Bhainse kay aagay been bajanay walee baat ho gaee hai!
For the love of God give up this ridiculous campaign against the Army and pick up the banner to state how much money is being looted by the beloved-good-for-nothing-politicians-who-like-to-blame-every-one-else-for-their-incompetent-selfish-gains.
Every day the people of Pakistan spend 50 lakh rupees on the session of national Assembly only, add to this the millions that we are made to spend on this army of ministers and state ministers and special advisers, My fair guess is around 10 crore rupees daily are spent.
This comes to around 3.5 billion dollars every year.
Add to this 8 billion dollars that flow out of the country because these corrupt politicians are not ready to make laws that will safeguard the investments of people like you and me and because they do not know/care to make laws that will make a level playing field for all.
Plus add to this the about 10 billion dollars that are lost because of corruption and pilferage which has nothing to do with the Army, it has only to do with the democratic-puppet-leaders.
(((((((((Net total of money being squandered because of puppet-not-for-any-good-politicians comes around to 21.5 billion dollars a year.))))))))))))))
NOW do the math and tell us who should be bridled? I may be off a few billion dollars but hey does it matter in this context, but I would welcome if I could be given the correct figures as to these amounts.
You know what, I can come up with pretty good figures of how the Army is looting the country but then when I raise questions you run away with your tail between your legs. This has happened several times in threads where I detailed the corruption in NLC, Askari Bank, Palm Golf Course and other ventures.
Heres some further reading on 'daily expenditures' :
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=50916&Cat=2&dt=6/5/2011
Pakistan spends Rs1.35 billion per day over the three armed forces just under the head of salaries and operating expenses only, Rs8.60 million daily on the president and prime minister, Rs7.8 million per day on the Senate and National Assembly
A further break-up indicates that Rs640.37 million will be utilized by the Army per day; a sum equivalent to the running year’s budgetary allocation for the ministry of education.
The allocated amount for the entire year for the education ministry last year, Rs640 million, is spent in a day by the Army for meeting its salaries and operating expenses only.
Likewise, the health ministry’s running year’s budget was less than the one-day spending of the air force. The ministry that has also been devolved now got budgetary allocation of Rs269 million for 2010-2011 whereas the air force’s per day spending is Rs290.86 million. Pakistan Navy’s spending per day is Rs141.80 million.
How much is spent on the ISI, the premier intelligence agency, is anybody’s guess as the budgetary allocation for the agency is not included in the amount specified for the armed forces.
Lets break down the budget allocation percentage wise:
We spend roughly 50% on loan servicing.
We spend roughly 30% on Army.
That leaves the politicians and poor civilians with 20% of the budget to 'play' around with.
So using your calculations of how much we Pakistanis loot, if I am to extrapolate the level of corruption based on percentages of what both parties i.e. military and civilians get we can see who will end up with the bigger part of looted national exchequer.
(and please dont say theres no corruption in the Military because then I will have to go back and dig out the big cases again..also I have worked in government procurement and I have seen the quotations sent to the military...they buy stuff 2-3 times the price our company buys so we can all guess who is pocketing the extra cash..hint: its not the civilians)
For the love of God give up this ridiculous campaign against the Army and pick up the banner to state how much money is being looted by the beloved-good-for-nothing-politicians-who-like-to-blame-every-one-else-for-their-incompetent-selfish-gains.
Why do you get so pissed off if someone asks for accountability of the institution which gets the biggest chunk of the pie?
Have I said anything which is factually incorrect? Have I spread falsehoods? Have I posted anything which I made up myself and does not exist in reality? Do you know how much a general is worth when he retires? almost 10 Million USD!
*Figure from Dr. Ayesha Siddiqas research
**Dr. Ayesha worked as a civil servant and was closely associated for many years to military accounts and spending.
Yes you will call Dr. Ayesha Siddiqa a puppet of the West, a takfiri/rafidi/cia/mossad agent and accuse the west of funding her research etc. but then if she is lying why did Musharraf go about banning her book? Why not come out with a rebuttal of her claims or file charges against her for lying against the military?
Because that would take the case to court and then the military would have to open up its accounts to the courts to prove Dr. Ayesha wrong. But that would also let the cat out of the bag and so its easier to just ban the book and start maligning the writer as an 'agent'. The usual strategy to discredit any opposition.
NOW do the math and tell us who should be bridled?
You do the math now and tell me who needs to be held accountable first and foremost?
(People like you who love the Army blindly automatically assume that people like me who criticize its actions are somehow saying that the politicians are good and they should be allowed to get away with the looting. On the contrary, I am asking for accountability of the most powerful and most rich institution first. Then w can get to the others or even simultaneously is ok by me.)
In the end I will leave you with this gem :
Even former military officials were willing to concede that more oversight may be needed.
“Effective oversight of the defence budget is a must. It is also good for the country and the democracy,” said retired Lt Gen Talat Masood. He said unless the government introduces real oversight of the defence budget it will remain dependent on the army.
Defence budgets have never been debated in Parliament and are always assumed to be a given during the presentation of the annual money bill. In the past, defence budgets were frequently limited to one line. Over the last few years, that number has since expanded to three lines but no further details are provided.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/165546/defence-budget-to-rise-by-12/
UPDATED:
Unjustified expenditure: Major irregularities surface in armed forces’ accounts
Embezzlement, ineffective internal controls led to Rs56.5 billion in discrepancies.
ISLAMABAD:
The auditor-general of Pakistan has unearthed massive financial irregularities amounting to Rs56.5 billion in the accounts of the armed forces during fiscal year 2011.
According to the Audit Report 2011 on accounts of defence services, irregularities occurred due to negligence, ineffective internal controls, embezzlement and misuse of authority by officers of the armed forces.
Around 330 contract agreements were concluded from 2008 to 2010 without following the procedure laid down in the Public Procurement Rules 2004, the auditors observed.
When they pointed out irregularities, the executive stated that the ministry’s instructions were received in June 2010. The auditors said that the reply is not tenable.
Auditors found that the Pakistan Army blocked Rs3 billion in funds due to unnecessary procurement and inappropriate storage of 1,385 new vehicles at the Central Ordnance Depot, Karachi. The vehicles have not been used for the last three years.
The report discovered excess transfer of funds to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) for procurement of bullet-proof jackets. Out of the Rs424.2 million allocated for them, the FWO has to refund some Rs385 million in addition to the loss it incurred on account of risk and expense contracts after the supplier, Musterhaft Pvt Ltd, failed to provide more than 1,000 jackets.
The expenditure incurred on building material purchased for renovation by the military is unaccounted for since there is no record of the quantity procured and its subsequent use. The irregularities amount to Rs52.7 million in Kharian, Sialkot and Lahore cantonments. Auditors stated that executive authorities could not prove that repair work was carried out on self-help basis. Irregularities in purchase of pre-fabricated accommodation for UN missions amounted to Rs92 million, in addition to payment of Rs14.6 million as General Sales Tax, which needs to be recovered from the supplier.
Irregularities amounting to Rs6 billion surfaced in the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kamra, on account of irregular conclusion of contracts and procurement of goods during the current fiscal year. Pakistan Air Force (PAF) lost Rs102 million due to non-recovery of five per cent rent on flying allowance from General Duty Pilots in the past 20 years. The record was not provided on request. Auditors observed that this amounts to blatant disobedience and ineffectual administration. Failure to deposit rent in the government treasury caused a loss of Rs14.6 million by the PAF Academy, Risalpur.
The navy failed to transfer 50 per cent accommodation charges paid by foreign trainees in the government treasury, resulting in the loss of $65,516. Auditors also observed that Rs6 million incurred on excess issue of food items in PNS Bahadur and PNS Mehran for the year 2009-10 needs to be reimbursed. An amount of Rs76 million has still not been recovered by the Military Accounts General after irregularities were discovered on account of unauthorised payments to reemployed officers of the Pakistan Navy in 2009-10.
Military Lands and Cantonment inflicted a loss of Rs181 million to the cantonment fund due to irregularities in awarding lease. Cantonment Board, Lahore lost Rs30 million due to its failure to revise the tax rate on immovable property. Fraud and embezzlement caused a loss of Rs68 million to Cantonment Board, Rawalpindi in 2008. Failure to recover Rs97 million in dues added to the losses incurred by various boards. The auditors pointed out the irregularities and observed that their replies were not satisfactory.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 6th, 2011.
