Days after the top court kicked off its hearing into the suo motu notice taken over the apparent delay in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa general elections. The ruling parties PML-N, the PPP, and JUI-F demanded the formation of the Supreme Court’s full court bench to hear the suo motu notice regarding the general election in two provinces. Furthermore, the PDM alliance also sought the exclusion of Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi from the full bench dealing with their case. The parties were of the view that the reconstitution of the bench would be in the best interest of justice and fairness, and will strengthen the public confidence in the top court.
The state of Pakistan faces a deep social and political division on ethnic and party lines that is seriously undermining the normal functioning of the state institutions including civil administration, judiciary, Policing, and several other departments in the country. Over the years, hypernationalism and rigid politics continuously added to already existing inter-party, intersect, and communal biases in society. Thus, political groups, trade unions, and cartels exploit this social volatility and institutional weakness for their benefit.
Presently, the warring political groups have adopted a strange philosophy by refusing to accept the court’s verdict, administrative order or poll result if it does suit their politics and hail those actions and decisions which come in their favor and promote their politics. At the same time, those groups try to influence the judiciary and executive through favoritism, conceit, and bribes to manipulate things in their favor. This trend is highly regrettable and poisonous for the political system in the country.
As, the Supreme Court larger benched started hearing the suo motu action to assess eligibility to issue the date for polls, the constitutional responsibility of the federation and provinces to conduct elections in the country. An unfortunate and unpleasant situation occurred when government Ministers and PML-N senior leadership launched a verbal attack against the judiciary while a few judges were specifically named for their alleged bias and animosity toward the group. Surprisingly, the issue did not restrict to press talks and TV shows rather ruling alliance requested the apex court to exclude their name from the full court likely to form to hear the case in the coming days. The PDM leaders were of the view that those judges keep bias against the ruling elit]e and had offered verdicts against it multiple times in the past.
Realistically, national institutions are the real prestige of the country and enjoy full confidence and backing from the nation. The politicians have introduced new kinds of politics which restrict them to initiate dialogue with their opponents to forge consensus on national and political issues instead approach the courts to get legal verdicts on every other issue of political nature. Pakistan is a poor country and has no such resources to provide fresh judges, staffers and administrators to the political clans in each case and every term.
Governor servants are bound by their oaths to conduct according to the constitution weather it suits to an individual or party or not because appeasement of influential is not mandatory for them. Therefore, public leaders must stop attacking national institutions, and government servants and focus on national issues, and problems of the people if they intend to groom their politics, otherwise their governance left nothing with the masses so far.
