Posts Tagged ‘corruption’

Transparently Ridiculous

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

With the Memogate dud finally fizzling out and the hearing on contempt charges against the PM not set until next week, it promised to be a slow news week. Right on cue, the old reliable story of corruption is back in the headlines again, at least at one media group. The latest headlines, though, are almost comical and may do more to harm than good the cause of exposing corruption.

The latest series of stories began last weekend when Ansar Abbasi reported for The News that “Pakistan has lost…more than Rs8,500 billion…during the last four years”. Abbasi’s source, for once with a name, is none other than Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) Advisor Syed Adil Gilani giving the claim some credibility. But the numbers quoted, rather than giving a clear view of corruption, actually provide a confusing and convoluted picture of the so-called “corruption”.

After several paragraphs of condemning statements, Abbasi finally gets to some hard numbers. But what readers are presented with are not cases of government officials pocketing money or steering it to their cronies. Instead, we are told that “circular debt is Rs190 million”, “state-owned enterprises like PSO, PIA, Pakistan Steel, Railways, SSGC, SNGC are eating away Rs150-300 billion per annum”, and “tax to GDP ratio in 2008 was 11%, which in 2011 has reduced to 9.1% instead of being increased”.

Economists can debate the proper level of circular debt and whether the government should own enterprises like airlines, railways, etc. But this is not corruption. Neither is the tax-to-GDP ratio. According to Abbasi, “this the drop of 1.9% in the tax GDP means annual loss of US$ 3.3 billion”. Even if his maths are correct, does he honestly expect us to believe that the PM has personally evaded US $3.3 billion in taxes? Again, this is a cultural problem – not official corruption.

Abbasi’s article takes a turn for the truly bizarre, however, when he attempts the following mathematical misdirection:

The TIP adviser added that India’s tax-GDP ratio is 18%, and at that rate, Pakistan’s tax evasion/corruption in FBR is 9% of $175 billion, which is US$15.5 billion per year, i.e. Rs1,400 billion per year.

Did you see what he did there? He’s not even comparing apples to oranges. Rather, he is suggesting that we pretend that the apples are oranges so that we can get an even higher number!

Believing he had discovered a magic formula for attacking the government, Ansar Abbasi continued his assault on mathematics a few days later when he claimed that he was mistaken on Sunday. The present government has not cost the nation Rs8.5 trillion – but Rs20 trillion!.

Where did Abbasi find an additional Rs9.5 trillion? After his article appeared on Sunday, he apparently received a phone call from his friend Dr Shahid Siddiqi who suggested some additional “corruption” that he could add to his equation. Now, in addition to counting spending for public enterprises like transport and steel, Ansar Abbasi is including national security spending as “corruption”.

Quoting the State Bank of Pakistan figures, Siddiqi said the cost of war on terror to country’s economy from April 1, 2008 till January 31, 2012 stands at Rs4400 billion ($50 billion).

And not only is he adding military spending, he is also adding in trade deficits and monetary devaluation!

The trade deficit of these years has been $47 billion where as the Pak rupee fell from Rs68.16 per dollar in June 2008 to Rs90.50 in February 2012. The rupee fell by Rs22.3 per dollar during these years. A total of $30 billion has been transferred out of Pakistan during the first three financial years of the Gilani regime.

At this point the question must be asked if there is anything Ansar Abbasi and his sources believe is not corruption?

It should be noted that Dr Shahid Siddiqi appears to be a ‘go-to’ economist for Ansar Abbasi’s economic hit pieces. In October 2011, Ansar Abbasi quoted Dr Siddiqi extensively terming the government as “lying” about economics and bleeding the country through corruption. Ansar Abbasi quoted Dr Siddiqi again in December 2011 as saying “the overall economic situation of Pakistan under the present regime is the worst in the 64-year history of Pakistan”.

Mr Adil Gilani, too, may have a grudge to bear against the present government as he has found himself summoned before Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Lahore over questions about his relationship with National insurance Company Ltd board member Qasim Amin Dada. Previously, it was reported, Mr Adil Gilani’s son resigned from his position as board member of Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) after questions were raised about his appointment.

We do not question that corruption is a legitimate and serious problem in society. But stirring up a cloud of dust and calling it smoke does not make a fire. Hit pieces based on formulas that inflate numbers do not help expose and eliminate corruption, it only serves to distract from those who are legitimately trying to shine a light on serious issues of corruption and governance. If we are going to reduce and eliminate corruption, we need serious journalists to do the honest work of reviewing data and separating what is and is not legitimate use of taxpayer funds.

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Posted in Jang, The News | 3 Comments »

Corruption, Perceptions of Corruption, and Media

Friday, December 30th, 2011

Is the government corrupt? Which department is most corrupt? How much of your answer to these questions is based on hard facts, and how much is based on what you’ve been told by the media?

On 25th December, in a report titled, ‘Military stands at number five among corrupt institutions’, The News reporter Usman Manzoor wrote that “sources said military stood at number five among the 10 most corrupt institutions of the country.” Once again, Jang’s sources have let them down.

The actual report, which was released on 28th December, lists the military at number nine. And the report does not list “the 10 most corrupt institutions of the country” – it lists only the 10 institutions TIP asked about.

Unlike the previous surveys, this year the NCPS covers only the basic survey report to measure the perceptions, nature and extent of corruption being faced by consumers of the following ten public sector departments:

1. Police
2. Electricity Supply
3. Health Dept.
4. Education Dept.
5. Military
6. Justice / Courts
7. Revenue / Property Registration
8. Taxation
9. Customs
10. Tendering & Contracting

Local Government has been deleted from the survey, and Military has been added for the first time in the list of departments surveyed

After the report was released, Pakistan Today, however, carried the headline, ‘In the list of corrupt, military among top 10 and ‘independent’ judiciary also climbs’. While not as bad as the headline in The News, it is still factually incorrect.

If reporters had bothered to read as far as the first page of the Foreward, they would have learned that, of the ten institutions covered in the report, “The least two corrupt departments are Education and Military“.

We would not be so bold as to suggest that corruption is not a major problem in society. The media has a role to play in solving this problem by investigating and exposing corruption where it exists. But this requires more than rumours, gossip, and misleading reporting – it requires real journalism.

Oh, and if TIP really wants to stir a hornets nest, perhaps they should do some research on corruption in another institution – media.

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Posted in Pakistan Today, The News | 1 Comment »

The curse of yellow journalism in Pakistan

Saturday, March 26th, 2011

The following piece by Malik Ayub Sumbal was originally published by European Journalism Centre on 25 March. An excerpt is produced below. For the full article please visit http://www.ejc.net/magazine/article/the_curse_of_yellow_journalism_in_pakistan/

The rise of sensationalist media and yellow journalism in Pakistan has led to the emergence of a debate in various circles in the country about the accountability of the media and the journalistic profession.

Yellow journalism is generally defined as the tabloidisation of journalism – the adoption of reporting practices focusing more on sensationalism than on research. In Pakistan, yellow journalism refers mostly to the exploitation and manipulation of issues of national interest for the vested interests of corrupt journalists.

Corruption has become an integral part of Pakistani journalism. The monopoly corrupt journalists exercise over the profession constitutes a challenge for all media practitioners, because their influential positions make it hard for others to do their jobs properly.

The media is ideally perceived as the fourth pillar of the state (alongside the judicial, legislative and executive powers), but in Pakistan, most people have come to distrust the media and those who practise journalism.

The sensationalist aspect of newspapers and private news television channels and the problematic role they play in society raise increasing concern among the public.

Presently, Pakistanis are demanding that star anchors of various current affairs programmes and other journalists be held accountable for their actions. The media in general and yellow journalists are criticised on various platforms, Internet forums and television programmes. People also resort to wall chalking against the practice of yellow journalism and media exaggeration in the streets of major cities…

Click here to continue reading…

Malik Ayub SumbalMalik Ayub Sumbal is a freelance journalist based in Islamabad, Pakistan, with a professional experience of more than seven years working for a number of national and international newspapers, magazines, journals, wire services and television channels. He is presently working as an investigative reporter and analyst for various English news radio stations, television channels and newspapers worldwide.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 17 Comments »

Matiullah Jan Holds Colleagues Accountable, Exposes Corruption In Media

Monday, February 28th, 2011

We have posted several times over the years that the solution to irresponsibility and unethical behaviour in media lies not with any government interference, but within media itself. Better training, better oversight by editors and industry associations, hiring of ombudsmen, and the type of self-policing that is exemplified by Matiullah Jan’s show Apna Gareebaan on Dawn TV.

On the latest episode Matiullah Jan exposes the corruption within the ranks of media from those who took advantage of government funded Hajj Facility.

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Posted in Dawn News TV, Ethics, Geo TV, Jang, Samaa TV, Waqt TV | 13 Comments »

Our New Media Muftis

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

Nevermind that militants have begun using young girls as suicide bombers to kill innocent Muslims, or the fact that lawyers – the very people who are supposed to uphold the laws of the country – are making the most curious arguments to protect a man who admits to cold-blooded murder. No, the biggest problem with straying from true Islam is…corruption. At least, that’s according to Alam Rind in The News on Thursday.

It should be noted that Alam’s article was published on page 5 in the National section of the newspaper and not on page 6 or 7 with the other opinion columns. It should also be noted that the article was labeled ‘Comment’. But I think ‘comment’ sells short what we have here, which is clearly more than that – what we have here is a Fatwa from a Media Mufti.

Here is how Alam describes the problem:

A dispassionate scrutiny of the whole situation reveals that the menace isn’t confined to governmental departments alone, rather the whole society has been infected. In fact, it has become our way of life. Our political and bureaucratic offices are infested with abuses like nepotism, embezzlement, bribery, extortion, influence peddling, and fraud.

These foul practices are posing developmental challenge, undermining democracy and hampering accountability. Corruption in judicial system has eroded the rule of law, weakened the institutions and undermined social and cultural values. It has impeded economic development, enhanced inefficiency and cost of doing business. In the presence of all these vices, there is no wonder that we listen of corruption scandals every now and then. Certainly, it has eaten up the country like termite.

Also let’s not ignore the sector which our anti-corruption crusaders in the media seem to always forget to mention: journalism. Salman Siddiqui broke the silence on this very topic last week in a post for Express Tribune’s blog, and let me tell you I heard more than one voice expressing dissatisfaction with Salman’s letting the cat out of the bag.

And clearly it is corruption that is responsible for the crumbling economy and not the refusal of anyone to pay taxes or the fact that investors avoid any country where they may at any moment be blown to bits by a jihadi on his way to meet his houris. It must be corruption because that’s what he hear from the media each and every day.

It must also be corruption is why India, Asia’s fourth largest exporter of illicit capital to the tune of $104 billion between 2000 and 2008, has a failing economy.

But, wait a minute. For 2011, India expects GDP growth of 8.5 percent and declining inflation. How can that be if corruption is responsible for all of societies ills?

But this is to ignore Alam’s point.

Honesty, contentment and social justice have given way to corruption, cruelty and lust. We are no more practicing one of the most emphasized injunctions of Islam that is to call people to righteous deeds and stop them from evil doing. We need to revisit our socio-religious structure because there is a definite increase in the number of mosques and those who regularly visit these for prayers but Islamic teaching like honesty, truthfulness, trustworthiness, balance in life, contentedness etc. aren’t visible in our society.

Obviously, there is a need to revitalise our beliefs that can only be done through enlightening education. A balanced education that makes us understand the Islamic principles rather than enslaving us of western philosophies holds key to our mental and material development. But let me remind you that there is no quick fix for such a grave problem. It is going to be a long drawn war, which can only be won through collective efforts of the people and government.

Pakistan was ranked number 143 on the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index for 2010. As Alam says, this must be because we have strayed from the true path of Islam. Yes, India did rank better than Pakistan on the corruption index, but that must be because of a Hindu-Zionist conspiracy. I’ll have to check with Mullah Zaid Hamid for some hadiths on that issue. In the meantime, let’s set India aside and look at the top 10 countries with the least corruption:

  • Denmark
  • New Zealand
  • Singapore
  • Finland
  • Sweden
  • Canada
  • Netherlands
  • Australia
  • Switzerland
  • Norway

MashAllah. If there are is any nation more Islamic than these I cannot think of them. Clearly it is as Alam says:

A balanced education that makes us understand the Islamic principles rather than enslaving us of western philosophies holds key to our mental and material development.

Alam laments that “there is no quick fix for such a grave problem”. But I would say it is clear that the solution has already begun by the founding of Mawlana Syed Abul A’ala Maududi School of Journalism and its star pupils Alam Rind, Ansar Abbasi, Talat Hussain and Meher Bokhari.

These Media Muftis continue to remind us of those grave sins that are causing our country to decline such as fashion shows, foreign movie stars providing humanitarian relief, and political leaders requesting justice for minorities. Now, thanks to the Mawlana Syed Abul A’ala Maududi School of Journalism’s latest graduate Alam Rind, we also know how to get rid of corruption – rejecting the slavery of the West and embracing such pinnacles of morality and virtue like Baitullah Mehsud and Mumtaz Qadri.

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Posted in The News | 8 Comments »

The Nation’s Confused IMF Conspiracy

Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The Nation logoIt was only two days ago that the IMF approved a nine-month extension of Pakistan’s Stand-By Arrangement. Which means that it took The Nation less than 36 hours to invent a new conspiracy to explain how the decision is a tool of American hegemony and government corruption.

The Nation makes several accusations against both the IMF and the government. Most notably by impugning the IMF’s rationale for supporting Pakistan’s economy.

…the IMF’s wider agenda, that of ensuring that the USA’s will is done, should not be lost sight of.

But China is an IMF member country. So is Saudi Arabia. And while the US has the largest quota of a single country, the EU has a combined vote of 32% – almost twice that of the US. In fact, historically the IMF’s managing director has been European, not American, the present Managing Director being Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a Frenchman. For the IMF to be a blatant tool of American interests, one would have to accept that the US was controlling China, Russia, Venezuela and other nations that traditionally oppose or resist American interests. It’s simply beyond reason.

The newspaper goes on to suggest that the US via the IMF is using “the charge of corruption…as a stick to beat the government into obedience”. Ironic considering one of the key themes of The Nation has been cries of rampant corruption in the government. Should we surmise from this, then, that The Nation too is a puppet of American interests?

What makes the claim particularly ironic, however, is that The Nation actually accuses the government of devising the RGST scheme to protect its own corruption!

The plea that is used by the IMF for the RGST is the improvement of the tax:GDP ratio. If that is the case, why would the IMF want the imposition of a tax that would only cause inflation, while the Pakistani state left a major sector, that of agriculture, untaxed. The problem is that agricultural incomes appertain to those in the legislatures, on both sides of the political divide, and they use these positions to prevent any tax being levied on the incomes which enable them to live a life of leisure enlivened only by politics.

If The Nation is correct (which is certainly disputed by many economists) that the RGST will cause inflation in affected sectors, isn’t it also possible that the government did not apply the tax on agriculture in order to protect the common people from price hikes on food essentials?

Regardless of one’s position on the proposed RGST, claiming that it is a conspiracy by the US to keep Pakistan’s cooperation in the war against terrorist militant groups is just silly. Development economists from various nations have made critical analysis of the IMF and its policies in the past. Some of those critiques have resulted in changes to IMF structure and policies as the economic firm adapts to more effectively aid nations hit by economic downturns and natural disasters.

Reading The Nation, however, one could easily believe that the newspaper would rather the economy sink just to spite the present government. Whatever its intentions, though, the logic and analysis of its editorial page is deplorable.

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Posted in The Nation | 2 Comments »

Ansar Abbasi For the Prosecution

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

Reporting on court proceedings and legal matters is an important and legitimate duty of the media. But in doing so, journalists should be fair to both sides of a complaint. After all, it is up to the court to decide the outcome - not a reporter. For Ansar Abbasi, however, that restraint appears to be too much to ask. In today’s The News, Abbasi writes about a complaint filed on Steel Mills that reads like a plea for the prosecution.

Abbasi’s column, “SC asked to intervene immediately,” reports that Watan Party has moved and application saying that the Steel giant is on the verge of collapse. While it may be true that a political party has filed some application with the court, Abbasi appears to have failed to do any independent research, and merely repeats the claims of the complaint.

Abbasi even goes so far as to suggest that the problem is one of political interference:

The PSMC, it is said, has the potential to meet the steel requirements of the country as per installed production capacity of the plant, provided it gets adequate supply of required material, an efficient, honest and professional management and is saved from the political interference.

But even Abbasi is forced to admit that the government has been acting only to remove administrative corruption from the industrial giant.

In August last year, the prime minister sacked the then chairman PSMC Moeen Aftab Shaikh on corruption charges and directed the Interior Ministry to investigate the affairs of the PSMC and to submit a report.

Watan filing a complaint on Steel Mills is a newsworthy story. But it is not proper to take this story as an opportunity to use the media to influence the public or the court to support one side or the other. Abbasi’s writing, unfortunately, does a disservice to the ideal not only of a fair media, but of a fair judiciary as well. How can anyone believe that they will get a fair hearing when they have to defend not only against the prosecutor, but the news media as well.

Please, Mr Abbasi, let the lawyers make the speeches and you only report the facts.

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Posted in The News | 3 Comments »

The News Gets Facts Wrong On Character

Monday, March 1st, 2010

The News today includes an article that claims, “Every constitution requires men of character to qualify as legislators.” While this seems like an unsurprising claim, the article gets several facts wrong.

The article, by Sabir Shah, claims that:

“…lawmakers in every country of the world are required to have crime-free life history in order to qualify as members of legislative houses or even after they manage to get elected to the houses.”

This is incorrect. In fact, it was easily found to be wrong with a simple Google search. I did a Google search for the phrase ‘legislators with criminal records’ and found that in India, ”As many as 125 candidates with criminal records have won in assembly elections of five states that have just concluded, says a study conducted by the National Election Watch (NEW).” In the USA, there are many legislators who have served with criminal records. Actually, according to Article 1 Section 6 of the American constitution grants immunity to legislators while they are in attendance to the Congress.

They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

While there are certainly measures in many nations to remove from office individuals who commit high crimes such as treason or murder, it is not true that any criminal conviction will disqualify individuals from the legislature. More to the point, while “character” often makes up a qualification for holding office in many nations, what defines “character” differs greatly.

For example, the constitution of Saudi Arabia Says in Article 5 that “Rule passes to the sons of the founding King…the most upright among them is to receive allegiance…” This not only makes character an issue, but it also makes character comparative. That is, one of the sons will gain power no matter what (obviously, as it is a monarchy) – but that good character only matters in relation to the other sons. So, it is not necessarily a matter of the most righteous but could be the least bad! This is not the case, but it does show how these matters of character are very different from nation to nation and must be considered as such.

The News article is particularly curious as it is not only factually questionable, it seems to serve an ambiguous lesson. In other words, what is the point of this article? It is easy to assume that it is a thinly veiled swipe at NRO beneficiaries. Perhaps it is an article better published on the opinion page. First, though, the reporter should probably check his facts.

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Posted in The News | No Comments »

The Nation Is Incorrect About How Democracy Works

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Courts and JusticeThe Nation’s editorial, “A democratic attitude,” says that “the practice almost unexceptionally followed by successful democracies in the world” is for everyone accused of corruption to resign and present themselves to a court. This is not true.

  • French President Nicolas Sarkozy was accused of taking kickbacks from arms dealers when he was a government minister under President Chirac. Sarkozy was never forced to step down from political office, and the accuser – former PM de Villepin – is being sued in what is known as “the Clearstream case.” In fact, former French President Chirac’s lawyer has argued that his client enjoyes immunity for acts carried out while president. Actually, there are several politicians including Ministers and Presidents who are accused in this case, and the trend is not for them to step down, but for the judicial process to proceed normally with a presumption of innocence.
  • American President Bill Clinton was accused of corruption while he was the president in what is known as the “Whitewater controversy.” During this case the president and his wife who is now the American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were investigated by the US government while they were in power. They never resigned. After many years, the investigation did not charge them with any illegal acts.
  • British PM Tony Blair was accused of corruption while he was in office and was even questioned by police. The case involved accusations that his political party was given secret loans and that donors were nominated for honours. Tony Blair did not step down.
  • Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi is actually on trial for corruption while he remains in office. In fact, the Italian government is considering a proposal to suspend the trials in preparation for elections.

This is not an excuse for corruption, or to say that corruption should be tolerated. And yes there are many political leaders who, when corruption has been proven, either resign or are removed from office. But The Nation’s suggestion that it is typical practice in successful democracies for politicians accused of corruption to resign is false. Actually, the opposite is true. In successful democracies, politicians have the opportunity to defend their name before they are forced to resign. Otherwise, it is not democracy but a coup.

Whether or not any specific Pakistani or foreign politician should resign or appear before court is not for us to say. But if The Nation wants that to happen, they should at least be honest and not misrepresent how successful democracies work.

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Posted in The Nation | No Comments »