The insider

The shame, the shame

Younis Habib sings like a bird. The former Mehran Bank chief has spilled the beans in as tell-all a manner as the stuff racy headlines are made of. He also said he was at the disposal of the honourable court and wanted to tender an unconditional apology. As head of a nationalised bank, he said he was forced to succumb to the pressures of the president (debatable) and dispersed said funds.
We all know the list. It reads like a who’s-who of the Muslim Leagues, with a smattering of other pro-establishment political parties and journalists as well. Not too proud a day for Raiwind. They had better have an emergency PR plan up and ready. Caught with their hand (having once been) in the cookie jar, it is surprising that the mainstream media isn’t going after them with the ferocity it reserves for the federal government. The latter itself has also shown a surprising measure of reserve against using up this issue. Expect this to change once the League turns up the heat on another subject after this. The gloves, as it were, would come off faster than one wins an election unfairly.
But the enemy’s enemy is already at it. Tired of being accused of being the establishment’s new filly, Imran Khan is pulling no punches when it comes to the Asghar Khan case. All the League’s anti-PTI rhetoric is going to be rather hard to swallow now. Consider: the League is against the other League because it was in cahoots with Musharraf and against PTI because it allegedly is the deep state’s favourite. Past tenses, present tense. The folks over at N will have to explain how they’re special.
The Asghar Khan petition is a redemption of the judiciary in the eyes of a number of analysts. The only political case they are hearing, though not with their usual alacrity, that does not put the current government in a bad light. If it were to be pursued in earnest, there are many idols in this temple that could be smashed. It sets a good precedent, especially regarding the military’s involvement in politics.