What is the ECP to do when its accountability institutions falsify information?
KARACHI: I listened to the near apoplectic Dr Tahirul Qadri on a TV channel recently. While I feared he came close to blowing out his aneurysms, I had to acknowledge that his facts and figures are well documented, ostensibly official and readily available. He tore through the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and its provincial nominees and the lower orders of the judiciary and other (sadly, totally biased and corrupt) state organs tasked to ask or not to ask questions relevant to Pakistan’s future as a non-pariah, progressive state. He also questioned the hypocrisy of knowingly allowing aspiring candidates to circumvent accountability.
Dr Qadri cited numerous official documents to substantiate his points. With possibly politically appointed nominees, what is the ECP to do when its accountability institutions falsify information? Whether the ECP is constitutionally legal or not, I leave to the higher courts and history to judge. Could I ask the opinion of some legal minds, or those dabbling in semantics: what is the difference between “neutral” and “neutered?” And is our judicial system really working?
Dr Mervyn Hosein
Published in The Express Tribune, April 18th, 2013.
