Political dry-cleaning

One of the reasons why our politics could not get clean was not merely because the ruling elite had never been held accountable and punished for its deeds but because the name of 'Ehtesab’, and 'Ehtesab Bureau' had always been used to 'dry clean' politicians. Our memories are still fresh when the slogan was raised: ‘Pehly Ehtesab Phir Intikhab’. Will it be different this time?

Political parties have also opened dry clean shops. Anyone who joins them becomes ‘Mr or Ms Clean’. What is most interesting is the reaction from the party he or she has left. They immediately start reacting and accusing him. That is one of the reasons why people are losing faith and confidence in the system and in their leaders.

On the one hand, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family are facing an unprecedented investigation and that too under the supervision of Supreme Court in high profile Panama case, on the other hand, some old political faces are joining the main opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as they see it as the future party.

Unlike the PML-N or the PPP, the PTI till recently had set a procedure for dry-cleaning if someone joins it. How can anyone, who has changed his or her loyalties for two to three times and, in some cases, even more, could be dry-cleaned?

In the past, a term 'lota' was often used for such turncoats. It has now been replaced with a term 'dry clean’. While the PML-N and the PPP are quite used to accepting each other's 'lotas’, one was expecting the PTI to be different. It entered into political with high expectations and had rightly been given the credit for remaining consistent in its anti-graft stance against the PPP and the PML. It was one of the reasons that people looked towards the party chairman Imran Khan as the third option, and anti-status quo.

Today, if one simply looks towards its high command or core committee, office-bearers, you may find a long list of 'dry-cleaned’ and ‘not-so-clean’ politicians, who joined the party in the last four-five years.

Imran strangely defends this situation by saying “it’s the leader at the top who matters and leads from the front, by not allowing corruption”. Thus, the man who once used to hate such turncoats is now going after ‘electables’ and slowly and surely adopting the politics of status quo.

Except for few, the PTI's old guards have now taken backseat, as they await the outcome of post-Sharif politics and PTI's chances in the next general elections. Almost one dozen PPP leaders, some of whom had defended Zardari and PPP's alleged corruption, could now be seen standing on right and left sides of Imran Khan. In private conversations, they often express their concerns and say that they too have now adopted politics of the PML and the PPP.

A report, published by The News that about 19 MNAs and MPAs of the PTI would join the PML-N, clearly indicates that the ruling party has also opened a new 'dry clean shop’, while the PPP already has one such shop in which many anti-Bhutto and anti-PPP leaders in Sindh have joined the party.

The intelligence agencies have also been accused of dry-cleaning the MQM leaders and legislators for the 'New Political Order’ in Karachi and urban Sindh.

In the past, the establishment used to 'dry clean’ politicians and even formed parties and groups and sent politicians from other parties into such groups.

As I was going through a book of a former IGP Punjab, Sardar Ahmad, ‘The Ultimate Crime’, I found an interesting chapter, 'How not to eliminate corruption’. In that chapter, he gave some insight into what actually happened behind the scenes under different rulers from Ayub Khan to Zia, in the name of anti-corruption drive and with what objectives. He also cited instances as how the 'untouchables' remained above accountability.

I sincerely hope that soon after Panama case, the Supreme Court would also take some final decision on country's most blatant case of institutionalised corruption i.e. Mehran Bank or Asghar Khan case. While the Panama, being a case of white-collar crime, needs a thorough probe, if the SC constitutes a JIT in the Asghar Khan case, which summoned those who gave money to politicians and those who accepted it, at least it would be able to close some of the 'dry clean shops’.

In the last 70 years, we have not been able to enact a law under which all the four pillars of the state are made accountable. Since independence, there are holy cows, who only use corruption as a tool to dry clean those who matter in the system.

One veteran bureaucrat told this writer that the concept behind allotting plots to higher grade officers in Islamabad and other posh localities was to prevent them from indulging in corruption. On the contrary, they became more corrupt as he said ‘Sky is the limit’ if you have corruption tendency.

The state also promoted corruption through secret funds in a number of ministries as well as the discretionary powers of the president, prime minister, chief ministers and governors. For the first time in the history of the country, the Supreme Court abolished the secret fund in the Ministry of Information, thanks to the petition filed by two veteran journalists, Hamid Mir and Absar Alam. Some other journalists including this writer also became party to the case. Its report still provides the basis for ending corruption within the media, provided the state gets serious.

Some fingers have been raised in the Public Accounts Committee meetings as to why all institutions including the military establishment and the judiciary are not accountable to the parliament, but not much progress has been made.

There were lots of expectations from the judiciary, particularly after its independence as a result of a popular movement. However, during the tenure of former chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the then government of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) accused him of victimisation, in the name of accountability. High profile case of Swiss account and Surrey Palace even cost Yusuf Raza Gilani his premiership, when he refused to write a letter to Swiss authorities and faced contempt of court.

The opposition parties, particularly Pakistan People’s Party, termed it déjà vu, for Sharifs and they have a point as “It was the PML-N and Mian Nawaz Sharif, who from Memogate to Swiss case, completely unsettled the PPP government.”

Genersl Zia and General Musharraf unfortunately used premier intelligence agencies to level corruption charges merely as a threat to force politicians to joint the King’s party. In the past, such king’s parties named as Pakistan Muslim League, under the late Mohammad Khan Junejo, Pakistan People’s Party Patriot and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam. Thus, we did not even spare the name of the founder of the country.

If you want to see how politicians were 'dry cleaned’, just go through history of what happened after the dismissal of Junejo, Benazir and Nawaz Sharif's governments in 1985, 1990 and 1996. After each dismissal, the establishment included at least 50 per cent ministers and leaders of the sacked governments in new setup after being dry-cleaned.

Dry-cleaners first dry-clean the Sharifs against the late Junejo and later, dry cleaned the late Jam Sadiq Ali and later the late Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi against Benarir Bhutto. We have also experienced imported dry-cleaned politicians.

There are still ifs and buts over the outcome of this high profile Panama case, which will take decisive turn in the second week of July. But, will this lead to any massive across-the-board accountability, or the process will come to an end after the Supreme Court verdict, one has to wait and see.

As long as such dry-clean shops continue to operate, whether within the political parties or within establishment, the dream of across the board accountability would remain a dream. The corrupt must face accountability, not shelter.

The writer is a senior columnist and analyst of Geo, The News and Jang.

Twitter: @MazharAbbasGEO