Super tax, displacement and the cost of unkept promises

When the Super Tax was introduced in 2015, it was not sold to the public as an ordinary fiscal measure. The government explicitly linked it to the extraordinary circumstances created by prolonged counterterrorism operations in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the then FATA. The stated objective was rehabilitation: rebuilding lives shattered by militancy and military operations, particularly after Operation Zarb-e-Azb. The narrative was compelling and morally persuasive — those with greater economic capacity would contribute to the rehabilitation of citizens who had borne the brunt of the war on terror.

In the years that followed, however, the gap between promise and practice steadily widened. Now, with the Supreme Court/Federal Constitutional Court having allowed recovery of Super Tax retrospectively from 2015 — amounting to over Rs300 billion — it is not unreasonable to ask whether the state remembers the very justification on which this tax was imposed.

The question becomes more pressing when viewed against the scale of human displacement caused by security operations. In the wake of Zarb-e-Azb and subsequent operations in North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Khyber (particularly Tirah) and Bajaur, Pakistan witnessed one of the largest internal displacements in its history. Entire populations were uprooted, often overnight. Homes were abandoned, livelihoods destroyed, social structures disrupted, and a way of life that had existed for generations was abruptly suspended.

While the operations may have achieved tactical security objectives, the human cost was overwhelmingly localised. Displacement was not short-term for many families; it lasted years. Compensation was delayed, uneven or inadequate. Rehabilitation and reconstruction progressed slowly and, in some areas, unevenly. The psychological trauma of repeated displacement - especially in places like Tirah, which witnessed multiple phases of evacuation — was never fully acknowledged, let alone addressed through a comprehensive mitigation framework.

It is in this context that the Super Tax assumed symbolic importance. It was meant to represent national solidarity with those displaced from South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Khyber and Bajaur. Yet, a decade later, there is no transparent or auditable trail demonstrating that Super Tax proceeds were ring-fenced or systematically utilised for rehabilitation in these areas. Court proceedings revealed that while significant sums were collected, only a fraction was demonstrably spent on IDPs and reconstruction, with much of the revenue absorbed into general federal expenditure.

This disconnect has consequences far beyond accounting. When people who have lost homes, land and livelihoods are told that a special tax has been imposed in their name, yet they see little change in their lived reality, their grievances deepen. In North and South Waziristan, such grievances gradually evolved into organised civic and political movements, rooted not in violence but in demands for dignity, accountability and constitutional rights. These movements were, in many ways, a response to prolonged neglect rather than immediate security concerns.

Today, similar patterns of discontent are increasingly visible in Khyber, particularly in Tirah. Recurrent displacement, slow reconstruction, unresolved land and compensation issues, and the perception of being forgotten once security objectives are achieved have revived old wounds. The cumulative effect is the gradual development of a sense of alienation - a feeling that the state extracts sacrifice but delivers little in return.

This alienation is not accidental. It is the predictable outcome of governance that prioritises legality over legitimacy and revenue over rehabilitation. Good governance is not merely about enacting laws or defending them in court. It is about accountability, transparency and the wellbeing of people, especially those who have already paid the highest price for state policies.

The Super Tax controversy highlights a deeper structural problem. After the 18th constitutional amendment, social welfare, rehabilitation and development are primarily provincial responsibilities. Yet, the federal government imposed a tax justified by provincial suffering without creating a transparent, cooperative mechanism to ensure that funds flowed meaningfully to the affected regions. This ambiguity weakened trust and blurred responsibility - a familiar problem in Pakistan's federal experience.

If the recovery of Super Tax is to be defended not only legally but ethically, it must now be accompanied by full disclosure: how much was collected, how much was spent, where it was spent, and why communities in South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Bajaur and Tirah continue to experience deprivation and neglect. Without such transparency, the tax risks becoming a symbol of broken promises rather than national solidarity.

Security operations may suppress immediate threats, but unaddressed grievances create long-term instability. A population that feels unheard, uncompensated and excluded gradually disengages from the state. Alienation does not announce itself dramatically; it accumulates quietly, through everyday experiences of injustice and neglect.

Ultimately, the real test of governance lies not in fiscal recovery figures or favourable judgments, but in whether the lives of those displaced by conflict have genuinely improved. If the state wishes to reverse the growing sense of discontent in places like Tirah, it must move beyond security-centric narratives and embrace transparent rehabilitation, honest accounting and meaningful engagement with affected communities.

Otherwise, the Super Tax will stand as a reminder that while wars may end on paper, their social and political consequences endure - especially when promises made in times of crisis are forgotten in times of fiscal consolidation.