Islamabad: Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Atta Bandyal has remarked that there is no control or accountability on property and wealth creation in Pakistan.
During the hearing of the case related to amendments in NAB rules, the Chief Justice said that the Supreme Court gave the example of a living tree in a case in 1996. A living tree will grow over time. If there is no law, there will be mafias. There are many mafias in Pakistan. I won’t name any mafia, but mafias cause anarchy and chaos.
The Chief Justice remarked that there is no proper regulator in our system. Property and wealth are taxed in the world, wealth tax was abolished in our country in 2001. There is no control or accountability on building property in the country. These are all political points which have to be decided by the Parliament.
The Chief Justice said that accountability is important for a healthy society and a healthy state. Corruption is everywhere in the world. There are also some defects. The drawback is that some civil servants have been acquitted after serving jail terms. Some businessmen were also disappointed with NAB, there are some things in NAB amendments that benefited them. There are also some amendments which are of serious nature. We have to strike a balance. Due to the recent change in the NAB law, the accused also benefited. The plea bargain and setting a limit of Rs 500 million benefited the accused.
The Chief Justice remarked during the hearing that the economy is a matter of policy in which the court cannot interfere. Protection of public assets is the responsibility of the state. The country has been badly affected due to excessive borrowing. Due to misuse of loans, this situation of the country came to be.
The Chief Justice said that most of the unnecessary expenditure was on luxury of the elite class. 70 to 80 percent of people in the country are living below the poverty line. The court cannot stop the government from borrowing. Making decisions regarding the economy is the work of experts.
