By Khalid Bhatti 29/04/2016
Pakistan is among the few countries in the world where everybody wants to make others accountable and answerable but when others raise question about the same person than he started crying victimisation and attack on one’s credibility. The same person will put allegations against others without any credible evidence and solid proof and will insist that accused should prove his innocence but when others make the same allegations against him than he will demand evidence and proof. Hypocrisy and double standards have become part of our culture. Our media, politicians and state officials are busy promoting this culture. Everybody consider itself honest, upright, patriotic and credible and consider others corrupt, liars, dishonest discredited. This also applies to every walk of life in this country.
The present hue and cry around the Panama Papers is the clear manifestation of this culture and trend. Both the government and opposition making serious allegations of corruption, fraud, tax evasion and money laundering. But unfortunately both sides do not want to have a genuine and independent inquiry and probe into the allegations and make every corrupt person accountable and subsequently punished. Nobody wants to speak whole truth about himself, instead every body speaks half truths about the others. Everybody tries to hide himself behind the lies, distortions, accusations and counter accusations.
The political circus around the issue of judicial commission under the honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan also clearly shows this. When the government announced to form the commission under the retired judge of the Apex court than the opposition parties demanded that this commission should be formed under the sitting Supreme Court judges headed by Chief Justice himself. Finally, the government announced to form the commission under the CJ and announced its terms of references (TORs). Now the opposition started to raise objections on the terms of references. The opposition wants the accountability of the ruling family and specially prime minister and on the other hand government wants the accountability of the opposition figures. The opposition wants to focus on the allegations against the Prime Minister and his family to make political gains on this issue. On the other hand, the government is trying to shift the focus from the ruling family and wants to probe the other issues related to the corruption, money laundering, tax evasion and kickbacks. Both sides know very well that judicial commission either consists of retired judges or sitting ones can not prove the allegations made in the Panama Papers because commission will need official papers and solid evidence. The tax heavens and centres of offshore companies will not provide such documents and evidence to the commission. Both sides playing politics on this issue and will continue to use this as mean to gain public support.
Corruption is undoubtedly one of the major issue faced by the people in their everyday lives. From police to the revenue department and lower judiciary to every department is involved in corruption, nepotism, wronddoing and misuse of authority. From small to medium business to the largest ones are busy making money from all means available. The traders and businessmen do not want to pay taxes and prefer to engage in the unregulated and unregistered business so that they can avoid taxes. The state officials create unneccessary hurdles to mint money from the ordinary folks. Pakistan is considered among the most corrupt countries in the world. The reason is that whole system has become corrupt. Corruption has become common practice and part of everyday life of Pakistanis. Corruption is a symptom of an ailing system. A system which is repressive, exploitative, inadequate and male- functional. The corruption can not be rooted out from this system without making radical and revolutionary changes in the system. No main stream party wants to make such changes in the system. All these parties wants to use the slogans of corruption free Pakistan and accountability to fool the poor masses. The Pakistani establishment used this slogan to malign and discredit the politicians and politicians also malign each other for the benefit of the establishment.
No sane person will support the corruption and corrupt practices either by the government institutions, politicians, civil and military bureaucracy or traders, businessmen and industrialists. But there is no serious will or effort on the part of the politicians and establishment to tackle this important issue. If all sides are ready or willing to start across the board accountability than they should form an independent and constant commission to stop the bribery, corrupt practices and misuse of authority and to probe all the allegations of corruption, tax evasion, loan write offs, kickbacks, money laundering and misuse of authority for the once and for all. Panama Papers issue should not be wasted for point scoring or temporary political gains but to put in place the ways and means to end this rampant corruption. It is need of the hour to start a genuine, independent and impartial across the board accountability process in a institutionalised way without having sacred cows. It is a high time for the politicians and civilian rulers to prove that they want to strengthen the democracy and rule of law to make this system accountable and transparent. This goal can not be achieved without the active involvement of the masses. Genuine mass movement will force the ruling elite to start the real process to end this rampant corruption.