The practice to accept only favourable judgments must end
While everyone waits for the Panama-gate verdict which is supposed to be remembered for centuries political parties are in a spin.
The PTI, which is a major party to the case, believes it has already sufficiently exposed Nawaz Sharif before the masses during the trial. It hopes that the apex court would disqualify Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister, send home Ishaq Dar and Captain (rtd) Safdar, and pass damaging strictures against Maryam Nawaz. In case nothing of the sort happens, the party would lose face. It would help Imran Khan however if any one of his multifarious expectations are fulfilled.
The PPP is not ready for early elections which might be held in case Nawaz Sharif is disqualified. If Nawaz Sharif is spared, the party would maintain this proves its contention that the courts always favour the PML-N while they persecute the PPP.
The PML-N being the only party which fears to lose rather than gain from the judgment, the veneer of equanimity that it had initially maintained started fading with the questions asked and remarks delivered during the trial by the bench. Its newfound respect for the SC gradually gave way to verbal assaults like the ‘peanuts made of iron’ remark and one regarding the eyesight of a judge who found some of pages missing from Nawaz Sharif’s avowedly full account of the money trail. On Tuesday posters reiterating support to Nawaz Sharif appeared in a federal minister’s constituency that indicated that the party was in a defiance mode if the verdict went against it. Another high profile party loyalist maintained that the Panama-gate case is a political rather than a legal case and refused to commit on a talk show when repeatedly asked if the PML-N would accept whatever verdict is delivered.
The parties are within their right to make fair comments on the apex court’s judgment if they so desire. They must however abide by it. All the more so in the case of the PML-N and PTI which had both willingly accepted the SC as the final arbiter.
