ACCORDING to media reports, the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Mr.Justice Yahya Afridi has advised Paki-stan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to avoid boycotts and remain within the system.
Talking to a delegation of the party in Islamabad on Friday, he remarked that PTI should not have boycotted the last meeting of the Supreme Judi-cial Commission (SJC), which was convened to deliberate on judicial appointments to the Supreme Court as its attendance would have made a difference in certain appointments.
The meeting took place following a similar meeting of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with the Chief Justice where matters relating to the working of the judiciary and proposed judicial reforms were discussed.
The meeting of the CJP with a delegation of the main opposition party as well is a clear testimony that such meetings were part of an exercise to get professional input on reforms.
This shows the total sincerity of Justice Yahya Afridi to evolve consensus on reforms so as to make them relevant and effective.
As for the advice rendered to the PTI, it is understandable as the chief guardian of the Constitution and the law will surely speak for rule of law.
Otherwise too, it is in line with similar advice given to the party by members of the superior judiciary in the past, who urged the PTI to remain part of the system and play its role in the parliament.
The party suffered hugely because of its boycott of the parliament and hasty moves that brought an end to its own governments in provinces.
Grievances including those relating to the alleged rigging and manipulation of the general election were also expressed by the then opposition in the past but the aggrieved parties chose not to boycott assemblies and continued to play their role while remaining part of the system.
This is because extreme policies often lead to self-infliction besides harming the overall system.
Therefore, it is hoped that the PTI leadership will give se-rious consideration to the saner advice of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and review its future strategies accord-ingly.
