Prime Minister Gilani is not exactly correct to maintain that military rulers were never accused of corruption and that only elected governments face the criticism. The military rulers often manage to cover up their corruption through strict media censorship and their misdemeanor generally comes to light only after they are no more in power. Despite this, a section of the independent press and the political parties put Ayub Khan on the mat for corruption on the part of his family members and cronies. This, in fact, was to become a major item on the charge sheet against the military ruler. Similarly, a section of the press highlighted corruption within Zia-ul-Haq’s inner coterie of military officers and civilian protégés.
The issue of the suspension of FIA officer, Zafar Qureshi, cannot be simply brushed aside with the explanation that the action was necessitated by his avowed breach of discipline. It is a matter of record that Qureshi was also transferred earlier on April 18 when investigating a politician accused of involvement in the NICL scam, leading to his party joining the ruling coalition exactly two weeks later. This led to allegations that the transfer of the officer was in fact part of a political deal. Subsequently, the Supreme Court intervened to suspend the transfer notification. That the apex court expressly ordered that no interference of any nature whatsoever shall be caused by any authority has led to apprehensions that the suspension could cause another unhappy confrontation between the judiciary and administration.
There is an increasing lack of tolerance for corruption in the world today. Hosni Mobarak’s wife has been detained on corruption charges while three of his cronies are already in a Cairo jail for similar reasons. In India, stories of corruption in government circles have led to widespread public protests forcing the government to promise to bring a new law for creating the office of the Lokpal in the forthcoming parliamentary session. The government would do well under the circumstances not to underrate the depth of public sentiment on the issue. What is needed on the part of the politicians is to be careful about their performance instead of being impatient with the criticism.