Pakistan : The Corruption Scenario
When Gen. Musharraf took over power some eight years back, the people at large welcomed him enthusiastically, chiefly because he held out the promise of eradicating the canker of corruption permeating the upper echelon of the political elite.
The most endemic and entrenched manifestation of poor governance, corruption had become virtually a way of life in Pakistan by the time Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the army chief, took over power in a dramatic coup on October 12, 1999. Public exchequer had been robbed dry by both Nawaz Sharif and Benazir and the country was teetering at the brink of bankruptcy so much so that it was being gleefully referred to as a failed state by the hostile media of our eastern neighbor. Transparency International too had ranked Pakistan as the second most corrupt country of the world.
Corruption had become the norm and honesty but a joke. Plunder had acquired a seductive logic of its own. The leadership of the country had been finding it difficult to differentiate between personal and public funds. During his nine-year rule, he did succeed in eliminating noticeably corruption at higher levels of power. Yet, his lust for power and obsession with getting another term as President, made him enter into a deal with Benazir and issue the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) that in effect absolved a large number of politicians and officials from all charges of corruption. The Supreme Court has declared the NRO as null and void, reopening corruption cases in relevant courts, and putting the careers of so many wheeler-dealers in jeopardy.
The situation was quite different till the dismemberment of Pakistan in December 1971. Even during the rule of Z.A. Bhutto, corruption was not the norm. But, it did mark the beginning of major kickbacks in defense purchases, in the purchase of Mirage planes for instance.
The foundation of bureaucratic corruption was laid during Bhutto's period. His 1973 Constitution did away with the chapter on civil services that had guaranteed security of service to civil servants. That chapter had formed part of all pervious constitutions. By removing that, Bhutto put the careers of all senior civil servants at his personal pleasure. Summary dismissal of some terrorized them all. The ensuing insecurity and the enormous administrative and financial powers at their disposal tempted them to seek security in nest eggs acquired through illegal means. For sheer survival, many turned into sycophants. Since they knew the ropes, they guided the political bosses into the ways and means of making money.
The nationalization of key industries and of banks opened innumerable new portals of corruption for the bureaucrats. They made a beeline for positions in these nationalized institutions to suck them dry. That is how the system of bad bank loans started.
Corruption, nepotism and incompetence became the hallmarks of the alliance between the politicians and the bureaucrats. The rule of law through institutions yielded to governance by individuals through cabals in which the bureaucrat became indistinguishable from the politician. In this new dispensation, every time a government changed, all crucial functionaries from a TV news editor to Federal Secretary were replaced by cronies of the new rulers.
A civil servant had to be either a friend of the politician in power or of those in opposition. If neither, he was irrelevant and disposable. This subservience of the bureaucracy continues till today as it has suited all political and military regimes.
During the so-called Decade of Democracy, the ranks of public service were packed by men either by straight nomination by politicians or by perverting the selection process. Incompetence and corruption had thus come to flow through the national stream.
Gen. Zia turned a blind eye to corruption to deflect any challenge to his position. The Afghan war brought a lot of foreign money and weapons into the country. Easy access to weapons led to what is known now as the Klashnikov culture. The abnormal conditions of the war admitted of the production and export of narcotics. A new breed, called drug barons, emerged on both sides of the border.
Corruption kept spreading while the leader kept chanting his mantra of Islamization. Army officers, particularly of higher echelons, had their share of the pie. Living within the legitimate means became almost an offense and unpatriotic.
Successive political regimes starting with Prime Minister Junejo in 1985 and continuing till the October '99 coup of Gen. Musharraf thrived on both political and financial corruption. The two stints each of Nawaz Sharif and Benazir took corruption to levels that attracted international media attention. Their scandals smelled to the sky. It was a total descent into the abyss of corruption.
Considering the extent to which Pakistan's ruling elite were littered with corrupt scoundrels, the rounding up of loan defaulters, tax evaders and abusers of public funds and other such rogues by Musharraf government, were hailed by the public. But the slow process evoked skepticism of the people at large. Then came the dramatic disclosure of an agreement with the Sharif family whereby its ill-gotten wealth was surrendered to the government in return for the permission to all members of the family to go into exile in Saudi Arabia.
Full details of this deal have not been made public giving rise to public cynicism about the intentions of the army. Benazir, being a feudal lady, refused to enter into any such plea-bargain and continued to assert her innocence despite the mountain of evidence against her.
The army's role in handling the crooks has not been as transparent as expected. Public cynicism in this respect is reinforced by the past conduct of the army high command. For instance, in 1988, the ISI was said to have got Rs.140 million from Mehran Bank to distribute among political parties favored by the army. Gen. Mirza Aslam Beg, the Army chief at that time, has himself confirmed this.
Gen. Musharraf’s personal image remained untarnished with scandals of corruption. But his era was marked by the split of the society into two distinct segments: one comprising the men in uniform (the rulers) and the other the civilian second strings (the minions).
All earlier military rulers - Ayub, Yahya, and Zia - had wisely absorbed into their ruling setups substantial civilians both politicians and bureaucrats. They came down heavily on civil servants found to be corrupt or incompetent but they did not replace them wholesale with officers in uniform as was done during Musharraf's time. Granted that he needed a team that he could totally rely on to run the administration. But, did he needsuch a large team - over 600 military officers in civilian posts?
Another relevant development has been the whittling down of the once all-powerful CSP cadre, known now as the DMG. Their jobs as District Commissioners were given to elected Nazims. (It has been decided now to reverse this arrangement.)
Perhaps the setting up of the National Security Council, the transfer of powers to Nazims, and the induction of so many men in uniform into civilian positions, were meant to ensure the continued retention of power by the army. This unchecked concentration of power in the hands of persons belonging to a particular sector of the society had tempted them to feather their own nests.
The Supreme Court’s unanimous verdict against the NRO, has been hailed by all sectors of society. But, it might be nothing more than a Band Aid on the gash of corruption on the country’s body politics. Effective and lasting measures are to be taken by the government. Unfortunately, no such move could be expected from the current ruling coterie, as luminaries who had benefited themselves from the NRO dominate it. The current political uncertainty cannot last long. May Allah grant Pakistan sincere and honest leadership!
