The Country's New Hero

In today’s Nation a former judge of the Punjab High Court sums it all up quite succinctly:

An excerpt from 'Catching the fleeting moment’ by Aamer Raza A. Khan

“One may legitimately ask - what has gone wrong. Are we descending to the state in which we find Afghanistan and Iraq? The answer and the causes are obvious. There is a widening chasm between our rulers and the ruled. The former are now not representative of the later, and are not answerable for their doings, nor can the citizens question them, nor do they respond. Look at the plight of the Parliament. Is it the repository of state power and the sovereignty of the State? Is the Government answerable to the Superior Courts?

The case of the missing persons exemplifies it all - those complained against are admittedly beyond the control of the civilian set up, and brazenly defy its authority. The CJP tried to intervene, and is now fighting for his own survival, and that of the judicial system, and does not find solace even amongst his peers. But for the brave fight being put up by the legal fraternity -, things would have all been over by now.

The CJP tread on too many toes, and took on one too many. How dare he question the "transparency" of the privatisation process, how dare he question functionaries about police excesses, how dare he interfere in the conversion of a public park into a Mini Golf Course, and of the Doongi Ground into a IMax Cinema Complex, how dare he put a brake on the despoilation of the Patriata forests, how dare he order the cancellation of allotments to influentials of hundreds of plots in Gwadar, how dare he summon the mighty Secretaries and Inspectors General to appear before his Court, how dare he direct prompt and proper investigation of abductions, rapes, forced marriages, question Jirga verdicts, unseat politicians, muse about examining again the holding of dual office, and contemplate overseeing the forthcoming elections or examine the eligibility of the aspirant for high public office. Such a CJP had to be put in place, and all possibilities nipped in the bud. But what was not factored in, was that the man may resist. And the man caught hold of the fleeting moment and much against all expectations, resisted. The powers that be, were unprepared and confounded, and in panic committed the infamous deeds that boomeranged on them. Their haughtiness and blunders ignited the lawyers protest and their provocative conduct continuously keeps on feeding the flames.

The man who caught the fleeting moment is now, regardless of all accusations, perceived to be a symbol of courage and an upholder of the Constitution, and the rule of law, and rightly so too…”

Pakistan


Supreme Court of Pakistan