Catch me if you can?

The Sharifs have repeatedly proven to be above the law. While the judicial assissination of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto will remain the biggest blot on our legal system, the attack on the Supreme Court in 1997 exposed the inherent weakness of the state when it faces the vandalism of the mighty.

Recently, Nawaz Sharif could dodge the entire medico-judicial system to escape to London. Shahbaz Sharif almost succeeded in slipping away, when he was stopped at the last moment from boarding the plane at the Lahore airport. During the ‘ Platelets Period ‘of Nawaz there were daily bulletins about the seriousness of his ailment, which vanished once he stepped on the ambulance equipped luxury plane of the Qatar royal family. Since then there has been no update on the count of the life-threatening platelets. Since the UK and Pakistan do not have extradition treaty, he cannot be brought back to justice. It does not end here, and the entire clan is there (Hussain, Hasan, Salman, Ali Imran, Ishaq Dar, Abid Sher Ali), all enjoying the looted money in the safe haven of London.

The speed limit on the M-2 Motorway was suddenly changed for a day. As the tale goes, Hussain was travelling in violation of the speed limit. He was stopped by the Motorway Police for speeding. As heir of the Sharif dynasty he called the PM Secretariat.  To evade the challan, orders were issued to enhance the speed limit to 140 kph for a limited period. Once the royalty crossed the toll plaza, the original speed limit was restored for the public. I am sure the agencies must have recorded this event and noted the sign indicating the new limit. The Ministry of Commerce can publish a list of SROs (Statuatory Regulatory Orders) that were issued on the special request of the Sharif Group to clear their imports and exports.

While personal business activities were carried out by the members of the Sharif dynasty from the safety of the PM and CM Secretariats that included money laundering as well, yet the brothers claim their innocence and ignorance. On his last day as CM, Nawaz doled out thousands of plots to party workers to gain their loyalty, and even the land attached to the shrine of Hazrat Baba Farid in Pakpattan was not spared.

There is a Persian saying ” Follow the right path even if it increases the distance “, but in the land of the pure, such a path leads nowhere, it is a dead end. Without justice and rule of law human society cannot function, chaos takes over. Even the jungle has rules which are followed by all living species but humans flout them for personal gains. For normalcy to return, the thugs have to be caught and pushed out of the arena. Without neutral umpires the game cannot continue. As a nation we can no longer survive with the prevalent ostrich approach. Let us catch them before it is too late.

After shutting down the Settlement and Rehabilitation (S&R) department in 1975, the entire record was archived, only pending cases were being heard. In 2014 a strange directive was issued under which no property transaction could take place without verfication of property documents from the S&R department which meant opening of all settled cases. Recently it was alleged that the Jatti Umra estate of the Sharifs has 127 Kanals of land that belonged to the S&R department. To avoid takeover, the Sharifs have taken a stay from the Civil Judge, but sooner or later the stay will be vacated.

Currently the Rawalpindi Ring Road scandal is being probed. Earlier the Lahore Ring Road was repeatedly rerouted for the favourites. Only a small portion of the Southern Loop remains to be finished to link it with the M-2 Motorway. To avoid any scrutiny the entire record was burnt.  Record burning became a normal routine during the PML(N) days. Almost all of the city records of Lahore have been destroyed by either shortcircuiting or mob infernos.

Even the Election Commission of Pakistan’s record of the 2013 elections of Khawaja Saad Rafique consitituency were burnt in storage. However Khawaja Sahib was deseated by the election tribunal, but finally he got a stay from the Supreme Court to stay in office. When Tariq Malik, the then Chairman NADRA, agreed to conduct a forensic audit of the votes, he was removed from office. Though the Islamabad High Court restored him, yet he was driven out of the country. Now after the expiry of the term of Usman Mobeen, Malik has been reappointed Chairman. Certainly NADRA will now be able to play its role in ensuring free and fair elections in the next elections scheduled for 2023.

The Chakri Loop on the M-2 Motorway is another disaster. It has not only increased the distance between Lahore and Islamabad by over 100 km, it is also a serious safety risk for the heavy traffic that has to cross the prohibitive gradient of the Salt Range. Sooner or later the axis of this important thoroughfare will have to be corrected to mitigate public suffering and expenses.

The building of the Sports Complex at Narowal is being investigated by NAB. Utilization of public funds is mandated by strict rules which cannot be overruled to gain political mileage. Projects are approved and funded through a document called a PC-1 (Planning Commission-1). The agreed framework has to be followed to ensure transparency otherwise audit objections are raised by the office of the AGPR (Accountant General of Pakistan), with only the Nuclear Programme is exempted from this audit.

When objections were raised by the auditors, the PML-N decided to remove the Auditor General in total violation of rules. Most civil servants, in order to save their jobs, either bend the rules to please the rulers or become evasive. Most civilian institutions have been rendered non-functional due to these pressures to please vested interests.

The victims of the Model Town massacre are still waiting for justice after the passage of over seven years. The report of the judicial inquiry has been stalled by the Lahore High Court. On June 17, the workers of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) staged a public demonstration to protest the injustice. The Punjab Police, assisted by Gullu Butt, were let loose on the unarmed workers of PAT. It was an 11-hour standoff in which several protesters were killed. Though it was termed an anti-encroachment drive, human lives were lost with widespread damage to private property. Five policemen were arrested while the Superintendent of Police concerned was allowed to leave the country. Rana Sanaullah, the Punjab Law Minister, briefly stepped down but soon returned to his job. The Principal Secretary to CM was sent abroad on a lucrative post, now he is back in the news due to the Rawalpindi Ring road scandal. Despite the change of government, the Sharifs remain untouched despite serious breaches of law. The writ of the state has been seriously dented by such unscrupulous acts of the elected public office holders.

Weak prosecution and delayed justice has been exploited by the Sharifs and their followers. Corruption has taken place while public resources have been squandered and misused to gain loyalty. There is some attrition due to the accountability cases but in the absence of convictions through due process, the ‘ Evil Empire ‘ remains intact with all its thrust and fanfare.

There is a Persian saying ” Follow the right path even if it increases the distance “, but in the land of the pure, such a path leads nowhere, it is a dead end. Without justice and rule of law human society cannot function, chaos takes over. Even the jungle has rules which are followed by all living species but humans flout them for personal gains. For normalcy to return, the thugs have to be caught and pushed out of the arena. Without neutral umpires the game cannot continue. As a nation we can no longer survive with the prevalent ostrich approach. Let us catch them before it is too late.