[wasi siddiqui]

Supreme Court decision: May be good for person not for Pakistan
By Wasi Siddiqui
(Member of the Canadian Authors Association)

The recent Supreme Court decision allowing the Ex-PM Nawaz Shariff to return to Pakistan may have brought happiness to his supporters and sweets being distributed in all over the country, but this decision has shocked many intellectuals as how he is allowed to return when he is facing corruption charges and agreement done already that he will not return to the country. Mr. Shariff who rule the country in two short terms as PM , which finally ended when General Pervez Musharraf overthrow his government on October ,1999 on charges of corruption , and with evidence that Mr. Nawaz Shariff also involved in preventing his plane from landing with 250 passenger on board. Mr. Shariff was eventually arrested and tried in the court of terrorism and was sentence to death by hanging, but Saudi Government intervene in the case and asked to commute his sentence to life imprisonment, and finally with the agreement that he will not take part in politics and will stay out of the country for 10 years, he was sent into exile.

Pakistan, a country where the literacy is only 2 %, which is struggling with huge debt, sluggish economy, unemployment, lack of electricity, water and other basic necessities of life , a question is raised whether these kind of leaders will be able to provide leadership to Pakistan?

During the first term as Prime Minister Mr.Nawaz Shariff introduce yellow cab scheme in order to reduce or eliminate unemployment from the country, a decision which was regarded as a good one, but soon it was backfire for lack of audit and proper management of the scheme. Then Mr. Nawaz Shariff introduced “Kharza-e-Hasna” a debt relief scheme, which was intended to get rid of the country’s debt, the scheme attracted many people from all walk of life who gave away whatever they had, even some poor people gave away their bangles and savings in order to help country get rid of it’s debt, but disloyalty in this scheme resulted in a millions of dollars of corruption and people regarded this as ripping off scheme in the name of debt relief.

There is question to be asked from those people who are rejoicing for such a decision by Supreme Court whether they have not suffered enough in the hands of this corrupt leaders how quickly they forgot their so-called leaders deeds, they have to understand what they have done while they were in the office. It is time to educate the people of Pakistan and tell illiterate people to stop dancing with the pictures of corrupt leaders.

Benazir Bhutto on the other hand looted the country in the name of lottery scheme, where poor people used to come on the TV and happily accepted a “cycle” or “motorcycle” and saying that they were without a cycle for so long but now because of lottery scheme of the government, now he has a cycle. The Ex- PM also has been accused of ordering many extra-judicial killings in the country especially in city of Karachi.

The Swiss Court also ordered for the arrest of Benazir Bhutto and her husband and ordered to return millions worth of diamonds but she has dismissed the case as made by her arch-rival Nawaz Shariff.

In fact, both leaders have looted the country, causing billions of dollars of loss and shattering the economy in general. The people of Pakistan must realize that where Pakistan is heading and what these kinds of leaders can bring to Pakistan. It is not a matter of a person, it is matter of a country, a country name Pakistan.

May Allah keep Pakistan safe and sound!!!