Government urged to enhance revenues by taxing all sectors of economy

"Zero tolerance against crime is not possible as long as law enforcement agencies are not empowered to investigate all cases, including those that are currently considered non-cognisable," said Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui. The former Chief Justice of Pakistan was responding to questions at a seminar entitled "Current Issues of Pakistan" organised jointly by The Civil Society and Rotary Club Karachi - Frere Town, here on Friday evening.
Terming the lack of rule of law as the "fundamental problem being faced by the country since its independence", he said that "the Constitution clearly states that every order of the judiciary must be followed and implemented by all government departments and agencies". In response to a question, Justice Siddiqui chided politicians for boasting about spending time in jails as their contribution to democracy.
"Politicians that boast about having spent a decade or more in jails forget that they languished for so many years because of their own constant avoidance of courts," he said, adding that criminal proceedings against them have remained stalled because of constant excuses against appearing in court.
Siddiqui urged private sector stakeholders and experts to proactively lobby government representatives with policy initiatives and solutions for current problems. "People with the relevant expertise have to step up and contribute to the building and improvement of our systems" he urged.
Earlier, the conference was also addressed by former chairman of the Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC), Jameel Yusuf and Chairman Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) Munir Kamal.
"The police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) do not have access to mobile data, even though this can be instrumental in fighting crime and terrorism; but other agencies that are not supposed to be dealing with the public directly have access to this information," according to Jameel Yusuf. The former CPLC chief also pointed out that there is no central authority to monitor the police and the appointment of officers is also not institutionalised. "Instead of that, it is at the behest of the Home Minister and the Chief Minister to appoint and remove officers," he said.
Stressing the need to improve law enforcement levels in the country, he called for "gathering data against crime and criminals in a centralised and accessible manner". He also stressed that the effective use of technology can give law enforcers an edge in crime fighting.
Chairman KSE Munir Kamal focused on the economic situation of the country, from the perspective of citizens, multilateral agencies and investors, in his presentation. "The rich of this country have got to start paying taxes," he said, comparing the country's tax to GDP ratio of 10.1 percent to India's tax-to-GDP ratio of over 17 percent. Kamal contended that "just raising our tax-to-GDP ratio to a similar level would eliminate any need for external debt". He opined that "value-added tax must be implemented in all sectors and agriculture must be taxed if we are to ever improve our fiscal position comprehensively and sustainably".
Participants at the conference stressed the need for establishing the rule of law in the country. They agreed that the energy shortfall must be resolved, in part by using domestically available resources such as Thar coal. There appeared consensus that government must make efforts to enhance revenues by taxing all sectors of the economy, while reining in colossal losses being incurred by the public sector entities.