Evading corruption charges

Accountability is a one-way street in Pakistan, those who aren’t close to levers of power are held for their crimes.

Anyone who doubted the maxim that it pays to have friends in high places will surely have their minds changed by the case of Ayaz Khan Niazi who, as chairman of the National Insurance Company, was accused of massive corruption. According to a report in this newspaper’s November 13 edition, Niazi is hiding in the home of an unnamed politician while another accused, Mohsin Warraich, has managed to flee to Dubai. Additionally, considerable pressure is being put on the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to turn a blind eye to this whole matter. The director of the FIA, Zafar Ahmed Qureshi, was removed from his post and only reinstated after the intervention of the Supreme Court.

This case seems to provide further proof that accountability is a one-way street in Pakistan, with only those who aren’t close to the levers of power being held responsible for their crimes. Niazi has been accused of corruption on a breathtaking scale, with figures in the billions of rupees being bandied about. Yet, because of his political connections, he has managed to evade capture. Even with Mohsin Warraich, whose father was a federal minister, it has been suggested that political connections facilitated his escape from the country.

However, unlike with past administrations, this time the government has to deal with a Supreme Court that is antagonistic to it. Indeed, it was the Supreme Court that, by taking suo motu notice of the alleged fraud that Niazi, Warraich and over half a dozen others had perpetrated on the National Insurance Company, ensured that an investigation was carried out. Then, by reinstating the FIA director to the post, they made sure that the investigation would not be derailed and buried under the carpet. Now, it is up to the judiciary to ensure that Naizi is located and anyone who played a role in helping him hide is also brought to task. While the Supreme Court has often been criticised for involving itself in political battles, this is a clear example of when its supposed activism can serve a useful purpose. By taking on a case that the sitting government does not want to pursue, one branch of the government can serve its function by acting as a check on another branch.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2010.