Sir: After the arrest of controversial self-proclaimed defence analyst Zaid Hamid in Saudi Arabia, another talk show host and analyst Dr Moeed Pirzada has been arrested in Abu Dhabi for allegedly committing forgery, a crime punishable under the laws of that country. What people forget is that no country allows anybody, including foreign visitors, irrespective of their status, to break its laws as is done so often in Pakistan. We must understand that any citizen of Pakistan visiting a foreign country must respect the laws of that nation, whether he likes them or not. If he does not agree with their laws and is not willing to obey, he should never visit or stay there.
The unfettered freedom of expression exercised by many in the media, where some anchors portray criminals and known land grabbers as philanthropists, exploit the victims of rape by revealing their identities, overexpose crimes of violence for ratings, is not allowed by many countries, not only in the Gulf and Middle East, but also in the democratic west. Laws exist to be followed and respected, not broken at the whims of individuals. No system of governance, democratic or authoritarian, can function without the enforcement of discipline, checks and balances and applicability of laws in existence. Crimes are committed in almost every country, but criminals, law breakers and tax evaders nowhere in the world behave with such defiance and arrogance as they do in Pakistan. Where else in the world would paedophiles be allowed to live in the vicinity of schools and colleges, or traders go on strike demanding from the state not to register them on the tax net, although they earn far more than the threshold fixed by the state for payment of direct taxes, or men who have violated the laws of the land and/or people with split loyalties having pledged oath of loyalty to another country, hold any elected or paid public office?
MALIK TARIQ
Lahore