PRIME Minister Imran Khan has reiterated his vow to establish an exemplary rule of law in the country.
Addressing the Rehmatul-lil-Alameen conference in Islamabad on the occasion of Eid Milad-un-Nabi (SAWW), he said everyone — irrespective of their status in society — would be equal before the law.
There is no doubt that absence of rule of law is at the heart of the prevailing chaotic situation in the country where people have lost confidence in different arms of the Government as they have miserably failed to perform their functions and responsibilities in accordance with the spirit of the religion and dictates of the Constitution.
There is, therefore, no surprise that according to the World Justice Project’s Rule of Law Index 2021 report Pakistan is among the lowest ranked countries in its adherence to the rule of law, ranking 130th out of 139 nations. Even in South Asia, Pakistan’s position is second last.
Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh all have performed better than Pakistan in the rule of law category whereas only Afghanistan is rated below Pakistan in the region.
The ranking of the country was 105 out of 113 in 2017-18, which means it made no worthwhile progress on factors like governance, corruption, fundamental rights, security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice (that determine the status of a country for the purpose) during the intervening period, which should be a matter of concern for the Government.
In the majority of cases, no investment is needed and the situation can be improved by ensuring good governance, transparency, vigilance and holding lethargic governmental machinery accountable for its failure to ensure rule of law at the grassroots.
