The full bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan is to start hearing the cases against the infamous NRO from 7th December, 2009. So this is the last chance of commenting on it.
As a result of the recent disclosures about NRO the PPP has emerged as a party of pretty women and ugly men, while the MQM has become “mera qasoor maaf”.
One of the obvious shortcomings of the non-law NRO is that it does not define the terms used in it. It speaks of the withdrawal of “political cases”, on the basis of which criminal and corruption cases have been withdrawn. If political is interpreted as criminal or corrupt then politics becomes tantamount to crime and corruption, a notion that must be universally condemned.
The most significant action under the NRO was the withdrawal of the Cotecna kick-back case from the Swiss courts. The fact is that Cotecna had bribed the government functionaries heavily to win a contract for assessing customs duty on imports at Pakistani ports. They used this position to make a list of the cosigners of those sensitive and defense related shipments which were exempted by government order from being examined by Cotecna; and sold it to the foreign agencies that had helped it in obtaining the contract. From these lists they were able to establish the identity of the Kahuta supply network which provided precision equipment and instrumentation for the uranium gas centrifuges being built there. Extremist Christian elements dubbed the Kahuta supply network, a legitimate business proposition, as the Khan nuclear proliferation network.
It is a pity that the brilliant Pakistani scientists who had made a technological breakthrough in which most western countries had failed, instead of being internationally acclaimed and rewarded were treated as wanted criminals.
In any case, the withdrawal of the case against Cotecna was abetment of international crime and treason against Pakistan. The NRO must be declared null and void ab initio and at least the Cotecna case must be reopened and the government of Pakistan should claim damages of at least ten billion dollars against Cotecna.
Monday, December 07, 2009
Monday, November 02, 2009
More Taxes?
Mr. Shaukat Treen the financial advisor to GOP keeps saying that the tax to GDP ratio in Pakistan is only 9-10% which is too low and should be increased. He seems to forget that agriculture contributes 25% of Pakistan's GDP and agricultural income is not taxed. So the actual Tax/GDP ratio of taxed GDP is more like 12-14% which is higher than China, India, Bangladesh, Russia and perhaps even USA. Any further increase in the taxation of the industrial and services sectors would be simply criminal and counterproductive. After all Mr. Tareen is a highly respectd Banker but hardly an economist (which I am not either, but I try to get my sums right). Tax the agricultural income and all of Pakistan's economic woes will disappear. We might even become able to say "get lost" to Kerry-Lugar circus.
It is worth mentioning here that the actual government expenditure in Pakistan is over 20% of GDP including income from the giant state owned enterprizes; but offers none of the benefits enjoyed by the citizens of European countries with similar state expenditure ratio.
The reason why agricultural income is not taxed in Pakistan is that most of it goes into the pockets of a few dozen landlord families easily identified as Chaudhrys, Makhdooms, Sardars, Maliks and Pirs. Add to them the decendants of the knights and title holders of the British empire such as Bhuttos. Unfortunately for the peolple of Pakistan, these families also dominate the political scene and abort any initiative to tax agricultural income by conniving together and with military rulers.
Everywhere in the world the agricultural sector feeds the nation, but in Pakistan it fleeces and starves the nation with impunity.
It is worth mentioning here that the actual government expenditure in Pakistan is over 20% of GDP including income from the giant state owned enterprizes; but offers none of the benefits enjoyed by the citizens of European countries with similar state expenditure ratio.
The reason why agricultural income is not taxed in Pakistan is that most of it goes into the pockets of a few dozen landlord families easily identified as Chaudhrys, Makhdooms, Sardars, Maliks and Pirs. Add to them the decendants of the knights and title holders of the British empire such as Bhuttos. Unfortunately for the peolple of Pakistan, these families also dominate the political scene and abort any initiative to tax agricultural income by conniving together and with military rulers.
Everywhere in the world the agricultural sector feeds the nation, but in Pakistan it fleeces and starves the nation with impunity.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Kerry-Lugar - 2
On looking carefully at at the Kerry-Lugar Bill it is obvious that although the intentions of its initiators may have been noble, it has been used to renege on the three agreements reached with the government of Pakistan on Sept 30, 2006 and to create possible excuses for not honoring in future the commitments being made now.
It is true that the Americans are desperate to break the Indians away from the Russian who are still communists and have the Indians as their only allies, but they should not do so at the expense of the Kashmiris or the pride and honor of the Pakistanis.
It is now Pakistan's internal necessity to fight the Taliban insurgency, but the problem is far too complex to be solved by sheer military force. A lot needs to be done in the West if the growing trends the Islamic world are to be set in the right direction.
Christian extremism has existed for so long that it has become the norm in the West. The recent rise of Islamic extremism is a reaction to the awareness of realities gained in the past two decades mainly through the internet.
It is true that the Americans are desperate to break the Indians away from the Russian who are still communists and have the Indians as their only allies, but they should not do so at the expense of the Kashmiris or the pride and honor of the Pakistanis.
It is now Pakistan's internal necessity to fight the Taliban insurgency, but the problem is far too complex to be solved by sheer military force. A lot needs to be done in the West if the growing trends the Islamic world are to be set in the right direction.
Christian extremism has existed for so long that it has become the norm in the West. The recent rise of Islamic extremism is a reaction to the awareness of realities gained in the past two decades mainly through the internet.
Obama's Peace prize
President Obama should be congratulated on winning the Nobel Peace Prize. After all it is a prestigeous award. The interesting thing is that the Nobel Awards committe found none of the nomonations entered before the due date worthy of the award, which means that the world has run out of people with a record of working for peace. Another interesting news is that the UN is now prepared to try some Israelis for war crimes in Palestine. Does it have anything to do with President Obama, or have the influential American Jews finally and rightly realized that the Israelis do not belong to them? In the past the US had won notoriety for unjustifibly vetoing resolutions against Israel. Let us hope that the world is moving in the right direction and will continue to do so in future.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Kerry-Lugar
The Kerry Lugar Bill is perhaps the greates exercise in corruption ever made in the world. It aims to set aside 1.5 billion dollars every year half of which would be paid out to the US politicians' favorite consultants and the other half would be doled out to the relatives of Pakistani rulers. At the end of 5 years the Pakistani public would be saddled with a debt of 7.5 billion dollars and a hefty amount of interest which it will have to pay through the nose. It doesn't make any difference to the American public because money borrowed from the Chinese at a lower interest rate would be lent to the Pakistanis at a higher rate, so if anything they stand to gain from it.
If the Americans are really interested in helping Pakistanis and establishing a long-term relationship, they should double the money and direct it to providing loans at discounted rates for US-Pak private sector joint venture projects in power generation, mining, oil and gas exploration, coal gasification, basic chemical industries, industrial plant and machinery production and offer scholarships to Pakistani students for technical training and higher education in USA on merit. They could also spend some money on reducing the time taken for visa issuance to Pakistanis.
The absurdity of the Bill is that it makes "aid" for social and educational purposes conditional upon the actions of the military and intelligence organizations. It also intends to take away from the Pakistani people their right and duty of defending their national institutions. The worst part is that instead of being based on any laws or principles its dispensation is based entirely on the discretion of the Secretary of State. Will Hillary be remembered in history as the lady with the whip?
It seems that the Indian origin advisors of the US lawmakers have ensured that the bill would worsen rather than improve their relationship with Pakistan. The school home-work of most rich american kids is being done in India via internet, perhaps the same is true of the politicians. Or did the few extremist Christians of USA have a hand in it?
If the Americans are really interested in helping Pakistanis and establishing a long-term relationship, they should double the money and direct it to providing loans at discounted rates for US-Pak private sector joint venture projects in power generation, mining, oil and gas exploration, coal gasification, basic chemical industries, industrial plant and machinery production and offer scholarships to Pakistani students for technical training and higher education in USA on merit. They could also spend some money on reducing the time taken for visa issuance to Pakistanis.
The absurdity of the Bill is that it makes "aid" for social and educational purposes conditional upon the actions of the military and intelligence organizations. It also intends to take away from the Pakistani people their right and duty of defending their national institutions. The worst part is that instead of being based on any laws or principles its dispensation is based entirely on the discretion of the Secretary of State. Will Hillary be remembered in history as the lady with the whip?
It seems that the Indian origin advisors of the US lawmakers have ensured that the bill would worsen rather than improve their relationship with Pakistan. The school home-work of most rich american kids is being done in India via internet, perhaps the same is true of the politicians. Or did the few extremist Christians of USA have a hand in it?
Saturday, September 12, 2009
More Definitions - 1
1. Conservative = One having contempt for human weaknesses.
2. Constitution = A deliberated sacrosanct document used in countries with multi-religious populations as ultimate guidance for government and legislation without discrimination and acceptable to all segments of society for the regulation of their worldly affairs. In countries where more than 85% people adhere to a single religion, a secular constitution often becomes controversial.
3. Liberal = One having respect for human weaknesses.
4. Nineleven = Big farce, derived from 11th November, 2001 when simulation videos of the aerial impact of aircrafts on the World Trade Centre towers in New York were telecast while the buildings which had become unsafe due to a basement truck bomb attack in 1993 were demolished by sequentially controlled explosives planted at strategic points the night before. The operation was carried out after months of rumors that an aerial terrorist attack on New York was imminent. The planners had expected that that the buildings would be evacuated in an orderly manner after the initial explosions of petroleum drums on a few floors; they certainly had not anticipated that hundreds of firemen would rush in and die for nothing. The destruction was blamed by the US government on Osama Bin Laden a dissident Saudi who was blamed for explosive laden truck attack on US embassy in Sudan and was related by the extremist Christians to certain quatrains of Nostradamus.
5. Pakistan = South-Indian Muslim majority country formed in 1947 whose progress has been constantly impaired due to military conflict with neighboring India over Kashmir and internal conflict of interests and priorities between the armed forces and the rest of the population.
6. Statesman = One who can control others without annoying them.
7. Jinnahpur = Failed attempt by some British businessmen and their local friends to make Karachi an autonomous region that could be developed as a business hub to replace Hong Kong after its return to China in 1997. The idea was abandoned after competing cities of Dubai and Mumbai (Bombay) sponsored incessant violence and terrorism in Karachi which continued for years.
2. Constitution = A deliberated sacrosanct document used in countries with multi-religious populations as ultimate guidance for government and legislation without discrimination and acceptable to all segments of society for the regulation of their worldly affairs. In countries where more than 85% people adhere to a single religion, a secular constitution often becomes controversial.
3. Liberal = One having respect for human weaknesses.
4. Nineleven = Big farce, derived from 11th November, 2001 when simulation videos of the aerial impact of aircrafts on the World Trade Centre towers in New York were telecast while the buildings which had become unsafe due to a basement truck bomb attack in 1993 were demolished by sequentially controlled explosives planted at strategic points the night before. The operation was carried out after months of rumors that an aerial terrorist attack on New York was imminent. The planners had expected that that the buildings would be evacuated in an orderly manner after the initial explosions of petroleum drums on a few floors; they certainly had not anticipated that hundreds of firemen would rush in and die for nothing. The destruction was blamed by the US government on Osama Bin Laden a dissident Saudi who was blamed for explosive laden truck attack on US embassy in Sudan and was related by the extremist Christians to certain quatrains of Nostradamus.
5. Pakistan = South-Indian Muslim majority country formed in 1947 whose progress has been constantly impaired due to military conflict with neighboring India over Kashmir and internal conflict of interests and priorities between the armed forces and the rest of the population.
6. Statesman = One who can control others without annoying them.
7. Jinnahpur = Failed attempt by some British businessmen and their local friends to make Karachi an autonomous region that could be developed as a business hub to replace Hong Kong after its return to China in 1997. The idea was abandoned after competing cities of Dubai and Mumbai (Bombay) sponsored incessant violence and terrorism in Karachi which continued for years.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
9/11 and Religions
In order to check if there was any religious implication of the New York 9/11 terror event of 2001, I decided to compare the share of major world religions before and after that event. Data compiled from the 2008 edition of Encyclopedia Britannica gives the following picture:
Adherents of % of World Population by Year
Religion 1996 2001 2006
Christians 33.7 32.9 33.2
Muslims 19.4 19.7 20.4
Hindus 13.7 13.4 13.3
Buddhists 5.6 5.9 5.85
Jews 0.239 0.236 0.231
From the above table the following trends can be interpreted:
• The share of Christianity which was declining between 1996 and 2001 turned into a discernible increase between 2001 and 2006. Christianity gained.
• The share of Islam continued to grow at an accelerating rate as before. Islam was not affected.
• The decline in the share of Hinduism was slowed down, probably due to reduction in conversion rate to Islam.
• The advance of Buddhism turned into decline.
• The Jewish share continued to decline as before.
The future historian, who might also compile similar statistics and corroborate it with the military activity of the Christian nations during the period, might be tempted to conclude that during the early 21st century Christianity was spread on earth with the help of bombs and rockets.
Adherents of % of World Population by Year
Religion 1996 2001 2006
Christians 33.7 32.9 33.2
Muslims 19.4 19.7 20.4
Hindus 13.7 13.4 13.3
Buddhists 5.6 5.9 5.85
Jews 0.239 0.236 0.231
From the above table the following trends can be interpreted:
• The share of Christianity which was declining between 1996 and 2001 turned into a discernible increase between 2001 and 2006. Christianity gained.
• The share of Islam continued to grow at an accelerating rate as before. Islam was not affected.
• The decline in the share of Hinduism was slowed down, probably due to reduction in conversion rate to Islam.
• The advance of Buddhism turned into decline.
• The Jewish share continued to decline as before.
The future historian, who might also compile similar statistics and corroborate it with the military activity of the Christian nations during the period, might be tempted to conclude that during the early 21st century Christianity was spread on earth with the help of bombs and rockets.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Limits of Authority
In a democratic set up the parliament is sovereign with he limitation that it can only make laws or take decisions and actions in the interest of the people it represents. If any of its actions results in national loss, the rulers lose their right to govern. The European definition of sovereign meaning autocratic king does not apply to an Islamic democracy based on the Caliphate tradition of public accountability for the head of state or government.
The members of the assemblies, senate and president take an oath to act in public interest and not for personal gain. So any law (act of parliament or presidential ordinance) made for personal gain of current or ex-legislators or which tends to eliminate or diminish expectation of public gain is not a law but a conspiracy.
The Supreme Court has the right to interpret laws, and it should do so not only in the light of constitutional and legal provisions but also uphold the fundamental objective of public good.
The Supreme Court’s decision to allow a new span of 120 days for parliament to endorse lapsed ordinances is tantamount to assuming that they were promulgated yesterday. It could have made sense if the parliament had done so in the first 120 days of its formation. It can always introduce a new bill incorporating the contents of a lapsed one.
Since all the sitting judges were persecuted by ex-general Pervez Musharraf, they should not participate in his personal trial. A tribunal of unbiased judges could be formed if investigations show that he deserves to be tried.
The constitution contains an oath for military officers. If they have not taken it so far, they should be made to do so now to give them constitutional legitimacy. There should also be a similar oath for civil servants.
A UN team is investigating the death of Benazir Bhutto. But independent analysis has begun to point to the mind-boggling possibility that the IMF may have done a deal with Asif Zardari and arranged her brutal elimination.
The chairman of Pakistan Steel Mills has been sacked for corruption and PM Gilani has ordered an enquiry into misdealing starting from his own office. Why not from the president's?
Every year every citizen has to declare all his or her assets to the FBR and elected representatives submit a similar declaration to the EC. Have the president and all ministers and advisers of the present government done that? I f not why not ask them to do it post haste and make it public?
During his tenure as PM Nawaz Sharif had started a fund for national development to which everyone had contributed in local and foreign currencies. Why not start a new similar fund into which all patriotic Pakistanis should contribute at least half of their foreign assets? It could go a long way in resolving the financial crisis.
Nowadays the government is buying everything from Dubai. It should disclose the detailed identity of the suppliers in Dubai.
The members of the assemblies, senate and president take an oath to act in public interest and not for personal gain. So any law (act of parliament or presidential ordinance) made for personal gain of current or ex-legislators or which tends to eliminate or diminish expectation of public gain is not a law but a conspiracy.
The Supreme Court has the right to interpret laws, and it should do so not only in the light of constitutional and legal provisions but also uphold the fundamental objective of public good.
The Supreme Court’s decision to allow a new span of 120 days for parliament to endorse lapsed ordinances is tantamount to assuming that they were promulgated yesterday. It could have made sense if the parliament had done so in the first 120 days of its formation. It can always introduce a new bill incorporating the contents of a lapsed one.
Since all the sitting judges were persecuted by ex-general Pervez Musharraf, they should not participate in his personal trial. A tribunal of unbiased judges could be formed if investigations show that he deserves to be tried.
The constitution contains an oath for military officers. If they have not taken it so far, they should be made to do so now to give them constitutional legitimacy. There should also be a similar oath for civil servants.
A UN team is investigating the death of Benazir Bhutto. But independent analysis has begun to point to the mind-boggling possibility that the IMF may have done a deal with Asif Zardari and arranged her brutal elimination.
The chairman of Pakistan Steel Mills has been sacked for corruption and PM Gilani has ordered an enquiry into misdealing starting from his own office. Why not from the president's?
Every year every citizen has to declare all his or her assets to the FBR and elected representatives submit a similar declaration to the EC. Have the president and all ministers and advisers of the present government done that? I f not why not ask them to do it post haste and make it public?
During his tenure as PM Nawaz Sharif had started a fund for national development to which everyone had contributed in local and foreign currencies. Why not start a new similar fund into which all patriotic Pakistanis should contribute at least half of their foreign assets? It could go a long way in resolving the financial crisis.
Nowadays the government is buying everything from Dubai. It should disclose the detailed identity of the suppliers in Dubai.
Monday, July 27, 2009
The Real Issues
There are some interesting arguments going on in the supreme court of Pakistan. But the most important issues to my mind are?
1. Did a general (Musharraf) and a judge (Dogar) conspire to subvert and deface the constitution of Pakistan and usurp the basic human rights of the Pakistani citizens?
2. Every time the constitution is abrogated, the judges who had taken oath of allegiance to it lose their jobs. So when the PCO was lifted, didn't the judges who had taken oath of allegiance to it lose their jobs automatically?
3. The orders issued by the self appointed chief of army staff on 3rd. November, 2007 are a disgrace to the Pakistani nation. Shouldn't they and all references to them be expunged from all official records?
4. Shouldn't there be referendum to confirm every president appointed by the parliament?
1. Did a general (Musharraf) and a judge (Dogar) conspire to subvert and deface the constitution of Pakistan and usurp the basic human rights of the Pakistani citizens?
2. Every time the constitution is abrogated, the judges who had taken oath of allegiance to it lose their jobs. So when the PCO was lifted, didn't the judges who had taken oath of allegiance to it lose their jobs automatically?
3. The orders issued by the self appointed chief of army staff on 3rd. November, 2007 are a disgrace to the Pakistani nation. Shouldn't they and all references to them be expunged from all official records?
4. Shouldn't there be referendum to confirm every president appointed by the parliament?
Friday, June 12, 2009
Theory of Mutuality
Since the Universe is expanding, it could be because the stars having a very high temperature repel each other. Gas molecules also repel each other at temperatures above the boiling or liquifaction temperature. With apology to Newton, it seems that the mutual force existing between two bodies is related to their masses, temperatures and mutual distance, and can be either attractive or repulsive (positive or negative) depending on these three (or more?) factors. The problem is that we have calculated the mass of the Sun based on the gravitational constant derived from forces between brass balls at earth temperature. It is possible that the actual mass of the Sun is many times greater and the specific force of mutuality between the Earth and Sun as may times smaller. Now don't ask me to fit the Big Bang into my Theory of Mutuality.
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