The clash

The government is willing to put at stake the system to save a handful of politicians from accountability. Topmost among them are Moonis Elahi, Commerce Minister Amin Fahim and the PM’s son, Abdul Qadir Gilani. But once the probe into the scams starts, the ongoing cases may turn out to be just the tip of the iceberg. The government’s worst fears are that the noose may ultimately fall around Zardari’s neck.

The government has therefore tried to create hurdles in the probe of the scams. In the multibillion rupee NICL case, DG FIA Zafar Qureshi was given a free hand to probe as long as the PML(Q) was in the opposition. Qureshi recovered about two billion rupees from the Warraich family and Moonis Elahi was brought back from London. As talks with PML(Q) started, Zafar Qureshi was suddenly transferred. Once the party joined the ruling coalition, the government declined to bring back Qureshi, ignoring SC’s directives. As Establishment Secretary Rauf Chaudhry finally reinstated Qureshi, the investigation officer was suspended on the excuse that he had spoken to media over the scam. SC’s directives to reappoint him to continue the probe have been consistently ignored.

The same policy has been adopted in the Hajj scam. Rao Shakeel’s name was expressly removed from the ECL by the interior minister to help him escape. The prime minister did not want the scandal to be publicized. Hence, Gilani sacked two federal ministers after they failed to heed the directive not to trade charges in public over the scandal. Soon after JIT’s chief investigator Hussain Asghar summoned Abdul Qadir Gilani, who was accused of receiving Rs 20 million from the scam, the officer was transferred to Gilgit. SC’s directives to bring him back to investigate the case were ignored. Finally, when the newly appointed Establishment Secretary ordered Asghar’s transfer back to FIA, he was removed from the office. The SC gave a deadline to the prime minister twice to reappoint the Establishment Secretary on Wednesday, and then on Thursday.

The lawmakers of the PPP and allied parties are conscious of the danger that the confrontation may lead to the winding up of the assemblies. A number of ministers were reported to have voiced the concern at a meeting with the prime minister on Wednesday. At a meeting of the coalition partners on Thursday at the presidency, similar concerns were expressed. Instead of agreeing to carry out the directives of the court, Zardari created three new federal ministries to retain the loyalties of the wavering Q League ministers without portfolios.

At the meeting presided jointly by Zardari and Gilani, the two talked about avoiding confrontation and terms like consensus, accommodation and compromise were freely used. There is however every likelihood of party leaders doing the opposite. Zardari’s alter ego Babar Awan’s pleading a day earlier that the case of the executive’s exclusive authority over administrative matters was, in fact, an attempt to rouse the parliamentarians against the courts. The sudden return of Zardari from Dubai where he was supposed to remain for a number of days would mean the strengthening the anti-judiciary lobby.

The missing IG may finally be recalled from Gilgit-Baltistan and handed over the Hajj scam probe. A government bent upon sabotaging the investigation can however create numerous hindrances in the probe. The way an officer of the rank of IGP who had been faxed the notification of his new posting failed to reach Islamabad for days, though a flight from Gilgit could have brought him to the capital in an hour’s time indicates how the probe is being damaged. The Establishment Secretary too might be reinstated but soon transferred to an insignificant post. This then would be presented as a great sacrifice by the government.

The government might also send the issue to the National Assembly to enlist its support against the SC. The MNAs would be called upon to defend the supremacy of parliament and not to back off on the crucial issue of the authority of the executive. But the parliament is a law making body. It is for the courts to interpret the laws.

The PML(N) has vowed to take to the streets in support of the judiciary. It could have the backing of the lawyers’ bodies which are already complaining that the SC is showing “unnecessary judicial restraint.” There are divergent views among the legal community on the issue. But when the chips fall, most of the lawyers are likely to support the SC. The Supreme Court Bar Association has already expressed over the differences between the judiciary and executive taking a sinister turn. On Thursday, the SCBA Executive Committee unanimously passed a resolution against the government for defying the court’s orders. It warned that the bar is considering all options to make the administration heed to the SC’s orders, including reviving the lawyers’ movement if the need arises

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has called on the army to enforce the decisions of the SC in case the government fails to do this. Article 190 of the Constitution enjoins on “all executive and judicial authorities throughout Pakistan” to act in aid of the SC. The apex court can thus call on the armed forces also to help in the execution of it orders. By ignoring the SC’s court’s order, the government is putting the system into jeopardy. The best way for the government is to make whatever individual sacrifices are needed and save itself and the system.

The writer is a former academic and a political analyst.