The Parliament Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to asked the NAB, the FIA and the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) to probe and submit a report on 3 billion dollars loan issued to 620 borrowers during the PTI tenure. According to the reports, during the in-camera session the PAC was informed that on April 19, 2021, the Central Banks issued loans totalling $3 billion to 620 borrowers/businessmen at a three to five percent interest rate. While the Chairman PAC claimed that the loan was given at a zero-interest rate for ten years. During the previous hearing at the PAC, the State Bank declined to reveal the names of 620 consumers who received zero-interest loans totaling $3 billion from the Central Bank. Interestingly, Secretary Finance supported the State Bank’s stance and told the PAC that under the 1956 Act, the Central Bank has the authority to launch such re-finance schemes. The Secretary Finance further endorsed the governor State Bank’s decision that all information exchanged between the bank and customers were kept secret and could not be shared with anyone including the Parliament/ Public Representatives at the PAC.
An interesting and highly deplorable situation has emerged in the country which currently faces servere risks of economic default due to incapacity to pay foreign debt while Country’s Central Bank and Finance Ministey claim impunity/ exemption from scrutiny and accountability. It was a living example of institutional corruption/ misconduct during which mafias interest completely align with Bureaucracy so that Esa supports Musa and both come to rescue each others. Realistically, the State Bank acts as Financial Regulator and implement rules and regulations to enhance transpracy, curb corruption and remove malpractices in financial and banking sectors but in our country it looks that the watchdog has compliced with the law abusers and trying to coverup corruption at the cost of it’s prestige and credibility. Meanwhile, the level of the febliness and impotence of the Public Representatives and the parliament was that the government institutions refused to furnish report on the subject matter to the elected leadership in the country. In fact, $3 billion is a huge money that constitute about 900 billion rupee in local currency while a single penny is more crucial for a dying economy like Pakistan whose leaders totally submitted to the IMF to unlock $1.2 billion tranche from the global lender.
According to the reports the previous government has imbursed a bulk of money to local businesses during the COVID 19 pandemic to avoid disastrous effects of pandemic driven economic meltdown in the world. If that loan program was under the previous government COVID 19 Counter Pandemic strategy than why the State Bank and Finance Ministry was hiding the statistics and refused to share details of the beneficiaries of that plan, under which the federal government provided massive economic relief to multiple sectors under National Economic Recovery Plan to counter worst economic impact of the pandemic. In fact, it is the primary responsibility of the national institutions to keep their track straight and transparent which is the essence of national service and fundamental need of fiscal transparency in any nation.
Currently, the PAC has taken up the case of alleged corruption of $3 billion in loan to 620 individuals or business entities and asked for a joint probe by the Superior Intelligence agencies and anti-money laundering watchdogs while the Auditor General was also tasked to unearth the facts behind this alleged mega corruption scam or otherwise. The Ministry of Finance and the State Bank should also cooperate with the Public Account Committee (PAC) because nothing is supreme than national interest and the Public representative have the authority to oversee the work of government servants while the bureaucrat baboos can’t supercedes the public leaders.
At the same time, the politicians sitting in Public Accounts Committee must not politicize any scheme which had been launched with good intent in those dire situations and should act apolitical and on merit. The sloganeering of corruption is an easy and most popular tact of the public leaders but it’s proof is difficult and nerve testing. Apparently, the truth behind the $3 billion loans and the names of over 600 lucky individuals will finally be exposed to the public. Hence, this scandal unveiled Pakistan’s institutional flaws and bureaucracy misdemeanors which led the nation to this day.
