A Gory Tale of Lies, Greed and Deception

Corruption rooted in Pak army: PPP

Shyam Bhatia in London | September 17, 2003 03:18 IST


The Lahore high court in Pakistan is being overwhelmed by complaints of military corruption involving the highest ranking generals, officials of the Pakistan Peoples Party have revealed.

The PPP, which says military corruption has reached unbelievable levels, lists some of the alleged kickbacks received by generals, air marshals and admirals contained in a petition submitted to the court.

The petition includes claims that:

Air Chief Marshal Abbas Khattak (retired) received Rs180 million as kickbacks in the purchase of 40 old Mirage fighters.
Air Chief Marshal Farooq Feroz Khan was suspected of receiving a 5 per cent commission in the purchase of 40 F-7 planes worth $271 million.
In 1996, the Pakistan Army bought 1,047 GS-90 Jeeps at a cost of $20,889 per unit. The market value of the vehicle then was only $13,000. According to the National Accountability Bureau, some senior army officers made Rs 510 million in the deal.
One hundred and eleven army men got 400 plots in Bahawalpur and Rahimyar Khan districts at throwaway prices --Rs 47.50 per kanal (1/8th of an acre) as against the market rate of Rs15,000-20,000. Six respondents got 400 kanals in Punjab, while former NAB chairman Lt Gen Mohammad Amjad was allotted a two-kanal plot on Sarwar Road in Lahore for just Rs 8,00,000, payable in instalments over 20 years. The market value of this plot was Rs 2 crore.
Gen Pervez Musharraf acquired a commercial plot worth Rs 2 crore at the Defence Housing Authority in Lahore for just Rs 1,00,000, payable in 20 years. ``As mentioned in the report of defence services director-general, a loss of Rs 5 billion was incurred due to such allotments,`` the petition says.
The army awarded a contract for the purchase of 1,000 Hino trucks at $40,000 a unit when the local Gandhara Industries had offered trucks of the same specification for $25,000 a piece.
In the purchase of 3,000 Land Rovers in 1995, army officials allegedly received around Rs20,00,000 as kickbacks.
The army management at the Water and Power Development Authority purchased electric meters at Rs 1,050 a piece against the market price of Rs 456, causing a loss of Rs 165 crore to the national exchequer.
A former military regime sold the Pak-Saudi Fertilizers for Rs 700 crore and earned a Rs 200 crore commission on the deal.
In 1996, the Pakistan Navy spent Rs 1.3 crore on installing air-conditioners at the Islamabad Golf Club without any justification.
Apart from this petition, some other major scams involving serving or retired members of the military junta detailed by the PPP are as follows:

Former army chief General Jahangir Karamat took kickbacks of more than US $20 million from a Ukrainian tank company selling tanks to Pakistan through a middleman named Colonel Mahmood, a brother tank corps officer of Karamat. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharief sent the present chief of WAPDA, Major General Zulfiqar, then serving in the Inter-Services Intelligence, to the Ukraine and Azerbaijan to investigate the scandal.

Gen Zulfiqar compiled a report of the transaction and the bribes given. But the army tried to buy him out by rewarding him with the post of WAPDA chairman and promoting him to rank of lieutenant general.

General Karamat was forced to resign. He was threatened that if he did not, he would be charged with corruption.

Many road contracts were given to Hasnain Construction Company without any public tenders by the recently removed railways and communication minister, General Qazi. The company, owned by a relative of Gen Musharraf`s son, was also awarded the lease of prime real estate in Lahore for the construction of a golf course under the frontmanship of Palm Country Golf Club, Singapore.

The relative of Gen Musharraf admitted publicly that he was working for a commission to use his contacts and influence for the company.

Prime commercial land developed by the DHA, Karachi, was leased at dirt-cheap rates to a McDonald`s franchisee outlet operated by Amin Lakhani by the then corps commander, Karachi, Lt Gen Afzal Janjua.

``Men who had one green suit to wear, in the words of General Tajammul, became the tycoons of Pakistan,`` a PPP spokesman told rediff.com

``It was the beginning of prosperity for a few and the beginning of the end of military virtue of a previously spartan and clean military machine. In this messy situation, the subservient Lahore high court has been asked to sit in judgment with the sprawling mountains of charges, some even admitted publicly by the army.

``God help the poor justices of the superior court,`` the spokesman said

#42 by rsridhar on November 10, 2003 9:18pm PT
re:#17 by kaurasach

Ditto!!!

Nighat

Do we blame the Pak Army or the collective psyche of the Punjabis conditioned over the centuries - which is meekly accepting whosoever comes and begins ruling...

The Bengalis were mistreated once by the Army and they threw it out -

Punjabis - because they hold the major sway in Pakistani politics.

Barring individual acts of valour by people like Poros, Dulla Bhatti, Jasrat, Minow khan, Shaikha, Gondal Rajputs, Ghakkars etc, the Punjabis have quietly let the outsiders rule them becoming a part of Western or Eastern empires - In most cases they let the outsiders coming from the West a free pass to Dehli provided they were left alone -

Long list which includes Chandra Gupta, Ashoka, Alexander, Iraqi Arabs, Ghazanavi, Timur, Babar, Nadir Shah Irani, Ahmed Shah Abdali (Pashtoon), British, Ayub, Yahya, Zia, Musharraf -

The golden period of Punjabis with indiginous rule in one consolidated empire has been only once - the 40 years Rule by Raja Ranjit Singh - when this empire extended upto Kabul & Kandhar.

Even now, there is no nationalist party in Punjab - unlike Sind, NWFP and Baluchistan.

To all the Boot lickers-

``....!@#$@%You would get the boot you deserve!``

Musharraf`s Close Relative Paid in Rs 7bn Motorway project

Special SAT Report

ISLAMABAD: The first solid proof of involvement of General Pervez Musharraf’s close relative, his son Bilal’s father in law, in a multi-billion rupee road construction contract, has come to light.

The proof was provided by the owner of the construction company, Husnain Construction, at a news conference at the M-3 Motorway site near Islamabad last week. Surprisingly it has remained buried without any discussion in the mainstream Pakistani media, although leading newspaper Dawn published portions of the incriminating statement on Sept 26 in a very subdued manner, hiding the disclosures under a positive statement by the National Highway Authority Chairman, Major General Farrukh Javed. Click Here to read Dawn Report

In just under 5 weeks after SA Tribune broke the scandal of General Musharraf’s “Golfway” Project, a mix of the Rs 25 billion Golf Course in Lahore and the Rs 7 billion Pindi-Peshawar Motorway, Brig (Retd) Aftab Siddiqui’s was confirmed to be the big beneficiary. The proof came from the Horse Owner’s mouth, if not the Horse himself.

The SA Tribune first reported in our Aug 26 issue that Musharraf`s ``Golfway`` project, conceived and launched by an ex-ISI chief, held secret from the public for ‘national security reasons’ had a real connection with his close relatives. http://www.satribune.com/archives/aug26_sep1_02/P1_Grapevinecomm.htm

On Sept 9, it was reported that the in-laws of Musharraf’s son were reportedly flying out of Pakistan “lock, stock and barrel” after their names were revealed in the Motorway project. http://www.satribune.com/archives/sep09_15_02/P1_Grapewinecomm.htm

These were Sa Tribune reports. Now comes the surprising statement by Sheikh Yousaf, owner of Husnain Construction, which is the contractor for the Pindi-Peshawar Motorway project, also known as M-3. He spoke to journalists at a Press conference and admitted everything, as reported in Pakistan’s leading Daily ‘Dawn’ on Sept 25, 2002.

Dawn’s Islamabad Staff reporter said: “Sheikh Yousaf explained the phases for which his company passed for converting the M-3 project from the Built, Operate and Transfer (BOT) plan to the government funded project.”

“When asked as to how much his company had been helped by Brig (Retd) Aftab Siddiqui father-in-law (of General Musharraf’s son), Bilal Musharraf, he said the gentleman had worked with his company as a consultant.”

“Mr Yousaf said it was originally agreed that he would get two per cent of the profit from the project for 25 years, but since the project had been converted to a government funded plan, Aftab Siddiqui was no longer with his company. The cost of M-3 is Rs7 billion.”

“He, however, said Mr Siddiqui had been paid for the `services` which he rendered, but refused to give more details... Everything was documented, and the payments to Mr Siddiqui had been made through cheques the copies of which had been provided to ``a number of government departments,`` he said.”

The Dawn report then added a dramatic twist: “Then his son (Sheikh Yousaf’s son) rushed to the stage and asked Mr Yousaf not to answer more queries on the subject.”

Still, “Mr Yousaf said the company was heading the consortium of the Pakistani construction companies called PAMIC, and added that they were completing the project to show that the country had the expertise to construct the motorway. He said it was the first contract of its kind which had no escalation clause.”

“When asked as to how many projects his company had fetched in the period of military government, he avoided giving straight answer, and said that whatever his company had got was on merit. He admitted that he had purchased about a dozen sick industrial units.”

The dramatic Press conference raised a plethora of questions which are begging for answers. The Chairman of the company confirmed that Bilal’s father in law “had been paid for his services”, which in other words means he had delivered his part of the contract. And since he is no longer with the Company, it can be safely guessed that he is enjoying the two per cent somewhere, may be in US.

Sheikh Yousaf, revealed that Bilal’s Father-in-Law had been paid through cheques and copies had been given to various departments of the Government. That would make the job of future Accountability Bureaus much easier, it seems.

Then he was asked a very pertinent question. How many contracts his company had fetched during the Musharraf Regime? This apparently puzzled him and he could not give a straight answer. He still did not realize that some smart reporter was trying to trap him. But his son rushed to the stage and stopped him from making more disclosures.

But his answer, reported in Dawn, at least gave an insight of how much they had already made. “He admitted that he had purchased about a dozen sick industrial units,” was his reply to one question. This seems to be an impressive record which would beat any Sharif or Zardari hands down.

However many questions are now being raised. What are the rates at which he has purchased these units? Who else bid for them? What were the terms of purchase? Was there any competitive bidding? Was any undue government influence used for these purchases? What was the role of Bilal Musharraf’s father-in-law in these purchases? Is this not corruption? Is this what General Musharraf means by good governance?

There are rumours in Pakistan that Hasnain Construction is front organisation for Musharraf and his relatives. The firm has continuing to grab very large construction contracts one after the other. The firm has also grabbed Mohib Textile Mills at less than 1/3 the project cost and while its original owner - the brilliant Warton graduate Mr Asif Saigol - has been sentenced to 14 years imprisonment by a kangroo court. Even Mr. Saigol`s detractors have found the punishment extreme and excessive for a man who had great ambitions to build a textile export engine and fell afoul of predatory foreign
banks. There are reports that the judge in the relevent accountability court had no shred of evidence that Mr. Saigol defaulted on loans till his factory was closed down. The judge was severely pressurized to get this judgement to put away a patriot and a man who had ambitions for himself and his country and in the process made minor mistakes that everybody makes. Ensuring that he goes to Jail for 14 years in abysmal conditions also paved the way for Musharraf`s relatives to grab his extraordinarily well planned state of the art mill for close to free.

I think Musharraf and his cronies will inevitably face justice. They can award medals and plots and real estate parcels to themselves, grab lucrative contracts and medals but justice will prevail within our life time. He and his fellow thugs will have to answer for their conspiracy and deceit in overthrowing an elected civilian goverment. They will be put paid for sending hundreds of youngmen to their deaths in Kargil and seriously endangering the existance of the country and its people and then not being men of character to accept responsibility.

Romair,

Kudos! Fast work with the new nicks!

Not to denigrate you or anything...but you ARE a bit lazy and unimaginative.
Too easy to catch!

Is the writer talking out loud or the sequence of events is a revelation for her ? I am not sure on how to interpret this article.

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re:#17 by kaurasach
``Incompetent - recent Kargil fiasco; and the aftermath, China. Their performance against Pakistan hasn`t been spectacular compared to other world armies.``
What are you smoking, dude?
No Paki can forget 1971. The victory was nothing if not spectacular.
As far as Kargil is concerned, i respect any army which was able to dislodge Armymen dressed as ``mujahideens`` perched on hilltops, after taking a lot of human cauality. In the end, the task was achieved and India was victorious in Kargil.
As far as corruption is concerned, Tehelka exposed corruption and i believe a more transparent mode of defense purchases is in place. But there is really no comparison. In case of Paki Army, corruption is in their blood. They act like the modern day Moghuls and believe that the whole of Pakistan is their fiefdom. I am glad at least some in Pakistan are waking up.
Sridhar

kasuri #39 ha! ha! at least that officer appreciated good humor when he saw it (in that bumper sticker).

``We don`t overtake rather we TAKEOVER``, a bumper sticker that I read behind an army officer`s car speaks volumes about the mindset of the men in Khaki. No wonder Churchill was right when he said that ``war is too serious business to be left to the generals alone``. A very thought provoking article and I agree with the writer in totality.

#34 by dullabhatti on November 10, 2003 1:35pm PT

[Jurnail sahib Jurnail sahib, iss bibi nu koThi kaid kardo...

Ainnee be-baaki vi changi nai..ikk vaar injh ee keeta si ikk baar de munDay ne..abdullah si naaN ohda...yaad ay ki hoyea si uss naal? ]

Nighat Yasmeen:

Mr dullabhatti is advising you not to be too bold in criticizing rulers. He is giving the example of his namesake, abdullah from sandal baar (Lyallpur, Sahiwal area along river ravi) also known in popular folklore as dullbhatti who was taken care of by Akbar the great for standing up to the Mughal might on small scale.


#37 by ssaleemi on November 10, 2003 4:21pm PT

Excellent example. Other example is when every contestant for the assemblies was making extra effort to deny any support from the military, even the Jat bigwigs in mostly Jat areas where they would have won anyway.

gujjubania #23

Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts. There are sincere people at all levels of the Indian army. It is less corrupt than the Pakistani army because they stay out of politics. There is no need to be defensive.

I have heard allegations about senior officers giving promotions to junior officers based on whose wife they slept with. Tehalka scandal brought a few skeletons out.

Dear readers:

Pakistanis have divergent views on almost everything under the sky. Perhaps, one exception, that our police is rotten to the core. One of the very few beliefs that have universal endorsement in the country is that Pakistani Police is second to none, as far as callousness, ineffectiveness and competence are concerned. It is widely held opinion that expecting mercy from the police is equivalent to ask for stars. In other words, undoubtedly Police is regarded as the most notorious and filthy institution with 0.0 % respect and trust.

The recent episode in Lahore where a police constable Nazir Dogar became a (more or less) national hero by insulting and misbehaving (this much I do accept of the military version of the story) with the family of a serving major general speaks a volume of respect of the armed forces left in public eyes.

It must be kept in mind that the massive support this incident generated for Mr Dogar is by no mean approval for the police department or indicative of some sort of previously unknown love for police officials. It is merely an outpouring of extreme dislike ordinary people have started developing against senior military officers.

I think, more and more countrymen are undergoing the same painful metamorphosis as eloquently depicted by the author. To be honest, patriotism and love for the country entails that this process must not be allowed to continue. Military is the only somewhat functioning institution we are left with. It would be a tragedy of colossal dimension to let it go lost.

It is duty of every Pakistani to do whatever he/she could to force military back to the barracks -- NOT primarily for political and/or ideological reasons but for the larger interests of the country. To keep this precious institution intact, to rescue its prestige and to salvage the dwindling public support for it, we all are duty bound to mobilize all forces available. We have got to take out the factors that led to articles like this one, their number growing fast. There shouldn’t be any need to pen such devastating statistics.

Generals, please, for god sake wake up. I don’t know whether Hashmi is guilty of treason, sedition and all that, but it is truly treason not to neutralize the objections put forward by the writer.

kaurasch

~~Belong to a very proud army heritage - have spilled blood in ALL 3 wars - unlike you who wave the bravery and patriotism flag from far away without any sacrifice~~

May their memory live forever. Lets see what action man super bania has to say about that...that thug should get on his knees and apologise for calling you Pakistani Jhoot...cowardly common little thug.

And (further to my previous post) if you thought 262 was the correct answer, then let this be a lesson that you dont accept any figures on chowk without a grain of salt.