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India-Pakistan | ||||||
PakistanÂ’s top court targets army | ||||||
2012-03-11 | ||||||
The case has showcased the emerging power of the Supreme Court, which is also hearing a contempt case against the prime minister that could see him imprisoned. The courtÂ’s activism has led to some uncomfortable headlines for politicians and pierced the perception of the generalsÂ’ invulnerability. But itÂ’s unclear who, if anyone, will be held accountable.
The court is acting on a petition filed in 1996 by former Air Vice Marshal Asghar Khan, demanding it investigate what he claimed were payments to right-wing politicians made by the army-run Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency, known as the ISI. The money was to be used to ensure that the Pakistan People’s Party — currently in power — would not win the 1990 general elections. Without explaining why,
On Thursday, Yunus Habib, a 90-year-old banker from the state-owned Mehran Bank, testified that he doled out the equivalent of $1.5 million in bank funds to politicians and ISI officers on the orders of then army chief Gen. Aslam Beg and President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, who was considered close to the army. Some of the politicians who allegedly took the funds remain powerful political players, including opposition leader and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. He has denied taking any money.
The alleged bribes didn’t give the alliance victory, however. It won 53 seats in the National Assembly, 49 less than the PPP that went on to form the government. Khan’s lawyer Salman Raja said he wanted criminal cases brought against all those who distributed and received the money. That would roil the political scene and likely be opposed by the army. Moreover, the nature of the evidence against them is unclear. Retired justice Tariq Mahmood said the case was a “morale booster” for the current government, but that it was unlikely anyone would be put on trial. “The government now has a chance to bring the intelligence agencies ... under its control,” he said. Political analyst Moeed Pirzada said the case put both the military and Nawaz Sharif on the defensive, which benefits the current PPP government, but would likely remain inconclusive. He said the court saw the case as “an opportunity to assert itself” following criticism by some over its pursuit of President Asif Ali Zardari. Supreme Court justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudry has been accused of pursuing a vendetta against Zardari’s PPP government. Zardari opposed Chaudry’s reinstatement to the job in March 2009. The court has ordered Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gilani to reopen a corruption probe against Zardari. Gilani has refused, arguing that Zardari has immunity from prosecution so long as he remains president. If found guilty of contempt for ignoring the order, Gilani could be imprisoned for six months and lose his job. | ||||||
Posted by:Steve White |