By Any Measure, Illicit Financial Flows Pose a Devastating Challenge to Developing Countries and Human Lives Thomas Pogge—Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs at Yale University, Director of the Global Justice Program, President of Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP), and member of the Board of Directors of Global Financial Integrity (GFI)—has estimated that 18 million people die each year of economic deprivation and causes stemming therefrom. His calculation is based in good part upon estimating the number of people dying from preventable diseases. GFI estimates that US$1 trillion a year of illicit financial flows drains from developing countries into western accounts. Our estimate is based on balance of payments and balance of trade data filed by governments with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the same data that is used by millions of people every day in making decisions about investments, loans, interest rates, exchange rates, and more. We believe that our data is very conservative because it does not include major components of illicit outflows, which do not show up in official statistics. 18 million people dying a year is around 50,000 people a day. US$1 trillion a year is roughly US$3 billion a day. On this day, how many of the 50,000 people will live, if the US$3 billion stays home? This is the most fundamental way of thinking about the human and economic relationships with which we are dealing. And note—this is the key point—that the importance of dealing with this relationship does not change if: the number of people dying is halved and the money escaping is halved (25,000 deaths per day with a daily illicit outflow of US$1.5 billion); or in each case the figures are doubled (100,000 deaths per day with a daily illicit outflow of US$6 billion); or one is halved and the other is doubled (the numbers are still huge). What is important here is the order of magnitude. Any way you cut it, we are dealing with an enormous drainage of...

The closer you want to get to eradicating the menace of terrorism, the bigger this menace seems to get. For the past week, following the attack in Peshawar, our leaders, both in Khaki and Mufti, have deliberated and deliberated. But this piece is not about them and the solutions they might come up with. It is about the sociology of the mindset that either justifies or rationalises terrorism, or impedes tangible action against it. It is about the failure of the state and the society to come up with a narrative that can defeat the terrorists. Terrorists of all hues — Al Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and its countless affiliates, Afghan Taliban and its affiliates like the Haqqani network, India-focused terror groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and sectarian terror groups like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi — use two weapons: incredible hatred towards their victims and a narrative to convince and recruit new supporters to the cause. This narrative of victimhood, denial and conspiracy theories can easily be deconstructed and dismantled. But what with the rising anger in the country, fracturing of the society and the general iffiness of the times we live in, no one has done anything substantial about the issue despite harping on about it at great length. After 9/11, the United States knew whom to blame and the nation’s anger was projected outwards. After 7/7, the United Kingdom knew whom to blame, and the country was able to vent its anger. After Mumbai attack, India too, vented its anger on Pakistan and somehow managed to cool off. In Pakistan, though, where the state had pandered to extremist inclinations for long, at the time of 9/11 there was a dictator in place, whose rise to fame and then power owed a lot to the Kargil debacle. When General Musharraf decided to take a U-turn in his Afghan/Taliban policy, he gave his people the wrong reasons for doing so. Instead of telling them that extremism of all kinds is bad for the country; that it can easily turn against the country's own...

Following a  ten-hour  marathon meeting of the civilian and military leadership on Wednesday, Dec 24, 2014, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif  told the nation in a midnight televised address that the battle lines were drawn between terrorists  and those opposed to it. He termed it a "defining moment" for the country in the fight against terrorism. “A line has been drawn. On one side are coward terrorists and on the side stands the whole nation,” Sharif said, while unveiling the 20-point National Action Plan (NAP) that envisages establishment of special courts for speedy trial of terror suspects and a crackdown on al-Qaeda-linked jihadi and sectarian outfits. “The Peshawar atrocity has changed Pakistan. We need to eradicate the mindset of terrorism to defeat extremism and sectarianism,” he said. “This horrendous attack has shaken the nation as the terrorists attacked the future of this country.” The meeting had been convened to the context of the December 16 Peshawar Army Public School attack by radical TTP militants, which left 141 students and teachers dead. The incident, called by many as Pakistan's 9/11, triggered a massive response by the political leadership and the entire military establishment culminating in the NAP. The tragic event at Peshawar also forced Imran Khan, the head of the rival political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to end his 126-day sit-in protest against Sharif's ruling party the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N). PTI and other parties reluctantly agreed to the establishment of special military-led courts for a limited period of two years, underlining the need for a sustained, comprehensive long-term counter-terrorism strategy. They also consented to a drive to formally register some 20,000 religious seminaries being run by various religious groups and rightwing political parties. In his address Prime Minister Sharif reiterated that the execution of convicted terrorists will continue. A day after the Peshawar tragedy, which...

Following a  ten-hour  marathon meeting of the civilian and military leadership on Wednesday, Dec 24, 2014, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif  told the nation in a midnight televised address that the battle lines were drawn between terrorists  and those opposed to it. He termed it a "defining moment" for the country in the fight against terrorism. “A line has been drawn. On one side are coward terrorists and on the side stands the whole nation,” Sharif said, while unveiling the 20-point National Action Plan (NAP) that envisages establishment of special courts for speedy trial of terror suspects and a crackdown on al-Qaeda-linked jihadi and sectarian outfits. “The Peshawar atrocity has changed Pakistan. We need to eradicate the mindset of terrorism to defeat extremism and sectarianism,” he said. “This horrendous attack has shaken the nation as the terrorists attacked the future of this country.” The meeting had been convened to the context of the December 16 Peshawar Army Public School attack by radical TTP militants, which left 141 students and teachers dead. The incident, called by many as Pakistan's 9/11, triggered a massive response by the political leadership and the entire military establishment culminating in the NAP. The tragic event at Peshawar also forced Imran Khan, the head of the rival political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to end his 126-day sit-in protest against Sharif's ruling party the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N). PTI and other parties reluctantly agreed to the establishment of special military-led courts for a limited period of two years, underlining the need for a sustained, comprehensive long-term counter-terrorism strategy. They also consented to a drive to formally register some 20,000 religious seminaries being run by various religious groups and rightwing political parties. In his address Prime Minister Sharif reiterated that the execution of convicted terrorists will continue. A day after the Peshawar tragedy, which...

Executed man cleared of rape and murder A court in northern China cleared a man on Monday of the rape and murder of a woman in a public toilet 18 years after he was executed for the crimes. Inner Mongolia High People's Court overturned the conviction of Hugjiltu, who was 18 when he was sentenced to death and executed for the crimes. Zhao Jianping, vice-president of the court, arrived at Hugjiltu's home with a retrial judgment at 8:30 am on Monday, apologizing for the mistake and announcing that the executed man was innocent. Giving 30,000 yuan ($4,500) to the family, Zhao promised them that further compensation will be provided. Shang Aiyun, Hugjiltu's mother, wept and hugged her husband, saying the judgment is the culmination of her efforts to appeal over the past decade. Miao Li, a lawyer representing the family, said an application will be made for state compensation as soon as possible, but added that an exact figure cannot be confirmed at present. Hugjiltu, a member of the Mongolian ethnic group, was convicted of raping and fatally choking a woman in a toilet at a textile factory in Hohhot, capital of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on April 9, 1996. He was executed 61 days later. But the case triggered controversy when Zhao Zhihong confessed to the murder after he was arrested in 2005. The high people's court decided to retry the case on Nov 20. Court spokesman Li Shengchen said at a news conference on Monday that there were unclear facts and insufficient evidence in the initial verdict that convicted Hugjiltu of homicide. But whether Zhao committed the murder will depend on investigations into his case, Li said. He added that the local government has set up a group to find out where the mistake was made and where to apportion blame. "Problematical judicial officers must be called to account, and we'll disclose related information quickly," he said. The local public security authority confirmed that an investigation is underway and said it will target...