WHAT could — should — have been a decisive legal settlement of a political dispute that has dominated the calendar has taken a rather shambolic turn. All three of the protagonists in the Panama Papers dispute — the Supreme Court, the PTI and the PML-N — must bear some responsibility for a delay in the hearings that will now stretch until January and possibly beyond, with no clarity about which forum will conduct the full inquiry— the Supreme Court itself or a court-appointed judicial commission? When the outgoing Chief Justice Anwar Jamali took up the Panama Papers matter a day before the PTI’s threatened lockdown of Islamabad, it appeared that a grave political crisis had been averted. Moreover, by deciding to hold hearings in an expeditious manner, the possibility of an authoritative decision by the Supreme Court became real and imminent. Yet, despite all sides submitting to the will of the court, the latter was unable to decide the issue during the term of the incumbent chief justice.

Always apparent was the imminent retirement of the chief justice himself, something that the court itself should have paid heed to when deciding to intervene and raising the expectations of the nation. In hindsight, weeklong adjournments — despite the parties to the dispute urging the court to hold daily hearings where possible — did not augur well for the controversy’s timely resolution. It is a painful question to ask given the esteem that the court is held in, but is there a possibility that it waded into a political dispute with no clear idea about what it could achieve or how to proceed? The disappointment nationally is palpable and it is something the court should address when it takes up the matter next in January. If the court has somewhat disappointed, the PTI and PML-N have thoroughly embarrassed themselves. The PTI, which arguably single-handedly has kept the Panama Papers issue alive, seemed unprepared to address the matter in a legal forum. After two different lead counsels presented arguments and documents that did not satisfy the court, the PTI performed yet another astonishing U-turn in belatedly rejecting a judicial commission and demanding that the judges directly settle the matter. Quite what has changed other than the PTI’s private political calculations is not clear even now, but the party remains blithely unconcerned with consistency or acceptable political strategy.

Yet, the PML-N’s role has been nothing short of shameful too. At every stage that it has tried to introduce new evidence or provide a fresh explanation for the wealth and finances of Sharif family members, the party has only succeeded in creating more controversy and raising fresh questions in the minds of critics and supporters alike. The transition to democracy demands a progressively better calling to account of all individuals and institutions, but the opposite appears to be occurring at the moment.

Published in Dawn December 11th, 2016