Ousted prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif addressed a large public gathering the other day in Swat where he vented his anger at his arch rival, Imran Khan, calling him 'Ilzam Khan' (for taking him to court in the Panamagate case), and predicting PTI's permanent ouster from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. For good measure he also accused Khan of using Jehangir Tareen's money and KP chief minister's helicopter. Whatever the validity of his claims, it was perfectly understandable for the PML-N Quaid to lash out at his nemesis while in a PTI-ruled province.
But it is hard to digest his other claims, his 'alternative facts' based as they are on demonstrable falsehoods. Iterating his usual outrageous assertion, he said, five people challenged the sanctity of the votes of millions of people and ousted an elected prime minister. It is sad indeed that a three-time prime minister of this country should make such an offensive and misleading statement over and over again. Constant repetition of this fake argument calls for counter repetition. As pointed out umpteen times, he surely is aware that five people he keeps attacking are not some street bullies but judges of the Supreme Court, the ultimate arbiters. And that one of the core values of a democratic system is the rule of law under which all citizens - elected or unelected, rich or poor - are equal. Electoral mandate is not a licence for any holder of high public office to violate laws of the land. In fact, it would be unthinkable in any functioning democracy for a politician to utter such nonsense. He faces a corruption case that no one in this country invented. It came from a law firm Mossack Fonesca's leaks, thoroughly scrutinized by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists before making them public. Consequently, Nawaz Sharif's children were forced to acknowledge the hitherto denied ownership of pricy properties in London.
As per the national accountability law in a financial corruption case, like the Panama Papers scandal, the onus is on the accused to prove that the assets under question were acquired through legal means. So far he has failed to do that. Knowing that he has no defence he has been playing the victim to try and cover up his suspected wrongdoing by deliberately seeking to create confusion in the public mind. In this he has the support of the beneficiaries of a system of patronages he carefully laid out during his long years in power. There are some self-styled liberals and democrats, too, who claim to be defenders of the democratic project, and yet offer excuses to denigrate the judiciary for holding to account a powerful politician implicated in a multi-million dollars corruption case. In so, acting, they are trying to preserve the elites control over the power structure. The little guy has to pay for minor financial misdemeanors but the big guy must go scot-free.
Mian Sahib spent much time in his Swat speech criticizing PTI's governance in KP. The most interesting part came when he listed the failures of "the government of 'Ilzam Khan' and then invited the people of KP to visit Punjab if they wanted to see real development. "I see no change in Swat", he said, "PTI brought no change as no new school, college, university or hospital has been built over the past five years; its leaders only looted public money." The KP government surely has a lot to say to him on all these accounts. It is good to note though that at least he knows education and healthcare are the building blocks of development rather than road construction projects in big cities. His party has been ruling in Punjab for the last ten consecutive years. It is useful to recall in the context that Pakistan had adopted the UN Millennium Development Goals (UNMDGs) along with many other countries, which included achieving universal primary education, combating various diseases, and eradication of extreme poverty by 2015. Three years past the target date, there is little advancement on all these development indicators in the province he boasts as a model of progress.
As per the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2016-17, the literacy rate for Punjab is 56.5 percent -almost half of the UNMDGs. If that is not bad enough, there has been a 1.0% decline in it since FY '14. Since Mian Sahib likes to make a comparison, he can draw some solace from KP's literacy count of 53% though the PTI came to power there only in '13. Official reports, nonetheless, have a habit of exaggerating positives for ruling parties. It is worthwhile to take a look at a PILDAT survey on quality governance for 2015-16. Regarding healthcare, KP scored 66.7 percent points and Punjab 61.6%. KP's score for poverty alleviation was 74.7 percent and that of Punjab 72.8%. On overall social indicators, KP was ahead with 65.1% score against Punjab's 62.1%. KP also continues to lead in devolution of powers to local governments.
That noted, so far as the people are concerned, the statistics mean nothing to them. They will know they have good governance when they have easy access to quality education, healthcare, clean drinking water, jobs, and equality before law. That remains a distant dream.
saida_fazal@yahoo.com