Daily Times

Hearing the case of Hajj corruption scandal, the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday has given the federal government seven days’ time to reinstate Sohail Ahmed to the post of Establishment Secretary. Mr Ahmed was made an officer on special duty (OSD) in retaliation for complying with the apex court’s orders and transferring the inspector general (IG) Gilgit-Baltistan Hussain Asghar back to the FIA to lead the team probing the Hajj corruption case.

The apex court has been showing immense patience towards the federal government for deliberately delaying the court proceedings in multi-billion-rupee corruption cases, bringing hitches in the way of justice by needlessly shuffling responsible officers from the cases. Despite court orders, Mr Ahmed is yet to be restored as the Establishment Secretary while Mr Asghar has not resumed his duty back at the FIA as the chief investigation officer in the Hajj corruption case. He is missing since he left Gilgit-Baltistan on July 26 to reach Islamabad. His absence is suspect. Furthermore, the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan has refused to relieve Mr Asghar from his position until a new IG is appointed.

It is evident from the whole series of events that the federal government is not taking the SC’s orders seriously and using all tactics to check the progress in the investigation process. It is, by all means, trying to save the neck of the influential accused involved in the corruption case. Ironically, the prime minister on one hand turns down the questions about an imminent clash between the executive and the judiciary as speculations while on the other he does not give a serious consideration to the court orders and delays the submission of his reply to the court over reinstatement of the Establishment Secretary. The reinstatement issue is, in principle, simple but the federal government is complicating it wilfully.

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has unanimously passed a resolution against the government for continuously defying the court orders, warning it that the SCBA would use all its options, including revival of the lawyers’ movement, to uphold the supremacy of law and justice. The situation is grave. In case a clash between the two state institutions takes place, the undemocratic forces would take advantage of the situation. They might assert themselves once again forcing democracy against the wall, which would be detrimental for both the government and the judiciary. Opportunist politicians like Imran Khan are asking to invoke Article 190 of the constitution. The federal government should stop fiddling with the superior court’s orders. In the larger interest of both democracy and the country, the executive should cooperate with the judiciary and let the law take its course. *