Donations to Pakistan

by Syed Adeeb -- Source: www.InformationTimes.com

Pakistan Officials Embezzle Donations

Many former and current officials of the Government of Pakistan, including 'President' General Pervez Musharraf, PM Nawaz Sharif and PM Benazir Bhutto, received millions of dollars in donations from Pakistanis residing in the USA, UK, Saudi Arabia and other countries of the world for Musharraf's Drought Relief Fund, Sharif's National Self-Reliance Fund, Benazir's Kashmir Relief Fund, Prime Minister's Flood Relief Fund and other 'noble causes', but the crooks, con-artists and criminals never deposited the public money in Pakistan's national treasury or Pakistan Government's official bank accounts, according to four Pakistani banks and the Auditor General of Pakistan's Special Audit Report on Revenue Receipts of Pakistan Missions Abroad, 1997-1998 to 2000-2001. It is ironic that NAB/RAB have failed to recover the contributions of Pakistanis which have been embezzled by successive rulers, politicians, bureaucrats and diplomats of Pakistan. http://www.nab.gov.pk

Dr. Nasim Ashraf, Chairman of the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD), has also established a company called the Pakistan Human Development Fund (PHDF) in order to raise lots of money for his 'non-profit' human development business. However, the following 7 points expose the truth about NCHD and PHDF which are based in Islamabad, Pakistan:

(1) The "Contribute" Webpage of the PHDF Website states: "For Tax-exempt Donations in the US: Please make check payable to 'US Committee for UNDP' and write 'Pakistan Human Development Fund' in the memo. US federal identification number of the US Committee for UNDP is 52-1990876. Please mail the check to and Fax a copy of the check to us to ensure we update our records: Ms. Kathleen Houlihan, Executive Director, US Committee for UNDP, 1775 K Street, NW, # 420, Washington, DC 20006. Phone: +1.202.454.2136." http://www.phdf.org/phdf/contribute.asp

This is really suspicious and bizarre. Why is Nasim Ashraf telling you to "make check payable to 'US Committee for UNDP' and write 'Pakistan Human Development Fund' in the memo." Why Ashraf did not ask you to write your check directly to his company, the Pakistan Human Development Fund? Why the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington DC is not collecting donations for PHDF?

(2) The same PHDF Webpage reads: "Donate: Please make check payable to 'Pakistan Human Development Fund,' and mail it to: Pakistan Human Development Fund, Chief Executive's Secretariat No. 2, Room D-207, Islamabad, Pakistan. Phone: +92.51.9216163. For donations in Pakistan the Bank details are as follows: National Bank of Pakistan, Prime Minister's Secretariat Branch, Islamabad, Pakistan. Bank Account Number: 786. SWIFT Address routing Code: NBPAPKKAA02I. ABA Routing number: 02600472."

Questions:

  1. Why are donations for the Pakistan Human Development Fund (PHDF), a 'non-governmental', private company or business, being received or collected by the so-called "Chief Executive" or 'President' of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf?

  2. Why Musharraf has not played any positive role in financing, supporting and promoting many other NGOs similar to the PHDF?

  3. What are the names of PHDF bank account holders?

  4. Who is authorized to withdraw money from PHDF bank account No. 786?

  5. How much total money was deposited and withdrawn from PHDF bank account No. 786 ever since the account was opened to this date?

  6. Who are the donors and what is the total amount of donations received by PHDF from the date it was launched to this date?

  7. What are the names; locations; purposes, objectives or goals; results and other details of all the NCHD/PHDF projects on which public funds were spent?

  8. What is the current balance in PHDF bank account No. 786?

  9. Where are all the income, expenses and profit statements of PHDF and NCHD certified by CPAs?

  10. Where are the audit reports about PHDF and NCHD income, expenditure and profit statements; bank accounts and all financial transactions, prepared and certified by independent auditors?

The PHDF, NCHD, National Bank of Pakistan and Pakistani 'President'/Prime Minister's offices have refused to or failed to answer the above 10 questions of the Information Times and the Pakistan News Service (PNS).

(3) Actually, the Pakistan Human Development Fund (PHDF) is a 'non-governmental', private company formed under Section 42 of The Companies Ordinance, 1984 of Pakistan, according to the PHDF Articles of Association. But the PHDF Memorandum (Bylaws) of Association states that the PHDF company is a "not-for-profit association." The PHDF was probably formed in or after March 2002, but an exact date of its incorporation has not been printed in the PHDF Website. The NCHD was formed on June 1, 2002.

There are 7 "Original Founder Members" of the PHDF: Dr. Nasim Ashraf, Farrokh K. Captain, Farooq Rahmatullah, Nadira Panjwani, Muhammad Munir Chaudhry, Mian Amer Mahmood and Brigadier (Retd.) Mukhtar Ahmed," according to the PHDF Articles of Association. The PHDF "Board of Founding Directors" are: Brigadier (Retd.) Mukhtar Ahmad, Dr. Nasim Ashraf, M. Irshad Khokar, Dr. Omar Atiq, Shaukat Aziz, Farrokh K. Captain, Muhammad Munir Chaudhry, Najeeb U. Ghauri, Dr. M. Rafiq Jan, Dr. Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Kamal Nasir Khan, Dr. Saquib Khan, Pervaiz Lodhie, Mian Amer Mahmood, Dr. Musadik Malik, Muzammil H. Malik, Arif Masood Naqvi, Nadira Panjwani, Saeedullah Khan Paracha, Dr. Rafiq U. Rahman, Farooq Rahmatullah, Zari Sarfaraz and Abdulazeem M.A. Al-Shamali. These 23 personalities are neither persons of the "highest caliber" nor "distinguished Pakistanis of international repute."

General Pervez Musharraf, military dictator and illegal, unconstitutional and self-appointed 'President' of Pakistan, is the "Patron-in-Chief" of the PHDF and the NCHD. Nasim Ashraf is the ringleader of a self-styled cabal which specializes in advising "Chief Executive" General Musharraf on how to run the Government of Pakistan like a family business. There are widespread rumors in the Pakistani-American community that Ashraf and a Qadiani/Ahmedi real estate/mortgage broker have helped Musharraf in purchasing several properties in the United States worth millions of dollars. Musharraf plans to meet with his master George W. Bush in Washington DC in June 2003. The free press should ask Musharraf that did he buy one or more very expensive properties in the USA in his name or another name, and if he did, then where did he get the money to pay for prime real estate in America? The free press should also raise tough questions about commando Musharraf's venal role in the NCHD/PHDF and about his failure to rescue the "Jinnah" movie from the clutches of Ashraf.

(4) In one of his official statements, General Pervez Musharraf said: "In June 2001, I created a special Task Force on Human Development.... I have set up the National Commission for Human Development to be chaired by Dr. Nasim Ashraf. To support the activities of the Commission, I have created a Trust Fund. This Trust Fund is a public/private sector partnership and I ask all Pakistanis to contribute to it. I will be the Patron-in-Chief of the Trust Fund and will be managed by an independent Board of Trustees of the highest caliber."

This statement of Musharraf is illegal, unconstitutional and infamous because Musharraf has no legal or constitutional authority to set up any "National Commission for Human Development" (NCHD), "Trust Fund," "Pakistan Human Development Fund" and "Task Force on Human Development" without the authorization of Pakistan's Parliament, because Musharraf himself is an unlawful, unconstitutional and self-appointed 'President'. All official orders and ordinances issued by Musharraf during 1999 to 2003 are illegal and unconstitutional. Therefore, the appointment of Nasim Ashraf as NCHD Chairman by Musharraf is also unlawful and unconstitutional.

(5) In the PHDF Website, Nasim Ashraf claims that he is still working as Pakistan's "Minister of State." But earlier Nasim Ashraf was fired, removed or kicked out from his illegal and unconstitutional position of State Minister, according to a March 28, 2003 press release of the Pakistan Washington Embassy and a Pakistan Government's Webpage which contain a new list of Pakistan's federal ministers, ministers of state and advisers to 20th Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali who was sworn in as PM on November 23, 2002. http://www.infopak.gov.pk/public/govt/ministerlist.htm http://www.pakistan-embassy.com/Press_Releases.asp?Release_ID=27

(6) The PHDF claims: "The Pakistan Human Development Fund (PHDF) is a partnership that will channel resources from the Government of Pakistan, private sector and the international donor community into the NCHD and its programs. The Fund is managed by an independent Board of Founding Directors, comprised of distinguished Pakistanis of international repute. It is supported by initial seed capital of $ 2.5 million (150 million rupees) donated by local and expatriate Pakistanis, and the Government of Pakistan has contributed a grant of $ 32 million (2 billion rupees). 'President' General Pervez Musharaf is Patron-in-Chief of the Fund. International tax-exempt donations can be made through the UN Committee for UNDP."

General Pervez Musharraf also had no lawful or constitutional authority to give a grant of 32 million dollars from the Pakistan national exchequer to Nasim Ashraf for his human development adventure without the approval of Pakistan's Parliament. It is now obvious that the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) and the Pakistan Human Development Fund (PHDF) are illegal and unconstitutional enterprises of Musharraf, Ashraf and associates.

(7) "The PHDF has approved Rs 445 million budget for the year 2002-03," according to a statement of Nasim Ashraf printed in the Karachi-based Business Recorder on September 29, 2002. But where are the good or positive results of the health care, educational, welfare, poverty alleviation and human development projects of NCHD and PHDF? How many humans has Ashraf developed so far in Pakistan? How many healthy, educated and unemployed Pakistanis have been given decent jobs which are supporting them and their families?

There was absolutely no need to form the NCHD and PHDF because Pakistan has too many ministries and departments of Health; Education; Women Development, Social Welfare and Special Education; Commerce; Finance and Economic Affairs; Investment and Privatization; Industries and Production; Information Technology; Science and Technology; Labor, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis; National Reconstruction; Food, Agriculture, Cooperatives and Livestock; Water, Power, Inter-Provincial Coordination, Azad Kashmir Affairs; Northern Areas and Frontier Regions; Petroleum and Natural Resources; and Environment at the federal, provincial and district/local levels, which are enough to launch any human development programs/projects. Therefore, the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) and the Pakistan Human Development Fund (PHDF) are futile, unnecessary, unneeded, frivolous and useless bodies which should not be financed by the Government of Pakistan or Pakistani taxpayers. There is no doubt that Pakistani people's funds have been wasted on NCHD and PHDF. Indeed, it's time to abolish the NCHD and the PHDF http://www.infopak.gov.pk/public/govt/ministry_table.htm http://www.infopak.gov.pk/public/govt/ministerlist.htm

"The magnitude of corruption in Pakistan alone exceeds Rs 100 billion a year or five percent of the total GNP," says a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report released in September 1999. Shaukat Omari, Executive Director of Transparency International-Pakistan, pointed out in September 2002 that "Pakistan has improved its position from being perceived as the 11th most corrupt country (out of 91) in 2001 to the 23rd most corrupt country (out of 102) in the TI Corruption Perceptions Index 2002, released in August. Nevertheless, Pakistan still has a long way to go before we can shed ourselves of the stigma of being perceived as the second most corrupt country in 1996."

Jeremy Pope, Executive Director of Transparency International's international secretariat, said in September 2002 that "Whatever critics say about other aspects of the administration, the anti-graft efforts to reform Pakistan's weak and unaccountable system of government and administration must be continued by the incoming government [of PM Jamali]. It is hoped that democratically elected leaders will demonstrate the political will to re-double efforts to clean up government in Pakistan."

Unfortunately, the Jamali regime has not even begun to confront or deter corruption, bribery and other evils in Pakistan. The free press should investigate and tell the Pakistani people that how many government officials (ministers, governors, bureaucrats, diplomats, military officers, politicians, judges, police/law enforcement officials, intelligence agents, advisors), executives and others have become millionaires during the corrupt and incompetent dictatorship of General Pervez Musharraf which has raped the Pakistani nation for the last 4 years. Even though General Musharraf continues to control the judiciary, but still lawyers, human rights groups and citizens should file lawsuits in courts of law, speak out and take other legal actions to reform the Government of Pakistan which is not a family business of Musharraf and his stooges.

[Syed Adeeb is America's investigative journalist based in the Washington DC area, U.S.A. He is Chief Editor of the Information Times, InfoTimes.net and Free Press Network (FPN). He is also Consulting Editor/Washington Bureau Chief of the Sunnyvale, California-based Pakistan News Service (PNS). http://www.informationtimes.com/syedadeeb]


Political Deception