While it is understandable, that price of petrol and edible oil etc. is linked with what prevails in the international market, it is the contradiction of low taxation on real estate profits and cigarette sales that does not conform to international practice, which is shocking. Even the IMF would have no objection to giving selective subsidies to the poor if Pakistan raises enough revenues to meet expenditures. this elite capture is dominant and is reflected in every budget that has been passed for decades. Pakistan has never adopted the Jinnah Doctrine, which was the basis for the creation of a modern democratic welfare state.
