LAHORE:
Pakistan has to pay $28.7 million to a US firm Broadsheet LLC which had been hired in 2000 by the military dictator, Pervez Musharraf, to look for the foreign assets of the Sharif family. However later, with Musharraf deciding not to proceed against the Sharif family and send it in exile to Saudi Arabia, his regime was legally required to conclude the contract by making certain payment to the asset-recovery firm. What is astonishing is that an amount of $5 million was paid to settle the matter but there are no receipts as evidence that such a payment was made, even despite Musharraf enjoying the services of numerous legal advisers.
This, however, is nothing new. A former chairman of FBR has stated that almost $120 to $150 billion belonging to Pakistani is deposited in foreign banks — earned through institutionalised corruption as well as commissions and kickbacks on official deals.
This country has greatly suffered because of the age-old obsession of our heads of state to punish their political adversaries. Instead of resorting to verbal spat and petty tactics, it is important to uphold the sanctity of the Constitution. Public office holders accused of corruption should be prosecuted in accordance with laws and policies. An elected PM must not allow political adversaries to get under his skin and instead should focus on functioning the state as efficiently as he can.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 11th, 2021.
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