I have been following stories of different mafia groups for a while now. One reason is the sheer dramatization of their stories that can attract anyone, but there are other reasons as well. The mafias give you an interesting account of the parallel economy or commonly known as the ‘black markets’. Another interesting aspect of any mafia is the CoC or the ‘Code of Conduct’. It is only the strong adherence to this code that makes any mafia an effective long term enterprise. I am particularly fascinated by the Sicilian mafia, commonly known as ‘Cosa Nostra’ or ‘our thing’. Their process of ‘making’ a guy, the oath ceremonies, the hierarchy with-in the families, and strong adherence to the CoC, made them one of the strongest enterprise in the history of United States. They developed a superlative concept of parallel economy that was copied by different mafias around the world.

If you look at the current economy and political structure in Pakistan, you will find an even greater degree of parallel economy-an even bigger Costa Nostra. The corruption has been institutionalized and ‘made’ men are minting money right and left. Parties have taken the shape of families and there is just one rule of thumb, as the boss of famous Gambino family repeatedly said ‘We can not make money with guns in our hands’. Our political parties have recently been exercising this rule. They have dropped their guns for each other and they are indeed making a lot of money. They have Captains in the form of ministers who are eligible for the bigger share. They have consiglieres giving them advices and protecting them in legal battles. No sect or sector is out of bound when it comes to making money. Just like old mafia, they will never name anyone from their or another family in case someone is convicted. The have vows, that their own family will come before anyone else in the whole world, and anything for the family will never be considered out of bound. You start imagining any of our ruling political parties today, and it wont take you long to develop the same analogies. The Godfathers, in this case, are also the kings of black market.

If think of all the captains in the current political setup, there is one ‘made’ man who made the most out of the last four years, Monsieur Gilani. For the past 4 years when the Godfather have been under a lot of heat in the federal and the financial capital, the Gilani family has enjoyed a tantamount wealth in the deserts of Multan. Having been a 1000 Km too far for the media to cover the luxuries of the family, Mr. Gilani was rarely tried in media the way Zardari/ Bhutto family has been tried. People like myself, who have seen the Gs (Short of Gilani’s) through the 90s and early 20s, are in awe. The family who proclaims to be the descendants of the same Abdul Qadir Jilani, who once gave away all his money to the robbers so that he doesn’t have to lie, is anything but hypocrites. Few of their corruptions have surfaced in recent years like the Hajj scandal, the import of million dollar vehicles, and kick backs from various developmental projects (some of those projects were carries out their own city). Mr. Gilani, being the boss of the family, usually goes for the bigger kick backs.

In short, The Gs, the Zs, the Bs, and the Ss, are just part of a system that supports parallel economy. A recent transparency report predicts that by 2023, in 11 years,Pakistan’s parallel economy will be of the same size as its normal economy. I fail to imagine the state of people then.

In old Sicilian times, the Sicilian’s used to work in Sulphur mines. It used to get so hot in the mines that the miners used to work naked. Despite these tough situations, they were supposed to pay to a middle man to get a job in the mine, and once they got their daily wages, they were supposed to pay to another mafia. It was then these miners got together and fought with the mafia. The same people went on to the U.S to form Cosa Nostra. I don’t see our current state of affairs any different than the Sicilian miners.. I just hope that we fight with our mafia the way Sicilian miners fought with their’s.