All parties talk about ending the VIP culture, but when it comes to perks and privileges for themselves they flock together like the birds of a feather. A resolution recommending the government to “extend facilities of VIPs” to former members of parliament, their spouses and children is on the agenda of the Senate’s Monday sitting. The resolution urging the government to issue “gratis / blue passports to the spouses and children” of former members of parliament has been signed by nine Senators belonging to six political
parties.Although no PML-N member has signed the resolution, one of the movers claimed that senators of the ruling party had assured them of supporting the resolution. Members of the ANP, MQM and Jamaat-i-Islami also did not sign the resolution. What is surprising is how the resolution is supported by Mohsin Aziz of PTI – a party that has vehemently been campaigning to end VIP culture. When contacted to comment, he admitted that he was reluctant to sign the resolution but a PPP senator persuaded him to do so, claiming this will provide ‘distinctive’ benefits to them, which does not answer why he is going against his party’s stance – a major one. A number of foreign senators have claimed that this is necessary because of problems they face while travelling to foreign countries with their families; they feel “embarrassed” when their spouses and children got different treatment at airports and other places because they possessed ordinary passports. There is no need for this resolution to be passed, where this is only a burden on the state exchequer, especially when the prime reason is imagined embarrassment and inconvenience. Such VIP culture allows those in power special privileges at an extraordinary cost to the citizens. Although a certain protocol may be awarded to the government officials for security reasons, is it fair to do this in disregard to the civilian population? Should all paths be turned into a veritable red carpet for the VIP? This preposterous sense of entitlement is in desperate need of ending, one coupled with the lack of governance and people’s frustration, has created a situation that could turn ugly at any time. All sitting and former members of the upper and lower house are entitled to many VIP services. According to one senator pushing for support, all government servants above grade 16 enjoy some measure of VIP service, as do members of the military above a certain rank and their spouses. This creates a separate tier of citizens altogether — one that is seen as above the other tiers. The level of frustration and anger in the public against such practices is clear. The space, culture and perverse incentives they create need to be shrunk, and not expanded. Those who initially lent their support to this disgraceful resolution, only to withdraw it once the heat was turned on, would be better advised to spend their time in the Senate looking for ways to restrain the expansion of the upper tier of citizens, with the ultimate aim of doing away with it altogether.
pk.shafaqna.com
