EDITORIAL: It’s ironic enough that the honourable Supreme Court is being asked, by all and sundry, to do something on its own without any external plea, that is take suo motu, literally “on its own motion”, notice of the can of worms opened by the audio clip allegedly featuring former CJP Saqib Nisar. Yet the silence, so far, of the highest court in the land on what after all portends to cast an unpleasant shadow on the institution is only indicative of the restraint that the highest court and the chief justice have in their sagacity opted to exercise. It is, however, instructive how the government has changed its position, from fiercely defending the former CJP, to joining the chorus of calls for the suo motu action by the apex court, because nobody wants to be on the wrong side of history in what is sure to become a very crucial turning point for the country’s judiciary as well as its politics.

Be that as it may, if the honourable CJP and his senior colleagues consider this sordid matter, a cooked up ploy to score cheap political points then what better way to settle it and also ensure justice for the wronged and punishment for the guilty than setting a lasting legal precedent? If our senior-most politicians, in their personal and political hatred of other parties and important institutions, are indeed crossing the line by manipulating audio and video records in a way that can have devastating effect on the image of institutions of the state, then surely they need to be made examples of state action. But if, on the other hand, there is really some fire behind this smoke, and state institutions have been interfering in the political process with agenda of their own then it certainly calls for the Supreme Court to take the bull by the horns right now and enforce a historic implementation of the rule of law.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021