by Lord Nazir Ahmed on 09 1st, 2010
The Pakistani political establishment is rampant with corruption and culture of nepotism and needs an overhaul if Pakistanis are to trust their leadership in the future. This process can begin by pointing to Zardari and questioning whether his intentions really are what they seem to be. His track record has failed to do him any justice and reinforces the fact that the government is heavily tied down by corruption. While his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, served as member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, he was given the infamous nickname Mr 10% in reference to various charges.
Pakistani investigators accused Zardari and his wife of embezzling close to $1.5 billion of government accounts as well as plotting to murder his brother-in-law Murtaza Bhutto. As a result, Pakistanis no longer trust the president and are well aware that he has large amounts of property hidden in his pocket, including some of the most expensive post codes in Britain. Of course, many Pakistani leaders are increasingly stashing their ill-gotten wealth in the safety and secrecy of Britain. Zardari is only one case in point as other government officials have similarly demonstrated a profuse desire to collect as much as they possibly can at Pakistanis expense. The quagmire lies in the in-built network of corrupt individuals that continue to dominate Pakistans political scene and will be very difficult to root out. One could argue that Pakistanis need to rise and report corruption that fails to reach the news headlines. If it really was as easy as this, Pakistans jails would have been filled to the brim. The underlying concern behind reporting corruption to authorities is that the authorities themselves are willing and eager to give clemency to their friends. Letting go of a minister here and there means that there really isnt a fair system of tracking down individuals that have a lot of explaining to do. Unless and until police seek out to revise their criminal justice strategy, Pakistanis will continue to suffer at the hands of politicians that dont mind playing a dirty trick or two to get rich.
Hands down, tackling corruption in Pakistan will be a colossal task should the government choose to pursue it. Apart from giving the criminal justice response a complete overhaul, the government needs to reduce the armys strong hold over civilian services. It is not difficult to find an image of Pakistanis enduring the floods without it including an army officer taking command. Look at the hospitals, the job centers, the jails, the political establishment, the universities and the general public sphere and you will find that the army has taken lead. This is the time, when Pakistan is embroiled in the chaos of the floods, to give power to civilians and help them run local services as part of a solid democratic political system. This bottom-up approach will encourage Pakistanis to be self-sufficient as well as learn to trust their political leadership again. But the buck stops at the door of the politicians who have to win the respect and confidence of the poor Pakistani public who are fast losing faith in their motives and the practices of these politicians are not helping the cause of the democracy.
The establishment of a democratic system in practice, not just words, is crucial if the Pakistani government is to recover from the devastation of the floods and begin to repair the long-lasting damage that has occurred.
Zardari is predicting the damage to last at least three years without carefully considering underlying concerns such as corruption which has led to a disappointing amount of aid coming through. The situation in Pakistan is a microcosm of whats really going on in the political leadership a sapping of badly needed funds and a smiling President to cover it all up.
Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham is Britains first Muslim member of the House of Lords and a Labour peer
http://blog.dawn.com/2010/09/01/give-pakistan-the-democracy-it-deserves/
Pakistani investigators accused Zardari and his wife of embezzling close to $1.5 billion of government accounts as well as plotting to murder his brother-in-law Murtaza Bhutto. As a result, Pakistanis no longer trust the president and are well aware that he has large amounts of property hidden in his pocket, including some of the most expensive post codes in Britain. Of course, many Pakistani leaders are increasingly stashing their ill-gotten wealth in the safety and secrecy of Britain. Zardari is only one case in point as other government officials have similarly demonstrated a profuse desire to collect as much as they possibly can at Pakistanis expense. The quagmire lies in the in-built network of corrupt individuals that continue to dominate Pakistans political scene and will be very difficult to root out. One could argue that Pakistanis need to rise and report corruption that fails to reach the news headlines. If it really was as easy as this, Pakistans jails would have been filled to the brim. The underlying concern behind reporting corruption to authorities is that the authorities themselves are willing and eager to give clemency to their friends. Letting go of a minister here and there means that there really isnt a fair system of tracking down individuals that have a lot of explaining to do. Unless and until police seek out to revise their criminal justice strategy, Pakistanis will continue to suffer at the hands of politicians that dont mind playing a dirty trick or two to get rich.
Hands down, tackling corruption in Pakistan will be a colossal task should the government choose to pursue it. Apart from giving the criminal justice response a complete overhaul, the government needs to reduce the armys strong hold over civilian services. It is not difficult to find an image of Pakistanis enduring the floods without it including an army officer taking command. Look at the hospitals, the job centers, the jails, the political establishment, the universities and the general public sphere and you will find that the army has taken lead. This is the time, when Pakistan is embroiled in the chaos of the floods, to give power to civilians and help them run local services as part of a solid democratic political system. This bottom-up approach will encourage Pakistanis to be self-sufficient as well as learn to trust their political leadership again. But the buck stops at the door of the politicians who have to win the respect and confidence of the poor Pakistani public who are fast losing faith in their motives and the practices of these politicians are not helping the cause of the democracy.
The establishment of a democratic system in practice, not just words, is crucial if the Pakistani government is to recover from the devastation of the floods and begin to repair the long-lasting damage that has occurred.
Zardari is predicting the damage to last at least three years without carefully considering underlying concerns such as corruption which has led to a disappointing amount of aid coming through. The situation in Pakistan is a microcosm of whats really going on in the political leadership a sapping of badly needed funds and a smiling President to cover it all up.
Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham is Britains first Muslim member of the House of Lords and a Labour peer
http://blog.dawn.com/2010/09/01/give-pakistan-the-democracy-it-deserves/
