Feral Jundi

     This just came up on my radar, and I had never heard of the Fauji Foundation before.  I guess what you could call this group is a massive welfare company that was established years ago to take care of Pakistani veterans and their dependents.  They do this by providing jobs for ex-servicemen.

     Which brings us to the story below.  I guess Bahrain has been using the Fauji Foundation’s Overseas Employment Service for awhile now to fill out the ranks of it’s security forces? This really comes into play with the current uprisings in Bahrain and I imagine the anti-riot forces were partially composed of Pakistains.  So chalk up Bahrain and Libya as two countries that are using contracted forces for police/military duties.  Or better yet, they are using private forces as a strategic tool to flex with whatever problem they come up against.(I am not supporting how they are using private industry–just pointing out an observation)

     This first story below talks about a massive recruitment drive to plus up the National Guard in Bahrain. And this is not a new thing here. Supposedly Bahrain and Pakistan have had a long relationship when it came to using these contract forces.  It is also interesting that ever since this story broke out, the OES job portal at the Fauji Foundation has taken down these job ads?  Either they filled them all, or they wanted to minimize any attention by stripping the ad after the story came out about the connection between Pakistan and the anti-riot police in Bahrain. It sounds like they certainly had plenty of folks who applied for the job of doing Bahrain’s bidding–6,000 to 7,000! –Matt

Overseas Employment Services: Fauji Foundation headhunts for Bahrain’s security units

Ex-servicemen ‘export’ mercenaries to the Middle East

Fauji Security Services (Pvt) Limited.  

Profile of a Welfare Organisation for Ex-Servicemen

Overseas Employment Services: Fauji Foundation headhunts for Bahrain’s security units

By Saba Imtiaz

March 11, 2011

The Overseas Employment Services (OES) of the Fauji Foundation is recruiting hundreds of ex-servicemen to serve in the Bahrain National Guard (BNG).

Advertisements in an Urdu language daily and on the OES website state that the BNG “immediately” requires people with experience and qualifications as anti-riot instructors and security guards.

While an official at the Fauji Foundation said there were 800 vacancies and 6,000-7,000 applications had been received, another at the OES said there were 200 to 300 vacancies and a number of people had been selected.

The advertisement states that a BNG delegation is visiting Pakistan from March 7 to March 14 to recruit people from the following categories: officers (majors), Pakistan Military Academy drill instructors, anti-riot instructors, security guards, and military police as well as cooks and mess waiters. Civilians were required as security guards, while the rest of the categories required experience in the military or security forces. The requirement for anti-riot instructors was NCOs (non-commissioned officers) from the Sindh Rangers or officers of an equivalent rank from the Elite Police Force.

The official at the OES also said that Bahrain’s army had recently recruited ex-servicemen from Pakistan. In December, the OES advertised positions for retired Pakistan Army doctors to serve in the King’s Guard.

The Fauji Foundation was set up in 1954 and serves as a trust for ex-servicemen and their families. It is believed to be among the largest industrial conglomerates in the country.

Bahrain tensions

Pakistanis serving in Bahrain’s security forces were reportedly involved in a crackdown on protestors in Manama in February in which seven people were killed and hundreds injured. Some injured protestors told the media that the police who beat them up spoke Urdu.

“They are uneducated, don’t speak Arabic and are difficult to communicate with,” said Maryam alKhawaja, the head of the Foreign Relations Office at the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, about the Pakistanis serving in the anti-riot police.

“Mostly they are Baloch. One story I heard from a witness was that a Baloch refused to shoot a protestor at close range, despite orders from his superior, because he was saying Allah o Akbar. The high-ranking officer, who was Bahraini, took the Baloch’s weapons, beat him and then shot the protestor himself.

According to Reuters, opposition activists estimate that up to half of Bahrain’s approximately 20,000-strong national security apparatus is made up of Sunnis from Pakistan, Jordan and Yemen.

Recruiting security personnel from these countries and any moves to naturalise them is viewed by the opposition as a way to increase the Sunni demographic, given that at least 70 per cent of Bahrain’s population is Shia. Thousands protested in Manama earlier this week against any move to give citizenship to Sunnis serving in the military.

“We can’t tell whether there has been an increase in Pakistanis (in the security forces) since the government refuses to give us any numbers on political naturalisation,” said alKhwaja.

Story here.

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Ex-servicemen ‘export’ mercenaries to the Middle East

By Saba Imtiaz

March 12, 2011

While the Fauji Foundation’s Overseas Employment Services is openly recruiting ex-servicemen for Bahrain’s security forces, it appears that it is not the only player in the field.

The practice of ‘exporting’ Pakistani security personnel to Bahrain has been going on for over 20 years, said a source, who named former Special Services Group officer Javed Latif Kahlon as the man responsible.

“Kahlon is based in Bahrain and enjoys strong ties with its military. He serves as a senior adviser,” said the source. “He left the Pakistan Army after being implicated in the Attock Conspiracy case. He has recruited at least 2,000 Pakistanis to serve in Bahrain’s security forces, and they were the ones who shot at protestors in Manama’s Pearl Square,” the source said, referring to a crackdown in the Bahraini city last month in which seven protestors were killed and hundreds injured.

Analyst Ayesha Siddiqa said Pakistan had been sending troops to other countries since the 1950s and 1960s. “The only variation now is that they (the army) don’t want to risk direct involvement,” she said.

Expatriate Pakistanis form a large part of the workforce in the Gulf countries, holding jobs as doctors, business executives and engineers as well as in the construction sector. Remittances from these expatriates are a crucial part of Pakistan’s economy. Additionally, aid from the region has helped build schools, hospitals and much-needed infrastructure in Pakistan.

Fahad Desmukh, a long-time Bahrain resident and former blogger, says the new recruitment of Pakistanis in the security forces “can only make life more difficult for those hard-working Pakistanis who have contributed to building Bahrain”. Many Bahrainis believe that Sunni Muslims are being recruited to change the Shia-majority demographic.

“On Wednesday, pro-democracy protesters at a rally were chanting ‘The police are Pakistani,’ highlighting the fact that they are viewed as mercenaries,” he said. “In the past, the presence of Pakistanis in the security forces has been the cause of xenophobia towards civilian Pakistani migrant workers, and the hiring of more could make the situation worse.”

Many Pakistanis serve in Bahrain’s anti-riot police, who have been accused by human rights activists of using excessive force.

“I don’t think the army is supporting this (recruitment) but they will want to keep their ties with the Middle East,” said Lt General (retired) Talat Masood.

Middle East and Gulf countries have well-established military ties with Pakistan.

In 1970, Jordan’s King Hussein launched a widespread crackdown on members of the Palestinian resistance movement. In what came to be known as Black September, thousands of Palestinians were killed and driven out of the country. Jordan’s army was assisted by a regiment led by then-Brigadier Ziaul Haq, who was stationed in the country. He was decorated for his services in the operation.

Pakistani troops assisted Saudi Arabia in the siege of Mecca in 1979. According to a 1991 Associated Press report, Pakistan deployed 13,000 troops and 6,000 advisers during the first Gulf War. Five thousand military personnel were stationed in Saudi Arabia prior to the war. When asked if Pakistani troops could be called out to stem protests in Saudi Arabia, Siddiqa said, “It is a possibility, but that cannot be confirmed.”

Story here.

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Fauji Security Services (Pvt) Limited.  

Background and History

A subsidiary of Fauji Foundation, was established in 1993 to provide job opportunities to the ex-servicemen. It is registered with Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan under Companies Ordinance 1984 and authorized to operate throughout Pakistan.

FSS at Glance

FSS is premier security organization working under the supervision of security qualified management to serve the specialized needs of corporations and private clients. The professional team at FSS has the knowledge and insight to provide security support to virtually any client from planning to management. Our highly trained and experienced security professionals provide a comprehensive and cost effective protection package to match the prevailing security challenges. Our clients represent a wide range of industries, banks, diplomatic missions, residential communities, shopping malls, health care facilities and schools / colleges. Through attractive benefit packages we invest in our employees to deliver quality service to our valued customers.

Services

Security Management

Management of security personnel and monitoring of security systems duly integrated when demanded.

Security Guards

Provision of trained security guards both armed and un-armed to meet multifarious needs of the clients.

Security Technology

Supply, installation and maintenance of security equipment.

Security Consultancy

Security planning survey and threat analysis.

Security Transport

Safe transportation of cash and valuables.

*****

The Fauji Foundation is a trust set up for the welfare of ex-servicemen and their dependents.  It is incorporated under The Charitable Endowments Act, 1890. Its aim and structure of governance is given in the Scheme of Administration as notified by the Government of Pakistan.  Although the current name dates from 1967, the origin of the Foundation lies in the Military Reconstruction Fund (later known as the Post War Services Reconstruction fund) established in 1942 by the Government of British India for the post-war welfare and rehabilitation of ex-servicemen and their dependents, defined as beneficiaries.

These beneficiaries now number approximately 9.6 million, i.e., around 7% of Pakistan’s population. Fauji Foundation extends services in the fields of health, education, technical & vocational training. This is achieved through 11 hospitals, 24 medical centers, 82 mobile & static dispensaries, 98 schools, 2 colleges, and 75 technical & vocational training centers.

In the year 2006-07, over 3.0 million patients received treatment from our     health-care chain.   Of these, almost half were those who were treated at our major hospitals, well over 42,000 being indoor cases. This makes it the most extensive health care chain in the private sector.

The Fauji Education System has today almost 41,112 students on its roll. Our chain is the largest out side the public sector. Every year approximately 71,385 student stipends are dispersed, about 5,000 of which are for higher professional programs and superior academic performance. With an annual budget of about Rs.118.50 million, this is the largest stipend scheme in the private sector. Every year about 6,000 trainees are given technical and vocational training at our centers.   Since this program was established in the period 1976-81, over 145,000 people, have availed these facilities.Fauji Foundation is thus extending social welfare services to a sizeable sector of the population. In this area, we spent over Rs. 2 billion in the year 2006-07, adding up to a total of over Rs. 23.8 billion, ever since our welfare operations began with a trickle in the mid –fifties. Hence approximately 80% of the annual earnings of the Foundation are channeled into welfare.

The raison d’etre of the Foundation is the welfare of its beneficiaries by law. Therefore, strong commercial operations are a must to fund the welfare for an expanding beneficiary base, on a sustainable basis.  Thus it has a number of industrial & commercial concerns, (generally known as the Fauji Group); half of them are fully owned by the Foundation and in the remaining it controls the boards, through major investment & shareholding. The sectors in which we have currently invested are fertilizer, power, oil & gas exploration & distribution, oil terminal operations, financial services, cement, sugar, cereals, employment services, and security services. All these translate into a current asset base of over Rs. 131 billion, and net worth of over Rs. 75 billion.

Website for Fauji Foundation here.

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Profile of a Welfare Organisation for Ex-Servicemen

January 1999

By Col (Retd)EAS BOKHARI gives an

expansive overview of an ex-servicemen’s

welfare organisation

An ex-serviceman who spends his life in an atmosphere of discipline – and fairplay finds it rather difficult to adjust to the ‘civvy’ conditions. A large number of these simply cannot adjust to the non-egalitarian environments – and some are simply baffled and disillusioned.

It is unfortunate that the economic conditions – and monetary environments in the country do not permit full social benefits to these otherwise potential human resources. it is here that the Fauji Foundation comes in a big way in providing them social security and such facilities as education for their children and health coverage.

I have recently had an opportunity of seeing FF a little closely and am much impressed by the performance of this welfare-industrial complex. A very brief profile of the outfit is contained in this presentation.

The other day I had the good fortune of attending one of the rare presentations of the Managing Director Fauji Foundation Lt-Gen Khalid Latif Moghal at Jhelum. Fauji Foundation may be rightly considered as a rare success story of our times. Even such astute investors/cum industrial operators as the Koreans have recently awarded a place of real honour to Fauji Foundation. Some time back there was what could be termed as ‘Glasnost’ about the army – but of late that

openness has disappeared. In that context it was most creditable for the MD Fauji Foundation to make a very scintillating and forthright presentation about the working of Fauji Foundation in the Iftikhar Auditorium.

I was doubly rewarded as there were a number of ex-servicemen of my ‘era’ – and even of earlier times whom I met. Brigadier Abbas Beg – who may be considered a mentor of most of the present day gunner officers – though a little disabled and yet taking pride in not accepting any assistance was there too. It was nice to discuss with him some of the older artillery sub-units and their performance. He had in fact served 17 Mtn (N) Battery from 1935 to 1938 i.e before going to the Military Academy. He told me that he was not sure whether some of the present batteries i.e 5 (Nowshera) – and one from (SP) can rightly call themselves as ‘Nowshera’ Batteries. I am working on this little piece of research. There were of course more ‘relics’ like me to be found in the gathering. It was simply soul stirring.

Surprisingly from the MD to the Chief Guest the gathering was gunner-dominated. The GOC Kharian, Corps Commander Rawalpindi and GOC Jhelum also graced the occasion. I have digressed a little but I suppose this was unavoidable.

Many an ex-serviceman cribbed and even during the question hour in the presentation there were people who complained that Fauji Foundation was not providing the necessary social security cover. They hardly realised that the problem was massive and to cover good nine million beneficiaries was not so easy. I thought that the Foundation has provided succour to a very large number besides generating enough funds in its 8 industrial units, 5 shareholding projects – and the two new gigantic projects being set up with an approximate cost of US $ 540 million. Its on-going projects include Kabirwala Power Plant and a DAP Plant. The performance of Fauji Foundation I thought was highly commendable not withstanding the general complaints and the size of the problem.

It was good to learn from the MD that some state of the art projects like the manufacture of software etc are also in the pipeline and should soon be in hand. Such innovative investment is a must for a burgeoning outfit like the Foundation.

The question hour was well utilised by the MD to clarify policy matters and the rationale for setting up certain welfare units and industrial groups at selected places and not all over the country. Surely a God forsaken place like say Malakwal or Domeli cannot be the site of a software factory or for that matter any large industrial unit due to problems of infrastructure and the industrial inputs et al.

I am not burdening the readers with the performance of the Foundation in the education and medical sectors, suffice it will be to list the figures of important units in these sectors which cover the essential social security facets. These are as below:

Education

• Colleges 2

• Schools 64

• Scholarships 1,30,942

Technical Training:

• Technical Training Centres 9

• Vocational Training Centres 66

• Fauji Institutes of Computer Sciences 2

Medical:

• Hospitals 12

• Day Health Centres 24

• Mobile Dispensaries 48

• Static Dispensaries 21

The MD explained that some quarters thought that the Foundation was a rather ‘privileged’ outfit. Far from it, the Foundation paid its full quota of taxes, levies and other liabilities as surcharges et al and was never a defaulter on any count. The MD went on to explain the sore point of employment of retired officers and for which a very large number of applicants come up. He told

categorically that the number of vacancies with the Foundation is very small and now the GHQ Welfare Directorate has also been associated with the process of finding work for retired officers. He also explained that some more vacancies have been created within the Foundation.

It is not possible to present the entire budget of the Foundation in this presentation nor even a glimpse of its entire gamut of activities. I have tried just to highlight some of its more important facets.

Finally, I should think that Fauji Foundation is a unique outfit for the welfare of ex-servicemen. It is both highly humanitarian and forward looking in its industrial planning. I do hope that the MD will continue with the good work of presenting the activities of his outfit personally, as he did so admirably at Jhelum the other day. He must be congratulated for that.

Fauji Foundation (FF) may be singled out for its unique performance and operation. It is run with vision and egalitarian purposes. Of course it must make money for its dual role but as I have put it the outfit has much loftier overall goals which are humanitarian and not purely money minting which any thrifty and miserly business house can easily make notwithstanding the dubious means employed for this goal.

FF is unique in this respect that it looks after the welfare of a good over nine million ex-servicemen who are invariably ignored by the other government agencies – and are terribly oppressed and miserable once they shed their uniforms. These poor souls – notwithstanding their expertise are misfits and it is FF which comes to their rescue – in providing, health, education and re-employment facilities. FF in fact has a massive mandate as it rightly claims to be ‘A charitable trust for the welfare of ex-servicemen, and their dependents.’ No other business house in the country has such a massive egalitarian mandate – irrespective of the profits made by it.

FF is a bit of a miracle – and over a short period of time it has grown phenomenally – and its present assets stand at over 9 billion which were just around Rs 18 million in mid-fifties. Surely it is remarkable feat – and a real success story.

FF has earned a very considerable applause outside the country – and it also earned the coveted ‘The World Veterans Federation Rehabilitation Prize’ in 1997 at Seoul (Republic of Korea). The citation for this remarkable prize is worth quoting. It runs that the prize was awarded ‘for its remarkable achievements in looking after ex-servicemen and their families in providing healthcare, education, technical training, employment, artificial limbs and other facilities for the rehabilitation of disabled ex-servicemen, thus enabling them to be full-fledged citizens contributing to the welfare of their communities.’ Very few like outfits or NGOs can boast of such a remarkable performance.

The performance of FF is more remarkable especially as the foundation is a self-supporting entity in entirety. It is a charitable trust which receives no financial assistance from either the Federal or the Provincial governments. It also does not get any donations from any other source. It has to generate its own funds for the massive humanitarian mandate.

FF beneficiaries include the following categories of service personnel:

• Released, retired and discharged personnel of the Regular armed forces who are citizens of Pakistan.

• Legally wedded wives and widows of the above personnel.

• Sons of ex-servicemen up to the age of 18 years – and beyond for education and technical training stipends.

• Unmarried daughters of ex-servicemen – and divorced daughters until remarried.

• Invalid sons of ex-servicemen for medical treatment (No age bars.)

• Cadets of service academies invalided out of service for disabilities attributable to military service.

This is a mouthful – and out of sheer necessity, the foundation has to do well in its commercial ventures where it must invest wisely, and run the business shrewdly.

A very brief business profile of FF is indicated as below:

Fully Owned Projects include:

• Fauji Sugar Mills Tando Mohammad Khan.

• Fauji Sugar Mills Khoski.

• Fauji Sugar Mills Sangla Hill.

• Fauji Sugarcane Experimental & Seed Multiplication Farm.

• Fauji Cereals.

• Fauji Corn Complex.

• Fauji Polypropylene Products Foundation Gas.

Shareholding Projects include:

• Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited.

• Fauji Oil Terminal and Distribution Company Limited.

• Fauji Cement Company Limited.

• Mari Gas Company Limited.

New Projects consist of:

• Fauji Kabirwala Power Company Limited.

• FFC- Jordan Fertilizer Company Limited.

It is through wise investment and expert management that FF has established a nitche in the Private Sector. The industrial units/ projects have been set up with great care and some of the factors which have been taken into account for this area:

• Availability of raw material in the area.

• Marketing prospects for the finished goods/products.

• Preference given to declare tax free areas by the government.

• Geological and environment

parameters related to the project.

• Availability of civic amenities, administrative facilities and infrastructure.

• Setting up of profit earning intensive mega projects with foreign investors, over labour intensive smaller projects.

• Terms and conditions and at times restrictions imposed by financial institutions – and the lenders.

At first glance it appears that the welfare projects have been established somewhat arbitrarily, and many ex-servicemen who do not have such facilities located in their areas feel that way. In fact it is far from it – and there is a perfect rationale for the location of every such facility. And at some repetition the criteria for such locations has a perfect reason. The main factors taken into account for each location are as below:

• Proliferation of the benefits to the area which are densely populated by the ex- servicemen.

• Creation of a balance between the province and different regions within the province by setting up of projects on the basis of percentage of  ex-servicemen residing in the area.

• Setting up of the projects in areas with good communications and other administrative facilities needed for the smooth running of these projects.

In fact as commonly – and rather erroneously thought there was no arbitrary consideration for setting up of a particular project in a special area.

It is most confidence giving and interesting to see the pace of growth of welfare projects. This growth is indicated in an inset. It will be seen that it is most accelerated in the medical and education sectors especially in the current year.

Finally here we have an outfit which has set a pace both in industrial development – and welfare sectors which is most confidence giving. And sure, the management of this outfit has been most prudent to have developed to such an extent from almost a scratch over such a short time.

It is heartening that the foundation has in its pipeline still higher goals – and diverse investment which I am sure will be equally profitable as the previous investments have been. I wish the outfit a success in the multifarious ventures of the Foundation.

Story here.