Daily Times

The Joint Investigation Committee (JIT) report has put the PMLN under tremendous pressure, with increasing calls for the Prime Minister’s resignation. Keeping politics aside, the argument is that the Prime Minister’s name is now tainted given the accusations made by the JIT and he should resign to sustain the sanctity of his office. Another argument is that the Prime Minster should resign so he does not influence the accountability process by misusing his authority. Both these arguments are frivolous in the context of Pakistan.

First, what the JIT has presented to the court are accusations at best, they are not the verdict. However credible they might seem, we should wait until the Prime Minister’s legal team responds to these allegations in court. If resignations based on accusations is made the norm, then no elected official will be able to survive in office since the institutional structure of the country can be easily manipulated by the permanent establishment. Second, it is absurd to suggest that Nawaz Sharif will be able to influence the proceedings against him using his office. Not that he wouldn’t like to influence the process, the fact remains that he does not have any leverage over these matters. Had this been the case, the JIT would not have produced such a damning report.

The current pressure on the Prime Minister to resign is a continuation of the age-old power struggle in the country between the establishment and the politicians, which the former has always won with the mainstream media on its side

But let’s be honest, the demands for the Prime Minister’s resignation have nothing to do with justice or accountability. Regardless of the veracity of this report, it is being used as a tool by the establishment quarters to put yet another elected government under pressure. It is interesting to note that all allegations made on the Sharif family pertain to mismanagement of their business accounts with no proof of corruption from public funds, and no direct allegations on the Prime Minister himself.

Even if these allegations carry weight, the court might have to invoke articles 62 and 63 of the constitution to disbar Nawaz Sharif from his membership of the parliament. These article state, among other things, that a member of parliament should be sagacious, righteous, honest, and follows all instructions of Islam. I could not think of even a single person I know who would fulfill these impossible criteria. Such provisions were added in the constitution by a dictator with the mala fide intent to weaken the authority of elected representatives, having the sword of disqualification over their heads at all times if they fall out of line. I doubt if public office-bearers including the judges, military officials, and bureaucrats can make the claim of fulfilling these requirements.

It will indeed be dishonest if we view the accountability of the Sharif family in isolation from the socio-political context of Pakistan. Any student of the country’s history would note that politicians, especially the popular ones, were selectively held accountable for (in)justice. If leaders like Husain Shaheed Suhrawardy, Fatima Jinnah, and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto were persecuted in the distant past, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have unduly suffered at the hands of the establishment in recent decades. Of course, no one should object to public officials being held accountable, but it is the selective nature of this accountability specifically targeting the politicians that is troubling.

Pervez Musharraf abrogated the constitution twice in his 9-year long career and accumulated millions of dollars in unexplained wealth but was allowed to escape abroad. General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani’s brother Kamran Kayani is yet to face justice even though they are accused of embezzling much larger sums from public funds than the Sharifs are accused of mismanaging their own accounts.

The Asghar Khan petition alleging unlawful conduct by the generals still hasn’t been decided upon, even after three decades. Former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has also managed to evade accountability even after failing to prove his son’s unexplained wealth increase during his tenure in the Supreme Court.

Given this history and context, the current pressure on the Prime Minister to resign is a continuation of the age-old power struggle in the country between the establishment and the politicians, which the establishment has always won with the mainstream media on its side. Since the country’s security and foreign policies are already under the effective control of the deep-state, this move from the establishment is to take control of the lucrative CPEC to further expand its empire. As the things stand, the PMLN is going to win the 2018 elections, and would gain a deciding majority in the senate next year as well. A powerful civilian Prime Minster enjoying public support is indeed a threat for the country’s powerful establishment, which will do everything in its power to weaken the elected government. Not only will having a weak civilian government adversely impact the country’s progress, it will erode whatever limited influence the masses exercise over the system through the electoral process.

Even as his fall seems to be imminent at the moment, the Prime Minister should not go down without putting up a brave fight. He owes this to the country’s masses and future generations.

The writer is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Administration at Cleveland State University. He can be reached at obedpasha@gmail.com. His twitter handle is @RamblingSufi

Published in Daily Times, July 15^th , 2017.