LAHORE: Economic experts and academics at a seminar had a consensus that gender equality is the key to overcoming economic inequalities, saying Pakistan cannot progress without ensuring equal opportunities for its male and female citizens.

They were addressing a seminar to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on economic inequality and the role of wealth tax in the national economy, held at the Government College University (GCU) here on Wednesday.

Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee (PKRC), in collaboration with the South Asia Alliance for Poverty Alleviation (SAAPE) and Oxfam International, organised the seminar and brought together experts to examine the findings of a recently released book, “Implications of Covid-19 on Economic Inequality in Asia” and a report entitled “Tax Wealth Now”.

GCU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Asghar Zaidi stressed that understanding the implications of Covid-19 on economic inequality in Asia was vital to developing effective solutions to address the persisting impacts of the pandemic on society.

According to Mustafa Talpur, 67 per cent of the wealth created in the world in the last two years was earned by 1pc of the rich class, while 99pc of people only received 37pc of it.

Mr Talpur highlighted the digital divide, where students without access to quality technology were unable to continue their education during the pandemic. The Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi Executive Director Dr Akbar Zaidi said the poverty and inequality were two different things, and that inequality had increased globally. He identified the main causes of inequality in Pakistan as gender bias and power structure inequality.

Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Dr Abid Aman Barki said there was no specific scale to measure inequality yet and that it was a global problem that had been ongoing for hundreds of years.

He emphasised that European countries had successfully overcome inequality by taxing inheritance and wealth, and that inequality had particularly increased during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee (PKRC) secretary general Farooq Tariq highlighted how inflation and food crisis increased in Pakistan as a result of the pandemic.

He criticised the government for providing incentives, tax breaks and tax amnesty to the rich, while the poor struggled with poverty and inflation. He said that after poverty and inflation, further destruction was caused in Pakistan by climate change.

Universal College Lahore Prof Ayesha Ahmed said the poor were disproportionately affected by taxes, particularly indirect taxes, and that the wealthy were able to avoid taxes through their political connections.

She also pointed out that the wealthy often resisted the efforts to implement wealth taxes, arguing that it harmed the economy.

IT University Lahore Dean Fahad Ali also addressed the seminar.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2023