Bahria Town saga
BAHRIA Town Karachi’s legal saga may have reached its watershed. With the Supreme Court recently taking up the implementation of its March 2019 verdict against the project, fresh questions had been raised about how far its developer had complied with the court’s orders. Since the original verdict, there had been very little information forthcoming about Bahria Town’s dealings with the Supreme Court; indeed, all information was jealously guarded by both court and state authorities. It was only after the spotlight turned on the Supreme Court’s bank account during the recent proceedings that it emerged that Bahria Town was significantly behind on its obligations, so much so that, under the terms of its original agreement, it could be deemed to have defaulted.
Bahria Town seemingly never intended to keep its end of the agreement. The property developer admits to having deposited a total of just Rs65bn in the Supreme Court’s accounts. This also appears to include a sum of Rs35bn, which was supposed to have been returned to the people of Pakistan by the UK authorities but was controversially deposited by the PTI government in the Supreme Court’s account on Bahria Town’s behalf instead. On the other hand, under the terms of its agreement, Bahria Town was supposed to make an initial deposit of Rs25bn by August 2019, and then equal instalments of Rs2.25bn each month for the next three years. By this calculation, it ought to have deposited at least Rs133bn into the Supreme Court’s account by the end of September 2022. It has paid less than half to date, and is now arguing that its liabilities were assessed wrongly and that it occupies less land than is deemed to be in its possession — even as the Sindh authorities say that it has, in fact, encroached upon more than 3,000 acres of excess land.
Despite Bahria Town’s glaring misdoings and the Supreme Court’s candid observances regarding the same, it is surprising that there is still no clarity on the developer’s fate. The money deposited with the Supreme Court is being disbursed, but while the funds from the UK rightfully belong to the federal government, handing over anything to the authorities in Sindh may trigger valid objections, especially when the court itself believes senior provincial officials acted in connivance with the developer throughout this mega scandal. In a way, this would be no different than the manner in which the UK funds were misappropriated to benefit Bahria Town. Instead, that money would be much better utilised compensating those who were dispossessed of their ancestral lands, many times forcibly, by Bahria Town and its facilitators. As for Bahria Town’s punishment and its implications for the real estate sector, it may well prove a litmus test for the new chief justice’s resolve.
Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2023
Uneven poll field
WHEN state functionaries are tasked with ensuring that all political actors have equal opportunities in the upcoming electoral exercise, why does it appear that obstacles are being created for one political party in particular? At the very least, this was reflected in the ECP’s directions to the PTI regarding the latter’s intra-party polls.
On Thursday, the ECP annulled the PTI’s intra-party elections held last year, claiming that these were “highly objectionable/disputed”, while giving the former ruling party 20 days to conduct fresh polls, or risk losing its ‘bat’ election symbol.
The party has cried foul over the ruling, claiming it is part of the ‘minus-Imran’ campaign that seeks to sever the PTI’s links with its head and the country’s former prime minister.
Intra-party democracy is indeed vital if political parties are to run the country as per a democratic ethos. Yet it is clear that apart from a few exceptions, internal elections in most mainstream parties of Pakistan are something of a joke. For the most part, members of the party’s ruling family are ‘re-elected’ unopposed to top posts — who in their right mind would oppose them? — or internal polls are conducted on paper.
We do not know the exact mechanism of the PTI’s internal polls last year, but it does seem odd that the ECP has chosen to single out the party on this count, that too a year and a half after the fact. Therefore, the party’s plaints that conspiracies are afoot to cancel it are not without merit.
Moreover, when the party is not even allowed to hold corner meetings, can the ECP guarantee it will be able to freely conduct intra-party polls, without its candidates and voters being hauled away?
The arrests and alleged torture of PTI activists and leaders continue; the latest high-profile party member to have been released by court, and then farcically rearrested, has been former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser.
The PPP has also complained numerous times about the lack of a level playing field. If these shenanigans continue and the caretakers and ECP fail to create a genuinely fair atmosphere where all parties can campaign freely, the 2024 elections, like others before it, will be shrouded in doubt and questionable legitimacy, prolonging the political and constitutional crises Pakistan has been confronting for the last several years.
Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2023
‘Democracy is dead’
AS Bangladesh prepares for its Jan 7 elections, the political landscape in Dhaka is increasingly tumultuous. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina appears poised for her fourth consecutive term, an outcome casting a long shadow over the nation’s commitment to democratic principles. Amid this, the opposition, notably the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Bangladesh Jamaat-i-Islami, grapples with challenges that call into question the fairness of the upcoming polls. The BNP, long seen as the primary opposition, finds itself in a quagmire of legal battles and political ostracism. The recent conviction of at least 98 of its officials and activists, with over 400 sentenced since last month, raises serious concerns about the fairness of the judicial process. Similarly, the apex court upholding a high court decision to bar JI from participating in polls for violating the constitutional provision of secularism further complicates matters. This ruling, which restricts JI’s participation without outright banning it, echoes the government’s tightening grip on political dissent.
The opposition’s predicament is not just a political issue but a litmus test for Bangladesh’s democratic health. Sheikh Hasina’s administration, while credited with significant economic progress, is increasingly being seen as authoritarian. The global community’s concerns about poll irregularities and the ruling party’s dismissive response only deepen fears of democratic backsliding. The opposition’s plight, encapsulated in the words of the BNP’s Abdul Moyeen Khan — “Democracy is dead in Bangladesh” — echoes the sentiments of a significant portion of the populace. The BNP’s call for a neutral caretaker government, met with stern refusal from Sheikh Hasina — who blames them for recent protests — reflecting a confrontational political climate. It is crucial the elections are free, fair, and inclusive, not just for determining the next ruler but also for safeguarding the essence of Bangladesh’s democracy. Bangladesh stands at a crossroads. The world watches, hoping it can navigate these challenging times and uphold the democratic ideals it once fiercely championed.
Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2023