The Pakistan Update

By Ansar Abbasi

Pakistan has lost an unbelievably high amount, more than Rs8,500 billion (Rs8.5 trillion or US$94 billion), in corruption, tax evasion and bad governance during the last four years of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani’s tenure, Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) claims.

The TIP advisor, Adil Gillani, told The News that the real impact of corruption in the country’s economy is far more than what is generally estimated or what is formally uncovered. He believes that Pakistan does not need even a single penny from the outside world if it effectively checks the menace of corruption and ensures good governance.

It is generally believed that the four years of the present regime under Gilani had been the worst in terms of corruption and bad governance in the country’s history. Past records of corruption were broken and Pakistan started rising in the ranks of the most corrupt nations of the world.

There has been no check on corruption as the anti-corruption institutions like the National Accountability Bureau and Federal Investigation Agency instead of checking corruption have been siding with the corrupt.

These institutions have been helping the corrupt to get off the hook by distorting and mutilating the evidence in favour of the influential accused.

Adil Gillani, the TIP representative, who too has been haunted by the government during these years for producing corruption reports, explained that the TIP pointed out corruption of Rs390 billion in 2008, Rs450 billion in 2009, Rs825 billion in 2010 and Rs1,100 billion in 2011 under the present regime. The total of these identified cases of corruption is Rs2,765 billion.

In addition to this, he explained the following:

The minister of finance of the present regime himself confirmed corruption in FBR of over Rs500 billon per year, which makes the total Rs2,000 billion; Auditor General of Pakistan pointed out Rs315 billion corruption in 2010; Public Accounts Committee recovered Rs115 billion in 30 months till 2011; circular debt is Rs190 million; KESC was given Rs55 billion illegal benefits per annum since 2008; state-owned enterprises like PSO, PIA, Pakistan Steel, Railways, SSGC, SNGC are eating away Rs150-300 billion per annum; tax to GDP ratio in 2008 was 11%, which in 2011 has reduced to 9.1% instead of being increased.

Gillani explained that Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product is worth US$175 billion and in the light of this the drop of 1.9% in the tax GDP means annual loss of US$ 3.3 billion. This confirms that FBR is losing Rs300 million per annum, which is annual additional loss since 2008 and stands at Rs1,200 billon in four years

The TIP adviser added that India’s tax-GDP ratio is 18%, and at that rate, Pakistan’s tax evasion/corruption in FBR is 9% of $175 billion, which is US$15.5 billion per year, i.e. Rs1,400 billion per year.

It is worth mentioning here that it is not only the Transparency International but there have been different international bodies including the World Bank and world capitals, which have been showing their concern over rising trend of corruption in Pakistan under the Gilani’s regime. It was mounting corruption and extremely bad governance, which even dithered the outside world to offer cash to Pakistan during 2010 and 2011 floods, which devastated different parts of Pakistan and affected millions of people.

At home the corruption became a fashion in such a shameless manner that even the cabinet ministers started openly pointing fingers at each other and even at the highest levels including the prime minister. Some even approached the Supreme Court but despite all this, corruption remained the hallmark of the present regime, which instead of curbing it started defending it in the name of democracy.

Originally appeared in the news international.

Tags: corruption, federal Investigation Agency, National Accountability Bureau, Yousaf Raza Gilani

Posted in News | 337 Comments »

President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan will continue to express complete solidarity with the Kashmiris and extend fullest political, moral and diplomatic support to their just cause.

The president, in a message on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day observed on Sunday, said the government and the people of Pakistan observe the day by renewing their unswerving support for the just struggle of the Kashmiri people for the realisation of their fundamental and inalienable rights. He said Pakistan seeks a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute.

President Zardari said the Kashmiris had rendered countless sacrifices for over six decades to uphold their dignity and freedom, pleading for equity and justice and for fulfilment of the promise for the effective exercise of their right to self-determination, as envisaged in the relevant UN resolutions.

“It is indeed imperative that the noble principles and values, that underpin the just Kashmiri cause, are upheld and supported by all justice and freedom loving peoples across the world,” he said, stressing the need for respecting and promoting the fundamental human rights of the people. The president said the peaceful struggle of the people of Kashmir had gained strength and intensity in recent years, and that the new generation “continues to wage a heroic struggle” for the realisation of their fundamental rights. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said a peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people was a must to ensure peace and prosperity in the region. He said the government and the people of Pakistan would continue to extend their full moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris for the realisation of their fundamental rights and legitimate aspirations. He said Kashmiris had proven to the world that they would never compromise their dignity and honour, nor forfeit their fundamental rights. In her message, National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza also said that a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue was imperative for peace and development of the region. “Kashmir Solidarity Day serves us an opportunity to recognise the countless sacrifices of the brave people of Kashmir who have remained resolute and steadfast against oppression,” she said, adding that Pakistan remained firmly committed to finding a just and peaceful solution to the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiris.

She assured the Kashmiris of Pakistan’s continued moral, political and diplomatic support at all regional and international forums until the realisation of their objective.

Originally appeared in the daily times.

Tags: Dr. Fehmida Mirza, Kashmir Issue, President Asif Ali Zardari, UN resolution, Yousaf Raza Gilani

Posted in Around, News | 132 Comments »

His medical colleagues at Jamrud Hospital in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber tribal agency suspected he was having an extramarital affair. When they asked Dr. Shakeel Afridi, the hospital’s chief surgeon, why he was absent so often last spring, he replied curtly that he had “business” to attend to in Abbottabad. The mystery only grew when one doctor accused Afridi of having taken a half-dozen World Health Organization cooler boxes without authorization. The containers are for keeping vaccines fresh during inoculation campaigns, and yet no immunization drives were underway in Abbottabad—or the Khyber agency either, for that matter.

In fact, Afridi wasn’t cheating on his wife—he was in the thick of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. At the request of the CIA, which had reason to think the al Qaeda leader was holed up in a high-walled compound in Abbottabad, the doctor had mounted a fake hepatitis-immunization program. Having spearheaded several polio-immunization drives over the years, Afridi knew how to stage the campaign convincingly. Renting a house near the compound, he hired a local nurse who thought the drive was genuine. The idea was for her to visit the compound and get a blood sample from at least one of the children who lived there. If the kids in the compound were bin Laden’s, DNA from the sample would tell the Americans they were on the right track.

The nurse got in, a knowledgeable Pakistani official tells Newsweek. He can’t say if she was able to get the DNA sample, but the ruse evidently paid off. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently acknowledged that Afridi’s efforts were “very helpful” in the run-up to the US raid that killed bin Laden last May. Now, however, Afridi is in a world of trouble. Three weeks after the raid, Pakistani intelligence officers arrested him. His Pakistani-born wife (an American citizen) and children have vanished from the family’s Peshawar home. A special government commission has recommended that he be charged with “conspiracy against the state of Pakistan and high treason” for taking part in a foreign intelligence operation. If tried and convicted, the doctor could theoretically be hanged.

The anonymous Pakistani official is sympathetic to Afridi’s plight, saying he “was not a proper CIA spy.” Unfortunately, the official says, the Pakistani media have trumpeted the case. “If his name had not appeared so prominently in the media, perhaps a way could have been found to let him go,” the official says. But Afridi may never again be out of danger—not even if Pakistan somehow decides to free him and send him and his family to America. A physician who knows him well worries that Afridi will always be a marked man. “I know some people would make a kebab of his body if they found him,” he says.

One question persists: why didn’t the CIA whisk Afridi and his family out of the country before Pakistan’s intelligence agencies discovered his role? “Letting him hang out to dry like this is not going to help the CIA to recruit oth-er Pakistanis,” says a Western diplomat in Islamabad, declining to be quoted by name. Still, Afridi may bear some responsibility himself. The agency looks after its own, a former high-level CIA officer argues. “I do not believe they left him high and dry,” says the officer, who tracked al Qaeda in Central Asia after 2001. “Our core value is taking care of those who support us.” Afridi may not have understood the risk, the officer suggests: “I’ve seen it before, where you have a guy at a very high-risk situation, and you offer help and they turn it down. They misread the situation.” It’s easy to do. Just ask Afridi’s old colleagues.

Originally appeared in the newsweek.

Tags: Abbottabad, Al Qaeda, CIA, Khyber, leon panetta, Osama Bin Laden, US raid

Posted in Blog | 306 Comments »

Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani is travelling to Qatar where officials indicate he will discuss peace efforts in Afghanistan.

The government has described the official agenda of his three-day visit as an opportunity to boost trade ties.

But officials have also confirmed that US efforts to establish a dialogue with the Taliban, hosted by the Qataris, will be discussed.

Analysts say his trip raises questions about Pakistan’s role in future talks.

The BBC’s Jill McGivering says that it is not clear what position Mr Gilani will take. He says his country wants a stable Afghanistan and will support any Afghan-led peace process

“He will meet among others the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani,” foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit is quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

He added that the visit would seek to open up opportunities for co-operation between the countries.

But analysts say the issue of talks with the Taliban will also be considered important.

Our correspondent says that there is a sense that Pakistan, like the Afghan government, has felt excluded from the talks process – and takes that exclusion as a diplomatic snub.

The Taliban confirmed last month that they planned to set up a political office in Qatar ahead of possible talks with the US.

Pakistan has stressed recently in public that it is now being briefed by the Americans on those talks.

The Qatar talks are now being challenged by President Karzai’s initiative to instigate separate direct talks involving the Taliban and the Afghan government, hosted by the Saudis.

The Taliban’s support for the rival process is far from certain and it is not clear which set of talks, if any, will be backed by Pakistan.

Given its influence with the Taliban, Islamabad’s choice may be crucial. The difficulty for the US, our correspondent says, is that Pakistan’s proximity to the Taliban is what makes it both part of a possible solution and also part of the problem.

Pakistan has been accused in the past of playing a double game when it comes to the Taliban. If both the Americans and the Afghan government are now eager for its help, its loyalties could once again be tested.

Officials say that Mr Gilani will meet the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani and Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani.

Originally appeared on bbc news.

Tags: Afghanistan, hamad bin jassim bin jabr al-thani, Taliban, US, Yousaf Raza Gilani

Posted in Afghanistan, Around, News | 235 Comments »

A United Nations report blaming a record loss of Afghan civilian lives last year on insurgents and the Taliban was dismissed as “untrue” by a Taliban spokesman Saturday.

Meanwhile, a commander of the International Security Assistance Force was encouraged by the report’s findings that coalition forces were not to blame for the increased casualties, but agreed that civilian deaths must drop. The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said 3,021 civilians were killed last year, up from 2,790 the prior year.

In an e-mail sent to CNN, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid “strongly” disputed the U.N. mission’s report as “untrue.”

“It has been 10 years since UNAMA has started blaming our Mujahideen with such numbers and untrue figures while the invading forces are using tons of explosives every day in our country, conducting raids on civilian houses and they are killing our innocent people,” Mujahid said in the e-mail.

“Unfortunately I should say that UNAMA, which is operating under the umbrella of the U.N. as a propaganda tool for the invading forces, is trying to blame Mujahideen for the majority of the killings happening in Afghanistan,” Mujahid wrote.

“It is unfortunate that UNAMA is supporting oppressor Americans and other invading forces and is undermining its international reputation,” Mujahid stated.

A total of 11,864 civilians have been killed in the Afghanistan conflict since 2007, the U.N. mission said.

“Afghan children, women and men continue to be killed in this war in ever-increasing numbers,” Jan Kubis, the U.N. special representative for the secretary-general, said in a statement. “For much too long Afghan civilians have paid the highest price of war. Parties to the conflict must greatly increase their efforts to protect civilians to prevent yet another increase in civilian deaths and injuries in 2012.”

General John R. Allen, ISAF commander, said the report showed a reduction in coalition-related civilian casualties.

“Every citizen of Afghanistan must know ISAF will continue to do all we can to reduce casualties that affect the Afghan civilian population. This data is promising but there is more work to be done,” Allen said in a statement.

“The most striking — and obvious — component of the report is the increasing number of civilian casualties attributed to insurgents,” said Allen. “IEDs are now responsible for roughly one out of three civilian casualties according to UNAMA. The death toll from insurgent attacks is much too high and deserves Mullah Omar’s direct attention and action.”

The U.N. report said last year’s deaths are 8% more than in 2010, and double the number in 2007.

The vast majority of 2011 civilian casualties — 77%, according to the U.N. report — were caused by anti-government forces. The number of deaths attributable to the Afghan army and international forces declined year-over-year by 4%, to 410.

The report concludes that the higher number of casualties was due to changing tactics on the part of insurgents, including greater use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), deadlier suicide attacks and more targeted assassinations.

IEDs alone killed 967 Afghan men, women and children in 2011. Many of the 495 victims of targeted killings were provincial and district governors, peace council members and tribal elders.

Among the most disturbing statistics: in the second half of 2011, the number of women and children killed grew by 29 and 51% respectively, compared to 2010. That is in part due to the growing use of the pressure-plate IEDs, which are indiscriminate — such that a van carrying civilians is just as likely to set off the explosive as a Humvee.

“A piece of shrapnel had gone through his head. My son is dead, and his loss is killing me and my wife. He was the only son I had,” said a man in Mazar-e Sharif, who was quoted in the report.

“My daughter is nine years old, and every day before I leave for work, she cries: ‘Mama, don’t go to work, I don’t need to eat,’ “a police officer in Herat was quoted as saying.

The U.N. report says several statements from Taliban leaders in 2011 pledging greater efforts to avoid civilian casualties “neither resulted in improved protection of civilians nor minimized civilian casualties.”

While NATO can take comfort from the fact that its forces — and its allies in the Afghan National Army — caused fewer civilian casualties last year, it is clear that overall security for civilians has not improved. This is despite the deployment of well over 100,000 international troops across Afghanistan in 2011.

In addition to casualties, the number of Afghan civilians displaced by conflict soared last year. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, conflict and insecurity displaced some 185,000 people in Afghanistan, a jump of 41% compared to 2010.

The U.N. report suggests that there has been a significant geographic shift in casualties. As NATO and Afghan Army units focused on the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, the number of civilian casualties fell sharply in the second half of 2011.

But elsewhere — in southeastern, eastern and northern Afghanistan — incidents rose. The number of civilians killed in Kabul province, including in the capital itself, more than tripled largely because of several devastating suicide bombings.

The figures show that the number of casualties caused by NATO and allied night operations dropped sharply, despite the much greater intensity and frequency of such operations. That suggests better intelligence and tactics among pro-government forces. But the number of civilian killed in NATO airstrikes — a source of friction with the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai — rose 9%.

Increasingly, as the transition to Afghan leadership gets underway, local security duties are being assigned to a relatively new force: the Afghan Local Police. The U.N. says it has received “mixed reports” about this entity’s overall performance. While most suggested that it had improved security, there were also accounts of human rights abuses and corruption.

Altogether, the U.N. Assistance Mission concludes that “the unremitting toll of civilian casualties coupled with pervasive intimidation affected many civilians directly, and many more indirectly, by fueling uncertainty, tension and fear.”

The report’s authors welcome “ideas that could contribute toward peace negotiations,” adding their value will be measured by reduced civilian casualties and improved security

Originally appeared on cnn.

Tags: Afghan Taliban, Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, NATO, United Nations, zabiullah mujahid

Posted in Afghanistan, Around, News | 249 Comments »