Politicisation of depts getting hard to hide

Targets of corruption inquiries shift with changes in govt

LAHORE:

Allegations of politicisation of institutions remain a major issue in spite of vehement claims by top officials of neutrality and impartiality.

A recent episode of a team of the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) from Gujranwala, led by Additional Director General Waqasul Hassan resorting along with a heavy contingent of Lahore police to a late night expedition at the residence of former chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi's residence at the Zahoor Elahi Road brought the issue into the limelight one again.

The state institutions spend significant resources and energy to foster claims of upholding the notion of the rule of law, equality before the law and not serving as pawns of political bigwigs. Call it a Freudian slip under immense pressure after leading an unsuccessful operation for three hours and facing harsh questions by the media or an opinion based on his experience that he appeared to refer to the political landscape of the country.

He was answering a journalist’s question about targeting the opposition outside Elahi's residence after tendering an apology to PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain's son and Federal Minister Salik Hussain for raiding his house. The minister’s hand was injured during the police’s effort to break into his house.

Hassan said the offence of corruption was committed by people who enjoyed power and authority. When grilled by the journalists as to why his department acted when those people were no more in the government and were in the opposition, he conceded that it was unfortunate but a reality of Pakistan.

After taking charge as the chief minister, Pervaiz Elahi had immediately transferred ACE Director General Rana Abdul Jabbar who was serving as the DIG operations in Lahore when Model Town incident had happened in 2014. After Mohsin Naqvi was appointed as the Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, Sohail Zafar Chatha was appointed as the DG of ACE and Waqasul Hassan as Additional DG.

Chatha had served at key position under the previous PML-N governments.

When the PTI came into power, an inquiry against him had been initiated by the NAB, following which he had gone abroad.

Similarly, Hassan had served before 2018 as DPO and on other police posts commonly deemed lucrative.

However, during the PTI rule, he spent most of the years outside Punjab. Even after being transferred to Punjab, he remained away from key posts and most of the time remained posted at the IG Office.

Along with the shuffling of officers with the change of governments, the registration of cases also took a shift.

When the PTI was in power, the Punjab ACE registered over 70 cases of against PML-N leaders.

After the change of government, ACE's proceedings in the cases have been on a standstill. Meanwhile, the establishment has been moving at a fast pace in the other direction, a glimpse of which was shown in the way it conducted the raid at Elahi's house and arrested his aides Mohammad Khan Bhatti and Sohail Asghar.

Cases are being registered against PTI leaders and hardly anyone of them in the province is left not facing an of the ACE.

The ACE has moved against former chief ministers Pervaiz Elahi and Usman Buzdar, Farah Shah, Zartaj Gull, Yasmin Rashid and a number of other leaders.

The situation has once again raised questions about the state institutions being upholders of the rule of law and constitution or the muscles of the governments and people in power to serve and protect their interests.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2023.