Enigma of the Defence Budget

could the editors of chowk please properly credit the articles -- this first appeared in Dawn, in early June -- this is for the record

Sherry Rehman:

More power to you. I recently happen to listen to your discussions which more look like assails from regime inclined anchors to any PPP representative.

More interestingly here you are asked the same questions about party internal elections which can favor to give space and merge many parallel working bodies leadership to participate according to manifesto.
The till-death chairpersonship of BB is also a issue to be democratized, however we have examples of revolutionary leaders like Mao who served in CCP 1929-1976 carrying Marxism and fight against social imperialism which had been also the primary purpose of PPP`s establishment.

faisaluno #17: There is a difference between theory and practicality. As I stated, I know the stuff from the inside, to some extent. One could make a very good argument that the military generals are not nearly as corrupt as the politicians. I would agree with that. But that cannot be used as an excuse. Corruption - illegal or legalized - is corruption. Two wrongs don`t make a right.............

The purpose of Fauji Foundations etc. is to give jobs to retired generals. They serve no other purpose. They run quite inefficiently, by the way. Hardly any of them make money, barring a few odd companies. There are only two or three companies that keep the whole Fauji group of industries going.

Just like it is not possible for a businessman to command a corps, it is very difficult for a General to run a business. I have seen both sides, and can understand the differences.

There are huge conflicts of interests. I am in the process of opening a software office in Pakistan. It will take about another six months or so. Now, why in the world should I have to compete with Askari computers? What is the world is the Army doing in the private computer industry? How can I ever compete against them, with all the backing and funding they have?

The most profitable venture of the Army off-shoots is Askari Bank. This is what makes the money to support most of the other ventures. How does it make money? It holds the whole Army budget. Due to this, it does not have to take any risks in giving commercial loans, etc. How in the world is any other bank going to compete with it..........

All countries in the world have conflict of interest laws. People in one business cannot buy into another business. For sixty years, till 1999, the Glass Stegall Act, in the USA, forced Commerical Banks and Brokerage houses to remain separate.

Similarly in Pakistan, I believe govt. banks cannot start housing socieites. Probably because, banks could then use there leverage in handing out loans and raising the prices of their societies..........

Yet their is no restriction on the Army in getting into any kind of business!! How in the world will anyone compete with Askari computers, if it applies for a govt. contract. Take a look at the board of directors for Askari Bank (http://www.askaribank.com.pk/visionlinks.htm). The Chairman is a serving Lt. General named Waseem. The Executive Committe head is a retired Lt. Gen. named Masood. And there are four retired brigadiers on the board.

What in the world is a serving General doing heading the board of a bank? Don`t you think makes the bank a property of the Army, even if on paper, it is incorporate as a private company? How can a bank fail if it has the whole Army budget? And access to the vast military corporate empire? Askari Bank will be the last bank in Pakistan to go bankrupt. Simply because no country can let its Army go under........

Isn`t that a clear conflict of interest? This is how all these Fauji entities function. Hardly any makes money on its own. Other than the bank and a few that have almost clear monopolies in their areas.

I am all for paying military men (and women) high salaries. They risk their lives. Which is more than most of us would do for Pakistan. However, they should not be in the corporate sector. Nor should they get cushy jobs in PIA, Banks etc. on retirement. They should have to compete for those jobs...........

hahaha...mohar man, thats quite a brilliant strategy you have come up with...by flooding a website no one has heard about in pak, you will definately defang pak army...and too bad for you lot that chowk was not around a thousand years ago....otherwise imagine all the armies you would have been able to defang...and did you notice how pakistanis have stopped commenting on the article after you posted here....if that does not prove tnt, i dont know what will.

shipshape...
hehehehehe...you`r a good guy...fret not...chowk will toughen you in no time...;)

Re: # 30

We`re poifectly matched then, you in-bred and devious, we ill-bred and retarded.Cousin??.

Re # 35

Must I say it? OK, I took out first three letters.

FaisalUno, I am sorry, this is just Chowk, I should contain such silly outbursts.
Once again, I apologize profusely to you. Hope you are kind enough to accept it.

[Tere Baap ki amanat hai kya Chowk]

...correction...Chowk Tere Baap ki Jageer hai kya?

shipshape...
..what is `sadike`...??

shipshape...
he did use ``kindly``...;)

Re # 30

sadike,

Tere Baap ki amanat hai kya Chowk? Faltu dadagiri nahi chalegi, yeh Pakistan nahi hai.
Tameez say baat karna seekh.

Reading various posts, it seems normally a country has an army, whereas in Pakistan the army has a country.

Re: # 30 fais

Nah - I will stay. Democracy in pakiland will be good for people all around. The criminal enterprise called Paki Army have to be defanged .....

Also - by being a snake-pit of international terrorism - you pakis have partly lost your claim to sovereignity and your excuse for ``internal matters``. So now everybody should have a say in what goes on inside land of pure. You can blow your fuse - but there is nothing you can do about it now.

hey mohar, this is pakistan issue...retarded, ill-bred indians are not welcome here...kindly get the hell out.

This is why pakis are the way they are - ruled by tinpots. The lady wrote a good article on Paki Army`s shenanigans which is no secret. She may have got some numbers wrong - but her point is still valid. But look at how other pakis react - some accuse her as PPP stooge, some say she is didn`t do ``research`` ... some guy wants her to return ill-gotten divoce alimony.

May be all these allegations against her are true, that shouldn`t matter - pakis should overlook each other faults and be united for a greater cause and fight a greater evil, which is paki army. But no - instead, pakis just behave as pakis and shred each other. None of Ms Rehman did could be as damaging as what Paki Army has been doing all this time.

Re: # 3 The revised figures of 272 B are clearly a 40% rise int the initially allocated last year`s budget of Rs 193 B. And also it is certainly a 14 % rise as compared to the `revised`+concealed budget ` of Rs 242 B from last year. May be you got confused with the figures somewhere.
regards