Nothing to loose

There is a growing sense of urgency, amongst the parliamentarians as well as the general public, to find a sustainable solution to the constitutional dilemma which was imposed on the country on November 3 last year when the then General Musharraf imposed ‘martial law’ and assumed the position of supreme “Law-giver’ of this country. People want the government to focus on other issues that they face which can only happen once this crises is resolved for good as it has become the priority number one since March 9, 2007 last year. At that time everyone was wondering how Musharraf could expect his acts to be indemnified by a future national assembly and the parliament on the whole, especially so when it was widely perceived that the votes would be against his policies and against his supporters who had bred and nurtured during his rule under the umbrella of ‘Pakistan Muslim League’, which came along sometimes with a ‘Q’ and sometimes without it. This party was so short in self-belief that it had to change names in a failed attempt to create an impression in the minds of people that it was indeed the ‘real’ Muslim League headed by Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Now that the new government can be said to have been formed almost completely in all provinces as well as in the center, one can expect the coalition partners getting together to come to a quick but just solution in order to overcome the illegalities of the November acts. It would be hard for anyone, including the Pakistan People’s Party which has edged out all other political parties overall, to ignore the concern and voice of others and the smaller parties are likely to have a greater voice than at any time in the past mostly because they assume greater leverage whenever no single party enjoys a clean majority.

The present talk of a constitutional package which is being linked with the issue of the restoration of the judiciary is a calculated move of the Pakistan People’s Party which wants to get over the bitter truths of the past and wants to resolve constitutional issues at the earliest and with the least possible hue and cry over it. It is presupposed that most of these packages would include indemnification of most acts of General Musharraf. Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz would try and alienate these two separate and distinct issues which must be resolved differently and not through the passing of a resolution. According to PML(N), the Murree Declaration had nothing to do with the indemnification of Musharraf’s acts or some constitutional package which might have similar effects.

The first issue, the restoration of the judges is not any indemnification, rather the complete opposite of that in the sense that an unconstitutional measure would be thrown out of the window in a civilized and democratic manner by using the forum of the masses, which is the Parliament. The next issue is a totally different one and must be given due diligence and care before coming to a solution. This issue being: which acts of Musharraf to legalize and indemnify by using the Parliamentary procedure provided under the Constitution? What is the procedure of doing so? As to the latter question, no resolution or executive order in this world would be able to achieve this and the only way out is through a Constitutional amendment which can only be achieved by a two-thirds majority. Before passage of such Bill however, it must be duly scrutinized by the Parliament even if it means that most of the steps of General Musharraf do not find respect in a final draft. Rather than setting a dangerous precedent for the future or a repetition of the recent past when the MMA helped General Musharraf amend the Constitution by incorporating the 17th amendment in the Constitution, the political forces riding together in the coalition must show greater maturity now. One must also not forget that General Musharraf ‘broke’ his promise to MMA to step down as army chief after the promulgation of 17th amendment, if one were to believe the MMA.

It is true that there are other issues which need the immediate attention of the government and it must find ways to resolve the preliminary issues which were unnecessarily imposed upon them through the act of a single man who has tried to link his own future with that of this country. The political parties must be in total unison in distancing themselves from such measures and any indemnification must be of only those acts which are non-controversial, absolutely essential and do which do not set a precedent for the future.

The hidden hand

The events of this week have succeeded in drawing the attention of people away from some issues that were being termed as the ‘real issues and challenges’ for the new government. Twice, the former Chief Minister of Sindh, Ghulam Arbab Rahim was manhandled in an undignified manner. This event was followed by manhandling of Sher Afgan Niazi, the self-proclaimed supporter of a dictator. Sher Afgan Niazi has justified all unconstitutional actions of Musharraf and not hesitated in issuing contemptuous statements against the judiciary during the judicial crises. He probably knew at the time what was forthcoming and was therefore was not afraid of the wrath of justice and considered himself above the rule of law and as it turned out he went away with it. However, he found himself being punished in a very different way when he was held up for a long period of time in a lawyer’s chambers in Lahore and was thrashed with shoes and glass when he made his way out.

As if this was not enough to make headlines and provide talk shows with a topic for the week, another incident took place in a city, which never lags behind when it comes to violence and violence related casualties--Karachi. Several innocent lives were lost. Astonishingly, the explanation of the MQM regarding the issue is next to a self-indicting statement. Allegedly, lawyers of MQM were ‘attacked’ by other lawyers, when they were ‘peacefully protesting’ outside the bar. This is not the end of story though. The lawyers (non-MQM) allegedly went on to burn more than 50 vehicles and took around a dozen lives. This explanation is not tenable and the opposite explanation presented by the lawyers is much more plausible. According to this version, lawyers stopped the MQM lawyers from entering the bar premises as they were holding a meeting inside and the presence of MQM lawyers who were chanting slogans in favour of Sher Afgan Niazi and ‘protesting his mishandling’, could have led to some unwarranted clashes. However this denial of entry infuriated the MQM lawyers who unleashed a wave of violence on not only the lawyers but the city of Karachi and its habitants. Just when people had thought that the good atmosphere prevailing within the ranks of MQM and PPP had ensured a peaceful future of Karachi for some time, we were reminded of the menace that is perhaps beyond the control of even leaders who sit far away and script party politics from abroad.

Had these three incidents been separated by a period of time, it would have been imaginable that they were not related at all. However, their proximity in time as well as nexus connecting them, especially the thrashing of Sher Afgan Niazi and the ‘protest’ by MQM lawyers, suggests that perhaps there is a hidden hand involved in some if not all of them, which wanted to extract some leverage out of them. Perhaps the involvement of lawyers in two of the incidents is an indicator of what was the intended effect. It is pertinent to mention that during the thrashing of Sher Afgan Niazi, he was roughed up by people in plain clothes as well, who sabotaged even the ambulance that was supposed to rescue him.

Sher Afgan Niazir has stated that the judiciary cannot be restored and Musharraf has responded to the violence by restraining lawyers from disturbing peace. Whether these statement were mere coincidence or issued in good faith and without any relation to the incidents is anyone’s guess. One guess can be that perhaps the issue of restoration of judges is being sidetracked by such incidents. Whether it is true or not only time will tell.

The problem is that since this country is best known for conspiracies and state within state, one cannot but ignore the broader circumstances of every incident which is intended to produce a specific result.

Only an independent inquiry into these issues will let us know the true culprits and whether the incidents were engineered to a certain degree or not. Thanks to the mushroom growth of electronic media, just as Benazir Bhutto’s assassination was made clear and the official version of the cause of her death rebutted through use of video footage, it is easy to identify those involved in these incidents as well conduction of an enquiry headed by an impartial tribunal is likely to produce genuine results. However, many would be tempted to bury the issue under the carpet just like the May 12 incident in Karachi was buried.

The real challenge for the new government would be to open a new chapter of accountability, even if it means that some supporters of the PPP, which is leading the government, are found involved in Ghulam Arbab Rahim’s thrashing. The credit would nevertheless go to PPP, if it were to happen. PPP would have opened a new chapter of accountability even if it means disciplining its own die hard supporters. A line has to be drawn between what can and what cannot be acceptable behaviour in politics and party discipline must be enforced without any regard to any other factor. Politics of violence must be abandoned once and for all. MQM must seek to dispel the negative image that has surrounded it over the years. Otherwise it is inevitable that it will land itself into trouble one day or the other as long as it continues to care little about human rights and resorts to violent measures. After all, prayers of its victims can be answered when the One who matters decides that enough is enough.

The hidden hand

The events of this week have succeeded in drawing the attention of people away from some issues that were being termed as the ‘real issues and challenges’ for the new government. Twice, the former Chief Minister of Sindh, Ghulam Arbab Rahim was manhandled in an undignified manner. This event was followed by manhandling of Sher Afgan Niazi, the self-proclaimed supporter of a dictator. Sher Afgan Niazi has justified all unconstitutional actions of Musharraf and not hesitated in issuing contemptuous statements against the judiciary during the judicial crises. He probably knew at the time what was forthcoming and was therefore was not afraid of the wrath of justice and considered himself above the rule of law and as it turned out he went away with it. However, he found himself being punished in a very different way when he was held up for a long period of time in a lawyer’s chambers in Lahore and was thrashed with shoes and glass when he made his way out.

As if this was not enough to make headlines and provide talk shows with a topic for the week, another incident took place in a city, which never lags behind when it comes to violence and violence related casualties--Karachi. Several innocent lives were lost. Astonishingly, the explanation of the MQM regarding the issue is next to a self-indicting statement. Allegedly, lawyers of MQM were ‘attacked’ by other lawyers, when they were ‘peacefully protesting’ outside the bar. This is not the end of story though. The lawyers (non-MQM) allegedly went on to burn more than 50 vehicles and took around a dozen lives. This explanation is not tenable and the opposite explanation presented by the lawyers is much more plausible. According to this version, lawyers stopped the MQM lawyers from entering the bar premises as they were holding a meeting inside and the presence of MQM lawyers who were chanting slogans in favour of Sher Afgan Niazi and ‘protesting his mishandling’, could have led to some unwarranted clashes. However this denial of entry infuriated the MQM lawyers who unleashed a wave of violence on not only the lawyers but the city of Karachi and its habitants. Just when people had thought that the good atmosphere prevailing within the ranks of MQM and PPP had ensured a peaceful future of Karachi for some time, we were reminded of the menace that is perhaps beyond the control of even leaders who sit far away and script party politics from abroad.

Had these three incidents been separated by a period of time, it would have been imaginable that they were not related at all. However, their proximity in time as well as nexus connecting them, especially the thrashing of Sher Afgan Niazi and the ‘protest’ by MQM lawyers, suggests that perhaps there is a hidden hand involved in some if not all of them, which wanted to extract some leverage out of them. Perhaps the involvement of lawyers in two of the incidents is an indicator of what was the intended effect. It is pertinent to mention that during the thrashing of Sher Afgan Niazi, he was roughed up by people in plain clothes as well, who sabotaged even the ambulance that was supposed to rescue him.

Sher Afgan Niazir has stated that the judiciary cannot be restored and Musharraf has responded to the violence by restraining lawyers from disturbing peace. Whether these statement were mere coincidence or issued in good faith and without any relation to the incidents is anyone’s guess. One guess can be that perhaps the issue of restoration of judges is being sidetracked by such incidents. Whether it is true or not only time will tell.

The problem is that since this country is best known for conspiracies and state within state, one cannot but ignore the broader circumstances of every incident which is intended to produce a specific result.

Only an independent inquiry into these issues will let us know the true culprits and whether the incidents were engineered to a certain degree or not. Thanks to the mushroom growth of electronic media, just as Benazir Bhutto’s assassination was made clear and the official version of the cause of her death rebutted through use of video footage, it is easy to identify those involved in these incidents as well conduction of an enquiry headed by an impartial tribunal is likely to produce genuine results. However, many would be tempted to bury the issue under the carpet just like the May 12 incident in Karachi was buried.

The real challenge for the new government would be to open a new chapter of accountability, even if it means that some supporters of the PPP, which is leading the government, are found involved in Ghulam Arbab Rahim’s thrashing. The credit would nevertheless go to PPP, if it were to happen. PPP would have opened a new chapter of accountability even if it means disciplining its own die hard supporters. A line has to be drawn between what can and what cannot be acceptable behaviour in politics and party discipline must be enforced without any regard to any other factor. Politics of violence must be abandoned once and for all. MQM must seek to dispel the negative image that has surrounded it over the years. Otherwise it is inevitable that it will land itself into trouble one day or the other as long as it continues to care little about human rights and resorts to violent measures. After all, prayers of its victims can be answered when the One who matters decides that enough is enough.

Miscarriage of justice--The story of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

April 4 is a tragic day for justice in Pakistan when a popular former Prime Minister was executed by a dictator, who used the judicial machinery to achieve this objective. A lot has been said about why Zia ul Haq deemed it necessary to eliminate his self-proclaimed ‘mohsin’, who had appointed him Chief of Army Staff in order to control bonapartism in the army, yet failed miserably and was made its victim.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was wise enough to predict after assuming power from a military usurper that dictatorship had not been buried for good. He was little aware however that his hand-picked General would betray him and the betrayal would cost him nothing short of his own life as well as incarceration of his family in an undignified and humiliating manner. He was denied his last rituals and his family was not even allowed to see his face before burial, which is contrary to all rules of morality and ethical norms.

Whether it was the personal fear General Zia ul Haq had of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto which lead him to adopt such an inhumane treatment to his ‘mohsin’ or the carrying out of the will of a super power which wanted to punish Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto for continuing Pakistan’s nuclear program, or a combination of both these factors, cannot be said for certain. But one thing is clear. After his hanging, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto emerged as a hero and after his plane crash, Pakistanis were relieved and astonished that they had got rid of a hideous ruler, who used religion as a tool to engineer his personal ambitions and to marginalize the party of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who even after his death was the only thing that haunted him before the Soviets entered Afghanistan.

It is easy to identify the defects in the prosecution of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, be that the composition of the judiciary that heard his case or the use of fabricated evidence in corroboration with witnesses who were under pressure to give such evidence. Maulvi Mushtaq remains the second biggest culprit after Justice Munir who has supported the case for Pakistan being a place where it is impossible for the judiciary to give a verdict which is independent and not influenced or tainted by external influence, pressure or inducements. To this day, we continue to suffer from the same defects in the judiciary, which has been interfered at will, predominantly by military regimes, which need to legitimize their illegality or face a trial for high treason and abrogation of the constitution of the personnel responsible for such coup. It was seen how very recently members of the judiciary refused to become party to the personal desire of Musharraf to be elected illegally in uniform as well as his wish to continue to oust Nawaz Sharif-the chief threat to his allies—the PML(Q)’s Chaudhries. However, once more we saw the utter contempt Musharraf had for such a judiciary which refused to tame itself to his desires, as he is so often used to.

Until all of us, especially the political parties pledge today that we would not allow the judiciary to be manipulated in a manner that has been seen in the past, we would continue to see miscarriages of justice. We have suffered a lot already to risk another setback in future. It is true that only when principles of justice, equality before law and the importance of an independent judiciary is realized by all political forces, can we truly avoid the repetitions of the past, be that execution of a former Prime Minister or providing legitimacy to the doctrine of necessity which justifies illegal coups and military take overs and brings us back to square one.

Miscarriage of justice- The story of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

April 4 is a tragic day for justice in Pakistan when a popular former Prime Minister was executed by a dictator, who used the judicial machinery to achieve this objective. A lot has been said about why Zia ul Haq deemed it necessary to eliminate his self-proclaimed ‘mohsin’, who had appointed him Chief of Army Staff in order to control bonapartism in the army, yet failed miserably and was made its victim.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was wise enough to predict after assuming power from a military usurper that dictatorship had not been buried for good. He was little aware however that his hand-picked General would betray him and the betrayal would cost him nothing short of his own life as well as incarceration of his family in an undignified and humiliating manner. He was denied his last rituals and his family was not even allowed to see his face before burial, which is contrary to all rules of morality and ethical norms.

Whether it was the personal fear General Zia ul Haq had of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto which lead him to adopt such an inhumane treatment to his ‘mohsin’ or the carrying out of the will of a super power which wanted to punish Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto for continuing Pakistan’s nuclear program, or a combination of both these factors, cannot be said for certain. But one thing is clear. After his hanging, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto emerged as a hero and after his plane crash, Pakistanis were relieved and astonished that they had got rid of a hideous ruler, who used religion as a tool to engineer his personal ambitions and to marginalize the party of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who even after his death was the only thing that haunted him before the Soviets entered Afghanistan.

It is easy to identify the defects in the prosecution of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, be that the composition of the judiciary that heard his case or the use of fabricated evidence in corroboration with witnesses who were under pressure to give such evidence. Maulvi Mushtaq remains the second biggest culprit after Justice Munir who has supported the case for Pakistan being a place where it is impossible for the judiciary to give a verdict which is independent and not influenced or tainted by external influence, pressure or inducements. To this day, we continue to suffer from the same defects in the judiciary, which has been interfered at will, predominantly by military regimes, which need to legitimize their illegality or face a trial for high treason and abrogation of the constitution of the personnel responsible for such coup. It was seen how very recently members of the judiciary refused to become party to the personal desire of Musharraf to be elected illegally in uniform as well as his wish to continue to oust Nawaz Sharif-the chief threat to his allies—the PML(Q)’s Chaudhries. However, once more we saw the utter contempt Musharraf had for such a judiciary which refused to tame itself to his desires, as he is so often used to.

Until all of us, especially the political parties pledge today that we would not allow the judiciary to be manipulated in a manner that has been seen in the past, we would continue to see miscarriages of justice. We have suffered a lot already to risk another setback in future. It is true that only when principles of justice, equality before law and the importance of an independent judiciary is realized by all political forces, can we truly avoid the repetitions of the past, be that execution of a former Prime Minister or providing legitimacy to the doctrine of necessity which justifies illegal coups and military take overs and brings us back to square one.

Miscarriage of justice- The story of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

April 4 is a tragic day for justice in Pakistan when a popular former Prime Minister was executed by a dictator, who used the judicial machinery to achieve this objective. A lot has been said about why Zia ul Haq deemed it necessary to eliminate his self-proclaimed ‘mohsin’, who had appointed him Chief of Army Staff in order to control bonapartism in the army, yet failed miserably and was made its victim.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was wise enough to predict after assuming power from a military usurper that dictatorship had not been buried for good. He was little aware however that his hand-picked General would betray him and the betrayal would cost him nothing short of his own life as well as incarceration of his family in an undignified and humiliating manner. He was denied his last rituals and his family was not even allowed to see his face before burial, which is contrary to all rules of morality and ethical norms.

Whether it was the personal fear General Zia ul Haq had of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto which lead him to adopt such an inhumane treatment to his ‘mohsin’ or the carrying out of the will of a super power which wanted to punish Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto for continuing Pakistan’s nuclear program, or a combination of both these factors, cannot be said for certain. But one thing is clear. After his hanging, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto emerged as a hero and after his plane crash, Pakistanis were relieved and astonished that they had got rid of a hideous ruler, who used religion as a tool to engineer his personal ambitions and to marginalize the party of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who even after his death was the only thing that haunted him before the Soviets entered Afghanistan.

It is easy to identify the defects in the prosecution of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, be that the composition of the judiciary that heard his case or the use of fabricated evidence in corroboration with witnesses who were under pressure to give such evidence. Maulvi Mushtaq remains the second biggest culprit after Justice Munir who has supported the case for Pakistan being a place where it is impossible for the judiciary to give a verdict which is independent and not influenced or tainted by external influence, pressure or inducements. To this day, we continue to suffer from the same defects in the judiciary, which has been interfered at will, predominantly by military regimes, which need to legitimize their illegality or face a trial for high treason and abrogation of the constitution of the personnel responsible for such coup. It was seen how very recently members of the judiciary refused to become party to the personal desire of Musharraf to be elected illegally in uniform as well as his wish to continue to oust Nawaz Sharif-the chief threat to his allies—the PML(Q)’s Chaudhries. However, once more we saw the utter contempt Musharraf had for such a judiciary which refused to tame itself to his desires, as he is so often used to.

Until all of us, especially the political parties pledge today that we would not allow the judiciary to be manipulated in a manner that has been seen in the past, we would continue to see miscarriages of justice. We have suffered a lot already to risk another setback in future. It is true that only when principles of justice, equality before law and the importance of an independent judiciary is realized by all political forces, can we truly avoid the repetitions of the past, be that execution of a former Prime Minister or providing legitimacy to the doctrine of necessity which justifies illegal coups and military take overs and brings us back to square one.

Miscarriage of justice- The story of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

April 4 is a tragic day for justice in Pakistan when a popular former Prime Minister was executed by a dictator, who used the judicial machinery to achieve this objective. A lot has been said about why Zia ul Haq deemed it necessary to eliminate his self-proclaimed ‘mohsin’, who had appointed him Chief of Army Staff in order to control bonapartism in the army, yet failed miserably and was made its victim.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was wise enough to predict after assuming power from a military usurper that dictatorship had not been buried for good. He was little aware however that his hand-picked General would betray him and the betrayal would cost him nothing short of his own life as well as incarceration of his family in an undignified and humiliating manner. He was denied his last rituals and his family was not even allowed to see his face before burial, which is contrary to all rules of morality and ethical norms.

Whether it was the personal fear General Zia ul Haq had of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto which lead him to adopt such an inhumane treatment to his ‘mohsin’ or the carrying out of the will of a super power which wanted to punish Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto for continuing Pakistan’s nuclear program, or a combination of both these factors, cannot be said for certain. But one thing is clear. After his hanging, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto emerged as a hero and after his plane crash, Pakistanis were relieved and astonished that they had got rid of a hideous ruler, who used religion as a tool to engineer his personal ambitions and to marginalize the party of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, who even after his death was the only thing that haunted him before the Soviets entered Afghanistan.

It is easy to identify the defects in the prosecution of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, be that the composition of the judiciary that heard his case or the use of fabricated evidence in corroboration with witnesses who were under pressure to give such evidence. Maulvi Mushtaq remains the second biggest culprit after Justice Munir who has supported the case for Pakistan being a place where it is impossible for the judiciary to give a verdict which is independent and not influenced or tainted by external influence, pressure or inducements. To this day, we continue to suffer from the same defects in the judiciary, which has been interfered at will, predominantly by military regimes, which need to legitimize their illegality or face a trial for high treason and abrogation of the constitution of the personnel responsible for such coup. It was seen how very recently members of the judiciary refused to become party to the personal desire of Musharraf to be elected illegally in uniform as well as his wish to continue to oust Nawaz Sharif-the chief threat to his allies—the PML(Q)’s Chaudhries. However, once more we saw the utter contempt Musharraf had for such a judiciary which refused to tame itself to his desires, as he is so often used to.

Until all of us, especially the political parties pledge today that we would not allow the judiciary to be manipulated in a manner that has been seen in the past, we would continue to see miscarriages of justice. We have suffered a lot already to risk another setback in future. It is true that only when principles of justice, equality before law and the importance of an independent judiciary is realized by all political forces, can we truly avoid the repetitions of the past, be that execution of a former Prime Minister or providing legitimacy to the doctrine of necessity which justifies illegal coups and military take overs and brings us back to square one.