Daily Times

Enmity, hostility, incompetence and partiality are evidently emerged out from the proceedings of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT). Apparently, mandated to further probe the Panama allegations against the two sons of Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the JIT has jumbled up everything we call the justice process. Instead of facilitation to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the JIT has created enormous issues, conflicts and put the repute of the state institutions on stake. It seems a group of untrained and uneducated policemen are probing the third-rate drug addicts in a far flung village in interior Punjab or any other province.

No one knows exactly what the criterion was to select the members of JIT. But the insulting style of the JIT probing reveals the revengeful mentality and lack of professional integrity. The selected members should have been given an adequate orientation on the process and methodology of conducting a JIT. While probing such a high profile case, the JIT members should take some guidance from the international code of conduct and the standard process. All the justice systems around the world have well-defined processes and manuals to investigate all types of criminals without humiliating or insulting them.

In accordance with Article 34 of the Treaty of the European Union, the EU Council of 29 May 2000 adopted the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. Let me quote here the European JIT Manual that clearly defines the ways to process the hearing of a case. The methods of investigation include hearing by video conference (Article 10); hearing by telephone conference in (Article 11); controlled deliveries (Article 12); conduct of the Joint Investigation Teams (Article 13); covert investigations in Article 14 and interception of telecommunications in Articles 17-20.

In a normal process of the JIT, the respondent is delivered a set of questions the JIT is looking for the answers. It is done long before the personal hearing. So that the respondent has ample time to prepare for the case. The respondent is asked to bring the relevant documents too to defend the case. Usually, the JIT members are quite trained and skilled to psychologically play with the respondent to dig out the facts. They cannot be harsh and insulting as the members of our JIT have done with those appeared before them. Two of them have already complained to the Registrar of the Supreme Court — the same person blamed for the WhatsApp communication to different departments to nominate the Supreme Court blue-eyed boys. Actualities are still unknown.

The vested interest of the international and global hegemonic governance is well served in the absence of democratic governance in Pakistan

Apparently the JIT has actually become a Joint Insulting Team for the political lynching of the ruling party and the family of the prime minister, other stakeholders and the state institutions. Ironically, the essence of JIT has lost. The JIT proceedings in the same way would further deteriorate the political and democratic stability, creating huge void and abyss for the undemocratic elements. The up-roaring PTI chief is again threatening the government to launch street protests. He has asked his workers a couple of days back to get ready for the street protests, agitation and rallies — the same old political gimmicks for political scoring.

Many believe the language and attitude of the PTI chief changes when he gets a yellow signal from the establishment and other undemocratic elements against the government. So he is on once again.

The JIT is setting out an undesirable code of conduct that is supposedly supporting the political scoring by the rival political and non-political elements against the ruling party. If the JIT conduct would also be supporting the undemocratic elements to destabilise and weaken the democratic process.

The vested interest of the international and global hegemonic governance is well served in the absence of democratic governance in Pakistan. So-called Jihad-e-Afghanistan — actually the American proxy war was the gift of General Zia that ruined Pakistan and the socio-economic fabric of our society. We are harvesting the worst of the longest disastrous undemocratic regime even today. Bowing down to one phone call by another General Musharraf led to another phase of destruction and corruption in Pakistan. That was the second longest disastrous undemocratic regime. Both the generals toppled democracy and inclusive development to impose upon us the global hegemonic decisions.

The present government has taken many decisions that cannot be the choice of the global hegemonic forces and elements. So, it could be taken to task by a probe or any other move. The objective of the probe shall not be the grilling of a family. It should be across the board — for all those whose names were appeared in the Panama Papers, and it should be done simultaneously. There shall be no revengeful attitude leading to any undemocratic outcome. We simply cannot afford it. This is the time for all the political forces to pledge to jointly stand by democracy and to strengthen it, and to pledge that no such move would be taken in the name of political difference that could give space to undemocratic elements to take over.

The writer is an Islamabad-based policy advocacy, strategic communication and outreach expert. He can be reached at devcom.pakistan@gmail.com. He tweets @EmmayeSyed