Daily Times

The country is agog with revelations of prime ministerial misdeeds, with the Panama Papers revealing an array of political figures with various permutations of tax-evasion, and ill-gotten-gains-hiding mechanisms. The list of Pakistanis with companies domiciled in tax havens includes politicians and businesspersons. While it is true that owning an off-shore company (or two, or four) is not necessarily illegal, it points to tax-avoidance at best, and corruption at worst.

The vociferous denials issuing forth from the prime minister and his family, as well as other political notables, are unsurprising. Foreign assets? Us? They seem to gasp with indignation. It is foolish perhaps to expect anything other than denial from leaders who, though known to be corrupt, continue to be re-elected by a populace grown accustomed to graft and cronyism. It is important to note that not all of the money thus hidden stems from corruption. Chances are high, however, that a lot of it does; particularly given the fact that only 0.3% of the population files tax returns, and those that do so regularly is even lower.

Of the politicians implicated in the Panama Papers, some are actively involved in anti-corruption initiatives. This neatly illustrates the hypocrisy that lies at the heart of our system. Reform tax collection for the masses, while remaining above such plebeian activities as paying them oneself. One figure finds that 67 percent of federal legislators have not paid income taxes or have dispensed with the formality of even registering for an income tax number. Why bother with paperwork when you’re not going to pay? Unsurprisingly, data on lost tax revenue is lacking.

With federal coffers running on empty, Pakistan continues to borrow from international agencies, caught in a Sisyphysian trap of borrowing more to pay off existing loans. Pakistan’s annual GDP growth is far below that of other South Asian countries, and there is little focus on investing in education, training and building an environment conducive to business. With the unemployment rate for youth steadily increasing since 1996, to 8.5 percent in 2015, it is not surprising that there has been a concomitant rise in violent crime and extremism. It is not America’s fault but that of our venal rulers, and us for consistently voting them (back) into office.

Transparency International’s 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Pakistan as 117 out of 168 countries in terms of perceived corruption levels. Scorers in this neighbourhood are characterised by entrenched violence, thus revealing a correlation between corruption and conflict. For perspective: rounding out the bottom were Sudan at 165, Afghanistan at 166 and Somalia at 167. The list reads like a downward spiral into state collapse.

A previous survey found that not a single Pakistani institution was considered devoid of graft. Ranking highest on the scale of corruption were the police, followed by politicians and civil servants, political parties and the judiciary. Religious bodies had the distinction of being perceived as least corrupt. This is significant. In an environment where political elites are seen as grasping, greedy and immoral, the clerics provide purpose, succour and a promise of eternal reward. Madrassas will house, feed, clothe and educate a child, while government officials will take money intended for building schools and developing curricula and squirrel it away in offshore bank accounts.

The Panama Papers have embroiled politicians and their families around the world in scandal. If this government truly wishes to reform a very broken system, it must prove that nobody is impervious to consequences. Corruption corrodes trust in the very mechanisms of state that are meant to protect citizens. An imperfectly applied law encourages people to step outside it and seize what they want. A thief can steal in many ways, at the barrel of a gun or the stroke of a pen.

Corruption is not a victimless crime. It robs people of hope for betterment, creates instability and fosters terror. Its effects are visible in ghost schools, in the idle men that roam the streets, in the angry youth who protest in the name of an Islam they do not understand. Its denouement is evident in Lahore’s Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, Army Public School in Peshawar; in the blood of the young who have been robbed of a future; and also of the perpetrators, who were denied opportunity by a system that rewards the single-minded pursuit of one goal — be it riches, power, or heaven.

The writer is a freelance columnist