Pakistan in Media

The feeling of instability shaking the country has developed into what seems like a full-fledged quake. President Asif Ali Zardari’s extraordinary address at his wife’s death anniversary has left all of us wondering what lies ahead – and quite what Mr Zardari meant in the first place. His fiery attack on forces who he alleged were conspiring against the country and its institutions echoes the words used previously by lawyer Kamal Azfar before the Supreme Court. It is hard to say if this is the result of pre-planning or simply chance. The fact that Mr Zardari chose not to spell out who these forces may be simply adds to the mystery behind his rant. Many of those who witnessed it now must be wondering with more gravity as to the ability of Mr Zardari to head the state. Certainly, the paranoia many close to him say he suffers from seems to be growing by the day. What is more, he appears to be unable to handle the running of the state with anything resembling the poise or maturity expected of the president. His latest outburst will only add to the growing unease with his presence in the highest office of state. Pakistan faces enough problems as it is without complications being created by ramblings that in many ways make very little sense.

We do not quite know who the president’s closest advisers are. But certainly his aides have been unable to offer him wise advice. A major issue for Mr Zardari has been that of his image. His performance at Garhi Khuda Bux did nothing to add positively to it. Indeed the speech may raise more questions than it answers about quite what the president is trying to achieve. What we do know is that new national divisions have been opened up; fingers have been quite unnecessarily pointed and the possibility of all the components making up the system being able to work smoothly together has been further reduced. Yet, the fact is that today Pakistan needs all its institutions to work in harmony. At the moment, as furious debate rages over the contents of the unexpected address we seem to have moved even further away than before from any possibility of smooth sailing. The question that needs to be asked now is if there is any possibility at all of salvaging the situation and avoiding the upheaval that appears to loom ever closer. There have been suggestions that the president, the prime minister, the army chief and perhaps other key players should sit together and thrash out matters. The proposal is a sound one but such a scenario seems unlikely. The wisdom from the presidency that could have brought this about seems missing and this brings us perilously close to calamity with each passing day.

President Asif Ali Zardari’s speech in Naudero on the second death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto has stirred a countrywide debate over the targets of his hostility. He did not mention in clear words whether it was the Army, the media or the opposition that was threatening democracy. Many, however, see it as a subtle attack on the Army after the reports pouring out of the Presidency suggest Zardari’s growing negativity about the establishment.

In a situation when the Army as an institution has regained its respect and there is absolutely no sign of the military’s attempt to destabilise the democratic set-up, any effort by the president to make key changes in the Army top command would be extremely dangerous for the system. Last year, the government’s abrupt shifting of the ISI under the Interior Ministry was unacceptable to all and sundry, including the media, which resulted into the immediate cancellation of the government’s notification.

Perhaps foreseeing the dangers ahead, different views were being expressed in the media as a reaction to the president’s speech such as, “There are only so many possibilities about where the threat Mr Zardari keeps referring to can come from. With his public comments, Mr Zardari may in fact be alarming the persons in those institutions that they could be the target of impending attacks themselves and, therefore, need to strike before they are struck against. Our advice: put up or shut up. The president is supposed to be a symbol of the federation, a unifying force rather than a hyper-partisan figure fuelling conspiracy theories. More presidential, less political - that’s what the county needs from Mr Zardari.”

Those personally affected by the judgement of the Supreme Court setting aside the ignominious NRO and re-opening cases that were hushed up under it have reacted with yet more ignominy that consists of doing everything that the country has been harmed by in the sixty-three years of its existence. They have defied the court. They have tried to pit institution against institution. They have sought to fan the flames of ethnicity. They have threatened to amputate the limbs of those in the media who expose their corruption. They have done everything except the one honourable thing for them to do; to resign and face the courts. What they have done and are doing may be despicable, but it is not unexpected. It is in perfect harmony with the character shown and the deeds done by this lot for the past two years that they have been in power. The same cannot be said about some others whose integrity and commitment to the ideals of justice and good governance we do not doubt: they have been in the forefront of the struggle for human rights and for a democratic Pakistan. Some of them were vigorously active in the judiciary's struggle against a brutal dictatorship. That is exactly why we find it ironic that they now have chosen to judge the SC judgement in a manner that has little to set them apart from how Musharraf and his minions saw the present judiciary or how Zardari and his henchmen are trying to defame it. They have found the judgement biased, as targeting specific individuals, as persecuting a particular party, as going beyond the pale. And what have they to offer in the way of argument? Precious little. Having a problem with a short order and with the unanimity of the judges (or wondering why the judges were not divided on the issue?) who passed the judgement amounts to actually nothing. Asking why Musharraf was not mentioned in the judgement takes guts though. For the question is being hurled at a judiciary that made history fighting that man in uniform, while some of these critics were, at least for a while, busy trying to make people see that the struggle was one man's quest for glory and had little to do with the independence of the judiciary. This question is apparently also being posed to defend those who actually committed the affront of blocking the reinstatement of the judges, of aiding and abetting the former dictator's escape from the country after they had presented him with the guard of honour. If it is not easy today to bring Musharraf to justice, the accusing finger has to be pointed at Zardari and his men and not those who still cause Musharraf enough worry not to return to the country. And playing the Musharraf card does nothing but adds to the nervous shrieks of those who were his loyal partners then, and are in power now. How does that serve the cause of democracy?

ISLAMABAD: While the government may have leaked its intentions of not defending the infamous National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), it clearly has no plans to abandon the NRO beneficiaries.

An impotent and toothless new law has been hastily drafted to protect the NRO tainted, whose cases would reopen instantly if the Supreme Court strikes down the NRO, as widely expected, in the high-profile cases being taken up by the 17-member bench today (Monday).

The proposed law, planned to be introduced any day as an ordinance, has been finalised at the highest-level meetings. Sources said a copy of the proposed draft had also been handed over to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which apparently seemed to be on board.

The lengths politicians will go to in order to save themselves are astonishing. Still more astounding is their lack of regard for dignity – whether their own or that of their nation. Since the NRO controversy broke out in full earnest last month, the episodes involving desperate efforts by those affected by the scuttling of the law to prevent the wheels of justice moving freely have accelerated. The latest such incident has unfolded in Geneva, where the Pakistani high commissioner to the UK, accompanied by a former deputy attorney general, took away a carton-load of documents related to cases under the NRO. The two men had flown into Switzerland for the purpose; and in scenes played out by Geo TV – which would have been comic had they not been tragic in terms of the crimes of corruption committed by the powerful – refused to answer questions about what they were doing.

However, there is nothing very mysterious about this. As this newspaper and Geo TV have reported, a visit was paid to a Swiss lawyer who held the documents pertaining to corruption cases against Pakistani politicians. These cases had been dropped from the Swiss courts on the orders of the Pakistan government under then president Pervez Musharraf when he put the NRO into effect. We all know that President Asif Ali Zardari is the key person behind all this. Quite apart from his alleged corruption – of which ample evidence is said to exist even if the Swiss documents have been destroyed – one must also wonder at his frightening lack of acumen. Evidently Mr Zardari has failed to realize that actions such as the one in Geneva mean only that he is held in still greater contempt by the people of Pakistan. More and more among us wonder how we can continue with a man around whom so much controversy swirls as our head of state. The brave efforts to defend the president, essentially on the basis of the fact that he was democratically elected, are waning in view of his total inability to change his image or to learn from past mistakes. Indeed, by misusing the powers he possesses, to dispatch government officials to seize materials from lawyers, Mr Zardari demonstrates what appears to be a complete unwillingness to change his ways. It is also obvious that the president is a scared man. Perhaps he sees the net closing in around him. He has in fact been helping to draw it tighter through antics such as the Grand Document Snatch in Geneva. One day we may laugh at these events. Today we must mourn at being governed by leaders who think only of themselves and are willing to do almost anything to save their own necks.

Chaudhrys, Saifullahs, Jatois, Legharis, Tawakals, Saigols,Jams, generals; some cases were genuine.

ISLAMABAD: In a country where over 40 per cent of the population is said to be languishing under the poverty line with families surviving on less than $2 a day, the shameful revelation of the filthy rich getting loans worth over Rs100 billion written-off owing to their formidable clout is shocking the nation. And this shameful list carries some of the biggest names of our power elite.

Some Baloch nationalists had delivered themselves of a rejectionist message even before the Balochistan package was presented in a joint session of parliament the other day. The rest have now joined the chorus. In case anyone is jumping to any conclusions, it needs to be stressed that negative or indifferent reactions to the package are not confined to those from the province. The main opposition party, the PML-N, sat stoically throughout the presentation, clarifying later that it considered the package only a set of proposals and would respond when debate gets under way at another joint session after Eid. Other parties too have reacted rather less than enthusiastically. The only positive sounds have come, unsurprisingly, from the government, from President Asif Ali Zardari downwards. But is this divide unexpected? If not, why not?

At a covert forward operating base run by the US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) in Karachi, members of an elite division of Blackwater are at the centre of a secret programme in which they plan targeted assassinations of suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda operatives, “snatch and grabs” of high-value targets and other sensitive action inside and outside Pakistan, an investigation by The Nation has found.

The Blackwater operatives also assist in gathering intelligence and help direct a secret US military drone bombing campaign that runs parallel to the well-documented CIA Predator strikes, according to a well-placed source within the US military intelligence apparatus.

The source, who has worked on covert US military programmes for years, including in Afghanistan and Pakistan, has direct knowledge of Blackwater’s involvement.

He spoke to The Nation on condition of anonymity because the program is classified. The source said that the programme is so “compartmentalised” that senior figures within the Obama administration and the US military chain of command may not be aware of its existence.

The White House did not return calls or email messages seeking comment for this story. Capt John Kirby, the spokesperson for Adm Michael Mullen, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told The Nation, “We do not discuss current operations one way or the other, regardless of their nature.”

A defence official, on background, specifically denied that Blackwater performs work on drone strikes or intelligence for JSOC in Pakistan.

“We don’t have any contracts to do that work for us. We don’t contract that kind of work out, period,” the official said. “There has not been, and is not now, contracts between JSOC and that organisation for these types of services.”

The previously unreported programme, the military intelligence source said, is distinct from the CIA assassination programme that the agency’s director, Leon Panetta, announced he had cancelled in June 2009. “This is a parallel operation to the CIA,” said the source. “They are two separate beasts.”

SLAMABAD: The Interior Ministry is buying scanners to be installed at roads to check explosives being brought into cities by terrorists but ironically, the selected models lack the vital capability of detecting explosives from a distance (as in other available models) and this critical deficiency could make all the difference between an apprehended shipment or another bomb blast right in front of one of these very scanning posts, sources told The News.

The News was told that two scanners were purchased from China, to be used by Customs, to detect smuggled items, including drugs and explosives.

Interior Ministry sources said security agencies had demanded seven scanners having the specific capability of detecting explosive material, which cost Rs 5 billion and these also had complete Excess Control System (ECS) whereas the inferior systems were being bought for a much higher price tab of Rs 9 billion.

The sources also said that the purchased scanners are not human friendly and their radiation levels were too dangerous for human body.

According to technical experts, jots or particles of explosive materials are unstable and continuously puff out in the air. They say that specially made scanners, recommended by the security agencies, catch particles and alarm the operator from a distance of over 400 yards regarding the presence of explosive material.

They said that unfortunately the scanners purchased could detect the dangerous explosive only after the vehicles would pass close by them and thereby explosive could explode in the very ascertainment process.

The sources said that the Islamabad police demanded seven explosive detecting scanners with ECS to install on seven sensitive entry points of the capital city, including the Red Zone.

The estimated cost of the complete system, including seven explosive scanners was Rs5 billion but the people involved in the deal rejected the proposal of the actual requirement and decided to purchase unrelated scanners on over-estimated price, allegedly, for kickback and commission.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik when contacted said that the scanners, imported from China were multi purpose as they had the capability of detecting explosive material as well as narcotics hidden in vehicles. He denied any commission or kickback was involved in the deal.

The minister said a shipment of two huge scanners has reached Pakistan, which would be installed at major roads of the Capital, adding, while a consignment of mobile scanners would arrive soon.

He said that mobile scanners would be provided to all provinces. The minister expressed ignorance about the quality and type of scanners, and said, “The quality and type of scanners was finalized by a board of experts of atomic energy commission (AEC) while the deal and financial matters were settled by the Planning Division.”

LONDON: Exiled Baloch leaders on Tuesday rejected the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package on the grounds that it doesn’t go far enough to meet their main problems.

Hyrbyair Marri, the London-based leader of the powerful Marri tribe, remains staunchly opposed to any compromise with the government. He called Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package a “mockery and a cruel joke” with the people of Balochistan and said it falls short of Baloch expectations and was only an exercise in buying more time.

He told The News: “This package is misleading. It’s another trap set for us to convince us that the federation pains for us and wants the solution of our miseries.

Marri said President Zardari and his government may have good sentiments but they were powerless and the real powers rest with the military establishment. “If Zardari is so powerful and omnipotent then why is he expecting the UNO to find killers of his wife Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto? Why doesn’t he have faith in the courts and institutions of his own country?

Mir Suleman Dawood Khan, the current Khan of Kalat, said the government failed to take all stakeholders on board and didn’t consult those it didn’t like.

“Baloch nationalist parties were not consulted and only allies of the current government were informed about it a few days ago.”

Noordin Mangal, who regularly speaks at the UN forum, said the package doesn’t address the real problems of the Baloch people.”

Mumtaz Alvi adds: Three leading Balochistan tribes - Marris, Mengals and Bugtis ñ on Tuesday billed the Balochistan package as a political gimmick and charged that it was like rubbing salt into the wounds of the Baloch people.

When contacted by telephone for comments, late Akbar Bugti’s son and President of Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) Talal Bugti charged that the package was prepared by the invisible forces and not by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani’s team or a parliamentary committee.

“The prime minister in his address to the parliament’s joint session said the FC would remain in Balochistan, which means, no change in the status-quo. If they are not serious, which I believe, we have the option to knock at the doors of the United Nations,” Talal warned.

Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) Vice-President Sajid Tareen, while talking to The News from Quetta, noted what had been announced in the package had never been the demand of Balochistan’s people.

“Our stand remains unchanged that the federating units must be treated as per the 1940 Pakistan Resolution,” he said.

Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri was not available for comments.

“We don’t believe in dialogue anymore, as it has been non-productive. We are not politically active as several other parties are,” said a source close to the veteran Baloch leader, who is chieftain of the Marri tribe.

Muhammad Anis adds: The package could not satisfy the people of Balochistan, as it had nothing significant for them, Senator Dr Abdul Malik of the Balochistan National Party (BNP) said while talking to media persons after the announcement of the package.

Senator Hasil Bazinjo said the package carries most of the old things and there is nothing new in it. “The Baloch people want practical steps, not announcements,” he added.

Instead of stabilising the political system, giving a clean and effective government and supporting the Army and security forces to fight the menace of terrorism with full political backing and support, the arrogant and lop-sided governance style of President Zardari has messed up everything. Within a year he has reached the point where everyone is asking and discussing “what after him”. Musharraf took nine years to reach that stage when the Americans dumped him. Zardari was fast. He has now dug into his bunker and is ready to fight. But fight for what? Fight with his own self against his own failures?

Today’s mess is not for the Pakistan Army to clean, as it was 15 months ago. The Army has already played its behind-the-scene role to keep the system going. Today the failure is of the politicians and they should not blame anyone else, as is now becoming a habit in pro-Zardari circles. No one wants to destabilise the system. But the blunders and egocentricities of the PPP leadership is going to do that.

A very mischievous impression is being given that criticism of Zardari, and sidelining him, would mean another attack on Sindhi rights. He should be sidelined because he has failed as a politician and not as a Sindhi. He should pay for his acts of omission and commission, the rampant corruption unleashed all around and the failed policies that he has forced on everybody. All this has nothing to do with Sindh or the Sindhi card.

In fact, all reports from Sindh say people in Larkana and Nawabshah would be more than happy if the tyranny of these newly unleashed feudals is ended. The decades old servants and workers of Mr Bhutto’s ancestral homes would like to come back to their jobs and not live in wilderness any more.

The heavy onus of correcting the situation thus lies on the prime minister and the PPP, or whatever part of the organisation which can come out of the scare spell of the presidency. Gilani is considering many options, including his own resignation if he does not get his way. But right now the centre of power has shifted to his office and the presidency is in a lame-duck mode.

As a starter Gilani can slash his cabinet and remove all the tainted NRO hit ministers, advisers and ambassadors. In one go, he will boost his image and credibility and deliver a fatal blow to the one-man style of governance that has led the PPP into a corner in just two years.

The PM should then move with super speed to get the 17th Amendment repealed, get the competent and popular PPP leaders back into the party fold, take Mian Nawaz Sharif and others on board, even in his cabinet, as in the early days of the coalition. Get a political consensus on major issues, start a dialogue with moderates in the ranks of militants and then lead the country with a focus on ending the miseries of the poor harassed masses and crushing the militancy.

He should keep the president informed and on board if he wants to play along. But it should be clear that the buck would stop at the PM House. If this does not happen and Mr Zardari creates hurdles, plays his dirty tricks, unleashes his ‘Ghairat’ or ‘Izzat’ brigades against the PM, the media, the security establishment or all of them, he would be the one responsible for demolishing the system. No one else should then be blamed.

ISLAMABAD: After the unveiling of the names of NRO beneficiaries, particularly the ruling class, the question striking every mind is how these big-wigs would continue to retain their present positions and status.

There is good news for these beneficiaries as the tamed and subdued National Accountability Bureau (NAB) fears that unless it is independently allowed to pursue corruption cases of the NRO beneficiaries on merit, acquittal of all the accused, despite the presence of concrete evidence, is imminent.

Sources in the NAB say reopening of the cases of the NRO beneficiaries would be meaningless if the bureau continues to be controlled by the government. In the absence of an independent accountability apparatus, the government would expect from the NAB prosecutors to lose or concede cases of corruption and misuse of authority against the powerful and the mighty in the present government.

The sources said the government has already made the NAB a completely impotent body by making it to dance to its tunes. The rulers have not only indicated to abolish the bureau but have also drastically cut its budget, besides inducting favourites.

Referring to a few corruption cases settled outside the NRO through the normal court processes in the present government, involving high-profile public office holders, the NAB sources said that in order to ensure honourable acquittals, the NAB was directed to make certain that its prosecutors did not pursue the cases on merit in the concerned courts. The friendly prosecution behaved as per the dictates of the rulers, which resulted in the desired results — honourable acquittal from corruption cases through normal court processes.

Analysts say if this could be proved it would be a gross obstruction of justice and a violation of laws and the Constitution. “The same formula is now expected to apply in the cases of all those important players, including federal ministers, key advisers and influential bureaucratic appointees, whose corruption cases would revive with the demise of the NRO,” a NAB source said, adding that despite the fact that the NAB has been used for political victimisation in the past, most of the corruption cases and the references made by the bureau have strong evidence to prove these cases in the court of law.

These sources said that without the NAB being administratively and financially autonomous, the dream of across-the-board accountability could never be fulfilled. The NAB even in the Musharraf government was not allowed to target pro-Musharraf politicians and his ministers despite massive corruption and mega financial scandals that had surfaced during his tenure.

However, under the present government the NAB has been made completely redundant and is not even allowed to probe massive corruption cases of the Musharraf era. Now, it is said the government intends to abolish the NAB and replace it with a new accountability commission, which would, however, remain under the strict control of the government.

Ironically, the draft accountability law that has recently been finalised by the government, if enacted in its present shape, would promote corruption instead of curbing it as it contains a permanent NRO for the politicians. It contains a controversial clause which says: “No case against the holder of a public office shall be registered, after three years of the expiry of his term or of his ceasing to hold office, of an offence under this Act which is alleged to have been committed during his tenure.”

The said clause was rejected by the committee but was mysteriously added in the final draft of the accountability commission, reportedly by a former law minister who still holds the strings although he has moved to a top parliamentary position.

Sources said that the new accountability commission is proposed to be placed under the Law Ministry, which would never allow it to function as an autonomous body. It would perhaps be used for political vendetta.

Interestingly even the PML-N members of the committee did not object to the Law Ministry’s proposed control over the future accountability commission. The NAB sources said that whether the NAB continues to exist or it is replaced by the new accountability commission, fair and across-the-board accountability could only be ensured by making it independent, both financially and administratively. One option could be to put it under judicial committee comprising some selected members of the superior judiciary and members of parliament belonging to all different shades of political parties.

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has warned that it will cease to exist and its actions will become invalid in case the government fails to re-promulgate the Competition Ordinance on or before November 28.

Addressing a press conference here at the CCP office, Chairman CCP Khalid Mirza said that the commission had formally kick-started the required process by sending an official communication to the Ministry of Finance for taking steps to re-promulgate the Competition Ordinance 2009 till November 28, 2009.

He said that according to one legal opinion the president could re-promulgate the Competition Ordinance 2009 even after the cut-off date of November 28, 2009 but in that case the CCP would cease to exist after Nov 28 till the re-promulgation of the ordinance.

He said that the World Bank and the donors were closely watching Pakistan and inaction on the Competition Ordinance would hurt the already tarnished image of the country. He confirmed that strengthening the competition mechanism in Pakistan was one of the conditions of the World Bank under the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP-II) related lending.

He stressed that it was imperative to insert a clause in the re-promulgated ordinance to protect the decisions taken by the CCP during Feb 2, 2008 till date otherwise its action would become invalid.

The CCP, he said, had taken decisions in about 20 cases pertaining to various sectors, including cement, stock exchanges, educational institution, telecom, LPG, refineries etc whereas its proceedings were continuing against sugar, fertilisers, PIA, Takaful insurance etc.

As if the news that we had dropped a further five places down the Transparency International corruption scale were not enough, there comes the (not unexpected) revelation of the writing off of billions of rupees as a consequence of the promulgation of the NRO. A report in this newspaper suggests that the figure could be as much as Rs1,000 billion, a number so incomprehensibly large that it beggars the imagination. The National Reconciliation Ordinance effectively cancelled the powers of the National Accountability Bureau (itself flawed and of doubtful provenance but something is better than nothing) and opened the gate for hundreds – perhaps several thousands – engaged in graft and corruption to walk away from their crimes. Those who did the walking were not the poor or needy; they were the rich and powerful, the movers and shakers at the top end of our society. In many cases there is powerful evidence of wrongdoing, much of it by politicians and the workers of political parties across the entire spectrum of our political entities and institutions. Whatever evidence there was has disappeared and will never be presented. A stratum of criminality at the heart of politics and governance once again escapes the rule of law.

The determination to resist any form of accountability is embedded at every level of governance and has become a defining national characteristic. Small wonder that the world sees us as something of a basket case, seemingly teetering on failed-statehood and forever in denial of our many flaws. They have only to read through the back issues of our newspapers for the last twenty years or so (which is as far back as archives go online) to see the rot at the core of the state, the venality that elsewhere would have brought down individuals if not entire governments. Unless and until there is a change in the culture of corruption we seem doomed to wallow very publicly in our own filth – and there is neither sign of nor incentive for change. Our rulers invest heavily in the status quo and perhaps have little real interest in educating or empowering the majority, because by doing so they may be in a position to challenge that artificial equilibrium. The iniquitous NRO was, according to some legal eagles, itself unconstitutional and discriminatory, a law applicable only to a tiny section of the population and not a law for all men and women everywhere. How many schools could have been built for Rs1,000 billion? Hospitals? Roads? Rural water supply systems? Vocational training centres? Until a majority decides to stand up and say ‘Enough’, NRO beneficiaries are going to be laughing as they dance towards their banks.

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) presented to the government on Thursday a list of 248 politicians and bureaucrats, who were alleged to have plundered hundreds of billions of rupees but were cleared by the NAB under the NRO.

Sources in the Law Ministry while sharing with The News the “complete list” of NAB’s NRO beneficiaries, explained that thousands other cases of NRO beneficiaries did not belong to the NAB but with the provincial governments because they were criminal cases and were not covered by the NAB law.

On top of the list is the name of President Asif Ali Zardari while his several close associates, both political and bureaucratic, including Rehman Malik, Salman Farooqi and his brother Usman Farooqi, Hussain Haqqani and Siraj Shamsuddin are also reflected.

ISLAMABAD: According to the official National Accountability Bureau (NAB) list, approximately Rs165 billion was written off because of the promulgation of the NRO and the subsequent act of making the NAB impotent but official sources claim that according to ‘actual’ calculations corruption cases of about Rs1000 billion were terminated.

These also include such cases where even the initial investigations had yet to begin. In just one case, a case of a highly influential individual involving a US$1.5 billion (Rs122 billion) plunder was terminated with the legal stroke of an illegal pen. In yet another case, the wife of an influential politician walked away scot-free and an amount of exactly Rs310 million was written off. There is a long list of cases in which complete immunity of billions of rupees was granted to a select segment of society.

Besides the NAB list of NRO beneficiaries given to the Law Ministry for presentation before the prime minister and then the National Assembly, hundreds of other political luminaries were given a clean slate in corruption cases without mentioning the word NRO and thousands of political workers involved in heinous criminal activities too got their records cleansed.

It appears as if the MQM chief’s stand is a decisive one in the current political situation. This is attested by the fact that following his decision, not only is the NRO dead and buried forever but it also seems to have set the stage for the implementation of the minus-one formula

The other day the MQM supremo Altaf Hussain caused a political tsunami when in a mysterious call made in the dead of the night he announced not to support the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) bill and counselled Zardari to leave the presidency for the sake of democracy and along with his associates face cases in the courts. It left the Zardari government high and dry because it was banking on MQM’s support for the smooth passage of the bill. For President Zardari, Altaf was a Brutus who had stabbed him in the back. Visibly upset by this development, the PPP had negotiations with the MQM in Dubai, which however did not produce the kind of result that the PPP was looking for because though the MQM apparently made a summersault on Zardari’s resignation by claiming that it did not ask for his head, only surrender of the 17th amendment presidential powers, it refused to budge on the NRO. Resultantly, the government withdrew the NRO from parliament and Zardari is now struggling for his political survival. How do we explain the latest theatre in town?

Why has the establishment that had accepted the PPP government after Musharraf’s exit now turned hostile towards it? The explanation for this lies in Zardari’s personality and performance with which the establishment is not satisfied on several counts. First, there is lack of governance and the Zardari government appears to be utterly rudderless. Second, there is rampant corruption in which he and others are allegedly involved. To compound the matter he is not willing to show the door to the latter. Third, he is perceived as America’s man echoing his master’s voice as evidenced by the Kerry-Lugar Bill (KLB), which he tried to promote even though the establishment viewed it as an American instrument to get Pakistan’s nuclear programme capped and the Pakistan army and the ISI controlled. Fourth, the Zardari government has allowed the Americans to get themselves installed in Islamabad, which allows them space to indulge in espionage activities in Pakistan. Finally, Zardari is perceived as being soft on India.

ISLAMABAD: In the last fateful meeting of the party central executive committee, the old PPP guards surprisingly compared the present siege-like situation of President Asif Ali Zardari to that of late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who during his incarceration days was given similar sugar coated assurances about his survival by his party leaders, just as an ‘all is well and great’ report being given today by all the president’s men.

President Zardari was reportedly told point black by Nawab Yousuf Talpur that these were the similar sycophants who were nowhere to be seen when the time of trial came and ultimately their leader was hanged.

Apparently, Talpur’s bold utterances proved only a harbinger of more to come. According to sources, after a very long time some of the senior party leaders blasted the policies and failures of their own government, and much to their pleasant surprise, they found the president, also the party co-chairman, ready to listen to them uninterrupted and without giving them a put up or shut up call. Some of the senior party leaders were said to be dissatisfied with the briefing given to them on the NRO issue and the government plans to tackle it in the days to come.

Earlier, unlike the past traditions, CEC members were also asked to give approval for the long pending reshuffling of the cabinet. The CEC empowered the president to change the portfolios of the ministers but Mr Zardari hurriedly passed on these powers to PM Yousuf Raza Gilani, who might soon announce the changes in the portfolios of the ministers. One source said, MNA Sherry Rehman and Senator Raza Rabbani were likely to rejoin the cabinet.

KARACHI: Corruption in Pakistan increased in one year of the PPP government and Transparency International ranked Pakistan 42nd among the world’s most corrupt countries against 47th last year.

Pakistan’s 2009 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) score was 2.4, ranking it at 42, TI Pakistan chief Adeel Gilani said while releasing the report here on Tuesday. Against this, Bangladesh has marginally improved its position also ranked 42nd against 38th last year. India has been at 84th position.

According to the Transparency International ranking, the higher the position of a country on the list the better is its integrity account and lesser corruption. Countries scored highest in the 2009 CPI are: New Zealand at 9.4, Denmark (9.3), Singapore and Sweden tied at 9.2 and Switzerland at 9.0, reflecting political stability and long established conflict of interest regulations.

According to Gilani, anti-corruption efforts in Pakistan had taken a 180-degree turn since the then-president Pervez Musharraf issued the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in October 2007. The NRO, which granted immunity to politicians, military officers and bureaucrats charged with corruption, enabled the return home from exile of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

The PML-Q and the MQM have made allegations of massive rigging by the PPP in Gilgit-Baltistan, where the ruling party swept the poll to 23 seats in the new legislative assembly for the region. The charges have been denied by the prime minister and other members of the winning party. This pattern of accusations and denials is of course not a new one. Disturbingly, the tensions between rival parties triggered clashes in Skardu as supporters pelted each other with stones. The losing parties have demanded re-elections on nine seats rather than on four, as announced by the Election Commission. The poll in Gilgit-Baltistan was monitored by neutral observers. A mission of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has noted the process was flawed. It has for instance stated the indelible ink to mark voters could in fact quite easily be removed and that the Benazir Income Support Programme may at times have been used unfairly. But the human rights body, with considerable experience in watching polls, does not appear to have found evidence of a large-scale attempt to alter the results.

As we have said before, there is only one way around this problem. Pakistan today urgently needs an autonomous and independent Election Commission, which is free of government control. The models for this used in other countries, including India, could help us work out how to set one up. The fact is that until this is done, every election will be followed by allegations of manipulation. After all the very nature of polls means there will always be winners and losers. One part of the democratic process is transparency and fair play at the ballot. This can be guaranteed only if the process is overseen by a body free from political affiliation and respected by all the major contestants. Otherwise we will continue to see the kind of unfortunate aftermath to polls that we are witnessing today in Gilgit-Baltistan.