The Pakistan Banking Council Report shows that over 4000 individuals and companies, all of whom owe more than Rs 1 million each, had defaulted on over Rs 60 billion (about 4 % of our GDP) in bank loans and had about Rs 2 billion in debts written-off from March 1985 to June 1993. The looters are all filthy rich people, the so-called creme de la creme of society. They should be ashamed of themselves.
The argument that financial transactions ought not to be publicly disclosed is patently false and self-serving. The public clearly has a right to know the names of all those who’ve milked the exchequer. That’s what accountability is all about.
However, a perusal of the Report and the accompanying Ordinance which seeks to disqualify loan defaulters from contesting elections reveals the timid mind-set of the caretaker government. Mr Qureshi’s intention, clearly, was not to bar more than a handful of politicians from returning to power.
According to this Ordinance, only those people will be disqualified who, along with their “dependents” (non-adult sons/daughters and spouses), own more than 51% of the shares of any company which has defaulted on more than Rs 1 million in loans.
Few such candidates are anywhere in sight. The fact is that most defaulters are business companies with boards of Directors or Partners comprising several brothers, sisters and adult relatives. Rarely are “dependents” listed as share-holders of the company. Even where they are, the Report does not indicate whether any of the defaulting Directors or Partners (along with their “dependents”) actually holds more than a 51 % share in the company. Nor does the Report give the names of those thousands of others who’ve each defaulted on loans of less than Rs 1 million.
Given the terms of the Ordinance, therefore, the legal position is that almost all defaulters will be allowed to contest the elections even if they don’t pay back their loans. In any case, since the Report doesn’t tell us who will be disqualified and who will not be disqualified from the elections unless the debt is paid back promptly, no purpose can be served by giving a copy of the report to every Returning Officer conducting the election.
Obviously, if Mr Qureshi had genuinely been interested in cleaning-up the mess, he would have barred all defaulters, irrespective of the size of their loan or the extent of their share in any company. But if he’d done that, few politicians would have survived and the electoral process would have run aground. At the very least, writs would have flown thick and fast challenging the constitutional validity of the caretakers’ mandate to pass such sweeping laws. Clearly, Mr Qureshi is not cut out to be the long lost reformer Pakistanis have fervently prayed for.
So the caretakers have satisfied themselves with more “realistic” objectives. By publishing their names, Mr Qureshi is seeking to shame all loan defaulters and nudge them into paying their dues. He has also put the issues of “public morality” and “accountability” squarely on the agenda of “good government” for times to come. This is a compromise we may have to accept, for the time being anyway.
What we cannot countenance, however, is that the defaulters should be allowed to get away without being compelled to pay back the public’s money. And by that we mean all defaulters, irrespective of how much money they owe. How does Mr Qureshi intend to go about doing that?
One way is to rely on existing laws and procedures to enforce the recovery of bad debts. But that has proven to be a non-starter, otherwise the situation wouldn’t have been as insolvent as it is today. Another hope could be that the defaulters might be sufficiently shamed into running to clear their names. But this is whistling in the dark. “Respectability” in this country is measured by marble-lined mansions, fleets of spanking new cars and weddings which reek of gold and silver. “Integrity” went out of fashion decades ago. No. Our grubby elites are beyond moral redemption. They have to be squeezed and whipped into line.
What we need are new laws and new institutions specifically designed to meet such ends. A suitable Ordinance or two may be promulgated to start the ball rolling. But more than that will need to be done. The state has to forcefully demonstrate its will and ability to track all crooks down. In order to do this, it must start at home.
It is time the organs of the state were cleansed of all filth. We refer in particular to thousands of malignant civil servants, high and low, who’ve recklessly connived in the breakdown of law and order. Justice (retd) Samdani and Justice (retd) Salam mustn’t get bogged down in too many legal niceties. For starters, they should ease out all those who’ve overstayed their mandatory 25-year welcome and are clinging to extensions and dubious contracts. They should also fire those who stink of corruption, including members of their own profession.
Hopefully, Mr Qureshi’s anticipated new lists will not be as frustrating as the recent one.