Judicial wrack and persisting corruption

PTI govt that came to power riding on the anti-corruption horse has been unable to lay its hands on so-called mafias

Pakistan has been in the throes of mismanagement largely because the leadership has been corrupt to the core. Though we clamour that India wants to see Pakistan dismantled, what have the country’s leaders done to save it from becoming a house of cards?

Unfortunately, the PTI government that came to power riding on the anti-corruption and anti-status horse has been unable to lay its hands on the so-called mafias. In fact, both corruption and the status quo have perpetuated since. In the name of saving democracy — the rule of law and governance have been sacrificed. Though this government has the credit of engaging with the people, the PPP and the PML-N eras were essentially the epochs of appeasement of cronies.

The PPP rehabilitated the stature of the parliament. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani used to come to the National Assembly regularly. The eighteenth amendment was orchestrated to revive the power of the prime minister. Parliamentary committees were enlivened, and the whole gamut of the parliamentary system of governance was put in place. The PPP government even took pride in having the army and the ISI chief face parliamentary inquiry on the force’s apparent obliviousness to the capture of Osama bin Laden by the US Navy Seal in Abbottabad. However, the strengthening of parliament did not compensate for the lack of governance that certainly nosedived during Zardari’s reign. From energy to law and order to the rule of law, everything was in the doldrums. The government failed to curtail terrorism. Bomb blasts were too many, happening almost every second day. The so-called public representatives were “busy strengthening parliament” without caring about any relief to the people. It was a sheer joke that went on until the PML-N government came into power and the parliament once again took a back seat in the scheme of things.

For a glimpse of the condition of the rule of law and the legal system’s efficiency in Pakistan, let us look at what the constitution of Pakistan says about them and where we stand.

The constitution of Pakistan underscores the implementation of the rule of law in various provisions, especially Article 4 and 5. The former speaks of guaranteeing every citizen the right to be dealt with according to law, while the latter makes it mandatory for every citizen to obey the rule of law. This two-way street of dispensing and obeying the law is what makes a state powerful and successful. However, the situation on the ground is not favourable.

In its latest report, the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2021 has ranked Pakistan 130 out of 139 countries in the areas of order and security. Whereas the country is placed at the 108^th, 124^th, and 123^rd in terms of criminal justice, civil justice, and regulatory enforcement, respectively. The World Justice Project has consistently ranked Pakistan as one of the poorest performers on its Rule of Law Index. According to the 2020 rankings, Pakistan is the ninth-worst performing state globally and the second worst in South Asia.

Similarly, the US State Department’s Investment Climate Statements report for 2021 depicts an equally dismal picture of Pakistan’s judicial system. The report says: “Pakistan’s judiciary is influenced by the government and other stakeholders. The lower judiciary is influenced by the executive branch and is seen as lacking competence and fairness. It currently faces a significant backlog of unresolved cases.” Going deeper into the report further lays bare the reality of the independence of Pakistan’s judiciary with remarks such as “the military wields significant influence over the judicial branch”, and “there are doubts concerning the competence, fairness, and reliability of Pakistan’s judicial system”.

No wonder nexus of ‘power seekers’ have resulted in the slow grinding of the wheel of justice. According to the National Judicial Policy Making Committee of Pakistan, more than two million cases are pending in the Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court, high courts, and the district judiciary. There is also a dearth of judges. For example, in the Lahore High Court, against the required capacity of 70 judges, only 34 are posted. The domino effect of this intellectual dishonesty could be seen in the conviction rate, which is as low as 3%, not to speak of the loss of faith in the judiciary, which has made people fearless of law and disrespectful towards the law enforcers, as was witnessed in the recent TLP protest. These are not encouraging rankings and observations.

To eradicate corruption and rehabilitate the rule of law, the country does not need street protests or long diatribes. It requires a mechanism of accountability to eradicate corrupt politicians and their cronies from the political system. And that is unlikely to happen unless we have a revolutionary leadership — something that is terribly lacking in the country. It is indeed a no-win situation. Neither democracy has won nor the so-called third force. It is, in fact, the return of corruption with the loss going to the masses.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2021.

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