“Without strong watchdog institutions, impunity becomes the very foundation upon which systems of corruption are built. And if impunity is not demolished, all efforts to bring an end to corruption are in vain.”
Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Prize Laureate
Switching on the television or picking up a newspaper to read, one is instantly shocked by the realisation that a concerted effort is afoot to convince people that corruption is no demon after all. As a matter of fact, crooked arguments are advanced to justify it in its multiple hues, shapes and volumes. At first glance, it would come across as a purely fictional enactment. But it is not. It is real and it is happening, here and now.
This effort is not confined to any one organ of the state. It is clear that this wicked assault has the support of a number of these organs which are not used to working in an accountable and equitable environment. They have tailored varying kinds of responses which have coalesced into a combined effort to sabotage the working of the government.
First is the political opposition. As a matter of strategy, they did not accept the results of the last elections, but kept taking full benefit of the system whenever and wherever they could do it. They showered the government with a variety of grotesque invective, but never gathered the conviction and character to resign from the assemblies they did not accept as the product of transparent elections. The reasons are evident. During their stints in power, the parties of the opposition had collectively cultivated a culture of corruption and dereliction of responsibility. In the process, they were able to fatten their personal coffers with billions of the illicit earnings, but deprived the poor segments of the society of benefitting from the development that could have been initiated if these funds had been duly invested in projects to bring relief to them. So the ruling hierarchies kept becoming richer and the impoverished communities were reduced to teetering on the brink of collapse.
A change can come only with numbers which, unfortunately, the incumbent government does not have. So, it is hoped that, fully abreast of the need, the people of the country are able to provide the levers of change in the next elections to those who want to alter the destiny of the country
When confronted with the prospect of accountability, which was part of the PTI manifesto, they malevolently declared the elections fraudulent and refused to accept the legitimacy of the government, thus trying to generate an environment of anarchy. The effort was further complemented with the injection of millions for all those who would extend a helping hand, most notably from the media industry. They were able to gather ample support from those merchants whose job it is to trade in their spoken and written word. By and large, the media became complicit with this nefarious effort of the few who were palpably guilty of having indulged in corrupt practices as was demonstrated by a plethora of evidence presented before various courts of law.
Media, both the electronic and the print versions, started a vicious effort to distort facts and figures and project an impression that the opposition was being unduly subjected to accountability. They drummed in stories of their innocence, completely eclipsing the stories of success and genuine change which had been set in motion by the incumbent government. This was further compounded on the social media through fake posts which worked without constraints and checks.
After getting the media on their side, they set about doing some more to ensure that the government would not be able to function. Bureaucracy was this other organ of the state which had been hand in glove in the perpetration of corruption during the tenures of the Bhutto/Zardari and Sharif dynasties. In the process, they had not only augmented the scale and magnitude of corruption in the country, they also had their hands dipped deep in pools of corruption.
The beneficiary elite had designed a systematic way to ensure that the bureaucracy would forever remain immersed in the putrid juices of the illicit, this by offering them specially contrived positions with unbelievably lucrative benefits where they would be drawing 10 to 20 times more than their normal salaries. Many an innocent face was deeply involved in this widespread racket of corruption and lawlessness to elongate the hold on power by the notorious family hierarchies of the country.
In sympathy with their former masters and to extend help to facilitate their return to power, the bureaucracy virtually stopped working for one crooked reason or the other, but mostly because they said they could not operate in an environment of (fear of) accountability. In the past, they were not used to being asked to explain their sources of income because they were in partnership with the political elite. They did not want to do so even now when the environment had changed. So, they did two things: one, they slowed, even stopped working and, two, they sabotaged the operation of the government from within to ensure that the desired results would not be achieved, or at least delayed inordinately. This created countless problems for the government which continue to-date.
With the political opposition operating in close partnership with bureaucracy and the media, the system was virtually rendered dysfunctional. But the evil did not stop here. There was also the judiciary which played the most telling role – that of delaying justice under one pretext or the other, and at times, even denying it. So many examples can be cited which may not be appropriate, but failing to mention the Hudaibiya Paper Mills case would not serve the cause of justice. What was generally referred to as an open and shut case together with voluntary confession from the principal accused, the guilty party was given reprieve in a manner which could not be justified by any stretch of the law.
This happened because the liaison between the corrupt political elite and the judiciary had a long history. Who can forget the partnership between the Sharifs and Justice Qayyum where judgements were dictated over telephone? Or, who can forget that evil figure walking up the stairs to fly off to Quetta to buy justice against the sitting chief justice of the Supreme Court, Mr Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, who had shown the courage to refuse the Sharifs? The apex court was later attacked by the Sharif goons and the CJP was forced to flee under the threat of death.
In the current times also, the relief granted to the Sharif and Bhutto/Zardari clans through inordinate stays and extensions in hearings of their cases is unprecedented. Consequently, a case that should ordinarily finish in weeks takes years and years, and may not come to fruition ever through the entire tenure of the elected government. This is contrary to the stipulations and demands of justice which, inter alia, encourage other criminal-minded people to indulge their penchant heartily. So, judiciary which should be a source of discouragement for such criminal practices actually becomes a partner in crime. This is the most disheartening aspect of the justice system that is practised in the country. It is all optics with a lot said in the courtrooms, but no judgements delivered which would serve the cause of justice.
This chain of corruption is a lethal combination: the corrupt political elite operating in cahoots with the bureaucracy, media and judiciary. They operate as a cohesive group with the express intention that the cause of corruption continues to be served. The situation is disheartening as well as untenable. Something, somewhere must give in to reverse the tide.
The principal issue is the way this system has been tailored to serve the cause of crime and corruption. It is well nigh impossible to introduce and practice accountability within its broad parameters. The extent to which the system has been distorted, it is unlikely to improve with just a nudge. It needs an extensive overhaul, both in substance and practice. Nothing less than that is likely to change the flow of things.
Such a change can come only with numbers which, unfortunately, the incumbent government does not have. So, it is hoped that, fully abreast of the need, the people of the country are able to provide the levers of change in the next elections to those who want to alter the destiny of the country. Yes, one does hope!
