Unwanted bargains

This refers to the letter ‘Not that bad a bargain’ (September 11) by Mukhtar Ahmed. I beg to differ with the content of the letter. Without punishing the corrupt and the dishonest, the ultimate objective to cleanse society of corruption will fail. Plea bargains and Voluntary Return (VR) have boosted corruption because those who got hefty amounts through crooked means offer some amount of it in such deals, while the remaining illegal earnings and assets are legalised. The problem is not only of retribution of embezzled mone, but taking money-launderers and the corrupt to task for their dishonesty and the loss to the national exchequer. By striking a deal with NAB, they go unpunished.

Those who misused their authority and power for personal gain and graft should be severely punished. The truth is that NAB was created as a tool to tighten the noose on political opponents and bureaucracy that fell out of favour. While formulating the NAB laws, lenient clauses were deliberately inserted so that some people could be unduly favoured. Also, NAB’s focus on micro corruption instead of taking on mega scandals of corruption is a way to pull wool over the eyes of the public. The corrupt are set to eat away the prosperity of Pakistan. Justice demands that the lenient NAB laws be invalidated and schemes like plea bargain and Voluntary Return nullified. Undoubtedly, the best way to weed out corruption is to allow the legal process to take its course so that those found guilty of money-laundering and black-money mongering are severely punished, whether they be bureaucrats, politicians, uniformed men or civilians.

Nazeer Ahmed Arijo

Larkana