An open letter to the governor of Sindh

Naeem Sadiq wonders why the new governor needs a fleet of 44 cars

An open letter to the governor of Sindh
Dear Governor Imran Ismail,

Perhaps your first ceremonial task after taking the oath of office will be to visit the mausoleum of the Quaid. Please understand that you will be taking this trip in an unregistered and unlisted vehicle owned of the Sindh Governor House for which registration and motor vehicle tax has never been paid. This information has been provided by the Excise and Taxation Department under the Right to Information Act. Far more than paying your respects, you will be adding to the pain and sorrow of the great leader by this unlawful travel at the tax payers’ expense.

Please undertake this journey, as an honourable and law abiding citizen, in a small environment-friendly, duty paid and road tax paid car of your own – minus the platoon of heavily armed vehicles that routinely tend to tag along.

Back in the Governor House you may like to inquire as to why it needs to maintain a fleet of at least 44 cars. You may decide to retain one or two of these vehicles and sell the rest to build more schools for the children of Sindh.

As you warmly greet the Stanford-educated chief minister, please let him know that out of the 20,986 government vehicles on the records of E&T Department, 8,696 have not paid motor vehicle tax for the last 10 years, while another 5,348 vehicles have not done the same for two decades.

While the honourable chief minister promises to fix up this matter, you may gently whisper in his ears to begin this charity from home. Of the 36 cars maintained by the Chief Minister’s House, 25 have not paid any tax for the last 10 years.

While the government is forever demanding compliance of laws, can a citizen take the liberty to point out that a government that does not follow its own laws has little moral authority to ask others to do so?

Hope you can convert this 32-acres estate into a heritage house, a museum, a gallery, a library or anything that benefits the ordinary people of Pakistan.