This is a picture of Prince Siraj Ul Mulk from Chitral who still lives loyally amongst his people and land trying to serve them selflessly. Pakistan’s age from 1947-2023( 76 years) brings her to almost 8 long decades of chequered history of retrogression in all spheres of our social, political and economic lives, once the British left the administration to the locals that instead of bringing betterment brought about the worst in governance based on exploitation and abuse of powers.
Sadly, with the abolition of the Princely States and dismantling of its administrative structures to pave the way for Pakistani administration to take over, all the more exposed the incompetence of the new rulers who were supposed to follow the rules when the very ones turned out to devise the ways and means to break them and bulldoze their way to self- aggrandisement.
Ever since, the worst happened when we began to fool ourselves with rhetorics and slogans of super patriotism, while in reality eating into the roots of the country like colonies of termites. The stolen wealth began to find way to off shore bank accounts with most of them find their own security in their dual nationalities making lives of the entire Pakistan unsecured and uncertain that makes both Pakistan Rulers , her land and people alien to each other, yet the tested rulers and the corrupt system of governance is put to test year after year by her people when in return continue to squeeze the last drop of blood from her people’s veins to choke her economy to death that nearly brought the country to her last breaths on the economic death bed with her burden of her heavy coffin to be carried by the same shoulders already over burdened with her liabilities to be paid through their blood that already fed the societal leeches under the fallacy of being their saviors as public servants when they turn out to be the wampires who suck their blood in broad daylight, while transfer their blood in the darkness to feed and fund foriegn economies and interests. .
The only reason that we have not progressed and will never progress in the words of the Prince is summarised as lesson of our downfall that neither those who are supposed to work do not work neither they allow others to work productively earn a honest living that brought the entire economy of a country that has her worth equivalent in weight that of her emerald, rubies and gold mines yet her citizens turned paupers and its rulers recognised as Internationally certified beggars.
Prince Siraj Ul Mulk writes, *(PAKISTAN HAS NO MONEY BECAUSE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ARE ROBBING BOTH THE GOVERNMENT AS WELL AS THE PUBLIC*.
As an elder of Chitral I enjoy the privilege of allowing people of my area to share their worries with me. It gives me immense satisfaction whenever I am able to play my part to shift some of their burden from their shoulders to mine.
Recently, many small business owners have come to me complaining that government officials are issuing them challans for non conformity of their businesses with government regulations. Even if such outdated regulations do not take into consideration the peculiarities of a remote and under development place like Chitral. My answer to them has been that it must be for improvements in their business standards and as long as such money is being paid into the government treasury there is really not much justification in complaining about it.
But that’s where I was wrong.
I now have reasons to believe that money from such challans are not being deposited in the government treasury. They are being pocketed.
I started my own private investigation by focusing on just one government department in Chitral called The Consumer Protection Council. I visited their office and took a video of their address board which I am sharing in this post. Is it not surprising that a department which is supposed to protect the health and well being of the public has not bothered to clean the filth around its own name plate and to repair water leaking from plastic pipes around it?
This department randomly goes around giving on the spot challans to retailers from shops to petrol pumps to restaurants, hotels etc. The penalty of such challans range from Rs 5000 to Rs 50,000 and is collected within a day or two. What happens to this money after it is collected is unclear. I went around such outlets and collected copies of such challans from them.
I then visited the District Accounts Office in Chitral to follow its trail. A friendly Accounts Officer told me that money from such challans are supposed to be deposited in the government treasury within days and that at the end of each month his office is required to send a reconciliatory statement showing the money deposited against each serialised challan.
I managed to get details of all such challans deposited during the period 1/7/2019 to 30/9/2022. During this period although six challan books had been used ( each challan book has 100 serially numbered vouchers) there were only 48 entries of money deposited which amounted to Rs 886000.
If all 600 vouchers had been deposited at an average value of just Rs 15000 per challan you can see the difference yourself. So where are the un deposited vouchers???
Next I went to find out more about the person heading this department. He turned out to be one Irfan Aziz who two years ago came as a senior clerk and was now an office assistant in grade 16 with ” extra charge of Assistant Director of Consumer Protection Council Chitral ” Meaning that now he was his own boss in Chitral. Its mostly in these ” extra charge” appointments that the hanky pankies occur.
The routine corruption that we hear about in our daily lives in
Pakistan is both difficult to detect as well as penalise because of the close cooperation between the giver and the taker. This one that I am talking about is neither difficult to detect nor difficult to penalise if just ONE honest government official is willing to break the long chain connecting the clerks to their ministers.
If this government is willing to make a start in its own ranks then I am willing to share my findings in front of any committee that it constitutes for this purpose.)