Friday, June 1, 2018

Pakistani Politicians Change Election Law to Escape Accountability

Pakistan Elections Act 2017 passed by the National Assembly has removed the requirements for key disclosures relating to the ownership of assets, income taxes paid or owed, bank loan defaults, foreign residency (iqama) and  educational qualifications of the candidates for national and provincial legislatures in the upcoming elections. This came in October 2017 after several members of the national parliament were caught lying and subsequently disqualified by the courts under Articles 62 and 63 of Pakistan's constitution. Those disqualified include top politicians like former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of the PMLN party and PTI leader and parliamentarian Jahangir Tareen.

Politicians Dominate Off-shore Company Owners in Panama Leaks 


Nomination Disclosures:

The nomination forms of candidates for national and provincial assemblies in Pakistan have been redesigned this year to remove all questions on assets, income taxes paid or owed, bank loan defaults, foreign residency (iqama) and  educational qualifications.  This was done based on Pakistan Elections Act 2017 that became law on October 2, 2017 in the wake of several disqualifications from holding office or being a legislator. 

Many legislators from across the political spectrum have  been caught lying on their nomination forms filed in prior elections. Some have been disqualified for false financial declarations while others have been removed for lying about their foreign residency visas (iqama), dual nationality or education. 

Corrupt Politicians:


A study by Center for Investigative Reporting in Pakistan (CIRP) identified 461 members in national and provincial assemblies who did not pay income taxes in 2015. This figure includes ministers and other prominent political leaders. Federal Board of Revenue found that many of the 550 lawmakers (54%) falsely claimed they paid taxes.

Switzerland-based World Economic Forum estimates that Pakistan loses over $10 billion in tax revenue every year. The country's lost tax revenue puts it at number 8 among the top 10 countries with biggest tax losses.

Recent British National Crime Agency (NCA) report identified politicians from developing countries and their families as the biggest culprits of money laundering.  The report listed Pakistan, Nigeria and Russia as the top source countries for money laundering in the United Kingdom, according to British media reports. The NCA report says the UK is a prime destination for foreign corrupt and politically exposed people (politicians and their families) to launder money.

Evidence from a number of recent reports released in the West suggests that politicians in developing nations engage in massive corruption to siphon money out of their countries to build family fortunes in the West.

One indication of it came with the Panama Papers leak that was dominated by politicians.  Mossack Fonseca's 11.5 million leaked internal files contained information on more than 214,000 offshore entities tied to 12 current or former heads of state, 140 politicians, including Pakistan's now ex Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's family.  Icelandic Prime Minister resigned voluntarily and Pakistani Prime Minister was forced out by the country's Supreme Court.

The Panama list included showbiz and sports celebrities, lawyers, entrepreneurs,  businessmen, generals, journalists and other occupations but it was heavily dominated by politicians.

The multi-trillion dollar massive net outflow of money from the poor to the rich countries has been documented by the US-based Global Financial Integrity (GFI). This flow of capital has been described as "aid in reverse". It has made big headlines in Pakistan and elsewhere since the release of the Panama Papers and the Paradise Leaks which revealed true owners of offshore assets held by anonymous shell companies. Bloomberg has reported that Pakistanis alone own as much as $150 billion worth of undeclared assets offshore.

Conspiracy Theories:

Pakistani politicians' response to evidence of financial corruption and money laundering has been essentially to distract attention and to cover up. While ex Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his party are spinning conspiracy theories to distract attention from their misdeeds, the Pakistani parliament is passing laws to reduce transparency and increase opacity by eliminating financial and other disclosure requirements as part of election process.

Summary:

Pakistani politicians have responded to disqualifications for lying on their nomination papers by passing laws to do away with the requirement for financial and other disclosures. Such a move further reinforces the public distrust in the political class to govern honestly and put the interest of the people above their own interest. Such laws to reduce transparency do not augur well for the future of democracy in Pakistan. 

  

10 comments:

Patriot said...

This Election Act 2017 has been suspended by LHC

Riaz Haq said...

Patriot: " This Election Act 2017 has been suspended by LHC"


Elections Act 2017 doing away with disclosures on nomination forms has been upheld by IHC.


Justice Athar Minallah of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) here on Friday dismissed a petition of the Awami Muslim League (AML) Chairman, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad and Ammar Ziauddin, who had been seeking revival of certain election laws and provisions under which an aspiring election candidate must provide detailed information about his financial resources, expenses on election campaign, dual nationality, family details, details about any pending criminal cases and loans from the financial institutions.

The petitioners had prayed to the court to declare that the access of detailed information about a candidate is a fundamental right of a voter that cannot be curtailed, abridged or limited by a legislative fiat. They had also prayed that ECP may be directed to use its powers under Article 218(3) of the Constitution to call for the necessary information about the particulars, antecedents, details of the contesting candidates through duly sworn affidavit and declare the same to be integral part of the information form. They also prayed that the declaration of above said information for a contesting candidate may be declared necessary and also to declare that the provisions of sections 60(2), 110(2) and 137 of the Election Act 2017 along with forms made under this act are against Article 19 and 19-A of the Constitution. Alternatively, these provisions may be read in conformity with articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/321606-ihc-rejects-aml-chief-s-plea-seeking-revival-of-election-laws

Riaz Haq said...

LHC orders ECP to revise nomination forms after crucial information is found omitted

https://www.dawn.com/news/1411364/lhc-orders-ecp-to-revise-nomination-forms-after-crucial-information-is-found-omitted

The court in its judgement noted that the impugned forms do not contain the following information and declarations that were a part of the 2013 nomination forms:

Educational qualifications of the candidate
Current occupation/job/profession/business of the candidate
Dual nationality, if any
National Tax Number/Income tax returns/ and payment of income tax
Agriculture tax returns and payment of agriculture tax
Criminal record, if any
Assets and liabilities of dependents
Declaration pertaining to election expenses
Declaration pertaining to any default in loan or government dues by dependents
Declaration that the candidate will abide by the code of conduct issued by ECP
"The impugned forms do not provide for mandatory information and declarations as required by the Constitution and the law," Justice Malik wrote in the 39-page judgement.

"The lack of disclosure and information [in Forms A and B] essentially means that a voter will not have the required information on the basis of which an informed decision can be made."

In support of his arguments, the petitioner's counsel had attached a comparative chart showing the difference between the 2008, 2013 and 2018 nomination forms which he claimed showed that vital information was missing from the new forms.

While partially allowing the petitions, the court ruled that the ECP is empowered to add to or improve Form A and B "so as to fulfil its constitutional mandate of ensuring honest, just and fair elections".

The judge dismissed the petitioner's challenge to the drafting of the nomination form by the parliament for having no merit.

Justice Malik, however, wrote that while the parliament can make laws to regulate the conduct of elections, "the ultimate authority and responsibility to ensure free and fair elections is of the ECP. Hence ECP is responsible to ensure that a voter is able to make an informed decision and that the nomination forms achieve this objective."

ECP halts issuance of nomination forms
Hours after the LHC judgement was issued, ECP issued a press release saying it has called an emergency meeting at its secretariat on Saturday to make decisions about improving Forms A and B in light of the court order.

It also directed returning officers across the country not to receive nomination forms tomorrow.

The press release said that the high court's order reaffirms ECP's stance which was presented before the Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reforms that the nomination form should be a part of election rules and drafted by the commission.

During the hearing of the petition, ECP's legal director had supported the arguments of the petitioner's counsel, saying mandatory provisions of the law have been ignored and vital information has not been provided for in the forms.

He had informed the court that the commission in a letter to the Parliamentary Committee for Electoral Reforms requested that the ECP, in the very least, be heard by the committee before any draft is prepared. However, the request was not adhered to.

Riaz Haq said...

PPP leaders say only Parliament can approve amendments to nomination papers

https://www.geo.tv/latest/197779-ppp-leaders-say-only-parliament-can-approve-amendments-to-nomination-papers

Pakistan Peoples Party leaders on Saturday said any amendments to the nomination papers of candidates should only be made by the Parliament.

In its verdict on Friday, Lahore High Court (LHC) nullified the nomination papers, which would be submitted by candidates from General Elections 2018, ruling that they did not seek necessary information and declarations such as details on educational background, criminal record or if they are dual nationals. The court had ordered Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to again add the requirements of Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution in the nomination papers.

A press conference was held in Karachi earlier today where senior PPP leaders including Sherry Rehman and Khursheed Shah spoke to journalists.

The PPP leaders stressed that 'no objectionable changes' had been made to the nomination papers. Sherry noted that the Senate elections had also been conducted through the same nomination papers.

"ECP does not have the mandate to bring any changes to the nomination papers, which were passed through an Act of the Parliament that had consensus [by opposition and government]," Shah said, adding that any required changes could only be made by approaching the Parliament.

Shah said that all political parties, including PPP, want the polls to be held on time.

"LHC's decision has affected the election schedule and at present, it seems like the general elections will be delayed," Sherry said.

"ECP had said the elections would be held on time and we are hopeful that the same will be the case," she said, adding that every institution should make efforts that ensure timely elections in the country.

However, Shah said that the recent resolution passed by the Balochistan Assembly and Pervez Khattak's letter had cast doubts [on timely elections].

Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Khattak had written a letter to ECP, seeking a reconsideration in the timing of polls in the tribal belt which was recently merged with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Riaz Haq said...

SC restores ‘omitted’ affidavits in nomination forms for 2018 polls
By Irfan GhauriPublished: June 6, 2018

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1729088/1-sc-orders-candidates-submit-affidavits-nomination-papers/

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has directed all candidates of the July 25 elections to attach approved affidavits along with their applications, after the Supreme Court on Wednesday practically restored almost all information omitted in the nomination forms approved by parliament last year.

These affidavits include declarations by the candidate about not defaulting on a bank loan or utility charges, details about candidate’s spouse (s) and dependents and their businesses, details of any criminal charges, education credentials, taxes paid in the last three years, contribution to community’s welfare, donations to the party or sums received from the party and net assets with annual increase/decrease in them.

Candidates will also need to declare information about their travels abroad during the last three years and cost incurred on these visits. They will permit Foreign Office to obtain information if they had been citizen of any other country, or applied for that.

Hearing a petition filed by National Assembly’s former speaker Ayaz Sadiq against the Lahore High Court (LHC) decision to redraft nomination forms, the Supreme Court’s five-judge bench earlier in the day directed the ECP to prepare draft of missing affidavits and submit to the court immediately for approbation.

After receiving the drafts, the court released written orders later in the evening with direction for the ECP to inform all candidates of the national and provincial legislatures to file these affidavits along with their nomination papers.

Polls schedule issued on June 1 fixed five days from June 2 to 6 for submission of nomination papers. However, the schedule was amended after the LHC ordered restoration of the omitted information from the nomination forms.

A number of affidavits that were part of nomination papers in the last general election were omitted when parliament made these forms part of Elections Act in October 2017, despite reservations of the ECP. The ECP wanted these matters be left to it.

Since these forms had become part of law, many legal experts believed that these could not be changed without the parliament’s approval. However, the court order has given legal cover to the changes made in the new nomination forms being used for next month’s elections.

The Supreme Court order said candidates who had already filed their nomination papers should file the said affidavit with the returning officers by or before June 11, 2018. It warned that failure to file such affidavit would render the nomination papers incomplete and liable to rejection.

“If the affidavit or any part thereof is found false then it shall have consequences, as contemplated by the Constitution and the law. Since the Affidavit is required to be filed in pursuance of the orders of this court, therefore, if any false statement is made therein, it would also entail such penalty as is of filing a false affidavit before this court,” said the SC order.

The court also directed the ECP to put these affidavits on its official website; communicate to all the returning officers; and publicise them in all the leading newspapers. It also asked the ECP to inform the public through the electronic media in this regard.

“With regard to the information omitted from the Nomination Papers and Form A & B, as issued in terms of Elections Act, 2017, when examined in juxtaposition with the requirement of the Nomination Forms previously in vogue under the ROPA, 1976, it appears that the information, no longer required to be disclosed, prima facie, would facilitate the determination of the qualification or disqualification of a candidate and would lead to greater transparency regarding the credentials of a candidate facilitating the electorate in making a more informative choice,” the order said.

Riaz Haq said...

More than 100 election candidates' particulars declared 'extremely dubious'
Fahad Chaudhry Updated June 12, 2018


https://www.dawn.com/news/1413663

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), during its scrutiny of candidates for the 2018 general elections, has so far found that more than 100 candidates are bank defaulters, DawnNewsTV reported on Tuesday citing sources in the Election Commission of Pakistan.

The SBP has declared the particulars submitted by these candidates as "extremely dubious".

According to the SBP report, which has reportedly been sent to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), PPP's Hina Rabbani Khar and Mian Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo — a hopeful from NA-143, NA-144 and PP-186 — have their names on the list.

Ahmed Shah Khagga (PP-193), Ghulam Ahmed Shah (PP-193), Asim Irshad Khan (NA-124), Ameer Ahmed Siyal (NA-116), Khalid Masood (NA-30), Abdul Sattar Bachani and Zulfiqar Bachani (both from NA-224), Ameer Waliuddin Chishti (NA-256), Ayaz Khan (NA-257) and Changez Khan (NA-258) are also among the defaulters, as per DawnNewsTV's sources.


Azhar Khokhar (NA-52), Zainab Ahsan (PP-109), Umar Farooq (PP-113), Mushtaq Ahmed (PP-136), Ali Asim Shah (PP-185), Muhammad Ali Tarkai (PK-46) and Chaudhry Shakeel Gulzar (PP-66) are also among those who owe money to banks.

The scrutiny of nomination papers to exclude ineligible candidates from the election race started today, a day after returning officers (ROs) completed the process of receiving nomination papers from prospective candidates.

According to ECP spokesman Altaf Ahmad Khan, particulars of 12,000 candidates have so far been sent to the National Accountability Bureau, Federal Bureau of Revenue, SBP and other relevant institutions — out of which 7,500 had been verified with the help of an online system.

1,514 candidates are PTCL defaulters
Over 1,500 candidates who filed their nomination papers for various provincial and national assembly seats with the ECP are defaulters of Pakistan Telecommunication Limited (PTCL), a report sent by the company to ECP said on Tuesday.

The defaulters include Murad Saeed (Rs14,000), Faisal Kareem Kundi (Rs21,000), Ejaz Chaudhry (Rs33,521) and Syed Zafar Ali Shah (Rs18,000) among others.

Riaz Haq said...

Lifestyles of Pakistan’s (rich and famous) politicians revealed
Details of candidates’ assets and their affidavits have been made public to help voters hold their leaders accountable

https://gulfnews.com/news/asia/pakistan/lifestyles-of-pakistan-s-rich-and-famous-politicians-revealed-1.2239949

The latest asset disclosures by Pakistan’s politicians running in the upcoming elections reveal their lavish lifestyles.
The disclosures have revealed that young Bilawal Bhutto is a billionaire while his father and former President Asif Ali Zardari has assets worth around 758.66 million Pakistani rupees (Dh23 million).

Maryam Nawaz, daughter of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has 845 million rupees to her name.
The details of candidates’ assets and their affidavits have been made public to help voters hold their leaders accountable.


Riaz Haq said...

Panama Papers: New leak shows Pak clients struggling to avoid trouble

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/331641-panama-papers-new-leak-shows-pak-clients-struggling-to-avoid-trouble

A fresh batch of leaked documents of Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, reveals how panic triggered after the release of Panama Papers among the firm and its clients; several of them were Pakistanis who had to change their plans of hiding wealth abroad amid fear of yet another leak.

A person (Zaka Ashraf) nominated by PPP for interim PM, who had also been chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), abandoned the process of opening two accounts in Swiss banks after the Panama Papers through his two benami shell companies which came to surface earlier but their ownership was unknown.

Former attorney general Justice (R) Malik Qayyum disassociated himself from a benami company. Its Swiss bank account had Qayyum and his wife as signatories. Samina Durrani, the mother of Tehmina Durrani, “gifted” one offshore company holding property in the UK, to Asimullah Durrani, her son, a few months after the release of Panama Papers.

Meanwhile, a Pakistani banker in the Middle East, Saleem Sheikh, was found seeking explanation from the law firm about the steps taken to prevent any embarrassment in future through yet another leak.

Instead of replying to this concern, Mossack Fonseca served him notice in April 2017 together with other Pakistani passport holders having companies in British Virgin Islands to change their registered agent as “an administrative decision has been taken to resign as registered agent/office for companies with links to high risk countries.” Pakistan is among those 21 countries declared prohibited for business by BVI in April 2017. Nielsen and Nescoll, the offshore companies owned by Sharif family had changed their agent in 2014 hence no detail was found in the latest leak.


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Although Mossack Fonseca announced its closure in March this year, it started resigning in April as registered agent of clients from Pakistan which is “on our current prohibited list of countries.” “Kindly however advise the client that an administrative decision was made after conducting a risk assessment to cease acting as agent for companies associated with Pakistan currently, due to the elevated country risk. “Accordingly, we suggest that they make arrangements to change the registered agent/office of the company soonest,” read an email.

There are another 20 countries which have been declared ‘High Risk’ due to money laundering and terror financing. Pakistan has been flagged due to terror financing. Other high risk countries are Afghanistan, Belarus, Bosnia, Central African Republic, Cuba, Congo, Eretria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, North Korea, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Zimbabwe.

Riaz Haq said...

#WorldBank payouts to 22 developing nations during 1990-2010 were followed by a jump in their rulers' deposits in overseas heaven. #Oil price increases are followed by a spike in deposits held by rulers in financial havens. #corruption #MoneyLaundering https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2020/02/13/the-world-bank-loses-another-chief-economist#click=https://t.co/AI1Qs7JNhm

When autocratic, oil-rich nations enjoy a windfall from higher crude prices, where does the money go? One place to look is Swiss bank accounts. Sure enough, an increase in oil prices is followed by a spike in deposits held by these countries in financial havens, according to a 2017 paper by Jorgen Juel Andersen of bi Norwegian Business School, Niels Johannesen of the University of Copenhagen and their co-authors.

When Mr Johannesen presented this result at the World Bank in 2015, the audience included Bob Rijkers, a member of the bank’s research group. The two of them joined forces with Mr Andersen to investigate if something similar happened after another kind of windfall: infusions of aid from foreign donors. Their conclusion was dispiriting. World Bank payouts to 22 aid-dependent countries during 1990-2010 were followed by a jump in their deposits in foreign financial havens. The leaks averaged about 5% of the bank’s aid to these countries.

Riaz Haq said...

Maryam Nawaz Sharif's leaked audios of conversation with her uncle PM Shahbaz Sharif:

https://www.dawn.com/news/1711882

The first clip purportedly features a conversation between PML-N Vice President Maryam and the premier about Miftah, who has reportedly faced criticism from within the party for taking tough economic measures.

The PML-N vice president has publicly stated that she does not agree with the decision to hike petrol and electricity prices, saying she did not own such decisions, whether her party was in government or not.

"He doesn't take responsibility [...] says strange things on TV which people make fun of him for [...] he doesn't know what he is doing," the voice said to be Maryam's says in the alleged clip.

"He clearly cut corners," the voice said to be PM Shehbaz's is heard as saying.

"Uncle, he doesn't know what he is doing," Maryam purportedly says, as she wishes for the return of PML-N stalwart Ishaq Dar.

Former finance minister Dar is set to return to the country next week to facilitate PM Shehbaz on the economic front.

The second clip allegedly concerns a conversation between the premier, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Law Minister Azam Tarar, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and former NA speaker Ayaz Sadiq about the resignations of PTI lawmakers from the lower house of parliament.

A third clip purportedly features a conversation between Maryam and PM Shehbaz regarding the return of former army chief retired Gen Pervez Mushar­raf.

The former military ruler’s family publicly confirmed in June that he was “going through a difficult stage" where recovery was not possible while Inter-Services Pub­lic Relations (ISPR) Director Gen­eral Maj Gen Babar Iftik­har said Mushar­raf's family was in contact with the military regarding his planned return.

Discussing this in the alleged clip, the voice alleged to be Maryam's can be heard saying that she "sees this coming", adding that she said the same to Nawaz in a phone call.

"I told him to tweet this. He listened to me immediately," the PML-N vice president allegedly says, adding that the move was "opposed" by several people. She allegedly reasons that showing "magnanimity" in this situation would help the government save face.

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She said that there was nothing in the leaks that was similar to the "anti-Pakistan conspiracy of Shaukat Tarin", referring to the audio clips attributed to Tarin regarding the International Monetary Fund programme.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah appeared to play down the matter while speaking on Geo News show "Naya Pakistan", saying that nothing definitive could be said about the prime minister house’s security being breached until the leaks were investigated.

"I don't think we should take them so seriously since this is so common," he added.

“If the probe proves that it’s not safe to talk in the prime minister house and somebody has done this [spying] arrangement, then it’s really serious but it is inappropriate to say this without proof.”

Sanaullah did not reject the content of the audios, instead, saying that the current setup's "good governance" was reflected through them.

He also said that the prime minister had taken notice of the leaks and would consult his cabinet on the issue tomorrow, adding that the matter would be sorted out in the next few days.

On the leak where Maryam could allegedly be heard criticising the finance minister, the interior minister said expression of opinion was allowed in democratic and political systems, adding that Ismail was criticised by outsiders so it made no difference if Maryam or some others in the PML-N did so as well.

"What was wrong if Maryam said some of his decisions cost us politically."

Sanaullah also seemingly blamed the finance minister for the recent high fuel adjustment charges, asking why they couldn't have been spread over a period of months.