Dev Cafe

Corruption Baromater: Supreme Court Commission fails to trace Loan Sharks

2014-10-09T10:19:00.001+05:00

Corruption Barometer: Supreme Court Commission fails to trace Loan Sharks

"Unknown" sharks swallowed over one trillion rupees under 'Write-Off' terms

ISLAMABAD:

Saeed Minhas

Islamabad: The Supreme Court’s appointed special commission has revealed chilling details of an evil nexuses between successive military and political governments and banking sector of the country from 1971 till 2009 whereby loans worth over a trillion rupees (1.153 trillion) stand eaten up by 22,000 high profile loan sharks which include politician-cum-businessmen, army and civilbureaucrats, industrialists and investors.

Interestingly , the voluminous report reveals all what has been eaten up by our national leaders and their henchmen from both side of the divide

According to three volumes of report, copy of which is available with The Spokesman, Rs. 438 billion have been written off straight away in 740 documented cases, and over Rs. 215 billion is pending solicitation with banking and High courts of the country. Sources privy to these developments hailing from banking and legal sectors revealed that another Rs. 500 billion stand vanished in the system because banks failed to find any record and commission failed to solicit any information for missing cases.

A steering committee comprising of presidents of National Bank, Habib Bank, United Bank, NIB Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank, formed by State Bank of Pakistan in 2009 on the directions of the Supreme court to help the commission revealed in its findings accepted that load of Rs. 256 billion of bad loans was lessened for banking books between 1971-2009.

banking experts believe that the written off loans could well exceed one trillion rupees and majority of the cases pending for over ten years will ultimately end up in the dark-holes soon. Multiple reasons cited in the report include lackluster approach of banks to get their loans back, collaborative approach of State Bank of Pakistan to check over invoicing of collaterals, procedures and controls besides heavy dependence of regulators and banks on political mood of the ruling elite.

Questioning the multiplicity of judicial system and banking courts, the Commission has revealed that more than eleven thousand cases are pending adjudication involving a whooping amount of over Rs. 215 billion for the past ten years or so. It reveals that about 6800 cases involving over Rs. 75 billion were initiated with the banking and High courts in the country only in 2008-09. “Enabling laws and better empowered banking courts are certainly need of the day,” commented the commission in its report. Castigating the policies and procedures of banks to divulge into such rip offs, Commission has observed: “it also transpired that accurate and fine-tuned policies and procedures were either not laid down or not efficiently followed.”

Careful reading of the report reveals that loan sharks have swelled in number from a mere 200 families in 1970s to 22,000 in 2009, about whom commission believes many are in politics or sitting in the assemblies. Commission’s report reveals that during 1971-96 (26 years) only 1424 ‘parties’ were facilitated by banks to get their loans worth Rs. 11.225 billion wiped out while during 1997-2009 (13 years) 22021 ‘parties’ managed to get the same facility from banking sector to get their loans worth Rs. 202 billion written off to make sure that they get back in the queue for another deal.

The amount involved is almost double the development portfolio of federal government while three times that of provincial governments. Yet the Commission has expressed surprise that all the banks have shown huge profits for their shareholders throughout this period for which the commission believes banks are playing with the average countrymen by luring them in deposit schemes without any security for their deposits and hard earned money.

The commission was given details of a total of 792 cases involving 912259 individuals and companies for examination by various national and international banks/DFIs operating with the permission of State bank of Pakistan. Another 1328 cases involving Rs. 157 billion were given merely as information to the commission for which no record was furnished. The commission failed to get access to all those write off loans which were waived off by various public sector and private banks after the privatization started during first tenure of Benazir Bhutto. The commission has revealed in its report that only during the first two years (2008-09) of current Peoples Party government various public sector and privatized banks waived off Rs. 74 billion loans. Incumbent Peoples Party regime is learned to have adjusted over eight thousand ‘big sharks’ to get more than Rs. 38 billion written off from various banks/DFIs while another four lakh small sharks were allowed to go scot free with Rs. 36 billion only in its initial two years in office. Interestingly, 49 per cent of these write-offs came from private sector banks while 40 per cent from the foreign banks operating in Pakistan and only 11 per cent from public sector banks/DFIs during 2008-09.

The commission in its detailed report has raised harrowing questions about the functioning and responsibilities of State bank of Pakistan by giving the dates that how SBP facilitated with various regimes starting from Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, to ZiaulHaq and from Benazir Bhutto to Nawaz Sharif and from Musharraf till now to let the loan bonanza flow unchecked. More importantly, experts believe that the commission has triggered a debate about the sovereignty of the State Bank of Pakistan and the privatization process through which various profitable banks and some sick industrial units were sold out in connivance with the banks.

The banks which tops of the list of benevolent for loan sharks include Habib Bank (218 cases for Rs. 31 Billion), National Bank of Pakistan (214 for Rs. 28 billion), IDBP (98Rs. 7 billion), ZTBL (45 for Rs. 7 billion), NIB (49 for Rs. 6.5 billion), UBL (31 for Rs. 3.2 billion), Pak Libya (14 for Rs. 1.15 billion), SME (9 for Rs. 0.32 billion), Saudi Pak (6 for Rs. 0.33 billion), Pak Kuwait (6 for Rs. 0.14 billion), Bank of Khyber (5 for Rs. 1.34 billion), Bank of Punjab (2 for Rs. 0.43 billion).

The Corporate and Industrial Restructuring Corporation (CIRC) created in 2000 was supposed to revive the sick industrial units under SBP instructions but instead started working as a debt discounting agency facilitating the influential borrowers to have bargain deals. During its six years of operations out of 248 cases where Rs. 57 billion was outstanding against the borrowers, it ended up writing off Rs 53 billion of it showing a recovery of just three billion in six years.

Ironically having done all the spade work, the commission seems to have backed the recommendations of technocrats and bankers by stating that “all the written off loans be treated as past and closed transactions and instead of looking backwards, better laws should be put in place to process the write-offs through courts. (page 92)”

ISIS emerges from ashes of buried Ottoman Empire?

2014-09-23T12:59:00.000+05:00

ISIS emerges from ashes of buried Ottoman Empire?

Ottoman empire collapsed around 1918, though it took another turbulent six years and young-turks revolution under Mustafa Kemal Pasha to formally pronounce the demise of caliphate (3rd March, 1924). But isn't it strange that almost century later, British-French orchestrated division of the empire resonates across the region of Gulf. Americans seem to have opened a Pandora Box which French and British tried to close with the help of Hashmities and Sauds towards the end of first world war.

Brief History of Ottoman Empire

Have Americans opened it just to redraw the geographical boundaries of Arabian peninsula or to push their arms sales (out of top 15 arms sales dealers in the world 10 are American, one British, one Italian, one Russian and a couple French with total arms sale touching US $ 395 billion in 2012) http://www.sipri.org/media/pressreleases/2014/top100_january2014? Another point of view is that are Americans doing this to ensure that the Europeans remain under their influence of power instead of slipping towards the rising Putin-Xi camp?

There are even more questions arising out of the ashes of history which Americans have sprung flying around all of us culminating in interesting scenarios and even more questions than answers.

From a Muslim stand point the question to watch out for is that Will Americans be able to contain this debris of history or let Saud family (the custodians of two holy places) face the torrent (also known as Arab Spring) which actually started from Lebanon in 1978 or as some say in 1947 when Israel was placed in the heart of Arab peninsula as a nation-state? Will these dictators and kings of un-naturally divided Ottoman empire be able to hop from super power to another to ensure their grip over the resources and general Arab populations (ruled supremely by tribes and clans and not by the British-French coined notion of nation-state)?

In this context the rise of Islamic Sultanate of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is an interesting phenomenon. On the face of it, rise of such an extremist force is claiming what once has been part of Ottoman Empire till first world war. But in reality, the notion has always been in the hearts and mind of general Arab population throughout these past decades. It also resembles in some ways with Afghan conundrum where artificially stalled and foreign supported puppet governments could not address the genuine needs and demands of the locals and eventually the gap between the rulers and ruled was filled by a lower-middle class power group by using the name and force of a religion (hence they were called Taliban).
No doubt these are Volatile, vulnerable and chaotic times, but like every rise has a fall we should consider finding some solace from Confucius who puts it this way (perhaps for the entire human race and not only for rulers): "our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
Below is an interesting read in this regard to understand the background of Syria, Iraq and rest of the region and to some extent it also gives you an idea about the rise of ISIS. Happy reading

Iraq and Syria Follow Lebanon's Precedent

Geopolitical Weekly

Tuesday, August 26, 2014 -

By George Friedman

Lebanon was created out of the Sykes-Picot Agreement. This agreement between Britain and France reshaped the collapsed Ottoman Empire south of Turkey into the states we know today -- Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, and to some extent the Arabian Peninsula as well. For nearly 100 years, Sykes-Picot defined the region. A strong case can be made that the nation-states Sykes-Picot created are now defunct, and that what is occurring in Syria and Iraq represents the emergence of post-British/French maps that will replace those the United States has been trying to maintain since the collapse of Franco-British power.

The Invention of Middle East Nation-States

Sykes-Picot, named for French diplomat Francois Georges-Picot and his British counterpart, Sir Mark Sykes, did two things. First, it created a British-dominated Iraq. Second, it divided the Ottoman province of Syria on a line from the Mediterranean Sea east through Mount Hermon. Everything north of this line was French. Everything south of this line was British. The French, who had been involved in the Levant since the 19th century, had allies among the region's Christians. They carved out part of Syria and created a country for them. Lacking a better name, they called it Lebanon, after the nearby mountain of the same name.
The British named the area to the west of the Jordan River after the Ottoman administrative district of Filistina, which turned into Palestine on the English tongue. However, the British had a problem. During World War I, while the British were fighting the Ottoman Turks, they had allied with a number of Arabian tribes seeking to expel the Turks. Two major tribes, hostile to each other, were the major British allies. The British had promised postwar power to both. It gave the victorious Sauds the right to rule Arabia -- hence Saudi Arabia. The other tribe, the Hashemites, had already been given the newly invented Iraqi monarchy and, outside of Arabia, a narrow strip of arable ground to the east of the Jordan River. For lack of a better name, it was called Trans-Jordan, or the other side of the Jordan. In due course the "trans" was dropped and it became Jordan.
And thus, along with Syria, five entities were created between the Mediterranean and Tigris, and between Turkey and the new nation of Saudi Arabia. This five became six after the United Nations voted to create Israel in 1947. The Sykes-Picot agreement suited European models and gave the Europeans a framework for managing the region that conformed to European administrative principles. The most important interest, the oil in Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula, was protected from the upheaval in their periphery as Turkey and Persia were undergoing upheaval. This gave the Europeans what they wanted.
What it did not do was create a framework that made a great deal of sense to the Arabs living in this region. The European model of individual rights expressed to the nation-states did not fit their cultural model. For the Arabs, the family -- not the individual -- was the fundamental unit of society. Families belonged to clans and clans to tribes, not nations. The Europeans used the concept of the nation-state to express divisions between "us" and "them." To the Arabs, this was an alien framework, which to this day still competes with religious and tribal identities.
The states the Europeans created were arbitrary, the inhabitants did not give their primary loyalty to them, and the tensions within states always went over the border to neighboring states. The British and French imposed ruling structures before the war, and then a wave of coups overthrew them after World War II. Syria and Iraq became pro-Soviet states while Israel, Jordan and the Arabians became pro-American, and monarchies and dictatorships ruled over most of the Arab countries. These authoritarian regimes held the countries together.

Reality Overcomes Cartography

It was Lebanon that came apart first. Lebanon was a pure invention carved out of Syria. As long as the Christians for whom Paris created Lebanon remained the dominant group, it worked, although the Christians themselves were divided into warring clans. But after World War II, the demographics changed, and the Shiite population increased. Compounding this was the movement of Palestinians into Lebanon in 1948. Lebanon thus became a container for competing clans. Although the clans were of different religions, this did not define the situation. Multiple clans in many of these religious groupings fought each other and allied with other religions.
Moreover, Lebanon's issues were not confined to Lebanon. The line dividing Lebanon from Syria was an arbitrary boundary drawn by the French. Syria and Lebanon were not one country, but the newly created Lebanon was not one country, either. In 1976 Syria -- or more precisely, the Alawite dictatorship in Damascus -- invaded Lebanon. Its intent was to destroy the Palestinians, and their main ally was a Christian clan. The Syrian invasion set off a civil war that was already flaring up and that lasted until 1990.
Lebanon was divided into various areas controlled by various clans. The clans evolved. The dominant Shiite clan was built around Nabi Berri. Later, Iran sponsored another faction, Hezbollah. Each religious faction had multiple clans, and within the clans there were multiple competitors for power. From the outside it appeared to be strictly a religious war, but that was an incomplete view. It was a competition among clans for money, security, revenge and power. And religion played a role, but alliances crossed religious lines frequently.
The state became far less powerful than the clans. Beirut, the capital, became a battleground for the clans. The Israelis invaded in order to crush the Palestinian Liberation Organization, with Syria's blessing, and at one point the United States intervened, partly to block the Israelis. When Hezbollah blew up the Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, killing hundreds of Marines, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, realizing the amount of power it would take to even try to stabilize Lebanon, withdrew all troops. He determined that the fate of Lebanon was not a fundamental U.S. interest, even if there was a Cold War under way.
The complexity of Lebanon goes far beyond this description, and the external meddling from Israel, Syria, Iran and the United States is even more complicated. The point is that the clans became the reality of Lebanon, and the Lebanese government became irrelevant. An agreement was reached between the factions and their patrons in 1989 that ended the internal fighting -- for the most part -- and strengthened the state. But in the end, the state existed at the forbearance of the clans. The map may show a nation, but it is really a country of microscopic clans engaged in a microscopic geopolitical struggle for security and power. Lebanon remains a country in which the warlords have become national politicians, but there is little doubt that their power comes from being warlords and that, under pressure, the clans will reassert themselves.

Syria's Geographic Challenge

Repeats in Syria and Iraq

A similar process has taken place in Syria. The arbitrary nation-state has become a region of competing clans. The Alawite clan, led by Bashar al Assad (who has played the roles of warlord and president), had ruled the country. An uprising supported by various countries threw the Alawites into retreat. The insurgents were also divided along multiple lines. Now, Syria resembles Lebanon. There is one large clan, but it cannot destroy the smaller ones, and the smaller ones cannot destroy the large clan. There is a permanent stalemate, and even if the Alawites are destroyed, their enemies are so divided that it is difficult to see how Syria can go back to being a country, except as a historical curiosity. Countries like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the United States might support various clans, but in the end, the clans survive.
Something very similar happened in Iraq. As the Americans departed, the government that was created was dominated by Shia, who were fragmented. To a great degree, the government excluded the Sunnis, who saw themselves in danger of marginalization. The Sunnis consisted of various tribes and clans (some containing Shiites) and politico-religious movements like the Islamic State. They rose up in alliance and have now left Baghdad floundering, the Iraqi army seeking balance and the Kurds scrambling to secure their territory.
It is a three-way war, but in some ways it is a three-way war with more than 20 clans involved in temporary alliances. No one group is strong enough to destroy the others on the broader level. Sunni, Shiite and Kurd have their own territories. On the level of the tribes and clans, some could be destroyed, but the most likely outcome is what happened in Lebanon: the permanent power of the sub-national groups, with perhaps some agreement later on that creates a state in which power stays with the smaller groups, because that is where loyalty lies.
The boundary between Lebanon and Syria was always uncertain. The border between Syria and Iraq is now equally uncertain. But then these borders were never native to the region. The Europeans imposed them for European reasons. Therefore, the idea of maintaining a united Iraq misses the point. There was never a united Iraq -- only the illusion of one created by invented kings and self-appointed dictators. The war does not have to continue, but as in Lebanon, it will take the exhaustion of the clans and factions to negotiate an end.
The idea that Shia, Sunnis and Kurds can live together is not a fantasy. The fantasy is that the United States has the power or interest to re-create a Franco-British invention crafted out of the debris of the Ottoman Empire. Moreover, even if it had an interest, it is doubtful that the United States has the power to pacify Iraq and Syria. It could not impose calm in Lebanon. The triumph of the Islamic State would represent a serious problem for the United States, but no more than it would for the Shia, Kurds and other Sunnis. As in Lebanon, the multiplicity of factions creates a countervailing force that cripples those who reach too far.
There are two issues here. The first is how far the disintegration of nation-states will go in the Arab world. It seems to be under way in Libya, but it has not yet taken root elsewhere. It may be a political formation in the Sykes-Picot areas. Watching the Saudi peninsula will be most interesting. But the second issue is what regional powers will do about this process. Turkey, Iran, Israel and the Saudis cannot be comfortable with either this degree of fragmentation or the spread of more exotic groups. The rise of a Kurdish clan in Iraq would send tremors to the Turks and Iranians.
The historical precedent, of course, would be the rise of a new Ottoman attitude in Turkey that would inspire the Turks to move south and impose an acceptable order on the region. It is hard to see how Turkey would have the power to do this, plus if it created unity among the Arabs it would likely be because the memories of Turkish occupation still sting the Arab mind.
All of this aside, the point is that it is time to stop thinking about stabilizing Syria and Iraq and start thinking of a new dynamic outside of the artificial states that no longer function. To do this, we need to go back to Lebanon, the first state that disintegrated and the first place where clans took control of their own destiny because they had to. We are seeing the Lebanese model spread eastward. It will be interesting to see where else its spreads.

Will Judiciary proceed against Holy Cows of Pakistan?

2014-09-22T12:49:00.001+05:00

Will Judiciary Proceed against Holy Cows of Pakistan?

Court to probe 61 Pakistani Politicians including Nawaz, Shahbaz, Zardari, Imran for transferring wealth abroad

Saeed Minhas

Islamabad: Developments and twists are not unknown to Pakistani politics. The latest one in line is a simmering case under review at Lahore High Court to probe the alleged flight of money from Pakistan by none other than the top notch politicians of the country by industrialist turned politician and sitting prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, his younger brother and chief minister Punjab , Shahbaz Sharif, former President of Pakistan and co-chairperson of Peoples Party, Asif Zardari and chief of Pakistan Tehrik Insaaf (PTI), Imran Khan.

Will a judiciary known for having a history of siding with the powerful (to allow itself to be overlooked for its internal weaknesses and corruption), be able to rise above its dirty past? More importantly the politically infested institutes like Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Auditor General of Pakistan, Federal Board of Revenue and other such institutes be allowed to extend the details to the court or continue to play in tandem with corrupt political bosses (to help themselves to promotions and corruption)?

Interestingly, this is first attempt at asking such high profile politicians to disclose their foreign assets but till to date no such attempts have been made to force the powerful and politically aligned federal and provincial bureaucracy (babucracy) of this country or for that matter the serving or retired Generals of Pakistan's army or serving and retired judges of the lower and higher judiciary of the country to disclose their foreign assets or foreign (dual) nationalities.

But if this case against politicians is proceeded further by the judiciary, lets hope that one day other holy cows will be challenged as well. But mind you with this judiciary reeling under its own heaps of corruption and nepotism, the chances are slim but enough for patriots like us to hang on to and wish for the proceedings to go on. (Saeed Minhas)

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday decided to start ex parte proceedings against 61 politicians in relation to a case against alleged illegal transfer of assets to foreign countries.

Justice Ameenuddin made the call during the hearing of a petition filed by Advocate Javed Iqbal Jafree which said that prominent politicians including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, PTI chairman Imran Khan and former president Asif Ali Zardari had transferred their assets to foreign countries via illegal means.

The petition had requested the court to issue orders to bring the allegedly illegally transferred assets back to Pakistan.

The order disables the politicians who failed to submit their affidavits in response to the court's directive to declare their assets from defending themselves and will affect high profile politicians including the premier, the Punjab chief minister, Imran as well as PPP’s co-chairperson Zardari.

Earlier on September 2, only three out of the 64 initially directed had filed affidavits in this regard. These included Senator Aitzaz Ahsan, his wife Bushra Aitzaz and former chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Qamar Zaman Chaudhry.

Know more: Foreign assets case: LHC issues notices to politicians

However, during today’s hearing, Advocate Jafree pointed out that Mr and Mrs Ahsan and the former NAB chairman had not submitted any details on the foreign assets they had in possession, following which the court ordered the three to file details of their foreign assets by the next hearing.

The court decided to begin ex parte proceedings against the politicians who had not submitted their assets' details and ordered Director General Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) Ghalib Ali Bandesha, Punjab Advocate General Hanif Khatana and Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt to submit an affidavit declaring details of the investigation that has taken place into the case so far.

The case was subsequently adjourned to September 29.

Earlier in June, the LHC had issued notices to politicians, including the prime minister, on a petition seeking directions for the politicians to bring their foreign assets back to Pakistan.

The Origins and Implications of the Scottish Referendum

2014-09-16T17:59:00.001+05:00

The Origins and Implications of the Scottish Referendum

Geopolitical Weekly

Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - 03:01

Stratfor

By George Friedman

The idea of Scottish independence has
moved from the implausible to the very possible. Whether or not it
actually happens, the idea that the union of England and Scotland, which
has existed for more than 300 years, could be dissolved has enormous
implications in its own right, and significant implications for Europe
and even for global stability.

The United Kingdom
was the center of gravity of the international system from the end of
the Napoleonic Wars until World War II. It crafted an imperial structure
that shaped not only the international system but also the internal
political order of countries as diverse as the United States and India.
The United Kingdom devised and drove the Industrial Revolution. In many
ways, this union was a pivot of world history. To realize it might be
dissolved is startling and reveals important things about the direction
of the world.

Scotland and England are historical enemies. Their sense of competing
nationhoods stretches back centuries, and their occupation of the same
island has caused them to fight many wars. Historically they have
distrusted each other, and each has given the other good reason for the
distrust. The national question was intertwined with dynastic struggles
and attempts at union imposed either through conquest or dynastic
intrigue. The British were deeply concerned that foreign powers,
particularly France, would use Scotland as a base for attacking England.
The Scots were afraid that the English desire to prevent this would
result in the exploitation of Scotland by England, and perhaps the
extinction of the Scottish nation.

The Union of 1707 was the result of acts of parliaments on both sides
and led to the creation of the Parliament of Great Britain. England's
motive was its old geopolitical fears. Scotland was driven more by
financial problems it was unable to solve by itself. What was created
was a united island, acting as a single nation. From an outsider's
perspective, Scotland and England were charming variations on a single
national theme -- the British -- and it was not necessary to consider
them as two nations. If there was ever a national distinction that one
would have expected to be extinguished in other than cultural terms, it
was this one. Now we learn that it is intact. We need a deeper
intellectual framework for understanding why Scottish nationalism has
persisted.

The Principle of National Self-Determination

The French Enlightenment and subsequent revolution had elevated the
nation to the moral center of the world. It was a rebellion against the
transnational dynasties and fragments of nations that had governed much
of Europe. The Enlightenment saw the nation, which it defined in terms
of shared language, culture and history, as having an inherent right to
self-determination and as the framework for the republican democracies
it argued were the morally correct form of government.

After the French Revolution, some nations, such as Germany and Italy,
united into nation-states. After World War I, when the Hapsburg,
Hohenzollern, Romanov and Ottoman empires all collapsed, a wave of
devolution took place in Europe. The empires devolved into their
national components. Some were amalgamated into one larger nation, such
as Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia, while others, such as Poland, were
single nation-states. Some had republican democracies, others had
variations on the theme, and others were dictatorships. A second major
wave of devolution occurred in 1992, when the Soviet Union collapsed and
its constituent republics became independent nation-states.

The doctrine of the right to national self-determination drove the
first wave of revolts against European imperialism in the Western
Hemisphere, creating republics in the Americas. The second wave of
colonial rising and European withdrawal occurred after World War II. In
some cases, nations became self-determining. In other cases,
nation-states simply were invented without corresponding to any nation
and actually dividing many. In other cases, there were nations, but
republican democracy was never instituted except by pretense. A French
thinker, Francois de La Rochefoucauld, said, "Hypocrisy is the tribute
that vice pays to virtue." Even while betraying its principles, the
entire world could not resist the compulsion to embrace the principles
of national self-determination through republican democracy. This
effectively was codified as the global gold standard of national
morality in the charters of the League of Nations and then the United
Nations.

Click to Enlarge

The Imperfection of the Nation-State

The incredible power of the nation-state as a moral principle and
right could be only imperfectly imposed. No nation was pure. Each had
fragments and minorities of other nations. In many cases, they lived
with each other. In other cases, the majority tried to expel or even
destroy the minority nation. In yet other cases, the minority demanded
independence and the right to form its own nation-state. These conflicts
were not only internal; they also caused external conflict over the
right of a particular nation to exist or over the precise borders
separating the nations.

Europe in particular tore itself apart in wars between 1914 and 1945
over issues related to the rights of nation-states, with the idea of the
nation-state being taken to its reductio ad absurdum -- by the Germans
as a prime example. After the war, a principle emerged in Europe that
the borders as they stood, however imperfect, were not to be challenged.
The goal was to abolish one of the primary causes of war in Europe.

The doctrine was imperfectly applied. The collapse of the Soviet
Union abolished one set of borders, turning internal frontiers into
external borders. The Yugoslavian civil war turned into an international
war once Yugoslavia ceased to exist, and into civil wars within
nation-states such as Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia. At the same time, the
borders in the Caucasus were redrawn when newly independent Armenia
seized what had been part of Azerbaijan. And in an act that flew in the
face of the principle, NATO countries divided Serbia into two parts: an
Albanian part called Kosovo and the rest of Serbia.

The point of all this is to understand that the right to national
self-determination comes from deep within European principles and that
it has been pursued with an intensity and even viciousness that has torn
Europe apart and redrawn its borders. One of the reasons that the
European Union exists is to formally abolish these wars of national
self-determination by attempting to create a framework that both
protects and trivializes the nation-state.

Scotland's Case

The possibility of Scottish independence must be understood in this context. Nationalism, the remembrance and love of history and culture,
is not a trivial thing. It has driven Europe and even the world for
more than two centuries in ever-increasing waves. The upcoming Scottish
election, whichever way it goes, demonstrates the enormous power of the
desire for national self-determination. If it can corrode the British
union, it can corrode anything.

There are those who argue that Scottish independence could lead to
economic problems or complicate the management of national defense.
These are not trivial questions, but they are not what is at stake here.
From an economic point of view, it makes no sense for Scotland to
undergo this sort of turmoil. At best, the economic benefits are
uncertain. But this is why any theory of human behavior that assumes
that the singular purpose of humans is to maximize economic benefits is
wrong. Humans have other motivations that are incomprehensible to the
economic model but can be empirically demonstrated to be powerful. If
this referendum succeeds, it will still show that after more than 300
years, almost half of Scots prefer economic uncertainty to union with a
foreign nation.

This is something that must be considered carefully in a continent
that is prone to extreme conflicts and still full of borders that do not
map to nations as they are understood historically. Catalonia, whose
capital is Barcelona, the second-largest and most vibrant city in Spain,
has a significant independence movement.
The Treaty of Trianon divided Hungary so that some Hungarians live in
Romania, while others live in Slovakia. Belgium consists of French and
Dutch groups (Walloons and Fleming), and it is not too extreme to say
they detest each other. The eastern half of Poland was seized by the
Soviet Union and is now part of Ukraine and Belarus. Many Chechens and
Dagestanis want to secede from Russia, as do Karelians, who see
themselves as Finns. There is a movement in northern Italy to separate
its wealthy cities from the rest of Italy. The war between Azerbaijan
and Armenia is far from settled. Myriad other examples can be found in Europe alone.

The right to national self-determination is not simply about the
nation governing itself but also about the right of the nation to occupy
its traditional geography. And since historical memories of geography
vary, the possibility of conflict grows. Consider Ireland: After its
fight for independence from England and then Britain, the right to
Northern Ireland, whose national identity depended on whose memory was
viewing it, resulted in bloody warfare for decades.

Scottish independence would transform British history. All of the
attempts at minimizing its significance miss the point. It would mean
that the British island would be divided into two nation-states, and
however warm the feelings now, they were not warm in the past nor can we
be sure that they will be warm in the future. England will be
vulnerable in ways that it hasn't been for three centuries. And Scotland
will have to determine its future. The tough part of national
self-determination is the need to make decisions and live with them.

This is not an argument for or against Scottish nationhood. It is
simply drawing attention to the enormous power of nationalism in Europe
in particular, and in countries colonized by Europeans. Even Scotland
remembers what it once was, and many -- perhaps a majority and perhaps a
large minority -- long for its return. But the idea that Scotland
recalls its past and wants to resurrect it is a stunning testimony less
to Scottish history than to the Enlightenment's turning national rights
into a moral imperative that cannot be suppressed.

More important, perhaps, is that although Yugoslavia and the Soviet
collapse were not seen as precedents for the rest of Europe, Scotland
would be seen that way. No one can deny that Britain is an entity of
singular importance. If that can melt away, what is certain? At a time
when the European Union's economic crisis
is intense, challenging European institutions and principles, the
dissolution of the British union would legitimize national claims that
have been buried for decades.

But then we have to remember that Scotland was buried in Britain for
centuries and has resurrected itself. This raises the question of how
confident any of us can be that national claims buried for only decades
are settled. I have no idea how the Scottish will vote. What strikes me
as overwhelmingly important is that the future of Britain is now on the
table, and there is a serious possibility that it will cease to be in
the way it was. Nationalism has a tendency to move to its logical
conclusion, so I put little stock in the moderate assurances of the
Scottish nationalists. Nor do I find the arguments against secession
based on tax receipts or banks' movements compelling. For centuries,
nationalism has trumped economic issues. The model of economic man may
be an ideal to some, but it is empirically false. People are interested
in economic well-being, but not at the exclusion of all else. In this
case, it does not clearly outweigh the right of the Scottish nation to
national-self determination.

I think that however the vote goes, unless the nationalists are
surprised by an overwhelming defeat, the genie is out of the bottle, and
not merely in Britain. The referendum will re-legitimize questions that
have caused much strife throughout the European continent for
centuries, including the 31-year war of the 20th century that left 80
million dead.

Power Without Responsibility

2014-05-22T15:47:00.000+05:00

Power without Responsibility

Media is often considered fourth pillar of a state. It is commonly believed that it has to work as a watchdog for all those vulnerable and marginalised communities whom every state is constitutionally and morally responsible to listen to, cater to and help them live a decent life. But is that happening? The resounding NO we can hear from the communities is a cause of, both, concern and action. When a watchdog gets compromised, especially the one who has become trigger happy and part of daily life of people, the concern is genuine and needs our immediate and focused attention.

Training, capacity buildings, policy dialogues and what not has been used in the recent years to bring the media towards its stated role of educate, inform, entertain and build opinions independently of any influence. But the fact remains that commercially driven media houses are more interested in doing all these things to build opinions for their own ends. Result is we can see pro-this and pro-that kind of media hence the status quo remains intact.

There is no denying the fact that visual impact is having far more impact on its viewers than the print world or even the airwaves of radio used to have. Blog sphere has also emerged in the recent past to counter the influence of visual masters (TV Houses) but its limitation in developing or under developed countries is not having as huge an impact as is needed to counter the visual impact of TV and media houses. Available ICT platforms like Vimeo, Youtube, Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and what not are there but still the TV's agenda setting role controls the public sphere.

Obviously, someone has to fill the empty public sphere and media with a Mic is doing that. So whats the fuss all about? That's the question, I often hear when i try to explain the agenda setting role of media houses in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Kenya and other countries like these developing democracies.

As I have mentioned the watchdog's concept above, just imagine that when the watchdog can be bought by the powerful elite to ensure that status quo of power remains tilted towards them. Be it budget formation, education, access to information, health or other fundamental rights of the people, it should be given a spin to ensure that public sphere should remain cloudy, dusty and dirty to let the ruling elite continue with corruption and incompetence.

Now what can we do, we need to develop platforms where public sphere can be snatched back from aides and abettors of power elites so that real people can develop a trust within themselves and their communities that "YES They will be heard, noticed and their voices will bring a change."

How we can do that needs a vision, a mission and a passion. Of course we can do it and believe me it will be such a contributing factor which may not earn anything for any organisation but credibility, enabling environment for all our aims and goals and a room where ultimately the policy makers will refer to for amending their practices, policies and power relationship with real people/communities.

Agenda Setting Public Sphere Media Communities Inequality Power elites Education Health Fundamental Rights

Historical and Mystical lands of Indus Valley

2013-09-11T14:47:00.002+05:00

Historical and Mystical lands of Indus Valley

Huge tracts of lands with hardly anyone to come across gives you the impression that you have entered a deserted province as soon as you venture outside the hustling and bustling port city of Karachi towards interior of Sindh. It was my first trip to interior of Sindh after the devastating floods of 2010 and 2011. Though it was not related to floods or DRR anymore rather it was about a project funded by EU and manned by Oxfam Novib (ON) with the help of two local partners (IRC & RDF) and one international partner (BFW). Since the project is unique in the sense that it was neither half cooked nor is it one way traffic like many others I have come across in recent past. That’s why it attracted my most attention and the feeling was awesome because it was aimed at really empowering the youth and craftswomen of a province which seems to have invested so heavily in its few urban centers while completely ignoring the teeming youth and female artisans.

Anyway before giving you more details about the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) project and its EQUATE component, let me narrate you a bit about the land, its people, its crafts and all the fairytales attached to this land known by names like Valley of Mehran, Indus Valley, citadel of Indus civilization and most recently Sindhu desh.
But just like history of Sindh—dating as far back as to 3000BC—which has changed like the constantly patterns of shifting sands, the bumpy but continuous National Highway takes you through various topographies, historical places of archival value, remains of the oldest civilization, mystical Goths (villages), stand-out shrines. But it’s not a journey for a weak hearted because every inch of this great land you will have to come across staggering poverty. Since the life source of this entire valley, River Indus had swelled out of its banks in many parts of interior Sindh, therefore, finding submerged houses rather entire muddy villages, and hunger-stricken young and old souls looking at you with a searching blinking eyes as if you have come to tell them some good news or some good place to get some food, shelter or fodder for their remaining cattle. And if by any chance you have read some writers like Al Beruni (Kitabul Hind)--a Persian historian--you just cannot resist the feeling that you are passing through the citadel of many glorious rajas, maharajas, Sufis, mystic folklores, and of course the mighty Indus.
Especially while passing through the barren lands laid down like a patterned carpet on both side of the snaky National Highway en-route to Hyderabad, it’s hard not to recall to mind Kitabul Hind in which Beruni has described not only the civilizations of Mehran Valley (also known as Indus Valley) but has given detailed description of the land, its people, their living standards and great rulers who controlled it since 3000 BC. It http://www.equatepak.org/index.php/blog/32-historical-and-mystical-lands-of-indus-valleyis not very often that you have to re-live the history by being there where once Turks,Pashtuns, Mughals. Habbari, Soomra, Samma, Arghun and Baloch dynasties ruled. Amidst all this how can we all ignore the Abbasyid and Ummayid taking over the reign of this great land to establish their Islamic sultanate and control its rich resources and diversified population towards middle of eighth century? Though in our school days, we did not come across that face of Sindh’s history as all we were taught to memorize by heart at the mat-schools of Kashmir and then in Punjab that Sindh’s history starts with the landing of Mohammad Bin Qasim in 712 when he came to end the miseries of the hapless people only after hearing the cry of a virgin lady who was supposedly kidnapped by the local Hindu Raja. Without going into the merits and demerits of such a lopsided curriculum or educationists, what I recalled to my mind while passing by (and stopping for a while as well) the shrines of great Sufi revolutionist Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Sachal Sarmast or even Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and Jhulay Lal. Indepenent historians have recorded a huge influx of all these legendary figures into Sindh soon after Abbasyids captured Sindh in their quest for more power and more resources.
--To be continued--

When the Watchdog becomes a Dog: The UN Strain from The Economist

2013-07-16T03:40:00.000+05:00

Cholera in Haiti

The UN strain

ON JULY 5th the United Nations refused, again, to countenance the claims of 5,000 cholera-affected Haitians against it. The Haitians contend that grossly inadequate sanitation at a UN peacekeeping base introduced and spread the disease through the country’s waterways. The great weight of scientific evidence is on their side. The claimants seek millions of dollars in damages, installation of a sanitation network, and an apology.
In a letter to members of the United States Congress who had urged the UN to take responsibility for the cholera outbreak, Ban Ki Moon, the UN's secretary-general, reiterated that the UN’s legal office has decided the claims are “not receivable” because of the UN’s privileges and immunities. The UN has offered little insight into its reasoning, except that consideration of the claims would involve a review of “political and policy matters”. That statement has only raised more questions, including whether “dumping disease-laden waste water in rivers is UN policy,” as a reporter asked at a press briefing last week.
Critics argue that the UN’s stance is tantamount to claiming impunity—that the UN, an organisation whose mission involves promoting the rule of law, is putting itself above it. The Haitians’ lawyers now plan to sue the UN in Haitian and United States courts. If a court decides to hear the claims, the case could have far-reaching implications for peacekeeping practices around the world.
The disease was not documented in Haiti until October 2010, and even as the first perilously dehydrated patients arrived at hastily assembled clinics, reporters discovered filthy conditions at a nearby UN peacekeeping base. From broken pipes and waste pits, sewage trickled and sometimes flowed into a tributary of one of Haiti’s major rivers. Since then, many scientific studies have provided strong support for the hypothesis that Haiti’s cholera strain came from Nepal. (The latest is a DNA sequencing study, published in July, which traced Haiti’s cholera strain to Nepal.) A Nepali contingent of officers staffed the peacekeeping base at the time of the outbreak
The bacterium, meanwhile, has killed nearly 8,200 Haitians and made unwell close to 665,000, about 7% of the population. Waterborne diseases spread fast in Haiti because the country lacks proper sewerage. The rainy season is especially problematic, and although Tropical Storm Chantal did not make a direct hit on Haiti last week, the additional rain will probably cause cholera cases to spike.
The UN has staunchly refused to entertain the cholera claims in any venue. Its letter to the claimants’ lawyers eschewed their proposals to meet, engage a mediator, or establish an alternative venue to hear the complaints. Whereas Mr Ban’s letter to congressmen said that “the majority of [the] recommendations” made by a UN panel of experts to avoid future epidemics were being implemented, a report by a United States-based non-proft group in May found that five of the seven recommendations were only partially implemented, or not at all. And although the UN launched an initiative to fight cholera in Haiti in January 2012, the programme is already falling short: Mr Ban's letter stated that pledges for the cholera initiated amounted to $207m, $31m less than the UN said would be available last December. It is another failure that by now will hardly surprise the people of Haiti.
Correction: This post originally stated that the $207m the UN had raised in pledges for cholera in Haiti was $31m less than was required. In fact, $207m is $31m less than the UN said would be available last December. This was corrected on July 15th.

Guddi Baji , Makhdooms squabbling over Ephedrine share

2013-07-07T11:02:00.001+05:00

Guddi Baji, Makhdooms squabbling over Ephedrine share

Guddi Baji , Makhdooms squabbling over Ephedrine share

M RAYYAN AHMED

RAWALPINDI: Long arm of the law seems to move at a snail’s pace when it comes to elitist ruling families of the country but it moves like a bullet train for the ordinary man even of their life and death matter is at stake and one such example in this regard is the seven billion rupees Ephedrine case which involved a convicted former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and power thirsty Makhdooms Shahbuddin and of course their families. ANF court on Saturday issued an order to both the Gilanis’ and Makhdooms to submit in writing details of their assets and the sources of income to justify those assets. Both the families are custodians of shrines belonging to their revered forefathers since British raj days thus holding huge tracts of lands in Multan and Rahim Yar Khan respectively. We have recently seen Makhdoom of Hala Sharif; Amin Fahim coming out of the insurance company scam stating innocently that he did not know how millions of rupees ended up in his wife and his accounts while dealing with the NICL issue during his days in ministry. But the issue here is not licensing like Amin Fahim had to deal with but issue here is issuance of 9500kgs of precious drug like Ephedrine, which is primarily used as a Chinese herb for treatment of shortness of breath and increasing the ﬂow of blood in various organs of the body. According to the details so far revealed in the court by two of the approvers, out of 17 accused in this case, 2500kgs were issued on verbal orders of Makhdoom Shahbuddin while the rest has been manipulated by Guddi Baji and his sons by using the inﬂuence of her husband who happened to be the prime minister of the country. The excessive quotas, in violation of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) were issued around 2010. But Anti Narcotics Force (ANF) did not raise any eyebrow on this violation of
the book until they were reminded by the higher judiciary to ﬁnd out that how huge quotas were issued to two companies? The companies involved, as per the prime witnesses, are Danas Pharmaceutical and Berlex Lab International. Both are learnt to have not only strong Multan connection but had moved through the good private offices of Guddi Baji where her two sons Musa Gilani and Qadir Gilani--the later being also the son in law of Pir of Pagaro Sharif-- were operating as facilitators for such ﬁnancers. Guddi Baji is the pet name of Fauzia Gilani because most of the socialite and business circles used to revere by calling her by this name instead of taking her real name, informed many witnesses who has seen the private galore of the Baji in her hey days, while living in Hussnain Construct Companies donated houses of Lahore, their ancestral houses and newly built villas in Multan or in the hilly serene atmospheres of Capital. But the buck does not seem to be
stopping here. Lately, our entrenched sources conﬁrmed that Makhdooms' and Gilanis’ have developed some differences over the share of the alleged loot supposedly dumped upon them by the ANF court. ANF records show that Makhdooms ancestral lands in Rahim Yar Khan and his 22 bank accounts have been put on hold till the ﬁnal verdict of the case. Makhdooms are concerned with these developments because now Multan DCO has also been asked to provide details of all their moveable and immoveable assets to ANF court. Though they have moved to Lahore High court for claiming back these lands stating that these huge lands which gives them multifold advantages ranging from political clout to Peer sahib’s status have all come to him through inheritance from his forefathers, therefore, should not be put under ANF control or attached with Ephedrine case. Now Gilanis’ have been asked to furnish their assets and sources, Makhdooms are feeling some comfort but
still want Gilanis to ascertain the share proportions. Sources conﬁrmed that both have paid a good chunk of their share to “Addi” a revered lady from Larkana with a blood relation to Presidency. Gilanis, who already have the distinction of earning the title of ﬁrst MBBS (Mian Biwi Bachon Samait, meaning literally husband, wife, kids all involved) family who remained in the PM house for the longest of time as elected chief executive are looking to use Pir of Pagaro’s connection to hush-hush the matter for the time being. Pir Pagaro is related to Gilanis because Qadir Gilani is married to the granddaughter of Pagaro. Remember, Pagaro sain is in league with the Muslim League these days. So will this entire episode be a dog-tail spin or will it be rounded off just like Makhdoom Amin Fahim had to return one transaction of many shoddy deals to ensure that nothing else is probed? No one knows for sure because besides having all the right connections at the right places and knowing very well that birds of feather ﬂock together, superior judiciary remains the question mark for all the striped-Zebras from across the political divide. Yet, sources believe that Makhdooms want to sort out the share issue before it gets too late and even the League connections might back out fearing the superior judiciary. But as the cards are unfolding, message from Presidency has been sent to both the involved parties that they should sort out their own mess without looking towards Larkana’s revered lady, who has just returned to the house from the same seat which happens to be the political citadel of Bhutto including late Benazir Bhutto. Will they or will they not remains a question now for a Presidency which knows very well that all their immunities are going to die out by coming September when the term of the President’s office expires. Keep your ﬁngers crossed and eyes open to see the developments and read them here.

German special envoy for AfPak arrives to cure Doha talks curse

2013-07-06T15:43:00.002+05:00

German special envoy for AfPak arrives to cure Doha talks curse

Saeed Minhas

ISLAMABAD: Another high profile dignitary from the gang of four (Britain, German, Norwegian and Americans) has dropped in Islamabad on the heels of British Prime Minister David Cameron's recent visit to ensure that Pakistan push forward the stalled reconciliation talks between the US and Taliban in Doha.

Talks were halted because of Taliban's use of their emblem and flag in their recently opened formal office in Doha, Qatar on June 20. Though both the flags and emblem of Taliban have been removed from the office by Qatari police but in the meanwhile Pakistan and Afghanistan have locked horns over the vital issue of Taliban's presence in Afghan government.
With the deadline for drawdown of NATO forces looming closer, Americans are finding it hard to find a reasonable way out. Americans' mistrust with Pakistan seems to have taken a back seat for the time being but as many diplomats believe that the undertones can still be felt all around both the countries. “It’s not only Drones strikes but it is also about the role India is trying to grab in the post withdrawal Afghanistan,” commented a senior official at the ministry of foreign affairs.
Afghan government stuffed with people from northern alliance seems to have a special liking for India; a notion which Pakistan is unable to digest despite helping Americans and other members if the reconciliatory gang in orchestrating the Doha talks. A senior establishment is Khaki establishment believes that “we are no more India centric but at the same time we just cannot ignore our strategic interests.” From strategic depth to strategic interests is considered a major shift by many Pakistani observers. But with India pushing for an extra mile in Afghanistan even these observers fear that Pakistani establishment might have to take a turn if this approach is not revisited by Afghans and their mentors especially the gang of four trying to broker a face saving deal for Americans and their supreme fighting force of NATO.
Latest in the flurry of high profile visitors is the German special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ambassador Michael Koch, who called on the Adviser to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.
Our sources confirmed that German ambassador Koch had meetings and briefings with several high profile officials in an effort to calm down the recent spate of accusations flying across Pak Afghan border. The meeting on display was of Sartaj Aziz, because after all these visiting dignitaries want to show off their love for a democratic government. The meetings not on display however are learnt to have taken up the vital issue of talks, withdrawal and of course the post withdrawal scenarios, informed the sources.
Officially, media was informed that during Sartaj-Koch meeting, bilateral relations and regional situation, including latest developments in Afghanistan, were discussed. Ambassador Michael Koch was also quoted by the officials as saying that “Germany is fully committed to strengthening bilateral relations particularly economic and trade relations with Pakistan.”
In the regional context, Koch has appreciated Pakistan’s role in facilitating the reconciliation process in Afghanistan as part of efforts to promote regional peace and stability. The Adviser reiterated Pakistan’s desire to work closely for consolidation of bilateral relations and partnership with Germany in all spheres of cooperation, especially for the expansion of trade and investment.
Despite all these official cyclostyled statements, the reality is that Germany has been one of the few players in the Afghan game who has been trying to bring Taliban on talking table. Norwegians have also played some distant role in this process whereby Americans were given options and assessments to decide the drawdown, its strategy and post withdrawal scenarios. Britain’s back stage role has always been there throughout these efforts to ensure that its second commandment on the world stage is not threatened.

Dr Imran Farooq Murder case: Altaf shows Karachi Card to visiting Cameron

2013-07-01T23:23:00.003+05:00

Altaf welcomes David Cameron with his Karachi Card

Dr Imran Farooq Murder case:

Saeed Minhas

Investigations by New Scotland Yard into the murder of MQM founder member Dr Imran Farooq seems to be giving cold feet to many not only in Britain but also in Pakistan as some of the associates of MQM Chief Altaf Hussain has put the name of former interior minister Rehman Malik for giving millions of dollars and UK currency to their party chief which somehow remained stashed under the floor and inside the walls of the party office when police raided the party’s offices and some houses back in 2010.

Sources further revealed that besides the recent 55 hour search of Altaf Hussain and another flat, which allegedly belong to Raza Haroon—another MQM stalwart who was raised under the shadows of his mentor and party chief Altaf Hussain in London—British Police had raided some other properties including some purported offices of MQM in 2010 as well. They believe that during those searches, British police had found bundles of cash stashed under the floor and in the walls. Upon investigations, British police was informed that the money was sent from time to time by party workers. One of the close associate of Altaf Hussain even disclosed to the police in the heat of moment that money was brought in by the visiting interior minister of that time Rehman Malik. The one who disclosed this was recently thrown out of the party’s coordination committee but only after receiving good thrashing from the party workers, revealed Pakistani officials.

Pakistani authorities working on this case believe that the 52 year British national of Pakistani origin arrested recently is believed to be the mastermind behind the murder of Dr Imran. British Police, however, has not yet framed any of these charges against him as of today. But Pakistan officials who are familiar with the case revealed to The Spokesman that British police was led to the arrest of this man by Pakistani authorities. “We gleaned this information from the two suspects arrested last year from Karachi and instead of handing them over to Britain asked the British police to investigate to nab the real culprits not the scapegoats from Pakistan,” they added.

Pakistani authorities have also asked the British Police to give proper protection to the widow of Dr Imran Farooq besides proposing them to give asylum to her entire family living still in Karachi. “If they are serious than they have to protect her and her family to get the real picture of the murder case, otherwise, she has effectively been silenced since murder of her husband,” disclosed the Pakistani investigators.

Meanwhile, Self-exiled chief of Mutehida Qaumi Movement, a British national of Pakistani origin, Altaf Hussain has once again turned to his power cluster in Karachi for thwarting another attempt on his fiefdom. This time his outcry was neither against a military operation nor against any Pakistani political opponent but was aimed to stun his protectors; Britain. To avoid another commotion and even thrashing, Altaf Hussain’s party leaders have already started calling the recent surge in investigations and raids on the house of Altaf Hussain a media trial. “They all know if they can face kicks and punches from party workers for merely not reacting in a timely fashion over Imran Khan’s statement against their party chief after the May elections than they better raise their voices now in time before it’s too late for them,” revealed a former MQM leader who calls himself lucky to be alive even after quitting the party.

Keeping calm over a raid by the British Police on his house situated at Edgware Road in central London for almost a week, Altaf Hussain chose the appropriate moment to register his reaction and show of power, observed many pundits here. British Prime Minister, David Cameron was in Pakistan and there could not have been a better opportunity than this to show him that any independent inquiry into Dr Imran Farooq’s case would force him to use Karachi Card even against British interests, revealed some diplomatic sources to this scribe.

Pakistani security officials who have long been dealing with the MQM factor inside Pakistan believe that recent moves of New Scotland Yard with regard to murder investigations of Dr Imran Farooq are fishy. Informed sources seeking anonymity revealed that Pakistan had arrested two suspects, whom British intelligence has been watching since the murder took place in September 2010. Pakistani authorities nabbed both the suspects upon their arrival in Karachi but after initial investigations found out that both of them were not involved in the murder conspiracy or act. Therefore, sources revealed that they had informed the British authorities that these two would not be handed over to them. Finding consistent calls from the British Police officials, Pakistan had to sight them that there was no extradition treaty under which two suspects could be handed over to Britain.

However, Pakistani officials privy to the developments believe that there was a time during these demands and refusals period when Pakistan had to tell some British officials in private that these two could not be handed over as scapegoats and instead British Police should look for the real culprit. “We had informed them about all the information gleaned from these two suspects who revealed that the real suspect is either in Canada or in South Africa,” confided a highly placed source involved with the investigations. They believe that the 52 year old British national of Pakistani origin arrested on June 24 by British Metropolitan police is considered the real man in this case. “Now we are looking forward that how Police in Britain would extract the information from him to get hold of all those involved in murder of Dr Imran Farooq,” he added with a visible question mark in his eyes.

Diplomatic Bubbles: Doha Talks debacle as poddles helping salvage US pride

2013-07-01T23:03:00.003+05:00

Doha Talks debacle

Saeed Minhas

Britain, Norway and Germany are all making sure that derailed peace talks with the Afghan Taliban resumes sooner than later to chalk out if nothing else than a roadmap for exit of NATO forces from a war torn country and save any further humiliation to the master blaster of the world; the US.

Having passed the buck of fighting to half-backed Afghan National Army (ANA) a few weeks back, NATO commanders are already busy overseeing the dismantling and destruction of their immovable structures and even weapons. What no one knows though is that will they be asked to pack up and leave in the middle of night like Russians did in 1989 or can they afford to get a guard of honour send-off—without the chance of any sleeper cell or inside attack.
This uncertainty is certainly doing more harm to the morale of the remaining NATO/US forces than any good, remarked one of the senior security officials while talking to this scribe from Kabul. “It’s not only the army but even the general population and almost over a decade-old Karzai government which is equally perturbed over uncertain future especially after the humiliation Afghans and US had to face in Doha,” he commented. “It will be a big lie if we say that Taliban have not gained even from these stalled talks,” he asserted. Adding he said that though President Obama has himself become involved in this process but the fact remains that Americans faced a double jeopardy and both coming not from their adversaries but from their puppets; one in Kabul and other one in Qatar.
With the Taliban offensive on the rise in Afghanistan and ANA left on its own to deal with the rise in insurgency, dwindling fortunes of peace talks in Doha has put the entire region on high alert. As foreign diplomats in Kabul suggest that the region in itself is alive to all the possible outcomes after the proposed pull out of Americans and NATO forces by mid 2014. To understand what regional countries might be expecting after this much hyped withdrawal of foreign troops from war torn country, this scribe had to talk many diplomats and security analysts in Pakistan and Afghanistan. One thing was for sure that none wanted to say anything on record despite the fact that none had any clue as to what might be in the store for all the regional countries and the departing fighters.
“One thing is for sure that Pakistan will no more be able to remote control the country where once ISI used to call the shots between 1979 and 2005,” remarked one European diplomat based in Kabul. He was of the view that if not more countries than at least a troika of China, India and Pakistan will be there to battle it out between themselves to control an ethnically divided Afghanistan in the post draw down days. “China is a surprise for many but with their heavy investment in copper, precious metals and stones, they are there for sure,” he added.
Talking to some operatives working on Pakistani side of the troubled region it revealed that Chinese and Americans are out there like flies in those lands which they otherwise call as lawless section of Pakistan. “They are there with bagful of dollars to buy out any information which can lead them to any influential TTP man,” he added. Journalists in those areas also endorsed this view because they say that for the first time they are finding Chinese equally engaged in digging out information and informers. Otherwise, they say that it used to be either the plainclothesmen of Pakistani agencies or the bearded Pashto speaking Americans who used to flock the region and pay handsomely to the journalists for any piece of information which they believed was of some value. Though Pakistani operatives chip in to this information hungry atmosphere with their own loaded typical version; Indian involvement in FATA and beyond. They believe that India is not involved in this region to find out that what next plan is being hatched for their lands and secondly that how many out there are heading to pose them a threat in their held Kashmir. ‘Therefore, Indians are not only pumping in money but also doling out Russian and Chinese Kalashnikovs to their nurtured contacts either to keep these mercenaries away from their lands/Kashmir or use them for their targeted objectives against Pakistan,” added the senior military official.
With Cameron in Pakistan posing as harbinger of goodwill and business opportunities, Britain is already out there to actively do what many western analysts call a lap dog service for Americans. But Norwegians and Germans are equally trying their bit to bring the peace talks back on track, even for a photo op. “After all they have done it so many times in the past for Americans by bringing together Palestinians and Israelis and they are hopeful that they will do it again for the Americans. An exasperated American administration, which already has its hands glued deeply in many springs ranging from Tunisia, Egypt to Syria, they want Taliban back on the table at any cost. “Even talks without any pre conditions and outcome will be the first and foremost demand of the Americans right now,” agreed a European diplomat based in Islamabad. “It’s not only the repute but even the safe exit of over 100000 troops from Afghanistan is at stake,” added another Arab diplomat.
Just few weeks back, the entire diplomatic corps in Islamabad was talking very highly about these talks considering them the right step in the right direction and that too at the right time. Many of the ambassadors were skeptical about the outcome but still were hopeful that this will help break the ice and kick start a process which eventually might lead to some manageable solutions for the war torn Afghanistan in particular and for the region in general.
Usual knee jerk reactions from Afghan president Hamid Karzai was less of a botheration for these foreign emissaries because they believed that Karzai just want to remain relevant to this new transition in a country where after almost a decade of rule he himself has become completely irrelevant to the people, the negotiators and even the NATO and US. Not because he will not be running for the next presidential elections due next April but for the sordid stories of corruption surrounding him and his family members. More so because of his complete failure to give any governance to a country where on average 150 billion dollars were raining from all sides (more from US) throughout the past decade. However, the initial deadlock dampened their hopes a bit but still they believe that talks would resume one way or the other.

Mushay Trial: Is it a trap for the ruling party?

2013-06-30T09:10:00.002+05:00

Mushay Trial: Is it a trap for the ruling party?

Saeed Minhas

http://thespokesman.pk/index.php/history/item/6491-mushay-trial-is-it-a-trap-for-the-ruling-party

Islamabad: Enough of debate and discourse has taken place both inside the parliament house and outside by our farishtey and chirya famed journalists on mini screens but the music for former dictator Gen. Musharraf has actually begun.

Anti terrorism court has summoned 15 witnesses to record their statements in the judges’ detention case, while cases like Benazir murder case and Bugti’s killing are waiting in the wings for the former commando. Above all the high treason case is the one which has attracted the most attention from all and sundry. It is bothersome not only for a fragile democracy of the country, the foreign guarantors and the powerful institution of the country. Yet the real nemesis of the dictator, the Lord Judge and his comrades continues to push hard for eking out a high treason case out of the cautious government of Nawaz League.

Besides the latest news that three lawyers refused to record their statement at Pervaiz Musharraf’s Chak Shahzad farmhouse that was declared as a sub-jail by the court in judges’ detention case, there are three simultaneous theories filling the Capital these days?

First let me inform you that our sources have confirmed that three lawyers namely; Wajid Gilani, Fazlur Rehman Niazi and Anwar Khan have turned down the option of going to the Chak Shahzad farmhouse where currently Musharraf is being held. They believed that instead of going to dictator’s house to record their statements they would rather go to Adiala Jail or a local court in Islamabad for their statements. Coupled to this development is information emanating from Musharraf’s camp that the lawyer who had actually lodged the FIR in police station against Musharraf for detention of judges, (Ghuman) has become a high demand buy out these days. He was offered Rs 20 million according to some insiders. Since the money bags sent by Musharraf is learnt to have vanished midway in the closets of a mediator, therefore, Ghuman has now been promised to get double the amount to keep his promised stance of withdrawing the basic application.

Nevertheless, the theories, or you may call them conspiracy theories making rounds in Capital are; 1-Is it a trap for Mian Nawaz Sharif? 2-Will army protects its former boss? 3-Are foreign guarantors going to jump into arena?

The first of the three theories is not given more weight by many political pundits but many in the farishtey(secret agencies) community believe that the newly elected prime minister is being pushed to lock his horns with an internally divided institute; i.e. Army. They argue that given the past of Nawaz League and the language its hawks like Chaudhry Nisar, Khawaja Asif and even to some extent Saad Rafiq have been using against retired generals, DHA and even the nexus between Malik Riaz and Generals dealing only in real Estates has forced Mian Sahb to announce initiation of the high treason case against Musharraf. As history will tell us that amongst many others Saad Rafiq was leading figure spotted amongst hundreds of others who stormed the Supreme Court during the second tenure of Nawaz League. Chaudhry Nisar has recently voiced his concern over the performance of army in Balochistan during his visit to Quaid’s residency after the fateful incident.

Whether it will prove a trap for Mian Nawaz Sharif or not cannot be determined solely on the basis of these hawks, many doves within League remarked. They argue that though Mahmood Khan Achakzai had tried to give a rationale in the first sitting of the national Assembly but after due diligence, the leadership has decided to go ahead with this. The leadership, these doves believe, understand that a weakened army at this point in time might not be in a position to walk in the high offices on the hill top with the help of triple one brigade. They further said that even the guarantors have not given any clue as to what should be done in this case. These leaders of League believe party leadership wants to establish for once that army should serve under the democratic leadership while staying within their barracks. They even said that Mian sahb wants to bring DHA’s and other corporations owned by military under democratic accountability.

As for the internal division of the army is considered, it remains a very tricky question for many analysts. They believe that army is in a constant state of war for almost past 12 years. More importantly, they are dealing with an international issue where it’s not a matter of dollars anymore rather it has become more a matter of relevance for them. The way things are shaping up in Afghanistan and the way Indians and even Chinese are gearing up to fill the vacuums likely to be created after the withdrawal of NATO boots; army seems more engaged in their own survival. Therefore, many inside the League believe that chances of them coming for the rescue of the jailed dictator might not arise. This confidence of the Leaguers, however, is strongly rebutted by many in the intelligence world because they believe that such a case would open such a Pandora’s Box where many serving and even retired army generals and many sitting and even retired judges of the vibrant judiciary might have to stand in the dock for their dirty deeds of the past. They argue that the same reasons which are considered a roadblock for the army to take over at this point apply to the political dispensation of this country. They are not operating in ideal conditions or in a vacuum, therefore, they too have to understanding eh dynamics of evolving situations on our borders which is threatening not only army as an institution but even the country as an entity, they emphasized.

As for the guarantors are concerned, many observers remarked that they only come into play once the politicians, Khakis and now even Courts would come to a make or break situation. They cite Mian Nawz Sharif’s case in this regard where Saudis did not intervene until Musharraf had ensured that he will get a life sentence from the same judges who later became one of the main reasons for his downfall. So the game is on and all the options seems to be on the table for all the stakeholders at this point in time and all we can do is to wait and watch the proceedings and twists as and when they are applied and appear in public domain.

http://thespokesman.pk/index.php/history/item/6491-mushay-trial-is-it-a-trap-for-the-ruling-party

Press Gallery: IPP lobbyists making hey while sun shines on Capital Hills

2013-06-25T21:22:00.004+05:00

IPP lobbyists making hey while sun shines on Capital Hills

Saeed Minhas

Islamabad: The government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has finally played the much-awaited reverse sweep to open its account of point scoring with the leading institutions of the country by announcing to bring high treason charges against a caged former dictator Musharraf.
Months of deliberations and speculations seem to have come to an end and finally a Pandora’s box is likely to open which will make not only Khakis but even black robes to look into the mirror. Besides accepting their follies of the past, they might be asked to furnish apologies; at least that’s what many leaders within Muslim League Nawaz are expecting with a bit of worry and concern in their voices.
But buried under this big news of the day was the highlight of the proceedings of National Assembly; pushing for the payments to the oil barons. The movers and shakers of country’s economic fortune successfully lobbied to bring in a call attention notice on the agenda asking the federal government to retire the circular debt with a view to improve the crippling electricity outages in the country. Finance minister has already announced to pay these companies without even settling any outstanding issues with them, some of them like heat rate settlement are even in the courts, by paying them almost half of their demanded Rs 520 billion within next three months. Will that improve the loadshedding in the country? Many industry experts believe that it might help lessen the shedding but not completely get rid of it.
Though lobbying is not yet official in the power corridors but like many other sins this one is paying off for the IPP moguls, oil barons and all those who have a direct stake in the repayment of circular debt. At least some babus in finance division have shown us the documents which prove that their lobbying efforts have materialized and payments are about to be made in lieu of giving some extra relief in loadshedding to Lahorites and posh Isloo sectors if nothing else.
The reasons they cite are that Pakistan is crippled for almost past seven years with a constantly increasing shortfall of over 6000 MW, especially in the peak demand seasons of summer and winter. Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC) and the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) are the main producers of electricity. Electricity generation in Pakistan is a mix of hydel (31%), thermal (66.8%), and nuclear power plants (2.2%).
Rampant corruption (40 %), nepotism (99 %), technical losses (35 %) and infrastructural crumbling has forced the successive governments since first term of Benazir Bhutto to look for alternative ways to bridge the gap between demand and supply instead of correcting these white elephants. Despite all sorts of fishy stories about successive regimes and lots of court rulings, the fact remains that since 1994 till to-date 13 Independent Power Producers (IPP’s) are supposed to contribute about 7000MW while half a dozen Rental Power plants (RPPs) were supposed to give some additional cushion to country’s demand of above 15000 MW.
Isn’t it ironic that none of this could be materialized; neither the public sector nor the private generation is producing at its full capacity? Yet the electricity bills have more than doubled in the past seven years and are sure to climb further up when new surcharges and adjustments will be added on almost monthly basis to the consumers’ bills.
The figures of corruption and other losses quoted above are coming from auditor general’s books because hardly 25 per cent of the audit of Pakistan’s power generation sector reveals year after year misappropriation of over 40 to 60 per cent in almost every sphere of their functioning. But do not be surprised to learn that there has been no audit for IPPs or RPPs in the past five years or so, as minister after minister (Dr Asim after Dr Asim) have been blindly following their dictates. Still we are told that circular debt is climbing upwards from 500 billion rupees towards 600 billion rupees mark.
Khawaja Asif, the new federal minister assigned the task to carry on this burden of taking the corruption and nepotism in this sector to new heights is trying nothing out of the box but toeing the line of those who actually were responsible for all this mess. It’s not the Manshas’, Musadaq Malik or bureaucracy but it has got to do more with a vision to come out of this miserable situation. Especially when the foreign direct investment has already fallen by more than 88 per cent since 2008 (from $ 5.8 billion to mere $ 760 million), any more stories of loot and plunder in the power sector is sure to sink the entire set up, reveals economists sitting on back benches of finance and petroleum ministry.
Many observers are questioning quite openly the commitments made by prime minister Nawaz Sharif on the floor of the House in which he categorically decried corruption, nepotism and vowed to uphold merit and fair-play. But how fair is this that the people trusted with making a new energy policy for the country and even the federal minister for water and power himself has a direct conflict of interest?

Diplomatic Bubbles: Chinese getting up and close to Pakistan’s spy networks

2013-06-24T16:46:00.000+05:00

Chinese getting up and close to Pakistan’s spy networks

Saeed Minhas

http://thespokesman.pk/index.php/history/item/6327-chinese-getting-up-and-close-to-pakistan-s-spy-networks

ISLAMABAD: China’s emergence in a post-2014 exit of NATO forces from Afghanistan has become all the more important these days, especially when the diplomatic corps in Islamabad believe that Chinese are not only involved deeply in Pakistan’s strategic planning, but even in their spy network.

It is not the first time that Chinese are being discussed so vigorously by the Western diplomats. When the news of transferring civil nuclear technology between the two countries was leaked through a Washington-based newspaper, the hype had much more negative connotation attached to it as compared to a similar deal reached between India and US just a few months back.
If I may recall my conversation with one of the top military officials during hey-days of Gen. Musharraf, Chinese were already involved with the Pakistan’s top spy network, ISI. Reason was nothing but the Uyghur uprising in its western province of Xinjiang and Chinese intelligence had brought up some irrefutable evidence blaming Pakistan for not controlling their militants from crossing the border into China and orchestrating the riots. The riots actually took a new dimension in 2009 when even the western media pounced on it to screw the Chinese by declaring it a revolt against the mainland China. Reports from the Chinese visiting dignitaries, though they always prove a hard nut to crack when it comes to talking on strategic issues, was that China have to work closely with the Pakistani establishment to ensure not only its own interests but that of Pakistan too. They believe Pakistan’s ping-pong policy with US is quite upsetting for the Chinese top leadership.
A recent delegation from the Chinese security agencies, just before the arrival of the new Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to Pakistan in May, had almost a similar story where Chinese preferred to monitor the entire security of their dignitaries themselves than leaving it solely in the hands of world known agencies of Pakistan.
A Western diplomat, only on condition of anonymity, revealed that the entire telecom traffic in Pakistan is very closely being monitored by the Chinese. He said that though the entire media and he agreed that for all the right reasons is hell bent to prove Snowden leaks as Watergate of Obama, but whenever this facet of Chinese spying on Pakistanis will come to open, it will prove even a bigger scam. He, however, avoided the issue of UAE based company doing the same for Americans in Pakistan by saying that Americans have many more ways of doing that then just relying on a Gulf company.
Our insiders in the establishments revealed that they see hardly any problem in working with the Chinese as compared to westerners. After hours of discussions with the insiders, one can glean the simple fact that no matter how involved Chinese become in their strategic maneuvering, they hardly mind it. Trust gap, however, between the Americans and Pakistani establishment has not gone anywhere. The reasons as they put it are simple.
Pakistani establishment could hardly escape itself from the onslaught of 60 international warrior nations fighting a unanimously lost war against extremists, fundamentalists and insiders in Afghanistan for being part of all their problems. The suspicion about Pakistani involvement in aiding and abetting Taliban and Haqqani Networks associated with remnants of Al-Qeda has always been there ever since the invasion of Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9/11. Wikileaks just brought those suspicions of Americans Ambassadors and commanders in Afghanistan and Pakistan to the fore to prove that Americans just do not want to share any intelligence with Pakistan military. With several ups and downs, there had been a phase spanning over three years after 2006 that even the communication lines stopped working between the two sides. Not only communication but even coalition support funds remained stuck for years. The mantra of ‘do more’ from Washington, meanwhile, remained the only constant throughout these years.
Despite the fact that every visiting American dignitary including the diplomacy queen Hilary Clinton make it a point to tell Pakistani people through their heavily sponsored media that “Americans will not leave Pakistan in a lurch this time”, Pakistani establishment seem to believe not even an scrap of such statements. One senior official even pulled out a newspaper showing me that Americans have scrapped worth US $ 7 billion vehicles and military equipment in Afghanistan instead of handing it over to Afghan National Army; whom they want us to believe have been trained to perfection by NATO. A retired official speaking on this topic was of the view that Americans did the same with Pakistan when they ultimately triggered the infamous Ojhri incident towards the fag end of Ziaul Haq.
He recalled that he was in charge of an assignment when Americans packed their bags and decided to leave instantly after the downfall of USSR; to collect every single bullet and machine used by Pakistanis throughout Jihad days. Instead of handing them over to their loyal servant of 1980s-Jihad, Americans sent a team of senior Generals to witness the destruction of everything in front of their eyes near Kala-Chitta (Black and white) mountains; situated close to Tarnol terminals of NATO supplies in Rawalpindi. Witnessing the fireworks from a distant camp, American Generals were still not happy because they thought that some of their stingers are still missing, he recalled with a visible anguish written all over his wrinkled face.

Press Gallery: Does an attribute like ‘My Lord’ sound Colonial?

2013-06-24T00:55:00.000+05:00

Does an attribute like ‘My Lord’ sound Colonial?

Saeed Minhas

Islamabad: Rising political mercury across Karachi, Quetta and even in judicial compounds is certainly having an impact on an already cautious finance minister Ishaq Dar and even the interior minister Chaudhry Nisar hence forcing them to constantly dampen their stance on every issue they have taken so far.
While rounding up the debate on finance bill, Ishaq Dar was very much conscious of the fact that Supreme Court has literally handed him not only a demarche but put a question mark on his expertise which he has been proud of ever since he rescued his party boss from an economic debacle in the post nuclear test scenario. Dollars since then have become a synonym for Dar in the country’s economic and power corridors for all the opposing reasons.
In the same vein, many have observed the see-saw games of Chaudhry Nisar in the short span of one week. First he was seen full of fire in Quetta challenging and chiding everyone for worsening law and order situation in Balochistan. Then we saw him backtracking and adopting a more serene approach to ‘issues of national importance’ by inviting everyone for talks and even walks. Another turnaround was quite noticeable when we heard him issuing an ultimatum to a provincial government while fully understanding the highly charged atmosphere in Sind and the history of his party sending troops there in their first outing at the federal level.
To add just another twist to the ministerial maneuvers, our superior Lords have stamped their authority by reminding their staunch supporters since the movement days that they are running the watchdog factory no matter what. They have proven it with their deeds that whether someone pitches their driver Aitzaz Ahsan or bring in their mark-man Munir A Malik; it does not matter to them.
Interesting in this regard was the discussion going on within Nawaz League circles. Ishaq Dar very magnanimously surrendered the issue of GST after intervention and interpretation of the superior court but many in finance ministry and even in planning division were sitting in a huddle to carve a way out of this new development. They were happy for the fact that though a huge chunk of direct taxation has gone awry but at least their effort to help the new government give some soothing talks to investors and businessmen regarding the drop of 50 basis points in interest rates. Certainly State Bank of Pakistan took the cue from the oft-repeated budget speech of the federal finance minister that inflation is dropping down to below eight per cent therefore they decided to play their old game of facilitating the big barons with another round of loans, restructuring and even returning of many sick units back to the old players. All this will be done in the name of reviving economy and that too with the state money. So fasten your seat belts as lot many tycoons are already sitting with the notoriously involved banks to reschedule their defaulted loans, retrieve their sick units, jack up the real estate and all those tricks they have learned during Mushy days with the help if State Bank’s ably tuned administration.
Therefore, the Nawaz League camp and our ‘impartial’ bureaucrats of the finance ministry were not that much bothered about the mini hurdle Supreme Court has thrown in their march. They know that the ratio between direct and indirect taxes already stands at 35:65 and making them 25:75 would hardly make any difference to them. After all it's not the economy which our finance ministry runs; it’s the parallel economy which makes their life politically worth for every ruler in this country.
Talks were about the judgment of the superior judge as where Attorney General was asked to advise the government to get rid of British laws labeling them as colonial laws in a free democratic Islamic Republic. One of the senior leader of the party was laughing this out by telling everyone that “what does the Judges consider about abolishing the Colonial practices of calling the judges of superior judiciary or even the lower judiciary ‘My Lord’, ‘Your Honour’, ’Your Lordship’.”
A leading legal expert of the League even revealed that Ziaul Haq had abolished all such attributes in 1982 through a presidential ordinance considering them repugnant to Islamic injunctions and the basic tenants of the objective resolution and preamble of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The issue has also been raised since then in the higher judiciary very recently by none other than a usual petitioner Advocate AK Dogar who asked for abolition of these colonial attributes. But as the Leaguers revealed that the High Lords of Lahore High Court just brushed it aside.
In a country where religion is a very touchy issue and it takes just a triggering point to provoke zealots go berserk, the plan seems quite sinister. But as many insiders believe that it has got some logic because after all ‘law is a law’ hence it applies to everyone regardless of the status and situation.

Sheeshnag: Oil money set to exchange hands

2013-06-24T00:25:00.004+05:00

Oil money set to exchange hands

Whether you consume less electricity or more, resort to any austerity campaign or not, you will continue to get inflated bills month after month from here on. Khawaja Asif, our new electricity guru is, learned to have already pledged a gradual but consistent increase in electricity prices while the petroleum wizard Shahid Khaqan Abbassi has vowed to do the same in front of Uncle Sam’s viceroys in one of their welcome celebration meetings.

Transparency, fair play and merit will all be in the hands of these new faces in the energy sector but don’t ever expect that these will actually be followed in letter and spirit. Even if you hear that Khawaja Asif is a 50 million rupees (gifted) shareholder in one of Mansha’s gobbled IPPs or whether Munir A Malik has been brought in by this duo to supposedly protect them from the sharpened nails of the judiciary, don’t even bother to dig it out. Neither is there any need to find out why Mansha and Nadeem Babar have been included in the energy task force, because after all, they have stakes in nine of the controversial 13 IPPs in the country.

You might also come across information that the Mansha group is about to take over the Muzaffargarh power plant but that won’t be the full truth but only half of it. One wondered whether to praise the Nawaz government for rewarding Musaddaq Malik—the recent water and power minister under the caretaker set up of Mir Khoso—for unleashing intensified loadshedding throughout the electioneering season or not. But one thing is for sure; all those who can manage to have a relationship with the money laundering ministry of finance and money guzzling entities holding the lucrative IPPs is sure to become the darling of any government in the centre. Doctors, after all, are trained to learn the chemical characteristics of money and oil these days; that’s why first we saw Dr Asim and then Dr Musaddaq Malik running the affairs of an otherwise unrelated ministry of petroleum and natural resources.

Perhaps the term ‘natural’ might have made them relevant not only to ministry of finance and FBR but also to petroleum. You know why? Because these IPPs are making 35 to 40 per cent of profits just by palm greasing the FBR, ministry of finance and, of course, the incumbent ministers. How they do that is not rocket science to understand for you and me because they simply use the oldest trick in the book of over invoicing, under utilizing and successfully keeping the auditors under their charms.

But if you still believe that this energy team is going to deliver than rest assured that they will deliver but only for the barons they have deals with, not for you and me. There is already a clue as to why Ishaq Dar has not gone for his favourite dollars this time because he is already finalizing a deal with an unknown car importer for flooding the market with the first ever 800 to 1200 cc hybrid cars, which at present are not available even with the best of Chinese smugglers.

Let’s not digress from the topic of electricity and let us share with you the inside that can smelled in the air, that circular debt is such a scam that had it happened in any civilized part of the world—certainly not America because we have seen them and what they did with the AIG and stock exchange wizards—we might have seen by now an Asian Spring bursting out of its seams. Tsunami, or as many have started calling him, Taliban Khan now, is still on a learning path so don’t expect that he will even get a clue about all this because he has already got so much to deal with now, ranging from former Jamaatis to former Leaguers, that his invisible and perhaps nonexistent financial masters might not have the time to learn these power games, simply because they have never been in power.

Let us bring you back to IPPs. There has been an anonymous letter addressed to the speaker of the National Assembly and all the members of the parliament and even to the men wearing black robes, telling how they have swindled the public since 1994. The irony is that those who have been at the centre stage of this, the likes of Mansha, will be deciding the fate of these IPPs.

You know what the fate is, these IPPs would be paid their claimed, rather oiled, billions without caring for the fact that these barons have revoked the sovereign guarantees of the state of Pakistan and above all have challenged the state of Pakistan in the superior courts. Yet the same men will be shown by our well-oiled anchors as the only patriots without telling us that they love to plunder here and surrender that in dollars to off shore accounts.

Guess what, that’s why Ishaq Dar just bunked at least three attempts in the National Assembly to talk on off shore accounts, knowing well that how can he expose all those men in arms.

Venom Inc. This should not be held against me in a court of law as I solemnly declare that these are absolute lies, dirty whispers and wild speculation that I have heard while crawling in the dark power corridors of the creepy Capital. You will believe them at your own risk Shh...If you have venom to spill please don’t hesitate to share with us on our blog at www.thespokesman.pk

Press Gallery: Return of Tsunami Khan, Judicial activism dominates the scene

2013-06-21T14:26:00.002+05:00

Return of Tsunami Khan, judicial activism dominates the scene

Saeed Minhas

ISLAMABAD: Return of a matured and diplomatic tsunami Khan to the floor of the National Assembly remained one of the major highlight of the day but what made it even more interesting was the way an otherwise blazing Chaudhry Nisar welcomed his suggestions and the way Rawalpindi-express Sheikh Rasheed was trying to tail and trail Khan throughout the day.
What remained encouraging was that neither the treasury benches nor the opposition troika of PPP, PTI and MQM were trying to play to the galleries. Discussions remained glued to issues and responses from the treasury benches were adequately measured where one can hardly get the impression that they were just beating about the bush. If Imran suggested verification of votes in four constituencies, Chaudhry Nisar offered to get the same done for 30 seats. If Imran wanted to push his main post-poll agenda of revamping the election commission by question the conduct of Fakhru Bhai and his four provincial comrades, Nisar reminded in a jovial manner that he was actually the nomination of PTI and not of PML (N) in the good old days when CEC was being decided by PPP government.
Much to the dismay of street smart Sheikh Rasheed, the whole debate remained very friendly and comical too which left no space for anyone to play referee or fix a bout. Sheikh, however, was seen tailing Imran Khan even when he went to sign member’s roll all the way up to the table of the Speaker, Ayaz Sadiq. After all Sheikh has to show his loyalty to a man who made it possible for him to return to air-conditioned power brokering halls after making two unsuccessful attempts during PPP tenure, remarked one of senior journalist who has seen all his political overtures since his youthful Gordon College days.
As discussions, suggestions, accusations and complaints continue to echo the NA hall, Babus from FBR was gathering sympathies for their new political bosses by declaring before the black robes that proposed increase in sales tax would not impact the common man because it has not been levied on 70 edible and daily use items. They were presenting their case before the Supreme Court as if the suo moto on actual hike in prices of daily commodities is based on misplaced information. Whether our honourable justices go for shopping these daily items or not but one should commend them that at least they have shown to the public that their authority to summon and at least ask him/her is potently present there.
As one of our lower judiciary friend currently based in southern Punjab reveals that he hardly knows who fills his fridge with fresh vegetables, all sorts of meat, edibles and even beverages but whenever he opens it he finds it fully topped up. Same goes for his clothing cabinet which remained tip-top with Junaid Jamshed collection whenever he needs one. He recalls that on the first day of posting to a remote district all he remember was that a local patwari asked about my clothing and shoe sizes and showed me the gate of my palatial official house and since then neither he had asked anyone who is doing this all hence no one is telling him. “I used to call my elder brother in the village to send me some money every month while I was posted in Lahore but ever since I have been posted in this God-forsaken area I have never felt the need to spend a single penny from my official pay which is piling up in my bank account,” he revealed with amusement written all over his face.
Certainly the case with the higher judiciary is totally different and they are considered not only above all such ‘don’t know’ stuff but above board from even public accounts committee of an elected house. Of course they get salaries from the same public exchequer from where rest of all public servants including public representatives is paid and for sure they do not have any other source of income other than their highest (amongst public servants) salary package. That’s why they have shown their class by devoting their time and energies on correcting the path of in-land and even outlandish issues like Swiss (President), US (Haqqani) and UK (Wajid Shamsul Hassan).
Being class apart, our black robes sitting on high pedestals of white marble building, displayed their prowess by even telling the newly appointed attorney general--their old buddy throughout lawyers movement--Munir A. Malik that instead of advocating a law from British days of 1931, he should ask his new masters to frame laws which carry more common sense. We do remember when Aitzaz Ahsan was rebuked for making a case in Swiss-graft case. Therefore, legislators from the opposition benches were hoping that superior judges should know that once levied this one per cent will ultimate be passed on to consumers, as no manufacturer ever has paid any tax, duty or surcharge from his own profit bucket. They do not even pay their taxes honestly, why should they pay new levies, remarked a legislator adding that especially when they can just 10 per cent of their tax to FBR Babus why should they bother burdening them with book keeping tasks.

Who drinks most vodka, gin, whisky and rum? The Economist

2013-06-19T02:54:00.000+05:00

High spirits

Who drinks most vodka, gin, whisky and rum?
ASIA'S growing middle classes are driving demand in the global spirits market. According to IWSR, a market-research firm, consumption last year grew by 1.6% to 27 billion litres—and China, the world’s biggest market, quaffed 38% of that. The national liquor, baijiu, accounts for a whopping 99.5% of all spirits consumed there, so China does not even feature in rankings of the best-known internationally consumed spirits, below. The most popular of these is vodka, mainly because it is drunk in copious amounts in Russia. Russians downed nearly 2 billion litres of the stuff in 2012, equivalent to 14 litres for every man, woman and child. (Unsurprisingly, perhaps, Russians are among the biggest drinkers in the world, according to the most recent World Health Organisation data.) The Filipinos' taste for gin can be attributed in part to good marketing and to the spirit's long-established toe-hold in the local market. Ginebra San Miguel, a firm that makes the world's two best-selling brands, started operations there in 1834.

Press Gallery: Govt Resorting to deadlines not helplines

2013-06-18T18:48:00.003+05:00

Ruling parties resorts to politics of deadlines and warnings

Saeed Minhas

Islamabad: Deadlines, warnings and cautions were all on display in the National Assembly on Monday as parliamentarians discussed the disturbing details of Balochistan carnage in which more than two dozen including 14 female students lost their lives at the hands of terrorists.

First we heard almost all those open secrets which have always been known to all and sundry in the power corridors but none had dared to say them in open. These revelations coupled with a deadlines and warning came from none other than Pashtun nationalist leader from Balochistan Mahmood Khan Achakzai. The decade’s old theory of our Khakis to pamper strategic assets for countering foreign aggressions, complacency of huge civilian and military spy networks in controlling terrorism in the country, escalating number of missing persons and what not was all spilled out by Achakzai. Amidst many other deadlines, Achakzai also hurled a deadline at Nawaz league government that if they could not reign in the secret agencies within next three years, he would prefer to resign from the assembly and sit on the sidelines to see the ongoing situations from his safe heavens of Pashtun fortress in Balochistan.
Fluidity of the current situation is making these revelations all the more important. First we have seen the judiciary breaking away from its doctrine of necessity and taking a stand against the dictator with the help of a freedom-filled media. Army, as an institution has seen several setback after its latest stint of rule under Gen Musharraf. On the one side its ranks are filled with infected jihadis while on the other hand extensions in the services of the top brass has left many scars on the health of the institution which by far is considered the only functioning institution in the country. Now politicians with rolled up sleeves are asking for their tormentors to come and at least share with them their old and new security paradigms to find a way forward at a time when country is facing both internal and external aggressions.
Balochistan has been burning for quite some time, and recent escalation in violence under an on-going mini insurgency has just brought things to a stage where political forces are just hoping that their predators join hands with them to counter the rising monsters in KP, FATA and Balochistan. National security, a phrase which has long been under the firm controls of the Khakis has all of a sudden becomes of major concern for our political elite. What remains to be seen is that how opposition is going to take up this emerging tri-lateral war amongst Khakis, ruling politicians and judiciary. Peoples Party had even confessed during its recently concluded rule that it has become a pro-establishment party and had tried their level best to mitigate the misunderstandings Khakis have about their character and past. Nevertheless, Zardari led party managed to complete for the first time its allotted constitutional tenure but how up and close they could bring Khakis is there for everyone to guess. Perhaps knowing this harsh verdict of the history, Peoples Party leadership seems to be in no mood to extend a hand to Nawaz league at this point in time and is preparing to play along the lines of mild confrontation to spread even more confusion. Power game after all is very cruel, at least that’s what not only Muslim history but even the world history teaches us.
Therefore, as many military and political analysts believe that latest strikes by militants in the heart of Balochistan seems to have pitched the new government and its allied parties against the civilian and military spy network by posing serious questions to their abilities and operations. This new tug of war between the Nawaz government and the spy agencies might not be of the same nature what we have witnessed during Yusuf Raza Gillian’s tenure when he tried to bring ISI under civilian fold. Especially when Mahmood Achakzai has opened a Pandora’s Box right in the middle of a chorangi and Chaudhry Nisar unleashing his usual venom against the Khakis, things are likely to hit the dominators a bit hard.
Many of our military friends are hinting a possible solution to Nawaz League leadership that Achakzai’s first speech on the opening day of the parliament whereby he proposed the government to let go Musharraf and develop a working relationship with the army should be taken more seriously. Using Musharraf as bait is one open option in front of the government but not without soothing the ego of the men in black robes, observed a senior Nawaz league leader from pothohar region. However, he and many others favouring Achakzai’s idea are finding their own leadership extraordinarily apprehensive of taking any steps in haste.
Earlier, we saw Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Chaudhry Nisar speaking on the predicaments of the country’s security agencies as if they hail from opposition benches and not part of the ruling party. Certainly the latest wave of militancy in Balochistan has come as an eye opener for the newly elected government. But irony is that federal interior minister Ch. Nisar is yet to come to grips with his new role in parliamentary democracy and instead of providing solutions he is still pointing fingers in all directions. Instead of reaching out to political, social and even military agencies, he is still using media to convey his feelings. Though government has invited all stakeholders for 21st June parleys to formulate a security policy for the country, but as our sources reveal that unfortunately Nawaz League does not have any homemade solution to present in such parleys. Will this remain a talking session for the sake of scoring political points or will it help us really form a unified front against terrorists and aggressors is a million dollar question right now?

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Press Gallery: SBP helps Dar bring Thekedars back into driving seat

2013-06-17T22:25:00.000+05:00

SBP helps Dar bring Thekedars back into driving seat

Saeed Minhas

ISLAMABAD: The latest bubble of the economy inflated by our animated Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has already started to deflate a bit after strong reaction from the opposition and government employees for taking some bureaucratic decisions aimed at further dumping the middle and lower class in the debris of hiked prices and actually towering inflation.

The debate on the federal budget resumed in the National Assembly even on Sunday. It marched on gradually and slowly as members from ‘little-impact’ parties raised their voices and advices just to fall on deaf ears. Economy has always been considered a technocrat’s ball game and there is hardly any difference this time around. We have been hearing a lot of speeches from esteemed members of this august house for decades but hardly few talk about economic issues as 90 per cent talk about political economy. Irony of the matter is that even ‘political economy’ is touched upon only by those who hail from opposition benches as treasury benches have only one task and that is to provide that cushion to their technocrats and his (hardly any her I remember as finance minister in the past few decades) handpicked babus so that they in unison can continue to concentrate on ways and means of obliging some and depriving some.
Therefore, we were least stunned to hear from a planning division babu, who has spent some late nights with the federal minister Ishaq Dar and his team during the preparation of this budget when he said that “commands are simple that spur an economic activity in the country through thekedars (contractors).” Babus have come to know one thing for sure that when it comes to Peoples Party the budget policy will be to help the ministers or even their family members but when it comes to Nawaz League it’s the Thekedar who gets priority. Nothing was different even during Musharraf era, when his imported Shoukat Aziz used to read out budgets; the motto was to give middlemen and Thekedars a priority. MQM, many babus still remember made the most of this policy throughout Musharraf era. Mustafa Kamal, hailed as the architect of a new Karachi, was given bagful of monies to make Mushy’s city a dreamland, many recall. Mustafa did that by simply engaging the Thekedars and asking them to give the blueprint and reality based budgets for all the overhead bridges, underpasses and what not. Once the budget falls in his domain, he would call in the Thekedars and ask them to get their desired money but sign the bills for double the price of the project, as the rest would have to go to the party funds, revealed the senior babus who have grown their grey hair seeing all these back and forth transitions from ministers to Thekedars happening in front of their eyes.
“Thekedar policy has been very effective since the days of Ziaul Haq, they remember vividly by telling that the motto was that it makes the old dictum work that ‘seeing is beleiving’. People see for themselves that construction works are underway, cement factories, labour forces, white colour jobs and what not gets an immediate kick out of such activities. Leadership of Nawaz League, babus reveal strongly believe that once we engage a number of people and circulate some money in the country, we will get time to do our own businesses without any hindrance. With simple in hand and almost two third stuffed in various pockets in the shape of JUI (F), JI, Sherpao and even independents of FATA, this formula has already been finalized by financial gurus of Nawaz League, they confirmed.
Meanwhile, our vigorous finance minister, Ishaq Dar continues to shift sides to keep the opposition, his own party and even the media calm. Public is not an issue because he believes that his party has just won an election through the votes of the same public and since they have voted for their mandate, therefore, they should not be the focus of priorities right now. Priorities, of course, remains the social media, the media, the opposition and then of course his own bosses.
By reiterating time and again during his budget speech as well during his post budget briefing that inflation has remained below eight per cent, Ishaq Dar justified his moves of not increasing the salaries of the federal employees and raise of one per cent sales tax. The reason, many in the businesses know, which Dar tactfully kept under guise of inflation was the fact that so much emphasis on these fudged figures of State Bank of Pakistan was to ensure that upcoming meeting of the central bank should further cut down the interest rates.
Isn’t it interesting that ever since Shoukat Aziz times—or even before that—State Bank of Pakistan has been facilitating the ruling elite by giving them fudged figures in the name of their surveys and accounts movements. How ironic is that even a layman knows that every single hike of even one rupee in the petroleum products unleashes a chain of reaction thus increasing the prices of food, transport, health and even rent. There has been a hike of over 40 per cent in petroleum products, which has been the basis of increases in surcharges even by the government itself since 2007.
More than 45 per cent hike in fuel surcharges in all the utilities has come from the federal government, which somehow remains out of sight of State Bank monitors. On the edible front, it hardly takes few hours to trickle all such hikes down to the end consumers. Prices of vegetables rose in the same period between 35 to 70 per cent, pulses by 40 to 60 per cent, fruits (of even much less quality) gone up by 50 to 150 per cent, transport fares have gone from Rs ten per stop to over 25 rupees per stop. But how smart are our financial and economic gurus sitting in the air-conditioned-chilled rooms that they have started giving us the inflations figures by eliminating the food and petroleum products out of their engineered automated systems to make us believe that inflation has actually come down in May 2013 to 5.3 per cent. What a joke, isn’t it?

Balochistan Unrest: A quagmire seeking immediate attention of Khaki and political establishments

2013-06-16T19:17:00.003+05:00

Balochistan Unrest: A quagmire seeking immediate attention of Khaki and political establishments

Saeed Minhas

The honeymoon of the federal government, as predicted earlier seems to have not lived beyond first week. First the onslaught from self-exiled leadership of MQM, then the budget and last but not the least is the terrorism hitting with full vengeance the Pashtoon dominated areas of Pakistan’s largest but poorest province on Friday and Saturday.

Almost two dozen causalities, including some top officials, scores of injured and more importantly a well synchronized series of attacks starting from residency of Quaid-e-Azam in Ziarat and then in Quetta’s women university and hospital are raising all the old questions. Some fingers are being pointed in the direction of foreign hands, others are considering it a reaction of the ultra nationalists against their decade old demands of giving them the ownership of their resources, while few others are raising the point that it’s just another episode to prove the existing gap between political and military leadership with regard to the province.

Leadership of Nawaz League seems to be still in a fix and besides issuing cyclostyled statements are still trying to find a way out of this testing situation. Talking to the PML (N) leadership reveals that knowing the complications of the Balochistan issue, Nawaz League had earned the wrath of Sardars and Nawabs by gifting the chief ministership and even Governorship to their allies. They were fully aware of the fact that Mengals and Baloch nationalists are under tremendous pressure from the known separatist groups. Similarly, the Nawaz League had an idea that how sensitive army establishment has grown over the years with regard to this issue.

The complication of the issue can be gauged from the fact that Baloch nationalists have been plying in the Baloch dominated areas throughout the election campaign. Most of their strikes and threats were meant for the leaders and voters of the 12 Baloch districts in west, east and south. There was hardly few countable strikes, outside of Quetta reported during the election period in northern parts, mostly dominated by Pashtun population. The result was that few thousands of votes secured a national assembly seats in almost all the Baloch populated areas during the recently held elections.

A strike in the Pashtun dominated area; namely Ziarat shows that Baloch nationalists have decided to put their signature across Balochistan to give a clear signal to the army establishment and Nawaz government that even a democratic dispensation might not deter them from their goals. Army establishment has long been trying to establish that these seperatists and even nationalists are being backed by foreign elements. Mainly India is singled out but as the local population reveals that many of our brethren Islamic countries from across the Arabian sea are equally involved in this endeavour of the insurgents. Presences of Quetta Shura have also remained very much at the centre of debate since the last years of Musharraf. US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher even introduced a resolution in the US House of Representatives calling upon Pakistan to recognise the Baloch right to self determination. The motion was co-sponsored by other congressmen Louie Gohmert and Steve King, highlighted in detail Balochistan’s troubled past with the centre after the creation of Pakistan. It was the same time when Obama administration was thinking of expaqnding their drone strikes in Balochistan apparetntly to get rid of Quetta Shura but in fact to accelerate the separatist feelings, remembers a Baloch nationalists sitting in the Balochistan Assembly these days.

The Chief Minister of Balochistan, Dr Malik has already come on record asking the army establishment to coordinate its efforts to purge the insurgents with political leadership. Finding no response from the Khaki establishment, insider believe, Dr Malik was left with no option but to rush to federal capital and inform the prime minister of the simmering tensions in his province. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has had detailed meetings with all the services chiefs soon after the budget and sources believe that the issue was brought up during his meetings. But the response is learned to have been that “we know how to deal with the situation.” Army chief has been on record not once but several times asking the political leadership to come up with some workable plans and let the army out of troubled areas. Because Army too believes that guns may not resolve the issue but talks might. But the paradox is that mistrust between the gunners and political leadership as well as administration is not that smooth which can ensure a coordinated action plan, revealed senior Leaguers. The ball has always been in the federal government’s court. The Baloch package seems to have failed to quell this separatist trend and now the sacrifice of Nawaz League to allow nationalist parties form the government is not bringing in the desired results, agreed the Leaguers. Therefore, entire political leadership have to join hands to bring Khakis on the table to find a workable and less cumbersome solutions to issues like resource allocations, missing persons and even the sense of ownership to the Baloch people, they argue.

Press Gallery: Governance in a media driven world

2013-06-16T17:35:00.001+05:00

Governance becomes a nightmare in a media-driven world

Saeed MiNhas

ISLAMABAD: In a media-driven world, governance has become such a nightmare that if you follow the media, you find yourself dumbfound at some point and if you don’t follow the monstrous small screen, even then you are set to doom.

Latest victims of this doom and gloom theory include our newly elected government of PML-N while Peoples Party has just learned that lesson after a humiliating outing in the recently-held general elections. Ever since this mini screen has brought a feisty dictator down and put a new life in the compromised judiciary, its role in setting the agenda for any political or dictatorial regimes is becoming a permanent headache for the entire ruling elite. As one senior and instrumental parliamentarian from the recent PPP government put it “things are changing so rapidly here because of TV. People are taking their comedians more seriously and the politicians as a joke.”
First we saw Gen. Musharraf challenged by the yelling anchors in 2007 for not taking any action against the imposing mullahs of Lal Mosque. When media pushed a commando into action, within 24 hours the same anchors were yelling at the use of brute force by then then corp commander of Rawalpindi Tariq Majeed. Hardly weeks went by when the same media showed chief justice of Pakistan presenting his progress report to Gen Musharraf in his presidential palace while discussing the role of complacent judiciary in validating the 1999 military coup and subsequent endorsements. Then the same experts even senior analysts were seen criticizing the general for sending a reference against the chief justice for his removal on charges of misuse of power. The commando failed to comprehend the scale of TV’s impact and continued showing his fist which eventually made him sit for hours in front of the same anchors whom he used to call names and do the damage control. But result is there for everyone to see.
Peoples Party, riding on the lessons learned from jails and political criminology adopted a unique way of blocking out the media by resorting to boycott the agenda setting anchors and media house. It eventually completed five years despite the fact that major anchors of a media house were seen jumping on their mini screens to predict the ouster of Zardari government at any given time. But the tight lipped policy only helped PPP to put a question mark on the credibility of all such anchors. But as they say that who cares about credibility when in President Zardari’s own words political actors sitting on screens become holier than the policy makers. Zardari-gimmick worked only to the extent that the party completed its tenure but the common buzz word heard in every goth, village or remotest part of the country was that even if a cow is stolen, the blame would fall on President Zardari or his government.
Now comes the Nawaz government which has got more than even it had wished throughout the election campaign of 2013. The federal finance minister was heard joking about the social media’s outburst against him for not raising salaries of the federal government employees just a say after presenting the budget in the House. “Only few thousand people cannot tell me that what I should do for a country of 180 million,” he told the scalp-hungry media men in his post budget briefing. It hardly took two days for him to realize that even these few thousand coupled with the anchors he used to love just a few weeks back, made him announce a ten per cent raise for the employees. Ziarat and Quetta is just another example where we can see the switching of the roles of opposition and treasury benches. Chaudhry Nisar, known for making lengthy speeches on every single issue for castigating the government, was seen occupying the same seat from where few weeks back Rehman Malik used to assure the nation that “I have got everything under control.”
Debate on the budget was all but seemed an effort in vain because finance minister Ishaq Dar was hardly listening to the few suggestions hurled at him in between lots of criticism on almost everything under the sun. Hardly anything was new in today’s proceedings, except the faces receiving the pouncing from other side of the House wore a green goblin’s looks while a few months back those yelling at the top of their voices now were sitting on the treasury benches with red rolled sleeves. As for the budgetary deficit is concerned, one of Leaguer sitting with a bureaucrat of the finance ministry just summed up our day by quoting famous remarks of American President Ronald Regan: “I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself.”

Budget 2013 Analysis:Ishaq Dar kick-starts a ‘bubble economy’

2013-06-13T14:40:00.001+05:00

Budget Analysis:Dar kick-starts a ‘bubble economy’

Saeed Minhas

Newly elected government of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) has finally presented a budget to lure businessmen, army and investors by raising their hopes of getting the real kick out of the cash starved economy.

The same man who had orchestrated a US $ 7.6 billion loan from IMF at the start of Peoples Party government in 2008 was seen ensuring nothing but covering all the vulnerable bases for his own party’s government. Their core vote bank of business tycoons and an institution which has lately become nothing less than an Achilles Heel of Nawaz League (or for that matter for all elected governments) have all been extended a hand which remained elusive for them during Zardari led government of the past.

Army has been offered a 10 per cent (15 % if we add PSDP dole outs) hike whereas investors and businessmen have got what they have been looking for in the past five years; a further decrease in interest rates to help them stave off their burden of heavy bank loans. By resorting to the old paradigm of ‘you scratch my back and I yours’ federal finance minister Ishaq Dar was magnanimous to indirectly praise the previous government of PPP by highlighting the fact that the inflation has scaled down from double digits to just 8 per cent.

What does that mean for an ordinary person? Nothing but despair, reveals many economists when asked about the reality of ever climbing inflation. According to IMF and CIA fact books it still stand around 11.9 per cent in Pakistan. However, figures from State Bank of Pakistan differ dramatically because according to their latest revelations inflation has further gone down in May this year from 6 to 5.7 per cent. Interestingly, the CPI reveals these startling figures because SBP does not include food and energy sector hikes while calculating these figures. With three hikes in electricity and an added fuel surcharge during the caretakers, people are already reaping the fruits by paying not only these hiked rates of absent electricity but almost double the prices for all edibles and basic necessities. Real fruits of nature seem to have become a dream for majority of the population even in urban centres. Yet if the newly elected government, which few weeks earlier was crying hoarse that massively corrupt regime of PPP has made life miserable for common citizens, feels that a magic wand has turned things around, then we should all head for jungles to join the massive roars of the new Lion. But remember this too that gone are the verbosity-filled electioneering as reality has already sunk in and is biting not only Nawaz League but more so to the common man on street.

Minimum wage was supposed to see at least 50 per cent if not 150 per cent increase as per the election manifesto of Nawaz League in May 2013. But that too did not materialize. You know why because of the emphasis of the federal finance minister that inflation has actually come down. Therefore, it gives the justification to the federal government to leave the federal employees and pensioners without any need for increase in their purchasing power. However, because the inflation has remained low, therefore, it will be the same common man who will have to pay an extra one per cent in sales tax (another IMF promise fulfilled).

All of a sudden it seems that federal government within a span of couple of weeks of taking over the federal government has started seeing the people living in green pastures without any complaint or shortcomings. Isn’t it amazing? Of course it is.

Ishaq Dar has already made his intentions clear that no matter how much his party leader wants to break theKashkool (begging bowl), he sees no other way to pay off the spiraling burden of internal and external debts but to resort to new loans. Many economist believe that the new government is interested in creating a ‘bubble economy’ by resorting to the same old tactics they knew the best; low mark-up loans for 50,000 youth, duty free import of hybrid cars and lowering of interest rates. Does it have any resemblance with yellow cab schemes, youth investment scheme and duty free import of Mercedes Benz by the same party during 1990s? Certainly a lot. So let’s welcome the first budget of a party, which seems to have transformed a lot, or at least that’s what we have been hearing in the lead up to their oath taking.

With mini budgets likely to be pouring on all of us like an unending monsoon, we should be ready for another bank driven bumpy ride for at least next five foreseeable years. Federal minister Ishaq Dar has kick-started the same bandwagon which Silk Tareen tried to decorate with his banking connections, Hafeez Sheikh with his hedge-fund investors and then caretakers with the dictates from the Khakis.

Diplomatic Bubbles: Chinese massages Vs Chinese ambitions

2013-06-13T01:46:00.002+05:00

Diplomatic Bubbles:

Chinese massages vs Chinese ambitions

Saeed Minhas

ISLAMABAD: An eventful election period in Pakistan seems to have exhausted the diplomatic corps in federal capital to the extent that soon after hearing the opening address of the newly-elected prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif many of them were seen rushing for a kneading in the city’s elite and notorious parlors.

There was hardly anything wrong with that as many of us encountered some European, Gulf, Latin Americans and eve African diplomats in many such known places run by elite hospitality groups waiting for their turn to get into massage gowns. After all many of them have been running from Karachi to Khyber throughout the four weeks of electioneering to gauge the sentiments, weigh the options and find something to write back home. Ranging from anti-Americanism to TTP’s purported influence on the elections, they observed everything throughout these grilling and tension-marred weeks. The polling and the results and then the first democratic transition of power remained great interest to many of them as they saw many firsts during these days. Record polling, exuberance of youth, emergence of a third political reality, boycotts, voices of rigging, role of media and an election victory speech within hours of polling time, they remained glued to such and much more happenings.
Ostensibly, politics should have remained the discussion point in these parlours as well but to my surprise it was not the case. While sitting in one such elitist place, I had no option but to eavesdrop to what was going on next to me between a Chinese telecom company employee (wearing Zong’s logo on his shirt) and an American, full of slangs and mouthful of them.
Federal capital already having a notorious touch for having cat or key clubs and night parties was the topic of discussion between these two which later was joined by a Romanian and Czech diplomat. A gang of five families, all of Chinese origin ad their competition with the new arrivals from central Asian republics mostly from Baku and Tashkent was the exact topic of discussion. Crux of the matter was that which place gives better value for money when it comes to body massage.
Hot talk over the sex slaves of China was not the only thing which was going on there as others were also endorsing the lethal combination of such slaves with spying assignments, the air soon became so tense that parlour management had to send them both to their respective service places and end this conversation.
Chinese and Americans seems to have become so much engrossed in each other’s movements these days that it seems that there is a mini cold war going on between the two in our federal capital. If Americans have blocked entire roads on security reasons, so are Chinese doing in F 6 area. If Americans have developed their own clubs and handout places within diplomatic enclave, so are Chinese doing to establish little China Towns in Islamabad. One such was found in F 11’s jungle of multi story buildings where a telecom company has rented out any entire building for its employees. Once you enter the heavily guarded doors of the complex, you can simply tell by smelling the air that our closest and all weather friends are bringing Shanghai here.
A talk with the security experts in the capital also revealed that this tit for tat is becoming a big diplomatic hassle for the foreign office these days. Just before the visit of the Chinese prime minister to Islamabad, they said that a high level security delegation arrived in Islamabad to ensure the security arrangements. During one such meeting, they informed that the Chinese left the then caretaker interior minister Malik Habib completely dumb by telling him the figures of American spies in the capital and around Pakistan. They even asked Malik to completely block the entry and exit points of federal capital for the entire duration of Chinese premier’s stay in Islamabad besides blocking the phone networks to avoid any mishap.
Another official further confided that our all season Chinese friends have officially protested to the government of Pakistan about engaging Saudis in Gwadar port area. Since the Chinese company is entrusted the task of making the deep sea port of Pakistan operational by the last government, therefore, they believe that though Americans have not been allowed to set up their consulate in Baluchistan but by giving the huge tracts of lands to Saudis would eventually bring Americans in Gwadar- game.
Certainly a game is on between China and America for supremacy at the world stage but Islamabad seems to be fast becoming a mini stage for this Sino-US cold war.

ICFJ: NGOs Appeal to President of Egypt: Free the journalists and Freedom of Expression

2013-06-13T01:25:00.001+05:00

Appeal to Egyptian President

Below is the testimony of Joyce Barnathan, President of International Center for Journalists he made before the US Congress to seek justice for two Egyptian and three American journalists who have been sentenced to serve in jail just for training journalists on issues like freedom of expression, truthful journalism and adhereing to journalistic code of ethics while reporting from difficult areas.

We the media NGOs, appeal to the President of Egypt to free the senteced journalists to let the world know that freedom of expression is not restricted in Egypt.

TESTIMONY BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE

ON THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

“AMERICAN NGOS UNDER ATTACK IN MORSI’S EGYPT”

JUNE 12, 2013

Chairman Ros-Lehtinen and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to testify about the terrible verdict in Egypt.

The International Center for Journalists’ work in Egypt and around the world is aimed at raising professional standards. We offer practical, hands-on programs using the latest digital tools. We help today’s journalists produce responsible, ethical coverage.

When we first learned of the startling charges against five ICFJ employees, we worked with excellent lawyers to present overwhelming evidence that the allegations were false. Up until the verdict, our lawyers were convinced of an acquittal. The decision to convict all of the NGO workers is a politically motivated move. It does not reflect the work of ICFJ in Egypt.

But this decision has ruined lives. What do you say to a distinguished journalist like Yehia Ghanem, whom we hired to lead our new program, which hadn’t even begun, and to finish the registration process? He got a two-year sentence and cannot return home to his wife and three children – and the country he loves – without going to prison.

What do we say to his children, who cry daily because they miss their father? One of his kids had both arms broken in school for defending his dad’s honor. Our other Egyptian employee, Islam Shafiq, is separated from his pregnant young wife. Though his one-year term was suspended, is it really safe for him to return? Both are here today.

The court labeled the three U.S.-based defendants – Patrick Butler, Natasha Tynes and Michelle Betz – as fugitives, though they were not based in Egypt and were not there when the charges were filed. They got five-year terms. These people’s livelihoods depend on travel. Labeled as convicts, will they be arrested and sent to Cairo by a nation that has an extradition treaty with Egypt?

Then there's the societal impact. Egyptian court officials say they will pursue anyone who helped the NGOs—and they want to investigate other civil society groups. The draft of a new NGO law, by many accounts, including the State Department’s, is onerously restrictive.

There is a chilling effect that has frozen the hopes of an Arab Spring.

For ICFJ, this politically motivated decision is particularly painful. We are not a political organization. We do not take political positions or offer political advice.
ICFJ has been working in Egypt since 2005, with the complete knowledge of the government. We applied for registration from the start—and shortly before our offices were raided, we gave the government full details about all of our programs.

We always have formal contracts with prestigious universities or news organizations, which are registered to carry out our programs. In 2011, our lawyer recommended that we open an office, a legal requirement for registration. We had conducted no activities in this office while we waited for final approval.

At the heart of this matter is a dispute between the U.S. and Egyptian governments over funding for NGO activity. The Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation was angered that the U.S. gave funds to NGOs instead of to her ministry. ICFJ and its employees were not aware of this dispute.

The verdict is full of loaded language. The court claims that NGOs may appear to support human rights and democracy, but that the underlying goal is to “undermine Egypt’s national security and lay out a sectarian map that serves U.S. and Israeli interests.” The judges described NGO work as a new form of “soft imperialism practiced by donors to destabilize, weaken and dismantle” Egypt.

How do we even relate to any of these charges? The ICFJ defendants did nothing wrong by training journalists. We are discussing with our lawyers how to appeal this verdict. But how can we be confident in the appeal process when judges simply ignore the facts? Our employees also risk getting thrown in jail if they return home for an appeal. And those tried in absentia have no legal recourse.

Egypt’s news media have made groundless attacks on our defendants. These distortions show that the media need ICFJ’s services more than ever. The real victims are the Egyptian people, who will likely see further backsliding in democracy and freedom of expression.

Members of Congress who visited Egypt during the trial assured our staff there that they had nothing to worry about. The U.S. government would protect those working on programs it funded, they said. We urge Congress now to hold fast to that promise. Please use all means possible to get these unjust verdicts overturned.

We need a pardon so that good, decent people like Yehia Ghanem and Islam Shafiq can recapture their lives. It would be a shame if Egyptian citizens now fear that working to build democratic institutions will only land them in jail.

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