The oaths for various appointments including that of president, prime minister, governors and army chief as given in the constitution clearly spell out that they would uphold the constitution of Pakistan and keep the national interest above their personal interest. This oath is taken by an individual at the time of his/her appointment to a key post in the presence of entire nation. Unfortunately, the constitution does not lay down any punishment for those who violate the oath which is taken as a solemn pledge with Allah, the Supreme Authority. After taking the oath, one sees that person (especially at the helm of affairs) doing nothing in the national interest but embarks on a path of loot and plunder to build his own empire destroying the very foundation of the country. Not only he himself does it but his entire family and his/her coteries also join him/her in this loot and plunder.
The case in point is the conduct of our Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani after hearing the verdict on his well contested case (given full chance by seven honourable judges of the Supreme court to his lawyer). His smile on hearing the sentence and later his speech in the parliament was tantamount to yet another contempt of the court. His continuance in the office is also a clear violation of the constitution. The constitution lays down that the convicted person cannot be a member of the assembly and if one is convicted as an assembly member, he/she not only loses his/her seat but is debarred from contesting election for next five years.
His supporters are taking out processions condemning the judgement which is definitely on the behest of their leaders. Is he doing all this for the national interest or personal interest? Where is his oath of protecting the constitution and keeping national interest above his personal interest? He is destroying the institutions by sticking to his coveted post on which he stands disqualified now. If he feels that he has been wronged, he should first resign and then contest his case in the court. He talks of being elected by 180 million of Pakistan. It is a wrong statement. Out of eight crore registered voters only 40 percent exercised their polling right and out of that 38 million voters were bogus. So he is wrong in his claim. Let the fresh elections be held under fair system to see who the genuine representatives of 180 million people are.
MUHAMMAD AZHAR KHWAJA
Lahore
