Hamid Gul, Uzma Gul, Varan Bus Service and the Transport Jihad
How
honest is General Hamid Gul, the saviour of Pakistan, the guardian of jihadis
and the Taliban?
Uzma Gul, the daughter of former ISI chief
General Hamid Gul, runs a transport company called Varan Bus Service in
Rawalpindi and Islamabad and has, through her strong connections with the
establishment, got monopoly in bus services in some areas in violation of the
Constitution of Pakistan. 10 or 11 army generals are the shareholders in her
company. She started the Varan Tours with millions of rupees loaned to her and
her husband by the Askari bank and now she has a fleet of buses running from
Rawalpindi to Taxila. Varan Bus Service is owned by the daughter of the former
ISI chief, General Hameed Gul, now the most right wing spokesman of Islamic
fundamentalists of Pakistan. His politics of course started after he had secured
the financial and economic interests and for his family, using his General’s
uniform as the password.
Apart from her transport business, she runs her
export and import business of pharmaceuticals, wool and
beverages.
Her company is so powerful that event the traffic
is afraid of challenging its operators over traffic law violations. The buses
run by her had killed 17 people in the past four years. Once she was also
arrested and put behind bars by military police but her powerful father got her
out.
Uzma Gul and her father Hamid
Gul do not leave any opportunity to acquire land or business opportunity.
According to Daily Pakistan, although the daughter of the ex-ISI chief Hameed
Gul claimed that he had only two squares of land, the paper referred to an
investigative report which gave proof that he had acquired 15 squares of land
along the Indian border at a time when he was serving as a major. He ousted a
number of farmers from their land who then moved the High Court. When the court
decided the matter in his favour by the year 1986 he had become corps commander
and was well on his way to becoming the ISI chief and many plaintiffs had begun
to stand down.
Other headlines:
PPPP warns against Varan
‘monopoly’
They accused the government of
pushing hundreds of poor transporters to starvation
Hameed Gul's daughter speaks
out!
Uzma Gul the
transporter
Hameed Gul's acquired
land
How honest is General Hamid Gul,
the saviour of Pakistan, the guardian of jihadis and the
Taliban?
Varan Bus Service was
established with millions of rupees loaned to the daughter and son-in-law of a
former ISI chief, General Hameed Gul, now the most right wing spokesman of
Islamic fundamentalists of Pakistan. His politics of course started after he had
secured the financial and economic interests and for his family, using his
General’s uniform as the password.
Here is the story which tells
numerous tales of how the Generals would not let any business opportunity slip
by. Despite the ideological rhetoric and slogan mongering, facts in this story
will shake up readers:
"Situated in and around the
federal capital, the Rawalpindi/Islamabad district is politically critical
because of its proximity to the heart of all government operations. Last summer
the CMKP began to reorganize its wing in the area, placing special emphasis on
attracting working class youth to the party ranks.
Among other issues, cadres began
efforts to develop political consciousness in workers in the Varan city bus
service. These efforts have resulted in increased police surveillance and
repression of the party and its supporters. This is how the struggle of CMKP
started in the district of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
Varan city bus service is a
private company that provides urban bus transport in the twin cities of
Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The company is headed by politically powerful
shareholders who enjoy very strong connections with the establishment. Its
owner, Uzma Gul, is the daughter of the former Director General of the ISI
(Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence Agency), Hameed Gul, who some people
might remember as the man who headed the anti-communist campaign in Afghanistan,
and as a major patron of all right-wing groups in Pakistan.
In addition, 10 or 11 Army
Generals are also shareholders in the company. Using its connections as
leverage, Varan has acquired special concessions from the Pakistan Government.
For example, it has exclusive public transport rights within the city. No other
transport company is allowed to operate within city limits, giving Varan a
monopoly over transport in certain areas. This company is so powerful that even
the Traffic Police is afraid of challenging its operators over traffic law
violations.
[Reference: The Generals'
Monopoly Bus Service Faces a Rough Route in Islamabad By M T
Butt]
http://www.satribune.com/archives/200502/P1_varan.htm
Source: Asia Times Online:
http://forum.atimes.com/post.asp?
Uzma Gul, daughter of Lt. Gen
(R) Hamid Gul, is the CEO of the renowned (or notorious?) urban bus service ,
Varan Tours, in the twin cities of Rawalpindi-Islamabad.
Born on 16 August 1964 in
Quetta, Uzma Gul used to be a very naughty, restless and hyperactive child and
the word 'tomboy' would best describe her exuberant childhood. She spent her
childhood all over Pakistan due to her father's postings and had to frequently
change schools. On this she says "I'm a child from everywhere and yet nowhere".
She has fond memories of her childhood especially the time that she spent on her
father's postings in Jhelum and Multan. Uzma Gul completed her intermediate from
CB College Rawalpindi after which she immediately got married to her cousin.
During her married life she completed her graduation from Punjab
University.
In 1991, Uzma Gul started an
intercity bus company by the name of Varan Tours from Sargodha to Rawalpindi. As
time passed on she also ventured into the business of import and export, mainly
pharmaceuticals, wool and beverages
Uzma Gul (in her own words)
draws inspiration from Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Mahatir Mohammad, Hugo Chavez,
Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, and her own father.
She enjoys listening to music.
Some of her favorites are K.L. Sehgal, Khurshid Begum, Fareeda Khanum, Kanan
Bala and Iqbal Bano. Among the new ones, she admires Atif Aslam, Ahmed Jahanzeb
and Jal.
She is a good swimmer and fond
of water sports. She enjoys watching tennis. Her favourite tennis players are
Rafael Nadal, Justine Henin and Maria Sharapova.
She is a pet lover and very fond
of cats. She is a passionate environmentalist and has an avid interest in
organic farming.
Uzma Gul is the eldest of four.
She has two brothers and a sister (late). Her husband was a fighter pilot in the
PAF and is now her business partner as well.
Source:
http://www.pakistanileaders.com.pk/profilesdetail.php?id=630
PPPP warns against Varan
‘monopoly’
ISLAMABAD Pakistan People’s
Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) threatened nationwide protests on Tuesday if the
government continued to allow Varan Tour buses, a private transport company, to
monopolise routes in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
PPPP parliamentarians Raja
Pervez Ashraf, Zamurd Khan, Chaudhry Qamaruzza-man Kaira, Sherry Rehman,
Farhatullah Babar and Enver Baig alleged at a press conference that the
government was favouring the company because it was run by Uzma Gul, daughter of
General (r) Hamid Gul.
They said the Constitution
barred awarding monopolies to individuals. They also condemned the government
for registering two cases under the anti terrorist act against Mr Khan for
leading transporters in rallies against the company. They said Mr Khan was
accused of burning two Varan buses, but the incident had helped the company
because the buses were insured.
They accused the government of
pushing hundreds of poor transporters to starvation.
“General Musharraf has taken
absolute control of the country whereas Ms Gul has taken full control of
transportation in the twin-cities,” said Ms Rehman. “They could not find
terrorists in Wana and are now bent upon labelling elected representatives as
terrorists,” said Senator Enver Baig. Mr Ashraf said the government was actually
using the cases against Mr Khan to press him to switch loyalties. He said cases
should instead be registered against those who had deprived transporters of
their livelihood by giving benefit to the daughter of a general. Mr Khan claimed
he had received several threatening telephone calls since joining the protesting
transporters but vowed to continue his struggle for their cause.
Daily Times, Thursday, April 29,
2004
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_29-4-2004_pg7_26
....
Hameed Gul's daughter speaks
out!
Writing in daily Pakistan
magazine Tanvir Qaiser Shahid revealed that the buses run by ex-ISI chief
General Hameed Gul's daughter Uzma Gul had killed 17 people in the past four
years. The bus service called Varan was run on loans taken from Askari Bank.
This year in January when a Varan bus killed a student, boys got out of hand and
torched 10 Varan buses. Uzma Gul said after that that students should be
disallowed motorbikes. According to daily Pakistan, Varan buses owned by the
daughter of ex-ISI chief General Hameed Gul have caused a lot of unrest in
Rawalpindi and Islamabad where they ply in great strength. After the students
burnt ten buses in the wake of an accident, owner Uzma Gul got her service to
strike, which led to great discomfort among the commuting citizens. SSP
Rawalpindi said that he could not allow Varan to kill ten people in a year,
especially as a sub-inspector Ismat Niazi that he had fired for drunkenness was
now employed by Uzma as her adviser. Varan tours had 12 legal complaints
(parcha) against it in Rawalpindi while Varan had 26 complaints against
students.
Uzma Gul the
transporter
Daily Pakistan wrote that ex-ISI
chief General Hameed Gul's daughter was a brave transporter owning a fleet of
buses that plied from Rawalpindi to Taxila. But she faced a lot of resistance
from the administration and other vested interests in the business. Once she was
also arrested and put behind bars by military police but her powerful father got
her out. She began by running one bus in Sargodha in 1994. Then she became an
exporter of medicines to Central Asia. Now she had a fleet in Rawalpindi but her
facilities for passengers were minimal and sections set aside for women were too
small. According to daily Pakistan, owner of Varan Tours, Uzma Gul got into
trouble with corps commander Rawalpindi over the adda of her buses as the area
belonged to the army which had acquired it. Not only was the corps commander
against her and once shouted at her but DC Rawalpindi Major Ziaul Haq too began
harassing her. According to the paper the area she used to park her buses was
worth crores of rupees.
Hameed Gul's acquired
land
According to daily Pakistan,
although the daughter of the ex-ISI chief Hameed Gul claimed that he had only
two squares of land, the paper referred to an investigative report which gave
proof that he had acquired 15 squares of land along the Indian border at a time
when he was serving as a major. He ousted a number of farmers from their land
who then moved the High Court. When the court decided the matter in his favour
by the year 1986 he had become corps commander and was well on his way to
becoming the ISI chief and many plaintiffs had begun to stand down. The title of
the investigative report was: General Hameed Gul nay sainkron aikar arazi kaisay
banayi (How did General Hameed Gul acquire hundreds of acres of land). The land
was in Shakargarh in three villages called Adha, Auliya and Bhopa.
Source: rantburg.com
10:52 PM
Sultan Shahin
0 comments:
Post a Comment