Tuesday, 12 April 2016
Panama and pajama games
Panama and pajama games
Offshore accounts are nothing new. Their semi-legal
and unethical status is well known. Corporate and crony capitalism
produce outrageous inequality and concentrations of economic and
political power. The wealthy and powerful of the world have secretly
stashed away in excess of $20tr in offshore and other tax havens.
Moreover, the vast majority of such activity is criminal, illegal or
politically unacceptable. Even the inimitable Donald Rumsfeld might
agree all this is a “known known.”
Pakistan has long been rated as one of the most corrupt countries of the world especially if its corruption is measured as a proportion of its economic size. The financial probity of the leadership of at least two of the country’s three major national parties is reputed to be very dubious. No institution that wields power and authority in Pakistan, whatever degree of national reverence it may command, has been a paragon of virtue. There are no innocents.
So our embattled prime minister can well say he is in good (or bad) company both at home and abroad. His jiyalas may well ask ‘what else is new?’ Pakistan’s ‘political norm’ has long embraced criminal and self-serving political leadership. The general chorus has been ‘God will somehow take care of the country He brought into being!’
Accordingly, the frequency of such ‘political and ethical crises’ has risen to almost one a week. This, of course, accounts for the brief shelf-life of any scandal no matter how egregious it may appear to the untrained eye. It also explains why at any one time several such scandals occur making it extremely difficult for moral outrage to focus sufficiently on any one of them. Thank heaven for small mercies!
After all, the prime minister has not been named although his daughter was reportedly described as “politically exposed” by Mossack-Fonseco. His elder son has owned up to owning substantial properties in London and elsewhere — al Hamdulillah! His explanation of how and from where he got the money to buy these properties and invest in shell companies set up in international tax havens may be somewhat wobbly. But then whose explanations of undeclared and untaxed billions are not? Ask David Cameron. However, in his case the sum involved — £30,000 — is frankly ‘peanuts’ for our political leaders and their brilliant business tycoon offspring. It is possible some Pakistani or non-Pakistani admirers of the statesmanship and foreign policy leadership of the elder Sharif gifted the younger Sharif millions if not billions which he had no legal reason to refuse or obligation to declare to Pakistani authorities as he was living abroad — Mashallah!
As for the ‘judicial’ commission to be set up to inquire into the matter, apart from legal and procedural quibbles, the question arises: what is there to inquire into? Is it the business acumen of a non-Pakistani who may be related to a Pakistani politician? If so, a whole lot of us could become liable on that basis! There has to be something more to justify the cacophony of national indignation without reading the small print.
Some incorrigibles insist there is. Pakistan has around 200 million people. According to revised methods those living in poverty add up to considerably more than a third of the population. The national social indices are the worst (Afghanistan excepted?) in South Asia which has the worst regional indices in the world.
Pakistan has five different class-based educational systems which collectively produce an inability for its people to understand and communicate with each other, mutual animosity, and collective dysfunction despite an abundance of talent and love of country. Higher or tertiary education is minimal and almost devoid of creative field work and conceptual innovation. Globally productive and gender-inclusive jobs — essential to survival and success in the 21st century — are not being generated by the educational, vocational and economic systems in Pakistan. No money equals no priority.
The population will reach 350 million by 2050. Environmental, economic, population, nuclear, sectarian, gender and cultural challenges threaten to overwhelm the country much before 2050. No priority is given to averting the prospect before us. Human resource development and fundamental policy reforms over a broad range are of little or no concern to most political leaders, except in speeches and policy declarations. The country is engaged in a conventional and nuclear arms race with a much larger and more resourceful neighbour without considering the inevitable longer term implications.
The country has no consistent and viable strategy for handling issues and relations with India which could offset its disadvantage in numbers and size without relying on doomsday scenarios. This in turn is because the country’s foreign and security policies have largely been hijacked by unaccountable, unqualified and unimaginative domestic constituencies that equate their institutional agendas with the national interest. A rampantly corrupt, indifferent and fearful political leadership can never risk challenging and rectifying this situation. None of this bothers them in the least. What could be more hostile?
It is in this context that the latest dereliction of our ‘elected’ political plutocrats reaches us. The fate of David Cameron is a matter of political importance for the UK. The fate of our political delinquents is of ‘existential’ significance for Pakistan. The effectiveness of legal hair-splitting and political sleights of hand to escape consequences may be of personal significance for the UK prime minister or, at most, his party. The Panama outcome will be of national consequence for the people of Pakistan.
International bookies reportedly rate the chances of our prime minister surviving the Panama leaks as roughly 90pc. It is not clear whether this is an assessment of his innocence or the state of political development in Pakistan. However, it does suggest that politics in Pakistan as pajama games including zero-sum games against the people entails costs that will eventually overwhelm the country. Remaining spectators of the endgame is no longer an option.
Pakistan has long been rated as one of the most corrupt countries of the world especially if its corruption is measured as a proportion of its economic size. The financial probity of the leadership of at least two of the country’s three major national parties is reputed to be very dubious. No institution that wields power and authority in Pakistan, whatever degree of national reverence it may command, has been a paragon of virtue. There are no innocents.
So our embattled prime minister can well say he is in good (or bad) company both at home and abroad. His jiyalas may well ask ‘what else is new?’ Pakistan’s ‘political norm’ has long embraced criminal and self-serving political leadership. The general chorus has been ‘God will somehow take care of the country He brought into being!’
Accordingly, the frequency of such ‘political and ethical crises’ has risen to almost one a week. This, of course, accounts for the brief shelf-life of any scandal no matter how egregious it may appear to the untrained eye. It also explains why at any one time several such scandals occur making it extremely difficult for moral outrage to focus sufficiently on any one of them. Thank heaven for small mercies!
The Panama outcome will be of national consequence for the people of Pakistan.
After all, the prime minister has not been named although his daughter was reportedly described as “politically exposed” by Mossack-Fonseco. His elder son has owned up to owning substantial properties in London and elsewhere — al Hamdulillah! His explanation of how and from where he got the money to buy these properties and invest in shell companies set up in international tax havens may be somewhat wobbly. But then whose explanations of undeclared and untaxed billions are not? Ask David Cameron. However, in his case the sum involved — £30,000 — is frankly ‘peanuts’ for our political leaders and their brilliant business tycoon offspring. It is possible some Pakistani or non-Pakistani admirers of the statesmanship and foreign policy leadership of the elder Sharif gifted the younger Sharif millions if not billions which he had no legal reason to refuse or obligation to declare to Pakistani authorities as he was living abroad — Mashallah!
As for the ‘judicial’ commission to be set up to inquire into the matter, apart from legal and procedural quibbles, the question arises: what is there to inquire into? Is it the business acumen of a non-Pakistani who may be related to a Pakistani politician? If so, a whole lot of us could become liable on that basis! There has to be something more to justify the cacophony of national indignation without reading the small print.
Some incorrigibles insist there is. Pakistan has around 200 million people. According to revised methods those living in poverty add up to considerably more than a third of the population. The national social indices are the worst (Afghanistan excepted?) in South Asia which has the worst regional indices in the world.
Pakistan has five different class-based educational systems which collectively produce an inability for its people to understand and communicate with each other, mutual animosity, and collective dysfunction despite an abundance of talent and love of country. Higher or tertiary education is minimal and almost devoid of creative field work and conceptual innovation. Globally productive and gender-inclusive jobs — essential to survival and success in the 21st century — are not being generated by the educational, vocational and economic systems in Pakistan. No money equals no priority.
The population will reach 350 million by 2050. Environmental, economic, population, nuclear, sectarian, gender and cultural challenges threaten to overwhelm the country much before 2050. No priority is given to averting the prospect before us. Human resource development and fundamental policy reforms over a broad range are of little or no concern to most political leaders, except in speeches and policy declarations. The country is engaged in a conventional and nuclear arms race with a much larger and more resourceful neighbour without considering the inevitable longer term implications.
The country has no consistent and viable strategy for handling issues and relations with India which could offset its disadvantage in numbers and size without relying on doomsday scenarios. This in turn is because the country’s foreign and security policies have largely been hijacked by unaccountable, unqualified and unimaginative domestic constituencies that equate their institutional agendas with the national interest. A rampantly corrupt, indifferent and fearful political leadership can never risk challenging and rectifying this situation. None of this bothers them in the least. What could be more hostile?
It is in this context that the latest dereliction of our ‘elected’ political plutocrats reaches us. The fate of David Cameron is a matter of political importance for the UK. The fate of our political delinquents is of ‘existential’ significance for Pakistan. The effectiveness of legal hair-splitting and political sleights of hand to escape consequences may be of personal significance for the UK prime minister or, at most, his party. The Panama outcome will be of national consequence for the people of Pakistan.
International bookies reportedly rate the chances of our prime minister surviving the Panama leaks as roughly 90pc. It is not clear whether this is an assessment of his innocence or the state of political development in Pakistan. However, it does suggest that politics in Pakistan as pajama games including zero-sum games against the people entails costs that will eventually overwhelm the country. Remaining spectators of the endgame is no longer an option.
Malaysia politician's office attacked after he describes Zakir Naik as 'Satan'
Malaysia politician's office attacked after he describes Zakir Naik as 'Satan'
KUALA LUMPUR: A petrol bomb was thrown on Tuesday
at the office of a senior politician in Malaysia's opposition-ruled
Penang state, after he described preacher Zakir Naik as “Satan”.
State officials said no one was injured and no damage caused in the early-morning attack after the fire-bomb landed on the centre's metal shutters.
State Deputy Chief Minister P. Ramasamy said the attack may have been prompted by his Facebook post over the weekend about preacher Zakir Naik.
“It could possibly be related to my comment on Zakir as Satan,” he told AFP.
Ramasamy accused Zakir, an Indian national, of giving speeches designed to promote hatred of other faiths.
His posting was not directed against Islam or Muslims but against “this particular person”, he said in a statement.
“I regret the use of the word 'Satan' which has caused uneasiness and unhappiness among Muslims in Malaysia,” Ramasamy said, adding that the word was later deleted.
Zakir, 51, is an Islamic preacher on comparative religion.
Ramasamy, who is also the Penang Hindu Endowment Board chairman, had spoken out against a planned programme by Zakir's son, also an Islamic preacher, in Penang state on April 15.
On Sunday police banned Zakir from giving a lecture at a university in the southern state of Malacca following complaints from minority groups.
He had planned to speak on “Similarities between Hinduism and Islam”.
National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said in a tweet on Monday that Zakir was barred to ensure public order.
The aim was to protect “public order and religious sensitivities in Malaysia”, he wrote.
Issues related to race, religion and language are considered sensitive in Malaysia, which witnessed deadly riots mainly between ethnic Malays and Chinese in 1969.
State officials said no one was injured and no damage caused in the early-morning attack after the fire-bomb landed on the centre's metal shutters.
State Deputy Chief Minister P. Ramasamy said the attack may have been prompted by his Facebook post over the weekend about preacher Zakir Naik.
“It could possibly be related to my comment on Zakir as Satan,” he told AFP.
Ramasamy accused Zakir, an Indian national, of giving speeches designed to promote hatred of other faiths.
His posting was not directed against Islam or Muslims but against “this particular person”, he said in a statement.
“I regret the use of the word 'Satan' which has caused uneasiness and unhappiness among Muslims in Malaysia,” Ramasamy said, adding that the word was later deleted.
Zakir, 51, is an Islamic preacher on comparative religion.
Ramasamy, who is also the Penang Hindu Endowment Board chairman, had spoken out against a planned programme by Zakir's son, also an Islamic preacher, in Penang state on April 15.
On Sunday police banned Zakir from giving a lecture at a university in the southern state of Malacca following complaints from minority groups.
He had planned to speak on “Similarities between Hinduism and Islam”.
National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said in a tweet on Monday that Zakir was barred to ensure public order.
The aim was to protect “public order and religious sensitivities in Malaysia”, he wrote.
Issues related to race, religion and language are considered sensitive in Malaysia, which witnessed deadly riots mainly between ethnic Malays and Chinese in 1969.
Case registered against RAW agent Kulbhushan Yadav
Case registered against RAW agent Kulbhushan Yadav
April 12, 2016
Add caption |
QUETTA: Counter Terrorism Department, Quetta has lodged a case against Indian spy agency- RAW- agent Kulbhushan Yadav, who was arrested from Balochistan last month.
Police sources said, the case against Indian agent is registered on the complaint of provincial home department on the directives of the federal government.
Terrorism, foreign act violation and sabotage charges have been included in the FIR, police sources said and added that police have sealed off the FIR soon after its was lodged.
Sharif family to answer questions about assets before commission
Sharif family to answer questions about assets before commission
By Muhammad azam
The riddle of the offshore companies allegedly owned by the family of
the prime minister as claimed by the Panama Papers, when read with the
official record of the UK government regarding the ownership/land
registry of Park Lane flats since early 1990s obtained by The News and
the 1999 judgments of UK high court, helps understand the story to some
extent.Hussain Nawaz, the son of the prime minister, has told the media in his repeated statements that only after selling a steel mill in Saudia Arabia in 2006, he bought two offshore companies — Nielsen Enterprises Limited and Nescoll Limited — and then purchased flats number 16, 17, 17A of Park Lane, London, in the names of these offshore companies. He said that he or any member of his family never owned these offshore companies before 2006. In an interview, he also stated that there was no flat 16A on the above-mentioned address in the name of his family.
According to the UK government official documents obtained by The News, following are the details of these flats and their ownership since 1993.Flat 16, Avenfield House, Park Lane, London, Registered Owner: NIELSEN ENTERPRISES LIMITED care of Messrs Dibb Lupton Broomhead (reference LJR), 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AE. Title Number: NGL338285. The flat was registered in the name of Nielsen on July 31, 1995. The official documents say that the flat only comprises a portion on the 3rd floor of the building.
Flat 16A, Avenfield House, Park Lane, London, Registered Owner: NIELSEN ENTERPRISES LIMITED care of Messrs Dibb Lupton Broomhead (reference LJR), 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AE. Title Number: NGL351184. The flat was registered in the name of Nielsen on July 31, 1995. The official documents say that the flat only comprises the portion on the 3rd floor of the building.
Flat 17, Avenfield House, Park Lane, London, Registered Owner: NESCOLL LIMITED care of Dibb Lupton Broomhead, of 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AE. Title Number: NGL342976. The flat was registered in the name of Nescoll on June 1, 1993. The official documents say that the flat only comprises a portion on the 3rd floor of the building and property was made in 1978.
Flat 17A, Avenfield House, Park Lane, London, Registered Owner: NESCOLL LIMITED care of Dibb Lupton Broomhead, of 125 London Wall, London EC2Y 5AE. Title Number: NGL342977. The flat was registered in the name of Nescol on July 23, 1996.
The UK high court decisions in Hudabiya Papers Mills loan default case on March 16, 1999 and November 5, 1999 show that for the loan acquired by Hudabiya on February 15, 1995, Flat 16, Flat 16A, Flat 17, Flat 17A were pledged with the Al Towfeek Investment Fund Limited.
The judgments and the court documents of Lahore High Court (LHC) available with The News as well as some NAB documents show that the Hudabiya Papers Mills is owned by the Sharif family with almost all the members of family as its directors.
So the question arises if the offshore companies Nielsen and Nescoll own these Park Lane London flats since 1993, how the Sharif family pledged the flats to a UK bank in 1995 to obtain a financial facility without owning the offshore companies, the real owners of these flats at that time as per the official documents of the UK government.
This question becomes important keeping in view the repeated statements of Hussain Nawaz, official statements of the government made by federal ministers and Daniyal Aziz that these offshore companies and the flats were only bought in 2006 after the Sharif family sold a steel mill in Jeddah.
The government spokesman also added that no member of the Sharif family even owned any of these offshore companies before 2006. A reputed UK newspaper The Guardian had quoted Kalsoom Nawaz on April 10, 2000 that her family “bought” these Park Lane flats for the education of children. Khalid Anwar, the-then law minister during Nawaz Sharif’s second tenure as the prime minister, however, has stated that the Sharif family has taken these flats on rent.
Replying to this question, a government spokesman said that the Sharif family has answers to all the questions which will be presented before the judicial commission and the whole nation will be satisfied with the answers and explanation of the facts.
The World Bank has asked Pakistan’s government to build consensus among all the stakeholders
South Asia Economic Focus
KARACHI: The World Bank has asked Pakistan’s government to build consensus among all the stakeholders to ensure that $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects deliver on its potential.
“CPEC, if completed, could be a game changer for Pakistan, but is currently mired in political economy risks,” the World Bank said in its report, titled, ‘South Asia Economic Focus (Spring 2016), Fading Tailwinds’.
“Furthermore, a prolonged slowdown in China could diminish financial inflows under these projects,” it said.
The twice-a-year report considered the lack of consensus on the CPEC projects as one of the risks posing to high-growth potential of the country’s economy.
The World Bank observed that the CPEC, along with energy projects, spurred growth in large scale manufacturing and construction sectors. “Any demand-driven economic expansion as a result of CPEC’s implementation is expected to be limited in the short-run as increased investment will likely be offset by a significant increase in imports,” the bank said.
The report said Pakistan’s economic growth is picking up in the current fiscal year, supported by falling commodity and fuel prices, increased energy supply and improved law and order situation.
“Growth is projected to accelerate modestly from 4.5 percent in 2016 to 4.8 percent in 2017, supported by growing industry and services and greater investment as well as buoyed by low oil prices and substantial remittances,” it said.
The bank, however, suggested the government to maintain the momentum in reforming its business climate, access to finance and trade regime.
“As the election year approaches in 2018, the government may find it difficult to implement unpopular decisions, particularly on taxation and energy,” it said.
“Pakistan should also monitor a key driver of remittances: public investment cuts and the resulting restrictions on foreign employment in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, particularly in construction, where many Pakistani migrants are employed.”
The World Bank said South Asia is the fast-growing region in the world, escaping the turbulence in the international markets.
It said India will continue to lead the regional economies. Global growth dropped to 2.4 percent last year from 2.6 percent in the preceding year.
The bank, however, said anemic global economy has bitten exports revenue of Pakistan, “revealing the country’s vulnerability to a narrow base and a high concentration in few destinations.”
“Imports also contracted in early FY2016 but seem to be recovering since November 2015, particularly in food and machinery,” it said.
The report forecast that current account deficit will rise to 1.3 percent by FY2018, assuming that prices would continue to remain soft. “A decline in exports in FY2016 (followed by marginal export growth forecasts for the next two years) and an expected increase in imports will weaken the trade account,” it said.
Further, the World Bank acknowledged the marked improvement in the tax collection by the Federal Board of Revenue, accounting for 70 percent of the country’s total tax revenue, because of the ongoing fiscal reforms.
“Tax collection is projected to improve as the government continues with efforts to rationalise tax exemptions in the upcoming budget, while improving compliance and administration,” it said.
KARACHI: The World Bank has asked Pakistan’s government to build consensus among all the stakeholders to ensure that $46-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects deliver on its potential.
“CPEC, if completed, could be a game changer for Pakistan, but is currently mired in political economy risks,” the World Bank said in its report, titled, ‘South Asia Economic Focus (Spring 2016), Fading Tailwinds’.
“Furthermore, a prolonged slowdown in China could diminish financial inflows under these projects,” it said.
The twice-a-year report considered the lack of consensus on the CPEC projects as one of the risks posing to high-growth potential of the country’s economy.
The World Bank observed that the CPEC, along with energy projects, spurred growth in large scale manufacturing and construction sectors. “Any demand-driven economic expansion as a result of CPEC’s implementation is expected to be limited in the short-run as increased investment will likely be offset by a significant increase in imports,” the bank said.
The report said Pakistan’s economic growth is picking up in the current fiscal year, supported by falling commodity and fuel prices, increased energy supply and improved law and order situation.
“Growth is projected to accelerate modestly from 4.5 percent in 2016 to 4.8 percent in 2017, supported by growing industry and services and greater investment as well as buoyed by low oil prices and substantial remittances,” it said.
The bank, however, suggested the government to maintain the momentum in reforming its business climate, access to finance and trade regime.
“As the election year approaches in 2018, the government may find it difficult to implement unpopular decisions, particularly on taxation and energy,” it said.
“Pakistan should also monitor a key driver of remittances: public investment cuts and the resulting restrictions on foreign employment in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, particularly in construction, where many Pakistani migrants are employed.”
The World Bank said South Asia is the fast-growing region in the world, escaping the turbulence in the international markets.
It said India will continue to lead the regional economies. Global growth dropped to 2.4 percent last year from 2.6 percent in the preceding year.
The bank, however, said anemic global economy has bitten exports revenue of Pakistan, “revealing the country’s vulnerability to a narrow base and a high concentration in few destinations.”
“Imports also contracted in early FY2016 but seem to be recovering since November 2015, particularly in food and machinery,” it said.
The report forecast that current account deficit will rise to 1.3 percent by FY2018, assuming that prices would continue to remain soft. “A decline in exports in FY2016 (followed by marginal export growth forecasts for the next two years) and an expected increase in imports will weaken the trade account,” it said.
Further, the World Bank acknowledged the marked improvement in the tax collection by the Federal Board of Revenue, accounting for 70 percent of the country’s total tax revenue, because of the ongoing fiscal reforms.
“Tax collection is projected to improve as the government continues with efforts to rationalise tax exemptions in the upcoming budget, while improving compliance and administration,” it said.
Panama Papers Leave Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif in a Jam
Panama Papers Leave Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif in a Jam
The scale of tax avoidance and money laundering revealed in the Panama Paper leaks
run into the several hundreds of billions of dollars and contains the
details and names of hundreds of powerful and influential people from
across the world. The impact of these revelations is already visible:
mass protests in Iceland have forced the country’s prime minister into resignation after disclosures about his offshore dealings became public through these leaks.
The names of over 200 Pakistanis, including the current prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, have also figured in these leaks. Allegations of tax evasion, fraud, and money laundering have marred Sharif’s political career since the beginning. The Independent in 1998 published a piece which stated, “The investigation into Mr. Sharif and his family was originally commissioned in 1993 by an interim government, after Mr. Sharif’s dismissal as prime minister, which asked the agency to investigate 13 separate allegations of corruption and money laundering through overseas bank accounts.”
According to these leaks, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s close family has made millions of dollars of investments in a number of offshore companies. Just hours after these revelations, Sharif addressed the nation and promised appropriate review while denying that any of his family members were involved in any kind of corruption.
Even after coming to power with a heavy mandate, Sharif has not been able to rule successfully. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Isnaaf party’s four-month long protests in Islamabad in 2014, which ended only after the military’s intervention as a mediator, took away any semblance of civilian supremacy over the army. A few weeks ago, the former military chief, Pervez Musharraf, who was put on an historic trial for treason by Sharif, silently left the country.
For the prime minister, the timing of these allegations could not have been worse. The PTI again has promised to launch another wave of protests against the federal government if it fails to form an independent commission to prosecute the allegations made in Panama leaks. Meanwhile, the army has unilaterally launched a military operation in Punjab without even asking for consent from the provincial government, which is run by the prime minister’s younger brother, Shahbaz Sharif.
The prime minister has proved to be an ordinary politician: one who has has neither courage nor the political will to provide leadership to the country. “Nawaz Sharif has frittered away his opportunities. He has proved to be a hopelessly incompetent leader, neither strong enough to initiate badly needed reforms nor sophisticated enough to deal with the country’s well-oiled military machine,” said Ahmad Rashid.
For the most part, Sharif’s third tenure as prime minister has been marred by allegations of mass corruption. Moreover, Sharif has been soft on extremists. Consequently, the leadership space left by the prime minister has been filled by the chief of army staff, General Raheel Sharif, who has been tough on extremism. While the military chief ordered the execution of Mumtaz Qadri, who in 2011 murdered Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, the federal government a week ago could not clear the capital of a handful of Islamist protesters celebrating Qadri. Instead, the government gave in to many of their demands related to Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws. One of the demands which the government agreed to was the execution of Asia Bibi, whose case is pending in the courts in a blasphemy-related offense.
These revelations, regardless of their merit, will further limit the prime minister’s say in matters related to national security and foreign policy. For the remaining two years of his tenure, Nawaz Sharif is likely to serve as a ceremonial head of government, with actual power residing in the hands of the military and opposition parties.
The names of over 200 Pakistanis, including the current prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, have also figured in these leaks. Allegations of tax evasion, fraud, and money laundering have marred Sharif’s political career since the beginning. The Independent in 1998 published a piece which stated, “The investigation into Mr. Sharif and his family was originally commissioned in 1993 by an interim government, after Mr. Sharif’s dismissal as prime minister, which asked the agency to investigate 13 separate allegations of corruption and money laundering through overseas bank accounts.”
According to these leaks, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s close family has made millions of dollars of investments in a number of offshore companies. Just hours after these revelations, Sharif addressed the nation and promised appropriate review while denying that any of his family members were involved in any kind of corruption.
Even after coming to power with a heavy mandate, Sharif has not been able to rule successfully. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Isnaaf party’s four-month long protests in Islamabad in 2014, which ended only after the military’s intervention as a mediator, took away any semblance of civilian supremacy over the army. A few weeks ago, the former military chief, Pervez Musharraf, who was put on an historic trial for treason by Sharif, silently left the country.
For the prime minister, the timing of these allegations could not have been worse. The PTI again has promised to launch another wave of protests against the federal government if it fails to form an independent commission to prosecute the allegations made in Panama leaks. Meanwhile, the army has unilaterally launched a military operation in Punjab without even asking for consent from the provincial government, which is run by the prime minister’s younger brother, Shahbaz Sharif.
The prime minister has proved to be an ordinary politician: one who has has neither courage nor the political will to provide leadership to the country. “Nawaz Sharif has frittered away his opportunities. He has proved to be a hopelessly incompetent leader, neither strong enough to initiate badly needed reforms nor sophisticated enough to deal with the country’s well-oiled military machine,” said Ahmad Rashid.
For the most part, Sharif’s third tenure as prime minister has been marred by allegations of mass corruption. Moreover, Sharif has been soft on extremists. Consequently, the leadership space left by the prime minister has been filled by the chief of army staff, General Raheel Sharif, who has been tough on extremism. While the military chief ordered the execution of Mumtaz Qadri, who in 2011 murdered Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer, the federal government a week ago could not clear the capital of a handful of Islamist protesters celebrating Qadri. Instead, the government gave in to many of their demands related to Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws. One of the demands which the government agreed to was the execution of Asia Bibi, whose case is pending in the courts in a blasphemy-related offense.
These revelations, regardless of their merit, will further limit the prime minister’s say in matters related to national security and foreign policy. For the remaining two years of his tenure, Nawaz Sharif is likely to serve as a ceremonial head of government, with actual power residing in the hands of the military and opposition parties.
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