Pakistan's graft chief confronts
court By Syed Fazl-e-Haider
KARACHI - Pakistan's intensifying conflict
between the judiciary and the civilian government
took a further twist on Monday with the chief of
the country's top anti-corruption body threatening
to resign over alleged Supreme Court interference
in his organization's investigations.
In a
letter to President Asif Ali Zardari, admiral
(retired) Fasih Bokhari, head of the National
Accountability Bureau (NAB), accused the Supreme
Court of putting unnecessary pressure on NAB
officials in high-profile investigations,
particularly the rental power projects (RPPs)
scandal that last week prompted the court to order
the arrest of Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf.
Bokhari's remarks follow the death on January 18
of Kamran Faisal, who was working on the RPP case,
a US$5 billion scandal linked to awarding special
power projects to alleviate the country's
elecricity shortages.
While the NAB chairman said he would be
forced to resign if his concerns regarding the
Supreme Court were not addressed, some media
reports say he has already left his post. Chaudhry
Shujaat Hussain, a former prime minister who is
president of the Pakistan Muslim League, a partner
in the ruling coalition, has reportedly asked
President Zardari not to accept Bokhari's
resignation, saying it would further complicate
the situation.
Bokhari's letter to Zardari
comes as the Supreme Court is hearing several
corruption cases involving the government amid a
buildup to general elections in May that is seeing
heightened demands from opposition parties for
electoral reform.
In his letter, which has
been published in local newspapers, Bokhari wrote,
I write to you at a critical
juncture in the history of our country when our
people anxiously await free and fair
elections... I fear that in the current
direction that the honorable Supreme Court
appears to be taking, I will not be able to
perform my independent statutory role. This
situation needs to be addressed firmly in line
with the aspirations of the people, and the
clear mandatory provisions of the law and the
constitution
There is even a danger that
NAB personnel could lose their independence and
are unable to carry out their investigations in
an independent manner due to the pressure being
exerted on them by the honorable Supreme Court
to proceed along lines which seem to be desired
by the SC. In relieving this pressure, to
safeguard their jobs, and so as not to displease
the honorable court, there is danger of unfair
investigation being resorted
to."
Bokhari criticized sections of
the local media in his letter, blaming them for an
internal revolt that he said was a result of
newspapers vilifying him and other senior NAB
officials over Faisal's death.
According
to reports in The News, Faisal was under pressure
from his bosses to change his position in the RPP
case - which was reportedly in favor of the most
influential accused, Prime Minister Ashraf.
The letter said:
This section of the media appears to
be acting as an intelligence unit influencing
the public, and possibly influencing certain
members of the judiciary. Long-standing "stay"
on taxes to be paid by this media house appears
to be relevant also. This campaign, in which the
role of the honorable Supreme Court appears
evident, is placing great pressure on me to
please the honorable Supreme Court in what could
be seen as pre-poll rigging, and hurried
unlawful action on my part.
Bokhari
has blamed the court for exercising its influence
ahead of elections. But what power does President
Zardari have against the courts?
Four
months ahead of the last general elections in
2008, former president Pervez Musharraf, then the
Pakistan army chief, declared on November 3, 2007,
a state of emergency that lasted until December
15, 2007, during which time the constitution was
suspended.
While Chief Justice Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry promptly issued an interim order
against the emergency declaration, the armed
forces removed Chaudhry and several other judges
from the Supreme Court and arrested them.
The state of emergency attributed to the
controversial issues surrounding the re-election
of Musharraf during the presidential election on
October 6, 2007, including his holding of both
offices of president and chief of army staff at
the time.
The NAB has raised objection to
the Supreme Court's suo motu (of its own
accord) proceedings in the death of its official,
Kamran Faisal, who was investigating the RPPs
scandal.
NAB Prosecutor General K K Agha
along with Bokhari appeared before the court on
Monday, expressing their lack of confidence in the
court. While an NAB investigation into Faisal's
death has concluded that it was suicide as a
result of depression, Faisal's family has rejected
the report and insists that he was murdered,
claiming there were bruises on his body
inconsistent with death by hanging.
The
Express Tribune in a recent editorial said:
The case of Kamran Faisal, found
dead in his hostel room a few days ago,
continues to grow more and more disturbing...
There are many complications tied in to the
matter, with the Supreme Court also taking
notice of it. ... There are still too many
unknowns in the whole matter, and the nature of
the investigation Faisal Kamran was engaged in
raises suspicions of many kinds.
It has
become impossible to know where the truth lies
and how Faisal Kamran's life ended so
tragically. It seems obvious we need a full,
fair and detailed investigation. It must be
carried out in a transparent fashion and by
individuals who are seen as trustworthy. The
Islamabad police do not quite fit this
description.
... Everyone knows [the
police] can be manipulated and persuaded to act
in a specific fashion. Given the sensitivity of
this case, it is important that doubt not be
allowed to linger and a definite conclusion be
reached. A failure in this regard would be
damaging and inflict a great deal of harm, given
the gravity of the matter and the possible
repercussions that arise from it, affecting both
individuals and institutions.
Last
week, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court
requesting that it remove Bokhari as he had failed
to take necessary action to check corruption in
the country. When passing its judgement on Ashraf
last week, the court categorically stated that NAB
officials would be held responsible if its
judgement was not carried out, yet Bokhari said
there was not enough evidence.
President
Zardari appointed Bokhari, a retired four-star
admiral as chairman of the NAB in October 2011.
Before his appointment, he served as the country's
chief of Naval Staff, according to
PakistanHerald.com.
In 1997, former prime
minister Navaz Sharif approved the appointment of
Bokhari as chief of Naval Staff in May 1997, but
he voluntarily resigned from the navy the
following year after Sharif approved the
appointment of the chief of army staff, General
Pervez Musharraf - a junior military officer to
Bokhari - to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff. Bokhari repeatedly called for a
court-martial of Musharraf for violation of the
constitution, and for illegally overthrowing the
elected government of Nawaz Sharif in 1999.
Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(http://www.syedfazlehaider.com) is a
development analyst in Pakistan. He is the author
of many books, including The Economic
Development of Balochistan (2004). He can be
contacted at sfazlehaider05@yahoo.com.
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