The people of Pakistan have for very long been duped to accept that the worse democracy is better than the best dictatorship. What we fail to realise is that what has been in practice in Pakistan for last three years cannot be termed even as a worse democracy, because no benefit has filtered down to either any common man or the state.
The most recent statement by the only PhD degree holder minister of this government that “terming the Moonis Elahi case a bargaining is an insult to the court”, is just like adding salt to injury. It seems that the over Rs 60 billion scam of BOP, or the Rs 20 billion pilfered in NICL scam and numerous such heists involving state funds, or public money are too small a price to be offered to retain what is being termed as the worse democracy.
The great contradiction is that while this government very justifiable wants to set the record straight in the judicial murder of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, it wants to obstruct the investigation of several scams involving hundreds of billions of rupees just because it serves their political objectives.
Why should the people of Pakistan be denied a democracy, where the rule of law prevails and men who are assigned to run affairs of the state have their major stakes and assets located in Pakistan, instead of in Europe, America, Canada or the Gulf?
Why should the state hesitate to hold accountable former bureaucrats like Kamran Rasool, or the man who succeeded him as Chief Secretary Punjab and presently occupies a major portfolio in Islamabad, instead of just focusing on Hamesh Khan alone?
After all, men like Hamesh Khan or Niazi were just pawns used by the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats to deprive public exchequer of billions. If this government is to be accepted as a poorly managed democracy, the least it is expected to do is to punish those who have been caught stealing the people of Pakistan, failing which they are as worse than military dictators like Musharraf or Zia-ul-Haq.
TAHIR HASSAN
Lahore