Sanaullah: a case in point

The day PML-N Punjab president and former law minister Rana Sanaullah was arrested on charges of narcotics possession and involvement with banned outfits, former president Asif Ali Zardari was arrested in the Park Lane case, and former PM Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was indicted in the RPPs case. The arrests and indictments seem to be part of an expedited process of what the government has called accountability – mostly of the opposition parties, with more talk of almost all the top leadership of the PML-N facing court cases. Rana Sanaullah has been one of the most vocal critics of the PTI government, which – along with past infamy – is just one of the reasons he may not be everyone’s favourite politician. Nonetheless, his arrest by the Anti-Narcotics Force on the Lahore-Faisalabad motorway has only led to more questions about due process, which is essential no matter who the alleged perpetrator is. Without such process, there will always be the inevitable talk of political victimisation. For now, he has been remanded on a 14-day judicial custody.

The allegations against Sanaullah are serious (especially since the narcotics law he has been charged with also carries the death penalty). But many observers and more than one politician – including voices from the PPP – have pointed to the loopholes in both the way he was arrested and what they say are bizarre charges. Repeated questions have also come up from political commentators and leaders about why a senior politician would personally be carrying a large quantity of narcotics on the motorway of all places – especially since he had been predicting his own arrest. To ensure that there is an air of transparency in all its actions, the government must come out and provide some clarity to such questions.

Briefly, the ANF has accused Rana Sanaullah of travelling with a cache of drugs worth around Rs200 million. Significantly, no video footage or photographic evidence of the raid and subsequent arrest has been produced – something that is the usual practice in such cases. Sanaullah has vehemently denied the allegations and the version of events. While no one should be above the law, such arrests should be made once evidence is ready to be shared publicly. Otherwise, in an environment where eyebrows have already been raised over how NAB has operated in the past few months, there will continue to be strong scepticism over the whole affair. The process of accountability needs to appear outside political designs for it to work. Right now it is imperative that the government speak out clearly and openly so it can prove to the people that its actions are not dominated by political victimisation and strongman tactics. Unfortunately, the Sanaullah affair if continued without clarity may do little to reassure that this is the case.