Ailing Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Syed Shabbar Zaidi had appreciated the profundity of humungous Rs 5.5 trillion tax collection target for financial year 2019-20. Not only did prime minister Imran Khan express his full confidence in the competence of former tax consultant-cum-intellectual, he also made it clear to the entire taxation machinery that he would never countenance any challenge to FBR chairman's authority and jurisdiction. The question, however, is: What went wrong? There is no easy answer to this question. Shabbar's protracted absence from work has given birth to numerous conspiracy theories; one of which is about the purported existence of a serious rift between Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Hafeez Sheikh and the FBR chairman over tax targets and collection issues. This 'theory' now derives its sustenance from news item "Hafeez hints at replacement of Shabbar" carried by this newspaper yesterday. According to which, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh has said that any decision about any new chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) would be taken in consultation with Shabbar Zaidi, the current chairman. He has also stated that Shabbar Zaidi is on leave due to health issues and if he does not return then the government will look for his replacement.

The situation, however, clearly indicates that things are unsatisfactory; there is something.