People sitting in the federal government and Sindh are “duffers”, former Federal Board of Revenue chairman Shabbar Zaidi has said as he lamented the state of Karachi where more than 25 million people live.

“They are duffers as they don’t understand that by unintentionally committing genocide they destroyed the economy,” he said while appearing on News Insight with Amir Zia aired on Aaj News on Tuesday.

Zaidi was responding to a question related to an “economic genocide of Karachi” which he used in the recent past about Pakistan’s financial hub.

He clarified that he did not support it, but warned the stakeholders that the city was heading towards such a situation.

He interpreted Article 2C of the UN convention on genocide, saying that managing economics in a way that leads to genocide. This case was raised by Bangladeshis in 1971, he said and wondered about the lack of resources in Karachi.

“I am saying economic genocide is not happening, but we are heading towards it. There is a perpetrator of this genocide. Tell me which city has six cantonments and Rangers have been in the city for the past 20 years. Tell me in which city water is sold by hydrants. Tell me which city has 80% of its roads broken,” Zaidi said.

He asked whether the Sindh government had any plan to send Rangers back. “We are the only city where there is the least allocation per person from the provincial budget,” he said.

According to the former FB chairman, Pakistan would not progress until Karachi progresses. “Because of enmity with Karachi, they unintentionally damaged Pakistan.”

He went on to add that exports of Pakistan and Vietnam were $10 billion in 1990, but “today Vietnam’s exports stand at $600 billion and Pakistan’s at $30 billion.” He claimed that such kind of situation is genocide. “If today I file cases under Article 2C, I will win. But I don’t want to win. I want to show them they are duffers by living with them.”

God forbid, Zaidi added that if the economic genocide case were filed, then the first culprit would be the party with the highest number of seats in Karachi.

Tax subject

Zaidi was of the view that the whole country was giving tax on consumption but not on salaries. “Basic law of tax says the consumption tax is equal for poor and rich. Tax should be more on salary not on consumption,” he said.

According to the former FBR chief, the tax recovery on salary was not difficult. “The incompetent governments in the world increase indirect taxes and direct taxes get less.”

He added that tax was considered an urban subject in the country and asked how many butchers and raw milk sellers paid taxes.

“The biggest problem of Pakistan’s taxation is that we think tax can be collected from big cities, not from small cities.”

He went on to add that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has been head of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, can ask all the shopkeepers to come into the tax net as the country is going through difficult times.

“Either the shopkeepers are dishonest or the government is a hypocrite.”

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He claimed that the opposition parties did not oppose the budget with facts and propositions.

When asked, Zaidi called for friendship with India to improve the economic situation. “First of all, India is not our enemy. You should tell the public about law and order. Tell them what is happening. The state has no enmity with India.”

He added that India did not break the pact as the neighbouring country scrapped Article 370 of its own Constitution.