Daily Times

I had the good fortune to spend Eid with my son Faisal Hafeez Khan in Maryland. I guess it is a dividend for not travelling to Pakistan this winter. I am at a stage in life where homing instincts grow stronger.

In my many decades of travelling, I used to joke that if I stayed away from Pakistan for over six months, my oxygen level would start to drop.

I need the fix of “mitti ghata”, the dust and polluted air to revive. Jokes aside; that is where my youthful memories reside and preserving them is through connecting with my roots; essential for my soul. My biggest trove is from Lahore, followed by Lyallpur and Abbottabad. I am unable to travel to Lahore and it is painful; nothing replaces spending time with my buddies Hassan Nisar and Afzal Ghauri.

Pakistanis have been robbed in many ways over the last two years. They are suffering through the worst inflation in our history. The youth, which comprises over 60 per cent of the population, see no future.

Putting food on the table for the family used to be a source of joy, bringing a smile to the provider’s face.

The systematic robbery of national wealth by corrupt politicians has paved the way for bankruptcy. We are borrowed to the hilt and have squandered away these loans on non-productive ventures that failed to build the capacity to stand on our own two feet. The repayment of this debt mountain takes 50 per cent of the GDP. We have to borrow more just to repay the debt instalments!

There is no joy left in the present and the future of our generation unless there is a radical path correction. With the inflation spiralling out of control, the lives of 95 per cent of Pakistanis have turned upside down. The utility bills of gas, fuel and electricity add up to more than the salary of the working classes.

How do they feed and clothe their families? Putting food on the table for the family used to be a source of joy, bringing a smile to the provider’s face. Now getting just the basic staple food ingredients is deepening the worry lines on the forehead.

Pakistan’s economy is dictated by the IMF. They want the revenue to increase so they are twisting the hands of the Government. Our revenue collectors are totally corrupt and extremely inefficient. This coupled with the lack of the government’s collective will to put our house in order has resulted in having a tax base of under three million, which is only one per cent of the population. The majority of the taxpayers are the salaried class who have no choice.

The USA has 168 million filing their taxes and India has a tax base of 21 million. The majority of traders, agriculturalists, production units and private sector service providers are out of the tax net; the few who are in it understate income in cahoots with the corrupt tax collectors. Sales tax collection is a disaster that leaks like a sieve.

As a result of this poor tax collection of direct taxes, the lag is made up through indirect taxes raising the prices for everyday consumption items. It is a vicious cycle that needs to be broken to give relief to the common man. The suffering Pakistanis are being ground into mince meat in every segment of their lives. There is no joy and relief anywhere. The entire system of governance has broken down. Every law in the book is being violated. We are at the bottom of the heap when it comes to providing justice in Pakistan. There is one set of laws for the elite and powerful and another set for the ordinary people.

An unjust society attracts the wrath of God and makes people miserable and unhappy.

Laws are implemented through law enforcement agencies led by the police under the control of Provincial Governments. The police in Punjab and Sindh where more than three-quarters of the population lives have become instruments of repression. In the last two years, their brutality and cruelty have reached heights never experienced in Pakistan before. Homes where women and children reside were considered sacrosanct by even the worst dictators. That has been shot to hell.

In a country where there is no security from brutal rulers, how does the populace maintain its sanity? February 8 was a watershed moment for the nation. Voters came out in droves to give their verdict in favour of the rule of law, justice and equality for all citizens. The results of these elections were stolen. Giving up hope is not an option and Imran Khan holds this flame of hope high for the disenfranchised Pakistanis.

The writer is the director of CERF, a non-profit, charitable organisation in Canada. The writer can be followed on twitter @HafeezKhanPU