Albatross around PML-N’s neck
It is interesting to see Ch Nisar Ali, who acted as the champion of the SC in its fight against corruption, react to the SC judgment on Asghar Khan’s petition. He strongly disagrees with the SC tasking the FIA to probe the politicians charged with receiving funds from the ISI. H says he is surprised because “SC knows what FIA did in Hajj scam, NICL case and the OGDCL case”.
The list of the beneficiaries of ISI’s largesse was handed over to the then Interior Minister Naseerullah Babar in 1996 by former DG ISI. The interior minister made a statement in Parliament telling how the ISI had distributed money among the PPP opponents in 1990 on the orders of President Ghulam Ishaq Khan. The list found its way in the print media. This led Air Marshal Asghar Khan to take the matter to the SC asking the CJ to take suo motu notice of the role of the agencies in politics. His efforts bore fruit after 16 years. The court has maintained that the 1990 general elections had been polluted by dishing out Rs 140 million to a particular group of politicians.
The SC has ordered action against both the categories of wrong doers: the generals who distributed the funds and the politicians who received them. The government has been directed to take necessary action against the former COAS and DG ISI. The FIA is required to investigate the politicians and initiate criminal proceedings if sufficient evidence is found against any politician. The funds were not given to the alliance called the IJI, now defunct, as Ch Nisar Ali wants people to believe but directly to politicians who led the alliance at the centre and the provinces. Mian Nawaz Sharif’s name stands high on the list.
The PML-N has reacted to the verdict by levelling charges against the PPP regarding spending money to win 1993 elections. If the PML-N had any solid proofs of illegalities the best way for it would have been to go to court when it subsequently assumed power, or even after the restoration of the independent judiciary. That it failed to do so implies that it knew it had no proofs to establish the charges. Levelling counter charges is any way a bad self-defence. The PML-N has also raised questions about the integrity of the FIA.
The PML-N has failed to spell out who should conduct the investigation ordered by the court. The EC said this does not fall under its purview. Information Minister Kaira has meanwhile expressed resolve to complete the investigation before the induction of the caretaker setup. Unless the PML-N is exonerated by an independent enquiry, it will fight the elections with an albatross around its neck. Instead of opposing the enquiry, it should welcome it.