DAWN Editorials - 23rd March 2025
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2025 12:50 am
Judicial disputes
ANOTHER day, another spat within the judiciary. It appears that there is still very little realisation within the institution that the damage that has been and is being caused to its reputation may take many years to reverse.
The most recent development pertains to the reconstitution of an Islamabad High Court tribunal that had been hearing a Judicial Service Appeal filed by a judge against the appointment and subsequent elevation of another judge in the subordinate judiciary.
The tribunal, which included Justices Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar and Sardar Ejaz, was reconstituted on March 18 by President Asif Ali Zardari on the advice of acting IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar, reportedly after it had already arrived at a decision on the petition before it. The tribunal has now issued its judgement disregarding the reconstitution order, ruling that the law does not allow that the IHC and its subordinate judiciary be filled with judges borrowed from other courts.
Ordering the IHC registrar “to return all members presently serving in the subordinate judiciary for Islamabad Capital Territory on deputation within six months”, the tribunal has observed that, “any decision by the chief justice or a committee appointed by the chief justice that is not in accordance with the requirements of the law is not sustainable in the eyes of law, including decisions with regard to an appointment on deputations, induction, or promotion, and is liable to be set aside by this tribunal”.
Not only that, but the tribunal has held that neither the president nor the acting chief justice had any authority to reconstitute it without legal justification. It has held the appointment of various deputed judges as unlawful, declared the reconstitution of the tribunal as ‘unconstitutional’ and underlined that the IHC acting chief justice has no authority to interfere with the tribunal’s functions.
Ever since the controversial 26th Amendment, it has been observed that the judiciary has been having considerable difficulty functioning ‘normally’ due to the slew of changes to its operational structure and the government’s expanded role in its internal affairs. It may be recalled that a similar dispute previously arose in the Supreme Court, when an important case was abruptly moved from one bench to another against judicial norms, ostensibly in anticipation of an adverse ruling.
Public perceptions of the institution’s independence and neutrality have taken a hit due to the bitter and often very public spats between senior judges, which continue to signal considerable dissatisfaction within the institution regarding how it is being conducted. This latest dispute, too, will soon land before the Supreme Court, where one can, with quite a bit of surety, expect it to stir further controversy. The judiciary’s fall has been tragic, but only the institution can save itself.
Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2025
Biased proposal
PAKISTAN’S tax system is extortionist, unpredictable and unsupportive of investment and economic growth. It disproportionately taxes documented businesses and individuals, and spares those who choose not to become part of the documented economy. If they can help it, a host of businesses and individuals prefer to operate outside the ambit of the formal economy citing steep consumption and personal tax rates and large-scale extortion by a corrupt tax machinery. Little wonder that the FBR’s real tax per capita has grown by only 0.3pc from 2018 to 2024, and that Pakistan’s 10pc tax-to-GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the world and the region.
A business lobby group has recently called for a revamp of Pakistan’s taxation system to rev up business activities and create jobs in the country. It also urged the government to execute structural reforms for boosting tax revenues. At the same time, however, the tax proposals that the Pakistan Business Forum has put forward for inclusion in the next fiscal year show a bias for the largely tax-exempted real estate and trading sectors, including retailers and commercial importers. Besides a reduction in the consumption tax rates and elimination of the super tax, the group has suggested the imposition of a paltry fixed tax of Rs20,000 on large and Rs10,000 on smaller traders to expand the tax base by making it convenient for them to pay their tax liability. However, it has not explained how this proposal fits into the larger scheme of structural reforms to increase the extremely narrow base, least of all a reduction in the higher tax rates. Currently, the FBR estimates that the tax gap — the amount that remains uncollected due to non-compliance of tax laws — has soared to Rs7.1tr. Add to this the huge tax expenditure of nearly Rs4tr and the stage is set for an increased burden on documented businesses and individuals through innovative levies like super tax, a charge initially imposed to finance the rehabilitation of communities displaced during the military operation against militants in KP a decade ago. It has since been made a permanent source of revenue by expanding its scope to include all businesses and individuals earning over Rs150m. While the tax rates must be slashed to ease the burden on compliant persons, this does not justify demands for special treatment being given to certain sectors.
Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2025
JFK files
THE latest cache of declassified documents from what are known as the ‘Kennedy files’ have not really impressed the small global community of assassination buffs, or, for that matter, the considerably larger community of conspiracy theorists. What they do seem to have done, though, is to offer a rare glimpse into the workings of the CIA and its activities around the world. The release of over 60,000 documents related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy this past Tuesday had kicked off a global race to uncover new information that could help shed light on the popular American president’s mysterious and quite public murder during a rally in November 1963. As it turns out, the truth about the files seems to be much stranger than the fictions conjured up about it. As one article in the New York Times recently pointed out, the decades of secrecy around the Kennedy files may have had to do with the fact that they were hiding CIA secrets and not, as conspiracy theorists long believed, a second gunman.
“This is a big one,” US President Donald Trump had said while teasing their release, “Everything will be revealed.” As with much about Mr Trump, that proved nothing but, to put it politely, a load of rubbish. Instead, his administration, likely inadvertently, has lifted the veil off one of the most notorious entities in the world, evidence of whose misdeeds are peppered throughout the pages. There are references to the CIA overstepping its mandate, conducting illegal surveillance, attempting coups, interfering in elections, poisoning Cuban sugar, attacking Chinese nuclear facilities, and just generally behaving exactly like overseas conspiracy theorists have long accused it of behaving. There could be more to follow, with classified files on the assassination of another longtime target of American intelligence agencies, Dr Martin Luther King Jr, to be released soon. As the empire unravels, one might as well enjoy the spectacle.
Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2025
ANOTHER day, another spat within the judiciary. It appears that there is still very little realisation within the institution that the damage that has been and is being caused to its reputation may take many years to reverse.
The most recent development pertains to the reconstitution of an Islamabad High Court tribunal that had been hearing a Judicial Service Appeal filed by a judge against the appointment and subsequent elevation of another judge in the subordinate judiciary.
The tribunal, which included Justices Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, Babar Sattar and Sardar Ejaz, was reconstituted on March 18 by President Asif Ali Zardari on the advice of acting IHC Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfaraz Dogar, reportedly after it had already arrived at a decision on the petition before it. The tribunal has now issued its judgement disregarding the reconstitution order, ruling that the law does not allow that the IHC and its subordinate judiciary be filled with judges borrowed from other courts.
Ordering the IHC registrar “to return all members presently serving in the subordinate judiciary for Islamabad Capital Territory on deputation within six months”, the tribunal has observed that, “any decision by the chief justice or a committee appointed by the chief justice that is not in accordance with the requirements of the law is not sustainable in the eyes of law, including decisions with regard to an appointment on deputations, induction, or promotion, and is liable to be set aside by this tribunal”.
Not only that, but the tribunal has held that neither the president nor the acting chief justice had any authority to reconstitute it without legal justification. It has held the appointment of various deputed judges as unlawful, declared the reconstitution of the tribunal as ‘unconstitutional’ and underlined that the IHC acting chief justice has no authority to interfere with the tribunal’s functions.
Ever since the controversial 26th Amendment, it has been observed that the judiciary has been having considerable difficulty functioning ‘normally’ due to the slew of changes to its operational structure and the government’s expanded role in its internal affairs. It may be recalled that a similar dispute previously arose in the Supreme Court, when an important case was abruptly moved from one bench to another against judicial norms, ostensibly in anticipation of an adverse ruling.
Public perceptions of the institution’s independence and neutrality have taken a hit due to the bitter and often very public spats between senior judges, which continue to signal considerable dissatisfaction within the institution regarding how it is being conducted. This latest dispute, too, will soon land before the Supreme Court, where one can, with quite a bit of surety, expect it to stir further controversy. The judiciary’s fall has been tragic, but only the institution can save itself.
Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2025
Biased proposal
PAKISTAN’S tax system is extortionist, unpredictable and unsupportive of investment and economic growth. It disproportionately taxes documented businesses and individuals, and spares those who choose not to become part of the documented economy. If they can help it, a host of businesses and individuals prefer to operate outside the ambit of the formal economy citing steep consumption and personal tax rates and large-scale extortion by a corrupt tax machinery. Little wonder that the FBR’s real tax per capita has grown by only 0.3pc from 2018 to 2024, and that Pakistan’s 10pc tax-to-GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the world and the region.
A business lobby group has recently called for a revamp of Pakistan’s taxation system to rev up business activities and create jobs in the country. It also urged the government to execute structural reforms for boosting tax revenues. At the same time, however, the tax proposals that the Pakistan Business Forum has put forward for inclusion in the next fiscal year show a bias for the largely tax-exempted real estate and trading sectors, including retailers and commercial importers. Besides a reduction in the consumption tax rates and elimination of the super tax, the group has suggested the imposition of a paltry fixed tax of Rs20,000 on large and Rs10,000 on smaller traders to expand the tax base by making it convenient for them to pay their tax liability. However, it has not explained how this proposal fits into the larger scheme of structural reforms to increase the extremely narrow base, least of all a reduction in the higher tax rates. Currently, the FBR estimates that the tax gap — the amount that remains uncollected due to non-compliance of tax laws — has soared to Rs7.1tr. Add to this the huge tax expenditure of nearly Rs4tr and the stage is set for an increased burden on documented businesses and individuals through innovative levies like super tax, a charge initially imposed to finance the rehabilitation of communities displaced during the military operation against militants in KP a decade ago. It has since been made a permanent source of revenue by expanding its scope to include all businesses and individuals earning over Rs150m. While the tax rates must be slashed to ease the burden on compliant persons, this does not justify demands for special treatment being given to certain sectors.
Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2025
JFK files
THE latest cache of declassified documents from what are known as the ‘Kennedy files’ have not really impressed the small global community of assassination buffs, or, for that matter, the considerably larger community of conspiracy theorists. What they do seem to have done, though, is to offer a rare glimpse into the workings of the CIA and its activities around the world. The release of over 60,000 documents related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy this past Tuesday had kicked off a global race to uncover new information that could help shed light on the popular American president’s mysterious and quite public murder during a rally in November 1963. As it turns out, the truth about the files seems to be much stranger than the fictions conjured up about it. As one article in the New York Times recently pointed out, the decades of secrecy around the Kennedy files may have had to do with the fact that they were hiding CIA secrets and not, as conspiracy theorists long believed, a second gunman.
“This is a big one,” US President Donald Trump had said while teasing their release, “Everything will be revealed.” As with much about Mr Trump, that proved nothing but, to put it politely, a load of rubbish. Instead, his administration, likely inadvertently, has lifted the veil off one of the most notorious entities in the world, evidence of whose misdeeds are peppered throughout the pages. There are references to the CIA overstepping its mandate, conducting illegal surveillance, attempting coups, interfering in elections, poisoning Cuban sugar, attacking Chinese nuclear facilities, and just generally behaving exactly like overseas conspiracy theorists have long accused it of behaving. There could be more to follow, with classified files on the assassination of another longtime target of American intelligence agencies, Dr Martin Luther King Jr, to be released soon. As the empire unravels, one might as well enjoy the spectacle.
Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2025