This land of mega scams

IN this ‘world-is-but-a-stage’ that is Pakistan, what is it that visits apathy upon the suffering masses? They silently accept the horrors heaped upon them every day in every sphere of life.

They are browbeaten into submission, believing that it is not the human beings who sit atop them that are at fault but that divine intervention has so decreed.

Law and order have fled to the dogs, public utilities have been eaten away (if they ever were there in large tracts of this unfortunate country), education is a dangerous mess churning
out hundreds of thousands of brainwashed youths — the future of this land.

Urban and rural life is almost unlivable for the larger majority, what with inadequate public transportation, a degraded environment, gross over-population, and above all corruption on the rampage, with those who have been elevated by whatever means to positions for which they are grossly unfit leading the field openly, brazenly.

Why are the people apathetic? Why are they, by and large, silent, except for minor pockets here and there that make no dent in the shamelessness that covers our leadership — both
in and out of uniform?

Two items have dominated local news this past week: the NICL land corruption and the killing grounds of Karachi. We have TV anchors spouting any nonsense to boost viewership, political parties who issue hypocritical statements (calling for a ‘peaceful day of mourning’), press commentators, selective NGOs, but nothing is done by the general citizenry to protest in an organised and effective manner against the continual violations of rights. Is democracy merely elections?

The few who have the courage to act in the public interest are not supported. The government’s defiance and dodging of the Supreme Court’s (SC) orders in numerous cases (actually a negation of the authority that citizens have given the court via Article 189 of the constitution, and thus a defiance and dodging of our civil rights), has not raised a furore.

Corruption is now accepted as inevitable.

The NICL mega scam encompasses the ‘who’s who’ of this republic: the prime minister’s son Abdul Qadir, would-be PM Amin Fahim, Interior Minister Rehman Malik (whose intimidatory options for the reinstated-but-suspended FIA investigator, Zafar Qureshi, have been enshrined in the latest SC order), Moonis Elahi (whose acquittal is one raison d’être of the tenuous PPP–PML-Q coalition), the NICL chairman and 15 others.

The land-and-votes turf war between PPP, Sindhi nationalists, MQM and ANP is a grand show with the citizenry as adversely affected, but silent, spectators. Mohajirs, who arrived 64 years ago, are angry about Pathan migration into Karachi. Tellingly, the 1947 population was less than 0.4 million; at the national increase rate, today this would amount to only 2.4 million. The rest of Karachi’s present 18 million inhabitants are migrants.

It would seem that our rulers and administrators know something we do not. Many of them (parliamentarians, bureaucrats) have escape hatches in the form of dual/foreign citizenships. More are involved in plundering the system before the structure collapses. One such example which has a widespread effect upon all in this republic is the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC).The bleeding of this vital entity of Pakistan, including the reinstatement of 4,288 superfluous and incompetent employees, was last year given a temporary respite, but the ravaging soon resumed. Corruption sprouted so brazenly that within a week of taking over the petroleum ministry, in mid-April 2011, Dr Asim Hussain appointed a fact-finding committee.

The committee found degraded corporate governance and chaos in the gas utility. The HR department lacked professionalism, frequently reshuffled key staff (a tactic used when honest professionals refuse to toe the line), made unilateral appointments of cronies and applied discriminatory policies. SSGC’s culture of ‘participatory consultation and collective deliberations’ was rendered impotent, with most decisions taken at the top or by tuft-hunters.

The managing director, Dr Faizullah Abbasi, had appointed a retired engineer, Hashim Arbab (relative of a former Sindh chief minister), as consultant to the project and construction department. Then, in violation of SC directives barring the reappointment of retired people, he was rehired as senior project director in the deputy MD grade, in charge of three lucrative departments. Consequently, existing deputy MDs became redundant and the entire management structure was demoralised.

Informed of the widespread looting over the past year, the committee cursorily probed a Rs186m ‘emergency contract’ for the rehabilitation of gas pipelines that were allegedly damaged during the July/August 2010 floods in Sindh. Reports of these exposed pipelines only emerged in February 2011 although floodwaters had receded in November 2010.

Permission for ‘negotiated tendering’ with four out of 19 pre-qualified contractors, in violation of Public Procurement Rules 2004, was given by the MD in late March 2011.

The committee recommended numerous improvements in SSGC processes, including the retention of consultants on a project basis only, and the sacking of Hashim Arbab. Dr Hussain went a step further: in mid-May 2011, against strong opposition, he also removed Dr Faizullah Abbasi.

An endemic problem that must be urgently tackled by the new MD is unaccounted for gas (UFG), basically comprising leakage and collusive theft. SSGC has filed a case in the high court against Ogra’s limitation to five per cent of UFG margins, instead of the 7.5 per cent applied for. The auditor-general had pointed out that Ogra’s October 2010 determination
allowing Sui Northern a seven per cent UFG has caused a loss to the exchequer (in addition to the cost of the gas) of Rs2.87bn in Gas Development Surcharge. This SSGC story, the NICL case and Karachi’s killing grounds may well have dangerously nasty repercussions, as may many of the other purposeful debasements and thievery of public assets. We must
awaken.

Myths and Make Believe - By Ardeshir Cowsjee in Dawn on Sunday

THIS nation is past master at myth-making and befooling itself. It lives in make-believe land — in our particular and peculiar case a dangerous habit as it distorts truth, reality and fact.


This national indulgence in flights of fancy has warped and mangled history. Even the reasoning for the creation of the country has been turned around to suit different leaderships and religious elements, as have the beliefs and intentions of its maker.

However, elsewhere there are happy myths that do no harm, but simply boost morale. Two spring to mind, both from the Achaemenid era, over 2,500 years ago. Cyrus the Great (576-530BC), often referred to as the first Achaemenid emperor, founded the Persian empire which under his rule covered all the civilised states of the Near East, expanding to southwest Asia, much of Central Asia and parts of Europe and the Caucasus — the largest empire the world had then yet seen.

Discovered in 1879 during excavations in Babylon was what is known as the Cyrus Cylinder dating back to 539BC. It lies in the British Museum which describes it as “an instrument of ancient Mesopotamian propaganda”. It has, however, been hailed by the UN as “an ancient declaration of human rights” and is regarded by modern Iran as a political symbol and “the first human rights charter in history”.

Now, human rights as we know them surfaced during the 18th and 19th centuries in the West and could not be said to be operative until the ending of slavery and human bondage in the civilised world. Way back in Cyrus`s time, they could not possibly have existed in a world that accepted slavery and human bondage as a right of man. But let the Iranians dream on harmlessly.

Nobel Peace Prize winner, Shirin Ebadi, in her 2003 acceptance speech referred to the Cylinder: “I am an Iranian, a descendant of Cyrus the Great. The emperor proclaimed at the pinnacle of power 2,500 years ago that he `would not reign over people if they did not wish it`. He promised not to force any person to change his religion and faith and guaranteed freedom for all. The Charter of Cyrus the Great should be studied in the history of human rights.”

The actual text of the charter, a document in the form of a clay cylinder, inscribed in Akkadian, denounces the king of Babylon deposed by Cyrus, portrays Cyrus as being pleasing to the god Marduk, describes how he improved the lives of the citizens of Babylonia, how he repatriated displaced persons and restored temples and religious sanctuaries.

We move on to Cyrus`s descendant, Darius the Great (522-486BC), the fourth Achaemenid emperor. An apocryphal story has it that on his deathbed he had recorded for posterity his advice to his son Xerxes. This advice, though possibly historically not proven, contains many useful lessons and could well be digested, emulated and practised by all who aspire to lead or rule the nations of the world:

"Now that I am passing from this world, there are 25 countries within the Persian empire … you must try to keep these countries as I have done. This can be accomplished by not intervening in their internal affairs and by respecting their religions and cultures. …

“Never appoint your friends and butlers to government posts, as your friendship alone should suffice them. If you appoint them and they do injustice to people and take advantage of resources, you will not be able to punish them. This is so because they are your friends and you have to, unwillingly or otherwise, observe that friendship. …

"My other advice to you, never let liars or flatterers near you as both tarnish your dynasty. Abandon the liars without mercy. Never let your ministers dominate people. I have created laws to prevent their dominance in taxation of people. The ministers and the people will be kept apart if you follow these laws. …

“Continue the educational programmes that I started. Let everyone read and write to improve their understanding. As people comprehend more, you will be able to rule with more confidence. Do not impose religion; always keep in mind that everyone should be free to follow his preferred faith. …


“Never be judge and plaintiff at the same time. If you have a grievance arrange for an unbiased third party to judge the case. The case will not be judged fairly if the plaintiff serves as the judge.

“Do not forget generosity. Second to justice, generosity and forgiveness are the best characters of kings. But forgiveness is only applicable to those who have done wrong to you, not to others. If you forgive a person who has harmed someone else then you have done injustice.”

“After my death, wash my body, wrap it with the shroud I have prepared and put it in a stone coffin. Place the coffin in the grave and leave it uncovered to remind you, whenever you visit my grave, that even your father and the king of 25 countries dies. You will too. This is everyone`s destiny, whether a king of 25 countries or a prickly-bush picker. No one is eternal.

“I have made these remarks in the presence of others so they know I have given you the above advice prior to my death.”

Immaculate advice unheeded. Xerxes embarked upon a series of disastrous military campaigns and then returned to his capital cities, to a life of self-indulgence which sapped the strength and vitality of the Achaemenid empire. He was assassinated in 465BC.
arfc@cyber.net.pk