Loud Thinking

Archive for July, 2013

By Nadeem M Qureshi

In 2008 when the PPP government of President Asif Zardari took office Pakistan’s total foreign debt was about $40 billion. Today, at the end of the PPP government’s term, it is $60 billion. Twenty billion dollars of new debt has been added. As the Government of Nawaz Sharif begins negotiations with the IMF to seek more loans, the people of Pakistan need to ask two basic questions. The first is: What happened to this money?

By almost any economic indicator people are worse off today than they were five years ago. Unemployment and inflation are higher. Vital infrastructure – railways, roads, public transport, hospitals, schools, water supply and sewage systems – have deteriorated to unprecedented and unacceptable levels. It is almost as though the $20 billion has vanished into thin air.

Well, some of it has. Consider, for example, the single case of the purchase of Boeing 777 aircraft by Pakistan International Airlines in 2011. Transparency International Pakistan maintains that of the $1.5 billion paid for the aircraft, $500 million were diverted as kickbacks to the government functionaries. Multiply this by dozens of multibillion dollar deals over five years, across different economic sectors, and it is clear that many of the billions taken in the name of the people of Pakistan have disappeared into private bank accounts.
Not all of the $20 billion is unaccounted for. Some of it is on rude display in the fleets of bullet proof luxury vehicles of politicians and bureaucrats. Less visible is the money spent on acquiring and maintaining the fleet of private jets at the disposal of the country’s ‘leaders’ and their acolytes. Also hidden from view but widely reported are the luxurious lifestyles of the people’s ‘servants’. A distasteful example of this was the news that the government planned to spend Rs. 260 million to renovate the President’s kitchen.

The second question that the people of Pakistan are entitled to ask is this: Should they be liable to pay back money taken in their name but used almost exclusively to enrich the ruling coterie? It is clear that the highly paid international bureaucrats who work for the IMF are not stupid. It cannot have escaped them that the money they are doling out is misused, or worse, stolen. Why then should the people of Pakistan pay for their willful negligence? This raises issues of legality and precedent. Is it lawful for a country to refute debt taken on by corrupt politicians? And, are there any precedents for this? The answer to both questions is yes.

The concept of odious debt was established in international law by Alexander Nahum Sack, a Russian born jurisprudence expert, in a paper published in Paris in 1927. Odious debt “is a legal theory that holds that the national debt incurred by a regime for purposes that do not serve the best interests of the nation, should not be enforceable. Such debts are, thus, considered by this doctrine to be personal debts of the regime that incurred them and not debts of the state.”

The doctrine further suggests that since odious debt is deemed the personal debt of the rulers in power at the time the debt was secured, recovery should be from their personal assets. There are also several precedents in which countries have repudiated national debt. The United States set the first precedent of odious debt when it seized control of Cuba from Spain. Spain insisted that Cuba repay the loans made to them by Spain. The U.S. repudiated that debt, arguing that the debt was imposed on Cuba by force of arms and served Spain’s interest rather than Cuba’s, and that the debt therefore ought not be repaid.
The debt was annulled. In recent times, there is the example of Haiti. When the dictator Jean Claude Duvalier was overthrown in 1986, 66 US senators supported a resolution calling for cancellation of Haiti’s debt on the grounds that the money was misused. In the end, half of Haiti’s debt was written off.

By far the most effective use of the ‘odious debt’ doctrine in recent times is by President Rafael Correa of Ecuador. In 2008 he repudiated Ecuador’s national debt of $ 3 billion and announced the country would default and fight creditors in international courts. He succeeded eventually in getting a 60% write off on Ecuador’s debt.

Sadly, it is doubtful that Pakistan’s current leaders will be able to take the IMF bull by its horns. They lack the competence, integrity and, yes the intelligence, to do so. What a tragedy for the poor people of Pakistan who will continue to pay for their leaders’ larceny.

(The writer is Chairman of Mustaqbil Pakistan)

Moreover, Mr. Naeem Sadiq wrote on 12, July 2013 in the daily “The News” quoted as below.
Quote.”Dear Bank
Naeem Sadiq
TheNews
Friday, July 12, 2013
Many thanks for the $5.3 billion loan. One small step for a bank, a giant leap for a chronic borrower. I can proudly claim that my debt, steadily rising every year, has now reached $66.17 billion. This would mean that every member of my family must cough out $366 to repay this loan. This can only happen if we all stop eating, drinking – in fact living – for the next 10 months. Is that what they also call collective suicide? I made sure not to consult my unenthusiastic family, on whose behalf these loans were taken. They never seem to agree with my lifesaving – or should I say death-delaying? – initiatives. You too must be equally ecstatic. After all you end up gaining the most. You will retain most of this amount as repayment of the earlier loan, while my unflinching yearly debt-servicing will keep you charmed for a long time to come.

You had raised a number of questions before you approved the loans. Why is it that despite such massive borrowing, my family shows no signs of getting any better? Why are 50 percent of the family members illiterate and 60 percent below poverty level? Why are half the children out of school? Why is there no electricity half the time? Why does no one in the family have access to clean tap water?

You also wanted to know the reasons for the striking disparity in the lifestyle of some other members of our family. They move about with armed guards in obscenely large vehicles (often smuggled), live in luxury homes, have properties and cash stacked in foreign lands and drink corporate soda or water only from those neat-looking plastic bottles. It is only this segment of the family that is forever pushing for more loans. They are the ones who justify the bank’s slogan of ‘poverty alleviation’ – since this is the only group whose poverty gets truly alleviated.

My sixth sense tells me that you already know the answers to all these questions. You were merely going through the motions, filling forms, giving an impression of officious formality and appropriateness. The fact that I earn little, waste a lot and pilfer the most, makes me an ideal customer for the sort of business you are in. I have learnt to plead my case by closely studying beggars who flock the streets of Karachi during the holy month of Ramazan every year. I use exactly the same techniques with only three minor variations – dress, language and location.

Now, some bad news for you. My entire family, except those very few who gained the most from your loans, got together last night to say that they would no longer tolerate being pushed into this bottomless cesspool.

When I gave them your message that they needed to tighten their belts, they said they were too poor and did not have any belts to tighten. They said they were fed up of the loans taken on their name – the loans that make the elite of the family get richer and have still more fun. The mounting loans have made them poorer than before and taken away the last shreds of dignity that covered their half-naked bodies. Getting crumbs like 0.8 percent for health and 1.8 percent for education made them still more unhealthy, and yet more uneducated.

In simple words, my family has decided not just to stop seeking any further loans but to also stop any further debt-servicing. An unemployed maths teacher in my family spent some time to calculate that we paid $37.2 billion as debt-servicing alone in the last eight years. This is many times more than the principal amount that we borrowed during this period.

We are absolutely sure that there is no law that can force us to close our schools, starve our children, privatise our resources and abandon our welfare, simply because our selfish elders borrowed huge sums on behalf of those who cannot even spell the word ‘loan’ or have ever seen a bank from the inside.

Having paid off the principal amount several times over, we have a good reason to ask for total debt cancellation and an immediate freeze on any further debt-servicing. Do you realise that discovering a new mode of dying – by getting trampled while struggling to receive free food donations – speaks volumes about the poverty that your loans have been able to alleviate?

Sincerely,

Issac.dare@gmail.com
naeem sadiq
twitter : @saynotoweapons ” Unquote.

The Supreme Court can annul any law or agreement made clearly against Pakistan and its public.

Can someone take this issue of “Pakistan has a special Energy Law, in which the Government of Pakistan agrees to pay a minimum agreed monthly payment to all Power producers for the contract period, even if no power is supplied. This means that if the Power plant is not operating, Pakistan would still need to pay the energy bill”.

Details of a letter published by the Pakistan Today on 3 July, 2013, are as below:

Mian Nawaz Sharif and Mian Shahbaz Sharif are both very busy trying to find a solution for the current Energy problem of Pakistan. Being a Chemical Engineer, I have some expertise on the Energy problem and have done some initial work, which I would like to share with them; Energy Problem: Pakistan has a special Energy Law, in which the Government of Pakistan agrees to pay a minimum agreed monthly payment to all Power producers for the contract period, even if no power is supplied. This means that if the Power plant is not operating, Pakistan would still need to pay the energy bill. In 2008 the 8 Thermal Power plants and 2 Nuclear power plants of Pakistan were forcefully shut down for maintenance. With reduced supply of electricity, WAPDA has fewer units to sell and thus have less income per year. But the payments to the Thermal power companies was at a fixed rate, creating a very big 100 M$ energy deficit. Fast Track Solution: Although Fuel supplies and payments to the Thermal power plants can be increased to produce more energy, but with the low efficiency, the energy produced will be at a very high cost. Therefore the best option would be to install 5000MW Coal Power plants in locations that are away from the population, near the port or other transport facility and close to the National Grid. Long Term Solution: Pakistan has the potential to generate 55,000 MW of electricity, which can be sold to Afghanistan, India, China and Oman. This is because, Pakistan’s Northern areas rise like a series of steps, which create opportunities for Hydel Power. But these big and small Hydro Power plants can take 2-6 years for construction, and with Dams there is an additional 2-5 years for filling the Dam. But the good news is that Banks and Donor organisations love to fund Hydro Power Projects, because this is clean renewable energy, which does not produce any pollution and has a life of 30-50 years. Also Pakistan can use Hydro and even Wind Power projects for Self Funded Pension Schemes, where Pakistani citizens can buy shares in a project, which would give them a regular income for 25 years. Wind Power is also a very good option, since Pakistan’s Sindh and Balochistan regions have very good wind rates and there is opportunity to generate up to 50,000 MW of energy with Wind Power from that region alone. Wind Power has all similar equipment and installation procedure. SHAHRYAR KHAN BASEER Peshawar –

So the agony and misery of Umer Akmal comes to an end.

Our Hockey team would have performed better than 23/4 in 9.1 overs VS WI.

“Learning without thinking is labor lost; thinking without
learning is dangerous.”

— Chinese Proverb

Indian Govt behind Parliament attack, Mumbai attack of 26/11: Ishrat probe officer

A TOI Report.

NEW DELHI: In what is certain to escalate the already vicious fight between the CBI and the IB over the IshratJahan “fake encounter case”, a former home ministry officer has alleged that a member of the CBI-SIT team had accused incumbent governments of “orchestrating” the terror attack on Parliament and the 26/11 carnage in Mumbai.

R V S Mani, who as home ministry under-secretary signed the affidavits submitted in court in the alleged encounter case, has said that Satish Verma, until recently a part of the CBI-SIT probe team, told him that both the terror attacks were set up “with the objective of strengthening the counter-terror legislation (sic)”.

Mani has said that Verma “…narrated that the 13.12. 2001(attack on Parliament) was followed by Pota (Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act) and 26/11 2008 (terrorists’ siege of Mumbai) was followed by amendment to the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act).”

The official has alleged Verma levelled the damaging charge while debunking IB’s inputs labelling the three killed with Ishrat in the June 2004 encounter as Lashkar terrorists.

Contacted by TOI, Verma refused to comment. “I don’t know what the complaint is, made when and to whom. Nor am I interested in knowing. I cannot speak to the media on such matters. Ask the CBI,” said the Gujarat cadre IPS officer who after being relieved from the SIT is working as principal of the Junagadh Police Training College.

Mani, currently posted as deputy land and development officer in the urban development ministry, has written to his seniors that he retorted to Verma’s comments telling the IPS officer that he was articulating the views of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI.

According to him, the charge was levelled by Verma in Gandhinagar on June 22 while questioning Mani about the two home ministry affidavits in the alleged encounter case.

In his letter to the joint secretary in the urban development ministry, Mani has accused Verma of “coercing” him into signing a statement that is at odds with facts as he knew them. He said Verma wanted him to sign a statement saying that the home ministry’s first affidavit in the Ishrat case was drafted by two IB officers. “Knowing fully well that this would tantamount to falsely indicting of (sic) my seniors at the extant time, I declined to sign any statement.”

Giving the context in which Verma allegedly levelled the serious charge against the government, Mani said the IPS officer, while questioning him, had raised doubts about the genuineness of IB’s counter-terror intelligence. He disputed the veracity of the input on the antecedents of the three killed in June 2004 on the outskirts of Ahmedabad with Ishrat in the alleged encounter which has since become a polarizing issue while fuelling Congress’s fight with Gujarat CM Narendra Modi.

Gujarat Police has justified the encounter citing the IB report that Pakistani nationals Zeeshan Zohar, Amzad Ali Rana and Javed Sheikh were part of a Lashkar module which had reached Gujarat to target Modi and carry out terrorist attacks.

In its first affidavit, filed in August 2009, the home ministry had cited IB inputs that those killed with Ishrat in the alleged encounter were part of a Lashkar sleeper cell, and had objected to a CBI probe into the “encounter”.

In its second affidavit, filed in September 2009, the home ministry, irked by the Gujarat government treating the first affidavit as justification of the encounter, said the IB input did not constitute conclusive proof of the terrorist antecedents of those killed. It supported the demand for a CBI probe.

Mani said Verma doubted the input saying MHA’s first affidavit was actually drafted by IB officer Rajinder Kumar, who looked after IB’s operations in Gujarat at the time of Ishrat “encounter” and now runs the serious risk of being chargesheeted by the CBI for hatching the conspiracy behind the alleged extra-judicial killings.

Mani said Verma stuck to his guns even after being told that the home ministry did not need outside help. The former home ministry official said Verma insisted that the “input” was prepared after the encounter.

Loud Thinking July 12, 2013 at 11:51PM
Posted by Syed Nayyar Uddin on July 12, 2013 in My Views | Edit |
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Dear Bank,
We (Pakistan), paid $37.2 billion as debt-servicing alone and got $7 billion, in the last eight years.
This is many times more than the principal amount that we borrowed during this period.
Naeem Sadiq

The key to forgiveness is to forgive from the heart — not from the mind.
– Sheri Rosenthal

Forgiveness … is the finishing of old business that allows us to experience the present,
free of contamination from the past.
– Joan Borysenko

Forgiveness is not always easy.
At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it.
And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.
– Marianne Williamson

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
… Forgive them anyway.
– Kent Keith (often attributed to Mother Teresa)

Forgiving is not a gift to someone else –
Forgiving is your gift to yourself –
a great gift – the gift of happiness.
– Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Forgive those who have injured you –
not because they deserve your forgiveness,
but because you can never be happy until you release your anger and grant forgiveness.

I Forgive Myself with Compassion –
I forgive everyone, especially myself,
for all actions and all inactions throughout my entire life.
I accept that no one else has ever been to blame for either my joy or my suffering.
The entire cause of all my joys and all my sufferings is
my own emotional response to the events of my life,
and I am committed to consistently distinguishing between my feelings
about events and the physical occurrence of those events.
I declare that everyone who has ever played any role in any of the events of my life is entirely without fault.

Why Forgive? I’m angry. They wronged me, why should I forgive them?
They lied, they cheated, why should I forgive them?

Forgiveness is not a reprieve or a gift that we give to someone else.
Forgiveness for another’s act or omission is a reprieve and gift that we give our self.
We are the one who suffers the upset and the anger when we feel that we have been wronged.
It is our own blood pressure that rises when we hold on to resentment.

Give yourself the gift of forgiving others,
not because “they” deserve it,
but because you deserve the serenity and joy that comes from releasing resentment and anger, and from embracing universal forgiveness.

A Tribute from Thailand – Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Center, Lahore.

Pakistan Paindabad.

I am a Thai national. While living in my country, I have read various humanity-serving international charity organizations. I had great desire to visit Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital due to its fame all over the world. Fortunately, I got the chance to visit Pakistan. It was a wonderful experience of my life to visit Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital.

I was amazed to see state-of-the-art facilities being provided by Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital to the needy and poor, specially the handling of kid patients during chemo procedure. All its departments are fully equipped with modern facilities and offered great care by medical and other staff. The hospital has offered me an unforgettable experience.

Lastly, I hoped that my donation will benefit cancer patients for their free treatment. I congratulate people of Pakistan for establishing such a humanitarian project. VORADA CHAROENSUK Thailand

Link:- http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/07/11/comment/editors-mail/a-thai-take-on-skmt/

“It doesn’t matter what you did or where you were… it
matters where you are and what you’re doing. Get out there! Sing the song in your heart and never let anyone shut you up!”

— Steve Maraboli