Muzzling the whistle-blowers

It is typical of the moral degeneracy of our political class that after the exposure of our tax-dodging parliamentarians by a public-spirited journalist, a concerted effort is now being made to target the whistle-blowers for allegedly having committed “theft of classified information,” rather than at prosecuting the tax thieves who have deprived the public exchequer of huge amounts of revenue.

In a rare display of unity, the ruling parties and the opposition have joined forces in calling for the scalps of those who have drawn public attention to large-scale tax evasion by many of the “elected representatives” sitting in our “sovereign” parliament. No wonder the country is sinking deeper and deeper into an economic and political morass.

At a specially called meeting of the Senate Committee on Finance last Wednesday, the leading lights of the upper house from all major parties – including Leader of the House Jahangir Badar, opposition leader Ishaq Dar, presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar and PML-Q leader Shujaat Husain – complained that the ‘privilege’ of the parliamentarians had been violated through publication of data on tax cheating, and called for an inquiry to find out how this information had been obtained by journalist Umar Cheema. The meeting was chaired, appropriately, by a ‘non-filer’.

The FBR head reportedly promised compliance with the committee’s wishes, saying he had already set up a fact-finding body to ascertain who had stolen information from its records and that a criminal case would be filed against the suspects on completion of the investigation. He drew attention to the provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, under which any person who discloses the particulars contained in returns filed by a taxpayer is punishable with six months’ imprisonment. After the meeting, Badar declared himself to be satisfied with these assurances.

While the honourable senators vented their fury at the ‘theft’ of information on tax evasion, they did not divulge what action they proposed over the non-payment of tax by the members of parliament, a far more serious offence than unauthorised disclosure of information on tax cheats. Also, the FBR head failed to take up the question of large-scale tax evasion by the parliamentarians in his meeting with the committee, apart from a polite reminder that they should get their National Tax Numbers. More than a week after the publication of the CIRP report on tax cheating by our lawmakers, there is no sign that any investigation is being initiated against the suspected offenders.

There is also the basic question of whether we should prosecute persons who, at no small risk to themselves, dig out and disclose information on tax cheats holding public office, or instead honour these courageous individuals for performing a public service, especially when the state authorities themselves fail to act against the looters of public money. Ishaq Dar, who reportedly paid the princely sum of Rs32,750 in income tax last year, alleged in the Senate that “the person who has prepared [the CIRP report appears to be] on someone’s payroll.” He should be asked to substantiate his charge, or else face legal consequences for making a false allegation. A few days later, Dar also expressed the fear that if tax data on parliamentarians could be ‘leaked’, then data on any citizen might be obtained by ‘kidnappers’. Dar’s concern for the safety of Pakistani ‘citizens’ threatened by ‘kidnappers’ is touching, but he surely knows that these evil men do not need to access information on payment (or, as is more often the case, non-payment) of tax available in FBR records to commit their heinous crime. They are more attracted to persons with lavish lifestyles, which are rarely reflected in tax returns or in the (mostly understated) annual declarations of assets filed by our parliamentarians.

Whatever merit there might be in protecting information on the assets and tax payments of ordinary citizens, this consideration is outweighed by the right of the voters to know whether those who seek elective office are worthy of public trust. Under the 18th Amendment we now also have a constitutionally guaranteed “right to have access to information in all matters of public importance.” Information on tax payments by the lawmakers would surely meet the criterion of public importance.

Since 2002, we have legislation that makes it obligatory for parliamentary candidates to declare their assets and tax payments in their nomination papers and for sitting members to file annual statements of their assets. But it has not prevented looters of public money and tax cheats from winning seats in our legislatures. There are two reasons for this. First, the declarations, which are filed with the Election Commission, are not readily accessible to the general public. Second, there is no scrutiny of the declarations by the state authorities to ascertain if they are true, and consequently no penalty for the making of false statements.

Strangely, the rules on declarations of assets and tax payments do not apply to the president, the highest elective office in the country. Besides, a large part of the illegally acquired assets owned by our ruling class is held in foreign countries, often in the name of offshore companies. They cannot be accessed by our authorities in the absence of arrangements for mutual legal assistance with foreign countries. All these shortcomings are well known to the government and our lawmakers, but they have done nothing to correct them. The fact is that these loopholes have been deliberately kept in the law so that the “people’s representatives” do not have to worry about prosecution for misstating or concealing their assets or tax payments.

Members of parliament who make false declarations of assets or cheat on their tax payments also do not have to fear disqualification as persons who are not ‘honest and ameen’ in terms of Article 62 of the constitution, because the procedure for disqualification can only be set in motion with the consent of the speaker of the National Assembly or the chairman of the Senate, and whatever differences might exist between different political parties, none of them is prepared to make concealment of assets or tax evasion a ground for expulsion from the honourable house. If it was, our parliament would be quickly reduced in strength to only a few dozen members after the evidence published by CIRP. It is therefore hardly surprising that all political parties agreed in the Senate Finance Committee last week that the disclosures made in the CIRP report constituted an unacceptable breach of the “privilege” of the house.

Whatever other failings our parliamentarians might have, they certainly cannot be faulted for failing in efforts to protect their ‘privileges’. Last month, the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Privileges took this concept to new heights when it reprimanded an FIA official for his temerity in summoning Gilani, a former MNA, in a corruption investigation. Stranger still, a privilege motion was introduced in the Senate this month only because Latif Khosa publicly questioned the wisdom of the 18th Amendment and of Raza Rabbani, its proud author.

The same concern for the preservation of ‘privileges’ lies behind the insertion of a special section in the Fair Trial Bill, as passed by the National Assembly last week, under which a warrant of interception can be issued against a member of parliament only with the prior permission of the speaker or the chairman of the Senate. This is clearly against the fundamental right of equality of all citizens before law guaranteed by the constitution and is unlikely to be upheld if its validity is challenged in court.

Our lawmakers, who come overwhelmingly from a small hereditary landed and business ‘elite’, see the preservation and expansion of their privileges as their principal mission. Not having to pay taxes is for them a time-honoured privilege which they will not give up easily and they will spare no effort to muzzle anyone who calls it into question.

The writer is a former member of the foreign service. Email: asifezdi@ yahoo.com