LAHORE: Former Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Shabbar Zaidi has cited Islamabad’s ‘superficial lifestyle’ as one the reasons behind his resignation.
“The bureaucratic atmosphere of Islamabad does not suit me. You either mix in that society or become extremely lonely,” he added.
In an interview with a local media channel, Zaidi, however, rubbished rumours of being on bad terms with any other government officials during his six-month stint.
“I am also on very good terms with Hafeez Sheikh. I could not have gotten a better team than this. The decision to quit was a personal one due to my health. Maybe I wouldn’t have done so but my family put their foot down and said that I could not take up a post in the government,” he added.
“It’s not that the bureaucracy did not support me. I am sure that if asked, they would say that I did a better job than them,” the ex-FBR chairman said. “But In Islamabad, society is status-based. Is your grade 21, 22, 19, or 18? What size is your house? This kind of thing becomes torturous for a man like me.”
Zaidi also spoke of his long-standing regret regarding the general public and especially the youth’s poor knowledge of how financial systems work.
“I was a little disheartened by their (youth) answers. They said to us that they don’t have any interest in remuneration, they are not interested in IT facilities; they just need the security of being in government service,” he said.
Apologising to the nation, he added that he was especially guilty for disappointing the premier who “had hired him with much hope”.
Asked about his performance as the FBR chairman, he said that he would rate his performance in office 5 out of 10.
Earlier, in another interview with another channel, Zaidi had said, “Although I had the support of the prime minister, the finance minister, and the bureaucracy, the task was huge, and my mental attitude and health were not ready to cope with the government system.”
He also said that the attitude and mindset of 23,000 FBR employees was a cause of concern for him, adding that “reforming this mindset and restructuring the FBR required a lot of ground-work”.
Moreover, he opined that the achievement of revenue collection targets should not be the only measure of an FBR chairperson’s performance as it adds extra pressure on him, preventing him from bringing in the much needed structural reform.
Valid points!
Ist time someone came with an honest opinion about Islamabad beaurucracy. When I started in service in 1977/8 Federal Secretariat officials were helpful but when left they have been found rude, cheaters and hoodwinkers. People from bigger province are in majority and they do not tolerate others. Pashto have their own traits they fight for thier rights Sindhi and Baloch are most crushed. Only remedy lies in equal representation by all provinces.
Real arguments
V well summed up
Government jobs should not be permanent. They should be contract based and time bound however process of selection must be meritocracy only.
No doubt that 23000 employees of FBR and the most of them are dishonest, cheaters and RAASHEE hence, not possible to get the best result from them.
Just go any day RTO OFFICE KARACHI ON SHAHRAH E KAMAL ATA TURK NEAR SINDH SECRETARIATE , KARACHI,
You will note that the most of corrupt officers and staff reach office at 11:30 or so
and only concern that how much they earned through rishwat daily and this could be judge from their VEHICLES AND RESIDENCES.
Yes, you are right
99% employees are currupt and most of them “blackmailers”.
Should be rated 2 out of 10. One point as he was able to secure the job by using his ‘connections’ & not because of his performance and second point for being able to hide the tax evading corporate he provides his consulting services to.
When he was given the assignment, PTI govt touted him as a very learned tax man however he failed miserably in either reorganizing FBR, using technology to both facilitate tax payers or catching thiefs or amending laws where required. Due to the pressure of expectations he was ill most of the time. He must have a very low expectations of himself because of which he rated himself 5.
Critics will criticize him but an honest man cannot survive in a corrupt department. Furthermore, the corrupt flash their wealth in Islamabad. The whole country is run by corrupt cabinet and opposition.
A Realty…why Every one like Govt. Service….1.Discrition Powers(Rishwat)2.Personal Pension and after death family Pension.
A mindset of Correption.
So if every government employee is vorrupt which is ofcourse true than what is the solution. Let the country be eaten by the dogs.or few honest people stand up and be courted evennthough they will be punishes for their honesty. Or be a coward like ch. Nisar and give up
So if every government employee is corrupt which is ofcourse true than what is the solution. Let the country be eaten by the dogs.or few honest people stand up and be courted evennthough they will be punished for their honesty. Or be a coward like ch. Nisar and give up
I went for an interview in business & finance centre near state bank i am jobless , i was not allowd to park near building but i parked near parking lot but my bike even lifted and transported boulton market police station . I had just 180 Rs in my pocket for petrol i borrow Rs 20 from an unknown person for releasing bike at rs 200 and then i started return to home believe i was stopped by traffic police officers at each signal
pakistan chowk,
Burns road signal
Purani Numaish signal
Guru mandir signal
Teen hatti signal
This is called ” awam ki khidmat”
Truth speaks for itself. And this attitude of ” invaders” who captured jinna’s ideology of Pakistan right after his death is weakening the foundation of Pakistan.
Dear mr zaidi
You did not like islamabad style and to be honest no one in the country liked ur style. Every body od middle class and lower middle class were being crushed by you whereas u had no moral courage to get out the money from the tummies of those powerful beurocrats who are so called filers but never pay full tax as they conceal the facts abt their income n assets.
While I appreciate candid sharing of ground realities in CBR and environment in Islamabad by Shabbir Zaidi , I feel that he failed to put in his best for transformation which he could but didn’t possibly under the influence of his aristocratic background. The rot in CBR calls for a ruthless cleansing operation which should have been carried after taking PM and Finance Minister in confidence and telling them of possible fall out . It should have started from top layer. No doubt it would have resulted in sleepless nights for Mr Zaidi