Game over for Nawaz Sharif

Imran Khan must avoid riding the tiger

Article 62 and 63 were introduced by Zia ul Haq to project his image as defender of Islam. The politicians knew very well that if applied strictly, few legislators would be able to retain their seats. They could have got rid of these articles while introducing the 18th Amendment. The suggestions in this respect were opposed by none other than the PML-N itself. Nawaz Sharif has become the first prime minister to be axed under the law he insisted on retaining.

It was a welcome development to require a sitting prime minister and his family to explain the sources of their income and fabulous wealth. This was done after a thorough and by and large transparent enquiry which gave the accused an opportunity to justify their assets. Some of the judicial novelties however have raised eye brows. The six member JIT formed under orders of the Supreme Court to find answers to 12 questions also had two army officers as members which needed explanation. The apex court constituted a three-member special bench to implement the order in the Panama Papers case. The bench then re-joined the two judges who had ordered the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif to again form the original five member bench which then delivered the 5-0 judgment.

If the idea was to bring morality and curb corruption among the powerful elite, the process must not end with Nawaz Sharif. The Supreme Court has to evolve an even-handed mechanism which can be used to put an end to corrupt practice among the entire elite including politicians, judges and generals.

The Prime Minister House issued a notification saying that despite having “strong reservations” on the Supreme Court’s verdict, Nawaz Sharif has stepped down from his post as premier. A PML-N spokesperson said that the party will utilise all legal and constitutional means to contest the verdict. The PML-N leaders who have been telling party workers all the time that there was no evidence of misdemeanour against Nawaz Sharif or his scions are finding it difficult to explain away the SC verdict. The mantra of “there is a court verdict and there is people’s verdict “would satisfy few. There was no massive reaction in Punjab to the dismissal of the Nawaz Government indicating disillusionment in the PML-N ranks at the grass roots on account of lack of responsiveness on the part of their own administration.

Does the judgment weaken the system? Is this a conspiracy against democracy?

It would be perverse to argue that an elected political leader who is accused of committing a crime must remain beyond law and is only accountable to the voters in elections held at the end of his tenure. Corruption on the part of the ruling elite remains an ugly reality of the political life in Pakistan and has to be dealt with seriously. The Supreme Court had to intervene only after lawmakers failed to resolve the issue of accountability of the PM for months. The government meanwhile did not allow the law enforcement agencies to function independently of the ruling party. As the Parliament lacked the ability to resolve the issue and the government failed to persuade or deter PTI from blocking Islamabad the Supreme Court had to take up the matter. The intervention by the apex court put an end to agitation thus precluding the need for the intervention of by the army

Whether the verdict would weaken the PML-N’s hold over voters in its stronghold of Punjab remains to be seen. Much will depend on how the party handles the post Sharif situation. It must urgently agree upon a new Prime Minister who should then form the new cabinet. Unless the intraparty rivalries within the PML-N are smoothened its influence among voters would decline which would have a negative impact on its electoral fortunes. Imran Khan has achieved his objective. He should now control the urge in him to create turmoil every now and then. Let there be some peace in the country for a while.