Daily Times

Earlier, there used to be twenty-two rich families in the country, but now there are twenty-two thousand filthy rich families in Pakistan

The present state of affairs in the country is mainly because of a race to accumulate as much wealth as possible in the shortest possible time

Since our primary school days, we have been aware of Billy Gram’s famous saying: “When wealth is lost nothing is lost, when health is lost something is lost, but when character is lost all is lost.” Unfortunately, in our country, this saying is read in the reverse order and the top priority of a vast majority is wealth.For them wealth is above and over their dignity, their honour, and even their family and loved ones. It seems that the whole nation is running after wealth and to attain it, they don’t hesitate in adopting any good or bad method.

Earlier, there used to be twenty-two rich families in the country, but now there are twenty-two thousand filthy rich families in Pakistan,many of them full of greed and disrespect for their fellow citizens. These multi billionaires are in a race to multiply their wealth and assets, and while doing so they forget the basic principles of humanity.For them money is everything, as they forget the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah.

Allah says in Surah al-Noor: “The curse of Allah on him if he is a liar.” There are many other verses in the Holy Quran condemning lies and prohibiting the believers from lying. There area number of sayings of Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) strictly prohibiting tellingof lies.In one such Hadith, Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) said: “Beware, I inform you regarding the greatest mortal sins: associating anything with Allah, disobeying parents, and lying.”

One example of lying in our daily life is theprevailing practice of evading the payment of taxes, which by the law of the country one is liable to deposit in the country’s treasure. In doing so, many people lie in their tax returns, forgetting that lying is forbidden in Islam. Owners of industrial units, traders, business community, shopkeepers,doctors, lawyers, and even the salaried class in private organisations do not seeanything wrong innot filing their income tax returns or lying in their tax returns. They do itwithoutany shame or remorse or fear of the punishment that the Almighty has declared for liars.

Tax theft is the cruellest form of corruption.The Father of the Nation,Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah said: “One of the biggest curses from which India is suffering-Ido not say that other countries are free from it, but I think our condition is much worse-is bribery and corruption. That is really poison.”This poison is eating up the very fabric of the nation; slowly and quietly, it has penetrated each and every part of the body.If the present practice is continued for a few more years, God forbid, the whole body would crumble down, but thenit would be too late.

The present state of affairs in the country is mainly because of a race to accumulate as much wealth as possible in the shortest possible time. Truth is the rarest commodity, and we are usedto telling lies without giving our behaviour a second thought. Had all the segments of society not been liars, Pakistan would have been standing among the ranks of the proud developed nations of the world. A lust for wealth, a desire to become multimillionaire within days, an urge for power, and a wish for worldly possessions, like the latest model car anda big bungalow, have made us human beings withouta heart and a conscience. We have closed our eyes like pigeons, but the cat is going to eat us.

I remember the days when I was working on sea-going vessels.One German woman who used to do social work,especially for seafarers, was a regular visitor of our ship in Hamburg, Germany.She asked me to get her a Pakistani dress. Before my next voyage to Germany, I brought a shalwar kameez jora from Tariq Road, Karachi, and gifted it to her when she visited my ship.She happily accepted my gift.The same day I was going to the city centrein a cab; she requested me to drop her on the way.While we were exiting the Hamburg port gate at the customs office, she asked the driver to stop the cab and she went inside the customs office. Within no time she was back in the cab. On our way back, she inquired the price of the shalwar kameez suit, which after converting Pakistani rupees into German currency, I told her.She said, “Aamir, do you know I had to pay almost the double custom duty on it?”

Being a Pakistani, my instant response was why she had to stop the cab and show the items we were carrying to the customs.No one had asked us to stop or if we were carrying any items liable of customs duty.Surprised at my question she said, “How could I pass the custom gates without showing them my belongings when I know that there is a fixed duty on ready-made garments in my country?”Her reply made me feel very small; I couldn’t help complimenting Germans as a nation. Her sense of complying with the law and regulations of her country was indicative of her patriotism and firm belief in her country’s systems and institutions.It spoke volumes for why Germany is a developed country.

Unfortunately, in the ‘Land of the Pure’, the situation is opposite of that. Citizens of Pakistan leave no stone unturned to dodge custom authorities and are always busy wasting their energies in finding ways and means to escape from the eyes of law enforcement agencies, be it customs, FBR or any other tax-collecting institution. The proud possessors of the green passport work in western countries, settlet here, get citizenship, and strictly follow the laws of the country of their residence. The moment they touch the country of their birth, they forget all ethics and obligations of a citizen towards his country.

Once I was talking to one such ‘patriotic Pakistani’ who had come back to Pakistan to ‘serve’ his country after getting a developed country’s citizenship and passport.To my disappointment and bafflement,the individual was not paying income tax on his monthly wages.With the’collaboration’ of his employer, his monthly salary was divided for more than two people under fake names, an easy way of evading income tax. I asked that tax thief if he did not deposit his income tax as per the prevalent laws of the country of which he was dying to get a passport, even doing odd jobs. He replied that he was paying the full income tax, the rate of which was very high as compared to Pakistan. I was speechless and shook my head in shame and shock.I was thinking ofthe famous poem of Kahlil Gibran, “Pity the Nation”.

Due to this mania of running after money, our country’s graph of development is going down with every rising sun. If someone is adhering to the laws of the country and fulfilling all of his/her obligations, he/she is considered an idiot.

The difference in the standard of living between the common citizens and the elites is so vast no words fully explain or justify the prevailing injustice and inequality in society due to which the graph of crime is going up on a daily basis. It’s the dream of becoming rich that has resulted in the present days of uncertainty and loss of hope. The poor are getting poorer day by day,whereas the rich, the privileged ones, are expanding their empires; they are least concerned about the plight of their fellow citizens. They enjoy meals in exclusive restaurants, where the bill is much more than the monthly wages of a worker.The food they enjoy at five star hotels is only because of their repeated lies and tax thefts, sucking the blood of their employees. It is a complete loss of character.

Is this the Pakistan for which our forefathers sacrificed? Is it for this inequitable system that my mother, like mothers of millions of other people, left her dream house, the home where her childhood was spent, and where she had spent the most memorable days of her life?

It is time to wake up, or we, as a nation, will simply vanish from the face of the earth. I feel ashamed to face the next generation; I always taught them integrity, honesty, truth, fairness, and above all,loyalty. How can I face the new generation when they find out that their boss has a fake degree?When they find out that without a strong contact it is impossible to get a decent job. When they find out the class difference prevail severy where. This loss of character is a loss of everything.

The writer is a former marine engineer