December 16 has some lessons for the state as it reminds country of two tragedies: CJP Khosa.

ISLAMABAD -- Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa on Monday said that December 16 has some lessons for the state as it reminds the country of two tragedies - the fall of Dhaka and the Army Public School (APS) massacre.

He was addressing a farewell lunch hosted in his honor by Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan and Police Reforms Committee at the National Police Academy in Islamabad on Monday.

Justice Asif Saeed Khosa talked about the incidents that compelled the state to introduce major changes in its policy. 'Both these tragic events have some lessons for us,' the CJP said.

The CJP highlighted that APS tragedy shook the whole country and led the nation to look into the approaches that were being used by the state.

'That [APS massacre] was the incident we realised enough is enough,' said CJP Khosa, adding that the massacre also led to the formulation of National Action Plan against terrorism. The CJP said another lesson was that when the country gets together on a single agenda then it can achieve anything. The top judge said that there was a need for the country to once again look for the areas that unite the country and work on those areas.

Justice Asif Saeed Khosa expressed satisfaction that the country has largely and substantially tackled the issue of terrorism. He said the APS tragedy united the entire nation against this menace. He stressed that this nation can do wonders by working together.

'We said enough is enough. The National Action Plan was formulated and the entire nation supported it. While the judiciary has taken a number of steps to implement NAP, nothing significant has been done by the government in this regard.'

On the fall of Dhaka, the CJP said, 'if the state starts asserting itself too much then people breakaway from the social contract.'

He explained how the debacle in former East Pakistan proved the importance of the state honouring its social contract with citizens. 'When the state starts ignoring the fundamental rights of its citizens, that contract is broken. This is what happened when Bangladesh came into being,' said Justice Khosa.

'A mechanism to maintain the social contract is provided in the constitution - the rule of law. That is why it is imperative for the state to ensure the fundamental rights guaranteed to its citizens.'

'Unfortunately, a perception was created in Pakistan...