- The wheat and sugar enquiry commission hears some home truths
Ex-PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has told the Wajid Zia commission enquiring into the wheat and shortage some inconvenient truths. He appeared as a representative of the PML(N), of which he is Senior Vice-President, and he said that the Prime Minister and Finance Minister were responsible for the decision of the Economic Committee of the Cabinet which decided on the export of both commodities which led to the shortage, and thus they should be made to appear before the commission and talk about their decision.
He was appearing before the forensic investigation commission which had been constituted after the first enquiry had not only established that leading lights of the PTI had benefited, but its report had been released to the public with much crowing by the PTI about how it has touched the heights of transparency. Even at that time, there were murmurs about the fact that the then Finance Minister, Asad Umar, and Prime Minister Imran Khan, had not explained their role. In any form of government, the head cannot claim ignorance, as that would mean incompetence, when such an important matter was involved. It should be noted that the same day as Mr Abbasi appeared, the President of the Pakistan Sugar Mills Association had testified to the commission. It would be a matter for discussion whether either the PM or then FM (now Planning Minister) should appear if summoned, now what might be a more pertinent debate is whether or not the summons should be issued.
It would be hypocritical to use the first enquiry to burnish its reputation for transparency, and then to use the second to help shove inconvenient facts under the carpet. No party should tolerate corruption within its ranks, but the present government should never forget that it was elected on an anti-corruption platform, and that it would cleanse the polity. To have the suspicion that its members are exploiting their positions, just as the bad old politicos did, is doubly disappointing. The Prime Minister should have known that he can’t escape responsibility, not if the buck stopped with him.
