With more dubious millions
While it’s strange that some journalist can just ‘stumble upon’ and ex- Pakistani president’s, and his powerful army chief’s, secret Swiss Bank accounts, there is little else to be gathered from this strange episode in face of continued silence from the two retired generals. Ordinarily one is innocent until proven guilty. But Pakistan is a stranger story than most, especially when it comes to (alleged) propensity of those in powerful positions to amass large sums mysteriously. The two generals should, therefore, step forward and clear their own names; otherwise our charged public space, especially the electronic media, will draw conclusions of its own if precedent is anything to go by.
The British journalist who, surprisingly, just stumbled upon this information somehow strangely only found a couple of million dollars in each ex-strongman’s account. While that is a lot of money, especially if its origins are shrouded in mystery, the sum comes nowhere near the millions, perhaps billions, allegedly stashed away in offshore accounts of some of our dear democratic leaders. Also, the timing of this surprise revelation is no less surprising. Will the opposition now include these names in its agitation, or just keep its sights on those delivering democracy for the moment?
There is, clearly, an urgent need to settle this corruption and money laundering matter once and for all. The entire state machinery has been paralysed since the Panama Leaks embarrassment. And it’s not as if following a money trail takes much time in the 21st century. Once a government approves a probe, then the process comes full circle very quickly. If anything, those delaying matters might well have something to hide, otherwise it makes little sense in not pushing the probe through. For the moment, though, it seems justice is still a while away, and some, if not most, of the people in sensitive positions have more money than they can justify.