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After all the noise, this summed it up well. No one posted this earlier here.
Pakistan's judiciary
Stop me before I bribe again
Jun 15th 2012, 8:14 by S.S. | ISLAMABAD
FOR the past week, Pakistan has been transfixed by a dark tale: that one of the countrys richest men was able to bribe the son of the Supreme Courts celebrated chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry (pictured above, on the left), in the expectation of getting court cases decided in his favour. Mr Chaudhry is regarded by many as a national hero, for standing against government corruption as well as the unbridled power of the army.
The would-be briber, a tycoon named Malik Riaz (above, on the right), made the accusation himself, claiming that he paid bribes of $3.6m to Arsalan Iftikhar, son of Chaudhry père. On June 14th, the Supreme Court rejected them outright. The problem with the charges introduced by Mr Riaz, according to the court, was that he admitted that he did not get any relief whatsoever from the courts.
The judges seized upon this to conclude that the courts reputation stands cleared. If even Mr Riaz, who, as the judges noted, does not appear averse to bribing officials, could not corrupt their Lordships, then the court must really be squeaky clean.
A fair point, on the face of it. But the trouble for the chief justice, which the judgment brushed aside, is that his son, wife and daughters were taking lavish holidays paid for by someone elseby a friend of a friend, on Arsalan Iftikhars account. How could Mr Chaudhry fail to ask who was picking up the tab for trips his family made to London and Monte Carlo in 2010 and 2011? For someone in his position, with the moral burden he has taken on, against a government that is woefully corrupt even by Pakistani standards, it was crucial that he keep his name clear of any conflicts of interest. Even with the courts vindication, his public image has been tarnished.
A note appended to the verdict by one of the two ruling judges, Khilji Arif Hussain, warns that the families of public functionaries need to exercise extreme caution in their private and public dealings and conduct.
According to Mr Riaz, he lavished holidays worth $163,000 on Mr Arsalan. He kept the receipts for hotels, car rents and other expenses to prove it. The largesse included a stay at the luxury Hotel De Paris in Monte Carlo, and a stay at swish apartment on Park Lane, while a Range Rover was hired to ferry the family around London in style. Mr Arsalan says he paid back his generous friend, though the sum he claims to have repaid was only $47,000.
The rest of the $3.6m was allegedly given to Mr Arsalan in cash, but no evidence at all was provided in court. Privately, Mr Riaz has claimed that he has video footage to prove the cash payments.
The Supreme Court found that alleged criminal offences of this nature should be dealt with by the law-enforcement agencies and the lower courts, saying that whatever the wrongdoing, it their expectation that Mr Riaz and Mr Iftikhar are pursued and brought to book with the full force of the law. But it issued no actual orders to do so, and it remains unclear whether the government will indeed go after them.
What the case has done is expose the connections of Mr Riaz, which extend across government of the president, Asif Zardari, as well as the opposition, the army and the media. It is said that he has everyone in his pocket. Outside the courts, bribing is a charge that Mr Riaz seems to accept cheerfully, admitting doling out money to politicians on an interview this week on Pakistans Dunya News channel.
It may be the journalists who come off worst of all. Mr Riazs story about Mr Arsalan was run without proper fact-checking, first by the countrys biggest media house, which owns Jang newspaper and the Geo news channel, which tends to set the agenda.
That interview that ran on Dunya (in Urdu) has become a scandal in itself. Footage that was shot during the ad breaks, and leaked online, shows an extraordinary connivance between the two interviewers and Mr Riaz. At one point, one of the interviewers takes a phone call in which she is heard to confirm that she has received the instructionsthat no challenging questions will be put to Mr Riaz. At another point, a son of the prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, calls the other interviewer, apparently with the aim of fixing the tone of the show. The whole drama would seem to confirm the tremendous scale of Mr Riazs influence: not only with the media but the government too.
In the view of Mr Chaudhrys supporters, this entire sordid episode is a conspiracy backed by Mr Zardari or the army or both, in order to bring down the meddlesome judge. They see Mr Chaudhry as all that stands between Pakistan and a state of complete anarchy. And they may be right, but even so many questions about Mr Riazs motives remain unanswered. After all, he will have to face this court over and over again, and along the way he risks being sent to jailinitially in separate contempt-of-court proceedings that will be heard next week.
The political opposition stands with the chief justice, as does much of public opinion. The government, the army and other factions within the lawyers community and the media are ranged against him.
No one can fault the judgment for its conclusion: Today, we, as a nation, stand at what is undeniably a fateful crossroads in our history.
Pakistan's judiciary: Stop me before I bribe again | The Economist
Pakistan's judiciary
Stop me before I bribe again
Jun 15th 2012, 8:14 by S.S. | ISLAMABAD
FOR the past week, Pakistan has been transfixed by a dark tale: that one of the countrys richest men was able to bribe the son of the Supreme Courts celebrated chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry (pictured above, on the left), in the expectation of getting court cases decided in his favour. Mr Chaudhry is regarded by many as a national hero, for standing against government corruption as well as the unbridled power of the army.
The would-be briber, a tycoon named Malik Riaz (above, on the right), made the accusation himself, claiming that he paid bribes of $3.6m to Arsalan Iftikhar, son of Chaudhry père. On June 14th, the Supreme Court rejected them outright. The problem with the charges introduced by Mr Riaz, according to the court, was that he admitted that he did not get any relief whatsoever from the courts.
The judges seized upon this to conclude that the courts reputation stands cleared. If even Mr Riaz, who, as the judges noted, does not appear averse to bribing officials, could not corrupt their Lordships, then the court must really be squeaky clean.
A fair point, on the face of it. But the trouble for the chief justice, which the judgment brushed aside, is that his son, wife and daughters were taking lavish holidays paid for by someone elseby a friend of a friend, on Arsalan Iftikhars account. How could Mr Chaudhry fail to ask who was picking up the tab for trips his family made to London and Monte Carlo in 2010 and 2011? For someone in his position, with the moral burden he has taken on, against a government that is woefully corrupt even by Pakistani standards, it was crucial that he keep his name clear of any conflicts of interest. Even with the courts vindication, his public image has been tarnished.
A note appended to the verdict by one of the two ruling judges, Khilji Arif Hussain, warns that the families of public functionaries need to exercise extreme caution in their private and public dealings and conduct.
According to Mr Riaz, he lavished holidays worth $163,000 on Mr Arsalan. He kept the receipts for hotels, car rents and other expenses to prove it. The largesse included a stay at the luxury Hotel De Paris in Monte Carlo, and a stay at swish apartment on Park Lane, while a Range Rover was hired to ferry the family around London in style. Mr Arsalan says he paid back his generous friend, though the sum he claims to have repaid was only $47,000.
The rest of the $3.6m was allegedly given to Mr Arsalan in cash, but no evidence at all was provided in court. Privately, Mr Riaz has claimed that he has video footage to prove the cash payments.
The Supreme Court found that alleged criminal offences of this nature should be dealt with by the law-enforcement agencies and the lower courts, saying that whatever the wrongdoing, it their expectation that Mr Riaz and Mr Iftikhar are pursued and brought to book with the full force of the law. But it issued no actual orders to do so, and it remains unclear whether the government will indeed go after them.
What the case has done is expose the connections of Mr Riaz, which extend across government of the president, Asif Zardari, as well as the opposition, the army and the media. It is said that he has everyone in his pocket. Outside the courts, bribing is a charge that Mr Riaz seems to accept cheerfully, admitting doling out money to politicians on an interview this week on Pakistans Dunya News channel.
It may be the journalists who come off worst of all. Mr Riazs story about Mr Arsalan was run without proper fact-checking, first by the countrys biggest media house, which owns Jang newspaper and the Geo news channel, which tends to set the agenda.
That interview that ran on Dunya (in Urdu) has become a scandal in itself. Footage that was shot during the ad breaks, and leaked online, shows an extraordinary connivance between the two interviewers and Mr Riaz. At one point, one of the interviewers takes a phone call in which she is heard to confirm that she has received the instructionsthat no challenging questions will be put to Mr Riaz. At another point, a son of the prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, calls the other interviewer, apparently with the aim of fixing the tone of the show. The whole drama would seem to confirm the tremendous scale of Mr Riazs influence: not only with the media but the government too.
In the view of Mr Chaudhrys supporters, this entire sordid episode is a conspiracy backed by Mr Zardari or the army or both, in order to bring down the meddlesome judge. They see Mr Chaudhry as all that stands between Pakistan and a state of complete anarchy. And they may be right, but even so many questions about Mr Riazs motives remain unanswered. After all, he will have to face this court over and over again, and along the way he risks being sent to jailinitially in separate contempt-of-court proceedings that will be heard next week.
The political opposition stands with the chief justice, as does much of public opinion. The government, the army and other factions within the lawyers community and the media are ranged against him.
No one can fault the judgment for its conclusion: Today, we, as a nation, stand at what is undeniably a fateful crossroads in our history.
Pakistan's judiciary: Stop me before I bribe again | The Economist
