Politics and justice in Pakistan are taking inexplicable twists and turns that hurt the credibility of core state institutions. The resultant sense of anger, coupled with fearful loss of jobs and inflation, could provoke an angry backlash from citizens, with unforeseen consequences. Consider.
NAB is accused of one-sided accountability of PPP and PMLN, a charge that rings true. An overwhelming number of cases pertain to opposition stalwarts. NAB’s “performance” is also questionable. Over 90 per cent of cases are concluded“successfully” on the basis of confessions extracted under duress. The Supreme Court has advised the government to make suitable amendments in the NAB law so that some degree of fair play and due process is available to the accused. But the PTI regime is unmoved.
Now a key PTI leader in the Punjab assembly, AleemKhan, has been arrested by NAB in a case of “assets beyond known means of income”. The timing is intriguing. Mr Khan has made no secret of his desire to become CM Punjab, ostensibly with the support of the Miltablishment that is unhappy with Mr Usman Buzdar’s lack of performance.
This has stirred a grand conspiracy theory: NAB is aiming to kill several birds with one stone. First, it wants to show that by scooping such a big fish out of the PTI pond, it is not biased in Imran Khan’s favour. Second, it may be preparing to “redress the balance” by arresting the PMLN ex PM, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in a case lodged four years ago relating to the purchase of LNG. Mr Abbasi is the leading contender for Miltablishment favour in the event of any change in the parliamentary status quo. Third, Aleem Khan’s arrest is simply a device to eventually declare him innocent so that his path to CMship of Punjab is cleared.
This line of conspiracy thinking has some basis in facts. The Supreme Court under CJP Saqib Nisar one day suddenly dusted off the Air Marshall (r) Asghar Khan case, raising hope that action would be taken against Generals Asad Durrani and Mirza Aslam Beg who had admitted corrupting the 1990 elections. But the opposite happened in fact. When the FIA meekly replied that it couldn’t track down some other officials to corroborate the confessions of these two gents, the good CJP closed the file on the case. Much the same sort of thunder was heard from Judge Nisar pertaining to a suo motu notice of Aleema Khan’s sources of wealth, only for the quest for the money trail to be quickly abandoned by the imposition of a simple fine for mis-declaration.
The Election Commission of Pakistan is also infected by the same conspiracy theory. For many years, it has been “hearing” a case of PTI party funds misappropriation and mis-declaration by PTI leader Imran Khan that would render him ineligible for election to the National Assembly if proven true. But the almighty Respondent continues to obtain delaying adjournments, even though the petition is firmly grounded in facts.
Worst of all, the courts are not immune from this charge. There are several defamation petitions languishing against Imran Khan. The law says that libel cases must be wrapped up in six months at the most. Yet no judge is inclined to act accordingly. Indeed, Mr Khan refuses to attend hearings or file statements in defense. In a recent case pertaining to a child of his allegedly born out of wedlock, the good judge dismissed the petition, arguing that the law has no business judging anyone on the basis of personal morality! Never mind that the law explicitly criminalizes a host of “immoral” acts like adultery, pornography, drug-taking, alcohol drinking, etc., and prescribes definite punishments for them. Readers may recall the case of a well-known TV actress who was relentlessly pursued by ex-CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry after a bottle of wine was discovered in her luggage before she boarded a domestic flight. But embarrassing “soft-glove” treatment is reserved for Imran Khan. His sprawling Bani Gala residence has been allowed to be “regularized”, as also the elite residential Tower at #1 Constitution Avenue in Islamabad in which he and his friends own expensive apartments, despite gross violation of the Islamabad Master Plan. Hundreds of lay citizens across the country have lost home and hearth after their “encroachments” were razed on the orders of the same apex court. The mother of all ironies is that PMLN petitioner Hanif Abbasi, who dared to challenge various alleged misdemeanours by Imran Khan, is cooling his heels in the clink by orders of the apex court.
Now we read Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s judgment censuring various state institutions for blithely disregarding the law regarding violent non-state actors, disappearances, curbs on media rights, fatwas, etc. Coupled with CJP Asif Khosa’searlier advice to reform NAB, the PTI government has its job cut out for it. But as a major beneficiary of these state transgressions, it doesn’t require rocket science to predict what it will and will not do.
NAB is accused of one-sided accountability of PPP and PMLN, a charge that rings true. An overwhelming number of cases pertain to opposition stalwarts. NAB’s “performance” is also questionable. Over 90 per cent of cases are concluded“successfully” on the basis of confessions extracted under duress. The Supreme Court has advised the government to make suitable amendments in the NAB law so that some degree of fair play and due process is available to the accused. But the PTI regime is unmoved.
Now a key PTI leader in the Punjab assembly, AleemKhan, has been arrested by NAB in a case of “assets beyond known means of income”. The timing is intriguing. Mr Khan has made no secret of his desire to become CM Punjab, ostensibly with the support of the Miltablishment that is unhappy with Mr Usman Buzdar’s lack of performance.
This has stirred a grand conspiracy theory: NAB is aiming to kill several birds with one stone. First, it wants to show that by scooping such a big fish out of the PTI pond, it is not biased in Imran Khan’s favour. Second, it may be preparing to “redress the balance” by arresting the PMLN ex PM, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in a case lodged four years ago relating to the purchase of LNG. Mr Abbasi is the leading contender for Miltablishment favour in the event of any change in the parliamentary status quo. Third, Aleem Khan’s arrest is simply a device to eventually declare him innocent so that his path to CMship of Punjab is cleared.
This line of conspiracy thinking has some basis in facts. The Supreme Court under CJP Saqib Nisar one day suddenly dusted off the Air Marshall (r) Asghar Khan case, raising hope that action would be taken against Generals Asad Durrani and Mirza Aslam Beg who had admitted corrupting the 1990 elections. But the opposite happened in fact. When the FIA meekly replied that it couldn’t track down some other officials to corroborate the confessions of these two gents, the good CJP closed the file on the case. Much the same sort of thunder was heard from Judge Nisar pertaining to a suo motu notice of Aleema Khan’s sources of wealth, only for the quest for the money trail to be quickly abandoned by the imposition of a simple fine for mis-declaration.
The Election Commission of Pakistan is also infected by the same conspiracy theory. For many years, it has been “hearing” a case of PTI party funds misappropriation and mis-declaration by PTI leader Imran Khan that would render him ineligible for election to the National Assembly if proven true. But the almighty Respondent continues to obtain delaying adjournments, even though the petition is firmly grounded in facts.
Worst of all, the courts are not immune from this charge. There are several defamation petitions languishing against Imran Khan. The law says that libel cases must be wrapped up in six months at the most. Yet no judge is inclined to act accordingly. Indeed, Mr Khan refuses to attend hearings or file statements in defense. In a recent case pertaining to a child of his allegedly born out of wedlock, the good judge dismissed the petition, arguing that the law has no business judging anyone on the basis of personal morality! Never mind that the law explicitly criminalizes a host of “immoral” acts like adultery, pornography, drug-taking, alcohol drinking, etc., and prescribes definite punishments for them. Readers may recall the case of a well-known TV actress who was relentlessly pursued by ex-CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry after a bottle of wine was discovered in her luggage before she boarded a domestic flight. But embarrassing “soft-glove” treatment is reserved for Imran Khan. His sprawling Bani Gala residence has been allowed to be “regularized”, as also the elite residential Tower at #1 Constitution Avenue in Islamabad in which he and his friends own expensive apartments, despite gross violation of the Islamabad Master Plan. Hundreds of lay citizens across the country have lost home and hearth after their “encroachments” were razed on the orders of the same apex court. The mother of all ironies is that PMLN petitioner Hanif Abbasi, who dared to challenge various alleged misdemeanours by Imran Khan, is cooling his heels in the clink by orders of the apex court.
Now we read Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s judgment censuring various state institutions for blithely disregarding the law regarding violent non-state actors, disappearances, curbs on media rights, fatwas, etc. Coupled with CJP Asif Khosa’searlier advice to reform NAB, the PTI government has its job cut out for it. But as a major beneficiary of these state transgressions, it doesn’t require rocket science to predict what it will and will not do.