Respect the law

I am a law-abiding citizen of this state. Being a responsible citizen, I suggest that every citizen should speak up whenever an attempt is made to weaken our constitution. The ruling party’s attempts to delay the voting on the no-confidence motion and then abruptly dissolving the assemblies are a serious blow to the country’s constitution and its political processes.

It was quite surprising to learn about the ‘reason’ used by the ruling party to dissolve the assemblies. It cited Article 5 of the constitution which states that “loyalty to the state” is the duty of every citizen. The ruling party seems to have ignored Section 2 of the same article, which states that “obedience to the constitution and law is the obligation of every citizen”. The no-confidence motion was completely in accordance with the constitution, and delaying or sabotaging it is an act of disloyalty to the constitution and law. The ruling party is not ‘the state’ – it is just a political party. Loyalty to a ruling party cannot be taken as loyalty to the state. Undoubtedly, the actions taken by the PTI are likely to lead to instability in the country.

Anwar Sayab Khan

Bannu