Constitution guarantees socio-economic well being of people: Supreme Court told

The Supreme Court was told on Wednesday that the constitutional provision, which guaranteed socio-economic well being of people by preventing concentration of wealth in few hands, had not changed the directions of national policies, which ultimately had segregated the society in different classes.
Amicus curiae A. K. Dogar argued that Article 38 of the Constitution pointed towards curtailing concentration of wealth in a few hands, but it had no impact. "Some people are leading luxurious lives and others are committing suicide to escape poverty," he added. A three-member bench, comprising Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi, Justice Mian Hamid Farooq and Justice Muhammad Farrukh Mahmud, was hearing a suo moto case on SBP's approval to write-off an hefty amount of Rs 54.6 billion.
Earlier, Dogar told the court that circular 29 by the bank was not applicable to the House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC), which offered small loans to the poor families without shelter. He said that banks adopted unscrupulous policies to recover their money form the poor, but written off loans owed to the rich, it had been done in this very scheme approved on October 15, 2002 by the SBP.
He said that statistics showed about 15 million people had been in traumatic condition since they had been facilitated through bank loans, credit card schemes and other sort of corporate attractions. Citing a news item, he said that a person named Uzair Siddiqui had taken a loan of Rs 2.5 million from various banks, had committed suicide after being humiliated by the recovery team of a bank.
He was not the only victim as scores of other citizens also ended their lives due to much stress. People were living in penury, but there was no one to rescue them, he added. Referring to a news item in which it was revealed that a mother put her kids on sale for not being able to feed them was an illustration of Article 38, he said.
"It has become impossible for the poor to educate their children due to rise in tuition fees. But there are schools like Lahore American School where people are paying Rs 80,000 per month, is another illustration of social stratification," he added.
While citing examples of those, who are leading luxurious lives, he said that the president was not an exception in this regard as he spent Rs 1.40 billion from the national exchequer on his foreign tours during the last five years.
At this point, the court said it was a different matter and had no link with the case of waiving off Rs 54 billion loans. Dogar said that why Article 38 was not applicable to those who were in power. He said if a modicum of support was provided by the courts, the system could be improved. The court adjourned the hearing till Thursday.