Investigative journalism is the way to go

topic:	Election
located:	Pakistan
editor:	Shadi Khan Saif

Out of many mechanisms aimed at nurturing the culture of transparency in a society, a robust and free media reporting and ethical investigative journalism alone can stand as the most effective one.

With the passing of time, the power brokers in most of the developing countries have sought many ways around the representative democracy to manipulate public trust in the short-term, with a particular focus on the day of voting.

However, the ceaseless culture of enthusiastic journalists ripping apart all the curtains, fog and illusions that are hiding evils of corruption, and exposing all greedy practices by the ruling quarters gives the voters a sense of true and meaningful insight of what is actually going on.

This is also the case with non-elected figures, such as military officers, siphoning off public funds and taxpayers' money for generations.

A single investigative report in Pakistan last month exposed a trail of corruption worth millions of dollars by a top military general abusing state resources, authority and credibility. Though Gen Aasim Bajwa, the accused, rejects wrongdoing, he was compelled to tender resignation under pressure from the anti-corruption watchdogs.

According to the news report, Bajwa’s brothers, wife and sons own a business empire which set up 99 companies in four countries, including a pizza franchise with 133 restaurants worth an estimated $39.9 million. The Bajwa family’s companies spent an estimated $52.2m to develop their businesses and $14.5m to purchase properties in the United States as he rose to ranks in the powerful Pakistan Army.

In any society or country claiming to be democratic and hence grabbing benefits for it in this ever-changing world of ours, the regimes must now update assurances of press freedom for the liberty of investigative journalism.

There shall be no excuses for hindering access to information under any pretext in normal circumstances. Disasters and crises of all sorts might damage a country, but it is the prevailing culture of impunity for corrupt that destroys it.

Image by Engin_Akyurt

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