With negation of this essential requirement proved, the only course left is to disqualify the PM
KARACHI: This refers to the news report “Disqualification of PM to set a dangerous precedent: SC” (January 11) by Hasnaat Malik. We were told from an early age that justice is blind, meaning that the social status of the accused is immaterial to the judges who will give the verdict according to the law and the evidence produced. However, this stands negated by the statement “Disqualification of PM to set a dangerous precedent”. And, as for fearing the setting of a dangerous trend, well, for every decision, there would have been a first time. Moreover, the situation in Pakistan is a class of its own, not comparable to anywhere in the world and that way, a fertile ground for a ‘first’ in almost every field.
And, while it is true that we all make statements, what makes a difference in the significance of a statement is who made it and at what forum. For example, a casual, non-serious statement made by a teenager among a group of friends is altogether different from the one made by the prime minister of a country in the National Assembly.
And while Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s statement made in Parliament may not be directly connected with the Panama Papers issue, it does prove him not to be ‘sadiq’ and ‘ameen’, qualities that have been prescribed by the country’s Constitution as essential requirements of an assembly member. With negation of this essential requirement proved, the only course left is to disqualify the PM and end his assembly membership.
Among all this, one judge insists, “the onus will be on the Sharif family to prove how such [a] huge amount of money was maintained for more than a quarter of century.” I may be wrong but I get a feeling that this may prove to be not much more than a debating forum and the case will prove inconclusive, not for want of evidence but more for unwillingness to take the right decision which is feared to have serious consequences.
SRH Hashmi
Published in The Express Tribune, January 14th, 2017.
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