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Posted by admin in INDIA'S CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, Pakistan-A Nation of Hope on December 26th, 2013
Real Causes behind Quader Mullah’s Execution
By Sajjad Shaukat
Renowned political thinkers, Hobbes, Machiavelli and Morgenthau opine that rulers act upon
immoral activities like deceit, fraud and falsehood which become the principles of political
morality. In one way or the other, they also follow these tactics in seeking revenge to fulfill
their selfish aims. But such a sinister politics was replaced by new trends such as fair-dealings,
forgiveness, reconciliation and economic development.
In this regard, former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela was recently buried in his
native town with great respect and grace under the shadow of dripping tears and mourning—
recalling his underlined message that constructs like reconciliation and clemency were much
superior and morally sound than taking revenge, while pursuing the policies of friction. His
departure brought end of a legend who taught world’s politicians to develop moral courage and
will power to demonstrate reconciliation and compassion for others. He rejected the mundane
approach to undertake harsh decisions driven by crude sense of retribution and foul practice of
violence. All peace-loving people of the world feel pride in paying tributes to Nelson Mandela.
Unfortunately in Bangladesh, it has become difficult to pay homage to Nelson Mandela because
by acting upon the immoral activities of the past theorists, and in order to address old grievances
of Awami League, the government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid hurriedly
executed the death penalty of a political opponent, Abdul Quader Mullah-leader of Jamaat-e- Islami (Jl).
Thus, she has created an atmosphere of hatred, vengeance and conflict.
Obsessed with strong motives of revenge and political expediency, Bangladesh government
hanged Quader Mullah by disregarding the appeals of the UN Secretary General, human rights
organizations and objections, raised by law experts on the question of fair trial and skewed
judgment. These entities seriously pointed fingers at even-handedness of the trial, quality
of evidence, while questioning the fairness of justice and vengeance by the government and
judiciary in Bangladesh.
However, real causes behind the execution of Abdul Quader Mullah are quite different from
those of the obvious ones. In this respect, in her desire to appease India, Prime Minister Hasina
Wajid’s government has executed Jl leader on charges for which only rustic and speculative
evidence was used, which is against the spirit of proving a charge. While, evidence should be
beyond any reasonable doubt especially when it is the question of life and death, but when
political government and judiciary form a nexus, such blunders appear as the outcome which
amounts to judicial murder. So, both the executive and the judicial bodies would not be able to
remove such dirty spots from their politico-judiciary history sheet.
In this context, Prime Minister Hasina and its like-minded clique of judiciary have derived the
sadistic pleasure and emotional gratification in swift elimination of a political rival, but the entire
scheme uncovered insular mindedness and narrow mentality of the Bangladesh leadership. The
ruling party, Awami League has failed to perform well during its term of governance, and has
brought about political instability, social strife and financial problems in the country. Owing to
incompetence and flawed policies, Prime Minister Hasina Wajid has totally failed in resolving
the problems of the impoverished masses. Therefore, she is generally known as an Indian puppet.
Now, Awami League desires to win the forthcoming elections on the basis of hate-vote and vindictive politics.
Notably, to keep her in power, Prime Minister Hasina amended the constitution for the holding
of elections under a non-party set up and the opposition has accused her for manipulating the
electoral process to establish a one party state. The fifteen party opposition alliance led by
Begum Khalida Zia did not file nominations for the January 5 polls, sticking to their stance of
boycotting the elections over the failure of Hasina Wajid to form a neutral interim government.
It is feared that the whimsical decisions of the leadership and not listening to the opposition
demand, would lead to more bloodshed in that poor country.
In fact, since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina came into power, India has been employing various
tactics to entrap Bangladesh by exploiting her pro-Indian tilt to fulfill its strategic interests.In
this context, Prime Minister Hasina has been pursuing Indian directions by conducting anti- Pakistan campaign.
Therefore, after passing of 42 years to the events of 1971, which resulted
into the separation of East Pakistan, Abdul Quader was hanged because of his loyalty with
Pakistan. Till the very end before creation of Bangladesh, he remained supporter of a united
Pakistan and today every Pakistani is saddened on his death.
When Pakistan’s National Assembly expressed concern over the execution of Quader Mullah,
with the backing of Bangladesh government, a majority of the workers of Awami League and
Bengali Hindus continued demonstrating outside the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka,
demanding the expulsion of the Pakistani envoy. While chanting anti-Pakistani slogans,
officially-arranged protesters in Bangladesh also burnt Pakistan’s flag.
In this connection, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a statement that Quader Mullah’s execution
was internal matter of Bangladesh which “is our neighbouring Islamic country…Bangladesh
should avoid blame game and try to further strengthen relations with Pakistan.”
But, by neglecting Islamabad’s positive approach, Bangladesh government has continued its
anti-Pakistan approach to please India. It could be judged from the statement of Prime Minister
Hasina Wajid who vocally said, “Bangladesh has no room for the people loving Pakistan.”
On the other side, the execution of Abdul Quader Mollah led to widespread violent protests by
the opposition activists, which resulted into the deaths of more than 40 people, as police shoot
those who raised their voice against the policies of Hasina Wajid government.
Nevertheless Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been following pro-Indian policies. In this
context, on the secret insistence of India, unlike the past years, a ceremony was held in Dhaka
on March 24, 2013, with full pump and show to honour ‘Foreign Friends of Bangladesh Award,’
in relation to the separation of East Pakistan. For this aim, several foreign friends who included
various institutions and media anchors from various countries, particularly India were invited.
The main purpose behind was to distort the image of Pakistan and its armed forces regarding
alleged atrocities, committed against the Bengalis. Notably, on the instruction of New Delhi,
in December, 2012, Prime Minister Hasina had refused to attend D-8 conference in Islamabad
unless Pakistan tendered apology for the alleged genocide of Bengalis.
In the recent past, a book titled, “Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: The Unfinished Memoirs” written
by the Bengali leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as his autobiography has been simultaneously
released in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. Without grasping reality, the book misconceived
that it was not Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Bengalis who wanted to break up Pakistan, but
actually created Pakistan. In fact, the political intrigues and blunders of military dictators broke
up Pakistan—Majib was arrested and a military operation started in East Pakistan. Bengalis were
massacred and their women were raped.
While a famous Bengali journalist Sarmila Bose authored a book, “Dead Reckoning: Memories
of the 1971 Bangladesh War” after thorough investigation. Her book was published in 2011.
While countering exaggerations of the Indian and Bengali Journalists, Bose argues that the
number of Bengalis killed in 1971 was not three million, but around 50,000 while Bengalis were
equally involved in the bloodshed of Punjabis, Biharis, Pashtoons and Balochis.
Majib was already in connivance with India for separation of East Pakistan. Therefore, when
East Pakistan was occupied by Indian Army in 1971, he stated with pleasure that his 24 years old
dream of an independent Bangladesh had been fulfilled. He had earlier developed his contacts
with Indian rulers and training camps of Mukti Bahini, established by Indian army and RAW
which also funded Mujibur Rehman’s general elections in 1970.
Reliable sources indicate that Ms. Hasina directed her staff to close the chapter of water and
border conflicts with India. Besides, the Awami League has given transit trade facilities to
Bharat—a move which has been resisted by the Bangladeshi patriots for the past several decades.
In this respect, a writer has rightly said, “Hasina Wajid again started Honey Moon Period of
relationship with India.”
Besides, by ignoring public protests and strikes by students and Islamic parties due to pro- Indian tilt, P.M. Hasina Wajid has given secular orientation to the country by purging the society
from religious touch. She has issued instructions for the removal of some Islamic books from
academic courses.
Particularly, a survey conducted by a local agency pointed out that 98% Bangladeshis are not
ready to leave Islamic culture. They also hate undue interference of India in Bangladesh’s affairs.
Consequently, we cannot see Abdul Quader Mullah’s execution in isolation, as it is part of real
causes which prove that Banladeshi Prime Minister Hasina Wajid has been appeasing Indian
leaders by targeting Pakistan, while playing wicked politics of revulsion, division and discord.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants,
Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
Email: [email protected]
Posted by admin in CULTURAL ASSAULT ON PAKISTAN on December 25th, 2013
The case in Pakistan regarding the continued certification and commercial screening of films produced in the Indian Union territory has been settled. Mubashar Lucman, the Film Producers Association and the Cinema Owners Association have come to an agreement that would allow for the equal sharing of screening time between films made locally and those imported from the Union of India. This is a useful opportunity to discuss some issues regarding the commercial import and certification of Bollywood Hindi films in Pakistan.
Let us first understand what these ‘Indian’ films are. We are largely talking of films made in the Hindi language produced via a very cash-rich industry setting in Mumbai. For the rootless young people in certain metros of the Indian Union, that is much of what constitutes ‘Indian’ films. But for those who are talking in terms of greater mutual understanding via these films, one needs to realise that much of the Indian Union does not speak Hindi and produces films in their own languages. The content of such non-Hindi films represent a much greater terrain of the subcontinent than Bollywood Hindi flicks can ever aspire to. To be fair, Bollywood Hindi films never did aspire to that. Thank the gods for that, as with the money power behind Bollywood Hindi films, they might even try to define Tamil-ness or Bengali-ness through a metro-centric Hindi medium. Are they influencing people in Pakistan with an alien commercially-produced idiom? If yes, people in Pakistan better take notice.
Those who portray films as some sort of a medium to develop India-Pakistan bonhomie might also do well to look beyond Bollywood. Virulently anti-Pakistan films with a lot of ‘action’ are also a Bollywood Hindi film sub-genre. Yes, that does good business. Go find an Assamese, Bengali, Tamil, Manipuri or an Oriya film in the last 15 years that has an anti-Pakistan theme. There are none. Are these not ‘Indian’ films? What is it about the Bollywood Hindi film idiom that lends itself to making films like Gadar: Ek Prem Katha and LoC Kargil, which unabashedly dehumanise people from Pakistan? The economic muscle of Bollywood ensures that such films receive a wide audience. It is not the specific film that matters. Pakistan can choose to not allow this film or that. But it is the same set of cartels that produce most films — the ones that are anti-Pakistan and the ones that are unrelated. This industry understands only money and would not stop from producing the next commercially lucrative anti-Pakistan blockbuster. There is a market for such prejudice in India just like there is a market for anti-Hindu prejudice in Pakistan. Do people from Lahore and Karachi really need to add to the profits of an industry that sees no qualms in showing Pakistanis in a bad light?
Most Bollywood Hindi films are set in the cities of Mumbai or New Delhi, and increasingly in cities of the Western world where people from north India live and aspire to flourish. This can be Sydney, London, New York or Chicago (Dhoom 3, an action film released a few days ago and which has already grossed crores of rupees, is set largely in Chicago). Delhi and Mumbai choose to tell their stories and want people to pay for them. But Karachi is not Delhi and I am sure it has its own stories to tell, stories that are different from the stories of young partying explorers of Mumbai and Goa, stories that are not about aspirational or ‘everyday’ life of Delhi people. Despite the Zia years, one can be sure that 15 crore people have stories to tell. If the decision was left to the burgers, they might even start a juloos in support of Hollywood and Bollywood. The culturally illiterate have no investment in their own cultural milieu. That is precisely why their ‘tastes’ shouldn’t be setting agendas. Nor can they be depended on for a revitalisation of films culturally rooted in Pakistan (and not cheap Bollywood remakes).
Bollywood Hindi films represent the metro-centric and homogenised ‘idea of India’ in the mind of the new Indians — 20-40 years-old, in the top five per cent income category, aspirational migrants with Hindi and English being their near exclusive vocabulary. They are concentrated in a few cities but have the economic might to determine cultural policy. These multiplex consumers, with their moneybags, have launched a great assault on the idea of mass-films, which is why now a film’s profits are not an indication of its popularity. The Pakistani film industry is up against an economic behemoth with an agenda of its own cultural expansion. Its production, distribution and broadcasting machines are well oiled. Stupendous amounts of black money from deep pockets bankroll the ‘creative’ explosion that is Bollywood.
The twin attack of a homogenising national ideology and economic muscle has grave implications on visible public culture. The 19th Kolkata International Film Festival witnessed the extraordinary scene of Bollywood Hindi film stars being feted in a manner as though they represented some pinnacle of human achievement. It was a sad moment — underlining how limited and predictable the cultural horizon of West Bengal’s film industry had become. The lack of self-confidence showed. Film industries that do not have as much black money circulating, have lesser number of casting couches, have lesser number of ageing ‘artists’ and producers targeting young actresses, have lesser number of big crooks financing films and which do not make films in Hindi or India-English, have been relegated to second and third class status. Pakistan has the legal mechanisms to stop the damage that Bollywood has done to film industries elsewhere. It better act soon.
Posted by admin in Domestic Policy on December 25th, 2013
Straight Talk – The General in the Line of Fire.
General Musharraf, the former dictator, who was the undisputed ruler of Pakistan for over eight years and is the author of the book, ‘In the Line of Fire’, is today, in the line of fire himself, on trial in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. This historical trial of a retired General will begin on 24th of December, where he will face charges, which include five counts of treason.
Some months back, it was inconceivable that such a day would come in this land of the Pak and the Pure, when a retired General, who was once COAS of the army, would stand, hat in hand, in the very court that he had brazenly and unceremoniously dismissed in 2007, humiliating and man handing its Chief. Many still feel that a man, who once wore a uniform, will never be allowed to face humiliation in front of a civilian court.
By holding Musharraf’s trial, the Nawaz Sharif government has taken a risky plunge, as it is bound to take many twists and turns and open a Pandora’s Box as it proceeds, as in his Proclamation of Emergency Order of 2007, Musharraf had named different officers, both civilian and military, as his consultants for the abrogation of the Constitution.
The General’s supporters, who are still many, term the treason trial against the former dictator, as political victimization and have warned of serious consequences, if senior army officers are also drawn into the trial, which is bound to drag on for months and turn messy.
The General is also being accused of dragging Pakistan into the Afghan war. However, let us not forget the hard facts after the deadly 9/11 terrorist attack. At that time, the American President had called the General and given him a one line ultimatum, “Either you are with us or you are against us”.
Many are of the opinion that Pakistan should not have bowed down to that ultimatum and taken a stand, but in doing so, the message to the Americans would have been a plain and simple, that “we were not with you”, which the Americans would have taken as “we are against you” and therefore their enemy.
Such a negative stand would have created a very dangerous and disastrous situation for Pakistan, which we are witnessing in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Afghanistan. The Americans would have made their threat, that, “they would bomb us back into the stone age”, becoming a reality. And this is exactly what they have done to those countries who have tried to stand up to America and challenged its demands.
Seeing a “no win situation”, the General had been forced to take a pragmatic and safe stand, by accepting the American demands and promising them Pakistan’s full support in its war against terror. And in doing so, Pakistan immediately became the darling of the West and was able to get massive aid for the country.
However, having succeeded in doing so, the General is definitely guilty of allowing this massive aid to be misused and wasted. He had every opportunity to change the course of this unfortunate country and set it on the right track, by implementing his 7-point agenda. But by failing to do so, he destroyed the future of our youth, which is as big a crime as abrogating the Constitution.
Instead of using the funds to improve the quality of life of the forgotten people of Pakistan, by improving the health, education and transport systems in the country and strengthening the institutions, these much needed funds just went down the drain.
After receiving the enormous aid, General Musharraf became a different man and instead of trying to fulfill his 7 point agenda, he pursued his own personal agenda of “Self above all” and stay in power, no matter ever the cost. What followed is history.
Today, the same General stands on trial for treason and his future is in the hands of the very man who he had jailed and sent into forced exile. It is amazing how history repeats itself, sometimes with a sadistic twist.
In Musharraf’s case, he has given his constitutional right to defend himself, while in Nawaz Sharrif was denied this opportunity and was given a one line ultimatum, to leave the country or go to jail.
And at that time, Nawaz had also chosen the pragmatic offer, packed his bag and left the country for Saudi Arabia, but only to return after fourteen years and reclaim his constitutional position as Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Musharraf’s fate now lies in the hands of Justices Faisal Arab, Muhammad Yawar Ali and Syeda Tahira Safdar, who form the Special Court. The prosecution lawyers feel that it is an open and shut case as, “The way Musharraf violated the Constitution, is amply documented, just like all the main illegal orders issued by him on November 3, 2007 are formally notified in the official gazette and are indisputable”.
Each of these documents constitutes the high treason charges, as all these notifications involve the abrogation of the 1973 Constitution by him alone and in all these cases, Musharraf is the signing authority. Then, there is the clear-cut Supreme Court judgment handed down on July 31, 2009, which holds Musharraf guilty of violating the Constitution.
According to the legal eagles, Musharraf will be the first military ruler in Pakistan’s 66 year history to be tried for high treason, a crime punishable by the death or life imprisonment. The decision has raised many questions, including the timing of the trial, especially when the country is facing a serious challenge from the Taliban militants and a power and economic crisis.
Political pundits and skeptics are already of the opinion that this historical trial will never be allowed to reach its logical conclusion, as the army will not allow its former Chief to be humiliated in a civilian court.
Therefore, what will be the fate of the former dictator is not clear, but at least it has set a precedent, that no one is above the law and everyone is accountable. This very fact should be a deterrent for any other General and force him to think twice before dismissing a civilian government and seizing power, even if it is “in the best interest of the country”, the usual explanation to justify this illegal act by the Generals.
( Also Published: The Nation, Sunday, 22nd December, 2013)
Posted by admin in Media Hijack in Pakistan By Foreign Powers on December 25th, 2013
Foreign Control of Pakistan News Media
By
Inam Khawaja
In 1961 Syed Wajid Ali a prominent industrialist in a joint venture with Nipon Electric Company (NEC) started the TV in Pakistan shortly after a few test transmissions by the joint venture Ayub Government took over the project in “national interest”. The first TV Station of Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) was started on 26, November 1964 from Lahore, followed by Dhaka in 1965, shortly thereafter in 1965 the third station was set up in Islamabad/Rawalpindi, and the fourth in Karachi in 1966. Stations were set up in Quetta and Peshawar by 1974 and in 1976 PTV began colour transmission.
In October 1999 when Musharraf usurped power by a coup d’ etat Pakistan had a single TV network PTV and a few private channels. In 2002 Musharraf permitted private channels to operate and even broadcast their own news and current affairs content and in his superior wisdom even permitted foreign ownership in the name of freedom of expression!!
As a result of this disastrous blunder today several TV channels are almost fully or partially foreign owned. No one can deny that the policy of the media reflects the interests of its owners.
The Jung/New Group set up The Independent Media Corporation. The ownership of this media group is reported on the internet to include; Anil Ambani (of India), an American Group and the Mir Shakilur Rehman family. One wonders why the Jung does not contradict this internet report.
Mir Ibrahim Rehman was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy award for public service at Harvard University.He is the first Muslim and only the second person from South Asia to receive this coveted award. The award was given for his work in getting Pakistan an independent judiciary and for working for peace between Pakistan and India—The Aman-ki-Asha program. His Paper covered the idea of changing the public narrative. The question is which public was Mir Ibrahim serving? American, Israeli or Pakistani? Geo TV seems to serve Indian agendas – the Indian theme of “common culture”.
I am afraid to say that there is no such thing as “South Asian Culture”. However there are two totally different Hindu and Muslim Cultures. There is hardly anything common between these cultures: language, script (left to right versus right to left), literature, poetry, music, architecture, dress, food (even the method of serving food is different), method of greeting, all the rituals i.e. birth, marriage, death, and finally the way of thinking.
As far back as 1934 The Joint Select Committee on Indian Constitutional Reforms of the House of Commons Session stated;
“Two third of its inhabitants profess Hinduism in one form or another as their religion, over seventy five million are followers of Islam; and the difference between the two is not only in religion in the stricter sense but also of law and culture. They may be said to indeed represent two distinct civilizations. Hinduism is distinguished by the phenomena of its caste which is the basis of its religion and social system. The religion of Islam on the other hand is based upon the concept of the equality of man”. (House of Commons UK 1933-34, Volume1, para 1).
I am afraid that in spite of what Indians, Aman-ki-Asha and Geo TV may say for political or economic reasons the facts on the ground are what has been enumerated and stated above.
The International Herald Tribune (IHT) is the international edition of The New York Times, and the Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune is in partnership with the IHT which they state on their front page. We are given a copy of the IHT daily with The Express Tribune but people foolishly ask no questions! How can a newspaper of the quality of International Herald Tribune be printed and distributed for Rs 19.00 (19 cents) all over Pakistan?
The electronic media in their entertainment programs are promoting Hindu culture (Bollywood) and highly objectionable programs like “JALWA”.My question to the owners of these TV channels is would they like their daughters or sisters to perform these dances?
Furthermore one would like to know why the Pakistan Censor Board is allowing the free uncensored broadcast of films and programs with objectionable content on various TV channels.
One would like PEMRA to disclose in public interest the exact ownership of all the TV channels. The viewers must be aware as to who is paying for and thus controlling the policy of these talk shows and programs on various TV channels.
Karachi.
August 3, 2013
Posted by admin in SAVE PAKISTAN FROM FISCAL DISASTER on December 19th, 2013
A patriotic Pakistani has raised an Alarm over the Extensive Borrowing by Nawaz Sharif Government. This will almost double the National Debt to Western Lenders, who will again dictate Pakistan’s Foreign Policy within the Region. In the past such Diktats have resulted in Pakistan being forced to join foreign adventures as a proxy, such is the case in Afghanistan. Another pressure Pakistan is facing is to allow Anti-Iran terrorist elements, like Jundullah to operate from Pakistan. Pakistan’s enemies finance many of these terrorists. So, heavy borrowings by Pakistan Government are not without deleterious consequences. An inept team, whose selection is based on Nawaz Sharif’s Biradari, rather than pure skillsets and merit, leads Nawaz Sharif Government. IN this government, meritocracy has taken a backseats. Toadies and sycophants of Sharif Family and Biradari have key positions. Among the worst offenders are Khawaja Asif, Pervez Rasheed, Ishaq Dar, Ahsan Iqbal, and Saad Rafiq. There only qualification is their Amritsari Kashmiri background, similar to Sharif Bros. Countries, which are run by such incompetent leadership end-up in disasters. Recently, Argentina, Paraguay, Mexico, and Brazil, were almost on verge of default due corruption by friends and relatives of the ruling elite. Maryam Nawaz Sharif was recently picked to head almost a $ 0.5 Billion, Business Loan scheme. Her only qualifications are that her father is Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The business loan scheme is clever tool to skim money from Pakistan’s Treasury and use it to finance huge Ittefaq Enterprises foreign ventures in UAE, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, US, Arabia and Cayman Islands Banks.
In light of these blatant examples of corruption, we have launched a series to block misuse of foreign funds through borrowing from IMP and the World Bank. Pakistan is NOT a Fiefdom of Sharif Bros. The people of Pakistan elected them and the people can also remove them. We urge all our Pakistani Members to support initiative taken by patriotic individuals like Attorney, Fahad Ahmad Siddiqi
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday took up a constitutional petition against excessive borrowing by the federal government and extensive new currency notes printing by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) that resulted into double digit inflation.
The court asked the petitioner’s counsel Fahad Ahmad Siddiqi to inform it whether the LHC has the jurisdiction to intervene in the fiscal issues.
The court also the sought judgments of Pakistani, Indian and American superior courts on the point as reference law.
Justice Ijazul Ahsan issued this order on a petition moved by former MPA Dr Humaira Awais Shahid through her counsel Siddiqi.
The federal government and the State Bank of Pakistan have been made respondent in the case.
The petitioner pleaded inflation is rampant in the country and the successive governments have been spending more than the tax revenue and financing the difference by internal and external borrowing for a long time.
He said the cumulative amount of borrowing has reached a stage where the servicing of the outstanding debt has become the single largest item of expenditures, which in combination with defence expenditures, leave very little revenue for other purposes.
He said the main cause of inflation is the SBP’s printing of currency notes indiscriminately on the instruction of the government, which also borrows from commercial banks to meet its expenditures rather than imposing direct taxes on the rich.
The SBP’s third quarterly report on Pakistan’s economy (2012-13) also bears out the petitioner’s stance.
He said the recent provisional data on the monetary aggregates showed the government is printing Rs5.8 billion per day (Rs242 million per hour and four million rupees every minute).
He prayed the court to declare high inflation is trampling the fundamental economic rights of poor people.
It was further requested to declare the loss of purchasing power of citizens as violative of the principles of natural justice and extortion on the part of the government.
The petitioner further prayed to the court to declare inflation as a tax illegally collected from the poor through price hike without the approval of the national assembly, which is the only authority under the law to impose a tax. It was further prayed to declare the frequent government borrowing from the SBP as illegal and unconstitutional.
He also prayed to direct the SBP to limit note printing that can ensure that inflation does not exceed single digit and exercise its lawful authority to refuse lending to the government.
IN THE LAHORE HIGH COURT AT LAHORE Writ Petition No. _______/2013 Dr Humaira Awais Shahid, d/o Abdul Hameed Bhatti, r/o 106-Sarwar Colony, Cantt; Lahore. PETITIONER VERSUS 1. Federation of Pakistan through its Ministry of Finance, Room No. 514, Block “Q”, Finance Division, Pak Secretariat, Islamabad. 2. The Monetary & Fiscal Policy Coordination Board, through its Secretary, State Bank of Pakistan, Lahore 3. State Bank of Pakistan and its board of directors through its Governor, Shah Rah-e- Quaid-a- Azam, The Mall Road, Lahore RESPONDENTS WRIT PETITION UNDER ARTICLE 199 READ WITH ARTICLES 3, 8, 9, 24 & 25 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN , 1973, Respectfully Submit herewith: That the brief facts leading to the filling of the instant writ petition are:
1. That inflation is rampant in the country and even the official price statistics that understate the actual rise in prices show that during the last decade inflation has remained in double digit. 2. That the government has increased its borrowing from the State bank of Pakistan recently and that the consequent rise in inflation Page 1is a cause of immediate concern and that a high inflation puts a burden on the lives of the poor people whose meager earnings in nominal terms are reduced stealthily by high inflation which is an implicit tax collected by the state from the poor without lawful authority. The copy of the news publication is appended here with as
ANNEXURE “A”. 3. That the governments, chosen by the people or imposed on them, have been spending more than their tax collection and financing the difference by internal and external borrowing for a long time. Initially borrowing was found to be a solution of the problem of shortage of tax revenue compared with expenditure. With the passage of time, that solution became a part of the problem. The cumulative amount of borrowing has reached a stage where the servicing of the outstanding debt has become the single largest item of expenditure, which in combination with defense expenditure, leaves very little revenue for other purposes. 5. That inflation is a regressive and destructive form of taxation and every country has set up a central bank to follow a monetary policy that keeps money supply under control and thereby keeps inflation in check and that the State Bank was set up as the central bank of the country to fulfill this responsibility. The copy of the news publication under the title of “Inflation -causes and cure” is appended here with as
ANNEXURE “C”. Page 26.
That the State Bank of Pakistan has failed to discharge its statutory duty to control money supply and inflation and to put a prudent limit on government borrowing from the State Bank of Pakistan. The money supply has increased excessively in the last several years due to excessive note printing by the State Bank of Pakistan in violation of its statutory responsibility and excessive government borrowing from commercial banks. The State Bank board of directors has failed to exercise its legal authority to “determine and enforce” a limit on government borrowing. The copy of the news article with the title of “ Govt. borrows record Rs. 804 Billion from SBP” published in daily News in its 23rd September is appended herewith as
ANNEXURE “ D”. 7.
That Inflationary expectations seem to have taken root creating a momentum for price increases. Now most of the people can barely eat two-square meals a day. They cannot pay the school fees of their children and are unable to afford medical treatment for their aged parents. Millions and millions of people are suffering under the burden of rising costs. Faced with these circumstances they feel their life is not worth living any longer and are committing suicide .The country has entered a vicious circle in which actual price pressures and inflationary expectations have begun to feed each other. The ravages of high inflation are well known and those include deeper income inequality and poverty, falling saving and rising consumption, widespread speculation, hoarding and black marketing, balance of payment vulnerability, social tensions and political instability. 8. That the central bank continues to print money with consequent inflation to finance the rising government spending. The recent provisional data on the monetary aggregates showed that the government has been printing Rs 5.8 billion per day with Rs. 242 million per hour and Rs4 million every minute. It is pertinent to be noted here that containment of money supply within the safe limits is Page 3the responsibility of Respondent No. 3 i.e. State Bank of Pakistan. Under the Provisions of Section 9A of the SBP Act, it is the legal obligation of SBP to keep money supply (= liquidity) within safe limit to have a control on inflation. It is further pertinent to be noted here that for the purpose section 9 A gives to the SBP power to “determine and enforce” the limit on government borrowing from the SBP but it has failed to do so violating its statutory responsibility, hence resulting in a recent sharp rise in inflation causing gross hardship to the citizens of Pakistan by aggravating inflation 9. That it is further stated here with respect that, the Respondent No.2 permitted rampant borrowing opportunities to the government, which not only gave exponential rise to inflation but has badly impacted the economic growth and private sector lending. The unprecedented increase in government borrowing is in stark contrast to the provisions of section 9 C of the State Bank Act . 10. That the double digit inflation created by the ministry of finance and the State Bank of Pakistan in violation of their statutory responsibilities is an abuse of the concept of Fundamental Guarantees enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan, it is peculiar to be noted here that the Provisions of Article. 3, 8, 9, 24 & 25 of the Constitution categorically restrict the deprivation of Property of Citizens except in accordance with law. Whereas the increase in inflation directly results in loss of purchasing power of the citizens hence it is a hidden tax which the subjects are bound to pay despite the fact that it has not been imposed by the Parliament and in fact parliament passed amendments in the State Bank of Pakistan Act to ensure that taxation through inflation does not take place. 11. That the nature, scheme and failure of the State Bank of Pakistan to act in accordance with the provisions of State Bank Act and thereby failing to control inflation rate in the Country is unconstitutional , illegal, confiscatory, coercive and exploitative tools Page 4that financially cripple the law abiding tax payer and in so doing blatantly disregard binding dictates of law and the Constitution . the same are therefore liable to be declared unconstitutional , illegal and ultra vires inter alia on the following
GROUNDS a. That direct impact of ignoring merit and regulating criteria prescribed by the State Bank Act of 1956 is causing harshly adverse consequences to the life of ordinary citizen including unjustified inflation in retail prices for consumers, thus depriving the people of Pakistan of their incomes, assets , quality of life and dignity save in accordance with the provisions of Article 14 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. b. That it is submitted here with respect that developing sound and strong public institutions was a constitutional obligation with its foundations pillared in democracy, equality, tolerance, social, economic and political justice. Institutional design and the configuration of its governance must be sensitive to the Fundamental Rights of the people and its vision aligned with the Principles of Policy. Such broad principles translated into institutional literature required the public institution to be open, equitable, accessible, transparent, rule-based, participatory and inclusive. Public institutions were trustees of the people and worked for the advancement of public interest. c. That it is further stated here with respect that to be inclusive, economic institutions must feature secure private property, an unbiased system of law, and a provision of public services that provided a level playing field in which people could exchange and contract. Institutions opposed to the properties of an inclusive institution were called extractive institutions – extractive because such institutions were designed to extract incomes and wealth from one subset of society to benefit a different subset. Page 5d. That it operates under the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1956, which has been amended by the parliament several times to strengthen its authority to regulate and control money supply and keep inflation under control. It’s most relevant provisions from the point of view of formulation and conduct of monetary policy are in section 9A, 9B, 9C and 46B of the State Bank of Pakistan Act. e. That section 9A (b) of the SBP Act of 1956, mandates the board of directors of the State Bank to “determine and enforce, in addition to the overall expansion of liquidity, the limit of credit to be extended by the Bank to the Federal government, provincial governments and other agencies of the federal and provincial governments for all proposes” to keep money supply and inflation under control; it may be understood that expansion of liquidity means the same thing as money supply in economic jargon f. That section 9B constituted a Board for the coordination of fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policies which is mandated to meet every quarter for the purpose g. That the board is a coordinating board and is prohibited by section 9A (6) from “taking any measures that would affect the autonomy of the State Bank of Pakistan as permitted in this Act”. h. That section 9C was added through an amendment passed by the parliament on March 13, 2012 mandating that “federal government borrowing from the Bank shall be such that at the end of each quarter they shall be brought to zero” and further that in the case of failure of the government to do so “the Finance Minister shall place before the parliament giving detailed justifications for the said failure”. i. That the Respondent No.1 has violated the provisions of section 9C (1)of the State Bank Act by continuing to borrow from the State Bank of Pakistan without bringing it down to zero each Page 6quarter as required by section 9C of the SBP Act. j. That the Respondent No.1 has violated the provisions of section 9C (3) of the State Bank of Pakistan Act by not placing before the parliament justification for its failure to do so. k. That the Respondent No.1 and the Respondent No. 2 have violated section 9B of the State Bank Act by not holding regular meetings of the Monetary and Fiscal Policies Coordination Board every quarter. l. That Respondent No.1 has violated section 46 B of the State Bank Act by issuing instructions to commercial banks in contravention of the prohibition contained therein. m. That due to the above violations, money supply was allowed to increase much more excessively than the genuine requirements of the economy which has caused a high rate of inflation . n. That it is a settled law that no pecuniary burden can be imposed upon the subjects of this country by whatever name it may be called , whether tax, due, rate or toll except upon clear and distinct legal authority established by those who seek to impose the burden. That it is further significant to be noted here that it is again a cardinal principle of Taxation law that the charge, application and administration of the Tax must be well defined and prescribed so that the payer and the collector both must know what one has to pay and what the other has to gather, that it is further peculiar to be noted here that no tax can be imposed on the people of Pakistan without being notified by the Parliament, whereas in actual the people of Pakistan are paying constantly a hidden tax named as Inflation for which law provides no compensation. o. That apart from the glaring legal infirmities inherent in nature, scheme and rise in unjustified Inflation over the couple of years in Pakistan, the same carries draconian and devastating financial Page 7ramifications for the law abiding tax payer. The nature, scheme, and imposition of the impugned rise in Inflation leave the subject with no other option but to suffer more cut in his living standard after already paying tax under other applicable fiscal laws. The impact of the unjustified inflation is therefore, punitive and confiscatory. This is especially so for the law abiding citizenry of Pakistan who, after having duly paid their taxes and contributed to the public welfare their entire lives , are thrust into financial ruin by the loss of purchasing power due to inflation. p. That the failure of the State Bank of Pakistan to act in accordance with the provisions of State Bank Act and thereby failing to control inflation rate in the country is un-constitutional , illegal, confiscatory, coercive and exploitative tools that financially cripple the law abiding tax payer and in so doing blatantly disregard binding dictates of law and the Constitution, the same are therefore liable to be declared unconstitutional , illegal and ultra vires. q. That the titled writ petition challenges the vires, validity and constitutionality of the impugned suppression of purchasing power (inflation) in as much as devaluation of Pakistani Rupee, therefore pursuant to law settled by the Honourable Superior Courts of the country, the Constitutional jurisdiction is the only remedy available to the petitioner, hence the titled writ petition. That In view of the above, it is most respectfully prayed that this Honourable Court may kindly be pleased to: a. Declare that the fundamental economic rights of poor people are being trampled by high inflation as a means of financing government expenditure instead of tax reforms to collect taxes from the people according to their ability to pay. It is further most humbly requested to declare that the impugned (inflation) loss of purchasing power of citizens as violative of the principles of Natural Justice and an Extortion on the part of the Government . Page 8b. Declare inflation as a Tax, illegally collected from the poor through price hike without the approval of the National Assembly which is the only authority under the law to impose a tax. It is further prayed that the this Honourable Court may very graciously declare, rampant borrowing by the Government of Pakistan from the State Bank of Pakistan on a frequent basis as ultra vires to the fundamental rights of the petitioner, illegal and unconstitutional . c. Direct SBP to limit note printing that can ensure that inflation does not exceed low single digit and exercise its lawful authority to refuse to the government excessive lending that causes it to print notes and to direct Respondent No.1 to stop interference in the SBP autonomy and let it fulfill its statutory responsibility of controlling money supply and inflation. d. Direct Respondents No. 2 to adhere to the SBP Act, 1956 so as to relieve poor people from the miseries of inflation and to lower government borrowing, and reduce money supply and thereby bring inflation down. It is further most humbly prayed that a direction may very kindly be issued to Respondent No. 2. to act as an autonomous central bank as provided for in the SBP Act and fulfill its statutory responsibility to regulate private liquidity which is a jargon used for money supply. e. Direct Respondent No. 1 & 2 to meet quarterly as required by the SBP Act, 1956 to coordinate monetary, fiscal and exchange rate policy. A further direction may be issued to the Respondent No. 1 to reduce its borrowing from the SBP to zero at the end of each quarter and take steps to reduce the outstanding amount of debt every year to bring it to zero within the stipulated period. Page 9f. Direct Respondent No. 1 to report to the parliament the reasons for its failure to act in consonance with the provisions of SBP Act, 1956 in the past g. Direct the Respondent No. 1 & 2 to strictly adhere to the mandate contained in the provisions of Section 9 (A), (B) & (C) read with Section 46 (B) of the State Bank Act. h. That while keeping in view of the peculiar circumstances of the instant matter, any other relief that this Honourable Court deems just and proper may very graciously be extended in favor of the petitioner.
PETITIONER THROUGH Fahad Ahmad Siddiqi Advocate High Court Qadeer Ahmad Siddiqui Law Associates Ground Floor, Siddiqui Plaza, 7- Turner Road, Lahore Dated: 16.12.2013 Reliance is placed upon Article 3 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Article 8 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Article 9 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Article 14 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Article 24 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Article 25 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan Section 9, 9(A), 9(B) & 9 (C) of State Bank of Pakistan Act 1956 Section 46(B) of State Bank Act of 1956 2012 PLD 132 Supreme Court of Pakistan 2013 PLD 343 Lahore High Court
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