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  • PML-N’s revelations are significant and can’t be ignored

 

 

The conviction of Mian Nawaz Sharif was expected to bring chaos in the country. The predicted mass protests never came and the nation continued with business as usual. With the exception of PML-N supporters chanting out in favour of their leader, the vast majority either remained indifferent or else celebrated Nawaz’s incarceration.

PTI lauded the imprisonment and considered it as a feather in their hat. The Sharif family called out foul play throughout the length of the trial as well as the starting point during Panamagate. Terming it as selected accountability, PML-N continued to lambast the judiciary as well as other state institutions which landed some of its leaders in trouble before the Supreme Court. “Mujhe Kyun Nikala” became the chorus for the 3-time Prime Minister as he struggled to gain confidence of the common man. Open confrontation with state institutions became his living motto.

Nevertheless, MNS was convicted, his sentence suspended and then convicted again in another reference. As a consequence, to these events, he continues to serve his sentence in Kot Lakhpat Jail whilst his daughter remains out on bail owing to the suspension of her sentence by the Islamabad High Court.

The occasional desperateness present in the N-league’s actions was taken to higher levels over the weekend when the party leadership addressed a press conference and made startling claims against the judiciary as well as other state institutions. A video, purportedly, showing the accountability court judge who handed over the sentence to Nawaz was played whereby the judge reveals the pressure he faced to send Nawaz to prison and how the latter was innocent in reality.

Without naming, fingers were pointed towards other state institutions, to gauge sympathy from the common man by establishing their innocence. Nawaz was once again portrayed as a shining knight facing the entire world against him. I must admit, the video did send ripples through the chain of command. Such tall and bold claims could surely not have been made without proper verification. At the very least, they cast a doubtful enough shadow over the conviction for it to be set aside and remanded back from a decision afresh.

PML-N seemed to have completed their groundwork before proceeding with the controversial presser. Shots were fired towards the enemies they blame for their existing predicaments. Veiled fingers pointed in the anonymous direction of behind the scenes manoeuvring. Yet, the story could have been subdued or manipulated had it not been for the judge himself.

By addressing the contents of the video, the judge has essentially admitted and ratified the authenticity of the video itself leaving no room for the forensic verification that the government intends to undertake

In response to the press conference, the accountability court judge found it prudent to respond through his own press release, an act which impinges upon a number of principles of judicial propriety. Instead of resorting to the legal course, the judge took to the media in an attempt to clear his name but rather ended up making matters worse for himself.

Firstly, the video if real, as it seems so, calls for an immediate resignation by the judge on all accounts of judicial moral values. Discussing matters of such nature, casually, and being unable to avoid getting filmed whilst at it, creates enough negligence on his part to call it a day and quit in order to preserve and protect the integrity of the institution itself.

However, what might land him in hot waters, at the hand of his superiors, is the press release issued through the registrar of his court. Interaction with the media for any reason is a no-go for all members of the judiciary. Superior court judges such as Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who have been recently maligned under the garb of references, never resorted to defending themselves before the media but rather followed the legal recourse and responded on legal terms. The proper course for the judge would have been an application to his concerned Chief Justice with a request to take action against the delinquents so responsible for levelling frivolous allegations on his personal character during the course of dispensing his professional duties. The purported bribes offered to him should have been brought forward as and when they were offered as opposed to now in response to the press release incriminating him.

His claims by virtue of his press release are similar to the remarks made by former Islamabad High Court Judge, Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, who was sent packing on account of him failing to act when he was allegedly approached.

The desperate attempt to clear his name, which in itself is replete of contradictions, raises even more pertinent questions. To begin with, how and when was he approached with offers of bribes and who made the offers? Why did he not take appropriate action against those offering bribes? Why in the first place was he discussing the judgement with a person he was acquainted to? By addressing the contents of the video, the judge has essentially admitted and ratified the authenticity of the video itself leaving no room for the forensic verification that the government intends to undertake.

Nevertheless, the PML-N has once again unsheathed their swords towards state institutions effectively giving rise to a new conflict with the latter. The all-out war approach adopted by the N-league in the aftermath of the Panamagate convictions might give them some political traction but in the long run would be disastrous for the political future of the party as well as the Sharif family.

A reconciliatory approach might have gained them some relief in one form or the other as opposed to the outright confrontation that the N-league under Maryam Nawaz wishes to proceed with.