“I entered politics with three principles; independence, humanity and justice. These are the three fundamental principles on which the state of Medina was established and I chose these three principles as the charter of my party”, Imran Khan said while addressing the seminar.
“If a society lacks justice, it cannot prosper”, he said. He went on to say that he observed the contrast between England and Pakistan during his university life and reached the conclusion that the differentiating factor between the two societies is rule of law.
“Rule of law is the fundamental differentiating factor between societies”, Imran Khan emphasized. He pointed out that in the rule of law index, Pakistan ranks 130th in the world, whereas Switzerland tops the list. Imran Khan further noted that Switzerland earns $60 billion annually just through its tourism sector, and Pakistan despite having better and larger mountainous landscapes, couldn’t capitalize on it. “Switzerland earns from tourism, not because they have better landscapes, but because there is rule of law”, Imran Khan pointed out.
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“The incumbent government is trying to cure cancer by Dispirin”, Imran Khan said while criticizing the government for going on a spree of collecting debts. “Unless we are able to attract investments, the country will not rise, and the biggest hurdle in foreign investments is the absence of rule of law.” Former Prime Minister noted that even the overseas Pakistanis don’t invest in Pakistan as they lack confidence in the judicial system of the country.
“Without establishing rule of law in the country, Pakistan can never escape the quagmire that it is trapped in”, Imran Khan observed. “Our economy cannot prosper without rule of law, as the people of Pakistan cannot utilize their potential unless their basic rights are protected”, he added.
He once again criticized the government for the torture against Shahbaz Gill saying that this case depicts the condition of law and order in Pakistan. Imran Khan said that despite knowing that Shahbaz Gill was being subjected to torture in police custody, he was once again handed over to the police by the magistrate. “When I said we will take legal action against the magistrate, they [the government] charged me with terrorism” he said.
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Imran khan also lashed out at Shahbaz Sharif for being responsible for the economic woes of the country.
Imran Khan, while responding to the suggestion of Aitzaz Ahsan to reconcile with Asif Ali Zardari, said that he cannot reconcile with Zardari as it would be equivalent to normalizing corruption. He said that “politics is the art of compromise” but compromising corruption hurts the country.
“The biggest hurdle in establishing rule of law is the fear of mafias, when a nation overcome this fear the judiciary is bound to ensure justice”, Imran Khan concluded.