- The jail as a replica of hell
For a while the PTI government maintained a semblance of an ambivalent attitude towards the ongoing cases against the opposition. To maintain a façade of neutrality, Prime Minister Imran Khan repeatedly maintained that his government had nothing to do with the cases his opponents are facing. Further, that NAB is an independent national institution that the government has no means to influence. But then, on a signal from the PM, Sience and Tehnology Minister Fawad Chaudhry recently claimed credit for these cases maintaining that it was the PTI government and not the anti-graft body that was carrying out the process of accountability.
Despite having been PM for 11 months, Mr Khan has yet to learn to differentiate between a person who is accused of a crime and the one who has actually been convicted for it– at least as far as the opposition members are concerned . For him, any opposition member accused of money laundering, corruption or anything else should be behind bars. The evidence may be collected later.
Mr Khan is not satisfied with the punishment awarded to his opponents by the courts. He is simply furious over any jailed opposition leader given the status of a political prisoner, which entitles him to certain facilities. Political opponents need to undergo extra suffering for Mr Khan’s personal satisfaction. We are told by PM’s Information Advisor Firdous Ashiq Awan that he has directed the Interior Ministry to make jails ‘a terrible place’ for the convicts involved in looting people and pushing the country to the verge of collapse.
Mr Khan also wants the accused to be deprived of their right to be produced at National Assembly sessions. The PTI chief wants to bend the laws to suit his wishes. It remains to be seen if he succeeds in his mission. But it is highly unusual for the Prime Minister of a country to add to the punishment announced by a court. On Monday a TV interview by former President Asif Zardari was pulled from air moments after it started. Many believed it to be the handiwork of those who are opposed to jailed opponents being brought to the National Assembly and given the floor.