The Emperor and His Clothes
The Mehran Bank scandal continues to devour reputations in its oily, inky embrace. On May 31, 1994, the previously unassailable credibility of the President of Pakistan, Farooq Ahmad Leghari, become its latest casualty, accused by the Leader of the Opposition of being involved in a less-than-meets-the-eye land sale transaction supposedly structured by the now most infamous Habib, Yunus of Mehran (and Habib) Bank fame. The President was said to have received Rs. 15 million in two installments of Rs. 7.5 million in September and November 1993, just prior to the General and Presidential Elections respectively, at Rs. 32,000.00 per acre a fair price for 531 acres of his ancestral land in D.G. Khan. As Kamran Khan has suggested there is a balance of Rs. 19,92,000.00 (almost Rs. 2 million) which seems to have been delivered in cash. For good measure, the PML (N) leader also castigated the President for spending Rs. 150 million (Rs. 180 million according to an aroused FPCCI) of the tax-payers money attending his son’s graduation in the States in what should have been a private visit and what in fact seems to have inadvertently become a semi-official junket with a lot of unnecessary frills thrown in.
The immediate reaction of the Government on both counts was predictable, bordering on hysteria. Not before 2-3 days had elapsed did present GoP’s spin-masters get their act together and a sustained “damage control” operation was initiated. Clearly on the defensive and stung by the accusations of his critics, the President produced documentary evidence to prove that the land sale was a genuine transaction. GoP machinery went into overdrive to show that the President’s official rounds in USA were in the greater interests of Pakistan and, therefore, reason enough to spend the tax payer’s money. There is no doubt that the dialogue with the US, at a crucial crossroads, had to be continued and the simultaneous visit of the Indian PM had to be countered. The President’s meeting with potential US entrepreneurs, particularly in the energy sector, was another plus point.
The exact location of the Presidential land remains a mystery with circumstantial evidence suggesting some sleight of hand. The location shown to a delegation of journalists by the government was certainly priced almost double (Rs. 50,000-55,000 per acre) than that paid by the lucky (and missing) six from Karachi (Rs. 32,000.00 per acre) represented by wheeler-dealer Yunus Habib. The Leader of the Opposition led another group of journalists to a different tract of land a few kms away worth Rs. 5,000 per acre or less. To add to the confusion, investigations show that five of the six individuals owning the six fictitious companies could not be traced at all. The “smoking gun” about financial impropriety seems to be that the six pay orders (Rs. 1,125,000.00 each) issued by the buyers in each of the two installments of Rs. 7.5 million were issued in serial order from Mehran Bank, Lahore signifying one source of instructions. Nobody doubts for an instant that as an affluent landowner, Farooq Leghari and his family had the land to sell but if the land was sold at less price to Yunus Habib’s frontmen, why was he being so generous to Yunus Habib? Or more suspiciously, if the land in question was waterlogged and saline and thus outrageously overpriced, why was Yunus Habib being so generous to Farooq Leghari, given that Mr Yunus Habib is known to have an endearing habit of looting the country’s banking system at will (with a little help from his friends) for some years and dishing part of it as largesse to keep things hunky dory and quiet. There is also the coincidental issue of Farooq Leghari approving the bailout of the Mehran Bank when he was Balakh Sher’s Caretaker Finance Minister, against the advice of the SBP, even people who would normally distance themselves from political mudslinging are apt to believe that the evidence at hand logically points to the land sale as a transaction to cover up for a now familiar Yunus Habib pay-off.
In strictly the legal sense, the President is on firm ground unless it can be conclusively proven that the land was worthless as Mian Nawaz Sharif has been insisting, however there is enough grey area to suggest that the President’s defence is not embellished by any moral uprightness in the whole affair. At the very best one can say that he was naive in selling the land much cheaper than the market price and exercised extremely bad judgment in using the dubious Mr. Habib as a medium for the transaction, particularly given his terrible financial track record which the President must have been made aware of in his earlier role as Caretaker Finance Minister. Is this the RIGHT STUFF one would expect in a President? And to what extent did this relationship continue to mutual benefit and profitability? After all, what is in it for our gallant financial rake, Yunus, to be suddenly interested in agriculture in way out D.G. Khan, a place to which no record exists that he ever visited? Whichever way you look at it, the President comes across as culpable, the Leader of the Opposition’s diatribe notwithstanding since one can take it that Mian Nawaz Sharif’s interest in accountability is politically motivated. After all why were Yunus Habib and Presidential friend Asif Shah let off from prosecution as HBL executives when Mian Nawaz Sharif was PM? In that sense, the former PM also becomes culpable. Some approbation would still be cast on the President even if we were to become completely gullible. The only silver lining is that since the six buyers seem to have done a joint disappearing act GoP gets its hand on another Yunus Habib asset to be liquidated to pay back Mehran Bank’s dues.
It would be crass to deny the President the pleasure of attending his son’s graduation, maybe not at extended State expense for a top-heavy entourage. Perhaps the President could have taken a leaf out of Moeen Qureshi’s book who paid his own way when he went to the US on medical grounds soon after he assumed charge as PM. In Washington, MQ did the official rounds despite the private nature of his visit, meeting quite a number of US leaders and financial executives of the IMF and World Bank. As a lightweight in the world’s capital and new to diplomacy Dr. Maleeha Lodhi has caused embarrassment to the President because of her failure to correctly gauge the situation and advising GoP accordingly. The net result was that President Leghari was seen to be on a junket at tax-payers expense. To compound the issue, while the poor man was doing the official rounds in Washington, the rest of the Presidential party was making a bee-line from Willard’s Intercontinental Hotel to Tyson’s Corner (a shopping centre). This was particularly embarrassing as the Annual USA meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) was in progress in the same hotel and the proliferation of limousines for the Pakistani Presidential Party in front of the Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue as well as the shopping bags in the lobby caused quite some comment about enormous wealth in an “under-developed country”. However in all fairness to the President, who can certainly afford to pay for his trip to the States, there is a grey area here where we should give him the benefit of doubt even though he could have perhaps been more firm in exercising better judgment, particularly given the MQ model.
The President has not shown any signs of voluntarily choosing to be contrite because of the doubts cast on his integrity, in fact he is damaging himself by being brazen about it. Whatever may be the end result of this present fracas, the President’s Mr Clean image and thus his moral authority has been badly tarnished. With what confidence will he take anyone to task in the government engaged in corruption? There is no doubt his clean image was an asset to Ms Benazir, Farooq Leghari has suddenly become a millstone around her neck in the one special constituency that is very important to her has become increasingly sensitive to such things as the present process of self-cleansing has shown. Over the past month, the finest promotions and postings at the higher level in the history of the Pakistan Army have taken place, the new emerging military hierarchy may be very well disciplined but they are also people who get turned off and do not turn a blind eye (in contrast to their predecessors) at such careless exercise of morality. Will he be able to command their respect as their Supreme Commander? Will they salute him with true loyalty in their hearts or simply tolerate him as just another in the long list of bogeymen that have reached high office? Above all, will they continue to be patient without compromising their own conscience and duty to the nation above the individual?
GoP has made a very welcome though belated announcement of two judicial commissions to look at Habib Bank and Mehran Bank respectively. Every sensible person should support this as a way out of the gathering morass. However, the mandate to the judicial commissions has been limited in a very suggestive politically motivated manner and needs to be expanded. No doubt that Mian Nawaz Sharif’s Government stands to be castigated on the curtailed mandate to the Commission as to (1) how Yunus Habib was spared prosecution in HBL and allowed to retire and (2) how he was subsequently allowed to become Chief Operating Officer in the face of SBP’s protest but these are much more in store. There is also the matter of the Presidential friend, former Interior Secretary’s younger brother, Mr Asif Shah, who joined Yunus Habib as SEVP of Mehran Bank, both being allowed to retire on the same day instead of facing prosecution. Yunus Habib may presently be the fall guy but there seems to be hardly any doubt that it is Mr Asif Shah who introduced him to the President and who was instrumental in having Mehran Bank bailed out when Leghari was Finance Minister. And who was Yunus Habib’s boss and willing collaborator in Habib Bank? None other than Mr Safdar Zaidi, presently Chairman Pakistan Investment Board and hanging onto his post for dear life and illegally acquired property.
President Leghari’s travails can never be a matter of joy but rather one of despondency. As one of the major PPP leaders respected by mainstream people like us, he was our symbolic Mr Clean. It is matter of great regret that he has been sullied in whatever manner by the Crown Prince of Muck, Mr Yunus Habib. The present episode has shorn Mr Leghari of the aura of respectability that he once commanded, he is mortal like all of us. Regretfully, one must concede that the Emperor has no clothes.
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