Ibrahim Madani
Minister (2k+ posts)
Deciphering the puzzle of Panama
As the lack of chargeable evidence nerves up Supreme court of Pakistan, shadows of dark acquittal of Pakistan's premier elite loom over the political spectrum. PTI, the biggest stakeholders in the complainant side, are fiery outside in the media, yet they seem very shy and gullible inside the courtroom. Validly, of course, their plea is that 'access to evidence' is not their responsibility. Well how should we punish the premier without the evidence of squandering nation's wealth? Painful silence, unfortunately, is the answer of the day. As if the quality of prosecution means nothing to our judicial system. The demand of evidence is passed over like a 'hot potato' strikingly similar to how the case has been passed over between different lawyers. The new lawyership is weaker than the previous one and has been disqualified from judicial proceedings once due to lame comments. Will the case be dragged on forever like other weakly prosecuted cases? As if the country would never be pulled out of the corrupt practices of the strong ruling elite!
Interestingly, another partner on the complainant side has carved out a solution to this grid-lock. Siraj-Ul-Haq, the Ameer of the Jamaat-e-Islami, came forward with the demands of a time-limited and empowered commission for investigation, collecting evidences and suggesting punishment for the incumbent. He took the flash-light of media and surprised the political intelligentia today by asking the prime minister to refrain from handling the affairs of PM office, which could potentially impact the case, once the commission was formed. He lambasted the ruling elite of this country on their recklessness in proving themselves innocent in this case. This could be an interesting blow to the government if the supreme court forms the commission with the TORs narrated by the complainants.
Luckily for the government, the main demolition for this cause were found to be, none other than their KPK partner, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Having completed multiple records of raising up hopes and then falling flat breathless, the PTI still believes that this is an open-and-shut case just because the Sharif's haven't still brought a convincing evidence for their innocence. Clearly, the judicial system works differently than what PTI has understood. It has never been observed in the recent judicial history that a case with such a high profile could end in punishment without strong prosecution, and the nature of this case probably suggests that the prosecution needs backing of highly qualified individuals with remarkable knowledge of their field. A commission only seems to be the key for opening this vessel. Siraj-Ul-Haq's plea probably caught the eye of the judges also and discussion is underway in the court to go forward on this path to avoid a complete stand-still. His proposal includes the following heavy demands:
His demands have met both applause and criticism on this issue. Political parties are showing concerns that his third point might open up a campaign to tarnish the image of valuable political figures in the process, while others say that Siraj-Ul-Haq himself seems to be the only winner if his demands are met in full. Whatever happens, it will certainly claim marathon interest from the media and public for the rest of the trial.
As the lack of chargeable evidence nerves up Supreme court of Pakistan, shadows of dark acquittal of Pakistan's premier elite loom over the political spectrum. PTI, the biggest stakeholders in the complainant side, are fiery outside in the media, yet they seem very shy and gullible inside the courtroom. Validly, of course, their plea is that 'access to evidence' is not their responsibility. Well how should we punish the premier without the evidence of squandering nation's wealth? Painful silence, unfortunately, is the answer of the day. As if the quality of prosecution means nothing to our judicial system. The demand of evidence is passed over like a 'hot potato' strikingly similar to how the case has been passed over between different lawyers. The new lawyership is weaker than the previous one and has been disqualified from judicial proceedings once due to lame comments. Will the case be dragged on forever like other weakly prosecuted cases? As if the country would never be pulled out of the corrupt practices of the strong ruling elite!
Interestingly, another partner on the complainant side has carved out a solution to this grid-lock. Siraj-Ul-Haq, the Ameer of the Jamaat-e-Islami, came forward with the demands of a time-limited and empowered commission for investigation, collecting evidences and suggesting punishment for the incumbent. He took the flash-light of media and surprised the political intelligentia today by asking the prime minister to refrain from handling the affairs of PM office, which could potentially impact the case, once the commission was formed. He lambasted the ruling elite of this country on their recklessness in proving themselves innocent in this case. This could be an interesting blow to the government if the supreme court forms the commission with the TORs narrated by the complainants.
Luckily for the government, the main demolition for this cause were found to be, none other than their KPK partner, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Having completed multiple records of raising up hopes and then falling flat breathless, the PTI still believes that this is an open-and-shut case just because the Sharif's haven't still brought a convincing evidence for their innocence. Clearly, the judicial system works differently than what PTI has understood. It has never been observed in the recent judicial history that a case with such a high profile could end in punishment without strong prosecution, and the nature of this case probably suggests that the prosecution needs backing of highly qualified individuals with remarkable knowledge of their field. A commission only seems to be the key for opening this vessel. Siraj-Ul-Haq's plea probably caught the eye of the judges also and discussion is underway in the court to go forward on this path to avoid a complete stand-still. His proposal includes the following heavy demands:
- Commission should start only from investigation and the decision on the PM and his family.
- The duration of their trial should not extend 25 days in total.
- The PM should refrain from using his office during this period.
- After concluding the above, the commission moves on to trace all the names in the Panama leaks.
His demands have met both applause and criticism on this issue. Political parties are showing concerns that his third point might open up a campaign to tarnish the image of valuable political figures in the process, while others say that Siraj-Ul-Haq himself seems to be the only winner if his demands are met in full. Whatever happens, it will certainly claim marathon interest from the media and public for the rest of the trial.
- Featured Thumbs
- http://s2.dmcdn.net/fLF6W/320x240-OAC.jpg
