Nawaz Sharif nailed

THE Panama Papers, detailing the surreptitious salting away of ill-acquired wealth in offshore accounts by the crooked, have brought down several middling figures the world over. But it is the courts of Pakistan, decried by many as a failed state, that have unseated a serving Prime Minister, following the example of the more institutionally evolved Iceland. The Pakistan Supreme Court superbly paced its probe in the teeth of tenacious opposition by the Nawaz Sharif clan to deliver a verdict that no one has a grouse against. The judgment will set a precedent whereby Pakistani politicians, at all stages of their career, will have to explain the accumulation of wealth, thus increasing transparency and accountability in its political fabric.

Compared to the prolonged foot-dragging in Pakistan, India was faster in responding to the biggest-ever data leak of offshore accounts. The courts readily accepted a plea by an ordinary litigant who sought a probe into charges against 500 individuals, including business tycoons, film stars and other movers and fixers. But a year later, the Supreme Court is yet to take a call on whether to form a special investigating team or hand over the case to the CBI. The petitioner’s allegation that the Central agencies are not interested in the probe has given rise to speculation whether the celebrities named in the leaks such as actor Amitabh Bachchan, real estate tycoon KP Singh and industrialist Gautam Adani’s elder brother would ever face the courts? 

Unfortunately, Indian agencies, despite their current zeal for targeting opposition politicians, were unable to swiftly prosecute all those named in the earlier Swiss leaks. The ongoing Panama case in the Supreme Court is not very visible in media but is at a decisive juncture. However, despite the groundswell of political and public support on tracking black money, some of it contrived, none of those indicted seem to be diving for cover. One of them, in fact, has become a brand ambassador of the GST, the Central Government’s most ambitious endeavour till date. With the Pakistan Supreme Court’s order having become the touchstone for probity, it is time India lifted its game as well.