Talk about reforms, not JITs

Aculture to constitute joint investigation teams to investigate various issues has been carried to a comical level. Institutions and political parties seeks JITs to probe all manner of people's wrongful conduct and corruption. Also former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi who belongs to the PML-N which has suffered the most due to the probe culture a couple of days ago demanded the formation of a JIT to probe who is responsible for the ongoing electricity problem. Perhaps he was speaking in a lighter vein, but other political leaders do not appear to share Mr Abbasi's humour.

Likewise, some opposition leaders are demanding a JIT to probe undisclosed properties of a sister of Prime Minister Imran Khan abroad and she be placed on the ECL. It appears that the leading opposition parties, the PML-N and the PPP, believe that since their leaders have been subjected to unfair JIT processes, the PTI must suffer similarly.

The opposition is wrong. The emergence of JITs is a trend that ought to discouraged, not encouraged. While in certain cases a JIT may be merited, its extensive and unrestrained use undermines normal institutional processes. Moreover, the intelligence component which gives JITs a perceived weight in certain quarters acts to further muddy institutional waters, renders murky the separation of powers and adds to a perception of civil-military tensions in the country. As the Supreme Court itself has reiterated in recent days in the wake of the controversy over the JIT report on the so-called fake banks account case, a JIT report is not a conclusive finding of fact.

At most, a JIT report can be a starting point for the investigation and prosecution aides of the legal process. And it is in those areas - investigation and prosecution - that the state should concentrate its reform efforts. An effective accountability process is one whose foundations are strong institutions as opposed to ad hoc attempted solutions.

At the moment, the politicisation of JITs virtually ensures that their findings and recommendations are immediately denounced as partisan. The politicisation also helps the political class avoid providing adequate explanations in the court of public opinion - politicians have spent more time attacking the formation and composition of JITs than answering the allegations set out in JIT reports. If accountability is to be fair, transparent and across the board the process of accountability must be through a stronger institutional framework. Surely if the PTI, PML-N or PPP proposes a strong but transparent accountability process, the other parties will need to seriously consider them.

The political parties should debate institutional reforms instead of demanding JITs for all manner of issues.