As I See It
Black is black
THE failure to successfully prosecute Benazir Bhutto and Asif Zardari for corruption for nearly a decade influenced most of us to give them the benefit of doubt. Most suspicion (and approbation) was directed at Asif Zardari, who inadvertently served a full "term" with courage and dignity without being convicted and without bargaining (at least not to our knowledge) for his release. Eight long years of incarceration had turned doubts into skepticism, and then into outright sympathy.
By negotiating amnesty for alleged corruption under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) instead of standing on their legal ground, mass public perception is that Ms. Benazir has accepted their guilt by default. It will need far more than a Teflon-hide to wash this off. She has also managed to revive the flagging popularity of Mian Nawaz Sharif, who has risen Phoenix-like from the ashes of his credibility, in particular in his home province of Punjab.
Misuse of public office for personal gain has turned on its head honest livelihood as the basis for civilized society. My article from Sep 2005 said: "The smugglers of the 50s and 60s are today openly considered some of the pillars of Pakistan's commerce and society, not much separating them from the civil and military personnel who have looted the state's treasury. Contemptuous of the laws of the land they flagrantly flaunt their ill-gotten millions, investing in commerce and industry to make their ill-gotten gains legitimate, some do not even bother to conceal their past. Some are even investing heavily in the print and electronic media.
"For the ordinary citizen making his (or her) living the hard way, frustrations are at the point of boiling over, the schism could lead to a class war. Hundreds and thousands of retired personnel who earned an honest livelihood and are living in pitiable state on meager pensions now openly lament their failure to avail the opportunity to make money when they could have. Their virtual penury is a living symbol to our present and future generations that honesty does not pay."
The NRO only adds to the feeling of helplessness and misery, it is also an open invitation for more loot and plunder.
The very worse can happen in such a situation, to quote from Sep 29, 2005: "The movement from a small village called Nagalbari spread in the 60s in India throughout the East and South East. The "Naxalite" movement today is a greater and more potent force to contend with, killing criminals and the corrupt in the judiciary and law enforcement alike in some Indian states, not to mention corrupt bureaucrats, crooked businessmen, and anybody amassing inordinate wealth, etc. Vigilantes may come from law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and/or from the public. The fabric binding society is the belief that those that are supposed to uphold the law will do so, if one has reason to fear them violating the laws of the land then the very basis of civilization fails, and will force those seeking justice to take law into their own hands.
"The superior judiciary has a very crucial role to play in securing the rule of law in Pakistan, loss of faith in the judicial system being a very potent breeding ground for vigilantes. Accountability in a civilized society assumes utmost importance, as well as the transparency and integrity of the process thereof. If Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry (and his "activist" colleagues) fail, vigilantes of the Talibaan-kind will appear to take justice in their own hands, sooner rather than later." We are already seeing this in the tribal areas and some areas of the North West.
The platform for the present blanket amnesty for corruption was the "plea bargaining" enshrined by (then) chairman NAB Munir Hafeez. This horrible initiative undercut the credibility of NAB established by Lt. Gen. Mohammad Amjad and caused me to lament in 2004: "Badly compromising the accountability process, this is a moral disaster. A simple analogy would be that of a dacoit returning the proceeds of his loot (or part thereof) if he was caught. In 'plea bargaining' white-collar criminals escape incarceration by promising to return only part of the loot. NAB's present application thereupon allows criminals to enjoy the remainder and major part of the loot. NAB's Munir Hafeez justifies this amnesty for well-heeled corporate criminals as necessary for recovering looted money. What is stopping the accused from using their ill-gotten money to bribe NAB officials to escape retribution?"
Many white-collar criminals escaped justice during Munir Hafeez's tenure, why this benevolence? The NRO goes way beyond "plea bargaining." The people of Pakistan need to "plea bargain" with Pervez Musharraf not to saddle us with this abomination.
Words from this paper on June 18: "All individuals have a responsibility to the community and to the family, force-multiplied manifold for those in power in the country, that responsibility must be used for the good of the people and the nation they govern. While the usual classic mistakes of governance in an enduring search for survivability scar his otherwise benign rule, Musharraf's successes still far outmatch his failures." Regretfully, the NRO has put a large question mark on his successes; was self-survival central to his "selection and maintenance of aim" for the country?
Further, from the same article: "Recurring dictatorships and intermittent democracies in Pakistan suggest we badly need a 'check and balance' mechanism in the leadership hierarchy. In absence of that, the superior judiciary could well turn into the monster that they are not but could become."
Regretfully, the hapless and unfortunate people of Pakistan have now no recourse left to turn to the judiciary to save themselves from those who may well again misuse public office to rob us of whatever is left.
For Pakistan's continued existence, there is no substitute for democracy, apropos with power-sharing with the tainted likes of Ms. Benazir, Mian Nawaz Sharif, Ch. Shujaat Hussain, Altaf Hussain, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, whatever, whoever wins the right by voters' choice in free and fair elections. We are immersed in a cesspool clad in a straitjacket, Pakistan needs a Houdini act to get us out of this Hobson's choice.
My friend Senator Aitzaz Ahsan should be an "amicus curiae" in the NRO case. He has conscience and a commitment to the state, as opposed to loyalty to an individual (and by extension to the PPP). Aitzaz can then understand the blind loyalty that the khaki rank and file give to their chief, "even at peril to the state."
Blanket amnesty on political grounds is certainly an instrument for national reconciliation, but only individual pardons are given for corruption. There is not a single instance in history of blanket amnesty for corruption. If the SC rules otherwise, it will be a first, and under "the doctrine of fantasy." Instead of putting SC to the test of its credibility, one appeals to Pervez Musharraf to revoke the blunder of enacting the NRO, and consign this dark and dank document to the dustbin of history. Black is black!
We do want BB back, but not with NRO as a millstone of guilt around her neck.
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