This is not a banana republic
“Unfortunately our political history reveals that vested interests have generally prevailed over rule of law.”
First things first. Country or dynasty, Constitution and rule of law or mob mandate gathered through use of brute State Power and doling out illegal wealth stashed away from the country and shifted abroad in safe heavens. The rebellious and scurrilous tirade against the Judiciary and the country’s Defence forces by Nawaz Sharif since his disqualification on July 28, 2017, call for ruthless action by the Supreme Court to foil his sinister designs publicly stated by him. He should be made an example so that no one else ever dares to follow his suit.
Affairs of the State and future of the country cannot be left to the sweet will of defiance of law by plunderers of national wealth. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is not a banana state. It has a Constitution that was enacted with consensus of the Nation by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1973.The Supreme Court of Pakistan is constituted under the same Constitution which gives the right of adult franchise to elect public representatives. It is illogical rather foolish premise to claim immunity from application of Supreme Court judgment and assert legitimacy from mob affirmation. It is well within a sane person’s right to ask Nawaz Sharif if he accepts Constitution of Pakistan or not. Does his claim to enjoy mandate of 20 crore people stand test of truth when his party secured only one crore votes out of nine crores? He can claim mandate of his NA-120 only as the country is a parliamentary democracy and not following Presidential system where people directly elect their leader. Nawaz Sharif knows very well that once the power of Federal Government, Punjab Government, and resources of FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir are not available, not even a hundred people would come to receive him. So, he is desperately working to throw as much mud as possible on the Constitution, Apex Court and Defence Establishment to win as much public sympathy as possible to save his dynasty from total elimination from the scene of political power.
Unfortunately our political history reveals that vested interests have generally prevailed over rule of law. The bureaucracy, so-called civil society, intelligentsia, the lawyers, the jurists, the media and the politicians have been found hand in glove to achieve ulterior motives in the guise of various cults, dogmas and policies. Common man has never been their focus but everything is projected to be done for his sake. When the superior higher judiciary has now decided to strictly enforce the rule of law against all the citizens across the board without any discrimination, fear or favour, leading lawyers like Asma Jehangir and her cohorts are trying to forestall this ‘change for the better.’. The reason is very simple. These beneficiaries of the old system take this change as a threat to their professional dilly dallying of ‘twisting the law or delaying the justice’ in favour of their powerful and privileged clients and mint money. The level of public debate is so ill informed in Pakistan that the illiterate millions display disdain to the educated neutral observers. The business-oriented media has eroded the middle class which was backbone of our society. The middle class is now quite irrelevant. The level of public debate, barring a few media houses is pathetic. It is not objective, based on truth but flowing from the coffers of advertisement. Highly partisan media is taking advantage of the short memory of people otherwise the conduct of the Sharif family at the Supreme Court and JIT obviously reflected that they were not bothered to defend themselves. Leaving aside all other things, even the recent statements of Nawaz Sharif before the historic judgment indicated his willingness to accept the verdict. Perhaps it was a rare occasion that he could not manage things this time and took things for granted. Otherwise, it has always been the Pakistan People’s Party to get adverse edicts from the judiciary.
It is high time the Judiciary acts promptly to take cognizance of highly objectionable public outbursts of Nawaz Sharif against the Constitution and the Judiciary.
