Judiciary, PML-N and ‘red lines’

• Last leg of the campaign

Hopes that Nawaz might tone down his anti-judiciary rhetoric in the last leg of the election campaign have clearly turned out false. Now, PM Abbasi has put the cabinet’s full weight behind his party chief’s position as well, talking about unacceptable decisions, red lines and even associating the Lodhran result, somehow, with a people’s rejection of the Panama Papers verdict. Nawaz has moved his pieces cleverly. Now, should the court’s contempt notices be served further up the PML’N’s totem pole, the party is sure to play the martyr further and squeeze precious sympathy votes in the run up to the election. That would hold true all the more in light of the NAB references coming full circle sooner rather than later.

But it’s not as if the honourable judges have not given politicians reasons to play politics. They should be the last people needing reminding that judges must speak only through their judgments. From the ‘Godfather’ episode – during the Supreme Court’s proceedings in a case of extreme importance, no less – to the judicial PR drive and instances when statements had to be retracted, who is to keep their lordships on the right side of the thin border of activism?

Sadly, once more the hottest debate in an election year is far removed from the basic needs of the common people. PML-N has turned the campaign into a crusade to vindicate Nawaz, PTI is busy finding all the faults in all the others, and the rest are far too behind to seriously count in the main race. And nobody, contrary to their loud speeches, is giving much thought to the issues of the people. Politically we are far more isolated than the same time in the last cycle. And economy we have the largest deficit in history just as foreign aid, just like political space, is being squeezed. Yet our political elite is bent upon triggering a clash of institutions.