Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto's family waiting for justice by Senator A. Rehman Malik

It was in UEA during the exile period when I saw Asif Ali Zardari convincing and insisting Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto not to go back Pakistan as the host country Dubai has also warned her of a terrorist attack on her return. Bibi Shaheed was determined to go back to Pakistan come what may and categorically stated that she has given a commitment to the people of Pakistan that she would be among them on 18th October 2007. I, on the front seat and Asif Ali Zardari on the back seat sitting with Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, kept on convincing her but he could not convince her to not leave for Pakistan. The discussion continued to the arrival and departure lounge of the airport where once again a message was given to her by the host country not to fly for her own country but she did not agree to anyone.

Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto also discussed that either Rehman Malik to go with her or to stay back in Dubai, as in case of her arrest he would formulate further strategy and finally she decided that I should travel with her. As per her directions, I got my boarding card and we proceeded from Majlis to Plane. After the announcement of departure yet another announcement was made informing that three passengers go back to the lounge. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto discussed with me and asked about the IATA rules that can the government of UAE stop her to go Pakistan but I quoted the rules and informed her that once one is boarded in the plane and there is no fault in the documents, they cannot stop any passenger from traveling adding, however, that if once you go back to the lounge then they would have the right to stop you. In the meantime, I spoke to Mr. Tariq Aziz, Principal Secretary to General Pervez Musharraf whom I had told about the arrival of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and asked him that the government should not be hindered her as multiple steps are being taken to stop her.  He called me back after 10 minutes and informed me that they have already spoken to UAE government and you will be permitted soon to travel. Accordingly, we flew and how she was welcomed at Karachi by people of Pakistan is a historical fact. She was thrilled and delighted to see a huge crowed of highly motivated workers welcoming her but her happiness didn’t last for long as her caravan was attacked with twin gigantic bomb blasts near Karsaz killing her 149 devotees and injuring more than 400jiyalas.  The attack was actually a life attempt on Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto but she survived.  We all were standing behind her on the truck including Raja Pervez Ashraf, Yousaf Raza Gillani, Raza Rabbani, Naheed Khan, Shah Mehmood Querishi, Aitzaz Ahsan, Qaim Ali Shah and others and all of them were safe.

The police even refused to register the case after Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto attempted to file a complaint of the Karsaz Incident. The evidence was hosed away within one hour without securing the vital evidence and the case never advanced as the evidence was already destroyed through hosing off the crime scene. Surprisingly, the suspected mastermind of October 18 assassination attempt namely Qari Saifullah Akhtar, along with his two sons and other suspects, were arrested but released after few days claiming lack of evidence against them. He along with his sons subsequently fled to Afghanistan, where he had been running a training camp for Al-Qaeda.

Under the PPP Government, the dormant investigation of the case was activated, but DSP Nawaz Ranjha of Karachi police who was entrusted to investigate the case was mysteriously killed when he was close to arrest the attackers.  I had discussed the mysterious murder of DSP Ranjha with the then Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah and also with Murad Ali Shah but nothing was achieved.

The second trip of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was on 26th November, 2007 from Dubai via Air Blue and as previously agreed I went to pick her in the morning as her flight was at 8 o’clock in the morning. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had to go to Peshawar for her Jalsa next day. It was a memorable moment and she told me that she would like to have breakfast after one hour sleep. It was economy class seat and I was sitting next to her. She slept while taking brief notes and got up after one hour and had a light breakfast. For the first time, she uttered “Rehman; will they not spare us”. Next day, we proceeded to Peshawar where she had to attend a Jalsa which was to be detonated but fortunately the detonators did not work and the terrorist attack foiled. Those who were responsible for her security and the then government did not provide adequate security despite of numerous letters to the then government.  It was the same trick, in which she was attacked with missiles near Kamra but missed. This fact was disclosed by one of the accused who informed that serious attempt was made and the missiles were got from Kamra.

On the conclusion of Jalsa and the meeting in Peshawar, we left Peshawar. The Security Chief was sitting on the front seat and in the middle was Naheed Khan. She always liked to eat chappal kabab in Peshawar and she had expressed her desire to have some Chappal Kababs. I had already arranged some Kababs and Naan for her. She made rolls of Naan and Kabab one for her, one for me and one for Naheed Khan. She had her own diet coke with her and thereafter she said that she ate too much in Peshawar and she stopped the car and handed over the food to some workers and security guards.

In our way to Islamabad, I got a call of General Nusrat Nadeem expressing his desire that then D.G. ISI has requested to meet Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto tonight urgently. I told him that she is with me and she consented for the meeting.  By the time we entered in Islamabad, there were few meetings already arranged in Bilawal House and after those meetings, Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbasi left for their home and I accompanied Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to meet D.G. ISI. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto requested for a foolproof security and very categorically stated to D.G. ISI to tell General Pervez Musharraf to do the rigging in election to the level you can but you have to lose. After meeting, General Nusrat asked me to not to go for jalsa in Rawalpindi as there were some reports of likely attack on Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had earlier done similar drill to go to Liaqat Bagh Rawalpindi a week before. It may be reminded that she had been travelling countrywide and her security was being looked after by security officer Maj (Retd) Imtiaz. We were standing near her car in Bilawal House when I asked Ms. Naheed Khan if all arrangements had been done and have made all the security measures as per the decision. Naheed Khan very rudely responded me that not to interfere in our affairs as we know our job well. The entire episode of conversation was heard by Dr. Babar Awan and I came to know later that he had informed Mr. Asif Ali Zardari about my row with Naheed Khan.

The 27th December, 2007 shall always be remembered as black day in the history of Pakistan but sadly justice is never delivered to the PPP workers and Bhutto family as despite of the fact that the murderers are detected, the conspiracy is unearthed by the investigation, Taliban leadership in their book have also confessed the assassination of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto but it is infortune that those who were involved were released/acquitted and justice is still waiting to be done.

Historically speaking,  Bhutto family remained deprived of justice against state repression. The JIT appointed by the then Punjab Government failed to conclude the case and the Pakistan Peoples Party government decided to do thorough investigation and accordingly a JIT was constituted consisting of three senior officers namely Mr. Tariq Khosa, Mr. Tajik, DIG and Mr. Azad a known Police officer with the mandate to interrogate and include anybody for investigations. The JIT investigated the matter with utmost sincerity and professionalism. They identified the conspirators, handlers, accused, executors and their trail of financial and including of abettors.

The confessions of the following accused persons i.e. Aitezaz Shah, Sher Zaman, Hasnain Gul, Muhammd Rafaqat and Rashid Ahmed Turabi were substantiated with independent forensic evidence to prove their criminal act in the court of law including the DNA of the joggers used by the terrorist/ suicide bomber, recovered from the house of one of the accused persons.

It may be mentioned here that the PPP leadership was of the firm view that the assassination of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had international dimensions with a wider conspiracy plan.  The PPP Government, therefore, requested the UN Secretary General to constitute an Inquiry Commission to investigate the case in order to un-earth the conspiracy.  The Inquiry Commission submitted its Report in May 2010 wherein it primarily held the then Federal Government responsible for not providing Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed adequate and proper security.  It also discredited the findings of the committee appointed by the then Punjab Government with regard to washing of the crime scene.   On the basis of the findings of the Inquiry Commission, the Federal Government decided to transfer the case to FIA for further investigation and constituted a high-powered JIT as mentioned above.

The investigation carried out by the JIT had led to the facts that the conspiracy was hatched at Room No. 96 of Madrassa Haqqania, Akora Khattak by the former student of the said Madrassa.  One Ibad-ur-Rehman, a former student of Madrassa Haqqania had brought suicide bomber to the Madrassa from then TTP chief Baitullah Mahsud and stayed in Room No. 96 overnight. The JIT collected the original admission record with photographs, addresses & parentage from Madrassa of those students who conspired and then executed the conspiracy. Accused Nasrullah who had brought suicide bombers in Rawalpindi on 26th December, 2007 and Ibad-ur-Rehman, the planner and ex-students of the Madrassa were later on found to have been killed in separate operations by the LEAs. These accused and their associates were based in Madrassa and residing in hostel in 2007. Their meeting and operation point remained Room no. 96.Accused Hasnain Gul and Rafaqat Hussain, close relatives, have turned militant after Lal Masjid Operation called “Operation Silence” where one of the close friends of Hasnain Gul namely Qari Fayaz was killed.  They also turned against Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed for her support to the Operation and aligned themselves with Al-Qaeda and TTP.They described their motives as Shaheed Benazir Bhutto was a threat to Taliban in Pakistan if had come into power. It transpired that Azizullah (Maulvi Sahib) to whom Baitullah Mehsood called (intercepted call) was also the student of this madrassa.

The JIT traced five absconders namely Baitullah Mehsud, Ibad-ur-Rehman @Usman @ Chattan who were killed in a drone attack while investigators were chasing them in Khyber Agency.  Abdullah @ Saddam was killed in an explosion in Mohmand Agency along with Faiz Muhammad @ Kiskat.Nasarullahwas Killed in Mohmand Agency and Nadir @ Qari Ismail was Killed in Mohmand Agency. I have written two letters to the Ministry of Interior for the extradition of  Ikramullah – 2nd suicide bomber, who is hiding in Afghanistan.

Interestingly, the Taliban during their meetings with Afghan Government in Qatar and in Murree through the courtesy of Government of Pakistan, had demanded the release and deportation of accused Hasnain Gul and Rafaqat Hussain as one of their demands.  It, therefore, clearly demonstrates their close association with the Taliban/Al-Qaeda.

Unfortunately, the trial was delayed for 10 years. Chaudhary Zulfiqar a known honest and professional prosecutor was almost near to the conclusion of the case when he was murdered cold blooded. Only he was pursuing the case but his family could not get justice even today though his gunman was able to kill him and injured another one.  The accused was later on arrested from Bara Kahu, Islamabad who happened to have linked with Taliban. He was also released despite caught red handed.

The Taliban leader Abu Mansoor Asim Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud in his book ‘Inqilab Meshud South Waziristan: ‘From British Raj to American Imperialism’ have corroborated the investigation carried out by a joint investigation team (JIT) of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) that the TTP former chief Baitullah Mahsud ordered Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.

I had written number of letters to the government to have the second bomber Ikramullah extradited from Afghanistan and about the release of five accused who confessed the murder but nobody has paid attention to my letters. It was unfortunate to note that despite overwhelming evidence against the arrested accused persons, the Terrorist Court acquitted all of them and ordered to be released from the jail custody.  The hope of justice by the Bhutto family was killed when the said accused was set free leaving many doubts in the minds of the public as to why the accused with confession were acquitted and released.  The police officers who were also accused in the case were convicted but their convictions were also set aside and were awarded prominent postings.

This was not only high profile case which was resolved through investigations and number of facts against the accused but went in vain. In fact,  despite of proper investigations and undeniable charges against the accused, the justice to the Bhutto family and PPP workers was denied on flimsy grounds.

The matter is still pending in the High Court and I appeal to the chief justice of Pakistan to order proceedings in the Benazir Bhutto murder case on a daily basis so that elements behind the assassination of the former prime minister could be brought to justice without any further delay.

The Article was published on December 27, 2019 in Daily Times and the link to the article is https://dailytimes.com.pk/527155/benazir-family-waiting-for-justice/

Larkana – Soil of Shuhadas of Bhutto family: father, daughter and two sons By Senator A. Rehman Malik

Larkana became famous because of Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto and his descendants who made history by their charismatic personalities, unmatched bravery, and supreme sacrifices. The family of Bhutto is a symbol of sacrifices and the graveyard of Ghari Khuda Bakhsh demonstrates the love of the Shuhada for their beloved country, Pakistan.

Starting from Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, the father of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was born in Sindh and got his early education at Sindh Madrassah in Karachi and later at St. Patrick's High School in Karachi.

He had also received the honors of Cambridge Assessment International Education (CIE) followed by knighthood. In 1921, at the age of 33, he started his career as a politician and entered the Legislative Council of the Bombay Province.

In 1931 he attended the Round Table Conference as a leader of Sindhi Muslims demanding separation of Sindh from the Bombay province and in 1934 he became a minister. Due to his tireless efforts and political wisdom under the Government of India Act, 1935, Sindh was granted the status of a separate province on April 1st, 1936 and Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto became the Chief Adviser to the Governor of Sindh. He also led the Sindh United Party and because of his effective campaign in 1937 Elections, the Sindh United Party emerged as the largest party by winning 21 out of 60 seats. It must be mentioned here that early in 1947, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto joined the council of ministers of Muhammad Mahabat Khan–III, the Nawab of Junagadh in the modern-day province of Gujarat, as Dewan – Prime Minister. Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto had a great role in accession of Junagadh (Gujrat) to Pakistan as Dewan and on 15th August 1947 announced the accession of Junagadh to Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan accepted the accession on September 13th, 1947. However, the Hindu citizens of the State revolted, leading to several events and also a plebiscite, resulting in the integration of Junagadh into India. Pakistan Postal Services had issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honor in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series.

The second personality born in the Bhutto dynasty was Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was born on January 5, 1928 in Larkana and jolted the world both by his life and tragic judicial murder. He ruled the hearts of people of Pakistan and was admired internationally for his vision, wisdom and charismatic personality. He was a great statesman, a democratically elected Prime Minister, a popular leader, a President, and an architect of the Constitution of Pakistan and history. Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the founder of Pakistan's Nuclear Programme and because of his administrative and aggressive leadership to lead this nuclear deterrence Programme he is the great benefactor of this nation and known as Father of Nuclear Deterrence Programme. By empowering the country as Nuclear Power, he changed the fate of Pakistan and made our defence as invincible. He had said “We (Pakistan) will eat grass, even go hungry, but we will get one of our own (Atom bomb). We have no other choice!” and by his tireless efforts and brave actions, he proved his words.

In his prophetic letter to the Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah on April 26, 1945, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto wrote “You, Sir, have brought us on one platform, less than one flag, and the cry of every Muslim should be onward to Pakistan. Our destiny is Pakistan. Our aim is Pakistan. Nobody can stop us. We are a nation by ourselves and India is a subcontinent. You have inspired us and we are proud of you. Being still in school, I am unable to help the establishment of our sacred land. But the time will come when I will even sacrifice my life for Pakistan."

Shaheed ZA Bhutto was handed over the country in 1971 when it was fractured and people were demoralized and had lost their faith in rulers. He struggled day and night to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore their faith and hopes. With unmatched visionary leadership, he restored confidence in the people of Pakistan which is a source of inspiration for the well-being of the country and source of strength for the people. On July 5, 1977, General Ziaul Haq imposed martial law, the first democratically elected Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and all his cabinet ministers were arrested and all assemblies were dissolved. The Constitution of Pakistan was abrogated and the civil rights were set aside and the country was left lawless. The military coup, unfortunately, was endorsed by none but the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a dictator was given free hand to rule the country who later cultivated the seeds of terrorism, extremism, sectarianism and begun a culture of Kalashnikovs and heroin which later took a thousand lives till today.

On the fake charge of murder, ZA Bhutto Shaheed was judicially murdered by sold judges of the High Court and the then-Supreme Court. When Justice KMA Samdani of the Lahore High Court found the evidence against Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Shaheed as contradictory and incomplete and released him on September 13, 1977, General Zia sacked Justice KMA Samdani from his post. Three days later on the night of September 16, 1977, army commandos climbed the walls of Al-Murtaza in Larkana and arrested him again. Ironically, the trial of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto started on October 24, 1977 in the High Court of Lahore, instead of the lower court to deprive him of one level of appeal. Through a pre-planned conspiracy, five new judges headed by acting Chief Justice of LHC Molvi Mushtaq Hussain who was Zia’s family friend were appointed.

It was in mid-1989, while sitting on the 4th floor of the FIA HQ in my office where I happened to see the murder case file where Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was implicated. Let me refer here the note portion of the then Director Law of FIA who had the moral courage to pen down the reality that the bullets shown to have been used in the murder of Mohammad Ahmad Khan Kasuri did not match with the weapon in question allegedly used by FSF official who was declared as the killer. Director/Law had killed the fabricated abetment theory against ZAB by the prosecution under pressure. The file is full of shocking criminal and intellectual dishonesties of replacement of the first 164 statement of Masood Mahmood recorded by Agha Ghazanfar, with another statement of Masood Mahmood recorded by another magistrate. Qureshi from Lahore falsely implicated ZAB in return of his migration to the USA under enough pressure. President Asif Ali Zardari in April 2011 sent a Presidential Reference to Supreme Court seeking to reopen the case of former Prime Minister and PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Shaheed but no justice was ever delivered to PPP.

Bhutto family is unarguably a paradigm of tragedies and sacrifices. They have sacrificed their lives but did not bow, starting from the youngest son of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the Shahnawaz Bhutto. He being the youngest son sacrificed his life fighting the tyrannical regime of Zia against his father’s imprisonment and execution. When his father Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was put under house arrest, Shah Nawaz Bhutto left for Lahore where he delivered the first ever-political speech of his life and increased the morale of party workers. He was the most intelligent, aggressive and a ditto copy of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. It was understood that General Ziaul Haq will not spare Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and will do utmost efforts to eliminate him.

During this period, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto remained in jail and Shahnawaz Bhutto also went to Afghanistan where he got married to the daughter of Afghan-American diplomat and finally both brothers shifted to Cannes city of France. He was continuously chased by General Ziaul Haq being very scared of him because of his very aggressive nature. Finally, he was killed in very mysterious circumstances in 1985, when he was just 26. His murder was done in a highly suspicious manner where he died without medical aid in his flat in Cannes, France. I in the capacity of Director FIA along with my team, on the directions of then Prime Minister Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir investigated this murder case with the help of the French police. My report on this murder was submitted to the then PM in my capacity as Director FIA and it has the full background and details who did it and how the war poison was used to kill him. The investigation proved that he was murdered by design and the suspects were allowed to fly away to the USA pending the investigations and trial. Justice is awaited by the family for the beloved Shaheed Shahnawaz Bhutto. The details of the investigations will be made public very soon in my forthcoming book.

Shaheed Murtaza Bhutto the elder son of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and brother of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto went into exile before the trial of his father. Both brother and sister tried their best and lobbied in Europe and the Middle East to save their father. Shaheed Murtaza Bhutto, in the beginning, stayed in Afghanistan where a PIA plane was hijacked through a planned conspiracy where Salamullah Tipu played the role against the two brothers, who was later on also eliminated. At the same time, Shaheed Murtaza Bhutto and Shaheed Shahnawaz Bhutto got married and migrated to Syria.

After the hanging of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, both the brothers went to Cannes, France and both remained there for a longer period. He eventually decided to return to Pakistan where he started his aggressive politics and he was murdered in very suspicious circumstances near his residence at 70 Clifton, Karachi on 20 September 1996. The investigations were carried out followed by findings of Supreme Court Judge Justice Aslam Zahid and it was declared goof-up by the police but the murder of SHO Haq Nawaz Sial created suspicion and let’s not forget that the then President Farooq Leghari used Murtaza Bhutto’s murder as an excuse to oust Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto which explained the reasons behind this cold-blooded murder.

Coming towards Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, I must say that it was a misunderstanding of General Ziaul Haq that he will vanish PPP and the legacy of Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto by his judicial murder as there was another Bhutto – Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto - who led the party and nation in very right directions and worked for subjugated sections of this society and wellbeing of the country till she sacrificed her life in this struggle. One by one, each Bhutto was murdered through pre-planned international conspiracies duly abetted by local handlers but Bhuttos still rule on the heart.

The sun will rise every morning on 27th December and life will continue, but we will never be able to see Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. It was an early morning of 17th October when Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was giving goodbye kisses to Bakhtawar and Aseefa in the outer lounge of her house in Dubai. She hugged the kids again and again and walked her usual elegant style and sat in the car. She opened her car window and kept on waving her hands till out of sight. It was July 2007, when a Central Executive Committee meeting of PPP was held at my house in London where Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto decided to return to Pakistan against all the odds. Everyone advised her about life threats and security issues, but she remained firm about her decision without any fear despite having a clear understanding of the severe risks she was going to face. She believed that General Musharraf was using the security issue as a ploy to keep her out of Pakistan and away from her workers whom she loved the most, as Musharraf feared that it would diminish his power and raising the chances of her victory in the elections.

Finally, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto announced her return on 14th September 2007 and it ultimately distressed General Musharraf and his political colleagues who kept emphasizing the life threats against her by extremist groups during election campaigns. They also made several offers to her to finalize a power-sharing agreement, but she always denied it. Several discrete meetings in 2005 and 2006 in Dubai followed between Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, General Musharraf, and his close associates but they never produced a concrete agreement leading to the restoration of democracy in the country. Finally, two one-on-one meetings between Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and General Musharraf were held on 24th January 2007 and 27th July 2007 in Abu Dhabi. Few of the advisers of Musharraf and I myself arranged these meetings. They met again in August and September of 2007 when Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto expressed her concerns on many things including free and fair elections and lifting of 3rd time ban on the premiership.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto frustrated all efforts of General Musharraf to block her return to Pakistan and despite all threats and security concerns she landed at Karachi on 18th October 2007. She was moved to see the enormous crowd of people waiting at the airport to welcome her but her excitement to see her people and land vanished by twin blasts which took the lives of 149 of her devotees while injuring 402 jiyalas. It was a miracle that Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto remained safe in this massive attack but even then I found her fearless who continued her political struggle.

The police even refused to register the case after Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto attempted to file a complaint of the Karsaz Incident. The evidence was hosed away within one hour without securing the vital evidence and the case never advanced as the evidence was already destroyed through hosing off the crime scene. Surprisingly, the suspected mastermind of October 18 assassination attempt namely Qari Saifullah Akhtar, along with his two sons and other suspects, were arrested but released after few days claiming lack of evidence against them. He along with his sons subsequently fled to Afghanistan, where he had been running a training camp for al-Qaeda.

Under the PPP government, the dormant investigation of the case was activated, but DSP Nawaz Ranjha of Karachi police who was entrusted to investigate the case was mysteriously killed when he was close to arresting the attackers. However, being undeterred of the previous attempt on her life and continuously pouring in security threats, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto decided to keep on leading the election campaign. On 26th December 2007, we along with Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto reached the airport on the way to Peshawar for addressing an election rally where she addressed a massive crowd of people. She was quite happy to have such a successful public gathering at Peshawar. There too, we faced an unsuccessful and foiled murder attempt.

On the dark evening of 27th December 2007, our nation was bereaved of the great loss of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto at the hands of those who never wanted Pakistan to progress by a devoted leader like her. On 27th December 2007, the Interior Ministry issued a number of warnings concerning the possible terrorist attacks on the campaign event of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto at Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi. The government was demanded to take foolproof security measures against the threats, yet it did not take any proper measures or issued specific instructions to the provincial authorities to ensure her protection. The federal government failed to execute the responsibility to protect her by not detailing full and comprehensive security as per the Blue Book. Due to lack of security of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, the terrorists finally managed to reach the proximity of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and assassinated her through a suicide bomber while she was leaving from Liaqat Bagh after having addressed the public meeting. There is no doubt about who killed her, who conspired and executed the conspiracy and who facilitated their conspiracy. The police under the instructions of the government hosed off the scene after one hour and 20 minutes, which action helped the destruction of vital evidence. After her martyrdom, a golden chapter of Pakistani politics was closed forever; however, none can put her legacy to death. The 27th December shall always be marked as the Black Day in the history of Pakistan refreshing our sad memories associated with Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

The Article was publsihed in The News on December 27, 2019 and the link to the article is https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/589464-larkana-soil-of-shuhadas-of-bhutto-family-father-daughter-and-two-sons

Memories & struggle of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto before return by Senator A. Rehman Malik

I recollect the type of persecution of PPP and its sympathizers faced in Pakistan. Along with many, I was also arrested when I declined to be an approver against Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto & Asif Ali Zardari.

I remember this ordeal of getting my judicial remand without producing me for a single time before any court to avoid my appearance before the media. After spending one year and three months in Adiala jail I was released when the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Sajjad Ali Shah granted me bail and ordered for release from the jail custody.

I met Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto after the bail in the presence of Gen. Babar in her House in F-8, Islamabad. We three reviewed the on-going situation including the arrest of Mr. Asif Ali Zardari, first by PML-N Ehtesab Bureau and then by Farooq Leghari. The government of Mian Nawaz Sharif was very aggressive against Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto & Asif Ali Zardari and the entire state machinery was after the couple and their associates. I had a life attempt on me in front of my house a few days after my bail which was already in the notice of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in due consideration of threats to me and my family advised me to leave the country as it was even more painful to see the ordeal. The Margalla Police refused to register the FIR on my life attempt, and when I complained to my parent ministry against the police, strangely my request was dismissed considering it as a “petty matter”.

According to the advice of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, I planned and left via Afghanistan for Europe and it was a dreadful journey through Taliban controlled areas and also the roadside criminals between Jalalabad & Kabul. I managed in two weeks to reach Austria and then to the UK in very odd and difficult circumstances and the entire difficulties were documented by BBC documentary namely ‘From Pakistan To Park Land (Via Ilford)’, which is available on the Internet. A few weeks later after my arrival, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto also arrived in London after obtaining proper permission from the Court. She held her first informal meeting with few other PPP leaders at the residence of Mr. Pasha, an associate of Asif Ali Zardari, who had even refused to return an old vehicle owned by Asif Ali Zardari.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto chalked out her political struggle plan and I felt the honor that I was also assigned certain duties. I started my job by first buying a second-hand car which was used also by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. I used to drive her from one function to the second in this car, mostly in the accompany of Ambassador Wajid Shamas-ul-Hasan and Riaz Bashir who were already in exile there. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Assefa and Bakhtawar must surely remember this old car as mostly I used to take them for ice cream or sometimes drop them from one point to the other.

The political activities started from a rented house in Hounslow by my brother-in-law, Dr. Zaheer Nasir, who was a great source of strength though he also suffered in Pakistan and had to leave the country to seek exile in London when I was in jail, leaving his well-established and successful hospital at Saidpur Road, Rawalpindi.

  

I opened a due diligence company/consultancy and fetched good business enabling me to get a terraced house on the mortgage on Edgware Road and thereafter rented in a shop of grocery with a big basement not far from Sir Pervez Khan’s meat shop. I stopped the grocery store as it was with liquor license which I surrendered immediately and managed a subway sandwich store within a year. Both the sandwich store & due diligence company/consultancy flourished.

I converted the basement into the PPP office which could cater nearly 500 people at a time. This became the favorite place of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto for meetings and most of the PPP leaders know about this place. This basement became very helpful for the party. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, while returning from Dubai or USA used to stay in our house and my wife Dr. Saeeda Rehman had already become a good friend and her host.

The suit of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in my house and her small fridge is still in one corner of her bedroom with her favorite chocolates. She used to like Pink ice cream, which was only available in Whitely store in Bayswater, not far from my residence.

My moderate business gave good support to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and the party. In the meantime, with the help of an Iraqi friend, I got into the oil business and added into handsome additional income where Benazir Bhutto also became a partner as per her desire. I also opened an office in Dubai and my sons also started helping me.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto decided to create a network of E-mail for the leadership in Pakistan. If the people recall, her politics was given the name of politics of e-mails but she successfully created a connection with her party leadership in Pakistan with HQ at my office basement and from my office in the Royal Park, which was looked after by Mr. Tim an ex- film actor mostly in James Bond movies. I cannot forget to mention my former PSO Mr. Sajjad Haider who not only helped in running the business but was also a great help in all political matters, assigned to me by Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

I created a PPP family where I cannot forget Ch Riaz, former PPP President of Greater London. I also remember the visits of my great friend Salman Taseer who often used to visit me. I remember his young son Shehryar Taseer and three of us used to have our food in the Chinese restaurant near Oxford street. Late Salman Taseer was made Governor on my recommendation to President Asif Ali Zardari and he met President Asif Zardari in my presence in Dubai.

A serious shock came for PPP when Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari were convicted in Cotecna, a so-called corruption case. We heard the judgment while sitting in the drawing-room of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and I noticed that she was very upset after hearing the said tutored verdict. I remember telling her while leaving her house that she will be out of this whole fabricated case very soon In Sha Allah because I had some indications through my intelligence sources that the judgment was a result of instructions of the then Prime Minister of Pakistan and the Chief justice of Punjab, Justice Rashid Aziz.

Mr. Bashir Riaz, Mr. Wajid Sham-ul-Hassan and few other PPP leaders in the UK are the witnesses to it that how I made the “Tape Scandal” public through some prominent newspapers and by strategy in the USA while she was on tour there. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, as per plan, made it public through her presser. I will not forget Mr. Rahim who had done this mission impossible to have the conversation recorded and I also remember how I managed a visa for him for Austria through the local Royal family member. I got the original tapes and Mr. Rahim to Austria and got him accommodated with one of my nephews.

I flew with Dy Editor of Sunday Times to Austria for an interview of Mr. Rahim and original tapes were analyzed with the expensive voice sample comparison which was done from a voice forensic laboratory in London. This job was entrusted to one of our old workers, Mr. Mohsin Bari.

I managed the broadcast of speech of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto from London to Yaadgar-e-Pakistan through my Satellite DM TV via Thailand. The speech was prepared by Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in the presence of Mr. Bashir Riaz, Wajid Shams-ul-Hassan and me in Urdu. I got the tapes flown through Mr. Bari and the logistic in Lahore were done by president PPP Punjab, Mr. Qasim Zia. Mr. Qasim Zia had rendered great services for PPP during difficult times. I coordinated the entire tape scandal mission in the most secret and well-coordinated manner keeping MBB informed. This was the time when Bilawal, Bakhtawar, and Aseefa were small children and were living in Dubai who used to visit the UK during the holidays.

The Tape Scandal through European largest newspaper Sunday Times came as a shocking surprise for Gen. Pervez Musharraf and his team. The next step was to present the tapes before the Supreme Court which we made as additional evidence in the court and as per my designed plan the tapes were got delivered with Walkman to the judges at their residences, in the Bench and were also submitted to the court. My strategy showed effective results and the video speech of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and hype in the media worked as a fire in the country and the tape scandal did wonder and the judges, after hearing the taps and seeing the transcript prepared by me, did the magic and the judges whose voice including the then CJ Punjab, Justice Rashid Aziz, who was by then elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court had to resign and my promise to my leader got fulfilled when we heard the suspension of the earlier judgment by Justice Abdul Qayyum against Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari. It was declared an illegal conviction by the Supreme Court.

My hard work and planning and the assistance of my staff and colleagues did the miracle. Our team in Punjab and Baba-e-law Latif Khosa demonstrated his professionalism and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was restored in the politics. Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was in London and he shared her joyful moments with her family.

The struggle did not stop here as Bilawal, Bakhtawar, and Assefa continued to live without their father who was in jail in Pakistan in another fake case and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was struggling to get the democracy restored. She made several visits to various countries in the world to meet the world leaders and she created a successful roadmap to give a tough time to Gen. Musharraf.

I once again came under a cloud after the Tape Scandal and red notice was repeated on me and Gen. Pervez Musharraf team got me detained in New York airports based on the red notice. I was treated like a terrorist because of the serious request for a man wanted by Gen Musharraf. I remained in shackles and tied with the iron chair for twenty-four hours and I was given treatment like a terrorist including my eyes were blindfolded. I was the officer who hunted the most wanted terrorists like Yousef Ramzi, but I was hunted down as a terrorist under mistaken identity. There was one to listen to my innocence but after 24 hours a senior officer came and interviewed me and based on my profile, he apologized and informed you have been formally detailed as terrorist by mistake and now only the President of the USA can release you and it will be done at 9 Am when he would reach the office.

The American found out later that I am not a dangerous terrorist, but it was a matter of political vendetta. I was released and despite the apology from the Deputy Secretary of State I refused to enter the USA as a protest and flew back to London on the first return flight. The readers will see more details in my forthcoming book next month on this ordeal and my 24 in agony being treated as terrorist sitting with real hardcore terrorists detained in the said detention center. Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was informed as well while I was tied with an iron chair which I managed through a tinny mobile hidden in my socks from the washroom when permitted after lunch two hours to use the bathroom. She was a great sister and real kind soul and she was above a normal human being.

I did not travel to the USA after this incident and I finally entered the USA as Interior Minister and I could see the place where I was blindfolded & handcuffed and forced in a vehicle. It was divine vindication that I was being escorted to the same airport police which one day mistakenly treated me as a terrorist.

Circle of time continued, and Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto continued to gain International support and extra powerful and well-strategized support started pouring into Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto after the arrival of President Asif Ali Zardari to New York and effectiveness increased manifolds.

The struggle of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto with international pressure forced Gen. Pervez Musharraf to talk to her. She accordingly deputed me eventually to talk to the military leadership on the one-point agenda of elections allowing all the parties to participate in the elections. Charter of democracy was already signed at my residence in London with Nawaz Sharif which played a vital role to create communication between both the exiled leaders, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.

She had built so much pressure on the mind of Gen. Musharraf that he eventually sought the help of Americans and this is how I met also Ms. Condoleezza Rice and one of her senior diplomats Mr. Richard Boucher, the Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs. Ms. Rice, in her book, has quoted as: “Mr. Richard Boucher became the point man for the US in exploring a deal. Shuttling back and forth between the parties — usually meeting Bhutto in London — Richard got them close enough to make a face-to-face meeting possible”. I was dealing with Mr. Richard Boucher, but the Americans could not make the way as Gen. Pervez Musharraf was not prepared to take out his uniform.

It was true that the Americans were also convinced that Gen. Musharraf was losing grip on his power. There were a couple of meetings between the senior Generals under Gen. Musharraf with me in Dubai and London include Mr. Tariq Aziz and subsequently with Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto wherein the transition of democracy was discussed. Mr. Tariq Aziz had played a major role in these negotiations who is a great friend and highly intelligent. I had more meetings with him as compared to the senior Generals.

A final meeting was held in Abu Dhabi in a Palace where Gen. Musharraf arrived with his team and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir and I met for the first time with Gen. Musharraf. The first span of the meeting was held in presence of myself and Military Secretary of Gen. Musharraf and thereafter one to one meetings between Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Gen. Pervez Musharraf. This one to one meeting between Gen. Musharraf did not progress as per the expectation of Gen. Pervez Musharraf as it did not last for a long time.

A dialogue which even Gen. Pervez Musharraf cannot deny was as under:-

Gen. Pervez Musharraf: Mohtarma you should come to Pakistan after the elections on 31st December 2007 and we will celebrate the new year together.

Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto: It is not up to you General, as it is for me to choose my timelines to return who had to decide about my return to Pakistan but it is me who is going to decide when I am going back to Pakistan and I have decided to go back to Pakistan as per my plan.

In the meantime, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir went to the washroom and in the presence of his Military Secretary, Gen. Musharraf asked me Malik Sb why didn’t you ask Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to change her mind to return to Pakistan before the election. I responded to Gen. Musharraf that it is her prerogative and she had made up her mind to return to Pakistan hence she is not going to change. The meeting ended inconclusively with the last note that we would continue to remain engaged.

The PPP leadership was waiting for MBB in London for the second meeting for the distribution of the tickets etc., and as desired by Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, her visit to UAE was kept highly secret which was managed accordingly and return to London from Dubai was made within 22 hours. She decided in the party meeting to return on 18th October 2007 despite some of the leaders advised her not to go back in view of security alerts against her, but she refused and told that she has decided to return to Pakistan and will take part in the elections.

The last telephone call between Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Gen. Musharraf was arranged by me at my residence and it was carried out by Gen. Hamid, his Chief of Staff whom I found a very professional and intelligent person.

The first round of the discussions was a disaster as the talking points placed before Gen. Musharraf were the old one and not agreed on points with his team. Gen. Musharraf was not in favor of the return of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to take part in the elections. The second round within one hour turned out to be fruitful where mainly four points decided were agreed that her return will not be hindered, she will take part in elections, no rigging in the election shall take place and all parties will be allowed to participate in the elections. We as a party will face our cases in Pakistan. She refused to take any favor and the NRO prepared by Mr. Hamid advocate sent through Gen Hamid via fax was declined and hence it was the decision of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto for not accepting any NRO.

Finally, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto arrived in UAE and as a part of the return plan, I also reached UAE where a a delegation from Saudi Arabia also reached and asked her if she had any objection on the return of Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan but she very graciously informed that she would not contest elections unless Nawaz Sharif is allowed to take part in the elections.

Mr. Asif Ali Zardari had arranged a bulletproof truck and Maj. Gen. Ehsan was appointed as overall security In-charge of the security including some senior leaders of PPP from Sindh including Shahbaz Mirani. The choice of Maj. Imtiaz, as Chief Security Officer was done by Ms. Naheed Khan against A.D. Khawaja whose name was proposed by Gen. Musharraf through Tariq Aziz.

PPP workers were fully jubilant, a good situation was created but the then Chief Minister of Sindh announced not to allow Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to pay homage at the Quaid’s Mazar and through the then Mayor of Karachi, the roads were blocked. She asked me to talk to the leaders of MQM and accordingly the directions were given from 90 Azizabad and the road was opened within no time and the last hurdle for her arrival was cleared.

Landing in Karachi is now part of the history of Pakistan & was a great experience after 09 years in exile. However, the blast at Karsaz took away all the happiness of the workers of PPP which was designed to sabotage the return of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. UAE intelligence through the Ruler of Dubai had earlier informed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto that attack her return is reportedly imminent, but she decided to take the risk.

She returned to Dubai after a few days and I traveled with her and the last journey was through Air Blue which was taken off on the 26th morning arriving at 11 o'clock at Islamabad. We then proceeded to Peshawar for a Jalsa where she experienced yet an unsuccessful attack on her.

She was determined to take her nation out of the crises, and she was the voice of masses which was muted by the enemies through a planned terrorist attack where the then Government failed to provide her security as per the Blue Book. The criminals snatched a great a leader from her masses and her lovely children Bilawal, Bakhtawar and Assefa.

While driving her and him three children to Oxford and then for picnic layer and then on way to the designer village we never thought it was her last drive with us. I remember her giving children several small lessons of life. She loved her children and her husband. She was a God-fearing person and 5 times prayers and all the time TUSBI in her hand praying to Allah.

I was very sad when I addressed the student union this year at the same building which reminded me of the happy family. I pray for long life and my best wishes to the children and who knows as to how life treats us on this journey of life. Who could have imagined as to how Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto will slip away from her nears and dears including her three children and beloved husband Asif Ali Zardari.

I remember many in my party considered me an alien at the party and came like skylab straight as Interior Minister. This propaganda is still against me by some opponents who do not know my services to the party. I am grateful to President Zardari to clear in one of the party meetings stating that it was Rehman Malik who looked after the party and assisted Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto when my close friends left us, but he stood with us from his jail to other ordeals.

I must say the party has given me a lot of respect and my services will continue in the same spirit.

I will write on those close PPP associates who ditched the party in the most difficult times.

In the end, I will say my PPP family is great

Pakistan Zindabad - PPP Zindabad.

The article was published in "The Nation" on December 27, 2019 and the link to the article is https://nation.com.pk/27-Dec-2019/memories-struggle-of-smbb-before-return

Heading toward disorder by Senator A. Rehman Malik

The government efforts to make the rupee sustainable against the dollar are being carried out artificially: buying out dollars from the open market against the internal borrowing through private banks and printing of currency. It is impossible to stabilize the economy with 12.93% of inflation at a much lower growth rate with a large budget deficit. I am worried to see the current situation of our economy as the USA will not let Pakistan out of the FATF Grey List with several unreasonable objections, i.e., terror financing and money laundering unless we take some really aggressive measures. I discuss here the ground realities of the present crisis which we are facing. Kindly see how the uncontrolled worsening economy is directly affecting our common man and national economic growth.

When a nation goes into self-denial on grave national issues, society starts getting polarised on almost all internal and external affairs. We all have to realize that the the country is facing severe challenges, including the rapid destabilization of the economy.

The recent price hike has hit the masses, and a high rate of inflation of 12.93 is highly alarming. And it is a significant indicator that there are going to be more price hikes. However, the income slab of the lower middle class and the poor are likely to remain static. The middle and upper-middle-class are going to face the same.

There is no doubt in saying that a the common man has fewer needs as compared to the elite class, but the present the price hike has made the life of all factions of society miserable in Pakistan. Unfortunately, according to the latest poverty estimates of 2019, 24% of Pakistan’s population lives below the national poverty line, which includes 31% in rural areas and 13% in urban areas. Moreover, 39% of our population experiences multidimensional poverty. We are being driven towards a situation where even the middle class is being pushed towards poverty.

The reports also state that over two-thirds of people in Ex FATA (73 percent) and Balochistan (71 percent) live in multidimensional poverty. Poverty in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stands at 49 percent, Gilgit-Baltistan and Sindh at 43 percent, Punjab at 31 percent and Azad Jammu and Kashmir at 25 percent, which means none of the provinces is free of growing poverty.

It is regrettable to know that Pakistan’s ranking on the ‘Global Competitiveness Report 2019’ has dropped to 110th during the tenure of the current government from 107th recorded during the previous government. It has slipped from three positions below from last year’s 107th, and it means more social-economic issues will make the ordinary people restless.

Instead of eliminating poverty from the country, the poor families are forced to push their children into child labor which is a gross violation of human rights and also the children are deprived of education because of this economic distress. This should be a grave concern for the government that needs to look into it and a child support the program must be launched without further delay.

We are having a profoundly negative reputation as a country of the worst child labor offenders as more than 12.5 million children are involved in child labor in Pakistan. And there are hardly any steps taken by the government to put an end to it. It is happening because of economic distress.

The uneven distribution of wealth has created serious class distinction among the masses, which is breeding interclass friction. The poor masses are watching social injustices, and it is giving rise to crime as the deprived class takes law in their hands and resorting to crime. The trend of suicide cases is also increasing

The rulers must know that such a the socially distressed class can rise out of sheer dispersion and may revolt to ask for justice through mass agitation hence the government should work out to plan for immediate relief packaged for the common man to reduce his sufferings.

82% of the wealth in Pakistan is sucked by the rich class of the country making wealth distribution highly unequal and varied making the top rich 10% of the population earning 27.6% whereas 10 % lower class including common man earns only 4.1% of the total income. The minimum wage for unskilled workers in our country ranges from only Rs 15,000 to Rs 17,500 a month, which is insufficient for even a small family to pull through the month.

The general concept of our country is that the rulers have less time for the welfare of people and more time for their own self and fir their political survival were this consistent economic distress is an aggregate of inconsistent and inefficient policies designed for poor masses, and it is further attributing public into crises leading to unrest.

The new government had underestimated the potential challenges before taking over the charge and made unrealistic and false promises to eliminate poverty within one year to attract the voters.

The government imposed 17% taxes on raw goods and material which has affected the manufacturing industries and a city like Faisalabad is currently facing a serious crisis were more than 100k labors have lost their jobs, and it is not the story of just one city as the major cities are also facing the same problem.

This kind of situation will attribute to the reduction of our exports eventually. Pakistan had already lost the grey cloth market because of many unwise sudden decisions that have hit all the industries in Pakistan.

The government has been an utter disappointment in terms of health as well. Over 25 thousand dengue cases have been reported so far: 6,537 from Islamabad, 5,642 from Punjab, 4,403 from Sindh, 4,276 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 2,750 from Balochistan. But the government has kept criminal silence over it. Since the problem has been completely ignored by the authorities, according to the experts this issue is going to worsen next year.

The education sector is worst of all as it has become a big business whereas the standard is gone down unchecked. It is worth noting that the government has confessed that the illiteracy rate is still 58%. The education sector is also in tatters as the government has hardly paid any attention to it. Instead of providing free or subsidized education, it is being noticed that the education business mafia is being allowed to make money from this basic right of every growing child.

The post-education employment/career opportunities are the basic tools to groom and keep the students engaged. According to the IMF, Pakistan’s Unemployment Rate is forecasted to be 6.140 % in Dec 2019, which records an increase from the last reported number of 6.079 % in Dec 2018. Surprisingly, the number of the people/youth who are either graduates or postgraduates has no job, and according to reports, 1.5 million have lost their jobs with worsening economy recent policies announced by the government which includes extra taxes and banking restriction and high rate of bank interests. The businessmen are running away to other countries, and the capital is flying out.

The provision of jobs and the increase in economic growth is done by the business community which has been hit the most with the various government’s sudden actions that have directly hit their business, and it is not a healthy sign for the country.

The businessman is now under pressure because of more banking restrictions recently imposed, which has resulted in an 8% fall in industries and cash has been withdrawn from the banks the businessman is resorting to cash dealings.

I am a supporter of a broader tax net, but it should have been done in stages and not overnight announcements imposing of extra restrains.

The tight SOS monetary PTI policy under the direction of IMF has led to the contraction of large-scale manufacturing industries for the first time in 10 years. The government cut energy subsidies, making petroleum and diesel more expensive while increasing gas prices by 335%. Besides, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), increased the key monetary rate from 8.5 percent in October 2018 to 13.25 percent in July 2019. While the interest rates have been increased in line with the IMF’s requirements and to rein in inflation, higher interest rates also discourage private investments and dry up liquidity in the system, leading to lower consumption and hence, lower GDP growth. While the government was estimating a 6.2 percent GDP growth in FY2019, Pakistan’s GDP came down to 3.29 percent, as compared to 5.8 percent in the past year.

Foreign direct investment inflows have slumped in the past year—a massive 59 percent drop, i.e., $73.4 million. Fiscal deficit, which is the difference between the government’s income and expenditure, was at a three-decade high of 8.9 percent when expressed as a percentage of GDP, going up from 6.6 percent last year.

PTI government is not doing enough to counteract the country’s economic situation with solid policies. The Pakistani rupee weakened by 33 percent against the dollar, going from Rs 121 for a dollar in 2018 to Rs165 to a dollar in 2019. A weak rupee means goods become cheaper for overseas buyers, and exporters get more rupees for their dollar earnings, but Pakistan’s exports declined by 1.9 percent in the fiscal year instead of increasing due to devalued currency. The reduction in rupee’s value did not help as it was not backed by strong policies and lost control on the currency mafias operation in the banks and including some in the ministry of Finance and private dollar mafia.

According to reports, the external the debt of Pakistan had reached up to $106 billion up till Sept 2019, while the borrowing from the scheduled banks jumped by 99 percent within a week ended on Sept 13 making an increase of Rs443.5 billion to Rs899bn.

I would like to state that concern authorities instead of seeing flashy presentations on colored slides by some bureaucrats and ministers on every sector, especially related to the masses are misleading. It is the need of the time to see the reality on the ground where & how the poor people living in mud houses in villages where even a child of the common man is unable to use simply an electric bulb being too expensive to do his school homework. The nation will not remember & judge this government from its economic performance and the quality of governance.

It is my sad prediction that this the government will cut its own life unless it initiated smart moves to revive the derailed economy and the rule of law not by lip services but real practical steps to get the country out of present crises.

Pakistan is already facing 5th generation warfare imposed by India and its associates and their main targets are our economy, both west & East borders and water resources. The economy is primarily being hit through FATF as a good economy is a symbol of stability which they don’t want Pakistan to have a sound economy. The government needs to focus on the economy as the top priority.

According to the State Bank’s latest report, Federal government debt stock stood at Rs32.197 trillion by October end, versus Rs31.787tr in June this year. In contrast, the same figure at the end of October 2018 was reported Rs25.839tr, from Rs24.212tr in June of the same year. How can we say this as a healthy economy based on massive internal & extern borrowing? It is unfortunate to see this state of affairs of our economy and the government is giving loans to the public under various schemes from the loans obtained from private banks. This is, again, an indirect burden on the people.

The nation has a big question that despite having all precious resources and minerals, why still our country is being graded as inferior and below the poverty line?

Let us pray to Almighty Allah for prosperous Pakistan and that He grants us the strength to fight our challenges. Pakistan Zindabad.

The article was published in THE NATION on December 8th, 2019, link to the original article is https://nation.com.pk/08-Dec-2019/heading-toward-disorder