EDITORIAL: Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose (The more things change, the more they remain the same). This particular adage John-Baptiste Alphonso Karr, the famous French critic and journalist, continues to aptly describe the state of Pakistan’s political landscape, and how our state institutions remain determined to fail to learn the lessons of history.
Former prime minister Imran Khan’s twin convictions, announced on two consecutive days, in the cypher case as well as in the Toshakhana reference, which have seen the PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) leader being sentenced to 10 years and 14 years in prison respectively, were always expected, given the past practice of how the process of accountability in Pakistan has always operated in a highly questionable manner.
When it came to the proceedings of the cypher case, heard by a special court established under the Official Secrets Act, it should be noted that the two accused – Imran Khan and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi – were not allowed to be represented by the counsels of their choice, with the court appointing state counsel for them, a move that the defendants fervently protested.
One of the fundamental principles of a fair trial includes the right to choose one’s legal representation, which appears to have been denied to the PTI leaders. The defendants were also reportedly deprived of the right to cross-examine the prosecution’s witnesses.
In addition, the hasty manner in which the trial was heard raises some pertinent questions. In a case where the accused had been charged with leaking a sensitive diplomatic document with malicious intent, and where the prosecution had gone as far as to seek the death penalty, one wonders why the court felt the need to rush through the proceedings at breakneck pace, as it only cemented the impression that the process did not entirely adhere to the principles of fairness and impartiality.
One could argue that this was a case of a prime minister injudiciously sacrificing the country’s diplomatic relations for political gain, but the way the trial was approached has ended up sidelining the legal merits of the case, with the conversation revolving around how the PTI and its leading lights continue to be victimised in the run-up to the general elections.
Similarly, any talk about the merits of the case in the Toshakhana reference – where the defendants were accused of retaining gifts from foreign dignitaries on undervalued assessments – will also end up being relegated to the backburner.
Apart from the anomalies of the legal process that the PTI will surely play up, the fact that Imran Khan and his wife Bushra, who was also convicted alongside him, are not the only persons alleged to have acted in this manner while in office, points again to the selective nature of justice in the country, where legal actions against politicians seemingly depend on whether they remain in the good books of the establishment.
A similar treatment was also meted out to former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, in the run-up to the 2018 polls when he was convicted in multiple cases, only for those convictions to be set aside years later when political tides turned in his favour.
One won’t be surprised if a few years down the line Imran Khan and others who have been convicted alongside him will find similar relief, and not just because of the controversial manner in which legal proceedings against them were initiated. That has always been the nature of our democracy where political leaders’ fate too often depends not on the substance of their governance policies but on how skilfully they manage the expectations of powerful state institutions.
One can only lament the continued refusal of our ruling class to realise that this approach to determining the country’s future has only ever brought us constant political instability, an economy teetering on the brink of collapse and a populace that has lost faith in the integrity of our institutions and the credibility of the democratic process.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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