War on corruption
by
Javed Hafiz |
Interior Minister Rehman Malik is all set to start a crusade against corruption. He has selected some departments known for their corrupt practices. The Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) will be the focal point to root out corruption from those departments. No body, however, takes Malik’s pledge very seriously. The reasons are obvious. We have heard such resolves in the past from the successive martial law administrators and heads of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). At the end of the day, corruption survives and those swearing to root it out are either voted out or booted out.
Malik has also said that he would fight corruption as if he was fighting terrorism for both are equally dangerous. Coming from Minister Malik, everybody takes such tall aims with a pinch of salt. The minister himself had a number of cases against him and was declared an absconder by the previous government. One court decision against him was recently condoned by President Zardari. Secondly, the FIA, which is supposed to stop corrupt practices, is itself not known as a clean department. So literally a thief has been set to catch other thieves!
This looks like more of a public relations exercise than a serious undertaking. I think it was prompted by the recent Transparency International report which places Pakistan at No. 34 in the corruption rating of 178 nations. Pakistan has jumped eight positions in one year in this list from position No.42 last year. This does not reflect well on the government. Feeling quite embarrassed, it has started questioning the methodology of the survey. Efforts are also being made to find some skeletons in the cupboard of Adel Gilani, Transparency International’s representative in Pakistan. It was also argued by some ministers that the Transparency report was actually based on perceptions rather than hard facts.
Corruption in Pakistan has increased with passage of time. People’s Party rules have generally seen a surge in corrupt practices. In the second Benazir stint, Pakistan had become the second most corrupt nation in the world, with only Nigeria beating it for the top position! However, People’s Party founder, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is still perceived as the least corrupt of the Pakistani leaders. This, off course is the case if we leave the founding fathers out. Both Jinnah and the first prime minister Liaqat Ali Khan were squeaky clean. Their financial integrity was beyond any reproach.
The Quaid-e-Azam spent his last months at Ziarat, a hill station in Baluchistan. According to a true story, his ailment had affected his appetite badly in his last days. Somebody in his personal staff suggested that one of Jinnah’s former cooks, who lived in Punjab, be called to prepare food. This was done and Jinnah started eating well again. When the leader came to know that the cook had been brought from Punjab at government expense he was furious. Similarly, when Liaqat Ali Khan died, his bank balance did not run into four digits. Quaid’s right hand man was a Nawabzada from Karnal (India). He did not claim any evacuee property in Pakistan. He said his aim was to settle all Mohajirs first.
The Bank of Punjab (BOP) scandal is a well-known recent corruption scam. Crores of rupees were advanced as loan to a party without due collateral. When pressed to pay, they ran away to Malaysia, from where they were brought back with the help of the Interpol. Similarly, Hamesh Khan, the former BOP President was got extradited from the United States. He is still behind the bars. The Supreme Court has ordered an investigation. Aftab Sultan, a senior police officer, who is heading the team, has gone public saying that the NAB officials were trying to interfere in his inquiry. He has told the NAB officials literally to get lost as he was answerable only to the Supreme Court. NAB officials are interested in the case as bribery allegations have been made against Law Minister Babar Awan by one of the accused. His conviction could be a major embarrassment to the government.
Yet another high profile corruption scam is the purchase of land for the National Insurance Company (NIC). An ex-minister has been arrested on charges of embezzling Rs.1.68 billion, in this case. Corruption in Pakistan has emerged as a big issue that can no longer be pushed under the carpet. When Prime Minister Gilani claimed the other day that there was little corruption in his government, he became a butt of jokes. An alert and vibrant media is now capable of catching the skeletons before these are pushed into the cupboards.
There is a Chinese saying that the fish starts rotting from its head. This literally means that if top leadership is clean, the effect will travel down the line and that the reverse is as much correct. One way to tackle corruption is to accept the fact that all are equal before the law and that high and mighty are no exception. Government should not protect corrupt ministers. Secondly, NAB Chairman must be selected in consultation with the opposition. Thirdly, the government should expedite the passage of the accountability bill which has been lying before the parliament for a while now. Actions must speak louder than Malik’s hollow sounding words.
(Javed Hafiz is Pakistan’s former ambassador to the Sultanate) |
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