Gen Pasha (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In Pakistan privilege doesn’t necessarily come from the ownership of capital, industry, and large holdings of cultivatable land but through control of the state apparatus. It is, therefore, not suprising that Pakistan’s leading newspaper Dawn refers to Army Chief Kayani as the most powerful man in the country. In a story headlined “Kayani Calls for talks with India,” we were reminded twice that military’s top boss is also Pakistan’s top dog.

In my latest column in Viewpoint I suggested that whether Husain Haqqani gets justice or not, the Memogate debacle is a watershed moment for Pakistan’s Civil-Military balance and a historic opportunity for the proponents of democracy to seize control of the ‘real’ state.

Vali Nasr, professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution in his latest Bloomberg column agrees:

“Impassioned appeals to the Supreme Court to find President Asif Ali Zardari a traitor backfired on the army and intelligence chiefs when the credibility of their witness, who had claimed that Zardari was colluding with the U.S. against the military, dissolved amid the man’s ever-changing story and his cameo in a mud-wrestling video.”

No one can doubt that the “Memogate” hysteria, created by a section of the Pakistani media and subsequently by the Supreme Court, places this entire circus in the realm of a fishing exercise rather than a legally authorized investigation.

I was surprised by the statement of former Director General of ISI, Ahmad Shuja Pasha to the Memogate Commission, in which he unashamedly conceded that his agency conducted no investigation and simply took Mansoor Ijaz at his words.

I am uploading the entire document for you review but here are some key, noteworthy points:

Q: In your meeting with Mr. Musawer Mansoor Ijaz in London did he disclose the identity of the person under whose instructions the Memorandum was prepared?

A (Pasha): No

Q: After meeting with Mr. Ijaz in London did you meet with Mr. Husain Haqqani to inquire about the said memorandum?

A (Pasha):  No

Q: After meeting with Mr. Ijaz in London did you prepare a report?

A (Pasha): No

Q: Is it correct that you did not meet with Mr. Husain Haqqani to verify the memorandum because of the strained relations between the Political and Military leadership of Pakistan?

A(Pasha): It is not correct that the leadership was strained.

Q: I put it to you that before proceeding to London to meet Mr Ijaz you did not obtain permission from either the President of Pakistan or the Prime Minister of Pakistan?

A (Pasha): It is correct.

Q: I put it to you that you did not obtain any written permission from Army Chief before meeting with Mr. Ijaz in London?

A (Pasha): Correct.

Q: Did Mr. Ijaz produce any witness to corroborate his assertion except the Blackberry handset and his computer?

A(Pasha): No.

Q: I put it to you that the contents of the Blackberry handset of Mr. Ijaz and what his computer contained were fabrication?

A (Pasha): What I saw did not look to be fabricated but the matter can be better determined by forensics.

Q: Did you make any attempt to examine the Blackberry handset of Mr. Husain Haqqani?

A (Pasha): No. I had reported the matter to the Political leadership and the Military leadership.

Q: Do you know where the Blackberry handsets of Mr. Husain Haqqani are?

A (Pasha): No

Q: Does ISI have the capacity to ascertain the exchange of Blackberry messages between two Blackberry users?

A (Pasha): No

If you scroll to the last page you will find that Pasha concedes he was instructed to go to London by the Army Chief. Memogate will go down in Pakistan’s history as a misstep that broke the camels back with GHQ finally conceding that they conduct fishing expeditions against civilian leadership, sitting heads of government, elected representatives of the Pakistani people and ambassadors of the civilian government.

But it is not only GHQ that has defaced itself, the judiciary is also doing all they can to maintain the status quo, instead of helping Pakistan transition to a democratic society guaranteeing human rights and freedoms.  Because of the quintessential position the judiciary holds as one of the three main pillars of the political system, the judiciary must assist Pakistan’s transition to a truly democratic country.

I don’t ask for much- simply the judiciary in Pakistan should solve disputes between the individuals and the state, guarantee individual rights and freedoms, and protect the rule of law by scrutinizing the power of special interest groups (GHQ). Unlike other democratic countries, the Pakistani judiciary seems obsessed with rendering the executive and legislative branch dysfunctional by making purely political decisions.

Because of its tendency to step outside of its boundaries to support special interest groups (GHQ), the judiciary has become the focal point of disputes in Pakistan.

But enough is enough- the Pakistani people appear ready to break away from the shackles of Internal Colonialism – they are not willing to live the second-class life of a “bloody civilian.” In the words of Malcom X, let’s put the GHQ leadership on the notice because Pakistani people want “complete freedom, justice and equality by any means necessary.”

Karwan Bazar, one of the most important business centres in Dhaka (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I know China holds a special place in the hearts and minds of many Pakistanis. Mention of Mao’s land evokes feeling of sanguineness- elation and trust. On the contrast Bangladesh – well I will leave it up to your imagination.

But I believe it is in Pakistan’s interest to change that attitude immediately. Pakistani entrepreneurs, professionals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should learn Bengali in a hurry because Bangladesh is on it’s way to becoming the most desirable destination for Western buyers.

That’s a big loss for China that had up until recently nearly 40 percent share of Western markets for readymade garments. According to a survey released by McKinsey – a global management consulting firm, chief purchasing officers of leading American and European apparel companies are planning to decrease procurement from China over next five years because of “declining profit margins and capacity constraints.”

And, China’s loss is Bangladesh’s gain. “Although Western buyers are evaluating a considerable number of sourcing options in the Far East and Southeast Asia, many chief purchasing officers said in the survey that they view Bangladesh as the next hot spot,” reported McKinsey last week.

A survey of Bangladesh’s ready-made-garment industry identified solid apparel-sourcing opportunities, but also some hurdles.

In 2010 Bangladesh had exported approximately $15 billion worth of ready-made garments to value buyers in the US and Europe. This sector, “represents 13 percent of GDP and more than 75 percent of total exports.”

McKinsey forecasts “Export-value growth of 7.0 to 9.0 percent annually within the next ten years, so the market will double by 2015 and nearly triple by 2020,” bringing the estimate for 2015 to $30billion annually.

A majority of the respondents identified attractive prices as the most important reason for purchasing in Bangladesh. And the expectations are that prices will continue to be competitive as the efficiency is enhanced “to offset rising wage costs.”

Capacity was reported in the survey as the second-biggest advantage of Bangladesh’s ready-made-garment industry. “With 5,000 factories employing about 3.6 million workers (of a total workforce of 74.0 million), Bangladesh is clearly ahead of other Southeast Asian suppliers in this respect,” chief purchasing officers were reported saying.

Bangladesh also “offers satisfactory levels of quality, especially in value and entry-level mid-market products.”

You maybe thinking – well Bangladesh offers low prices, has sufficient production capacity and no quality issues- how can Pakistanis add value here. And it’s true that recent reports identify distinct advantages of sourcing from Bangladesh. However, the McKinsey study did identify five challenges for “apparel companies seeking to do more business there.”

The leading challenge for Bangladesh is infrastructure. “Transportation bottlenecks create inefficient lead times for garments and delay deliveries to customers,” McKinsey says, adding that this issue will become even more important in the future, “since buyers want to source more fashionable products with shorter lead times.” But this can be a golden opportunity for Pakistan. There are several successful infrastructure vendors in Pakistan who can benefit from the boom in a neighboring country. This also means job opportunities for civil engineers from Pakistan to go work in Bangladesh. Industries ancillary to infrastructure can also benefit.

The second biggest challenge for Bangladesh is “energy supply”—90 percent of the more than 100 local suppliers, McKinsey interviewed rate it as “poor or very poor.” The government (in Bangladesh) has “prioritized improvement in this area and started to upgrade power systems over the last two years”, with tangible results. Here Pakistan may not have much to offer but we can learn plenty from Bangladesh. Why is it that our Pakistani factories have to shut down while Bangladesh is able to address this issue adequately enough to keep the machines running?

Labor and environmental compliance is an issue for the majority of export driven countries- including China. The McKinsey survey shows most European and US chief purchasing officers saying, “standards have somewhat or strongly improved over the past five years,” with a caveat that “suppliers vary greatly in their degree of compliance.” There are several NGOs that monitor Bangladesh for labor and social-compliance issues and here is an opportunity for Pakistani NGOs to take their expertise outside their country. When it comes to environmental compliance, which has started to get serious attention, Pakistani NGOs and consulting firms can establish themselves very quickly. Western buyers will likely find it easier to engage a non-Bangladeshi entity for compliance. It makes perfect sense for Pakistan’s NGO to expand and take their expertise to Dhaka.

The McKinsey survey suggests that Bangladeshi suppliers need to optimize productivity to “mitigate the impact of rising wages and to close gaps with other sourcing countries and to satisfy new customer requirements for more sophisticated products.”

Bangladesh also needs “new machinery and technologies,” providing an opportunity to Pakistani apparel experts to lend their expertise. The insufficient size of “the skilled workforce, particularly in middle management,” provides opportunity to many Pakistanis who have worked in this industry all their life to travel east.

McKinsey reports that Bangladesh does not have adequate supplies of “natural or artificial fibres, and its dependence on imports creates sourcing risks and lengthens lead times.” I wonder if Pakistani experts have learned any lessons here that they can take to Bangladesh.

I believe the ready-made apparel boom in Bangladesh presents significant opportunities for Pakistani entrepreneurs, professionals and NGOs. Unlike India, where visa requirements and historical hostilities becomes a major barrier, Pakistanis can actually benefit from this rising star with whom we have a shared history.

This article first appeared in Daily Times. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2012\04\13\story_13-4-2012_pg5_6

From left, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen and Rear Adm. Scott Van Buskirk, commander of Carrier Strike Group 9, speak with Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army Gen. Ashfaq Kayani and Pakistani Maj. Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha, director general of military operations, on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) while under way in the North Arabian Sea Aug. 27, 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Whether Husain Haqqani gets justice or not, the Memogate debacle is a watershed moment for Pakistan’s Civil-Military balance and a historic opportunity for the proponents of democracy to seize control of the ‘real’ state.

But of course it is easier said than done! A minister of Tipu Sultan was quoted in Parliamentary Papers (1852-53) as saying: “we are not afraid of what we do see of the British power, but of what we do not see.”  Replace ‘British’ with ‘GHQ’ and you have access to the mind of the PPP leadership. Ignoring the colonial traits of GHQ, proponents of a Praetorian model will argue that because the PPP government is ineffective, “the executive is unable to control the military.”

With foam coming from both sides of their mouths, many Pakistani analysts repeatedly declare that democracy has proved inadequate to handle the problems of corruption, the economy, and terrorism. Some explicitly call for the censure of elected government in the ‘national interest.’

Pro-GHQ analysts on TV and in mainstream print media argue that the military has simply done us a favor by stepping up to fill the institutional vacuum created by the inefficiencies of the civilian government. In reality these so-called analysts simply justify and legitimize the use of coercive authority over the social, economic, and political institutions of Pakistan.

If you analyze these commentators you will find patterns and repetitive messages that are not challenged by the anchors or editors of leading publications. It is a known fact that GHQ had colluded with or coopted the judiciary, resulting in Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s execution to name only one troubling example of undermining democracy. The Military-Judiciary incestuous relationship is no secret but pro-establishment analysts invoke the power of the lordship of the all mighty Supreme Court to seek justice that weakens civilian institutions; case in point the Memogate scandal.

The media and judiciary both aid GHQ as they systematically and ruthlessly eliminate political opponents. Of course they still exploit the populist power of religion to solidify their hegemonic discourse.

Look closely and you will find that these proponents of GHQ inhabit a dark, conspiratorial world devoid of all social and natural realities. Peddling their pseudo-fascist theory of “national security” they argue that the Judeo-Christian-Hindu forces of the West –Israel-India have joined hands in a war against Islam. The enemy is anyone who thinks differently from them; so to save Pakistan, the military must wipe out all signs of dissent. To many of us their theory sounds paranoid, but it makes perfect sense to GHQ pushers who have bought into (or sold out to) this fascist narrative, and a conservative jihadi form of Islam. They also reflect Pakistan’s pervasive sense of isolation, which results in a grandiose view of Islamabad as occupying the world’s center stage.

Going back to the quote of Tipu Sultan’s minister: We know that GHQ has coopted the judiciary, media, mullahs and many political celebrities. These are what Slajov Zizek, contemporary political philosopher would call the ‘known-known’. We also know that there are unknowns (known-unknown) and we don’t know what we don’t know (unknown-unknown). But I would submit that what we ‘know’ but do not acknowledge or forget (known-unknown), is the key to rebalancing the civil-military relationship in Pakistan.

For example we know that there are nearly 190 million people in Pakistan. We know that there are nearly 58 million adult men and 54 million adult women –compare that to merely 1.4 million strong in the army and you begin to understand the potential power of the people. We know that 20^th century social revolutions, for example in China (1949, and in Cuba in 1959, were caused by endemic military interventions in civil society. We also know for example that several countries in South and Latin America have successfully leashed their oppressive armies within the past twenty years.

But most importantly we know that GHQ realizes that direct rule of the Pakistani people, a la marshal law, is no longer possible, therefore, they are building human avatars to serve as their proxy.

Amos Perlmutter in his well publicized paper, “Toward a Taxonomy of Civil-Military Relations in Developing Polities,” writes “the army can take over the government with or without the consent of civilian politicians, on their behalf or against them, in order to eliminate one civilian group and establish another.”

The lesson learned from the Memogate debacle is that Pakistan’s civil society has matured and can counter dominant narratives even when they don’t have control of the mainstream media. Digital activists from Pakistan have provided breathing room for the PPP government and have encouraged Prime Minister Gillani and co-Chairman Bilawal Bhutto to take bold stands.

But this is no time to slow down. As I have written elsewhere abuses of power should put intelligence reform at the top of the agenda for change for PPP government. Before Pakistan can continue its democratic transition, these changes must be addressed.

Ignoring the need to establish supremacy over the intelligence community would be a grave mistake on the part of Pakistan’s civilian government. Reducing the role of the military in the intelligence sector will allow the government to consolidate itself domestically, so it should be a top priority. In addition, government control over military and intelligence will cast a positive light on the state of Pakistan’s emerging democracy, and will improve international opinions of Pakistan.

Although reform to intelligence agencies will be difficult, the good news is that with patience, resolve, and international situation in its favour, Pakistan’s government can indeed reassert civilian control over the intelligence community. Luckily for Pakistan, there are predecessors to take notes from. Indonesia and Chile have both undergone transformations in the intelligence arena and have plenty to offer Pakistan by way of example.

Intelligence agencies reform in Indonesia and Chile became a reality after the media began exposing the atrocities and, people had the courage to reject authoritarianism. Reform of the murky Indonesian intelligence service, Badan Intelijen Negara (BIN), were spurred by revelations that emerged in the trial of the alleged killer of the country’s top human right activist.

Munir Said Thalib, died from arsenic poisoning while on a flight on Garuda, Indonesia’s national airline, from Jakarta to Amsterdam via Singapore on Sept. 7, 2004. Indonesian media exposed the hands behind Munir’s murder.

Extensive exposure by the mass media of the massive human rights violations and power abuse by the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI), led to the abrupt breakdown in its public image. And, the abolition of “Dwifungsi ABRI” (the dual-function of the military) became a major demand of the pro-democracy movement.

In this same sense, the Pakistani media’s role is necessary to question the functioning of the ISI.  I do not expect mainstream Pakistani media to question GHQ promoted narratives. But I am hopeful that Pakistan’s growing pro-democracy digital activists will utilize all tools available to challenge the dominant discourse.

I wrote this article for Viewpoint. http://www.viewpointonline.net/pak-army-and-internal-colonialism.html

But all is not that bad in Pakistan. Adnan Ahmed Yousif, chairman of Al Baraka Bank Pakistan, said last week: “Given the difficult political and economic conditions that continued to prevail in the global markets in general and in Pakistan in particular specially in the year 2011, where the Pakistani economy only achieved a 2.4 per cent growth, we are pleased with the financial results achieved by the Bank in 2011.”

And pleased, he should be, for achieving 177 percent increases in total operating income in 2011. Ask yourself if the success of Al Baraka Bank is an aberration.

We know that numbers don’t lie but can be easily manipulated. Some argue that lack of growth is solely because of the failure of the civilian government and using the same data, others can demonstrate how military rule is lethal for economy. Both these positions, however, focus on the pace of growth. Statisticians and economist have a way with numbers and can explain away aberrations and trends that gloss over the key questions: why can’t we see “the type of economic growth that especially reduces extreme poverty, narrows structural inequalities, protects the environment, and sustains the growth process itself?” The key questions that need to be understood about economy is type of growth.

Economist often stick to tangible, ‘hard numbers’ because GDP is easier to quantify than intangible value gained from reducing extreme poverty, narrowing inequalities, protecting the environment, and sustaining the growth process itself.

I believe intangible values can be quantified as well. By the process of reducing uncertainty, we can speak with a level confidence about the value and thus quantify elements like poverty reduction. But I don’t want to go off on a tangent. Several studies have demonstrated (I am referring to Ramon Lopez of World Bank) that “some growth patterns systematically reduce poverty and inequality, but others do not. And some growth patterns lead to underinvestment in human capital, overexploitation of natural resources, and degradation of the environment – patterns inimical to the sustainability of growth.”

A recent article in the Islamic Business and Finance magazine quotes the former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, Ishrat Hussain, as saying: “the Islamisation of the economic system will strengthen the economy, particularly income distribution and poverty alleviation, which have proved elusive under the present western economic model.” I will leave it up to you to either agree or not that a particular type banking system alleviates poverty. But a stated goal has been: “to explore the unique features of Islamic finance for the larger good of society particularly in the context of economic growth and poverty alleviation. Islamic finance can be a powerful tool for inclusive growth and amelioration of the conditions of poor in Muslim countries.”

The same publication also quotes Saleem Ullah, the director of the Islamic banking department at the State Bank of Pakistan, as saying: “the share of the industry in the banking system has risen to over seven per cent from just 0.5 per cent in 2002.”

Now that’s sizable growth. Now ask yourself has this growth in Islamic banking reduced poverty in Pakistan? Another interesting statement in this feature attributes growth in Islamic banking to “aggressive advertising.”

Zahid Mansoor, treasurer at Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) Pakistan, is quoted saying: “If you create awareness in the minds of these people, there is significant potential to take Islamic finance beyond a niche market and make it the main choice for banking.” I agree, but wouldn’t that apply to any other form of banking?
Nevertheless, the main question that I ponder most is that structural inequalities in Pakistan are growing faster. I know it is a cliché but rich are getting richer in Pakistan. For several reasons, mostly because of the similarities in our political history, I like to compare Pakistan with Chile.

Economists agree that Chile has been a successful case of development. Economic growth, indicated by growth in banking sector as well, is coupled with a significant reduction in extreme poverty. With average per capita growth rate of slightly over 4 per cent over a period of twenty years, Chile has halved extreme poverty from approximately 40 percent down to less than 20 percent of the population.

If you average out Pakistan over last 20 years, per capita growth is similar but unlike Chile, Pakistan has failed to reduce poverty. The main reason is the lack of an adequate public expenditure policy which emphasizes the provision of public goods and social expenditures; a policy that is committed towards poverty reduction. Pakistan’s tax system has failed to raise sufficient revenues to afford expenditure policies at sufficient levels and an abnormally high defence spending has eroded whatever little revenue is collected. Enormous legal tax loopholes benefit mainly the very rich.

With an inadequate public expenditure policy, a failed system of revenue collection there is not much that Islamic banking or Takaful (insurance) industry can do to reduce poverty. But it will make the Islamic bankers and insurance firms very, very rich, indeed!

–

This article appeared in The News on 4/1/2012 http://e.thenews.com.pk/4-2-2012/bfr_page3.asp

]]> http://ibrahimsajidmalick.com/pakistans-one-percent/1928/feed/ 0 http://ibrahimsajidmalick.com/memogate-what-does-major-general-patudi-want/1919/ http://ibrahimsajidmalick.com/memogate-what-does-major-general-patudi-want/1919/#comments Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:12:31 +0000 Ibrahim Sajid Malick http://ibrahimsajidmalick.com/?p=1919

Photograph of Hussain Haqqani (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A very well placed friend in Islamabad who is rarely wrong told me yesterday that Deputy Director General ISI Major General Asfandyar Pataudi personally went to tell the Supreme Court judge to deny Husain Haqqani’s application for video link. Before the proceedings began he told the judge in no uncertain terms that Husain Haqqani must be brought back to Pakistan. Pataudi even ordered service provider, the same company that provisioned video hook-up for Mansoor Ijaz’s testimony to lie to the court and say it was not technically possible to do it again.

By interfering and influencing the honorable judges (in a closed room meeting prior to the proceeding started), ISI continues to undermine democracy, civilian rule and dispensation of justice. No wonder ISI has lost all credibility within and outside Pakistan. A visible feature of the ISI’s history that has done great damage to its reputation is the continued exploitation of civilian institutions.

Blatant power abuses, like Patudi’s interference in the court proceeding, among others, should put intelligence reform at the top of the agenda for change in Pakistan.  Before country can continue its democratic transition, these changes must be addressed. Indonesia and Chile have both undergone transformations in the intelligence arena and have plenty to offer Pakistan by way of example.

PPP government has entered the final stretch of it’s tenure and if they want to be victors in next elections they will have to take some courageous steps. PPP government should reinforce the separation between civilian and military intelligence agencies. The integration of former ISI agents into other civilian bodies, particularly the IB, should be limited or stopped. Cross-recruitment prevents organizations from becoming independent.

Pakistan also needs to strengthen the police force. A better-trained and better-equipped police force can do a better job of counterterrorism, which work is currently exploited by the intelligence agencies to legitimize their control over politics in Pakistan.

The international community continues to blame Pakistan’s problems on the ISI, but still maintains working relations with the agency. Often, these relations undermine the democratic government and vindicate the very intelligence actors that need to be controlled. This double standard can be avoided by direct involvement with the Pakistani government, rather than going through intelligence services.

Ignoring the urgent need to establish supremacy over the intelligence community would be a grave mistake on the part of Pakistan’s civilian government. Reducing the role of the military in the intelligence sector will allow the government to consolidate itself domestically, and go back to voters with tangible results. In addition, government control over military and intelligence will cast a positive light on the state of Pakistan’s emerging democracy, and will improve international opinions of Pakistan.

I know Pataudi is one heck of a polo player with 3-goal handicap and understands concept of ‘line of the ball,’ – an imaginary line created by the ball as it travels down the field. The line of the ball defines rules for players to approach the ball safely. These rules are created and enforced to ensure the welfare of players and their horses. Patudi knows it well that Husain Haqqani should have right of way. And his safety should be of utmost importance. He should be extended the same playing field as Mansoor Ijaz- by that I mean Haqqani should have the video link as well.

I won’t speculate as to why Pataudi wants Husain Haqqani to come back so badly. But I don’t see a game of Polo in Haqqani’s future anytime soon.

Image via Wikipedia

Many of us who have known Shaheen Sehbai personally are aware that his ties with Mansoor Ijaz goes back at least a decade. And I have been on a hunt to dig out some old articles so we can analyze Memogate in its historical context. My intent is not to vindicate Husain Haqqani but to demonstrate how some within Pakistani media are so obsessed with the status quo that they continue to peddle the dominant narrative.

In my previous blogs I have argued that Pakistani media creates, processes and disseminates information on behalf of the establishment (GHQ), which shapes our beliefs and attitudes and, ultimately, our behavior. Consistently displayed messages create a false sense of reality and produce a consciousness that cannot comprehend or even worst, willfully rejects the actual conditions of everyday life. This is exactly what happened with the Memogate scandal. I believe we must do a post-mortem of the scandal, which for a month shook everything and everyone in Pakistan.

Behind that scandal were several people – but Mansoor Ijaz and Shaheen Sehbai who have known each other since 1995 played the key roles.

It begins with an article Shaheen Sehbai wrote for Dawn in June of 1995 positioning Mansoor Ijaz as an architect of US-Pakistan diplomacy. At that time Shaheen Sehbai was Dawn’s correspondent in Washington DC. In early 2000 the duo then turned against the Pakistan army with both relentlessly kicking GHQ in the pants. Shaheen Sehbai used SATribune.com as a platform to criticize the army and Ijaz had abundant access to Fox news after 9/11 to spew hatred against Pakistan.

Shaheen Sehbai “made-up” with GHQ and shut down SATribune. Sehbai’s close friends tell me that Dr. Shahid Masood brokered a deal with Maj. General Shaukat Sultan who used to head ISPR. The deal was that Shaheen Sehbai will shut down SATribune and return to Pakistan to head The News.

UPDATE: Shaheen Sehbai has categorically denied this allegation. And, I have decided to include his view here as well. 

Mansoor Ijaz stopped appearing on Fox news and ran into financial trouble around the same time. Shaheen Sehbai had personally told me that Mansoor Ijaz is one the ‘funders’ of his publication. It is not surprising then that Sehbai closed the deal with ISPR when his funding dried up.

UPDATE: Shaheen Sehbai now says Mansoor Ijaz never funded his endeavor. There is no way I can substantiate it either way. I can say this with mathematical certitude, under oath, if required: In 2003 Shaheen Sehbai told me that Mansoor Ijaz was one of the investors of SATribune. Don’t know if he said it to solicit my help in converting SATribune from online presence only to weekly print edition. I will leave it up the readers to draw their own conclusion. 

In October 2011 Shaheen Sehbai, who is now the chief editor of The News amplified the voice of his old pal Mansoor Ijaz by launching a campaign against the democratically elected government courtesy of Memogate. Now that this scandal has proved substance less, we must try to understand what actually happened so we can avoid similar stresses in future.

There are two possibilities – Sehbai-Ijaz duo used DG ISI Shuja Pasha to give life to their conspiracy; or Pasha pulled the strings of Sehbai and Ijaz to conspire against the elected government. In either case, a conspiracy to dislodge the people’s representative was foiled by the democratically elected government with the help of social media savvy, pro democracy Pakistanis.

Skillfully plugging Mansoor Ijaz in his 1995 Dawn article Sehbai writes:

“Mansoor Ijaz runs a billion dollar investment management firm, claims he dines with President Clinton, is a Managing Trustee of the Democratic Party’s National Committee and a Majority Trust Member of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, says he makes heavy donations which do move things for him on the Hill, produces a stack of letters written by almost anyone who is someone on the Capitol Hill, and boasts of his business connections outside the U.S.”

If you fast forward to 2011, Mansoor Ijaz is still doing what he did in 1995 and Shaheen Sehbai continues to skillfully promote him. No one in the Pakistani media ever questions his biases. No one asks Sehbai why do you keep on building this guy as a billionaire when in actuality he is so broke that he has defaulted on $1.5 million debt.

In an article titled “A blueprint Pakistan cannot ignore”, Shaheen Sehbai wrote in June 1995:

 “A comprehensive blueprint of how and in which direction future relations between Pakistan and the United States would, or should move… It has been put forward by some influential Pakistani-Americans in the form of a confidential memorandum which takes into account the pressing security and defence requirements of Islamabad as well as provides Washington a framework to achieve its own goals.”

Please note mention of the “confidential memorandum” in this story from 1995 “which takes into account the pressing security and defence requirements of Islamabad as well as provides Washington a framework to achieve its own goals.”

Does this ring a bell? Isn’t this similar to Mansoor Ijaz’s memo of May 2011? How dumb do these people think we are? Mansoor Ijaz and Shaheen Sehbai forget that in these days of digital media anyone with patience can do some digging.

Did Shaheen Sehbai and Masnoor Ijaz use the same template? In June 1995 Shaheen Sehbai wrote:

 “The man behind the whole idea is a 34-year old American of Pakistani  origin, MIT and Harvard educated mechanical engineer turned nuclear physicist turned investment consultant who was introduced to Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto by a senior Pakistani diplomat in Washington as  ”the silent billionaire”.

 Now please review an article published in The News in October 2011 “The memo that saved Zardari- at what cost?” Shaheen Sehbai writes:

 “The third key issue is the credibility of the writer, Mansoor Ijaz, a man once dubbed by our ambassador to Washington as the “silent billionaire”, a self-made man as one of the world’s top investment minds and with friends in the highest defence, national security and political echelons of many governments around the world, a man who surely doesn’t need the headache of dealing with our incestuous politics while he jets around the French Riviera.”

Shaheen Sehbai knows that Mansoor Ijaz is broke but he is still using the same “silent billionaire” phrase he coined in 1995. According to the financial statements provided by Mansoor Ijaz and entered in judgment in New York Court, he doesn’t have more than a few million. Even if you were to take Mansoor Ijaz at his words MansoorIjaz Consolidated Financial Statement his net-worth is $15 million. If that made someone a “silent billionaire” you would find so many in the US that you would need several phone directories to publish every name.

But if you take a closer look, that $15 million seems questionable. You will notice Ijaz claims his apartment in New York City is worth more that $5.9 million. A search of public record puts it at $4.4 million. Only a million and a half more than what Ijaz estimates. But that’s fine. The market did go down somewhat. It is, however, the only tangible asset.

Ijaz further values the stocks of Crescent (CHR) and Eco Drive (ECO) at $2.5 million and $9.3 million respectively. Neither of these are publicly traded companies. With no real business to back it up- these shares are worth pennies and if you discounted these shares to current market value Mansoor Ijaz is merely left with his apartment. Well- he also claims to posses’ jewelry/art/heirloom worth $477k, furniture/electronics worth $225k.

Compare that to his liability of $4.4 million and do the math yourself. No matter how fantastical your imagination, you would shy away from describing this gentleman as a “silent billionaire.”

Although many people exaggerate their socio-economic status, it becomes problematic when one uses that perception to exercise political influence. This is exactly what Shaheen Sehbai and Mansoor Ijaz have done. They have both misled us and postured to be “ultra-wealthy” to establish credibility.

Shaheen Sehbai and other pseudo-journalists like him manipulate the people of Pakistan by constantly repeating the narratives of GHQ. These messages become the ‘instrument of conquest’, by which the ruling elite tries to conform the masses to their objectives.

By using compromised journalists that explain, justify, and sometimes even glamorize the prevailing conditions of existence, GHQ secures popular support for a social order that is not in the majority’s long-term interest. In the cacophony, which is often masked as intelligent debate of “national interest”, what remains unconsidered are the “peoples’ interest”.

But enough is enough- if Maya Khan can be booted off the air for harassing young men and women in a park why can’t Shaheen Sehbai be booted off for conspiring to dislodge a government that people of Pakistan elected.

Kurshan went on to state that “Mr. Ijaz does not dispute that he owes a debt to my client” and added, “that debt has not been paid and that’s the bottom line”.

Mr. Kurshan was also interested to know exactly where Mr. Ijaz  currently is, indicating that he has been unable identify his current whereabouts..

When asked about media reports in response to news about Ijaz’s financial troubles Mr. Kurshan stated “the allegations I set forth in our lawsuit are all provable” .

The only reason that case did not proceed to trial was because Mr. Ijaz consented to the judgment; said Kurshan, “even a billionaire does not consent to a 1.5 million dollar judgment if it is not valid”.

The fifth cause of action in the court complaint which includes the fraud charges, accuses Mansoor Ijaz of acting as the “alter ego” of his corporate entities, The Ijaz Group and Aquarius.  The complaint alleges that Ijaz “ignored all corporate formalities in the operation and formation” of those entities.  It goes on to allege that Ijaz was “the only shareholder, officer, and director of Aquarius.  Aquarius never entered into any contracts nor did it have any employees.  Aquarius never filed any tax returns”.

When asked if he has identified assets that he plans to go after to recoup the $1.47 million, Mr. Kurshan said he wouldn’t want to tip him (Mansoor Ijaz) off. A story in The News Bank allegations Mansoor Ijaz false today said:

“Efforts to malign Mansoor Ijaz, the star witness in this week’s Memogate hearing here in London, moved into high gear over the weekend with revelations that Pakistani origin American business tycoon Mansoor Ijaz had been accused of fraud by a European bank in an effort to recover loans made to his corporations in 2007.”

Let’s first address “business tycoon” – I have attached a consolidated financial statement submitted by Mansoor Ijaz in 2007. Even if you were to take Mr. Mansoor Ijaz on his words MansoorIjaz Consolidated Financial Statement   his net-worth is $15 million. If that made someone a “business tycoon” you would find so many in the US that you would need several phone directories to publish every name. But if you take a closer look, that $15 million seems questionable. You will notice Mr. Ijaz claims his apartment in New York City is worth more that $5.9 million. A search of public record puts it at $4.4 million. Only a million and a half more than what Mr. Ijaz estimates. But that’s fine. The market did go down somewhat. It is, however, the only tangible asset.

Mr. Ijaz further values the stocks of Crescent (CHR) and Eco Drive (ECO) at $2.5 million and $9.3 million respectively. Neither of these are publicly traded companies. A records serach of “C” corporations in the state of Delaware comes up empty. It doesn’t mean these corporations are not active as privately held entities; I just can’t find any evidence of their operation. You can also try to Google Eco Drive and Crescent Investment + Mansoor Ijaz.

Mr. Ijaz also claims to posses jewelry/art/heirloom worth $477k, furniture/electronics worth $225k.

Compare that to his liability of $4.4 million and do the math yourself. What do you think is the net present value(NPV)?  No matter how fantastical your imagination, you would shy away from describing this gentleman as a “business tycoon.”

To substantiate my report, I have also attached the judgement issued by the New York Supreme Court. MansoorIjaz Default Judgement BSI case

Although many people exaggerate their socio-economic status, it becomes problematic when one uses that perception to exercise political influence. This is the reason why  I will continue to research this “ultra wealthy man” during coffee and lunch breaks today and tomorrow.

The attorney for Banca Sammarinese di Investimento (BSI) Mr. Peter Kurshan last week told me that his client has not received $1.47 million from Mr. Mansoor Ijaz and he is left with no option but to start collection enforcement. The challenge facing Mr. Kurshan and other creditors in New York apparently is that Mr. Ijaz has almost no assets to his name.

NEW YORK SUPREME COURT – CIVIL DIVISION issued a judgment against Mr. Ijaz in September of 2010.  In a conversation last week in New York Mr. Kurshan said; “given that he has not voluntarily satisfied the judgment in past two years we are forced to commence enforcement action.”

But Banca Sammarinese di Investmento is not the only creditor looking for Mr. Ijaz. Citibank also has a judgment against him for a relatively small amount of $16,021. Aurora Loan Services also filed a motion in New York Supreme court for an unidentified amount in 2007.

In 2002 Mr. Ijaz had similar financial difficulties: American Express Travel Services had sued him for $166,880. After New York Supreme Court decided in the favor of the creditor, Mr. Ijaz subsequently paid off his debt and a Civil Judgment Release was filed as an acknowledgment by American Express Travel Services that it had been paid. But this lien still shows up in public records.

Bank of New York had also moved New York Supreme Court in 2002 to recover a paltry sum of $58,698 and a judgment was issued but no release was filed.

Mr. Ijaz seems to again have faced serious financial hardships in 2008 when he requested to restructure his debt obligations. In a memo to Banca Semmarinese di Investimento on March 10, 2008 Mr. Ijaz made several outlandish claims, which appear more like fantasies than business plans.

In the March 2008 memo to the bank he wrote: “Aquarius Towers Las Vegas has reached  a definitive contract to fund Phase 1 of the project (US $50,000,000).” In his typical name dropping and success-by-association fashion, Mr. Ijaz said “the investor is a large Indian family that has real estate investments around the world, including over 40 apartment buildings.” He claimed that he was  friends with a friend of the owners and that he was traveling to Zurich and Geneva with them to do “due diligence”. He then claimed that once the fund was established he would get a regular “income for my role” and  would be in a position to pay off his debt to BSI.

In this memo Mr. Ijaz also claimed that the same un-named “investor” who was providing him access to the rich and powerful Indian family has also introduced him to another investment opportunity in yet another venture, Eco Drive Technologies. Mr. Ijaz claimed that his ‘friend’ had close ties with Tata Motors which had chosen to invest $10,000,000 in Eco Drive Technologies. Mr. Ijaz had suggested “these funds are investment funds only and therefore no income” could be expected for payment to BSI. “But the deals materiality arises from additional collateral becoming a part of the overall portfolio,” because Mr. Ijaz claimed to own a “significant share of the new company.”

He made similar claims about a company Hydropolis and Agios Shipping Limited.

Although Mr. Ijaz intimated that contracts had been signed on these various projects, oddly none of them materialized.

A search of the public record in the US suggests that Mr. Ijaz has a total of eight lien records against him and he only owns an apartment (flat) in New York. It could not be established if Mr. Ijaz has secured all of his assets in off-shore estates but the attorney for BSI plans to commence enforcement action shortly.

According to the court documents Mr. Ijaz not only defaulted on his debt obligation but is also accused of defrauding the bank by using funds loaned to his business for personal use.

Three questions arise out of Mr.Ijaz’s memo to BSI and non-payment of his debts for which he took ‘personal responsibility.’ Does Mr. Ijaz have the habit of making fantastical claims? Is it possible that his recent tirade against the democratically elected government of Pakistan was due to the financial burdens he faces? Has Mr. Ijaz moved out of the US with his assets to mitigate financial risks he faces by creditors and investors in his investment firm?

We don’t have answers to any one of these questions but we can say with mathematical certitude that a memo to BSI was written to restructure debt obligations in 2008 and  subsequently the New York Supreme Court ordered judgment against Mr. Ijaz in 2010.

But primarily I didn’t expect it because she had said taking the job of ambassador would be a demotion for her. About two years ago I had met her at Shaheen Sehbai’s house in VA along with few other Pakistani journalists. Ms. Rehman was the guest of honor- she had already resigned as Information Minister protesting the curb on Pakistani media. I, of course, admired her courage and her principled stand. One of us had asked her if she would consider the position of ambassador and replace Husain Haqqani. She categorically said “no” – explaining that it will be a lower pay grade

Although I am saddened by entrapment of Husain Haqqani – I am relieved that Sherry Rehman will be representing Pakistan in Washington DC. At least Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will be happy because unlike Husain Haqqani who was joint at the hip with President Zardari, Ms. Rehman has closer ties with the PM. And all the other names that were floating around would have been such an embarrassment for Pakistan.

Welcome Ambassador Sherry Rehman- hopefully you will keep us engaged at Twitter as well.

Express Tribune on it’s website has a good writeup Sherry Rehman, the chairperson of the Jinnah Institute, a former journalist and author.

She will be 51 this December and studied at Smith College.

She started her career as a reporter for the daily Star newspaper and then moved on to the monthly magazine Herald, where she was – at the age of 26 – the group’s youngest editor.

Rehman left Herald in 1998 and co-authored the book The Kashmiri Shawl: From Jamawar to Paisley.

She was elected to the National Assembly twice, in 2002 and 2007, on reserved seats for women. In 2008-2009, she declared assets of Rs210 million.

As a legislator, Rehman highlighted human rights issues as well as played an instrumental role in passing key legislation related to women’s rights.

Rehman worked closely with the late PPP chairperson and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and headed the PPP’s policy planning committee that developed the party’s manifesto for the 2008 elections.

After the PPP came to power, Rehman, was named Minister for Information and Broadcasting, and had the additional portfolios of Health, Women Development and Culture.

According to a leaked US Embassy cable released by WikiLeaks, in a February 8, 2008 meeting with then US Ambassador Anne Patterson, PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari said he was ‘struggling’ over who would be named Senate chairman. When he said the best candidate would be Farooq Naek, Zardari was asked who would be law minister. “That’s the problem,” he replied, “We don’t have enough good people.”  According to Zardari, Sherry Rehman “was dying for the job,” but Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam would never vote for a woman as Senate Chairman.

She resigned from her position in March 2009 over the government’s handling of the media, and won kudos from the press for taking a stance on the issue. Rehman was then replaced as the Pakistan Peoples Party’s information secretary.

After her resignation as minister, Rehman focused her attention to the Jinnah Institute, “a non-profit public policy organization based in Pakistan, which works as a non-partisan think-tank, advocacy group and public outreach institution.”

In late 2010, Rehman’s life was threatened since she submitted a private member bill suggesting amendments to the blasphemy law. Rehman was criticized by speakers at large-scale rallies and kept a low profile in the ensuing months, particularly after the assassinations of Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and the Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti.