Corruption has destroyed our social, political and religious life and remains the biggest obstacle in the development of Pakistan. No institution in the country has been safe from the scourge of corruption. It is a social injustice and those who commit corruption rob the rights of the people and betray the nation.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan has invalidated the previous federal government’s attempt to cut NAB’s power by declaring amendments in accountability laws as null and void.
The court has given a harsh decision regarding the NAB amendments case. The reputation of Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial has suffered a lot due to the audio leaks, ‘Good to see you’ remarks, family pressure and around 55, 000 pending cases and some controversial judgments.
We need to look at the history of NAB, when it was founded, and what Saifur Rahman did and made against cases against political opponents. The political engineering done during Pervez Musharraf’s era is as clear as day. How is it possible that NAB will clean itself up by making immediate reforms?
It is true that there are strict laws regarding corruption in Pakistan, but it is also true that our institutions have been used to suppress political opponents instead of eliminating the scourge of all evils. This is evident by the rate of convictions.
This plea bargain law is such a fraud in our country. If a mobile snatch, goat thief, or pickpocket is caught, first the common citizens give him a thrashing then the police vent out their anger, and he spends a long time in jail. But if a politician, bureaucrat, or businessman is caught, he spends less time in jail and more luxurious days and nights in hospital.
Corrupt elements easily give away a small part of the looted money through plea bargain to NAB and again occupy important positions and live a luxurious life with the remaining money. After looting billions of rupees, if corrupt elements can have a luxurious life with their family, who would not want to loot the national treasure?
Even if a case has reached the stage of inquiry or investigation, if the accused agrees to return the looted money, the case is sent to court after NAB’s approval. The court then asks the accused to return the amount. It is at the discretion of NAB as to how much refund they are satisfied with from the accused. Either the accused pays the whole amount or the case is dropped after paying a portion of the amount.
Corruption in Pakistan is so prevalent that no institution is immune from this epidemic and the people suffering from poverty and haplessness have to bear the brunt t because the tax money is used to commit billions and trillions of corruption in the form of kickbacks and bribery.
As the system of governance has been destroyed in our country, the conditions of institutions that prevent corruption are no different. There must be accountability but there should not be misuse of laws like in the past. The guilty should not be spared under any circumstances.
Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial always spoke about increasing the prestige of institutions, but during his tenure, the institutions seemed to suffer further degradation. The recusal of a full court reference on the occasion of the departure as chief justice made his tenure more controversial.
It is unfortunate that even during the service of Justice Bandial, the public did not find solace. The influential continued to take advantage and suo moto notice of public interest cases under Article 184 was avoided.
The cases of politicians, bureaucrats and other individuals and institutions are going to be revived after the Supreme Court’s verdict. There is no doubt that corruption has become a scourge for our society. This evil should be rooted out and ruthless accountability should be seen. NAB should not be used for political engineering and suppression of opponents as in the past. If this happens, the hopes of the nation will be squashed this time as well.
