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Posted by Dr. Manzer Durrani in Politics on September 15th, 2011
Pakistan has seen the worst government in its’ 63 year old history. Pakistani people have never imagined that anybody could beat Musharraf in arrogance and chutzpah. But, Zardari has done that and more. He has undermined the foriegn and national interests of Pakistan through is lack of diplomatic skills and sheer ignorance of democratic process. Zardari displays ignorance and arrogance coated in a silver tongued maccaroon. Pakistan is a means to an end, where Zardari will rob it blind and leave it in ruins. the devastating rains and floods i sindh and Balochistan have not made a dent in Zardari’s +except where his own interests are at stake. He is totally insensitive,corrupt, inept,wily, power hungry, degenerate high school graduate holding the title like that of a latin American despot or El-Presidente. He is Pinochet, Mubarak, Gaddafi, Noriega, and Duvalier, all rolled into one. He serves only one master, who prefers to deal with a One-Stop Shop, to run Pakistan.He has no mind of his own, except when it comes to accummulating wealth, raising horsing and spreading political manure. He runs the government through cronyism. He chooses a well knownsindhi drunkard to run Pakistan’s Metropolitan hub Karachi. Talented Sindhis are deprived of opportunity to make room for Zardari’s horse racing buddies to run the heart of Pakistan, the province of Sindh. This province has a history of 5000 years of richness in culture and mores. It is the cradle of the Indus Valley civilization, the seat of Moenjo Daro. Zardari has smeared the name of a great province of Sindh, the birthplace of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and an emerald in the crown of human civilization. Although, the country is facing the worst crisis, El-Presidente is traipsing around merry olde England. Whenever, Pakistan is struck with crisis due to natural or man-made disasters, Zardari and his Pinochioesque Sancho Panza, the inarticulate Prime Minister Gilani disappear from the national scene. Zardari loves to visit London, which gives him an excuse to visit his heir apparent Bilawal, at the expense of the overburdened Pakistani taxpayers. The honest taxpayers of Pakistan, including the Armed forces, the Civil Buraecracy, and the handful of patriotic enterpreneurs end up footing the bill. Zardari is freaks out as soon as a crisis hits the nation, and finds solace in the climes of Kensington Place, Belgravia or Dubai. His acts of moral turpitude at the expense of a poor nation are second to none. He always.finds some excuse to face reality, by conveniently leaving for a “previously,” planned visit to Britain, Iran, or the USA. None of these nations have the moral fortitude to dis-invite Zardari, as he serves their interests. Zardari serves his masters, rather than the people of Pakistan. the only nation which gave him a cold shoulder was China, which is a friend of Pakistani people and not of its corrupt elite, like Zardari. It is without a doubt that the seeds of corruption sowed by the zamindars, the waderas, the nawabs, the sardars, the legharis, the mazaris, the jatois, the chaudries, the chattas, the Talpurs, the obese mullas, have come to fruition in the form of Zardari-a curse on the 180 million people of Pakistan.
Posted by Dr. Manzer Durrani in Politics on August 22nd, 2011
Posted by Dr. Manzer Durrani in Politics on August 22nd, 2011
Posted by Dr. Manzer Durrani in Politics on June 24th, 2011
Saturday August 8, 2009
GEO TV: For the first time in YEARS, on Pakistan mainstream TV network, Dr. Shahid Masood in his “Mere Mutabiq” program reveals the facts that money from Pakistans treasury was taken by Asif Ali Zardari, the CURRENT President of Pakistan, and laundered through the Cayman Islands, finally winding up at Citibank Switzerland. Also named in the charges is former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz (who now lives in London).
Dr. Shahid Masood reports, “As the Pakistani Army and people fight terrorists in the country, we have financial terrorists attacking in Pakistan, and present a much greater threat to the country.” (Translation).
Oil companies who have recently collected 7 billion rupees in carbon taxes (ordered by Zardari), have yet to pay a single rupee in taxes to the Pakistan treasury.
Nothing yet in print media; but here are two articles from Pakistani online news back in 2007.
http://www.chowk.com/ilogs/64304/44106
Shaukat Aziz and Citibank’s Laundering of Asif Zardari’s Money
Posted: Nov 22, 2007 Thu 12:00 am
How Citibank Laundered Asif Zardari’s Money, provides a case history excerpted from a US Congress Subcommittee’s investigation of moneylaundering by private banking groups within US banks during the 1990s. The present post reproduces an interesting document, “List of meetings between Mr. Zardari and Citibank personnel, provided by Citibank,” being document “h” of a list of “Documents relating to Asif Ali Zardari” appended to the Report.
As part of its investigation, the subcommittee asked Citibank to provide a written record of meetings held between Citibank officials and four high profile Citibank account holders, including Mr. Asif Ali Zardari. Unlike the other cases, in which the names of relatively low level Citibank private banking group staff emerges in the records provided, the names of Citibank staff involved in the case of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari consists of men who have gone on to play a prominent role in Pakistan:
Shaukat Aziz, Until recently Prime Minister of Pakistan (close ties to CIA
Shaukat Tarin, Chairman, Board of Directors, Karachi Stock Exchange
Sajjad Rizvi
Nadeem Hussain, CEO, Tameer Bank & President, Tameer Foundation
The statement provided by Citibank lists date, participants, location, and summary of contacts between Citibank staff and the Bhuttos. This statement is reproduced below, interspersed with important events in the more detailed Asif Zardari case summary [see here] provided in the House Sub-Committee Report, inserted chronologically:
[START]
Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
Exhibit # 31h.
Meetings, Events, or Functions at which Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, or Both Were Present
Date: Late January/Early February 1994
Participants: William Rhodes, Shaukat Aziz, Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, and others
Location: Davos, Switzerland
Summary: William Rhodes and Shaukat Aziz attend Davos economic conference. During conference, they are guests at a dinner hosted by Benazir Bhutto and attended by approximately 150 others.
Date: February 1994
Participants: John Reed, Paul Collins, Shaukat Tarin, Benazir Bhutto, and Asif Ali Zardari
Location: Islamabad
Summary: Discussion of Pakistani and world affairs
NOTES on the Citibanksters:
William Rhodes:William R. “Bill” Rhodes Rhodes is the Senior Vice Chairman of Citigroup Inc. and the Chairman of Citigroup and Citibank. He is also Chairman of the Board of both the Americas Society and its affiliate, the Council of the Americas, which were originally founded by David Rockefeller in 1965, and is a board member of the Group of Thirty.
Rhodes was educated at Northfield Mount Hermon, a college preparatory school, and Brown University; he joined Citibank in 1957. As the Senior International Officer for Citigroup, Mr. Rhodes has specific responsibilities for client relationships in emerging markets worldwide, relationships with governments and other official institutions and appointments of Citibank’s senior country officers outside the U.S.
John Shepard Reed [/b] (born 1939) is the former Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. He previously served as Chairman and CEO of Citicorp, Citibank, and post-merger, Citigroup.was asked to be interim CEO of the New York Stock Exchange after the Richard Grasso over-compensation scandal. He accepted the job for a $1 salary and set up new governance rules as the NYSE became a public corporation. Reed is on the board of directors at Altria Group.
Paul J. Collins became a director of the [Enstar Group Ltd.] on January 31, 2007 in connection with the completion of the Merger. Mr. Collins served as a director of The Enstar Group, Inc. from May 2004 through the Merger. Mr. Collins retired as a Vice Chairman and member of the Management Committee of Citigroup Inc. in September 2000. From 1985 to 2000, Mr. Collins served as a director of Citicorp and its principal subsidiary, Citibank; from 1988 to 1998, he also served as Vice Chairman of those entities. Mr. Collins currently serves as chairman of the University of Wisconsin Foundation and a trustee of the Glyndebourne Arts Trust. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a private equity firm. He was previously a director of Kimberly Clark Corporation, Nokia Corporation and BG Group and a member of the supervisory board of Actis Capital LLP.
Date: August 1994
Participants: Sajjad Rizvi, Paul Collins, Shaukat Tarin, Benazir Bhutto, and others
Location: Prime Minister’s Residence, Islamabad
Summary: General courtesy call, discussion of Citibank, macroeconomics and socio-political issues.
[Oct 1994 Mr. Zardari’s relationship with Citibank begins, with an account opened for Capricorn Trading, S.A. a British Virgin Island company, reportedly “through the services of Kamran Amouzegar, a private banker at Citibank private bank in Switzerland, and Jens Schlegelmilch, a Swiss lawyer who was the Bhutto family’s attorney in Europe and close personal friend for more than 20 years.”]
[5-6 Oct 1994 ARY International Exchange, a Dubai company owned by Abdul Razzak Yakub, alleged to have been given a gold import monopoly by Benazir Bhutto, deposits $5 million into the Capricorn Trading account on 5 Oct 1994; and another $5 million on 6 October 1994.]
Date: December 1994
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto’s economics advisor, Pkistani ambassador to Washington and others
Location: Prime Minister’s Residence, Islamabad
Summary: Discussion of Pakistani economy during a dinner meeting
[25 Feb 1994 A 3rd deposit, this time of $8 million, is made to the Capricorn trading account. Citibank says it does not know the source of this deposit.]
[27 Feb 1995 “Mr. Schlegelmilch, working with Mr. Amouzegar, opened three accounts at the Citibank Switzerland private bank. The accounts were opened in the name of M.S. Capricorn Trading, which already had an account at Citibank’s Dubai branch, aswell as Marvel and Bomer Finance, two other British Virgin Island PICs established by Mr. Schlegelmilch, according to Citibank. Each private bank account listed Mr. Schlegelmilch as the account contact and signatory. Citibank informed the Subcommittee that the Swiss Form A, a government-required beneficial owner identification form, identified Mr. Zardari as the beneficial owner of each PIC.”
[6 March 1995 $8.1 million, routed through Citibank, NY, transferred from Dubai to Swiss account.]
Date: March 7-10, 1995
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, William Rhodes, Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari and others
Location: Singapore
Summary: During a state visit to Singapore by Benazir Bhutto, William Rhodes and Shaukat Aziz meet with Benazir Bhutto and her advisors in Benazir Bhutto’s hotel suite to discuss the Pakistani economy. At several official events
during this state visit, Shaukat Aziz exchanges greetings with Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari
Date: March 7-10, 1995
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, William Rhodes, Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari and others
Location: Singapore, Dinner hosted by the Pakistani Ambassador
Summary: Shaukat Aziz exchanges greetings with Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari. Benazir Bhutto’s economic advisor asked Benazir Bhutto if she had ever visited Shaukat Aziz’s home in Singapore. She replied that she has never been invited. Shaukat Aziz stated that the Prime Minister was welcome.
Date: March 7-10, 1995
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Shaukat Aziz’s wife, Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, protocol chiefs for Pakistan and Singapore, the Pakistani Ambassador, and numerous aides and security officials
Location: Shaukat Aziz’s home in Singapore
Summary: During state visit to Singapore Benazir Bhutto makes a surprise visit to Shaukat Aziz’s home. The Benazir Bhutto party remains for approximately one hour.
5 May 1995 $10.2 million, routed through Citibank, NY, transferred from Dubai to Swiss account. Shortly thereafter, Capricorn Trading’s Dubai account was closed. “Citibank has indicated that significant amounts of other funds were also deposited into the Swiss accounts. As described below, the $40 million cap was reached, and millions of additional dollars also passed through those accounts. However, Swiss bank secrecy law has prevented the Subcommittee from obtaining the details on the transactions in the Zardari accounts.”]
Date: July 1995
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari and others
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Summary: Shaukat Aziz exchanges greetings with Asif Ali Zardari and Benazir Bhutto at a lunch given by Malaysian foreign minister in connection with benazir Bhutto’s state visit to Malaysia. Shaukat Aziz may also have exchanged greetings with Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari at other events during the visit.
Date: Sometime during Benazir Bhutto’s second term as Prime Minister
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Shaukat Tarin, Asif Ali Zardari and others
Location: Prime Minister’s Residence, Islamabad
Summary: Shaukat Aziz, Shaukat Tarin meet, perhaps on two different occasions, with Asif Ali Zardari and his aides for informal discussions about the Pakistani economy.
Date: September or October 1995
Participants: Sajjad Rizvi, Paul Collins, Shaukat Tarin, Benazir Bhutto and others
Location: Prime Minister’s Residence, Islamabad
Summary: General courtesy call, discussion of Citibank, macroeconomics and socio-political issues.
Date: December 1995
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Paul Collins, Asif Ali Zardari and 1,500 others
Location: Karachi
Summary: Asif Ali Zardari is a guest at the wedding of Shaukat Aziz’s daughter
Date: During Benazir Bhutto’s second terms as prime minister
Participants: Shaukat Aziz and representatives of various banks
Location: Karachi
Summary: Asif Ali Zardari arrives at the end of dinner gathering of bank representatives in Karachi
Date: Late in Benazir Bhutto’s second terms as prime minister
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Benazir Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto’s Finance Secretary and other economic advisors
Location: Prime Minister’s Residence, Islamabad
Summary: Discussion of Pakistani economy
Date: February 1996
Participants: Nadeem Hussain, Shaukat Tarin, Asif Ali Zardari and Javed Pasha
Location: Prime Minister’s Residence, Islamabad
Summary: Courtesy meeting to introduce Hussain as Citibank’s new consumer bank head in Pakistan
Date: March 1996
Participants: Sajjad Rizvi, possibly Shaukat Tarin, Margaret Thatcher, Benazir Bhutto and others
Location: Prime Minister’s Residence, Islamabad
Summary: Courtesy call with Lady Thatcher, whose speaking tour was sponsored by Citibank.
Mar/Apr 1996 “Mr. Amouzegar asked that the overall limit on the Zardari accounts be increased from $40 million to $60 million, apparently because the accounts had reached the previously imposed limit of $40 million. Citibank told the Subcommittee staff that Mr. Holderbeke considered the request, but declined to increase the $40 million limit.
June 1996 UK press reports that Mr. Zardari had purchased real estate in London. Citibank claims that an internal review was done, but Mr. Schlegelmilch allegedly indicated the funds had come from the sale of some sugar mills and were legitimate,” which Citibank accepted.
Date: August 1996
Participants: Paul Collins, Citibank Country Corporate Officer for Pakistan and Benazir Bhutto
Location: Probably Islamabad
Summary: Discussion regarding Citibank, the Pakistani economy, and regional economic and political developments.
Date: Fall 1996
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Benazir Bhutto, Nusrat Bhutto, Sanam Bhutto, Dr. Bunyad Haider and others
Location: Waldorf Astoria, New York City
Summary: Discussion of Pakistani economy. Shaukat Aziz expressed condolences regarding the death of Benazir Bhutto’s brother. Following this meeting, Shaukat Aziz,
Benazir Bhutto and 20 others have dinner at the hotel.
[Nov 1996 Zardari arrested, for the second time, on charges of corruption.]
[Jan 1997 Citibank closed the Zardari accounts.
8 Sep 1997 Swiss government issued orders freezing the Zardari and Bhutto accounts at Citibank and three other banks in Switzerland, at the request of the Pakistani government.
5 Dec 1997 Citibank prepared a Suspicious Activity Report on the Zardari accounts and filed it with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network at the U.S. Department of Treasury. Note: So Citibank finally ‘notices’ suspicious activity – what took them so long???
Date: 1998
Participants: Shaukat Aziz, Shaukat Aziz’s wife, Benazir Bhutto, Dr. Bunyad Haider and his wife and several other couples
Location: The Haider’s New Jersey home
Summary: Meeting among Pakistanis in the New York area and Benazir Bhutto
[END]
—————————————————————————–
Source: PRIVATE BANKING AND MONEY LAUNDERING: A CASE STUDY OF OPPORTUNITIES AND VULNERABILITIES, Hearings before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Sixth Congress, First Session, November 9 and 10, 1999. Pages 474-477.
http://www.gpo.gov/congress/senate/senate12sh106.html
Re: Pakistan’s Looted Treasury: Stashed in Swiss Citibank Accounts
Robberies are commited at different scales. Small roberies are commited by small time hoodlums. Big time roberies are committed by professional thieves. But, nations are stolen by a higher breed of dictatorial scum. Pakistan is one nation, which has been stolen from its rightful owners: its people. How did this happen? It happened because Pakistani people are emotional, gullible, and easily swayed by fire breathing rhetoric. civilian and military dictators are master scam artists. They know how to play on the sentiments of people, who are politically naive. Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, and Musharraf, used the spring board of Pakistani people’s trust in the armed forces to hijack the nation. Bhutto, a civilian dictator and a control freak, was steeped in arrogance. His personality was uncompromising and stubborn. In his test of wills with another conniving control freak, Mujibur Rahman, a united Pakistan was destroyed. Who can forget “tum wahan, hum yahan?.” One could have asked these blighters, who the hell gave you the right to the ownership of Pakistan. A nation bought with the blood and sacrifices of the Muslims of South Asian Sub-Continent.
Posted by Dr. Manzer Durrani in Politics on June 24th, 2011
The hard-hitting, outburst of President Zardari against media and his chief political rival Nawaz Sharif was both stunning and entertaining. The occasion was the celebration of the 58th birthday of Benazir Bhutto at Naudero, in Sindh.
I had been pondering, since his advent in power, that he is a crafty and foxy person who has been outwitting his contenders in the political arena of Pakistan. But the perception seldom crossed my mind that he could be stinging and scornful as well.
Perhaps he was trying to mimic his illustrious father- in-law Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in browbeating the political opponents with derisive, sarcastic and amusing phrases and anecdotes. His utterances were of the type of cheap jargon and run of the mill parlance that the street urchins exchange while playing marbles.
But despite his satirical and overly aggressive and outrageous outpourings we must admit, it was a daring display of courage and confidence in assailing not only media but also his frontline adversaries. He did not suffer from any inhibitions or restraints in pouring out scorn on the media by throwing gauntlet that he was not afraid of the bold headlines against him.
He roared and fretted that some of the news analysts and political commentators on the media channels were political actors and therefore, would be replaced by veritable intellectuals. How would he do this is hard to fathom.
It was indeed a manifestation of the pent-up revulsion, fury and frustration that was released by the president of Pakistan without any compunctions and diplomatic or political reservations. He presented himself more like the aggressive head of his political party than the head of state.
In one salvo, he tried to portray Nawaz Sharif as the cohort and rather accomplice of Taliban and radical Islamists. At the same time he tried to win the armed forces by showering accolades on the army generals.
His implicit and covert message was that Mian Nawaz was dangerous to the interests of United States and would also prove to be a strange and hostile bed fellow for the army as he was in the past.
By using the stigmatic nickname of Mualvi, he dubbed Nawaz Sharif as an extremist or hard-line Islamist like the other religious outfits who were engaged in sabotage and terrorist activities in Pakistan. He tried to establish and make a case that Nawaz Sharif
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