PML-N was served another blow with foreign minister Khawaja Asif being disqualified as a parliament member by a special three-member bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) today. The bench maintained that Khawaja Asif has failed to disclose his UAE Iqama and his employment at a company there. IHC ruled that Asif has “deliberately and willfully not disclosed his status as an employee of the [foreign] Company”. The use of ‘Sadiq’ and ‘Ameen’ in court has become an expected norm. And the internet is yet again divided over whether the verdict is fair or not.

 

While holding an Iqama is not grounds for disqualification under Article 62(1)(f), the failure to disclose all assets is.

A copy of the Iqama, therefore, is also making rounds over the internet.

Some opposed the decision outright, by appealing to the notions of what it means to be a proper democratic establishment.

This Twitter user had an interesting take on how biased the decision is.

Others feel this is a planned conspiracy against Nawaz Sharif loyalists.

Then, of course, opposition supporters came out in their full-blown glory. 

In all the political side-taking, the IHC has observed the following in announcing the verdict.  

Other than the matter being solved in parliament, the public too has a role to play in shaping the political atmosphere in such cases. It is inevitable that political party affiliations will play out strongly in the comments one makes on the situation. However, mere name calling and blind support for either party will be counterproductive to Pakistan’s development as a formidable democracy. Instead of merely lambasting a political leader and supporting the other, let’s not forget to have important debates on the matter. As some of the tweets so do above, we must look at what the decision means for democracy. If one says the decision is biased, there must be some facts to back that up. And, if the other says it is a fair decision, they too must have logical reasoning to say so. By looking at the individual alone can we arrive at whether the decision is fair or not, instead of blindly supporting a party in the name of putting them in power.

 

 

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