Pakistanis have endured 77 years of a painful journey comprised of unprecedented suffering. The misery of the poor and less privileged will continue unabated, no matter how many Independence Days we celebrate, unless our state and society is restructured on the principles of equity, fairness and justice—fundamental elements enunciated in Article 3 of the 1973 Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The open and blatant defiance of the latest majority 9-member of the Supreme Court of Pakistan for rectifying the mistake of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in The prevalent political instability and grim economic is not a sudden isolated phenomenon.
It is caused entirely by the state being held captive in the hands of the , absentee landowners, spiritual leaders , industrialist-turned politicians and traders. Pakistan’s economy serves these privileged classes. The militro-judicial-civil complex not only enjoys unprecedented tax-free benefits at the cost of taxpayers’ money but has failed to deliver for what it is paid.
Absentee landowners and industrialists continuously amass wealth by exploiting landless tillers and industrial workers, respectively. Unscrupulous traders create artificial hike in prices of essential items and thrive on hard-earned incomes of the poor and fixed-income classes without even sparing hapless citizens during auspicious occasions like when prices go beyond the reach of even middle-class families. Adding insult to injury, successive governments keep on imposing and increasing oppressive, unbearable indirect taxes on the poor, while extending unprecedented benefits to the rich and mighty.
This is the dilemma of today’s Pakistan, where we are going to celebrate our 77th Independence Day on August 14, 2024! The anti-people alliance of militro-judicial-civil complex Officers having political clout are requisitioned by federal and provincial ministries for lucrative posts with unbelievable perks and benefits. The civil servants serve their political masters’ interests rather than the people, sometimes in defiance of established regulations, thus destroying the entire structure of the civil services, where ‘political connections’ is now the name of the game. Polarization, nepotism and politicization within state institutions are yielding disastrous results.
While law and order has totally collapsed, terrorists freely attack any place with impunity. Despite taking enormous taxes, people are forced to arrange their own security while the government machinery serves the rulers alone. Even after taking oath for the second time, Prime Minister has not learnt any lessons from his past mistakes as he continues to act like the “servant” of those who matter in the land, and keeps on promoting nepotism and cronyism.
Once again, under his rule, many high-caliber officers are denied postings and promotions they deserve on merit or placed in surplus pool on flimsy grounds, while “loyalists,” though junior and incompetent, are enjoying lucrative posts and benefits. There seems no end to such brazen acts on the part of elites that keep on humming the mantra of democracy, but act in an authoritarian and irresponsible manner. The militro-judicial-civil complex and their cronies Mindless borrowing simultaneously from banks and foreign lenders continue to push the nation in darker abyss of ‘debt prison’— debt servicing alone is now the largest burden on the economy absorbing all taxes collected by Federal Board of Revenue ( ) and even non-tax revenue — all happening due to ruthless spending to fund luxuries of the .
This year’s fiscal deficit, projected in Budget 2024-25 is and debt servicing will consume . In the budget 2023-24, prepared under the guidance of Ishaq Dar, allocation for debt servicing was , but it ultimately overran to . The jubilation and merriment over a staff-level with International Monetary Fund ( ) on July 12, 2024 for 37-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program of about US$7 billion speaks volume of the moral bankruptcy of our ruling elites.
What a pity that that they celebrate further indebtedness! Just three days before the 84th Pakistan Day, March 23, 2024, a press of IMF confirming successful completion of was treated as an advance gift—height of shameless behaviour! The elites are, however, still happy as they enjoy unprecedented benefits and perquisites, free plots, foreign trips, free club facilities, just to mention a few, all funded by the poor taxpayers. On the other hand, there is no political will to provide free health and education to the ordinary people, what to speak of fulfilling other obligations mentioned in the . Dr.
Ishrat Husain, in his book, , has aptly observed that in sharp contrast to the East Asian model of ‘shared growth’, based on rapid economic development, coupled with a rapid reduction in poverty and more equitable distribution of the benefits of development, in Pakistan, the elitist model confers political and economic powers to a small coterie of parasitic elites. While quoting Dr. Ishrat’s work, , in his book, (Rise of State Oligarchy in Pakistan), has also concluded: “Pakistan is presently owned and exploited by elites whereas it should belong to the people of Pakistan.
” Powerful state officials, in hand with the rich and mighty men in and corrupt politicians, exploit the system for self-aggrandisement In 2012 when officers of Grade 19-22 were allowed compulsory monetized transport allowance, was issued on 26 May 2012, providing that government officials in Grade 20-22 would pay just 5% tax on this allowance. The powerful bureaucrats use official cars, get monetized allowance, and pay meagre tax. On the contrary, their counterparts in private sector pay tax on this perquisite at the normal rate! This injustice was highlighted in a previous .
With the new of FBR, Rashid Mahmood Langrial, personal choice and of Prime Minister , it will be interesting to see whether he ends this discrimination or continues to enjoy it personally as well. The problem of Pakistan is not a scarcity of resources, but a deep unwillingness in properly utilizing and managing their equitable distribution, absence of effective administrative and justice systems to check the propagation of socioeconomic injustice. It is worth mentioning that in , the flying allowance of airline pilots was clubbed with their salary, but Ishaq Dar did not extend similar treatment to mighty bureaucrats for their transport allowance, showing how elites protect each other and professionals like pilots get raw deals just because they are not part of the state oligarchy.
The problem of Pakistan is not a scarcity of resources, but a deep unwillingness in properly utilizing and managing their equitable distribution, absence of effective administrative and justice systems to check the propagation of socioeconomic injustice. It has been repeatedly highlighted by different writers that without imposing any new tax or raising the rates of the existing ones, the total revenue collection at federal level alone can be (Rs. 1,100 billion direct taxes and Rs.
900 billion indirect taxes) if existing tax gap is bridged. This level of collection is possible but as a first step, we will have to our administrative machinery and judiciary. Expensive state property occupied by them as “residences” must be commercially through long-term lease.
Their benefits and perquisites should be monetized. Consolidated pay packages for state employees, fair and adequate, would reduce corruption, remove a strong sense of elitism and improve governance. The brutal exploitation of the have-nots in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and dehumanization of society are leading to gruesome incidents where people are committing suicides or killing innocents without any remorse and repentance.
For politicians and all state functionaries, an independent and effective accountability apparatus is necessary. Without fundamental structural , we cannot establish a true democratic polity extend socioeconomic justice for all, ensure rapid growth with job opportunities for millions of young people, whose frustration is on the rise with every passing day as elites are showing apathy towards them while enjoying luxuries at the . The brutal exploitation of the have-nots in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and dehumanization of society are leading to gruesome incidents where people are committing suicides or killing innocents without any remorse and repentance.
We will have to move fast to reverse this trend and make Pakistan a true democratic republic for the people, not merely a fiefdom of the elites. The time has come to commit to a firm resolve on the nation’s 77th Independence Day, and take definitive actions to implement in letter and spirit Article 3 of the which says: “The State shall ensure the elimination of all forms of exploitation and the gradual fulfillment of the fundamental principle, from each according to his ability to each according to his work.” The writer, Advocate Supreme Court, is Adjunct Faculty at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), member Advisory Board and Visiting Senior Fellow of Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) The Friday Times is Pakistan’s first independent weekly, founded in 1989.
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