THE KEY PROBLEM OF THOSE ENGAGED IN MONUMENTAL PLUNDER….

One of the main front page stories of Daily Dawn reads:
Probe against petroleum officials in Rs 86 billion scam.
FIA has so far recovered Rs. 2.3 billion from some gas companies.
Without going into the details of this story that somehow mirrors the true character of this government, I am venturing here to state that when those persons who happen to constitute the ‘apex’ of a government happen to be remembered in the society for proven or unproven charges of high corruption, the entire structure of the government or the administration in the middle, gets submerged in carefree plunder. We are well-acquainted now with the FIA and the NAB going into probes regarding scams, here and there, amounting not to lakhs or millions or crores but billions.
Mostly these probes are launched in the cases where the suspected or the accused do not happen to enjoy ‘protective umbrella’. In many cases deals are struck during the middle of these probes and the ‘recovery’ of the plundered money is narrowed down to not more than 10% at the most. In the case of the story mentioned above, the ‘recovery’ is less than 3%. The readers shouldn’t be unaware of the ‘fabulous amount’ involved in the ‘plunder’ allegedly masterminded by Dr Asim Hussain. Is it Rs. 460 billion? Or more!
Where do all these billions go?
And who pay for this monumental plunder, if not the people?
Some years back (I think in 1992) the late Salman Taseer had come up with a booklet titled ‘Plunder of Pakistan’ Incidentally the ‘plunder’ which was mentioned in that document related exactly to the period, the current ‘Panama Leaks’ case is all about.
Quarter of a century later, the magnitude of the alleged or suspected plunder of this country’s wealth is unlikely not to have risen to incredible dimensions.
The people of this country live in abject poverty and misery, crushed under mountains of heavy taxes and heavy debt. And those ‘hundreds’ engaged or involved in one or the other story of scam or plunder are billionaires whose main and only problem is how to hide their ill-gotten wealth. Investing in expensive apartments in London hasn’t proved trouble-free.