Tax, electricity, gas thieves be declared 'terrorists': Khawaja Asif

Currently only tax cases worth Rs2,670 billion are pending with courts

LAHORE (Dunya News) - Former Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif says the country is under debt and bankrupt, and demanded that tax, electricity and gas thieves should be declared terrorists. 

Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), the Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader said currently only tax cases worth of Rs2.670 billion were pending with courts. Every year billions of rupees tax evasion and theft of electricity and gas was being committed and the common man bore the brunt of this theft.

اسوقت تقریبا 2670 ارب صرف ٹیکس کے مقدمے عدالتوں میں لٹکے ھوۓ ھیں۔ ٹیکس ،بجلی گیس کی چوری ھر سال کئی ھزار ارب کی ھوتی ھے۔ جس کا بوجھ عام آدمی اٹھاتا ھے۔ اور ملک مقروض اور دیوالیہ ھے ۔ ھرقسم کے ریاستی وسائل کی چوری معاشی دھشت گردی کے زمرے میں آنی چاہئیے اور ٹیکس بجلی گیس وغیرہ کے…

— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) September 7, 2023

He said Pakistan was under debt and bankrupt and theft of all types of state resources should be considered economic terrorism. Tax evaders and thieves of electricity and gas should be declared terrorists, however, such pilferers were now part of the privileged class.

The former minister said the government employees who supported theft also were economic terrorists and they should face terrorism instead of general laws. Otherwise, God forbid, economic destruction would be our destiny, he added.