Articles and letters may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all the stakeholders. However, the contents of these writings may not necessarily match the views of the newspaper.
Levy direct taxes
It is time for major structural reforms in taxation, non-development expenditure and a balanced budget, otherwise Pakistan faces a grave crisis. This present status quo cannot be sustained any longer. India’s first financial assistance from IMF was in 1957 and their last in 1993. By 2001 they had paid all outstanding loans to IMF. On the other hand, Pakistan signed a package with IMF in 1958, and we continue in 2022, with no signs of improvement, irrespective of which government is at the helm.
This PDM Coalition government, like its predecessors, stretching for many decades, seems to be bent on levying indirect taxes which impact both rich and poor uniformly. IMF and other international financial agencies would have no objections to allow targeted subsidies, if our revenues were to meet total state expenditure by levying uniform tax on all sources of income. If every government were to give repetitive amnesty schemes to benefit the real estate sector, where 90% of black money is parked, Pakistan will never get out of this Debt Crisis. Borrowing from international agencies to pay salaries, pensions and perks of the paid elite is suicidal. Sanity must prevail before chaos occurs.
Every government, including PTI and PML-N, PPP, Musharraf etc., gave tax amnesty schemes to affluent few, passing the burden through indirect taxation to poor and middle class. Tax waivers to powerful commercial cartels operated under garb of welfare foundations is another abuse. Even smuggled expensive cars have been given repetitive amnesty schemes. Cartels such as Fertilizer, Cement etc. who are beneficiaries of subsidies for gas, have not passed this benefit to farmers and other citizens. Even GIDC levied by Federal Government, to be collected by these powerful cartels and deposited in national exchequer was resisted by them.
MALIK TARIQ ALI
Lahore
Higher education
When I completed my bachelor’s degree, my friends and class fellows started talking about masters. Few of them got a job in the private sector while the rest of the others started exploring universities to pursue master’s degrees. I had heard from my seniors, “Higher education does not provide job security.”
Hence, 16 years of education and multiple unpaid internships are not enough to get you a respectable job in this country. Students spend millions to get professional degrees, respectively, in Law, Doctorate, and Engineering but they end up doing their small businesses or odd jobs. The previous Government of Imran khan claimed to create up to 10 million jobs for fresh graduates but nothing happened. Pakistan is running on an outdated system. Our education system including the healthcare system is conventional. People do not know how to use the latest and advanced technology.
Schools and higher educational institutes have failed to upgrade their syllabus. The lack of technical education and untrained instructors is one of the main reasons for our failure as a nation. Consequently, students prefer moving abroad to get higher education and secure their future.
They are willingly doing odd jobs in the UAE, Europe, the UK and the USA. This is heart-wrenching for me at least. Our beloved homeland, Pakistan, has failed to provide us with opportunities and we are out of options.
NIMRA ANJUM
Faisalabad
Drug addiction
Drug addiction has assumed alarming proportions in the city of Karachi where all youngsters and youths are addicted to it. Most of the people in Karachi city expend a lot of money on buying drugs.
If they do not have money to buy drugs, they start creating hardships and violating the law of the state. In every area and street, one can find drug sellers, but unfortunately, the government is taking no action in this regard.
It seems that authorities are in collusion with the drug mafia. They take bribe from the drug sellers and let them sell the drugs in a comfortable environment. The concerned authorities are requested to take strict action against drug peddlers in Karachi.
AJMAL NOOR
Karachi
Heat-wave
Heat waves are rolling across the northern part of Sindh nowadays. Sukkur and its surroundings have remained in the grip of severe heat wave for the last few days. According to the Met Office, temperature is hovering around 48°C since last week so there are many chances of heat-strokes in this situation.
As a responsible citizen, it is our duty to take precautions in such a situation to save our own as well as others’ life. To prevent from heat stroke we should stay hydrated by consuming more and more water even if we aren’t thirsty.
We should never leave our children outside in hot vehicles. Moreover, we should stay inside during hottest part of the day from 10:00AM to 4:00PM. We should limit our time outside in the sun. Furthermore, we should avoid outside activities and postpone outdoor games and events.
If in any case, we need to go outside, we should cover our heads with caps and have umbrella to avoid direct contact with sunlight as much as possible. Additionally, we need to wear light coloured, loose fitting clothing. To add more to precautions, we should help travellers by fixing water coolers outside our homes. More intentionally, we should keep some water on the roofs of our homes to help other creatures like birds in this hot weather.
Lastly, in the long-term benefit of society we should aware other people about precautions and plant as much as trees in this northern part of Sindh to reduce impact of global warming. Particularly, we should keep our environment clean for the cause of more sustainable environment.
IHSAN ALI CHACHAR
Sukkur
