Towers of enlightenment…with stolen electricity – by Nadeem Khan
TOWERS OF ENLIGHTENMENT ……‘with stolen electricity’, I better say.
Electricity stealing is a norm and as stated earlier our mullah community is far ahead of these political hoodlums in matters related to stealing. They use stolen electricity in their religious festivities, especially on ‘Milads‘ under the license of religion.
Power stealing is a cancer and is spreading. According to an estimate, 30% of our generated electricity is being stolen, out of which almost 18% is being stolen by industries, small and large, one way or another.
Pakistan has the electricity generating capacity around 20000 MW and almost 6000MW goes out unpaid. These were the figures of NEPRA and WAPDA in 2007 ~ 2008. World bank issued a warning to Pakistan a few years back to enhance the power generation capacity up to 24000 MW till mid 2010 to keep an equilibrium between development and production, otherwise the wheel of development is bound to take a reverse turn. Worse is yet to come, very very shortly.
Common stealing to complex crimes and back to common stealing with complex crimes, a vicious circle
The self confidence of a thief increases with the support he gets from the public with drained out brains and silence of the lamb (‘the public lamb’), knowingly and willfully. From importing scraps / raw materials under government’s legal cover by issuing particular industry specific directives (SROs) from the ministry directly to the historic voyage of stealing electricity shows a pattern of fearlessness leading to their own political suicide.
Money laundering too is far more complex but nothing is hidden now and has been discussed many times all over. Putting a lid on the Pandora’s box and by just saying that a decade of imprisonment or exile has acted as an ablution or acquittal won’t help any more.
When bigwigs conduct crime and big money or interests are involved, procedure follow very complex technical path, often falling under the category of ORGANIZED CRIME.
Organized crime is considered as the most sophisticated actions performed that leaves no trail of getting caught, even hard to detect and only the suspicion can’t hold any one accountable. They keep on getting the respect and sympathy cover under the clause of ‘doubts or false allegations until proven guilty’.
Under current circumstances, at least some of the corruption ‘allegations’ on all parties may be referring to their organized crimes. To track them down is a very lengthy, hectic and costly task, as experienced in last decades by NAB, when billions of rupees were spent and nothing concrete was proven yet and we are again planning to give every body the benefit of doubt to ride on our back.
Back to square one.
Financial organized crimes can not be done alone, but need a legion of accomplices, cronies, trusted fellow ministers or generals, and like minded willing bureaucracy. Really costly, experienced lawyers as legal and financial consultants are hired. Firms or their hired consultants are also responsible for filing the politician’s wealth tax and income tax returns and ……walla…. we see every day, that by magic, Mr. A has got the worth of only few million rupees, rather the poor soul is indebted to his son, Mr. B has only a small bunch of some million wealth with a huge multi-billion dollar palace in possession, Mr. C has got a small handful where as he travels in a Mercedes and spends million in processions. More fun is seen when every crony of each of the above maintains an absolute denial on media as to the acts of theirs or their leadership.
There is at least one crime, we too are involved in. Becoming an accomplice of all (or any one) of the above ‘dear leaders’ and keep favoring them and repeatedly bringing them back by votes, knowingly and willfully. Just by using some very typical words, Pro and Anti, we quench our thirst for politics. Either we have no choice or we are much blinded by the SICK FAVORITISM , RACISM, REGIONALISM, ABSOLUTE DENIAL TO HEAR ANY THING CONTRARY TO OUR ABOVE ADAMANT BELIEFS, ROCK HARD EGOS or may be for some clandestine interests that we had or have, yet again.
Our corrupt leaders and electricity stealers will vehemently keep on masquerading behind their saga of long sacrifices in front of us and this is how they will survive. Surely we are not that ‘momin’ who cannot be bitten twice from the same hole; oh yes, we can be bitten as many times as we like as long as we have the capacity to create a society as above. So be it.