Timing is everything
Accountability is as necessary for the functioning of a democratic setup as freedom of expression. It forms an integral part of the famous ‘check and balance’ system to keep everything transparent and clean. NAB’s overnight operation seems justified when seen in this backdrop, but the fact that the motive behind this move is as vague as it can be, the whole exercise begs further careful scrutiny. Laying low had been the agenda of the organisation of late. This sudden burst of action does have some hidden meaning to it, many would claim, but is there any truth to such claims or was it just a routine action on the orders of the court?
As the government is part of an ongoing political tripartite crisis, involving the executive, the military and the judiciary, such an action is certain to raise eyebrows given the conspicuous inaction in the preceding months. Of the three who were arrested, former secretary establishment Ismail Qureshi, who has assured of his cooperation and clarified that he appointed Adnan Khwaja after a verbal order from the PM, has been released by the court. Considering the fact that the next deadline for the government to get its act together is tomorrow, these arrests could be deemed as a step to tone down the ire that the government has attracted from the superior judiciary. Effectiveness of this action notwithstanding, if the NAB has taken this initiative on its own, one wonders what might have forced the change of heart of its chairman who vehemently opposed such an action only last week.
Due to the judiciary’s consistent grilling of the in-power politicians and a pliant attitude towards the khakis, the government feels cornered. It could use this flurry of activity as an excuse to delay imminent doom (in the form of the memo case and the NRO decision’s implementation case) and extract some leniency from the court. Agreeing to write to the Swiss authorities would also help in this regard as it may have no serious repercussions for the government. The president can claim immunity as provided by the constitution, a point that the judiciary would find very difficult to counter.
Though it is not going to be easy, riding the storm seems to be the best option for the government at present. And if the government’s vital monitoring institutes are allowed to run independently, there won’t be any Memogates or a need to write to the Swiss authorities.