The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Saqib Nisar, is an honourable man who feels passionately about righting Pakistan. He has been making headlines since the day he ascended the throne — inspecting hospitals, reprimanding profiteering capitalists, lecturing teachers, ticking off policemen, convicting politicians, censoring media persons, and so on. In the interest of the downtrodden and speechless, he has elevated the court’s suo motu powers to unprecedented heights. To crown it all, he has now taken suo motu notice of the court’s suo motu powers so that these may not be misused in the future. Never mind that he is transgressing into the domain of the legislature and executive because it is all for a good cause.
The good judge has now set up a Fund seeking donations from all and sundry to build multi-billion dollar Dams to secure Pakistan from the looming threat of water scarcity. “The survival of the country and its economy depends on it”, he says, while threatening to slap Article 6 (treason) on anyone who criticizes his grand scheme on one count or another. Never mind that Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces are bitterly opposed to the Kalabagh Dam project that he favours unabashedly. Never mind too that the Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, immediately stood up in parliament to reassure the three provinces that the PTI government respected their strong aversion to the Kalabagh dam and frowned on the “unnecessary controversy” that had cropped up!
But if truth be told, it’s not as if the chief justice is unaware of the economics of dam building or its ecological consequences. Nor does he really believe that public donations alone can finance such expenditures. He is simply trying to draw urgent attention to a potential crisis of water scarcity facing the nation that is bigger than the population explosion and bigger than the fiscal deficit or national debt. And never mind if cynics don’t understand his real motive in trying to “instill citizens with a sense of ownership and belonging and inculcate the executive with a sense of responsibility, accountability and obligation.”
But if we are to disregard the chief justice’s commissions because they are all for noble causes, how should we deal with the mundane ones of our new prime minister Imran Khan?
“With the appointment of Zulfikar Bukhari as Minister of State, the federal cabinet has swelled to 32”, reports Dawn. Mr Bukhari, it may be recalled, is the gent who was stopped from boarding a private flight with Imran Khan out of the country a month ago because he was on ECL to facilitate an ongoing investigation by NAB. But he claimed exemption for being a British national and duly boarded the flight. Now he has highlighted his Pakistani nationality to ensure a berth in the federal cabinet. Never mind the dubious benefits of dual nationality status in Naya Pakistan in which a dual national cannot be a member of parliament but can be a member of the cabinet!
Imran Ismail has been appointed the 30th Governor of Sindh. Never mind that he isn’t even a graduate. But one of the top economists of modern times, Atif Mian, was forced to quit an advisory commission after his Ahmedi status was revealed. Never mind that Pakistan’s first foreign minister, and several top civil servants and generals, were Ahmedis who proudly served the country in the past. Never mind too that, shortly after he was ousted from the commission, Atif Mian was welcomed as an eminent speaker at a conference on Islamic Finance in the holiest of the holy cities of Saudi Arabia!
Never mind that the federal cabinet is choc a bloc with ex-Musharraf appointees. The able Farogh Naseem and Anwar Mansoor are the Law Minister and Attorney General respectively. Never mind that both were the leading lawyers defending the runaway General (retd) Pervez Musharraf from facing up to his crimes. Never mind too that the fate of the treason case against their former client is now sealed. For good measure, Mr Naseem intends to revise the accountability laws so that our sacred judges and generals are immune from accountability.
The Punjab cabinet boasts some wonderful stalwarts too. For starters, there is Usman Buzdar who was picked out of the Book, as it were, by none other than the saintly First Lady. Never mind that the wags are calling him the “Temp CM” who is keeping the seat warm for Jehangir Tareen or Aleem Khan. Then there is Fayyaz Chohan, the minister for culture and information. Never mind that he is uncouth, uninformed and uncultured. And so on.
Last but not the least, never mind the nail in the coffin of the budget prepared by the PMLN’s finance minister Miftah Ismail that reduced the tax rates for those who file their tax returns as honest citizens of the state and penalized those who buy expensive cars and properties without showing any income or paying any tax. The PTI’s economic Tsar, Asad Umer, has just reversed the just order of things!
Owing to Muharram holidays, this Editorial was written before the IHC decision in Nawaz Sharif’s case. Hence it is not on that subject.
The good judge has now set up a Fund seeking donations from all and sundry to build multi-billion dollar Dams to secure Pakistan from the looming threat of water scarcity. “The survival of the country and its economy depends on it”, he says, while threatening to slap Article 6 (treason) on anyone who criticizes his grand scheme on one count or another. Never mind that Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces are bitterly opposed to the Kalabagh Dam project that he favours unabashedly. Never mind too that the Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, immediately stood up in parliament to reassure the three provinces that the PTI government respected their strong aversion to the Kalabagh dam and frowned on the “unnecessary controversy” that had cropped up!
But if truth be told, it’s not as if the chief justice is unaware of the economics of dam building or its ecological consequences. Nor does he really believe that public donations alone can finance such expenditures. He is simply trying to draw urgent attention to a potential crisis of water scarcity facing the nation that is bigger than the population explosion and bigger than the fiscal deficit or national debt. And never mind if cynics don’t understand his real motive in trying to “instill citizens with a sense of ownership and belonging and inculcate the executive with a sense of responsibility, accountability and obligation.”
But if we are to disregard the chief justice’s commissions because they are all for noble causes, how should we deal with the mundane ones of our new prime minister Imran Khan?
“With the appointment of Zulfikar Bukhari as Minister of State, the federal cabinet has swelled to 32”, reports Dawn. Mr Bukhari, it may be recalled, is the gent who was stopped from boarding a private flight with Imran Khan out of the country a month ago because he was on ECL to facilitate an ongoing investigation by NAB. But he claimed exemption for being a British national and duly boarded the flight. Now he has highlighted his Pakistani nationality to ensure a berth in the federal cabinet. Never mind the dubious benefits of dual nationality status in Naya Pakistan in which a dual national cannot be a member of parliament but can be a member of the cabinet!
Imran Ismail has been appointed the 30th Governor of Sindh. Never mind that he isn’t even a graduate. But one of the top economists of modern times, Atif Mian, was forced to quit an advisory commission after his Ahmedi status was revealed. Never mind that Pakistan’s first foreign minister, and several top civil servants and generals, were Ahmedis who proudly served the country in the past. Never mind too that, shortly after he was ousted from the commission, Atif Mian was welcomed as an eminent speaker at a conference on Islamic Finance in the holiest of the holy cities of Saudi Arabia!
Never mind that the federal cabinet is choc a bloc with ex-Musharraf appointees. The able Farogh Naseem and Anwar Mansoor are the Law Minister and Attorney General respectively. Never mind that both were the leading lawyers defending the runaway General (retd) Pervez Musharraf from facing up to his crimes. Never mind too that the fate of the treason case against their former client is now sealed. For good measure, Mr Naseem intends to revise the accountability laws so that our sacred judges and generals are immune from accountability.
The Punjab cabinet boasts some wonderful stalwarts too. For starters, there is Usman Buzdar who was picked out of the Book, as it were, by none other than the saintly First Lady. Never mind that the wags are calling him the “Temp CM” who is keeping the seat warm for Jehangir Tareen or Aleem Khan. Then there is Fayyaz Chohan, the minister for culture and information. Never mind that he is uncouth, uninformed and uncultured. And so on.
Last but not the least, never mind the nail in the coffin of the budget prepared by the PMLN’s finance minister Miftah Ismail that reduced the tax rates for those who file their tax returns as honest citizens of the state and penalized those who buy expensive cars and properties without showing any income or paying any tax. The PTI’s economic Tsar, Asad Umer, has just reversed the just order of things!
Owing to Muharram holidays, this Editorial was written before the IHC decision in Nawaz Sharif’s case. Hence it is not on that subject.