While the rulers keep making claims about controlling corruption in the country, the fact is that Pakistan still suffers a loss of Rs 22 billion every day due to corruption. Pakistan with a black economy of Rs 20 trillion is ahead in corruption than many other South Asian countries, said renowned economist and Research Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance Chairman Dr Shahid Hassan Siddiqui.
Addressing a seminar at a local hotel, he said financial and intellectual corruption is shaking the foundations of Pakistan, and Pakistan is ahead in corruption than even South Asian countries like Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka. He said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) during the last 14 years has given misleading figures about the recovery of embezzled money from the mega corruption criminals of Pakistan. He said that due to corruption, bad governance, nepotism, violation of rules and royal expenses of rulers, Pakistan is suffering a loss of Rs 3,000 billion every year and due to below capacity recovery of taxes the country sustains loss of another Rs 5,000 billion a year. Hence the Pakistani nation suffers a loss of Rs 8000 billion every year, which means a corruption of Rs 22 billion a day.
He said the country also sustains immense loss due to the intellectual corruption and the people who do not fulfill the conditions of Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution of Pakistan are elected fraudulently, and the federal and provincial departments formed and run by these corrupt people and their misuse of power cause the country and the nation colossal losses which cannot be put into figures.
He said according to NAB Annual Report 2014 approved by its executive board, during the last 14 years Rs 121 billion bank loans were recovered; however, actual recovery would hardly be one-fourth of the claimed amount. He said that legal action should be taken against the members of the executive board of the NAB who approved this misleading report. He said according to another claim of the NAB the Bureau recovered Rs 266 billion in corruption money during the last 15 years. However, in fact, the actual recovery was less than half of the claimed amount. He said from September 2000 till to date seven chairmen of NAB were appointed including serving and retired generals and retired judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, but sadly they all presented misleading figures regarding the recovery of the looted national wealth.
Dr Shahid Siddiqui said if we compare our national savings with the national savings of even some other developing countries, our national savings are at least Rs 14,000 billion a year less. He said during the last seven and a half years Pakistanis living in other countries sent remittances of $100 billion. He said 50 per cent of these remittances come from UAE and Saudi Arabia. He said if due to falling oil prices and other international conspiracies, or in the garb of anti money laundering laws these remittances decreased, it would be a fatal blow to the Pakistani economy. He said we are also suffering a loss of Rs 344 billion a year due to environmental degradation and climate change. He said the loss due to not constructing big and small dams is Rs 1,800 billion a year, while smuggling robs Pakistan’s economy of $20 billion a year.
He said due to the Hundi/Hawala and under-invoicing we sustain a loss of $30 billion every year, and due to delay in decision of some major cases pending with apex court including the federal Shariat court we sustain loss of another Rs 365 billion every year.
He said Pakistani banks are looting their account holders with both hands and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is playing the role of a silent spectator on this cruel exploitation of Pakistani bank account holders. He said Pakistani banks are increasing their profit by leaps and bounds at the cost of their account holders, who are not paid their due share of profits on their deposits. In the year 2013 banks working in Pakistan had shown a pre-tax profit of Rs 162 billion in the year 2013, which increased by Rs 85 billion in the year 2014 and reached Rs 247 billion.
Talking about the growing loans, Dr Siddiqui said from July 2008 to December 2015, the national loans grew by Rs 14,353 billion. The volume of loans in June 2008 was Rs 6,691 billion and in December 2015 it increased to Rs 21,044 billion. He said in December 2015, Pakistan’s foreign loans stood at $68.5 billion. He said the volume of the black economy in Pakistan is Rs 20,000 billion. He said Pakistan sustained losses of $112 billion due to the war on terror being fought under the American pressure. This is why Pakistan, instead of becoming a developing country, has become a security state today.
He said the rulers are even not sincere with the crucial sector of education. He said under a conspiracy the federal government and the all four provinces spent Rs 1.350 billion less in the year 2015 alone on education. He said 24 million Pakistani children do not go to schools, and Pakistan houses the second largest population of out of school children in the country.
He said the financial and intellectual corruption is rising in Pakistan because there is no practical accountability mechanism. A report of Justice Bagwandas in 2009 revealed that the oil refining and oil selling organisations in Pakistan were illegally allowed to make colossal profits at the cost of consumers in the era of Gen Musharraf. He said when it is the matter of looting national money the present and past rulers, politicians, NAB, civil and military bureaucracy become one to safeguard the vested interests of the corruption mafia.
He said due to dishonesty of rulers Pakistan has lagged behind in economic and social progress. He said the population of Pakistan is 200 million and its GDP $300 billion while its exports stand at $24billion. The population of Korea, on the other hand, is 50 million, but its GDP $1,350 billion and exports $570 billion. The population of Japan is 126 million. Its GDP $4,700 billion and exports $680 billion. He said both Japan and Korea have no natural resources, while the population of both is less than the population of Pakistan which is also blessed with immense natural resources. He said in recent past the GDP of Korea was less than the GDP of Pakistan but now it is considerably more. He said the per capita income in Pakistan is about $1,600 but the per capita income in Korea is $30,000. He said even India has beaten us in per capita income.
He said if Pakistani rulers had utilised the Thar coal, generated enough Thermal power from rivers and established a knowledge and research based economy, today our GDP could touch the mark of $3,000 billion.
Dr Siddiqui said it is high time to root out corruption, implement Articles 62, 63 of the constitution and launch reforms in civil service and government departments. He said seven per cent of the GDP should be allocated for education, 4 per cent for health and at least 2percent for research and development. He said the ratio of tax to GDP should be increased from the current 11 percent to 19 percent and non-development expenses should be severely curtailed. He asked to tighten the noose around the corruption mafia of Pakistan and make them accountable, irrespective of their social or political status.
