To the Point- Prime Minister Gillani’s appearance in the Supreme Court, a Step Forward for Pakistan

To the Point- Prime Minister Gillani’s appearance in the Supreme Court, a Step Forward for Pakistan

Never have we seen in the history of Pakistan, a Prime Minister so willingly appearing in court to face the charges levelled against him.

This nation has witnessed former Prime Minister and founding chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, being called to court and sentenced to death as a result of a widely known to be politically motivated case against him.

Bhutto was also one who expressed his solidarity with the state’s third arm, the Judiciary, and gave his life doing so.

The second phase of a sitting Prime Minister being called to present himself before the court was Mian Nawaz Sharif in the late 90’s. An episode of political history which is still fresh in the minds of the people when the acting Chief Justice Sajjad Ali
Shah and his court were ridiculed by hundreds of political workers on the very premises of the Honourable Court.

In return, Nawaz Sharif, summoned the Chief Justice to his own court for contempt of Parliament which as the people know resulted in him being dismissed as the rightful CJ.

Prime Minister Gillani on the other hand, did the exact opposite in comparison to former PM Sharif. He expressed no hesitation at all in appearing before the court to present his stance on the allegations against him.

“Before me, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Nusrat Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto also faced courts,” Gilani said.

Without the support of numerous political workers being leader of Pakistan’s biggest political party, PM Gillani certainly impressed the nation with his humble approach.

As the media was hoping for havoc to devastate the courts honour and a repeat of the previous attack on the Supreme Court over a decade ago, they were obviously left in awe as no juicy stories emerged for them to flaunt continuously in front of the beleaguered
people.

Along with his cabinet members and high level leaders of the PPP to show solidarity with the court, PM Gillani briefed the court on why he had not written a letter t the Swiss government, terming it as being something against the country and its constitution
which clear states that President Asif Ali Zardari is totally immune to all criminal prosecution under article 248.

Barrister Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, one of Pakistan’s most renowned lawyers and representative of Prime Minister Gillani, also shared his views about the Presidential immunity and prayed to the court to allow him time to further study the case.

“This indicates the majesty of the law and the majesty of the Supremre Court,” Ahsan said.

After the arguments by the defendant and his counsel, Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk praised the Prime Minister for his appearance in the court, regarding it to be a great day for this country and the rule of law.

Several judges wished to know why their orders had not been implemented over the past two years while adjourning the case hearing till February 1, 2012.

What all this goes to how that is slowly and gradually, Pakistan is finally moving ahead with the basis of a strong state, where the rule of law is wide and even a Prime Minister appears before the guardians of the constitution.

Fortunately, the entire incident could have been much worse if things were to get out of hand but Gillani proved himself to be wise and devoted to getting the right message out.

Many now believe that Pakistan as a country is slowly but finally moving ahead as the institutions of this great nation will eventually come to realise their place not only in playing a role for the development in society but also how to work within the
constitution and it boundaries.

A strong base is developing in Pakistan is developing in Pakistan, which is sure to play a major role in future development and prosperity in the nation.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=9745

Posted by Syed Hassan Bokhari on Jan 19 2012. Filed under Editorial, Latest News, National, Opinion, Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry