Cynthia Ritchie: if the people actually voiced their true opinions without fear I believe most of the dynasties would be kicked out

The first topic is about political corruption in Pakistan. In recent years, Pakistan's corruption problem has attracted more attention. Some senior Pakistani officials have been arrested for corruption, including former President Asif Ali Zardari, former President of Pakistan, and former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif. And Hakan Abasi.
 
- In fact, many countries have such problems, so what do you think of the corruption problem in Pakistan? Do you think Pakistan’s political corruption is serious today? Talk about your views based on work and life experience.
 
Cynthia Ritchie: Yes, many countries suffer from corruption. In my experience of living, working, traveling here since 2009, I would say corruption is rampant - widespread - and detrimental to Pakistan's progress. In fact, I have met the majority of Pakistan's political leaders over the years, and there are very few who I take as sincere and well-meaning as true leaders for the people.
 
- If so, why do people choose them as leaders?
 
Cynthia Ritchie: In my observation, there is a type of 'obsession' over someone for the people to look up to or admire - many people call them "leaders" when, in fact, they have done nothing more than plunder this country and its resources. It's a feudal mindset that was often used in British Colonial military tactics and strategies, and unfortunately carries over into Pakistan to this day. I don't believe the political Dynasties truly want a Democratic vote, if the people actually voiced their true opinions without fear, I believe the Dynasties would be kicked out of the political systems. The rural people here are farmers, textile workers, etc. - majority without formal education. However, they are not unwise. Votes are often 'bought' with a few thousand rupees; promises of jobs a few days before elections; or threats: I've seen crops flooded because certain constituencies did not vote for a specific party. Politics here is vicious and a constant game of life-or-death.
 
- That's too bad. If corruption is so bad, can people complain? Is there any organization responsible for this?
 
Cynthia Ritchie:  It's difficult to reverse-engineer two decades of corruption - especially for the current administration, PTI. But for the first time. Senate Elections, coming in March 2021, will not be by secret ballot, rather by an open show of hands. This greatly reduces the chances of voter cheating for Senate seats. This is a good starting point, as many of the current Senators made their way to the Senate - not really by vote - but rather by connections from years past.
 
However, much of the opposition WANTS Pakistan to stay ON Grey list of FATF as it benefits many who have been involved in money laundering. The Prime Minister is trying to conform to international financial laws/improve local financial regulation laws so the country gets off the Grey list.
 
- I also have a question, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has always insisted that there is no “political motivation” for any crackdown on corruption. Do you think Pakistan’s handling of corrupt officials is fair and equitable and does not contain any political goals?
 
Cynthia Ritchie:  I've known the Prime Minister since 2010. He is not a vengeful person, though he may be surrounded by those who are. I think the Prime Minister is more interested in trying to get Pakistan in functional order, to be a reliable partner to its neighbors. Keep in mind the previous administrations from PML-N to PPP tried to falsely accuse his first wife and imprison her when she was pregnant with their first child. The recently deceased Khadim Hussain Rizvi, founder of a hardline politico-religious organization, publicly requested his current wife to kill the Prime Minister. Rizvi came to notoriety when he supported Mumtaz Qadri, the bodyguard who assassinated Punjab Governor Salman Taseer for supporting a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, against Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. Yet after Rizvi died, the Prime Minister sent his condolences to the family which, in my opinion, was rather magnanimous – despite Rizvi’s hateful rhetoric. These political parties will manufacture anything just so they win. So it might be natural for the Prime Minister to see Karma take its course, but these corrupt officials are corrupt by their own means, and should be held accountable. Neither PPP nor PML-N will excessively prosecute one another as they are - essentially - the same kind of party, and they've always had a kind of brotherly relationship. And so they've formed a coalition - the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to try to over throw the current government. Under what law, or in what country, is overthrowing a government considered Democratic?
 
- Are there any laws against corruption in Pakistan today?
 
Cynthia Ritchie: Yes, there are many laws. Whether or not they are enforced is another story. For example, Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 from FIA (Federal Investigation Agency).

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During the interview, I told her that corruption in China is also very serious, but in recent years, anti-corruption efforts have been strengthened, so the situation has improved. We have a special website where people can complain. Then she told me that there are such portals in Pakistan, too, although she is not sure whether such a portal is effective or not. And I read another piece of news that said that in Pakistan, the NRO was the worst law ever passed to legalize mega-corruption in this country.All this shows that the problem of corruption in Pakistan is inevitable.
 
Then we started the second topic, about data leaks from banks.
 
- In 2018, it was revealed in Pakistan that bank security issues need to be improved. Reportedly, details of approximately 20,000 bank cards in Pakistan were sold. How did the relevant Pakistani authorities deal with this incident?
 
Cynthia Ritchie:  Not very well, in my opinion. I have detailed accounts of bank fraud going back to 2008 from various banks... MCB, HBL, etc... especially in HQ's of where some of these banks are located: Karachi and Lahore. Privatization of government owned banks in Pakistan was a primary reason behind the weak banking sector and as part of this policy. For the first time in 1991, two government owned banks of Pakistan Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) and Allied Bank Limited (ABL) were converted into private entities. HBL, with whom I bank, was privatized in 2004 and management control was handed over to the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED).
 
- Some people think it is the result of foreign hacking, some people say it is the information leaked by the major Banks in Pakistan, what do you think about it?
 
Cynthia Ritchie:  I believe this is controlled chaos. My information was purposefully leaked by HBL to political parties trying to falsely accuse me of money laundering, etc. There are generally many checks and balances to banking, and I find it extremely difficult to believe that 'foreign hacking' (without internal assistance) is solely to blame.I also have a very well-placed source in the PK government who tells me a large segment of the Armed forces are, within two quarters, withdrawing their accounts from HBL due to privacy concerns. HBL has been fined in New York City for serious violations and no longer operates in the USA.
 
- So in addition to personal information, do you have any financial loss? Is it true that many people have lost a lot of money as a result？
 
Cynthia Ritchie: My loss was privacy, the names of my family, my phone numbers, address, passport information, date of birth, and more... it was a financial and identity rape. And this happened to me much the same way 10 years ago... so I am going through this all over again. The PPP has stripped me of my visa, which means I can't work to earn money, bank, receive wire transfers, use my Pakistani cell, etc. It is intentional financial strangulation, so that I can't expose these criminal actions in court or internationally. The US and UK don't want me exposing Rehman Malik, who is largely responsible for this intimidation campaign, because RM provided a lot of information to both governments.
 
- How have people reacted to the bank information leak?
 
Cynthia Ritchie: PPP's former Prime Minister's sons, particularly Qasim Gillani, shared my information on twitter. Keep in mind, their father and former Prime Minister Yousaf Gillani, was charged by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in 2001 for causing a great financial loss to the national exchequer, convicted by an anti corruption court, and jailed for six years.  Sharing someone's personal banking data using an information system, as you know, breaks data privacy laws.The common people are outraged and very supportive of me privately, but they are terrified of speaking publicly because they know these mafias can harm them or their families.  The liberal media, and those who control it, try to contain the reality of what occurred. Because if the news gets out globally, it makes the UK, USA, and even a couple of other NATO countries look bad.
 
Additionally, my fiancé works for the army in a European NATO country in Europe. We were together here in Pakistan for two years. He never had any complaints from the Diplomatic corps or the local Intelligence Agencies, and he served his country well, as a soldier, for 25 years.Then his superiors recalled him suddenly because of the Rehman Malik Case. The PPP has tried to deport me, they’ve frozen my PK bank accounts, sent me rape and death threats, and used their influence to take away the only person in my life who I could count on for moral support - my fiancé. After years of abuse, June of this year, I finally went public with the rape. Then even more rape, death, kidnapping and blackmailing threats impacting me and my loved ones, came from this PPP political party, all of which my fiancé witnessed, so he provided a witness statement for the investigating agencies -police, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), etc - which he is allowed to do as a diplomat, as he witnessed serious crimes being committed. Soon afterwards, his HQ called him back for a meeting, only to be told his tenure in Pakistan would be cut short. Prior to my going public, my fiance had been offered a one year extension to his two year tenure in Pakistan. 

 

There are documents, that I have seen from well-placed sources, that links the Aga Khan to the CIA for decades. If these documents are real, and I believe them to be so, then that, for me, calls into question doing any kind of business with the AKDN or any of its banks or businesses around the world.
 
- In 2019, it was reported that about 70,000 bank card pin codes in Pakistan were leaked. After various information leakage incidents, after this incident, how did the people react? In real life, do people have a strong sense of protecting their own information privacy and security?
 
Cynthia Ritchie: Well the concept of privacy and security is largely unknown to a country of over 212+ million people who largely have no formal education, work in agrarian or textile sectors. And we're not even sure how accurate that population is since the last census was conducted in 2017, and there was some controversy surrounding that. If we don't have an accurate population count, how can we have an accurate voter population count? Plus the lack of formal education, much less financial education is pervasive. Pakistan is a young and developing nation; it should be noted that a large percentage of the population are youth - and the youth who are on social media have been very supportive of me.

 

Further, in the traditional family system, there is no concept of personal privacy - much less data privacy and laws - so teaching the importance of data privacy to a population who doesn't live or understand personal privacy, how can we expect them to understand and appreciate any kind of privacy? In general, or from another person's perspective?
 
The people who were upset over my bank leakages are those who are well-travelled, have some knowledge of banking systems, and support my film and advocacy work in Pakistan. The number of these individuals, who can afford the luxury of 'smart' phones and have knowledge of, and access to, social media, is relatively small compared to the much larger, rural population who may have a 'dumb' phone, but wouldn't be able to afford a 'smart' phone. Many don't know their basic human rights, much less have access to social media.

 

- The situation is too bad to imagine, and if so, it seems as if the majority of the population knows nothing about the creditworthiness of Banks？

 Cynthia Ritchie: Most have no idea. This is largely a cash society.
 
Cash is not an option but a necessity for a major chunk of the population. According to some reports, almost 100 million Pakistanis - almost half the population (many of whom are women) lack access to formal financial services. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/06/08/1-7-billion-adults-worldwide-do-not-have-access-to-a-bank-account-infographic/?sh=7e54381f4b01)   (https://globalfindex.worldbank.org/sites/globalfindex/files/chapters/2017%20Findex%20full%20report_chapter2.pdf)

 

 
Cynthia Ritchie:  I would not be surprised by this information. Leaks happen here all the time, I've experienced it first-hand. So-called journalists leaked my passport and travel information, and they got it from corrupt bureaucrats who've been working in the Ministry of Interior for years. I've even been the subject of fake news... claiming I was arrested / detained at the airport a couple of years ago - all of which was politically motivated. So this is a massively corrupt society that will take decades to reverse engineer. Unfortunately, the West has been complicit in enabling this corruption.