Disparity in society
IN her remarks to a German broadcaster on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference last week, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva set out the agenda for good fiscal governance in Pakistan. “What we are asking for are steps that Pakistan needs to take to be able to function as a country and not to get into a dangerous place where its debt needs to be restructured,” she said.
Her advice: tax those who are earning well in both the public and private sectors and give subsidies only to the poor who actually need it. That the IMF chief’s statement has come at a time when Islamabad is struggling hard to close the deal with the international lender for the restoration of the loan programme, amid fears of defaulting, shows that differences between the two sides are far from settled.
From her talk it has also become evident that the IMF is not satisfied with the increase in the consumption tax rate and wants the government to enhance income tax on the rich.
But it is still uncertain whether the IMF is asking only for an increase in income tax rates on existing taxpayers or is pressing for broadening the net and pulling in all those who have evaded paying their dues or who have undertaxed incomes from real estate, retail, agriculture, etc. Hopefully, this should become clear in the coming days.
The more important question focuses on whether Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s politically embattled government is ready to take the plunge and risk the anger of his party’s core constituents from the retail and real estate sectors, and withdraw the massive energy and tax subsidies given to powerful factory owners.
So far, the government has shown virtually no signs of embarking on this ‘difficult’ route, as it fears the electoral repercussions of annoying its vote bank. Rather, the rulers are trying to meet the IMF’s revenue condition through enhancing indirect taxes, even though they are fully aware that the move will heap further misery on low-income households that are already contending with the effects of soaring inflation.
This is not what any caring government would do in a country that has the world’s second highest number of out-of-school children, where nearly 10m youngsters suffer from stunting because of chronic malnutrition and undernutrition, and where 70pc of households have no option but to drink germ-infested water.
The ongoing economic crisis has increased financial and gender disparities. The main purpose of a good tax policy is to bridge these gaps and to reduce economic differences by directly taxing the affluent.
Sadly, our tax structure is geared only to further enrich the wealthy, and they are the ones who control politics, directly or indirectly. Without a just socioeconomic order, the challenges will only grow.
Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2023
Terrorism coverage
AS Pakistan faces a resurgent wave of terrorism, important questions need to be discussed about how the media covers acts of violence, especially pertaining to its live coverage of hostage/combat situations. At the moment, rolling coverage of acts of terrorism and their aftermath is the norm, as was witnessed during last week’s militant siege of the Karachi Police Office. In this regard, electronic media regulator Pemra on Monday issued a notification banning live coverage of terrorist attacks. The regulator cited a variety of reasons for its decision, including the fact that such coverage can create hurdles in rescue and combat operations, adding that media workers too could put their own lives at risk by ignoring protocols. Therefore, citing the 2015 media code of conduct, as well as other legal precedents, the authority banned the broadcast, rebroadcast and live coverage of explosions, blasts and acts of terrorism.
There can be little argument with the point that hostage situations should not be covered live, as the airing of sensitive material during such coverage can compromise security operations by leaking confidential information to militant handlers who may be active outside the conflict zone. A similar situation was witnessed during the terrorist attack targeting GHQ in 2009. In the aftermath of that episode, the media fraternity hammered out a code of conduct concerning the live coverage of such events. It is time media organisations themselves reviewed and updated this code. Going live in such circumstances can put the lives of hostages as well as security and rescue personnel at risk, as terrorists can have advance warning of the law enforcers’ movements. Yet the public also has a right to know, and in the absence of credible information during such operations, wild rumours and outright lies can spread panic. Therefore, there needs to be a balance between maintaining operational secrecy and providing credible information to the public. This can be done if the state appoints official spokespersons who can provide the media with verified facts about a particular counterterrorism operation. It is also true that media personnel need better training — particularly in reporting in active conflict zones — for their own safety as well as those they are reporting on. The state should not arbitrarily ban media outlets, but the media industry does need to discuss SOPs internally to ensure credible and responsible coverage of acts of terrorism.
Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2023
Silencing sexist vitriol
THE political arena has become an increasingly crass and ugly place, where invective has overtaken debate, and basic civility is in critically short supply. For women politicians, it is far worse because they also have to battle the entrenched prejudice against females in the public space, which often emerges in the form of character assassination and threats. Social media platforms amplify the sexist vitriol. On Monday, the National Commission on the Status of Women in collaboration with the UNDP and UN Women held a consultative meeting on drafting a code of ethics to stop hate speech against women politicians and thereby enhance their political participation. One of the points highlighted on the occasion was that the ECP should include an undertaking in their forms for contesting candidates that they will not insult or disrespect women.
While women’s rights advocates have often called out those making female politicians the target of hate speech, a formalised response is a welcome and much-needed step. The requirements of a career in politics — interacting with people, of being accessible to them to a reasonable degree — are the very antithesis of what patriarchy demands of women. The loaded language that women politicians are often subjected to is therefore calculated to invite public scorn, essentially to shame them into silence. When leaders of mainstream parties indulge in this kind of rhetoric, as we have seen in the recent past, it sets the tone for their supporters to do the same. Of course, criticism is an occupational hazard of public figures but it must be limited to their work. If fewer women started venturing into politics, it would be a tremendous loss not only to the nation but also to the education of their male counterparts. As the NCSW chairperson pointed out, just 17pc women in parliament have led to men “behaving themselves on the floor of the House”. We need more women in politics, not less.
Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2023