I find it hard not to draw similarities between the “judicial crisis” in Pakistan and the Wolfowitz scandal at the World Bank. Both involve cases of nepotism, cronyism and corruption. Both involve a figure that established and portrayed themselves as bastions for justice, good governance and ending corruption at all levels. Yet, I am astounded with the difference in the reaction to each individual.

For everyone’s clarity, let’s put definitions to each of these terms:

Nepotism refers to the act of favoring relatives and friends because of their relationship to the person displaying the Nepotism rather than because of their abilities. The word nepotism comes from the Latin word ‘nepos‘, meaning “nephew” or “grandchild”.

Cronyism is partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to public office without regard for their qualifications.

Corruption is a general concept describing any organized, interdependent system in which part of the system is either not performing duties it was originally intended to, or performing them in an improper way, to the detriment of the system’s original purpose.

Political corruption is the misuse by government officials of their governmental powers for illegitimate private gain.

Wolfowitz has been taken to task by The World Bank and a good majority of the domestic and international media coming short of demanding a public acceptance and apology, if not resignation from his position. Everyone has expressed disappointment and outrage over the incident. In the Wolfowitz case, their is documented evidence in every newspaper around the world that he bypassed the process, unfairly increased his girlfriend’s salary and promoted her to a position in the State Department.

In Pakistan, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has become a hero with the assistance of the domestic political parties. The domestic and international media have helped the opposition parties turn this into a referendum on the Musharraf government. Yet, the Chief Justice is guilty of the same mistakes as Paul Wolfowitz. More importantly, as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, he should be unblemished. Yet, I have not seen The Washington Post, New York Times, or Guardian cover even the possibility of the reference being correct.

Why do you have different standards for us than for yourselves? Why do you want Paul Wolfowitz to resign, or be terminated, from his position when you demand that Pakistan re-instate a Chief Justice that has done the exact same thing? As a matter of fact, what the Chief Justice has done is infinitely more devastating to Pakistan as a nation, than what Wolfowitz has done at World Bank.

Everyone knows that Pakistan has been carefully tiptoeing a razor thin line with extremist Islam on one side and rampant corruption on the other for the last 20 years. Many of you, however, may not know that Pakistan has spent a larger majority of its independence under military rule, and the few years of democracy has led to billions of dollars being siphoned out of the country into politician’s private bank accounts. This has also led to massive corruption in every level of civil service, ranging from “ceremonial positions” to financial rewards. In any respect, corruption, in any form, is detrimental to the growth and development of a nation.

The Facts - Paul Wolfowitz

Now, coming back to the topic at hand, Paul Wolfowitz used his position as President of the World Bank to increase an already tax-free salary for his girlfriend Shaha Riza. Ms. Riza, on the insistence of Wolfowitz, was deputed to the State Department because of a potential “conflict of interest” at World Bank. In a May 2005 letter, Roberto Danino, World Bank’s General Counsel, acknowledged to Wolfowitz’s personal lawyer that Wolfowitz had disclosed “a pre-existing relationship with a bank staffer and proposed to resolve it by recusing himself from all personnel matters and professional contact related to that staff member.”

Wolfowitz’s lawyer responded 2 days later that the proposal “WOULD NOT — I REPEAT, NOT — INVOLVE RECUSAL FROM PROFESSIONAL CONTACT” and “THIS MATTER MUST BE RESOLVED” before Wolfowitz signed his contract.

“Professional contact” between the two violated bank policy said that board and directed Wolfowitz to solve it. In an August letter from Wolfowitz to the World Bank Human Resources department, he wrote:

“I now direct you to agree to a proposal which includes the following terms and conditions….[Riza was to be] detailed to an outside institution of her choosing while retaining Bank salary and benefits.” She was also to receive an immediate raise with annual increases equal to 8%.

Now, lets do some math:
Salary before raise: $ 132,000
Salary after raise: $ 193,000 (higher than the Secretary of State that she works for)

If Wolfowitz continues as President until 2010, when his 5 year term ends, her salary would reach $ 244,960, almost $ 25,000 more than her pay grade.

But there is a twist…when she returns to the World Bank, in 2010, she would be automatically promoted to Senior Country Director; and if Wolfowitz gets another 5 years, she would return as Vice President. Interesting how it all plays out, huh?

The Facts - Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry

Now, let’s turn back to Pakistan and the Chief Justice. In the reference put forward to the Supreme Judicial Council of the Supreme Court, the President of Pakistan has brought to light the misuse of his authority to have his son, Dr. Arsalan Iftikhar Chaudhry, appointed as Additional Superintendent of Police. The reference states that he made numerous amendments to the Police Service of Pakistan Rules and that his son had twice flunked the Central Superior Services (CSS) exam that is required for certain high level positions.

While a case was pending in the Baluchistan High court, Dr. Arsalan was transferred to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Lahore without any rules or procedures to justify it. Entered into evidence by the attorney that filed the case were Dr. Arsalan’s CSS exam papers, where he had scored 16 out of 100 in English.

Now, I know that the remainder of the reference is about the use of vehicles, state assets, ad nauseaum, but let’s focus on this for a moment. Even the Chief Justice’s lead counsel, Aitzaz Ahsan, stated that “11 of the 17 pages of the reference related to the appointment of Dr. Arsalan Chaudhry as Assistant Superintendent of Police” and the circumstances surrounding it.

For reference, Dr. Arsalan was a medical officer in Baluchistan prior to becoming Additional Superintendent of Police. He was provided was special access to training programs that he was not eligible for and he was given a position that he is not qualified for.

Would you want a plumber to perform heart surgery on you? No matter how many seminars and videos of heart surgery that plumber may have seen, I don’t want him operating on me without a medical degree and license to practice. I also don’t want someone who doesn’t understand criminology and police work to be responsible for my safety. The core problem with law and order in Pakistan is that very few police officers understand criminology or police work; they just need jobs.

The Differences

Shaha Riza is a banker that was promoted because she was “involved with” Paul Wolfowitz. As a result, she was put on deputation to the State Department and given a healthy raise with a bright future upon her return.

Dr. Arsalan Chaudhry is a doctor that was promoted to a high ranking police official because he is the Chief Justice’s son. Failures were forgotten, rules were changed, influence was used and the laws of the nation suffer.

The Similarities

Around the world, everyone is calling for Paul Wolfowitz to resign, including 90% of the staff at World Bank.

“People are just furious,” said a senior World Bank staffer. “There are plenty of other couples in the bank that have faced similar situations and whoever had to move was not compensated or promoted.”

The Washington Post hinted at the possibility of a conspiracy:

Defenders also surfaced from other quarters. The Wall Street Journal said in an editorial that “the forces of the World Bank’s status quo,” angered by Wolfowitz’s efforts to fight “corruption-as-usual” and institute more accountability in the institution’s lending practices, had seized on a trivial issue to bring him down. One former bank staffer said that “some of the countries who failed to block his election are trying to set him up, and he walked into that trap really well.”

In Pakistan, lawyers riot on the streets, opposition parties take full advantage to criticize the government, and the media turns the suspended Chief Justice into a hero demanding that he be “restored and the reference be withdrawn.”

CNN, in a story about the protests in favor of the Chief Justice, mentions the “misuse of power” but doesn’t even give a sentence to what the misuse might have been:

Opposition parties have launched a “Save the Judiciary” movement in support of lawyers, who have been boycotting the courts in response to Chaudhry’s removal by President Pervez Musharraf.

On March 9, Musharraf suspended Chaudhry, accusing him of misusing his powers. Chaudhry was subsequently placed under house arrest — outraging many Pakistanis, in addition to the country’s attorneys.

and goes further to suggest that the suspension of the Chief Justice is purely politically motivated because the judiciary has exercised independence in numerous cases, including cancelling the Pakistan Steel Mills privatization.

BBC goes to great extents to portray the Chief Justice as a judicial activist that has caused the government embarrassment:

Mr Chaudhry has taken a lead in cases involving the controversial privatization of state assets and the fate of missing people allegedly abducted by the security forces.

The main charge against Mr Chaudhry is that he used his authority to have his son appointed to a prestigious government position.

One line. No detail.

Volumes of information about it being a referendum on the Musharraf government, but nothing on the core charge of misuse of power.

Volumes of information about the protests and the rioting around the county in support of the corruption, but not one word about the core charge of misuse of power.

The Stark Reality

The Western world’s commitment to democracy and free judiciaries is nothing more than a farce. When you look at both these cases in the light of day, you see that they are about the same thing, yet the reaction around the world is drastically different. In the United States, everyone believes that World Bank should fire Paul Wolfowitz for his abuse of power. From a small office at World Bank to corridors of every international media outlet, it was wrong and he should resign, because of the damage he has caused to the reputation of the World Bank.

But for the Third World, it’s business as usual.

The US says it wants an end to corruption in Pakistan; yet endorses a Chief Justice charged with abuse of power.

The US says it wants democratic elections in Pakistan, yet supports, no… demands, the return and participation of two of the most corrupt politicians in the history of the nation.

For us, the United States wants business as usual; an economically weak Pakistan is an easily manipulated ally. But with the Aziz led economic growth, Pakistan is no longer economically weak, as our foreign exchange reserves have reached record levels of US$ 13 billion, trade is expanding, and the possibility of peace with India is on the horizon.

The United States needs a change to derail Pakistan, and what better way then to create a paper tiger of a Chief Justice. That is what this American government has been good at right? Creating paper tigers? Iraq’s WMDs. Afghanistan. Taliban. Iran. Syria.

Rupert Cornwell of The Independent puts it best:

Does one weep at the outrageous hypocrisy of it all: the president of the World Bank, self-appointed apostle of “good governance” and scourge of corruption, caught in a blatant act of nepotism and cronyism - exactly the vices he wants to stamp out in the Third World countries his organization lends money to?

Or does one roar with laughter at the incongruity of it all: sex at the World Bank, as Wolfowitz the cerebral ideas man (even if his ideas about Iraq were as misbegotten as they get) is brought down by matters of the flesh, as he arranged promotions and lavish pay rises for his girlfriend Shaha Riza?

Related posts:

1. The Order That Restored The Chief
2. Bush Had No Plan to Catch Osama bin Laden
3. Ifs and Buts of Separation of Power
4. Karachi Lawyers Attack Media With Batons
5. Who is telling the truth? - Tariq Butt
6. An Aside on the Judicial Crisis in Pakistan
7. Intelligence Chiefs, COS to President deny CJP Claims in Affidavits to Top Court

Browse Timeline

• « One Nation, Indivisible with Liberty and Justice for All
• » Palestinian Prisoners Day

Comments ( 2 )