Daily Times

There are no two opinions about the fact that strict adherence to the constitution and laws of the land are pivotal to the socio-economic development of a country. It ensures peace and political stability within the polity. Defiance of the constitution and laws leads to anarchy.

If we have a look at the history of the developed and civilized nations the invariable conclusion would be that the secret of their progress was the rule of law which in other words means following the constitution and law of the country by all the entities within the state including the political parties. Political leaders and parties which manage the affairs of the state based on winning public franchises or those sitting on the opposition benches are under greater obligation to set worth emulating examples for the general public in regards to respect for the constitution and laws of the country.

Regrettably, we as a nation and society are not conversant with the value of the rule of law made possible by adherence to the constitution and laws. They have been defied and breached by the state institutions in violation of the trichotomy of powers prescribed by the constitution, flouted by the media in the name of freedom of expression and also pummeled by the politicians to grind their axes at the expense of national and state interests. The dilemma is that they get away with their unconstitutional indiscretion and nobody has ever been taken any politician to task for violating the constitution or breaking the law.

A way needs to be found to encourage responsible behaviour without curbing the freedom of expression.

The word ‘freedom’ is misconstrued as the unbridled and unfettered right to say or act in a manner without restraint. There is no concept of unbridled freedom of expression anywhere in the world. It is universally recognized that all entities and organizations whether public or private and all the citizens have to act in conformity with the constitution and law.

In this regard, Article 19 says “Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or mabout relation to contempt of court, commission of or incitement to an offence.” As we can see there is no ambiguity regarding how the freedom of speech and freedom of expression has to be exercised and which are the no-go areas.

One of the restricted areas is relations with foreign states. No citizen or politician is supposed to utter or say anything which impinges upon friendly relations with foreign states. I can say without any qualms that our media and politicians show no respect for the laws and constitution of the country, particularly the above-quoted Article.

The most recent example is the statement made by PTI stalwart Sher Afzal Marwart on the media talk show claiming that Saudi Arabia and the USA jointly played a role in the conspiracy to orchestrate Imran Khan’s removal from power. He further said that Saudi Arabia was a puppet of US President Joe Biden trying to further the latter’s interests in the region.

Saudi Arabia is not only a great friend of Pakistan but a benefactor who has helped Pakistan whenever it was faced with economic adversities.

To make such an accusatory statement against it without any credible evidence is tantamount to annoying a friendly country and jeopardizing the national interests at a time when the Saudi government was trying to help Pakistan get out of a difficult situation and Saudi a delegation was in Pakistan to assess the investment opportunities and poised to make commitments in this regard. It is a very serious breach of Article 19 of the constitution and warrants strict action against him.

Although in the backdrop of the public reaction against this statement, the PTI has tried to distance it from what Marwat has said and the man himself has taken a somersault by saying that it was his personal opinion but the matter cannot be left there. The question is even if it was his personal opinion how did he come to form that opinion? Why did he express his personal opinion in such an irresponsible manner without considering its repercussions and without any evidence in that regard?

Many political analysts savvy with the brand of PTI politics believe that Marwat could not have made this irresponsible statement without the knowledge and nod of approval from Imran Khan. They further observe that the statement by Marwat and later its denial by the party was a typical brand of politics by the party.

I think the state has the right to get hold of the man for breaching Article 19 of the constitution and grill him regarding his motivation to commit that criminal indiscretion. Not only the findings be made public but also a formal case instituted against him so that nobody in the future resorts to such convulsions with impunity. It is essential to establish the rule of law in the country and inculcate responsible behaviour among politicians. Let it be the beginning of the culture of intolerance for any unconstitutional conduct and restoration of sanity in politics.

There is also an imperative need to take care of media-related indiscretions, propagation of fake news and narratives on social media which are inimical to the national interests. A way needs to be found to encourage responsible behaviour without curbing the freedom of expression. Banning social media outlets is not the solution.

The writer is a former diplomat and freelance columnist.