Our Announcements

Not Found

Sorry, but you are looking for something that isn't here.

Archive for category Nawaz Sharif & Kashmiri Biradari

The Shows goes on. By Mahfooz ur Rahman

imgres

The Shows goes on.

“ As flies to wanton boys are to the gods

They kill us for sport .” Shakespeare’s “ King Lear  “

Mahfooz ur Rahman

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing on Pakistan’s politics is beginning to be a tedious affair . It is a play that has no plot , no beginning and no end . No excitement from the drab and dreary humdrum of everyday life . Winning or losing , the same old , tired and worn out faces are to be seen adorning the newspapers or the TV Channels . Even the daily newspapers are pictures of the gloomy atmosphere .

Each political party is a fiefdom of its own where the fiat of big or petty  ‘monarch’  is abided by or else the defiant ones are crushed . There is no notion of shadow governments or shadow  cabinets . That is a play that is going on since Mr. Jinnah departed from the scene in 1948 . Talking about reforms is an illusion .    

Imagine a scene in which you are trying to sleep during the day and a bird flits and begins to sing . Whatever you  do to make it fly away turns out to be  futile . You are really mad at the innocent creature . The world is seeing the discomfiture of the present Government . It is standing static unable to drive the ghosts of Imran Khan and Taher ul Qadri . It has been reduce to a passive mode , a reaction mode . Meanwhile the two are making further inroads into the interior of the country , into the cities and into various communities or eg . farmers , workers none the less  equipped legally to which the Government has no answer except to hurl abuses at them .

“ Never trust the wisdom of a slave “ is an oft quoted advice perhaps by Hazrat Ali ( May Allah be pleased with him) . Here I reproduce an incident  about which I wrote in my article “ Buttering “  . In a meeting held in Islamabad , a participant referred to the department’s newly announced policy and also to the Battle of Badr ,which was fought on 17th Ramazan and in which the Muslims were victorious by the Grace of Allah . He said , addressing the boss ,that the Battle of Badr was fought on 17thRamazan and he( the boss)  announced the country’s policy on 17th Ramazan . All the participants were dumbfounded at his audacity .

Thus Pakistan has been caught at a vortex . Democracy  in its present shape has failed in Pakistan . It has never delivered however its supporters otherwise  claim . It suits the robber barons , the landed aristocracy, the major and small capitalists who  plunder  the exchequer and exploit the under privileged ones . There was a time when twenty two families used to hold sway in the country . The twenty two have swelled to much more .   

During my four months stay in an European city  forty years back, a man who had features like a Pakistani or an Indian , used to cross my path both mornings and evenings . One day , I stopped him to question about his nationality . His reply “ does it matter “ put me off . He repeated his observation and went on to say that when the purpose of making Pakistan could not be fulfilled , it did not matter whether I was  a Pakistani or an Indian .

A solid advantage has been achieved  by the fifty two day sit in  by  the duo of Imran Khan and Taher ul Qadri . Apart from being unique in the 67 years history of Pakistan and , perhaps the world over  , the rest of the major political parties were clean bowled , the batsmen could only gape in awe . Never in the history of this unfortunate land , they met their equals who badly exposed them  ,  disrobed them and shown the rest of the people what they actually were by using the facilities of telecasting their views  provided by an army general , Pervez  Musharraf . They robbed the common people of their Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Constitution . You may not like Imran Khan and Dr. Qadri  . But it is difficult to disagree whatever they had to say because both Imran and Dr. Qadri were speaking of the basic  rights and the   Constitution . And it was last year when the latter held a five day sit in in Islamabad to emphasize the futility of participating in the elections unless all candidates were screened through Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution .      

The ‘independent’ Election Commission of Pakistan has lost its trust from the rigged elections between Field Marshal Ayub Khan , the President ,and Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah , the sister of the Founder of Pakistan and  onwards . Henceforth , it was viewed as another arm of the Government . The 18th Amendment to the Constitution did not remove the impression . On the contrary , the reconstituted Commission was viewed as a part of the Charter of Democracy signed by Mrs . Benazir Bhutto , the leader of the Peoples Party , and Mian Nawaz Sharif , the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League in London during the “ oppressive days  of the dictator , General Musharraf“ .

Where do we go now ?

Both the Government and the people are confused and lacking in direction . We are rotten to the core horizontally and vertically ie from the top to the bottom .  Army intervention is not a permanent solution as we have seen in the past .  It breeds many evils for eg. flight of capital . Even then some well meaning people are suggesting a government of the Technocrats under the army’s umbrella  to replace the current government  and cleanse the  entire society . This experiment has been tried by every military regime .  Ayub Khan screened out 72 bureaucrats , General Yahya Khan 303 and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto 1300 . Some of the screened out officers were not corrupt . To cleanse the society of ills , the Hadood Ordinance was introduced but  never used after General Zia , the President , died . 

There is talk of mid term polls in the country .   The present government is unwilling to resign and call for fresh elections . However , if it does , which Election Commission would be willing to undertake the task when the present one  failed to hold free and fair elections the task of that Statutory organization . In its “ Post Election Review Report on General Elections 2013 “ , the Commission admitted its failure .

Under the 18th Amendment , the leader of the House  i.e. the Prime Minister , and the leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly are supposed to choose of the Chairman of the Election Commission . But the experiment failed  in the previous elections and with both the leader of  the House and the leader of the opposition under clouds . Both Imran Khan and Dr. Qadri and their supporters  will no longer trust them .

 Pakistan is ripe for  constitutional ( Fundamental Rights and Articles 62 and 63 ) and social reforms without which any elections will be meaningless .

In the end I will reproduce the views of Mr . Mumtaz Piracha of the Good Governance Forum  

“ Contrary to general perception, I believe the long march and the dharna by PTI, in particular, highlighted bad governance in Pakistan. Look at the foreign media and you will find that there is only passing reference to rigging allegations and the allegation on military to have backed Imran Khan and Tahir-ul-Qadri but there is tremendous focus on the way Nawaz Sharif governs, the Sharifs’ dynastic politics and the PMLN’s performance since last elections. The domestic media have been more focused on rigging allegations but bad governance also remained in focus “.

 Mahfooz ur Rahman

Islamabad

October 5, 2014

 

, ,

No Comments

TORPEDO ; GOING TO HIT THE SHARIF GOVT . BEWARE

images

 

 

 

 

 

TORPEDO ; GOING  TO  HIT  THE  SHARIF GOVT . BEWARE


IMF VISIT TO DISCUSS NEXT TRANCHE OF LOAN CANCELLED; 90% OF EX PATS DECIDE TO STOP REMITTANCES (ABOUT $15 BILLION REMITTED ANNUALLY).

Imran Khan’s Masterclass Against Nawaz Sharif That The Entire Nation Failed To Understand:

As soon as Imran Khan announced his Civil Disobedience movement the entire opposition and twitterati erupted into a tirade of jokes asking questions such as, how would PTI supporters not pay GST on milk, bread and other groceries. Or that if they wont pay the utility bills the utility services would be disconnected and so on.

However, none of these so-called intellectuals were able to understand that what this Civil Disobedience movement is aiming to do is declare Nawaz regime a dictatorial regime and hence render all foreign debts that the regime would contract as unenforceable. As, I have already explained that a debt becomes illegitimate if a) the regime that contracts it is despotic and/or dictatorial and b) it was not spent on the betterment of the nation.

The entire long march is based on the premise that Nawaz Sharif and his party rigged the 2013 General elections and hence the regime is dictatorial and illegitimate. Before announcing the Civil Disobedience movement Imran Khan went into elaborate details of how the Sharif has previously used foreign debt to fill his coffers. What Imran was trying to do here was to establish a case that the foreign debts which this regime would incur would not be spent on the nation but would rather be laundered out of the country to power the business of the Sharif dynasty.

In simpler words Imran has told the entire world and specially the foreign lenders aka  (IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank) that any loans incurred by the Sharif regime would not be enforceable on the future governments of Pakistan. To make it abundantly clear to our intellectual elite, Imran is telling the foreign lenders that if he ever came to power, he wont pay back the loans that the Sharif regime would borrow. This means that the foreign lenders has only one option left before them and that is to decline all future loans to the Sharif regime. Since, the Sharif regime relies heavily on foreign lending to finance its budget, the move would cripple the government and will bring it down to its knees without any bloodletting on the streets.

I once read a quotation that Brilliance hits a target that no one can hit, Genius hits a target that no one can see.

Imran’s masterstroke against Sharif is such an act of genius that the entire nation is unable to see the target that it has hit. All that PTI and its horde of social media jihadi’s now need to do is explain this to the entire nation that:

Since, we consider the Sharif regime as illegitimate, all foreign debts that it would incur would be illegitimate odious debt and hence would not be paid by the future Pakistani governments.

Imran Khan himself needs to do a better job and explain this to the foreign lenders that since the Sharifs always loot and plunder these loans for their personal gains, future PTI/Pakistani government would consider the foreign loans received by the Sharif regime as illegitimate. Once this is made abundantly clear to both the national and international audiences, it does not matter an iota if the civil disobedience movement fails to reduce the amount of taxes collected at the National level..

, ,

No Comments

PAKISTANIS ARE MAD AS HELL AND WILL NOT TAKE IT ANYMORE!Thoughts of a Common Pakistani —– LUTAIRAY PARLIAMENTARIANS versus QAUMI CRUSADERS

Thoughts of a Common Pakistani —– LUTAIRAY PARLIAMENTARIANS versus QAUMI CRUSADERS

DONT TEST PAKISTANIS ANGER.THEY WILL WIPE WADERA, INDUSTRIALIST,JAGIRDAR, ELITE CULTURE OUT!

 

 

 

 

Mad-As-Hell

286827d0fae372901780afd7585c1eb1_1024

 

 

 

Subject: RE: A LAWYER PLEADING THAT HIS CLIENT IS A PIR & GADDI NASHIN AND SHOULD BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY THAN ORDINARY PEOPLE
Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2014 18:39:44 +0500

 
EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT DURING LAWYERS MOVEMENT  AITEZAZ  AHSAN (AA)  WAS THE CONDUIT FOR PASSING PML-N  &  PPP MONEY  TO PROMINENT LAWYERS TO FUEL THE LAWYERS MOVEMENT  AGAINST GEN. MUSHARRAF
 
ALSO PEOPLE IN MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM & OGRA KNOW  HOW HE MANOUVERED BEHIND THE SCENE TO OBTAIN CNG STATION LICENCES FOR HIS WIFE B A 
 
ISS HAMMAM MEIN SUB NANGEY HAIN.  INKO ISI HALAT ME HAMMAM SE BAHAR PHEK DENA CHAHIYE TA KE QAUM KO PATA CHALE KE ASSEMBLIYON MEN KAISE BARE BARE  DAAKOO BAITHEY  HAIN  JINHO NE AWAM KE LIYE KUCH NA KIYA  AUR UNKI ZINDAGI  MEHNGAI OR LOAD SHEDDING KE AZAAB MEN DUBO DI  MAGAR KHUD  LAKHPATI SE CROREPATI  AUR CROREPATI SE ARAB PATI AUR ARAB PATI SE KHHARAB PATI  BAN GAYE
 
PURI QAUM KO SAAT SALAAM KARNE CHAHIYE UNN HEROES  AUR CRUSADERS KO  JIN MEIN SARE-FEHRIST ALLAMA TAHIR UL QADRI , IMRAN KHAN(I.K)  , SH  RASHEED , CHAUDHRY BROTHERS AUR WAHDATUL MUSLAMEEN AUR SUNNI TEHREEK KE 
ZOMA AKABREEN  AUR UN HAZARON KI TAADAD ME USOOL PARAST  INSAF PASAND AUR SACHAI KE ALAMBARDARON KO JO ISLAMABAD KE ALAWA MUKHTALIF SHEHRON ME POORI ISTEQAMAT SE NAYA PAKISTAN KI AMLI JADO JEHAD MEN MASROOF HAIN  
 
YAHAN UN BEBAAK AUR NIDR  CHANNELS KO BHI QAUM KO SALAM KARNA CHAHIYE JINKE BAHADUR AUR SACHAI PARAST ANCHORS AUR TAJZIYA NIGARON NE QAUM KE SAMNE DAKOOWON AUR LUTERON KE ASAL CHEHRE BE NAQAB KAR DIYE AUR QAUM KO INKE MAKROH AUR GHINAWANEN CHEHRE DEKH KAR NAFRAT MEHSOOS HOTI HAE  AUR ANDAR HI ANDAR INTIQAM KI AAG LAGTI HAE KE IN QAUMI DAULAT KO LOOTNE WALON SE EK EK PAYI KA HISAB LIYA JAE.
EK AUR  SHARMNAAK  CHEEZ INN POLITICIANS KE KHAATE MEIN ADD HOYI. .AAJ KE DAWN KE MUTABIQ  TAMAAM ARKAAN QAUMI  SUBAYI ASSEMBLIYON AUR SENATE KE ARKAAN KE LIYE APNE ASSET STATEMENTS ELECTION COMMISSION MEIN JAMAA KARANE KI TARIKH 30 SEPT  2014  THEE  MAGAR INN “RULE OF LAW” AUR SO CALLED DEMOCRACY KE  GALAA PHAARH PHAARH KAR NAARAY  LAGAANE  WALON  KI AKSARYAT NE GOSHWAARE NAHIN JAMA’A KARAYE   JIS MULK KE QANOON SAAZ  KHUD QANOON SHIKAN BAN JAYEN US MULK ME KHUNI INQILAB NAHI AAEGA TO PHIR KYA  SAWAN KI BARSAAT AAEYE GI?
 
JIN LOGON KA MEIN NE SHURU MEN NAAM LIYA UNKI  JADD-O-JEHAD AUR JAANI AUR MAALI QURBANI KI  BA DAULAT AAJ QAUM JAAG GAEE HAI AUR WO WAQT ZAADA DOOR NAHIN JAB QAUM KE SAAF SUTHRE HAQ AUR INSAF KE MATWAALAY IN DAAKUON AUR CHORON KO ROAD PAR UTAR KAR KHUD INKS EHTESAB KAREN GI  YAAD RAKHEN AISA EHTESAB SIRF POLITICIANS KA NAHIN HO GA BALKE BUREAUCRACY AUR POLICE  FIA NAB AUR JUDICIARY KE CORRUPT AUR LUTERE  AHLKARON KA BHI HOGA   YAAD RAKHEN   YE LOG GHAROON SE NIKALNA CHOR DENGE JIS TARA REHMAN MALIK AUR MUKESH KUMAR PLANE SE JAAN BACHA KAR BHAGE THAY. USI TARA JAESE  ATHAR RASHID LAHORE AIRPORT SE BHAGE THAY   USI TARAH JAISE  N .S  UN ASSEMBLY AUR SAILABI DAURON SE BHAGE THAY
 
ZAALIMO,  LUTERO  DAAKOOO—- QAUM KE PAISE SE AYAASHIAN KARNE WALO US$ 8,000 PER ROOM PER NIGHT FOR PM’s ENTOURAGE PAID BY NATION OF POOR PEOPLE WHO ARE SHOCKED  WHOSE LIVELIHOOD HAS BEEN MADE MISERABLE BY QAUMI LUTERAAS. AB BHI AKHRI CHANCE HAE KE  NAWISHTA- E- DIWAR PARH LO AUR APNE GHALAT AAMAL AUR GUNAHON KI SACHE DIL SE ALLAH SWT AUR QAUM SE MAAFI MANG LO WARNA ANJAAM BOHAT BHIYANAK AUR KHONI NAZAR AA RAHA HAE  
 
SUCH  ZINDA BAD,  MERIT ZINDABAD,  INSAAF ZINDABAD , 
ALLAMA TUQ & ALLIES & SUPPORTERS ZINDABAD  
I K & ALLIES  &  SUPPORTERS ZINDABAD  
NAYA PAKISTAN ZINDABAD   
JAAGI HUWI QAUM ZINDABAD
VALIANT   BRAVE & HIGHLY PATRIOTIC ARMED FORCES OF PAKISTAN – “PAKISTAN KI SHAN” ZINDABAD
 
P  A  K  I   S  T   A  N               P    A    I   N    D   A   B   A   D 

From: [email protected]

Shameful

But who says AA is an honorable man?

 

 

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Asghar Ali <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, Oct 1, 2014 at 12:07 AM
Subject: A LAWYER PLEADING THAT HIS CLIENT IS A PIR & GADDI NASHIN AND SHOULD BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY THAN ORDINARY PEOPLE
To:  

The biggest bain of Pakistan today is a thoroughly irresponsive and virtually meaningless judicial system. 

The superior judiciary particularly many Supreme and High Court judge is corrupt through and through. M There are instances of private corporations purchasing high court judges in order to themselves personally write verbatim court judgements. 

The contents of the present Constitution and existing laws of Pakistan stand for zilch. All their articles and laws without a single exception can be interpreted by the Superior Judiciary of Pakistan in a hundred different ways  – each one of them to facilitate and reinforce the rich and the powerful, while debilating and victimising the poor and the deprived of Pakistan.

As for the modes, methods and mischief of  third class Pakistani lawyer community, Shareefuddin Pirzada is history,  but please read on about the antics, ethics and exposes of the shining star of this community – no less than the magnificent Indus Man himself!

 Syed Kadri

Sent from Samsung Mobile

——– Original message ——–
From: Naveed Hamdani <[email protected]>
Date:
To:  

 
Aitzaz Hasan once pleaded  in the court  and  his client is a Pir  and Gaddi Nashin  should be treated  differently than ordinary people . I asked  a Lawyer  if it true  , My Lawyer friend sent  this email below
  

Subject: FW: WHEN THE ACC– — USED IS A PIR – STORY OF BILAL KHAR

This might shock you.Read on ………

Good lawyers are often judged by the stances they adopt when they run
out of truth and, at the same time, of legal arguments. Many tend to
fall back on theatrics, histrionics, distortion and even poetry to
make up for the deficiency.

However, Barrister Aitzaz touched new heights of judicial decadence
when he pleaded that his client being a “pir” and a “gaddi nashin”
should be treated differently from ordinary citizens, notwithstanding
the offence. Mercifully, he did not demand that the seven judges come
down from their raised platform to kiss the hands and touch the feet
of the accused even before beginning to hear the first argument.

Coming from someone considered Pakistan’s leading lawyer and a
champion of democracy
, such an undemocratic and dynastic statement

reflects the reality and the nature of politics and society in
Pakistan. It confirms that the change that an average Pakistani is
looking for is not around the bend. Not only that, the voter is
inextricably bound in the chains of the landlord, the “pir,” the
“gaddi nashin,” the sardars, the biradari, of those wielding sectarian
and ethnic influence. But the ruling classes are equally united in
their manipulative devices to sanctify these undemocratic and dynastic
institutions.

Acid-attack victim Fakhra committed suicide by jumping from her
6th-floor apartment in Rome. Ironically, her suicide comes in the wake
of our new legislation against acid-throwing and Chinoy’s
Oscar-winning film Saving Face. Clearly, neither the laws nor Saving
Face could save Fakhra’s face or her life. Our focus lies only in
awards, ceremonies and seminars, and not on putting an end to the
tragedies displayed in the film.

So, somewhere in the bar rooms, another worthy barrister must be
getting ready to defend the rich acid-thrower, Bilal Khar. After all,
Khar, son of Ghulam Mustafa Khar, is a scion of a powerful political
dynasty of the landed “waderas” of Pakistan, and, to go by the above
mentioned legal reasoning, he cannot be equated with those petty
street acid-throwers.

Pakistan is caught in a time warp and the prognosis is not cheerful.
Its poor masses have been kept too backward and uneducated to do
anything for their own betterment and the ruling cartel is too happy
to exploit its monopoly
. The second and third generation of the ruling
elite is being groomed to take over and prove that their elders were
novices in the art of plunder
.

The educated professional class is happy to sit on the sidelines since
it can have all the fun without sharing any responsibility.
When

sufficiently motivated it could even invent excuses which have nothing
to do with jurisprudence, like as to why a “pir” should not be
punished.

So where do we go from here? Is there a political party that is
willing to be the party of ordinary people? One that is willing to
nominate no candidate who is a “sardar,” “wadera,” or “pir,” or whose
claim to fame is his political or “spiritual” lineage?

Pakistanis should not expect reforms from leaders unwilling to reform
themselves or their parties. Those who proceed abroad for medical
treatment (at state expense) in specially chartered airliners are not
likely to spend much time on improving the local hospitals. Likewise,
those whose hands are kissed and feet are touched by the mindless
millions are not likely to exhibit democratic or egalitarian
behaviour.

It is astonishing that the educated elite of Pakistan is always so
ready to defend the cesspool that our politics has become, but not
willing to organise and push for much-needed reforms. These reforms
are urgently needed in the dynastic and political parties collecting
“bhatta” (extortion money), the atrophied Election Commission, the
non-functional educational system and the justice system working at
snail’s space, to name a few.

The parties must declare that henceforth they will not accept
candidates who use titles like “sajjada nashin,” “pir’, “sardar,”
“gaddi nashin” and “wadera,” or those who receive “offerings” and
“nazranas.” Their candidates will not have fake degrees, will not
collect “bhatta,” will not be foreign nationals and will voluntarily
surrender all weapons that they hold.

The Election Commission could learn a lesson or two from its Indian
counterpart. How come civil society accepted the election involving 37
million fake votes? Without batting an eyelid, without demanding
accountability or overhaul of the electoral process?

Clearly, the educated, rich and powerful segments of civil society has
sided with the status quo by refusing to grow out of its
foreign-funded seminar mode. Not protesting to eliminate the root
causes (such as official proliferation of weapons) and hoping to
achieve peace through candlelit vigils is neither rational nor likely
to make an iota of difference to the situation.

Anonymous

 

 

 

, , , , , , ,

No Comments

Mother of all scams

2014-10-05

18:11:50

548991_515655401803155_638814561_n

Mother of all scams

 
The Sharif brothers and their closest confidante Khawaja Mohd Asif are all set to squander away an astronomical sum of 3 Billion Us Dollars.which will put to shame all scammers in the past such as Mr 10 Percent and his cronies…All other scandals such as Swiss accounts OGRA Hajj Ephedrine scams will be dwarfed if the script is executed.
 
The series of China visits by Sharif Brothers and their children, Khawaja Asif and a Lahore based tycoon ,are nothing but part of the grand design of the mega of the mega scams…
 
The Sharif brothers have struck deal with Some Chinese coal power companies to inflate the officially notified tariff and capital cost of power projects by a whopping 3 Billion dollars to accommodate their kick backs. The 6600 MW Gaddani coal power park and planned 6600 MW coal power projects are the crux of the deal combining into a total of 13200 MW. The main architect of the scam is Khawaja Mohd Asif who interestingly had challenged the rental power plants in Supreme court and a favorite of former CJP Mr Iftikhar Chaudhry.
 
He is actively assisted in this wheeling dealing by Salman Shehbaz younger son of Punjab CM and active participant in bilateral govt dialogues between Govt of Pakistan and China despite the fact that he does not hold any public office.
 
Sharif brothers who have a penchant for flouting rules or bending them to pave way for their grandiose corruption have established a nexus with Acting Secretary Water and Power Mr Saifulla Chattha ,Ms Nargis Sethi CEO of Gaddani Power Park on one hand and looking after all important Economic Affairs Division. This division is responsible for approval of all financing agreements with Chinese companies and export credit agencies such as EXIM Bank, China Development Bank etc .
 
 Mr Fawad Hasan Addl Secretary is lead person on behalf of PM Sectt
for whiplashing non compliant officials. The final actor in the script is Kh Mohd Naeem present acting 
 
Chairman NEPRA and a brother in law of Khawaja Mohd Asif and father of PML N woman MNA Shaza Fatima.
 
THE PLAN
The plan of this scam has NEPRA as the main instrument. Since it is power sector regulator therefore it has its mandate to determine power tariff, key benchmarks such as capital cost of power projects, plant efficiency, issuance of tariff and other critical standards which have key influence on level of consumer prices and consequently corrupt practices. The equation of corruption has two critical variables namely Capital cost and consequently Tariff. Higher the capital cost the more the consumer has to pay over the term of agreement.(as simple as that…these Sharif Brothers and Khawaja will claim that it is still cheaper than Oil based costs BUT the fact remains that it is much more expensive than it should be)
 
The key to Sharif brothers plan is in capital cost of coal power projects. And the citizens of Pakistan will bear the brunt of this corruption in coming years.
 
The road to achieve this has been paved by Khawaja Mohd Asif who has moved a summary to NEPRA through his secretary Water and Power to reopen the upfront TARIFF already determined by NEPRA in JUNE 2013after a very lengthy process of consultation with stake holders and public hearings and formally notified in Sept 2013.Any one including Ministry of Water and Power could have represented against determination of NEPRA within fifteen days, which have long expired. The Secretary has asked NEPRA to condone the 15 day period by relaxing Section 31 of NEPRA Act. NEPRA instead of out rightly rejecting this illegal demand has fixed the case for public hearing.
 
The already notified NEPRA tariff and capital cost are very generous and already 25% above the internationally available data on capital cost. This NEPRA claims was done to attract investors for a period of 6 years ending 2019.In fact foul play was also done in Sept 2013 when capital costs for a 600 MW coal power plant were increased from 585 million dollars to 1.25 billion US Dollars. The tariffs notified in Sept 2013 for plants based on imported coal were……..cents per unit.
 
Now in collusion with Chinese companies the Sharif brothers cleverly playing Energy and China cards are clamoring to get these costs heavily increased and rules set aside to skim off 3 billion dollars over and above NEPRA determined price and 6 billion dollars over and above international bench marks.
 
The Ministry of Water and Power are hell bent to accomplish following goals
 
• To increase the capital cost by another 29% from 1.25 Million Dollars per Mega Watt to 1.5 to 1.7 Million Dollars per Mega Watt for 600 and 200 MW plants respectively.
 
• To increase tariff from the notified tariff by 41% to 65 paisa per unit for 600 MW plant and 40 % to 60 paisa per unit.
 
• To reduce plant efficiency factor for 600 and 1000 MW plants from approved 42% to 39 %
 
• To change PPRA rules to exempt Chinese companies from Procurement procedures and competition
 
• To Delete two (660×2) coal power projects At Gaddani from the Govt execution list and also hand them to private sector on the pretext of shortage of govt funds. In reality the reason is that if these projects are implemented by govt then it will have to follow PPRA Rules and announce competitive bidding which will expose real costs of these projects.
 
INTERNATIONAL EXAMPLES of COSTS
 
In January 2014, South Korea’s state utility KOSEP executed an agreement with an Indian company Jinbhuvish Power Generation to set up a 600 MW coal power plant in Yavatmal,Maharashtra a cost of 585 Million US Dollars translating into 0.91 Million US Dollars per MW .
 
• Similarly The Indian Government owned NTPC is setting up indigenous coal based (more expensive compared to imported coal due to mining costs) ……2640 MW plant in Bundelkhand Madhya Pardesh consisting of 4 Units ( 660 x4) at a cost of 2.9 billion US Dollars translating into 1.09 Million dollars per MW. It is well in knowledge of Mr Shehbaz Sharif but they are notorious for inflating project costs to skim off money. Examples are Metro project in Lahore and now in Rawalpindi at grossly inflated prices.
 
THE MATH of Corruption
 
Taking into account the planed implementation of a total of 13200 MW coal based power projects for which MOUs have already been executed ,the total amount of money to be looted is 13200x 0.25 million US Dollars translates to a very conservative 3.3 Billion US Dollars. In reality Chinese companies stand to make another extra 3 BILLION DOLARS.
 
The scheme so cleverly designed will enable the Chinese companies to set up the plants for free without putting a dollar of their own. The method is simple: Given the 75:25 ratio of Debt and Equity for these projects, the Chinese companies will put in 25 percent equity( already over priced by 25% over and above world prices) and 75% bank loans sovereign guaranteed by Govt of Pakistan. The interest cost will be recovered from consumers. So 25 % being the kick back, the Chinese companies will be setting up the plant for free. Whereas Sharifs and Khawaja will be skimming the remaining 3+ Billion dollars
 
THE WAY FORWARD
 
To save the nation from this mother of all corruption it is imperative to launch a nationwide campaign through media, patriotic legislators politicians, professionals and also Supreme Court to demand an independent estimation of actual costs..otherwise Sharif Brothers and Khawaja Asif will again plunder national wealth .

, , , , ,

No Comments

RIGGING TO SUSTAIN DEMOCRACY? by Brig (Retd) Samson Sharaf

RIGGING TO SUSTAIN DEMOCRACY?

by Samson Sharaf

 

 

 

imgres

 

 

 

The prevailing political chaos in Pakistan is complicated by conflicting narratives. Despite confusion the time for an idea has come. People discern right from wrong.

 

Democracy despite its inefficacy must continue in present format; eventually it would cleanse itself. Establishment/ foreign agencies have hatched a London Plan. The narrative with minor adjustments is also used by parliamentary opposition and the pseudo liberals. Hidden behind this theory are billions of ill-gotten dollars and business empires raised out of nowhere to manifest ambitions of political upstarts and creations of opportunity. Nawaz Sharif’s sojourn in Saudi Arabia gives weightage to his religious credentials. He dislikes the army for putting a spanner in his Jihadist designs. A cartoon best sums up this fallacy with the caption that the Army instead of tanks now uses animals inscribed with ‘Go Nawaz Go’ for regime change.

 

Pakistan is a state with perpetual crises. The military and intelligence agencies are rouge. Without civilian supremacy and clipping of armed forces, Pakistan will remain a threat to neighbours. Ultimately Pakistan’s nuclear weapons will fall into hands of terrorists. Proponents of this theory ignore that for the past six months, Pakistan’s armed forces are fighting the most effective war against terrorism that overshadows the entire duration of ISAF-NATO operations in Afghanistan. The war lacks civil support that would rather sleep with the enemy.

 

Pakistan’s democratic progress is hostage to powerful corrupt and dishonest elites. Over past six decades, they have subverted Jinnah’s social contract with the people. It is time that Pakistanis become true stake holders in the system through transparency. This is the Azadi (freedom) and Inqilab (revolution). Critics maintain that Imran Khan and Dr Qadri are pawns being used to advance an agenda of establishment and foreign powers. As a corollary, another narrative describes the Azadi/Inqilab movement as precursor to anarchy, balkanisation and nuclear disarmament. The biggest merchant of horse trading and bribing General (Retired) Mirza Aslam Beg of Mehran Bank Scandal relishes the limelight to emerge from obscurity as the leader of this notion to help goons he financed and groomed.

 

The print and electronic media initially took a realistic and objective view of the situation. But as time passed, most media houses and anchors took to grilling their panels with some facts, half-truths and falsifications. These discussions sans framework went berserk. If this wild spin is to be believed, then corruption for the sake of giving democracy a chance and civilian supremacy is condonable. Pakistan’s staged encounters killing innocents are a necessary ends means relationship. Imran Khan and Dr Qadri are terrorists and foreign agents who must be tried for high treason.

Pakistan’s commentators and intellectuals are confused. Some have an elastic conscience or harbour personal grudges. Far and few see the entire crises as violation of fundamental human rights and international agreements. Despite accepting rigging as fait accompli, they are unnerving in their expediency to support the status quo.

 

Most human right organisations are biased. The curious silence over state sponsored massacre in Model Town Lahore, excessive use of chemical agents in Islamabad, use of ball ammunition against unarmed protestors, illegal custodies and deaths spell duplicity. Silence means criminal neutrality. Asma Jehanghir, the recent recipient of Alternative Noble Prize is full of hate and venom against this movement. She would rather single out presence of women and children at dharnas (human shields) than challenge death of innocents. Since these protests are premised on the fundamental rights of individuals and sanctity of the ballot, one expected an objective approach. Being a lawyer an ex-president of the Bar, one expected her to vociferously criticise aberrations in the constitution created by Chaudary Courts that led to rigged elections.

 

Perhaps the most despicable are the inactive left and armchair reformists. Their space as advocates of civic conscience has quickly been usurped by the Azadi/Inqilab slogan. These pseudo leftist and liberals insist to demean both leaders at every forum.

 

Daily speeches on the containers talk of the relationship of the people with the state as enshrined in the first three parts of the constitution of Pakistan. They create awareness on social issues mentioning women, labourers, tenants, haris, farmers, students, teachers, low income groups, human resource development, exploitative capitalism, corruption, jobbery, nepotism and injustice. Their oratory flows out of the speeches made by Qaid e Azam Muhamad Ali Jinnah, Islamic history and international charters. Some commentators have laureled them as rightists with a leftist agenda. But Imran Khan is neither left nor right. He is actually re-focussing the centrality of Pakistan’s politics. As the movement gains momentum, it is a foregone conclusion that most trade unions, labour unions and small socialist parties would form tributaries to the sea resigning the intellectuals to armchairs.

 

Lieutenant General Khalid Rabbani’s (the chief counter terrorism commander) talk at National Defence University brings clarity to the confusion and narratives. He stressed on the need to extending operations to the mainland. He hinted that political issues were impeding action against terror groups in Punjab and Balochistan. These operations were delayed for three years due to indecision. Belatedly undertaken, urban operations are limited due to lack of civilian capacity and will. This is an issue repeatedly written by the scribe and also voiced by Ex-Prime Minister Gilani and Major General (R) Athar Abbas. The revelation by a serving general by implication singles out General (R) Kayani and the present government for the strategic impasse. Link this apprehension to the recent statement of Chaudary Shujaat Hussain. A complicity to sustain an agreement reached between foreign powers, PML-N, PPP with the then COAS as guarantor emerges. Three successive tenures is the bottom line.

 

Post-Election Review Report on General Elections 2013, released by Election Commission of Pakistan could not dilute the overpowering role of Returning Officers in making the elections questionable. Limited admissions by ECP in its review are made with the twin purpose of exoneration and hope to hide larger facts. Shall we therefore conclude that Elections 2013 were rigged beyond reasonable doubt but why?  

 

Instability of Pakistan is an important plank for international actors to keep Pakistan pliant. Given a road of healthy democracy and socio-economic development, Pakistan would emerge too independent to be tamed. Thus the electoral logjam must be maintained. Who is right and who is wrong is for readers to judge.  

 

Brigadier (Retired) Samson Simon Sharaf is a political economist and a television anchorperson. Email and twitter[email protected]

, , ,

No Comments