Black Ice

ATP: Inspiration Pakistan: Selflessness in Jaded Times

2010-06-28T22:51:00.001+05:00

Reposting with permission.

Times in Pakistan are tough. Things were never great but they were never this bad either. There weren’t as many incidents ofviolence, so many hours of load shedding or such high prices of food and electricity. And in our fast paced downward spiral, we have lost our sense of being one nation. Its each man and woman for himself or herself. Its the only way to survive. And in the pursuit of survival we will lie, cheat, steal, trample on others, cut corners and take the low road as often as possible to get to destination mere survival.

And in this Darwinian quest for survival we have become jaded and sarcastic and conditioned to believe the worst about those around us. Idealism, morality, humanity - seem like hollow buzzwords - such noble sentiments having been beaten out of us by circumstance. On those rare occasions, when we are confronted with selfless displays of courage and nationalism; we tend to scoff at them and dismiss them as either political rhetoric or utterly naive insanity.

But this story about Captain Najam Riaz made me stop in my jaded tracks and led me to believe that maybe there is hope for the future.

In May 2009, Captain Najam Riaz, was captured and martyred by the Taliban. He was part of the elite SSG commandos - the best of the best who are trained by the Pakistani army to be even better (yes, i know this is a quote from Top Gun). He was only 24 years old when he died fighting against the Taliban in Swat.

Captain Najam was captured along with three other colleagues by the Taliban. For many days he and the others were kept captive while the Taliban tried to use them to buy freedom for their captured commrades. When it seemed like such a deal could not be struck, the Taliban murdered Captain Najam Shaheed and the three other soldiers. All four brave men, died fighting valiantly. Surrounded by the brutal enemy, they were unfazed at the prospect of death and killed 8 Talibans with their bare hands before they were gunned down and later beheaded.

While the courage and valor of these young men in the face of such grave adversity is truly inspirational, what was even more heartbreakingly inspirational was the courage and selflessness of his family in the face of this grave loss. He came from a small village near Kahuta. His father had retired as a Hawaldar from the army and Najam was his youngest son. His family is one of modest means. They don’t have any of the fancy upper class trappings that one associates with the rich, liberal, elite, who are anti Taliban. But their understanding of the true nature of the Taliban is far more astute than some of our leading media commentators. But this is not why they are inspirational.

They are inspirational because they raised a son, who was brilliant and brave enough to be admitted to the most elite faction within the Pakistan army. And they are inspirational because they taught him to put his country before even himself a lesson that most of us merely laugh at. And they are inspirational because even when they lost their son to the cause that they had raised him to believe in, they did not put themselves before the need of their community.

After the martyrdom of their son, the government followed up with the usual official visits for condolences. And asked what they could do to help them. When the government asked what could be done for the family, they could have asked for anything for themselves. Money, job, promotions. Instead, they asked for a school, a dispensary and a road to be built for their community. Even in the face of this great loss, they remained true selfless Pakistanis. And here I was thinking that none existed!

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Economic Survey: VAT in Pakistan

2010-06-08T02:20:00.001+05:00

The parliament has finally announced the budget for this year. Some analysts have already started calling it "the IMF-budget". Certainly, it can't be called the people's or the trader's budget. Even though it appears people-friendly (for example the 50% increase in the salaries of government employees) and has indicated increases in pensions, it does not bear any good news for a common man who may be a labourer or a farmer or working in a private institution. The failure of government to provide relief to masses has dwindled their confidence in system.

WHAT DOES IMF (International Monetary Fund) HAVE TO DO WITH ALL THIS??

For 8 years, dictator rule remained imposed in Pakistan. But then our (not-so-smart) dictator fired the Chief Justice. Personally, I am against dictatorship, but I have to admit that dictatorship has some advantages, most important of which is the betterment of law and order, which in turn plays an important role in attracting foreign investors. These positive aspects heighten if the democratic setup in a country is not resilient and durable, one of the leading causes of which stays corruption. The Letter of Intent that the PPP government signed with the IMF last year acknowledged that

"Pakistan attracted over $5 billion in foreign direct investment in the 2006-07 fiscal year, ten times the figure of 2000-01. The government's debt fell from 68% of GDP in 2003-04 to less than 55% in 2006-07, and its foreign-exchange reserves reached $16.4 billion as recently as in October (2008)." -chowk.com

The protests and the political turmoil that followed Chief Justice's firing and the NRO (another act of Musharraf) led to a sharp decline in investment and paved way for the economic crisis in 2008.
And then came the global recession.

Conditions worsened significantly in mid-2008 with the sharp increase in international food and fuel prices and the deterioration in the security situation. The widening fiscal deficit, due in large part to rising energy subsidies, was financed by credit from the central bank. As a result, the rupee depreciated and foreign currency reserves fell sharply. Inflation reached 25 percent in mid-2008, causing harm to vulnerable social groups. -IMF.ORG

And then, as usual, our government went to the IMF.
As a response, IMF programme was started. Under this programme, Pak gov was required to submit a VAT law to parliament by the end of last December, and implement it by July 1, 2010. Pakistan is required to impose this tax in order to increase its revenues. It will increase its revenues, no doubt, through VAT, but it will have a disastrous effect on a common man. From July, 16% tax will be imposed on all purchases. Inflation, till then, will be bad. From July, it will only get worse.

SO, WHAT IS VAT?

According to Wikipedia:

It is a tax on the estimated market value added to a [product or material] at each stage of its manufacture or distribution, ultimately passed on to the consumer.
A conventional or retail sales tax (aka General Sales Tax) is charged only on the sale of an item to its final end user.
To achieve this, a purchaser who is not an end user is usually required to provide the seller with a "resale certificate," which states that the seller is purchasing an item to resell it. The tax is charged on each item sold to purchasers who do not provide such a certificate.

COMPARISON OF GST AND VAT WITH AN EXAMPLE
Consider the manufacture and sale of any item, which in this case we will call a widget. In what follows, the term "gross margin" is used rather than "profit". Profit is only what is left after paying other costs, such as rent and personnel.
Without any tax

A widget manufacturer spends Rs. 100 on raw materials and uses them to make a widget.
The widget is sold wholesale to a widget retailer for Rs. 120, making a gross margin of Rs. 20.
The widget retailer then sells the widget to a widget consumer for Rs. 150, making a gross margin of Rs.30.

With a 10% sales tax

The manufacturer pays Rs. 100 for the raw materials, certifying it is not a final consumer.
The manufacturer charges the retailer Rs. 120, checking that the retailer is not a consumer, leaving the same gross margin of Rs. 20.
The retailer charges the consumer Rs. 165 (Rs. 150 + (Rs. 150 x 10%)) and pays the government Rs. 15, leaving the gross margin of Rs. 30.

So the consumer has paid 10% (Rs. 15) extra, compared to the no taxation scheme, and the government has collected this amount in taxation. The retailers have not paid any tax directly (it is the consumer who has paid the tax), but the retailer has to do the paperwork in order to correctly pass on to the government the sales tax it has collected.

With a 10% VAT

The manufacturer pays Rs. 110 (Rs. 100 + (Rs. 100 x 10%)) for the raw materials, and the seller of the raw materials pays the government Rs. 10.
The manufacturer charges the retailer Rs. 132 (Rs. 120 + (Rs. 120 x 10%)) and pays the government Rs. 2 (Rs. 12 minus Rs. 10), leaving the same gross margin of Rs. 20. (Rs. 132 - Rs. 2 - Rs. 10 = Rs. 20)
The retailer charges the consumer Rs. 165 (Rs. 150 + (Rs. 150 x 10%)) and pays the government Rs. 3 (Rs. 15 minus Rs. 12), leaving the same gross margin of Rs. 30 (Rs. 165 - Rs. 3 - Rs. 132 = Rs. 30).

With VAT, the consumer has paid, and the government received, the same as with sales tax. The businesses have not incurred any tax themselves. Their obligation is limited to assuming the necessary paperwork in order to pass on to the government the difference between what they collect in VAT (output tax, an 11th of their sales) and what they spend in VAT (input VAT, an 11th of their expenditure on goods and services subject to VAT). However they are freed from any obligation to request certifications (resale certificates) from purchasers who are not end users, and of providing such certifications to their suppliers. The advantage of the VAT system over the sales tax system is that under sales tax, the seller has no incentive to disbelieve a purchaser who says it is not a final user.

In the above example, it is assumed that the same number of widgets were made and sold both before and after the introduction of the tax. This is not true in real life.

The fundamentals of supply and demand suggest that any tax raises the cost of transaction for someone, whether it is the seller or purchaser. Consequently, the quantity of a good purchased decreases, and/or the price for which it is sold increases.

The "value-added tax" has been criticized as the burden of it relies on personal end-consumers of products.

PROBLEMS WITH VAT IN PAKISTAN

For subnational governments (in provinces or other administration units), VAT leads to an overall reduction in the revenue they collect as well as a loss of some autonomy. VAT law has been introduced in the parliament but not yet approved due to the differences between the provincial and the federal governments especially on the mechanism for collection of VAT, and they have yet to be resolved.
In addition to the differences between the federal and provincial governments, the technical and administrative apparatus for implementing the VAT is not ready.
And last but certainly not the least: imposition of VAT would result in price hike of minimum 200 essentials by 15-20 per cent, which will be a blow to masses reeling under inflation.

ETHICAL PROBLEM

The major problem, which completely overshadows other obstacles, is dishonesty on the part of taxpayer and tax collector. The ethics and morality: rare but often spoken of; such is the condition of our society. So whether it's GST or VAT, the gov simply can't collect revenues when only 1% of the total population is paying taxes!!

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Overall, the current government appears to have failed to uplift Pakistan's economy. Instead of adopting an attitude of self reliance, the gov is turning this country dependent on foreign aid. Maybe, they should learn from the Musharraf government who like them didn't knock on IMF's door, but still improved Pakistan's economic condition. For progress and prosperity, it is important that we replace an "I need help" attitude with an "I can do it myself" attitude.

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Religious Intolerance

2010-06-03T01:30:00.015+05:00

On 29th May, Pakistanis were once again reminded of the religious intolerance prevalent in our societies. Only this one was more brutal.

LAHORE: Gunmen attacked worshippers from the Ahmadi community in two worship places of Lahore on Friday, taking hostages and killing at least 70 people, officials said. - DAWN.COM

So what is religious tolerance?
Religious tolerance is the willingness to accept and permit religious beliefs and practices which disagree with one's own beliefs. Belligerent preaching or forcibly imposing ones beliefs on the others beliefs, is intolerance. So if you think that others have the right to hold and practice their beliefs, then you have the element of tolerance.

Islam, which is our state religion, clearly upholds religious tolerance. Or rather it is one of the strengths of this religion. In Qur'an it is stated that:

2:256 There is no compulsion in religion, for the right way is clearly from the wrong way. Whoever therefore rejects the forces of evil and believes in God, he has taken hold of a support most unfailing, which shall never give way, for God is All Hearing and Knowing.

88:21, 22; also see 24:54 And so, (O Prophet!) exhort them your task is only to exhort; you cannot compel them to believe.

The Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) also reflects the significance of religious tolerance:

“Beware! Whoever is cruel and hard on a non-Muslim minority, or curtails their rights, or burdens them with more than they can bear, or takes anything from them against their free will; I (Prophet Muhammad) will complain against the person on the Day of Judgment.” (Abu Dawud)

According to religioustolerance.org, there are no Muslim countries that received a religiously free in Freedom House Report on Religious Freedom; they were rated 4 to 7. So why is it that the countries, where today Islam prevails, have the highest accounts of religious intolerance? Marmaduke Pickthall explains it in these words:

It was not until the Western nations broke away from their religious law that they became more tolerant; and it was only when the Muslims fell away from their religious law that they declined in tolerance and other evidences of the highest culture.

In this age of enlightenment, ignorance about our own beautiful religion is disheartening. Instead of acquiring knowledge about Islam, we are in pursuit of Western ideals. Instead of learning the lessons of democracy from our own religion, we are following the tenets of administration of the West. Our Islam today is limited to performing rituals; for us it is not the way of life it used to be for the companions of Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.).

Contrary to popular perception, history reveals that Islam - as preached in the Qur’an and exemplified by the life of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions - accepts, celebrates and even encourages diversity. - altmuslim

In order to overcome religious intolerance, we have to look to Islam as our ultimate guide to live in this world. To revive the spirit of tolerance and inclusivity, we have to look to the Qur’an, and emulate the model it lays out.

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"War on Terrorism"

2010-05-30T23:31:00.025+05:00

The so-called War on Terror has never been our war. Our people suffered when Musharraf decided to side with the Americans. Our people paid the price when American CIA started drone attacks. Pakistanis already loathed Bush because of this. And then came Obama.

Change has come, says Obama

But the change we Pakistanis wanted to see was nowhere. Our hopes were shattered when we ran our eyes over this

Obama: Yup, we're at war in Pakistan

Today, this so-called war has given us a new enemy : the Pakistani Taliban. Without any doubt, this Pakistani faction of Taliban has caused havoc in our country, has brought destruction to our economy and served as a deathblow to our tourism industry. But if you were to browse the pages of history books, you wouldn't find this name before the "war" started.

According to Council on Foreign Relations,

Supporters of the Afghan Taliban in the tribal areas transitioned into a mainstream Taliban force of their own as a reaction to the Pakistani army's incursion into the tribal areas, which began in 2002, to hunt down the militants. In December 2007, about thirteen disparate militant groups coalesced under the umbrella of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban

And who started the army incursion? Any guesses?
To conclude, our foreign policy regarding U.S. has never helped us in achieving a stable country with solid economy.
We're fighting a war not of our making.

"We are fighting a war that was imposed on us. It is not our war, it is your war," television journalist Asma Shirazi told Clinton on the last day of Clinton's three-day visit to Pakistan.

"You had a 9-11. We are having daily 9-11s in Pakistan."

Even then one may argue about the significance of U.S. aid (which is not a relatively new concept for Pakistanis which can be gathered from this : As an early ally in the cold war, Pakistan received nearly $2 billion from 1953 to 1961, a quarter of which was military assistance) If Pakistan was created to recieve aid from other countries, then I can say we have succeeded. If Pakistan was created to realize our dream of an independent and sovereign Muslim state, then we have a long way to go....

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Pakistan ka matlab kia La Ilaaha illa Allah

2010-05-30T22:04:00.009+05:00

60 years ago, our forefathers started a struggle of independence against imperial forces. After long struggle during which hundreds of thousands lost their lives and millions left their homes , at last they succeeded and created a homeland of their own and named it Pakistan.

What was the reason behind all this effort? ISLAM! Islam was the only reason and the only objective Muslims were fighting for. They wanted to live their lives according to Islam in a state of their own where they can practice their religion freely. They wanted to create an exemplary Islamic state.

On 14th august 1947, Muslims of South Asia were happy and hopeful that now Islam will prevail in this region because they have got their own land. But if we look at our country today, don't you think we have disappointed them? Is this what our forefathers wanted? Certainly not!

Pakistan is getting more and more unIslamic everyday. Constitutionally, no doubt, Pakistan is an Islamic Republic but practically we do not see any sign of it. Especially the social lives of Pakistani people have become very unIslamic under the umbrella of modern enlightenment. This is not completely the government's fault. The people themselves are also responsible for their declined morality. It is our duty to analyse ourselves and to mould our lives in an Islamic way. Nobody will come from moon to do it for us. WE have to do it ourselves.

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