By Dr Shahid Qureshi:
Security of Pakistan depends on independent debt free country and army must play its role in recovery with special measures like someone said: ‘Corona or Lead’.
Pakistan need money and need now. The Army and civilian security infrastructures must start recovering billions hidden in the homes and basements of the corrupt with no mercy. If it requires special legislation or powers Chief Justice of Pakistan could taken on board for support. Prime Minister Imran Khan himself said: ‘poor were major supporters of his hospital projects’. The rich who gave him some are now cashing in the PTI government. Out of box and special ways need to be adopted to recover the stolen wealth. A joint recovery special task force needed which can offer voluntary surrender of stolen wealth or corona dipped lead. US Supreme Court allowed administration to take ‘special measures in special circumstances’ during civil war.
PAKISTAN MUST CHANGE CURRENCY NOTES TO GET $77 BILLION HIDDEN IN HOMES
The accountability circus in NAB and courts going for years was a useless exercise as powerful and corrupt getting away with murders of government officials from customs to law officers especially by Sind based politicians.
Pakistan and world are dealing with a crisis affecting all, but it is especially damaging the poor and daily wagers. Without commenting on the civilian administration and their response to Corona virus Army must take a lead since they are already there under article 245 to support administration. Staring with anti-terrorist force raids at the ‘biggest casinos’ based in the Karachi and Lahore Stock Exchanges. You can do the rest hint is enough.
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.
The above is only once incident and we can imagine who has actually paralyzed the country and make the national vulnerable. It is mafia alliance of businessmen and corrupt element in the state machinery.
Next challenge to Pakistan can be described as “There are two ways to conquer & enslave a country One is by the Sword. The other is by Debt” said John Adams. Someone asked me: ‘how we can bring dollar prices down in Pakistan’?
I said to him its very simple (a) Hang few ‘crook Seths’ in Karachi and start ‘Operation Asset Recovery & De-Corruptionisation’ (b) and take all the businessmen (financial terrorists) who get their loans written offs and all the burden gone to the people of Pakistan, to Mangla Dam military camp (c) dollar prices will automatically come down’. All the names and addresses are available to the authorities, so a small military operation on them please. (d) In the list of missing persons not a single person is from ‘financial terrorist’ mafia. They have successfully created a ‘smoke screen’ of threat from ‘Madrassas and Taliban’. (e) So, boys in uniform you are played by the dirty tricks of this mafia and now it is time to get the money back.
These are the people who destroyed the police of Karachi and still working on the model to bring in the ‘army’ on the streets to start a civil war, on Indian narrative ‘Keep Karachi Bleeding’.
‘Over 50,000 Cases of Loan Defaulters Pending Before Courts’, National Assembly was told by State Minister for Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs Rana Muhammad Afzal on 2nd March 2018. The names of the people who had their bank loans ‘written off’ since 1990 are also available in the parliament. Now you know their names and addresses. A short visit by special ops unit for recovery and some warning shots close to heads.
Up to now you have been counting and recounting the Madrassas and focusing on counter extremism. It is time you go after the real gangsters and financial terrorists.
If you do the mathematics of their ‘super business’ skills, you will see that they are thieves and Robbers who looted the $95 billion national wealth while Pakistan Armed Forces were busy against terrorists. Pakistan recover Rs 51 billion from ‘electricity thieves’, who were mostly businessmen.
Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, minister for Railways is the only brave politician in Pakistan who stood up in front of the criminal mafia in Karachi and said last month April 2019: ‘I know you are the people who show the ways to corruption. I know you give funding to all the parties”.
- The so called ‘Seths’ of Karachi, Memons, Mufthas, Wadas, Sheikhs, Ddidy’s, Sharifs, Zardaris, and Dar have put Pakistan and its economy in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and nobody could do anything about it. Why?
- These are the real gangsters in Pakistan who got over 30,000 thousand people killed only in Karachi and billions of dollars losses to the economy and infrastructure.
- That was the reason NATO containers were bringing in vehicles used in the urban warfare as well as MQM-A lead (Babur Ghauri) Minister of ports and shipping got over 22000 NATO containers lost between Karachi port and Afghan border. Ishaq Dar was main informant of the MQM-A and damaging the ‘Karachi operation’ one must ask him why he tipped of Babar Ghauri to run as he is a main suspect in disappearing of 22000 NATO containers.
What these financial terrorists so called businessmen have done to Pakistan:
(1) drained the US$ 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 Pindi boys (army) 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.
(4) By giving tax amnesty to the ‘Seths’ criminals and terrorist financiers various governments have further destroyed the ailing economy of Pakistan.
(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.
Special Secretary, Ministry of Finance informed Parliament committee that Rs. 1400 billion were paid against interest of the earlier borrowing in May 2019.
A senior official of Finance Division informed a parliamentary panel that incumbent government had borrowed massive Rs3653 billion during the first eight months of the current fiscal year. Meanwhile, the devaluation of currency has also added Rs1421 billion to the public debt in last few months.
The committee was informed that Pakistan public debt has reached 74 percent of the GDP, which is 14 percent higher against the limit of 60 percent set in Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act 2005. Pakistan total debt stood at Rs 28.6 trillion by March 2019 with 47 percent component of domestic debt and 27.7 percent external debt. The committee was further informed that there would be an increase in debt for a short period in near future, however, the debt to GDP ration will reduce from currently level of 75 percent of the GDP to 65 percent in five years’ time due to increase in GDP size.
In August 2018, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar directed defaulting individuals and companies to pay at least 75 % per cent of the principal amount of the written-off loans. He was hearing a case related to the illegal waiver of bank loans amounting to billions of rupees by influential companies and businesspersons. It had issued notices to 222 companies, accused of having loans written off.
From 2008 – 2013 (PPP Zardari Regime debt plan)
- From 2008 to 2013, the total government debt increased by over 135pc, going from Rs 6,435 billion to Rs15,096 billion. As a percentage of the GDP, the total government debt increased by 4.4 percentage points, going from 62.8pc to 67.2pc during this period.
- This meant that the total government external debt increased by only 22pc between 2008 to 2013, going from $42.8 billion to $52.4 billion.
- This led the total government domestic debt to increase from Rs3,412 billion in 2008 to Rs9,833 billion in 2013, a jump of 188pc.
- The total government domestic debt went from 33.3pc of the GDP in 2008 to 43.8pc in 2013, an increase of 10.5 percentage points.
From 2013 – 2018 (PML-N Nawaz Sharif) continued with the debt increase policy
- From 2013 to 2018, the total government debt had increased by another 79pc to Rs26,968 billion. The total debt as a percentage of the GDP in this period increased by 11.2 percentage points, going from 67.2pc of the GDP to 78.4pc.
- In addition, the massive rollout of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which led to further inflows of external loans, led the total government external debt to increase by 46pc to $76.3 billion by 2018.
- This borrowing outpaced GDP growth, leading the total government external debt to increase to 27.6pc of the GDP, a 4.2 percentage point increase from 2013.
- The PML-N’s appetite for debt was not satiated by foreign debt alone, and the government continued to rely on domestic debt as well, with the total government domestic debt increasing by 78pc to Rs17,483 billion by 2018.
- As a percentage of the GDP, the total government domestic debt increased by 7.1 percentage points to 50.8pc
- While PSE’s domestic debt increased from Rs137 billion in 2008 to Rs312 billion in 2013, an increase of 128pc, the period of 2013 to 2018 saw an increase of 242pc, with PSE’s domestic debt reaching Rs1,068 billion.
- The PPP, which had kept PSE’s domestic debt stable — it increased from 1.3pc to 1.4pc of the GDP — PSE’s domestic debt climbed to 3.1pc of the GDP by end of PML-N’s term.
A treacherous mafia, who is and have been selling the country for a small price, ignoring the sacrifices of the armed forces and security services, is running Pakistan. A leading politician explained to me about the ‘strategy’ of so-called business community in Karachi. Security forces have recovered over Rs. 2 billion cash from one member of that community and minister in the Sindh Government. These people are in the root of all financial scandals from Mehran Bank – Asghar Khan case to money laundering and gold smuggling.
These ‘Seths’ are the real terrorists hiding behind charity, media and piety. These shrewd people will hire a ‘retired army officer’ as their Manager Human Resources on high pay and he will serve as security man as well as get them to all his juniors and seniors in armed forces and soon they will be offering presents to high ups in the armed forces. Now they changed the strategy as they will make father or brother of serving army officer as business partner.
The other strategy, which I observed, is ‘Queen Bee’ model of corruption. In this model these people will launch one member apparently with high religious values to show off and all the corruption money is given to him for investment and rest will enjoy the profits. If you check all the gambling bookies, money laundering syndicates and prostitution rings you will find them on top. For them Saint and Satan can be manipulated with wine, dine and woman. They are the most dangerous security challenge to the current leaders in Karachi.
These Seths in Karachi are behind funding of all the political as well as money laundering for them. The dollars from Pakistan did not walk on foot or flew themselves. Someone took them out of the country with the full support of the state apparatus of Customs, FIA and FBR (Federal Board of Revenue). There was one brave customs Inspector who dared to stop this and arrested Dollar Smuggler ‘Ayan Ali’ was killed at his residence by the powerful mafia.
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”.
Security of Pakistan depends on independent debt free country and army must play its role in recovery with special measures like as someone said: ‘Corona or Lead’.
(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 2018, and 2020, Kazakhstan 2015, 2016, 2019 and Pakistan 2002. He has written a famous book “War on Terror and Siege of Pakistan” published in 2009. He wrote his MA thesis on ‘Political Thought of Imam Khomeini’ and visited Tehran University. He is PhD in ‘Political Psychology’ also studied Law at a British University. He also speaks at Cambridge University and visiting professor in Hebe University in China)
Views expressed are not of The London Post.
