The master stroke rests with the judiciary
Let’s have two things straight. The lack of delivery of the PPP-led government, the mammoth dossier of corruption of its hierarchy and the consequent woeful abdication of governance has resulted in a definitive shift of the power balance in the country. A democratic set-up can find strength only in the fulfilment of its manifesto through a credible, efficient and transparent implementation mechanism. In its absence, and in a country where the power base tends to rest more with the forces of the establishment, the shift becomes inevitable over a period of time. Its manifestations have been visible in the post-May 2 incident and, more noticeably, in the unfolding events after the NATO’s recent attack on our border posts that killed 26 soldiers.
Let’s not be influenced by the hype that the incumbent government may have created with regard to its firm stance against the US and NATO. It has neither anything to do with the formulation of this policy nor with its dissemination. It is solely manufactured in Rawalpindi and the government had little option but to embrace it. Why should I be saying that? The answer is not difficult to fathom for anyone familiar with the manner of induction of the existing concoction into the power echelons and the heavy baggage they have carried as a consequence. The NRO was not crafted for charity. The powers that interceded between the former dictator and the PPP leadership to put it in place wanted a subservient government in Pakistan that would not only be willing to carry forward the servile agenda of its predecessor, but would add to it in terms of efficiency and bite. The US and its international allies would not have found a better candidate for playing the lead role in any such formulation than Mr Zardari who, for years, had been fighting innumerable cases of corruption and misdemeanour both within the country as well as outside, most notably Switzerland.
While the NRO took care of those cases initially with the help of the kangaroo courts that the former despot had hoisted, the movement for the restoration of an independent judiciary changed the ground rules. With the parliament refusing to turn the ordinance into law, the NRO was declared void ab initio by the SC and all the cases were duly restored. Because of the constitutional immunity, though, the president has remained safe from the clutches of law. In a crude demonstration of defiance, he has exercised his powers injudiciously to grant pardon from conviction to some of his close cronies who also hold critical positions in the cabinet.
Now, to the other factor. The discovery of the memo and the subsequent developments appear to be the last straw that may break the camel’s back. Like I wrote in one of my previous articles, former ambassador Hussain Haqqani’s resignation would not have been secured if incriminating evidence had not been furnished by the concerned agencies. Asking for resignation from proven errant members of the ruling fraternity has not been a common practice with possibly the most corrupt government that Pakistan has had in its entire history. But, the memo affair is directly linked with the security and sovereignty of the country and its reins are perceived to have been pulled by none other than the president himself. Isn’t it, therefore, incumbent upon him to have his name cleared through appropriate bodies so that he may survive with a modicum of legitimacy to his rule?
Having been forced to seek the former ambassador’s resignation, and in spite of demands for constituting a credible judicial commission to investigate the matter thoroughly, the government first dithered endlessly and then came up with a toothless parliamentary commission to look into the accusations. Sensing blood, a petition was moved before the Supreme Court by the PML(N) leadership to investigate the matter on the plea that it contained serious charges regarding efforts to infringe national security and sovereignty. The apex court, having accepted the plea for hearing, has appointed a one-man commission of its own for a thorough probe. Concurrently, it has sent out notices to the president, the COAS and other respondents to depose before December 15 which has been set as the next date for hearing the case. That put the government on the mat as a judicial enquiry is expected to be thorough and may bring out in the open any complicity of the president and other state functionaries in the now infamous effort to secure foreign help.
The post-NATO attack activism should also be judged in the context that the government may have ventured to affront the US, its lord and master, in the hope that it would bury the memo controversy. A soft investigation through a hand-picked parliamentary commission would have done the needful, but the judicial intervention has spoiled all that. The response from the government was vicious as its stalwarts unleashed a venomous assault on the movers of the petition as well as the apex court itself. The vituperative outpouring was replete with symbolism of a fourth martyr being despatched and the trappings of another break-up. There were also the usual innuendos to an assault on democracy by the rulers of Punjab who had played act 1 of the Bangladesh model.
The matter of the memo is too serious an affair to be sacrificed at any altar. It must be probed extensively and its perpetrators brought to justice, one and all. No saints themselves, the rulers of Punjab could not have wished for a better opportunity to either completely dismantle the corrupt edifice leading to early elections, or negotiate their pound of flesh. While a gruelling contest is keenly envisaged between two equally corrupt outfits and their appendages, the master stroke rests with the judiciary.
The writer is a political analyst and a member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. He can be reached at raoofhasan@hotmail.com