Former civil servant Roedad Khan, at an event commemorating the life of Syed Fida Hassan, highlighted establishment corruption and the impact it has had on Pakistani politics.

He was speaking at an event held to remember the life of the Indian Civil Service officer, at the Islamabad Club on Saturday. Hassan was the longest-serving Punjab chief secretary, and also served as an adviser to President Ayub Khan and ambassador to India under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. His book was also launched at the event.

Mr Khan argued that the bureaucrats who joined the service under ICS – introduced by the British empire – and the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) just after Pakistan came into existence, were more courageous and principled than their modern counterparts.

Mr Khan said civil servants used to have the courage to refuse presidents.

“When I was Sindh chief secretary, I got a call from the military secretary of Field Marshal Ayub Khan, and he said Mr Ayub’s nephew Mr Ashraf Khan wanted a plot in Karachi. I just listened to him and did not allot the plot,” he said, while recalling his professional experiences.

“After a few days, Mr Ayub visited Karachi and during an event he called me and said his nephew had faced a loss in the transport business so he wants a plot in Karachi to do something else. I told Mr Ayub the plot was already allocated to the national theatre so it would become a controversy if the plot was allotted and the only option was to auction the plot.

“Mr Ayub said he was not aware of this and didn’t say a word. However, today the whole of Karachi can be allotted on directions from such a powerful head of the state,” he said.

Discussing other civil servants, Mr Khan said that while Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the prime minister, he was called to 70 Clifton and introduced to an individual who owned a private bank and was facing liquidity problems.

“Mr Bhutto advised me to transfer the funds of the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) into that person’s bank. I came back to my office and called two KDA officers and asked if they can transfer funds to a private bank,” he recalled. “Both officers refused and said there were standing orders from the State Bank of Pakistan that funds cannot be deposited in private bank. I told them I also needed an excuse and would handle the situation.”

Mr Khan said that the situation had deteriorated with time, after about a dozen ICS officials were sacked by Ayub Khan, 300 by Yahya Khan and 1,400 by Bhutto.

“During Bhutto’s tenure a police officer came to my office and started crying. He said he never served as the Nawabshah superintendent of police, but he was sacked because his name was similar to that of an officer who worked in Nawabshah,” he said.

He said he informed the establishment secretary, who said he would discuss the matter with Bhutto.

“A few days later the secretary came to me and said Mr Bhutto says he couldn’t remember who was the Nawabshah SP and has suggested sacking the SP whose complexion is darker,” he said.

“Because of those practices, things have now become so bad that Gen Musharraf, who suspended the Constitution of Pakistan and the prime minister, went out of the country with the blessing of the prime minister and the court.”

He added: “Now GHQ decides when the elected government should be sacked and when democracy should be given a chance. When the prime minister should be allowed to live and when he should die. If Pakistan has to survive the civilian supremacy must be ensured.”

Hassan’s son, Ambassador Syed Azmat Hassan said his father played a vital role in the India-Pakistan relationship. Hassan’s daughter Anjum Niaz said he died in 1977, while working at the Pakistani embassy in India.

“He was writing a book and also wrote a diary, so we compiled them and published them in the form of one book,” Ms Niaz said.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2016

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