Staff Reporter
Peshawar
Everyone is equally subject to law regardless of their social, political or economic background, as a matter of rule of law. These remarks were made by the Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations), Peshawar, Mansoor Aman during a discussion and networking workshop on social cohesion titled ‘Strengthening Faculty Leadersas Catalysts for Change’, held by the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) as part of its youth leadership development initiative UlasiTaroon, at University of Peshawar.
Speaking at the workshop, SSP Operations said that the supremacy of state law is mainly because of its inclusive and universal nature where it duly considers the public aspirations and values.
Therefore, inclusive policy making is critical to rule of law and requires absolute consideration of the cultural ethos and traditions, so that it acts as a source of cohesion instead of polarization. Discrimination through selective justice is not only contrary to rule of law but also detrimental to social cohesion; disintegrating the society.
Ideally, there should be no exceptions in law, and everyone should be treated equally. Unequal treatment of law with a certain group or individual takes a negative toll on the state of rule of law, he opined.
Clash of culture/ traditions and codified law only leads to conflict and weakens social cohesion, just like the clash of social order and social contract.
Dr. Shuja Ahmad, Chairman, Department of Philosophy, University of Peshawar noted that citizens’ access to information is one of the prerequisites to cultivate critical thinking in the society, because sometimes the boundaries of our thinking depend upon of the information available to us.
