Challenging alleged frauds being committed by foreign builders EMAAR & Meinhardt in sale & booking of Crescent Bay & Creek Marina projects initiated in DHA
Scottrade 25 December, 2009

Sindh High Court was Wednesday informed foreign builders from Singapore & United Arab Emirates initiated their mega projects in violation of Cantonment building bye-laws in Defence Housing Authority.

Chief Executive Officer of Clifton Cantonment Board stated this in para-wise comments filed in SHC on petition challenging alleged frauds being committed by foreign builders EMAAR & Meinhardt in sale & booking of Crescent Bay & Creek Marina projects initiated in DHA.

Petitioner Adil Jilani stated foreign builders were imposing heavy penalties on buyers who were unable to pay regular instalments. Building bye-laws do not permit penalty of more than 4% of paid instalments in case of cancellation of unit from builder and buyer, but builders are deducting 30% of unit prices/ total price.

In many cases, builders make booking for same unit in name of multiple buyers thus leaving scope of blackmailing general public who invests with such builders. Builders of UAE & Singapore, who initiated aforesaid projects, were exploiting buyers in their projects.

He prayed to order DHA eliminate fraudulent practices of builders/ developers being committed in project Crescent Bay & Creek Marina. He also prayed to order builders to place before court agreements signed with parties.

On Wednesday, CEO Cantonment Board Clifton submitted builders EMAAR & Meinhardt launched projects in violation of Cantonments building bye-laws.

SHC division bench, comprising Chief Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany & Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, directed counsels for EMAAR & Meinhardt builders to file para-wise comments till January 13, 2010.

CJ says govt fails to recover bank loans Habib Asgher
Financial Post 23 December, 2009

ISLAMABAD: A three-member bench of the Supreme Court Tuesday directed the authorities concerned to report the apex court as how the banks waived off loans to the defaulters. While directing the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan to present a province-wise lists of written-off loans in the SC, issued warning to the loan waivers of last 38 years. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry headed the bench which was comprised of Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Anwer Zaheer Jamali. The court was hearing the common case on the sue moto notice of 2007, a letter from the MQM chief Iltaf Hussain and a note written by former SC judge Justice Syed Jamshed Ali regarding Rs54 billion written-off loans. Counsel for the SBP, Syed Iqbal Haider appeared before the court and presented a list of written-off loans of Rs193 billions which were being lent to as many as 19711 since 1997 to date. The court then directed SBP to prepare a list along with other banks of loans written off during 1971 till date. On this, Haider assured the apex court that the bank was working on preparing it and would present the list in the court in one week. CJ Chaudhry in his remarks slammed that the government was failing in recovery of loans from defaulters and directed the government to legislate in this regard otherwise the apex court would use its powers under Article 184(3) of the Constitution of Pakistan. He categorically said that the court would vie with any resistance in this regard. Iqbal Haider informed the court that the loans were being waived off under the circular number 29 of the SBP. Chief Justice remarked that the said circular was not appropriate law is those who have links in the power corridors get the debts waived off. He added that the whole process of writing off loans was illegal as defaulters establish industries with loans and later get their loans written-off. He said that the parliament should legislate over the issue. Justice Jamali in his remarks said that a common citizen was usually dealt iron handedly if he becomes defaulter in a loan of only fifty thousand rupees and sometimes he had to loose his house to settle the loan. Chief Justice said that the banks would not oppose the case of written-off loans but those would oppose who had their interest in the matter. Senior lawyer Abdul Hafiz Pirzada in his arguments said that waived off money was the national wealth and be returned back to the government. He added that the banks wrote off the money to get tax waivers but the ultimate loss was on the part of the nation. Therefore he pleaded the apex court to void the circular-29 of the SBP. Pirzada told the superior court that in the meeting of Public Accounts Committee, the Zarai Taraqqiati Bank Limited's chairman admitted that the ZTBL had written-off loans of Rs54 billions. CJ Chaudhry said, "This is the reason behind bad financial situation in the country". He remarked that the court would examine circular-29 of the SBP along with Article 25 of the Constitution and would also give one chance to the defaulters to pay back the loan money. He added that if they would fail then stern action would be taken. Chief Justice Chaudhry said that the apex court would provide the banks to let the court know about the people who looted national wealth. He in his remarks said that it was hard for poor people to get loans even for their basic needs but only those were benefited who did not obey the law. The court said that it would analysis whether the circular-29 was discriminating and by using this influential brass wrote off the loans. The court would also check if the written-off loans during 1971 to date were contrary to the Article 25. The court said that a commission, if needed, could be constituted to analyze the written-off loans at individual level. The court has also sought the record of the Baig Committee constituted in 1982 which recommended waiving off the loans. The central bank's counsel said that the SBP had made a code of conduct in this matter. He added that huge amount was adjusted in the matter of loans. On this CJ Chaudhry said that there was a big difference in adjusting the money and waiving it off. He said that was the code of conduct was that anyone who had political influence could gat the loans written-off. He questioned the SBP counsel if he was not in the favor that looted money should be given back. CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry gave remarks that stern action would be taken against the defaulters if they fail to set their loans in first opportunity provided to them as only one chance would be given in this regard. He said that the Supreme Court would take the blame in the broader interest of entire nation if anyone criticized the apex court over the issue. The SC has adjourned the hearing till February 2

Lawyers never had it so good!: Judiciary takes a giant step to live down its past!
Business Recorder 23 December, 2009

It was euphoria-the-third experienced and witnessed by the people of Pakistan in as many years! It was centered each time on CJP Mohammad Iftikhar Chaudhry and his actions. His resounding restoration-the-first by the Supreme Judicial Council in July 2007 following his sacking-the-first by Musharraf in March 2007 was occasion-the-first for widespread joy and hope. After his sacking-the-second by Musharraf in November 2007 and a 16-month long popular struggle that followed it, his restoration-the-second materialized in March 2009, in the teeth of opposition by the PPP government of President Asif Zardari and provided the setting for euphoria-the-second. Now on 16 Dec 2009 the Judiciary has taken a giant leap to live down its inglorious past, spread over 60 years. This is occasion-the-third for rekindled joy and hopes of endemic proportions.

The past record of political parties in this respect is likewise dismal beyond doubt. As for the third leg of the tripod of the power structure or the third side of the quadrilateral (if you include the Media), namely the Army, it is too near in the past out of its role as usurper of political power for us to make any comment at this point in time on what it is likely to do in the long term. So far, however, the signs in its case are positive. But for now let us be happy as long as we can and bask in the sunshine of Judiciary at last coming into its own along the path of justice and fair play after a long history of pandering to the misplaced whims and ambitions of both civil and military dictators.

The direction in which the new Judiciary under CJP Chaudhry was moving was clear from day one. Recent developments have indicated that its efforts have started bearing fruit. A good example of this was the way the Judiciary was successful through its single-minded endeavors in apprehending two of the main culprits, among several others involved, from outside the country in the BOP Rs. nine billion scam case, and in taking effective steps to get the loot back - a first in recent memory in this much ill-used country. But it was its Judgment on the NRO that really electrified the nation and kindled hopes of a better, more secure and more honorable position for it among the nations of the world.

There is however a case for ensuring that accountability is not selective. Therefore it should not be confined to cases highlighted by the NRO but should also include all those cases which are pending action and conclusion in NAB files or have not been opened at all. To be fair, the Supreme Court was moved by Dr. Mubasshir Hasan and others in respect of NRO cases and the Court has given its decision. It so happens that big names of PPP are involved in these cases among others. The way is open for any one now to move the Supreme Court in other cases where financial wrong doing by others including the leading lights of PML-N and PML-Q is alleged by PPP supporters or others.

Despite the euphoria generated by the decision across the country it would be na?ve to think that the government of President Asif Zardari despite all the soft talk about the decision, will take the matter lying down. Despite widespread calls for the President to step down (PML-N leaders have suddenly joined he chorus while their chief sings a different tune) it will be stupid to expect the President to give up his immunity from certain legal moves that he enjoys as President. Far from it, in fact, a covert, and at times overt, battle royal against the Judiciary is being vigorously lined up it seems. The immunity clause of the constitution is also getting close attention. Does immunity apply to non-governmental actions of the President? What about alleged offenses committed when he was not President?

One of the first actions of FIA officials in the aftermath of the SC verdict, was to inform the honorable Defense Minister Mr. Ahmed Mukhtar that he was on the Exit Control List just as he was set to board the aircraft on a flight to China on an official mission accompanied by the Naval Chief. The Chinese ambassador was around for the occasion. This was an unnecessary affront to the Minister and an embarrassment for the country before the world and before China in particular. Was the poor-timed incident a case of inefficiency on the part of officials or a deliberate sabotage attempt to malign the Judiciary under whose orders the ECL was implemented in the case of Mr. Ahmed Mukhtar among others? Was the incident stage-managed to prove that the Judiciary was disturbing the business of governance? If it was not, and misunderstanding and confusion was the cause, then similar, unintended situations can arise with potential to bring one arm of the state into direct conflict with another leaving various departments and functionaries confused about who to obey. All the pillars of the state will need to play their parts carefully but without losing sight of the final goal.

The fight back

That the PPP government has decided to "fight back" Judiciary's moves despite all the professions of respecting its decisions in letter and spirit, is obvious from various happenings within two or three days of Judiciary's landmark decision of 16 Dec 09. A number of incidents that have taken place around this time indicate that, though all government functionaries concerned have solemnly declared their acceptance of Supreme Court decisions, they appear to be also working at times at cross purposes with it.

Much is made of the argument that since President Zardari was elected by a due democratic process, is a popular leader and therefore there can be no moral justification for his removal as President. This argument conveniently ignores the fact that much water has flown under the bridge since Mr. Asif Zardari was elected President. By his unpopular postures and decisions, poor choice of ministers and advisers and by creation of a subservient Judiciary under Abdul Hameed Dogar, he has lost his popularity and trust which is now said to be below 20 %. There is also an oft repeated argument that cases against Asif Zardari and many others could not be proved even in a decade, therefore there is no truth in the allegations against them. This argument is false because in Pakistani courts cases drag on for years and adjournment is routinely granted on the flimsiest grounds. Also, it is alleged that a large number of adjournments may have also occurred on pleas of ill health by the accused. So the alleged "decade of trial without proving anything" could do with some in depth analysis to separate fact from fiction.

There are noises being aired through various "experts" that the Judiciary is exceeding its brief in assuming functions which are the prerogative of the executive. Also, Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif who has defended President Musharraf very strongly on almost every issue as his erstwhile spokesman, has attacked the Judiciary scathingly for (as he sees it) usurping executive functions and intrusion into areas not in its domain. While the government people from President and Prime Minister down have reacted respectfully, at least verbally, in their comments on the Judiciary and its recent decisions, Barrister Saif is not bothered about niceties and has attacked the judiciary quite vociferously, unmindful of possible contempt involved. Considering the state our governance is in today however, we think the Judiciary may be excused for exercising a certain amount of pragmatic license till things change to normal.

Objections have been raised on formation of Monitory Committees by the Supreme Court to oversee the working of the accountability cases and this is cited as another example of the Supreme Court's "activism" and interference in the executive area. It has been pointed out by more than one legal expert, on the other hand, that monitoring of accountability cases by the Judiciary is a practice of long standing and not a new development. It has come into sensitive focus now perhaps because several high ranking government functionaries are facing NRO-related cases. Moreover with several Ministers in the Federal cabinet being handicapped by the fact of their being under trial themselves for assorted alleged wrongdoing, monitoring of accountability cases in their areas of responsibility by the Supreme Court makes eminent sense.

On another "front" and sadly, the "Sindh Card" syndrome appears to be in full play again with the Sindh Assembly passing a unanimous resolution reposing full confidence in President Zardari. There does not seem to be any possibility, however, of any of the other three provinces following suit in the same unanimous manner, if at all. It is interesting that Asif Zardari and MQM appear to have joined hands once again in Sindh, at least for now, against the "common threat" of NRO cases now alive and kicking. Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah has thought fit to warn unnamed entities "not to take the Sindh Assembly and the people of Sindh lightly". For good measure, Pir Mazharul Haq thundered that no lesson has been learnt from the separation of East Pakistan and demanded, for good measure, action against judges who "supported the military takeover a few years ago".

In another instance, Babar Awan, himself answerable in NRO cases has been given additional charge of the Law Ministry so that NAB, which has to pursue NRO cases against him and others, is now placed squarely under him! PM Gilani's bizarre and confusing reaction to Ahmed Mukhtar's China visit fiasco, is another straw in the wind. Secretary Interior Chaudhry Qamar-uz-Zaman and three officials of the FIA were held responsible and suspended. This has queered the pitch about the jurisdictions of the various centers of power in the country. With various ministries handicapped by the fact of their chiefs being themselves accused in high profile cases and figuring in the exit control list to boot, it was only to be expected that the Judiciary would have to move to fill the vacuum of authority. But obviously President Zardari's government does not appear to see it that way.

In another sphere of current goings-on, both President Zardari and PM Gilani have been taking belated steps to show that they have not lost the initiative internally or in external relations. President Zardari has been talking tough with President Obama for a change, apparently differing with him on expanding the war to new areas of the Tribal belt. Visas for American functionaries wanting to come to Pakistan have been withheld inviting some worried comment from the US functionaries. But this too-little-too-late bravado does not appear to achieve anything except to create a ripple or two in our internal politics. The big picture for the PPP government is not a bit changed by this cosmetic posturing. In this grim scenario Governor Salman Taseer has played the clown and provided some comic relief by advising President Zardari to resign in 2018. One wonders why the Governor is being miserly. Why not offer his mentor Presidentship for Life.

Lawyers never had it so good!

Are lawyers supposed to defend the guilty knowingly? This question came into sharp focus with disclosures of huge payments made to several prominent leading lights of our legal profession for taking up cases of a patently dubious nature! Among them the name of Aitzaz Ahsan (who had defended "deposed" Chief Chaudhry Mohammad Iftikhar for over a year for a fee of Rupee one and thereby earned goodwill of an overwhelming majority of Pakistani people) stood like a sour thumb. Aitzaz Ahsan admitted to receiving the sum of Rs. 15 million (which he included in his return to the Tax authorities) for his services for Shaikh Afzal, Chief of Haris Steel Mills, the main culprit in the Bank of Punjab scam case, against the Shaikh's claim that he was paid Rs. 30 million. Perhaps another 15 million were to be paid on successful conclusion of the case. Between the two I would have no hesitation in believing that Aitzaz is telling the truth.

I am tempted to quote here from Spotlight of an August 09 column as follows: "President Musharraf appears to have been very generous with money that was not his own: He paid Rs. 8.2 million to Wasim Sajjad, Rs. 8 million to Sharifuddin Pirzada, Rs. 6 million to Khalid Ranjha, and Rs. 4 million to Malik Abdul Qayyum to represent him in the cases against CJP Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry which they all lost to Aitzaz Ahsan who charged little or nothing for representing the CJP!" Obviously, as we said, Lawyers never had it so good as right now!

Aitzaz has said (as far as I could understand) that his services for Shaikh Afzal were limited to satisfying the court that the Shaikh has enough assets, through disposal of which he would be able to make good his promise to return the loot. However the wider question about the ethics of accepting tainted money from a tainted source will not be argued away easily. Has Aitzaz metamorphosed into a person with a different set of values following his two recent, long meetings with his party chief? In a recent TV interview I chanced to see he appeared to be ridiculing the part of our election rules requiring that candidates to elected offices meet a certain minimum ethical criteria to qualify, that he be "sagacious, righteous and non-profligate and honest and Ameen". He and the anchor man appeared to agree rather gleefully that application of those standards would empty our Assemblies and added (quite unnecessarily) that even the Ulema would not qualify. They may be right in respect of our elected members sitting in various houses. But so what, one may ask? Look at what such elected people with dubious character have done to this great country over the last sixty years. There is on the other hand a very strong case for not only maintaining those prequalifications but also creating a structured procedure for implementing them strictly so that, for a change, we have honest, upright people sitting in positions of responsibility in the government instead of those whose only objective in securing high office would be to satisfy their lust for loot and plunder.

Rajaratnam, Chiesi plead innocent in Galleon case
Business Recorder 23 December, 2009

NEW YORK: Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam and co-defendant Danielle Chiesi asserted their innocence on Monday to charges of securities fraud, in what US prosecutors describe as the biggest hedge fund insider trading case ever.

Wearing a crisp black suit and blue tie, Rajaratnam, 52, betrayed no emotion as he entered a plea of not guilty before Judge Richard Holwell at US District Court in Manhattan. Chiesi, 44, who also entered a not guilty plea, smiled and embraced her mother following the proceeding.

Her mother, Gloria Chiesi, afterward told reporters: "My daughter is innocent and that's what you will be printing. She's my angel. God borrowed my body and gave me this girl."

Lawyers for both defendants declined to comment after the hearing.

Assistant US Attorney Joshua Klein said he expects the trial to last one month and recommended that it be scheduled to begin in June or July, since the corresponding US Securities and Exchange Commission case is scheduled for August. The judge said he was not prepared to set a firm trial date.

"That might wind up to be the schedule," he said.

Prosecutors said investigators would turn over some 100 hours of wiretapped conversations to the defense. Sri-Lankan born Rajaratnam and Chiesi, a former employee of New Castle Funds LLC, are the only defendants to be formally indicted so far. Both have been out on bail since their Oct. 16 arrest. A bail hearing for Rajaratnam is scheduled for Jan. 8.

Twenty-one people have been criminally or civilly charged in the insider trading case involving employees of companies including International Business Machines Corp, McKinsey & Co and Intel Capital, an arm of Intel Corp.

Most of the accused had expertise in technology stocks. The allegations included passing inside information on earnings announcements, takeovers and contracts on 10 companies, generating more than $30 million in illegal profits, according to prosecutors.-Reuters

NAB seeks withdrawal of cases against president
News 23 December, 2009

RAWALPINDI: The NAB has filed applications before the accountability courts for the withdrawal of cases involving President Asif Ali Zardari. The NAB stated in its application that under the Article 248 of the Constitution, the president had immunity from appearing before the courts and no criminal proceedings could be initiated where the president was a respondent. There were five corruption references pending before the accountability courts involving Zardari. In most of the cases, either notices or summons were issued to the co-accused. The NAB has prayed to the accountability courts to allow the bureau to withdraw applications filed for the revival of the cases.

Zardari breaks all records of keeping foreign gifts
News 23 December, 2009

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Zardari has set a new record within a year by taking one-third of all the expensive gifts presented to all Pakistani presidents and prime ministers. Of the gifts totalling Rs160 million, Zardari has taken gifts worth Rs62 million during the first year of his presidency.

In his foreign visits so far, Zardari has been given 27 gifts worth Rs62 million,which is one-third of the accumulated cost of the 3,039 gifts, which were given to presidents and prime ministers in three decades.

Zardari is said to have got two BMWs and two foreign manufactured Toyota Jeeps as gift by Libyan leader Colonel Qadafi during his visit to Libya, which he took to his home, after paying a sum of only Rs9.3 million as retention cost.

These shocking figures were produced before the Senate standing committee on cabinet division by the cabinet secretary on Monday during a presentation to its members. Zardari is now richer by Rs50 million within one year in the presidency, without doing a single rupee irregularity as this all was done under the law as he paid 15 per cent of the total cost of two BMWs and two jeeps and retained them.

The other 13 Pakistani presidents and prime ministers, from Gen Ziaul Haq to Gen Musharraf and from Prime Minister Mohammad Khan Junejo to Shaukat Aziz, quietly took 3,039 expensive gifts worth Rs160 million to their homes. The list shows three presidents and two prime ministers — Farooq Leghari, Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, Asif Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and Shaukat Aziz — took gifts worth Rs150 million out of Rs160 million but Asif Zardari took the largest share within a year of his presidency.

Others including Gen Ziaul Haq, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Rafiq Tarar, and PMs Mohammad Khan Junejo, Benazir Bhutto, Balakh Sher Mazari, Zafarullah Khan Jamali and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain got gifts worth Rs10 million.

This extraordinary list does not contain names of hundreds of ministers, federal secretaries, officials and military officers and generals who, too, received gifts from foreign dignitaries and took them home.

According to an official copy presented to the National Assembly committee members, the record of similar gifts received and retained by two prime ministers, Yousuf Raza Gilani and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was not produced before the committee.

One source said either both the gentlemen did not get a single gift during their tenures or the official record of their gifts had gone missing so it was not produced before the committee members. The source claimed there could be one other possibility: the cabinet division bosses did not produce the record for some other “obvious reason”.

Shaukat Aziz, Gen (retd) Musharraf and Asif Zardari were among the few leaders who got the most expensive gifts. Sources said these gifts were valued at much lower price than their actual price to enable these leaders to take the gifts home without paying a single penny or after paying a meagre part of the cost.

Sources said Tosha Khana (gifts repository) was transferred from the ministry of foreign affairs to the cabinet division in 1973 and the rules were changed from time to time to accommodate the top guns of the country so they could retain them without paying significant amounts.

The official papers reveal Shaukat Aziz emerged as the luckiest prime minister of this country who took 1,126 gifts with him on his last flight from Islamabad to London in January 2008, perhaps never to return to this country. The official cost of these expensive gifts, including necklaces, jewellery boxes, diamonds, gold, watches, carpets, etc., was estimated at Rs26 million.

Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf got 260 gifts worth Rs33 million and took 255 gifts with him after paying only Rs5.1 million. He only deposited five gifts in the Tosha Khana. He got richer by at least Rs27 million by getting these free gifts. Musharraf and his wife got many diamond and gold sets, jewellery boxes, daggers, pistols, etc. How the prices of these gifts were deliberately kept at the lower side could be judged from the fact that Shaukat Aziz was given a pair of silky scarfs by the governor of Nepal and he took them home after they were estimated at Rs25 each. Likewise, Shaukat Aziz also got one bag gifted by wife of Tony Blair assessed at only Rs300. A gift given by visiting Prince Charles was also assessed to be of Rs200 and Shaukat Aziz took it home.

According to the available official list, Gen Ayub Khan was the only ruler of Pakistan who deposited all the expensive gifts with the Tosha Khana and did not wish to take even a single gift to his house. The list showed Ayub Khan received a total of 30 gifts from October 27, 1958 to March 3, 1969 worth Rs33,850. But, he sent all those gifts to the cabinet division. The other prime minister who also deposited all his gifts in the Tosha Khana was Balakh Sher Mazari.

The official record of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto is not available with the cabinet division so no one knows whether ZAB followed the precedent set by Gen Ayub Khan or he also retained some gifts.

But Gen Zia (September 16, 1978 to August 17, 1988) received a total of 210 gifts worth Rs1.7 million out of which he took 122 gifts with him to his house after paying Rs1.6 million. He deposited 88 gifts with the Tosha Khana.

Mohammad Khan Junejo received 305 gifts worth Rs1.4 million out of which he took 304 home and only one gift was deposited with the Tosha Khana. Junejo was made to pay Rs219,027 as retention cost.

During his five-year rule as the president of the country, Ghulam Ishaq Khan received 89 gifts worth Rs510,900 and he retained 88 of them after paying only Rs67,335. Benazir Bhutto got 630 gifts in her two tenures as the prime minister of Pakistan worth Rs2.1 million. She retained 174 gifts and deposited the rest with the Tosha Khana. She paid a sum of Rs271,802 to retain those gifts.

Wasim Sajjad in his capacity as acting president of Pakistan was given only four gifts worth Rs8,200 and he retained all of them after paying Rs1,250. Nawaz Sharif, twice elected as the prime minister, was given 127 gifts worth Rs10 million out of which he took home 75 after paying Rs1.4 million. He deposited 50 gifts with Tosha Khana.

President Farooq Leghari received 116 gifts worth Rs18 million and except two he took all the 114 gifts to Choti Zarin, DG Khan. He paid only Rs2.8 million to retain the gifts worth Rs18 million and got richer by Rs14 million. Acting prime minister Balakh Sher Mazari, who served only for 30 days, got three gifts worth Rs2,300 and he deposited all of them with the Tosha Khana.President Mohammad Rafiq Tarar got 74 gifts worth Rs1.1 million out of which he took 73 home in Lahore after paying only Rs142,005. He deposited only one gift with Tosha Khana. Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali during his two-and-a-half year in office, got 110 gifts worth Rs3.1 million and took all of them after paying only Rs299,409. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, who remained prime minister for hardly 40 days, got nine gifts worth Rs216,500 and he took all of them after paying Rs28,500.

Ex-judge in Argentina gets 21 years for 'dirty war'
News 23 December, 2009

crimes Updated at: 0950 PST, Wednesday, December 23, 2009 BUENOS AIRES: Former judge Victor Brusa was sentenced Tuesday to 21 years in prison for committing crimes against humanity during the "dirty war" waged by the 1979-1983 military dictatorship, a court official said.

As the first judge to be convicted in the government's crackdown on dirty war criminals, Brusa was found legally responsible in eight crimes during his tenure as judge.

The Federal Court of Santa Fe, 470 kilometers (290 miles) north of Buenos Aires, also sentenced five former police officers to between 19 and 23 years in prison for their role in several cases of kidnapping and torture during the military regime.

As the crimes were committed as part of a systematic plan by military leaders at the time to defeat leftist opponents, the courts deem them all crimes against humanity.

Brusa was re-appointed a judge in Santa Fe after the fall of the military junta, but was sacked in 2000 for hindering an investigation into a hit-and-run accident in which he ran over a swimmer with his motorboat and fled.

CJ vows to act against default, loan write-off
Dawn 23 December, 2009

ISLAMABAD, Dec 22: Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry promised on Tuesday ‘across-the-board’ action against people who got huge amounts of loans written off and asked State Bank Governor Syed Saleem Raza to collect details of all loans written off since 1971 with the assistance of heads of lending banks and financial institutions. “For nation’s sake we are ready to accept any blame for our involvement in the loan write-off matter, but across-the-board action will be taken after providing opportunity to the bankers and the defaulters to pay back the outstanding money,” he observed.

He said he thought parliament would legislate in the matter but nothing had been done. A three-judge bench comprising the chief justice, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain took suo motu notice of a report published in a section of the press which alleged the SBP had approved a scheme to quietly write off Rs54.6 billion loans obtained from different commercial banks during the government of Pervez Musharraf.

The court also attached a letter of MQM chief Altaf Hussain calling for recovering the nation’s money.

“We know resistance will come from all vested interests, but we will see it off,” the chief justice observed. He said that those responsible would be taken to task but after providing them an opportunity to defend themselves.

“This is criminal, dishonesty, financial indiscipline and a source of uncertainty in the country,” the chief justice remarked when informed that in one case a loan of Rs500 million was settled for Rs40 million and that too in instalments over three years.

The court decided to examine vires of Circular 29 of 2002 under which Section 33(b) of the Banking Companies Ordinance 1962 was amended by the SBP to provide opportunity to borrowers to settle their outstanding liabilities on flexible terms and, where possible, help in revival of their businesses or sick units. The SBP submitted a list of 33 commercial banks and four development financial institutions (DFIs) which wrote off Rs193.4 billion in loans taken by 93 borrowers. The total principal amount was Rs69.4 billion. It swelled to Rs193 bil lion after mark-up and other calculations. WAIVER: In a voluminous report submitted by the SBP, the court was informed that the National Bank had waived the actual amount of the Punjab Sugar Mills owned by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Chaudhry Mansoor Elahi, former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, Chaudhry Gulzar Mohammad, Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain, Chaudhry Sabhat Elahi, etc.

Similarly, another outstanding loan was written off by the United Bank against the same mills. The UBL also wrote off a loan outstanding against Spaco Private Limited and this time again the beneficiaries were Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, Shujaat Hussain, Manzoor Elahi, Wajahat Hussain, etc. Other prominent beneficiaries include the family of former speaker Gohar Ayub Khan, former Balochistan chief minister Jam Yousuf, former housing minister Abbas Sarfraz, Lt-Gen Habibullah, Brig M. Jan, Saifullah family of Lucky Marwat, including Anwar Saifullah Khan, Javed Saifullah and Humayun Saifullah, Arbab Saddaullah Khan, Mrs Kalsoom Saifullah, Barjees Tahir, Jafar Khan Leghari, Jamil Ahmed Khan Leghari, Yousuf Khan Leghari, Tariq Khan Leghari and Atta Mohammad Leghari.

The Supreme Court said it would examine circular 29 on the touchstone of Article 25 (equality of citizens) of the Constitution to determine whether discrimination was done while extending benefit to politicians and other influentials by waiving off their loans, but denying the same facility to people who had a respect for law and willing to pay back what they owed.

The court will also examine the legality of any other circulars if issued by the SBP from 1971 onward.

The court also hinted at appointment of a judicial commission and called for a record of recommendations made by the Beg committee in 1980. The committee had suggested a concession for borrowers enabling them to get their mark-up written off after repaying the principal. The case will be taken up on Feb 2.

Advocate Iqbal Haider, counsel for the SBP, argued that any favour done illegally should be recovered, but there were provisions in SBP rules that allowed writing off ‘bad loans’.

He said that loans of over 49,000 borrowers had been adjusted while a list of loans written off since 1971 was being compiled. Advocate Khawaja Farooq, representing the National Bank, said that loans were always written off under the authority of SBP after declaring them “dead woods or non-performing loans” because neither the borrower nor the nation was earning on these loans.

Senior lawyer Hafeez Pirzada, who had earlier been appearing as amicus curiae in the case, deplored that nothing could be more immoral than circular 29 under which a huge amount had been siphoned off. He said the banks had played havoc through this circular by letting “crooks and culprits” get away with the loans. “They are writing off loans of those who are not paying back, but punishing and crushing those who are honestly paying back,” he added. The chief justice observed that banks even sanctioned loans on a ‘simple page’ whenever political pressure came.

Based on a secret report to the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly, a report in the press had said that 50,427 persons, including politicians, civil and military business concerns and business tycoons of Karachi, Lahore and other cities had benefited from the scheme to get outstanding loans waived off in 2002.

The report said that two former chief ministers’ families having big business concerns like sugar and ghee mills had got their outstanding loans written off. Some foreign firms and multinational companies and a private bus service operating from Lahore were also extended the facility. Soon after the 2002 election, then finance minister Shaukat Aziz and his financial team in the SBP approved the loan write-off scheme after succumbing to pressure from some top politicians of the then ruling party.

Instead of launching a campaign to recover non-performing loans (NPL), the SBP introduced an incentive scheme for banks and DFIs in Oct 2002 to waive off the NPL of organisations showing ‘loss’ for three years or more after dividing it into three categories. Category-A included NPL of up to Rs0.5 million, category-B included NPL ranging between Rs0.5 million and Rs2.5 million, while categoryC covered loans exceeding Rs2.5 million.

Politicians and big business concerns exploited the third category to get billions of rupees outstanding loans written off. Shockingly, the report said, banks and DFIs were asked to recover maximum possible amount to settle loans falling under categories B and C through forced sale of available assets. The purpose of the scheme was to clean balance sheets owned by banks and DFIs. The banks and DFIs settled over 50,427 cases involving a total outstanding amount of Rs80.656 billion.

ON the day after an unprecedentedly broad bench of Pakistan’s Supreme Court pronounced its death sentence against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), the government in Islamabad felt obliged to dispel rumours of a coup in the making. The perception that something extraordinary was afoot was reinforced when immigration authorities prevented the defence minister, Ahmed Mukhtar, from boarding a flight for an official visit to China.

The government rallied its thoughts and opted for defiance. Four officials lost their jobs over Mukhtar’s humiliation, and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani declared that President Asif Ali Zardari would ignore opposition demands to step down. He also made light of a reported arrest warrant for the interior minister, Rehman Malik.

A hurriedly convened session of the ruling PPP central executive resolved that, contrary to the advice of the recently reinstated Aitzaz Ahsan, there would be no ministerial resignations, and that ministers facing revived legal proceedings would have their day in court. That’s not an unreasonable response in the circumstances, given that it explicitly incorporates acceptance of the Supreme Court’s verdict, and it’s perfectly valid to draw a distinction between corruption charges and proof of guilt. It is also gratifying that the temptation among hotheads to launch a crusade against the judiciary has thus far been resisted.

What’s harder to understand is why the government was apparently caught offguard. After all, what were the chances of the court endorsing the NRO? That the government did not seek to legally counter the petitions challenging the ordinance suggested it was aware that the law introduced by former president Pervez Musharraf was effectively indefensible.

Could it be that the implications of the generally predictable verdict were not quite clear? After all, although accountability has frequently been a catchcry of successive administrations, it has hitherto been invoked exclusively against the opponents of the party or junta in power. Which helps to explain why accountability campaigns have tended to be invalidated in the popular perception by the stigma of politically motivated vindictiveness. Last week’s judgment represents a change in this pattern that, on the face of it, deserves to be welcomed. The NRO wasn’t Musharraf’s first volte-face in this context. For all the pious talk about combating corruption, the politicians who pledged loyalty to his dictatorship were spared the indignity of financial probes.

Musharraf can claim that the NRO was effectively forced upon him by external pressures as a means of facilitating Benazir Bhutto’s return to Pakistan, but no comparable excuse can be cited for the extrajudicial exoneration of the Q-branded PML stalwarts.When the NRO became law in October 2007, it entailed a sweeping amnesty for more than 8,000 politicians, bureaucrats and political workers who had been accused of pecuniary improprieties, murder or terrorist activities in the period between Ziaul Haq’s martial law and Musharraf’s coup. This meant a clean slate for, among many others, the then Dubai-based PPP chairperson, her New York-based husband and a handful of their leading aides, as well as for the Londonbased Altaf Hussain and fellow leaders of the MQM. Given the context, it is probable that some of these charges were tendentious while others were likely based on instances or well-grounded suspicion of wrongdoing. Ultimately it ought to be a matter for the courts. Unfortunately, Pakistan boasts a tradition of justice invariably delayed and frequently denied. The acquittal earlier this month of all 18 policemen accused of involvement in the murder of Murtaza Bhutto, who was gunned down in a police encounter outside his Karachi residence while his sister was prime minister, could be seen as yet another instance of this trend.

It has long been the received wisdom that judges at all levels are prone to pressures and other inducements from the powers that be and other vested interests. There have always been honourable exceptions, too — the names of M.R. Kayani and Dorab Patel spring readily to mind.

Iftikhar Chaudhry’s refusal to kowtow to Musharraf’s coterie and the lawyers’ movement that twice led to his restoration as chief justice are widely seen as unprecedented developments that have bolstered the rule of law. Back in July, the reconstituted Supreme Court struck down the emergency of Nov 3, 2007, albeit without specifically impugning its architect, and asked the government to refer the NRO to parliament.

The government baulked at this when it realised it didn’t have the numbers. But supposing parliament had ratified the ordinance, how would that have affected the legal decision on its validity? Following Chaudhry’s second restoration, one of his biggest supporters expressed the hope that “in the larger interest of justice” the chief justice “himself would not hear the case against the NRO”.

In that instance, too, Aitzaz Ahsan’s well-intentioned advice went unheeded. And it is unfortunate but true that segments of last week’s short order are open to interpretation as indications of a personal agenda.

Judicial activism will lose its lustre unless it can also be seen, broadly if not universally, as judicious activism. Ideally, rather than an occasional blast from the past, accountability ought to be a perpetual process whereby everyone — be they in power or out of it, and in uniform or out it — is answerable for culpable wrongdoing.

There have, inevitably, been calls from among PPP ranks for corruption cases against PML-N leaders to also be revived. Beyond the tit-fortat politicking, the demand isn’t altogether unreasonable, given that both parties competed arduously for power and pelf during the superficially civilian interregnum of the 1990s.

Yet the khaki party that has been in power the longest seldom faces demands for accountability, although its conduct in any number of spheres has rarely been above reproach. That’s unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

Kamal Azfar, meanwhile, wasn’t exactly wrong in pointing to the GHQ and the CIA as sources of the biggest threats to democracy in Pakistan. But he would have come across as considerably more credible had he also shortlisted a third culprit in this context: our selfserving politicians.

Courtroom No 1: another U-turn, probably right
News 16 December, 2009

ISLAMABAD: After revealing the threat of destabilisation to the rule of law by the GHQ and the CIA before the Supreme Court, the Federation once again took a U-turn in Courtroom No 1, this time saying: “The chief of Army staff is a gentleman.”

Kamal Azfar, a constitutional expert especially hired by the Federation on the orders of President Asif Zardari, who raised the threat the other day, made another statement, saying in the past the foreign interference and Army’s intervention have destabilised democracy but at present the Army chief was a gentleman. He further went on to say the law should take its course and the NRO petitions be decided early so that murderers, rapists and corrupt people be brought to justice.

For the first time, the name of Asif Ali Zardari was taken from the bench in the six days of hearing of NRO cases when Justice Jawad S Khwaja asked the acting attorney-general if the Federation wanted the bench to save Asif Ali Zardari because every statement coming from the acting attorney-general and Kamal Azfar was confusing.

Acting Attorney-General Shah Khawar also appeared confused as he did not have any answer to many questions asked by the bench. Instead, he was using his handkerchief to keep his forehead dry, which was sweating for obvious reasons in the middle of December cold winter.

The court once again reiterated that it had nothing personal against anybody but still wanted assistance from the Federation about apprehensions it had about the fallout of the NRO. Justice Khwaja even remarked there was a proper procedure of ousting a president in the Constitution, that was impeachment, and that the court respects powers of parliament.

The acting attorney-general was tight-lipped when Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday asked him about a statement in the press that “in future there will be no judicial murder of any prime minister or democracy”.

Regarding the Swiss cases, the court repeatedly asked the attorney-general to apprise it on whose instructions the attorney-general of Pakistan wrote a letter to Swiss authorities to withdraw the foreign cases. The acting attorney-general, after failing to explain before the court reasons of writing a withdrawal letter to the Swiss authorities, passed the buck on to the former attorney-general Malik Qayyum, who had issued that letter.

It was Malik Qayyum, who saved the day for the Federation, when he explained before the court that the NRO contained the provisions related to cases registered abroad and it was after the decision of the Sindh High Court in favour of Asif Ali Zardari that he wrote a letter to the Swiss authorities.

The court focused on whereabouts of amount which the Federation had been claiming were stashed in foreign countries. When the attorney-general tried to explain why the cases had been pending for 10 years and not decided, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday remarked: “We know why the cases have been pending in the courts for such a long period and we also know how many medical certificates were submitted in the courts.”

The Supreme Court repeatedly warned the attorney-general not to go into details of corruption cases against the president. “You will harm that person whom you are trying to save if you will go into details and merits of corruption cases,” remarked Justice Ramday.

The attorney-general tried to reply to Abdul Hafiz Pirzada’s argument that the court shall protect the Constitution even if heavens shall fall but Justice Ramday retorted by saying: “In history, heavens have never fallen upon those who stopped the way of corruption, heavens have fallen on those who allowed corruption.”

Like the Federation, the National Accountability Bureau also appeared confused before the 17-member bench of the apex court on Tuesday as it could not provide the court with exact details of foreign assets and accounts which were unfrozen after the promulgation of the NRO.

The NAB’s confusion could be judged from the statement of its chairman that he was not in the picture about the withdrawal of Swiss cases while Qayyum disclosed that the NAB prosecutor general appeared before the Sindh High Court and agreed to withdraw the cases.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry took a serious note of the attorney-general’s letter and apology that Pakistan had submitted in foreign courts and said: “We have to live with dignity; how could a state pursue corruption cases for a decade and then submit an apology after spending billions of rupees on those cases.”

U.S. warns Pakistan against corruption in aid packages
News 16 December, 2009

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration sought to reassure U.S. lawmakers this week it would demand "maximum accountability" from Pakistan for $7.5 billion in aid and that it had safeguards to ensure funds did not reach extremists.

In a report sent by the State Department to congressional committees late on Monday, the administration outlined its priorities for the aid, including water, agriculture and electricity projects, and laid out a strategy to prevent corruption and misuse of the money.

"The Secretary (of State) will suspend any government to government assistance to any implementing agency if there is credible evidence of misuse of funds by such agency," said the report, obtained by Reuters.

President Barack Obama has called Pakistan the "epicenter" of violence, a region seen as critical to U.S. efforts to fight the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. The aid is one of the tools being used by Obama to fight extremism that threatens to destabilize the region.

The report was mandated by Congress after the $7.5 billion, five-year aid plan passed into law in October. So far, appropriations committees have agreed on nearly $1.5 billion for the first year.

In a shift from previous practice, much of the aid will be channeled via national and provincial governments in Pakistan as well as domestic groups, instead of the usual U.S.-based humanitarian organizations and contractors.

"Throughout this period there will be a decrease in reliance on U.S.-based partners for education, health and other field programs that can be managed responsibly by Pakistani institutions," said the report.

"To provide maximum accountability and oversight, a bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Pakistan must be in place detailing the conditions for disbursement of funds and detailed monitoring and reporting requirements, before any government to government assistance is provided," it said.

The report conceded "real and significant" challenges in implementing the plan, including public sector corruption, poor security and "extremist" elements as well as deep suspicion of U.S. intentions and long-term commitment to Pakistan.

Nearly half of the funds -- $3.5 billion -- would focus on infrastructure programs that would demonstrate Washington's long-term commitment to Pakistan and help build mutual trust between the two nations, said the report.

There needs to be urgent investment in canals and irrigation services, and another focus will be on improving cold storage facilities, it added.

Another large chunk -- about $2 billion -- would be allocated to humanitarian and social programs such as education and health, "extending the writ of government in areas vulnerable to extremism".

The final $2 billion is for building up Pakistani government institutions at the national, provincial and local level, it added.

One fear of lawmakers and others is that the increased U.S. aid will reach the hands of militants, but the report promised strict guidelines would be in place to ensure that aid was not awarded to "terrorist organizations."

Potential recipients would be checked against lists of suspected extremists kept by the U.S. Treasury, and the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement would apply "thorough vetting" procedures.

"On the ground verification procedures are being implemented to ensure that U.S. government humanitarian and other forms of assistance do not benefit extremist groups."

Several lawmakers have expressed strong doubts over the capacity of the U.S. government to implement the additional funding but the report said there were plans to increase the number of U.S. staff in Pakistan. It did not give figures.

Swiss cases withdrawn on Musharraf orders
Frontier Post 16 December, 2009

SC told Habib Asgher ISLAMABAD: Former attorney general Malik Abdul Qayyum here Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that he had initiated the process for withdrawal of cases pertaining to Swiss bank accounts on the instructions of former president Pervez Musharraf. He appeared before the 17-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to answer certain queries. Qayyum said the Sindh High Court allowed a writ about immediate implementation of National Reconciliation Ordinance under which he was bound as then AG to withdraw all the cases inside and outside the country. He said Prosecutor General NAB Dr Danishwar Malik appeared before the SHC bench at that time and withdrew the cases under NRO. The ex-AG said that he had also written a letter for withdrawal of the cases after the then president asked him to do so after promulgation of NRO. Qayyum said he had also gone to Switzerland then to apprise the Swiss court about the NRO. Acting Attorney General Shah Khawar appeared before the bench and said on behalf of the Federation that he stood by the statement submitted earlier regarding the NRO. There was no change, he said, adding that the government was not going to defend NRO. “Whatever decision this court takes, we will obey and will not restrict the court. It will be collective wisdom of the bench based on trichotomy of powers,” he said. The Chief Justice remarked that they had more important role than petitioners and respondents. It was easy for them to decide the case on day first but they did not, he added. “You should appreciate that in July 31 verdict, 37 ordinances were referred to Parliament on the basis of trichotomy of powers. We must also appreciate Prime Minister of Pakistan stance that they will abide by this court’s ruling,” he said. “We are here as institution to guard the system and we are not concerned with who is sitting inside or outside the Presidency; we have to respect a president of Pakistan.” AAG Shah Khawar to a query by Justice Jawad S. Khawja said that he was not going to defend any individual and they also did not feel any threat from any institution. He said in the history of Pakistan there had never been procedures for curbing corruption and the laws were enacted on person-specific basis. He said, “Let the law take its course and cases will be on the position of October 4, 2007.” The Chief Justice replied that the legislation was made by the executive and the judiciary had nothing to do with it. Justice Ramday remarked: “We gave you a complete blank cheque but the majority of the National Assembly threw NRO out of the window.” The bench expressed its displeasure over NAB’s stance on de-frozen accounts of Swiss banks. Justice Ramday asked AAG not to drag them into merits of the case as he would be harming the interests of his clients instead of securing them. The Chief Justice expressed his displeasure over Chairman NAB Nawed Ahsan’s conduct in submitting detailed record of the Swiss bank accounts and assets. The Additional Prosecutor General NAB and AAG also read out a report regarding the issue. Advocate Generals of Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh and NWFP also appeared before the bench and stated that their respective governments had the same viewpoint over NRO as stated by the Federation. The amicus curiae appointed by the Court would present their arguments on Wednesday. Also on Tuesday, Counsel for the Federation explained to the Supreme Court the stance of the Federation outlined by him in the statement he had made before the 17-member bench hearing petitions against the NRO. Kamal Azfar told the bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry that in the plea he wanted to convey that the Federation faced threat from Taliban who were behind the murder of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto. He said present Chief of the Army Staff is a through gentleman and professional and they have no reservations about his dedication. The counsel further said that they fully and whole heartedly supported the petitions filed against the NRO. He submitted a written statement on behalf of the Federation to further explain its position over certain queries raised by the bench on Monday. The written statement says:- “In compliance with the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan to appraise it as to how the federation would interpret the wording, “the second road leads to the destalization of the rule of Law”, it is submitted as follows: 1) There is no mention of the wording `threat to democracy’ in the statement. 2) The federation supports the prosecution of accused, in due course of law, whether charged in criminal or white collar crimes and is of the view that the National Reconciliation Ordinance 2007 (NRO) is no longer applicable and that those persons who had received benefits under NRO should be dealt with in accordance with law. Hence the Federation does not oppose the petitions. 3) With regard to the “wider Issues” mentioned in paragraph no: 9 these refer to those matters which were raised by the petitioners’ counsel during oral arguments and which find no mention whatsoever in the petitions. For example, submissions made in respect of Article 89 (in particular the alleged concept of “implied Resolution “) and A.264 on the effect o repeal. 4) With regard to the world “destabilization of the rule of Law” the undersigned was referring to perceived/possible attempts to seek this apex court to rule on those wider issues without hearing the Federation on those issues. For example, whether those who have taken benefits under the NRO who are now sitting MNAs and MPAs of the National and provincial Assemblies stand automatically disqualified. 5) Such a scenario may lead to destabilization of the existing political system which at this point in time is working harmoniously. For example the recently agreed NFC award. 6) The Federation’s view is that those who have benefitted under the NRO should be proceeded against under the appropriate law and that their fate should not be determined by this apex court, being the final appellate forum, especially when factual matters are ordinarily decided by the trial courts after hearing the parties. 7) It is further submitted that the Federation of Pakistan has the highest respect for this hon’ble Apex Court. After hearing the observations of the is Hon’ble court and discussions on the Statement, the Federation hereby requests that the entire paragraph 9 of the statement by deleted and expunged from the record.”

Karzai warns corruption fight will take years KABUL
Frontier Post 16 December, 2009

President Hamid Karzai opened a flagship conference Tuesday on how to fight corruption in Afghanistan warning that reform would take years and defending a mayor convicted of wasting money. The Afghan head of state, who was re-elected following a controversial August ballot mired in massive fraud, is under massive Western pressure to crack down on graft and he reiterated past pledges to take concrete action. "I am a realist. I know that corruption in our government and society cannot be eliminated overnight. We cannot even eleminate it in years," he told the opening of the three-day conference attended by the US ambassador. "The goal here is not to take unrealistic and unreal steps, measures which are only words and will achieve nothing practical. We should do that which brings results," he said. The start of the gathering of cabinet ministers, ambassadors, judges, lawyers and counter-corruption bodies was overshadowed by a suicide attack in an upmarket district of the capital that killed eight people. Karzai is still trying to stitch together a credible cabinet accepted at home and abroad in a bid to end months of political paralysis. Washington has warned Karzai to fight corruption or see his cabinet bypassed in favour of lower level officials in an effort to provide services as part of a new US war plan deploying 30,000 extra American troops to fight the Taliban. Karzai urged his two vice presidents, cabinet ministers and ranking government officials to register all their wealth and property -- both inherited and recently acquired. But he also defended the mayor of Kabul, who was last week sentenced to four years in prison by an Afghan court for wasting public money but is now back at work pending an appeal. "We must be cautious that the campaign against graft does not itself turn into corruption. A few days ago Mr Mayor was sentenced to four years in prison. I know the mayor of Kabul, he is a honest person," he said. "There is a huge amount of corruption in the municipality. People were after him even before his appointment," he added.

Gilani calls the shots
Nation 15 December, 2009

LAHORE – After dithering on several issues, Prime Minister has finally decided to put his foot down and has debarred Barrister Kamal Afzal for making any statements in or out of the Supreme Court unless he has specific sanction of the Federal Government. The Nation learnt on good authority that this decision was ignited after Mr Kamal made a statement that the Government was in danger because of CIA and the GHQ. The Prime Minister after consultations with the concerned authorities came up with the assessment that the statement of Barrister Kamal had embarrassed the Federal Government because no responsible authority had sanctioned Mr Kamal Afzal to make such a statement and therefore immediately has imposed a ban on him from issuing any statement that does not have the explicit sanction of the Federal Government.

It may be recalled that the Federal Government had to back pedal on the issue after the statement of Mr Kamal Afzal that not only damaged the relations among different pillars of state but also raised an alarm in the international community as to what was going on in this country. This decision of the Prime Minister is expected to allay fears that rose with the statement of Mr Kamal Afzal and would help reinstate the cordial relationship that exists among different pillars of the state.

Bank of Punjab scam
Dawn 15 December, 2009

THIS is apropos of Rs9bn Punjab Bank scam. The bank in question is owned by the Punjab government.

All executive appointments in the bank and its board of governors were made by the Punjab government. Agreed that Hamesh Khan is a conman holding American nationality and this fact was known to all intelligence agencies and the Punjab provincial government.

It is also a fact that the amount involved was beyond the financial powers of the president of the bank.

The other fact is that validation and evaluation of the equity were never followed according to the procedures.

The bank board of governors was headed by the seniormost bureaucrat in the provincial secretariat.

The board is responsible for all its acts or decision and hence cannot be absolved of its responsibilities.

May I ask the authorities probing this matter why the members of the board of governors were not able to deliver the task assigned to them?

If that is assumed to be the case, what administrative action has been taken against those on the board of governors?

It is precisely because of this lack of accountability that state-owned corporations and entities like Steel Mills, PIA, National Bank, TCP, KPT, Pasco, PSO, SNGPL, Ogra, Pepco and Railways are on the verge of financial collapse.

Riaz Laljee alone could not have pulled the over Rs13bn scam in the Steel Mills, nor could the PIA MD have initiated the proposed $2bn deal for 27 new aircraft on his own.

A probe should be conducted into the assets owned by all executives and members of governing boards of the Punjab Bank and other lossincurring state-owned corporations.

It is also time it was ensured that no individual holding a senior executive assignment should have a foreign nationality.

In the rare situation where a Pakistani national does not hold the requisite professional capability, foreign nationals can be appointed on contract. Any half-hearted attempt to pin all the blame on Hamesh Khan would not hold, nor would justice be delivered, neither would this accountability deter any future criminals like Hamesh Khan and well-entrenched corruption mafia. GULL ZAMAN Paris this is apropos of rs9bn punjab bank scam. the bank in question is owned by the punjab government. all executive appointments in the bank and its board of governors were made by the punjab government. agreed that hamesh khan is a con- man holding american na- tionality and this fact was known to all intelligence agencies and the punjab pro- vincial government. it is also a fact that the amount involved was beyond the financial powers of the president of the bank. the other fact is that vali- dation and evaluation of the equity were never followed according to the procedures. the bank board of gover- nors was headed by the se- niormost bureaucrat in the provincial secretariat. the board is responsible for all its acts or decision and hence cannot be absolved of its responsibilities. may i ask the authorities probing this matter why the members of the board of gov- ernors were not able to deliv- er the task assigned to them? if that is assumed to be the case, what administrative ac- tion has been taken against those on the board of gover- nors? it is precisely because of this lack of accountability that state-owned corpora- tions and entities like steel mills, pia, national bank, tcp, kpt, pasco, pso, sngpl, ogra, pepco and railways are on the verge of financial collapse. riaz laljee alone could not have pulled the over rs13bn scam in the steel mills, nor could the pia md have initiated the proposed $2bn deal for 27 new aircraft on his own. a probe should be conduc- ted into the assets owned by all executives and members of governing boards of the punjab bank and other loss- incurring state-owned corpo- rations. it is also time it was ensur- ed that no individual holding a senior executive assign- ment should have a foreign nationality. in the rare situation where a pakistani national does not hold the requisite professio- nal capability, foreign nation- als can be appointed on con- tract. any half-hearted at- tempt to pin all the blame on hamesh khan would not hold, nor would justice be de- livered, neither would this accountability deter any fu- ture criminals like hamesh khan and well-entrenched corruption mafia. gull zaman paris.

Top lawyers refuse to appear before NAB in loan scam case
Dawn 15 December, 2009

LAHORE, Dec 15: None of the four lawyers accused of taking hefty amounts of money from Shaikh Afzal, the prime accused in the Rs9 billion Bank of Punjab loan scam, to ‘get a favourable verdict for him,’ appeared before the National Accountability Bureau on Tuesday.

They submitted written statements but refused to appear before NAB which, they said, was a party to the case.

The NAB had called Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Babar Awan, former adviser Sharifuddin Pirzada, former attorney-general Malik Qayyum and Ali Waseem, son of Senator Wasim Sajjad, on the “direction of Supreme Court” to record their statements on Afzal’s allegations.

“We have to submit our report to the Supreme Court on Wednesday. We will inform the court about the lawyers’ non-compliance of its (court) order through us,” a NAB official said.

“We had made the lawyers in question clear that they are being called to record their statements on the apex court’s desire. If they are not turning up they are creating problems for themselves as the Supreme Court will take care of them,” said the official.

“How could the NAB call the lawyers of a client against whom it is an investigating party. This happens nowhere in the world,” a source said quoting the contents of statements submitted by the prominent lawyers.

The statements also challenged NAB’s contention that the Supreme Court had directed it to call them.

“Read the court’s order during its last proceedings, it had not directed the NAB to call the lawyers of Afzal. The NAB officials told the court that it would call us.” The three lawyers also termed the allegations of Afzal ‘baseless’, aimed at tarnishing their reputation.

“In our whole career we had neither giv en an assurance nor an impression to any of our clients that he or she would get a favourable verdict from the court,” the statements said.

Mr Sajjad said his firm Sajjad Associates had challenged the NAB’s ‘illegal’ proceedings in the Lahore High Court against its client Haris Steel Mills.

Under section 31-D of the NAB Ordinance it cannot proceed on a loan default case without the permission of the State Bank, he said.

As far as the fee issue was concerned it was mutually agreed but Shaikh Afzal, owner of the Haris Steel Mills, was now giving an exaggerated figure to implicate the eminent lawyers in order to save his skin, Mr Sajjad said.

On the other hand, former Islamabad commissioner Fazeel Asghar who arrived here from Geneva on Monday appeared before the NAB on Tuesday and recorded his statement regarding his alleged involvement in helping Shaikh Afzal to escape to Malaysia.

According to NAB, he refuted the allegation levelled by Afzal that he had charged Rs5.5 million from him to facilitate his escape. However, he admitted that he had gone to the airport to ensure the escape of Afzal knowing that his name was on the Exit Control List.

Syed Irfan Raza adds from Islamabad: Although senior lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan who was accused of getting Rs30 million from Sheikh Afzal, has not been called by the NAB to record his statement, he clarified his position through media and said he had received Rs15million, and not Rs30 million, as fee of his legal firm.

Mr Ahsan rejected a perception that he had used his relationship with Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to help the owner of Haris Steel Mills.

Meanwhile, senior lawyer Justice (retd) Tariq Mehmood rejected Mr Awan’s claim that NAB could not ask him about the money he had received from the owner of the mills.

“There is no limit of fee for any lawyer in the country under the rules of the PBC, but there must be some moral obligation,” he said. lahore, dec 15: none of the four law- yers accused of taking hefty amounts of money from shaikh afzal, the prime ac- cused in the rs9 billion bank of punjab loan scam, to ‘get a favourable verdict for him,’ appeared before the national accountability bureau on tuesday. they submitted written statements but refused to appear before nab which, they said, was a party to the case. the nab had called parliamentary affairs minister dr babar awan, former adviser sharifuddin pirzada, former attor- ney-general malik qayyum and ali waseem, son of senator wasim sajjad, on the “direction of supreme court” to record their statements on afzal’s allegations. “we have to submit our report to the supreme court on wednesday. we will in- form the court about the lawyers’ non-com- pliance of its (court) order through us,” a nab official said. “we had made the lawyers in question clear that they are being called to record their statements on the apex court’s desire. if they are not turning up they are creating problems for themselves as the supreme court will take care of them,” said the official. “how could the nab call the lawyers of a client against whom it is an investigating party. this happens nowhere in the world,” a source said quoting the contents of statements submitted by the prominent lawyers. the statements also challenged nab’s contention that the supreme court had di- rected it to call them. “read the court’s order during its last proceedings, it had not directed the nab to call the lawyers of afzal. the nab offi- cials told the court that it would call us.” the three lawyers also termed the alle- gations of afzal ‘baseless’, aimed at tarn- ishing their reputation. “in our whole career we had neither giv- en an assurance nor an impression to any of our clients that he or she would get a fa- vourable verdict from the court,” the state- ments said. mr sajjad said his firm sajjad associates had challenged the nab’s ‘ille- gal’ proceedings in the lahore high court against its client haris steel mills. under section 31-d of the nab ordinance it cannot proceed on a loan de- fault case without the permission of the state bank, he said. as far as the fee issue was concerned it was mutually agreed but shaikh afzal, owner of the haris steel mills, was now giving an exaggerated figure to implicate the eminent lawyers in order to save his skin, mr sajjad said. on the other hand, former islamabad commissioner fazeel asghar who arrived here from geneva on monday appeared before the nab on tuesday and recorded his statement regarding his alleged in- volvement in helping shaikh afzal to es- cape to malaysia. according to nab, he refuted the allega- tion levelled by afzal that he had charged rs5.5 million from him to facilitate his es- cape. however, he admitted that he had gone to the airport to ensure the escape of afzal knowing that his name was on the exit control list. syed irfan raza adds from islamabad: although senior lawyer aitzaz ahsan who was accused of getting rs30 mil- lion from sheikh afzal, has not been called by the nab to record his statement, he clarified his position through media and said he had re- ceived rs15million, and not rs30 million, as fee of his le- gal firm. mr ahsan rejected a per- ception that he had used his relationship with supreme court chief justice iftikhar mohammad chaudhry to help the owner of haris steel mills. meanwhile, senior lawyer justice (retd) tariq mehmood rejected mr awan’s claim that nab could not ask him about the money he had re- ceived from the owner of the mills. “there is no limit of fee for any lawyer in the country under the rules of the pbc, but there must be some moral obligation,” he said.

Sick SOEs to be made viable prior to sale: Tarin- Government has to face a Rs 750 billion annual loss on account of tax evasion
Business Recorder 15 December, 2009

ISLAMABAD (December 15 2009): Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin on Monday said efficiency would be brought in the bleeding State Owned Entities (SOEs) before their strategic sale as corruption in the taxation system and inefficient managements have been eating up Rs 750 billion annually.

Replying to questions after briefing the media about the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, Tarin said that sick SOEs such as Pakistan Railways, Pakistan International Airlines and Pepco, which have been costing Rs 250 billion to the kitty are to be made viable prior to their strategic sale.

The minister said the government has to face a Rs 750 billion annual loss on account of tax evasion and for injecting money into the bleeding institutions to the tune of Rs 500 billion and Rs 250 billion, respectively. He said there are some divisions and institutions, which should have been closed. The minister said the federal government would give Rs 174 billion to the provinces in excess from July 1 with the implementation of the NFC Award, seeking increase in their share from 47.5 percent to 56 percent from the divisible pool.

The minister dispelled the impression of any cut in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). However, Tarin said, the non-development expenditures would be reduced. He was of the view that good governance and increase in tax-to-GDP ratio are the only solutions to steer the country out of all the problems including debt. The provinces have also been asked to increase tax ratios by brining the agriculture and real estate into the tax net while the federation would have to plug loopholes in the taxation system and reduce expenditures.

The report of the pay and pension committee as well as the report of committee on good governance are expected in a month, he said. The minister said that the duplication of ministries has to be abolished and provinces have to deliver on social sectors. According to Tarin health and education ministries have to go to the provinces.

To a question about how the government would reconcile VAT on services and goods between the provinces and federation, the minister said the federation would collect VAT on goods and provinces on services. He was of the view that three provinces have agreed to give the collection to the federation on one percent charge while Sindh has said that it would collect the levy itself. The minister was of the view that a centralised method of collection would be more beneficial.

He said there are many ministries with overlapping functions, which need to be abolished. He said the budget would also be transferred along with the concurrent list. Earlier, sharing ups and downs during negotiations on the NFC Award, the minister said the negotiations were started with an environment of trust deficit between the federation and provinces and among the provinces.

NWFP had even threatened to boycott the meeting if its demands were not met, he added. There was a stated agenda of the NFC, but "I had also asked the provinces to bring their irritants to the table," Tarin added. He said this trust deficit had started diminishing with the resolution of the longstanding issue of net hydel profit. While in Balochistan, he said the Gas Development Surcharge issue between Sindh and Balochistan has been resolved.

The minister said this was recognised in the NFC that sales tax on services is a provincial subject under the Constitution of Pakistan and the federal government and all the four provinces recognise the role of NWFP as a frontline state in war on terror.

The federal government reiterates its commitment to bear all expenditures incurred on the war on terror. However, as a gesture of support by all provinces and the Federation 1 percent of the total divisible pool has been earmarked for NWFP as an additional resource for war on terror during the Award period. This would be equivalent to 1.83 percent of the provincial pool.

He said the provincial share of the divisible pool will increase from the present 47.5 percent to 56 percent in the first year of the NFC Award and 57.5 percent in the remaining years while discussions among provinces on horizontal distributions of the divisible pool were held in a spirit of utmost cordiality and accommodation and long standing demand of Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan to distribute the divisible pool according to multiple indicators has been accepted.

He said under the new formula the Federation and Punjab, Sindh and NWFP accepted the special needs of Balochistan and agreed to provide Balochistan Rs 83 billion (9.09 percent) of the provincial pool in the first year of the Award. Any shortfall in this amount would be made up by the federal government from its own resources. This arrangement for Balochistan would also remain protected through the remaining four years of the Award, he added.

Sindh would receive an additional transfer of Rs 6 billion from the federal government, which is equivalent of 0.66 percent of the provincial pool. The minister said that the multiple indicators and their respective weights as agreed upon are population, 82.0 percent, poverty/backwardness, 10.3 percent, revenue collection/generation, 5.0 percent and inverse population density (IPD), 2.7 percent.

Tarin was of the view that after giving effect to the special needs of Balochistan and application of the aforesaid multiple indicators, the final percentage share of the provinces will be Punjab, 51.74 percent, Sindh, 24.55 percent, NWFP, 14.62 percent and Balochistan, 9.09 percent. The minister was of the view that federation and the provinces reciprocated with the spirit of accommodation shown by each other in reaching an amicable agreement on vertical and horizontal distribution of resources for the purpose of the 7th NFC Award.

PSO employees caught with hand in the till
Nation 13 December, 2009

Karachi-police grilled PSO employees over the embezzlement of 30 millions, TheNation has learnt here on Friday. According to the report Frere Police have taken into the custody two employees of the Pakistan State Oil (PSO), namely Humair Altaf, Senior Engineer Card Division, and Kaddafi, account officer card department. A source privy to the matter told TheNation that Audit Department PSO found out the misappropriation in prepaid card section and revealed the matter before the higher hierarchy of the PSO.

The source explained that the accused persons were also present in the office when the matter was disclosed while management kept them there till late night on Thursday and finally called the police and handed them into police custody. Shazada Saleem, SHO Frere Police, when contacted declined to admit the arrest of any PSO employee while saying that two employees of PSO were brought in because of their personal dispute and the dispute was resolved in the wee hours of Thursday night and both were released.

On the other side, PSO spokesman, Amir Abbasi, while talking to TheNation, revealed that PSO had found out the misappropriation and sent them in police custody. “The delay in the FIR registration is not because of the political influence”, he said and added that police would register the FIR after the investigation. Abbasi further said that the actual amount of embezzlement has yet to be ascertained but the amount will be disclosed within a few days as the department has taken up the matter seriously. Source unearthed that both the accused persons were involved in the scam of millions of rupees as they had authority to block the cards and issuance through which they worked the scam. An inside source pointed out that the accused persons had been doing all the said misappropriation for around one year.

The same source disclosed that Humair Altaf was the main accused, and had political influence, and a number of other relatives of Altaf are on the higher slots in the PSO due to which PSO authorities were reluctant to take action against him. The source added that one of the maternal uncle’s of Altaf had also been found involved in another scam a couple of years ago but authorities had kept the issue in cold storage.

The federal govt, however, distanced itself from the claim as the Acting Attorney General told the Supreme Court that the statement of the federation’s lawyer was his personal view
Dawn 12 December, 2009

ISLAMABAD: The federal government’s lawyer Kamal Azfar on Monday stunned the Supreme Court bench hearing challenges to the controversial NRO by saying that he alluded to the American CIA and the GHQ (General Headquarters) when he cautioned in the petition he had filed last week about threats that could derail the democratic system in Pakistan.

‘You want me to say it more openly? The danger comes from the CIA and the GHQ,’ Mr Azfar responded after the 17-judge bench repeatedly asked him what apprehensions he had in mind about the democratic set-up.

The counsel, however, hastened to add that these were his personal views when Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday asked him to say so in writing. The judge said if there were threats from the CIA or the GHQ, these concerned the executive.

‘Look what we have done to Pakistan which otherwise (was) destined to become an Asian tiger, but one prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was hanged while the other, Benazir Bhutto, was killed,’ Mr Azfar bemoaned.

Mr Azfar’s remarks in the court sent ripples across the country the moment it was beamed on television channels. In the evening, Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, and though no details were available, the matter was believed to have come up during the discussion. The federal government had on Thursday filed a petition in the Supreme Court expressing fears that any decision on the NRO ‘outside what petitioners had sought’ could destabilise the democratic system.

The court was visibly disturbed with a paragraph in the petition which stated: ‘Pakistan today is poised at the crossroads. One road leads to a truly federal democratic welfare state with the balance of power between an independent judiciary, a duly elected government representing the will of the people and a determined executive which is fighting the war against terrorism and poverty. The second road leads to destabilisation of the rule of law. The people of Pakistan await your verdict.’

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry again observed that the court was here to guard democracy and the rule of law.

‘I feel hurt when somebody says against what we have struggled for,’ the CJ said, adding that the court would not tolerate such allegations.

Outside the court, acting Attorney General Shah Khawar described Mr Azfar’s remarks as his personal views.

He told DawnNews that this had never been the stand of the federation and he was convinced that whatever Mr Azfar had said before the court was based on his own understanding of developments and had nothing to do with the views of the federation.

The acting attorney general told the court that he would seek instructions from the government whether he should withdraw the entire petition or some parts of it.

‘You asked us not to go into wider issues. Which slate to be wiped off clean of what and what are those wider issues in your mind,’ Justice Ramday asked Mr Azfar.

‘These had to be cleaned by the petitioners who were taking the court into wider issues,’ Mr Azfar replied, but failed to satisfy the court as it repeatedly asked about his apprehensions about derailment of democracy and the name of the person of the law ministry who had instructed him to submit the petition.

‘Your client needs to satisfy us by filing a personal affidavit explaining about the apprehensions,’ the court said.

The counsel repeatedly said that whatever he had stated in the petition was his own opinion and he would not pass on the buck. He later said there were extra-constitutional forces both inside and outside Pakistan which wanted to destabilise democracy.

Justice Javed Iqbal said the court had already stressed that it would jealously safeguard democracy, but it should be kept in mind that the democratic system did not mean protecting a few ‘illegitimate groups’ of people.

Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan came to the rescue of Mr Azfar by suggesting him to consult his client and go ahead if he thought he could afford to delete objectionable paragraphs from the petition.

Mr Azfar was of the view that the government was confronted with issues like terrorism, poverty, wheat and sugar crisis and many others and that it would be a relief for the nation if the verdict on the petitions came soon.

The chairman of the National Accountability Bureau informed the court that the bureau had spent Rs192 million on pursuing money laundering cases in the Swiss court against President Asif Ali Zardari.

An amount of Rs188 million was paid as fees to Swiss lawyers and Rs4.1 million spent on visits of NAB officers to Switzerland.

However, the chairman clarified that the amount pertained only to the post-1999 period (after the removal of the Nawaz government) as the money exhausted by Ehtesab Bureau chief Saifur Rehman, who was a member of the Nawaz government, came from secret funds.

Justice Ghulam Rabbani wondered what action had been taken against people responsible for initiating these corruption cases as the NAB had stated all cases were false.

‘Action should be taken against those who initiated these cases and this matter should also be probed by this court,’ the acting AG argued.

The NAB chairman admitted that the investigating magistrate in his inquiry had found $59.45 million in SGS and Cotecna cases, but this probe and money laundering cases initiated by the Swiss authorities on its own came to an end after the Pakistan government said that it was withdrawing the request of mutual legal assistance.

After the request, the Swiss authorities had unfrozen the money lying in a Swiss bank, he added. The NAB will also submit supporting documents before the court on Tuesday.

Both Advocate A.K. Dogar, representing petitioner Feroz Shah Jillani, and Shahid Orakzai concluded their arguments.

Replies to the federal government’s petition by Jamaat-i-Islami and Roedad Khan were also filed.

Engineer Jamil, of the Communist Party of Pakistan, challenged the president’s immunity under Article 248 of the Constitution.

He said that such powers were not enjoyed by the president in many countries of the world.

Illegal housing schemes’ offices demolished
Dawn 13 December, 2009

RAWALPINDI, Dec 13: The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) during its ongoing operation against land mafia demolished offices of 10 illegal housing schemes.

The operation has been launched on the directives of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif which he issued after receiving public complaints.

The chief minister recently presided over a meeting in Lahore and directed 36 development authorities of the province to take action against fake housing schemes.

In the first phase, sign boards and boundary walls of 10 housing schemes were demolished and legal notices issued to them. These societies are Jubilee Town, Jinnah Town, Khan Housing Project, Gulshan-i-Ali, OGDCL Colony, T&T Colony, Gulshan-i-Shumaal, Gulshani-Iqbal, Habib Lane and Gulshan-i-Waqar.

Director-General RDA Mohammad Makin Shahbaz has deputed Director Town Planning Wing Jamshed Aftab to stop illegal housing schemes from functioning. Mr Aftab said all illegal housing schemes would be closed in Rawalpindi.—APP

Rs 311m bank heist in Karachi
Dawn 13 December, 2009

KARACHI, Dec 13: In what is being described as the biggest ever bank heist in the country, private security guards robbed a bank of foreign currency worth Rs311.2 million on Sunday morning.

According to sources, five suspects used a gas cutter to open the strong room of the I.I. Chundrigar Road branch of Allied Bank.

According to police, the main suspect, Shahid Mehmood, a guard of a private security company, arrived at the bank at 7.30am, half an hour before he was to report for duty.

He waited for his four accomplices who arrived with a gas cutter and tied up guards Imran and Zamir and the building’s watchman Riaz.

It took them about three hours to break into the strong room which has seven large vaults. Shahid knew which vault contained foreign currency. They took away dollars, pounds and euros, police said.

Shahid had been hired by the Security Protection Service (SPS) two months ago. He had a computerised national identity card issued in Punjab and the provincial police’s response to a request for verification was being awaited.Karachi police chief Waseem Ahmed told Dawn that the company had not verified his two guarantors.

“The guard was given uniform without adequate training and posted with a weapon at such a sensitive location,” the CCPO said.

Police suspected that the prime accused belonged to the NWFP and he had obtained a forged identity card.

After the culprits left, the guard Imran, who was supposed to have been tied, managed to free himself and take away a packet of currency.

Imran went to the house of his friend Aqeel Abbas, a dismissed ASI, in Preedy area. Because Aqeel was not there, Imran gave the pack et to his family and returned to the bank in an attempt to cover up his involvement in the crime, police said.

During interrogation, Imran told police about the cash which as recovered from Aqeel’s house.

It was apparently Imran’s share of 45,000 euros in the booty, the city police chief said.

The entire event was recorded on CCTV camera but the quality of pictures was poor and the suspects could not be recognised. “When an attempt is made to enlarge the picture the pixels break up,” a police officer said, adding that the camera equipment was of poor quality.

The CCPO criticised the bank management and said that none of its senior executives had bothered to contact police, leaving the matter to their staff.

He said two teams, one headed by Karachi South DIG Ghulam Nabi Memon and the other by Special Investigation Unit SSP Raja Umar Khattab, were handling the case.

Imran has been arrested and the dismissed ASI and two other people were being interrogated.

An FIR of the case was registered by Mithadar police on a complaint lodged by the bank’s manager who nominated Shahid Mehmood and four unnamed accomplices.

On the advice of police, the Sindh home department had cancelled the licence of the security company, the CCPO added.

A press release issued by the Presidency said Babar Awan had called on President Zardari and 'offered' to resign from the cabinet to face the NAB inquiry.
Dawn December, 2009

IISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau has asked Parliamentary Affairs Minster Babar Awan, senior lawyer Sharifuddin Pirzada, former attorney general Malik Mohammad Qayyum and Ali Waseem (son of Waseem Sajjad) to appear before its investigators on Tuesday to record their statements on allegations that they had received millions of rupees from the owner of Haris Steel Mills to get a favorable verdict for him in a case relating the Rs9 billion Bank of Punjab scam.
‘The bureau has called them on the directives of the Supreme Court to record their statements,’ a senior NAB official told Dawn.
On November 24, Sheikh Mohammad Afzal, the owner of the mills, informed a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry that he had paid Rs35 million to Babar Awan, Rs10 to Sharifuddin Pirzada, Rs20 million to Malik Qayyum and Rs7.5 million to Ali Waseem to get a verdict in his favour.
‘The bureau’s investigators will ask them if they had received such a hefty amount from the mills owner as their fees or as bribe,’ the NAB official said, adding that the statements would be submitted to the court which might order formal proceedings on a new case.
The court had asked NAB to explain why the accused had not been questioned over the allegation.
NAB officials said the bureau had no powers to call a sitting minister to record his statement, but the situation had changed because of the court order.
Mr Awan could not be contacted for his comments despite repeated calls made to his residence and mobile phones.
Meanwhile, a press release issued by the Presidency on Monday said Mr Awan had called on President Asif Ali Zardari and ‘offered’ to resign from the cabinet to face the NAB inquiry. The president, however, asked him to continue to work and said that an inquiry was not an adequate reason to resign from the cabinet.
Political analysts here do not appear to be convinced that Mr Awan was serious about his resignation offer and say that if he really wanted to quit the cabinet he should have submitted his resignation to the prime minister.
The owner of Haris Steel Mills had also informed the court that he had paid Rs400-500 million as bribe to former BoP president Hamesh Khan, Rs30 million to bank’s control risk manager Aziz Ahmed, Rs50 million to Haroon Aziz, Rs10 million to Shoaib Qureshi, Rs40 million to the head of the bank’s treasury Saleem Mirza and Rs5 million to Fazeel Asghar for helping him to leave the country because his name was on the exit control list.