Mudfest in Senate
The PPP and PML-N leaders claim that they have drawn the right conclusions from the negative politics of the 90s and would never revert to it again. What became a no-holds-barred fight between the two parties in the wasted decade had started with accusations of corruption against one another followed by protest marches and shutter down strikes. Gradually activists on both sides got worked up and normal political differences turned into personal enmities with the result that even working relations between the two parties ceased to exist. This provided an opportunity to the establishment to send home successive PPP and PML-N administrations before the end of their mandated tenures.
On Tuesday a debate in the Senate on corruption degenerated into a mudfest. It would have been more productive if Aitzaz Ahsan had confined himself to the shady aspects of the more recent Nandipur and Metro bus projects. But then he went back to the 90s, mentioning the paltry income tax paid by the PML-N chief and questioned how he managed to become a billionaire. Being a senior parliamentarian he should have known about the type of reaction this would provoke. Perhaps he knowingly did so. This led PMLN’s Mushahidullah Khan to pose similar questions about the taxes paid and assets acquired over the years by Zardari, Faryal Talpur and Dr Asim Hussain.
A more serious dimension of the issue raised by Farhatullah Babar did not receive the attention that it deserved. He had asked why no notice was being taken of corruption on the part of the establishment and judiciary and only politicians were being targeted.
It is in the best national interest to have no holy cows when it comes to corruption. It is equally important to set up a really independent, neutral and powerful accountability mechanism. By indulging in mutual mudslinging the politicians only strengthen the establishment. This shows that intolerance has reached a point where some would willingly cut off their nose to spite their face.
They are legalizing muk muka.
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