(Hopefully) Before The Camel Settles Into The Tent

(Source: mywonderstudio.com)

INTRODUCTION

Word in the local media is that the Pakistani Senate will vote favourably on the mainstreaming of military courts next Tuesday. While some are wondering what was the hold-up that delayed the Senate from expressing its admiration for the legislation this past week, members of the analyst community were more curious about the exact details of the "bitter pill" arrangement negotiated by Senator Aitzaz Ahsan. While the news over the last few days has conveyed the general idea - he was tasked with achieving 9 conditions & achieved an awesome 4 - nobody seems to know much about the ramifications of passing a legislation that essentially suspends some very important civil rights for a minimum of 2 years (starting from Heaven knows which date, exactly).

After all, what makes a person a first-class citizen of any given sovereign nation is, in effect, the rights he or she is entitled to within the borders of his or her home country. When it comes to these rights, the interest of each nation is focused on whatever happens to be the most pressing issue at the current time. In most cases, the concerns of the common man center around the question of the link between quality of life versus the percentage of his income that is deducted as taxes. Take the United States: According to the latest news reports, the common man there is currently wringing his hands with worry about how the current Administration will relieve him of the huge expense of a health insurance system that costs him a fortune for services he doesn't need & then tells him that the expense has made investment in his specific needs financially unviable; all because some folks were more concerned about personal likes & dislikes than the interests of the people. Tragic.

In the same way, in light of the recent tax agreement signed with Switzerland, many analysts are wondering about the effect of a suspension of fundamental rights on the taxation system. In short, if the Senate votes to ratify a legislation that reduces the status as human beings of the citizens of Pakistan, which indirectly implies that the duties of the State to the people will shrink in proportion, does that go on to mean that the reduced responsibility translates into lower Government expenses & so, reduced taxes?

While it is hoped that the Pakistani Administration should provide an answer to this question sometime before March 28, 2017, it doesn't mean that it will. In the meantime, the most constructive pastime for interested parties might be to do a quick revision of what experts at the United Nations & in the legal profession have to say when explaining the all-important concepts that will be the first to be scrutinised in this discussion.

HUMAN RIGHTS

OHCHR

(http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx)

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.

Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties, customary international law , general principles and other sources of international law. International human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.

THE FREE DICTIONARY

(http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/human+rights)

Basic rights that fundamentally and inherently belong to each individual.

Human rights are freedoms established by custom or international agreement that impose standards of conduct on all nations. Human rights are distinct from civil liberties, which are freedoms established by the law of a particular state and applied by that state in its own jurisdiction.

Specific human rights include the right to personal liberty and Due Process of Law; to freedom of thought, expression, religion, organization, and movement; to freedom from discrimination on the basis of race, religion, age, language, and sex; to basic education; to employment; and to property. Human rights laws have been defined by international conventions, by treaties, and by organizations, particularly the United Nations. These laws prohibit practices such as torture, Slavery, summary execution without trial, and Arbitrary detention or exile.

TAXATION

THE FREE DICTIONARY

(http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/taxation)

The process whereby charges are imposed on individuals or property by the legislative branch of the federal government and by many state governments to raise funds for public purposes.

The theory that underlies taxation is that charges are imposed to support the government in exchange for the general advantages and protection afforded by the government to the taxpayer and his or her property. The existence of government is a necessity that cannot continue without financial means to pay its expenses; therefore, the government has the right to compel all citizens and property within its limits to share its costs. The state and federal governments both have the power to impose taxes upon their citizens.

THE LAW DICTIONARY

(http://thelawdictionary.org/tax/)

In a general sense, a tax is any contribution imposed by government upon individuals, for the use and service of the state, whether under the name of toll, tribute, tallage, gabel, impost, duty, custom, excise, subsidy, aid, supply, or other name.