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Pakistan: How to Change Political Culture of Corruption and Rebuild the Future?

Pakistan: How to Change Political Culture of Corruption and Rebuild the Future?

Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja

Pakistan: How to Change Political Culture of Corruption and Rebuild the Future? 

 

Towards Understanding the Current Affairs

Prime Minister Imran Khan impressed the constituents to imagine the phenomenon of “change” as a driving force for future-making. Was the political power a motivating factor to influence the curious minds of the masses or was it an exercise in self-propagated approach to gain success at a critical juncture of Pakistan’s contemporary history? For too long Pakistanis experienced the nuisance of corrupt politics. Reality has its checks and balances based on the consequences. PM Khan is no stranger to the much charged and corrupt culture of politics. Pakistan had witnessed many critical moments of historical developments in its search for identity, unity and future-making. Often dismayed and unimpressed are the people of a young and educated generation who find no place to participate in the movement and struggle for change and reformation of the decades old corrupted and degenerated system of obsolete systems of political governance. At a time, Imran Khan – a comparatively young, reasonable and open-minded politician enticed the young generation to be hopeful for change but it is questionable if there is rational substance to be optimistic about “rebuilding” the nation. In an age of reason, it is important to know and determine where Pakistan is and how to go forward with a planned Action Plan. Imran Khan has a moral and intellectual outlook as head of a progressive political organization should have imagined and prepared a Proactive Plan for New Thinking and a Plan for Action once he assumed the office. To learn from the tragic tensions of history, all of the previous self-styled leaders including the unwelcomed four General of coups and their byproducts – Bhuttos, Sharifs, Zardari and Musharaf were all dead-ended entries to the essence and freedom movement of Pakistan. They stole billions and billions from the national treasury and stabbed the nation. Could Mr. Khan realize what went wrong and how they consumed precious time and resources of the nation and derailed its prospects for future-making as a viable democratic nation in Southwest Asia? If Pakistan had a continuous culture of political change and educated and learning leadership, the country should not be interdependent on foreign aid and a subservient to the US or Western political interests. There appears to be conflicting time zones and culture of thinking between the masses and the ruling elite confined to comfortable quarters of Islamabad. Leaders come and go but nothing changes on the ground for the public good. The endless self-repeating delusions flow for even more the same at this juncture. PM Khan is either not connected to the dots or he is surrounded by the same set of individualistic absolutism prevalent at the beginning but most often is ridiculed as it progresses and ends-up in disastrous consequences for the nation. Words and statements alone do not change an unproductive culture of the political nuisance. There is nothing new on the ground to substantiate any new visionary approach to rebuild the nation. Those who are part of the problem cannot be part of the solution. Mr. Khan should analyze critically what is operational and what is dysfunction within the compound of the central government. He should be open to voices of reason and enlightenment. There seem to be too much centralized boxed functions in Islamabad and not the much-decentralized presence of the federal governance at major provincial centers of activities. This should be reorganized to serve the interest of the masses and proved services across many divergent zones. Pakistan desperately needs new and young educated and honest people to embrace the challenges of the present and future-making. Pakistanis living abroad are the asset to be counted to enhance the planned cause of political reformation and nation-building.

Know Yourself in Time and Challenges, Your Strength and Weaknesses

Great spoken symbols do not require immeasurable importance. All egoistic politicians assert such slogans to maintain the irrational balance between the reality consequential developments. At this stage, the nation is receptive to see how and what Imran Khan could deliver to change the engrossed misfortunes of the nation. All responsible leaders defy the urge to make flamboyant expressions of political ambitions which negate realism and national interest. To a visionary and effective leader, it is incumbent to know your strengths and weaknesses and the people around your immediate circle. If you have a vision of the future, explain it and connect it to the known aspirations of the masses that were denied the rightful thought and place in the past. If imperatives of change and reformation for nation-rebuilding were of utmost vitality, should Mr. Khan not enlist the educated people of knowledge, wisdom and global experience to plan the political change and enhance the priorities of “nation-rebuilding” as part of an Action Plan? The Pakistani nation has a delicate eco-system of social, moral, political and intellectual diversities and sensitivities. Those dealing with the phenomenon of change, must know and understand how to acquire an inner understanding of such distinctions and inequalities to bridge the unity of the nation. Reason has many enemies if Pakistani political culture is closed but the reasoned discussion could lead to rebuilding the trust across many divides. If Imran Khan thought that his symbolic opinions will bear fruit without any efforts, it would be unthinkable to imagine a destiny out of inaccessible communication to the masses. Destiny is always new and young, not obsolete or incapacitated. Mr. Khan should motivate the official circles with a sense of responsibility, services and honest role model. If the leadership statements are unexcitable shadows of illusion without truth and strength, the new leadership will go nowhere except consuming time and precious energies as it happened before for almost 50 years. Pakistan is a victim of failed and disgraced leadership.

Collective Focused Mind is More Powerful than Individualistic Agenda

To reshape and rebuild the destiny of deprived masses, Mr. Khan should articulate a focused approach to deal with some of the urgent issues. The issue of fair and equal services to the people, legal justice, security of the country, unity of diverse provincial cultures and integration, reformed systems of political governance, sustainable economic and technological productivity, educational system and health services could be prioritized for the first year of the Development Plan, if there is such an official instrument at this time. Mr. Khan wanted to hold the corrupt politicians accountable for their criminal atrocities and stolen wealth. He must set up a high power legal body with competent judges to hold the trials and punish the political thugs and criminals. How come Zardari, Sharif and Musharaf are roaming around freely?

None of them was alone but had hundreds and thousands of culprits to rob the nation. If the intent and resolve are clear, what are they waiting for to prosecute the indicted criminals? This must be done in a few months, not a year if all concerned are honest and true to their commitments. Pakistan should not be held hostage for change by the criminals. If the stolen wealth is returned to the national treasury, Pakistan will not ask the IMF or Saudis for new loans. Does Imran Khan have any compassion for the indicted criminals? This must assume a priority for action.

Towards Change and National Unity for Future-building

The focal issue appears to be –how to change a dreadful and unproductive political culture into a promising future? It requires ingenuity, vision and workable plan to ensure positive outcomes for the best of people. To awaken the consciousness of political accountability, PM Khan would need to move fast based on a well chalked out plan for change and reformation of the political systems. Time is critical and offers a historic opportunity to all concerned. Defying cynicism and hoping to be optimistic, Mr. Khan and his colleagues better do a soul searching as to where they are and how to move forward? Otherwise, they cannot go from anywhere. It is a cumbersome challenge but must be encountered otherwise, time and opportunities will be lost with disastrous consequences for the present and future generations of Pakistanis.

The new Pakistani administration must detach itself from the delusional glimmers of American policies and practices in Afghanistan and the region. American drone attacks on Northwest Pakistan and its entanglement in Afghanistan must end on its own record of failure. America is a big game player in Pakistan and its security apparatus. The aid gimmick has kept Pakistan interdependent on the policy-making of the US administration and a nation being viewed more liability than an asset to the American geopolitical interests in that region. All that can go wrong have gone wrong with the system of Pakistani political governance. Any realistic observer taking a dispassionate survey of the current picture of Pakistan would agree that time and essence of history call for planned change to produce a sustainable and productive culture of new thinking and actions for the security and future-making of a new Pakistan.


Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution and international affairs with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution: Approaches to Understand the Current Issues and Future-Making. Lambert Academic Publishing, Germany, October 2017.

Categories: AsiaPolitics
Tags: anti-corruption

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The genesis of corruption by Tahir Kamran

The genesis of corruption
Tahir Kamran

 

June 19, 2016 

Is a corruption-free Pakistan possible?

 

 

 

A few days back, an old acquaintance asked me about the future pattern of Punjab politics in the wake of a scam as big as the Panama Leaks. I told him nothing is likely to effect any change in the existing pattern of Punjab politics. Not a single parliamentarian has raised a voice or threatened to depose the current rulers because ‘the first family’ has off-shore companies and the source of capital invested is shrouded in obscurity.
Of course it is corruption. But then isn’t that the way of life in the land of the pure? If it is an art, we have perfected it; if it is a science, we have excelled in it. More worryingly, we have accorded legitimacy to corrupt practices. In fact, we celebrate both corruption and the corrupt.
In the Victorian era, man was defined as a symbol of masculinity, white (read Caucasian) and rational with values derived from the Christian faith. If we try to define Pakistani ‘man’, corruption has to be an essential trait that he is bound to carry in order to qualify as ‘man’. He also has to be yaran da yar, (friend of friends) which means a real ‘man’ shows no respect for any law or regulation when it comes to his friends, cronies or sidekicks.
Thus in our case, violating the law or even constitution for that matter symbolises how powerful someone is. For the poor, corruption may be a means of climbing the social ladder but for the rich and affluent, corruption is the means to express power.
Another acquaintance jestingly said the other day that he has tried to make a payment of a few dollars to get his name included in the list that has emerged out of Panama Leaks. I asked him why he did that, knowing he wasn’t serious. He replied that it was a sign of ‘respectability’; it becomes damn easy to marry off a daughter to a boy from a good family if you can affirm your wealth.
Historians (particularly Edward Gibbon) have inferred from the past that when wealth becomes the principal determinant of the values that society respects, the fall of that society becomes inevitable. The same happened with the Romans and they fell, never to rise again. The generation of wealth and even more so its distribution should be carried out through mutually agreed regulations, which the Romans started flouting with impunity, and hence their fall.
For the poor, corruption may be a means of climbing the social ladder but for the rich and affluent, corruption is the means to express power.
Indeed, it needs no less than a miracle for any nation/civilization to rejuvenate itself. China can be put forth as one rare example. But it too will have to go a long way to match the sole super power, USA.
Another of my friends says, “corruption and Pakistan are like two peas in a pod”. His observation seems sweeping, yet it cannot be easily denied. The first and foremost cause of corruption was embedded in the cataclysmic event of Partition. This is depicted in the relevant chapters from the works of Ilyas Chattha, Urvashi Butalia, Yasmin Khan and Vazira Zamindar. Such events as the partition of India are no less than the upheavals of history bringing about the tectonic shift in the established norms of sociology and culture.
As a consequence of an event of such magnitude, usually a break from the past (though selective) is intended which causes rupture in the centuries-old tradition. The process of evolution which is usually gradual and steady is markedly disrupted. Such disruptions tear the affected people apart from the socio-cultural norms and practices which have hitherto defined their collective ethos. Every one, in such a scenario, is running for life. En masse relocation and genocide, such as were concomitant to partition, gave a big blow to the sensibility that binds people together.
Many living the life of relative deprivation in united India saw Pakistan as a land of opportunities, and came to the newly-founded country for economic gains. In the newly established state of Pakistan, regulatory structures were not in place to check any arbitrary practice aiming to amass wealth or to grab property. Thus the people who could, did all that was possible to secure wealth. Partition catapulted many from rags to riches. These sort of sudden changes contravene the smooth and gradual process of evolution, which people find really hard to come to terms with.
Another cataclysmic event was secession of East Pakistan, which gave a big jolt to the morale of the people. The trust in the future of the country was considerably undermined, a ripe situation in which corruption could proliferate.
Unfortunately Pakistan’s politics, right from the outset, was marred by inconsistent transitions. One political order was substituted by the other, with the two having hardly anything in common. Hence, the transition was abrupt and instantaneous. Political compromises of the oddest kind were made merely for personal gains. Characters like Ghulam Muhammad, Iskander Mirza and Ayub Khan did not allow institutions to germinate and blossom. The will of the people was not sought, in the first place; if and when elections were held, non-political actors wielded more power than the elected ones.
Therefore, institutions remained weak and their fate uncertain. Religious ideology was deployed for self-legitimisation with disastrous consequences. In such a scenario, when state institutions were weakened beyond measure, corruption flourished rampantly.
Such political choices made by the Pakistani elite conjured up a social fabric which was amenable to practices which were corrupt to the core. I do believe that a social movement spearheaded by the intelligentsia can stall that trend. But Pakistan’s history fails to register the existence of any social movement aimed at raising awareness among the people about such an issue of wider significance. So, thus far, there is no hope for a corruption-free Pakistan.

 

 

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Another nail in the coffin – Now, the Governor State Bank’s Doings: Still Unpaid Loans of Nawaz & Shabaz Sharif

 

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Nawaz Sharif, Panama Gate,McDonald’s Founder, Allah’s (swt) Creations فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

 

Pakistani Ruler Nawaz Sharif and His Cohort Could learn from the Story about McDona;d’s Founder,Mr.Ray Croc

Joan Kroc, wife of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, had earned a reputation as a generous philanthropist following her husband’s death in 1984. Carrying on his legacy of charity, she donated much of the McDonald’s fortune to causes such as drug and alcohol rehabilitation, wildlife preservation, assistance for the homeless and world peace.

“Ray was once asked in an interview why he gave so much of his wealth away,” Mrs. Kroc said. “He said, ‘I’ve never seen a Brinks truck following a hearse. Have you?’”

Following her death of inoperable brain cancer on Oct. 12, 2003, $1.9 billion of her fortune was bequeathed to charities, her local church, and various educational and cultural institutions. By far the largest beneficiary was the Salvation Army, receiving an astounding $1.5 billion.

 

Reasons Pakistanis Cannot Afford Panama Gate

 

 

 

Manzer J.Durrani, Ph.D.

Executive Editor, Pakistan Think Tank

 

NASA’s WISE Spacecraft Discovers Most Luminous Galaxy in Universe

This artist's concept depicts the current record holder for the most luminous galaxy in the universe.
This artist’s concept depicts the current record holder for the most luminous galaxy in the universe. The galaxy, WISE J224607.57-052635.0, is erupting with light equal to more than 300 trillion suns. It was discovered using data from NASA’s WISE mission.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

 

 

 

 

 

There Are 11.5 Million Files in Panama Papers.There 200 Million Pakistanis, who have suffered in last 30 years of Nawaz Sharif Family’s insidious,egregious, and rampant corruption in All State Institutions From State Bank of Pakistan to Pakistan State Oil & Gas.There is human accountability and there is Allah’s Accountability, here and hereafter.Hitler,Stalin,Noriega,Pinochet,Shah of Iran,Saddam Hussain,and 3 destroyers of United Pakistan: ZA Bhutto (hanged),Indira Gandhi(Murdered),Sh Mujib (Murdered),Zia0ul0Haq(Creshed).Allah is Al ADL. Alll the Afore-mentioned Rulers Paid with Extreme Pain and Violent Death.They Planned,Allah Planned.Allah’s Plan Worked. Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari will pay too.When Allah Punishes:The Criminal is least expecting it.Always ask Allah’s Forgiveness and Mercy.Earth is 13.4 Billion Years,if You Live to be 100 yrs.If you divide Your Age By Earth, You Are But a Flash in the Pan. Do Not Live,Support,or Praise those who do mischief on Earth. I am not a Fundo or Mulla,a sinner, who ask your forgiveness if my words hurt anybody. I am a Scientist involved in development and study of molecular systems and communications and cell signalling and effects of drugs on them. I have seen the work of Al-Musawir,Al-Hakim,Al-Fateer,Ar-Rahman,Ar-Rahim at Macro and Micro levels.The Creator (Allah(swt), who continues to Create 24/7/365.I have observed his dazzling,stunning,blinding, mind-boggling Creations like Galaxy with light of 300 Trillion Suns http://www.nasa.gov/…/nasas-wise-spacecraft-discovers…. Our Creator,Al-Fateer is Undefinable by Human Intellect:Allah Defines us.He loves us so much,that he took an Un-lettered Man(PBUH) from the Desert,Muhammad(SAW) and Gave him His Last Direct Message to Mankind:Embodied in Al-Furqan. We are told thath. فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ Fabi-Ayyi Ala-I Rabbikuma Tukazziban.May Allah Bless Pakistn,its Armed Forces, and its 200 Million People & Take Away Power From those who continue to rob the nation. A Nation which can Make a Nuclear Bomb with its Genius, can uses the same Genius to Reform itself. Ameen Fi-Imanillah.

 
 

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The Corrupt Anti Corrupts

LETTER TO EDITOR

 

September 23rd, 2015

 

 

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Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)

The Corrupt Anti Corrupts

 

 

 

 

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A plethora of graft, corruption at all tiers of the government in almost all departments, various kinds of scams, land grabs, land mafias, China cuttings, ghost schools, teachers and employees in various departments, water board scandals, bhatta khori and extortion by public servants as well as private set ups, money laundering, tax evasion  etc. etc. – you name it – are surfacing with each passing day. Some of the cases are years old even a decade or more.  Those who know such a state of affair call it all just a tip of the iceberg as according to them the actual mountain of corruption is no smaller than the Nanga Parbat !!  One wonders where were all the anti-corruption and other vigilant agencies – some within the departments itself and many others independent as fully fledged departments by themselves for all these years to allow the corruption grow to this monumental scale?!  Had they been vigilant and performing their duties du! tifully and responsibly the things couldn’t have gone that bad. The mere fact that we do have such a huge number of corruption cases shows that either these agencies were in cahoots with the perpetrators of such crimes or were highly derelict in the performance of their duties.  In both the cases they must be made accountable before a court of law and punished severely, if found guilty, to serve as a deterrent to others in future.  

 

Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd)

Col. Riaz Jafri (Retd) mbdin newsCol. Riaz Jafri (Retd)
30 Westridge 1
Rawalpindi 46000
Pakistan
Tel: (051) 5158033
E.mail: [email protected]

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