AN accountability court in Islamabad on Thursday ordered former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi to refrain from speaking against the establishment and the judiciary, and also asked the media not to highlight “political or inflammatory” statements made by the accused. According to the court order, Imran Khan issued provocative political statements against senior officials of the state institutions, including the army and the judiciary, which “not only disrupt the judicial decorum but also tantamount to obstruct judicial functions such as the dispensation of justice”.
It is, indeed, a matter of serious concern that institutions are targeted repeatedly by some circles to advance their political agenda. Baseless allegations are levelled against Pakistan Army, its leadership, the judiciary and especially the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Election Commission of Pakistan and the Chief Election Commissioner on assumptions and hearsay. We have been emphasizing in these columns that a country is as strong as its institutions and, therefore, any attempt to bring institutions into disrepute or weaken trust of the people in them must be avoided. Airing of grievances by individuals, groups and parties is the legitimate right but this should be exercised while remaining strictly within the bounds of the law and the decency. It has also been observed that at times false allegations are levelled and highlighted using formal and social media and then a U-turn is taken or attempts are made to put things in different context. Some segments of media are also to be blamed for airing and highlighting inflammatory statements without caring about verification or authenticity. Therefore, the direction of the judge to journalists to refrain from “publishing political and inflammatory narratives targeting state institutions and officials” and adhere to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority’s (Pemra) guidelines, which prohibit discussing subjudice matters, also becomes understandable. We hope that this direction of the court would be followed strictly by all as this is in line with what the law and the Constitution say about tarnishing the image of the institutions or bringing them into disrepute.
