The Musharraf Dilemma

'Lollypop Summit' Puts Gen. Musharraf on the Spot

By Shaheen Sehbai

July 2003

PAKISTANI General Pervez Musharraf has received enough sugar-free, fat-free lollypop samples from President George Bush to go back home, jumping with  joy on his controlled media, to convince confused Pakistanis that he was returning as a conqueror of Camp David and not a man put under greater  scrutiny and pressure.

The high-sounding, outwardly confident Musharraf as he may appear on Pakistan TV, must be a very worried and concerned man deep inside because  what he has got, along with a lot of patting on his back, is a bagful of tasks to perform, benchmarks to meet, orders to deliver.

In the words of a senior Punjabi diplomat in the Pakistani side, Musharraf  has been told in so many words: "Puttar Hunh Sher Bun" (which is the punch  line of a dirty joke involving a jungle lion and a domestic donkey, and when
put in decent words means: "Get ready for the real pain").

The bottom-line of the Camp David deal is that Musharraf has to keep his Masters happy, he will be under close scrutiny for almost two years before  any of the goodies that have been promised actually start flowing and he will have to behave in terms of nuclear technology and on Kashmir (according to what the Indians want: 100 per cent stop to Cross Border Terrorism). For rewards, basically for now it is a mouthful of promises and more promises.

American officials are very apt at putting the record straight in such  matters as they have to keep a domestic audience intelligently informed, a  Congress adequately satisfied and a Press reasonably managed. That is  exactly what a "Senior Administration Official" (SAO) did on the same day as  Musharraf and Bush had their "Lollypop Briefing" at Camp David.

This SAO is normally a very senior person, sometimes the Deputy Secretary or  the Under Secretary who is present in the talks, who answers media questions  on back ground, which means he or she cannot be named. That briefing did take place on June 24 and took out all the joy and excitement out of  Musharraf's claims.

Just for quick reference here is what the SAO said on what the US side  expects from Musharraf:

"This is a multi-year program, Congress has to approve it, we have to make  sure that it makes sense. That is where -- I'm not using the term, conditionality, but basically you've heard me raise major issues, as I was  talking earlier. And for Congress to appropriate the funds -- and, indeed, for the government to seek the funds -- I think we're going to have to be  satisfied that Pakistan is indeed working vigorously with us in the war  against terrorism, is working vigorously to ensure that there is no onward  proliferation and is moving smartly towards democracy...I'm not calling
those conditions, but let's be realistic, three years down the road, if  things are going badly in those areas, it's not going to happen. We're not  going to request it, Congress won't appropriate it. And that is a bargain  that the Pakistanis are entering into with their eyes wide open."

When a journalist pointed out that those kind of "conditions" have been  considered, the SAO said: "Yes, and you know -- I mean, any of those would  blow apart in assistance programs. So that's the understanding." And the
SAO also made it clear that the assistance would begin in 2005, two years from  now after Congress had passed it in the Budget for 2005 presented next March.

When bluntly asked did the US show any concern for the so-called road to democracy in Pakistan that General Musharraf has engineered, the SAO said:
"Well, as I've sort of implied a couple times, the President made it clear  that Pakistan's movement towards democracy must continue, that this is really sort of the -- part of the bedrock of our relationship. And President
Musharraf reiterated that he's committed to moving down that road and we  expect him to continue to do so."

These are the basic tasks Musharraf has been given by the Bush Administration for whatever he has been promised. Can Musharraf deliver all  or most of them? He is not clear and does not know because the way he has  been phrasing the issue is confusing. In one of the speeches after meeting  President Bush, Musharraf said this regarding democracy in Pakistan:

"There  are anti-democratic forces waiting to take advantage of the democratic  process to undo reforms and restructuring [that] my government has introduced during the last three years."

What does he mean? He leads the biggest anti-democratic force in the country  as a military dictator who came through an army coup against an elected government and introduced fundamental changes in the Constitution using
an intimidated and largely subservient judiciary. So is any one working against  his dictatorship to be called an anti-democratic force. This argument is hanging upside down.

What is the US administration expecting in terms of democracy? This is what  the SAO had to say: "Obviously, a functioning parliament...But, basically, a  functioning democratic system with functioning parliaments and functioning
representation, including down to very low levels."

What Musharraf has succeeded in selling, and Bush people have agreed to buy  for the moment, is the topsy-turvy idea that Pakistan has only two choices  in terms of its political future --- either the present military  dictatorship which supports the US or an out of control fundamentalist Mulla  regime which will turn everything in the region on its head and force the US  to do in Pakistan what they did in Afghanistan or Iraq.

This concept is totally flawed as Musharraf has conveniently sidelined and  ignored the large liberal, secular and modern mass of political spectrum which has won all the elections, including the one Musharraf conducted under
supervision of his secret agencies. This part of the political landscape is  exactly what the US should be working with. It is pro-West and both Benazir  Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have been almost obediently working with Washington.

It is anti-fundamentalism as in all free elections it did not allow the  religious right to get more than 2-3 per cent of seats. It wants better ties  with India as Nawaz Sharif and Benazir demonstrated by hosting Indian Prime  Ministers in Pakistan.

What Musharraf has done is to secretly boost the Mullas, give them all  establishment support and props to turn them into a formidable electoral force in Parliament so that he could then present them as a threat to the  West and seek concessions. Enough evidence has already surfaced to prove this secret Mulla-Musharraf alliance.

What Washington should now demand from Musharraf in the 24 months before the money starts flowing into Pakistan, should be a serious effort by Musharraf  to bring back the mainstream liberal political parties into play,
sidelining  the Mullas as these parties form the natural allies of any US administration  in the long term. Washington cannot depend for ever on military dictators,  or the Mullas as these dictators are presenting them as the only
alternative.
 

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SA Tribune: June 22-28, 2003
http://www.satribune.com/archives/jun22_28_03/P1_taxstory.htm

Gen. Musharraf paid only $12 as Wealth Tax in Six Years

By Maryam Hussain

ISLAMABAD: General Pervez Musharraf paid no wealth tax for five years on his extensive lands and properties, although he publicly announced in November 1999 that he had done so, a Pakistan Government Income Tax Department  document obtained by SA Tribune reveals.

And finally when he did pay wealth tax in 1999-2000 on his assets worth much  more than Rs 30-40 million in the market (or over half a million US  dollars), he coughed up only Rs 710 or $12.

The copy of the document has signatures of concerned officials which have  been erased by SA Tribune to protect them from reprisals.

Only recently when Musharraf sold his 2 squares of land in Bahawalpur, he  received millions. This amount should be reflected in his wealth  declarations now but conveniently in the last Budget, wealth tax has been  abolished.

The total Income Tax deducted at the source in five years from 1994-1999 was  Rs 115,524 (US$ 1,992) on a total declared income of Rs 1.24 million ($  21,430).

The document shows General Pervez Musharraf declared an income of Rs 146,629  in 1994-95 but the CBR assessed it as Rs 151,189 and taxed him Rs 16,261, which was deducted from his salary as is a routine.

In 1995-96 his declared and assessed income was the same Rs 197,358 and the  assessed/ paid tax was Rs 24,472.

Similarly in the next two years (96-97 and 97-98) his declared/assessed  income remained unchanged at Rs 205, 967 and Rs 213,417. He paid Rs 24, 684 and Rs 31,927 as Income tax in these two years.

Suddenly in the next year when he became Chief of the Army Staff something  different happened to his tax assessment. He declared an income of Rs  222,046 but it was assessed at Rs 226,846. Surprisingly the tax he paid was  only Rs 18,180 or Rs 13,747 less than the previous year.

The document shows that he declared an income of Rs 252,670 for the next full year of his tenure as Army Chief but it was not assessed till then. This story of his Income Tax may be explained or justified in some ways but  the Wealth Tax story is the real one. It is here that the "real picture" of  General Pervez Musharraf emerges as an honest and upright man.

Before his declarations of how much "wealth" he had are analyzed, the  official declaration of his assets, made shortly after he took over in the October 1999 coup, has to be kept in view. The official news agency Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) released this  report (In Box) on November 2, 1999:

According to the given list, except the parent's house in Islamabad and  daughter's house in Karachi all other property belongs to General Musharraf  himself.

This includes 2000 square yard of land in Defence Society Karachi, over 1200  sq. yards plot in Morgah Rawalpindi, 900 sq. yards plot in Peshawar, 2  squares in Bahawalpur (sold now) , 600 sq. yds in Eastridge and 1200 sq  yards in Gwadur. The document of his wealth tax return shows the wealth  (which includes the lands) declared by General Musharraf for the year  1998-99 (which ends June 30, 1999) was valued at less than one million  rupees, or Rs 947,000 to be exact.

Thus according to this document, Musharraf's Karachi Rawalpindi, Lahore, Peshawar, Bahawalpur and Gwadur lands all put together are worth less than Rs 1 million or US Dollars 17,241 ($1=Rs58).

But according to any person with an ordinary knowledge and intelligence, his  Karachi plot is worth over Rs 20 million, his Rawalpindi piece of land  values at least Rs 5 million, his Peshawar plot could easily fetch Rs 2-3 million. The market value of all other lands put together, is well over Rs 30 million. Probably much more as these estimates are very conservative.

His house in Rawalpindi would be worth another at least Rs 10 million if not more. Thus his real wealth, other than cash or securities or overseas  accounts is more than Rs 40 million, but he has declared it to be less than Rs 1 million.

On top of this huge under-declaration General Musharraf declared in November 1999 that he had paid all his taxes, including Wealth tax till June 30,  1999.

The document reveals that for the year 1998-99 (which ends June 30, 1999) no Wealth Tax was paid as according to his declaration the wealth was "BTL" or Below Tax Limits.

Musharraf declared his wealth to be Rs 777,000 in 1994-95 and 1995-96, Rs 597,000 in 1996-97, Rs 975,000 in 1997-98, Rs 947,000 in 1998-99 and Rs  1,129,000 in 1999-2000. In that year he paid a wealth tax of Rs 710 or US $ 12.24. The document shows the CBR had not assessed the wealth by then.

The following story was run by APP on Nov 2, 1999:

Musharraf Declares All Property Owned by Family

RAWALPINDI, Nov 2 (APP): Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf has  declared all property owned by his whole family. According to an ISPR press release, following statement has been issued by General Pervez Musharraf with regard to his family property:

1."I would like to declare all property owned by my whole family. My family  consists of my parents, wife, my son and daughter. Both my son and daughter are married. The property owned by all of us is as under:

a. Property for which installments are being paid:

(1) Under construction House in Army Housing Scheme Pt-II, Karachi.
(2) 2000 Sq. Yards in DHA, Karachi.
(3) 2xKanals in Morgah Housing Scheme, Rawalpindi.
(4) 1 and half Kanal in AWT (Army Welfare Trust) Housing Scheme, Peshawar.
(5) 8xMarlas in LCCHS, Lahore.
(6) 2xSquare agriculture land at Bahawalpur.

b. Parents' house in F-7/3, Islamabad.
c. My daughter's house in DHA (Defence), Karachi.
d. 1xKanal plot in Eastridge Scheme (09).
e. 2xKanals in Sangar Housing Scheme, Gwadar.

2. I have paid all taxes (income, wealth and agriculture) till the financial  year ending 30th June, 1999."

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‘Sense of Proportion’

by: Husain Haqqani

The Nation, May 28, 2003

 

General Tommy Franks, credited with planning and commanding the American-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, has decided to retire at the end of his tenure as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). General Franks was considered for the position of Army Chief of Staff, a Washington-based job, but he turnd it down saying that he found the job title interesting but "not on my scope". General Franks decided to end his military career on a high note.

 

Compare General Franks’ choice of retirement with General Pervez Musharraf’s reluctance to give up a general’s uniform in return for Pakistan’s presidency. General Musharraf has already extended his own tenure as army chief, following in the footsteps of several of his military predecessors. He is now willing to accept nagging political controversy and the attending instability while seeking to combine the jobs of head of state and military chief.

 

The difference between the choices of General Franks and General Musharraf is the difference between a society under rule of law and a society run according to the law of rulers. General Franks is assured of a place in history in a country where former officials are respected even when out of office and where the achievement of individuals is admired irrespective of their political beliefs or views.

 

Pakistan’s inability to create rule of law has resulted in a political culture obsessed with those wielding power at any given time. Those out of office are denied respect and recognition to the extent that sometimes their names are removed from plaques installed when they wielded power.

 

It is possible that General Musharraf is unwilling to relinquish his military rank out of fear that once he does that he would face the same process of erasure from history. But even if he manages to ride out the current political crisis, General Musharraf cannot rule (or live) forever. It would be far better for Pakistan if the nation went through a process of national reconciliation, which allows a more honest appraisal of Pakistani history, and honors (or at least recognizes) all those who have held high office. Once the mistakes of civilians and the military have been identified – be they the alleged corruption of civilian politicians or the extra-constitutional intrigues of military officers – the nation can get on with adherence to its constitution and to building rule of law.

 

Clinging to office is not the only sphere in which Pakistan’s leaders lack a sense of proportion. There is also a blind spot in dealing with alleged mistakes and crimes of the influential and powerful. The Americans deposed Richard Nixon for violating the constitution but also accepted his pardon by his successor, President Gerald Ford. When President Clinton was accused of accepting wrongful financial contributions and of lying in relation to a sexual relationship, he was subjected to legal process but allowed to carry on in office once the prosecution failed.

 

In Pakistan, on the other hand, there is no willingness to close a chapter and start a new one. Take the case of Asif Ali Zardari, who has now been in prison since 1996 facing relentless prosecution. The military-intelligence establishment has failed to convict Mr. Zardari despite changes in law and reshuffling of judges. Instead of accepting its failure and allowing the nation to move on, the establishment continues to hold Mr. Zardari hostage to influence the political decisions of his spouse, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. General Musharraf and his colleagues say they are convinced of Mr. Zardari’s guilt and will not release him come what may. But their decision has done little to unfreeze the country’s politics, which remains polarized and will remain so until Ms. Bhutto is allowed a free hand at a normal political cycle.

 

General Musharraf and his military colleagues have been seeking the revival of training programs for Pakistani military officers in the United States. As they learn the tactics of war from the American military, they should not ignore the lessons of American politics and history that could be useful for Pakistan.

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PPP gravely concerned over gifting of a power project to a foreign investor

Poses questions and demands probe

Islamabad February 3, 3, 2003: Spokesman of the Pakistan Peoples Party Farhatullah Babar has issued the following statement today:

"The Pakistan Peoples Party is gravely concerned and demands a thorough probe into how the state has been deprived of several hundred million dollars by the gifting away an Independent Power Project (IPP) to a foreign investor.

"An IPP namely M/s Rousch Power Limited located near Multan came on line and began producing power about two years ago in 2001. Under the terms of agreement with the government the plant was to run on furnace oil.

"Soon after commissioning, however, M/s Rousch ran into financial trouble and began incurring huge losses duly certified by the chartered accountants of the company.

"The chartered accountants in their latest report revealed, ' During the eighteen months of commercial operation the company has incurred accumulated losses of 2, 854 million rupees, ..future operations are not sustainable'.

"The Company was thus on the brink of liquidation and had to wind up.

"What the government should have done at this point of time is to invoke sub article (vi) of the contract with the IPPs, which says that if a project incurred cumulative operating losses the government would take over and run the plant itself without compensation to the shareholders.

"By taking over the power plant at that point and converting it from furnace oil to gas itself the government could have brought to the national kitty windfall gains of several hundred million dollars. The benefits of such windfall gains could have been passed to the power consumers who are hit almost daily by hike in power rates.

"However, for some unexplained reasons the Finance Ministry closed its eyes to the take over option. Instead it quietly allowed Rousch power project to switch to gas, guaranteed it huge quantities of cheap gas enabling the company to make an easy fortune - all at the expense of the poor people of Pakistan.

"Huge quantities of cheap gas produced in the country have thus been guaranteed to a private company only to benefit it in violation of the original terms of contract which required that the plant will be run on furnace oil.

"The Pakistan Peoples Party demands an answer to the following questions.

1. Why the Finance Ministry not exercise the take over option and instead rushed to the assistance of Ms/ Rousch?

2. Who is the local agent for the company and what is his relationship with the Advisor to Finance Mr Shaukat Aziz and others in the Finance Ministry?

3. Is the cheap gas now being supplied to the plant at public expense not at the root of the complaints of the Baluch leaders that their gas wealth is being stolen for the benefit of others?

"NAB has consistently and shamelessly allowed itself to be used for political ends. Will it for once stand up and demonstrate to the public that after all 'corruption and corrupt practices' is a little more than hounding political opponents?"

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The Partial List of Civilian Posts taken over by Army Officials

Special SAT Report
http://www.satribune.com/archives/sep23_29_02/P1_armylist.htm

ISLAMABAD: There can be numerous reasons why the Pakistan Army Generals would not transfer power to the elected representatives of the people of Pakistan. But one very obvious reason is the civilian positions of authority now under their clutches.

SAT has received from a contributor a list of over 85 such key positions where civilian experts, technocrats, academics, engineers, doctors, media persons, diplomats, civil servants, administrators and sportsmen should have been running the show, to the best of their ability and for the maximum benefit for the country.

But all these positions have been filled by serving or retired men in uniform; who already are either gainfully employed or have retired with full pensions, benefits and perks and have been re-employed depriving thousands of other more capable and deserving people.

This list is besides those armed forces personnel who have commercialized the names of their services and started business ventures like Fauji Foundation, Bahria Housing and Shaheen Air Services etc.

Thousands of others in lesser positions, who have been inducted under a quota system, have not yet been counted. But their presence makes it clear what stakes the army has developed in controlling the political system of the country.

The corporate face of the army also enjoys the full facilities and backing of the army establishment, whether their businesses run into profits or losses.

The 85 key positions identified by our contributor are as under:

01-05: General Pervez Musharraf (President, Chief executive, Defence Minister, Army Chief and Chairman of National Security Council);(The COAS slot has been included here just to show the hats Gen. Musharraf wears. This job will naturally remain with the Army).
06. Major General (Retd) Muhammad Anwar (President of Azad Kashmir);
07. Lt Gen (Retd) Khalid Maqbool (Governor Punjab);
08. Lt General (Retd) Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah (Governor NWFP);
09. Lt General (Retd) Moinuddin Haider (Federal Interior Minister);
10. Lt General (Retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi (Federal Communications Minister);
11. Col (Retd) S.K. Tressler (Federal Minorities & Culture Minister);
12. Lt Gen. Hamid Javed (Chief Executive’s Chief of Staff);
13. Major General Muhammad Yusuf (Chief Executive’s Deputy Chief of Staff);
14. Major General Rashid Qureshi (President’s Information Adviser);
15. Lt General Muneer Hafeez (Chief of NAB);
16. Major General Usman Shah (Deputy Chief of NAB);
17. Major General Shujaat Zameer (Deputy Chief of NAB);
18. Major General Abdul Jabbar Bhatti (Chief of Regional RAB Punjab);
19. Air Vice Marshal Zakaullah (Chief of Regional RAB NWFP);
20. Major General Tariq Bashir (Chief of Regional RAB Sindh);
21. Major General Owais Mushtaq (Chief of Regional RAB Balochistan);
22. Lt General (Retd) Syed Tanvir Hussain Naqvi (Chief of National Reconstruction Bureau);
23. Lt General (Retd) Hamid Nawaz (Secretary Defence);
24. Air Marshal (Retd) Zahid Anees (Secretary Defence Production);
25. Lt General (Retd) Saeedul Zafar (Secretary Railways);
26. Major General (Retd) Fazal Ghafoor (Ambassador to North Korea);
27. Brigadier (Retd) Abdul Majeed Khan (Ambassador to Tajikistan);
28. Major General (Retd) Salimullah (Ambassador to UAE);
29. Major General (Retd) Muhammad Hassan Aqeel (Ambassador to Thailand);
30. Lt General (Retd) Asad Durrani (Ambassador to Saudi Arabia);
31. Vice Admiral (Retd) Shamoon Aslam Khan (Ambassador to Ukraine);
32. Air Marshal (Retd) Najeeb Akhtar (Ambassador to Brazil);
33. Major General Syed Mustafa Anwar Hussain (Ambassador to Indonesia);
34. Lt General (Retd) Muhammad Shafeeq (Ambassador to Bahrain);
35. Lt General (Retd) Zulfiqar Ali Khan (Chairman WAPDA);
36. Major General (Retd) Agha Masood Hassan (DG of Postal Services);
37. Major General Farrukh Javed (Chairman National Highway Authority);
38. Rear Admiral K.B. Rind (DG Ports & Shipping);
39. Rear Admiral Ahmad Hayat (Chairman Karachi Port Trust);
40. Rear Admiral Sikandar Viqar Naqvi (Chairman Port Qasim Authority);
41. Vice Admiral Tauqir Hussain Naqvi (Chairman National Shipping Corporation);
42. Major General (Retd) Muhammad Hassan (Chief of National Fertilizer Corporation);
43. Lt Colonel (Retd) Afzal Khan (Chairman Pakistan Steel Mills);
44. Lt Colonel (Retd) Akbar Hussain (Export Processing Zone Authority);
45. Major General Shehzad Alam Malik (Chairman Pakistan Telecommunications Authority);
46. Air Vice Marshal Azhar Masood (Chairman National Telecommunications Authority);
47. Brigadier (Retd) Muhammad Saleem (Chairman NADRA);
48. Brigadier Mirza Babar Aziz (DG NADRA);
49. Brigadier (Retd) Muhammad Anwar Khan (DG NADRA NWFP);
50. Major General Raza Hussain (Chairman SUPARCO);
51. Major General Sabihuddin Bokhari (Surveyor General of Pakistan);
52. Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema (DG National Crisis Management Cell);
53. Air Marshal (Retd) Shafeeq Haider (Chairman Federal Public Service Commission);
54. Lt General Arshad Hussain (Member Federal Public Service Commission);
55. Lt General (Retd) Jehangir Nasrullah (Chairman Punjab Public Service Commission);
56. Major General (Retd) Arshad Chaudhry (Member Punjab Public Service Commission);
57. Major General (Retd) Arshadullah Tarar (Member Punjab Public Service Commission);
58. Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Aliuddin (DG Civil Aviation Authority);
59. Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Arshad Saleem (Deputy DG Civil Aviation Authority);
60. Major General Zafar Abbas (DG Anti-Narcotics Force);
61. Major General Syed Haider Javed (DG National Logistics Cell);
62. Major General (Retd) Inayatullah Khan Niazi (DG Auqaf);
63. Major General Pervez Akmal (MD OGDC);
64. Brigadier (Retd) Rizvan Ashraf (General Manager OGDC);
65. Brigadier (Retd) Ishtiaq Ali Khan (MD Pakistan Mineral Development Authority);
66. Major General (Retd) Hamid Hassan Butt (Chairman Pakistan Railways);
67. Lt General (Retd) Syed Shujaat Ali Khan (Rector Engineering University Lahore);
68. Lt General (Retd) Arshad Mehmood (Vice Chancellor Punjab University);
69. Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Sardar Khan (Vice Chancellor Engineering University Peshawar);
70. Captain (Retd) U.A.G. Isani (Vice Chancellor Islamabad University);
71. Lt General (Retd) Sardar Ali (DG National Institute of Public Administration);
72. Brigadier (Retd) Maqsoodul Hassan (DG Directorate of Education);
73. Brigadier Muhammad Ejaz (Home Secretary Punjab);
74. Brigadier Abdur Rehman (Director Health NWFP);
75. Brigadier Shadab (Secretary C&W Punjab)
76. Brigadier Anees (Chairman Punjab Privatisation Commission);
77. Colonel (Retd) Shahid Qureshi (DIG Sindh Telecommunications);
78. Colonel (Retd) Ghulam Hussain (Secretary S&GAD NWFP);
79. Brigadier Mukhtar (Home Secretary NWFP);
80. Brigadier Zaheer Qadri (Secretary C&W NWFP);
81. Brigadier (Retd) Akhtar (Secretary to Governor Sindh);
82. General Muhammad Aziz Khan (Chairman Pakistan Hockey Federation);
83. Lt General Tauqir Zia (Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board);
84. Air Marshal Mushaf Ali (Chairman Pakistan Squash Federation);
85. Major General (Retd) Imtiaz (Chairman Pakistan Athletics Federation);
86. Brigadier Saulat Abbas (DG Pakistan Sports Board).

The following names have been added by our reader Aasim Saeed. All readers are invited to post any new names they can add to the Discussion Board under the List Story:

87. Brig. Khalid Javed, DG Projects Directorate, NADRA, Islamabad
88. Col Talmeez Abbas, DG Dataware Housing, NADRA, Islamabad
89. Maj Tahir M. Alvi DDG, Project Directorate, NADRA, Islambad
 

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South Asia Tribune

Aug 19-25, 2002 | ISSN:1684-2075
http://www.satribune.com/archives/Aug17_23_02/P1_landgrabbing.htm#top

A first hand list of Army landlords

Special SAT Report

BAHAWALPUR, Pakistan: Pakistani Army Generals, including President Pervez Musharraf and his top colleagues, have found an innovative way to defend the land of their country --- by grabbing it.

 

SA Tribune has got a list of over 100 armed forces men who allotted to themselves at least 400 or more acres of prime land in Bahawalpur, heart of Punjab, "to defend it from the enemy," at the throw away rate of Rs 380 per acre (US Dollars Six & 50 cents). The list is only of one District. Such lists exist all over Punjab and Sindh where a new breed of landlords has already been created through similar allotments.

 

These fertile lands were given to the serving and retired generals on the pretext that these army generals will "prove a front line against the invading army."

 

The centuries old British colonial law to settle locals near enemy border was invoked by these army men to grab the lands. But instead of taking lands close to the border, they took away prime heartland acres, thousands of them, in the name of defending the country.

 

The price they paid was Rs 380 an acre was notional but many of them sold the land making millions. Others have become feudal lords in their own right by employing landless peasant to till these land and produce key crops.

This list has been prepared with the help of land revenue record of the district of Bahawalpur by local activists of Nationalist Qaumi Movement, a group fighting for the rights of the local people.

 

This conversion of generals into landlords also explains why no serious effort has been made by the military to introduce land reforms in the country, which could cure many political and social imbalances in the Pakistani society.

The list includes the names and the area (Chak) where the land (400 acres or more) is located. Some of these officers may have been promoted to higher ranks or even retired from service:

 

* General Pervez Musharraf, Current President, Village (Moza) Nouabad Yazman, Bahawalpur;
* General Zubair, Chak DB/14;
* General Moinuddin Haider, Current Interior Minister, DB/43;
* General Aziz, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, BC/16;
* General Iqbal, BC/16;
* General Saroop, BC/17;
* General Javed, DB/61;
* General Irashad Moin;
* General Zarar Niazi, DB/64;
* General Zulifkar Ali (Current Wapda chief) 54/P;
* Lt General Saleem Haider 54/p;
* Lt General Mohammad Akram 94/9;
* Lt. General Mohammad Naeem;
* Lt General Mohammad Afzal Janjua 54/P;
* Lt General Amin Burki( 96/p);
* Lt General Khalid Maqbool (Current Governor Punjab) 54/P;
* Lt General Irshad Hussain;
* Lt General Mushtaq Hussain 54/P;
* Lt Gen Tariq Pervez (brother of Nawaz Sharif's cabinet minister Nadir Pervez);
* Admiral Mansoorul Haq, former Chief of Naval Staff, DB/113;
* Air Marshal Imtiaz Haider, DB/114;
* Major General Malik Mohammad Salim, 1L/101;
* Major General Amjad Shoaib 1L/127;
* Major General Jehangir Nasrullah, 95/P;
* Major General Waqar ul Haq, 55/P;
* Major General Mahboub Muzaffar, 56/P;
* Major General Khurshid Alam, A101/107;
* Major General Agha Jhangir Ali Khan, 1L/120;
* Major General Jamshed Iyaz Khan, 126/1L;
* Major General Tahir Ali Qurshi, 93/P;
* Major General Muzaffar Usmani (Later promoted to Lt General and retired recently by Gen. Musharraf), 93/P;
* Major General Sultan Habib, 93/P;
* Major General Abdul Razzak, 250/P;
* Major General Mohamamd Mushtaq, 54/P;
* Major General Mohammad Raza, 54/P;
* Major General Rafiullah, (former IB Chief);
* Major General Zafar Mehdi;
* Brig Mohammad Sarfraz, 55/P;
* Brig Mohammad Jamil Qudrat Warsi, IL/104;
* Brig Mumtaz, IL/104;
* Brig Rasheed, Chak 126;
* Brig Ali Akbar, 54/P;
* Brig Gull Alam Khan 46/P;
* Brig Mohammad Bashir Baz, Chak 256;
* Brig Saeed Abdul Khaliq, IL/129;
* Brig Ashraf Khan Afridi, 49/P
* Brig Ghazanfar Azam, Chak 105;
* Brig Javed Malick, Chak 46/P
* Brig Ghulam Abbas, Chak 46/P,
* Brig Iftikar, Chak 46/P
* Brig Shahid Naeem, Chak 46/P
* Brig Ziaullah, IL/119;
* Brig Saddik Khan, 54/P;
* Brig Masoud Bashir; 54/P
* Brig Pervez Akhtar son of Saleem Khan; 54/P
* Colonel Shaukat Hayat, IL/123;
* Colonel Safdar Hussain, 250/P;
* Colonel Mohammed Tariq Khan, 256/P ;
* Colonel Bahadur Nawaz, 256/P
* Lt Colonel Ahmad Yar Khan, 44/46;
* Lt Colonel Abdur Rahim Khan, 93/P;
* Lt Colonel Arshad Pervez Khan, 93/P

In addition to these officers, 50 hawaldars, naib clerks; clerks, naiks, honorary captains; subedars;  subedar majors have also been allotted lands in the vicinity of Bahawalpur and Cholistan.

---

How ISI threatens Islamabad, the beautiful

The Generals are ready to conquer the Capital Hills

http://www.satribune.com/archives/sep16_22_02/P1_Margalla.htm

Special SAT Report
 

NEW YORK: Pakistan's well known spy agency, the ISI, is ready to conquer a major hilly area, within Pakistan, the picturesque Margalla Hills overlooking the Capital City, Islamabad.

 

Under the garb of national security and protecting the military government, soon influential Generals will be enjoying the lofty hills for their residences, overlooking the entire city.

According to sources in President Musharraf’s delegation to New York, ISI had almost forced a frightened woman Federal Minister for Environment, Barrister Shahida Jamil, to allot 100 acres of land in the Margalla Hills National Park, one of the big attractions of the capital city.

 

The agency wants to construct a new and “safe” Headquarter as well as, quite intriguingly, a housing colony for its officers. An official summary generated by Barrister Jamil’s ministry has been sent to President Pervez Musharraf, for an urgent decision on his return from USA. Approval is almost obvious.

The ISI bosses have argued with the Environment Ministry that they all were feeling very insecure in the existing building of ISI, located at Zero Point, on Aabpara Road in Islamabad. This building could be targeted by the al-Qaeda activists or Indian agents as it is located on one of the busiest road of Islamabad.

 

This argument ignores the fact that the ISI building has never been targeted in the past, although it was the hub of all the activity during the entire war against the Soviet Union and the civil war inside Afghanistan.

 

The Environment Minister secretly approved the summary for President Musharraf, before leaving to attend the summit on Environment in South Africa. The allotment of the Park land would be a clear violation of international laws governing the environment.

Anticipating attacks on its offices, or to build up a case for the lucrative Margalla Hills land, the ISI bosses have already closed one of the side roads linking the Zero Point-Aabpara road to Blue Area (commercial area) of the city and several armed personnel have been posted.

Initially the Environment Ministry response was one of alarm as giving away 100 acres on these hills would almost destroy the whole area as a natural park which needed to be preserved. When the ISI bosses learned about it, they immediately contacted the Minister and “convinced” her about the immediate need of 100 acres. The lady, naturally, could not resist the pressure.

 

Some concerned officials of her Ministry, risking both their lives and jobs, held a meeting with the Minister and told her about the disastrous impact of her decision on the environment of Islamabad and Margalla Hills. She was also informed about the negative international reaction.

She was also told that once the gates were opened, other government agencies will start moving in and soon the entire hill area will be grabbed by one government agency or the other.

 

The frightened Minister decided to get out of this dangerous game and a way out to save her skin was found. She asked the concerned staff to prepare a summary, giving both sides of the arguments, and send it to the President for the final decision.

Officials do not expect President Musharraf to turn down the proposal at a time when he was totally dependent on the ISI, both for his personal protection and advancement of his pro-US policies.

 

Thus the first Musharraf Government decision to destroy the serene environment of Islamabad, is just around the corner. And again, the Generals would grab the best pieces for their homes.

 

The ISI would practically start looking over every Islamabad resident then.

---

NAB has evidence of mass corruption in past defence deals
NAB still to take up cases against corrupt officers; documents with NAB suggest many deals made by military men involved kickbacks
News Intelligence Unit
by
Kamran Khan
‘The News’ dated August 29, 2000

 

KARACHI: The long arm of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which has already twisted some of the "untouchables" among the political, bureaucratic and business elite of the country, is still far away from touching the veteran military top brass that was at the helm of affairs when questionable military purchases worth billions of dollars were made in the past two decades.

 

In a month-long investigation by the News Intelligence Unit (NIU), during which more than three dozen present and retired civil and military officials were interviewed and scores of related documents examined, it emerged the national exchequer may have lost up to Rs. 570 crore (US $1 billion) in the shape of alleged kickbacks in contracts. These related to tanks, submarines, mine hunters, Mirage fighters and army jeeps in multi-purpose deals signed by the Army Welfare Trust, Shaheen and Bahria foundations.
 

The NIU investigation has revealed that the NAB is already in possession of enough documentary or circumstantial evidence to launch a full-scale probe against at least 20 retried senior military officials including three former chiefs of army staff, two naval chiefs and an Air Force chief in purchases of tanks, submarines, naval mine hunters, Mirage fighters and army jeeps. But there is nothing to suggest NAB is close to filing a reference against any former ranking military official or even serve them with a questionnaire.

Interestingly, the documents seen by the NIU providing extensive clues about alleged corruption in mega defence contracts and in the affairs of the Army Welfare Trust (AWT), Shaheen Foundation, Bahria Foundation and Defence Housing Authority (DHA) were made available from the NAB's huge reservoir of incriminating documents, much of which was built by the former Ehtesab Bureau. There is no indication yet NAB would, at any time in the near future, make any use of this reservoir.

 

Besides sizeable documentary evidence, the army-run NAB is also equipped with experienced serving military officials who have brought with them personal expertise and knowledge about many of the questionable defence deals. Among the NAB's much-talked about consultants, is Major (retd) Saeed Akhter Malik, a former representative for Styer sniper rifles in Pakistan. Saeed can provide an insight to NAB about the "invisible prerequisites" for selling sniper rifle to army-run organisations like ASF and Pakistan Coast Guards.

 

Though the defence budget of Rs 135 billion, including the military purchases of about Rs 1100 crore per annum, far exceeds the total budget of all civilian departments of the Government of Pakistan, NAB is barred from investigating the corruption cases that relate to the active service military officials. There is, however, no restriction on the organisation from investigating past military deals and retired military officials.

While a majority of contracts relating to controversial defence purchases have not yet been touched by the NAB, the organisation is making a low-key effort to seek the extradition of former chief of Naval Staff Admiral Mansurul Haq from the United States.
 

The NAB is in possession of documentary evidence, left by the former Ehtesab Bureau, that the DCN-I (Direction des Constructions Navales International) of France had made an indirect payment of about US $ five million to Admiral Mansurul Haq for a grossly over-invoiced up-gradation project for three Agosta B submarines. The NAB is seeking Admiral Mansur's extradition on that count, but it seems to be not interested to get to the bottom of the most embarrassing defence purchase episode of Pakistan's history.

During its investigation the NIU discovered that behind a much- publicised demand for Admiral Mansur's extradition lay an institutional effort to cover up the whole scandal. Unimpeachable sources have informed the NIU that while the NAB made public demands for Mansur's extradition, the former Naval chief, who had received advance information to that effect from an official channel, has already left her daughter's Austin residence in the state of Texas for a new undisclosed location outside the US.

 

The NIU can disclose that Commodore Shahid, the former director of Naval Intelligence who was convicted by a Field General Court Martial (FGCM) to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for his alleged role in the submarine corruption case, was pardoned by the former Naval chief Admiral Fasih Bukhari, only three months after the conviction. Commodore Shahid spent 12 weeks of this imprisonment in the comfortable atmosphere of his residence in Islamabad, during which there was no restriction on his movement in the city.

 

For receiving heavy kickbacks in a submarine deal Commodore Shahid and Captain Liaquat Ali Malik, both considered close to the top Naval hierarchy involved in the submarine deal, were awarded seven and three years rigorous imprisonment, respectively, by a military court in November 1998. These officials had been convicted on the basis of irrefutable bank statements and other documentary evidence, besides damning evidence from another serving Pakistan Navy Captain.

 

During the trial and after their conviction both officers, however, rigidly maintained they were just the pawns in a large game, and they have been made the scapegoats. Commodore Shahid, who had held the sensitive post of director Naval Intelligence, was believed to be privy to each and every behind-the-scene development on this subject and his threat to spill the beans is understood to have resulted in his unprecedented pardon by the former naval chief. Before his pardon, the Navy never allowed the authorities to shift the convicted commodore from his house to a prison.

 

Evidence in black and white available with NAB also provides ample evidence that kickbacks were also paid in the purchase of Edrian class minesweepers for the Pakistan Navy. The deal worth US $ 250 million had raised several eyebrows regarding the cost and the effectiveness of the project. NIU believed that Commodore Shahid was loaded with inside information on this particular deal also, and his honest testimony may provide vital links to establish payment of kickbacks.

 

The NIU has learned that while NAB appeared to be not interested in investigating Commodore Shahid's statements and the events that led to his dramatic pardon, it has not yet questioned Admiral A U Khan and Rear Admiral Mujtaba, the two senior ranking naval official who had played a significant role in the navy's decision to buy Agosta submarines under the then naval chief Admiral Saeed Khan.

 

Admiral A U Khan, who had received a surprising extension in the service in Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC), after the military take-over, is also closely related to a Federal minister. Admiral Mansurul Haq's financial deals while heading the PNSC before he was handpicked to head Pakistan Navy, though caused the collapse of the PNSC, but NAB is yet to start its probe into the PNSC affairs. The NIU is told the NAB is "fully loaded" with evidence against Admiral Mansur and two other top-ranking former naval officials on the kickbacks worth Rs 500 million they received on the land deals involving Bahria Foundation.

 

Admiral A U Khan or Rear Admiral Mujtaba are yet to be questioned by NAB about their role in the submarine deal. Several sources said Admiral A U Khan's 1994 visit to France was the turning point in the Navy's final decision to prefer the French subs over the Swedish model. A former Citibank official in Karachi, who had travelled to France with Admiral Mansurul Haq on his famous visit to conclude the up-gradation deal with the DCN-I, is now working closely with a top NAB official, but there is nothing to suggest if he had shared his knowledge, or has been asked to do so, about the kickbacks in the submarine deal with NAB.

 

In his private Sindh Club circle, the same former Citibank official is claiming that it was because of his personal relationship with Admiral Mansurul Haq, NAB has not yet moved to seize three personal houses of the former naval chief that are worth at least Rs 15 crore. A senior NAB official, however, informed the NIU that this individual was involved in NAB's plea of bargain with Tas Jumani who was wanted by NAB in a Rs 8 crore corruption case involving Pakistan State Oil. The NAB source emphatically denied the former Citibank official had anything to do with Admiral Mansur's investigation. 

 

Whatever may be the role of the former Citibank official in the submarine saga, but the documents available with NAB and other informed sources have named a Monte Carlo and London-based former BCCI official, as the principal go-between the DCN-I, the submarine manufacturer and the top naval officials in Pakistan. NAB officials estimate that in US$100 million kickback in the submarine deal, this go-between made a cool US$10 million in commission. 

 

He also acted as the principal go-between with Mirage 2000 manufacturer Dassault Aviation and the Government of Pakistan for an aborted purchase of 40 Mirage 2000 for a deal worth US$4 billion. At that time he was believed to be closely tied with both political and key Pakistan Air Force players. Although the Mirage 2000 deal never materialised, this individual's role remained unclear in PAF's surprise deal to buy 40 pieces of old model Mirages for US$120 million. 

 

NAB's reservoir of documents has some interesting material about this PAF purchase of 34 Mirage-vf and 6 Mirage 3 BE from the SEGAM of France. The role played by the then Director General Defence Procurement (DG, DP) Rear Admiral Saeed Akhter remained central to the whole deal, which had been concluded by the then Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak and the SEGAM officials in France. 

 

Amid charges of kickbacks worth US$20 million, distributed between the PAF command and the DG, DP, Rear Admiral Saeed Akhter left his job, under unexplained circumstances, and left for Europe where he settled permanently. At the time of the deal and afterwards, the dismissed Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Arshad Choudry had voiced concern about rising corruption in the PAF, and in a specific meeting with the then President Farooq Leghari, the Vice Air Chief offered to prove kickbacks and commission in deals ranging from land deals in Karachi to Mirage purchases to the Mirage rebuild factory in Kamra. 

 

Imprudent and sometimes intriguing financial decisions, during the same period, caused losses worth tens of crores of rupees to the active-service PAF officers-run Shaheen Foundation, the Shaheen Air venture with a Karachi-based General Sales Agent (GSA) for some foreign airlines resulted in more than Rs 500 million losses to the Foundation. 

The situation at the Shaheen Foundation, mostly because of some decisions directed by ACM Abbas Khattak, came to a point that Air Marshal Shafiq Hyder, a highly regarded officer, asked for a premature retirement citing affairs at the Shaheen Foundation. The Shafiq Hyder episode came at a time when the Shaheen Foundation had offered to give its name to a shadowy Shaheen Pay TV project that was to be controlled by PAY TV (Ireland), a mysterious company that did not reveal the names of its directors even to the Shaheen Foundation chief, who had instruction from the ACM Abbas Khattak to sign this deal with PAY TV (Ireland). 

 

Several sources mentioned that a Peshawar-based individual, Andrew Shalom, with mysterious connections in Europe, was the go-between the then Air Force chief in various projects including the Shaheen Pay TV project undertaken by the Shaheen Foundation. Sources said if NAB ever decides to undertake a probe into the alleged PAF corruption scandals under the former ACM Abbas Khattak, the two former Air Marshals of the PAF would love to extend their cooperation and their insight. 

 

Acquisition of new tanks has remained central to the defence strategy envisioned by the successive chiefs of Army Staff since Gen Ziaul Haq. In the past one decade alone, cash-strapped Pakistan has spent about Rs 900 crore (US$1.6b) to equip the Army with the finest of desert battle machines. Allegations of kickbacks, also from senior army circles, were made each time the army leadership went into serious negotiations for tank purchases since General Ziaul Haq witnessed the final trial run of American made Abraham tanks at the Army's tank trial site of Khairpur Tamewali on August 17, 1988. The same afternoon that day, Gen Ziaul Haq's plane, also carrying the top leadership of Pakistan Army, crashed not far from Khairpur Tamewali. 

 

While Gen Zia had favoured the US built model of the tanks for an about US$700 million purchase, his successor Gen Mirza Aslam Beg opted for the US $1 billion Al-Khalid manufacturing plant to build MBT 2000 tanks with Chinese cooperation. While Gen Beg's US$1 billion Al-Khalid plan was still operational, his successor Gen Asif Nawaz went full swing to conclude a US$ 450 million purchase for 320 T-72 tanks from Poland. 

 

Though Gen Asif Nawaz had died by the day when this deal was to be signed with the visiting Polish team, his successor Gen Abdul Wahid Kakar's team of experts rejected the deal outrightly, citing the reasons that could form the basis for a NAB investigation. For his part Gen Abdul Wahid thought there was no reason to rush through a tank deal, and Pakistan was better off concentrating on Gen Beg's Al-Khalid programme. 

Gen Wahid's successor General Jehangir Karamat, however, thought it was vital for the country's defence to immediately equip the army with the best possible tanks. He struck a US$550 million deal with Ukraine, which at that time did not even have a diplomatic presence in Pakistan, for 320 T 80 UD tanks in 1996. 

 

General Asif Nawaz wanted to purchase the same number of 320 tanks for a price tag of US$450 million, while Gen Karamat negotiated to buy the same number of tanks, with almost the same capacity, for US $550 million, through a deal which finally cost the nation a cool US $650 million.

 

The criticism of General Beg's ambition to build the Pakistani version of MBT 2000 at a cost of Rs 570 crore remained restricted to an influential circle in the army that principally backed Gen Asif Nawaz, and Gen Jehangir Karamat's drive for speedy induction of the tanks, but allegations of kickbacks in the Al-Khalid project had surfaced several times in the past. The reservations of the successive army chiefs about this expansive project may also explain the snags that caused huge delays in the completion of the project.

 

NAB's present reservoir of documents has nothing to substantiate allegation of kickbacks in the tank deals, but several NAB insiders who had also worked closely with the former Ehtesab Bureau chief Senator Saifur Rehman Khan have revealed that the former Senator had personally investigated General Jehangir Karamat's T80UD tanks with Ukraine.

Sources said in this respect the affairs of TFT Progress, the company that acted as the go-between the GHQ and the Ukrainian supplier, were fully investigated to establish the role played by Col Mahmood (retd) alias Moda, a former course mate of Gen Jehangir Karamat. As representative of the Ukrainian supplier, Col Mahmood, Army sources acknowledge, had played a key role in bringing the GHQ and the Ukrainian government close to a deal.

 

Confirmed reports indicated that while Gen Jehangir Karamat was still serving as the COAS and also after his resignation, Col Mahmood had been vigorously questioned by the people acting on the Ehtesab Bureau's behalf. One reliable source informed the NIU that the Nawaz Sharif government probe into this tank deal also focused on a retired major general and a close personal friend of General Jehangir Karamat, who was then serving as an additional secretary in the Ministry of Defence. Knowledgeable sources however discounted rumours that during his last meeting with Gen Jehangir Karamat, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif ever mentioned to the former COAS the outcome of his probe against the Ukrainian tank deal.

 

Several present and retired officials who spoke to the NIU on the subject of corruption in defence contracts desired that 1995 army purchase of 3700 Land Rover Jeeps - that had carried a price tag of about Rs 180 crore for the army - be investigated by NAB. These sources said NAB only needs to investigate the price Bangladesh army had paid for the same vehicle around the same time period that the GHQ finalised this deal.

 

NIU has learned the owner of the key supplier of this vehicle to the army was a close relative of a then serving Lieutenant General, who was also the main decision-maker in the purchase. Though NAB has no documents on this controversial purchase of Land Rover jeeps by the Army, top NAB officials have been given extensive briefings and documentary evidence on the corruption that has now created a financial crisis in the Army Welfare Trust, an organisation dedicated to the welfare of retired army personnel.

 

Based on these briefings and documents, NAB is yet to question the former AWT chairman Lt Gen Farrukh Khan for his 1994 decision to borrow US $200 million from the famous US investment Bank Merrill Lynch. A decision later by Merrill to invoke a clause in its agreement with the AWT to call its loan any time in the future brought AWT to its knees, as the National Bank of Pakistan was called to rescue the Welfare Trust.

NAB is yet to respond to the pleas for investigation into Lt Gen Farrukh Khan's decision to allow an advance payment of Rs 25 crore to Mitsubishi for a power plant for the AWT's Nizampur Cement plant. Once again, due to the weaker agreement, the Japanese concern reneged its commitment with the Nizampur Cement Plant, causing a straight Rs 25 crore loss.

 

Millions of AWT's dollars were wasted in a useless pharmaceutical plant constructed in association with a Chinese company. Sources said only a week of "NAB-style" probing was enough to unearth the scam in the pharmaceutical project. Detailed documents obtained by NIU on corruption in the AWT-run cement plants and its former chairman's dealing with the Privatisation Commission on the subject of cement plants in 1995 are already available with NAB, awaiting executive orders for a probe.

 

Like most of the defence-related organisations, the affairs of the Defence Housing Authorities in Karachi and Lahore, despite having an average turnover of about Rs 750 million a year, have never seen an independent scrutiny of their affairs.

 

The present DHA administrators in Karachi and Lahore appeared to have worked hard to free these organisation from institutionalised corruption, of sorts, but this NIU investigation discovered that despite serious complaints of financial corruption, particularly in the years between 1994-97, no action was taken against the perpetrators who had converted the DHA Karachi into one of the most corrupt organisations in the country.

 

The NIU met several individuals to confirm that almost every allottee in the DHA's Marina Scheme in its phase 8 had to pay an additional sum of up to 20 per cent, which went to top DHA officials of that time. This particularly attracted tremendous attention because in this scheme the DHA had allowed allotments for the civilians to create recreational facilities on the shore front.

 

As expected, the real estate prices in this area sky-rocketed within one year of the announcement of the scheme. While the prices were showing an upward swing the DHA restricted the allotment only to people close to its then director Planning and the administrator. 

 

The largest plots went to the people widely known to be close to the director planning. One such individual was the father of a Pakistani model who made her name in India. While the Marina Scheme was in full swing in 1994, precious land, particularly in the phase 2 and 5 of DHA in Karachi was allotted in the name of "extra land adjacent to the existing commercial and residential plots at the reserved DHA prices".

 

The NIU discovered that some of the known investors in the DHA Karachi, colluded with the former Director planning, who was then thought to be the most powerful DHA official to multiply their millions in overnight deals involving allotment of extra land.

While the Marina Scheme and extra land allotment continued, the then DHA administrator and his director Planning created more plots for flat sites, a scheme that was knitted in close collaboration with some of the known builders of Karachi, who were supposed to get the larger piece of the cake. The scheme, however, got busted in its early phase as the Federal Defence Secretary, who also serves as the Chairman of DHA, got wind of this plan and ordered the scrapping of the scheme.

 

"If the NAB is not probing against the DHA and particularly its longest serving director planning and a former administrator, it should stop its anti-corruption crusade in the country," a DHA insider observed while expressing surprise as to how the Army can allow the worst type of corruption to continue just under its nose.

 

Senior NAB sources said they had no explicit instruction from Chief Executive General Pervaiz Musharraf or anyone else in the top Army brass to avoid a probe against the ex-army officials. These sources said the multi-million dollar defence deals and other defence-related corruption cases will be investigated "sooner rather than later." One senior source said the Chairman, NAB has himself ordered an extensive probe on charges that relate to the family fortunes of the sons of a former top military official. At least one of his sons is an active politician.

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Corruption focus turns to military in Pakistan
"The Guardian"
Rory McCarthy in Islamabad 
Saturday - September 2, 2000 

 

Pakistan's corruption investigators believe several former high-ranking military officers took bribes worth at least $40m (£28m) in international defence-equipment deals. 

Kickbacks were taken in connection with deals involving tanks, submarines, aircraft and jeeps during the past decade, according to a source close to the inquiries. At least six key defence agreements are being investigated.

 

Little has been done in the past to look into Pakistan's defence deals, long suspected of involving massive overpayments and corruption. And there is still concern that a military regime would be reluctant to prosecute its own kind.

 

In a sweeping military reshuffle yesterday, Lieutenant-General Syed Amjad, the head of the national accountability bureau, which is in charge of investigations into corruption, was moved sideways after less than nine months in the job. The general, who is well regarded in the army, had appeared ready to investigate retired officers and answer the critics who argue that the bureau has moved too slowly and shirked its duty of looking into the armed forces.

 

Human rights groups in Pakistan have complained about the broad powers given to the bureau when it was set up after last October's coup. Corruption suspects can be held for 90 days without charge.

 

Gen Amjad has been given a lesser command of the army corps in Multan and will be replaced by Lieutenant-General Khalid Maqbool, a senior corps commander. It is unclear how the appointment of such a senior officer will affect the current investigations.

The bureau wants to extradite Admiral Mansurul Haq, who was naval chief under the Benazir Bhutto government in the mid-1990s, and who is now living in the United States. He is reported to have three houses in Pakistan, worth 150m rupees (£1.9m), and has been under investigation for at least three years.

 

"We are investigating charges of corruption against senior retired armed forces officers," said Farouk Adam Khan, the bureau's top prosecutor. "Mr Haq has properties which appear to be inconsistent with his known sources of income and that requires an explanation."

 

Two naval officers, a commodore and a captain, who served under Mr Haq have been convicted of corruption in a military court martial. They took 4.1m rupees (£52,000) in bribes and were sentenced to long jail terms at the November 1998 hearing. But the then naval chief suspended the prison sentences; the men returned the money and were dismissed from the navy.

 

"There are no 'untouchables' as far as the national accountability bureau is concerned," said Mr Khan. "We have received no instructions to let off a particular individual or group of people."

 

At least four other Pakistanis living in the US are being considered for extradition. A team from the  FBI has been helping to train Pakistan's corruption investigators, and a US justice department official has been to Islamabad to discuss the cases.

Pakistan's military leader, General Pervez Musharraf, has complained that the British government is  not helping trace at least 14 Pakistanis living in Britain who are wanted on suspicion of corruption. Pakistan has no extradition treaty with Britain.

 

In the military reshuffle, Gen Musharraf also replaced his number two, Lieutenant-General
Muhammed Aziz Khan, who was known to be a close friend of Mr Musharraf and a strong Islamist.

 

The two served together in an elite commando unit, and many suspected that Gen Khan had an  important influence over his superior on Islamic issues. In the reshuffle, Gen Khan was given command of the Lahore corps, his first corps command and still a powerful position. Traditionally, generals need to have led a corps to be considered for the top job as army chief.

---

The deepening contradiction 
by 
Irfan Husain 
The Dawn dated 11 November 2000

AS the debate over the army's role in politics meanders along, a recent remark by retired General Aslam Beg in an interview carried in the October issue of the "Herald" drew remarkably little attention. Perhaps we have become so hardened to military intervention that such comments have lost the power to shock. 

 

Replying to a question about the army's and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)'s role in the 1988 and the 1990 elections, General Beg did not reveal anything new, but his justification is nevertheless remarkable. This is the question Musbashir Zaidi asked the former army chief:  "The former ISI chief, Hameed Gul, now admits that he created the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad in 1988 to stop Benazir Bhutto's PPP from gaining a clear majority in the elections. Similarly, another ISI chief, Asad Durrani, has admitted to giving money to politicians in 1990. Both of them now claim they did it in the 'national interest.' What would have happened if Benazir had won  the 1988 elections with a greater majority?" 

 

Aslam Beg: "The army, perhaps, would not have allowed the transfer of  power to Benazir Bhutto. There is a strong feeling in the army that Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was responsible for the East Pakistan debacle and that he maligned the army... So, to ensure that power was smoothly transferred to Benazir Bhutto and democracy restored, the IJI was formed by the ISI. This was done with the clear knowledge that it wouldn't stop the PPP from forming the government... I set up a fake competition by creating the IJI to ensure that a democratic government could be formed... Let me categorically state that the decision to hold on to or relinquish power rests squarely with the army... It would not be out of place to mention that even though the courts do provide moral support to justify army actions, a lingering subconscious guilt continues to haunt those who cause a rupture of democracy..." 

 

Obviously, successive military juntas have been very good at concealing this "subconscious guilt." But Beg's reply, forthright as it is, is more interesting for what he left out rather than what he said. He does not mention, for example, that controlling a government that does not have an outright parliamentary majority - as the PPP didn't in 1988 - is far simpler than a government with a substantial majority. The underlying thrust of his reply is that the army has the right to either wield power directly or pull the strings when an 'elected' government is in power. 

 

At no point in his interview did Beg seem aware of the irony of what he was saying. For example, he sees no contradiction between his repeated use of the term 'democracy' and the army's blatant rigging of successive elections. For him, the 'fake competition' he and his colleagues set up by cobbling together the IJI is perfectly acceptable. Worse, the politicians who accepted large amounts from the ISI have not been disbarred by the Election Commission. 

 

But above and beyond the disturbing questions raised by Beg's comments, there is the larger issue of the army's role in politics. Virtually from Pakistan's creation, generals have dabbled with the country's destiny, weakening democratic institutions as a result. It has almost become a cliche to say that the corruption and inefficiency of our politicians have combined to encourage frequent military interventions. However, it can be said with equal validity that the army has almost never allowed elected governments to function normally. Also, with the exception of the present military government, the press was never free to highlight the graft and incompetence of earlier juntas. Thus, at least in the media, civilians have suffered in comparison to the generals. 

 

It is a fact that the army is the most organized and efficient sector in the country where its own clearly defined duties and responsibilities lie. However, General Musharraf and his colleagues must also realize that they simply do not have the training or the expertise to cure the many ills (some of them caused by their predecessors) that face Pakistan today. Just take the example of the mess our power supplies are in: despite inducting officers and jawans at every level, WAPDA and KESC remain organizational and financial nightmares. Similarly, attaching battalions of retired and serving officers to civilian departments has in no way enhanced efficiency. The only change is that decision-making, never very swift, has slowed down even further. 

 

A soldier spends his adult life in giving or taking orders. His world is insulated from the chaos and bedlam of civilian life. He achieves senior positions in the hierarchy by doing what he is told and efficiently controlling the men under his command. He is discouraged from questioning the orders he receives, and similarly expects those under him to toe the line. In short, he identifies the order around him with unquestioning and uncritical discipline. When he looks over the barracks wall, he sees confusion and inefficiency. Talking to his brother officers in the mess, he complains about the "bloody civilians" and their inability to get their act together.He does not understand that unlike even junior military officers, a civil servant cannot have a subordinate locked up for not carrying out orders. Nor does he grasp the fact that much of the physical and social infrastructures is falling apart because the bulk of the government's resources are going into the defence budget. With his limited understanding of the realities of real life, he is convinced that military discipline will sort everything out. It is only when he and his colleagues take the plunge and take over that they realize that they have stepped into quicksand. 

 

It is about time the army learned that ultimately, it has no solutions to offer, no magic wand to correct all that is wrong with the country. The only solution lies in strengthening civil society and supporting democratic institutions. There are no shortcuts, no panaceas. By constantly meddling in politics, the army not only weakens the system, it ultimately weakens itself. In this day and age, a military government is anathema to much of the world. In Pakistan's context of looming bankruptcy, this translates into a drastic drop in economic assistance and private investment. 

 

The bottom line is that constant overt and covert military intervention has put the country at risk. Ironically, the biggest risk to our security is now internal, and to face it, we need a free and functioning democracy that is not being forever destabilized by generals in the wings. But as the experience of so many countries shows us, there is no inherent contradiction between a democratic dispensation and a strong army. 

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PPP Calls for Regime to Come Clean on Paris Money Laundering

Islamabad, 28 May, 2001: Pakistan Peoples Party has called upon the military regime to explain the true facts about the French Investigation of the National Bank of Pakistan for money laundering.

In a statement former federal Minister and PPP Leader Syed Khurshid Shah said that the PPP wanted to know what action NAB had taken in this regard. He demanded to know the name of the person who had appointed the General Manager who was arrested by the French Police on charges of money laundering. Khurshid Shah also called for the release of the names of the clients with the suspect accounts.

Pakistani media reported yesterday that French police arrested General Manager of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in Paris for laundering money for Israeli nationals as well as international drug smugglers.

Pakistan received a severe jolt and National Bank of Pakistan may be forced to close in France as a consequence of the charge of money laundering of drug and other illicit money. The closure of NBP will be a set back to the Pakistani community in France as well as to Pakistan's reputation overseas.

The name of the General Manager arrested is Mashkurullah, NBP head of operations in France. It is not known what disclosures Mashkurullah has made with regard to the money laundering. He is expected to be convicted shortly.

General Manger Mashkurullah was arrested in Paris earlier this month. The news of his arrest was kept secret by the Embassy and by the military regime until disclosed by leading English daily.

According to the report, the national bank was handling the accounts for the funds of Islamabad's "most sensitive security services" and that Israeli "individuals were using the bank to further their operations in the Middle East".

According to reports, French authorities confiscated incriminating documentary evidence.

Even as the military regime stepped up efforts to lobby France on Mashkurullah by despatching Ambassador Shaheryar Khan and President National Bank Reza to seek legal support, French banking lawyers reportedly advised Islamabad to disown its appointee by claiming before the French central bank that money laundering was Mashkur's individual act outside the bank's knowledge.

Instead of disowning Mashkur, and eradicating corruption as promised by General Musharaf, the regime has instead used Pakistan's scarce resources to hire a leading law firm. The firm is to be paid about half a million French francs in an attempt to defend Mashkur.

Syed Khurshid Shah deplored wasting national funds in hunting political opponents and defending corrupt elements. "This money belongs to a poor Nation. Anti people forces are increasing poverty by abusing their office and misusing funds", he said.

According to reports, since last September, NBP was twice warned by senior executives-- G Allana and   Dar regional head of Europe in London respectively -- that the bank's Paris branch was involved in wrong activities which could lead to penalties under the law.

Beside the Paris branch, the NBP has three branches in London and one in Frankfurt.

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PPP Asks NAB to Investigate Mashkoor ties to Intelligence

Islamabad, 3 June 2001: The Pakistan Peoples Party has asked the National Accountability Bureau to register a case against the Banker Mashkoor of National Bank of Pakistan. It also called upon the military regime to release details of the relationship between Mashkoor and sensitive agencies in the country dealing with security. It wanted to know what connection, if any, existed between Mashkoor, the sensitive agencies and the Israeli accounts which are accused of money laundering.

Banker Mashkoor was arrested one month back by French authorities and charged with money laundering through accounts he had opened for Pakistani and Israeli personnel. His arrest was kept a secret by the military regime and revealed three weeks later by an investigative news report.

According to reports, Banker Mashkoor had a one to one meeting with Chief Executive Musharraf when he visited France. The details of the conversation are not known. Banker Mashkoor is accused of misusing Bank property including vehicles. According  to insider reports, about scores of vehicles belonging to the  National Bank of Pakistan were given to an intelligence agency and wrongly shown as in use of the union.

Pakistan Peoples Party called upon the regime to investigate and reveal how many bank vehicles were unofficially and illegally in the use of intelligence agencies. It noted that intelligence agencies were feared in Pakistan to an extent where Banks gave millions of rupees to General Asad Durrani when he demanded it although the money demanded amounted to the embezzlement of public funds. A case pertaining to the rigging of elections and the misuse of public funds is pending against General Durrani in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

According to reports, money from National Bank of Pakistan was also siphoned to fund the intelligence agency support to its favourite newspapers and journalists. According to these reports, the amount was hidden under the heading of Stationary in the Budget of the National Bank of Pakistan and could well have been done so in other banks too. The stationary account was shown in the Budget as more than Rs 500 million.

The arrest of Banker Mashkoor could open a Pandora box of secrets concerning the intelligence agencies and how they fund their extra state activities by taking funds and equipment from public sector banks and corporations. The PPP had complained that the military intelligence agencies have their own list of officers. Those who oblige the intelligence agency are deemed honest when their corrupt activities ruin the corporations and those who are honest are deemed corrupt even when the performance of the corporation improves.

In this connection, PPP has cited the performance of its appointees in the Steel Mills, the OGDC and the PSO who were all scandalised even when those corporations showed huge profits. Meantime, their replacements ran the organisations into the ground but the press never printed stories about them because none were leaked.

The collapse of the Mehran Bank revealed that the intelligence agencies helped themselves to funds from the public sector banks for unlawful activities. The arrest of Banker Mashkoor threatens to reveal more details of the intelligence agencies and their relationship with public sector banks. Private sector banks are also considered to be involved with intelligence agency. One president of a private sector bank was suspected of bank rolling the anti PPP campaign through the intelligence agencies.

During the elections of 1990 and 1997, reportedly huge amounts of funds were given to certain political parties to take on the PPP. In this connection, the man who distributed the money to leading politicians, even taking receipts from them, has been appointed the senior minister in the Punjab.

Banker Mashkoor started his career as a clerk cum typist. Later he served as PA-senior executive vice president Mr. Butt in 1978.