Although proverbs are a simple traditional sayings that express a perceived truth based on common sense or experience but Sometimes, proverbs contradict each other, such as “Look before you leap” and “He who hesitates is lost”, or “Many hands make light work” and “Too many cooks spoil the broth”. The proverb “Seeing is believing” also contradicts with “All that glitters is not gold”. The first one means “when something unlikely is witnessed, the truth of its occurrence or existence can no longer be doubted” whereas the last one implies that not everything looks valuable or true, turns out to be like that. This applies to people, places, or things that claim to be more worthy than they actually are. For me, these two sayings became a headache when before the visit of the Supreme Court, our PhD scholars (who were on study tour under my supervision) differed while discussing the decisions and attitudes/approach of the Supreme Court and its honourable judges. Some had positive and others had different opinions towards the decisions and attitude of the Supreme Court. Both parties were claiming their views by coding above mentioned two proverbs. It was at last agreed not to discuss upon the decisions and directions made by the honourable court. However, it was decided to comment about the last one(issue) after attending proceeding of the court and meeting with the honourable judges that was arranged through the kind support of my beloved brother Prof. Dr. Mushtaq ahmad, the secretary to CJP and a renowned law professor and ex-director general of Shariah Academy at International Islamic University, Islamabad. We had been allowed to attend the proceeding and a group photo (only) with CJP at 11:00 am on 13th August. Our delegation remained present in court number 1 during the hearing of three/four cases, where the cases were being heard by Chief Justice Mr. Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Mr. Justice Naeem Afghan. We had been called for the group photo with honourable judges at 11:00 am.
I would like to openly admit that the conduct and behaviour of the judges during the hearing was not only remarkable, but a practical reflection of patience, tolerance and sincerity. A case also came up for hearing in which a plaintiff appeared on his own. Surprisingly, he had not even hired a lawyer, and he himself was illiterate. As the man failed to present his case completely, the Chief Justice advised him to present the case through his son. On the person’s reply that my son cannot come here because of his studies, the Chief Justice asked him to show any proof, letter or material that would benefit him, but the plaintiff did not produce any proof. In another case, the lawyer appeared unprepared, who, after failing to explain his case at all, requested for his assistant to argue the case at hand, which was accepted. But surprisingly, the said assistant remained unable to even find out the documents required for discussion & deliberation. Our delegation witnessed the same style and conditions during the hearing of the cases for about two hours. After that we were called for a photo session for which unusual instructions were issued. The Chief Justice Mr. Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Mr. Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan came out from the court and reached the place where we were present only for Photo session (total time allocated for the purpose was five minutes). The CJP welcomed the scholars. After the introduction and welcome, a question and answer session began which was not only an academic and research, but also an invaluable time of fun, experiential, religious and social awareness. The attitude, approach, manner and the love showed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa for public and republic was incredible. He spent more than an hour with the scholars, encouraged them, and exhorted them to be loyal to their religion, country and nation as well as emphasized to pay special attention to the issue of environment and cleanliness. The Chief Justice along with Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and the delegation also inspected the site, where (due to his personal interest), the statue was under construction on which the Fundamental Rights would be written, and the site would be open to the public at all times. We can clearly say that from the proceedings of the Supreme Court to the meeting with the judges, our perceptions were clear that the conduct and behaviour of the judges is not the same as what is presented in the media. The greater responsibility they have, the more tolerance, humility and sincerity they have. The CJP Belong to a distinguished family and is the son of the late Qazi Mohammad Isa, who was in the forefront of the Pakistan Movement, and grandson of Qazi Jalaluddin, the Prime Minister of Kalat State, prior to Independence. His mother, Begum Saida Isa, was a dedicated social worker and worked in an honorary capacity on the Boards of hospitals and other charitable organizations. On 77th Independence Day (14th August), the CJP Donated Ancestral Land measuring 31,680 square feet, located adjacent to Quaid-e-Azam Residency in Ziarat to Govt. of Baluchistan. In the light of the above mentioned facts and observations, the delegation gave a decision in favour of the proverb” seeing is believing”.
We have to live with positive attitudes and trust our institutions. We have to show serious conduct on any concern or issue and should express our views on any matter within the scope of our status, position & capacity. Such atmosphere and trust is the moderate solution for the improvement and salvation of Pakistan and its people.
The author is a professor of Islamic Studies at Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan.
