Corruption and terrorism,
by Farrukh Saleem
First things first. On April 21, General Raheel Sharif broke the
status quo on corruption. On March 11 2015, General Raheel Sharif broke the
status quo on Karachi. On June 15 2014, General Raheel Sharif broke the status
quo on North Waziristan. Imagine, a victorious general with no lust for power
and a squeaky clean reputation has now thrown down the gauntlet. On April 22,
the PM, walking on thin ice, responded: One, no one can give me lessons on
morality. Two, accountability should begin from 1947. Three, the masses should
hold Imran Khan liable. Four, the army is also culpable. Five, the media is
being nonchalant.
Now the topic of the
day. Corruption and terrorism are interlinked. According to the
secretary-general of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), “corruption….facilitates terrorism” and “corruption hampers
countries’ ability to fight terrorism”.
On April 14, Admiral (r)
John Kirby, spokesperson of the US Department of State, was asked: “Sir, the
political parties in Pakistan have launched a campaign against PM Sharif to
resign after the accusations of corruption in [the] Panama Papers....will the
US support the democratic elected PM of Pakistan, or [do] you want to see the
corrupt leader go home?” Reply: “The secretary has been very clear about the
dangers of corruption...and what that does to fuel extremism and to increase
economic instability…. So corruption is something we obviously take very
seriously……”
On April 19, General
Raheel Sharif said, there “cannot be…enduring peace and stability unless the
menace of corruption is not uprooted. Therefore, across-the-board
accountability is necessary for the solidarity, integrity and prosperity of
Pakistan.”
According to Ashraf
Rifi, minister of justice of Lebanon and president of the Arab network for
strengthening the integrity and the fight against corruption, “Terrorists
benefit from corruption and promote it in order to finance their activities…..
Terrorism and corruption are feeding each other.”
According to the
secretary-general of the OECD, “Identifying connections between corruption and
terrorism and the means to break them is crucial to fighting terrorism.” The
secretary-general continues that there are four connections between corruption
and terrorism. One, corruption helps terrorist funding. Two, corruption
facilitates terrorist attacks. Three, corruption and terrorism financing share
methods to hide money. Four, corruption and poor governance undermine the fight
against terrorism.
The OECD, in its
analysis on offshore companies, says: “Traffickers, corrupt politicians, and
terrorists need ways to raise, move, conceal and spend money. One of their main
means is the use of anonymous ‘shell companies’. Security experts and law
enforcement officials all agree that shell companies, or other forms of legal
entities like trusts, pose a threat to national security... and can be ideal
vehicles for terrorist financing.”
How does corruption
hamper a country’s ability to fight terrorism? According to the OECD, “State
institutions weakened by engrained and deep-seated corruption are not only less
effective in fighting terrorism but are also vulnerable to exploitation by
terrorist groups. Corruption in institutions such as the army, the police and
the judiciary and in the defense sector is of great concern...”
How does corruption
facilitate terrorism? According to the OECD, “Terrorist groups may seek funding
through crimes out of financial necessity or because the potential profits
associated with the criminal activity are too attractive to ignore. Terrorist
may also be involved in some forms of criminal activities not only as a source
of financing but also for logistics purposes in the context of terrorist
attacks.”
How does corruption
contribute to terrorist financing? According to the OECD, “Although awareness
of corruption, organized crime and terrorist financing has been growing in
recent years, the linkages and resonances between these three forms of
behaviour may not be sufficiently acknowledged.”
The
secretary-general concludes: One, corruption is a national security threat. Two, criminals and
terrorists use similar tactics to reach their separate operational objectives.
Three, the fact is that like criminal organisations, terrorists also engage in
a range of activities that are greatly facilitated by corruption. Four,
corruption is the ‘enabling technology’ that makes many terrorist crimes
possible.
The writer is a
columnist based in Islamabad. Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com
Twitter: @saleemfarrukh
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