ISLAMABAD: The most maligned class, the politicians, is just a small fraction, a mere 13.33pc of the ‘mega corruption’ cases the list of which the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had submitted to the Supreme Court last year.
It is widely believed that a majority of them may get a clean chit as the NAB has now resolved to expedite the investigations or inquiries into the cases against the political figures and others. NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman has ordered conclusion of the cases – either winding up after finding nothing credible to pursue them or filing of references in the accountability courts – within 10 days.
When he lamented the ‘legacy’ he has inherited in the wake of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s blunt remarks about the questionable working of the organization, and vowed to streamline its functioning, he in fact conceded that he doesn’t have full grip over the institution but is determined to have complete control over it.
Although, the politicians form a slight part of the pending major graft investigations and inquires, their share in attracting flak and slurs is much more than the remaining, 86.67pc, occupying the list because they enjoy high profile roles with some of them spending public money and availing official perks and privileges at the taxpayers’ expense.
Politicians’ main objection is that while they have been subjected to massive mudslinging through a systematic effort smacking of a design and a well-calculated strategy, they are a small minority in the list in question and those who committed wrongs during Pervez Musharraf’s rule are not even questioned. Hardly any major financial scandal and corruption case, involving hundreds of billions of rupees, of the dictator’s rule was reflected in the NAB report.
Names of nearly 20 political leaders appear in the list, who are accused of financial and land scams and abuse of power.
Those facing ‘mega corruption’ inquiries or investigations by the NAB include Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, former Premiers Yousuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervez Ashraf and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Asif Ali Zardari, Pervez Elahi, Ghazi Akhtar, Haroon Akhtar, Aslam Raeesani, Abdul Ghafoor Lehri, Asfandyar Kakar, Masoom Shah, Murid Kazim, Aftab Sherpao, Mehmoodzeb, Nasimur Rehman, Arbab Saadullah, Shah Nawaz Marri, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, Senator Sehar Kamran and Ishaq Dar.
Some of them especially those against Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif, Chaudhry Shujaat and Ishaq Dar are more than 15 years old. It is because of the deliberate policy and incompetence of the NAB that they are still pending disposal. All these cases were initiated at the behest of the martial law authorities as part of political vendetta.
It is obvious that had there been any substance in them, these cases would have been filed in the accountability courts by now. These investigations and inquiries have been kept pending to serve as a dangling swords on the heads of prominent politicians with ulterior motives.
However, it is being hoped now that the NAB, which has apparently become reinvigorated after the premier’s statement, would take decisions on them one way or the other very soon. Chairman Qamar Zaman seems poised to wrap them up to avoid any further entangling with the government.
Civil servants, businessmen, bankers, owners of private housing schemes, textile mills owners, loan defaulters, federal and provincial ministries and departments, private builders etc., dominate these inquiries and investigations.
Every key political leader has been presented as accused in these cases. But there is no reference about Musharraf, who had illegally doled out over 10,000 kanals of military land, meant for martyred families, as political bribe to his blue-eyed despite the fact that the Dera Ismail Khan military land allotment case is very much with the NAB.
While the political leaders and the civilian governments have been disgraced in cases of alleged corruption, Musharraf has been lucky as the NAB overlooked almost everything connected with him.
From the 2005 stock exchange swindle to the Pakistan Steels Mills privatization, 2006 sugar scam to the financial bungling in multi-billion rupee clean drinking water project, alleged kickbacks in defence procurement, including Pakistan Air Force (PAF) surveillance aircraft deal, to the doling out of military land to political leaders and his personal staff, corruption in the 2005 earthquake funds to ghost pension scandal, controversial sale of Pakistan’s property in Jakarta to the innumerable cases of illegal and unconstitutional appointments made by the dictator, the DHA scam, controversy over Royal Palm Golf and Country Club, Lahore, and NLC scam, almost everything has been missed by the NAB.
Musharraf, who, during his rule, became a rich man with his assets both within and outside Pakistan, has never been questioned while the NAB has been quick to make references on the assets of leading political leaders.
There has been a general demand that the NAB ought to trash the old cases against everybody including politicians, businessmen and others which were opened as part of political agenda of the then ruler and where it has been unable to find anything substantive against the accused over such a long time. There is no point in keeping the investigations and inquiries in their present state unless the objective is to use them as a hanging sword on the heads of the accused.
