Daily Times

Have a look at this curriculum vitae. Barely educated or possessing a fake degree; having millions in assets but only declared a pittance; mega corruption cases either in process or have been going on for years; never paid a rupee in taxes or does not even possess an NTN number; is highly skilled in lying, denying, deceiving; is exceptionally competent at changing loyalties given the right payoff; strong resolve never to let any remorse, shame or guilt affect the single-minded pursuit of personal goals; and so on and so forth. This is the CV for an ‘ideal’ candidate of someone representing the nation in parliament. There may be a few exceptions but they are in such a minority that they hardly make any difference.

The proliferation of such individuals in our parliament and other houses of politics is like the wide spread of ‘weapons of mass destruction’ that have brought the country on the verge of economic collapse, political fragmentation and social deprivation. Most economic evils stem from having people in the system who are not only apathetic to the woes of the economy but are bent upon doing more of the same until they lose their position or proximity to somebody in that position. The current chaos in the country is a direct result of years of changing of names and labels but not changing the quality of people running the country. From people ruling through force or supposedly popular vote, the intent has always somehow to aim for everything else but the national interest. Power and position is the end objective, and that has resulted in power struggles that have had a corrosive impact on the political and economic structure of Pakistan.

While things have never been rosy in the power circles, things have never been worse either. Thanks to an active judiciary and a vocal media, the extent of the rot and its continuation is on show every day. However, merely knowing and adjudging are not enough when the coalition of the corrupt is in a majority in parliament. Who will hold whom accountable if most of them are in the same boat? As the recent figures reveal, almost 65 percent of the parliamentarians do not pay tax. Hence tax evasion is the root cause of most of the evils. Pakistan has one of the lowest tax to GDP ratios, 8.7 percent, which is the lowest in the region. For Pakistan to have enough revenues to sustain itself the ratio has to be at least 18 percent. Tax evasion is the most blatant form of corruption. While most parliamentarians do not pay taxes, they live luxuriously on public money. Their extravagant lifestyles are funded from the tax collected by government; their families live off facilities sponsored by state money; their campaigns are funded by development funds. This causes chronic shortage of money that then the government obtains by raising the prices of main utilities and printing money, thus causing a spiral of inflation.

One of the major cornerstones of a democratic ideology is the accountability of the rulers to the public. In western and more developed countries, every person in the government is subject to a just and proper system of accountability where they are answerable for every move that they make in personal or public life. The MP expense scandal last year in the UK where even a few hundred pounds spent on personal use came under strict scrutiny and resulted in resignations was a common example of why democracy in its true sense is a leveller. However, in immature democracies like ours it is difficult to hold the most tested tried and proven criminal accountable. The reason being that the highest offices are manned by leaders who set examples of getting away with murder, literally.

The recent case of Kamran Faisal is like a Sherlock Holmes thriller but with a difference. When the president announced that Raja Pervez Ashraf would be the prime minister it was a day most Pakistanis felt that injustice had reached its absolute height. Whether Karman Faisal committed suicide or he was killed is still to be determined. If a person is harassed, pressurised and made to do things his conscience would not allow, it is a push towards insanity and those who pushed him must be held responsible.

Herein lies the problem. The Supreme Court is blamed for judicial activism but when such human atrocities are taking place, who is responsible? There has to be another institution that will question any miscarriage of justice. When governance is missing, justice will have to work overtime. Such are the vagaries of living in a country where those who rule are the biggest rule-breakers themselves.

As election time arrives, it is imperative for the people of this country to uphold the spirit of democracy and make choices based on different criteria. It is now an established fact that what is lacking in this country is not resources or talent or electricity, but integrity. Thus, this time whether Article 62 and 63 are in place and enforced or not the people of this country should ensure that their collective choice overrules any attempt to circumvent the law. After all, the power of people is always greater than that of the people in power.

The writer is a leadership coach, columnist and the Information Secretary of the PTI Punjab. She can be reached at andleeb.abbas1@gmail.com