Relief galore

Imran Khan’s legal luck continues, as he gets relief after relief by the courts in a manner that legal experts are reduced to calling ‘unprecedented’. A day after the Supreme Court set Imran free, the IHC granted blanket relief to PTI Chairman Imran Khan as law enforcers were prohibited from arresting the former prime minister “in any case” till Monday morning (May 15). A two-member special divisional bench granted a two-week bail to the former prime minister in the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case, and later, the court barred authorities from arresting him till May 17 in any new case filed against him till May 9 — the day he was arrested and which led to violent protests across the country. Stumped from all sides, and with a smug Imran all set to walk off free, the PDM’s Maulana Fazlur Rahman has announced a dharna (sit-in) outside the SC on Monday. The reaction by the PDM government is not unexpected given how the judiciary has given Imran carte blanche despite the scale of the Al-Qadir Trust case and his indictment in the Toshakhana case. It is unprecedented that the courts would intervene in such a way for an accused that he doesn’t have to answer valid questions by the investigative authorities unless the courts deem fit. Political observers are now asking if this is a battle between two establishments. Or if we have a brand new establishment in the form of a judiciary-reinforced Imran Khan.

Project Imran was launched more than a decade ago, facilitated by all the institutions. With one institution finally distancing itself from the PTI government’s bad governance, a successful vote of no-confidence ousted his government. But despite that, the perception remains within the legal fraternity that the judicial arm of the state is soft on Imran. Legal experts say that the judiciary should have just stuck to declaring his arrest illegal, but not given him VIP treatment and then a blanket bail in all cases, known or unknown. Under the garb of constitutionalism, are norms being broken to facilitate one man? And what happens to the violent protests we saw in the beginning of the week? Imran Khan has even said that if he is arrested again, the response of the PTI would again be what it was previously.

That the PDM government has now decided to be aggressive is being seen as too little, too late by some while others believe that this is the right approach as the PTI has proved that aggressive and destructive politics has many takers in this country. Unfortunately, the country will pay the consequences of Imran Khan’s lust for power, the current government’s incompetence, and the institutional interference we just can’t rid ourselves of. There are also rumours, though denied by the interior minister, of an emergency being imposed. Meanwhile, in this battle of survival of the elite groups, the people of Pakistan must wonder whether their fate is to forever wait for the breadcrumbs political and institutional elite leave for them as they take away every amenity and right.