Will the cornered lion survive the place he had never been to?
So far, the lion has escaped the sword dangling on its head. So far, he is going strong even on the face of abrupt adversity despite the impressive optics of JIT. We’ll witness soon whether he’ll survive the intricate cobweb
In this riddle-ridden world of ours, one thing is crystal clear; our mighty, invincible lion is cornered and has to wriggle his way out soon or else his creed’s fate will be sealed forever.
Now, try to recall what happened last Thursday when our beloved Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif appeared before the JIT. He came, recorded his statement, talked to the media, reiterated what his clique has been saying all along about his innocence and left.
The question now is, how does it feel to be a prime minister who had to appear as a witness or an accused in front of a hostile investigation team, a JIT that has accused your government of unpardonable sins and massive wrongdoings, a JIT that has grilled your sons, a JIT that is all set to cross examine your younger brother and son-in-law in near future?
It feels bad, but not bad enough. Not a serene, soothing picture of state of affairs but one with which one can make do.
Being on top of the food chain surely helps a great deal as according to the law of our beloved fatherland those who are on the upper tier are ‘innocent until proven guilty’ (Read: Bigger fish accused of money laundering, assets beyond means, mega corruption and use of public office for private gains). In the meantime, the burden of proof lies on the accused for all those who don’t belong to the club.
It is said that a cornered cat becomes a lion, what had never been said or thought about is; what does a cornered lion become? Since complete absence of a better explanation, we have to hammer one out. Once a lion is cornered he behaves like one who had been sidestepped in the past and against whom ploys are afoot that’ll sideline him for good. So, he becomes very, very, very dangerous. And ruthless.
Partially entrapped, absolutely incensed, a cornered lion can and will do anything and everything to get out of the place he finds himself in.
Someone said something beautiful about history; it does not always repeat itself, as believed by many of us mortals. But it sure does rhyme, he said. History, that keeps on repeating itself for House of Sharif, has yet to throw something out of ordinary to dazzle the masses with a rhyming hum. And lest we forget, dearest sirs and ma’ams, when spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion.
It all started with some revelations from a land far, far away, published in esteemed newspapers, aimed at global elite and their dirty, massive secret wealth tucked away in assets bought, sold, maintained through offshore companies.
So far, the lion has escaped the sword dangling on its head. So far, he is going strong even on the face of abrupt adversity despite the impressive optics of JIT. We’ll witness soon whether he’ll survive the intricate cobweb.
However, there is something uncomfortable about all this, dearest sirs and ma’ams, in its 20 Aprilverdict we are asked to believe that what the wisest of Lords could not decipher in hundred and seventy days, the JIT would be able to do in sixty. And so we are required to accede to yet another juggle of files, this time right out of the Court Room Number One and into the precincts of Federal Judicial Academy. And so it was suggested that, what the Supreme Court in its ascendance and command could not dig out, the JIT being led by a grade twenty official would be able to establish.
Will it or won’t it. All of us have our fingers crossed.
So, till now, as we’ve observed before in these pages, justice eludes us. Law ensnares us. Our tomes of legal wisdom silently gather dust. Pangs from horrible past happenings remind us of verdicts that slayed all lofty ideals from above, all beautiful things down here. We look around sans blinking at the chequered past of those who’ve vowed to protect our rights, who’ve told us to forget the black clouds and focus solely on the silver linings, and those who were turned into demigods by us. Some among us had realised long ago that not all clouds have a silver lining and some demigods are demons incarnate.
Our world has outgrown and outfoxed truth. Now, dearest sirs and ma’ams, if it ain’t justice you like, add the prefix ‘technical’ to it. As most of our viewers have no appetite for anything as pure and celestial as ‘truth’ clubbed together with ‘technical’ — a term that is foul and mechanical to say the least.
So, the clock is ticking, we are halfway through the simmering month of Ramzan, JIT has used up more than half of its allotted time, every passing day it generates more vitriol, things are simmering right now, when and how and if ever they’ll burst, that is the question.
PS: We have been concluding our columns with quotes, excerpts, couplets, witticism, and idioms. For the sake of change, let us end this write-up with lines from the song ‘Narcissistic Cannibal’ by Korn-a metal band from America.
Sometimes, I hate, the life, I made
Everything’s wrong every time
Pushing on I can’t escape
Everything that comes my way
Is haunting me taking its sweet time
Strange times, folks. One has to quote lyrics from a metal song to sum up the travails of lions in limbo.
