The detailed verdict of the Lahore High Court in the Shehbaz Sharif money laundering case has once again brought to the fore the shambolic state of prosecution in Pakistan. Senior Sharif is already out of the clink. Yet, by clearly pointing out that he does not face any kickback allegations, the bench has clearly won him the second round. The stakes were already touching skies as the PML-N president was turned back by FIA officials at the Lahore airport. With this new verdict touching on the nill submission of direct proof of benami properties, Sharif’s supporters are bound to raise a ruckus against the investigation authorities. Already, key party officials are up in arms about the decision; jeering at government mouthpieces to hold a press conference. There is a particular focus on PM’s Advisor (Accountability) Shahzad Akbar. Call it the nature of his job or his unhindered passion to jump in front of the camera, the interior czar often finds himself in a pickle. Sharif case proceedings saw him hold innumerable press conferences where hundreds–if not thousands–of irrefutable pieces of evidence were talked about. Every other day, government representatives made headlines with wild claims about sending the corrupt packing. If the state was so prepared to build its case before the court, why was a sad “halfhearted attempt” seen to prove charges? There remains little doubt that state agencies are sagacious enough to not shoot themselves in the foot using the bullet of absurd ideas. Nevertheless, the fact that no guilt could be proven, even after keeping Sharif in a cell for over half a year, speaks volumes about the wretched state of the system. The dismal reality points to poor investigation and botched-up prosecution. More worrisome are the aspects of criminal incompetence and threats of manipulation by influential actors. While it is critically crucial for any justice system to be cleansed of travesties–no matter how deep they may seep–the lofty 2018 campaign promises make an overhaul all the more relevant. PM Khan had made it to the hot seat riding the accountability manifesto. How can he afford to sit through the next cycle on the shoulders of zero success rate? An endless brigade of media briefings, coupled with no headway in the courts, has cast a thick shadow of political victimisation on government proceedings. The accountability campaign is no longer regarded by the masses as gospel truth, but just another power ploy. What a sad twist in the tale! The bench has not said that Sharif smells of roses. Rather, it has stated the helplessness of the law in taking “into account the basic principles,” when it comes to the question of liberty. Ergo, the will to render justice is there. But this dispensation depends on the integrity and efficiency of the prosecutor and the investigative authorities. Only recently, the Supreme Court had pointed to a similar failure to prove the guilt of a dangerous terrorist, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, in the Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl’s murder case. In 2019, the same LHC had found visible “lapses in the prosecution case” filed against PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah. Who can forget the mockery made of our justice system when a Pakistani court had acquitted nine men on trial for the February 2008 suicide attack! The problem is much, much deeper than meets the eye. May it be the overnight bails granted to the Qabza Mafia, the whoppingly high acquittal rate of serious offenders or the poor languishing in gallows (for years before their case is heard): nothing could be more unfortunate than the reduction of evidence to a tool in the hands of the mighty! *