Islamabad, Pakistan: Justice Athar Minallah, while writing his dissenting note in the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s ruling against live-streaming the proceedings of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law amendments case reiterated that former prime minister Imran Khan is not an ordinary accused because millions of people follow him.
His observations uncovered the fact that Justice Athar Minallah separates convicts into different categories, some accused are special to him and some are ordinary. His observations reaffirm that people are not equal in front of the law although the principle of equality is the Essence of the Jurisprudence.
Almost everybody knows in Pakistan that Imran Khan is enjoying the level of comfort in jail that nobody could ever imagine in the prison history of Pakistan and has been exceptionally relieved from the courts. Since 2014, Imran pitched the public against the State and left no institution in the country that had not been virtually lynched by his hatemongering social media brigades. Several politicians in Pakistan including President Asif Zardari claimed that PTI works for its foreign masters. The sitting government claims that there is proof that the PTI has received millions of dollars of support from various propaganda firms in which the existing Indian and Zionist forces are fully promoting the PTI’s narrative of anarchism. Even after such claims from the ruling party and the President of the country, nobody can ban this party and Imran Khan enjoys constant support from certain elements of the higher judiciary that do not consider him an equal to others.
Let’s look at the historical background of Imran Khan to understand that he is not an ordinary person because the greatest damage done by him to Pakistan is also unprecedented. Still, the state institutions appear helpless to stop him. His opponents claim that he is the master of the politics of anarchy and mischief and is determined to continue his politics in the same way because he is successful in it and got the status of an extraordinary person and even higher judiciary is not shy to write that ‘e he is not an ordinary person’ in legal decisions. His opponents claim that for him, personal interest is more than national interest and national security and his anarchic mind has created a virtual brigade that is performing the ‘virtual lynching’ of his opponents it looks like judges are also afraid of this brigade and higher judiciary is bowing down in front of this kind of lynching. Imran Khan is not shy to accept that his virtual lynching brigade operates from abroad (North America and Europe) but no law in Pakistan can ban his party for accepting foreign funding to destabilize Pakistan and to continue its media operations from abroad to harm Pakistan.
The recent release of anti-patriotic videos and controversial content through the official X account is not surprising, PTI has used many such narratives as propaganda before to create chaos and spread hate; whether it was the narrative of the cipher or the May 9 attacks on military installations of Pakistan; whether it was a letter to the IMF to stop Pakistan’s debt program; burning down Pakistan’s flags and Pakistani passports in aboard or writing letters to United Nations to penalize Pakistan for alleged human right abuses being conducted in Pakistan. The role of the PTI in all these cases is not hidden from anyone. The released anti-patriotic and anti-army videos, content, and fanfare of Mujeebur Rehman, the traitorous patriot, reflect the same state of mind that PTI is exhibiting. The ruling PMLN believes that even in 1971, the enemy was the same (India) and the enemy is still the same, but at that time Mujeebur Rehman was the traitor to the homeland and today this role is being played by PTI.
If the above-mentioned facts are examined carefully, it is clear that the targets of Imran Khan (who is not an ordinary person in the eyes of the higher judiciary) are basic units of the state are the Pakistan Army, Judiciary, youth, religion, and social power and all of them have targeted by Imran Khan who wishes to cause economic as well as social breakdown of the country.
The remarks of Justice Athar Minallah have exposed the entire judicial system of Pakistan that has been showing extraordinary leniency for Imran Khan for decades and he is the only accused in the history of Pakistan who had gotten extraordinary relief from courts that he even did not ask. History has testified that judges had been staying in the courtroom till late evenings and had been waiting for Imran Khan to reach the courtroom so the court could grant him bail or any relief that he would ask the court for. Almost everybody in Pakistan knows that Imran Khan has a special status when matters go to the courts of law. Therefore one can not say that only Justice Athar Minallah considers him ‘not an ordinary person’ rather the whole system provides Imran Khn relief whenever and wherever he demands so. Justice Athar Minallah in his note said “He (Imran Khan) is not an ordinary prisoner or convict.” Should he not be asked by other judges what is different between ‘ordinary’ and special convicts? His statement confirms that politicians, writers, and journalists have been crying that Imran Khan is a special personality for the judiciary and he always gets special treatment from judges. Not only Imran Khan rather almost all of the PTI leaders and followers get special treatment from certain judges although this party has been threatening almost every state institution in Pakistan.
If someone reviews the observations of Justice Athar Minallah “He (Imran Khan) is definitely not an ordinary prisoner or convict” in reference to the essences of jurisprudence and the religious justice system, one can understand that observations are contrary to both. The basic element in the justice system of Islam is the principle of equality or equity and Islam teaches that in the sight of Allah Almighty, all people are equal.
The only distinction, which Allah recognizes is the distinction in piety; the only criterion which Allah applies, is the criterion of goodness and spiritual excellence. The audio leak of Imran Khan with a lady from Kalabagh district is enough to indicate what kind of piety he possesses and the US court observation in the case of his alleged undocumented daughter may also be useful to know the level of his piousness.
Related Story: Imran Khan fathered illegitimate child, rules California court
Western jurisprudence is the essence of Pakistan’s legal system, which is based on the general principle of equality before the law and that is non-discrimination so decisions should treat offenders equally and not discriminate against them based on their wealth, race, gender, sexual orientation, employment, or social status. Legal egalitarianism is the basic principle of the judicial system of Pakistan that indicates that all people must be equally protected, and requires equal protection ensuring that no individual nor group of individuals be privileged over others by the law. This is also called the principle of isonomy, it arises from various philosophical questions concerning equality, fairness, and justice. Equality before the law is one of the basic principles of isonomy.
Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states: “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law” Thus, everyone must be treated equally under the law regardless of race, gender, color, ethnicity, religion, disability, or other characteristics, without privilege, discrimination or bias.
Can Justice Athar Minallah justify his comments that “He (Imran Khan) is definitely not an ordinary prisoner or convict” in the light of norms of jurisprudence and the religious justice system? This question should be asked by judges of higher judiciary to if they wish to align Pakistan’s judicial system with Islamic as well as global principles of justice.
“The only stable state is the one in which all men are equal before the law”——Aristotle
