Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has lauded the parliamentary committee for highlighting the corruption of the Musharraf regime by investigating the stock market crashes.
In a statement on Sunday the former Prime Minister called for a forensic investigation into the manipulation of the stock market, which led to millions of middle class investors losing several hundred billion rupees.
The Chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party drew attention to the statement of the Pakistan's former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP) who indicated corruption in a white paper on the manipulation of the stock market.
She said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was abusing its office and squandering billions of rupees in a political witch-hunt while corruption flourished in the country and poverty increased with unemployed persons killing themselves for want of food.
The former Prime Minister said that the guilt of the Musharraf regime was evident for the failure to act when Dr Tariq Hassan Chairman SECP was removed for seeking to act against those connected to March 2005 stock exchange crash because they were close to the Musharraf regime.
Dr Tariq Hassan claimed he was removed from office for taking the decision to appoint forensic investigators to probe 11 high-profile brokers suspected for involvement in the Karachi Stock Exchange crash. He was speaking to a parliamentary committee. Dr Hassan claimed before the parliamentary committee that the brokers had access to the Prime Minister. In his letters he had mentioned the names of the Finance Minister Omar Ayub as well as the Prime Minister's Advisor on Privatisation Dr Salman Shah.
It may be noted that the corruption in the sale of Steel Mills at a throwaway price was stopped by the Supreme Court of Pakistan which noted omissions and commissions in its sale and that the rules and procedures were not properly followed. Despite the Supreme Court verdict, the NAB refused to arrest government members who were behind the sale as required by NAB law. The stock market manipulation scandal follows the accusations of corruption in the Steel Mills as well as manipulation of sugar prices by the sugar barons who are influential in the Musharraf regime.
Earlier the report of a major beating up a retired and elderly brigadier and his family because the child of a senior officer of the agency had fought with another child caused shock waves in the nation.
Despite the media reports on abuse of office and corruption in the Musharraf regime, no action has been taken against the elements identified. Earlier the Musharraf regime embraced members of the PPP accused of corruption when they switched sides. The Musharraf regime took no notice of the millions of dollars used to buy votes in the recently concluded Senate elections to stop Opposition candidates from being elected to the Senate. The stink of corruption in the Musharraf regime has led to widespread public dismay.
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