TI report on corruption lauds Indian SC, criticises Pak army

New York, June 27 (PTI) - An independent group has praised
Indian Supreme Court for its efforts to fight corruption in
government and political life but strongly criticised the
Pakistani military for perpetuating corruption and flouting
law for "grabbing land and companies" for its officers.

"The Supreme Court takes corruption seriously in both
the general and political domains. Political corruption is not
confined to monetary considerations but extends to making
false promises to secure votes, helping colleagues, conflicts
of interest and manipulating law to help interested parties,"
the report by Transparency International (TI) says.

The apex court also brings the issue of corruption into
its judgments, it says.

It particularly refers to more than 300 laws placed in
the "ninth schedule" to grant immunity from being tested in
the courts. But the Supreme Court, it says approvingly, did
away with immunity by observing that since the basic structure
of the Constitution includes some of the fundamental rights,
any law granted ninth schedule deserves to be tested against
these principles.

Referring to Pakistan, the report says that the share
military controls was a "carefully guarded secret" until July
last year when Ayesha Siddiqa, a civil servant who worked in
defence accounting, published her book.

According to her, full generals enjoy individual wealth
of USD 8.3 million and President Pervez Musharraf has
"converted USD 690,000 of army granted farmland into USD 10.3
million moveable assets," it says and accuses military of
"grabbing" land and companies.

Pointing out the military has held power for most of the
60 years of the Pakistan's existence, it says it is not
surprising that arms procurement has provided a flourishing
channel for corruption as "it also has in India and Sri
Lanka."

But the report on global corruption on Wednesday says
what is less well-known is the "inroads" made by the military
into "civilian" sectors of Pakistan's economy, including land,
construction, property, manufacture, fertilizers, manufacture,
road-building, health, education, insurance and banking.

The Pakistani military's interest in civilian sectors,
the report says, are held by charitable foundations set up in
the colonial era to look after the retired members of the
armed forces, particularly the officers' class.

The wealthiest, it says, is the Fauji Foundation (FF) –
the country's largest corporation with a turnover of USD 500
million in 2001 as well as the country's largest landowner.

Askari Bank, owned by the Army Welfare Trust, is the
country's most successful bank and the trust also has
interests in farming, milling, insurance and retail, it says.

The Shaheen Foundation, run by Air Force, specializes in
aviation-related services including owning the country's
second largest airline, Shaheen Air, aviation maintenance and
in-flight catering, it says.

Besides, the Foundation also has interest in commercial
property, television and radio, and computer technology and
National Logistic Cell, the army's transport fleet, enjoys a
near monopoly on all large haulage contracts, it adds.

The army also houses "defence colonies" which provide
officers with prime housing at "peppercorn" prices and
acquires farmland for cultivation by ex-servicemen," it says.

"Since President Pervez Musharraf came to power by coup
in 1999, the military has extended its economic reach through
appointment of 92 senior officers to key posts in public
sector, diplomatic service and leading utilities, providing
further scope for illegal enrichment," the report says.

"So much has been grabbed by the military that it will
take years to just catalogue it," the report quotes Lord
Patten, former European Union Commissioner for external
relations, as writing in 2006.