The time frame: 1995-1996, with the second of the Benazir Bhutto PPP governments in power, and with Benazir, husband Asif Zardari, and their closet cabinet conducting their businesses from the prime ministerial mansion in Islamabad.

The monthly magazine, Newsline, in its June 1996 issue carried an article headed 'Crash Landing?' with the sub-heading 'The country's premier courier service (TCS) paid 250,000 US dollars to a PPP MNA to stay in business.'

Allegedly, in June 1995 a PPP-MNA had 'persuaded' the prime minister to instruct her secretariat to suspend the TCS aviation services unless the company agreed to 'pay him a substantial sum in extortion money'. This would have brought all TCS operations to a halt, but there was no option for the company but to pay up.

Newsline story's closing paragraph reads: "What happened with the company is perhaps one small example of how the political leadership of the country is brazenly involved in extortion. Will the superior courts of the country take notice of these criminal and unlawful acts being committed under the patronage of higher authorities?"

In those days it was not only the PPP which engaged itself in the extortion game. We also had operating in Sindh the party of the Pir of London, the MQM, freely and with impunity collecting what is known as 'bhatta'. This practice has continued down the years whenever the MQM has been in any position of power.

At the end of last year, President General Pervez Musharraf, in his efforts to cobble together some form of democratic government, found it expedient to make peace with the MQM and thus try to ensure that a modicum of law and order prevails in Sindh. This had the converse of a calming effect on the people of the province who are convinced that the party will turn to its old tricks of extortion and terror. Musharraf's governor in our province is the all-powerful Ishratul Ibad of the MQM, imported from London. Ibad's first act in office was to promulgate on December 28, 2002, an ordinance: 'The Sindh Eradication and Curbing the Menace of Involuntary Donation or Forced Chanda Ordinance 2002.' Now, was this a brazen-faced admission that extortion did exist or was the governor trying to tell us that as it had never existed, it never would?

Dawn on December 29 2002, under the headline 'Ordinance banning extortion promulgated,' quoted the wording of the ordinance. Interestingly, if an extortionist is caught and then miraculously convicted he "shall be punished with simple imprisonment which may extend to three months and with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees."

And now what? The life of this ordinance came to an end on March 27, 2003, and the next day TCS was again the victim of, this time, merely an attempt at extortion.

On the morning of Friday, March 28 two men arrived at the entrance to the TCS office premises at Block 6, PECHS. They stood, with the company security guard watching them, shouting various and colourful abuses and threats against the company and its executives, all clearly audible from within the office building.

The TCS head of corporate affairs, Ali Leghari, hearing the 'pandemonium' (as he puts it), went to the gate to see what it was all about and tried to calm down the two men by suggesting that they come in, come up to his office and unburden themselves. At this stage the original two were joined by two other shouter-screamers. The clamour continued while the four were being taken into the building and up to the boardroom.

Two of them were brothers, Haider Raza and Asif Raza. Haider came out with the 'demand', the reason for the abusive and threatening tirade. Asif, his brother, was a former TCS employee whose services had been terminated in 1996 - seven years prior to this incident. Apparently, the loss of a job had caused the family great hardship and they now 'demanded' that TCS pay them one million dollars within two days, failing which, with the clout they wielded, TCS would be eliminated, wiped out, vapourized.

The clout claimed was a close relationship with prime minister Zafarullah Jamali's family, and links with the MQM - the latter proven by a visiting card with Farooq Sattar's name printed on it and a handwritten note on the reverse addressed to Leghari: "Janab Ali Leghari/TCS. As discussed sending Capt. Asif Ali Raza, with some progress from his side on his matter. Please extend cooperation and oblige. Thank you." With great pride, Haider announced that he was an old party stalwart, famously known as 'Haider Commando', and had the distinction of having trained many of the able MQM activists in the useful skill of martial arts (knee-drilling, body-bagging?).

The other two (one claiming to be a Pathan from Zhob) enforced the demand by announcing that if the money was not paid in time, all TCS operations, starting from Quetta and Peshawar downwards, would be disrupted, all offices and vehicles set on fire, the company would be defamed in the press, and the lives of the chairman, Khalid Awan, and of Leghari endangered.

This time, TCS decided to stand firm. They contacted mediamen and their friends in the army who persuaded the ISI to admit to its existence, and plans were laid to nab the extortionists. The two Raza brothers paid three subsequent visits to Leghari's office. On one occasion Haider Commando bragged that with the help of the prime minister, he had certain requirements waved and obtained permission to set up an aviation company.

The deadline given to TCS was April 5. On the evening of April 4, Leghari received a telephone call from a man claiming to be an MNA by the name of Haider Rizvi, who had a message to convey from Farooq Sattar - the message, do the needful for 'Asif Sahib'.

Leghari by this time was convinced that the entire matter was a hoax and a crude attempt at extortion. So when Haider Commando and brother arrived the next day they were told that the game was up and they should just leave immediately. Commando naturally reacted to this with further threats as to the destruction of TCS and the death of Leghari.

But the ISI had done a good job, organized things, and on their way out the MQM Rizvis were arrested and jailed, and Leghari filed an FIR (124/03) and submitted supporting documents at the Ferozabad police station in which he has recorded the above happenings.

End of story? No. Musclemen Rizvis are assets to be preserved. Two earthshaking telephone calls came from London to the Sindh home minister, Sardar Ahmad. The Voice admonished him for allowing the Rizvis to be arrested and jailed and he was told to 'fix' matters. What do we do, Sardar asked the governor? A magistrate was lined up to do the needful, bail of Rs.30,000 per brother was granted the next day and the Rizvis were released.

And now, amidst the mayhem, the CPLC has been rendered ineffective. Jamil Yusuf who in the past has taken on the MQM was removed in the middle of the night. (The CPLC records which incriminate many of those now in power have been destroyed. But that is another story.)

Why is General Musharraf doing his best to lose the goodwill of the people? With the installation of either real or sham democracy, a good many of the people of this indebted, bankrupt, overpopulated country still consider him to be the best of a bad lot.