A proactive judiciary
There are around 400 persons of Pakistan origin named in Panama Papers and PM Nawaz Sharif is not one of them
PHOTO: ICIJ
As noted before in these columns the Panama Papers present a unique set of problems for the government — they cannot be wished away and ignored or denied as a fabrication or nebulous conspiracy. There are around 400 persons of Pakistan origin named in the leaked Papers and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is not one of them. Hitherto that would appear to be the principal defence of the PM and his team. But members of his close family are named, and there is reasonable doubt as to where the money came from that underwrote a series of property deals running to many millions of pounds. In an age that demands transparency and accountability it is not enough to throw up one’s hands and say ‘I’m clean’ and then expect the rest of the world to move on unquestioningly.
The Supreme Court has already made significant moves in the Panama Papers affair by breaking the political logjam that threatened to paralyse the capital Islamabad. All parties agreed to a solution that inevitably was going to lead the SC to setting the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the judicial Commission of investigation. Having bailed out the politicians once the SC is not about to offer another lifeline and has made it known that it is to initiate the process of accountability using Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as a test case — the PM has after all offered himself for scrutiny and his very office carries elevated levels of accountability.
It is both salutary and sobering to note that the Honourable Justices have themselves said that it is ‘a bitter pill to have to swallow’ that the apex court has to take this upon itself, because politicians are unable to themselves initiate any jointly-owned investigation. Further, there is no state entity capable of doing so — the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) being dilatory or incompetent or both. The apex court has again demonstrated its independence and thrown down the gauntlet, and even more starkly demonstrated the failure of politics at every level to hold itself accountable for anything. We expect considerable discomfort in the corridors of power.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 9th, 2016.
The Supreme Court has already made significant moves in the Panama Papers affair by breaking the political logjam that threatened to paralyse the capital Islamabad. All parties agreed to a solution that inevitably was going to lead the SC to setting the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the judicial Commission of investigation. Having bailed out the politicians once the SC is not about to offer another lifeline and has made it known that it is to initiate the process of accountability using Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as a test case — the PM has after all offered himself for scrutiny and his very office carries elevated levels of accountability.
It is both salutary and sobering to note that the Honourable Justices have themselves said that it is ‘a bitter pill to have to swallow’ that the apex court has to take this upon itself, because politicians are unable to themselves initiate any jointly-owned investigation. Further, there is no state entity capable of doing so — the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) being dilatory or incompetent or both. The apex court has again demonstrated its independence and thrown down the gauntlet, and even more starkly demonstrated the failure of politics at every level to hold itself accountable for anything. We expect considerable discomfort in the corridors of power.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 9th, 2016.