Better late than never

Seven years after he appeared before the Supreme Court as a petitioner in the controversial Memogate case that shook the then PPP government to its core, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed regret for having gotten involved in it. The timing of this belated repentance though is not without significance. The Supreme Court has reopened the so-called Memogate case, ordering the concerned authorities to bring back home former Pakistan ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani, purported author of the controversial memo. Following his disqualification by the apex court in the Panama Papers case and facing related references in a NAB accountability court, Nawaz Sharif is fighting for his political survival. It seems to fit in with his political narrative to say sorry for his role in that particular case, which is seen by many as a manifestation of civil-military turf battle.
In his long political career, the three-time ex-premier and currently the ruling party 'Quaid' has not always played by democratic rules and traditions. If he is really in a confessional mood, he has a lot to say sorry for. He may not be the only major politician who rose to power under a military dictatorship. But Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto more than made up for joining a military government by giving up his position as foreign minister and leading a successful movement against the Ayub regime. On the other hand, Nawaz Sharif came into politics under General Ziaul Haq's regime, and stayed with it till its end. After Zia's sudden demise, he had vowed to complete his mentor's 'mission.' He also mocked Benazir Bhutto for using the word shaheed (martyr) for her father, who was hanged by Zia in a case universally described as judicial murder. If he has had any regrets about that or wanting to protect and promote the legacy of this country's most brutal military dictator, he is yet to say that. Later in 1990 what came to be known as the Asghar Khan Case was an unsavoury story of politicians colluding with the military intelligence agency, ISI, to prevent Benazir Bhutto-led PPP from returning to power. Unfortunately, those who participated in that anti-democracy conspiracy and took money from the ISI for the purpose included the PML-N Quaid.
The truth of the matter is that from the chequered political history of this country no one comes out smelling of roses. If there were military adventurists plotting and planning to grab political power, judiciary lent legal validity to their illegal, extra-constitutional actions. And politicians played their own part by conspiring with military men against their political rivals, undermining the democratic process. There is no use, hence, raking up the past. A lot has changed for the better since. Third consecutive general elections are due in a few months' time. Since the lawyers' movement against the Musharraf regime, the judiciary has come into its own. The soldiers are sensitive to insinuations that they have anything to do with political or constitutional matters. The democratic project, though, remains a work in progress. It will grow from strength to strength only if those elected to govern exercise their authority diligently for the greater public good in a transparent manner.