made repeated efforts to contact Senator Dar on telephone, but without luck as his mobile number was switched off and he did not reply to text messages.

However, a PML-N spokesman Siddiq ul Farooq alleged that the signed statement was extracted from Mr Ishaq Dar under duress.


‘NAB report dents Nawaz Sharif’s stance on NRO’

LAHORE: Rashed Rahman, renowned analyst and Editor of the Daily Times, has said that the recent money laundering scandal of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif revealed in the documents of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has damaged the so-called moral stance of the Sharifs on the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

Talking to a private television channel, he said that no body had the moral high grounds amongst the political class of the Pakistan, as they were all involved in scandals including the Sharifs. Rahman said that PML-N leader Ishaq Dar had confessed to the money laundering of the Sharifs viz-a-viz the Hudabia Paper Mills case, saying he could not deny the confessional statement of Sharif’s confidant and accountant-en-chief, Ishaq Dar.

Rahman said the same statement of Ishaq Dar was lying with NAB since 2000, and wondered as to why this report had been suppressed for so long. (Daily Times)
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Good governance in Punjab? Chief secretary blamed for land grabbing

Punjab chief secretary blamed for land grabbing
The News, Thursday, November 12, 2009

ISLAMABAD: The Chief Secretary Punjab Javed Mahmood has blamed for land grabbing in district Qusoor.

In a media briefing in National Press Club here, Barrister Shahid Masood said chief secretary Punjab made changes in 160 years old record with the assistance of revenue department and the property case is under trial in the court.

He claimed that chief secretary did contempt of court by forcefully possessing the property with the help of police and government machinery despite stay order of the court.

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Sugar Fiasco

Posted by: Jarri Mirza
Guest blog by: Humza Ikram


The recent sugar fiasco shows the volatile civil administrative structure of our society. In terms of western capitalist economist point of view it’s a result of non-documented trade which exists in our trade culture and lack decision making in real time environment. But the even worse part of the story is our reaction to the problem.

A very bad trend has emerged in the society where whenever a problem occur in the country suddenly everyone becomes a Prophet and the television anchors becomes the chosen one who gets the revelation from God. And then race starts every anchors tries to prove his revelation is real and pure and other tries to prove his God is real and he doubts the others God’s actual existence. This happened in the series of event his happened in recent history.

Right from the Lal Masjid episode these TV anchors tried to outdo the others. And one anchor (Kamran Khan) did the unimaginable he tried to offer mediation between the cleric and government official. And thank to him we saw 24/7 reality television like no where in world. Same pattern can be observed in the event followed that like Lawyers movement, Brigader Imitiaz episode, High treason case against musharaf, minus one formula and even the administrative issues like Petrol development levy (PDL) issue and the recent sugar crises.

When some liberal writers and commentator used to advise them not to glorify Taliban; they termed them as a western agent like in the case of Prof. Pervez HoodBhoy and social commentator Nadeem Farooq Paracha. And I remember when BB raised her voice against lal masjid activities and showed her concern we saw round the clock television analyzes why BB is raising her voice from London on these innocent Muslim missionaries.

From these patterns you can conclude one thing and to describe that I want to Quote Colin Powell famous telephone call to Musharaf “either you are with us or against”. Same goes for these television anchors. These television anchors are authority on law, business, investment, security, defense, diplomacy you name it they know everything and trust me they do their home very well you can which can be seen in recent case of national embarrassment because of Talat Hussain’s stupid arguments with Hilary because of his incorrect stats . Thank God Zaid Hamid was not in the panel.

The even worse phenomena which is developing is the superior courts are also following the act of the media and respected judges are trying to become like chief economist of the country that can be seen with carbon surcharge case which was part of this budget and which also the only few unanimous budgets of our history like the year 2008-09. Which was later challenged by PML_N in the Supreme Court on the second thought after they voted for it the parliament days before that after they were humiliated by TV anchors of showing impotency while passing the budget? And Supreme Court judges acted like the chief economist of country.

Let us analyze the recent sugar crisis and the role of media, government and judiciary.

WEEK 1: TCP delayed the decision to import sugar to benefit some key politician.
Stance of media and which was later adopted by Punjab government: it’s the negligence of federal government what can we do.

WEEK 2: key politician are hoarding sugar. Punjab government responded quickly and started series of operation on mills and distributors .they received acclaimed from all over Pakistan and media teams even started to count the quantity of sugar collected by Punjab Government each day and one poor lady TV anchor even said in one of her program if Punjab government can confiscate four months of required sugar for Pakistan in a week whether we actually required to import sugar. Later news reports suggest PML-N MPA’s were storing sugar at the places and report of Sheikh Mumtaz Hashmi and his brother in law involved in hoarding 600 bags of sugar, story become instant hit at youtube and social networking sites like Facebook.

WEEK 3: Peshawar and Lahore High courts took suo mou moto action against hoarding.

WEEK 4: week four ended with all kinds of speculation what could be the court judgment.

WEEK 5: finally the wait was over the courts announced there decision.

Client features of court decision
• NWFP government should look into smugglings of sugar to Afghanistan. (this remarks actually negates the LHC remarks if Punjab government is failed to stop inter-provincial smuggling of sugar how could NWFP could stop smuggling of sugar to Afghanistan where price is huge as compare to Punjab TO NWFP and where NWFP does not have control over Tribal Areas since there is no provincial police.

• There was no actual shortage of sugar.
• LHC CJ khawaja sharif suggested to bring back nationalization of sugar mills if sugar mills , not actually confronting his argument but I want to remind him he was previously Attorney general of Zia in Punjab and his previous boss and mentor Zia use to say “Socialism is haram”.

• Most astonishing was the LHC out did the PHC they also calculated the price ex mill price of the sugar.


WEEK 6: Week six provide to be the contradiction of week 1 now all the brilliant TV commentators were convinced that there was no sugar shortage in the country and funny part is if they are now convinced that there is no sugar shortage why the media brigade humiliated Watoo?

WEEK 7: Sugar mill association went to Supreme Court because they felt court didn’t listen to them and announced the decision in haste.

Current situation sugar have reached from 47 to 100 at some please since the courts intervention which halted the normal market mechanism and actually give provided the environment for the opportunist for hoarding and to earn quick buck .and the million dollar question is where is all the sugar which Punjab government confiscated.

WEEK 9: from late decision of importing sugar to no sugar shortages we have reached the debate of good governance mixed with kerry lugar bill, NRO and other legislative issue to finally stage which can be described in article of Shaheen Shebai “have counted already started ?”To suggest Asif Ali Zardari’s days at presidency are over.”

In my opinion media did not bother to address the real problem they are actually running a campaign to show governments inability to run the state affairs. My suggestion we should once and for all have to decide whether we will remain hostage to their 24/7 campaign or try to understand things objectively.

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