The opposition’s ToRs focused primarily on the prime minister and his family because that is where the focus needs to be. The prime minister holds the highest elected office in the land and as such must expect to be held to a level of accountability and transparency that places him and those around him beyond reproach. It is not enough to say ‘I did no wrong’ — the prime minister has to prove beyond a shred of doubt that this was truly the case and that he really did no wrong. Until he does that, there is always going to be the taint of suspicion, in which circumstance he joins probably the majority of serving and past parliamentarians in Pakistan, corruption being as ubiquitous as it is. The PML-N is reportedly going to form a committee to negotiate the ToRs with the opposition, once again kicking the issue into the long grass. The assertion that the prime minister has “showed his sincerity” by agreeing to a judicial investigation holds no water as the ToRs formulated by the government ensured an open-ended, catch-all process that was unlikely ultimately to catch anybody or anything.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 6th, 2016.
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