The UN Represents The Governments Of The World. May A "Bell Of Atri" Represent The People Of The World? (Part 64)
"Won’t tolerate corruption in FBR: Shehbaz" - The Express Tribune (May 5, 2024)
To summarize: Pakistan Prime Minister S. Sharif reportedly acknowledged that his punitive actions against a group of Federal Board Of Revenue (FBR) officials may have harmed some honorable officers as well. But, he promised, that is not cause for concern because he guarantees that such mistakes will be rectified. The important thing, he emphasised, is that said punitive measures will clarify his message to the FBR: Whomever or whatever you respect or fear is unimportant in the face of International Monetary Fund (IMF) & World Bank Group (WBG) objectives. Once the FBR understands this simple principle, he declared, everything will be fine.
All competent legal professionals (especially those who view all legal matters through the lens of Human Rights Law & Criminal Law - like me) are aware of "Blackstone's Ratio": English jurist Sir William Blackstone argued (in his landmark legal treatise, "Commentaries On The Laws Of England") that "It is better that 10 guilty persons escape, than that 1 innocent suffer."
PM S. Sharif has reportedly acknowledged that, during his "purge", he has punished innocent FBR officials...but argues that he should not be held culpable because he will "rectify" the injustice. Legally speaking, can a perpetrator be authorized to admit or deny a crime at will, & in the event of an admission (of guilt), should said perpetrator have any say (let alone sole jurisdiction) over the nature of any/all reparations/rectifications?
"FBR to Block Non-Filer SIMs This Month Despite PTA’s Refusal" - Pro Pakistani (May 5, 2024)
To summarize: According to rumor, after receiving the official refusal to comply with Income Tax General Order 01/2024 from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Federal Board Of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Malik A.Z. Tiwana has decided to call an emergency meeting with all Cellular Service Providers (CSPs) operating in Pakistan; he intends instructing them to unilaterally block the listed parties' SIMs by May 15 (2024), or face legal consequences from the FBR.
There is no greater demonstration of a lack or failure of leadership, than when a boss gives such incompetent or corrupt orders, that said orders spark off an inter-jurisdictional conflict.
Take IMF incompetence or corruption, evidenced via (inter alia) its unrealistically-high tax target for the FBR (because, notwithstanding PM Sharif's "conservative estimates", Pakistan's tax-to-GDP ratio is higher than Developing World industrial behemoths, India & China). When the FBR (as was to be expected) couldn't reach said unrealistic target, the IMF flew into a rage & demanded the suspension of several top FBR officials sans due process. After the Customs Group demanded to see the inculpatory evidence, the IMF instructed PM Sharif to apologize for the "mistake", so as to sidestep full disclosure. Meanwhile, another IMF order (to block the SIMs of alleged "tax evaders" sans due process) was correctly rejected by the PTA. So, has it compelled FBR Chairman Malik A.Z. Tiwana to lock horns with PTA Chairman Maj. Gen. (R) Hafeez ur Rehman, by attempting to convince (domestic & foreign) Cellular Service Providers to disregard Gen. Hafeez's legitimate authority?
"Wheat crisis: Farmers to launch nationwide protests from May 10" - Dawn (May 5, 2024)
To summarize: After numerous fruitless attempts to get justice from the relevant authorities, the farmers of Pakistan have announced a nationwide protest, starting from May 10 (2024) in Multan & sweeping across the country. Farmers have been complaining since long about the illegal import of wheat that has dealt a devastating blow to the bumper wheat crop in Pakistan, thereby harming the farmers & dramatically reducing the tax revenue (that has resultantly fallen below the tax targets set by the IMF for the FBR)...but said grievances apparently don't merit anything other than the occasional photo op for Prime Minister S. Sharif & Punjab Chief Minister Mrs. M. Safdar.
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If further evidence of the illegal control exerted by Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) & their subsidiaries in complicity with the Governments Of The World over the People Of The World, were required, Pakistan's "wheat crisis" would be a clincher.
According to the latest publicly-available reports, an under-the-table deal was made between currently-disputed parties in the Government Of Pakistan & currently-unidentified parties in the international wheat supplier sector, that lead to the import of a large amount of wheat into Pakistan, despite the confirmation of a domestic bumper crop. This legal violation has led to the impending ruination of millions of farmers - which is a threat of national importance, given that Pakistan always has been & always will be, an agricultural society, first & foremost - as well as a huge loss in terms of the tax revenues that locally-grown wheat were set to generate.
Given this situation, why is PM Sharif reportedly unwilling to order a thorough investigation? Why is the IMF unmoved over the prospect of fewer billions in tax revenue from the agricultural sector? How may the FATF & WTO argue that an illegal international multi-billion deal totally escaped their notice? What (if anything) does the "wheat crisis" scam have to do with the share price movements of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group, which had crashed by the end of 2022...but began a miraculous climb mere months before the kick-off of Pakistan's August 2023 wheat scam?
"PHC stops NAB from arresting Chinese company directors over BRT probe" - Dawn (May 3, 2024)
To summarize: While adjudicating the case of alleged frauds committed in the development & management of the Bus Rapid Transit (Peshawar), a double bench of the Peshawar High Court heard the arguments of M/S SGEC (Sichuan Geological Engineering Complex), Maqbool Associates, & Ch. A. Latif & Sons (Pvt) Limited (Calsons) against the investigatory activities of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB); while the lawyers representing the 2 local companies reportedly stuck to the traditional litigation strategy of moaning about standoffish authority figures, Mr. Naeem Bokhari (who represents SGEC) argued that NAB had committed a procedural violation by serving a notice directly on his client via the Chinese Embassy in Islamabad, instead of sending said notice via the Pakistan Federal Foreign Ministry. The Bench instructed NAB officials to eschew further legal communications with Chinese SGEC officials & adjourned the case until June 25 (2024).
Who says competent legal professionals &/or consultants need to lie in order to litigate any kind of case or defend any type of client?
Very much in keeping with his impressive reputation for professional competence, Mr. Naeem Bokhari very ably defended his client - Sichuan Geological Engineering Complex - without making a mockery of any law(s). He accurately argued that (as a result of the institution of special legal procedures to accomodate the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) Chinese nationality company executives &/or contractors operating in Pakistan are immune to routine legal investigations...because, to put it simply, they are given the status of diplomats or the equivalent by Beijing & Islamabad.
"Factbox: EU probes on Chinese subsidies and imports" - Reuters (May 5, 2024)
To summarize: The European Union has commenced a series of anti-dumping investigations into a number of Chinese businesses holding contracts in the EU region. Among the names mentioned is LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. Ltd. & Shanghai Electric Group Co. Ltd., who stand accused of taking undue advantage of subsidies in various sectors to unethically increase their share in European markets.
In view of alleged international law violations by LONGi & Shanghai Electric in the European Union, what precautionary legal & financial steps should the Pakistani business class take, so as to protect their interests from similar investigations in Pakistan, expecially given the fact that, as diplomats, Chinese businesspeople are subject to the Convention on the Privileges & Immunities of the United Nations, Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic & Consular Relations, etc.? This question is particularly pertinent to companies such as Royal Solar Energy (the leading LONGi merchandise importer in Pakistan), Karachi Electric (which has barely escaped a merger with Shanghai Electric) & Sindh Engro (in view of PM Sharif's recent enthusiastic offer to Shanghai Electric to expand its Pakistani coal mining operations)?
"The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog." - Mark Twain