The going gets tough for Punjab Education and Sports Minister Rana Mashhood who is facing another inquiry by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for alleged corruption in the Punjab Youth Festival and entries of ‘fake records’ in the Guinness Book of World Records. “The bureau will investigate the allegations against Rana Mashhood regarding corruption in the Punjab Youth Festival,” NAB Lahore Director-General Syed Burhan Ali told reporters here on Thursday.The NAB has already kicked off investigation against Mashhood in a video scandal in which he is allegedly shown negotiating with Asim Malik, the owner of visa consultancy firm Future Concern, about payment of money for party funds. Sources said the NAB would lay hand on Mashhood once the investigation was complete in both video scandal and the youth festival case. Earlier, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were accusing the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government of orchestrating the politics of victimisation against their leaders and workers in Sindh. But the PML-N too is in the dock now. A noose is being tightened around politicians and the PML-N itself seems helpless and acting like a bystander in this situation. It seems that the federal government is unable to control institutions who are working under a phased programme. A spate of attacks on politicians belonging to the PPP, MQM and now PML-N shows that hidden forces are controlling the NAB and FIA.
Questions are being raised about the authenticity and credibility of this accountability drive such as what is the game? What is the purpose of this crackdown on politicians? It is being presumed that the political class as a whole is under attack. A perception is being built that all politicians are corrupt and the system has failed and cannot deliver. A kind of hatred against democracy and democratic institutions is being developed. A negative public perception is being built against politicians in a systematic way. It is an unfortunate fact that politicians too are responsible for this phenomenon. It is their mistakes and weaknesses that have become the reasons for the perception of the failure of the democratic system. If they continue to indulge in corrupt practices, how can the system of democracy run smoothly? They have failed to deliver and created an opening for them to be painted as looters, the establishment on the other hand, is being portrayed as a saviour of the country. There is a need to make the public aware of the dangers associated with such negative perceptions. Democracy may have weaknesses but it is far better than autocracy. Although agitations and protests are being held in the country over different issues, yet this is the beauty of democracy. In an autocratic regime, the masses cannot come on the roads for the acceptance of their due rights. Politicians need to rectify their faults and create consensus in their ranks to withstand any threat to democracy.
There should be transparency and accountability in all walks of life, but it should be across the board irrespective of the rank and affiliation of the perpetrator. All institutions including the army should pass through the accountability test to come clean before the public. A one-sided drive targeting only civilians will only yield negative results and lead the country to more chaos. It is a totally wrong perception that only civilians are corrupt and there are no irregularities in other powerful institutions. We can easily find cases of massive corruption committed by senior officials of the establishment and a drive at that end must also be initiated. The political forces should call for an operation that takes action against every corrupt person, irrespective of his position in the state or society. No institution should be immune from this latest drive for accountability. Different quarters concerned are calling for across the board accountability of all institutions including the establishment and the security agencies. The present situation in the country shows that public opinion is being built to pave the way for another autocratic regime, which could prove disastrous.
pk.shafaqna.com
