- Nobody is above the law
The accountability process is the crown jewel of a democratic setup. The privilege of checks and balances is essential so as to ensure a transparent setting. Public officials and authorities should be held accountable for their actions every now and then. Imran Khan’s slogan of accountability for all is commendable in its essence. However, when we talk about accountability, the same should be extended to all.
No one institution should be given absolute power in regards to a particular thing. The very departments working to hold public officials accountable should themselves be transparent as well. Due process of the law enshrined in our constitution should be followed at all costs. Human rights are not only extended to free men. Even prisoners have certain rights which must at all costs be protected.
Although, self-accountability mechanisms are mostly employed by such institutions however, third party oversight should always be present so as to ensure absolute transparency. NAB has been very active over the past couple of years holding public officials accountable and summoning anybody they desire. Sometimes the bureau has been reprimanded by the superior judiciary for humiliating senior officials. It is a general rule of nature that when one party is set loose the same gets out of hand pretty quickly. The same appears to be the case with NAB.
The recent death of a professor in custody poses a number of questions. Rather substantial questions indeed. Firstly, the professor died of cardiac arrest in custody and was allegedly not shifted to a hospital in time. The first infringement of the professor’s fundamental rights. Secondly, no explanation as to why the professor’s body was chained and handcuffed was given. A dead body, chained and handcuffed. Had it not been repeated on news channels one wouldn’t have believed it. A so called democratic state unable to protect the dignity of a dead man. Even infamous dictators around the world didn’t chain the bodies at the very least.
These incidents highlight the biggest misgivings present within our criminal justice system. Noteworthy to say that the professor, as of yet, was an accused and had not been convicted. No court of law had declared him to be guilty of all the crimes alleged against him. Therefore, innocent until proven guilty. In most similar incidents, the law enforcers employ brutal methods for interrogation which result in the deaths of a lot of inmates. At other times, proper medical attention is not accorded to the inmates.
Despite the need for accountability, the rule of law should prevail
Accountability of these authorities should also be prioritised. Blatant human rights violations cannot be condoned and ignored. The federal and provincial governments need to take strict notice of this incident. The entire process of accountability would be questionable if inmates are to die this way. Critics find ground to stand upon in light of these incidents. Where on one side the NAB and its officials are proactively dealing with corrupt officials, at the same time they need to clean their dirty linen as well.
Independent accountability of the NAB itself should be conducted so as to preserve the essence of law and due process. Our constitution would amount to nothing if fundamental rights are to be violated by the very authorities responsible for protecting the same.
The right to be treated with dignity is embodied in our constitution and also our religion. The professor’s death not only contravenes the constitution but is also an unprecedented attack on the values professed by Islam.
Prisoners are to be treated with respect and dignity as codified in Islam. Numerous examples where prisoners were treated with respect are present in Islamic history. As an Islamic republic, we are duty bound to ensure the treatment of all inmates with a certain level of respect. Conditions of our jails need to be improved. It is a lesson and a reminder for the PTI led government to focus on the betterment of jail conditions in general.
Even otherwise, NAB laws should be amended so as to keep its officials in line. The invincibility present at the moment is bound to repeat such incidents. Mere accusations result into ill treatment of some public officials at the hands of NAB. Some unofficial accounts also narrate the ill-treatment meted out during NAB custody. Stories like waking prisoners up in the middle of the night and not letting them sleep are not unheard of. Other psychological torture methods are also reportedly employed by NAB.
Despite the need for accountability, the rule of law should prevail. In the name of accountability, NAB shouldn’t be allowed to act like vicious barbarians. They need to be reminded that they are not above the law. Even the powers of the Chairman NAB need to be curtailed through amendments within the law. Absolute power to anybody will always have disastrous effects. One wrong man in the chair is going to cost the entire bureau its credibility.
The PTI government has five years ahead of itself, let’s hope these incidents convince them to pay more attention to the existing predicaments. Reforming the prison system of the country would also contribute to the ‘Naya Pakistan’ movement. Otherwise the political opponents incarcerated by NAB, at the moment, will find substantial ground to stand upon. Shahbaz Sharif’s claims may turn out to be true if attention is not paid.
The countries with much better criminal justice systems have at the foremost improved the conditions of their respective prisons. The ill-treatment of prisoners is condemned globally and gives rise to human rights outcries, if not addressed properly.
Let us hope that the jail authorities and NAB are made to answer for the inhumane treatment of Mian Javed Ahmed’s dead body. The handcuffs and chains speak the plight of an ignorant nation. Hopefully, these chains will soon be unlocked with the passage of time and reformation of the justice system. It needs to be ensured that the prisoners should not be deprived of their rights and their ill-treatment should be averted. A nation which does not treats its prisoners with respect and dignity cannot be expected to become a welfare state.