Islands of money

People with legal acumen know that the prime minister cannot announce a judicial commission with a retired judge as its head. He can only request the chief justice of Pakistan to constitute it and that too under a serving judge with given terms of reference. Otherwise, the only task of a inquiry commission with a retired judge will be to whitewash the image of the Sharif family. Never in the history of our country has an inquiry commission done anything useful.

Offshore companies are never established for money that has been taxed. These companies enjoy legal status and their profit is either not taxed or they pay minimal tax according to the laws of the island states where they are set up. Tax avoidance is unpatriotic but not illegal in a capitalist economy. But if offshore accounts and firms are used to whitewash illegal and untaxed money, then they are very much illegal. Apart from the legality of the whole story, there is the question of morality. Is it ethically and morally sound to keep money abroad when the people in this country are starving?

Ali Ashraf Khan

Karachi