By Dr Shahid Qureshi:-
Can someone tell Prime Minister Imran Khan that: ‘hand on your shoulder is closest to your neck’, and he should change his ‘daytime’ advisers imported from abroad as there is enough talent in the over 200 million Pakistanis. You don’t need ‘swingers and swapers’ anymore because you are now prime minister of Pakistan. The amount of briefings and coaching sessions you had from the military and security establishment should be enough to kick out characters like Moeed Yousaf and Zulfi Bukhari whose business even you don’t know, ‘con-men’ Razaq Dawood, and Nadeem Babar, whose half a dozen companies are included in 56 companies scandal of former CM Shabaz Sharif with NAB. It is time to treat Mafias as TTP, ISIL and DAESH and put them on trial in military courts.
By the way I bumped into your ex-wife at an international media conference in Almaty, Kazakhstan and I did ask her ‘are you going to profit from the relationship’? She said to me: I am fasting and it is bit complicated’. What I am saying is that amount of support given to you is enough to ‘shed off’ incompetent and dodgy characters and advisers because our patience is running out. You could have done police reforms for free of cost and get fully functional and competent chief minster in Punjab, as it is not a practice match and you will not hire Mr Usman Buzdar as your factory manager?
On the other hand Pakistan’s civilian bureaucracy and police is a bigger national security threat than India. When 76000 Pakistani civilians and 16000 solders, police and security was losing their lives these civil bureaucrats like Fawad Hasan Fawad and Ahad Cheema and others in this gang were engaged in destroying the state of Pakistan. They never say no to the ‘Unlawful Commands’ of the politicians like Asif Zardari, Sharifs and others rather joined in.
It was a senior civil Bureaucrat Mr Masood who went to IMF and told them about the free delivery oil to Pakistan from brotherly Saudi Arabia and it is civil servants who sabotage another offer by Azerbaijan for free delivery of oil 10 million USD defer payment to Pakistan. Surely it would help with some foreign exchange now?
It is anti-state activities of the civilian bureaucracy, revenue and police damaging the country, for example only in Gawadar city where budget was deliberately under-spent and district in the middle of sea was kept without water projects, health facilities and schools, colleges and universities. The result of this sabotage will cause delays in the development of the CPEC projects and Gawadar Port.
My major concern is that: ‘Overseas Pakistanis are lured into invest in 140 housing societies and 70 industrial estates in Gawadar all are non-existent on the ground only two housing societies are plotting and developing. All the above can happen when civil bureaucracy, police and relevant ministers are on one page and corrupt. A city which has Arabian sea on both sides have no drinking water and proper electric is a disgrace and slap on the face of the rulers.
On this subject Major General Asif Ghafoor’s former ISPR head said to me in London:
“we lost 76000 civilians and over 16000 members of the security and armed forces but if police and other civilian departments functioning properly these deaths could be reduced as armed forces were fighting with terrorists which is the remit of local police and security agencies.”
Probably General Asif Ghafoor already knew that: ‘it was a conspiracy and plot against the armed forces of Pakistan to ‘stretch, thin and drag in urban warfare like Lebanon’ where police completely failed so plot was to make Pakistan Lebanon’.
In April 2014, I was invited to take part in a discussion with staff of the National Defence University, Islamabad, Pakistan visiting London, on “Pakistan’s Domestic and External Security Challenges Following the ISAF Withdrawal from Afghanistan”. Brigadier Mohammad Iqbal Tahir lead this delegation and it was held at War Studies Department, Kings College London. The other journalists who participated were Christina Lamb, The Times, and Owen Bennett Jones of BBC as well as diplomats, academics and policy and security experts.
“I said to Pakistan’s (NDU) National Defence University delegation attending War Studies Department Seminar at Kings College London:
“FATA is only 1.5 % of Pakistan. What is happening in 98.5% Pakistan run by the democratically elected governments? From March 2008 to March 2013 in Pakistan 64500 people have been murdered over 14000 women have been raped including over 2000 gang rapes, burglaries and robberies are apart from this as they are in millions. All the above happened under the politically run government. Police and judiciary have become a national security threat to Pakistan now?
I (Dr Shahid Qureshi) and a team of legal experts conducted a research on ‘policing – judiciary, mafias and national security’ in Pakistan. I spoke to two senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials concerned with Pakistan after the seminar at the war college. Who were concerned with the law and order situation as well as terrorism in Pakistan? In response to my discussion and subsequent article: “Pakistan: Police corruption is bigger threat to Army than Taliban’, published on 28th April 2014, in The London Post:
I received following comments from the senior Foreign and Commonwealth official of Pakistan desk: –
Dr Qureshi – “Many thanks for this interesting article and the crime figures which are both horrifying and worryingly apparently on the increase. The disparity between the armed forces and police both in terms of integrity and numbers and budgets is deeply concerning when crime rather than terrorism is so dominant, although the two go hand in hand. It is similar to the previous situation in Lebanon, where the police were not competent, sectarian and not trusted by the public, while the army was considered the real protector of the people. There the international community were able to work with the Ministry and the police to start a process of reform, which gradually started to transform their ability and willingness to fight crime and increased public trust. It is still a long way behind the army, but change has taken place.
In Pakistan, although there are various police reform programmes under way, they seem to have had little impact across the board, although there may be some improvement in some areas. This is a very significant area for reform if internal security along the lines set out in the NISP is to be achieved. At present, there does not seem to be a major strategy on the part of the (Pakistan) Federal Government and, as policing is a provincial responsibility, any reform is likely to be piecemeal and limited.
Is this an issue of public debate in Pakistan? Have any of the think tanks addressed it in their reports or politicians in their manifestos or in the National/ Provincial Assemblies? I do not recall seeing any substantial discussion.”
The above comments by the British FCO experts confirm that: world is watching you very closely even when your own people are complicit, corrupt and treacherous.
The above comments are self-explanatory and surely need full attention of the concerned for immediate action. Police corruption and incompetence is resulting in deaths and destruction of the civilians as well as the armed forces of Pakistan. The attack on Karachi Airport proved that police has completely failed to locate the terrorists as happened in other cases too.
Who should take responsibility of the corruption in police and growth of mafias? It is the responsibility of the politicians and that’s all. When you deliberately play with a weak player you are playing for the enemy therefore corruption of bureaucracy damaged the state of Pakistan in trillions and thousands have lost lives? One would just bring few hundred criminal civil and security officials to justice and save further lives and damage to Pakistan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan Pakistani businessmen committed $6 billion robbery in trade with China only. Country is being robbed by the expansive electricity IPP mafia, land mafia, sugar and wheat mafia but your running to overseas Pakistanis as they are easy target. We are already helping people in Pakistan.
According to reports in public domain The government adviser on Finance Hafeez Shaikh told businessmen in meeting with the Army chief : “China reported to Pakistan that: ‘Pakistani businessmen have import orders of $12 billion dollars but our record shows that you only declared imports of $6 billion so you have moved $6 billion to your foreign accounts in Dubai, Europe and elsewhere by under invoicing.
Your government has completely failed to recover a single penny from all the so called corrupt detained by NAB and convicted by the courts. Your whole government machinery facilitated the scandalous escape of a convicted criminal Nawaz Sharif from Pakistan to London. He is living here lavishly, and your media spokesperson shoot some comments to keep warm, but outcome is zero recovery.
https://thelondonpost.net/pakistani-businessmens-6-billion-robbery-with-only-trade-with-china/embed/#?secret=5VU0EjXoN2
Your own cronies have taken subsidies of billions from the national treasury. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s PTI (Pakistan Tehreek Insaf) backed mafia robbers in suits made a drone strike to the ‘national wealth’ of over Rs 300 billion as media reported in broad day light. The so-called philanthropists actually just share a little bit of their loot with the people and keep the rest. Where in the world government give poor taxpayers money to the failed businesses and corrupt businessmen?
According to Government of Pakistan report Rs. 1 Trillion was spent on development in Sind province which is run by Zardari mafia since 2008. Most of this development fund is stolen and hidden as well as smuggled abroad. Ishaq Dar has given amnesty to this loot. Instead of putting them in jail he has given them a way out to these white-collar criminals. Someone said: “if we disband police 50% crimes will disappear and if we jail corrupt politicians 100% crimes will end”.
What these economic terrorists ‘Seths’ have done to Pakistan:
(1) drained the US$ dollars from the economy of Pakistan by not bringing back the revenue of sold items and products abroad.
(2) They enjoyed the subsidies in the gas and electric as well as refunds in tax but did not pay back the country and kept the profits in foreign banks or invested in real estates aboard.
(3) they kept the military leadership and security establishment engaged in ‘various operations’ since 9/11. They say, ‘let the khakis have tea and Smosas’. Pakistan Army is duped and stretched by the crook politicians into useless tasks like ‘counting the people’ census when they are already stretched at Afghan Border and Indian Border as well as LOC. In past, few years they are giving this new lollypop aka ‘sucker’ to every army chief to play with starting from Gen Kiayni, Gen. Raheel Sharif and now to Gen. Bajawa i.e. operation Rah e Najat, Zarb e azb, and now Rade-ul-fasad.
(4) By giving tax amnesty to the ‘Seths’ criminals and terrorist financiers the ailing economy of Pakistan is destroyed.
(5) they sabotaged the return of US$ 200 billion from Swiss Banks with the help of corrupt elements in bureaucracy, FBR and State Bank. Even the Swiss Banks are willing to return the money back to Pakistan. Corruption, money laundering and financial terrorism is bigger threat to Pakistan must be dealt with on war footings.
Boys its about your survival so act up now’.
(Dr Shahid Qureshi is senior analyst with BBC and chief editor of The London Post. He writes on security, terrorism and foreign policy. He also appears as analyst on Al-Jazeera, Press TV, MBC, Kazak TV (Kazakhstan), LBC Radio London. He was also international election observer for Azerbaijan 2020, April 2018, Kazakhstan 2015, 2016, 2019 and Pakistan 2002. He has written a famous book “War on Terror and Siege of Pakistan” published in 2009. At Government College Lahore he wrote his MA thesis on ‘Political Thought of Imam Khomeini’ and visited Tehran University. He is PhD in ‘Political Psychology’ and studied Law at a British University. He also speaks at Cambridge University. He is a visiting Professor at Hebe University in China.)
Views expressed are not of The London Post
