Serious allegations

The former NAB chairman – and current head of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances – Justice (r) Javed Iqbal has a lot to answer for. While his terribly tainted record of accountability has hardly been a secret, it is the sleaze of alleged predatory behaviour – also known for some time now – that is shocking in the extent to which he apparently misused his office for alleged sexual harassment. Three years ago, a ‘leaked’ video had shown the former chairman of NAB indulging in sexually explicit conversation with a woman. That woman was one Tayyaba Gul. At the time, the video was first ‘leaked’ and then mysteriously brushed aside. Now Ms Gul is back with what can only be called a harrowing story regarding sexual harassment, misuse of power, and cover-ups at the highest levels of government during the PTI regime.

Ms Gul has appeared before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and in a most disturbing revelation, alleged that not only was she harassed by Justice Iqbal, but that when she lodged a complaint on the Citizens Portal during the PTI government, she was first assured justice but then was kept hostage in the PM House for more than a month. By most analysis, it appears that her alleged ordeal was used by the PTI government only as leverage in accountability cases against the PTI leadership; these cases were then ‘taken care of’. Ms Gul says that she had approached Justice (r) Iqbal in a missing persons case but instead of being helped was not only harassed by him but also threatened if she refused to entertain his advances. She says her ordeal didn’t end there, and that she was physically and mentally tortured at his directions, with nude videos recorded and later shown to her husband. It is needless to say that these allegations are enough to shock even those who have a fair idea of the level of predatory behaviour those in high positions indulge in when in office. The most important concern here, after the mental and physical wellbeing of the woman who has made the allegations against such powerful figures, is the fact that Justice (r) Javed Iqbal held two of the most powerful positions in the country – as chairman of the accountability body he is said to have overseen a spate of vendetta cases against the PTI’s opposition, and as head of the missing persons commission he was not only ineffective but turns out perhaps even exploitative of the people who came to him for help. Alarmingly, he is still the head of the latter position.

It also turns out that Tayyaba Gul is not alone in her allegations, which have found corroboration in another revelation made by missing persons’ activist Amina Janjua in an interview on Geo News; Ms Janjua has said that a woman from the former tribal areas was also allegedly sexually harassed by Justice (r) Iqbal. There will be few who will dispute the fact that women who speak up about sexual harassment find little sympathy in Pakistan. When the highest offices – including that of the prime minister – are used to either exploit vulnerable women or cover up acts of exploitation, the issue becomes one of systemic predatory behaviour.

The matter has been taken up by the Public Accounts Committee and its chairman Noor Alam has tried to have Justice Javed Iqbal appear before the courts and the committee. There has however been no success in this with Justice (r) Iqbal stating that he is on Eid holidays. Beyond everything else, his approach to the matter of missing persons is frightening; the fact that a man who was supposed to help those that are most vulnerable – families and individuals looking for their loved ones who have gone missing or have been ‘disappeared’ – found enough impunity to target them speaks volumes of the way the issue of missing persons is really seen as by those in powerful positions. The charges that Tayyaba Gul has brought forward are of a very serious nature and must be investigated thoroughly. This should go beyond the PAC, and the matter taken up by the human rights and women;s rights ministries where it belongs. Meanwhile, the question is: why is Justice (r) Javed Iqbal still the head of the missing persons commission?