I dont know if its a coincidence but corruption scandals involving the govt. have increased dramatically in the past few weeks. One after the other, major scams r coming to the light that would have, in my opinion, fell many a political govt. Instead of opening a new thread everyday, I am going to use this thread as a repository of the more credible news pertaining to the subject. Is this history repeating itself..flood of corruption scandals before a govt. is brought down? Time will tell.
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Re: Transparently Corrupt
**PAC points finger at minister for tax evasion
**CBR chief says reform plan under way to minimise reliance on customs duty
By Israr Khan
ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Friday blew the whistle on sugar mills owned by an influential sitting federal minister for evading billions of rupees tax during the last seven years, terming the CBR toothless to net big sharks.
Qurban Ali Shah, a senior committee member, told the PAC that the administration of Tandianwala Sugar Mills [note: owned by Humayun Akhtar’s family] had been deliberately declaring losses for many years and even showing the minister without a car and a house.
He charged that the owner has already set up two mills with the evaded tax money and is now preparing for the third one with 30 percent equity. This disclosure upset PAC Chairman Malik Allah Yar, who while looking at the Chairman CBR Abdullah Yousuf present there, wondered, “How is it possible?”
The chairman CBR referred to loopholes in the present tax system as the reasons for tax evasion by the rich and affluent in the society. “Since the inception of Pakistan, we have not developed a tax paying culture and still see a lot of tax gaps in various sectors,” Yousuf said. His response, however, did not satisfy the PAC, whose chairman directed the CBR chief to come up with a detailed report on the matter after June 30.
Qurban Shah and other members of the committee were of the view that different business cartels including sugar, cement and automobile were earning billions and billions of rupees every year but were paying meagre taxes. They pointed out that they have been given a free hand by the government to such an extent that they declare their production and sale of their sweet will and pay the taxes of their own choice. The committee also held the taxmen responsible for leakages in revenue collection.
The committee, chaired by Malik Allah Yar, reviewed audit reports 2000-01 concerning the CBR. It found that most of those responsible for the loss of revenue were either retired or dead. It is also pointed out that many of the cases were sub judice before different courts since long.
**
The CBR chairman looked helpless to address these issues and said, “What do you expect from me. I cannot issue a direction to any court”**. Some of the PAC members also said that there was rampant evasion of sales tax in the sugar sector. These mills sell sugar on higher prices, but pay sales tax on low price, a member said, adding that the issue needs to be probed by the tax authorities to detect tax evasion committed in this sector. Particularly, the ‘Kunda system’ to measure sugarcane is widely misused to evade taxes, he added.
The CBR chief said a reform plan is under way for which a proper tax policy would be prepared under which reliance of customs duty would be minimised. Some of the sugar and cement units have installed capacity of more than the required production capacity. The PAC directed the CBR to submit details of tax paid by the sugar mills and cement manufacturers.
Earlier, the CBR chairman, in his briefing to the committee, enumerated the successes made on various fronts including the clearance of huge pendency of tax cases. Later, various pending audit paras and actionable items came under discussion in the meeting and necessary decisions were taken. There was unanimity of views in the PAC meeting that time and energy may not be wasted on audit paras in which nominal amounts were involved and the committee asked the CBR to get them written off.
The News International: Latest News Breaking, World, Entertainment, Royal News](http://www.paksearch.com/Annual/Annual04/Tandliansugar04.htm)
Re: Transparently Corrupt
CBR Chairman:
Interestingly enough, DAWN presents a starkly different picture. Is the Chairman contradicting himself?
1,650 cases disposed of by SC bench: CBR
By Our Reporter
ISLAMABAD, May 25: Central Board of Revenue Chairman Abdullah Yousuf said on Friday that a special bench of the Supreme Court had disposed of 1,650 of 1,950 appeals related to taxes.
Responding to questions by members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly, he said 293 cases were pending with the court.
** The bench was constituted by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to give relief to the taxpayers.**
** The CBR chairman said some of the cases settled had been pending 30 years.
**
Mr Yousuf said 82,000 tax appeals had been disposed of duirng the last couple of years at the level of collectorates and commissionerates. The CBR now had 1,200 tax appeals regarding direct taxes 2,200 on indirect collection, he said.
Clearance of pending cases helped us reduce the number of commissioners, appeal, from 34 to five and collectors, appeal, from 14 to six, he said. Another collector was likely to be withdrawn in a month or so, he said.
He informed the PAC that 7,950 appeals had been decided in two years at the high courts level. Of 25,000 appeals pending at the tribunal level, 21,414 had been decided. Since 2001, the Federal Tax Ombudsman had handled 9,293 complaints filed by taxpayers and 345 were left decision, he said.
He said the Alternate Dispute Resolution Committees had received 251 applications on direct taxes and 957 on indirect taxes. Of them, 68 applications regarding direct taxes and 223 on indirect taxes were pending.
PAC Chairman Malik Allah Yar Khan appreciated the CBR’s performance.
In reply to a question by a member of the committee, Mr Yousuf said the case of Bahawan Shah, who was allegedly involved in a scandal of billions of rupees, had been handed over to the National Accountability Bureau.
The members were of the view that time and energy should not be wasted on audit paras in which nominal amounts were involved and the committee asked the CBR to do the needful to get them written off.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/26/nat2.htm
:hmmm:
Re: Transparently Corrupt
Earlier news:
**Rudderless NAB simmers with frustration
**By Ansar Abbasi
ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) today presents a perfect picture of frustration. Background interviews reveal that the bureau, which has been facing public bashing for being used as a tool by the rulers in their politics of wheeling-dealing, is now eager to improve its standing and earn respect in public eyes.
The recent decision of Chairman NAB Lt-Gen (retd) Shahid Aziz not to attend his office is said to be the result of the same frustration that envelops the bureau. Though the Director Public Relations, NAB, Col Zahid, insists that the chairman is on leave on medical grounds, no one in the bureau is really sure if the general would come back. However, it is confirmed that he has not yet formally resigned.
The apparent reason being given for the NAB chairman’s decision to not to attend the office is the reported cervical problem. “He could not sit because of a numb neck for which he is getting treatment,” a staff member of the chairman said.
Asked if he has resigned, he said, “Not yet. We have not received any such thing so far.” The retired general has not been attending the office for the last fortnight, and nobody know when he would he resume the duty. One NAB official said that the chairman would not come to his office for another month, while a source outside NAB said that Aziz has quit and his resignation would be formally announced once the government accepts it.
Sources, both within and outside the bureau, endorse that the reputed retired general was under extreme stress because of the government interference in his domain. At one point of time he got so perturbed due to the government’s growing interference and the media bashing that he held a background meeting with a selected group of journalists to explain his position and share his frustration. Hamid Mir, senior journalist and host of one of the Geo TV’s top talk shows — Capital Talk — who attended the same background meeting told this correspondent that Aziz had a heart-to-heart talk with them.
Mir said that Aziz told newsmen that NAB was probing into the sugar scam and the multibillion-dollar Karachi Stock Exchange crash but the bureau was later directed by the government to take its hand off these cases. Mir vividly remembered the chairman NAB saying that the bureau had some concrete evidence about the involvement of some of the rulers, including federal ministers, in these scams.
Hamid Mir, who is also the Executive Editor Northern Region for Geo TV, said that during the same background briefing he had asked the general why he did not resign if he could not proceed against the powerful and mighty in the government. He quoted Aziz as responding that he would continue fighting. But now the general seems to have given up.
**A NAB source told this correspondent that every major scandal involving any government player was being capped by the top authorities. The source said that the bureau also conducted a probe into the oil price issue.
“During the course of the probe, we were told by the government that we are interfering in the policy issues whereas we were actually focusing on the gray areas of policy implementations,” another source said, disclosing that the bureau submitted its report to the prime minister in the middle of last year but it is still pending there.**
In December, the source said, NAB organised a seminar where the prime minister was the chief guest. “Instead of praising our efforts, the prime minister gave a serious thrashing to the bureau,” the source recalled, but wondered that no one in the media dug out as to why was the prime minister so upset about NAB.
Generally, the NAB officials have very high opinion about Shahid Aziz. They argue that after his taking over as the NAB Chairman, Aziz amended the policy of arresting the accused at preliminary stages of the probe.
“The NAB law was described as draconian for the reason that the people were arrested first, while probe was initiated later. But now no such thing happens here,” a senior NAB official said, adding that Aziz also de-linked the promotion of civil servants from the NAB probe.
A former corps commander Lahore, Aziz, who is said to have also submitted a report to the Army chief about a land scam in Lahore involving some top ranking Army officials including a general, has refused to use an official vehicle of 2800cc when offered to him as the Chairman NAB.
The 2800cc luxury jeep was in use of the former chairman but Aziz said that he was entitled to only 1600cc car so he would never sit in the 2800cc jeep. Because of this reason, a 1600cc car was arranged and provided to the chairman.
**Similarly, it is said, two low scale NAB employees were deputed at Aziz’s residence. But when he came to know that they are beyond his official entitlement, he asked his staff to deduct the salary of the two from his pay for the days they were posted at his residence. **Deputy Chairman NAB Maj-Gen Muhammad Siddique is presently serving as the acting chairman of the bureau.
Re: Transparently Corrupt
A dismal record
- By Irfan Husain*
AS General Musharraf surveys the debris of the political structure he has cobbled together, general elections must be the last thing he needs. And yet, they are just around the corner, waiting to mug him as he goes past.
** Consider this scenario: in Musharraf and his hand-picked prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, we have two political novices who have never fought or won an election in their lives.** The latter was declared the winner in a dubious by-election, and the president fudged his indirect election by promising to retire from the army. But neither has any experience in the rough and tumble of Pakistani politics, as both have depended on the state apparatus to win and to wield power.
And now that they face a crucial test at the hustings later this year, they are clearly floundering. The situation is not unlike appointing a captain and vice-captain for our Test team two players who have played cricket only at school level. The first thing they should know is that in Pakistan, parties and their candidates need to have some sort of record of success when they go back to their constituents. What exactly has the ruling coalition done to deserve another term? Are ordinary people better or worse off than they were in 2002?
Certainly, the rich have got richer: witness the presence of Porsche and Rolls Royce dealerships in Pakistan. Nowadays, people think nothing of spending tens of millions on a flat. Armani suits and Gucci shoes grace the persons of the nouveaux riches from the president downwards. Weekend farms have proliferated around Lahore, complete with swimming pools. So all in all, these last five years have been a good time to make money in Pakistan.
** How much of this new wealth was legitimately acquired is another question. According to Transparency International, Pakistan today is a far more corrupt country than it was when Musharraf seized power in 1999.**
** A London-based friend who puts deals together in different parts of the world says that he has never encountered the degree of greed in Pakistan as he does now. When he was looking at the possibility of setting up an energy-related project recently, he received a call from somebody who claimed to represent various generals, offering to facilitate the deal. When my friend asked to meet the principals involved, he was told the upfront fees, to be paid prior to the meeting, was a million dollars. Added to this demand was the implied threat: “If you try to push the project through without us, we will see to it that you are blocked at every turn.”**
But unfortunately for the ruling coalition, this wealth does not necessarily translate into votes. Most Pakistanis today consider themselves to be worse off. Inflation is eating into their meagre incomes; unemployment is rampant; and law and order is a nightmare. In the eight years since he staged his coup, General Musharraf has not succeeded in adding a single megawatt to the national grid. And despite the highly touted privatisation of KESC a couple of years ago, Karachi’s power supply has never been more dire, with citizens having to put up with hours of ‘load-shedding’ every day.
Beyond the personal suffering caused by this government’s incompetence and corruption, there is the worsening situation on our borders. While our relations with India are less tense, we have a disaster looming on our Afghan border. Of late, there have been raids into Iran from Pakistani territory by an extremist group, killing a number of Iranian security personnel. This, and other Pakistani policies, have soured relations with Iran. In the region, many countries are concerned by the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan, a phenomenon that threatens their stability as well as ours.
So when Musharraf claims he has raised the image of Pakistan in the world, I’m afraid he is being somewhat economical with the truth. The reality is that in the West, there is a growing concern over the rapid decline of the writ of the state in the country. Islamabad’s inability to control its tribal areas as well as the troubled districts of Balochistan is being increasingly highlighted in the media around the world.
The whole Lal Masjid episode is a telling example of how things are spinning out of Musharraf’s control. The recent bloodbath in Karachi and the mishandling of the judicial crisis are just further episodes that illustrate how out of touch with reality Musharraf and his partners really are.
The other success this government claims is the steady rise in foreign exchange reserves since 9/11. But the reason for this windfall has nothing to do with Shaukat Aziz’s financial acumen, and everything to do with western assistance, as well as the international crackdown on unofficial ‘hundi’ transactions. In any case, these reserves do very little for the common man. When Shaukat Aziz claims success for his macroeconomic policies, the voter is largely unimpressed. He wants to know how his life has improved as a result. The short answer is that it hasn’t.
In most countries, a government with this kind of track record could not hope to win an election. But in Pakistan, the art of rigging has been developed into a science by the bureaucracy and the intelligence agencies. This is why Musharraf, as well as the ruling PML-Q-MQM coalition, can expect to do far better than they deserve. In a recent opinion poll in Russia, well over 50 per cent said they did not think the next elections would reflect the popular will, and expected the bureaucracy to rig the outcome. I wonder what percentage of Pakistanis feels the same way.
But even in Pakistan, there are limits to how blatantly an election can be stolen. The rule of thumb is that if the margin between the two front-runners is less than 5,000, the numbers can be massaged in favour of the official candidate. Above this number, rigging is difficult. Such close contests are not the norm, so basically, the state apparatus needs to fix the results in about 30-40 constituencies. As we all know, this task is not beyond them. In Karachi and Hyderabad, the MQM has traditionally used its muscle to win, so the results there are pretty much a foregone conclusion.
However, Musharraf needs to remember that the legitimacy he is so desperately looking for will not come through rigged elections.
Re: Transparently Corrupt
Corruption Perception Index:
Re: Transparently Corrupt
and this:
Inside trading scam FBI to probe PM, Punjab CM role (Frontier Post)
*
Saeed Minhas*
ISLAMABAD: Investigations following the arrest of a Pakistani investment banker, Hafiz Naseem on account of 26 charges ranging from inside trading to conspiracy in US, is linking Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Chief Minister Punjab Ch. Pervaiz Elahi, their close aides and known names in Pakistani banking and stock exchange sectors with the inside trading scam being investigated by FBI, learned The Frontier Post on good authority. Sources privy to information disclosed that though Hafiz Nasim, a LUMS graduate, a former employee of American Express in Pakistan and an under-investigation banker at Credit Suisse New York has been granted bail by a US federal judge, yet Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has taken up this case for investigations.
FBI will be looking into possible links between this scam, Pakistani high ups, gulf countries and Al-Qaeda. The inside-trading-scam, sources revealed had some similarities with the BCCI scandal of 80s which ultimately brought down the biggest bank of Islamic world. Involvement of FBI also denotes the interests of Homeland Security of US in an otherwise financial scam because it has the potential of unearthing an existing or future international network of “nexus of evil”, informed the sources. Federal ministers, seeking anonymity confirmed the arrival of FBI team in Islamabad and also confirmed that the FBI team is investigating various characters involved in this scam. Insiders believe that the recent crash of Karachi Stock Exchange, which revolved around Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his financial advisors, might also get highlighted because of the involvement of same characters in this scam.
There are several big names from amongst politicians, investors and bankers which are likely to be investigated and interviewed by FBI in this matter, revealed our own investigations. Shujaat Azeem, a pilot by profession, happens to be a close aide of prime minister and brother of federal minister of information, Tariq Azeem is seen as a ‘person of interest’ by FBI along with the former head of investments for Faysal Bank Pakistan, Ejaz Rahim-who currently is living in Canada after quitting his job at Faysal Bank. Shujaat Azeem is president of a US $ 110 million housing project, Sukh Chain Gardens, Lahore, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and is funded by Chinese. Ejaz Rahim is a partner in one of the biggest housing project in Lahore, while the president of Faysal Bank, Farooq Bengali also holds share in this housing project. Bengali along with Ejaz Rahim, is facing charges of benefiting from a conflict of interest situation by investing personally in a scheme where his bank was the financier. They both invested in a housing project of Habib Rafiq Developers, Alhamra Hills in Islamabad and helped many politicians and businessmen benefit from this scheme, because the project was financed by Faysal Bank.
Chaudhary Munir, who is very dear to Chief Minister Punjab because of his special links with the UAE rulers and is in-charge of their investments in Pakistan, is also a partner in Sukh Chain Gardens. It was this involvement which has led the investigators to see any linkage of the Gulf states in the scam or its characters and thus find any clue as to the financing of Al-Qaeda operations, opined the sources. Another person of interest for the investigators is Aqeel Dhadi, commonly known as AKD. He is considered instrumental in the recent crash of KSE, which triggered quite an uproar in the country because of Prime Minister’s alleged involvement in that scam. Chief of NBP Ali Raza is also on the investigators” list besides many other federal and provincial cabinet members, added the sources. Top bankers avoided saying anything on record but when prompted to go off the record confirmed that investigations are going on and all the concerned bankers are quite perturbed over this.
Re: Transparently Corrupt
Re 1 per acre for Sonmiani port humiliating, says Wasay
LAHORE: The government wants to buy 500,000 acres for only Re 1 per acre to build a port in Sonmiani, Balochistan senior Minister Maulana Abdul Wasay told the provincial assembly on Thursday. Wasay later told BBC Urdu that President Gen Pervez Musharraf had announced setting up a port in Sonmiani in March. “Shipping and Ports Minister Babar Ghauri acted so hastily on this that he suggested that the price of land in Sonmiani should be Re 1 per acre,” he added. “Balochistan has always been victimised but this is humiliating,” said the MMA leader. Balochistan Revenue Minister Asim Kird Geelu told a press conference on Thursday that the house lacked the required quorum to pass a resolution against the establishment of the port. “No approval for land in Sonmiani has been given and no PC 1 of the project has been prepared either,” Geelu said. Advocate Kachkol Ali, opposition leader in the Balochistan Assembly, told the assembly session on Thursday that the MQM wanted to establish Jinnahpur from Bandar to Sonmiani. This, he said, would turn the Baloch into a minority. daily times monitor
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\26\story_26-5-2007_pg7_19
Re: Transparently Corrupt
This govt has always been known by the people IN Pakistan as just as corrupt, if not more corrupt than it's predecessor's
Re: Transparently Corrupt
What PAC stands for?
Re: Transparently Corrupt
Public Accounts Committee. It is a parliamentary committee that is supposed to keep the executive honest abt its finances.
Re: Transparently Corrupt
Every corruption is kosher as long as it is done under military rule in our country. No matter how many scandals of corruption are exposed Mush lovers will continue their insane support for him, they are no different than blind followers of Altaf, BB and Nawaz
Re: Transparently Corrupt
Public Accounts Committee. It is a parliamentary committee that is supposed to keep the executive honest abt its finances.
Thanx
Re: Transparently Corrupt
I dont know if its a coincidence but corruption scandals involving the govt. have increased dramatically in the past few weeks. One after the other, major scams r coming to the light that would have, in my opinion, fell many a political govt. Instead of opening a new thread everyday, I am going to use this thread as a repository of the more credible news pertaining to the subject. Is this history repeating itself..flood of corruption scandals before a govt. is brought down? Time will tell.
Dude, the house of cards is coming down now... This is really the end game of the current setup, everyone is jumping of the boat.
Question is how will this end and who will be the incumbant.
Re: Transparently Corrupt
CPi did not come out in the last few weeks.
the perception is of foriegn journalists and businessmen based on what they hear and see.
and if u read the numbers right, in relation to the number of countries and respective ranking it appears that the perception got better in 2002 and 2003, got worse in 2005 and then got back to 2001 levels in 2006.
The increasing news over last few weeks is interesting. It continues down a path that we started on a few months ago. and its not just Pakistani media, its US and Uk media and teh statements heard from officials, and discussions going on.
what is going on is obvious
Re: Transparently Corrupt
Dude, the house of cards is coming down now... This is really the end game of the current setup, everyone is jumping of the boat. Question is how will this end and who will be the incumbant.
is that the end game?
question is who will be the incumbent and what will the incumbent do to address issues that we all have concerns with right now, ranging from baluch issues, to karachi issues, deaing with MQM, judiciary integrity and independence, militancy, border control, and economic growth.
Re: Transparently Corrupt
is that the end game?
question is who will be the incumbent and what will the incumbent do to address issues that we all have concerns with right now, ranging from baluch issues, to karachi issues, deaing with MQM, judiciary integrity and independence, militancy, border control, and economic growth.
One should its someone who isnt BB or NS, or the many other corrupt loser present through out the country.... Perhaps God will finally be merciful!
Re: Transparently Corrupt
If fair elections are held, either BB or NS will be most probable winners. Unless corrupt politicians removed by vote or independent judicial inquiry, the saga of corrupt politicians will continue. This is not a rocket science, should now be understood by future dictators and present lovers of dictators or army rule.
FARID
Re: Transparently Corrupt
One should its someone who isnt BB or NS, or the many other corrupt loser present through out the country.... Perhaps God will finally be merciful!
perhaps God will be merciful...but God is often not merciful to a nation that refuses to learn lessons. And in removing Musharraf for 'no option in sight', or 'the same old tested and miserably failed' options doesn't tell much worth commending about our national improvement or effort to learn lessons from past or behave more rationally...this current storm is just to bring change because everyone is suddenly bored, tired and disappointed in Musharaf. Like when we are sick and we cant feel the right taste in our mouth we want some change and eat spicy food, not because it's beneficial for us, but because it's a change and spicy for all that matters at that moment...
Re: Transparently Corrupt
If fair elections are held, either BB or NS will be most probable winners. Unless corrupt politicians removed by vote or independent judicial inquiry, the saga of corrupt politicians will continue. This is not a rocket science, should now be understood by future dictators and present lovers of dictators or army rule.
FARID
And knowing that, shouldn't this also be known by lovers of sham democracy or lovers of mere labels under which everything but whats written on the label goes? When BB, Nawaz will be the most probable winners, by all reasoning, are we just following a blind rush for a change with no plans or objectives in sight...? Arent we creating room for these two and other similar corrupt ppl, from past or even the present govts to stay dancing over our heads...? where's the change?