Pakistan's Sit-Ins

After reading the whole decision of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC), one can understand the basis on which court has ordered to release Asia Bibi. The constitution of Pakistan is Islamic and supreme and SC verdict in the Asia Bibi case is in accordance with the constitution and has legal reasons for the decision. The decision has been published in the Urdu language which is readable for everyone. Those who followed their leaders have either not read the verdict or they followed them blindly. This decision is made after 9 years of appeals and trails. SC has followed its normal procedure and decision was announced after trails followed by a bench of 3 judges including the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP).

The said decision was not accepted by religious parties. Tehreek Labaik Pakistan (TLP) and other religious parties called for the countrywide protests.

The language used against SC judges, the Army Chief and others are excruciating is not the character of a true Muslim society. Those who are inciting the people against judges, Army, and state institutions are doing a disservice to the country. This has become a practice that people start blaming Pakistan army in every issue. This behavior is also a wrong gesture. Armed forces are well committed to their own duty i.e. to protect the country’s borders. They are not influencing the SC or any other institution. SC’s decision was solely its own verdict.

Writing more! Pakistan came into being in the name of Islam. Muslims love their Prophet (S.A.W) and they react violently if anyone tries to disrespect their Prophet. On the other hand, Pakistan is the only country in the Islamic world that has vociferously raised the issue of blasphemous caricatures in Netherland and truly became one of the reasons to halt the contest. This is a sensitive issue which should not be used as a political tool. One should be careful in this regard.

Discussing more, Pakistan is endeavoring to get onto the route to prosperity and any protest in the country will cause damage to the fragile national economy. The said type of sit-ins or protests locks down economic endeavors. Hence, hit the country’s economy. Pakistan’s economy incurred losses of Rs 150 billion in these 3 days. In standstill economic activities, poor people have suffered. On the other hand, these protests became violent. National buildings and roads were destroyed; public and private vehicles were burnt. This also distorted the image of Islam as well as Pakistan. Damages of a million rupees occurred in these protests. In Sindh, a province-wide ban under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code was imposed on October 31st.

Concluding more! The question raised here is “who benefits from Pakistan’s sit-ins”? All those who want Pakistan’s economy to remain fragile are the ultimate winners. The political fame on the cost of the economy’s loss is worth accusing. The appeal to review the said case is again launched to SC. This should have been done before these protests or sit-ins.

If someone has a conflict with any institution, he should knock the door of SC. Rather, knocking the door of justice, our politicians come on roads. Politicians or religious leaders act in the same way when it comes to conflict. They lock down all activities and hence hurt Pakistan’s national interest at large indirectly. Later on, apologies are launched. But apologies are never a replacement of losses. It is the need of the hour that Justice System should be strengthened. The court procedures should be strong enough that people trust SC in the settlement of the issues.