Daily Times

The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA)’s attempt to muster support for its demand for the Prime Minister’s resignation has received a mixed response. While the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has also asked the prime minister to resign on moral grounds, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has distanced itself from the issue. Meanwhile, the Islamabad High Court Bar Association (IHCBA) and District Bar Association (DBA) Rawalpindi are still undecided.

Critical of the LHCBA announcement, veteran Supreme Court lawyer Asma Jahangir said, “This is no way to initiate a movement. I have never seen that a single bar can run a lawyer’s movement.” She agreed that morally the prime minister should resign. “But if we had that culture of resigning on moral grounds, then who would remain?”

Asma Jahangir may well have a point here. Consider: since the announcement of the decision by the Supreme Court on 20th April, many — including politicians, lawyers and media — have started their own trials despite being fully aware that the case is still under investigation. The Supreme Court judges, part of the Panama hearing, have also expressed their disapproval of some of the more wild interpretations by the media as well as the politicians.

The whole issue has been discussed in detail by the Supreme Court judgement, and all the stakeholders must respect the decision. All the stakeholders unanimously endorsed the decision by the apex court to take up the Panama case, and they must honour its decision to form the JIT.

Passing personal judgements before the announcement of the decision by the judiciary cannot be appreciated.

Despite the politically charged environment in the country, with the next general elections approaching in a year, the political parties and media should refrain from unjustifiably exaggerating the issue — for it can only result in unnecessary political chaos. Some elements may feel that such political chaos will benefit them, but the truth is that it will only harm Pakistani democracy. And that is a loss for all of us: whatever we might think of the Prime Minister and his moral right to govern. *