#GoneNawazGone: Today could be the
darkest day in Pakistan’s judicial history or the day a new Pakistan was born
By Shakir Lakhani Published: July 28, 2017
Nawaz Sharif
looks on during a lecture on Sri Lanka-Pakistan Relations in Colombo, Sri
Lanka, January 5, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS
The nail-biting suspense leading
up to the verdict is now over. The
unthinkable has finally happened. Nawaz Sharif, who managed to win three
elections and serve as Pakistan’s prime minister, has
been disqualified and faces political
extinction.
This is the mother of all Supreme Court (SC) verdicts and whether
it will change the country’s fate for better or worse will be decided in the
next few days.
It could be the darkest day in Pakistan’s judicial history or it
may be remembered as the day a new Pakistan was born, depending on whether or
not the SC disqualifies others who are equally corrupt (which includes most of
our present lawmakers).
Legal experts have different
opinions on the verdict:
Even if it goes for only a trial or nothing then how 5 member
bench when two judges never heard part of the case. Beyond sense for most
This is one for the history books.
Which side of history were you on? #PanamaVerdict
Which side of history were you on? #PanamaVerdict
On the right side of history. Against juridical coup. History
will mark this day as another dark day in Pakistan's history.
So after today's decision is it the end of House of Nawaz?
It is the continuation of 58(2)b jadeed
I also tell you this is no victory for @ImranKhanPTI . May he live long
because he will regret one day what has happened today.
Nawaz Sharif disqualified by the SC on Article 62(1)(f) -- not
on London properties but failure in 2013 to disclose salary from Capital FZE
Pakistan now has the dubious
distinction of having had almost all of its prime ministers sacked before they completed their full five-year terms. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first prime
minister under the 1973 Constitution, served for almost four years, but since elections were due in 1977, he too did not
complete five years.
Of course Nawaz and his men will claim that
he has been removed by a judicial coup, that it is an international conspiracy to remove him, so on and so forth.
But Nawaz has only himself to blame for his troubles.
He could have resigned two months
ago when two judges had held him to be unfit to be a member of Parliament.
Resigning would have at least saved him the humiliation of being disqualified
and being labelled as dishonest and corrupt.
Nawaz and his children cannot hold
public offices for the next five years at least. Furthermore, Nawaz will
undergo more humiliation when the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) finds him guilty of corruption and he could also be
sentenced to serve time in jail.
The credit for Nawaz’s downfall
undoubtedly goes to Imran Khan, although it was the Panama Leaks which
accelerated the process. So it would not be out of place to mention here
that Umer Cheema also deserves to be praised
for exposing the Panama scandal, for which he has earned international recognition.
And we now know that the decisive factor in the disqualification was Nawaz’s iqama (permission to
work in the UAE, for which he received a regular salary but failed to declare
it).
At present, after his
disqualification, the country is without a prime minister. It is up to Nawaz to
decide who will be the
interim prime minister until Shehbaz Sharif is elected to the National Assembly
and becomes eligible.
Knowing how suspicious and insecure Nawaz is, I doubt he
will select a strong man to serve as an interim prime minister, although the
country desperately needs such a man now.
In my opinion, the man who would be
acceptable to all political parties as the next prime minister is of
course Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the now former
interior minister. But unfortunately, he has differences with those who are
very close to Nawaz, so it is doubtful that he will be the next one in line.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Ayaz Sadiq are definitely suitable,
but again as I said, Nawaz would not like to have someone more powerful or more
popular than him to be in the driving seat.
Who should be the next prime minister of Pakistan?
·
Chaudhry
Nisar Ali (40%, 63 Votes)
·
Shehbaz Sharif (35%, 54 Votes)
·
Ayaz Sadiq (17%, 26 Votes)
·
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (8%, 13
Votes)
Total Voters: 156
In fact, it is very difficult for
the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to survive now. It is very likely that
some, if not most, of its parliamentarians will defect to other parties,
leaving the 2018 elections to be contested mainly between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples
Party (PPP).
However, we must not forget that it
is very difficult to find an upright and honest politician in Pakistan. Almost
all our parliamentarians have wealth which is much more than their declared
incomes. So it is impossible that the 2018 elections will give the country a
prime minister who is sadiq (honest) and ameen (upright).
The SC should now proceed against
corrupt politicians like Asif Ali Zardari and others to eliminate
corruption in the country. It should do so with the same speed with which
the Panama accused
were tried. If that is not possible, perhaps elections could be postponed for
six months to a year to ensure that only honest and God fearing people are
elected to our assemblies.
The SC should try the others
according to the same standard that was set for Nawaz. All known corrupt politicians and holders of public offices should explain within a
few weeks how they have managed to accumulate so much wealth. Those who cannot
do so should be disqualified immediately. This is the only way people will
believe that Nawaz has not been disqualified due to a conspiracy.
Let’s hope the SC does so without fear or favour.
Shakir Lakhani
Engineer, former visiting lecturer at NED Engineering College,
industrialist, associated with petroleum/chemical industries for many years.
Loves writing, and (in the opinion of most of those who know him), mentally unbalanced.
He tweets @shakirlakhani (twitter.com/shakirlakhani)
http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/54193/gonenawazgone-today-could-be-the-darkest-day-in-pakistans-judicial-history-or-the-day-a-new-pakistan-was-born/
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