{"id":45639,"date":"2024-01-09T06:49:16","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T06:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/the-blatant-case-of-political-expediency-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2024-01-09T06:49:16","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T06:49:16","slug":"the-blatant-case-of-political-expediency-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/the-blatant-case-of-political-expediency-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"The blatant case of political expediency | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nISLAMABAD:
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The Supreme Court decision to overturn lifetime disqualification has not only paved the way for the political heavyweights to make a comeback in parliamentary politics but, apparently, set the rule for the future that political battles are best contested in the political arena even if one faces technical knockout for five years.<\/p>\n

The reaction on top court\u2019s ruling, which has opened the window for the ex-premier Nawaz Sharif, the chairman of the newly-formed Ishtehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP), Jahangir Khan Tareen, among others, to contest polls and return to Parliament, was divided as PML-N was jubilant but PTI felt that \u2018convicted\u2019 can but those booked in \u2018false\u2019 cases can\u2019t contest polls.<\/p>\n

Eminent scholar Professor Dr Hassan Askari while talking to The Express Tribune expressed that a lifetime ban or disqualifying someone from holding an elective office appeared unjust. The professor, however, said it wasn\u2019t clear yet if anyone else other than Nawaz and Tareen would immediately benefit from the decision, saying PTI\u2019s founding chairman Imran Khan might benefit a few years down the lane.<\/p>\n

Not so long ago, Professor Askari recalled that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) pursued cases against Nawaz but, following his return to the country from London, it is the same anti-graft body which admitted before the courts that there was nothing against Nawaz with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt raises the question if the earlier court decision were made in accordance with law or as per the political convenience back then,\u201d Professor Askari said.<\/p>\n

Referring to a pattern where one side starts getting relief while the other is punished after a certain period of time, the professor said that it seems that \u201cit is less about legal, constitutional and principal of justice and more about political expediency for the time being.\u201d<\/p>\n

Usually, he said, politicians are not in favour of a lifetime ban, saying they should try to show their true potential in the political arena instead of knocking out their opponents on technical grounds.<\/p>\n

Professor Tahir Naeem Malik of NUML University noted that the top court\u2019s decision has provided relief to a few but it has once again exposed the system where one starts getting relief or vice versa if it\u2019s decided. He, however, said that things are always different for elite and common citizens.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, Professor Malik recalled that the whole system, including courts and the judgments, create a scenario, saying moral and religious connotations are given; couplets and adages are narrated in legal documents; words like \u201cSicilian mafia\u201d and \u201cpity the nation\u201d are used by judges and then everything is somehow forgotten. \u201cThey simply say that we overlooked and move on,\u201d Malik said.<\/p>\n

However, Professor Malik noted that Nawaz appeared to be a \u201clucky man\u201d as he has always managed to make a comeback, saying one reason was that \u201cpoliticians belonging to Punjab are more pragmatic and they agitate against the establishment to a certain extent and do not go beyond that limit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malik said that Nawaz also knew when to agitate and when to stay silent, saying \u201cIt seems his silence has paid off\u201d. However, he added, that ex-premier Imran Khan didn\u2019t care if he was crossing any line and simultaneously opened too many fronts for himself.<\/p>\n

Following the apex court\u2019s decision pertaining to disqualification, Malik said a decision was also expected in Bhutto\u2019s case as Monday\u2019s decision has added extra pressure on the judiciary that some people are getting justice or relief in their lives while others have been waiting for decades.<\/p>\n

Political reactions<\/p>\n

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif labelled today’s verdict as “historic” and declared the demise of the conspiracy aimed at disqualifying Nawaz Sharif for life through an “arbitrary interpretation of the Constitution.”<\/p>\n

“There is no longer any legal obstacle in the way of Nawaz Sharif to participate in the elections,” he affirmed. Shehbaz further stated that if the PML-N leader were afforded another opportunity, he would steer the country towards a trajectory of development and prosperity.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, PML-N leader Marriyum Aurangzeb expressed that a “dark chapter” had concluded, contending that the lifelong disqualification was intended to subject Nawaz to political vendetta.<\/p>\n

She elaborated, stating that the interpretation of Article 62(1)(f) had led Pakistan and its citizens into the quagmire of inflation, economic deterioration, and international shame.<\/p>\n

Conversely, the PTI vehemently reacted to the SC\u2019s decision, asserting that irrespective of Nawaz Sharif’s qualification or disqualification, the electorate of Pakistan is poised to reject him in the upcoming February 8 election.<\/p>\n

Taking to microblogging platform \u2018X\u2019, the PTI stated, \u201cInshAllah, the people of Pakistan will reject Nawaz Sharif, along with all the privileges he presently enjoys. The nation has endured enough hardship due to the influence wielded by this favoured scion, Ladla Sharif!”<\/p>\n

Characterising the court’s decision as a regrettable departure from ‘honouring the vote’ to a state of being ‘we are done,’ PTI underscored its disapproval.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the party disseminated a video clip featuring Imran Khan, who emphasised that Pakistan’s fundamental predicament lies in the absence of the rule of law.<\/p>\n

Imran stressed that a just society requires equality before the law, bemoaning the prevailing scenario in the nation where significant wrongdoers often escape justice, thereby jeopardising the prosperity of great nations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n