Daily Times

There should be no political connotations attached to police authorities arresting someone who has already been handed a sentence by the country’s judiciary. If the former prime minister Imran Khan’s

“dishonesty has been established beyond doubt,” to borrow words from a court order at the conclusion of a year-long trial spanning more than 40 hearings, he has clearly lost the upper hand. Like it or not, the 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was unable to furnish any credible evidence against misuse of his premiership. The Toshakhana gifts may have come with a heavy price tag, but Mr Khan has no one to blame for it but himself. Instead of being all cagey, his legal counsel should have fully cooperated with the investigation and brought forward any and every detail that could prove his innocence. But now that the dye has been cast, it would serve him better to wake up to the gross consequences of his (mis)actions flying in his face. No matter how many people have treaded down the rotten path before someone does not serve to give him the hallway pass. How does it reflect on his holier-than-thou banter where he kept ridiculing his political opponents as “thieves” and “corrupt” if he too was making merry on his way down the primrose path? The legal recourse is still open where Mr Khan can appeal his case in front of the higher judiciary. With the legal channels open, there remains no need for his leading men to stir tempest in a teacup. Pakistan is in no shape to afford yet another round of deadly chaos and, therefore, the masses too can only be advised to sort out their priorities. In the past, his charismatic banter has easily triggered a large group of disgruntled youth to become a law unto themselves and spread chaos at the expense of their state. Now that the astronomical surge of the superstar is nearing its end, the people too need to realise till when would they continue to play hitmen for the nefarious agendas of those who remain largely unharmed by the ignominies. *