Much needs to be done
Finally Nawaz Sharif has also protested against the way accountability is being pursued in the country albeit only after Punjabi politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen became the target. He had earlier rejected PPP protests regarding the methods used by NAB, FIA and Rangers for conducting the accountability of some of its leaders.
Much of the crime in this country goes unpunished because of the incompetence of the investigating and prosecuting agencies. Side by side with this there is another disquieting fact: successive governments, civilian and military, have failed to address the basic flaw in the efficiency of the agencies. Presumably, making the agencies efficient did not suit those in power as this would make them or their associates feel vulnerable. When incompetence to prove is accompanied by an itch to prosecute, it leads to harassment through filing of insubstantial cases, long detentions or media trial. In the case of businessmen, harassment often leads to flight of capital abroad which is harmful for economy. When agencies harass politicians but fail to produce incriminating evidence against them, their supporters accuse the agencies of political victimisation. Saulat Mirza’s confessional video might have provided satisfaction to those who publicised it but the evidence could not have satisfied any court while it failed to change the mind of MQM voters in NA-246 where the party won by overwhelming majority as before. The way Asim Hussain’s case was pursued created sympathy for him. Hints are being made that now the NAB is acting on the directions of the establishment which wants to destabilise the system. There is a need to remove the perception.
Instead of wasting time, the PML-N should revisit the long forgotten Charter of Democracy (CoD). The proposal for independent accountability commission in the document should be discussed in Parliament and adopted after necessary amendments in the light of fresh experience. Further, well thought out measures need to be taken to improve the efficiency of the investigating and prosecuting agencies.