How to Rob Banks, Pakistan Style
The President issued an Ordinance late Friday evening amending the Banking Laws on confidentiality that was preventing the Pakistan Banking Council (PBC) from publishing the full list of loan defaulters including those who had their loans written off. Among the many bold acts of the Caretaker PM uptil now, this has been the most courageous by far. It is a clear indicator that the man means business, Moeen Qureshi’s present initiative can only be exceeded if he makes public the list of drug barons and their contacts in the various walks of life in Pakistan.
Those who are electoral candidates among the loan defaulters have uptil Sept 13 to clear their dues to be eligible for taking part in the general Elections. Since the list reads like a Who’s Who of the elite it is a safe bet that the non-politicians among the list must be cursing the fate that brought Moeen Qureshi to the fore and front in Pakistan. One hears a good deal of muttering about “exceeding his mandate” being bandied about. It is, therefore, safe to presume that this act will not go unchallenged, legally and extra-legally, by those who have plundered the financial institutions at will. The bank robbers committing armed dacoity in Pakistan have not managed to together equal even one-third of the figure written off on “merit”, Rs 1.50 billion, what to talk about the total default of Rs 60 billion, nearly US $ 2 billion.
