Cash doled out to rig elections be recovered

Supreme Court of Pakistan has announced one of the most historic case in the history of the country which on one hand has not only exposed some of the most power hungry people but also has opened the door for prosecution to jail those who have swallowed huge sums running into millions and not just thousands whereas hundreds are not even thought of. It will be worth to spend a bit of time to categorize those who have been gifted with cash which is not uniformly given in any case and I wonder why and how none of those whose names have been made public objected to it. Some had been given less while at the same time some had been given more but for the same purpose. Those who got less have every right to come out publicly and ask both individually and collectively as to why they have valued much lower than others and have been paid much less money or for that matter why others have been paid quite hefty amounts.

Three members bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakisatn Mian Iftikhar Hussain together with Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain heard the case filed by Air Marshal ® Asghar Khan wherein he has very categorically complained that many people had been bribed during the general elections of the year 1990. SC judge have spent quite sufficient time to dig deep and reach to the bottom as to why and how many has played its part in the general elections.  As per the short court order written by CJP it has been established that the general elections held in 1990 were very much intentionally and purposely rigged. Frankly speaking it was very much felt at that time in the power corridor of Pakistan that Pakistan People’s Party founded by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto will not only get seats in the general elections but also get majority of the seats meaning by that it will automatically form the government which as such was not acceptable to Islamabad. After many long years just now it has been proved in quite crystal clear terms and beyond any shadow of doubt that the then president Ghulam Ishaq Khan had planned to rig the elections so that he gets those only elected whom he liked and not otherwise. It was an uphill task for Islamabad to tap those only who would be too loyal to the president GIK and will do as he wished to dictate them to do and luckily or unluckily Pakistan Army was found to be most suitable for the dirty job. During the hearing of the case Lt Gen ® Assad Durrani had to come out with truth that his boss Gen ® Aslam Baig, Army Chief had instructed as to what to do and what to do and what not to do. Former ISI Chief Gen Durrani while attending the court submitted an affidavit in the SC wherein he wrote the names and the money he has given to each one to rig the elections. In his exhaustive list, he has mentioned 22 beneficiaries whom the money has been given which include 21 persons while the 22^nd is not an individual like the rest but a political party named Jamat e Islami.

There are many very relevant and burning questions to be asked now and I am mentioning some of them only but remember that these are not exhaustive and or conclusive in any case and therefore you being a Pakistani like me have an inborn right to pose more questions which you deem fit the bill. My first question is that amongst millions of Pakistanis how only these 22 and not 100 or for that matter even 50 have been found to be most influential who could rig the elections? My next question is as to who was the brainiest who had the guts to exclude even the seasoned politicians and many other political parties? Why and how these 22 individuals only were gifted with hard cash is yet another question? What inborn and or acquired qualities they have which others lacked is also my question? Does it mean that the rest Pakistanis were none but nincompoop so far as politics and or elections are concerned is not a remark but a question? Who had the vision to allocate money differently for different people is a baffling question? How someone got just a figure of Rs 250,000 whereas someone has been given as much as 10 million is an unanswered question?  Why some of the recipients got the same amount when they are very much different in many aspects like age, education, experience and political affiliation? Now I will briefly discuss about JI and 21 persons who pocked the money given by ISI.

First of all, I will talk about Jamat e Islami because amongst all political parties this is the only one which has been bribed which proves that the president Ghulam Ishaq Khan thought that it is the strongest party which can grab so many seats in the election and hence it will be worth to invest on it and tell its leadership that this money be spent to buy votes so that those who are going to vote for PPP should vote for JI instead. JI is certainly one of the oldest political parties of the country and being an Islamic one it has some deep roots particularly in the lower rung of our society so with more money it can rigorously embark upon aggressive election campaign which in turn will generate extra heat amongst the voters and hence some of those who were not inclined toward JI will now vote for it. President was very much confident that JI will achieve whatever he wants hence Gen Durrani was instructed to dole out Rs 5 million to this party to rig the general elections.

As regards individuals, Mir Afzal has been gifted away neither more nor less but just 10 millions only  facilitating him to use the money quite judiciously so that those who are likely to vote for PPP should not vote for PPP anymore and instead they are to vote for those only who are not anti to Islamabad. Undoubtedly Mir is an individual like any other individual who had himself been a politician so he very well knows what do how to do and when to do and thus he merits to get 10 millions but hold on it gives birth to many other questions. Doesn’t it mean that those who got lesser amount than Mir have not been equated with him and I will discuss the same this issue when talk of others.

Lt Gen ® Rafaqat is the luckiest though primarily he belongs to khaki organization where he has spent his whole life and not a political party but yet he was paid got quite hefty amount of 6.5 million US $ with the instructions and hope that come what may he will not let PPP to sweep in the elections. It goes without saying that since he is placed at number 2 so far as distribution of cash is concerned so he automatically outclassed many of those who boast of being none but politicians. It is immaterial whether one is in uniform or otherwise rather on the contra the achievement is the standard and therefore blind confidence has been placed in him otherwise he had not been given 5.6 million.

The next category is of those people who have been rated at 5 million each and the names of the beneficiaries who got the dole money are Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi and Jam Sadiq and what a coincidence that both are from Sindh province. On the face of it one can read that they were the best available personalities so far as Sindh is concerned who could very effectively influence the voters the way their master wanted. Secondly the two were found to be on equal footing otherwise they had not been given the same money.

Jamali is one of those most trusted ones who have been dished out 4 million for the same purpose and had he not been so effective and instrumental in the general elections then he had no chance to get the money. From figures point of view it does not need any explanation whatsoever simply because he is believed to be a bit less effective than those two who had pocketed 5 million each but nevertheless he will still be able to influence the voters as per the instructions of the one who doled out that money.

3.5 million is the money paid to none but Mian Nawaz Sharif and I simply cannot help writing that in the 1^st instance he should not have accepted the money but if at all he had to accept the money then he should not have lowered himself to earn just 3.5 millions particularly when others have been paid much more than this. Mian, it goes without saying has very happily put a price tag of 3.5 million for self means that from practical point of view he was not found fit enough to be given even 4 millions what to talk of 5 and or 10 millions.

Now there 3 persons in one group who are rated alike and none among these three is above or lower than others so far as the group is concerned and therefore consequently each one of them has been paid equal amount valuing 2 million and the names of the beneficiaries are heavy weights namely Pir Pagara, Hafeez Peerzada, Ghulam Mustafa Khar. No denying the fact that all of them have their own votes bank so it is neither impossible nor that difficult for them to influence the voters in their areas of influence.  With 2 million in their pocket they will buy votes and rig the election.

Humanyun Marri is the one and one alone whose share comes to 1.5 million which will facilitate him to spend the money not on self but on the voters particularly of his constituency and other areas in general which is not that difficult for him in any case simply because had he not been found suitable to deliver what is required of him then he had not been paid alike in any case. It is very much expected of him that he will not disappoint those who have pinned lot of hopes on him.

Next come those three persons who are lucky enough to get 1 million each to influence the eligible voters to vote for those only who are recommended by the one who paid 1 million per person and the lucky ones are Abida Hussain, Nadir Mengal and Kakar. This group of 3 will contribute quite significantly towards the results of the election so that they do not lose their faces. They have been paid for a specific purpose and not otherwise and one way or the other they will prove their worth.

750,000 is the money which has been gifted to just one person and the luckiest one is no one else other than Jam Yousuf who is a known figure within political circle and this is what matters the most. I election personal relations count a lot and therefore all those who carry weight are always hunted down to motivate and convince the voters to vote for  some particular candidates or the party and this is what is expected of Jam as well. His past history itself speaks aloud for him.

The biggest group where each one got 500,000 has 5 names who are K. Baloch, Bizenjo, Malik Meraj Khalid, Sarwar Cheema and Altaf Hussain Qureshi. The earlier 4 are certified politicians so they certainly have their own weight but the last one i.e Altaf is a journalist and Editor od Urdu Digest which is very widely circulated magazine of the country. Quite luckily he has taught me Civics in FA (Pre) at Dayal Singh College, Lahore during 1960-61 academic sessions.  This group will not lag behind than others and it is very much expected of them that they they will not be little themselves in any case.

Maulana Salahuddin is paid 300,000 so that he spends the amount on those who are under his personal influence so that they listen to what he says to the voters. Needless to mention in a society like Pakistan the title if Maulana carries a certain high esteem and that is why he has been picked up to be given the money for the realization of the goals set by the one who dished out money.

Last on the list is Junejo who received 250,000 and though he is paid the least money but still  he is expected to fetch good results which in turn will prove that the one who bet on him was nit wrong and the money so doled out to him has paid back the dividend.

Now when the people have been personified it is quite but natural that their names be put on exit control so that they cannot run away and then they must be prosecuted in the courts so that they repay the money together with the interest so accrued upon during the years. Ever since SC has announced short court order, the nation as a whole wants that the money so doled out to these people and JI must be recovered forthwith otherwise it was nothing but a futile effort on the part of Air Marshal Asghar on one hand and the Supreme Court on the other hand. Lastly I will quip that this very ripe time to recover the quite handsome money from all those who are mentioned herewith.

Raise your hand who agrees with me and raise your left hand who wants to stone me.

Iqbal Hadi Zaidi / Kuwait