I am really amazed at the extent of leniency that the judiciary has been showing towards senior PML-N leaders
KARACHI: I am really amazed at the extent of leniency that the judiciary has been showing towards senior PML-N leaders. First, there was Nihal Hashmi who crossed all limits and even went to the extent of hurling criminal threats at the JIT members, not sparing even their families. Though he has been called to the courts, no befitting action has been taken against him so far which has resulted in his regaining his composure and confidence.
And then there are Maryam Safdar, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Talal Chaudhry, Daniyal Aziz and others who have been committing contempt of court on a regular basis. At the same time, Nawaz Sharif has been busy raising the cry of grief “Mujhay kiyon nikala?” (Why was I ousted?). He is trying to create an impression that his disqualification is the greatest travesty of justice in legal history. Also, Khawaja Asif recently, like his political boss earlier, sort of negated the Two-Nation theory, giving an understanding that they were prepared to accept India in the role that the US and its partners have designed for it — which could be Pakistan’s undoing — and thus, invited Western governments to pressure the armed forces to keep Sharifs imposed on the country.
And recently, Saad Rafique has proudly described Nawaz Sharif’s attendance at the accountability court as “giving the judiciary another chance”, which is tantamount to claiming that it was the judiciary on trial and not Nawaz Sharif. Just how long is the judiciary prepared to put up with all this, and why?
On the other hand, there is a need to deploy Rangers at the accountability courts to prevent the PML-N loyalists from disrupting court proceedings and allow the media in.
S R H Hashmi
Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2017.
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