I am a staunch proponent and supporter of the inviolability of the fundamental rights of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution, the predominance of sanity in the domain of politics, adherence to reason in the matters related to governance and in the furtherance of state affairs. They provide a strong foundation for sustained socio-economic development, a vendetta-free political culture and peaceful social environment imbued with the capability to subdue the emergence of fissiparous tendencies. No person in his right mind can take an issue with it.
Therefore, I am against the enactment of any law or step that encroaches upon fundamental rights of the citizens. Any such attempt must be resisted by the members of the Parliament. In this regard it was heartening to note that the members of the Senate, including some belonging to the Treasury benches, opposed the proposed amendments to the Official Secrets Act which they thought violated fundamental human rights. The Pakistan Bar Council also rightly condemned the incorporated amendments to the Official Secrets Act wherein intelligence agencies are granted blanket powers to raid and detain any citizen or enter or search any person in any place without search warrants from any court of law, merely under suspicion of them breaching the law, as unethical and against the norms of justice as well as violation of Articles 8, 9 and 10 of the Constitution.” The pressure exerted did produce positive results as the Act was ultimately passed by deleting the controversial clause.
Having said that, I would like to reiterate that enjoyment of fundamental rights is contingent upon allegiance to the state. The state has the right to prosecute and punish any citizen in consonance with the laws of the country who acts against the interests and security of the country or is guilty of insurgency and rebellion against it. It is however the responsibility of the courts to determine whether any action of the government is in conformity with the law and constitution or not?
Unfortunately our history is replete with instances where observance of fundamental rights, prevalence of sanity in politics and reason in carrying out affairs of the state have been sacrificed at the altar of narrow political interests and agendas with impunity, which adequately explains why Pakistan has always been at the cross-roads and immersed in inextricable situations.
The tragedy is that there has been very little resistance to such ploys by the rulers. Even the intellectuals who are considered architects of the intellectual development of a society through identification of the correct course to be followed have failed in performing this sacred duty. Instead many of them have been found propagating partisan views and narratives to aggravate the situation.
A number of such self-styled intellectuals who are affiliated with a political party in their discourses have been persistently dubbing the leaders of the other parties as thieves and plunderers and eulogizing the indiscretions of the leader of their own party as epoch-making initiatives. They saw no problem with his politics of political vendetta, or the framing of false corruption cases against opposition leaders which were never proven in the courts of law, as well as his coming into power through a conspiracy.
They have never condemned the fake case of drug-smuggling against Rana Sanaullah and the reference against Justice Qazi Faiz Isa though the leader of the party admitted that it was a mistake on the part of his government to file it. They never had the heft and conscience to condemn acts of violence that were committed by the party workers on the instigation of the leader of the party. So much so that they have been trying to justify the May 9 attacks on the military installations and memorials of the martyrs which have been condemned by the entire nation and have also led to almost all the party stalwarts ditching the party in protest against what transpired on that day.
The fact of the matter is that Imran Khan was never a genuine political leader, notwithstanding the propaganda by his social media warriors regarding his popularity. A leader is the one who unites the nation, thinks and acts for the well being of the people, believes in democratic norms and supremacy of law and upholds the prestige and sanctity of Parliament.
It was actually a rebellion against the state and a conspiracy against the incumbent COAS, as the evidence coming forth so far has revealed. They have also been part of the sustained campaign to malign the government and military establishment and condemning the arrests made in connection with the attacks on military installations and also polluting the minds of the people through their unscrupulous discourses.
They have been persistently propagating that Imran Khan has been implicated in false cases which is the worst kind of political victimization. Only fools can give credence to what they are trying to rub in with so much evidence available to incriminate their leader in those cases. There might be some truth concerning some cases because we do have an established history of political victimization.
However that will be sorted out when the courts decide on those cases. I am not in any way trying to defend all that the PDM government has done. Some steps might have been taken as a revenge for what was done to them during the PTI regime.
Sanity and reason are alien to our political culture and the political leaders on both sides have a myriad of skeletons in their cupboards. It is the moral duty of intellectuals to call a spade a spade and let the nation know the reality of the prevailing situation and guide it in regards to the corrective measures needed to rectify the situation. Selling one’s soul to the devil and indulgence in promoting partisan and false narratives only leads to erosion of the credibility and stature of such self-styled intellectuals. I am baffled by their amazing effrontery to speak from a higher moral pedestal in a situation like this when the leader has been found guilty of fraud in the Toshakhana case.
The fact of the matter is that Imran Khan was never a genuine political leader, notwithstanding the propaganda by his social media warriors regarding his popularity. A leader is the one who unites the nation, thinks and acts for the welling being of the people, believes in democratic norms and supremacy of law and upholds the prestige and sanctity of Parliament.
Unfortunately he was found lacking in all these traits, leave alone his moral bankruptcy and sexual exploits as a known playboy. The leaked audios and videos also shed adequate light on his non-political pursuits. How can a man like him be the chief executive of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and how can people have the spine to project such a person as the most conscientious and honest individual? Those who have been performing this unholy duty need to scratch their conscience.
