Bizarre prosecution

After two years of incarceration, PPP veteran Syed Khursheed Shah has been released on bail. He was booked for alleged accumulation of illegitimate assets. The former leader of the opposition in the National Assembly has, however, been retained on the ECL, as cases against him are in litigation. Shah is just an addition to dozens of opposition leaders who are facing the wrath of the anti-graft watchdog, but with no meaningful results in prosecution. This hints at serious flaws either in the process of accountability or in the capacity of the prosecution agencies. At the same time, it inevitably raises questions on the merit of allegations.

Shah had been booked in 2012, and an accountability court had directed NAB to file a reference against him. It was only in September 2019 that the axe of prosecution fell on him. Since then, it has been an unending trajectory of allegations. Despite claims of substantiated proof, there is no outcome in the court of law. This timeline points out the bizarre accountability process, and the loopholes inherent in it. So is the fate of others such as PPP chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, leader of the opposition Shehbaz Sharif and many others who await justice and logical culmination of cases in the realms of misuse of power, misappropriation, embezzlement as well as money-laundering. Thus, the role of the courts and the prosecution agencies deserves minute introspection.

The million dollar question is whether accountability is a political slogan, or the process is a victim of maneuvering. Though NAB has been able to recover more than Rs500 billion in the last three years, it has not been able to exercise its writ in due course of time. It seems to be undermined at the hands of weak prosecution, resulting in almost zero retribution. This calls for an unbiased vetting of all corruption cases. This over-extended litigation is only resulting in political mileage to the accused at the expense of the national exchequer.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2021.

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