CJ on corruption and bad governance

Addressing a dinner event of Karachi Bar Association, Chief Justice (CJ) of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali said “as a nation we have strayed from the right direction; and this is not the Pakistan Allama Iqbal had dreamt of. He said corruption, incompetence and bad governance were prime reasons for Pakistan’s troubles, and spirit and determination were required to tackle the country’s problems. The Chief Justice of Pakistan also stated that our own shortcomings had created hurdles in our path to success and development. According to ISPR, COAS addressing the corps commanders’ conference had urged for good governance for better results in the operation against terrorists. He meant that good governance and socio-economic justice would result in national unity. But politicos had taken exception to those remarks and some of them stated that he should not have passed those remarks.
The government must mull over such observations, and take measures to change its image or perception. The apex court had played its vital role by acting as strong ombudsman and also declared various government and bureaucratic decisions null and void in larger interest of common people. Be it Swiss case, fake degrees, dual nationality or delimitation of constituencies in Karachi, it gave landmark judgments. The apex court has kept check on those who are in the corridors of power and misused power for consolidating their authority without care for public welfare. But whenever there is question mark on the performance of the government, the nation has to listen to the concerns of the politicians that hidden hands are at work to destabilize the government, or unconstitutional means could be employed to send the government packing home. Instead of being paranoid, it should improve the governance.
There is consensus among political economists that good governance is a key ingredient for sustainable development, alleviation of poverty and stability of the government. Good governance is putting people at the centre of the development process. Of course, accountability, transparency, empowerment, and citizen participation are its key elements. Corruption has been identified as the biggest hurdle to economic development, and its antidote is good governance. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurating signal-free corridor of Islamabad Highway had said that those who plundered national exchequer should be held accountable. Immediately after 2013 elections, addressing the PML-N parliamentary party he had said: “Let us make a promise that we will not tolerate corruption in the country, and our government will hold looters and plunderers of the national exchequer accountable.” He should redeem those pledges without loss of time.
On 1st July 2015, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had grilled the NAB chief for not investigating mega scandals, but using the institution’s resources and energy on petty cases. The Supreme Court had directed NAB to submit details of 150 mega scams and a case related to privatisation of the Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) within a week. Regarding mega scandals, the apex court had told the NAB chief that NAB was doing nothing against big fish involved in major scams that caused enormous loss to the exchequer. During the hearing of a case related to suspension of investigation into privatization of the bank, the court ordered the NAB chief to submit a report with details of 50 major financial scams, 50 land scandals and 50 cases of misuse of authority. In the past, the NAB always claimed of having collected billions of rupees in plea bargains. But the amount recovered was only a fraction of the plundered wealth by the influential persons and those belonging to big business.
Though NAB had recovered a part of the plundered money, yet most culprits either escaped or were honorably acquitted by the courts due to lacuna in prosecution and investigation. It is a matter of grave concern that corruption has deeply permeated in every strata of our society. Scandals regarding corruption, misappropriation, plundering of billions from banks and other federal, provincial and semi-government departments abound. Unfortunately, the corruption has deprived the national exchequer of its revenues, eroded the profitability of the state sector enterprises and destroyed the very fabric of society. The government should proactively pursue corruption cases in the courts. It should be borne in mind, that political stability hinges on good governance, which means addressing the issues of accountability, transparency, participation, openness, rule of law and socio-economic justice.