Blame game: Corruption not exclusive to PPP, says CM

Says the FIA and NAB should stick to their mandate and stop attacking Sindh

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah refuses to accept that corruption is a problem exclusive to his government. "Corruption is not a new phenomenon," he said. "It started right after the tenure of the first prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan and then kept rolling on during the induction of unelected governments until Ayub Khan finally imposed martial law," he stated.

Shah was speaking at a seminar organised by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) at CM House on Friday. "General Zia, in an address to the bureaucracy, had asked them 'not to swallow hot food [bribe] but let it cool down before eating it.' What did he mean by these words?" questioned the CM.



Shah was of the opinion that corruption is a wide term and has multiple aspects and faces.

Draw the line

Shah added that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has no jurisdiction to interfere in provincial matters but it seems they have purged the federal departments of corruption and have now attacked Sindh. "For God's sake, stick to your mandate."

Speaking about the Pakistan Rangers, the chief minister said that they had the mandate and power to take action against four heinous crimes such as terrorism, target killing, kidnapping for ransom and extortion. "But I'm sorry to say they also started assuming the role of the anti-corruption department," he said. However, he lauded the role of the Rangers in restoring peace in Karachi.

Corruption in society

For the CM, corruption is not only that which is pervasive in government departments. Rather, there are various aspects and faces of corruption in society that need to be explored and addressed.

All Pakistan Newspapers Society president Hameed Haroon, said that corruption was a result of incompetence, illiteracy, poverty and ineffective governance. Meanwhile, a professor of criminology at the Karachi University, Professor Fateh Mohammad Burfat said that corruption existed throughout the world — in both developed and developing countries.

Others who spoke included the NAB DG, IBA Sukkur director Nisar Siddiqui and the provincial ombudsman.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th,  2015.