By Ahmad Faruqui
WITH those words, 19th century British statesman William Gladstone coined a phrase that has echoed in political and legal discourse ever since. Indeed, he could have been speaking about Pakistan today. A miscarriage of justice took place in Islamabad exactly one year and one day ago. It has not been rectified.
The defining moment for the incoming, popularly elected government will come when it tackles the issue. It should think of the constitutional legacy of Quaid-i-Azam M.A. Jinnah, who was also one of the subcontinent’s finest attorneys. The Quaid would have been proud of the role played by Iftikhar Chaudhry, Aitzaz Ahsan, Munir Malik and their cohorts in last year’s movement for judicial independence.
They are the real heroes of 2007. Their deeds inspired the Black Coat Revolution when thousands of attorneys took to the streets in defence of civil law and in defiance of martial law. Without their courage and exemplary conduct, which has won global acclaim, there would have been no democratic revolution on Feb 18.
Unfortunately, even though three weeks have elapsed since the general elections, the need to restore the 63 judges is not visible in the political agenda of the electoral winners. This lack of priority may well be the handiwork of the Bush administration. It continues to meddle in Pakistani politics even though the electorate voted overwhelmingly against the King’s party, in large measure because Musharraf was seen to be an American puppet.
The White House, depressed at the electoral outcome, is doing its utmost to salvage the Musharraf presidency. That is the view of many including Barbara Boxer, a US Senator from California. She is aghast that while Washington is busy spending billions of dollars in Iraq to set up a judiciary, it is taking no action to help restore the judiciary in a country which already has one. Ms Boxer poses a rhetorical question: “Imagine what would happen if President Bush went to the microphone and said: ‘Today I’m firing the Supreme Court and all the judges can go home!’” She opines that the Bush administration has concluded that re-seating the deposed judges would lead to Musharraf’s ...
Continue reading @ http://www.dawn.com/2008/03/10/op.htm
WITH those words, 19th century British statesman William Gladstone coined a phrase that has echoed in political and legal discourse ever since. Indeed, he could have been speaking about Pakistan today. A miscarriage of justice took place in Islamabad exactly one year and one day ago. It has not been rectified.
The defining moment for the incoming, popularly elected government will come when it tackles the issue. It should think of the constitutional legacy of Quaid-i-Azam M.A. Jinnah, who was also one of the subcontinent’s finest attorneys. The Quaid would have been proud of the role played by Iftikhar Chaudhry, Aitzaz Ahsan, Munir Malik and their cohorts in last year’s movement for judicial independence.
They are the real heroes of 2007. Their deeds inspired the Black Coat Revolution when thousands of attorneys took to the streets in defence of civil law and in defiance of martial law. Without their courage and exemplary conduct, which has won global acclaim, there would have been no democratic revolution on Feb 18.
Unfortunately, even though three weeks have elapsed since the general elections, the need to restore the 63 judges is not visible in the political agenda of the electoral winners. This lack of priority may well be the handiwork of the Bush administration. It continues to meddle in Pakistani politics even though the electorate voted overwhelmingly against the King’s party, in large measure because Musharraf was seen to be an American puppet.
The White House, depressed at the electoral outcome, is doing its utmost to salvage the Musharraf presidency. That is the view of many including Barbara Boxer, a US Senator from California. She is aghast that while Washington is busy spending billions of dollars in Iraq to set up a judiciary, it is taking no action to help restore the judiciary in a country which already has one. Ms Boxer poses a rhetorical question: “Imagine what would happen if President Bush went to the microphone and said: ‘Today I’m firing the Supreme Court and all the judges can go home!’” She opines that the Bush administration has concluded that re-seating the deposed judges would lead to Musharraf’s ...
Continue reading @ http://www.dawn.com/2008/03/10/op.htm
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