Daily Times

As former prime minister Imran Khan finally decided to give in and spell an end to this sensational roller coaster-stint of the contempt proceedings against him, one can’t help but wonder how hard it must have been for a person like him. Call it his charismatic appeal or a sequence of uncanny coincidences but he is used to being let go on far worse. For someone claiming to be a staunch supporter of the supremacy of law, he has had more than a fair share of legal imbroglios. May it be accusations about the “double standards” in relation to rigging in elections or raising an uproar over the procedures of the bench, he is a tried-and-tested participant in controversies involving the judiciary.

Even now, the apology has arrived a month late, on repeated demands from the hallways of justice and probably when the courts appeared to lose their patience. Chief Justice Athar Minallah’s personal views on libel law aside, the honourable courts have usually not been this forgiving. In the case of PML(N)’s Nehal Hashmi, even submitting an unconditional apology could not keep him out of prison over contempt of the higher judiciary.

It can only be hoped (rather, prayed) that Mr Khan would start exercising a little restraint when it comes to speaking his mind. Seeing the unwavering support of his followers come what may, he clearly does not need heated rhetoric to add to his appeal. Had he run out of luck and been given even a symbolic punishment, the indictment was enough to exclude a national leader from the power race for at least five years.

Whatever has to be said to convey his side of the tale can also be satisfactorily done without the punctuation of unparliamentary rhetoric or threatening expressions. And this applies to all parties. With rabble-rousing becoming a part and parcel of our national identity, all political parties should unitedly pursue an end to this rather unnecessary pushing of august institutions of state in the name of petty agendas. Let your own mandate speak for yourself and leave the other pillars to their constitutionally-bound roles. *