PARTLY FACETIOUS: Double jeopardy

“It’s called double jeopardy.” “What are you referring to?”

“To the legal issues facing the leaders of all three national parties.”

“I don’t get you, double jeopardy is a procedural defence in common law jurisdictions that prevents an accused from being tried again on the same or similar charges.”

“OK but to put you right, there is nothing common about our laws, I mean the PML-N constantly cites Nawaz Sharif as a three-time prime minister as sufficient proof of no wrongdoing, Zardari sahib’s party members constantly cite his being a former president of this country…”

“And that’s where The Khan presents a different and improved…”

“The Khan constantly cites Azam Swati being a senator that merits different treatment and…wait…wait…his age and…his own status as a former prime minister and…”

“I see what you mean by our laws not being common, especially when power slips through. But where does double jeopardy come in?”

“Double jeopardy comes in all the time. Now I don’t define double jeopardy as you did…I define it as the same guy getting elected again and again and who does little different from what he did during his previous tenures and little different from what his predecessors did and…”

“So the same-o same-o is double jeopardy?”

“Let me give you an example. Nawaz Sharif comes to power, makes mistakes…”

“Defined as disrupts his own relationship with key stakeholders…”

“Yes and that reminds me you need to hail Zardari because he is the only leader in my living memory who when he was the President, I repeat when he was the President, did not disrupt his relationship with key stakeholders…”

“Agreed in marked contrast to Nawaz Sharif and The Khan…”

“See that’s my point, there is something in the siri paye that we eat in Lahore that makes these two men, both brought up in Lahore, to over-state their own relevance in the scheme of things while…”

“There you go and I hail Zardari sahib’s pir who would advise him to go to the sea and off he used to go to Karachi…”

“The Khan’s spiritual guide is more house specific - Bani Gala or Zaman Park…”

“That could be the residential facilities availability…”

“Don’t be facetious.”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022