The PTI has done the needful. In conceding the chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to Shehbaz Sharif, the government can now boast of a positive U-turn; albeit one that took some 123 days to manoeuvre. And of putting democracy first. All of which should be welcomed. Of course, the younger Sharif was always the rightful heir to the PAC throne given his new role as Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly.Yet from the get-go this has raised concerns over the required impartiality to audit projects inititated under the stewardship of his brother. Nawaz Sharif, after all, is a thrice-elected Prime Minister who remains steadfast in his position that his disqualification by the highest court in the land was politically motivated. Ditto when it comes to the all pending corruption cases. This is to say nothing of Shehbaz’s own stint as Chief Minister Punjab under the last set-up. And while these may carry a certain weight, the same could be said of any other party loyalist. What now threatens to sour democratic relations across the great political divide is Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry’s claims that the opposition blackmailed the Centre on the issue of the PAC chairman. For to assert this now risks undermining the Prime Minister’s final decision in this regard. Where Chaudhry has a point is in calling on the Speaker to form standing committees without at the earliest in order to allow the Lower house to function properly. Though, of course, the Centre must bear the lion’s share of responsibility for this interruption; given that it was the PTI that initially obstructed parliamentary norms. That being said, its concerns are not entirely unwarranted. But the way to address these is to table constitutional amendments to reach consensus. The younger Sharif, as everyone knows, is facing corruption charges. He has repeatedly vowed to quit politics for good in the eventuality a conviction. While the underlying sentiment is understood — such rhetoric undermines the democratic paradigm. For it circumvents the notion of due process. This will not do. Especially coming as it does from a party president and MNA. That is, someone who is deeply entrenched in the democratic system. Thus the lesson to be learned here is that putting democracy first is undecidedly good for the country. But what is not is a piecemeal and unilateral approach. * Published in Daily Times, December 15th 2018.