Reality check

Published September 1, 2014

MANY people may be somewhat disillusioned with democracy, which has failed to deliver the promised future. But even they have not given up all hope as yet, or they would have responded differently to the PTI’s call for civil disobedience. All such calls that could have impacted the economy have gone unheeded.

The world, however, is watching the unfolding developments in Pakistan with concern, as indicated by the lingering round of talks with the IMF and the delay in issuing the fund’s detailed economic health report and the fifth tranche of $550 million. Some high profile visits by foreign dignitaries to Pakistan have also been postponed, while the European Union has taken notice of references to hundi and hawala in the PTI’s proclamations.

The private sector has been vocal in categorically rejecting the proposal, which, they believe, hurts the economic interest of the business community. To integrate the country into the world economy, we need to live by the norms of the civilised world, they say. They consider the PTI’s call ‘irresponsible and suicidal’. “You can’t be permitted to wreck the ship to fix the direction,” a business leader commented.

Imran Khan, the PTI’s leading light, has been repeating the call to force the prime minister out of office through an economic revolt in his speeches in Islamabad.

He has urged the people to bleed the government white by not paying taxes, toll charges, import duties and utility bills. He has pleaded with them to empty their accounts at state-run banks, and called upon overseas Pakistanis to switch to informal money transfer channels of hundi and hawala.

He has also advised foreign donors to withdraw their support to the Nawaz Sharif government, and warned IFIs that loans extended to the current government will not be repaid if his party is voted into power

There is nothing to indicate that even his supporters have taken him seriously on this count. Some isolated incidents were reported in Punjab, where commuters declined to pay the toll tax, but that is probably the limit the people are willing to stretch their allegiance to, what some consider, a ‘wild wish list’ of the PTI leader.

There were reports doing rounds in social media that some youth, perceived to be PTI supporters, stopped paying GST on their bills at some hip food joints. However, a survey of the market contradicted any such development. An officer at the front desk of a coffee shop confirmed to Dawn that they did not receive any intimation to discount GST from bills.

It was too early for utility companies to offer comments on the trend in bill collection, but the collection desks at multiple banks are said to be functioning smoothly. “We did not notice any change in turnover of customers who deposit their bills in our branch,” a bank manager told this writer. No unusual withdrawals were reported by the National Bank of Pakistan or any other state-owned institution.

The flow of remittance was also said to be normal. However, some governments in Europe and the management of the European Union in Brussels have expressed concern and issued stern warning to Pakistanis through the media, advising them to be careful in their monetary dealings.

All trade bodies, right from the FPCCI to city chambers and representatives of overseas investors and the services sector did not hesitate to take a public position. They rejected the PTI’s calls and urged the party to desist from the temptation of going overboard. Zakaria Usman, president of the apex body of the business community, was critical of the parties promoting chaos under the garb of protests.

Yousuf Jamshed, who heads a service company, termed the call for disobedience ‘ illogical and unpatriotic’. He believes that the country is already passing through a difficult patch, and confrontational politics will hurt business and the economy.

The reaction of the Federal Board of Revenue a day after the call was more a reflection of the government’s nervousness. Through a press release, it claimed that people are not heeding the PTI’s call, as the tax collecting organs of the government raked in Rs7bn in a day. To create the impression that even the PTI’s top leaders ignored the call, it revealed that Jehangir Tareen had paid Rs8m to the national exchequer on August 18 in sales tax, income tax and customs duties.

Ishaq Dar was too busy and some key members of the economic team were in China. Commerce Minister Khurram Dastagir termed the move ‘self-defeating’ and ‘reckless’. “Who in his right mind would tell people to flout not just local but international laws,” he reacted, referring to hundi and hawala.

“Imran Khan seems bent on sacrificing anything to realise his political ambitions. I do not believe his stance has earned him any respect. It can jeopardise our efforts to boost trade and sell goods and services to an already suspicious world.”

The minister agreed that it is too early to refer to actual figures of revenue generation on different counts.

“I would like to believe he did not mean what he said. It was, maybe, a call to wake people up from their slumber. Everyone knows that the country has more than its share of problems. Imran Khan needs to be more careful,” Saad Amanullah, a top multinational executive-turned-social activist commented.

Sindh Revenue Board Chairman Tashfeen K Niaz said he was baffled and found it hard to believe that a leader aspiring to occupy the PM office can say something so damaging for the country. “It is sad to see such leaders making baseless claims.”

He informed that revenue generation in Sindh in the first two months of the current fiscal has risen 17pc. From a little above Rs5bn in the corresponding period last year, Rs6.5bn was already collected till August 26.

Asad S Jafar, the OICCI President, said all his members are law abiding corporate citizens. “As such, OICCI members will always follow the law and continue to discharge their fiduciary responsibilities as per the regulations at the time.”

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, September 1st, 2014

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