Clearing NAB’s Webs
Brilliant Aitzaz Ahsan will go down in legal history as truly one of the outstanding practitioners of law in Pakistan. Shoring up his remarkable legal acumen by painstaking research carried out along with his legal aides much before he enters a courtroom, his presentation is incisive and analytical, delivered in a voice that is hardly ever raised, bass in content rather than treble. Having no time for histrionics, the calm demeanour and attitude reflects an inner confidence impressing friends and foes alike. A tremendous asset to the PPP, not only a credible, seasoned politician but an effective, functioning lawyer, his submissions before the Supreme Court (SC) recently about the provisions of the extremely draconian National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance were concise and logical. Senior legal counsel representing other clients were no less in stature, among them Akram Shaikh, Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, Basit Ali, etc. To hold one’s own among such talent is impressive by itself, to stand out among this gathering of legal eagles is remarkable.
Despite agreeing with many of Aitzaz’s legal submissions (and those of the others) the SC detailed 372 page judgment did not find NABO ultra virus of the Constitution. Chief Justice Irshad Hassan Khan is a genuine Solomonic surprise, his well-thought out and pragmatic legal presentations is doing much to mend the tattered reputation (audio-tapes, etc) of the superior judiciary, case by case, a slow but deliberate process. The balanced judgements are rebuilding the confidence of not only the Pakistani populace but interested foreign observers as to the fairness of the judicial state of the nation.
The Countdown Begins
The Caretaker PM, Mr. Moeenuddin Qureshi, has given as his first priority the conduct of free and fair elections. With 70 days to go the polls for the National Assembly, the Countdown may have started but electioneering has not yet commenced in earnest. Despite that we are much further advanced today in the pre-election process than we were on May 26 when the Supreme Court scuttled the July 14 date set by Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Co, which only goes to show that there is much more confidence about the elections of October 6 being held in comparison to the July 14 date. One must also state that the present Caretaker arrangement inspires confidence about their neutrality as opposed to the Supreme Court-terminated Balakh Sher arrangement which was clearly partial.
While elections are certainly a priority, the first priority remains the economy. Because of the prolonged state of limbo, Pakistan’s economy has been under severe pressure. The uncertainty has added to nervousness among potential investors thereby knocking down the sequence of events that was to lead us towards economic amelioration. Inflow of investment is the main prop for bolstering the economy during the state of transition. To cater for the shortfall, PM Moeen Qureshi will certainly ask his friends in the World Bank and IMF for international aid to start flowing immediately. One feels that he would do better by asking for a Debt Moratorium/Debt rescheduling for a three-year period. The policy of liberalisation has meant the removal of bureaucratic controls in order to attract investors to a free economy. Unfortunately investors have stayed away due to the political instability but the free economy environment and its lack of checks and curbs has created an adverse economic imbalance to the detriment of Pakistan. Our foreign exchange reserves have dwindled alarmingly. Massive devaluation by India had already effectively undercut our major export earners, cotton textiles, the hiatus in early reaction has contributed to taking us to the verge of economic apocalypse.