Justice should be blind, not deaf and dumb
Shafiq Awan/ Daily Times
Nodoubt the Supreme Court did a wonderful job and for the first time in history, we saw sacred cows at the mercy of the court, otherwise they were considered to be above the law and we salute the Chief justice Mr Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and his team for being so courageous.
The deprived feel a sense of strength and pride as every one was being honked with the same stick, which called – justice is blind – treating every one setting aside someone’s status.
Finally NAB has written letters to the Swiss government for the reopening of Swiss cases.
The question is, if the government had done it now, why did it delay this action and embarrass itself?
But every one felt that during Tuesday’s (March 30/ 10)proceedings, the accused were humiliated and the Supreme Court’s remarks were taken in bad taste.
Ali Ahmed Kurd, former president of Supreme Court Bar Association, and many others felt this bitterness and had their own interpretations. Kurd was of the view that he was afraid of the time when the appeals of his clients would be heard in the Supreme Court. Kurd is an emotional person and his commitment with the independence of judiciary is undoubted and the chief justice (CJ) should weight his arguments.
The Supreme Court is the last mercy and through their act, people should not get the impression that mercy could not be that ruthless. Kurd quoted Jamshed Dasti, former member of national assembly, and said he was humiliated by the court. I was also shocked when he recited the holy Quran and the right answers to the question asked by court to a few TV anchors, why he could not answer in the court.
His point of view was t hat he was confused and under pressure due to his respect for the court. Such aggressive and humiliating stance by the Supreme Court is painting a different picture in the public. Although people have argued when you leave your answer-papers blank in the examination hall, you can not blame the examiner as you were under pressure. Even in that case he should not be humiliated. Ahmed Riaz Sheikh’s council Rashid A Rizvi remarks that the Supreme court snubbed him on defending Sheikh in the court.
To me, the judge should speak through his decision but not his grudges. On Tuesday, news channels were painting the judiciary like a horror movie in which cruelty prevails and not sense. Even my kids were confused and terrorised when they were reading the tickers in which the government officers were praying to the court for mercy in the name of God and the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), but their pleas were rejected. We are living in a civilised society and not in a barbaric era.
The court can simply punish them if they were not abiding by the law instead of humiliating them and spreading a sense of insecurity among the masses. The Supreme Court could at least direct the electronic media to avoid spreading sensationalism, which is not in favour of the Supreme Court as well. Ahmed Riaz Sheikh might have deserved more punishment, but not the humiliation he received.
TV talk shows are creating a perception that judiciary might have played a role in Nawaz Sharif’s U-turn over judges appointment. There arguments said that Nawaz was told that pending cases against him would be reopened if he supported the proposed amendments over the judges appointment recommended by the PCCR and agreed by his party as well.
These channels are also talking that the president’s wings would be clipped first then it would be his turn. Is it a service to judiciary? Please stop such nonsense discussions and do not hurt the judiciary’s respect and honour.
I disagree with this perception as the judiciary has nothing to do with what politicians are doing. Nawaz Sharif is habitual in betraying as he did with Muhammad Khan Junejo when he sided with Ziaul Haq, then his party while taking a solo flight to Saudi Arabia through striking a deal with the dictator Mushrraf and now backstabbing parliament on the 18th amendment by his U-turn. The judiciary should not be blamed for his acts.
However the argument carries weight as to why Zardari and his team was targeted for accountability. Nawaz Sharif’s dozen of cases are pending in the courts. Why is he immune? Now TV shows are talking about Punjabi Supreme Court as no Judge from Sindh or Balochistan are in the Supreme Court bench? This allegation could be for the sake of allegation and have no weight. But leg-of-mutton sleeve policy should not be applied and both parties should be dealt even-handedly. Justice should be blind, but not deaf and dumb.
Only across the board accountability could save Pakistan. Justice should not be a beauty for a certain group and a beast for others.
Filed under: Lawyers' Agitation Tagged: | Asif Ali Zardari, Chief Justice Ifthikar Chaudhry, Pakistan, Supreme Court of Pakistan
I hope Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and ASif Zardari are not the face of the same coin OR they are not part of the same “Game Plan” US is playing i.e to keep the people engaged and busy among themselves while the fluter keeps on playing the flute.
May be YES???
Supreme Court under Iftikhar Chaudhry is utterly dishonest, highly incompetent, intellectually corrupt, politically motivated and totally biased. Reasons for this are detailed below:-
1. In the judgment of 31st July 2009, 14 PCO judges including Chief Justice Iftikhar ousted 104 constitutionally appointed judges and dubbed them as PCO judges inspite of the fact that these 104 judges had never taken oath under any PCO. In fact Iftikhar Chaudhry and his handpicked bench became judges in their own cause and validated their own appointments. This is sheer dishonesty.
2. NRO judgment is in clear violation of article 248. By referring to Swiss Cases President of Pakistan has been targeted despite constitutional immunity. Prosecutor General and Chairman NAB have been ordered to be removed from their offices. There is no law empowering the Supreme Court to order the removal of these persons.
3. NRO judgment is not capable of implementation in totality despite Supreme Courts over exuberance. Supreme Court is just trying to cover up its blunders by forcing Chairman NAB to implement the said judgment lest Supreme Court gets exposed.
PPP government and its legal team lack co-ordination and depth. Their comprehension is slow and response to the illegalities of Supreme Court is either lacking or apologetic. The Attorney General is not performing his constitutional role of telling the Supreme Court that Judiciary is exceeding its constitutional limits. The Attorney General is either silent in this matter for fear of contempt or is unaware of his constitutional obligations as Attorney General. The hitherto performance of Attorney General shows lack of competence and commitment. Senator Faisal Raza Abidi is a fairly competent person but he is alone. He needs a team of accomplished legal experts to support and supplement him. It appears that PPP’s legal advisers are hindering the formation of a larger team of legal experts in order to keep their monopoly. This monopoly is seriously undermining the writ of the government especially when it is facing strong opposition from PML [N] who have very close links with Supreme Court Judges. Some of these connections are detailed below:-
A. Nawaz Sharif has links with Iftikhar Chaudhry through Rana Sanaullah and some other lawyers who are closely connected to Supreme Court Judges.
B. Khalil Ramdey’s son who is a lawyer works for Nawaz Sharif. His nephew is also working for Nawaz and despite his inexperience he was made the Advocate General of Punjab but could continue because of his inability to perform the functions of that office.
C. The daughters and a son-in-law of two recently appointed Supreme Court Judges are working in a law firm of one of the senior legal advisers of Nawaz Sharif. This legal adviser who is also a former Advocate General of Punjab is a close confidant of these judges.
D. The aforesaid former Advocate General and Advocate Hamid Khan have close connections with Justice Jawad Khwaja. This judge at one time was working in the same law firm.
Conclusion
Peoples Party is growing weak because of its indecisiveness and inaction. PPP must tell the supreme court of its constitutional limits or quit. If Dr. Sher Afghan can take on the entire Supreme Court single handedly why can’t the government in power force the Supreme Court to remain within its bounds. Supreme Court’s own validity is questionable and that is why judges are behaving erratically.
These facts are absolutely correct and can be verified by anyone.