ISLAMABAD High Court (IHC) has remarked that rule of law is not rhetoric and has different connotations, including obedience to the law, and any defiance thereof naturally has consequences because the law of the land has to and should prevail at all costs. While disposing PTI chief Imran Khan’s plea for cancellation of his arrest warrant in the Toshakhana case, the court held that in the instant case, non-bailable warrants of arrest had been issued by the trial court solely for the said purpose and it was also a settled proposition that the warrants once issued remained in the field until discharged or executed.
No country can progress and prosper in the absence of rule of law but regrettably in our case respect for law is interpreted as per personal and group convenience. We get never tired of delivering sermons on the need for strict adherence to law but behave differently when the real test comes. All citizens and parties must understand fully the observations made by the court that the law and order situation prevailing in Lahore was a sad state of affairs, where the state was being prevented to carry out its obligation for complying with the orders of the court; such defiance of the law was not acceptable in any civilized society and the law needed to be adhered to by the citizens/people of any country in general and persons in the helm of affairs in particular. Imran Khan too claims he was ready to court arrest but prevented to do so by some of his advisors. An audio clip widely circulated by media also confirmed differences of opinion within the PTI on the issue of surrendering before the law and offering armed resistance to state apparatus trying to execute a legal order of a court of law. It seems the country is heading towards anarchy and it is the duty of those at the helm of affairs in different organs of the state to ensure rule of law to prevent the rot. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has, once again, made an offer of dialogue to PTI and sanity demands a positive response in the overall interest of the country.
