History Of Najam Sethi From Zero To Hero.
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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
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 : 2010Payments 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 98th 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
- 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
where is Pakistan government
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