Ridiculing institutions enemy’s agenda: Hassaan

LAHORE :Pakistan Muslim League-N leader and adviser to the chief minister, Khawaja Ahmed Hassaan has said that ridiculing country’s institutions is like chopping at its roots and those engaged in this practice are doing Pakistan’s enemies’ work for them.

Talking to ‘The News’, he said Pakistan Army, judiciary and parliament are the pillars of the state and ridiculing either one of these institutions is a dangerous practice that is counter-productive in every way.

He said such criticism de-moralises those serving the country with all their very lives. “A soldier standing in the line of fire, defending the sovereignty of our motherland, deserves respect, appreciation and encouragement instead of being ridiculed”, he said. Money, power and position are secondary to these people and when they are made to feel anything other than pride, it acts as a demoralising agent, he said. 

“If we start playing to the gallery, it is a very slippery slope”, opined the veteran politician. Individuals can be corrupt and driven by personal enrichment, but to paint everyone with the same brush is unjustifiable and must stop for national interest, he said. 

Talking about judiciary, he said the majority of judges, in present time and in the past, have exhibited amazing prowess and dignity when it came to standing up for the truth. He pointed out veterans like Justice Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui who did not bow down in the face of any pressure or incentive. “Justice Habibullah walked straight out of the court the moment PCO came into the picture and didn’t even consider taking oath and compromising on principles”, he mentioned.

Similar restraint should be practiced when talking about the representatives of people, he said. “Disdaining the parliament as an institution is like disgracing all the people who believe in the system of democracy and those who work day and night selflessly for public welfare”, Khawaja Hassaan said. Like any other group of people, there could be individuals who could be corrupt and incompetent, but to say that all politicians are corrupt and incompetent, can jeopardise the system. “By ridiculing the parliament and calling all politicians corrupt and incompetent takes away the faith of the people from democracy which can lead to anarchy in the country”, he believed.

Summarising his stance over the issue, he said it is impossible for anyone to progress by bringing down the institutions of the country on which the very system stands.