| April 4, 2003 | Friday | Safar 1, 1424 |
Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)
Lukewarm reaction
One more, once again
THE budgetary proposals being considered for the next fiscal year seem primarily aimed at the twin objective of enhancing revenue income without imposing fresh taxes and higher allocations for the poverty alleviation programme without adversely impacting on other vital budgetary provisions relating to the economy and social sectors. This is what one understands from reports discussing the probable shape and content of the forthcoming annual budget. There is, indeed, no room any more in the economy to bear the burden of additional taxes or an increase in their existing rates. In fact, such measures in the past are known to have only encouraged tax evasion and cheating. But then there are still large segments of the economy which are out of the tax net. So, a determined effort to expand the tax net along with simplification of the rules as well as prudently paced reduction in the rates of these taxes would certainly encourage taxpayers to contribute their full share to the treasury without getting a feeling of being robbed. Of course, while reducing import taxes it is important to take care not to create problems for the local industry.
However, for its part industry, too, which over the years has become inefficient under the protective shield of high import tariffs, must realize that such tariffs also encourage smuggling which is more hurtful for them than open competition from imported products. It is important, however, to get the point of view of the local industry on this issue before finalizing the budgetary proposal. Since the country’s tax sector is still undergoing a lot of uncertainties as a result of on-going reforms in the CBR rules and its structure, there is certainly a need to make provisions for any unforeseeable setbacks in the shorter term in the government’s overall income. In this context, the government is said to be making efforts to secure grants from the World Bank, Japan, China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Unencumbered resources from these sources would ensure that the poverty alleviation programme for the year is not adversely affected even if some reform-related short-term revenue declines occur.
It is time to prepare more ambitious annual development plans than what we have had over the last several years. We must go back to the time when the budget for development used to be of the order of three to four per cent of GDP. One reason for the continued stagnation in the economy has been the gradual withdrawal of the public sector from its development responsibilites. A number of economically viable projects with considerable job generating potential have already been announced by the government. But these projects have yet to take off because of the delay in providing the needed resources. It is time the government made an earnest effort in this direction, making productive use of the fiscal room made available by the generous debt rescheduling granted by the Paris Club on official loans of over 12 billion dollars. This has facilitated a saving of at least about two billion dollars annually in repayment over the next ten years. According to a World Bank report, Pakistan continues to remain a heavily indebted country despite the Paris Club rescheduling. So, in order to be able to bring this burden down to a sustainable level, while, at the same time, not neglecting to mobilize resources for development projects, the government needs to keep testing the limits to which it could go in expanding the public sector development activity. This need not disturb the macroeconomic stability it has already achieved.
AFTER an impassioned five-day debate, the Senate passed a unanimous resolution on Wednesday expressing its “shock and dismay” at the US-led invasion of Iraq. The resolution deplores the indiscriminate use of firepower by coalition forces against civilians and calls for the UN Security Council to take an urgent initiative to halt the war. The resolution was drafted after three days of hectic wrangling over the wording, reflecting sharp differences over the tone and content of the draft. Despite these differences, the final text of the resolution is relatively mild in tone and seems closer to the government’s point of view on the issue. The Senators avoided using the word ‘condemned’, and preferred the milder word ‘deplored’, to convey their disapproval of the attack. What is intriguing, however, is the fact that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal has gone along with the milder version. The six-party alliance of religious parties is currently spearheading a nationwide agitation against the attack on Iraq, holding large rallies to vent its rage against the invaders. The government too has been strongly criticized at the rallies for taking a soft line on the US-led invasion.
It is indeed surprising that the MMA contingent in the Senate should have found it possible — or thought expedient — to swallow the watered-down resolution. Does it own up to the bland resolution or the much stronger line it follows on the streets? There are rumours that some kind of behind-the-scenes compromise has been worked out between the MMA and the government on power-sharing. It is no secret that members of the alliance have been holding talks with the government over the controversial Legal Framework Order. There is even speculation that the MMA could soon decide to join the government at the centre in order to further its agenda more effectively. Whatever the reasons behind the mild tone of the Senate resolution, the sentiments expressed in it do not fully reflect the strong feelings of anger and revulsion felt by the people over the invasion of Iraq. The sheer immorality and brazenness of the US action against Iraq has aroused countrywide anger which called for a far stronger note of protest than the Senate has found it possible to convey.
THE death of a sanitary worker of the Punjab secretariat on Wednesday as a result of torture during detention is a telling reminder of unchecked police brutalities. Angry protest over the tragedy was marked by use of excessive force by the police to disperse the crowd. A grieving relative of the deceased died because of head injuries caused by a police baton. The torture victim had been picked up by the police on a theft complaint by a secretariat official. The sanitary worker’s son has alleged that his father, besides being subjected to severe torture, was kept in illegal detention before being sent to the Lahore District Jail. When his condition deteriorated, he was taken to hospital where he died.
Coming in the wake of numerous other police excesses and custodial deaths, the incident shows that torture continues to be routinely practised by the law-enforcers and there are no checks worth the name against such wanton abuse of power. Senior officials often look the other way encouraging the errant and ill-trained lower ranks to take the law into their own hands. Such an approach deepens the people’s sense of alienation and runs counter to the objective of eliciting public cooperation in combating crime. Inquiries ordered into police excesses are usually a farce. Policemen guilty of serious offences often go scot free since police officials often help their colleagues in covering up crimes. There are already reports that relatives of the deceased sanitary worker are receiving threats from the police to hush up the case. As such, an impartial inquiry should be conducted and the guilty policemen punished.