December '99     Vol 3      No 9     Reg No.SS-346

Publisher & Managing Editor:
Ikram-ul-Majeed Sehgal

Chief Patron
Air Marshal (Retd)
Mohammad Asghar Khan

Patrons
Lt Gen (Retd) SF Lodi
Brig (Retd)TH Siddiqi
Lt Gen (Retd) Imtiaz Waraich

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Ardeshir Cowasjee
Arif Nizami
Ms Maleeha Lodhi
Ms Nasim Zehra
Hameed Haroon
Humayun Gauhar
Ambassador (Retd) Afzal Mahmood

Panel of Contributing Editors
Air Marshal (Retd) Ayaz A. Khan
Vice Adm (Retd) IF Quadir
Dr Shireen Mazari
Farhan Bokhari

Panel of Columnists
Col (Retd) EAS Bokhari
Col (Retd) Abdul Qayyum
Dr. Matiur Rahman
Ms Amina Jilani
Capt (Retd) A.A. Jilani

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Dear Readers,

This nation badly needs accountability, that is the altar on which the success or otherwise of the present military rule will be defined. The first steps have been sure, appointing the right people to head organisations, declaring of assets, etc. Now we have to ensure that Rasputins do not infiltrate the inner circle, bitter twisted personalities with personal axes to grind. The executives of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) must declare their assets, both in Pakistan and abroad, as well as the taxes they have paid. One accepts that we can't have all saints but we must watch out for frauds who pose to be what they are not. Lt Gen Amjad has a clean reputation, so does his deputy Maj Gen Inayatullah Khan Niazi. These good reputations must be carried down the line, some individuals tend to be spiteful in waging personal vendettas. The Chief Executive set a firm date for loan defaulters and he stayed with it despite dire predictions of economic collapse. I wrote an article 'DAY OF RECKONING' on Nov 17, 1999 for THE NATION which I am re-producing with thanks.

In his speech on Oct 17, 1999 the Chief Executive (CE), Gen Pervez Musharraf set one month's deadline for loan defaulters and tax evaders to make good their commitments. Thereafter he set in motion the process of selection of like-minded people with credibility who would help him give good governance to the country while setting a workable system in place and bringing the recalcitrants to book. The one-month deadline expires on Nov 16, 1999 and given the General's priorities, for those who do not heed the warning, Nov 17 should rank as a 'day of reckoning', or so the masses expect.

The big defaulters have already been identified, mainly in the industrial as well as in the agriculture sectors. In many cases loan default and tax evasion coincide. To make a list may not be as hard as one can imagine, however, to make a sort of a 'rogue's gallery' with cast iron evidence that will stand the scrutiny of the process of law, given the various loopholes present and the largesse available to hire the services of good lawyers, may be more difficult. The deadline has raised inordinate hopes and aspirations of the majority of the people of Pakistan, there are certainly motivated forces at work who will attempt to derail this process on one pretext or the other. On the other hand, having suffered for over five decades at the hands of the so-called elite, the masses are hungry for blood and Nov 17 has become a psychological landmark in the public expectations that is becoming scary with regard to possible consequences on either side.

One believes that to meet the symbolism of the date given by the CE the government will most probably crack down on between 30-40 of the worst cases. Till such time that loan defaulters clear their due instalments, have their overdue mark-up adjusted or have their debts re-scheduled their names may remain on the Exit Control List (ECL). Similar would be the fate of the major tax evaders. For chronic defaulters/evaders publication of a list by the media may not carry the approbation of social stigma as it does for those genuine businessmen who have been forced by circumstances beyond their control into a default situation with respect to either loans or taxes. This comprises a fair amount of genuine entrepreneurs and they will certainly feel harassed and humiliated with their names being bandied about in public. GHQ has bent over backwards to give clear instructions down the line that the innocent or even those not wilfully guilty should not suffer, it will take time before a bureaucracy which is used to indulging in 50 years of blackmail and extortion to come to heel.

Taking the Chief Executive as a man of his word when he said that if he realizes a mistake has been made he would immediately rectify it, he must have gauged from the public reaction, both at home and abroad, that at least two members of the National Security Council (NSC) are controversial. At the same time, while the initial selection of the Dream Team was excellent, the committee (or whoever) is looking after the process of finalizing the Cabinet seems to have badly faltered in maybe two cases. This is quite understandable, intelligence reports may not actually reflect reality most of the times. It would be in the national interest to induct street-wise civilians or even ex-servicemen to give a third party screening of the potential candidates. Saints are in short supply all over, not only in Pakistan, we must remember the adage, 'let him cast the first stone, he who has not sinned'. The Chief Executive has declared his assets, others will follow suit but what about the 'unofficial advisers' operating behind the scenes. For all we know they may have stashed away illegal commisions abroad for sales made in Pakistan or have assets hidden away. Anybody in advisory position, official or unofficial, must declare his/her assets. There is the need for those serving the nation to live camp-style, to severely restrict social commitments, to look into the motivation of any advice rendered. It may be difficult to find perfect human beings but there are a lot of semi-perfect entities around who do not lack in integrity, patriotism or a willingness to perform under stress and strain but can also deliver. There is certainly sincere intent in the team selection, no doubt about that, it is the uneven quality that makes one apprehensive. We are in for a slow, long haul to lift this country. In the selection of 'horses for courses', public support is vital to the mission and public support depends primarily on public perception. Public perception as one knows is nine-tenths of the law.

One may agree or disagree with the Chief Executive but one thing is certain, the free Press has been of overwhelming support to him in this crucial first month of the 'honeymoon' period because he was very forthright in supporting a free Press. Not only was this probably a 'First' for any military rule but also a very smart move. This openness and frankness has got him an extended mutual admiration period. That will be of vital importance once he touches the virtual 'untouchables', the elite of Pakistan, who will be mostly in the dock come Nov 17. There will be reaction, both in the media and in the rumour machine for which Pakistan is famous. To have the hard-bitten, normally cynical Fourth Estate explain voluntarily to a generally gullible public the truth as it is and not as motivated interest would like it to be coloured, falls within the qualification of an asset par excellence to have on one's side when explanations to both the intelligentsia and the masses are necessary in the language each understands.

This is a testing time for Pakistan. When Mian Nawaz Sharif took over in February 1997, he had everything going for him, a 'heavy mandate' from the people (if not in actual votes, at least in the translation of it into seats in the House) and his political foes in utter disarray. Within weeks he had started to squander his goodwill because he confined himself for advice from only an ethnic 'inner circle' from in and around Model Town Lahore. When he had the entire country full of talent to seek advice or to choose from for good governance, why he secluded himself defies imagination. That inner circle finally led him to the debacle of Oct 12 and to questionable acts that may well prove fatal to him legally. The chronicle of his saga in power is a handbook for those who want to learn lessons from mistakes made in governance and/or even the complete lack of it. In dealing with those who maintained a financial stranglehold over Pakistan's economy, (still do and will probably continue to do if the military regime falters in its mission), the Chief Executive needs the services of the best and the brightest from friend and perceived foe alike to support his efforts to resuscitate Pakistan. The only touchstone for quality is confidence in the person's genuine patriotism, love for the country in exception to everything else and a penchant for hard work. That is the only way that the CE can accomplish his aim to make the day of reckoning a salutary example for those in the future who would try to loot Pakistan as in the past.