The glut of conmen around

Shoaib Shaikh thought rather big, upstart like - think Silicon Valley dropouts - and wished to create wealth which if successful would have propelled him in the league of those who were already rich in this state of poor Pakistan.
That usually doesn’t happen unless you have a product in hand. His was a process of deceit and manipulation of the trust of those who themselves were in a similar frame of mind to find bigger affiliations through fraudulent affixations which could get them a better return in life than they were fully qualified for. It was a case of robbing those who were willing to be robbed; all in the name of being someone else and finding that all-important break from the chains of whatever held them back in life. The entire edifice of Project Rich was set up in thin air and all it produced was thin air. Ultimately the balloon burst like all projects that are without foundation, or those that simply rely on speculative trust.
Warren Buffet had paper to sell in companies he thought would become good; lucky for him, they did, and he made a name. He had an uncanny understanding of the economic scene, and could predict the trajectory of success. Along the way he got people on board who were willing to trust his judgement. His own company Hathaway Inc began as an investment company from a small-town office while he went door to door selling shares from the local exchange. He now has real companies which for the most part do very well making billionaires from ordinary people.
Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg had products that have propelled an industry. The Silicon Valley earns its reputation from these men who give it that golden touch where every start-up benefits from that cycle of growth. Bill Gates of course works from a different location. But each carries a product with his name.
Yet the balloon burst here due to overindulgence in a trade that became bigger than its real worth.
My word, I have seen some in my lifetime politicians, feudals, of all hues; businessmen seeking proximity to authority; defence equipment sellers and their agents waiting in line to shake a hand. In turn they wrangled benefits, mostly landed property that turned them into the Makhdooms, Khans, Maliks and the Zadas of this benighted land. The tradition and history of making big and rich in this land is long and depredating.
Even today, proximity to an influential is how many conmen still find avenues to means that are entirely disproportionate to their real worth. They steal, cheat, lie and sell junk to the state and make away with wealth. The list includes IPPs, RPPs, permits, licences, agencies and contracts from which have risen behemoths to dominate the who’s who list of the rich and the big. Just one contract, they say, and their three generations will live off it in stolen and contrived luxury. Real estate has created many a tycoon. Some persist in their trade even after their first big break while others branch off into politics. They then use their position to create more wealth on the basis of political clout.
Politics is business. But that is universally true. The Clinton Global Initiative in the US has such fascinating stories to it; it reminds me of Pakistan and for that moment shame holds no meaning. The oil-rich Bushes with friends in the rights sheikhdoms have a new contender ready, though at present he is faltering badly. Shoaib Shaikh is a novice in comparison. He is also a pretender; not the real stuff with familial linkages. And he did not plan to share his spoils. That doesn’t work here.
It is not only politicians. When I was in the air force and held a central position to decide what got inducted, there was invariably a letter every two weeks from the highest office in the land asking us to buy certain equipment from another nation. Neither of relevance, nor in the list of possible technologies because of it having gone redundant, we simply could not convince ourselves of enabling someone’s palm being greased on the basis of this junk. A response thus went out every time, politely, refusing to do so on grounds of operational and technological irrelevance. I was invited into a four-star’s office to be told of the power of the chair that he sat on. The air force chief was dressed down by the highest authority for not complying with the directive on the complaint of the CEO of a foreign company. We did not relent.
The junk was bought, sadly, in the end. But not because of authority, but by manipulating events. Those inhibiting the purchase(s) – yes, there was more – were force-retired as soon as the new chief took over. Along with some other directives that he was to comply with, and which unfortunately the air force still rues, buying the junk was the top of the list. He bought some more, and more became rich. They are still figuring out what to do with the equipment. This and many such instances go unabated in this unfortunate land. Power is used to influence decisions regardless of where you sit. If you stand in the way, you are swept away.
Of the charlatans: they are not only richer by multitudes far beyond their real worth, they remain sly, and continue to peddle influence from the outside, pontificating on moral platitudes in policy, business and strategy to national and international audiences. This is a saga worth unravelling one day. That is why Ayaan Ali has no fears because there are already crooks of her ilk who strut about fearlessly and shamelessly.
Frustration and depression are pervasive in our society because unstinted corruption goes on by the few at the top, while the foundations of this nation rust at the core. The state survives but the nation crumbles. There are different responses by hapless people. Some find escape in religion and ideological waywardness, falling for even greater manipulations when they commit to wearing suicide belts and kill for joy; others simply seek even greater dalliance around the power of crime and outright chicanery. Power, regardless from where it derives, holds sway. Going by what one saw on the telly, Shoaib is smart, and if he survives he will go at it again. His types too are plenty, which has little to do with the strata to which one belongs. To them this is simply a way of life.
It is useless to lament now on what got us here, and whether a turn-around is possible, but important to recognise that when nations crumble, states disappear. That is the lesson of history. In the meanwhile, there is a glut of conmen around.
The writer is a retired air-vice marshal, former ambassador and a security and political analyst.
Email: shhzdchdhry@yahoo.com