20 replies to this topic

[Jilawatan]

This has been a serious issue in Pakistan ever since its inception. Jinnah used to always warn us to stray away from corruption and take down those who took part of it. He termed it enemy number one of the state. So why have we not taken his advice? How can we finally bring corruption down?

[Jilawatan]

Youth’s role stressed in eradicating corruption

By Our Staff Correspondent

QUETTA, Nov 29: Governor Balochistan Owais Ahmed Ghani has said the new generation should prepare itself for future challenges of building the nation and eliminating corruption from the society.

He was speaking as chief guest at a declamation contest, jointly arranged by the National Accountability Bureau Quetta and the Provincial Education Department, on the role of students in eradication of corruption from the society here on Wednesday.

He said the actual responsibility of anti-corruption and nation building lies on the shoulders of the young generation since the contemporaries of his generation could not perform well.

“No society could develop without eliminating corruption,” Mr Owais Ghani said, adding that all organisations and civil societies should play their role in creating awareness in the society against corruption.

He lauded the efforts of the NAB in this connection.

The director general of NAB, Balochistan, Major General Salim Nawaz, said that since the inception of Pakistan the total sum of the budget is around Rs 9.1 trillion, out of which Rs2.37 trillion were specified as development head but due to rampant corruption the national wealth was embezzled by corrupt elements of the society.

A prize worth Rs200,000 was announced for the institutions’ top winners in both English and Urdu categories followed by a Rs50,000 cash prize for the winners along with certificates.

[Lahori paa jee]

The first thing is to define what is corruption. Can someone please do it for me so that we can take this discussion forward. I dont want to define it becase many wont agree with what i say

[Jilawatan]

We are discussing corruption in the form that it stands today in our government. We need accountability...

[Chengez_]

The first thing is to define what is corruption. Can someone please do it for me so that we can take this discussion forward. I dont want to define it becase many wont agree with what i say

I'd define it as one not working efficiently enough, yet receiving the unearned credit.

[MunzirNaqvi]

Chengez has said it best, classically in one simple statement. Sadly, there is corruption in every department of every ministry of government.

Government is not the only corrupt institution in Pakistan. There are corrupt Businesses (where corruption is even higher), and corrupt sports leagues, etc.

There is a range of corruption everywhere. We need reform and innovation in every department and in every institution. There is corruption in even educational institutions. There are examples of corrupt free institutions like the Aga Khan University. And their success speaks for itself.

There is work, but there are not an effective management strategy. Unfortunately, corruption has spread like a disease, but it is a disease. How to contain it is to use the institutions to your advantage.

We fight it in two ways. We must contain the corruption and hold our public officials accountable. Why are our corrupt public officials corrupt? Well, they want to advance themselves and take care of their family, but also live the life of luxury. Heck, if they were making great money in the Corporate world, they would definately leave the life of Politics.

In Pakistan, you have the incentives of access to money and power through Politics. This is why the Feudals are in Politics, because there is money to be made and power to acheive their results. If you subtract Power from Politics, then there is very little incentive to go in to Politics.

But Political Science is the institution of Power, or institutional power. Power to achieve results, and make gains. Unfortunately in Pakistan, instead of achieving results, they use the power to buy the material wealth.

But this is true in most nations. Things are slowly changing, through the newly establish institutions of private media and Foreign Direct Investment.

You have to be innovative in Pakistan. Pakistan needs less reform and more innovation. This can be done, but only as a team.

[Nauman]

We are discussing corruption in the form that it stands today in our government. We need accountability...

Corruption is only in the government it is in every Pakistani, we look for easy way out. Instead of going through the procedure to get the thing done we prefer to use our contacts, pay a bit of extra money here and there to get our work done.

[Jilawatan]

Corruption is only in the government it is in every Pakistani, we look for easy way out. Instead of going through the procedure to get the thing done we prefer to use our contacts, pay a bit of extra money here and there to get our work done.

That mindset has developed because the government has been corrupt for so long.

[Suprah™]

Call it laziness, call it selfishness, call it the patronisation of your own caste/group (biraaderee system)....these two factors combine to have corruption in this country.

Anyone who gets a Govt job wants to make the most of it, coz his daadaa or abbajee was working in a brick kiln, or he wants to repay his feudal lord's son who gave him this job by getting more of his people involved. Or being just lazy, coz its the Government money.

I call it a "slave/freed slave" mentality.

[Jilawatan]

Call it laziness, call it selfishness, call it the patronisation of your own caste/group (biraaderee system)....these two factors combine to have corruption in this country.

Anyone who gets a Govt job wants to make the most of it, coz his daadaa or abbajee was working in a brick kiln, or he wants to repay his feudal lord's son who gave him this job by getting more of his people involved. Or being just lazy, coz its the Government money.

I call it a "slave/freed slave" mentality.

100% True!

If the reputation system was still on I would have given you rep for that post.

[General Yahya Khan]

We need a change of mentalities , and the only way this can be done is through the elimination of the , as Suprah put it , biradaree system...the only way this can be done is through the media , which right now is promoting bullshit about 'family owned businesses' and people putting thier business in jeopardy just to get back at another family member , what utter BS.

[Suprah™]

Lifestyles of the rich and (in)famous

By Mohammad Kamran

ISLAMABAD: A number of parliamentarians, including ministers, have either their own businesses or they have made massive investments in the stock market, in addition to receiving large salaries and getting other perks and privileges from the state.

According to the parliamentarians’ declarations of assets and liabilities, submitted to the Election Commission (EC), most public representatives have put their property under the names of their spouses and children. The Pakistan Muslim League’s Haroon Ihsan Piracha, declared 26 plots, at a consolidated value of Rs 48.4 million. Out of the 26, 17 were located in Islamabad, while the others were scattered between Gwadar, Lahore and Rawalpindi. In the declaration of his assets, Paracha has mentioned only the purchasing price of these plots and maintains that their present market value could not be ascertained. He also holds shares in 10 different companies, which amounting to Rs 35 million in all.

Textile Industry Minister Mushtaq Ali Cheema holds Rs 14 million worth of shares in four different textile mills.

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao owns shops and markets in Charsadda village, shares in a sugar mill and agricultural land along with farms and stores. His wife Nighat Aftab and children Sadaf Aftab, Mustafa Aftab and Huzaima Aftab also have agricultural lands in their names besides other assets.

Zubaida Jalal, a federal minister, owns a number of plots and has declared that five commercial plots in Gwadar were gifted to her by her husband. Her own plots are located in Mand, Gwadar, Bolan and Quetta plus a petrol pump in Sibi. PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has invested of Rs 24 million in different sugar and flour mills. Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) President Qazi Hussain Ahmed runs an X-ray Clinic in Peshawar and its estimated value is Rs 2 million. National Assembly Deputy Speaker Sardar Muhammad Yaqub runs ‘Myco Surveys Pvt Ltd’, valued at Rs 0.50 million and owns 40 percent shares in a Lahore-based company which accounts for Rs 1 million.

Ghazi Ghulab Jamal has shares several large companies such as Engro Chemicals, Habib Sugar Mills, PNSC, Nestle etc.

The MMA’s Mian Muhammad Aslam is associated with the poultry business and has the highest amount of business capital from among all MNAs, which is estimated at Rs 381.9 million.

Population Minister Chaudhry Shahbaz Hussain has shares worth Rs 8 million in Al-Farsi Transport.

Nasir Khan, a federal minister, has shares in different companies, while his wife Javeria Nasir Khan also holds shares in textile and paper mills. Former president Farooq Ahmed Khan Leghari, has shown an investment worth Rs 12.2 million in companies whose names he has not revealed. His son Awais Ahmed Leghari, who is also a minister, holds shares worth Rs 7.8 million in the stock market.

Faisal Saleh Hayat, a federal minister, runs the Shahjiwana Textile Mills and his shares are valued at Rs 1.7 million.

State Minister for Law, Shahid Akram Bhinder gets regular income from a filling station in Gujranwala. Sumaira Malik, another minister, has shares in Bank Al Falah. MNA Rana Asif Tauseef has thousands of shares in textile industry worth Rs 21 million. State Minister for Finance Omar Ayub Khan has shares worth Rs 15.8 million in stock market.

Jahangir Khan Tareen, a federal minister, has invested Rs 45 million in the stock market.

PPP-Patriots’ Syed Khurshid Shah has a consolidated investment of Rs 4.8 million in two flour and cotton mills.

PPP-Parliamentarians’ Makhdoom Amin Fahim has provided a complicated list, showing shares in different ventures. MNA Dr Fehmida Mirza and her spouse Dr Zulfiqar Ali Mirza have business capital in sugar mills. Water and Power Minister Liquat Jatoi owns Bhittai Petroleum and JBC Company in Dadu. He has declared a business capital of Rs 0.75 million. Labour Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan runs a CNG station, crushers and has shares in a petrol pump.

Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed runs M/s Gulmerg. MMA MNA Hanif Abbasi is involved in the pharmaceutical business and runs M/s Grays Pharma, valued at Rs 7.5 million. The wife of NRB Chairman Daniyal Aziz has shares worth Rs 0.2 in Shell Petroleum.

Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri has shares in 10 different ventures with a total value of Rs 178 million. Hamid Yar Hiraj, a minister, has business capital worth Rs 9.5 million. Ishaq Khan Khakwani, a state minister, has shares in oil mills in Vehari.

[Suprah™]

As far as i can understand, this is going on( i maybe wrong) : A man have a job of 20,000, a normal govt employ but on an authoratative post, lets say he sends his children to the most expensive school, wants a luxerious car, wants a luxerious 2 floor home, wants an i-mate, wants to go to dubai........... the list goes on and on. In other words he too much dream to fullfill, sky is the limit for him, in order to achieve these all the things, he turns to corruption. What i don`t understand is that why people can`t live simply.........

But some poeple turns to corruption because they are in a bad condition, because of their conditions.

Read post no.9 of this thread above by myself and you will understand why

Its simple..making the most of things which their predecessors never had.

[Abdullah Hayat]

Salam,

As far as i can understand, this is going on( i maybe wrong) : A man have a job of 20,000, a normal govt employ but on an authoratative post, lets say he sends his children to the most expensive school, wants a luxerious car, wants a luxerious 2 floor home, wants an i-mate, wants to go to dubai........... the list goes on and on. In other words he too much dream to fullfill, sky is the limit for him, in order to achieve these all the things, he turns to corruption. What i don`t understand is that why people can`t live simply.........

But some poeple turns to corruption because they are in a bad condition, because of their conditions.

Excellent post. I would add to that a famous quote that I really like: "If the son of Adam had a mountain of gold, he would only want another one. Nothing will fill his belly, untill the dust of his own grave."

This is one of the side-effects of Dialectical Materialism. They don't like to admit it, but the Capitalists have borrowed very heavily from Hegelian prinicples, and ultimately Marx.
.
.
It stands true. Nothing will fill our mouths, except for the dust of our graves.

Peace.

[Jilawatan]

Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite The BBC Urdu service's Masud Alam says a contempt for the law has always permeated throughout Pakistan's ruling class.





Senior government functionaries in Pakistan are fond of complaining, in private, that the nation they are serving is averse to following the dictates of law.

The laws are broken by those who made them



That if something does not work in this country it is because the common man does not follow the system.

Lack of education, lack of discipline and lack of respect for the law are just some of the misdemeanours on the part of a populace that hampers the pace of progress.

A section of Pakistanis - the so-called educated and those living abroad - also subscribe to this preposterous notion.

But in truth, things could not be more different.

'A few drops'

It is the incompetence of the bureaucracy, the ignorance of lawmakers, the greed of the military for power and riches - combined with a glaring contempt for the law on the part of all three groups - that has created and then compounded the social anarchy that everyone is now forced to live in.



[Nawaz Sharif] was eager to please the Americans at any cost - in this case the cost was trashing the judicial system of his own country


There is no law in this country that cannot be or has not been broken by the very people who made them, and those whose job it is to implement them.



Take the law banning alcohol, for instance. It was introduced by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the first elected prime minister and the modern, liberal and democratic face of Pakistan in the 70s.

Bhutto is also the man who publicly admitted that he did not mind downing a few drops after a hard day's work.



Another prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, took the oath of office that emphasises the protection of life and property of every citizen.

He then proceeded to allow a team of American security men to raid a hotel in a Pakistani city, kidnap a Pakistani national, drive him to Islamabad, put him in a plane and fly off to the US.



Law-abiding Pakistanis see the law catching up with its breakers

The suspect, Aimal Kasi, was wanted by the Americans on charges of killing two CIA officials. The US wanted to bring him to justice at any cost. And the Pakistani PM was eager to please the Americans at any cost - in this case the cost was trashing the judicial system of his own country.

The same prime minister sent a team of party officials, including sitting parliamentarians, to storm the Supreme Court building and break into the court room where a petition against the PM was being heard.

The so-called National Accountability Bureau has in the past few years apprehended several high ranking politicians on charges of corruption, but if they agreed to join the military government - and almost all of them did - they were not only conveniently forgotten, some were made federal ministers.



Passing the baton

Three times in the history of this young country, the army chief has led a coup against a civilian government. The constitution was on each occasion trampled under military boots, even though it defines such actions as acts of "high treason".

Each military dictator seeks to pass on the baton to another, much like handing family treasures to the next generation.

President Musharraf yielded on the chief justice issue

The message that reaches the masses is: there is no law of the land and we have no rights, except what we can grab for ourselves.

The rulers, their coterie and functionaries, are the law. They will apply the writ when they see fit and they will overlook when it is wise to do so.

The people of this country have learnt to live in a system heavily skewed against them. They look for short cuts, they bribe their way, they use friends' and family's influence, they lie through their teeth, they plead and they threaten because there is no straightforward way to get things done.

To label these people "law breakers" is then adding insult to injury if the labeller is from the ruling class. Because in this country, laws are not made "for the people", more often than not they are made to be used "against" them.

It's the ruling class that routinely breaks the law and considers it a privilege

<A class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.u...33876.stm#map">Send your views

It is therefore only natural for people to break these laws whenever they can get away with it.

Conversely, if you provide an environment where the regulations aim to provide comfort and protection to the users, and the laws they produce are clearly communicated and fairly and firmly applied, the people of Pakistan will be as law abiding as any other people in the world.

This is the background that explains the relief and joy of the common man at the reinstatement of Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry as the chief justice of Pakistan.

People power forced the reinstatement of Mr Chaudhry

For the first time the law has not sided with the law makers. For the first time, a powerful government headed by a serving general has failed to subvert the judiciary. And for the first time, people have come out on the street, in their hundreds of thousands, in support of the rule of law.

These masses were not motivated by some charismatic political leader. It was the unity of lawyers all over the country, and their objective of upholding the law, that got the attention of the people.

The Supreme Court's landmark decision, striking down the presidential charge sheet against the chief justice, is indeed a watershed in the history of Pakistan.

It has proved conclusively that the people of this country want justice. They believe in the need for laws, and they are capable of respecting them.

It is the ruling class that routinely breaks the law and considers it a privilege. These are the people who, for a change, are now fearful of the application of law under an independent judiciary. The people of Pakistan do not expect an overnight sea change in their circumstances at the hands of a born-again judiciary. It is the prospect of law finally catching up with the real law breakers, that they find so irresistibly sweet.

[Jilawatan]

Senator asks why sugar scam probe wound up

By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, Aug 10: An opposition senator on Friday asked a minister in-charge of the cabinet division why the National Accounability Bureau was not allowed to pursue an investigation into the sugar crisis.

The explanation was sought through a call-attention notice submitted by Senator Sadia Abbasi of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to the Senate Secretariat. She drew the attention of the minister in-charge of the cabinet division to the explanation given in the report submitted by NAB to the Supreme Court on Thursday.

The NAB report blamed eight sitting ministers and some party leaders responsible for sugar hoarding which, “coupled with the government’s soft policy initiative, created a sugar crisis and price hike over the past three years”.

The report also cites middlemen, sugar industry’s corrupt practices, tax evasion and the food minister’s action of inducing farmers to demand higher sugarcane prices as reasons for the continuing crisis.

It says these players and factors took advantage of lower domestic sugarcane output which, coupled with higher international prices, devastated the common man’s budget by increasing the commodity’s price from Rs21 per kilogramme in February 2005 to Rs45 by the end of January 2006.

The SC bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and Justice Javed Buttar, had ordered the NAB to submit its report about its incomplete inquiry into the sugar scam on the request of People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) Senator Enver Baig.

Interestingly, the report not only mentions the names of cabinet members, but also PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, his brother and former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif and PPP leader Asif Zardari. The report held Jehangir Tareen, Humayun Akhtar (a cousin of Humayun Akhtar), chief of the ruling PML Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, chief whip Nasrullah Dareshak, Anwer Cheema, Mian Azhar and Erra chief Mian Altaf Saleem responsible for hoarding almost 70 per cent of the 317,000 tons of sugar.

According to the NAB, it was forced to wind up its investigation and it had to issue a press release about the winding up of the probe when the players created an impression that the investigation was fuelling the sugar crisis.

DENIAL: Nawaz Sharif's family has categorically denied its involvement in the sugar scam of 2006 and before as was alleged in a report submitted by the National Accountability Bureau to the Supreme Court on Thursday.

Talking to Dawn, Salman Shehbaz Sharif asserted that his family had neither been involved in the sugar stock holding nor in the import of sweetner.

“In 2006, we had invited the Monopoly Control Authority (MCA) to check our sugar mills stocks, but the offer was never responded to,” he claimed.

He said the family never indulged in any kind of business malpractice or hoarding.

[Suprah™]

Ardeshir Cowasjee described these politicians perfectly on live tv a few years back:

"Yeh saaray saalay chor logg hain, sab key sab saalay chor"

[MAA]

Pakistan's rank in corruption index improves by 42 points: NAB

PESHAWAR (August 01 2008): Director General NAB (National Accountability Bureau) Air Vice Marshal Muhammad Jamshid Khan said here on Thursday that National Accountability Bureau has performed a pivotal role in rooting out corruption from the society and now the ranking of the country in corruption index has improved by 42 points.

Addressing a farewell reception function held in honour of outgoing officers of the NAB, he said the National Accountability Bureau has recovered billions of rupees from the corrupt elements during the past few years, says a handout. He said that Rs 117 billion have been recovered from the defaulters of bank loan and Rs 60 billion have been recovered from the people who have managed to reschedule their loans.

Likewise, Rs 25 billions were recovered under plea-bargain. The DG NAB said that Rs 200 billions of financial resources are being wasted through corrupt practices at higher level and Rs 67 billions are wasted because of corrupt practices at the lower level every year. "We have always accepted suggestion for reforms and the process of reforms will continue in this organisation," he added.

Enumerating the NAB achievements, he said that 85,000 comaplaints have been processed so far, 1,306 cases have been put in court and 2,965 persons involved in corruption cases have been convicted by the court of law. He told that the rate of conviction in NAB cases have remained 68 percent.

Highlighting the role of media in uncovering the corrupt practices, the director general NAB said that media should buttress the efforts of NAB by landing it support to purged the society for the menace of corruption. Later DG NAB gave away shields and commendation certificates to 16 outgoing officers of NAB.

source: http://www.brecorder...6...m=&supDate=

[Zain Abbass]

Here are my suggestions for fighting corruption in Pakistan:

• Use modern software and electronics in our systems and ministry's.
• Make sure everything in the country is well documented so everything leaves a paper trail.
• Increase punishments for corruption
• Repeal the NRO