IHC acting CJ takes up PECA plea
ISLAMABAD:
Justice Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, the Islamabad High Court's (IHC) newly appointed acting chief justice, took up on Monday a petition filed against the recent amendments to the country's cybercrime law, the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act (PECA), 2016.
Justice Dogar was one of the three judges who were transferred from three different provincial high courts to the IHC through a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice on February 3.
Five IHC judges filed representations against the transferred judges after the IHC former chief justice, Aamer Farooq, issued a new seniority list in which Justice Dogar appeared as the senior puisne judge.
Justice Farooq later rejected the representations and after his elevation to the Supreme Court, Justice Dogar was sworn in as the IHC's acting chief justice in a ceremony boycotted by a number of his IHC colleagues on February 14.
On Monday, a single-member bench comprising Justice Dogar addressed the petition filed against the PECA (Amendment) Act, 2025 by the IHC Journalist Association (IHCJA).
The IHCJA's lawyer, Mian Samiuddin, informed the bench that similar petitions against PECA amendments were being heard by IHC's Justice Inam Amin Minhas. Responding to a query of the judge, the lawyer said Justice Minhas had adjourned the case for two weeks.
He requested the IHC acting chief justice to form a larger bench to hear the plea. Justice Dogar replied that Justice Minas would decide whether a larger bench was needed or not. He instructed the IHC registrar to club the IHCJA's petition with other petitions filed against the PECA (Amendment) Act, 2025.
The petition stated that the PECA (Amendment) Act, 2025 is an attack on press freedom and is unconstitutional and illegal. It requested judicial review, arguing that the amendment act violates Articles 19 and 19A of the Constitution.
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Express Tribune
7 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Living in filth & fear
In Pakistan, the transgender community has long struggled for recognition, protection and fundamental human rights, including the right to identification, education, employment, and housing. However, till date, non-binary people remain deprived of dignified living. All across the country, the transgender community is often viewed with an eye of suspicion. While some associate them with immoral or obscene activities others accuse them of indulging in sex work. Thanks to such prejudices, transgender persons seeking access to safe housing are either openly denied by landlords or are given living spaces under extremely strict conditions, including exorbitant rents. Although the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018 claims to grant equal rights to transgender people, the reality on the ground is quite the opposite. With a poor implementation of laws, police indifference and difficulties in accessing the justice system deprive transgender people of their legal rights especially in cases where they are evicted or harassed by tenants and neighbours. The majority have no effective means of legal redress. According to the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) the transgender community in Pakistan faces widespread discrimination and stigma in accessing housing, health, education, employment, and even bathroom facilities. This is largely attributed to a lack of recognition of their gender identity. Culture of exclusion Even today, the transgender community continues to be the butt of jokes in comedy shows, stage performances and even colloquial humour. While outwardly appearing harmless, such demeaning attitudes inform ideas which not only seek to objectify and otherize non-binary people but also serve to covertly justify their mistreatment. Such mistreatment is one major reason why many transgender persons struggle to access safe and affordable housing across the country. Take the case of Khushboo, a transwoman from Lahore, who had hoped to find a place of her own. 'I was able to get a flat on rent in Model Town. After presenting multiple references and agreeing to pay double the rent, my partner and I moved to our new home. However, our peaceful days did not last long since the neighbours made our life miserable. They used to forbid their children, especially girls, from talking to us while hurling inappropriate words. Eventually, I had to leave the flat and move in with my guru again,' shared Khushboo. Similarly, Aleena Ahmed, a transwoman from Karachi, revealed that since childhood she had been subjected to persistent bullying and ridicule, which forced her to leave her home and start living in a communal arrangement with other transgender people. 'When we want to rent a flat, landlords in decent residential areas are often reluctant since they fear damage to their reputation. Even if a landlord agrees to rent out a flat, neighbours often start spreading negative rumours about us. As a result, many transgender people are forced to live in slums,' lamented Aleena, who further revealed that she and her friends paid a monthly rent of Rs6,000 for a makeshift house in a slum. Sundri Begum, the leader of a transgender community in Karachi, stressed on the need for the government to provide decent housing arrangements for transgender people. 'Even in low-income areas like Mehmoodabad, Akhtar Colony, the slums of Clifton, and Shireen Jinnah Colony, transgender people often face difficulties in finding individual housing hence they live together in rented houses, flats, or portions. Even when they do find a place, they are charged double the normal rent,' claimed Sundri, whose group pays Rs25,000 per month for a two-room portion. 'In some cases, landlords deliberately charge higher rents to trans persons. Even if a transgender person succeeds in settling in an area, other residents object to their presence. They are harassed, or put under moral pressure to leave the area. Sometimes, such behaviour takes the form of violence or collective social boycotts,' added Zanaya Chaudhary, a trans rights activist from Lahore. Up north in Peshawar, Mahi Gul, a transwoman confirmed the discriminatory rentals many landlords demanded from trans tenants. 'A house rented to locals for Rs10,000 is not available to trans persons for less than Rs30,000. Transgender people invest heavily in decorating their homes, including installing cupboards, woodwork, and even makeup rooms. With Rs30,000 going in rent, apart from electricity and gas bills, and other expenses, how are we supposed to survive?' questioned Gul. Manzoor, a property dealer from the inner-city of Peshawar revealed that due to the recent economic downturn, property business had declined. 'With Afghan refugees returning to their homeland, there is little business hence we now rely on commissions from transgender clients to sustain our livelihoods. It is true that we charge transgender people double the rent because local residents object to us renting homes to them. Therefore, we often rent out houses under our own CNICs, which helps us earn higher commissions,' confessed Manzoor. Similarly, a property agent operating in Liaquatabad told The Express Tribune that renting out houses or apartments to members of the transgender community was challenging primarily due to objections and complaints made from neighbours. 'In addition, transgender citizens often lack identification documents, making police verification difficult,' noted the agent. Identification, education and employment While demeaning attitudes can partly explain complications in accessing safe housing, the broader issue of the transgender community's social exclusion has its roots in the difficulties associated with obtaining legal identification documents, education and employment. During various discussions with trans persons across the country, the correspondents reported that many members of the otherized gender did not even possess their national identity cards let alone other legal documents required for renting out a house. Due to the lack of necessary documentation for tenancy agreements or electricity and gas connections, many faced difficulties in getting accommodation. Furthermore, even when some trans persons were able to obtain their CNIC's, many avoided identifying their gender as 'X' on their ID cards, mainly out of fear, family pressure and social stigma. In an extreme incident, a transwoman from Charsadda was murdered by her family after she added the 'X' gender on her CNIC. Reflecting on such hazards, a transwoman who moved from Karachi to Peshawar revealed that her parents allowed her to perform at functions and even live separately. However, when it came to mentioning 'X' as my gender on my CNIC, my family openly refused since they feared people would label me as a 'Hijra'. Therefore, I could not get my ID card. If I obtain the card, I lose my family; if I don't, the government refuses to offer me any support,' she regretted. Seconding the plight of trans persons, Mahi Gul, who resides in a rented house in Peshawar's inner-city, recalled her experience with house hunting, societal attitudes, and property owners. 'Every human seeks peace, and for that, one needs a small, private home. With that thought, I rented a house. However, 90 per cent of transgender people don't have the 'X' category CNIC reserved for the transgender community. As a result, they either have to use their guru's name or rely on a third party to rent a house,' explained Gul. Expanding on the problem, Zanaya Chaudhary felt that lack of access to good education and stable employment also prevented many trans persons from renting out decent living spaces. 'Most transgender people are unable to earn a stable income due to a lack of education, employment, and skills. Due to financial constraints, they cannot afford living in safe apartments,' said Chaudhary, who herself never faced any difficulty renting out an apartment since due to her education, her lifestyle and speech were different from most transwomen. Sania Abbasi, a transwoman working as a beautician also supported Chaudhary's point. 'The majority of trans people have trouble getting a single flat or house on rent due to their lifestyle and habits. Since I work as a beautician, I have not faced much trouble finding decent accommodation,' shared Abbasi, who has been living in a single flat in a posh area in Lahore since many years. Concurring with Abbasi, Dr Nasreen Aslam Shah, Former Professor at the University of Karachi's Department of Social Work, maintained that although the transgender community was a part of society, they often lacked jobs or skills, forcing many to beg. 'Therefore, the government should initiate housing and welfare programs to address their issues,' said Dr Shah. Between disease and death As a result of their systemic exclusion, the marginalization facing the transgender community can quickly escalate from a simple refusal of housing to an outright threat of violence, forcing many to live their lives in filth and fear. The Express Tribune spoke to various property dealers across three areas of Peshawar where the transgender community is concentrated. Areas like Dilzak Road, Gulbahar, and Yakatoot have around 20 plazas where transgender individuals live in shared rooms, paying rent between Rs10,000 to Rs15,000 for a single room. A transgender resident of one such plaza, revealed on the condition of anonymity, that the majority of living spaces occupied by the transgender community were dirty, unhygienic, and violated basic health standards. "These crowded and dark spaces contribute to the spread of serious illnesses such as Hepatitis, AIDS, and tuberculosis,' revealed the resident. According to Farzana Khan, President of the Transgender Association K-P, only six to 10 per cent of the transgender community live alone in a rented house, with the majority living in groups of six to eight in one rental home. 'Transgender individuals are not even provided assistance when it comes to registering a rental house. Landlords only agree to rent out a place if they are offered triple the regular rent. In rural areas, if a transgender person tries to rent a house, the entire village and local council (panchayat) intervenes. If they do not vacate immediately, they receive death threats. Hence, transgender people are compelled to live in rented houses or plazas within city limits,' explained Jan. While unsafe living arrangements risk turning into the hotbeds of disease, an alarming culture of targeted violence against the transgender community only adds to their marginalization. For instance, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has recorded the highest number of transgender killings in the country over the past few years. According to the Transgender Association of K-P, 126 transgender individuals have been murdered in the province over the past five years, while more than a thousand others have been victims of gun violence. Unfortunately, none of the perpetrators have received a major punishment. K-P's Minister for Social Welfare, Qasim Ali Shah, conceded that the demands of the transgender community were valid. 'Unless transgender individuals are officially registered, it would be difficult to allocate quotas and provide funds to them in the same way as other communities,' said Shah, while speaking of K-P, where only 163 trans persons are registered. According to information obtained by The Express Tribune, during the past 13 years of PTI's government, very few of the promises made to the transgender community including provisions for a separate hospital ward and beds, an endowment fund and special desks at police stations were fulfilled. Hence, the transgender community in K-P feels alienated not only by society but also by the government and has announced a sit-in protest in front of the KP Assembly in the coming days. On the other hand, the Punjab government has started the Apni Chhat Apna Ghar Program, under which citizens are being given loans of up to Rs1.5 million to build a house. This loan will have to be repaid in five to seven years. 'Any citizen of Punjab, including transgender persons, can take a loan to build their own house under this scheme,' said a spokesperson for the Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency. Similarly, Advisor to the Chief Minister of Sindh, Waqar Mehdi, assured that the government was working to resolve the problems facing the transgender community.
Express Tribune
7 hours ago
- Express Tribune
The age of consent & the borders of belief
Child rights organisations and advocates, along with concerned citizens, have warmly welcomed the passage of recent legislation on child marriages, describing it as a landmark step toward protecting the rights and well-being of children. 'The passage of the ICT Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025 is a defining moment for Pakistan. This legislation affirms our national commitment to protecting children—particularly girls—from harmful practices that rob them of their childhood, health, and future. By setting 18 as the minimum legal age for marriage, we are not only upholding constitutional and international obligations, but also empowering our girls to pursue education, opportunity, and leadership. We also call on the provinces of Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to set the same precedent and harmonise their respective marriage laws in line with the rights and best interests of the child', Ayesha Raza Farooq, Chairperson of the National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) said. 'While every piece of legislation leaves room for future improvement which may be addressed sometimes in the rules and sometimes through further amendments, this Act sets a strong precedent in curbing the menace of child marriage," explained child rights expert Syed Miqdad Mehdi. The enactment of the ICT Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025 marks a significant step forward in the protection of children's rights in ICT. It is a comprehensive legal framework that not only criminalises the practice by making it a cognizable offence, but also rightly categorises it as a form of child abuse and trafficking, aligning with both national and international child protection standards. It is hoped that this landmark legislation will serve as a model for other territories, especially Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, to follow it and strengthen their legal response to this grave human rights violation'. The journey toward a safer, progressive and more equitable Pakistan begins with laws that protect its youngest citizens. Therefore, in order to restrain child marriages and protect the basic rights of children, it is expedient to enact a law for ICT. Prevalence of child marriages in Pakistan This act was passed to combat and eradicate the phenomenon of child marriages, which is highly prevalent in Pakistan. According to the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) 2017-2018, 3.6 per cent of girls under the age of 15 are married off while 18.3 per cent of girls married off are under 18. However, Unicef reports 21 per cent of Pakistani girls are married by the age of 18, and three per cent before 15 years of age. In 2019, the World Health Organisation reported that 21 per cent marriages were being solemnised by the age of 18 years in Pakistan. According to a World Bank report, 18 per cent of girls in Pakistan marry before the age of 18 and 4 per cent marry before the age of 15. It further added that five per cent of boys in Pakistan marry before the age of 18. In 2020, 119 cases of child marriages were reported in the country, of which 95 per cent were of girls and five per cent were of boys, according to a report by Islamabad-based Sahil, a non-governmental organisation working for child protection. In Pakistan, there are various causes of child marriages, the most prevalent being insufficient legislation and lack of political will to ensure implementation of existing laws. There is a dearth of awareness among the public about the damaging effects of child marriages, especially within tribal and feudal societal structures, harmful practices, extreme poverty and illiteracy. Religious beliefs also enable this tradition. Moreover, child marriage often problematically coincides with conversion of religion. Mostly, Hindu girls in Sindh and Christian ones in Punjab are forcibly married to older Muslim men after forced conversions. Child marriage is a form of sexual abuse in which the child is subjected to assault and deprived of their childhood. It affects the psychological well-being and intellectual, personal and social growth of the child. Girls who marry are more likely to drop out of school than other girls. The earlier girls are married, the more children they tend to bear, which contributes to overpopulation. Child brides face greater pregnancy-related health risks and their babies are more likely to have health problems. The high rates of maternal and infant mortality in Pakistan are closely linked to early marriage. Younger girls are more likely to face domestic violence than women who marry later. Additionally, child marriage leads to poverty when it limits the earning ability for girls because of dropping out of schools and missing development opportunities in many cases. ICT Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025 After the President's assent the Islamabad Capital Territory Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025 became a law on May 29 and extends to the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) of Pakistan. MNA Sharmila Faruqi presented the bill in National Assembly and it was passed on May 16. Subsequently, Senator Sherry Rehman presented it in the upper house. Despite heated debate in the Senate with the JUI-F insisting on sending a draft to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), the bill was passed with a majority on 19th May. CII rejected this bill on its own saying it un-Islamic on May 27. The NCRC, a statutory body, overruled the concerns of CII on May 29 stating 'various Muslim-majority countries—including Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco—have legislated minimum marriage ages aligned with international standards which means 18 for boys and girls, recognising the long-term harm caused by child marriage'. Interestingly, in 2023 the Federal Sharia Court in the context of Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Amendment Act 2013, gave their judgement that it is the prerogative of the state to set the minimum age for marriage. Salient features of the act According to the new act the age for both girls and boys is 18 years, which is a step forward to eliminate discrimination among children and to promote gender parity. If a parent or guardian permits child marriage or fails to prevent it, they will be punished with rigorous imprisonment of two to three years with fine. The contracting parties will provide Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) by NADRA to the Nikkah registrar. If the person solemnising the Nikkah doesn't obey it, he will be punished up to one year of imprisonment and one hundred thousand rupees fine. The condition of CNIC will also be helpful in curtailing the phenomenon of forced conversion of minority girls to the majority religion, as it will decrease the chances on manipulating the age. If a male above eighteen years contracts a child marriage, his imprisonment will be two to three years along with a fine. Any form of cohabitation before the age of eighteen years in a child marriage is child abuse and the punishment for any person who induces, forces, persuades, entices or coerces any child bride or child groom to engage in cohabitation will be punished with 5 to 7 years of imprisonment or/and at least fine of a million. Any person who traffics the child from ICT for marriage purpose will be punished with imprisonment of 5 to 7 years with fine. The Court of District & Sessions Judge shall take cognizance of or try any offence under this Act. If anyone submits an application that a child marriage in contravention of this Act is going to be solemnised, after giving a notice, the court will issue an injunction prohibiting such marriage. If the applicant requests to keep his/her identity hidden, then the court shall adopt appropriate measures to protect their identity. An offence punishable under this Act shall be cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable. The case will be concluded in 90 days. With the passage of this new law, The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 is repealed for ICT. What do other laws say? After 2010, the prevention of child marriages became a provincial subject. Sindh is the only province so far to have passed a law barring marriage under the age of 18. The Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act, 2013 makes underage marriage a cognizable and non-compoundable offence. This means that the police can take action on their own to arrest offenders upon any information, and no private conciliatory deals can be made between families, communities or jirgas to bypass the law. The Punjab Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, 2015 still permits girls to be married at 16 while the legal age of boys is 18 years and above. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan continue to be governed by the 1929 Act where minimum marriageable age for girls in 16 years and for boys is 18 years. Furthermore, it is imperative to adhere to international conventions such as the UNCRC and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) where the minimum age for marriage is 18 years. Pakistan's commitment to these treaties necessitates taking proactive measures to combat child marriage and protect women's rights. Pakistan is obligated to align national laws with the ratified conventions and to implement these laws. The approval of the new law is at an important time when Pakistan's 6th and 7th combined periodic reports will be reviewed by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. This development will be observed positively by the Committee, as it shows Pakistan's inclination to satisfy earlier recommendations Under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), countries around the world, including Pakistan, have pledged to end marriages before age 18 by the year 2030. Goal 5 of the SDGs focuses on gender equality and includes target 5.3 to end child marriages. What next? An inclusive set of legal, policy and administrative measures is required to combat child marriages in the country. The following steps are urgently required to save children from the nuisance of child marriage. The Federal Government should make rules for ICT Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025 without wasting any time. The remaining provinces and territories should take action without delay in passing similar laws—ensuring that no child is subjected to the injustice of child marriage. The Christian Marriage (Amendment) Act, 2024 has been passed in the National Assembly and its current jurisdiction is limited to ICT. All the Provincial Assemblies should immediately submit a resolution as per Article 144 of the Constitution of Pakistan and adopt it in their respective provinces after due process. The Hindu Marriage Act 2017 was promulgated under Article 144 of the Constitution of Pakistan and is applicable in ICT, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Province Sindh has its own law. The age of marriage is 18 years and above according to these laws. Minorities' Personal Laws override the related laws of the respective territories, provinces where the marriageable age of the girl child is sixteen years, will not be implemented to Hindu girls. Just administrative measures are required for the implementation. For implementation of the Punjab Sikh Anand Karaj Marriage Act 2018 a set of administrative measures is required. A vibrant local government system should be in place to work with Anand Karaj Registrar and the Sangat to register the marriage. Local government bodies must be empowered to ensure that legal safeguards are implemented in letter and spirit. Special safeguards will be needed for any out-standing victims of child marriage. Their protection, privacy, confidentiality, restitution, trauma healing, rehabilitation and fair legal participation must be prioritised. There must be pro bono legal facilities and expedited procedures before, during and post-trial. The state and government personnel (judges, police, medical officers, etc.) involved during the reporting, investigation and prosecution of child marriage cases should be sensitised and held accountable on the issue. All human rights institutions and civil society organisations must support the cause and advocate for the enactment of robust child protection laws. A nationwide campaign can help raise awareness on the damaging effects of child marriages. The public should be made aware of the harms associated with such practices, as well as punitive laws pertaining to child marriages and related crimes. Parents need to be more sensitive regarding child protection so that their children are not victims of pedophilia and child sexual abuse. To combat child marriages, education for every child is a must. This will help enable our future generations to live healthier and freer lives in a more thriving Pakistan. Nabila Feroz Bhatti is a human rights activist and columnist. She is Member Working Group at National Commission on the Rights of Child. She can be connected at nabilaferoz@ or on X: @NabilaFBhatti All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the author
Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Business Recorder
Fixing budget to unleash growth
Every year, Pakistan's federal budget arrives with familiar choreography: a frantic scramble for revenue, a ritualistic promise of belt-tightening, a prayer for donor approval—and, inevitably, a deepening economic funk. The budget, instead of being a strategic tool to unleash growth and build reserves, has become a reactive exercise designed to appease creditors and perpetuate the status quo. This is not just a budgeting problem—it is a full-blown political economy failure. To break this cycle, we must fundamentally reimagine the budget—not as a ledger-balancing ritual, but as the central engine of economic revival through a sustained growth acceleration. Bloated government Pakistan's budget has historically expanded alongside a steady growth in government spending—starting with the welfare and development spree of the Bhutto years. Since then, successive governments have continued to bloat expenditures, expand political patronage networks, and indulge in borrowed vanity projects. Unsurprisingly, the lion's share of the budget is now devoured by a bloated and inefficient government machinery—ministries, SOEs, elite subsidies, and ever-growing civilian and military pensions. Development spending (PSDP) does not fare much better. It is either slashed mid-year or burned on politically motivated brick-and-mortar projects that neither raise productivity nor enhance exports. Numerous studies show that public investment in Pakistan is failing to crowd in private capital, generate jobs, or enhance competitiveness. No surprise, then, that economic growth has been on a steady downward slope this century. Don't tax the economy to death Maintaining the donor mantra that the 'tax-to-GDP ratio is low,' the IMF responds to our fiscal deficits by prescribing more and more taxes. When unrealistic revenue targets fall short, they roll out the usual remedy: 'further taxes,' 'additional taxes,' 'super taxes'—all piled on top of already over-taxed sectors in the infamous minibudget blitzes. The result? A regressive, volatile, and thoroughly anti-growth tax regime. Pakistan's real problem is not just low revenue—it is the structure of revenue—complicated, intrusive, and volatile. The consequence is a skewed, unjust, and investment-suppressing system. As deficits ballooned alongside unchecked political largesse, public debt skyrocketed past the 60 percent of GDP ceiling set by the 2003 Fiscal Responsibility Act—an IMF-sponsored law. Today, over 50 percent of the federal budget is consumed by interest payments. Yet both federal and provincial governments continue spending with abandon. Just in FY2025, they added over 60 new government agencies. Apparently, austerity is for textbooks — not our political class. A good budget To shift the budget toward growth, we must reframe our fiscal strategy around three core objectives: investment facilitation, economic restructuring, and foreign exchange generation. Our fiscal culture is rooted in control. Every economic activity is smothered in paperwork, redundant approvals, and bureaucratic misalignment. The budget must empower cities, universities, and private innovators—not just federal ministries. Local governments have been 'in the pipeline' for decades. While this issue lies beyond the immediate scope of the budget, it is crucial that administrative decentralization and institutional autonomy be pursued with proper performance checks and accountability frameworks. Perhaps the most urgent—and overdue—reform is the restructuring of the Planning Commission and the PSDP. The Haq/HAG model of brick-and-mortar development must evolve into a productivity-enhancing strategy. Let us transform the PSDP into a competitive grants framework—empowering cities and knowledge institutions to innovate, tied to clear outcomes in research, urban regeneration, and enterprise development. Likewise, the Planning Commission should be converted into a genuine reform engine—steering away from bloated plans and abstract visions that no one reads, let alone implements. And yes, this also means an end to discretionary funds and politically captive schemes. Enough random taxation The obsession with squeezing more out of the same tax base is strangling the economy. We need to broaden the base by simplifying, lowering, and stabilizing the tax structure—rather than repeatedly taxing the same goods and sectors into oblivion. As we outlined in the Haque Tax Commission Report of 2024: a) Simplify the tax code and reduce compliance burdens b) Replace withholding and turnover taxes with a value-added tax (VAT) system, with automatic and credible refunds c) Streamline documentation requirements for entering the tax system d) Broaden the base through digitization and administrative ease e) Most importantly, stop the frantic revenue drives that inject volatility, erode confidence, and drive away both domestic and foreign investment A good time to open the economy The relentless thirst for revenue has turned tariffs into a catch-all crutch—even exports now suffer because import duties are raising the cost of globally integrated inputs. Worse still, policy remains trapped in an outdated import-substitution mindset that rewards rent-seeking rather than export excellence. It is time for a bold pivot: abandon import substitution and stop using tariffs as a revenue crutch. Elementary economics teaches that tariffs are used to prevent a needed exchange rate adjustment. Tariffs can never be a competitive strategy. If we are serious about export-led growth—not just sloganeering—we must let the rupee find its true value, open the economy, and dismantle protectionist walls. Make the budget a living, transparent document For two decades, we have had a grand-sounding World Bank project—PIFRA ('Project to Improve Financial Reporting and Auditing')—with nothing to show. We still lack basic budget transparency. Follow the rest of the world and now adopt accrual-based budgeting across Pakistan. Here is a modest proposal for the finance minister: Make PIFRA live for public access this year. Put real-time dashboards online so citizens can trace every rupee spent. Growth is the only way out Our fiscal burden continues to grow as economic growth slows. The only way to break free from perpetual debt, IMF bailouts, and creeping default is through a sustained acceleration of private sector-led growth. This must be the cornerstone of budget policy: raise private investment from today's pitiful 8–9 percent of GDP to over 20 percent in five years. Deregulate. Open up. Simplify taxes and documentation. Build a performance-oriented public sector that enables growth—not one that chases after taxes with a club and spends the money on useless projects, bloated government, and patronage. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
