Senator Farhatullah Babar has said on Saturday that misuse of accountability for political re-engineering, exemption of sacred cows from accountability and turning a blind eye to institutional corruption were the fundamental issues that had never been addressed.
"Due to these faults, anti-corruption laws are misnomers and institutions are nothing but sham," Babar said speaking at a dialogue organized by the HRCP in Lahore on accountability laws and policies in Pakistan Saturday. PPP's Senator said that the history of anti-corruption and accountability remained a dismal story of selectivity, sacred cows and political witch-hunt from Independence Day to date.
"Corruption does not mean financial corruption alone. Misuse of authority, favouritisms and monopolization of opportunities are also corruption," he said asking if the Kargil misadventure, sheltering Osama Bin Laden and nuclear proliferation could be investigated substantially and if the culprits and misadventures could be brought to book?
He said that the issue of institutional corruption was not even understood so far, let alone addressed. He raised questions about the allotment of land for defence purposes but that was subsequently used for other purposes and also questioned all those past irregularities condoned with a stroke of the pen through an executive order, without investigation, without accountability.
He said that it was also a societal issue and no matter what laws were made because corruption would not end totally. Alongside, he said, there was also an issue of educating the people and inculcating values. He said that the fight against corruption would not succeed unless it was across the board and there must be no sacred cows.
"Why the judges, generals and journalists cannot be held accountable through the same accountability mechanisms that investigate politicians and bureaucrats," he asked saying that the argument that some institutions had their own accountability mechanisms was not cogent because that had not brought any sort of credibility and was widely perceived an escape from accountability. He asked who would guard the guards and pass judgment on those judging others for corruption.