Dr. Umar Khan
Dr. Khan belongs to a Lahore based Think Tank.
26-11-13
Sovereignty of Pakistan
American drone bombings apart from killing thousands of
Pakistanis has divided the society. The recent missile attack on the settled
area of Hangu has further deepened this cleavage. On one had there is a segment
of society that approves of drone strategy and believes and preaches that smart
bombs cleverly differentiates between the good and the bad before killing. They
also argue that the terrorists have killed tens of thousands so a few hundred
or thousand more innocent deaths are justified especially if we are getting
money from the US. This segment of society is more vocal belonging to the upper
strata at times accused of collaborating with the killers for personal
benefits. The other group opposed to these killing by drones blaming it for loss
of innocent lives and sovereignty of Pakistan. They get labeled as extremists, Taliban
apologists and at times “Ghairat Brigade” suggesting that they are looking for
national honor that is absolutely impractical for a poor country like Pakistan.
In an interdependent modern world nations don’t enjoy
absolute sovereignty like a few centuries back. Still there are acceptable and
unacceptable limits whose boundaries at times get blurred. Aerial attacks in
another country with missiles causing human loss is considered absolutely
unacceptable in any serious setup and society. Surprisingly still there are more
drone justifiers in Pakistan, its chief victim, than any other place.
The strong legal position leaves many options for Pakistan like
going to the UN and the International Court of Justice with a decent chance of
winning. It doesn’t resort to these measures
despite making lots of empty noises due to two reasons. 1. Pakistan’s record in
fighting terrorism has at times been questionable and 2. Its economy is on life
support, extremely feeble needing constant foreign help or may I say alms to
survive.
This pathetic situation has made Pakistan the most abused
and maligned helpless punching bag of the super powers. It gets its people
killed from all sides, suffers a damaged economy due to wars and then gets
blamed for everything. Inability to protest against them makes it even more
pitiful.
Now it absolutely clear that the biggest threat to Pakistan’s
sovereignty doesn’t come from any foreign intrigues or maneuverings but our own
self-destructory behavior and habits. Let us see
Our habit of getting in other’s wars acting like hired guns
along with our megalomaniac ideas of strategic depth and conquests despite a
wretched economy has really harmed our people. This deviated thinking has
brought bad name to Pakistan and has nearly left us isolated in the world with
no friends. This erratic policy and state of mind has caused great harm to our
sovereignty and honor and must stop. We don’t need to conquer other countries
or influence them instead focus on improving the lot of our people.
The other main threat to our national sovereignty is a weak
economy which basically depends on the balance of income and expenditures. Anything
that worsens this balance is a culprit affecting our sovereignty and honor. Let’s
try to identify the biggest villains here,
Tax evasion lowers the national income and is rampant here..
The richer a person the less he pays the taxes. Tax in a modern state is a duty
and not an optional philanthropy. The country and its people, particularly its
poor need and deserve it. Unscrupulous tax evasion is a very serious crime in
the world not very far from other heinous crimes. Our top politicians and
businessmen working hard to show their opulence and wealth somehow behave
oppositely while paying their dues. Surprisingly some very prominent politicians
still get votes from the poor despite all too obvious deviances in fulfilling
their national duties by paying taxes. Going through the tax returns of some
very prominent politicians and businessmen whose lifestyle would be difficult
for Bill Gates to emulate, one finds them extremely poor on papers but
practically filthy rich.
Corrupt tax collecting practices are rampant causing
terrible losses to national exchequer. Many FBR officials themselves discourage
people to pay taxes at times punishing them for it. They are more interested in
the cut for themselves personally rather than collecting revenue for the state.
The lavish life style of tax department officials has been all too apparent for
quite some time. This might have been a major factor in bringing down the
national tax revenues gradually to the extent where we are now making us the
least taxed nation. According to the most estimates people are taxed but this
revenue doesn’t reach the national treasury.
Our government and its expenditures have simply gotten out
of hand. Government jobs have become aplenty and most sought after because of
lavish salaries and perks along with opportunities of corruption. For the work
a single person does in the private sector ten people are employed in the public
sector still unable to complete their assignments. Repeated governments loaded
government departments and organizations with their cronies for years making
them too over employed and inefficient. These people are extremely pampered but
having nothing to do spend most of their time doing negative things as
nuisances created fetch benefits in the form of bribes by the hapless people.
PIA, Steel Mill, Railways and all government departments and
offices have become a drain on the national exchequer. Over Rs 500 billion is
spent every year just to keep them afloat. They need to increase their
efficiency and big cuts in their payrolls to make them viable. Instead of
earning revenues, these have become grave burden on the state and its people
needing regular cash infusions and Pakistan has to beg other countries for this
cash they squander.
The generosity shown by many government officials on state
resources showing absolute disregard for discipline is another reason for our
financial troubles. Outside of all schools and markets we see flashy government
cars and fuel being misused. Expenses incurred on PM and President House,
bureaucracy and military has gone beyond all limits. Despite asking for
repeated sacrifices from our people the governments never tighten their own belts
bringing us to this state of affairs. Unnecessary foreign trips wasting
resources is another major source of waste along with many other ways.
Corruption in the government has touched new heights since
successive governments learnt new ways of selling the future generations with
impunity. They realized the power of their signatures while negotiating
sovereign loans and contracts and used these ruthlessly to enrich themselves.
IPPs, rental powers, railways engines to name a few, made many politicians and
bureaucrats rich at the expense of our future generations and we are still
condemned to pay for their unscrupulous and corrupt practices. Some of the
worst offenders are no more but known by very respectable titles like shaheeds.
So we see that any business man who doesn’t pay taxes,
contractor that overcharges the govt, officials who misuse electricity or cars
paid by the government are actually compromising the national sovereignty and
honor of Pakistan not unlike Mir Jaffar and Mir Qasim’s of yesteryears. Their unscrupulous
actions have tied the hands of our government giving an opportunity to the
American officials with threats to Pakistanis with cutting aid for protests
against drone killings. They want us to keep on getting our people killed with
a smiling face. Not a very desirable situation.
Se we see that financial corruption and irregularities
compromises national sovereignty in addition to robbing the poor or
haqooqulibad which is unpardonable in Islam. If we are sensitive or serious
about our national sovereignty and prestige we must, treat financial crimes not
as civil matters but something much more serious like high treason with the
punishment these deserve. Many sociologists feel that the mother of Pakistani
problems is its moral collapse where illicit gains have stopped carrying a
stigma weakening the foundations of all institutions and the society. Financial
immorality has become totally acceptable despite the heavy cost it incurs to
Pakistan and its people. These severe punishments would be more appropriate and
help the moral abyss we have gotten ourselves into. We have several examples in
today’s world where self respecting nations give capital punishments to such
unscrupulous people.
Sovereignty, honor and dignity doesn’t come easy nor can it
be begged. We must fulfill our role to bring our society and country in the
league of respectable and dignified nations. We have to rid our society and
government of inefficiency, wastage of resources and corruption that has brought
Pakistan and its people on their knees. Beggars aren’t choosers nor are they
considered respectable anywhere in the world. We have to come out of this rut
and break the begging bowl. We have to protect the national coffers being
brutally looted by those with the responsibility to protect and use it. If we
cant, or don’t want to discharge our duties we loose our right to demand
respect of all kinds. We will effectively lose not only our right to life but
also right to protest against massacres of Pakistanis which would be uttermost height
of helplessness.
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