Anti-graft actions marred with partiality

A significant chunk of cases initiated by the dept in the preceding year were against politicians

LAHORE:

Last year, Punjab was marred with the musical chair of arrests of political individuals in graft cases, and while it remains to be seen whether the practice will continue this year, it has put question marks on the impartiality of the provincial anti-corruption department.

Dozen of politicians, bureaucrats, and civilians, especially those associated with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, like the wife of the former prime minister Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, her close aide, Farah Khan Gogi, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, Moonis Elahi, Muhammad Khan Bhatti, and Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, had graft cases brought against them by the department in 2023, which some political commentators termed as “political victimisation.”

It is pertinent to mention that the Anti-Corruption Establishment saw three different Director Generals (DGs) during the previous year and under the leadership of all three, the department initiated a significant amount of seemingly political score settling cases.

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Commenting on the department’s performance in 2023, Brigadier (r) Muhammad Aslam Ghumman, who served as its DG during Parvez Muhsarraf’s regime, said, “the department has now become a tool for political victimisation. Whoever comes into government uses the Anti-Corruption Establishment to go after their political rivals.”

“Presently, the department is opening up graft cases on the basis of transactions dating back to 1986. This alone should be enough to judge the department’s performance in the preceding year,” he added.

Agreeing with Ghumman, former inspector general of Punjab police, Major (r) Zia-ul-Hassan Khan, said that the main purpose of the Anti-Corruption Establishment is to have a check and balance on the bureaucracy, “but unfortunately the department is now solely used for political vendettas.” Khan further said that the cases being initiated these days by the Anti-Corruption Establishment were on mere surmises. “And this trend will continue in 2024 as well,” he predicted.

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Abdullah Malik, a Lahore based social activist, concurring with Khan’s prediction, regretted that taxpayer money was being used for political witch hunts instead of actually punishing corruption. “Fake cases not only burden the taxpayers but they also make life hell for those caught up in them. Moreover, such frivolous cases also add to the workload of the judiciary. It is unfortunate that those in charge do not consider these aspects,” he asserted.

In light of Malik’s assertions, The Express Tribune asked the Spokesperson of the Anti-Corruption Establishment Punjab, regarding the department’s partiality and its alleged involvement in political victimisation. “We have clear instructions to not spare anyone who engages in corruption. This is not about political bias or affiliation, if anyone is engaging in corruption then they should face the law,” quipped the Spokesperson.

“If our performance was bad we would not have made any recoveries. However, during the past five years, the department has recovered government land worth more than Rs 204 billion. Moreover, in the same time period, about 6,576 officers and government employees have been arrested on charges of corruption,” the Spokesperson informed while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2024.