“Fight hierarchy and bureaucracy as hard as you possibly can. Don’t ever let it become the master; always remember it’s the servant”—Herb Kelleher
When a student of political science seeks to give an example of a country ruled by the most incompetent, inhuman and insensitive statesmen, at the forefront, Pakistan is bound to emerge as one. The second half of the twentieth century and beginning of the twenty first, have seen decades of experimental leaders who were all for themselves more than the people of this country. As Ludwig von Mises said: “He who is unfit to serve his fellow citizens wants to rule them.”
Whether Muhammad Ayub Khan, who proclaimed to be futuristic, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was supposedly a people’s man, Zia-ul-Haq, the flag-bearer of Islamic principles who conveniently forgot that the country had residents other than Muslims, Benazir Bhutto, who shattered the aspirations of those who were expecting a total turn-around from suffocation of the eleven-years rule, Nawaz Sharif, businessman turned politician for whom everything is purchasable, Pervez Musharraf, so-called liberal and enlightened but failed to convert Zia’s remnants, or Imran Khan, the ultimate people’s hero who got carried away by the charm of premiership — all have incontrovertibly proven that if there is any power, it is in the hands of civil-military bureaucracy but not in the true representatives of the people.
This country is a classic case of servants-turned-masters who have been gnawing at its roots, weakening it to an extent that it is desperately struggling for its survival what to talk of the people who find themselves between the devil and the deep blue sea. Their country is day by day getting uncomfortable, rather unlivable and the world is shut out for them. What a dilemma! Putting oneself in the shoes of the common man is the only way to feel the trauma they are passing through each day of their lives.
No one but the bureaucrats are more than eager to transfer their insecurity onto the shoulders of International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avoid empowering the people with opportunities to improve the country’s overall economic condition.
Travelling through the first world civilized countries, one often comes across, ministers, judges and senior government officers carrying their briefcases travelling in public transport, but such a sight is improbable in the third world, underdeveloped Pakistan of today, where the use of highly expensive vehicles, accompanied by a cavalcade is how these personalities commute from point A to B while city roads are devoid of pavements and proper crossings for pedestrians, leaving them vulnerable to fatal accidents. Franz Kafka warned: “Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.” This is exactly the Pakistani scene sketched by the great nineteenth century dramatist where every election anticipated a pro-people revolution only to further empower bureaucracy.
Frank Herbert in his novel Heretics of Dune writes: “Bureaucracy destroys initiative. There is little that bureaucrats hate more than innovation, especially innovation that produces better results than the old routines. Improvements always make those at the top of the heap look inept.” Where else is this more conspicuous than it is in the corridors of power where any attempt to reform decaying structures are conveniently put off on the plea that these are unsuited to the demands of our neocolonial masters, lenders of the last resort. No one but the bureaucrats are more than eager to transfer their insecurity onto the shoulders of International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avoid empowering the people with opportunities to improve the country’s overall economic condition.
The Budget 2024-2025 is an open admission of this fear. By refusing to accept a program whereby more revenue can be obtained by a highly reduced form of extortion from an extremely broad tax base, merely on the grounds that this system would fail to satisfy IMF’s conditions, clearly indicate that false presentations have been made before IMF, whose officials are generally more inclined to watching their own interest instead of the mode of recovery.
They are least bothered about ensuing hardships for the people as a result of harsh measures adopted in the Finance Act, 2025. They are also oblivious to the negative effects on the economy and growth rate that is definitely going to see a downward trend in the coming days. With less incentives to invest, there would be greater chances of flight of capital and hardly any to attract foreign direct investments.
With rising prices of commodities and low level of employment, how can the budget makers expect tomorrow’s generation to be healthy and efficient?
Without reducing (rather increasing) expenses related to governance or curtailing tax expenditure or withdrawing unholy exemptions under the Second Schedule to the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 granted to the elite, this cannot be a frugal budget made by government exponents. The parliamentarians who passed this budget did not bother to debate the consequences of an enhanced rates of tax, especially for the salaried class and the corporate sector. They have absolutely failed to appreciate their status in these Houses as representatives of those who they claim to have elected them. They should be set free before the people to face their reactions and decide whether their behavior is in accordance with democratic values.
Not a single member rose in defense of the people to highlight difficulties that now lie in their destiny as they battle to provide their children with basic necessities with exemption of sales tax withdrawn on essential food and medicinal items. With rising prices of commodities and low level of employment, how can the budget makers expect tomorrow’s generation to be healthy and efficient? In fact, the recipe is to keep it from raising its head before the ruling masters so that their acts are not questioned.
Also, by increasing the burden of taxes on the corporate sector or in other words, those which are employing people, the ‘prudent’ budget pundits are in reality discouraging expansion of the economy, thus forcing more lay-offs to cut down costs, and resort to more tax evasion. Now accountants are going to make fortunes and lawyers will have a heyday challenging various provisions of law that appear unconstitutional while the ordinary people on the streets would be sole losers. The only lamenting point is that despite raising these matters time and again, there would be a continuance of inefficiencies and bad governance, with no chances of remedy, at least in the hands of the present set-up.