The
Panama Case’s verdict is out and starts with an extract from the Mario Puzo
creation, “the Godfather”. This reference diverted my attention towards another
book, which was just like The Godfather was turned into a brilliant and equally
famous movie. The Book’s name is “All the President’s men”, the movie based on
the book had the same name and upon its release in 1976, not only won critical
appraise but it also managed to win 4 Academy awards.
“All
the President’s men” is about the infamous Watergate scandal. It tells the
story of two Washington Post journalists, who through thorough investigation
turned a scoop into the breaking news of the century, at least for the Americans.
The part of the book that astonishes the most is about the role of American
civil machinery in attempting to sweep the scandal under the carpet, had it not
been for the pursuance of the two journalists, they might have even succeeded
in doing that. This is startling for some lay man, who thinks highly of the
American system which is loaded with mechanisms of check and balance and
accountability.
This
brings us back to the Panama Case verdict, which asks for the formation of a
joint investigation team (JIT). The JIT will comprise of representatives of
several public institutions such as SECP, State bank, ISI, FIA and MI. I am
writing these lines with a heavy heart, that even after 70 years of
independence, we have failed to build even a single institution other than the
armed forces, which enjoy some kind of credibility in the eyes of the general
public. With the American precedent in my mind, I fear that there is a fair
chance that the said JIT will be crippled by the heads of the institutions
mentioned above especially by those who are directly appointed by the Prime
Minister as they all are Prime minister’s men. Irony is that the Supreme Court
has ordered the same institutions to be part of the said JIT, which according
to their own verdict are crippled and inefficient. However, the point in which
one can take respite is that the Supreme Court is monitoring all this and that
the JIT will report to the Supreme Court. Otherwise there is a fair possibility
that we might miss this golden opportunity to make the all-powerful,
answerable, for once and also establish rule of law.
This
opportunity is a blessing for the institutions too as they can break free from
the reputation they enjoy and for once establish some credibility in the eyes
of the general public and fulfill the purpose of their formation.
Justice does not mean
to punish the powerful. Justice is to punish anyone who is responsible for the
violation of law irrespective of his social and political standing. If a nation
fails to establish justice amongst its ranks then nature establishes justice
for them in its own ways. Nature maintains balance and it does not let anything
go beyond a certain point whether it is injustice or power or even knowledge.
Nature has set saturation point for everything. There is rule of law in natural
justice and it is both blunt and straightforward in its manifestation.
Hopefully, we will not reach such a point where we will be holding no cards. I
hope that we will be able to establish rule of law before that and this JIT
might turn out to be the beginning of it.
