- Sitting federal minister and PM sibling under the microscope
In developing countries, the criminal justice system generally tends to favour the wealthy and powerful, and consequently justice, in letter and spirit, stands not only inordinately delayed, but also manifestly denied. The axiom of none being above the law is consigned to the realm of wishful thinking. But the floodgates of financial information opened up by the Panama Papers have proved a turning point in our case, resulting in a lifelong apex court ban on three-time PM Nawaz Sharif, pinpointing the all-pervasive culture of corruption, and starting a wave of accountability of once mighty untouchables, now familiar figures in the dock and in the unforgiving media glare. It would appear that finally there is no escaping from the long arm of the law, for high and low, and that the process will continue without slackening.
Two ‘litmus test’ cases currently in the legal spotlight concern the federal minister for science and technology and a sibling of PM Imran Khan, something unthinkable a few years ago. The Supreme Court is particularly incensed by abuse of state power at the highest levels, and especially so if the victims are the vulnerable and the marginalised, who cannot answer back in the same coin. In the Azam Swati case, the concerned Joint Investigation Team’s report apparently concluded that a bogus case was registered, a poor family imprisoned and tortured, while the minister received ‘special treatment’, and was the likely catalyst for related overnight transfer of IGP, Islamabad. He now faces notice under Article 62 (1)(f). The foreign assets case of Aleema Khan is also being rigorously followed in the Supreme Court, and on Thursday, the FBR was told in no uncertain terms to provide complete details of her properties abroad declared under the Foreign Assets (Declaration and Repatriation) Ordinance 2018. The issue of massive undeclared assets of Pakistani citizens hidden abroad, while the country begs from the IMF, and dam-building languishes for paucity of funds, is rightly a subject close to the nation’s heart. For the sake of credibility, it is of the essence that that the entire culpability exercise is conducted in a uniform manner across the entire political and social spectrum.
