Pakistan’s Crusade On Corruption Amidst Its’ Crumbling Economy
Former Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has been arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of Pakistan on charges of having fake bank accounts. Mr. Zardari happens to be father of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and he is also a sitting member of the Pakistan National Assembly. The arrest came after the Islamabad High Court rejected the pre-arrest bail of Mr. Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur.
The saga started in 2015, when Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) launched a probe into fake accounts and fictitious transactions conducted through 29 fake accounts in Summit Bank, Sindh Bank and UBL on the basis of a tip-off.
Initially, seven individuals, including Mr. Zardari and his sister, were found to be involved in using these accounts for suspicious transactions. The accounts were allegedly used to channel funds received through kickbacks.
Later, Pakistan’s apex court took a suo motu notice on the delay in the FIA probe into the case. The SC also constituted a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe into the matter.
The JIT during the course of investigation uncovered another 33 dubious accounts that were linked to the case. As a matter of fact, nearly 170 individuals linked to the case were put on the “no-fly list”.
The NAB and the FIA alleged that a fake account belonging to a fictitious company had received a sum of Pakistani Rupees 4.4 billion out of which Rs.30 million were paid to the Zardari Group at two different times.
The FIA had filed the case before a banking court in Karachi which had issued an arrest warrant for former Pakistan President. Subsequently, the PPP leader had obtained bail from the Islamabad High Court in August 2018. Later, the case was shifted from the accountability bureau office in Karachi to the accountability court in Islamabad as the investigators accused the PPP of influencing the case.
During the course of the investigation, two accused in the case became approvers against Mr. Zardari and Ms. Talpur.
Several close friends of Zardari have been arrested in the case, while the PPP leader and his sister were on an interim bail which was extended multiple times before being rejected on Monday. The former Pak President is on bail in at least seven other cases of corruption.
As Pakistan is going through a political churning, the Imran khan government wants to turn the attention of the people away from issues like high prices and unemployment to corruption. Hence, following Mr. Zardari’s arrest, the Pakistan Prime Minister vowed to go after those who have been accused of corruption. In an address to the nation, following the presentation of Pakistan’s budget, Mr, Khan said, he would create a corruption free nation on the lines of “Riyasat-e-Madina”.
Mr. Khan also said that during the last quarter of a century not many schools and hospitals were built in the country. The Pakistan Prime Minister said, that his ‘naya’ Pakistan would be a model yet modern Islamic welfare state. He remained silent on the issue of creating a Pakistan which would be free from terror and a sanctuary for terror master-minds.
Mr. Khan’s words are indeed brave; but, he has to remember that his country is facing a crumbling economy. The IMF bailout package has come with too many conditions and very little money. The $6 billion bailout package is spread over years. Pakistan’s budget expects the country to grow at 2.4 percent this fiscal. Inflation would be high at 11 to 13 percent, taxes have been raised and energy prices have been hiked in tune with the IMF conditions. The country’s budgeted expenditure is expected to be around Pakistani Rs. 7 trillion, whereas, the net revenue would only be Pakistani Rs.3.5 trillion. From where the rest of the money is going to come remained unanswered by Pakistan Finance Minister Hammad Azhar. There was no mention of generating jobs!
Deflection fetches precious runs in the game of cricket; Mr. Khan knows this and is thus, playing to the gallery.
Script: Kaushik Roy, AIR Strategic Affairs Analyst
The saga started in 2015, when Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) launched a probe into fake accounts and fictitious transactions conducted through 29 fake accounts in Summit Bank, Sindh Bank and UBL on the basis of a tip-off.
Initially, seven individuals, including Mr. Zardari and his sister, were found to be involved in using these accounts for suspicious transactions. The accounts were allegedly used to channel funds received through kickbacks.
Later, Pakistan’s apex court took a suo motu notice on the delay in the FIA probe into the case. The SC also constituted a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe into the matter.
The JIT during the course of investigation uncovered another 33 dubious accounts that were linked to the case. As a matter of fact, nearly 170 individuals linked to the case were put on the “no-fly list”.
The NAB and the FIA alleged that a fake account belonging to a fictitious company had received a sum of Pakistani Rupees 4.4 billion out of which Rs.30 million were paid to the Zardari Group at two different times.
The FIA had filed the case before a banking court in Karachi which had issued an arrest warrant for former Pakistan President. Subsequently, the PPP leader had obtained bail from the Islamabad High Court in August 2018. Later, the case was shifted from the accountability bureau office in Karachi to the accountability court in Islamabad as the investigators accused the PPP of influencing the case.
During the course of the investigation, two accused in the case became approvers against Mr. Zardari and Ms. Talpur.
Several close friends of Zardari have been arrested in the case, while the PPP leader and his sister were on an interim bail which was extended multiple times before being rejected on Monday. The former Pak President is on bail in at least seven other cases of corruption.
As Pakistan is going through a political churning, the Imran khan government wants to turn the attention of the people away from issues like high prices and unemployment to corruption. Hence, following Mr. Zardari’s arrest, the Pakistan Prime Minister vowed to go after those who have been accused of corruption. In an address to the nation, following the presentation of Pakistan’s budget, Mr, Khan said, he would create a corruption free nation on the lines of “Riyasat-e-Madina”.
Mr. Khan also said that during the last quarter of a century not many schools and hospitals were built in the country. The Pakistan Prime Minister said, that his ‘naya’ Pakistan would be a model yet modern Islamic welfare state. He remained silent on the issue of creating a Pakistan which would be free from terror and a sanctuary for terror master-minds.
Mr. Khan’s words are indeed brave; but, he has to remember that his country is facing a crumbling economy. The IMF bailout package has come with too many conditions and very little money. The $6 billion bailout package is spread over years. Pakistan’s budget expects the country to grow at 2.4 percent this fiscal. Inflation would be high at 11 to 13 percent, taxes have been raised and energy prices have been hiked in tune with the IMF conditions. The country’s budgeted expenditure is expected to be around Pakistani Rs. 7 trillion, whereas, the net revenue would only be Pakistani Rs.3.5 trillion. From where the rest of the money is going to come remained unanswered by Pakistan Finance Minister Hammad Azhar. There was no mention of generating jobs!
Deflection fetches precious runs in the game of cricket; Mr. Khan knows this and is thus, playing to the gallery.
Script: Kaushik Roy, AIR Strategic Affairs Analyst
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