Clearing NAB’s Webs

Publisher and Managing Editor IKRAM SEHGAL wrote an article entitled “Clearing NAB’s Web” for THE NATION which we are re-producing with thanks.

Brilliant Aitzaz Ahsan will go down in legal history as truly one of the outstanding practitioners of law in Pakistan. Shoring up his remarkable legal acumen by painstaking research carried out along with his legal aides much before he enters a courtroom, his presentation is incisive and analytical, delivered in a voice that is hardly ever raised, bass in content rather than treble. Having no time for histrionics, the calm demeanour and attitude reflects an inner confidence impressing friends and foes alike. A tremendous asset to the PPP, not only a credible, seasoned politician but an effective, functioning lawyer, his submissions before the Supreme Court (SC) recently about the provisions of the extremely draconian National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance were concise and logical. Senior legal counsel representing other clients were no less in stature, among them Akram Shaikh, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, Basit Ali, etc. To hold one’s own among such talent is impressive by itself, to stand out among this gathering of legal eagles is remarkable.

Despite agreeing with many of Aitzaz’s legal submissions (and those of the others) the SC detailed 372 page judgment did not find NABO ultra virus of the Constitution. Chief Justice Irshad Hassan Khan is a genuine Solomonic surprise, his well-thought out and pragmatic legal presentations is doing much to mend the tattered reputation (audio-tapes, etc) of the superior judiciary, case by case, a slow but deliberate process. The balanced judgements are rebuilding the confidence of not only the Pakistani populace but interested foreign observers as to the fairness of the judicial state of the nation.

Bureaucrats can never understand the underlying logic about solving a particular problem, a fairly senior person recently repeated to me ad nauseam he could not be “commercial” in his outlook, his approach to everything has to be bureaucratic. As opposed to the national point of view one supposes! This asinine attitude reflects the deep malaise afflicting this nation, anything that gives any succour to the citizen is not good for the nation. On the contrary the SC has come forth with pragmatic and workable modus operandi, fair and equitable both in concept and implementation, there is justice in this world after all. One respectfully disagrees with the SC on “plea-bargaining”, the scum of this earth deserve no quarter, such compromise sets precedents that constitute an open invitation for rampant corruption. However, one can understand the logic behind their ruling. The State needs to recover the looted wealth, one must bite the bullet in giving this window of opportunity to the looters for the sake of the nation’s depleted treasury. Short of tortures and other draconian measures, anathema to civilized society there is no way to recover the looted wealth. Those who support such scoundrels should be made to go to our slums to feel the effect of their looting, no drinking water or basic hygiene, sewerage and garbage disposal, no transportation or medical facilities, virtually nothing for education, etc, forcing a bulk of our children into Madrassahs. The bleak economic circumstance availing in this bankrupt nation forces one to accept a modicum of moral compromise in order to alleviate the sufferings of the common man.

Under amendment because of the SC ruling, the NAB Ordinance (NABO) was neither well conceived nor well drafted. One respects Farooq Adam as a soldier and will always continue to look up to him as an individual, however he could never translate his superlative soldierly qualities to his legal potential. As a Prosecutor General he did quite well in Court in his year of office, in conceptualizing NABO, he erred in order to achieve speed and effectiveness. Contrary to general belief, NABO is not drawn in spirit from martial law, by itself that has no relevance to the Manual of Pakistan Military Law (MPML). Military law is very humane, giving every opportunity to the person to adequately defend himself. The MPML gives tremendous rights to the accused, bending over backwards to ensure that justice is done. That sometimes forces the military to operate justice on bluff, to get the accused to confess in order to avoid trial at all costs. “Plea bargain” is basically a sales pitch to convince the accused that despite the strong evidence against him he can get away with a lighter sentence than the punishment he may get in a courtroom trial. This intimidation is illegal in the moral and legal sense on two counts, viz (1) if the person is guilty why should he be let off lightly, it sets bad moral precedents, while on the other hand (2) intimidating an innocent person into accepting his guilt so as to avoid personal humiliation and further aggravation, is criminal in intent. If any person does not roll over and accept a plea bargain (or is not likely to), a really perverted “course of last resort” is followed, the use of “administrative action” without assigning any notice or reason to remove a person from service, illegally usurping the person’s right to a fair trial and/or afterwards an appeal. This is not military law, the morally depraved simply misuse it “in the higher interests of the nation”, gambling on public perception to post-facto condemn a person unheard. Sometimes national security does require “in camera” hearings, but at least the proceedings come on record and can be grounds for appeal. Without arbitrarily condemning military justice as draconian, exorcise those scoundrels who misuse it for their own ulterior motives.

NABO has been made more legal and humane by the SC ruling, in fact far more effective in the legal sense. NAB officers will have to put in far more homework, be more focussed in their accusations before they detain anybody and be far more accountable themselves. While Amjad indulged in some atrocious personnel selection, the fact remains that NAB did tremendous work in the very first year of its inception. Mobilizing a unit in war conditions and taking it to battle from day one is not an easy task, Amjad did accomplish that. With Khalid Maqbool’s takeover as Chairman, the style may have changed, the focus may have somewhat shifted, the substance and intensity of effort remains the same, if not more. There may be less of the initiatives that smack of rough cowboy justice, “the judge, jury and executioner” in one package being replaced by a more methodical approach, reflective of NAB becoming more organized as compared to the frenetic pace of the early months where to prove its effectiveness by bringing in quick results, it had to shoot from the hip. Comprising the finest professionals in the senior hierarchy of all the four martial laws, the performance of this military regime has been a mixed bag. Overwhelmed by the bureaucracy, its civilian ministers have been on-the-job training (OJT), their performance in keeping with their own training and experience, fairly good at management but atrocious in innovation. Marc Antony’s funeral oration for Julius Ceaser, “the good is oft interred with their bones, the evil lives after them” stands good for the Mosharraf regime as much as it does for Ayub, Yahya Khan and Zia. Long after this regime becomes part of history, the regime’s major successes will be counted as viz (1) accountability and (2) information technology (IT). The IT success is a tremendous economic gift to the nation, wholly and solely attributable to Federal Minister Dr Atta-ur-Rehman (who should be designated IT Czar for the next decade if not more). But what the public really wanted from the Musharraf was the blood of those who had been sucking the country dry, NAB has been fairly successful in ensuring kudos for the Army for posterity. Having tasted human blood, the public have become man-eaters, they want more. Despite the lingering suspicion that NAB sometimes fails in being even-handed about instituting accountability because some among the military hierarchy are misguided in giving protection to a pimp or two, NAB has an exemplary reputation with respect to honesty and integrity. Through the ages, no honest broker has ever been able to confront the well-entrenched pimps of any country with any great success. Honest brokers cannot supply the commodity that the pimps excel in, making an offer that only a very superior character is able to refuse.

The SC ruling should be seen as a positive development, it hones the NAB image, making it better in the public perception, deflecting public criticism because of the unnecessarily draconian clauses. Chairman NAB and all NAB personnel must take the ruling for what it is, it gives them added legal and moral authority in the unfettered execution of their prime mission, to terminate the vermin who have infested this country and eaten into the nation’s financial foundations. Most citizens of this country are victims of the few corrupt of this earth, those who hold the freedom of this country dear will support NAB without any inhibition whatsoever in pursuing their mission without fear or favour.