The bakery incident, if anything, reflects the sick and decadent mindset of the ruling elite and their belief that they are above the law. This is what happens when political power is handed over to children, as if it is a hereditary family asset, which would automatically transfer to next of kin like it does in a monarchy. We have witnessed how the so called will of a politician was used to assume political office in Pakistan. Perks of power being abused by family members of elected public office holders or paid bureaucracy has become a norm in this country. This should not happen in a constitutional democracy, but it has been happening for past sixty years and things are getting worse now.
Recently, we witnessed how the son of a PM could exert influence to allegedly get an illegal quota of Ephedrine allocated and the whole family had opened a one window facilitation centre, where appointments or posting to public office could be attained or bought. Have we forgotten that when Musharraf was in office, a PIA plane was diverted to Boston to facilitate his son? Other than the Quaid-e-Azam, who lead by example, every military or political leader has allowed his children and next of kin to enjoy perks and abuses of power, which the law or constitution does not allow. Those in power measure their status with the ease and frequency with which laws are circumvented and made slave to their whims. Nowhere else in civilized world, will we witness this malaise of VVIP Syndrome, than in the Third World, where corruption is rampant and individuals matter, instead of laws. In a democracy, no citizen is above the law. It is rule of laws, not of men.
The law enforcement agencies, it seems, are there not to protect common citizens, but satisfy ego of elite, protect them from prosecution and appease them, irrespective of what the law states. It could only happen in Pakistan, where democratically elected PM Gilani had the audacity to state that he holds power to appoint an SHO, thereby implicating that the police will listen to him, instead of Supreme Court. Why should police escort be available to sons and daughters of chief ministers, federal ministers, governors, khaki and civil bureaucrats, most of whom do not even pay taxes?
