PTI’s Tiger Force under criticism for inefficiency

Over three months have passed since the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government announced Corona Relief Tiger Force (CRTF) to help government cope with the COVID-19 outbreak and other social challenges caused by the contagion. However, a huge difference between the federal government’s claims and the actual performance of the CRTF has made the Tiger Force controversial.

The Prime Minister Imran Khan had formally announced the formation of CRTF on March 31 in such circumstances when the country was passing through complete lockdown. According to the statements of PM, the CRTF was formed to help the government fight Covid-19 across the country.

Right after the formation of CRTF, the Chief of the Tiger Force and Special Assistant to PM on Youth Affairs Usman Dar announced the registration of the CRTF until April 10.

Meanwhile, by the mid of April, while giving statistics, Mr Dar said that around one million people had registered themselves for the CRTF that included doctors, engineers, lawyers, retired army personnel and others. Giving the break-up, he said more than 300,000 students, 133,000 social workers, 50,000 doctors, 40,000 teachers and 17,000 health workers had registered themselves to render their volunteer services for the country in the wake of pandemic.

According to the data available on different websites, the highest number i.e 619,000 volunteers have registered themselves as CRTF members in Punjab, followed by over 154,000 in Sindh, 135,000 in KP, nearly 14,000 in Balochistan, 13,800 in Islamabad, 11,300 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 5,800 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

However, after the formation of the Tiger Force many questions were raised about the specific responsibilities of the CRTF, as apparently it was lacking any particular roadmap and formal strategy, which has created doubts about the status of the Tiger Force.

It must be noted that the Tiger Force was formed by the government and responsibilities assigned to them included provision of food to the needy people, helping the security forces and district administrations, assist health experts in arranging the funeral prayers and burials of the Covid-19 victims and convincing the masses to adopt the SOPs while visiting the mosques.

However, according to the short survey conducted by Voice of KP, very few activities of the Tiger Force were witnessed in any of the mosques and markets across the country, particularly in KP province. Moreover, serving the quarantine centres across the country and launching awareness campaigns regarding the threat of Covid19 were among the important duties assigned to the Tiger Force by PM himself; however, survey conducted by Voice of KP in different quarantine centres in Mardan, Swat, and Swabi found that none of the Tiger Force member were serving the quarantine centres and awareness campaigns were yet to be conducted by the force.

While talking to the Voice of KP, a member of Tiger Force hailing from Mardan without disclosing his name stated that they were ready for serving the nation without any personal interests, but response of the government and non-serious attitude of the senior management of the CRTF proved that joining the force was mere wastage of time.
He stated that there were thousands of members registered in the CRTF, but very few of them were performing their duties in different places and the reason behind the lack of interest was absence of any proper road map and inconsistency in policies and decisions of the government regarding the Tiger Force.

Besides the criticism on CRTF within the party, many other political parties and journalistic quarters have also greatly criticized the PTI Tiger Force and have termed it a political gimmick and a strategy of PTI to secure its vote among the youths of the country.

Meanwhile, many senior journalists including Saleem Safi has suggested that the ruling PTI should have used existing and immediate government and non-government networks in relief efforts while observing implementation of SOPs rather than announcing a parallel force like the CRTF.

Many other political experts believe that the government should have restored the local governments in the provinces instead of forming the Tiger Force as it would take a very long time to train the force and equip them with necessary skills about how to deal with such tough situations.

Justice Faez Isa case – Is judges remarks fair?

Judiciary in Pakistan have remained frequently under scanner due to various controversial decisions and scandals. Power and money are said to be used to bend the law. Despondency of our system is, that laws are either not implemented or implemented selectively.

The problem once again surfaced when a presidential reference under article 209 was filed against Supreme Court judge Qazi Faez Isa accusing him of concealing properties in UK allegedly held in the name of his spouse and children. On the basis of reference, SJC (supreme judicial council) started proceedings under chairmanship of former chief justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa. As per the reference, Justice Isa purchased three properties in London on lease but didn’t disclose the same in his financial statement. Justice Isa refuted the allegation and maintains that he cannot be made accountable for the assets of his children. Justice Isa has stated that allegations against him are baseless as his children are not minors nor have they been so, for quite a while and neither his spouse nor his children are his dependents. Moreover, he mentioned that Section 116 (1) (b) of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 is not a penal provision.”

However, as per opinion of legal experts, it was essential for the judge to disclose such assets as there was a close relationship between the judge and his spouse. Moreover, a senior lawyer on condition of anonymity said that justice Isa has intentionally politicize the case due to his legal position and to attract support from leftist in order to pressurize the supreme judicial council.

Resultantly, opposition and legal fraternity have opposed the reference. Asma Jahangir group and Hamid khan group has opposed government complaint against Isa. PBC (Pakistan Bar council) held protest against the reference and legal powers opposed the reference declaring it an attack on independent judges.

In the latest hearing, remarks of supreme judicial council bench judges have put questions over the court process. Moreover, judges remarks on how government has been able to acquire the details of justice Faez Isa property has also irk the public and legal fraternity.

The focus of supreme judicial council should have been on main accusation as to why the judge conceal his close family property rather than questioning the legality of ARU (Asset Recovery Unit). Cases such as Justice Faez Isa are a litmus test for the impartiality and fairness of the courts. The honorable supreme judicial council judges should refrain from any such remarks and should focus on deciding the case on merit. Decision and conduct of such cases are of great importance as it will shape public opinion about the fairness of Pakistan justice system. In reality, the supremacy of the constitution and its implementation on basis of unbiasedness is the only way for the justice system to achieve its apex.