All is not lost!

When corruption rampant in all its shades at the national level no longer raises the eyebrows, Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday's interview on one of the private TV channels was a breath of fresh air. In a country reeking with exploits of suave buccaneers particularly in the upper layer of the society, Mr Ramday deserves accolades for declining to pocket a billion. What stuff is he made of?

Trading loyalties is craft of the crafty. Politicians' wheeling-dealing in their loyalties for a few millions with cushy jobs for their sidekicks thrown in, has been the norm in our murky politics, but rarely was a billion offered to a Judge to subvert his loyalty to his profession. It was not merely the twist of his pen the stakeholders had sought for; it was a bid to undermine his integrity and his conscience. Powers that be misunderstood him. And one should not blame them for it because not many have been known to decline a crisp billion presented in a briefcase. The bidders were not accustomed to taking "No" for an answer. Were Justice M R Kayani living, he would have smiled all the way besides adding a chapter to his book A judge may laugh, attributed to Justice Ramday.