Is it the beginning of divine justice?

Pakistan’s roller coaster history remains a constant target for the bolts from the blue. Currently it’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his siblings who are caught in the vortex of the Panamanian money laundering storm. Though the Prime Minister, his grown up children, a whole battery of tongue wagging ministers, officials and his supporters in the media are paddling hardest to keep him afloat, analysts and prophets of doom see an abysmal scenario especially after the resignation of Iceland’s Prime Minister for keeping off shore accounts.

British Prime Minister David Cameron is also under pressure to quit for the same reasons. Hundreds and thousands of British tax-paying protestors have been rallying outside 10-Downing Street demanding their Prime Minister to step down for betraying their trust.  Much in the same manner, the Ukrainian president and prime minister are under pressure to quit. Politicians holding public offices elsewhere who are involved in money laundering through off shore accounts are likely to be shown the door by mounting popular pressure. Many top functionaries in various countries are in the leaked list. Who would go next—is the favourite past time for bookies these days.

The monies mentioned as laundered and invested in off shore companies by Prime Ministers of Iceland and United Kingdom is almost tuppence as compared to mega scam figures belonging to Prime Minister of Pakistan and his family members. Different sob stories put on the electronic media –starting from Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s nationalisation of Itteffaq Foundry and its subsequent rise from rags to riches at phenomenal jet speed  due to enormous compensation it received from President General Ziaul Haq –have been found contradicting each other at each and every step. So far no explanation has been found plausible enough for the defence of Nawaz family’s off shore accounts and where those mega amounts emanated from. David Cameron has come up with his tax records but our Prime Minister and his family members don’t have anything that much to show as paid tax in the National Exchequer.

However, it was a very clever move by the Prime Minister to deflect the mounting pressure on him by rushing to appoint a judicial commission. That, according to legal experts, would neither be here nor there. Opposition has rightly described such a move as hog wash and rejected it. To make things appear more difficult, two of the retired Supreme Court Chief Justices when approached by the Interior Minister to be members of the Judicial Commission, politely turned down the request. Their decision to say no to sit on the dubious commission was a manifestation of lack of trust of the people in such an abused contraption to cover up acts of omission and commission of the government.

Starting from the Prime Minister, his siblings and dear ones- all are in the rocking boat that is jostling violently over loaded with details of off shore accounts making safer shores apparently unreachable. Doom sayers who had been since long predicting an unsavoury end of the government now are confident that mounting street pressure would send it packing up its tents and the powers that be itching to step in since long on the dismal failure of the government to let it have a free hand to eliminate terrorists in Punjab—would willingly take this life time opportunity.

What is most bothersome for the supporters of the Sharif family and the establishment is how they, having spent millions of dollars to find out traces of Asif Ali Zardari’s perceived corruption while their tainted billions stand exposed before the entire world,  do not have anything substantive as proof in their hand against AAZ. Nor is his name there as an off shore beneficiary, as leaked in the 11 million documents reportedly showing how Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca helped a number of current and former world leaders – including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members – to use offshore tax havens to hide the monies allegedly stolen by them through illicit means. It is another thing that despite its total failure to dig up dirt to get him convicted by even such courts known as kangaroo, they could only manage to keep AAZ incarcerated for 11 years on the basis of venomously carried out media trials – a case of conviction without a lawful sentence.

I wondered what it was that was happening to Sharif now when he was comfortably ensconced in absolute power ruling like a king – is it not some sort of divine justice? Indeed, it could not be anything else. After all, there sits a Lord above, who no king, no prime minister, no judge nor general could bribe. Just when I was thinking about it a TV channel showed a clip of Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s diatribe against AAZ, his threat to drag him in the streets of Lahore when he would be in power.

AAZ’s warning to MNS also echoed in my ears when Sharif government started political vendetta against PPP. It started with the arrest of my friend Dr Asim Hussain who was accused of all sorts of crimes under the sun including aiding and abetting terrorists, corruption and money laundering. AAZ told the Prime Minister that he should only do that much that he could be able to bear when his turn to get it repaid in the same coin comes. The global charge of money laundering established beyond doubt in the shape of off shore accounts in Panama against the Prime Minister and his siblings can least be described as the beginning of the unfolding of divine justice.
I was very happy when Mian Sahib became Prime Minister in 2013 through a most dignified transfer of power by President Asif Ali Zardari after successfully completing his five year constitutionally land mark tenure. In my letter of congratulations, among many things, I had advised Prime Minister Sharif to remember the words of American philosopher George Santayana: “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Being a student of history I have always told politicians to remember the historic quote of German Pastor Martin Noiemler in Hitler’s Nazi Germany:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

I became wary of PML (N) government and feared that it would meet the fate forewarned by George Santayana the day I heard that MNS’ hatchet man ex-Senator Saif ur Rehman had returned to Pakistan to sow once again the seeds of political vendetta and to make money right, left and centre.

It is late but a little later would be too late. Mian Sahib should set his own record of taxes and money laundering accusations straight and when he can appoint a judicial commission to clear his name, he should treat Dr Asim Hussain with the same yard stick. As requested by Dr Asim, a judicial commission should also be appointed to provide him justice and fair play that is perhaps inconceivable in the arbitrary manner his case is being dealt with under various extra-judicial pressures.

Last but not the least; I quoted Pastor Martin Noiemler’s famous warning to all political and social beings. Though it does not say so but it means that the best way out of any dilemma is to pursue unity in diversity, seek consensus based solutions to their problems and act as a fraternity in face of adversity. Pakistani politicians especially have to learn this lesson. Instead of behaving like Kilkenny cats, they must revert to Quaid’s dictum of unity with a singularity of purpose in defence of democracy and the constitution as the best insurance for country’s survival, its progress, prosperity and peaceful co-existence of its multi-ethnic society.

*The author is former High Commissioner of Pakistan to UK