- Ruling party feeling the pinch?
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry locking horns with NAB by airing his objection to Aleem Khan not being granted bail while other more ‘serious offenders’ have been reprieved, demonstrates how even the PTI is now feeling the pinch of NAB’s heavy handedness and questionable practices. Corruption was the bedrock of the PTI’s electoral campaign and remains the go-to attention diverter eight months into their government. Almost all ministers and members in the party operate on a default setting of deflecting any criticism by blaming it on the ‘corrupt rulers of the past’. All this puts the PTI in a particularly tough spot. There can be no toning down of this rhetoric against the opposition, as it would result in blowback from its core voter base and criticizing NAB eats into the party’s strategy.
But the accountability watchdog, equipped with blanket powers granted under the 1999 NAB ordinance and the Supreme Court’s approval to make arrests unrestricted, cannot realistically be expected to act any differently than it has been. Ironically these very liberties that NAB enjoys are the reason why its prosecutors are so inept at supporting their accusations and indictments with hard evidence. Rather, emphasis is on public humiliation and mental torture through harsh interrogation methods. With little to no oversight over its affairs it is no wonder why their methods are increasingly getting more perverse. The two unsuccessful raids at Shehbaz Sharif’s personal residence to arrest his son Hamza Shehbaz and most recently the summons sent to the former’s wife and daughters demonstrate this. Retired Brigadier Asad Munir committing suicide out of fear of being publicly paraded in chains before the media displays the extent to which the institution is dreaded rather than respected or expected to dispense true justice. There is a dire need to review and rationalize the draconian NAB law. It has to be done with consensus between all parties through Parliament. Perhaps with a few more contentious arrests and bails granted by higher courts, the ruling party sees the real problem in its plans to combat corruption effectively.
