Wanted! An Eliot Ness

What is needed is half a dozen Eliot Nesses, men with clean hands and minds, to ferret out the truth

It continues to occupy media space, and it must go on doing so — that list emanating from the Central American country previously famed only for its canal. It must not be allowed to fade away (as all criminally contentious things in this brave Islamic republic tend to do), it must be kept alive until the ‘people’, or at least us, the few who have an NTN number and pay taxes on our income and wealth, willingly or unwillingly, have some sort of democratic revelation about the gross riches of those who pretend to democratically govern this country.

But whence will a revelation come? Certainly not from any ‘commission’ – we’ve been there, done that on other issues, and all to no avail. A judicial commission? That would involve the honourable judges investigating their own, if they are to look at all on the list. A parliamentary commission? Ridiculous! Just look at the standing in the public eye enjoyed by our parliamentarians and what we know about their honesty and integrity. No band of brothers cobbled together can get to the truth — even if that be their aim, which it safely can be said would not be the case.

What is needed is half a dozen Eliot Nesses, men with clean hands and minds (there are surely some in a nation of 200 million, but they will have to be dug out) to ferret out the truth, if not the whole truth then at least some of it. The statements of assets of our honourable parliamentarians that have been made public are ludicrous in the extreme. Worthy only of the trash can. As would be their income tax returns — the few that file. The larger part of what they declare is either in the names of others or has been mysteriously ‘gifted’ by anonymous tuft hunters.

What would be interesting to know is that considering their mass state of penury, how do they meet their day-to-day expenses, and maintain the seriously high-life styles that they have? And this includes Imran Khan, his band, the other high profile politicos — the whole lot. Their IT returns would be of little help as mendacity is the order of the day. How do they pay for their electricity and all the other utilities if they have no source of income? Or do they simply not pay?

Of course, it should be our third-time first among equals who should be given priority if and when an Eliot Ness can be found. The base of his industrial empire was built on patronage as was the growth until he was thrown into politics. From then on, it was easy. He’s dabbled in mega-projects since his first term as prime minister and we all know how those can be manipulated to provide spoils for a leader and his team (even military men have been caught out on such projects and a few have been booked). Then there are laws, rules and regulations which can be simply and swiftly manipulated to serve the purpose of gain. We know the bigger picture, it’s the details that escape — the from where, and the how.

To even question if taxes have been paid on the stashed-away wealth used to purchase lavish properties in countries more desirable than that to which our moneyed lot of all hues — politics, industry, business, establishment and so forth — is crazy. Why should they pay taxes? They are above the law when in this land. And besides, the golden rule, apart from mendacity, is that two wrongs make a right. So if ‘A’ does not pay his taxes why should ‘B’?

The Baron of Raiwind is not the first to use his children as cover — ignoring the fact that he is the source of his children’s wealth. We once had a chief justice of the supreme court who pleaded ignorance as to the source of his son’s unexplained monetary high jinks (not that he physically was the source, but he surely knew who was).

Published in The Express Tribune, May 7^th, 2016.

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