Transparency and impunity in Pakistan

Zulfiquar Rao, writing in the Daily Times, objects to the nontransparent machinery for punishing generals (and judges) in Pakistan. Excerpt:

At least there are frequent cases of accountability within military corridors. Just last year, we saw around a dozen senior officers of armed forces sentenced through military’s internal accountability mechanism. However, in cases of corruption at a senior level, it’s actually a collegial mechanism exposed to empathy as a result of Espirit De Corps. Many in public have often found the punishments through internal mechanism of military, especially in cases of corruption as too soft, compared to what a civilian is subjected to in similar cases.

Besides, there are instances where the accused ex-servicemen could not be brought to justice. One such case is of a retired General, who as a minister was accused of leading the controversial leasing of railways land worth Rs 25 billion in Lahore to a private company which built a golf course there.

Seen from the perspective of our societal character, we all know how favoritism, nepotism, greed, fears and graft are rampant in Pakistan. Not just the politicians and civil servants but the judges and generals too belong to the same society. How come while politicians and civil servants are so frequently found fallible but the judges and generals are able to escape these human temptations which are the hallmark of our society?

In that context, what kind of accountability is it when the process is internal and remains shrouded in mystery and flimsy excuses? We are no longer a colony run by alien rulers to justify an apartheid-driven governance, where some are left to enjoy ‘white’ privileges.