EDITORIAL: Amidst all the furore over the sedition cases filed against the opposition, an interview by an ex-chief of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has further set the cat among the pigeons. Former head of the FIA Bashir Memon in an interview has laid bare the pressures allegedly exerted on him by "the highest office", implying Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, to prosecute the main opposition leaders on serious charges without the necessary evidence for doing so. Particularly targeted were, the entire Sharif family, which the PM expected to be booked in 56 "fake" companies' cases. Those cases are by now before the courts, but Memon had refused on the grounds that this was a provincial matter to be handled by the province's anti-corruption department and therefore beyond his mandate as head of a federal agency. He went on to state that whatever was happening now to Nawaz Sharif's son-in-law Captain Safdar (retd) was exactly what the PM had wanted him to do. According to Memon, Imran Khan was resentful because he thought Memon was lenient with the Sharifs. Memon on the other hand had 'advised' Imran Khan to use the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to do all these things. Memon also accused Imran Khan of being indignant at the FIA's determination to recover Rs 87 billion from the Abraaj group that was owed to the Sui Southern Gas Company. Reports say Abraaj, which runs Karachi Electric, was, at that time, headed by Arif Naqvi, who is facing deportation from the UK to the US on criminal charges. Naqvi has been a friend of Imran Khan for over 20 years and is accused of the heavy foreign funding of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf, a case that lingers before the Election Commission of Pakistan. According to Memon, in the same meeting Imran Khan wanted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khwaja Asif tried for treason for holding a job in a Gulf country while he was defence minister. Memon says he refused because the charge could not be substantiated without evidence of treason. That seems to have proved the last straw as far as Imran Khan was concerned. Soon after, Memon was first sent on leave, then removed as FIA chief and asked to report to the establishment division. However, since these seemingly vindictive actions were taken against an officer just days before his retirement, Memon chose to resign in protest. With more than a hint of irony, the former FIA chief said he was 'indebted' to NAB chairman former Justice Javed Iqbal since with his arrival, the pressure on Memon was released. Everything NAB has done since, Memon continued, is exactly what PM Imran Khan had asked him to do but which he had refused. The crowning glory in this sorry tale was when Imran Khan asked Memon to register a terrorism case against Maryam Nawaz and her social media team over a picture of his present spouse circulating on social media, which request too Memon dismissed as not a terrorism case. And as though all this was not enough, Interior Minister Brigadier Ijaz Shah (retd) once called Memon to ask him to 'break the legs' of journalist Ahmed Noorani over a controversial tweet. Memon did not act on this request either but Noorani narrowly escaped death in a broad daylight attack in Islamabad by unidentified people a year ago.
The mind fairly boggles before these allegations. If even half of what Memon claims is true, it presents a ghastly picture of a government, and particularly its PM, as embarked on a vendetta against the opposition in general, and the PML-N in particular. Since these allegations come from a senior officer, they cannot be lightly dismissed. The government will have to respond to these claims of serious deviations from the rule of law and rational, democratic governance. If it does not respond in an appropriate manner, none will be damaged more than its own reputation and standing.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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