Daily Times

Having stabilized somewhat after a rather rocky start the PTI government and PM Imran Khan seem set on their attempt to steer course towards real change, with across-the-board accountability the central plank of their campaign. The dire economic situation shows some signs of hope: With 2.1 million people filing their tax returns, the highest in FBR’s history, more are expected in the very near future. The Current Account Deficit (CAD) came down for June 2019 at $997 million against $1.9 billion in June 2018.Imports are coming down and foreign remittances are going up. All is still not well, righting the economy devastated by blatant looting by our previous rulers would be too much to ask for within a year, even though progress is slow it is visible.

The main task of cleaning the Augean stable from corruption, nepotism, cheating and straight-forward theft remains a grey area. Even though the heads of the most influential political families are in jail there is a lot more to do. Because of political expediencies high profile persons involved in kidnapping for ransom, for money-laundering, stock fraud are very much visible in both the present and previous govts under one guise on the other, Rana Sanaullah’s incarceration is a symbolic start. For years we have been demanding that our courts should persecute perjury using the available laws. That is what Chief Justice Khosa wants but has he convicted any one for perjury as yet? Regarded as a ‘gentleman crime’ -the courts accept this as a sign of loyalty due to persons of power giving “protection” to their clients. A feudal mentality has persisted over the centuries, in a client-patron state “protection” is necessary for dependants who are in no position to protect themselves from a revengeful person or a high-handed State apparatchiks where the equality and autonomy of a person is not accepted. One protects one’s family members or those of the same tribe or Biradari or dependants of a landlord living on his land. One must question this social attitude maiming and disfiguring the establishment of a new, modern society. Promoting nepotism and undermining merit protection, helps to cover up and push crime under the carpet, promoting an attitude that even intelligent, educated and capable people become hangers-on to the powerful with their loyalty having a price. When the power changes hand so does their loyalty moving to the highest bidder. And this is a scenario every day not only within the opposition but within the ruling party as well. That makes the problem so touchy and difficult: it is not only the ‘others’ – it is me and my near and dear ones as well.

The ongoing discussion about media freedom is a glaring example of how to misuse the law of freedom of expression for unscathed telling of lies to the millions

Legal consequences of a theft or a hacking or a break of confidentiality is difficult to apply in many cases for the want of evidence or perjury of a witness. But does a crime become a crime only when it is proven to breaching an existing law? Here we enter the domain of tension between legality and ethics. While a deed may not be breaching a law or the breaching of the law is explained away by a clever lawyer and a ‘smoking gun’ cannot be found ethically, the case remains wrong and if not punished it strengthens the conviction of the perpetrator and increases manifold the public perception that ethics and morality don’t count in the face of the law.

The segregation between law and ethics is a result of European and Western secularization relegating religion into the private sphere of the home. Not only the main provider of ethical guidelines but also an effective medium, Religion was banned from law making. It was substituted by some token ideas of general humanism which certainly has not worked as the moral standing in western countries today shows. Non-European societies in contrast have never experienced secularization in their societies, modernity comes together with religion. Islam requires the need to make ethical norms like justice the basis of society and law. Pakistan calls itself an Islamic Republic and the current government aims at establishing a just society like the one established by the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in Medina, there is an inherent connection in Islam between law, ethics and the need to bring about justice.

Honesty must become the central point of reference in education, media, and political practice and in our courts. Intellectual honesty means not to claim the ideas or research results of somebody else as my own. Economic honesty meaning to respect the property of others, to be honest in business deals, giving the right measure and in keeping contracts. And in personal honesty one has to tell the truth regardless of personal interest. This last example is the most important for our children who learn to lie from childhood in their homes and in school. By not fighting against dishonesty or punishing it we are damaging the next generation. And children as well as young people learn from example not from declarations!

To begin with it would be important not to let obvious liars and cheaters escape free. Mariam Nawaz is one such sorry example. Her manipulation of documents that were produced in court, her unauthorized spying and filming of conversations of people with the intention to later be able to blackmail them are the most visible examples. Why doesn’t NAB proceed against her in a court of law in the UK because of the Calibri Font? Let’s see what a UK court does when she states a lie under oath, which she does with impunity in Pakistan. She had hundreds working for her and her interests on the govt payroll in Pakistan parked in the PM’s House, injecting false information, inserting outright lies distorting the truth maligning people, etc to exploit the social media. How can the many respected elders in PML (N) condone this outright crime? Nobody does such things alone, there are always collaborators in the crime – people who pay or otherwise employ others to do the dirty job. Tariq Fatemi, Pervaiz Rashid, Rao Tehseen etc took the blame for her, did anything else happen to them for their crimes against a state institution? Bureaucrats turning a blind eye should not be tolerated. Collaborators in crime need to be taken to justice and if that is not possible through a law they have to be exposed and their services otherwise. What about those who know about the crimes but still let it happen? Remember the motivated in the media holding forth for Fawad Ahmed Fawad and Ahad Cheema despite knowing their making billions from their “kitchen money”, many wrote long articles in their support. Some media and their persona in the TV channels have to be exposed for cover-up in the name of freedom. The ongoing discussion about media freedom is a glaring example of how to misuse the law of freedom of expression for unscathed telling of lies to the millions. The western invented ‘freedom of expression’. Do the west allow any such calumny against the Holocaust as against Islam in the media? Media are not free any more, they play to the tune of the one who pays them and that also the highest bidder, whosoever it is.

Working for an honest and just society is the stated aim of the Imran Khan government, examples must be made by targeting those despicable rascals who have managed to become a part of the present regime, in the same manner like they have infiltrated previous govts. “Naya Pakistan” requires the introspection of each and everybody including ourselves, not only the ‘others’. Without it we will not be able to change ourselves and/or with it, Pakistan.

The writer is a defence and security analyst