THIS country faces an apocalyptic crisis, where business as usual, is not an option, but a path for economic chaos. The elite, which have been at helm since 1954, hostage to their conflicts of interest, are responsible for the mess. There is a need for a complete reset of the mindset of the bureaucracy which we inherited from British Raj. They need to be depoliticized, deradicalized and decolonized of the mindset they inherited where they relish ostentatious lifestyles and aspire to retain legacies of Raj. Quaid termed this a cancer. While India, which simultaneously attained independence with Pakistan, embarked on steps to restructure and reform, the Raj trained paid bureaucracy, confiscating lands and titles, allotted to them for services to their colonial masters, we failed to do so. This has institutionalized corrupt practices in Pakistan. India realized the importance of undivided loyalty, by disallowing dual-nationality concept and cutting off all allegiances to their former colonial masters, when they adopted a constitution. Just like belief in one faith, loyalty to a single state is imperative.
The Indian Diaspora, which chose to become citizens of the USA, UK etc., was not allowed to become members of Indian political parties. They focused on American domestic politics. Today this Indian Diaspora serves as lobbyists for their former country of origin, irrespective of whether the Congress or the BJP is at helm. In contrast, Pakistani Diaspora stands divided, involved in polarized Pakistani politics. Instead of lobbying for Pakistan, they were actively campaigning to move a resolution in the US House of Representatives, with support of the powerful Indian lobby and are even contemplating sanctions, to facilitate their favourite politician(s) to attain power. Such a situation is unimaginable, as far as the Indian Diaspora is concerned.
Unfortunately, the paid or elected elite at helm in Pakistan, is hostage to their conflicts of interests, fantasize living in the lands of their former colonial masters, post-retirement or when not in power. This split loyalty concept derives from dual nationality. Such a cancerous mindset must be surgically eradicated. The lifestyles and perks enjoyed by bureaucracy and their political toadies under the Raj cannot be dreamed of by their counterparts serving in England, because they train them to be servants of the people, whose taxes fund their payrolls. All lands allotted by occupying colonialists, as reward for serving them, was either cancelled or redistributed in India, after they adopted the Constitution in 1950.
It is the conservation of this mindset in Pakistan that the vast majority of paid elite, spreads despondency, with insinuations that Pakistan may not survive, to justify post-retirement migration, with their black money, to countries affiliated with their former colonial masters. This lopsided system has created an environment for qualified professionals to leave the country, which has led to a massive brain drain and flight of capital. The list of Dubai Leaks property owners reveal the identity of bureaucrats, majority of them beneficiaries of multiple plot allotments, along with traders involved in corrupt practices and a few politicians who abuse their power. They transfer black money, through loopholes created by them in the financial system. Corruption thrives in such a congenial atmosphere.
Majority of politicians named in the Dubai Property Leaks or Panama Leaks were products of political engineering. It is also a tragic reality that all such extra constitutional takeovers were regularized by the judiciary, starting from CJ Munir in Maulvi Tamizuddin case and thereafter. CJ Munir was rewarded by Ayub Khan, when he appointed him as Law Minister. This country has suffered, when such tyrants have held power. There are very few countries in the world, except banana republics like Myanmar etc., in South Asia, where individuals are allotted expensive real estate and agriculture land for performing services that they volunteered to perform and were paid for. This was definitely not in the scheme of things, which our Founding Fathers, led by MAJ, thought of. There was no armed struggle involved, nor any role of paid bureaucracy, trained by Raj to serve HM interests. We owe our independence to pioneers of our freedom struggle led by MAJ, Allama Iqbal, Viqarul-Mulk, Khawaja Salimullah, Zafar Ali Khan, Hakim Ajmal, Liaquat Ali Khan, Abdullah Haroon, Malik Barkat Ali, Qazi Issa, Abdur Rab Nishtar, Khawaja Nazimuddin etc.
The 2024-25 Federal Budget should have incorporated horizontal equality in levying taxes on all sources of income, above a certain uniform annual quantum, across the board. When all tax exemptions were withdrawn, there was no justification for exempting retired or serving government servants from paying tax on sale of subsidized plots that were allotted to them under garb of welfare. For any state to function and survive it must collect maximum revenues through direct taxation so as to have enough fiscal space for investment in human resource development, give subsidies to the poor or build an infrastructure to attain technological self-sufficiency for economic growth, with minimal reliance on foreign debts. Failure to do so will result in forfeiting state sovereignty to foreign donors.
Pakistan is a victim of a self- generated economic quagmire, where vested interests of powerful lobbies involved in real estate, retail and wholesale traders, cartels involved in sugar, fertilizer and illegal tobacco production prevail, over collected welfare of the majority facing starvation, deprived of basic needs like clean drinking water. Pollution induced smog has become a regular phenomenon, because of unplanned urban development schemes, chopping trees etc. Our financial system is hostage to the insatiable greed of few. It is time for a change to occur.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Lahore.
