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Who will punish beneficiaries of loan write-offs? |
| Huzaima Bukhari and Dr. Ikramul Haq
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In the wake of February 2008 elections, the people of Pakistan thought that the rulers would respect their mandate by moving towards an egalitarian society—the essence of people’s rule. The ruling elite—unholy alliance of bureaucracy, politicians and businessmen—always resist any such change. When matter comes to surrendering their ill-gotten wealth—the main source of their power—for the benefit of masses, the privileged classes, despite their political/ideological differences, start showing “gestures of reconciliation”. As soon as media start exposing their financial corruption, tax evasion, plundering of national wealth, they “unite” (sic)—immediately meeting at sumptuous dinners and talking about working together for “national interest” (sic) by bridging their differences (sic). They start feeling threatened with open public debates about their tax declarations and figures of loan write-offs.
Tragically, the apex court did not decide the issue of loan-write-offs though suo moto action was taken in 1996 and 2008. In 2008, according to Press reports, the Supreme Court took serious notice of the fact as to how banks wrote off a staggering amount of Rs. 125 billion as “bad debts” during 2000-2006, against Rs. 30 billion written off during 1985-1999. According to reports, larger numbers of loans were written off under Circular No 29/2002, issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), of which major beneficiaries were leading politicians and industrialists.
During the self-acclaimed “transparent era” of Musharraf-Shaukat, loan writ-offs in just seven years (2002 to 2007) crossed the figure of 125 billion, whereas in the much-publicized “corrupt” era of elected governments (1985 to 1999) it was merely Rs. 30 billion. This comparison speaks for itself and does not require any further comments. The country’s banks and other financial institutions wrote off an amount of over Rs 30 billion during the governments of Muhammad Khan Junejo, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. During the two tenures of Nawaz Sharif (1990-93 and 1997-99) Rs. 22.35 billion loans were written off– during his first tenure, a total of Rs. 2.39 billion were written off and in his second, the amount went up to Rs. 19.96 billion. The written off loans during the two tenures of Nawaz Sharif constituted approximately 74.5 percent of the total of Rs. 30.18 billion, written off between 1986 and 1999. During the two tenures of late Benazir Bhutto, a total of Rs. 7.23 billion loans were written off, constituting 24.2 percent of the total written off loans – Rs. 494.97 million in her first tenure and Rs. 6.74 billion in the second term.
During the Musharraf-Shaukat era, an unholy alliance of bankers, businessmen-turned-politicians and bureaucrats–that included many serving and retired general–managed to plunder public money through amnesty scheme from SBP, whereas banks had assets as collateral to recover the loans. The scheme shamelessly granted tax waiver to these people who could settle loans by just paying fraction of total outstanding amount. The SBP admitted before the Supreme Court that amongst the beneficiaries of its Circular No. 29/2002 were two sitting Chief Ministers of PML(Q) regime. The criminal culpability of successive governments in this matter has tarnished the image of Pakistan in the eyes of global community as a haven for the corrupt, plunderers and tax evaders..
Table A depicts the cumulative non-performing loans and advances of banks and non-banking financial institutions from 1982 to 2008, which have been compiled from annual published audited accounts. This shows how quickly non-performing loans have increased over the period of time, but more significantly, lack of political will to recover them through introduction of a simple foreclosure law. The beneficiaries of loan write-offs are the rich and the mighty. They have increased their wealth through squandering public money lying in the banks. This is high time that this money is retrieved for the welfare of masses and they should be banned for life to take part in politics.
TABLE AYear Quantum1982 Rs. 8 billion 1988 Rs. 39 billion 1993 Rs. 62 billion 1998 Rs. 118 billion 1998 Rs. 140 billion 1999 Rs. 164 billion 2000 Rs. 171 billion 2001 Rs. 185 billion 2002 Rs. 218 billion 2003 Rs. 229 billion 2004 Rs. 241 billion 2005 Rs. 255 billion 2006 Rs. 265 billion 2007 Rs. 272 billion 2008 Rs. 288 billion
The Supreme Court of Pakistan, way back in 1996 (Reference: Dawn dated 16th October, 1996), taking suo moto cognizance under Article 189 of the Constitution of Pakistan, took up this issue of loan write-offs and expressed intention of studying all the governing laws in this regard. The apex court vowed to make authoritative pronouncement that “would eliminate the chances of misusing the laws for siphoning of public money” There is, however, no track as to what happened to that public interest litigation case, it appears the same is still pending even after a lapse of 13 years.
The said public interest litigation originated from a reference filed by then President, Late Ghulam Ishaq Khan against a PPP, MNA, Rao Rasheed Ahmad, who as a member of loan write off committee, blatantly ordered to write off a loan of his wife. There have been many such examples where the rich and mighty managed to plunder the savings of the have-not (small depositors) in a shameless manner. An unholy alliance of bankers, businessmen-cum-politicians and bureaucrats has destroyed the entire banking/financial system.
The politics of writing-off loans in this country requires proper investigation and study as it will unveil may “big names” that are responsible for corruption and failure of the democratic process in Pakistan. The country lost billions of rupees in the form of public revenues because of bad debts written off by the banks on specific directions of SBP. The Government of Pakistan, SBP and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) never considered the report of Auditor General of Pakistan in this regard issued far back in 1992, showing loss to public exchequer of Rs. 120 billion. It is a matter of record that the Board of Revenue despite this audit report from the Auditor General of Pakistan, issued another Circular instructions on February 4, 1993 vide its letter No. 13(26)/IT-1/79 giving further concessions to the banks. The cases relating to plundering of public money to the tune of billions and blatant abuse of powers by rulers and their henchmen pose a serious threat to our democratic culture.
The unscrupulous businessmen (most of them are now politicians and elected members of parliament), state functionaries and corrupt bankers have joined hands to deprive this nation of billions of rupees of public funds and colossal loss to public revenues. The big bosses of the State Bank and FBR should be taken to task to explain who had asked them to issue “administrative instructions” in gross violation of law for loan write offs and allowing unprecedented tax benefits to the beneficiaries. The inquiry into loan write offs will not only reveal the modus operandi through which public money is siphoned off but will also unveil the real beneficiaries. If we want to establish true democracy in Pakistan, public money looted by these criminals should be recovered, they should be disqualified permanently from holding public offices and all those who facilitated them should be given exemplary punishment. ___________________________________ The writers, tax lawyers and authors of many books, are visiting professors at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).
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Archive for Corruption
When the Supreme Court Look into the Loan Write-off Issue?
$30Million Bribe for Awarding Contract to a Chinese Company
Afghanistan’s chief prosecutor has thrown down a gauntlet to Hamid Karzai by announcing an unprecedented attempt to prosecute for corruption two sitting cabinet members who cannot be touched until the president strips them of their ministerial immunity.
Mohammad Ishaq Aloko, the attorney general, said he was preparing a case for the prosecution of two members of Karzai’s current cabinet as well as three former ministers, in what could become a key test of the Afghan president’s willingness to tackle corruption.
The two ministers have not been named, but speculation has focused on the minister of mines and the minister of religious affairs.
The deputy attorney general, said they had collected sufficient evidence to prosecute officials at the ministry but not the minister, Sadiq Chakar, although the investigation was continuing.
The officials allegedly overcharged for rented accommodation in Makkah to house Afghans during the annual hajj pilgrimage and pocketed the difference. They were discovered on their return from Saudi Arabia with $360,000 on them.
Afghanistan has vast, untapped mineral wealth and the ministry of mines is responsible for issuing large numbers of short-term excavation rights. Irregularities have been alleged in the issuing of a $2.9bn contract to a Chinese conglomerate to exploit the Aynak copper reserve south of Kabul – one of the world’s biggest copper stores.
The Washington Post recently reported allegations by US officials that Adel had taken a $30m bribe from the Metallurgical Corporation of China to secure the deal.
The attorney general is looking at around 40 cases, with senior officials in the high single figures.
Under Afghan law, ministers and governors cannot be investigated and must be suspended from their duties. It’s a great thing that the Afghans are finally publicising cases like this, but at the moment they have no power to bring these people in.
Adding to the frustration of international anti-corruption officials, the country’s 2005 constitution calls for special courts to be set up to hear cases against various types of officials. It is hoped that the supreme court will back the establishment of a specialised anti-corruption tribunal with secure facilities to protect the judges to hear all such cases. But no site has yet been identified.
Much international effort has gone into improving Afghanistan’s law enforcement agencies, with British lawyers helping to mentor prosecutors in a special unit of the attorney general’s office focused on high- level corruption.
Also recently set up is the Serious Crimes Task Force (SCTF), known as the “Afghan FBI” because the elite police operatives are trained by the FBI and the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) to use wiretaps and other sophisticated methods to collect evidence.
ISI Investigating Corruption in PSO
ISI and MI have started investigations into some multi-million dollar oil and gas transactions, including the proposed setting up of 100 ‘autogas’ filling stations and furnace oil import.
A team of ISI and MI has collected record of the proposed transactions and interviewed the managing director of the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and some senior officials of the petroleum ministry.
PSO managing director Irfan K. Qureshi said that he had shot down the proposed agreement between his company and the Associated Group owned by Iqbal Z. Ahmed for setting up LPG filling stations because it was not in PSO’s interest. “At least five clauses of the agreement prepared by the Associated Group (AG) were detrimental to the interest of the PSO. My legal team proposed certain amendments that were rejected by the AG. Therefore, I have decided to sustain all pressure and not to enter into an agreement that is against the interest of my company and the government”, he said.
“I will not accept any pressure and will re-tender the LPG project to ensure transparency,” he said.
Mr Qureshi said the autogas project was important to improve the financial position of the PSO because CNG was a dying business and he wanted to replace it with LPG filling stations to ensure smooth cash flow.
He said he was a professional and ready to face an investigation pertaining to his company’s business since March 4 when he assumed responsibilities of the PSO.
The issues of filling stations and import of furnace oil were also taken up by the Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources. Members asked the PSO management questions about the transactions. Mr Qureshi told the committee that the PM’s secretariat had not stopped signing of the autogas agreement.
About the furnace oil import, Mr Qureshi said his company had been at the receiving end of the circular debt and its receivables from the power sector stood at more than Rs67 billion.
He said the Attock Oil had to pay over Rs22 billion to the Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL), while it had to receive about Rs18 billion from the PSO. Since the government’s revenue was held up with the OGDCL because of the Attock Refinery’s payables, the government had not been able to clear PSO’s dues, resulting in cash flow problems, he said. If the refineries cleared their dues to oil producers, cash flows of many energy sector companies would improve, he said.
Mr Qureshi said the decision to import furnace oil in large quantities was taken by the product review committee headed by the director general of oil to meet higher power sector requirements.
It is noteworth that institutions — specifically, institutions linked to and run by the military — are once again acting outside their remit and probing into affairs where they may have absolutely no legal authority to do so.
Who authorised the ISI and MI to investigate alleged irregularities in the oil and gas sector? Under what law did intelligence agents confiscate documents and interrogate the managing director of PSO and senior officials of the petroleum ministry? To whom will the intelligence team present its findings?
Corruption is a real and pervasive fact of life in Pakistan and since the inception of Pakistan, officials have enriched themselves at the state’s and the people’s expense.
The oil and gas deals under scrutiny must be shown to be transparent, fair and legal — and if they are not, officials involved in wrongdoing must be taken to task. But we must beware of those taking it upon themselves to investigate corruption, especially when they are uniformed officers acting possibly without the authority of an elected civilian government. We are only too familiar with where unsolicited ‘help’ of this sort can lead to. Keep in mind that if the military and its intelligence agencies were in fact driven by the noble goal of eradicating corruption in the country, they had ample opportunity in the decade that Gen Musharraf (retd) ruled the country. But such matters did not seem to concern the ISI and MI then.
The country is racked by violence and facing security issues on its borders. Should not the full energies of the ISI and MI be directed there instead?
Babar Awan Takes Rs 4 Crore from Haris Steel Scammer
On Nov 24, 2009, the owner of Haris Steel Mills and main accused in the Rs9 billion Bank of Punjab loan scam disclosed in the Supreme Court that he had ‘bought’ a whole lot of ‘worthy’ people in order to get a favourable verdict and get out of the country.
Sheikh Mohammad Afzal informed a three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan and Justice Tariq Parvez that he had paid Rs35 million to federal minister Dr Babar Awan, Rs10 million to former adviser and senior counsel Sharifuddin Pirzada, Rs20 million to former attorney general Malik Mohammad Qayyum and Rs7.5 million to Ali Waseem, son of Advocate Waseem Sajjad, to get the verdict in his favour. It is nothing short of shocking that these names invariably come out when one talks of corruption in Pakistan.
He said he had paid Rs400-500 million as bribe to ex-BoP president Hamesh Khan, Rs30 million to the bank’s control risk manager Aziz Ahmed, Rs50 million to Haroon Aziz, Rs10 million to Shoaib Qureshi, Rs40 million to the bank’s treasury head Saleem Mirza and Rs5 million to Fazeel Asghar to help him escape the country because his name was on the exit control list.
Sheikh Afzal, who was recently arrested by the International Police (Interpol) in Malaysia, along with his son Sheikh Haris, tendered an apology stating that he had been misguided by certain elements and advised not to appear before the court.
At the last hearing, the court had ordered confiscation of his property after duly publicising it in newspapers.
Sheikh Afzal said he was ready to settle legitimate claims of the bank, but requested that his family members, including his wife who was in the custody of NAB and sons Haris and Hamza, should not be harassed.
The court ordered the National Accountability Bureau not to harass any member of his family. The Court somehow is going soft with this case when such a huge amount is involved and urgent steps should be taken to recover the money.
Director Law of the Federal Investigation Agency Azam Khan submitted a report praising measures taken to get Hamesh Khan extradited form the US.
The Justice Department in Washington has already received necessary documents but has not yet responded.
The court praised the FIA for its efforts to bring back fugitives and said: “The success made by the FIA should be used as a precedent in future by the NAB and other law-enforcement agencies to bring back to the country people who, after the committing offences and plundering nation’s wealth, feel that they will be safe out of the country and amount looted by them will not be refundable.”
NAB prosecutor general Dr Danshwar Malik and Khawaja Haris, the counsel for Bank of Punjab, also appeared before the court which ordered that the names of all accused be placed on the ECL.
Advocate Waseem Sajjad, the counsel for Seth Nisar, brother of Sheikh Afzal, said his client was ready to surrender but sought protection. The court ordered the authorities not to arrest him.
According to NAB record, the loan sanctioned by the Bank of Punjab to Haris Steel Industries, Ali Ejaz of Haider Steel Industries and Waris Malik of Prime Steel Industries swelled to Rs9 billion after inclusion of interest.
The loan was approved against a collateral of Rs11 billion whereas the actual worth of property shown as collateral was Rs40 million.
This is How Politicians Make Money?
The wife of PM Yousuf Raza Gilani settled her default case with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) but she was given “undue favour” and asked to pay only Rs45.5 million against total liabilities of Rs570 million.
A scrutiny of Fauzia Gilani’s case revealed that she had obtained two loans totalling Rs200 million from Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), but she settled the case after committing “wilful default that prevailed over a decade”.
The principal of Rs200 million had swelled to Rs570 million as non-payment of instalments spanned a decade.
However, she managed to settle the case by paying back Rs45.521 million.
She had obtained a loan of Rs120 million for Multan Edible Oil Extraction and another loan Rs77 million for Pak Green Fertilisers.
The cases were settled by the ZTBL in pursuance of the Sindh High Court’s order of Oct 2, 2006, and March 17, 2008 and a circular of the State Bank.
In consequence, ZTBL forwarded a request to NAB for withdrawal of the cases.
After having received clearance of liability certificate from ZTBL regarding full payment of the settlement amount of Rs45.521 million, NAB withdrew references against the companies.
The NAB Ordinance defines wilful default as: “Wilful default under this Ordinance if he does not pay, or continues not to pay, or return or repay the amount due from him to any bank, financial institution, cooperative society.”
PM Gilani faced two other cases in NAB—illegal appointments in National Assembly when he was National Assembly speaker and purchase of vehicles. Both cases were settled in the Islamabad High Court.
A case of the PM’s personal secretary, Tariq Khakwani, in which he was accused of obtaining a plot in Sector I-8, Islamabad, under the prime minister’s quota in 1988-89 is still alive in Lahore High Court.
Ishaq Dar had Ditched Nawaz Sharif
The Musharraf government prepared a money laundering reference against Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif in 2000 on the basis of a statement recorded by one of their trusted lieutenants, Senator Ishaq Dar.
Senator Dar’s handwritten statement, given before a magistrate back on April 25, 2000, had alleged that Sharif brothers used the Hudaibya Paper Mills as cover for money laundering during the late 1990s.
The reference was prepared on the orders of Musharraf, but it was shelved after the Sharif brothers went into exile in December 2000.
The Musharraf government tried to reopen the reference in 2007 after Nawaz Sharif announced his return to the country.
The confessional statement of Senator Ishaq Dar was recorded before a district magistrate in Lahore. He was brought to the court from a jail by Basharat Shahzad, who was then serving as assistant director in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
According to legal experts, the senator’s deposition was an `irrevocable statement’ as had been recorded under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Senator Ishaq Dar has always been regarded as one of the closest aides of the Sharif family, and is now also a relative as his son is married to Nawaz Sharif’s younger daughter.
At one point in the 43-page statement, Mr Dar said that on the instructions of Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif, ‘I opened two foreign currency accounts in the name of Sikandara Masood Qazi and Talat Masood Qazi with the foreign currency funds provided by the Sharif family in the Bank of America by signing as Sikandara Masood Qazi and Talat Masood Qazi’.
He said that all instructions to the bank in the name of these two persons were signed by him under the orders of ‘original depositors’, namely Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif.
‘The foreign currency accounts of Nuzhat Gohar and Kashif Masood Qazi were opened in Bank of America by Naeem Mehmood under my instructions (based on instructions of Sharifs) by signing the same as Nuzhat Gohar and Kashif Masood Qazi.’
The document shows Dar stated that besides these foreign currency accounts, a previously opened foreign currency account of Saeed Ahmed, a former director of First Hajvari Modaraba Co and close friend of Dar, and of Mussa Ghani, the nephew of Dar’s wife, were also used to deposit huge foreign currency funds provided by ‘the Sharif family’ to offer them as collateral to obtain different direct and indirect credit lines.
Senator Dar had disclosed that the Bank of America, Citibank, Atlas Investment Bank, Al Barka Bank and Al Towfeeq Investment Bank were used under the instructions of the Sharif family.
Interestingly enough, Ishaq Dar also implicated himself by confessing in court that he — along with his friends Kamal Qureshi and Naeem Mehmood — had opened fake foreign currency accounts in different international banks.
Mr Dar said an amount of $3.725 million in Emirates Bank, $ 8.539 million in Al Faysal Bank and $2.622 million were later transferred in the accounts of the accounts Hudaibya Paper Mills.
He said that the entire amount in these banks finally landed in the accounts of the paper mills.
The Hudaibiya Paper Mills case is still pending in the NAB.
If it is opened again, the Sharif brothers may be in for a rude shock: a confidant is to blame for the albatross around their necks.
8 Cases Against Zardari were Disposed of under the NRO
Eight cases against Asif Zardari were disposed of under the NRO.
The charges concerned kickbacks from SGS PSI company
Grant of licence to ARY Gold
Corruption in purchase of Ursus tractors under Awami Tractor Scheme
Award of pre-shipment contract to Cotecna
Assets beyond means
Kickbacks received from former Steel Mills chairman Sajjad Ahmed
Construction of a polo ground at the PM house
Money laundering in SGS Swiss case
Who Has Benefited from the NRO?
A majority of the NRO beneficiaries have been bureaucrats and government officials as a list, released by the government on November 21, 2009, contained names of only 34 politicians out of a total of 8,041.
According to the list, almost 97 per cent of the beneficiaries are from Sindh.
The NRO lapsed on Nov 28 in the light of the Supreme Court’s July 31 verdict in the PCO judges case.
The list shows that a total of 8,041 people — 7,793 from Sindh — have benefited from the NRO, promulgated by Musharraf on Oct 5, 2007.
These people have got withdrawn 3,478 cases (3,320 in Sindh) registered against them on charges of corruption, financial bungling, misuse of authority and criminal charges.
Interestingly, the list provided by the minister contained the breakdown of only those withdrawn cases that pertained to the MQM. The document is silent about the number of cases registered against other beneficiaries.
Zardari enjoys indemnity under Article 248 of the Constitution and no new or old cases could be opened against him as long as he was in the Presidency.
Relief once granted cannot be reversed under the law.
The list showed that MQM chief Altaf Hussain had got withdrawn the highest number of cases against him – 72, including 31 on murder and 11 on attempt to murder charges.
Dr Farooq Sattar, the MQM’s parliamentary leader, occupied the second slot. A total of 23 cases were withdrawn against him, including five on charges of murder and four on attempt to murder.
The third biggest beneficiary appeared to be provincial minister Shoaib Bukhari, of the MQM, against whom 21 cases were withdrawn, including 16 on murder and attempt to murder charges.
The Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping, Babar Ghouri, Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad, Imran Farooq, Saleem Shahzad, Waseem Akhtar and former MNA Kunwar Khalid Yunus are other prominent MQM leaders who benefited from the NRO.
Among the beneficiaries belonging to PPP were Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Nawab Yousuf Talpur, Mir Baz Khetran, Sindh provincial minister Agha Siraj Durrani and Senator Jehangir Badar.
Salman Farooqi, secretary-general to the president, Pakistan’s Ambassador in Washington Hussain Haqqani and Wajid Shamsul Hasan, High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, were prominent in the section that had names of individuals other than politicians.
Although PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had been claiming that no member of his party had benefited from the NRO, the list showed that at least four PML-N members had got relief. They are MNA Chaudhry Shaukat Ali, Rana Nazir Ahmed, former MNAs Chaudhry Abdul Hameed and Haji Kabir, and former MPA Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali.
In November, the PPP government did not present in the National Assembly a list of beneficiaries of the NRO despite a promise made by the PM to that effect.
The list has names of about 5,800 people who were facing financial irregularities and criminal cases. The list shows that 3,775 cases (mostly criminal) were against leaders and workers of the MQM. Leaders of the PPP, PML-N, Jamiat Ulemai Islam (Fazl) and Awami National Party are also among the beneficiaries.
Prominent leaders and bureaucrats who enjoyed immunity under the NRO include Benazir Bhutto, Asif Zardari, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Nusrat Bhutto, former minister Yousuf Talpur, PPP secretary general Jehangir Badr, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani, secretary general to the president Salman Farooqi, former chairman of Pakistan Steel Mills Usman Farooqi, Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad, former interior minister Aftab Sherpao, former minister Anwar Saifullah, former MNA of N-League Haji Kabir, Agha Siraj Durrani, former provincial minister Ghaniur Rehman, Habibullah Kundi, Sardar Mansoor Leghari, Mir Baz Khetran, Aslam Hayyat Qureshi, Saeed Mehdi, Javed Qureshi, Siraj Shamsuddin and former secretary to the president Rasool Baksh Raho.
NAB has prepared a fresh list of 233 cases of financial irregularities against 248 people that were withdrawn or disposed of under the NRO.
Original lists submitted by the provincial governments and NAB to the federal government involved an amount of Rs708 billion siphoned off through kickbacks, corruption and misuse of authority.
The original lists had been destroyed after recent meetings between a top personality of the Senate, the law ministry and NAB authorities. The amount mentioned against each reference had now been deleted from the fresh list. Almost all the cases were settled or closed after Feb 5, 2008.
The list of 248 NRO beneficiaries contained names of 22 politicians, including President Asif Zardari and Nusrat Bhutto, in 39 cases and 226 government employees and others in 194 cases.
Eight cases against Mr Zardari were disposed of under the NRO. The charges concerned kickbacks from SGS PSI company, grant of licence to ARY Gold, alleged corruption in purchase of Ursus tractors under Awami Tractor Scheme, award of pre-shipment contract to Cotecna, assets beyond means, kickbacks received from former Steel Mills chairman Sajjad Ahmed, construction of a polo ground at the PM house and money laundering in SGS Swiss case.
The Ursus tractors case against his co-accused Nawab Yousaf Talpur was also disposed of.
The notable cases related to Punjab were:
assets case against Nusrat Bhutto
Two cases against Ch Shaukat Ali, chairman, Zila Council, Lahore; Haji Kabir, former MNA and Ch Zulfiqar Ali, former chairman, Zila Council, Lahore
Two cases of assets beyond means and corruption in SSGC against Jehangir Badar
One case of embezzlement in octroi contracts against Malik Mushtaq Ahmed Awan
Two cases of assets and misuse of authority against Rana Nazir Ahmed
Two cases of assets and illegal appointments against Mian M. Rashid, former MPA
One case each of assets beyond means against Chaudhry Abdul Hameed, former mayor of Sargodha, and Mian Tariq Mehmood Dinga
In Sindh, a case of misuse of authority against Agha Siraj Durrani was disposed of.
In Balochistan, the only accused politician was former MNA Mir Baz Muhammad Khan Khethran.
In the NWFP, three cases of financial irregularity against former chief minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao and one each against former provincial ministers Ghani ur Rehman and Habibullah Khan Kundi and former senator Haji Gulsher were withdrawn.
In Rawalpindi, five cases related to misuse of authority in allocation of LPG quotas and appointments against former federal minister Anwar Saifullah Khan were dismissed as withdrawn under section 33 of the NRO. The cases were at appeal stage.
A case of misuse of authority in sugar contracts against a former minister for commerce and industries, Ahmed Mukhtar, was withdrawn at the inquiry stage.
A case against former provincial minister Sardar Mansoor Laghari for alleged corruption in the Utility Stores Corporation was disposed of.
According to the NAB list, the government employees who benefited from the NRO included Hussain Haqqani (ex-secretary and co-accused in BB case of TV channel), Aslam Hayat Qureshi (ex-federal secretary), A. R. Siddiqui (ex-adviser to the PM), Saeed Mehdi (ex-principal secretary to the PM), Ahmed Sadiq (ex-PS to the PM) and Javed Qureshi (ex-chief secretary, Punjab).
Among senior bureaucrats from Sindh who benefited from NRO, according to NAB, were Salman Farooqi (ex-federal secretary), Usman Farooqi (ex-chairman of Pakistan Steel), Siraj Saleem Shamsuddin, Rasool Baksh Rahoo, Mashook Ahmed Usmani, Aurangzeb of Pakistan Steel, Moinul Arfeen of Pakistan Steel, Kher M. Askari, Nayyar Bari and Akhtar Alam (ex-DGs, textile quota), Anees Alam, M. B. Abbasi (ex-president of the NBP), Rehman Malik (ex-additional DG, FIA), Muhammad Younis Dalia (ex-president of the HBL), Javed Burki and Irshad Ahmed Sheikh (ex-DG, PQA) and Pir Bux Solangi (businessman).
A total of 57 government employees and other individuals, politicians not among them, were given benefit under the NRO.
Syed Zahir Shah (ex-DG, PDA) was the only civil servant from the NWFP to have benefited from the measure, the NAB said.
Ten bureaucrats from Balochistan, mostly belonging to revenue, water and customs departments, enjoyed benefits under the NRO.
Cases of illegal gratification against ex-additional DG of the FIA, Rehman Malik, were disposed of under the NRO, according to the document.
A total of 78 cases against officials of the OGDC, PTCL, CDA, CAA, GPO and PWD at different stages of prosecution at NAB Rawalpindi were settled under the NRO.
It is unclear as to whether cases against Mian Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif and PML-N leader Ishaq Dar, including the Hudaibya Paper Mills case, had been settled under the NRO or were still pending in courts.The NRO introduced by Musharraf provided immunity to leaders and officials from cases registered during 1985-99.
The fate of the NRO is hanging in the balance and there is a possibility that corruption cases dumped under the ordinance might be reopened.
The pressure exerted by coalition partners had forced the government not to present the list of the beneficiaries in the National Assembly.
Pressure came from the MQM and the JUI-F because hundreds of their workers allegedly involved in corruption and criminal cases had availed themselves of immunity under the NRO.
The PPP decided to take the NRO to parliament, but reversed the decision when the coalition partners refused to vote for it.
How Pakistanis Perceive Corruption?
As compared to 2008, Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2009 has seen Pakistan slip five places. These findings will only deepen the already widespread belief that corruption is rampant at all levels of the government and its civilian state institutions. It is little wonder that the citizenry’s confidence in the government is being rapidly eroded. At all levels in all manner of public-sector departments, from land records and tax to customs and motor vehicle ownership or licensing, corrupt practices have become disturbingly common. Sections of the law-enforcement apparatus, such as the police and the lower judiciary, are notorious for taking or demanding bribes. In public-sector health units, where services and basic medicines are supposed to be provided either free of cost or at heavily subsidised rates, citizens find themselves forced to pay through the nose or forego treatment.
Meanwhile, reports are common about financial wrongdoing on part of some of the country’s biggest businessmen, industrialists and politicians. In the recent past, a number of sitting and former representatives of the government have been accused of serious corruption. These have further undermined the public’s level of trust for the state, its institutions and its representatives.
Such loss of faith translates to a lack of support for the government’s policies, at a time when the country is in the midst of an economic and security crisis. But there is also another angle to be considered: Pakistan’s massive military budget does not come under the purview of TI’s corruption monitors. As a result, next to no information is available about any possible irregularities in defence spending, which is now set to increase by some 20 per cent. Citizens contrast this information vacuum with reports of massive corruption in civilian state institutions and representatives. The ‘clean’ look thus acquired by the military — by default really — can be dangerous to a budding democracy that is already on shaky ground. To prevent further loss of public confidence in not just the current government but the democratic system itself, it is imperative that a sustained effort be made to root out corruption at all levels.
77 NRO Beneficiaries in the Punjab
The government of the Punjab has sent to the PPP Government a list of 77 beneficiaries of the National Reconciliation Ordinance whose cases were disposed of after Feb 5, 2008.
The list includes names of 17 politicians, a couple of businessmen and a large number of government employees.
Prominent among the politicians are Begum Nusrat Bhutto and Jehangir Badar of the PPP.
Four former legislators of the PML-N are also on the list.
The list pertains only to cases disposed of by courts in Punjab.
The cases, relating to charges of corruption, misuse of authority, misappropriation of government funds or property and assets beyond means and forgery, involved a total amount of about Rs14 billion and they were disposed of between March 2008 and April 2009.
The largest amount involved in a case is of $170 million in assets beyond means. It is against Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, a former MNA.
It is followed by Rs260 million (misuse of authority) against Malik Mushtaq Ahmad Awan.
The list prepared by the National Accountability Bureau, Punjab, also gives details of the case numbers along with charges, amount involved and the dates of their disposal/termination by the courts under the NRO 2007.
Beneficiaries among politicians include Malik Mushtaq Ahmad Awan, Ishtiaq Ahmad Awan, Chaudhry Shaukat Ali, Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, Chaudhry Kabir Ahmad, Jehangir Badar, Rana Nazir Ahmed, Nusrat Bhutto, Chaudhry Abdul Hameed, Sardar Muhammad Nasim, Mian Tariq Mahmood, Muhammad Asad Lali, Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali, Murid Ahmed Baloch, Chaudhry Shaukat Ali, Tariq Anees and Haji Kabir Khan.
The bureaucrats who benefited from the NRO include Muhammad Ahmad Sadiq (former principal secretary to Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto), former chief secretary of Punjab Javaid Qureshi, former chairman of the Wildlife Department Abuzar Jafarry, Imtiaz Qadir, Shaukat Ali Maiken, Mian Muhammad Rashid, Hanif Ahmad Rahi, Abbas Ahmed, Muhammad Safdar, Amjad Hussain Sandal and Syed Zahid Hussain.
Other civil servants include Sadiq Muhammad, Chaudhry Muhammad Siddique, Ghulam Mustafa, Muhammad Hanif, Sadiq Muhammad, Samira Amjad, Mirza Sher Muhammad, Rashid Ahmed Patwari, Liaqat Ali, Naeemuddin, Anwar Hussain, Muhammad Usman, Arshad Mehmood, Muhammad Akhtar and Waheedur Rehman.
Some other bureaucrats are Muhammad Arshad of Wapda, Sardar Ali, Nadir Khan and Hakim Din of Nadra, Shaukat Hussain Shah, Maqbool Ahmed, Amanullah Sindhu and Hameedur Rehman of Passco.
About 15 employees of the Wildlife Department, accused of embezzling public money, were also absolved under the NRO.
It may be mentioned that any law could be challenged for judicial review or examination from the standpoint of fundamental rights.
