Pakistan at stake, not the selfish status quo
Honorable Justices,
The body and soul of the state of Pakistan is currently badly bruised and battered. Majority of its citizens are clueless and helpless as political upheaval and economic turbulence is fast weighing it down. You as the adjudicators of legal and constitutional matters owe this to the Pakistan of Barrister Mohammad Ali Jinnah to enlist your names in the hall of fame to avoid walk down the lane of shame.
As you gather to decide the fate of the ruling of the Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, numerous issues are at stake for the state of Pakistan. And here you find yourself at the cusp of historical moment to collectively think and act in a way that makes you stand tall. Results of selective approaches by institutions and individuals have already caused immense pain and grief among Pakistanis and here is a moment for you to relieve them of self-serving conflicting political narratives by parties that will appear before you in the case. It is Pakistan at stake and not the bickering selfish forces of status quo.
Firstly, at stake is the reputation of the state of Pakistan; does it stand on an across-the-board real rule of law or is it guided by two sets of laws – one for the elites and the other one for the commoners.
Secondly, at stake is the judiciary’s image as a whole ( very bad according the global Rule of Law Index); does it stand on the side of those who crave for the rule of law or is deferential to those who maul and mold the law according to their whims?
Thirdly at stake is the application of primary principles of jurisprudence; does the apex court take into account that two to-be-indicted persons in the most glaring money-laundering case and a convict (on bail currently) have turned Pakistan into a laughing stock across the globe. More so because they receive their guidance from a person in London – who himself is fugitive from law.
Pakistanis in general abhorred when a fugitive Altaf Hussein dictated his party from London. How come another fugitive and his relatives being allowed a free run? Citizens at large – always at the mercy of police and courts – legitimately expect the court to clarify as to how a convict on bail (Maryam Nawaz) sweeps across Pakistan at will and hurls taunts and threats at both the judiciary and the military establishment.
Fourth, at stake is the existence of Pakistan as a state anchored in a constitution.
Honourable Justices, the adjudication in the case with regard to the election of the Punjab Chief minister is a litmus test of the judiciary to prove that Pakistan is not akin to George Orwell’s The Animal Farm.
In this novelette Orwell essentially described the oppressive and exclusive dictatorship under Joseph Stalin in the post 1917 Soviet Union. The Communist republic’s elites gradually devised an exclusive regime of privileges and laws for themselves, and their propaganda organs made common people believe that the leaders needed more comfort ( bigger space, rich food, drinks) because they “work and think more” for managing the country. The Pigs in The Animal Farm represent the Stalinist dictatorship and the lies that his propagandists spread.
You have two choices; either succumb to the self-serving and noisy political blackmail by the ruling elites and help perpetuate the status quo. Or uphold the ideals that you vowed to promise in your oath and enlist your name as bold conscientious change-makers in the annuls of history.
Let the agonized and frustrated citizens of this country and the World know that the Supreme Court will not let Pakistan degenerate into George Orwell’s The Animal Farm.
