Accountability
Published
in DAWN on April 18, 2013
WITH reference to the news
item ‘Raja Ashraf struck down’ (April 16), I am surprised at the statement of
Pakistan Bar Council member Mohammad Ramzan Choudhri that “It would have been
better to have allowed him to contest the election and the people of his
constituency given the opportunity to either reject or elect him.”
If this is made the rule,
what’s the use of Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution? In most civilized
countries, ministers immediately resign if there is the slightest evidence of
corruption against them, but here no minister would step down even if he is
involved in a murder case.
In Pakistan, we know that
corruption cases take a long time to be decided, so if blatantly corrupt people
are allowed to contest elections and they happen to get elected, cases against
them will drag on for years, giving them more opportunities to loot the
national exchequer.
As far as the average voter
is concerned, he is more inclined to vote for someone who belongs to his own
caste, even if the candidate is known to have indulged in illegal activities
like submitting a fake degree or selling land which doesn’t belong to him.
It is much better if the ECP
(or the courts) decide the eligibility or otherwise of candidates.
SHAKIR
LAKHANI
Karachi
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