NAB’s ill timed notices to Sharifs

Monday, July 30, 2012 - THE Counsel for Sharif brothers, Akram Sheikh has expressed his surprise and shock over the start of the proceedings in National Accountability Court without getting the stay orders given by the Lahore High Court vacated against his clients. At the same time the learned Counsel argued that the NAB on its own cannot issue notices and stated that the reopening of cases after a hiatus of ten years is based on dishonesty.

We think at a time when the elections are approaching fast, the move against the leadership of the major opposition party, the PML-N is ill timed and ill advised. It would not help in the creation of an atmosphere of understanding that was seen during the appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and should have been carried forward. The opening of cases would certainly lead to generation of political heat and the two sides would start indulging in levelling of allegations and counter allegations of all sorts. The reopening of the NAB cases coupled with fresh cases against two staffers of Punjab Chief Minister would create bitterness and not augur well for democratic system. We believe that if these cases were pending for the last ten years, it would have been better to leave them for the next government to pursue or to send them to the cold storage as is the normal practice in Pakistan when important cases are not followed by the sitting government for political considerations. The government would gain nothing, as the cases would certainly take time to be decided. According to some reports, the three cases against Sharifs were deferred for an indefinite period as the former government could not get proofs against them. In this situation, we would urge the government authorities as well as the leadership of PPP, the country’s biggest party, that in the larger interest of the system, after having completed its five years in office, there should be one point agenda before it to hold free, fair and transparent elections. It rightly claims that during the last five years, there was no political prisoner in the country and we expect that better sense would prevail and no step would be taken by it in the remaining very brief period that gives the impression of political victimisation.