The government’s mixed report card
It would be churlish not to give Prime Minister Gilani the credit rightly due to him for restoring the 1973 constitution. This should not, however, lead him to assume a self-righteous attitude. Government leaders all over the world have been subjected to probes and even sentenced when evidence of culpability was available. It should in fact be a matter of pride for the PM if under him the agencies investigating possible scams are seen to be as free to investigate those in power as they are in the case of commoners.
Several scams involving politicians and their close relatives have made headlines during the last four years. Some of them have landed up in courts. Unfortunately, complaints of lack of cooperation or even attempts to create hindrances in the probes by the government have been all too common.
The two cases presently before the SC are typical examples of the sort. Soon after the enquiry into the Ephedrine case was initiated by ANF, two of the investigating officials were immediately removed, only to be restored on the orders of the SC. The PM was quick to defend his son. It was maintained that his family was being targeted for supporting the Seraiki province and for remaining loyal to President Zardari. The ANF has finally nominated eight persons including Musa Gilani in the case. The court was told that Musa Gilani was returning to Pakistan but suddenly he changed his mind giving birth to all types of surmises.
Raja Pervez Ashraf who was one of the accused in the Rental Power Plants(RPP) case was rewarded with the IT ministry which would play a crucial role in the award of 3G licenses soon. SC orders to arrest the persons involved in the case continued to be ignored by the NAB for three weeks. On Thursday, the apex court ordered the NAB chairman to “implement the judgment from A to Z” within a week. This is likely to be considered as yet another case of the government obstructing the course of justice.
While judging the performance of the present government, the historian would record a number of achievements. The record would also contain several glaring failures. High among these would be the government’s insensitivity to the phenomenon of corruption and lack of cooperation with the courts.