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House of Lords debate terms both PML, PPP as corrupt

LAHORE: The British House of Lords described the two major political parties of Pakistan as both being "corrupt, incompetent, unpopular and highly damaging to the welfare of the people in Pakistan", and observed that it was "kleptocracy which was ripping millions of rupees away from the public exchequer."

The House of Lords in its recent two hours and 48 minutes long exclusive debate on Pakistan pledged that "we want the best for Pakistan and its people, a strong and resilient democracy that can guarantee political and economic security for its citizens, and work for peace in the region."

"Corruption was the downfall of previous Pakistan governments. We must, of course, strongly condemn corruption wherever it exists, in Pakistan or elsewhere. It eats into the heart of any society, particularly a society that has few resources and great developmental demands."

"Let us make sure that economically developed countries do not, inadvertently or otherwise, facilitate corrutpion in other regions," said Lord Paul.

Baroness Strange said: "General Musharraf has arrived there in rather an undemocratic way; the regime that he replaced, although democratically elected in the first place, had turned out to be not very democratic in practice, difficult to dislodge and gradually becoming more and more corrupt. General Musharraf has said that as soon as the country resettles itself, he will re-initiate democrcy.

"Naturally, we are very anxious to see this happen. We are also anxious to see the lessening of tension towards Kashmir and other neighbours and a cessation of nuclear testing. I should like to emphasis our close ties with Pakistan, both now and historically. We wish her and her new government well."

Lord Alton of Liverpool said: "when the government was elected in 1997, the turnout was about 32 percent. There were many allegations of vote rigging. Holding an election does not necessarily make a country truly democratic, especially when the party of government seeks to subvert any legitimate opposition, interfere with the judicial process and stifle hostile comments in the media.

"Nawaz Sharif undoubtedly did all those things. He may also have given orders refusing permission for an aircraft carrying General Musharraf to land in Karachi. That is not the action of a true democrat. No democratically elected leader would seek to kill the head of the armed forces.

"The government of General Musharraf evidently has the support of the vast majority of the people of Pakistan for the first item of his agenda to punish those who had stolen the country's money. Under Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan was sliding into bankruptcy, but his predecessor (Benazir Bhutto) had also allowed her cronies, and especially her husband, to profit from their hold on the reins of government".

Lord Avebury observed: "I understand that matters are proceeding in accordance with the normal rules of the courts in Pakistan and that the press and the public are freely admitted to the proceedings".

He said that some œ3 billion, which were reported to have been illegally siphoned out of the banking system by political crooks and their cronies in the form of loans, were never going to be repaid.

He said General Musharraf in his televised address to the nation on October 17 last urged scholars to curb those who were exploiting religion for vested interests and bringing a bad name to Islam.

Lord Carrington said: "Both political parties in Pakistan are corrupt, incompetent, unpopular and highly damaging to the welfare of the people of Pakistan."

Lord Paul said that the answer to corruption was trnasparency, accountability and due process of law. "Open up the system as much as possible, rather than constrict it," he opined and observed that "most urgent need today is for greater investment in its infrastructure".

The Lord Bishop of Rochester said: "Let us encourage the rebuilding of Pakistan according to the plan left by Iqbal, by Jinnah and by the first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan." However, he observed that none of this was achievable without a resolution of the Kashmir dispute.

"It is urgent to address how the international community could facilitate negotiations between India and Pakistan and, indeed, also include the Kashmiri people."

Baroness Cox said: "If General Musharraf is genuine in his attempts to move Pakistan towards implementation of a human rights-based constitution, he could prove himself to be a leader indeed worthy of support and there could be a window of opportunity to help Pakistan to move towards democracy."

Lord Desai expressed the hope that General Musharraf will set an example of being a subject to the rule of law himelf as he would like everyone else to be. The principal lack in Pakistan is of the rule of law, or at least in terms of the elite behaving as if they lived under the rule of law. "This is very important."

Baroness Williams of Crosby said that Nawaz Sharif and his predecessor Benazir Bhutto both governments did a great deal to erode democracy in Pakistan. Some of the most serious erosions of the constitution of Pakistan occurred with the acceptance of the 13th and 14th constitutional amendments, she observed.

"Those amendments literally swept away the right of the people to express dissent, even in the parliament itself, or to hold other religious beliefs, and they did so without a single hour of debate in the Pakistani parliament."

"Even worse, or perhaps at least as bad, we now know that both governments' elite ruling groups simply ripped off one of the poorest countries in the world. Its loyal and courageous people have been the victims of their own government. That is terrible epitaph to any government of so-called democracy. I believe that has been in every sense a tragedy for a fine people," the Baroness said.

Regarding Kashmir issue she said that: "It is proper and right to ask Pakistan and India to resume their discussions. Indeed, I believe that it is vital for the world. Otherwise, we may see an escalation into real danger in the region."

Lord Sandberg said: "We were only aware of the deep corruption of successive governments over too many years. He said that, naturally, we do not encourage the overthrow of elected government, albeit Sharif's majority in election was on such a low turnout of electorate, and there was a good reason to imagine, as Lord Weatherill pointed out, that there were some shenanigans during the election".

He said that the low turnout was influenced by the fear that both parties were almost equally corrupt. "That fear turned out to be only too true. Almost immediately, Sharif and his colleagues started to feed at the same trough as their predecessors. The reaction in the streets in Pakistan to the army's action told its own story".

He said: "There was almost universal relief and rejoicing and the grass-roots support has continued. Since then the stock exchange index in Karachi has risen from about 1,130 to 1,700 points, an indication of the greater confidence investors have in the new administration".

Sandberg said that he made these points because those with perhaps little understanding of Pakistan were quick to criticise the move by General Musharraf. Perhaps with more thoughts it might have been seen as an almost inevitable event when one takes into account the fact that the political and economic situations were at such a low ebb.

He said: "General Musharraf has refrained from martial law or any of the other extremes that we have come to fear after a military coup. Indeed, we understand that the courts and judiciary are functioning normally. There appears to be a free press".

He questioned the suspension of Pakistan from the Commonwealth and said it was somewhat premature and a little hasty decision.

Lord Chalfont said: "We shall not exacerbate the situation in Pakistan by taking diplomatic, economic or any other measures against that country without considering fully what the consequences may be". He said: "What is true is that military coups are sometimes understandable. If the elected government of a country proves to be corrupt, undemocratic and incompetent, as Lord Weatherill said, then sooner they are removed, the better".

"It would be best if that could be done by the normal democratic process. If that is not possible, as it certainly was not in Pakistan, surely it is better that there should be a temporary period of military government rather than the continuation of a situation in which the elected government produce nothing but misery and hardships, as the noble Baroness, Lady Cox, demonstrated in her admirable speech".

He said that as Lord Desai and others have sugested, "We should at least give the military rulers a chance to put their country in order before contemplating draconian economic sanctions and bringing about Pakistan's diplomatic isolation".

Lord Ahmed said that in recent years Pakistan had become a dysfunctional and sham democracy: "had in fact become a kleptocracy as described by Lord Weatherill, earlier".

He said that Pakistan's government was also moving towards transparent accountability, depoliticised state institutions, an improvement in the law and order situation and devolution of power to grass-roots level.

He said that General Musharraf has announced that there will be local and district elections this year. "That will pave way for true, genuine and lasting democracy in Pakistan".

He said that General Musharraf's action was clearly in Pakistan's national interest. "The people of Pakistan have accepted and welcomed the removal of the previous government, and that is perhaps why there was no violence or bloodshed and 80 percent of the public supported the change. Not only should we suspend our judgement, we should be supporting Pakistan through this difficult time".

Ahmed said that it must be appreciated that Pakistan is a difficult country to govern. There are real problems; for example, the continuous existence of the oppressive feudal landlord system, the culture of tax evasion Ñ corruption, favourtism; nepotism; and political and economic mismanagement. "There are clear signs that General Musharraf is committed to addressing some of those issues".

He said: "Pakistan has a real chance of becoming a genuine democracy. I have spoken with General Pervez Musharraf and he has assured that the armed forces have no intention of staying in charge any longer than absolutely necessary to pave the way for true democracy to flourish in Pakistan.

"General Musharraf's government have so far taken some positive steps: they have reduced Pakistan's military budget by 5 percent and initiated appropriate steps towards achieving economic revival. That is reflected in the confidence which the investment community has shown in Pakistan's economy, resulting in a 20 percent increase in the stock market since last January 2000".

Baroness Scotland of Asthal observed that "Democracy in Pakistan has suffered a setback but we should not give up on the principle, nor should we lose hope that democracy in Pakistan can and will be rebuilt and restored, perhaps in an even healthier state than before. The Pakistani people deserve a new and better democracy Ñ a democracy which is fair responsive, and transparent; a democracy which can deliver stability and national unity; a democracy which can bring security and prosperity to all Pakistanis rather than a privileged few; a democracy strong enough to ensure that this military intervention in the last".

In answer to a specific question of Lord Averbury she said: "I can tell him that we have a hope and an aspiration that there will be no improper interference with the courts or with Sharif's trial. We are watching closely the proces of the trial but our jury is still out. General Musharraf has promised an early transition to a stronger democracy. The British government welcome this. We want to see him succeed. It is now up to him to convince us that he is taking steps in pursuit of this end. I should say to all Lords that we are ready to listen, engage and provide practical help as long as we see real and sustained progress. This approach applies equally to our policy on government to government developmental aid.

"Rebuilding democracy is not only about what happens on election day. It also means restoring public trust in the organs of the state and the system of checks and balances on which all democracies, including our own, depened.

"In this context, we cannot ignore the accumulated problems posed by poor economic management, corruption, weak rule of law, a 'winner takes all' political culture and a poor human rights environment. We hope and expect that General Musharraf will be looking at these issues in parallel."

She further said that Lord Desai, Lord Paul, Lord Avebury and Right Reverend Prelate, the Biship of Rochester, all placed emphasis on the economic issues with which Pakistan is challenged. "Without public trust in the management of the economy, any rebuilt political and institutional structure will have an uphill struggle for credibility. Economic reforms is necessary to bring prosperity and to benefit the poor, but it can also encourage fairer and more transparent administration. Economic reforms are not just about the right to do business; they are also about the way in which business is done. It is in the interest of all to enshrine and enforce obligations to pay wages, taxes and debts."

Baroness Scotland said: "We have asked that Pakistan co-operate fully with international efforts to combat the scourge of terrorism. We remain deeply concerned about Kashmir, both as potential flash-point and for the sake of the Kashmiri people. Our position is well known: we call for India and Pakistan to reach a just and lasting settlement that reflects the views of the Kashmiri people and offer them the best hope of peace and security. We have reiterated our calls for Pakistan and India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and address the roots causes of the differences between them."

Lord Weatherill observed: "If General Musharraf's were a purely military regime, I would not support it. But, as I sought to point out, it is not a military regime. It is seeking a government of all talents. As I understand it, there is only one military cabinet member minister, apart from General Musharraf, himself. So it is not a purely military regime."

He said that "General Musharraf has behaved quite differently. He has sought to stem the growth of militant Islam and has made genuine indications that he is committed to the principle of good government. General Musharraf pledged a national accountability bureau which would embrace all sections of society and stated his intention to protect the rights of minorities and to promote religious tolerance in Pakistan."

He said: "In General Musharraf's own words, this was not so much a military coup as a counter-coupÑthe army's reaction to reactive event."

Lord Moynihan said: "The fact that the coup was bloodless and did not inspire widespread protest within Pakistan tells us what we already knew; that, in a worsening economic climate, Pakistan's previous elected government failed to provide transparent and good governance and thus lost the support and trust of those whom it represented."

He said: "General Musharraf has pledged to revive the economy and, indeed, we should assist him. We should assist because 26 million people in Pakistan live in absolute poverty; over two-thirds of the Pakistan's adult population is illiterate; over 60 million people are without safe drinking water and 89 million are deprived of basic sanitation facilities. That is why it is incumbent on this House, indeed this government, to respond positively to programmes of assistance for the development of Pakistan."

Weatherill said that democracy would not take root if it was grafted on to corrupt and bankrupt institutions. "Economic growth in Pakistan cannot be sustained without substantial investment in human development. It is from that development that in due course, we will get the sort of democratic security for the people of Pakistan that is so essential. A simple adherence to the concept of democracy without recognising the fundamental importance of building the institutions of good governance and effective development programmes will simply not work. That is why we need to be sensitive to these issues when considering this question today; we need to be firm yet persuasive; robust yet sensitive to the new government of Pakistan; and resolute yet encouraging as we pursue our goal of the restoration of democracy."

He said that General Musharraf needs help and support in overcoming vast problems ÑÊnot condemnation, but practical and positive support. I say that because I believe the alternative would be chaos and highly dangerous to us all."

He stressed the urgent need for responsible Pakistan within the Commwealth," a rock of stability in a very unstable part of the world."

He said that "General Musharraf must be helped and not hindered in putting Pakistan on its feet and, therefore, re-establishing democracy. APP