Why did Shabbar Zaidi Resign? He reveals in the first interview since stepping down

While the former Chairperson of the FBR had the support of Prime Minister Imran Khan, he was unable to complete his tenure because of the added pressures of his job that exacerbated his anxiety disorder.

“Although I had the support of the Prime Minister, the Finance Minister, and the bureaucracy, the task was huge, and perhaps, my mental attitude and health were not ready to cope with the government system,” Shabbar Zaidi explains in his interview on Waseem Badami’s political talk show, 11th Hour on ARY News.

Shabbar Zaidi recognised that the attitude and mindset of the 23,000 FBR employees was a cause of concern for him. He explained that reforming this mindset and restructuring the FBR required a lot of ground-work. Moreover, he believed that the achievement of revenue collection targets should not be the only measure of performance for an FBR Chairperson, as this adds extra pressure on him, preventing him from bringing in the much needed structural reform.