Lieutenant General (R) Abdul Qayyum Ex-Chairman Pakistan Steel Mills

Today, the CIA, the RAW and many others spy agencies are out to weaken the province and malign Pakistan army and the ISI.

Lieutenant General (R) Abdul Qayyum is a person of diverse talent and unrivalled administrative qualities. Besides having a decade’s worth experience in the Pakistan Army, he has also served as chairman for Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) at a time when it was in dire need of a person who could revive its lost glory. General Qayyum left no stone unturned to make this organization a real state asset. He has been, and still is, a man of principles. When the Musharraf government decided to privatize this profit-earning enterprise through some monkey business, he raised voice against it and ultimately resigned as he couldn’t see the tragic death of an institution, he has nurtured with complete devotion. The Supreme Court of Pakistan also vindicated his stance through a much-welcomed verdict against the privatization of PSM. In an exclusive interview with Jahangir’s World Times (JWT) he let his heart out on various issues faced by Pakistan nowadays.

Jahangir’s World Times (JWT): How do you look at your career in Pakistan Army?

Lt Gen (R) Abdul Qayyum (AQ): Well, I must say that my career has been very satisfying. I was commissioned in Pak Army in 1968 as Second Lieutenant, and retired as a 3-star General. This was possible only because of stimulating working environments, strict discipline and merit-oriented policies in Pakistan Army along with non-politicization of the institution. There was due appreciation, and rewards, for professionalism, dedication to duty and flawless personal character and aboveboard conduct. I would rather say that if I am given a second life, my first choice again will be the profession of arms.

Although I am a veteran of 1971 Indo-Pak war and have worked under two prime ministers as their military secretary, the most satisfying days in my career were when I not only made Pakistan Ordnance Factories a very dynamic and productive industrial complex but also founded institutions like Wah Medical College, Wah University, Wah Engineering College and Wah COMSATS Institute of Information Technology at Wah Cantt. Besides, historic financial turnaround of Pakistan Steel Mills also came when I was at the helm of PSM.

JWT: You have also served as the chairman of Pakistan Steel Mill (PSM). During your tenure, PSM made a lot of progress but is now in the doldrums. Is it because of corruption and mismanagement or the mill is being run by incompetent administration?

AQ: When I was the chairman of this enterprise, the PSM not only retired all its debts and neutralized all its accumulated losses; it also earned an eye-popping profit of Rs.18 billion in only two-year time. That was the year when for the very first time in the history of PSM, it deposited Rs. 16 billion in form of income and sales tax in the national exchequer.

Today, against a requirement of about eight million tonnes of steel in the country, PSM produces only 1.1 million tonnes notwithstanding the fact that it enjoys total monopoly over steel industry in Pakistan.

We have destroyed this national asset because of inept and corrupt leadership in country’s corridors of power. The appointment of inefficient and incompetent people ‘to induct their cronies, and gain political benefits ‘was like the last nail in the coffin of PSM. Moreover, political parties backed and promoted blackmailers and corrupt touts in the garb of union leaders, who virtually took the institution hostage and funnelled billions of rupees through unprecedented corruption.

JWT: Your relationship with Musharraf has been troubled mostly. Did it lead to your resignation?

AQ: General Musharraf was a competent and an adept military leader. He rose to the rank of a 4-star general due to his sheer hard work and skills. Nevertheless, his political ambitions proved to be his ‘hamartia’. He was totally apolitical mentally, yet opportunists in both military and political ranks exploited and misguided him.

He gave me the mandate to steer PSM out of the quagmire of huge financial losses and also to renovate the plant and upgrade its production capacity to nearly 3 million tonnes per year. I got huge success and achieved PSM’s historic financial turnaround. But, when this development process was in full swing, Gen Musharraf was advised by the Prime Minister to privatise the enterprise. I couldn’t bear this; in principle, I am not against privatisation but in this venture, my objections were on the way it was being privatized, and on the credenzas of the dummy parties who participated in the bidding. Even the reserve price for the mega industrial complex, which was fixed confidentially, was leaked to them. So, I resigned from my post in protest to this massive corruption. The case went to the Supreme Court, and in their verdict, all nine judges vindicated my stance.

The government should have addressed the Supreme Court’s observations before privatizing the PSM again, but, unfortunately, the government filed a reference against the CJ and sought to oust him. This shook the very foundations of Musharraf regime.

Coups can never be justified, but loot and plunder of the national exchequer by inefficient and dishonest politicians under the garb of democracy is also a despicable crime against the state.

JWT: How far would you hold Musharraf responsible for the present state of affairs in Pakistan?

AQ: It would be totally unfair if we single him out as responsible for the present mess, though he has a big share in aggravating the state of affairs. He had concocted the NRO and had put the prestige and honour of army at stake. Coups can never be justified, but loot and plunder of the national exchequer by inefficient and dishonest politicians under the garb of democracy is also a despicable crime against the state.

JWT: As a high-ranked ex-official of Pak Army, you must be privy to the causes of the Balochistan conundrum. Please share those with our readers. 

AQ: After the death of Quaid-i-Azam and unfortunate assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, none of the Pakistani leaders was of that towering stature. The lot available wasn’t able to counter the internal intrigues and combat external challenges to our national security. Resultantly, we lost East Pakistan and now Balochistan is also smouldering; leave alone the Karachi and the tribal belt. While local Sardars and chieftains were seldom in favour of better education and development in Balochistan, almost every party indulged in sale of their tickets for election to the parliament. Today, the CIA, the RAW and many others spy agencies are out to weaken the province and malign Pakistan army and the ISI. And, unfortunately, our defence on the political and diplomatic front has remained too naive and mediocre to counter their designs.

JWT: What strategic role can Pakistan play in the development of South Asian region?

AQ: Geographically, Pakistan is situated at a very important strategic location i.e. at the junction of South, Southeast and Central Asian regions. It is up to us how we utilize this leverage for our bigger strategic gains. We mustn’t make it a curse by weak diplomacy and poor governance as this may invite energy-hungry big powers who would work to gain only their strategic and economic interests. Pakistan can capitalize on this geographic advantage by resolving issues with India, improving ties with Afghanistan and putting its own house in order both at law and order and economic fronts.

JWT: It has been frequently observed that whenever peace between Pakistan and India seems imminent due to initiatives of civilian leadership, untoward incidents, like violation of LoC, start to happen. How would you comment on it?

AQ: Some forces in India don’t want better Indo-Pak ties because they hate Muslims and have yet not assimilated to the creation of Pakistan. Often times, they create problems at LoC which leave our forces with no option but to respond their aggression befittingly.

JWT: How do you see the inevitability of a military action to wipe out terrorists?

AQ: I believe terrorism cannot be eradicated only through military actions. We need to initiate steps in political, economic, social and legal fields and try to improve our intelligence networks along with ameliorating the police structure and bring the professionalism in. We also need to make amendments to our laws as well as reinvigorating the prosecution department. At the diplomatic level, we need to defuse external threats to severe the supply-lines from those who are financing the proxy war in Pakistan. Only zero tolerance for terrorism will send a strong signal.

JWT: How do you see the future of Pakistan?

AQ: Future of Pakistan is bright Insha Allah. We shall gradually get out of this rough patch in due course of time. We can do this quickly, if we play our political and diplomatic cards well and provide dynamic leadership at all levels. National unity, unwavering commitment to nationhood, supreme determination and perseverance along with hard work will help us succeed in achieving all our goals, especially of socioeconomic welfare of our people and gaining a respectful place for Pakistan in the world.