Inaction in emergency
ONE day a parrot took his pretty wife, Mena on a joy trip. En route they had a recess stop on a place which bore a dull and stodgy look.
Looking around, Parrot said that this must have been an abode of Owls. One Owl, sitting on the branch of a nearby tree overheard his conversation.
He came to them and after an exchange of some platitudes, he invited them to courtesy dinner at his place tonight. Both accepted his invitation. Next morning when they were about to leave, Owl grasped the hand of Mena and said to Parrot “where are you taking her, she is my wife”.
On this, Parrot got flustered and said feverishly “how she could be your wife, she is a Mena and you are an Owl”. Like a seasoned customer, Owl said “there is no point in quarrelling.
By now courts must have opened. Let us go there and get a decision which ought to be equally binding on both of us”.
Finding no other alternative, Parrot reluctantly agreed. The judge listened both animatedly but ruled in favour of Owl.
It was traumatizing to Parrot nevertheless, inevitably, he accepted it as a fait accompli and started moving. The Owl called him and said “take your wife along when he went a little away”.
He replied while weeping “how he could take her, now she is not my wife but yours as per the court’s verdict”. The Owl affectionately placed his hand on his shoulder and said” no, she is your wife.
I just wanted to show that towns and hamlets do not get redundant because of Owls. They become redundant when justice banishes from their alleys and corridors”.
This Hikayat by Rumi, contains pearl of wisdom to live as a body of people. Without justice, it would perish. This is an undisputed fact as the law of gravity.
“Society can survive with Kufr (infidelity) but not injustice”. (Said by Hazrat Ali (RA).The justice is only remedy to prevent its decay and decomposition.
The states marred with injustice do not implode overnight. The contamination is gradual but may be quite fast.
The injustice emboldens the bigwigs and they start preying everything indiscreetly to prolong rule of “might is right” however, threat of implosion from within is greater and harder when reign of oppression and injustice touches alarming proportions.
In case of Pakistan, it is total and complete. Nothing is graver than self-perpetuation under shield of law and justice.
In case of Pakistan, this dimension also reigns supreme. A mere cursory look around, stands testimony to these undeniable facts.
More recently, a convict, Maryam Nawaz applies for pre-arrest bail on frivolous and clumsy grounds to dodge investigation of financial corruption and malfeasance, kept on hold for long for reasons best known to NAB only.
The LHC constitutes the bench at lightning speed and grants the bail within hours on same day as it was under a dire obligation.
It is same court which allowed even a bigger convict, Nawaz Sharif on a laughable affidavit, mutually prepared by court and his brother, Shabaz Sharif, an accused under NAB to leave abroad for treatment of a fake illness. Obviously, he was not to return back.
Instead, he is busy in activities, inimical to even national interests. As expected, whole system preferred to close eyes from wounds, ugly episode inflicted on our body politics. Nothing pricks them to correct the wrong.
This is the sorry state of our judiciary and state of other national institutions like NAB, ECP, bureaucracy and others.
It is needless rather, futile to dwell upon their biases and preferences, slanted in favour of those who have robbed this country and are still poised to have another go because of these continue to occur whenever these are required to salvage them.
Often government is found complaining against their mischief and is unable to crack sense in their heads to get the train moving.
On top of this, these institutions hasten to catch small fries and punish them sternly or get their palm greased in lieu. This has negative implications of its own impacting our polity.
This completes a cycle of two systems in one country with a tinder box like situation brewing underneath. Besides, our foes are leaving no effort untried to push us further on the brink.
They have launched 5th generation war against us with full intensity and employing all other means to cripple us internally. The situation is fraught with dangers to the extent of existential threat.
It is a situation involving grave emergency but our methodology is pretty routine. We are relying on means which are wilfully averse to reverse the situation.
Instead of assisting to alleviate the situation, they are hand in gloves with corrupt ruling elite/mafias to serve their vested interests.
The inaction to imperatives of the situation at hand, is no option. This could cost us very dearly.
Plausibly, situation calls for proclamation of emergency suitably under article 232 of the Constitution. We amended the Constitution when we had existential threat from terrorism.
We established military courts to defang its monster. It was a drastic measure but had full support of the nation because there was no other way out. Our judicial system failed to respond to call of difficult times.
Again nation would stand in support if a drastic measure of proclamation of emergency is taken because threat is real existentially and insuperable obstacles are being laid by no other than system itself in collusion with malefactors or in pursuance of their petty interests.
Sooner than later is better because tides of time are inescapable and unforgiving too.
— The writer, a retired Lt Col, is a senior columnist based in Islamabad.
