Nawaz verdict: Accountability motivated by the political process? Is NAB an established organization? The case: is it sealed up?

In the Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption case, an accountability court sentenced former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to seven years in prison; in the Flagship Investments case, the court found him not guilty.

'NAB's credibility is under question'

Although it appears that this ruling may have ended Nawaz Sharif's political career, it is unclear if it also means that the Sharif political dynasty is over.

Regarding the political fallout at this juncture, the party has made it quite evident that they will not go so far as to take to the streets.

Nonetheless, it appears that Nawaz has a sizable support base in central Punjab despite the conviction, punishment, and trial.
The decision will affect the nation's politics in the long run. It will be extremely difficult, in my opinion, for the establishment or anybody else to topple the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), as they continue to be one of the country's most powerful political groups.
The accountability process, or so-called accountability, has an issue because... While the accusations made against him are not unfounded, there is undoubtedly a lot of doubt about how the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has operated. These factors contribute to the verdict's perception as political victimization.

The PML-N remains in power, but Nawaz's political future is undoubtedly under serious doubt. Though his return appears to be extremely unlikely, the PML-N will continue to exist as a political force.

Therefore, the issue is more complex than merely "accountability" or "justice being done" and has a political component.

The credibility of NAB is being questioned.

'Accountability in Pakistan is always politically motivated'

Politically speaking, the consequences are the same as they were following the first conviction: the Sharif family and the political party are going to face challenges at this time.

Nawaz has evidently already been declared ineligible by the Supreme Court; until the legislation is changed by parliament, there is no chance of a reversal in that instance. He was out on bail, but that bail was also questioned in the Supreme Court, and now he’s disqualified plus convicted in another case.

In addition, Shahbaz Sharif is being detained and facing several accusations. It appears that Hamza Shahbaz is likewise clouded. In one instance, Maryam Nawaz received a conviction.

It appears that no one in the family is currently in a position to operate the party legally or who is permitted to do so.

Since the party is named after the Sharifs and this is the first family, that causes issues for both the family and the party.

In addition, a number of the party's key political figures, including the loyalists and kitchen cabinet members, are currently dealing with references, lawsuits, or other legal issues.
    

There are rumors that Ahsan Iqbal, Marriyum Aurangzeb, and Rana Sanaullah are the subject of investigations; Khawaja Saad Rafique is detained, while Khawaja Asif is allegedly abroad. I believe that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is also under investigation on the LNG scandal.

Thus, as I mentioned before, the party and the family are going through a challenging period politically and legally, and the court cases are only one aspect of it.

The party has a respectable number of seats, unlike in 2002, but it is losing power in Punjab and the Center for the first time since a long time.

However, just like in 2002, there is ample evidence to imply that efforts were made to deny them their just portion of authority.

The fact is, accountability in Pakistan is invariably driven by political considerations—or lack thereof.

The Ehtesab Commission was used to target opponents or dissident voices during Nawaz's second term; Musharraf then redesigned it and it had a similar purpose, and we all heard about the Pakistan People's Party-Patriots and all that.

Then, these parties made sure that NAB would be incredibly weak for the five years of the PPP government and then for a portion of the PML-N government.

Now that things are reversed, it is extremely active—almost "too active."

According to certain accusations, the NAB's actions are unfair or selective in that certain political figures or parties are the target of aggressive targeting while others are not.

Even when it doesn't work, we know it's because of political interference, so even if it's true, this is what NAB has been accused of from the beginning.

Eventually, all the main political parties will have to work out how to actually make NAB independent and autonomous so that its shift in focus doesn't appear to be the result of someone's pressure or whim.

And that will guarantee its independence, so maybe less concerns about the accountability drive's bias will arise.