There is chaos in the polity after the Jehangir Tareen and Imran Khan disqualification case verdict has been announced. No political party is entirely happy with the decision because after the verdict, no one seems like a clear winner in the situation. It is almost as if the Supreme Court (SC) was aware of the repercussions of such a decision. The disqualification of Jehangir Tareen has upset the followers of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf (PTI), while they are equally enthralled by the SC declaring Imran Khan qualified to be a part of the polity. Same is the case with the followers of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), who are upset that Khan is still in the game whereas the disqualification of Jehangir Tareen is good news for them.
What is happening in the system at the moment is side by side critique and praise of the apex court. If one is to analyse the statements, they are almost contradictory and confusing as to what the narrative of the parties actually is. Is it that the SC was fair in its decision or is it that the SC was unfair? Whatever it is, the SC cannot be both in the current situation.
This variety of statements has also worried the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar. He eventually came out and criticised the political parties for maligning the highest court of the state. He is right in his stance and the parties need to pay attention to his advice. They either think that the SC is right or it is wrong - there is no middle ground to it. Nor can there be. It is about time that the parties accept the decision of the highest court because not doing so would be constitutionally wrong and would account as setting an undemocratic precedent. This is not what the mainstream parties want to be doing at this point, especially when the election season is just around the corner and when they portray themselves as the champions of democracy.
It is also going to be beneficial for the political system if the debate moves away from the verdict of the SC, and actually goes towards deciding and debating out policies and agendas that are going to be beneficial for the country. Investing this time in accusations and counter accusations will only take us further away from the actual problems and will not help the populace decide whom to vote for.