Obedience without citizenship

Before the American independence from British colonialism, some British colonists who had occupied America were complaining to the distant British Parliament that their paying taxes without being represented in the British Parliament was unconstitutional. They were criticising such acts as the denial of their rights as Englishmen. The No Taxation Without Representation became a political slogan. Later that slogan played an important role in American independence. The idea had been that aspects of citizenships should not be cherry-picked. If one is required to pay taxes and obey laws, then they must also have rights and powers in deciding the laws and other aspects of what makes a nation.

I was reminded of the above just yesterday when I went to a bank here in Pakistan. I was inquiring about the car loan, which has a certain amount of paperwork to be done before it can be approved. What struck me was how one of the steps required to be approved for a car loan was to comply with the requirements that deal with terrorism links and terror financing imposed by the FATF.

Now listen I get the sensitivity and the pragmatism surrounding the compliance with this FATF regime. However, what is odd and almost unaddressed is the idea about Pakistani citizens complying with a regime that was imposed from abroad. The Pakistani citizens have no say in writing the laws comprising the FATF regime. They do not get a seat at the table where these legalities and procedures are decided.

I also live in America. Over there, the rules and laws imposed by such international regimes are generally frowned upon and questions of sovereignty violations are quickly raised. The laws and policies imposed by the United Nations, for example, are quickly dismissed as interference in the sovereignty of the United States of America.

In Pakistan, the citizens are required to act like sheep when these foreign regimes come down throttling their liberties. It is noteworthy that the American government does have some or more than some role in creating and writing these laws and policies. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that sometimes the entire laws and policies are written by American hands. Yet, they are still not accepted when the same laws and policies try to reach the American shores. Those are written for other people, not Americans. Crimes are what others commit, not us, goes the mindset, said Chomsky rightly.

The Pakistani citizens not only have any power in writing these laws, they are also denied entry to almost all of these countries that have written and imposed these international laws. Try applying for a US visa nowadays and if you are given an interview date a year ahead, consider yourself as lucky. And as every Pakistani knows full well, the visa interview is no guarantee of a visa. It would rather be justified to say that it is actually a guarantee to not get the visa.

People who apply or plan on applying for a US visa start watching their social media presence and post very carefully, they literally change their social lifestyle, so that on the day of the interview at the US embassy, there are no problems. However, rest assured that the shuttle taking them back to exit the diplomatic enclave has all the passengers looking out the window, lost in thought, deeply saddened by the denial of the visa with a pink or green receipt explaining the denial and how they can appeal the decision, which is another joke.

It’s quite thought-provoking that other nations, which are strong and rich, write laws and policies for the citizens of Pakistan to obey. Without being citizens of those countries, Pakistanis have to obey the policies and rules written by representatives of citizens of other nations. Foreign legislation and the execution of those laws can reach the Pakistani citizens, but the foreign justice system can’t. What a shame!

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2023.

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