Pakistan has been a victim of the insatiable greed of its soldiers of fortune, some of them in uniform, while others out of uniform, busy in their role of making hay while the sun shines. The misfortunes of the people of Pakistan are due to the rampant corruption, which to our predicament has been institutionalised through official patronage, while state institutions stand marginalised and weakened to facilitate loot and plunder.
A nation that owes its existence to men of integrity, courage and determination, led by Quaid e Azam, is today ironically a country, where corruption is no longer a vice, but a privilege of the elitist mediocrity that has misruled it for years. There are so many precedents of men tarnished by corruption, living beyond their means, who have never paid any tax, qualifying for getting elected or selected to constitutional offices, that investor confidence stands tarnished, our economy is in ruins, with no hope in sight that plunderers will ever be held accountable.
Leona Helmslay, the wife of an American billionaire was jailed in USA, because she being a celebrity stated that "Fools pay Taxes", ending up being sentenced and imprisoned for tax evasion, in spite of best legal attorneys hired for her defence.
In Pakistan tax evasion is not a crime for the elitist mediocrity but a privilege. Another measure of the elite individual's social standing is the ease and frequency with which he flouts rule of law, without any fear. It is only in Pakistan that a man like Musharraf, who has usurped the constitution twice without any remorse, gets official protocol, while elected Prime Ministers have been sent to gallows or exiled, in spite of Supreme Court rulings to the contrary and constitutional rights.
We are the only nuclear armed state, which cannot provide basic necessities like clean drinking water, electricity, transportation, subsidised education, health and security to our populace. The Pakistani state coffers are on the verge of default, while individuals have amassed billions in US dollars and yet enjoy tax holidays. Loan default by design is also a privilege for the elite. Our survival as a nation is hostage to the vices of our ruling elite and our failure as a nation to stand up and be counted.