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Nexus Between Crime and Politics

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Crime and Politics

The people with criminal backgrounds are becoming politicians and elected representatives. If someone wants to be a successful politician, being a criminal can be his passport to success. The political parties also promote the nexus between crime and politics by giving party tickets to criminals at the cost of genuine party workers. The politicians are thriving today on the basis of muscle power provided by criminals. Candidates with a clean record lag far behind in the electoral race. Particularly last about eight years have seen an unprecedented increase in elected representatives with criminal background in our politics.

After about seven decades the lives of common man is far worse than at the time of independence. The fruits of the independence reached only few, now surrounded by vast sea of utterly poor. Those in power are shamelessly enjoying luxurious lifestyle at taxpayer’s expense. At the same time, more than 60% in the country are starving to death. The criminalization of politics, executive, and judiciary is almost complete. The atrocities perpetrated by the bureaucracy are perhaps even worse than the British rule.

The nexus between crime and politics has almost turned everything upside down. The government should be subject to law, but in Pakistan the law is subject to the government. The prevailing situation of breaking rule of law by the politicians is further spreading like cancer. The rule of law demands police should serve the people and to remain free from the influence of ruling class. Contrarily the enforcers of rule of law have become the main violators of law. Over the last eight years, both the major political parties have ruthlessly politicized the police force and prevented them from enforcing law.

Unfortunately we are facing governance crisis. At the moment, police is considered to be criminals in uniform who work according to the wishes of their political masters. There is a close nexus between politicians, police and criminals. This nexus of crime and politics has resulted in loss of principles of the rule of law. The Model Town incident clearly reveals the nexus between criminal gangs, police, bureaucracy and politicians in the country. Such nexus is assuming menacing proportions with every passing day. The mafias are virtually running a parallel government, pushing the State apparatus into irrelevance. The police force has therefore lost its effectiveness which has created havoc in our country. There is a rapid growth of armed gangs, drug mafias, drug peddlers, smuggling gangs, and economic lobbies in the country.

The elected politicians are expected to work for them and not for their own greed. This is what not found in Pakistan. Promises made during elections; after coming into power become irrelevant and are never kept. As we look at the corruption scene today, we find that we have reached this stage because the corrupting of the institutions in turn has finally led to the institutionalization of corruption. We are a nation with hypocrite politicians; PML (N) that once talked about honesty, truthfulness and transparency and still claims it is different from other political parties is part of the same dirty game.

Like PPP, the PML (N) has also turned highly corrupt as is evident from its mega scandals known to everyone. The PML (N) leaders are ruthlessly misusing their power and position for their personal gain. They are plundering the national exchequer with both hands and the external debt has crossed $75 billion due to their corruption just within two and half year tenure of PML (N). Their corruption has led the country to national collapse. It is a party of the rich and has always indulged in horse trading. It is their habit to use people like tissue paper and then dump them.

Criminality in politics, or more pointedly, criminals sitting in our Parliament is an issue now debated in tea stalls and even in streets should be at the forefront of reform proposals. The Federal Government should seriously consider proposals for an amendment in the law to bar people facing criminal trials from electoral politics. The rule of law needs to be established and for that purpose bureaucracy and police have to act independently.

 

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