Giving no quarter

Business Recorder op-ed writer Ikram Sehgal has demonstrated his strong dislikes for the beleaguered Sharif family. His recent op-ed “The Ashiana scam” for Business Recorder, for example, says it all. According to him, “[W]ith two of their top trusted henchmen in NAB custody awaiting trial, the Sharifs face real trouble. The names of female family members of the accused being used constitute a sorry attempt to play the “victim card” and appear innocent. Some PML-N leaders have gone so far as to publicly opine that the Establishment (read the Pakistan Army) is orchestrating the entire affair, though they have no idea about what the Establishment would gain.”

The writer appears to have emerged as a victor in his war with the Sharifs. He would give no quarter and award no clemency to any member of the Sharif family. The writer, who is a former army officer, must not, however, lose sight of the fact that giving no quarter became illegal with the introduction of the Hague Convention in 1907. The vanquished therefore always deserve mercy, and even clemency.

Lahore Hasan Iftikhar