Editorial

Corruption charges

Mr Kakakhel should be relieved of his duties if he is found guilty of committing any wrongdoing.

Editorial April 22, 2013

Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel Federal Caretaker Minister for Overseas Pakistanis. PHOTO: EXPRESS

Rooting out corruption and the misappropriation of funds are catchphrases that are thrown about so frequently that they seem to have lost their punch. Hence, hearing about an official’s wrongdoing doesn’t cause the shock it once did years ago. Take the case of caretaker Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel. Three days into his new job, the minister had rung up a bill of Rs60,000 for just pots and pans. And then, shortly thereafter, he asked for six cars to be delivered to his home “within 15 minutes”, according to our report on April 20. The ministry obliged with two Toyota Hiluxes, one Toyota Altis, one Toyota Gli, one Toyota 2.OD and one Honda City. Mr Kakakhel is alleged to have also taken five more vehicles from the ministry of human resource. As if all this wasn’t enough, Mr Kakakhel is accused of protecting officials in the Overseas Pakistanis Fund who were found guilty of committing irregularities. These are all serious allegations that require the immediate attention of the caretaker prime minister who should conduct an investigation. Mr Kakakhel should be relieved of his duties if he is found guilty of committing any wrongdoing.

It is easy to point fingers at Mr Kakakhel when we know all too well that he is not alone in losing sight of his priorities — in this case, doing his job: governance. Ministers are entitled to perks and privileges but many abuse it or confuse it as entitlement. This environment of corruption — for that is what this ultimately is — invariably means that people are denied good governance. Pakistan continues to rank high for its corruption in Transparency International reports and it becomes harder to root it out because there seems to be no way to address this problem. As challenging and daunting a task as it appears, it needs to be tackled and the legal option is the best bet. Ministers must set examples for others to follow and lead austere lives; not ostentatious ones in a land where people are hungry and unemployed.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2013.

COMMENTS (5)

Billoo Bhaya | 11 years ago | Reply

@lkhan: As you say "a bit of decency." They don't have that. So the circus will continue.

lkhan | 11 years ago | Reply

Kakakhel, considering you are there for a couple of months, what an amazingly bad example - 11 cars and so much on pots and pans - if the interim government had a bit of decency, you would be immediately relieved of your post.

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Anonymous | 11 years ago | Reply

''Mr Kakakhel should be relieved of his duties if he is found guilty of committing any wrongdoing''

The editorial is based more on allegations than facts which is unfortunate. The country faces much bigger issues than the pity amount spent on pots and pans or the use of few cars for a month or two. Or is it just that insulting politicians (and worshiping uniforms) is part of the job description of our journalists?

Usman | 11 years ago | Reply

We have a culture of tolerance of corruption, and we think that anyone in power is entitled to it. As long as we tolerate such behaviour, we will remain a third world nation.

Mirza | 11 years ago | Reply I thought it was all democracy's fault and the country would once again become haven after the coalition govt's term ended. We are sick to the bone and corruption knows no bounds. When most of the people are corrupt it does not mean who is the ruler, it is not going to get better till we all make it. Dreaming of future, recalling the past and putting high hopes on individuals and parties is only going to disappoint us. It is a collective disease and requires a collective remedy.

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