Incompetent agencies and their double standards
Six years after being directed by the SC to collect evidence in the Asghar Khan case the FIA has come up with naught. The federal agency has therefore recommended that the case be closed. It makes little sense that the FIA due to its sheer incompetence was unable to collect sufficient evidence to charge anyone so the two retired generals who have admitted to the charges against them under oath get a clean chit. How is it that evidence would flow freely into the hands of NAB and FIA when it came to Nawaz Sharif’s ouster and the ongoing Zardari fake accounts case but conveniently dries up when a certain category of individuals are involved? When it comes to politicians it seems the agencies and accountability courts work towards an outcome regardless of whether or not there is sufficient evidence to support that outcome.
It smacks of double standards in the accountability bodies and investigative agencies of the country. Another prime example of this is former president Pervez Musharraf who during the PML-N government was allowed to leave the country for medical treatment never to return while multiple cases against him remain pending including a treason charge. Two days back he was let off the hook in the NRO case against him by the SC.
Such decisions hurt the democratic process and also make it increasingly hard to believe the PTI government’s claims that the current accountability drive is unbiased and ‘across the board’. PM Imran Khan has questioned the FIA’s laughable request, which is welcome. But it is imperative he see to it that the case is not buried, is taken to its logical conclusion and those accused are charged. However if recent U-turns and a ridiculous defense of the practice is any indication it seems unlikely that the PM will pursue the matter too far.