The jury has decided. The verdict is in. The opposition has united once more under the single hashtag of those dreamy dharna days of yesteryear.
\n#GoNawazGo
\nOr else face the music. And for everyone who is not part of the ruling PMLN \u2014 this means relinquishing the premiership. The most immediate test remains seeing if PM Nawaz Sharif will do the needful, thereby putting his party\u2019s electoral future ahead of his own (thus far) 28-year-grip on power.
\nThe two major opposition parties are doing their best to leave nothing to chance. Both the PPP and PTI are calling for Parliament to take the lead, ensuring that Nawaz does, indeed, go. There is not much time for the PM and his cohorts to manoeuvre. The Supreme Court has set next week as the deadline by which it will announce its next move.
\nYet of one thing we can be certain: the legal wrangling over financial disparity between the first family\u2019s known income and their actual wealth is not going to be a drawn out affair. Not if the PPP and PTI have their way. Not, actually, if the PMLN has its way. For all three have their eye on next year\u2019s electoral prize.
\nThus with the dust now settling on the JIT probe and all indications pointing to the law of the land taking its course \u2014 we would do well to revisit the Panama Papers leaks, published last year, lest we lose sight of the bigger picture. The leaks were an expos\u00e9 into the offshore wealth of global elites. The list from Pakistan included the names of Nawaz and his children. The SC has firmly kicked off the accountability process, at least for all outward intents and purposes. Now what still needs to happen is this: the ensuring of transparency in terms of business practices and the taking to task of those who misuse public office for private gains. Without exception.
\nWhen the Panama Papers scandal first broke \u2014 the government\u2019s position was firm. It assured everyone who was willing to listen that it envisaged a commission expansive in purview. Meaning the latter would probe everything from money laundering to tax evasion to loan write-offs. The PPP and PTI had insisted \u2014 and rightly so \u2014 that the process begin with the first family.\u00a0 Now that this appears firmly under way, we must remind the opposition of their role in keeping due checks and balances on not just those who hold the keys of parliamentary power but also national institutions. And this means holding to account all those identified in Panama Papers.
\nFor this is what democracy is. And it is the best revenge, so we\u2019ve heard.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The jury has decided. The verdict is in. The opposition has united once more under the single hashtag of those dreamy dharna days of yesteryear. #GoNawazGo Or else face the music. And for everyone who is not part of the ruling PMLN \u2014 this means relinquishing the premiership. The most immediate test remains seeing if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19665","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorial"},"yoast_head":"\n