Shaukat Aziz: An Enigma in Disguise
By Imran Hussain Khan Suddahazai
CA

When you are the former Prime Minister and Finance Minster of a nation under microscopic scrutiny by the global polity, you inherently expect a myriad of articles and opinions (both good and bad) to have been formulated about you both during and after your tenure.
Thus, it comes, as no surprise to learn that Shaukat Aziz, the man General Musharraf handpicked from relative obscurity in 1999 to head the finance ministry and later to become the PM of the Pakistani State is not oblivious to that fact either!
Commentators have delved into a whole host of histrionics about this man. The media has continuously reiterated and reinforced the point that Shaukat Aziz, a stalwart of corporate America, was a high profile banker residing in the US before he was plucked into a position of power. No strange coincidence they cry!  Guilt by association implicates him as a capitalist honcho, a free marketer and a mouthpiece for liberal economics. In short, an American stooge implanted into the ‘mother-ship’, not for the purposes of cross-fertilization or the development of a symbiotic relationship, but an impregnation of a Trojan horse programmed to enervate the resolve and fabric of Pakistani society through the systematic implementation of dysgenic policies that eradicated whatever infrastructure existed and pillaged the nascent institutions at the whim of the mercantile Bretton Woods empire.
Thus, in conjunction with America’s favorite General, Shaukat Aziz became a figure synonymous with disingenuous politics, economic chicanery and Orwellian double speak designed and calculated for an international audience that was more Dow Jones than ‘Daal’ and ‘Paratha’.
In all the literature, commentaries, editorials and interviews pertaining to Shaukat Aziz in the electronic, print and broadcast media, one will be hard pressed to find any article that explicitly sets out to discover the man, understand his raison d’etre and acknowledge his accomplishments.
Time was of the essence thus, I anticipated a brief audience with the former PM.
Mr. Aziz looked every bit the archetypical banker cum CEO as I had expected. He was dressed immaculately and hosted us as if we were guests and not some random journalists. He began by explaining that transition from corporate life to public life was complicated.
Shaukat Aziz: “The basic values of any individual are the same no matter what you do. The way you are brought up, your education, your value system dictates your values.  I come from a middle class family where education and integrity mattered a lot. I spent some 30 years at Citibank and we had the same values, a commitment to transparency, integrity and professionalism. Therefore, I found it relatively easy to transition because those values do not change. In government, decision-making is very diffused, it takes time and the culture is different from the private sector, but let me tell you that the people who I encountered worked longer hours then the people I worked with in the private sector. They were smart, as smart as the people in the private sector. We ran a program for our government officials to go to the Kennedy School at Harvard University to open their minds and I wanted our civil servants to be on par with the best in the world. My own transition was based on real motivating factors which was an opportunity to save your motherland. When I went into office eight years ago we were in dire straits, so we took it as a challenge. President Musharraf was a great mentor and gave me a lot of advice and support so we went about to rebuild the economy and get Pakistan up and running. We instigated the largest growth in Asia, 7.5 % in the last 5 years, per capita income has doubled, the size of the economy doubled we repaid debts and we got out of the IMF program.”
Although Mr. Aziz had provided me with some insight into the government’s workings during his tenure, I pushed him into revealing what the real motivation was for him to take the initial position in Government as Finance Minister.
Shaukat Aziz: “Well you are motivated by a desire to succeed and all of us who love our countries, in my case Pakistan, energized me! I woke up every morning, for eight years and felt completely focused on the issues facing Pakistan. I did not take one holiday in eight years that was the level of motivation. Initially it was very difficult but gradually things started happening, we got results and then you get more motivated. Now the world is facing new challenges, the energy, food and raw material prices are rising. Pakistan is a country, which needs to be, managed 24/7 in a proactive way and managed in ways that as the global situation changes you are a part of it.”
He continued to elaborate on the extent of the power he held to initiate change and claimed complete authority for his area of responsibility.
Shaukat Aziz: “When we were in the IMF program our economic sovereignty was jeopardized. That is why we got rid of the IMF.” Mr. Aziz reconciled the actions of the IMF with those of a doctor. “IMF should be looked at as a doctor, when you are sick if you do not watch your diet, take good care of yourself and fall sick don’t blame the doctor. IMF is there to help countries that don’t know where they are going, who do not manage effectively who don’t have a vision or a strategy. When we set our direction and set our strategy, and results started coming in we paid the IMF off and said Goodbye. And I believe that was the day that we got our economic sovereignty back.”
I along with many of the top developmental economists view the IMF as being more akin to the Biotech firms that have over 75% of Americans addicted to their drugs.
However, the fact that Pakistan clawed its way out of the debt and gratitude of the IMF black hole is a significant point and one that must be acknowledged and appreciated. Mr. Aziz shares an interesting view on the role government should play in modern times.
Shaukat Aziz: “Government should become a smaller entity. Our philosophy was that it was the business of government to be in business. Commercial activity should be with the private sector because they know it better. Government’s role is making policy and then government’s role should be regulation. We believed in transforming Pakistan based on three basic principles Deregulation, Liberalization and Privatization. You have to make it easier for people to do business, reduce red tape, which is what leads to corruption.”
This is an immensely strong point that can only be fully appreciated by those who are familiar with the arguments made by renowned globalizers like Kenichi Omaha and Thomas Freidman. Inherently it is a call for an open, free for all, global village. Unfortunately, it is heavily biased (Rules of Free Market Economics) on poor and nascent domestic industries that have to compete with global behemoths and thus one has to maintain a protectionist edge to serve the interests of domestic producers and manufacturers. Just look at the EU and NAFTA Free Trade agreements that protect home grown industries such as agriculture against cheap imports from South America, Far East or even Africa.
Conversely, if Pakistan fails to adhere to Mr. Aziz’s vision than Pakistan will suffer and become an isolated island in a sea of nations all connected through trade and finance. This is an issue on which Mr. Aziz has been accused of selling the nation. An irresponsible and ridiculous charge made by those who fail to litigate and appreciate modern day economics. One must appreciate his judgment and experience on the global financial scene before jumping to impassioned arguments based on emotional Marxist lead viewpoints. If Pakistan fails to engage the international community it will effectively starve to death as its markets become unattractive for investment and its much vaunted export market is barred entry into the lucrative global markets. 
In response to the criticism he has received Mr. Aziz stays gracious.
Shaukat Aziz: “It is everybody’s right to be critical and say what they feel, but I would only say that they must get all the facts. The fundamental premise of the world is that if the size of an economy grows and capital is formed then investment can take place. If investment takes place, jobs will be created, production will increase. For capital to accumulate you have to earn it. So our philosophy was that we get people to raise capital, create economic activity, create a middle class and take care of the vulnerable too. It is a tough world when food has doubled globally, energy prices more than doubled: it is very difficult for the common poor people to survive, even a middle class person to survive. The intelligencia will always be critical sometimes and I think we should explain our position more to them. Most people when approached and offered explanations tend to listen but some have different views which we should like to hear and not take personally. Hindsight is always 20/20. Communications are changing, the world is more global now and to that affect it improves the mindset of everybody.”
I asked him what the government had done to embrace these changes and reverse the brain drain.
Shaukat Aziz: “There are 1million people in US and they are well respected and well regarded but there is enough talent in Pakistan. We are a nation of 160m. I don’t think the nation has suffered because of the Diaspora. The truth is that many of our people overseas are contributing to the country and there is almost $6m remittance going in every year. That is what keeps the economy growing. So I think the Pakistani Diaspora has played a positive role there. They make good wherever they are in the world, they engage their politicians and take interest in the facets of government at federal level. But more can be done! You are competing with every country in the world, and you must try to be the best.”
Speaking of being the best, Mr. Aziz was voted the Finance Minister of the Year in 2001, so I wanted to know how his term as Finance Minister fared with the role of PM.
Shaukat Aziz: “There are no awards for PM of the year. Finance minister of the year is given by ‘Euromoney Magazine,’ a finance and banking magazine. (He chuckles) There is no magazine yet that specializes in PMs. As PM I could implement much more effective strategies and policies. Pakistan’s success story is a story of successful reforms and we reformed the country, we changed the things happening around us. We brought in expertise where there was a skills gap, brought in resources from outside that all parts were covered; because when you are changing you need all of that. When you are a steady government then you don’t need to restructure. Restructuring is always difficult.”
I wanted to know if he would eventually go back into politics.
Shaukat Aziz: “I think I took a conscientious decision for personal reasons not to contest the elections because of my family. For four years they didn’t get any of my time. At the same time, giving them more time and attention, I am still working for the country. My reason for visiting San Jose is to address a group of entrepreneurs. (He gets very animated). And what do I talk about? Pakistan! Just now in NY I met some financial institutions and the Secretary General of the UN and we were talking about Pakistan. I am trying to build our brand; you don’t have to be in office to serve your country. It is our duty, as Pakistanis, when Pakistan comes up on the agenda, whether it is between world leaders, businessmen, investors, society and the media etc… we always want to promote our country. This is our duty. You don’t have  to be the PM to talk about Pakistan. All of us who are Pakistanis just have to objectively and professionally project our country brand and the brand needs to be built.”
On a more personal role I wanted to know who his role models were and what made a great leader, nature or nurture?
Shaukat Aziz: “Quaid-i-Azam Mo. Ali Jinnah. He fought against all the odds and he fought for Pakistan. He had a vision, he had a dream, he achieved against all the odds.
Whether you create a leader of the class of Quaid-i-Azam or not that is something else. But certainly the qualities can be nurtured through education, through upbringing, through experiences and religious teachings.
What are we saying? We are saying that whatever we do should be fair, should be just, should be honest, and should be with the highest standards of integrity. With a sense of sharing, caring and helping each other especially, those who are weak, underprivileged, who are impoverished in any way, that is what a human being is all about. Every culture, every religion, every state, every human being must have these objectives. In Pakistan’s case, Quaid-i Azam achieved it through unity, faith and discipline, this was his motto. These three are still very applicable and if we follow that we will be an even greater nation. We should shun personal interest when it conflicts with national interests.
On a final note I wanted to know what his advice would be to someone who had the desire and ambition to do something for his nation or people.
Shaukat Aziz: “There are no short cuts in life. Work hard, you have to get ahead through performance. There are two types of people I have seen. The one who get ahead on their own steam, through their own performance, the other that try to get ahead by pulling somebody else down. If we have positive thinking, we should develop the art of acknowledging success, acknowledging what we can do and what we have done. We respect people who have done well. Sometimes we become too cynical, if somebody is doing well we say ‘oh why what happened,’ and that should be discouraged. In fact we should be happy that a fellow person is doing well and achieving a lot. If we can’t help him at least we certainly don’t discourage him. So positive thinking, cooperative feeling and the creation and development of congeniality are a must.”
With the interview concluded Shaukat Aziz engaged us in polite casual chat, his phone ringing off the hook with all types of journalists and men of importance seeking to gain his counsel. Thus, we said our salutations and left to reflect upon the meeting with a man who was born, bred and educated in Pakistan. He left his Pakistan in the pursuit of excellence and greater responsibility.
A dream that 160 million Pakistanis also harbor!
Here was a man who not only climbed to the top of his tree but also sowed the seeds of success for his trustees.
He risked life, limb and reputation to go back and lead his nation in a time of crisis to global acclaim. A perilous undertaking that many of his sharpest critics would never contemplate, let alone attempt!
In 2001 an influential European Banking Magazine voted him ‘Finance Minister of the Year’, at the end of his term, in November 2007, he became the only Pakistani Prime Minster to have completed his full five-year term.
In this man I found a paragon of excellence for any young graduate or potential leader. A role model and an iconic figure used as an example in MBA case studies at the most prestigious institutes all across the world. A man upheld in great esteem and reverence by his peers.
Here is a proven performer, a success story, a Pakistani we can be proud of! A man who has achieved everything that you and I want to be! A harbinger!
He is an asset to the nation, a treasure trove of information and guidance that any emperor would behoove.
Although one wonders if the treatment he has received will force him back into his previous commitments to Western corporations and think tanks? A gain for them, an ill afforded loss for us! Can Pakistan realistically lose a man of such caliber?
Are we so enamored with the shenanigans and vitriolic meanderings of the political whores that dominate the Pakistani political substrate that we really cannot see the chalk from the cheese?
Pakistanis all across the world have to decide very quickly if they want leaders and Kahlifs, or are they content to settle for mere goons in men’s disguises, shaitans more renowned for their kleptocracy than their technocracy, brutes who imbibe Machiavellian idealism as their core modus operandi rather than Mohammed’s spiritual realism, pimps who will and have previously sold their nation for a smattering of green peas?
In short ,the dream of Quaid-i-Azam has been replaced by the charkas and mantras of the old ‘Jaylieh’ class. Tweedledum and Tweedledee are back in the hot seat and fighting for control of a nation created in the name of Allah.
If Quaid-i-Azam, a man more akin to Shaukat Aziz, than Tweedledum and Tweedledee could talk to us than he would definitely let us know about the mess we have made of his dreams and sacrifices!
He would tell us that Shaukat Aziz imbued his dream and lived it. He would tell us that maybe we should all follow suit and pretend Tweedledee and Tweedledum never existed so that his soul, along with the millions, who died for the sake of our homeland, created in the name of excellence and progress could rest in peace!
Imran.khan@pakxpats.com

 

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Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
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