Daily Times

A picture is worth a thousand words. For months on end, biased propaganda emanating from PTI supporters led us to believe that the former prime minister was being denied his fundamental human rights. After the federal government submitted a report before the Supreme Court in a bid to dispute these emotional claims, irrefutable visuals of detailed services being offered to Mr Khan should have cleared the air once and for all. No ordinary prisoner in Adiala Jail can even dream of let alone enjoy such living conditions. Facilities like LED screens, a personal library, an exclusive gallery and specialised exercise equipment do count as a luxury in the world behind bars, no matter what one’s public status may have been. Yet, the party’s social media account refuses to read the writing on the wall and insists: Where’s the promised helper? Why’s the cell untidy? Why wasn’t he given a spacious room?

Because PTI has always tooted the horn of being the only political party spearheading a revolution for equality, ideally speaking, it should have ensured its founder did not get any extra favours. Every individual, regardless of their status or political affiliation, should be treated equally under the law and therefore, asking for these privileges meant that Mr Khan also wished for the rule of law to be bent on personal agendas.

Nevertheless, swallowing the bitter pill as the status quo, shouldn’t the top-tier party leadership spend some time looking at the quality of the amenities they had offered their political rivals when it was their turn to call the shots? The need for the ruling elite to turn their attention to where it actually belongs – the next act of the political trajectory – could not be more clear and urgent. Instead of being boggled down by the rhetoric of who’s getting VIP treatment and who’s not, the opposition would be much better off letting Mr Khan’s legal counsel fight for his innocence in the court of law. Going by the recent big wins, there’s nothing to fear from the principles of justice and accountability. After all, now that the blinkers are off and the bench has been provided with detailed information about the visitors’ log, one thing is certain: they cannot use the inaccessibility card any longer. *