Timing of political leaders’ court cases inappropriate
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s conviction has unleashed accountability fervor for politicians in the country. Today, leaving other politicians’ culpability aside seems arbitrary.
Next in the line of fire is former President Asif Ali Zardari. He was reportedly placed on the Exit Control List and called by the Federal Investigation Agency for investigation in a money laundering case.
Conceivably, taking up corruption cases against the Pakistan Peoples Party leadership is a balancing tactic, but it has the potential to derail the general election process. Keeping the leadership of two of the major political parties out of the contest is not a good sign for parliamentary electioneering in Pakistan.
The unearthing of a multibillion-rupee money laundering scandal by the FIA and the arrest of Pakistan Stock Exchange chairman Hussain Lawai on July 6 has reportedly entrapped seven business tycoons, including Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur, who is very active in party politics, virtually governing the party in Sindh.
The Supreme Court launched a “suo moto” case over 29 fake accounts, which were used for making suspicious transactions worth Rs35 billion ($287 million) collected through heavy bribes and kickbacks. Zardari and Talpur denied the allegations. Despite this, both were ordered to appear in front of the FIA investigation team on July 11.
They managed to avoid this scheduled appearance by demanding more time to provide information about the transactions. They also requested the FIA hearing be delayed until after the July 25 polling day because they are contesting the elections. However, the FIA refused to entertain their appeal and ordered them to appear in front of the investigation team on July 23.
The arrests of Zardari and Talpur will be a big political shock for the party. Without them, keeping the current momentum would be a cumbersome task for the second tier of the PPP’s leadership.
Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal
The case has since taken a little twist. Zardari and Talpur were roped in due to the Supreme Court’s suo moto and the apex court partially distanced itself from the case. Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar clarified that the court did not summon Zardari and Talpur in a personal capacity, nor had it ordered for their names to be placed on the ECL. In addition, the court directed the FIA to delay the probe against them until after the polls.
Despite the court’s new directive, the opening up of cases against Zardari and Talpur has both optimistic and deleterious consequences for the PPP. It falsifies the stories that were in the air about a deal between the PPP and the security establishment. However, since the beginning, the PPP leadership has maintained the party’s anti-establishment image, so die-hard party workers are not comfortable with the recent developments that it is supportive of the security establishment’s policies at the cost of its anti-establishment aura.
The arrests of Zardari and Talpur will be a big political shock for the party. Without them, keeping the current momentum would be a cumbersome task for the second tier of the PPP’s leadership. The party has already been encountering tough competition in the rural Sindh due to the newly constituted Grand Democratic Alliance. Elsewhere, the chances of success for the party in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan are very remote. Thus, without Zardari and Talpur, the PPP may be losing its stronghold in the rural Sindh.
A politician’s political survival instinct is greater than their political ideology. Therefore, the accountability cases may bridge the gap between Sharif and Zardari. There are ample chances that both will revisit and revive the spirit of the Charter of Democracy.
The PPP and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) have already been making allegations of pre-poll rigging. The PPP’s Raza Rabbani has stated the elections had already become “controversial due to meddling.” Both are agitated due to defections from their ranks and the realization that they are losing the election. The mantra of rigging undermines the credibility of the parliamentary elections.
The alliance between the PML-N and PPP against the security establishment immediately attracts the smaller political parties, especially those which have little chance of success. Usman Khan Kakar, of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, termed the July 25 elections “a fight between the political parties and the establishment.” They may collectively announce the boycott of the election.
Undeniably, nobody opposes the accountability of the political ruling elite in Pakistan. However, the timing is not appropriate — it creates an impression of victimization and hindering these parties’ election campaigns. If the political leaders of the PML-N are disqualified and the PPP is facing trials in court, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which has already been labeled as an ally of the security establishment, will be the main beneficiary of the accountability process.
The political system’s stability depends on free and fair parliamentary elections, which require that all political parties share a level playing field. Any move that disputes the fairness of the ballot will be ruinous for the smooth function of democracy in Pakistan.
In a nutshell, accountability evangelists dispute not only the impartiality of the ongoing process in the country, but also strengthen the conspiracy theories of attaining the security establishment’s desired results in the parliamentary elections.
– Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal is an Islamabad-based analyst and professor at the School of Politics and International Relations, Quaid-i-Azam University. E-mail: [email protected]
