A state, and its institutions, exists to serve citizens of a country, each performing their assigned constitutional functions. This is the Raison D’être of any constitutional state. The political and constitutional struggle led by the Quaid and envisioned by Allama Iqbal, was motivated to create a modern democratic welfare state, where the will of the people was to reign supreme. Under no circumstances, individual basic right “Freedom of Movement” of law abiding and taxpaying citizens of this country can be usurped by any group, religious or political, on pretext of its “Right to Protest” as, and when its leadership decides. No individual, irrespective of his popular support, or lack of it, should be allowed to disrupt freedom of movement of citizens. The whole edifice of any State is built upon revenues it collects from exports, trade and uniform taxation, be it income tax or property tax, from all its citizens. Freedom of movement of citizens is directly linked to acquisition of education, medical assistance, trade and all other business issues.
Frequent obstructions of movement on roads and highways due to protest calls by any group or political party adversely impact the economy and the state’s capacity to function as a sovereign independent entity. Export items and perishable goods transported within the country to local markets or ports and airports get stranded on the roads, causing immense loss to the national exchequer. Pakistan is already facing an economic quagmire and mounting debt, with a Tax to GDP ratio of 9%, the lowest in the region. Countries with a ratio lower than 15% need to increase their revenue to create fiscal space for investing in basic human resource development and providing a welfare system for the most deprived sections of society. No system of government—be it capitalist, socialist, or even a religious state—can function without a robust welfare system.
A country unable to invest in research or development cannot thrive in this technological age. A solid indigenous technological base is as essential as an army to protect national security and interests. The literacy rate must be upgraded to prevent extremism. We must have the fiscal space to provide subsidized education to those with natural talent but lacking resources for escalating tuition fees in schools, colleges, and universities. Nobel Laureates like Professor Salam, internationally recognized in science, studied in government-subsidized institutions. Today, such rare talent is denied opportunities that the likes of Professor Salam had. Education has been outsourced to the private sector and has become a thriving business. These frequent disturbances in citizens’ movement have the capacity to strangulate our economy and adversely impact national interest and sovereignty. Citizens in urgent need of medical attention are denied access to hospitals and clinics, with many suffering dire consequences, including deaths on the roads. No religion would sanctify these obstructions which since 2014 have become very frequent. Those who facilitated the 2014 and 2017 prolonged dharnas are equally responsible for the mess. This culture, which has been cultivated in this country, where calls for dharnas have become regular feature, have created innumerable miseries for law abiding citizens of Pakistan, who are victims of this abuse. Unfortunately, a few irresponsible sections within the media, captive to their political loyalty or bias, project any attempt to regulate these frequent calls for dharnas and protests, as violation of political parties right to protest, totally ignoring the violation of citizen’s right of freedom of movement.
Article 15 of the Constitution states “FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT- Every citizen shall have the right to enter and move freely throughout Pakistan and to reside and settle in any part thereof subject to any reasonable restriction imposed by law in the public interest”. Article 16 grants to every citizen the right “To assemble peacefully and without arms, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of public order”. The 1973 Constitution Article 7 defines the state as “The Federal Government, a Provincial Government and such local or other authorities in Pakistan, as are by law empowered to impose any tax or cess”. As it is, the Provincial Government’s capacity to collect property tax from all citizens within its jurisdiction has been diluted by various authorities to collect these taxes and retain them, without any audit. In Lahore alone there is Provincial/City Government, along with DHA, Lahore Cantonment, Walton Cantonment and even private housing societies like Bahria which are collecting property tax from citizens. This dilutes state’s capacity to increase revenues and contribute to improving Tax to GDP ratio.
The State has to keep a balance in accordance with what the Constitution of Pakistan elaborates, keeping in mind the principle of Trichotomy of Powers of three constitutional pillars, namely Parliament, Executive and Judiciary. The Judiciary has a very tarnished record, ever since Doctrine of Necessity was invoked in Maulvi Tamizuddin case by CJ Munir, Mohammad Sharif, S A Rahman, S M Akram. Only Justice Cornelius stood up to give his dissent. History of Pakistan would have been different if other judges had listened to their conscience. The recent judicial activism has witnessed over enthusiasm of our superior judiciary to adjudicate on political issues which should be resolved in parliament. It has further eroded their credibility. Judges must be seen to be apolitical and speak through their judgments, strictly in accordance with written constitution and laws. They cannot and should not be seen rewriting the Constitution, but just interpret it. This tendency to allow protests within designated Red Zone, where the parliament and SC is located must be revisited. It is as sacrosanct an area, as Capitol Hill is in Washington.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Lahore.
