Accountability for all

A woman from Bannu Makhzum, which was one of the most influential tribes in the pre-Islamic Arab world, committed a theft. She was proven guilty of the offence and the verdict was to cut off her hand. Her tribe tried to seek favour/ privilege from Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Furious over the matter, the Greatest Judge of all times on the Earth said a few historical words which are a guiding principle for the all the generations, societies, judges and courts to come: “People before you would release the guilty if he was influential, and would carry on with the punishment if he belonged to a clan which was weaker ... and that is the exact reason why they perished. I swear to Allah Almighty, even if Fatima (AS), the daughter of Muhammad (PBUH) stole ... of course, I would have cut her hand too. "

The Supreme Court in Pakistan these days is hearing a high-profile case related to one of its own members--Justice Qazi Faez Isa. The worthy judge has challenged in the apex court a presidential reference which accuses him of acquiring properties in London in the name of his family members but not disclosing those in the tax returns.

Intense debates are continuing these days in the apex court as a 10-member bench is hearing the case almost on a daily basis. While the government wants action against the honorable judge over non-disclosure of foreign properties in tax returns as well as the mode of transfer of the funds to buy the properties, arguments before the apex court raised questions on the legality and even intent of the ‘ movers and backers ‘ of the reference.

As far as filing of a reference by the President of Pakistan against Justice Isa is concerned, the action itself seems within the ambit of the Constitution. However, it is beyond understanding as to why a mountain has been made out of a mole hill by the lawyer fraternity and some opposition parties out, and even the worthy judge himself, of an apparently simple legal and constitutional matter. No doubt Justice Qazi Isa enjoys an excellent reputation, but he is after all a human being, and one can assume to err is human. The higher the pedestal, greater the accountability.

Pakistan’s judicial history has a number of examples where politicians of even the highest rank were subjected to harshest scrutiny by the courts. Even the sitting prime ministers have been no exception.

The most recent case of Nawaz Sharif, where, in a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court of Pakistan had not only disqualified him as prime minister of the country but also from holding public office for life, after he, being a public office holder, failed to establish money trail of offshore properties his family member owned, which were disclosed in the Panama Papers.

Before this, we have also seen another sitting prime minister-Yousaf Raza Gilani – being the sent home by the Supreme Court of Pakistan after disqualifying him from holding a seat in the parliament over contempt of the court.

Things have changed for army generals as well in the recent years. Leading by example, in a first for Army as well as for Pakistan, the then chief of army staff General Raheel Sharif had fired several high-ranking army officers including two generals for corruption in an in an operation clean-up of the barracks.

There are no holy cows in the eyes of the law, be they politicians, judges, generals or anyone else, high and mighty. All of us convinced that people, especially those who are in power or have any other social responsibilities, must be accountable for their deeds and actions. But it is also a fact that most of us want others to be accountable. What is essential for justice to prevail in a society is that accountability starts from the top and no one is spared if found guilty of any wrongdoings irrespective of how powerful he is.

Before canonizing someone, remember that even saints were not saints at one time, as they too had to undergo harsh scrutiny. The honourable judge is innocent until proven guilty, and in the end, it may even come out to be a plain oversight or the defence that his lawyers had placed before the full court. However, a full and fair and across-the-board accountability process is need of the time if we want to take this country ahead.

There should be no discrimination whatsoever in the name of establishing and providing justice. It is time to move towards establishing a society where there are no holy cows in the country. Justice should not only be done in this case, it should also be seen to be done.

The writer is a civil right activist.