The free and the fair
This army of district-level honourable judges – declared as the ‘face of the judiciary’ by the Chief Justice after being entrusted with the authority to hold free and fair elections – have now faced the world without a mask. Not just that, but they also made it clear to us that they won’t rest until they have held the same kind of free and fair elections as the kind of justice they provide to the people of Pakistan. Our Fakhru Bhai probably didn’t think about how far the Chief Sahab and his army of district judges would go. It isn’t going to be easy to ignore this horde’s face that he, you and I saw last week.
Normally we avoid looking into the mirror; we try our best to somehow spend our lives without having to look at one. But the same face stares back at you from everywhere else. How long can you elude it? This time it’s the district level judges who, according to the Chief Justice, are the ‘real’ face of the judiciary. But we aren’t prepared to see where health, education, politics, army, civil service, social work, business, media and show business are headed. Instead of joking about the questions asked by the returning officers (ROs), we must think about this as it has been going on for a long time and progressively getting worse.We are merely looking straight ahead down the narrow path, instead of watching all sides. We have stopped looking in the mirror because it kills us to do so. How long can we avoid it? How much longer do we keep lying to ourselves? You don’t even know yourself; at least look in the mirror and see how the face has deformed. Peer in carefully. Look at the ROs and who they are addressing. They are all the same. And in the place where people are tried stands a cameraman. Oh, this is going live!
Those who sit here and ask all these strange questions are the same people who had to answer the same questions to get their current jobs. Those were times when your talent, skills were not enough or useful to land you a job. The interviewer didn’t test you on your knowledge, intelligence and education and it was only your ignorance that could land you a job. Now, there is no need to ask all this. Your face, appearance and the shining spot on your forehead is what reflects your competence.
Last week’s upheaval and the questions asked by the ROs have raised many new questions, whose answers are hidden behind the same questions. To find these answers, one will either have to carry out a dot-to-dot exercise or look into a mirror into which we already have stopped looking. Be it British Council’s survey about our youth’s voting behaviour or the honourable judges’ questions; they are enough to tell us the direction of this wind. Now whether it will be the honourable judges who will change the wind’s direction or the media, we shall know soon enough.
That’s the glory of God! The passion for elections has disgraced many. Their egoism, pride and show of power were destroyed when they tried to contest the elections. The passion to represent the masses was made so expensive that even the most sensible of them all would think and rethink his/her decision to contest in the elections. Previously, when someone wanted to earn some respect, they would dream of becoming an officer. Then it was the army and now it’s a judge or an anchorperson. Basically, the anchorperson is also a judge. S/he also holds a court everyday, hears cases and gives decisions. If s/he wants, then they can even put the higher court in the accused’s box.
That’s why the one who used to be most dominant has lost his place and Chief Sahab is the most dominant now. There are just three chiefs, by the way. The big chief is quiet and likes to work in a similar manner. The second chief is our asli te vadey chief whose circle of authority has expanded so much that it has usurped the powers of the third chief – who in the first place had only agreed to become chief on the condition that free and fair elections would be held. Last week’s breaking news is proof of this. The honourable judges, therefore, have been told that they can carry on as usual.
Holding free and fair elections is now entirely the responsibility of the asli te vadey chief and believe me, he’s going to get the job done. The one who was brought into the fray on the condition of holding free and fair elections is only there in name. The actual task is being done by the honourable judges themselves. You and I must’n worry. The media is airing it live. The army, meanwhile, is prepared to take responsibility if needed, like it does every time the country needs it, be it an earthquake, flood or torrential rain.The caretaker governments were formed for the same purpose: to make the dream of free and fair elections come true. But in the presence of our Chief Sahab, the democratic government spent its five years in suffocation. So these caretakers are just the caretakers. The fair and free elections shall take place and its accountability will be mandatory. The bigwigs still need to be sent to jail; they all need to be put in their place. Who had imagined that those who had considered themselves the sole owners of the country would be attending courts and requesting for mercy. Oh, look how the tables have turned.
Our courts will go on; objections upon objection would be registered. On each decision, a review petition would be submitted. The media will continue to remain focused on the courts. The decisions will keep being made by the courts, while the talk shows are always there to make the less important decisions for them. The public, however, remains under the false impression that the decision lies with them. Their turn will come too if our asli te vadey Chief Sahab decides to let them decide instead.
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