FACT SHEET

WHY OPEN AND TRANSPARENT EHTESAB IS ESSENTIAL IN THE ARMED FORCES

Released by PML(N) Central Information Secretary Siddique-ul-Farooque
on January 31, 2002 in Islamabad

 A four star general, Admiral Mansoorul Haq, Has earned the distinction of committing the biggest corruption in the history of Pakistan.  He collected five billion rupees in commissions as the naval chief.  However, the government cleared his ill-earned wealth after recovering mere 460 million rupees.  The presence of people like Mansoorul Haq in the armed forces that produced valiant officers like Aziz Bhatti Shaheed and Sarwar Shaheed is a sad reflection on the fact that the credibility of an important national institution is threatened by abandonment of the tradition of accountability.  A cohesive untied front of the armed forces and the people is all the more essential these days when the eastern borders of the country are in danger.  However, such unity can be created only with purging the armed forces of elements whose reputation tarnish their image and creates doubts about their character.  Expansion of the sphere of accountability to include the armed forces is essential for this purpose; but the Pervez Musharraf government has been deliberately reluctant to do that.  On the other hand, it should be noted that the Indian Defense Minister never postponed accountability of his top military general amid red alert state of the armed forces, and the process proved beneficial rather than damaging for the Indian armed forces.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was fully aware of this matter of national importance.  He had decided to arrest Admiral Mansoorul Haq, and recover the amounts that he had looted.  However, the Admiral’s professional colleagues urged the Prime Minister to limit the action against Mansoorul Haq to mere forced retirement in order to protect the image of the institution.  The Prime Minster agreed reluctantly to the proposal, and then the same friends helped Mansoorul Haq to flee abroad.

So, one great loss suffered by the nation with forced removal of Nawaz Sharif from power was the demise of the tradition of accountability of the armed forces, which resulted in the non-transparent case of Mansoorul Haq.

And then the people witnessed the tragedy that their chosen Prime Minister, a friend of the Pak forces, was handcuffed, thrown in solitary confinement under fake charges, and finally exiled.  On the other hand, Mansoorul Haq, a national offender, whom even the US government had handcuffed and shackled as a dangerous criminal, was provided five-star hotel facilities by the Pervez Musharraf government in Sihala rest house.  The government has also left his personal palace worth 50 million rupees in Pakistan, his Mercedez car, large bank accounts and running business in the United States and the palatial house in Austin, Texas untouched.

 It is because of this criminal carelessness that corruption in defense purchases continues, which was admitted even by former NAB Chairman Lieutenant General Amjad.  Similarly, the Pakistan Army purchased ammunition worth 800 million pounds sterling (about 7.5 billion rupees).  Four senior generals were reported to have received 4.8 million pounds as graft in that deal.  The purchase was authorized by the then Chief of Army Staff, and he must have his share. 

According to confirmed reports, defense purchase agreements worth 10 billion dollars were made during the past 20 years, and generals and other senior officers of the armed forces received a total of one billion dollars (62 billion rupees).  The reports also mention pilferage amounting to hundreds of billions of rupees in the defense housing societies in major cities, the military Engineering Service and other military departments.  The Public Accounts Committee has recently detected incidents of such corruption, and has recommended legal action against the culprits.

 ·                    We demand the government to reveal the identity of the four generals involved in the ammunition deal, also name the then Chief of Army Staff, and initiate action to recover the looted money.

·                    We demand that General Musharraf should immediately arrest all those generals and other senior officers who received 62 billion rupees in defense deals, and take effective steps to recover these huge amounts.

·                    We also demand that black sheep among rank and file of the armed forces personnel be hunted out, and strict action be taken against them so that the armed forces become free of corruption.

·                    It is our considered opinion that mere internal system of checks in any institution fails to conduct impartial, transparent and effective accountability due to personal relationships and mutual interests.  The non-transparent case of Mansoorul Haq, and cold-storing cases against other generals testifies to this fact.  It is, therefore, essential that a high-powered representative commission with judicial authority be set up to purge the armed forces of black sheep and recover the monies plundered by billionaire retired generals and other officers.  The commission should include judges, lawyers and political representatives.  This demand of ours is justified in view of fact the generals who captured power time and again from 1958 to 2002, mostly confined accountability to the politicians, while the generals alone were responsible for grave crimes of breaking the country and unmatchable corruption.  Cause of justice would not be served until big criminals are apprehended, and all claims of rooting out corruption would prove to be mere mirage.