Charity stops at home
Mian Nawaz Sharif reached new heights on Thursday evening last, a level not easily attained by mere mortals. Now he has to prove he means what he says. In his speech to the nation, the PM touched a number of major issues but nothing was more meaningful than his decision to put all the industrial assets of the Sharif family on the block in order to pay off all and any outstanding loans. These loans were his Achilles Heel because it restrained the authorities from credibly proceeding against others. Though it is known far and wide that his family was thrust into an untenable financial situation by unending persecution at the hands of the Bhutto/Zardari combine, public perception was still uneasy about the re-scheduling of the family’s debts when he came back to power. Whatever may be the quantum or percentage of loans, the very fact that the Sharif family bit the bullet shows a positive commitment to the country, a level of sacrifice seen in Pakistan only intermittently and occasionally, mostly by the Armed Forces on the battlefield. While skeptics abound who question whether the process of loan adjustment against asset disposal will be transparent, for the record the PM seems to be clearly sincere about his intentions, rendering a personal sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty. A quick cursory survey of the populace shows that they believe him in much more numbers than his detractors who doubt that this “cleansing” process will take place.
The decision to return loans by the Sharif family clears the way to take action against all bank defaulters. For too long this country has been at the mercy of these white-collared upper class elite who made loan defaulting into an art. They specialised in making their industries sick by taking easy loans, mainly without adequate collateral. The net result is that every one of the Nationalised Commercial Banks (NCBs) are overloaded with enormous debt portfolios and as such were in a precarious state till Messrs Shaukat Tareen, Zubyr Soomro and Mohammedmian Soomro took over the worst affected i.e. HBL, UBL and NBP respectively, the turnaround within the year has been nothing short of amazing. I must mention here Rashid Khan of HBL, a truly outstanding executive, an innocent who has become a victim of circumstances because of the machinations of past masters of intrigue and deception. The litmus test of the success of these bankers has been that those who had been among the bankers who had brought the bank to this state, including some PML-worthies like former HBL President Agha Fasihuddin, are now lobbying hard to come back so that they can be on the gravy train again. This nation owes a debt to people like the three Presidents aforementioned and their respective teams for not flinching in their task despite personal threats of very grievous nature. Each of them have rendered some personal sacrifice in the greater cause of the country. The Governor State Bank (SBP), Dr. Muhammad Yaqub must be congratulated for his steadfastness and resolve in the face of grave provocation, he has been a consistent though circumspect advocate that this country’s credibility will go nowhere while loan defaulters keep on living off the fat of the land, the PM’s action vindicates his stance and clears the deck to go after these crooks. This measure to go after loan defaulters all guns blazing is what this country needed most to rejuvenate the economy. Unless loan defaulters are brought to book and dealt with harshly, this culture of not returning loans will persist, they must be rooted out with a vengeance lest one day the streets take over and we have a revolution in the real sense of the word.
There is an unholy nexus between loan defaulters and tax dodgers that may be peculiar to Pakistan, an alliance of evil intent formed by those who have no scruples about robbing the national exchequer even during a crisis, or should I say particularly during a crisis. For too long these tax evaders have been getting away with looting of Pakistan’s economy. At the tail end it is the poor people of this country who have been beggared beyond description. What does any poor person want more than his basic needs and yet he has to helplessly watch a few select elite lead a life of indecent luxury while his children have little to eat, scant shelter and clothing, precious little water and only apologies for a sewerage system, for medicine, education and transportation. To beat it all, the PM’s own basic constituency, businessmen and traders have been violently protesting against General Sales Tax (GST) at the retail stage but the PM has finally gone and enforced it. If there is a will there is a way to document those who make up the economy, with documentation revenue collection will increase manifold. The PM has a good man in the person of Mr. Moinuddin Khan, Chairman CBR, he should now give him a totally free hand to go after tax defaulters and evaders on a bipartisan basis without any prompting from government. In this the general public can be of great help not only by indicating those who live beyond their means but by socially and economically boycotting those who are known tax dodgers.
The implementation of land reforms as announced by the PM was very much overdue, particularly in Sindh where successive reforms have been frustrated by a small group of landowners who because of their holdings command inordinate political influence over the course of life in this country. By reserving almost 1.2 million acres and distributing it among Haris and other landless not only will the poor and disadvantaged get a chance in life but they will make this land fertile, something that the absentee “Jagirdar” was not bothered about. While I am against taxing agriculture income per se, I feel all income must be taxed equitably whether urban or rural. We remain an agri-based economy for the time being and we cannot kill the goose that lays golden eggs i.e. rice and wheat. This has been a significant step and one that required great political courage given that many of our legislators are landowners or (created by the British) feudal gentry.
No decision was more courageous for the PM than spelling out his resolve to go ahead with the Kalabagh Dam. This is vital for Pakistan as without it there is every likelihood of widespread desertification. Moreover it provides cheap hydel power which, when the electricity comes on stream will be at about the right time. The people ganging up against this are mainly Sindhi feudals, in the NWFP the only people viscerally opposed to it are the ANP and that too not on sound technical grounds but political ones. Having become a nuisance value because PML made a strategic blunder in magnanimously giving them their own Provincial seats, they have turned on their mentors. The PM should call a Joint Sitting of Parliament and have the construction of Kalabagh Dam signed into an article of law. Balochistan has almost no reason to be aggrieved and Sindh’s fears are largely misplaced. As usual Ms Benazir is playing the Sindh Card, but is being joined by nationalists of other Provinces. Ms Benazir believes that anything anti-Benazir is anti-Sindh and PML is anti-Sindh because of the Bhuttos. This perception must be corrected and it is high time that the Information Ministry should stop propping up Liaquat Ali Jatoi as CM. In any case there is no alternate to Governor’s rule in Sindh. Pakistan’s economy and future are inextricably linked with a successful completion of the Kalabagh Dam, the PM has done well in speaking his resolve firmly.
The PM’s national agenda focussed on vital issues but the PM has opened up quite a few fronts with deeply entrenched well-connected vested interests who are motivated by their own selves alone, paying no heed to national causes. Those among the great silent majority cannot let the PM fight this battle alone otherwise he will become history before we have even begun. At the same time the PM has to respond by getting rid of some of the crooks who surround him. All of us who can, must pull together and shield the PM from the attacks that will come, domestically and externally. The PM has shown the way by a remarkable performance, inculcating a sacrifice unheard of in this land. He has shown that charity stops at home.
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