Stop maligning the judiciary and military

On Friday, the apex court in its verdict absolved Imran Khan Chairman PTI absolved of the allegations of corruption or any wrongdoing, but Secretary General PTI Jehangir Tarin was disqualified under article 62 (1) (f) of the Constitution. The same day, another Supreme Court bench ruled against reviving the Huddabya case, which was celebrated by the PML-N. Some commentators and chattering classes while commenting on the two verdicts called it a balancing act. However, PML-N leaders were critical of the judgment in favor of Imran Khan. A day after the above verdicts were handed down, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar while addressing a seminar at Lahore, said: “We give verdict without any pressure. There is no external plan of any kind, no one can pressurize or dictate us.” He said everyone starts criticizing the verdicts without reading or analyzing them.
He hit out at the people criticising the judiciary for issuing judgments that they deemed unfavourable and said that maligning the judiciary should stop. The chief justice said those against whom a judgment has been issued have the right to criticise the reason behind the verdict, but he questioned the insinuations about the judiciary being part of a plan or being under pressure. Stressing on the importance of democracy, Justice Nisar said that the judiciary has vowed to protect the Constitution and would continue to uphold democracy. He vowed to eliminate corruption from the society so that Pakistan can move forward. Some media persons and analysts show utter disregard to the constitution which stipulates that both the judiciary and armed forces should not be denigrated or maligned.
Nowhere in the world, there is running commentary on the proceedings of cases in the apex court. Since the time the case against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif regarding Panama papers is in the courts, PML-N leaders have been maligning the judges and judiciary day in and day out, subjecting the judges to criticism and insinuating that verdicts are written somewhere else or under the pressure from some quarters. Last year, addressing the District Bar Council Larkana, the then Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr. Justrice Anwer Zaheer Jamali had spelt out the malaises and menaces that have crippled the country in its about 70 years of existence. Criticizing the political leadership, he said: “Besides the 30 years of dictatorial rule, the country also remained a victim of excessive legislation by the elected representatives of the people, whereby laws were moulded for personal purposes. He lamented that no anti-corruption institution was properly functioning.
Those who criticize the judges and generals have themselves been part of any adventurism and helped legitimize the praetorian rulers to saddle into power. Nobody put guns to their heads and bullied them into this adventurist contrivance of the then president or establishment. Some politicians were out there to hop on to the IJI bandwagon willingly and volitionally, as was the case in the past. If indeed a politician is so weak-willed as to easily succumb to any coercive pressures, he verily is not fit to be a leader. And if he gets tempted or enticed by the allurements of pelf and power, he is bereft of even the probity and integrity that are the essentials of a true leader. But if our chequered history is replete with Bonapartist and praetorial adventurisms, isn’t it blemished with the ignoble falls of politicians and their lust for power as well? How often they joined hands with the incoming military rulers to give a civilian face to their regimes?