Author: Dr Khalil Ahmad

Dr. Khalil is a political economist and a political philosopher. He cherishes a cosmopolitan spirit and considers himself a moralist and a rationalist. He founded the first free market think tank in Pakistan, Alternate Solutions Institute. He wrote/published hundreds of articles on the various aspects of political economy of Pakistan, and on a variety of issues.He is author of a number of books that include "Pakistan Mein Riyasati Ashrafiya Ka Urooj"; "Siyasi Partian Ya Siyasi Bandobast"; "Pakistani KashaKash" in Urdu; and "Charter of Liberty" and "Pakistan's Democratic Impasse" in English.

Has Admiral Fasih Bokhari (Retired) now changed?

It was back in the days when the lawyers’ movement for the rule of law was at its zenith. On the 9th of March, 2007, a word of NO uttered by a man representing the law before a man representing the might had acquired the status of a catchword. The same NO had come to symbolize a movement for the supremacy of the law in Pakistan. Such a moral strength was latent in that NO that it had awakened the consciences dead in slumber for decades. Endorsement for the rule of the constitution and the law in Pakistan came from such unexpected quarters where voices supporting the military dictatorships used to come from heretofore. Surprisingly they were the same people who gave finishing touches to the past military takeovers. That was the greatest moral victory of this movement!
Then, came the day all bright with the restoration of Iftikahr
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State Aristocracy’s Pakistan – 12: Pak politicians taking our taxes, not paying their own: UK minister

Pak politicians taking our taxes, not paying their own: UK minister

LONDON: International Development Secretary Justine Greening has defended giving millions in aid to Pakistan amid suggestions the Pakistani politicians were “taking our taxes” while not paying their own. 
Pakistan receives more money in aid than almost any other state but a report last December claimed two-thirds of its MPs have not filled out tax returns, including its top rulers. Sir Malcolm Bruce, chairman of the Commons International Development committee, raised fears that Pakistan’s approach was “we’ll take your money and do what we please.” 
He asked the secretary of state: “What influence do we have over the Pakistan government? They are taking aid programmes; they are taking our taxes, not paying their own taxes. There are billions of pounds they have got in bank accounts yet they are taking money from the IMF. Everybody collectively says we expect them
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State Aristocracy’s Pakistan – 11: Avenging the law!

LHC stays proceedings in PML-Q MPs damages suits

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Monday stayed the proceeding of a civil court hearing Rs 50 million damages suits of PML-Q MNA Ch Wajahat Hussain and MPA Moonis Elahi against former additional deputy inspector general FIA and investigation officer of NICL scam case, Zafar Qureshi.
The court issued this order on a petition moved by Zafar Qureshi challenging order of lower court wherein his plea for dismissal of suit was rejected.Chaudhrys of Gujrat had filed suits against Qureshi alleging that he had tarnished the image of their family and damaged their political goodwill to a great extent. 
Zafar Qureshi through his counsel Khawaja Saeeduz Zafar contended that he had no personal grudge against Moonis Elahi or his family and conducted investigation purely on merit in the light of Supreme Court’s directions. 
He pointed out that such suits could not be
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State Aristocracy’s Pakistan – 10: PAC for abolishing doling out plots to bureaucrats and agricultural land to generals

ISLAMABAD: While giving “Plot Amnesty”  to those top bureaucrats and judges who got more than two plots in the past under the Prime Minister’s Special Incentive Package, the Public Accounts Committee has recommended abolishing the existing plot policy by suggesting to the government to cancel the summary for awarding plots to top bureaucrats under the Prime Minister’s Special Incentive package in future, abolishing all the special quotas, including of generals, judges, journalists except widows, martyrs and (disabled) persons and no more agricultural land allotments to the generals, judges and politicians except the families of martyrs.
Under the Prime Minister Special Incentive Package that was initiated during the tenure of a former prime minister, the top grade bureaucrats were given the plots on their promotion in grade 22.
The PAC met here Wednesday (December 19, 2012) with its Chairman Nadeem Afzal Gondal in the chair. The meeting examined the plot policy,
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State Aristocracy’s Pakistan – 9: OGRA chief’s escape

FOR a developing country like Pakistan the biggest threat to its existence is terrorism within its boundaries which, if unchecked, may render it ungovernable. While external aggression unites a nation, internal dissension motivated by ethnic or sectarian move divides or causes gross injustices and state-institutionalised inequalities can break even the strongest of nations. Only prompt effective remedial measures taken across the board can avert this existential threat.
Unfortunately Pakistan faces the cancer of terrorism bred by hate, waged by mercenaries and massive unchecked corruption which has assumed the form of financial terrorism. The bonding between corrupt members of this exclusive club extends beyond political divides and amongst the few within civil-cum-khaki bureaucracy, traders, drug traffickers, organised tax evaders, so-called religious parties and the land-grabbing mafia.
The ease with which Ogra chief Tauqir Sadiq was facilitated to travel across two provinces, controlled by political parties poles apart, from an airport located
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State Aristocracy’s Pakistan – 8: Several officials enjoy free water tankers on the house

KARACHI: While millions of households in Karachi go without clean drinking water for days despite having pipelines, those with direct connections in the water board enjoy a free home-delivery service.
Karachi Water and Sewerage Board’s (KWSB) water tankers are supplying water worth millions of rupees to houses of government functionaries, bureaucrats, parliamentarians and ministers on a daily basis. The chief minister and governor houses, several serving and retired judges and many VIPs living in the city are among those enjoying this free facility.
These revelations came during a meeting of the Sindh Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday, where audit director for local governments Muhammad Ali Shah briefed the financial watchdog about the KWSB audit for the year 2010-11.
During the whole year, tankers operating from different hydrants across the city provided water worth Rs23.9 million to the chief minister and governor houses but were not paid for the
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State Aristocracy’s Pakistan – 7: Rs.2 billion spent on Benazir Income Support Program ads in four years

ISLAMABAD: During the last four fiscal years – up until December 2012 – the government has spent more than Rs2 billion on a media campaign for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). 
BISP Chairperson Farzana Raja shared this information with the National Assembly on Wednesday (January 23) during the question hour session. She said that of the allocated Rs3.6 billion, Rs1.88 billion was spent on the promotion of BISP in electronic media, while Rs555 million was spent on print media.
“The purpose of the campaign was to make BISP easy to understand for every Pakistani,” said Raja. The programme’s communication strategy, she added, was a mixture of various means and resources used to reach out to beneficiaries present across the country.
Replying to a question, she told the lower house that Rs93 million were spent during the 2008-09 fiscal year. It increased to Rs658 million in 2009-10, Rs778 million in 2010-11,
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Next elections next month

The sort of politicking being hurled around in Pakistan proves with ample evidence that the next general elections are at hand.
Somehow, the latest episode of politicking started with Parvez Elhi (Pakistan Muslim League Q – Oh, Quaid-e-Azam!) giving a press briefing to the effect that Moonis Elahi, his son and young politico of the same party, would be back home in a week’s time to face the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the courts which were adamant to quiz him regarding his alleged involvement in the National Insurance Company Limited ‘Scam.’ (Every entity working under the aegis of the state in Pakistan sooner or later has to have this suffix.) Parvez Elahi was cool and calm and it seemed Moonis Elahi would soon be available to the investigators to clear his name from the list of accused in the said scam. Had this happened, another opportunity
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Electricity crisis and the fundamental rights

For the last 62 years we the ordinary people of this country have been, and are still being, COERCEDin the worst possible and worst imaginable manner by the elite and ruling classes of Pakistan. Take just one example that faces us at the moment: how we the common people are living day and night without electricity under 45 degree centigrade summer heat!
No doubt words are deficient in describing the helplessness which has become the fate of millions of us the wretched of this land. One cannot sleep, and take rest. One cannot read, write and work. Or attend to his affairs and jobs. One cannot see to his daily chores, household tasks, and other routine matters. It must be noted here that it is not just electricity that goes out of the social existence; it takes water supply too along with it. Both are organically and inseparably linked,
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A cartoonist’s view of two irresponsible kids – India and Pakistan

In the wake of escalating Line of Control skirmishes between India and Pakistan, the fear of a war is still lurking in the air. In the following cartoon, this fear was captured with dangerous implications.

[This cartoon appeared in the Pakistan print edition of the International Herald Tribune of January 19-20, 2013. The caption read as: India and Pakistan are playing with fire.]

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