Daily Times

The unanimous Supreme Court decision to disqualify Nawaz Sharif could potentially unravel divergent and powerful currents in the country to rebuild democracy along inclusive, egalitarian and sustainable lines. While such a need had been felt for a long time, it is only now that one can see the prospect of good tidings.

With his exit and that of his close cohorts within the family paradigm, the country is effectively rid of a mindset fed, bred and nurtured in despotic parlance. This was gruesomely witnessed in multiple dimensions through a good thirty years of his stints in power in the provincial and federal capitals.

A quintessential product of the military ala General Jilani and General Ziaul Haq, he remained hopelessly immersed in their narrative, projecting himself forcefully as its principal advocate till the fateful exit of the latter. During this stint, he conceived and perpetrated a number of petty conspiracies targeting his close associates and benefactors.

Enjoying enormously the power bequeathed upon him by his uniformed masters, he appeared restless trying to break free of the chains tying him down. That happened during the first stint in power of Benazir Bhutto when, as chief minister of Punjab, he joined hands with the devil himself to bring her down. This started a phase of testing the sustainability of a fledgling system pockmarked by article 58-2-B which gave carte blanche powers to the president to dismiss a sitting government. The phase of shenanigans ended with the toppling of his government by General Musharraf in 1999.

But Nawaz Sharif’s espousal of corruption remained an integral part of his power politics during and after the Zia era. He was always a tainted ruler, more of an emperor than a democratic head of government. He borrowed heavily from the banks with no intention of ever settling the liabilities. His business empire expanded at an exponential pace within the time span when he held various public offices. In the absence of independent media, this would only sporadically catch the headlines. When confronted with journalists of the obdurate variety, he didn’t hesitate to even have them kidnapped and mistreated in confinement. The despotic germs were assimilated and essayed rather frequently. In the process, these germs grew to become hydras which catapulted out of control and what may have started as a dream became a gruesome monster getting the better of his democratic pretensions.

Corruption was also used as an antidote for stark limitations of ability and capacity. It was a tunnel-vision intelligence that kept getting bloated with the intake of mounting illicit funds. This was crudely manipulated as an instrument for sustaining Nawaz’s power base with political associates receiving frequent injections of varied kind and quantum of gratifications

Corruption was also used as an antidote for stark limitations of ability and capacity. It was a tunnel-vision intelligence that kept getting bloated with the intake of mounting illicit funds. This was crudely manipulated as an instrument for sustaining his power base with political associates receiving frequent injections of varied kind and quantum of gratifications.

In fact, corruption became the singular most relevant instrument of governance with its tentacles deepening and expanding with the passage of time. Its influence on the commonly-perceived fourth pillar of the state has been particularly disheartening with some media houses becoming veritable extensions of the culture of corruption and the prime-time anchors and a growing band of the so-called investigative journalists pontificating endlessly in the virtues of the ruling mafias.

The principal mechanism which the defenders of corruption adopted was projecting the drive as a conspiracy of the military-judiciary combine. In the process, it was made to believe that espousal of corruption would strengthen democracy and keep the military at bay. This speaks volumes of the deeply degenerative narrative that has been systematically promoted by the beneficiaries of an odiously corrupt system for prolonging and strengthening their gainful base.

But, Nawaz Sharif is not the only criminal. There are others belonging to virtually every walk of life. Now that there is hope that accountability will be promoted and a legal-moral basis for governance established, it must be ensured that it does not remain confined to one person, one family or one party alone and that his phase is not the end but the beginning of a process that should become integral to all echelons within the ruling paradigm. It should also be expanded to all channels and vehicles of corruption, be they individuals or institutions.

In fact, the reason why this matter had to be petitioned in the apex court emerged as a consequence of the failure of all state institutions in their basic responsibility in addressing the scourge. Squeezed tightly in the tentacles of a corrupt executive authority, these institutions are not given the space to breathe freely, and a change at the top alone will not address the issue. In actual effect, these institutions have become effective conduits of the corruption of the rulers. This nexus between the executive authority and the institutions must be broken and the latter given their due independence to operate effectively in fulfilling the charter of their tasks and responsibilities as enshrined in the constitution. Their working should be transparent, accountable and efficiently conducted in an environment of empowerment.

But most important is the vigilance of the people in ensuring that this new-found drive against corruption moves on in an indiscriminate manner and does not spare anyone on the basis of his or her caste, colour, creed or power base. All are equal before law and all should be equally treated. As Atifete Jahiaga once said:

“Democracy should be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions. When there is no sharing of power, no rule of law, no accountability, there is abuse, corruption, subjugation and indignation.”

It is a moment of deliverance. Let’s grasp this proud moment and ensure that we are able to bury the monster of corruption and put the country on course to fulfilling the dream of its creation as enunciated in the August 11 speech of the Quaid. Let everyone be free and let everyone lay claim only to what is measurable through the dint of hard work and devotion alone.

The writer is a political and security strategist, and heads the Regional Peace Institute — an Islamabad-based think tank. Email: raoofhasan@hotmail.com. Twitter: @RaoofHasan

Published in Daily Times, August 1^st , 2017.