*PAKISTAN MILITARY, HENCHMEN ROBBING THE COUNTRY: ALTAF HUSSAIN*
LONDON. September 3: The people of Pakistan are being robbed by the two percent elite of the country under the aegis of Pakistan military top brasses.The puppet previous and incumbent interim set-up has levied multiple taxes of which certain taxes are even without titles such as further and extra taxes. These draconian taxes are collected from the people of the country through electricity bills. The military, paramilitary Rangers, Police and court have connived in this daylight robbery.The MQM supremo Mr Altaf Hussain has severely lambasted the looters consortium under the aegis of the military establishment.He called the highly- taxed electricity bills a bomb of mass destruction. The military is, however, has a 75-year record of massacring the citizens of Pakistan,he remarked.The military establishment has through puppets made difficult for the poor to survive, while the powerful civil and military elite of the country are living a life of luxury. The time is approaching fast when the people will be compelled to react violently.
Mr Hussain expressed these views in his address a day earlier which was broadcast live on social media forums.He said that the people are committing suicides and are selling their household commodities just to pay the electricity bills. The military establishment and the puppets are using power distribution companies known as DISCOs and especially supporting the K-Electric in Karachi as the military establishment has stationed the paramilitary Rangers to protect the K-Electric from the people on protest.Simultaneously, the puppet caretaker government has hiked the POL prices to an unbearable extent. Thus, the military junta has sandwiched the people in highly-taxed electricity tariff and the POL prices. In addition, the most corrupt previous government of PMLN-PPP-JUIF known as PDM managed to rob the people by creating an artificial crisis of sugar. The prices of sugar per kilogram have been skyrocketing from rupees 85 to 185. The puppet finance minister fled from the country with the backing of the military establishment after his tenure was over.
Mr Hussain said that the electricity bills include income tax, flood tax, fuel adjustment charges, meter charges, sales tax, general sales tax, TV fee, Radio fee, disaster tax, further tax, extra tax and others.
The Per Capita income in the country is less than 250 dollars and hence the people are unable to pay highly-taxed bills for military establishment.
A person whose monthly income is 20000 or 25000 rupees has been forced to pay his electricity bill of rupees 40000.The people are forced to keep hungry and stop sending kids to school.
He demanded that the facility of free vehicles, free petrol and free electricity to the two percent elite should be removed immediately. All illegal charges should be removed from the electricity bills and only the price of the units of electricity consumed should be charged from the consumers.
He said that yesterday the government suddenly increased the prices of petrol and diesel by rupees 22 per liter and dropped another bomb of massive destruction on the people who are already in the mill of inflation.On the other hand, the powerful elite are provided with free petrol to the tune of rupees 220bln. While the IMF's managing director, Cristalina Georgiou, stated that "we have urged Pakistan to tax the rich people who are making money and give concessions to the poor who are most needed. However, the government is taxing the poor while subsidising the rich.
During the Shahbaz Sharif government, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced in the National Assembly that "no tax will be levied on agriculture and the real estate sector", thereby exempting the big landowners and real estate tycoons.He said that Shahbaz Sharif and his cabinet had stabbed the nation in the back. People will never forgive them.
Mr Hussain said that a dual system is enforced in the country. The people of the country are deprived of basic facilities like water and electricity, while in all the major cities of Pakistan, army cantt areas,military housing societies, DHAs, and navy and air force are established where uninterrupted supply of utilities are fully ensured at the cost of poor men's tax money.
He said that Pakistan needs a revolution like the French revolution, the two percent elite landlords and capitalists should be hanged on the square so that other people can learn a lesson. Pakistan is the only country whose army does agriculture, real estate and all kinds of businesses.
He said that Karachi is a gold mine for the military establishment. That's why the army, Rangers, agencies and elites are all colluding in Karachi and the grassroots party MQM, which talks about the rights here, is being crushed by the military.Thousands of MQM activists were killed extrajudicially during the state operation that has been going on for the past several years. He said that the military had assassinated his elder brother Nasir Hussain and nephew Arif Hussain.
Mr Hussain said that Tehreek-e Insaf Chairman Imran Khan always opposed me and said a lot against me, but when there was a crackdown on him and his party, I raised my voice in his support. It is wrong to put all the blame for the events of May 9 on Khan. Just like what was done against the MQM. He said his party leaders were handpicked to dessert him. The splinter groups were created by the military establishmentThey were pardoned despite the fact that they were already expelled from MQM on charges of criminal activities. However, the military establishment failed to break the nerves of his loyalists.The military establishment is repeating the same draconian tactic to break the PTI. Those who are unable to bear the atrocities are parting ways with Khan on military pressure. Those who dare to reject military's dictation are in prisons. He said that Khan's loyalists that he will keep supporting them. He said that those leaders of PML-N who used to say that Khan cannot spend even a day in jail should be ashamed because Khan is serving time while those leaders of PML-N disappeared as soon as the government ended.