Mixing terror and graft will weaken democracy, says PPP

Main opposition party accuses federal government of being indifferent

ISLAMABAD:

Amid calls for across-the-board and transparent accountability, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Monday told other political entities in the Senate that mixing corruption with terrorism in an arbitrary and partisan manner would weaken the democratic system.

The PPP lamented the federal government’s “indifference”, saying that an impression was created that corruption was rampant in only one province.

Leader of the Opposition Aitzaz Ahsan opened the debate and PPP senators Farhatullah Babar and Saeed Ghani followed. However, members of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) rejected the impression of “targeted action” and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senators said the PPP and the PML-N were both engaged in mudslinging.

Ahsan said he was not against accountability and was not defending anyone’s misdeeds, but it should be across the board without any discrimination. “Former petroleum minister Dr Asim Hussain’s arrest and his 90-day remand to Rangers on terrorism charges is discrimination.”

To substantiate his claim that only one province was being targeted, Ahsan said the cost of the Nandipur power project was increased from Rs23 billion to Rs87 billion, adding that the Quaid-e-Azam solar power project was supposed to generate 100MW but was producing only 17MW.

Accusing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of pursuing the politics of the 1990s, the senator warned that the PPP would also take to the streets if this was, indeed, the case.

Moreover, without naming the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, he said: “We were told that the ongoing Karachi operation was against jet black terrorists.... If there are terrorists in the party, then let me say that the party used to be a close ally of the then military dictator Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf.”

Senator Babar said the fight against corruption must be transparent and across the board, irrespective of the provincial, political or institutional background. He said that when the 21st amendment was adopted to fight terror, it was claimed that the stringent laws would be used only against jet black terrorists. “But while the terrorists are roaming free, politicians are being hauled in under anti-terror laws to paint them black.”

Meanwhile, Senator Ghani suggested that the assets of the officials who had been posted in Karachi should also be checked.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th,  2015.