Pakistan Headlines 09/04/2016

Headlines

• Panama Papers Confirm Democracy is Rule by the Rich for the Rich

• Democracy Deprives the Country of its Resources and then Squeezes People for Taxes

• IMF Buries Pakistan in Debt

• Expel Hostile Foreign Officials

Details

Panama Papers Confirm Democracy is Rule by the Rich for the Rich

In an effort to calm the storm whipped up by the revelations contained in the recently leaked Panama Papers which led to the resignation of the Prime Minister of Iceland, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has announced that a judicial commission would investigate the offshore companies owned by members of his family. Addressing the nation on 5 April — just over a week after his last televised address — a sombre-sounding prime minister said he had taken the decision because “fingers are being pointed at the business concerns of my sons.”

The eleven million documents, representing 2.6 Terabytes of data, that were leaked from the Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, revealed the often-murky financial wheelings and dealings of some of the world’s most powerful Democratic politicians. It is a confirmation that Democracy is a way fool the people into thinking that by having elections every four to five years, they actually have a fare share in the wealth of their own country.

Democracy always guarantees excessive privileges for the elite in power and gross deprivation for the people. Democracy links authority with sovereignty, so those elected to power, have the right to make law according to their whims and desires. This ensures that the law-makers are able to amass immense wealth for themselves and their associates by manipulating laws in their favor. Wherever Democracy exists, small elites have changed law to ensure their private ownership of the sources of great wealth, whether it is electricity, oil, gas, minerals, large-scale industry and arms manufacture.

Islam too has elections, but it does not allow rulers to manipulate laws according to their whims, desires and vested interests. That is because in Islam, the ruler is bound to govern by all that Allah (swt) has revealed and not a single law can be implemented, without evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah. Thus, Islam prevents rulers from manipulating laws to secure their personal interests.

Democracy offers no such fail safe and so critics are reduced to admitting that whilst the Panama Papers reveal murky and unethical practices, legal violations are not possible to establish on the whole. The Panama Papers serve as yet another reminder for the Muslims of the need to re-establish the Khilafah "Caliphate" (Caliphate) on the Method of Prophethood. Allah (swt) said,

(وَأَنِ احْكُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ وَاحْذَرْهُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنُوكَ عَنْ بَعْضِ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ(

“And judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not follow their desires, and beware (O Muhammad) that they might seduce you from some of what Allah has sent down to you.”

Democracy Deprives the Country of its Resources and then Squeezes People for Taxes

The Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) collection rose 22 per cent to Rs718 billion during the three months to March from Rs588bn a year ago. In March alone, the board collected Rs297bn compared to Rs230bn in the same month of last year. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar held a meeting on 6 April to review the performance of revenue division/FBR and finance division during the first nine months (July-March) of this fiscal year.

The backs of the people are breaking, if they have not already been broken, by ever increasing taxation. Sufficient revenues in the state treasury are essential for looking after the affairs of the people and managing the state expenses, such as the armed forces, health and education. However, in Pakistan's current system, both democracy and dictatorship take turns to secure the economic interests of the Kaffir colonialists and a small band of agent-traitors in the military and political leadership. To achieve this, the World Bank, IMF in cahoots with the government selectively employ humiliating policies of increasing taxation and rampant privatization.

These policies deprive the population of public ownership of huge sources of revenue and then leaves the people to take the burden of the expenses of the state, by imposing an entire host of taxes, that choke economic activity and add to the people's misery, usurping what private wealth they have left. Taxation on buying food, clothing, shelter, earning, inheritance, administration, health and education, renders them “luxuries” for the “privileged” few, and not guaranteed needs for all. Moreover, on the expenses side, the expenditure is primarily to secure the needs of the Kaffir colonialists and their agents, leaving the affairs of the people neglected.

Capitalism as implemented by dictatorship and democracy in Pakistan deprives the state and the general public huge sources of revenue, through privatization of the public properties, such as oil, gas and electricity. Local and foreign owners of the oil, gas and electricity assets generate huge revenues and sizeable profits from these valuable resources. After returning these assets to public ownership, the future Khilafah "Caliphate" can trade in energy resources with foreign states that are not hostile to the Muslims and Islam. In this and similar ways the Khilafah "Caliphate" will ensure the benefit of this wealth of the Ummah is for the Ummah itself, rather than becoming a source of misery by allowing private companies to funnel its wealth away as profits, whilst the government adds to burdens of the people with huge taxation upon energy. In addition, capitalism's drive for private ownership also usurps interests that should be owned primarily by the state, such as machinery and heavy munitions manufacture, telecommunications, major construction and transport. In the coming Khilafah "Caliphate" on the method of the Prophethood, inshaaAllah, such enterprises are primarily to be regarded as state enterprises, with private companies existing within the field, but under state supervision so as to prevent usurping, eclipsing and dominating the state role as occurs in these dark days of capitalism.

IMF Buries Pakistan in Debt

Government borrowing from commercial banks has again crossed Rs1 trillion this year, indicating weak fiscal position despite higher foreign inflows. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in its latest report, released on 5 April 2016, stated that the government borrowed Rs1.088tr during the first nine months (July-March) of this fiscal year, showing no significant improvement compared to Rs1.150tr a year ago. “This shift in borrowing from SBP to commercial banks has enabled the government to meet the IMF targets for end-September and end-December 2015 set under the Extended Fund Facility,” the central bank said in its second quarter report for this fiscal year. The increased borrowing was accompanied with the very high increase in currency circulation, which doubled during the nine months compared to the same period of last year.

The IMF continues to drown Pakistan in interest based debt and the regime is in full complicity. Although the IMF claims to be an institution to help countries overcome their economic problems, in reality it is an American tool to dominate the global economy and prevent the emergence of any rival power, which is critical at a time when America's economy is weakened by a deep crisis, politically is being challenged in its interests by other major powers all over the world and its military is stretched beyond its capabilities. America has the greatest voting right in the IMF because she is its largest contributor, giving America a veto power so that no major decision can be taken in the IMF without US consent. The US Congress report by the US Treasury Department for seeking budgetary appropriations for United States International Programs for the year 2014, stated, "The IMF supports U.S. jobs, exports, and financial markets. During crises abroad, the U.S. leverages the IMF to protect our domestic economy. As the world’s largest economy, the U.S. is the only country with a veto to shape major IMF governance and resource decisions. As emerging economies play a bigger role and seek greater influence, it is critical that the U.S. maintains its influence in the global economy in the coming years. This requires ensuring the IMF remains the leading first responder with adequate quota resources and that the U.S. continues to preserve its veto power. Unless the U.S. acts now to honour its IMF commitments, we risk jeopardizing our leadership position."

Amongst other measures, the IMF binds Pakistan to the capitalist interest based loan system, which sap its strength through a library of internal and external loans. So whilst the conditions weaken Pakistan's economy, the interest on loans means that Pakistan remains drowning in debt even though it has paid the principal debt of its loans many times over. Debt-servicing is now around one third of the entire budget, in the order of billions of US dollars a year, but year after year, decade after decade, Pakistan plunges further into debt. And this in a state which was established in the name of Islam, the Deen of Truth which forbids interest (riba) in all of its forms.

Expel Hostile Foreign Officials

A corps commanders’ conference was held at the General Headquarters on 7 April with Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif in the chair. Apart from reviewing progress of ongoing counter-terrorism operations, the forum was apprised of the activities of hostile intelligence agencies in the country and Pakistan’s response. “It was resolved to take all measures to block hostile acts against Pakistan, which can undermine our security and growth,” the ISPR said.

It is an open secret that RAW and America's Raymond Davis network are behind the chaos in the country. Yet, the Raheel-Nawaz regime has done nothing to prevent their mischief. As long as this American presence exists on our soil, we will never see an end to devastation, even if we were to lose far more than we have already lost. It is upon the sincere in Pakisan's armed forces, who hold the physical capability, to put matters straight according to the command of Allah (swt). It is upon them to cut the head of the snake and purify Pakistan of all American presence. It is upon them to close the American embassy and consulates as well as the Indian High Commission, expel the enemies that roam the country to contact and spend dollars as they please, the Indian and US diplomats, as well as the US private military and intelligence operatives. These matters will only be practically realized once the sincere officers extend the Nussrah to Hizb ut Tahrir for the return of the Khilafah "Caliphate" (Caliphate) on the Method of the Prophethood to these lands of Pakistan, the Pure, the Good.