A patented blackmail psyche.

Byline: Ikram Sehgal

The features of corruption and nepotism that the Quaid-eAzam had warned against has been going on unabated for decades, overtime these methods have acquired a kind of legality and rightfulness. Everybody today seems to accept the fact that sitting in a position of power makes one entitled to take payment for favours. The weak presence of accountability in allsectors of administration and business over the years created a kind of psyche among the people that takes corruption for granted and demands more. Undermining the existing rules and laws made their enforcement almost impossible because those meant to enforce and implement them had the same evil attitude to makemoney whenever possible, to the detriment ofrule of law and discipline. Consider the low tax collection has forced the Pakistani state forced to ask for loans or even gifts since it is not able to meet its expenses from the tax income. Corruption has by now has grown to such dimensions that the very viability of the state has come into question and that is a national security issue. Attempts have been made over the last about twenty years to implement accountability.

Imran Khan's PTI government is the first making a credible effort to turn things around. With the economy slowing down to unprecedented level, a real break-through can only be achieved when the vicious circle of mismanagement, corruption and blackmail dominating the economy is broken. Most people in the world don't like paying taxes but they do understand that how can any country and the society survive withoutrevenues? So inmost countriesthey do pay taxes needed to pay for healthcare, education, social security, to create jobs in one word to run the country. Not so in Pakistan! Without enough taxes being collected the state hasto borrowmoney to run its affairs.That is why half or more than half of the GDP goes for paying off debts.

There are filthy rich people in this country who have paid no taxes or a couple of hundreds of rupees only instead of hundreds of thousands in the name of tax. Or they threaten and blackmail judges to get a certain judgement and if not they will destroy their reputation. Accountability JudgeArshad Malik claimed in an affidavit that he was offered aRs500 million cash bribe by the son of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Hussain Nawaz, who demanded that the judge resign on the groundsthat he "could no longer deal with the guilt of having convicted" Nawaz under duress...

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