For this, I have already instructed for a system of questioning to be set and this is a new trend we want to start in Pakistan politics.
I’m here in the Senate today because I want to talk to all our leadership about the issue and state of Pakistan’s economy. We are in 28000 billion in debt and are taking loans to pay off our loans. There is a strategy behind our austerity drive; and for this I want to refer to our religion where we are told that Allah will never help a nation who do not help themselves. So till we are not ready to change ourselves, nothing will be different. This means a mindset overhaul. That nation where over 40 percent of our children suffer from stunted growth, where 23 percent of our children are malnourished, where over 2 crore children are out of school, and where we can not educate or feed millions of children two meals a day... the leadership of such a country cannot justify it to themselves to live like kings at the expense of taxpayer money. The taxpayer money is not for the elite leadership to live lavish lifestyles, it is a responsibility we have in hand for the future of the children of Pakistan. The example has to be set from the ruling class of Pakistan. Unfortunately we still remain in a colonial mindset; that of huge lavish estates and governor houses. If we go and look at the public office lifestyle of those who had colonised once upon a time, it has been Simple and one of protecting the money of the taxpayer ever since democracy came to the forefront in these societies. The auction of cars, the austerity drives in PM offices, they may seem like small savings but their symbolism is extremely important; especially to our taxpayers. That we are here to protect and to take care of your tax money. I am one of the top intermediaries for the receipt of charity in this country, we are one of the most charitable nations in the world, but the least tax paying. Why is this so? Because the taxpayer has no trust in governance. It’s because our rulers have failed to remove the colonial mindset of people who don’t see the government as an entity that will protect them and be their own. There have been summits globally where it has been concluded that if a society does not want to pay tax, it is impossible to collect tax from them. What happens when a house is hit by money troubles? They reduce their expenditure. And the measures we have started with, we want to create a wave across the country. At the same time we are working on increasing our revenue collection via measures like FBR reforms etc, and will be presenting this to the Senate soon. The loans we are taking to pay off interest, we have been studying over the past week how much dead capital and property there is lying around in Pakistan which can be used to service these debts. At the same time, our overseas Pakistanis, we are working on creating an enabling environment to make investment opportunities for them. We are in a classic debt trap at the moment, and our overseas Pakistanis will be a huge asset in helping us get out of this cycle of taking loans and then taking more loans to pay off interest on those loans. So we will be presenting a plan to the Senate in one week; and our aim is to increase revenue and create investment opportunities and to also strengthen our institutions. Many other nations have been in worse situations than us, and have risen out of them in less than half a decade and the modus operandi has always been to reduce your expenses and increase your revenue. InshAllah we will rise out of this and stand on our own feet. I have received a lot of feedback that I should go to the UN General Assembly session but I believe we need to get our own house in order first so it is important for me to be here. As far as foreign policy is concerned we have to remember that we unfortunately as a nation have a history of living in debt. And nations that live on debt leave their freedom, and their dignity. So my first priority is for us to change this.