Daily Times

Sir: Interestingly, the detailed order on the prime minister’s conviction is all about the sanctity of the court that has been flaunted, ridiculed, and belittled. The judges accused the prime minister (PM) of not honouring their orders, thus setting a bad precedent not only for the successor governments but for the masses to rebuff the courts at their will. In one of its interesting remarks, the Supreme Court quoted Justice Robert Jackson’s famous words, “We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible because we are final.” If only these lines could sink in with the PM, he would leave his job not to save the system but to save the nation from getting into a moral hazard. The finality of the order does not rest in putting the premier behind bars or disqualifying him from the assemblies for five years or on getting him dismissed as the prime minister of Pakistan. The finality lies in the shadow that would chase Mr Gilani and the nation for the rest of our lives. For an ordinary Pakistani, this verdict is a foot in the door, the shine of a corruption-free Pakistan has already begun to sparkle, though in the distance, but the news is in the air that the infallible courts have destined this country to become free of evils sowed, harvested and earned by its leaders. One gaffe of General Musharraf opened the doors for a free judiciary in Pakistan. The trail of suo motu that followed the government ever since it has come to office have been termed stepping into other’s territory but then the mood to strip the country to its bare bones was so conspicuous that some hyperbolic turn had to be taken.

NABEEL CHAUDHRY

Rawalpindi