Pity the nation whose servants treat their solemn oaths
as nothing more than a formality before entering upon an office.
Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa added this to Khalil Gibran’s Pity the Nation in a half a dozen page long Additional Note that was released with the detailed verdict in Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s Contempt of Court Case.
Justice Khosa quoted Khalil Gibran and with "An Apology" and said that Gilani’s conduct in the case is indicative of a Bigger Malady, one which if not checked or cured may "Overwhelm or engulf all of us as a Nation".
Justice Khosa then goes on to quote an extract from "For Whom the Bell Tolls" by John Donne
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
Justice Khosa further says that, in the Conviction of Gilani, lies our Collective Damnation.
He said Justice Mulk’s order is a step in the right direction as, "It kindles a flame of hope for a future for our Nation which may establish a Just and Fair Order, an order wherein the law rules and all citizens are equal before the law".
Justice Khosa’s addition to Pity the Nation is below.
Pity the nation that achieves nationhood in the name of a religion
but pays little heed to truth, righteousness and accountability
which are the essence of every religion.
Pity the nation that proclaims democracy as its polity
but restricts it to queuing up for casting of ballots only
and discourages democratic values.
Pity the nation that measures honour with success
and respect with authority,
that despises sublime and cherishes mundane,
that treats a criminal as a hero and considers civility as weakness
and that deems a sage a fool and venerates the wicked.
Pity the nation that adopts a Constitution
but allows political interests to outweigh constitutional diktat.
Pity the nation that demands justice for all
but is agitated when justice hurts its political loyalty.
Pity the nation whose servants treat their solemn oaths
as nothing more than a formality before entering upon an office.
Pity the nation that elects a leader as a redeemer
but expects him to bend every law to favour his benefactors.
Pity the nation whose leaders seek martyrdom
through disobeying the law
than giving sacrifices for the glory of law
and who see no shame in crime.
Pity the nation that is led by those
who laugh at the law
little realizing that the law shall have the last laugh.
Pity the nation that launches a movement for rule of law
but cries foul when the law is applied against its bigwig,
that reads judicial verdicts through political glasses
and that permits skills of advocacy to be practised
more vigorously outside the courtroom than inside.
Pity the nation that punishes its weak and poor
but is shy of bringing its high and mighty to book.
Pity the nation that clamours for equality before law
but has selective justice close to its heart.
Pity the nation that thinks from its heart
and not from its head.
Indeed, pity the nation
that does not discern villainy from nobility.
