Awami National Party President Asfandyar Wali Khan has expressed concern over what he termed marginalisation of the political parties which have been in the forefront in the war against terrorism. “It is regrettable that a negative impression is being spread against the political forces which have been combating terrorism,” he said in a statement issued by ANP information secretary Zahid Khan on Tuesday.The ANP chief said it was because of the sacrifices rendered by the leaders and workers of “three big political parties” that the terrorists were now on the run.But, he regretted, instead of terrorists, political forces were being defamed. The ANP chief did not name the three parties, but Zahid Khan said his party believed that besides it, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) also had a clear stance on the issue of terrorism and gave sacrifices in the war against terror. His statement seems to be an indication of frustration on being unable to practically counter the negative image the actions of Rangers and courts have taken against the members of PPP and MQM. While Rangers’ actions may be an overstepping of the mandate it had been entrusted with, there is no reason to worry if these politicians’ hands are not dirty. These three parties have had more than ample time to prove how good they were at governance, but in a glaring show of ineptness they failed to deliver, with their terms being rife with corruption allegations, terrorism and a much worse law and order situation.
On the one hand, though these parties have been a target of terrorism yet it is no excuse for their failure to deliver on the promises made during election campaigns. On the other hand, their complaint is genuine: Rangers’ actions against these parties in the ongoing operation in Karachi do not entirely speak of objectivity and impartiality because a) Rangers is not mandated to take action on corruption allegations, and b) there are civilian organisations that are set up to handle corruption cases. Moreover, the role of PML-N so far does not appear to be impartial — there are as many politicians with corruption cases in PML-N as in any other party and yet no action has been taken against any one of them.
Corruption cannot be condoned in any way. However, rounding up corrupt politicians under the garb of war on terrorism is also not justified.
pk.shafaqna.com
