The fog of law
The proceedings in the Panama case have thankfully concluded and the Supreme Court has reserved judgement. The Sharifs have not exactly come out rosy: a first family that cannot afford…
An ominous development
Reportedly, the PTI and the PAT have decided to bury the hatchet and join hands in locking down Islamabad. It is said that the PAT has agreed to join the…
World focus on disappearances
The government might have been surprised at some foreign governments’ expressions of concern at the enforced disappearance of five social activists/ bloggers. Instead of taking umbrage, it should look for…
Budget 2016-17: In the same old mould!-II
Our tragedy is that on the one hand we have too many taxes and on the other revenue collection is much below the real potential. The biggest failure of the…
Jurisdiction lost with passage of time – I
The following is provided in sub-section (2) of section 33 in Pakistani Federal Excise Act, 2005: "Provided that such order shall be passed not later than one hundred and twenty…
Fear of truth and transparency
Pakistani people’s refusal to face the truth was again demonstrated last Friday when the fall of Dhaka in 1971 and the carnage at Peshawar’s Army Public School two years ago…
Platinum jubilee of Tax Tribunal
"...the raison d'être of establishing special tribunals has been to dispense better quality of justice where people, better trained in particular fields and disciplines could provide quality decisions and resolution of disputes....…
Disappearances revisited
The suicide of Saddam Husain, an Intermediate student, apparently out of despair over his sister, who disappeared in August last year, calls for a review of cases of enforced disappearance,…
Threat to constitutional order?
In an unfortunate ruling, which went unheeded, the Lahore High Court (LHC) restrained the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) from launching their marches. One wishes the…
Destroying tax appellate system
The Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, in the Finance Bill 2014, ignored the demand that tax appellate system should be made independent, free from the administrative controls as directed by the…
