From fall of Dhaka to today’s Pakistan

Today we have a great opportunity to review our mistakes committed in the past. The corridors of power accept their mistakes.

December 16, 1971, General Jagjit Singh Arora from India and General Niazi from Pakistan signed the surrender Agreement. Since then, a lot has been changed. Pakistan and Bangladesh are now separate countries and have a good relationship with each other. But even today, we have not learned any lessons from the East Pakistan debacle.

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the leader of  Awami League, presented the controversial program with 6 points agenda in December 1970 election. His party Awami League cleaned sweep in the East Wing and win the majority in the Federal Parliament, he was not given the right to government to rule the country. Bengali people were having strong sense of deprivation (1958-1969), one unit and martial law government alienated the Bengalis and they had lost all hopes in the federation of Pakistan. Instead, a ruthless military operation had started on 26th March 1971. The Indian invasion in East Pakistan and the unjust political behavior of West Pakistan caused the fall of Dhaka on 16^th December 1971.

Former chief justice of Pakistan, Justice Munir Ahmad has written in his book “From Jinnah to Zia” that as a Law Minister in 1962 he negotiated with Bengali members of assembly on behalf of Ayub Government about “How east Pakistan should be separated from west Pakistan.” He further writes that Bengali legislators rejected the proposal. This gives an hint that establishment of Pakistan wanted to get rid of Bengalis much before 1971. The establishment of military actions to achieve freedom no choice but put in a position where they were loyal to Pakistan shows that a Bengal.

Motherland was divided into two parts only 24 years after its creation, it was a tragedy. Pakistan’s military establishment and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto blamed India and Mujib-ur-Rehman for that disaster. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto formed Hamood-ur-Rehman commission which was headed by then Chief Justice of Pakistan, Hamood-ur-Rehman. This commission was given the mandate to investigate all circumstances and events which led to the disintegration of Eastern wing. The commission submitted its report to Bhutto in October 1974 but the report was not made public. In august 2000 parts of this report were leaked out and published in India Today and Dawn. After that in December 2000 this report was declassified and made public by Musharraf government.  The report held Military elite of Yahya’s regime responsible for separation of East Pakistan and recommended action against Yahya and his deputies. Unfortunately, no action was taken against anyone until now.

Main factors which resulted in creation of Bangladesh were sense of deprivation and Usurp of their rights in East Pakistan. Today no lesson has been learnt. There is sense of deprivation among people of Balochistan, Hazarawall, Seraiki, and peoples of Karachi and also some urban areas of sindh. Government has started a so-called operation against the innocent people of Karachi as they previously started the same operation in 1992 in Karachi against. The excuses for the operation are same as they were in 1971 i.e. Indian conspiracies in these areas. People of West Pakistan were unaware of atrocities carried out by military in eastern wing and same situation exists today, as the rest of Pakistan doesn’t know how their countrymen are being treated by their own forces.

 East Pakistan debacle was a big blow to the dreams of a prosperous Pakistan but somehow country managed to survive. If God forbid, history will repeat in the future, one can expect worse consequence, the situation is worse. So we have to learn from history and should avoid repeating the mistakes.  Internal issues should be addressed intelligently and all citizens should be considered equal to all citizens of Pakistan; many problems will be solved automatically. If the current course of actions is followed then we will go deep down in an endless pit from where there is no hope of return. Hope for the best and prevent from the previous mistakes which were ended in separation of East Pakistan. Every Individual should play their role preventing any other separation in Pakistan.

Written by

Dr.Syed Hamood Ur Rehman

Jinnah’s Pakistan.

Jinnah’s Pakistan.

“You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State”

According to these words Jinnah wanted Pakistan to be an egalitarian state.

Many people like Justice Mohammad Munir said that these are not Jinnah’s words. But this speech is presented in all the history books written inside as well as outside Pakistan. Second reason that also nullifies their claim is that if Jinnah wanted a Pakistan according to their wishes then why did they called him “Kafir- e-Azam” and opposed the creation of Pakistan.

In 1953, after the birth of few years, Anti Ahmediya riots broke out in Lahore, in which 200 Ahmadis were dead and martial law was declared in Lahore.  In 1974 the state declared Ahmadis to be non-Muslims and during Zia’s era, we witnessed a massive increase in radicalization. A new breed of “Muslims” was prepared, it was in this era that an ordinary mullah from Jhang, who according to the people of Jhang used to roam on a cycle with an axe on the backseat made a career out of slogans like “Kaafir Kaafir Qadiani Kaafir”.  “Mushrik Mushrikh, Barelvi Mushrik” and then finally stuck with “Kaafir Kaafir Shia Kaafir. ,

Then 1980s witnessed a new tide of killings and persecution, the Ahmadis were already being persecuted by the state, but then came the Shias for whom it has been open season since the 80s, they today call it “Shia Genocide”, hardly a day passes by in this country when a Shia is not shot dead for being a Shia.

 State has shown no concern about the Shias killings , nobody cares , if they are killed in a bomb blast. All we have seen is the message of condemnation to the media channels.

Hindus and Christians have the same story, they are also disadvantaged people, they are prosecuted under the blasphemy laws.  The case of Ramsha Masih is still fresh in our memories, we all remember how a mullah used the blasphemy law to accuse a Christian girl who was 11 years old and suffered from down’s syndrome.  According to the law of Pakistan, a child under the age of 12 years can’t be held responsible for a crime that he committed. The reason is that he or she is not wise enough to understand the fact that what he or she did is a crime. Some said that she was 14 or 16 and some even alleged that she was 21, well even if we ignore her age, the girl suffered from down’s syndrome which again means the girl was not mentally sound to understand what she did.  But the reality is that she did nothing, the mullah in order to get the Christians driven out of that area in Islamabad, put a few burnt pages of Noorani Qaida (a small booklet to learn to understand Arabic alphabets) in her bag.

Joseph 's Colony , Lahore is not a function of the past , the area belonging to poor Christian and Muslim communities. A fight between two drunken men made many lost their homes. In Sindh, Sindhi Hindus are considered the original inhabitants, who lived here from time immemorial, but today, they're leaving the country and most of them are moving to India and seeking political asylum there. Their concern is that their daughters are kidnapped and forcibly converted and married to Muslim men. They are not receiving police protection and forced conversions of Hindus have become a routine on ground.

 Some extreme elements are creating lot of confusions among the masses of Pakistan by distorting the true interpretation and spirit of Quranic verses. Even recently they have issued a decree of proclaiming terrorists of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Taliban TTP killings as “Martyrdom” and undermined the services of Pakistani soldiers  by declaring them terrorists who are protecting the lives of millions of Pakistan on our fronts . Mullahs in Pakistan have divided people in different sectarian groups due to their negative approach. This has thorough a very negative image of Muslims and Islam across the world.  A true Islamic ideology does not promote extremism, it firmly believes in respecting other religions and their worship places.

Written By

Dr.Syed Hamood Ur Reman

FORMATION OF NEW PROVINCE IS A GOOD IDEA OR BAD IDEA

FORMATION OF NEW PROVINCE IS A GOOD IDEA OR BAD IDEA

Dividend largest provinces in small and manageable provinces is certainly a valid idea . In this way , will be solved the problems of the public. Those who have to travel hundreds of miles for small jobs , now would not be obliged to do so. Days and months of work will be done in hours and days. The accessibility , ease , property , liability will be the core values ​​in the new formation . Which eventually gives relief to the public. Besides that you will solve the social, economic and political conditions of people who live in remote areas . The request for the establishment of new provinces is the public demand , which appear as a result of injustice , violation of rights, the socio-economic problems , lack of basic services , ignorance, and especially when their basic problems were left unaddressed . New provinces will answer all these problems with accessibility, responsibility and ownership .

Formation of new provinces or craving out of the province's existing process is not new . It has been in practice for some time. Every time the public will and their issues are considered criteria for the creation of new territories . With head in the pages of history, you can easily find the benefits of the creation of new territories. In the subcontinent , all the movements for the status of the province, including those for the separation of Sindh from Bombay , partition of Bengal , the state of the Province of North West Frontier province full of governor had their roots in ethnic and linguistic aspirations of the people .

In the development of Pakistan , infrastructure , education , health services are limited to a few cities that are both the provincial and the federal capital. It is interesting to note that economic development is the reduction when someone moves from the center to other parts of the country. Where there is more backwardness , there will be less development budgets . In this situation the people of the worst areas are ill, when there is no drinking water , no school for their children , no hospital for patients and ignorance continues to politicians who usually sits in the provincial capital or federal . These all factors create resentment among the masses. Current movement for the creation of province is a popular public demand to solve their problems. These movements are not new, but recently got a coverage due to vibrating means and free of charge. It is not a political conspiracy or foreign -funded agenda . People suffer losses due to inaccessibility , ignorance and the lack of availability of basic services . When a person traveling from one corner of the country to get medical treatment in a large hospital in the capital and on the manner in which he loses his beloved. It creates a resentment that makes him realize that , if such a hospital has been existed in his home town , he could save his beloved . These incidents gives shape to the aspirations of people for new provinces

Search for new provinces is not new, has traces in history. Similarly it has both advantages and demerits. Recently this issue has gained momentum . Its popularity reached new heights with a new wave of discussion was initiated by experts across the country . Pakistan is a very diverse country; formation of new provinces in this diverse nation is very difficult and sensitive issue. International trend to create provinces follow two criteria: the creation of new provinces to improve governance and service delivery , in the second place , carve out new provinces of existing provinces to reduce ethnic tensions . In short , having more provinces makes sense but it involves some challenges , benefits and losses too. On one side will help in governance, reduction ethnicity on the contrary, pose some challenges to national integration .

It ' a moment of high for Pakistan , which has a traditional society full of different kinds of inequality , prejudice and discrimination on the basis of multifactorial came up with the idea of ​​creating new provinces over the years . The creation of new provinces is not a bad idea indeed to facilitate the public to better administration , but the creation of provinces : the political interests of a party, an ethnic or racial grounds is like playing with the sovereignty of the country. Party activism and political support in the formation of new provinces is a positive sign , but at the same time would ignite a new discussion in other provinces too. We already have a war stricken country , surrounded with enemies of terrorism , extremism , sectarian crisis and other domestic issues that has weakened and exposed us to the great disruption . In such circumstances , proposing the formation of the new province would be last nail in the coffin in the sovereignty of the country. Formation of new provinces is a good idea , but not at the expense of national integrity . The creation of new provinces is a matter of political, administrative and legal and must be settled in accordance with the law of the country. Criteria must be adjusted in accordance with the needs of the natives not to gain or sustain a particular ethnic group politics.

Already in 1948 , due to the growing threat of provincialism , the founder of Pakistan said:

If we begin to think of ourselves as Bengalis , Punjabis, Sindis , Balochis etc. Before Muslims and Pakistanis only incidentally then Pakistan is bound to disintegrate . "

Founder of Pakistan has also realized that the first partition to the threat of disintegration. He strongly prohibited the nation thinking about ethnic lines . In the current situation , calling for new provinces will become a political slogan , every corner of the country cries to draw lines for new provinces . It raised some serious questions for the national integration. Screams you hear from every corner of Pakistan for their provinces, Sareiki , Hazarawal , Pashtuns , Mohajirs , Baloch are taking sides in this game OWN PROVINCE . Pakistan has become the map graphic tempting to draw lines . In fact a very painful situation for the keepers of Pakistan ideology.

At the global level , training of new or existing provinces dividend is in practice for some time. But following certain criteria and objectives for the lines Draw on national map . It's not as easy as you think . A great example of this is India and Nigeria in both cases , governments have created new provinces , as and when the need has arisen . Since 2000 , India has created at least six new provinces mostly for better management and satisfying the needs of the public . Division of East Punjab in 1974 , in Punjab , Hariyana and Himchal Pardesh , Jharkand Bihar and Uttar Pardesh Uttarkand always powerful . Second example in the case of Nigeria, have increased the number of provinces from 3 to 13 and then to 36 in a period of 60 years to reduce ethnic conflict and the dominance of any ethnicity . This has helped Nigeria to break the dominance of the Hausa Fulani , the largest ethnic group in Nigeria, which accounts for about 30 percent of the total population but also to help the country become a stable democracy after being hit by a dictatorship for over 20 years.

Good governance will certainly improve due to the close interaction between the government representatives, officers, and privates . Formation of new provinces reduces the distance between government departments and individuals. Local issues will be highlighted more prominently , control and balance the government officials will be an increase that will lead to good governance. The creation of new provinces will be the beginning of a new era of political emancipation , social and economic . Native will have direct access to their political representatives , they can vote for the local population who consider their rights. New industrial zones will be established , will create job opportunities, and health and other basic services will be provided to the masses. Indigenous Affairs and Agriculture will be promoted. All this will bring prosperity in the region . The removal of the sense of deprivation among the local population , new provinces will end the sense of deprivation among the people. They will no longer feel inferior . Concept of the south, will be finished internal and border areas . Poverty reduction is evident with the formation of new provinces . The industrialization , promotion of local products and agriculture will hamper the growing poverty . Educated get new jobs ; farmer will reap more profit on their agricultural products.

Job opportunities will be increased with the creation of new ministries , agencies at the provincial level . In accordance with provincial government will work to establish new industrial zones in the provinces of the new constitution that ultimately double fold employment opportunities . Third urbanization will take place that opens up new avenues for local people to earn a living .

Industrialization is one of the most important advantages in the formation of new provinces . Every country has some cities where industrialization is confided . But it is absolute that the new territories always try local and foreign investors to establish the industry to seize new market. Surely in the newly created provinces industrialization will take place to improve the standard of living of the local population . Urbanization in the new province and new cities will reduce the population pressure on other megacities . Secondly, the masses can migrate to the nearest towns to urban use of services of education, health and justice. It will save their time , resources and easy access to their city too . Government will build the infrastructure for the proposed new provinces . Roads , hospitals, airports , courts, prisons and other services will be developed according to national standards . It will certainly make life easier for the common person . Other side of the coin says that the formation of new provinces is not feasible for the highly diversified nation like Pakistan .

Division of existing provinces or creating new ones will lead to disintegration. Pakistan has a very diverse society and is a rainbow of cultures . To handle such a variety of ethnic diversity is only possible through poking nationalism regionalism . As has been mentioned earlier that the formation of new provinces on the basis of linguistic harms the country's sovereignty . Therefore, the formation of new provinces will lead to the new provinces of disintegration.Formation process is endless. If today Punjab is divided to form new province of tomorrow's demands for the other parts of the country will be . Nigeria has already witnessed this first government in 13 provinces divided by 3 and then to 36 in a period of 60 years. Now the country is divided into small units with the federation weak .

Regionalism promote division if the new province should be made on the basis of ethnic and linguistic diversity. Sindhi . Punjabi , Siraeki , Balochi , Hazaarwal would be considered as an identity that obscure our nationalism. Increased regionalism will cause weak federation , which too have negative impacts on solidarity and national integrity . In recent years , Pakistan has faced several ethnic and sectarian crisis . The formation of new provinces will be the occasion of external forces and enemies of Pakistan to support ethnic groups to ask for the land. In Balochistan various rebel movements are supported by foreign hands who want to disintegrate Pakistan. Siraeki - Punjabi , Sindhi - Mohajir , Baloch - Pashtoon are already having strained relationship with each other, further division of the provinces will lead to some horrible consequences . Pakistan's economy is crippling and can not bear the heavy burden of the costs of new provinces . It ' true that the provinces would require new buildings , human resources , financial resources, but it would be wrong to say that our economy will be pushed further down.

Formation of new provinces is a great idea , but in the other hand has raised serious questions relating to national integration. It is a political issue and should be resolved by policy adjustments in accordance with the law of the country. Provinces should not be created on the expense of national integrity . There are some ways in which this problem can best be solved. After changes 18a provinces are more empowered and financially stable due to recent NFC award , the energies and resources can be directed towards disadvantaged areas . Second, the adoption of good governance at the district level can also solve some problems in the local public . Third, the devolution of power through local government can be a better choice for the federal government to address the grievances of the neglected areas of the country.

One can safely conclude from the above discussion that the formation of provinces carries both benefits and costs. In a very diverse country such as Pakistan, Formation of new provinces is a good idea but challenging. It is very difficult to implement in a diversified nation . Although some countries have experimented with success, but the Pakistani society and the social sphere is completely different. If this training is proposed for the welfare of the class without privileges in the remote areas of the country , then there are alternatives such as good governance , strengthening of local governments and the further strengthening of the existing provinces can bring prosperity . D ' on the other hand there is no alternative to maintaining national integration , except nationalism which is located in the United Pakistan.

Written By:

Dr Syed Hamood Ur Rehman

History Of Najam Sethi From Zero To Hero.

History Of Najam Sethi From Zero To Hero.

Flag of the Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) – a left-wing Baloch militant outfit that was one of the leading Baloch separatist guerrilla groups during the Balochistan insurgency in the 1970s.

A rudimentary ‘study circle’ was formed in London (in 1969) by some Marxist Pakistani students studying in colleges and universities there.

There were about 25 such students in the group who used to meet to discuss various left-wing movements and literature.

They also began publishing a magazine called ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ that (in 1971) had to be smuggled into Pakistan because it was highly critical of the Pakistanimilitary’s role in the former East Pakistan.

The magazine helped the group to forge a relationship with some Baloch nationalists who invited the group members to travel to Balochistan and help the nationalists set into motion some education related projects.

After the loss of East Pakistan in 1971, the populist PPP had formed a new elected government at the centre, whereas the leftist NAP was heading the provincial government in Balochistan.

In 1973, the PPP regime accused NAP of fostering a separatist movement in Balochistan and dismissed it.

In reaction, hordes of Baloch tribesmen picked up arms and triggered a full-fledged guerrilla war against the Pakistan Army.

 

NAP workers gather outside the offices of the party in Quetta soon after the NAP regime in Balochistan was dismissed by Prime Minster Bhutto in 1973.

About five members of the London Club decided to quit their studies in London, travel back to Pakistan and join the insurgency on the Baloch nationalists’ side.

They were all between the ages of 20 and 25, came from well-off families and none of them were Baloch.

Four were from the Punjab province and included Najam Sethi, Ahmed Rashid, and brothers Rashid and Asad Rehman. One was from a Pakistani Hindu family:Dalip Dass.

All wanted to use the Balochistan situation to ‘trigger a communist revolution in Pakistan.’

Dass was the son of a senior officer in the Pakistan Air Force. After his schooling in Pakistan, he had joined the Oxford University in the late 1960s where he became a committed Marxist.

 

Dalip Daas (right) chatting with a friend at a Pakistani college.

 He soon travelled to London to join Oxford University before secretly returning to Pakistan to join the Baloch guerrilla fighters in the mountains of Balochistan.

Asad and Rashid Rehman were sons of Justice SA Rehman who had been a close colleague of the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Najam Sethi came from a well-to-do middle-class family in Lahore and so did Ahmad Rashid whose family hailed from Rawalpindi.

All five members had travelled to England to study in prestigious British universities.

Initially, they were energised by the left-wing student movements that erupted across the world (including Pakistan) in the late 1960s.

When they reached their respective universities in London, they got involved in the student movements there but kept an eye on the developments in Pakistan where a student movement had managed to force out the country’s first military dictator, Ayub Khan (in 1969).

The study group honed its knowledge of Marxism, but also began studying revolutionary guerrilla manuals authored by such communist revolutionaries as Che Guevara, Carlos Marighella and Frantz Fanon.

When a civil war between the Pakistan Army and Bengali nationalists began in 1971 in former East Pakistan, the group, that originally consisted of about 25 Pakistanistudents studying in England, began to publish a magazine called ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ that severely criticised the role of the Pakistani establishment in East Pakistan.

The magazine was smuggled into Pakistan and then distributed in the country by Pakistani left-wing student groups such as the National Students Federation (NSF) that had also led the movement against the Ayub regime.

One of the issues of the magazine fell into the hands of some veteran left-wing Baloch nationalist leaders in Balochistan.

One of them was Sher Muhammad Marri who at once sent Muhammad Babha to London to make contact with the publishers of the magazine.

Sher Muhammad Marri (third from left) with Baloch fighters in 1968.

Muhammad Babha whose family was settled in Karachi, met the members of the study circle in London and communicated Marri’s invitation to them to visit Balochistan.

Seven members of the circle agreed to travel to Balochistan. However, two backed out, leaving just five.

All five decided to travel back to Pakistan without telling their families who still thought they were studying in England.

The years 1971 and 1972 were spent learning the Baloch language and customs, and handling and usage of weapons – especially by Asad Rehman, Ahmad Rashid and Dalip Dass who would eventually join the Baloch resistance fighters in the mountains once the insurgency began in 1973.

Najam Sethi and Rashid Rehman stationed themselves in Karachi to secretly raise funds for the armed movement.

Each one of them believed that the government’s move against the NAP regime was akin to the establishment’s attitude towards the Bengalis of the former EastPakistan (that broke away in 1971 to become the independent Bengali state of Bangladesh).

The young men’s parents all thought their sons were in London, studying. It was only in 1974 when the government revealed their names that the parents came to know.

The three men in the mountains took active part in the conflict, facing an army that used heavy weaponry and helicopters that were supplied by the Shah of Iran and piloted by Iranian pilots.

All three had also changed their look to suit the attire and appearance of their Baloch comrades.

Asad Rehman tracking the mountains of Balochistan with his group of Baloch fighters in 1974.

First to fall was the 23-year-old Dalip Daas. In 1974, while being driven in a jeep with a Baloch comrade and a sympathetic Kurd driver into the neighbouring Sindh province for a meeting with a Sindhi nationalist, the jeep was stopped at a military check-post on the Balochistan-Sindh border.

Daas=0 and his Baloch comrade were asked to stay while the driver was allowed to go. Many believe the driver was an informant of the military.

Daas was taken in by the military and shifted to interrogation cells in Quetta and then the interior Sindh. There he was tortured and must have died because he was never seen again. He vanished.

For years friends and family of Daas have tried to find his body, but to no avail. He remains ‘missing.’

A transformed Dalip Daas just before his arrest, torture and death.

After Daas’ disappearance, Rashid Rehman who was operating with Najam Sethi in Karachi went deeper underground.

In 1976, the 28-year-old Sethi’s cover was blown and he was picked up by the military and thrown into solitary confinement.

More than 5,000 Baloch men and women lost their lives in the war that ended when the PPP regime was toppled in a reactionary military coup in 1977.

Asad and Rashid Rehman remained underground till 1978 before departing for Kabul and then to London.

Ahmed Rashid also escaped to London.

Asad returned to Pakistan in 1980 before going back, this time to escape the right-wing dictatorship of Ziaul Haq.

He again returned to the country and became a passionate human rights activist and continued speaking for the rights of the Baloch till his death in 2013.

Asad Rehman in 2012. He passed away in 2013.

After his release in 1978, Najam Sethi became a successful publisher and progressive journalist. Today he is also known as a celebrated political analyst and a popular TV personality.

Najam Sethi in 2012. Today he is one of the leading liberal voices and political analysts on mainstream TV in Pakistan.

Ahmad Rashid travelled to England, became a journalist and then a highly respected

and best-selling political author and expert on the politics of Afghanistan and

Pakistan.

Ahmad Rashid in 2009.

Rashid Rehman returned to Pakistan from London and became a leading journalist and editor.

Rashid Rehman (second from left) in conversation with British author William Dalrymple (right) in 2012.

The conflict in Balochistan continues.

Now Najam Sethi was become a caretaker prime minister of Punjab with a some hidden deal with Pakistan Muslim League Leader Nawaz Sharief .

Hidden Deal of Nawaz Sharif and Najam Sethi is exposed In this video

http://www.zemtv.com/2013/06/23/hidden-deal-between-najam-sethi-nawaz-sharif-exposed/

during this period from 1969 to 2013, however Najam Sethi belongs to a middle class family he established a billions of dollors property.

Najam Sethi Rs 15,820,315 and Rs 3,803,923 were either concealed or under-declared in 210 and 2011 respectively

Investigations by tax authorities reveal that although noted TV anchorperson Najam Sethi filed his Income Tax returns for the tax years 2010 and 2011 yet he resorted to misdeclaration and concealment of his income.

For the year 2010 [period of receipts July 2009-June2010],

Mr Sethi (CNIC 3520230172081, National Tax Number 453890) received payments from the following payers:

National Communication, Hum Network, Century Publications, Kalaam Communication (Pvt) Ltd, and Media Times (Ltd).

He declared receipts from all sources (including exempt income) worth Rs 48, 924, 558. Tax to the tune of Rs 3, 065, 197 was deducted. However, according to investigations he received an amount of Rs 64, 823, 743 and the due tax amount was Rs 4, 488, 754.

For the year 2011 [period of receipts July 2010-June 2011], he received payments from the following payers:

National Communication, Hum Network, Media Times (Ltd), Beyond Borders Ltd, IGI Investments Bank Ltd, and TFT GT (Pvt) Ltd.

He declared receipts of Rs 33, 078, 596 and paid tax to the tune of Rs 8,449, 221. However, tax authorities have identified an income of Rs. 68, 186, 219 liable for a tax deduction to the tune of Rs 7, 102, 683.

While it is evident that Mr Sethi has concealed his income, he it seems has paid the tax he was supposed to pay if we consider tax deductions over a period of two years. However, a few caveats are in order here to appreciate his genius at twisting figures.

For the first, according to investigations he is guilty of concealing his real income. Official investigations reveal that Mr Sethi has received payments not merely in his personal capacity but as director beyond Borders (Pvt) Ltd (BBL). It came out that media houses while disbursing payments mentioned either Mr Sethi’s CNIC or National Tax Number but payments were shown to Beyond Borders. To unveil the mystery, the tax authorities conducted a thorough probe. The probe led to the following position:

Tax year     Total payments       On behalf of BBL     Najam Sethi’s receipts     Declared Receipts
2010          64, 823,743                31,719,500                    33,104, 243
                        48,924,558
2011              68,186,219            31,303,700                             33,078,596

In other words Rs 15,820,315 and Rs 3,803,923 were either concealed or under-declared in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Even in the case of BBL, tax authorities have found certain discrepancy. A probe into BBL income revealed the following position:

Tax year : 2010
Payments to BBL: 37,867,571
Payments to Najam Sethi on BBL’s behalf: 31,719,500
BBL’s total receipts: 69,587,071
BBL’s declared receipts : 30,289,500
Difference: 39,297,571
A similar pattern is found for the tax year 2011:
Tax year : 2011
Payments to BBL: 9,686,981
Payments to Najam Sethi on BBL’s behalf: 31,303,700
BBL’s total receipts: 40,990,681
BBL’s declared receipts : 22,709,500
Difference: 18,281,181

For the second, Najam Sethi has not declared any receipts from Geo/Jang Group even if he had joined country’s biggest media house by January 2011.

Thirdly, Najam Sethi has been working on ventures abroad. However, his declarations do not mention any foreign source of income. As resident individual, his foreign sources of income are also taxable in Pakistan.

Tax authorities are also verifying reports regarding two properties in his name in the USA. Documents in the possession of tax authorities show that Mr Sethi own own the following properties in the USA:

Unit 25E, Block 1171, 100 Riverside Boulevard, Manhattan (Single residential condo Unit).

Unit 5M, Block 1869 Lot 1336, 240 West 98^th Street, Manhattan (Single residential condo Unit).

The FBR sent a Show cause notice to Najam Sethi

 

And in Malik Riaz case Najam Sethi received

Najam Sethi Received 1 Crore and 94 Lakh rupees
- 1 Kanal Plot in Bahria Town Lahore
- 3 Fully Paid Trips to USA including hotel stays
Money Transferred From:
Muslim Commercial Bank
Main Boulevard DHA ,Lahore, Pakistan
Account Title: Bahria Town (Pvt) Limited
Account # : 14-7
Swift Code: MUCBPKKAA

                                                        

Written By:

Doctor Syed Hamood Ur Rehman