Elite privileges in third-world countries should not be shocking news for us. A country like Pakistan which is on the brink of collapse; economically, socially, and politically is also suffering from this syndrome.
According to the report of UNDP, elite privilege consumes billions of Pakistan’s economy which include the corporate sector, feudal landlords, the political class, and the nation’s powerful military, a total of an estimated $17.4 billion, or roughly 6% of the country’s economy.
“Powerful groups use their privilege to capture more than their fair share, people perpetuate structural discrimination through prejudice against others based on social characteristics, and policies are often unsuccessful at addressing the resulting inequity, or may even contribute to it,” says the report.
The report noted, however, that Pakistan’s military is also “the largest conglomerate of business entities in Pakistan, besides being the country’s biggest urban real estate developer and manager, with wide-ranging involvement in the construction of public projects”.
Meanwhile, Federal Government is paying a Pension of more than 500 Billion Rupees Per Year and out of this amount, 400 Billion Rupees are to be paid to Armed Forces Employees mostly belonging to Army.
Federal Government is paying Pension of more than 500 Billion Rupees Per Year and out of this amount, 400 Billion Rupees are to be paid to Armed Forces Employees mostly belong to Army…. pic.twitter.com/H0dc5MPOGs
— س۔ش (@sirsirajshah) February 19, 2023
Earlier, on Friday, the senate unanimously adopted recommendations on the Money Bill to amend certain laws relating to taxes and duties through the Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2023, a call was given in the house to do away with perks for judges, generals, and lawmakers as a step towards steering the country out of the economic quagmire.
Jamaat-i-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmad, on a point of order, waved a document in the air and read it out. The senate was shocked to know about the pension of a Judge in Pakistan. A retired judge gets around Rs1 million a month in pension, in addition to 2,000 free electricity units, 300 litres of free petrol, and free phone calls worth Rs3,000, though there was no room for this luxury lifestyle, he said.
While highlighting the need to bring ‘protocol culture’ to an end, the senator said 60 bulletproof luxury vehicles were in use by cabinet members only, while ‘other bigwigs’ have vehicles that consume as much as oil a truck consumes.
According to him, as many as 150,000 official vehicles are filled with free petrol. He was of the opinion there should be no free electricity, gas or petrol for anybody.
The senator called the budget a death warrant for the poor and asserted, “You burden the poor, now put some burden on the elite class.”
JI Senator Mushtaq Ahmad, waved a document and read it out: A retired judge gets approx Rs1 million a month in pension, in addition to 2,000 free electricity units, 300 litres of free petrol & free phone calls worth Rs3,000, though there was no room for this luxury lifestyle
— Economy of Pakistan (@Pakistanomy) February 19, 2023
