A cracked teapot

What a storm in a cracked teapot there is about the Panama leaks, with every pundit and politician taking pot-shots at the Sharif family. As if that is the only thing stopping us from achieving the moon. Whatever the issue – legal and moral – no money has ever come back, and at the end of the day no money is coming back. Let us have no illusions. From their tax records and the occasional Election Commission release of assets, a significant number of our parliamentarians, mostly at gross variance from their visible profile, seem near worthy of charity. And many have ‘pampered’ themselves. Unsurprisingly, they would hardly want what goes round to come round.

The COAS’s statement of fact and the (in)advertently timed release of military sackings for corruption is to be welcomed. However, it merely serves to underscore the universal rot across the spectrum. The people of this country will, justifiably, either evade or not pay taxes for at least four simple reasons: gross mismanagement of national resources; rampant corruption; a burgeoning population; and the knowledge that the state is both incompetent and has abrogated its responsibilities. So, are we in another placebo exercise to titillate the gullible masses or is there really someone out there, ready, willing and able to clean the Aegean Stables?

Dr Mervyn Hosein

Karachi