Pk today
There is nothing wrong with an industry banding together and presenting their opinions and research to the government but there is an issue with that industry doing favours for people in power or using their personal connections to get the job done. The problem is not so much with the concept of advocacy and lobbying as it is with the techniques which lobbyists often use, which at times may border on bribery.
The interests of these large corporations vary according to what their work is, and the decisions that impact their businesses are all made by the government. A soft drink manufacturer might advocate for a lower taxation rate on sugar, while a tobacco manufacturer might want a smaller health warning on the cigarette packs. Lobbying is when corporations or other interest groups try to influence and sway government decision making towards directions that benefit their bottom line.
(More on Abdullah Yusuf and others later in the story.) This particular example from April of 2005 only scratches the surface of the murky world of corporate lobbying in Pakistan. It turned out that it was Riji Yusuf, the wife of then Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Abdullah Yusuf.Ī little more digging and one of the representatives of the company told that the MNC often “engaged” Mrs Yusuf, who has no known skills apart from having her husband’s ear, in an unofficial capacity as a lobbyist. One of the people on that trip, who is now the publishing editor of this magazine, inquired from the company’s management who the unknown guests were.
None of the people on the trip recognised her as a fellow journalist or as anyone they recognised from the company, and the lady did not attend a single one of the events and conferences that the group was there for. On a foreign tour organized and sponsored by the Coca-Cola company, a number of well known journalists and industry professionals found themselves confounded by the special attention that the host was giving to a woman and her kid that were part of the touring group.