By Sardar Khan Niazi
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court has finally ruled that Punjab Assembly Deputy Speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari’s ruling on the Punjab chief minister’s election, which led to PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz’s victory, was unlawful.
During the election held on Friday, Dost Muhammad Mazari had excluded votes of ten PML-Q lawmakers cast in Chaudhary Pervez Elahi’s favor, referring to a letter written by party President Hamza should be chosen instead, according to Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.
Under the decision, PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz lost his status as the Punjab chief minister while Chaudhary Pervez Elahi, who has PTI’s backing, won the election for the chief executive of the province.
It is not going to do any good to the PML-N to dispute the Supreme Court’s final ruling on it any further. The PML-N and its allies have now effectually lost a drawn-out legal battle and will only isolate themselves from the public further by taking up arms against the superior judiciary. They had better see beyond their narrow self-interests.
Those days are gone when the governments used to stack courts with appointees who may have stronger political connections with them than having judicial qualifications.
The judicial system is frequently misappreciated and undervalued as a result of political upheaval. Many elected officials insist on influencing or politicising the selection and reappointment of judges in the same manner that they would do with other members of advisory or operational boards or departments of the government.
This implies that our crucial justice system is thrown into disarray with every election cycle.Politicization or patronage in courts is not only unfair and scandalous; it also causes deep damage to the justice system. Imagine spending a few years building and upgrading a nice house, only for big storms to knock it down.
People working in courts who remain independent from politics and the government can build a solid foundation for judicial excellence and adjudicative independence that withstands political change.
The damage to the judicial system from politicization is more pervasive and serious than anyone really knows or talks about.Because the government controls the courts and the people it appoints, it is kept secret.
The PTI stays happy with the SC ruling. Yet having won justice, it must also show greater responsibility and not take measures that might suit it politically but could also imperil the system. The political parties should live together under the ambit of rules and regulations for achieving economic and social gains.
Institutions are there to ensure public service delivery.Institutions work to preserve the integrity of the constitutional system created to carry out the set of laws controlling the general population.
Good governance models are necessary in order to run the system of a state, and for allowing people to participate in the process of improving a just system. Such a system, if it is corrupted, can lead to social chaos.
Political stability is an essential element of a workable society. When political instability became a part of the Roman Empire, it triggered its demise. This gives evidence in support of the thesis that only inclusive societies having a fair judicial system find survival.
The delivery of justice is a precondition for a worthwhile societal order. When justice is readily available, the crime rate against innocent citizens is by design contained, and the state flourishes. The vices of narrow-mindedness, mob justice, and radicalism crop up in the absence of appropriate justice.
Now that Punjab chief minister-elect Pervez Elahi has taken oath in light of the Supreme Court’s order, it would be best if the country’s political elite forgot their differences for a while and joined heads to save the country’s institutions and economy from thorough breakdown.
