By Maria Amjad
On June 15th, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, appeared before the Panama Papers joint investigation team (JIT). The team is probing money laundering allegations against Sharif’s family. It is the first time in the history of Pakistan that a sitting Prime Minister has appeared before a JIT. The event is being termed as historic and unprecedented. Not only will it affect the current political dynamic but also have far-fetched implications on the democratic and judicial institutions of the country.
The story so far
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), has made 11.5 million secret documents available to the public for the very first time. The documents, coming from a Panamanian law firm called Mossack Fonseca, contain confidential attorney-client information for more than 214,488 offshore entities.
According to documents, about 200 Pakistanis have been declared to have offshore companies. Out of these, eight offshore companies were reported to have links with the family of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif who is the Chief Minister of Punjab. Nawaz is not directly mentioned in the Panama documents. His name appears only with reference to his children Maryam, Hassan and Hussain, who are declared owners and the authorizers of transactions of the companies.
However, Nawaz got into political hot water by issuing contradictory statements while addressing the nation twice over the allegations of money laundering. In his first address, he stated that the sale of the Gulf Street Mills in Jeddah was the source of funds for his sons business. However, in the second he specified that proceeds from the sale of the mills in Jeddah were used to purchase flats in London.
The opposition rejected both of Nawazs addresses and started a nation-wide campaign against him. The aim of the campaign was to mobilise the masses against Nawaz and to pressurise him into resigning from the premiership. The top leadership of Nawazs party, Pakistans Muslim League (PML-N), jumped into the fray to defend their leader by launching a counteroffensive campaign of corruption against the opposition leaders.
Additional fuel was added to the controversy by the contradictions in interviews given by Nawazs family at different times to the media. For example, in November 1999, Hassan Nawaz categorically stated that because he was a student in 1999, he was not in the position to buy flats in London. Hussain also expressed that the London flats were bought by the Nawaz family in 2006. However, his mother Kulsoom Nawaz had said that the flats had been bought by the family in 1999 because the children were studying in London.
Supreme Court’s verdict over the Panama Papers scandal
In November 2016, The Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan ordered a judicial probe to investigate the Panama Papers Scandal. After hearing the case for more than two months, the bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, announced their verdict on April 20th with a 3-2 split decision and a 547-page judgment. The verdict declared that Nawaz and his family failed to justify how they accumulated their offshore assets.
However, the five-judge apex court bench was divided over the decision whether or not to disqualify the prime minister over this verdict. Hence, the bench decided the formation of a JIT to examine the money trail saga. The court has asked Nawaz and his both sons to appear before the JIT to answer questions regarding the ownership and possession of any assets that the JIT thinks is disproportionate to their known means of income.
PML-N accepted the judgment and ensured the SC that they will fully cooperate with the JIT in this matter. However, this co-operation is not just a goodwill gesture. There have emerged two reasons that explain why Nawazs family has chosen to support the JIT.
Denying a political opportunity to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI)
After having been outperformed by PML-N in the 2013 general elections, the chairman of PTI, Imran Khan found the Panama Papers Scandal to be a God-sent opportunity to regain traction with the masses. Therefore, Nawaz, by not appearing before the JIT, did not want to offer Imran any space to manipulate things in his own favour for the upcoming general elections of 2018.
Nawaz knows that a slight error can sway the JITs verdict in the PTIs favour earning the latter the votes of the public. For a layman who does not understand complex legal affairs entwined with offshore companies, Nawaz’s disqualification will certainly convince him/her that the premier has his hands dirty. Therefore, Nawaz is using this act of appearing before the JIT to neutralise a contentious political point. At the same time, he trying to gain sympathy votes from the masses for the upcoming general elections.
Strengthening democratic and judicial institutions
PML-N has played a significant role in Pakistan’s political history. Nawazs wants his party to win the same praise again from legal and judicial quarters. Currently, the PML-N is being criticised in the political spheres for spinning a narrative that declares Nawaz an embodiment of democratic politics. It is being said, that it is a folly to argue that the prime minister has agreed to sit before an investigative body. He too is obliged to observe the laws.
The appearance of a sitting prime minister before a JIT is commendable as far as Pakistans judicial system is concerned. It will set an example for the political parties to revere the laws and regulations by keeping their personal ranks aside. However, there have been some objections raised about the credibility of the JIT and its members. The government authorities have alleged that the entire bench of JIT comprises members who reflect the interests of different institutions-civilian as well as military.
Therefore, if the investigative body is politicised and biased, chances are that the verdict will be reflective of a range of preferences and choices that suit the interests of different stakeholders involved in the process. The whole activity will only be effective if those who shall deal with such cases are impartial and invulnerable to any political pressure. If every such case is dealt according to the rule of law, only then will Pakistans judicial and democratic institutions get truly strengthened.
Featured image credits: Flickr