Azam Khalil Caution is the eldest child of wisdom. Victor Hugo The Pakistani politicians have consistently refused to learn from history. And the result is that the democratic forces have continued to suffer due to the endless squabbles between the politicians of different political parties. Nevertheless, the failure of the present political leadership of the country to evolve a system of tolerance, fairplay, equity and due process of law has resulted time and again in the emergence of anti-democratic forces, which have made a mess of this country after coming to power. So when the two major political parties - Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) - agreed on the Charter of Democracy everyone believed that the politics of vengeance and vendetta had been buried for good. While a little maturity can be seen among the top political leadership of the country, unfortunately mudslinging has continued unabated, especially the lower tiers of every political party continue to relish in sniping against one another. The most recent example is when Hamesh Khan, a key figure in the Rs 10 billion Bank of Punjab scam, was extradited from the United States; a vicious debate erupted between the PML-N and the PML-Q. Some members of the Nawaz League accused Chaudhry Pervaiz Ilahi and his son of leaving the country ostensibly fearing that they may be exposed by Khan, who may provide incriminating evidence against them. On the contrary, the PML-Q leadership accused their opponents of defaulting to a tune of Rs 1.30 billion with the same bank. The 'Q League also accused the family of CM Punjab of exerting undue pressure on the former President of the Punjab of Bank after what they said was Khans refusal to grant them a heavy loan. The incumbent leader of PML-Q has also publicly expressed his fears that the Punjab government might pressurise Hamesh Khan to become an approver against the former Chief Minister of Punjab, Pervaiz Ilahi. As days passed, the debate is becoming extremely depressing with both sides making personal attacks, which could damage the already vulnerable image of the politicians in this country. Originally, this debate started when the issue of fake degrees possessed by some members of the National and Provincial Assemblies was being discussed across the country. In the past, there had been several setbacks for the politicians when, for example a lady MPA of the Punjab Assembly was caught purchasing goods with a stolen credit card. Likewise, the image of the politicians worsened when the newspapers flashed a report that the henchmen of a sitting MNA, from Sialkot, had kidnapped Director Education and forcibly obtained appointment letters for persons of his choice. Anyway, while difference of opinion and criticism by the opposition parties is a legitimate phenomenon in a democratic set up; however, it should definitely not be used to derail the democratic process. But whenever criticism crosses the red line it creates despondency and confusion amongst the people, which further results in disillusionment. That eventually paves the way for intervention by forces that are in their very essence anti-democratic. But I hope that the issue of Hamesh Khan will not reach a point that could derail the institution of democracy. The case of Bank of Punjab is presently subjudice and should be treated as a non-issue as far as the vital interest of the country is concerned. This does not mean that the corrupt and those who are involved in serious financial irregularities should not be punished; it means that the country should have a system and institutions that should be responsible to deal according to the law with all such issues that surface from time to time in this country. The basic point that must be remembered by the political leadership is that the case of Hamesh Khan should be dealt with strictly on merit and that the former chief of the bank should be provided with all the opportunities that are available under the law for his defence. No political party should be allowed to manipulate or use the issue of Bank of Punjab scam as an instrument of politics. And Mr Khan should not be used by the Punjab government to damage or even harass their political opponents. At present, it is suspected that Mr Khan may never get a fair trial and it was now upto the justices, who are seized with the matter, to ensure that the due process of law is not derailed because of the media trial and the gamesmanship that has been mounted by rival political parties against one another on this issue. One also hopes that the politicians would calm down and allow the case to proceed in a normal judicious way and try not to influence the outcome of the proceedings by issuing statements that could have a direct bearing on the case that is pending before the superior judiciary of this country. The politicians should also remember that they should only accuse their political opponents of the wrongdoing, if they have verifiable evidence, because while allegations may result in point scoring, but at the end of the day it would inevitably lead to tarnishing the image of the political institutions of Pakistan. It is expected that both PML-N and PML-Q will come out of their present narrow mindedness and calculate the damage that is being caused by their unnecessary sniping against one another. They must remember that their interest would be served much better, if they evolve a system that benefits the common people and encourages the rule of law in Pakistan. The writer is a freelance columnist. Email: zarnatta@hotmail.com