Daily Times

Pakistani politics are surrounded by a number of issues these days. There’s a lot of talk about accountability; the ruling elite is playing it’s cards and the judiciary it’s own. On the other hand, the military establishment is focused on curbing the menace of extremism as well as external threats from the USA, India and Afghanistan. In this situation, it’s becoming increasingly hard to understand to understand the moves NAB and FBR.

For example, NAB recently requested that the Ministry of Interior put the name of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on the Exit Control List (ECL), at a time when he was already out of the country. Meanwhile, the Apex Court has given Dr Asim permission to fly abroad to get a medical checkup. All these developments are perplexing people.

The high volume of such cases is overloading our already fragile judicial system, slowing down their delivery of justice even further. The Panama Papers had the names of 300 Pakistani’s on them, and all of them have to justify their money trail. With the passage of time, new but shocking facts are unfolding. The recent Paradise Papers leaks added even more names to the list of people who stored their wealth in foreign tax havens, and all of them didn’t necessarily make their fortunes through illegal means. This time, 134 Pakistani citizens were exposed, but the FBR only plans to investigate 19.

Pakistan has been transformed into a theatre where the strong are always innocent. The people of Pakistan can only find salvation by adopting a rational approach when they choose their leaders, instead of blindly following their favourite personalities

Anyhow, what catches one’s attention is that the accountability process has been initiated, whether our political parties like it or not. The state institutions finally have something to work on, which is why I like to call these times ‘the season of accountability’. Things really are moving in the right direction. The people involved in the Panama papers will have to provide complete records of their finances to prove their innocence. Everyone involved in these papers should be investigated no matter what it takes to do so.

The people should trust our courts. Our judges are working in a democratic setup which is completely unlike the past. Meanwhile, Nawaz still hasn’t accepted the authenticity of the accountability process. He still believes that the establishment is playing it’s political card, which has resulted in his disqualification. The PML-N still thinks it can play politics the way it did in the 1990’s, and the blame game continues. Amid all of this, the Supreme Court needs to play the vital role of concluding these cases as soon as possible.

The Sharif family owns dozens of offshore companies that belong to the Sharif family, from they obtained this money is yet to be fully determined. Still, there are a number of references awaiting due consideration, among which those related to Azizia Steel Mills, Hill Metals Establishment and Hudaibiya Paper Mills are most prominent.

The matter is too complex for the common man to comprehend. Nawaz Sharif’s voters are more worried about him becoming premier again rather than him storing his ill gotten money abroad. On the other side, the PPP isn’t happy with the system either. It would rather term the accountability process as persecution rather than acknowledge it.

What’s happening in the country is bothersome. The future under this motley crüe of politicians is bleak as they continue to fool the people of this nation. If this continues, the people will fall deeper into a pit of desperation. Pakistan continues to be divided ethically, religiously and politically. It desperately needs to be united as a nation as it also faces a number of difficult challenges at the international level.

Since our corrupt politicians aren’t willing to face the courts wholeheartedly, they are doing this on purpose. Pakistan has been transformed into a theatre where the strong are always innocent. The people of Pakistan can only find salvation by adopting a rational approach when they choose their leaders, instead of blindly following their favourite personalities.

The writer is a professional writer and political commentator. He can be contacted @junaidalimalik1 or junaidalimalik3@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, November 23^rd 2017.