Panama and Constitutionalism: The Bottom Line


A line of reasoning taken in defense of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif since appearance of Panama Papers has been that it is a conspiracy to undermine the civilian supremacy and democracy in Pakistan. Just when I believe the continuous civil-military power struggle is a reality, and unelected power centers have always tried to undermine the representative rule in the country; this time around, the issue cannot be framed in the said context; and below is why?

First and foremost, this time the crisis began because of a global leak that has shaken many a governments and powerful men across the globe. To say that Pakistani establishment had the sway to initiate such leak of global scale is giving it too much credence and credit. Also establishment in Pakistan has proven to be unsuccessful in shaking things decisively in recent attempts like Memogate and PTI/PAT sit-in. And no matter what spin of “establishment conspiracy” PML-N sympathizers want to give to the current episode; the reality is that Mr. Sharif knows fully well from where the conspiracy is coming from. A hand that has nurtured, protected, and benefited Sharifs for over 3 decades and has lobbied on their behalf for reentry into the political arena and ultimately 2/3rd majority is not happy when Mr. Sharif’s compass gets swayed by the “brotherhood” flare. After that degree of nurturing, comes expectation of unquestionable obedience which was not forthcoming. And if you are not “a mere bystander but a major player” in the affairs here, such dash of expectation has to be treated with a knockout punch. Sharif survived Musharaf because the hand that nurtured him with a strong support structure at home and abroad was behind him. This time the very hand is after him, and thus the fears of end of the road. Mr. Sharif’s survival or exit this time around will not impact civil-military equation, whatever it is. If he goes, it will be a triumph for an order that backed him for decades. If he stays, Pakistan will move to its own version of Putin or Erdogan. Needless to say, latter seems news worse for the system than the former.

Secondly, the charges and evidence against Mr. Sharif is different than any other. References filed against Benazir Bhutto or Asif Zardari were filed by either Sharif or Musharraf, both their political opponents, and thus there always was a case for malicious intent. The earlier allegations against Sharif were by Benazir Bhutto or Musharraf, and thus again issue of malicious intent stood.  Also, from the alleged asset perspective, Zardari might be the owner of Surrey Palace but he never openly admitted owning it, nor was he ever sighted around. And if Sharifs have been using those apartments, it becomes imperative to be answerable for questions raised in light of Panama revelations, which mind you could not be orchestrated by any of Mr. Sharif’s political opponents. In fact, such is the nature of evidence and framing of issue around Mr. Sharif’s sources of wealth that if he gets exonerated after all this, this will be a strong tool in the hands of those who want to undermine the constitutional rule and system. Not that I would advocate undermining justice to save the system, and I do not see a conflict between justice and system here; with where we are, the system needs Sharif’s ouster. And it has been held hostage by one man’s desire to stay in power come what may.


And then the last and most important issue in all this: strengthening and saving the system. System would have been strengthened if Mr. Sharif had chosen to step down and appointed a party man as interim successor at the on-sight of Panama revelations, and had his name cleared before heading new elections. System will still be damaged less if Mr. Sharif choses to resign rather than leading the way for disqualification of another Prime Minister by Supreme Court (this time under 184(3)), a precedence initiated by Mr. Sharif himself when he went to have Yousaf Raza Gillani ousted; first on Memogate and then on Swiss Letter issue. None of the present lot of political leaders is as tall, as was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto or Benazir Bhutto. Least so Mr. Sharif whose numerical electoral strength comes on the head of few hundred Punjabi electables, 90% of whom were PMLQ in 2002 and almost half were PPP-coalition in 2008; and who decided to join Mr. Sharif when it became evident that Iftikhar Chaudhary court is bound to put all its weight behind Mr. Sharif and he has backing of powerful quarters heading 2013 elections. None of the present lot has any decisive vote bank in Punjab which has become party-less as the ultimate culmination of 1985’s non-party experiment. Be it Mr. Sharif or Mr. Khan, their influence is limited to urban areas of few districts in Punjab. And as for Peoples Party, barring one or two small pockets in South Punjab, it has become totally irrelevant as a political entity in Punjab. Punjab belongs to local electables, reminiscent of Sikha-shahi of post-Ranjit Singh era. In this context, the name of the game for the system is continuation.  Tide of history is in favor of representative rule in our lands. Those who claim to preserve the system should be ready to sacrifice individuals for the continuation. That is the only chance for the system. And in this, the example set by Yousaf Raza Gillani stands tall. 

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