Tahira Khan
The Panama judgment came in favor of disqualification of Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the wake of Article 62 and 63. Media and journalistic attitude was found divided, somehow biased, regarding the 25 page judgment of Supreme Court.
According to one group, the historic judgment will pave way towards pure democratic norms in the form of accountability across the board. But, other side mourned the day as darkest part of the history by condemning the ouster of an elected PM. Some opinions were mixed with the indication of conspiracy theories while others left no stone unturned in drawing parallels with the military coup- surely, in form of judicial dictatorship or some hidden hand of establishment.
But, as a respectable and educated citizen of the country, one has to read the judgment in order to make sense of the actual situation. Undoubtedly, freedom of opinion has been granted by the constitution of Pakistan but, now-a-days, every political party has set their own respective media outlets which can create logical explanations for everything favoring their party and mandate. Even if it is the scenario of abrogating constitution’s article or any clause, they will definitely make a legal and technical demonstration for that.
Read also: Will Balochistan be Affected by Nawaz Sharif’s Downfall?
It was widely speculated by pro-PML-N journalistic side that disqualification came as a result of money PM didn’t take. There was no evidence regarding any sort of corruption and, it is completely unfair and unjustifiable by using just allegations and accusations against the democratically elected PM. Yes, it is the because of that strong media channel of the party, consisting of professionals (legal experts), which generates such chaos and fabricated news. It is not only about undeclared Capital FZE company tale but many more things. I don’t know which report was consulted by them as the actual report of Supreme Court contains many other bitter facts and figures which suggests that not only parliamentary constituents are fooled but the Nation at large.
As per SC judgment, PM has used bogus, fake and forged documents which was clearly indicated by the use of Calibri font. The intended documents were dated at 2006 when Calibri font was not commercially available, forget the notion of its office usage. In addition, PM is guilty of impersonation by announcing his graduation degree which lies in the domain of falsehood, again. SC judgment has also found his helping hand with those respondents who cleverly presented fake documents in order to safeguard their selfish interests.
Perhaps, a father can’t be blamed for his son’s actions regarding article 62 and 63. But, unfortunately, PM has been failed in disclosing Mayfair properties and providing required and relevant records which applies the act of concealment, misdeclaration and dishonesty. Besides, respondent No.1 has took two oaths first as a member of National assembly and second as a Prime Minister of Pakistan. Both are mistreated by functioning inappropriately and are liable to undemocratic attitude and disloyalty.
It also implies the abrogation of article 5 of the constitution which is consistent with regard to the notion of loyalty towards one’s state. Moreover, Petition No. 29 was also discussed thoroughly which was filed by PTI Chairman, Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi.
The petition included two major points. First, the leader of the Nation is corrupt and this is the major reason behind citizen’s unwillingness of paying taxes. PM is not trustworthy and there is a great deal of mistrust among general masses regarding the public holding authorities. Indeed, his accusation bears truth though to some extent. Second, a large of sum of money has been undeclared which was initially received as gifts and the case is desired to be treated under Income Tax Ordinance (Section 39).
Furthermore, many references has been directed towards NAB (National Accountability Bureau) in order to deal them by thorough investigation. The cases are as under:
“By a majority of 3 to 2 dissenting, who have given separate declarations and directions, we hold that the questions how did Gulf Steel Mill come into being; what led to its sale; what happened to its liabilities; where did its sale proceeds end up; how did they reach Jeddah, Qatar and the U.K.; whether respondents No. 7 and 8 in view of their tender ages had the means in the early nineties to possess and purchase the flats; whether sudden appearance of the letters of Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani is a myth or a reality; how bearer shares crystallized into the flats; who, in fact, is the real and beneficial owner of M/s Nielsen Enterprises Limited and Nescoll Limited, how did Hill Metal Establishment come into existence; where did the money for Flagship Investment Limited and other companies set up/taken over by respondent No. 8 come from, and where did the Working Capital for such companies come from and where do the huge sums running into millions gifted by respondent No. 7 to respondent No. 1 drop in from, which go to the heart of the matter and need to be answered. Therefore, a thorough investigation in this behalf is required.”
The judgment further stated that the partial behavior of NAB chairman, Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, is not affordable anymore. So, in order to investigate the above mention cases, another JIT (Joint Investigation Team) has to be constituted within seven days including a senior officer of FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) and representatives from NAB (National Accountability Bureau), ISI (Inter-Service Intelligence), MI (Military Intelligence), SBP (State Bank of Pakistan) and SECP. The report is supposed to be submitted to SC within sixty days.
I don’t know which report has been read by the educated citizens and journalistic medium of the state because the verdict was not only about Capital FZE Company but lying, cheating and false documents as well. Moreover, PM is guilty of abrogating the Article 5 of the constitution. Having reservations with respect to NAB performance, another JIT would be formulated to investigate the given references. By revising their report, PM disqualification judgment will again be reviewed. What else is needed? Isn’t the whole process part of legal and constitutional frame work?
It must be noted that PM government is the second government, not first and unique, which has witnessed ouster in the wake of Panama leaks. Earlier Iceland government spotted the same destiny. In addition, UK government has started inquiry of the twenty-two people mentioned in Panama list along with the German Government which has spent millions of Euros to get their own copy of panama papers. In short, the whole appraisal is a part of democratic project; neither conspiracy nor military coup is expected to be there. (To be continued)
Writer is a team member of Balochistan Voices and a Student of BS (Hons) Political Science in University of the Punjab, Lahore. She hails from Loralai District. Click here to read previous articles written by the author.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article are those of the author and Balochistan Voices not necessarily agrees with them.
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