Turbulence ahead
by
Javed Hafiz |
The Supreme Court decision, upholding the electoral disqualification of the Sharif brothers, is a bad news for Pakistan. What makes this news even worse is its timing. With the Taliban uniting in Fata and the economy struggling, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government, led by a highly unpopular leader, has opened another front. And this front is the largest province of Pakistan, Punjab, where the Sharif brothers enjoy high popularity, particularly in the urban areas.
Pakistan’s political battles are traditionally fought and decided in the urban centres. By taking the battle to Lahore, the Sharif brothers’ home ground, the PPP government may have committed a grave mistake. Imposition of governor’s rule in Punjab is a blunder that the federal government may have to regret.
It is being argued that the verdict has come from the judiciary and not the government. However, in politics perceptions are more important than reality. The general perception is that the government has engineered this decision. Imposition of governor’s rule strengthens this impression. Sadly the judiciary, post-November 3, 2007, has a dented credibility.
This decision has also come at a time when the lawyers’ movement for reinstatement of Chief Justice Iftikhar Choudhary was being revived. The court verdict and its fallout will give the lawyers’ struggle the much-needed shot in the arm. This struggle was showing signs of fatigue and needed a fillip. Their long march to Islamabad, a couple of weeks from now, will get the full support of PML (N) and make a greater impact.
I am no fan of the Sharif brothers. Indeed, their political past is not very different from that of other politicians. They were disqualified by the High Court in Lahore last June, as Nawaz Sharif had been convicted in the high jacking case and Shahbaz was a bank loan defaulter. However, the Sharif brothers appear to have redeemed themselves to a great extent. By sticking to their election pledge of supporting restoration of the deposed chief justice and relinquishing ministerial posts on that count, the PML (N) achieved a high moral ground.
By the same token, President Asif Ali Zardari, by reneging on his written pledges twice, reinforced the impression of being totally unscrupulous.
This is clearly a verdict given by an angry court. The judges were angry as the Sharif brothers never appeared before them on the plea that they did not recognise the PCO judges. Going by the religion or even secular principles, an angry judge cannot do full justice. It would have only been proper to reconstitute the bench after the neutrality of this bench had been questioned. An old saying is that justice should not only be done but it should also be seen to have been done. This objective has not been achieved in this case. The decision of the court is seen as political by a wide range of public opinion.
As expected, violent protests have already started. All this is not good for the nascent democracy in Pakistan. While the power struggle in Punjab gains momentum, horse-trading by the two major political parties is on the cards. Both will try to lure as many MPs as possible from the PML (Q) to gain a majority in Punjab. The Q league members are known to be “flexible and pragmatic.”
As a result of this decision, Shahbaz Sharif has lost his assembly seat from Bhakhar and by the same token the chief ministership of Punjab. With a population of 90 million, Punjab is not easy to govern. It needed an outstanding administrator like Shahbaz Sharif. Going by this decision, Shahbaz will not be able to become chief minister of Punjab again as he has served in the same capacity twice. He can regain that seat through constitutional amendment only, which is not likely during PPP rule. Surely, his ouster is a huge loss to Punjab.
Prima facie, there is nothing wrong with the court verdict. According to the Constitution of Pakistan, no convicted person can aspire to be MP or the president. In this case, Nawaz Sharif was convicted while Shahbaz had bartered his asylum abroad in 2000. However, the decision should be seen in the prevailing political scenario in Pakistan. The NRO had pardoned Zardari and dozens of others. The charges against them ranged from corruption on a massive scale to murder. Similarly, a number of PML (Q) leaders had their bank loans written off during the Musharraf regime and held important public offices. As compared to this lot, the Sharif brothers look like angels! The current public outcry is for one law and one standard for Zardari and the Sharifs. Double standards are not acceptable in this age of media freedom.
One way is for Pakistan to have an across-the-board ruthless accountability. In that case, Zardari should step down, relinquish his immunity and face charges in a free court of law along with others. Or else, Pakistan should have a truth and reconciliation commission on the lines of South Africa. In that event, all acts of omission and commission, barring criminal ones, should be condoned for everybody and a new beginning made.
Javed Hafiz is a former Pakistani ambassador to the Sultanate.
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