Daily Times

Accountability breeds response-ability—StephenR Covey

In my article “Pakistan politico-economic crises; perils of losing hope”,(Daily Times, July 4, 2019), I had tried to point out the brewing political crisis in the country, and briefly hinted at public dismay with the slow pace of accountability of the political elite, which was the main political promise of the PTI, before and after the elections in 2018.Public’s impatience is also aggravated due to either erroneous sequencing of handling the challenges at hand by the government or a deliberate attempt by the embedded corrupt Trojan horses within the bureaucracy. They are continuously throwing wrench in the running machinery of governance in order to agitate the common man by shifting the burden of sharing the main economic burden by lower rungs of society rather than adopting a top-down approach.

While tax-payment is a responsibility that no one should evade, there is a need to adopt a deliberate approach instead of a quick fix. It is pertinent to mention here that somewhat similar haste was shown in 2000 when the army was called in to support the FBR/CBR for its “Survey and documentation of Economy.” The mission was successfully accomplished by the army; however, what happened to the precious data collected and millions of new taxpayers registered with potentially estimated billions of rupees added to the government kitty remains a mystery. In all probability, it ultimately went down the drain of corruption, and tax evaders remained untouched.

I am hopeful that a soft and a hard copy of the nationwide collected data may be traceable in the GHQ if the CBR/FBR had lost it. It is my vivid memory that after the initial reluctance, all traders, industrialists, and big and small businessmen in Punjab happily filled the given tax registration forms, and agreed to pay due taxes to government instead of greasing the palms of corrupt mafias in the tax department. The incumbent government may like to consult military authorities to make use of that data as a starting baseline, and further proceed gradually rather than creating undue panic.

While tax-payment is a responsibility that no one should evade, there is a need to adopt a deliberate approach instead of a quick fix

The rotten fish lies within the government tax-collection machinery, and that needs to be removed first. There is a need to balance out direct and indirect taxes, and burden must not shift to the public/consumers instead of big shots, as a rule isn’t unfair if it applies to everyone. As for the traders’ strike of July 13, suffice to say, in the wise words of Benjamin Franklin, that “justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are”,

Although investigative agencies are doing a great job in tracing cases and proofs of corruption, the process will be more credible when applied across the board, and quick and transparent justice is done. All the accused should be treated like ordinary people rather than as VVIP in plush jail rooms, with home-cooked lavish meals and overgenerous trips to hospitals and parliament on a feeble production order plea. The last option needs to be abolished either through a parliamentary process or by a presidential order.

A direct outreach by PM Khan to representatives from all segments of society is of utmost urgency; otherwise, the political cost may just be unbearable

This is the least the public desires, if the incumbent government is incapable of applying Chinese or Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s formula to recover plundered money as well as punish the looters. So far the public perception is that our laws catch flies but let hornets go free. There arises a problem when the same people who make the law get to decide whether or not they themselves have broken the law. Our judicial system needs a complete overhaul to be at par with the judiciary of respectable countries, and to fulfill expectations of justice seekers and the needy.

The first and the foremost priority for any elected government must be to take care of the security and well being of its people, especially the poor and low and middle class people. In the last ten months, there have been many factors-high cost of living due to inflation, uncontrolled price hike, unemployment due to real estate and construction businesses closing down, exports becoming uncompetitive due to high taxes levied on energy and fuels, quite a few industrial units shut down, rupee losing greatly to dollar. Resultantly, swarms of daily wagers are forced into begging; that needs an immediate remedial measure before it is too late.

In order to let the people earn their bread and butter, and to let the economic wheel rotate, Prime Minister Imran Khan has to touch the ground himself, like a down to earth politician, rather than merely relying on a blurred picture painted by his staff. A direct outreach by PM Khan to representatives from all segments of society is of utmost urgency; otherwise, the political cost may just be unbearable. The incumbent government’s successes on the economic and foreign policy fronts are fine at the macro level; nevertheless, the real test is to measure up to the expectations of the people of Pakistan on the internal front.

I would like to sum up Pakistan’s contemporary quandary with a Frederick Douglass quote: “Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organised conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them; neither persons nor property will be safe.”

The writer, SI (M) is a retired senior Army officer with rich experience in International relations and diplomacy