Harassment over court matters

An advocate’s petition to the Sindh High Court has lifted the veil over the extent of interference in official investigations. The political row between the director general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Bashir Memon, and influential politicians and businessmen is allegedly due to the latter being under investigation by the FIA. This is a piteous state of affairs and one that makes us a laughing stock as a nation that once boasted staunch values such as discipline and integrity. Although we will not comment on the exact nature of the case, it must be reiterated that each department in the country should be given the freedom and protection to work according to the responsibilities they are assigned. When we finally have an organisation that is working to give us somewhat of a semblance of a system of checks and balances, other departments should not become hurdles in the way of their investigations.

Political bullying is a tactic frequently used by audacious players involved in a row between two parties. So long as a fair investigation is being executed, those under investigation should not be allowed to influence decisions, nor take out personal vengeance in the way of unnecessary transfers of the DG FIA’s relatives, as mentioned in the petition. It needs to be clarified whether the petition is a personal one or on behalf of the FIA.

In the interest of justice,we need to take action against corruption where ever it is found to be at play. The instigators must be taken to task. We have an extensive history where influential businessmen who are often directly or indirectly involved in politics and vice versa use their clout to evade scrutiny or investigation. The defensive mechanisms reek of the idea that they have engaged in illicit actions to hide from the public eye.

It behooves every citizen of the country that they should let state departments carry on with their duties so as to ensure smooth functioning of the state. During the court investigations, it must be ensured that anyone found engaged in foul play be penalised, regardless of his or her clout.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th, 2018.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.