Into the void

We’ve all heard it and we will continue to hear it. Seems like there is no solution to this problem. The judicial system of this country is in a shambles. From the lower courts all the way up till the apex courts. Justice just isn’t being done. Being a practising lawyer, I see cases being unnecessarily dragged on in the name of unadhered formalities or because ‘correct procedure’ was not followed. At times it seems like our judges are slaves to formalities and procedures. But what about taking a more purposive approach?

NAB references against various politicians have been pending since 2015 because his highness the Investigating Officer has too much on his plate to submit a charge sheet or a challan in the court. And to further aid his laxity, the judges appallingly keep giving more time ‘in the interest of Justice’. Seriously? The Islamic Republic of Pakistan pours in massive amounts of funds into its judicial system and judges are paid extremely smart salaries, not taking into account other perks and fringe benefits. Despite all this, Pakistan ranks at 130 out of 139 on the WJP Rule of Law index as of 2021. Even Bangladesh is better than us at number 124.

It seems like the water keeps flowing with no end in sight. Mind you, all keyboard warriors and elite, Bougie, Facebook activists were celebrating when Zahir Jaffer was ‘sentenced’ to death. Rightfully so. But he appealed his death sentence to the Islamabad High Court and now, it will take another 20 or so years for him to actually be executed — if at all.

I have been practising law for three years and in my three years, I have learned one thing. We’re flogging a dead horse. And boy I mean it! The system is dragging itself by the scruff of its neck but for how long though? All things sound good on paper only. A court may declare someone’s land to be theirs but that declaration is only divine on paper. On the ground, it might belong to a plethora of encroachers or some societal outcast with heavy security backing. It will take thousands of hearings to get that property vacated. In the meantime, the owner will die. Justice will be delayed forever.

Who do we blame though? Judges are merely humans too and it would be unfair to blame the judiciary alone. A country needs all its institutions to work in harmony in order to function smoothly. But in a place where corruption is rife and deceit is common, do you expect anything to work?

Our country has not produced an academic or a Nobel prize winner in what seems like forever now. We are operating amongst men and women who pull out their mics and start blabbering about giving out sponsored prizes right after Iftar time. Our youngsters have no idols. They are suffocated, watching pseudo-scholars and two-faced politicians spitting lies for a living and that’s what they are absorbing, every single day. We are thriving on hatred, deceit, manipulation and deception, all the while preaching the word of divinity and God to our children. How do we sleep at night and how do we look at ourselves in the mirror?

Times are changing and the world is increasingly moving forward. Countries around the world are educating their workforce in order to keep up with the changing pace of technology and advancements and here we are, doing absolutely nothing for our own betterment. Our education system has failed. We are not producing skilled labour and as a result, our country continues to decline. Individuals with rudimentary education but vast social networks, are placed above us as judges and bureaucrats who try to govern us with their narrow vision.

I have already said this before and I will say it again. We the people face unconstitutional lies, in greed we trust, in revolution we die.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2022.

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