Arbab and
the SC
By Col. Riaz Jafri
(Retd)
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
The
honourable Supreme Court, in all its earnestness
to eradicate the ills of the governance, is taking
suo moto notices of many an act of commission
and omission by the government. The issue of Karachi
traffic jam was one such instance. Whereas the
federal government had been acquiescing to such
notices, responding to them in a positive manner
and yielding to SC verdicts on them most willingly,
the arrogant feudal of Thar chose to be somewhat
different and retorted that he was the CM of the
Province and not a traffic Sergeant to control
the traffic.
The Supreme Court seems to have a lot on its plate
and is seen going about cleaning it in what looks
to be a hurried manner. We as a nation - both
the rulers and the ruled - are not used to it
and I could see it coming sooner or later. SC
is, therefore, advised – if I may be allowed
to advise at all – to go about it a little
slowly. It is like taming the shrew – one
at a time – till we become accustomed to
it. The quick steps, one after the other, could
be misconstrued by the naïve and even played
upon by the interested parties as a measure of
reprisal rather than the SC’s good intentions
of enforcing the rule of law, more so in the absence
of any such su omoto notice taken against the
lower judiciary or the legal fraternity at whose
hands the common man suffers the most.
I am sure the SC knows that it stands on a pedestal
much higher to give an impression to the masses
or the government of its feeling obligated in
any manner to the legal fraternity or the politicians
who should also expect no undue favours from it.
Justice must prevail in all cases and in the best
interest of Pakistan.
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