With the clear remarks of the apex court bench judges that they didn’t declare Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif a liar, the opposition forces’ attempts to portray Nawaz Sharif as corrupt have crashed. These were not just remarks but a clear warning to those politicians who are portraying a wrong picture of the Panama Leaks verdict. The moment the Supreme Court had announced the Panama Leaks case verdict, the Imran Khan-led PTI started misinterpreting it saying that the court had given the verdict against Nawaz Sharif. Though the judgment was announced with the 3-2 voting, it was not the final words as the court had constituted a six-member joint investigation team (JIT) to further probe the allegation leveled against Sharifs of money laundering.
The court’s clear position on the subject is enough to not only quell the political forces’ doubts about the judges’ fairness but also make them believe that that the JIT would do its job without any fear or influence from any quarter.
However, the opposition forces’ protest rallies and campaigns substantiate the impression that they do not look satisfied with the court verdict. It was the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI), which earlier had promised to accept whatever the decision the apex court would give in the Panama Leaks case. However, Imran’s criticizing the JIT and subsequent announcement to hold protest rallies coupled with a demand for prime minister’s resignation make one to conclude that they don’t want to see rule of law in the country.
Pakistan People’s Party is no exception as it has also joined the bandwagon by announcing public rallies in various cities. PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari, who has always preached for ‘political reconciliation’ and rejected every move to derail democracy in the past, has upped his arms against Nawaz Sharif.
The court verdict on Panama Leaks is very clear. It says that political excitement, political adventure or even popular sentiments real or contrived may drive any or many to an aberrant course but “we have to go by the law and the book”. The judgment has declared that Maryam Nawaz is not dependent of her father Nawaz Sharif nor did it say that she had beneficial ownership in the Mayfair properties. Similarly, Maryam’s husband Capt (R) Safdar and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar have also been cleared by the court for not having any link with the offshore companies and disqualification arising thereof. As far as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his sons – Hussain and Hussan – are concerned, it is true that the court has not given clean chit in the money trail. However, all of them have been served court notices to appear and explain their position on the subject before the joint investigation team.
With two dissenting notes, the judgment constituted five-member JIT to further probe the money laundering allegations against the prime minister. The Sharifs’ announcement that they would fully cooperate with the JIT and provide whatever material it would require clearly shows that they wanted transparent and fair investigations.
Since the court has defined parameters for the JIT, which will report to the former after every two weeks, is fully empowered to complete investigation in sixty days, the opposition forces’ flexing muscles for street protests carries no weight.
The PTI’s aggressive posture in the post-Panama Leaks verdict is understandable. In fact, Imran Khan has failed to get the judgment of his choice. He only wanted the ousting of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as is evident from his public speeches. Taking suo moto of the Imran Khan’s letter about Bani Gala land, the Chief Justice of Pakistan clearly mentioned that there is nothing unusual in judges’ dissenting notes as it happens throughout the world. He advised Khan to play his effective role to dispel the atmosphere of mistrust in the post-verdict situation. His remarks that all should respect court verdicts, whether they are in one’s favour or not, was a clear message to the PTI chief.
However, on the other hand, a situation of protests has cropped up in the country as the opposition forces, with PTI as the front runner, have rejected the JIT constitution. PTI, PPP, Jamaat-e-Islami, PML-Q and other parties, who were expecting the Panama Leaks judgment of their choice, now look frustrated. Putting aside their conflicting ideologies, these forces have started anti-government nexus and are out to play dirty politics of protests and rallies.
This is no service to democracy by any means. In fact, this style of politics is just like sending the country into a chaotic situation. Now a big question has been hurled on the PTI leadership that what service it has done by introducing the politics of long marches, protest sit-ins, rallies and hurling allegations at the Sharifs that it could never prove in the courts. Pakistan has already suffered a lot at the cost of ‘non-seriousness’ of those politicians who are still doing politics for petty gains compromising the national interests and fate of the nation.
Such politics is by no means a service to the people and the democracy. Will the democratic system and people of this country continue bearing the brunt of the shallow politics of those who say one thing one day and do other thing next day?
Due to such unhealthy and negatives trends Pakistan has suffered a lot on both national and international fronts. The four-month long protest sit-in of PTI and PAT in Islamabad in 2014 is still fresh in the minds of people. That sit-in had done nothing but made the capital city hostage for four months, disrupted the national economy and government functioning. Even the Chinese President Xi Jinping had to postpone his scheduled visit to Pakistan when he was scheduled to sign various development projects involving about $46 billion investment including the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
The country is no more in any position to afford any political immaturity at any level. The political forces particularly the PTI need to adopt their obligatory role towards nation building. The PTI, which is raising the slogan of ‘change’ in the country, is supposed to demonstrate a mature wisdom and understanding on national issues. However, it is highly regrettable that this political force, which is also in power corridors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has yet to understand the norms of democracy.
The JIT constitution on Panama Leaks is currently in progress. The apex court is directly monitoring the whole process. There shouldn’t be an iota of doubt about the transparency and fairness about the investigation. The opposition forces’ recent rallies look like election campaigns. However, their demand for the prime minister’s resignation carries no weight. The JIT has been tasked to complete its investigation in two months. The protesting forces are supposed to demonstrate patience till the final judgment and avoid playing with the fate of the nation by making issues out of non-issues.