FINANCE Minister Ishaq Dar has done well by ordering a prompt probe into “illegal and unwarranted” leak of the tax records of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s family members.
In a statement, the Finance Ministry said in view of this serious lapse on the part of to-date unknown functionaries, the Finance Minister has directed the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Revenue, Tariq Mehmood Pasha, to personally lead an immediate investigation into the violation of tax law[s] and breach of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) data, affix responsibility and submit a report.
Unauthorized leak of data and sensitive information has become a routine in the country in the absence of proper vigilance and scant respect for relevant legal provisions.
Even cabinet summaries and budget documents frequently find their way to the media making mockery of the entire system and in the process benefiting many and harming others, especially the national kitty.
There is a proper law and procedure for having access to desired material and information but leakage of documents and data in a wholesale and unwanted manner sends shocking signals to the citizens and shatters their confidence in the ability of the institutions concerned to keep their data and personal information safe.
It should be a matter of concern that banks, NADRA and even security agencies breach their commitments and share unauthorized data and information with other agencies and even release videos and information selectively for some hidden motives.
Otherwise too, there is no bar anywhere in the world for wealth creation through legal and fair means and, therefore, dramatization of the information that one shared himself voluntarily is uncalled-for.
