Archive for Lawyers' Agitation

Is Musharraf Alone Guilty of Treason?: Danyal Aziz

August 12, 2009 at 7:10 am · Filed under Lawyers' Agitation

image003Is Mr. Ansar Abbasi right about invoking Article 6 of the Constitution against former President Musharraf?  

A dispassionate analysis of the said article of the Constitution proves that he is not right.  

Article 6 states in clause 2 that “any person aiding or abetting the acts mentioned in clause 1 shall likewise be guilty of high treason”.  

Article 6 cannot be applied selectively on President Musharraf alone but will have to be applied equally on all those who ‘abetted’ him.  

Musharraf abrogated the Constitution twice.  First in October 1999.  It was a coup against an elected prime minister.  Very few judges objected to the takeover and a majority of the judges took oath under the PCO, Parliament was dissolved and remained suspended for more than three years (endorsed by the Supreme Court) until it was reinstated in November 2002. 

The second was in November 2007 when the so called emergency rule was imposed.  Interestingly, this was not a coup.  The move targeted the judiciary.  The government and the Parliament remained intact and the emergency lasted for six weeks. 

Once Mr Musharraf is charged for treason, justice cannot be selectively applied only on the action of 3 November 2007 while ignoring the more serious action of October 1999.  It will therefore be imperative to try Musharraf and his abettors both for October 1999 and November 2007.  

Now comes the one million dollar question:  Will Article 6 be applied on the abettors of the two arrogations?  

The ‘abettors’ in the Article 6 include senior members of the present Supreme Court who abetted the coup in 1999.  All members of the present Supreme Court of Pakistan had pledged their allegiance to Musharraf by taking the PCO oath in 2000.  

The abettors of the coups led by generals Ayub, Yahya, and Zia ul Haq can be set aside because they and most of their abettors are no longer alive.  But the ‘abettors’ of General Musharraf’s coup are around.  All of them will have to be charged for treason along with Musharraf. That is the only that across-the-board justice will be done.  

Do Ansar Abbasi and Hamid Mir want to proceed with this mass trial?  

My advice is this: Let’s get out of the Musharraf-phobia and move on with life and the more important issues that the Nation is facing.  

The writer is a Pakistani commentator who lives in Rawalpindi.  He can be reached at danyal_aziz47@yahoo.com

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Operation Blue Tulsi: Destroying Pakistan’s Nuclear Assets

July 13, 2009 at 9:41 am · Filed under Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto, CIA, ISI, Indo Pak Relations, Lawyers' Agitation ·Tagged , , , , ,

PPP government was dismissed in 1996 because Rehman Malik, DG FIA and Asif Zardari had promised Indians and Israelis access to Pakistan’s nuclear facilities. 

In 1994-95 Rehman Malik was working in tandem with this immediate boss Ghulam Asghar, head of the FIA, and under the auspices of Asif Zardari, collecting information about Pakistan’s nuclear installations. Malik offered the Indians direct access to Kashmiri and Afghan fighters he would capture.

 In July 2001 Janes Information Group reported that RAW and Mossad were cooperating to infiltrate Pakistan to target important religious and military personalities, journalists, judges, lawyers and bureaucrats.

In the late eighties, two junior intelligence officers one Pakistani other Indian faced each other on opposite sides of the law. The Pakistani intelligence officer had caught the Indian agent on Pakistani soil with incriminating evidence. Indian agent knew his life had come to an end. However, everything has a price. And his freedom was worth a little less than half a million rupees. A few days later the Indian agent was sitting back at home, free as a bird. And life went on for several more years until the fateful year of 1994 when the two old “chaps” met again. This time officially. The Indian agent had climbed the ladder to an important post in the government. At this side of the border the junior Pakistani agent, against all odds had become one of the top bosses at Federal Investigation Agency. Of course, this was the infamous Rehman Malik.

The Indian side wanted Pakistani Government’s help in reducing cross-border terrorism. But Rehman Malik offered a lot more than mere reduction in “cross-border”. He had been appointed as Additional Director FIA and yielded immense power through the country. Additionally he had become the right-hand-man of Asif  Zardari, stashing his looted money all over the world. He offered them direct access to the jihadists which he would capture. Somewhere along the line Israel also became a party to the deal and soon Mossad agents were carrying out investigations of the captured (ISI backed) jihadists on Pakistani soil. There were millions to be made from the deal and of course Rehman Malik was working in tandem with this immediate boss Ghulam Asghar, head of the FIA and under the auspices of Asif Ali Zardari. ISI, Pakistan Military and top brass quietly kept a close watch. Although painful but capture of a few foot soldiers was bearable in the bigger national interest.

By 1995 in a little over a year the Benazir Bhutto government had expelled 2000 Arab mujahidin of the Afghan-Soviet War and imprisoned number of Pakistani mujahidin.

Secondly and more significantly, Benazir Bhutto on her official visit to US in April 1995 met in secret with an Israeli delegation. On her return she faced stiff resistance from a block of military and civilian bureaucracy which had generated great suspicions of her dealings with India and Israel. Just four months later she thwarted a coup attempt against her headed by Major General Zahirul Islam Abbasi. Director General of Military Intelligence Major General Ali Kuli Khan tipped-off General Abdul Waheed Kakar who immediately ordered Chief of General Staff Lt. General Jehangir Karamat to suppress the coup. A total of 36 army officers and 20 civilians were arrested from Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Then in November 1995 Egyptian Embassy blast occurred. Al-Qaeda was quick to claim it. Although the real reasons of the handlers of bombers remain hidden to this day, but in the next few days a silent but significant event happened. General Abdul Waheed Kakar who was given an extension in his tenure he refused it and Lt. General Jehangir Karamat was appointed as the Army Chief by the then President Farooq Leghari on December 18, 1995. Lt. General Jehangir Karamat was the senior most general at the time, therefore the least controversial within the military. The other three generals who were in the position to become COAS were Lt Gen Javed Ashraf Qazi, Lt Gen Naseer Akhtar, and Lt Gen Mohammad Tariq. Lt. Gen. Ghulam Muhammad Malik had already retired in October 1995.

Maj Gen Naseem Rana was heading the ISI at the time, taken his charge in October 1995. Lt Gen Shujat Ali Khan was heading the ISI’s Internal Wing.

In the backdrop of these events in Pakistan, in March 1995 Israel’s Air Force chief had visited India with an entourage that included key Mossad officials. It was at this point that in a meeting Pakistan’s nuclear program was discussed. A year later Indian nuclear and missile program head, Abdul Kalam had a “top secret” visit of Israel in June 1996. It was “top secret” because no one knew about it. As it turned out, everyone knew about it even before he left India. All the much publicized secrecy and visit of such a top level official achieved the aim and nearly nobody bothered with the entourage which included a manager from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) – Alok Tiwari. The “top secret” meetings between Abdul Kalam and his Israeli counterparts were related to purchase of UAVs. However, in every single one of those “top secret” meetings Alok Tiwari was missing.

Just a few days later, after coming back to India Tiwari accompanied Air Chief Marshal S. K. Sareen to Israel in Israel in July 1996. In fact this was his third trip. He had also visited Israel in April 1996 along with India’s first Defence Attaché to Israel.

First Wave

In late July 1996 MQM organized a province wide strike. Simultaneously a large bomb exploded at Lahore airport and a second at Faisalabad railway station. On 14th August 1996 12 SSP activists were gunned down during an Independence Rally by unidentified gunmen. By end August Punjab had been engulfed in sectarian violence, Shias and Sunnis were being gunned down in broad daylight. The political and security situation worsened by the murder of Murtaza Bhutto and reinstatement of Manzoor Wattoo as Chief Minister of Punjab. The country seemed in a political and economic turmoil with violence erupting throughout the country. At the same time, out of blue Ataullah Mengal returned from his self-imposed exile.

While everyone was busy with the current crisis a team of agents working directly under Rehman Malik were gathering information on Kahuta and A.Q. Khan. Beginning November 1996 ISI saw an increase in Indian troops movement, which finally sent alarm bells ringing through the echelons of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Suddenly, all the pieces fell in place and Ghulam Asghar and Rehman Malik’s shenanigans seemed a lot deeper than mere money grabbing tactics. By fourth of November a thick load of evidence had been gathered on Ghulam Asghar and Rehman Malik working with the consent of Asif Zardari towards gathering information on the progress of Pakistan’s nuclear program.

On November 5, 1996, Farooq Leghari dissolved Benazir Bhutto’s government. At the other side of the border, this caused the immediate visit of Israeli naval chief Vice-Admiral Alex Tal to India. Back at home, Ghulam Asghar and Rehman Malik were imprisoned on undisclosed charges.

Second Wave

In February 1997, Indian Defence Secretary T. K. Banerji led a high level defence delegation to Israel to discuss the “exchange of technology” between two countries. Other than the official purpose the most important topic was Pakistan’s nuclear program. By the end of the visit the two countries had decided to do “whatever” it takes to neutralize the threat.

In March next year the BJP won Indian elections and one of the immediate policies adopted was to tackle Pakistan’s nuclear issue by any means possible. With such enthusiastic approach the government even decided to take the most extreme measures if needed. In the next two months the official and diplomatic delegations between India and Israel came to a halt, however, there was a sudden rise in non-diplomatic delegations between the two countries. The last official visit was of Gen. Prakash Malik to Israel in March 1998, who was also the first serving Indian Chief of Army Staff to visit Israel since normalization. In April 1998 two out-of-the ordinary incidents happened. Air India announced its discontinuation of Tel Aviv flight on 1 April 1998 and early April the Confederation of Indian Industry announced an unplanned “Study Mission” to Israel. This was the prelude to the second wave which officially started on 11th May 1998 when India exploded its nuclear bombs.

Night of 27-28 May

Pakistan resisted testing its nuclear bombs for nearly two weeks until 27th May 1998. On 27 May 1998 in a top level meeting Lt. Gen. Naseem Rana, (DG ISIP briefed the PM Nawaz Sharif and army chief of the increasing intelligence reports of possible Indian attack on Pakistan’s nuclear installations. However, the panic this created was nothing compared to the next two meetings.

The first report pertained to the sighting of an unidentified F-16 aircraft at the periphery of Pakistan’s airspace on 27th May. Knowing India did not have F-16, the obvious suggestion was presence of Israeli Air Force in the area (especially with the reports of Indian COAS visiting Israel just a month ago).

And the second report coming just before 1am on 28th May recorded unusual movements of Indian aircrafts just across the border which suggested India was preparing for preventive airstrikes against Pakistan. The obvious response of nuclear tests on 28th May.

The tests confirmed once and for all that Pakistan has nuclear capability.

Deduction

It seemed probable that BJP Government had decided to fire its nuclear bombs to force Pakistan into test firing its – if it has any. After a delay of two weeks, doubts had started rising in nearly every analytical discourse that Pakistan did not have the nuclear capability otherwise it would have responded. This was the golden opportunity to take out Pakistan/Pakistan’s nuclear installations before that Pakistan got the capability. The important visit of Indian COAS to Israel in March – in the light of proceeding events – could only be regarding Israel’s support for the planned attack. Whatever, the reasons and aims, the end result was establishment of Pakistan as a nuclear state, which completely changed the Great Nuclear Game.

Third Wave

Pakistan’s test firing of nuclear bombs was a shock for the rest of the world. No one expected, in the first place for Pakistan to have the capability and secondly to fire them if it had. For India and Israel, who were two top most interested parties in destroying Pakistan’s nuclear assets, this meant a complete overhaul of their strategy.

A year later Indian National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra came to meet Barak in September 1999 and this time he was accompanied with a familiar face – Alok Tiwari. Within a year, Alok Tiwari and another security analyst finalized a document based on their discussion the preceding year.

In June 2000 L. K. Advani visited Israel in which new deals related to Mossad and Shabak espionage and cooperation with RAW are finalized and as a result Israel was allowed to establish its own network to operate from India.

By July 2000 a heavy deployment of Israeli agents in Indian Occupied Kashmir was reported. Near the end of 2000 Israel’s top intelligence officers were reported to have visited India and discussed amongst other issues, Kashmir and Pakistan’s nuclear assets. By the end of the visit the top spies of the two country had agreed to cooperate on the operation detailed inside the thick volume titled: “Operation Blue Tulsi”.

Operation Blue Tulsi: Preparation

Preparation for the mega Operation Blue Tulsi began fervently in early 2001. By mid 2001 eyebrows were being raised over RAW and Mossad’s cooperation and in July 2001 Janes Information Group reported that RAW and Mossad are cooperating to infiltrate Pakistan to target important religious and military personalities, journalists, judges, lawyers and bureaucrats. In addition, bombs would be exploded in trains, railway stations, bridges, bus stations, cinemas, hotels and mosques of rival Islamic sects to incite sectarianism.

At the same time the Balouchistan Liberation Army rose out of dead like a second incarnation and Balach Marri a Moscow graduate declares himself as the leader of BLA. Within weeks in Balochistan numerous training camps sprouted with each camp reported to be training up to a 100 militants. Intelligence of RAW, Mossad and CIA agents operating in Balochistan started coming in.

In mid 2001 reports appeared that Special Operations Division of Mossad, also known as Metsada, specializing in assassinations and sabotage have been based in India since May 2001 to train RAW operatives and Mossad and Shin Bet or Shabak were operating a number of teams in Indian Held Kashmir and were also operating a delicate spy network from Indian soil. In July 2001 RAW increased its budget for Indian consulates in Afghanistan by nearly 10 times.

Within days after Sep 11, a story was leaked into press that Pakistan is dismantling and spreading its nuclear assets to safer places implying that it would be much more difficult to pinpoint them and much more easier for extremists to get hold of. These news stories were shortly followed by another piece on 28 October 2001 which stated that Pentagon was looking into plans to dispatch an elite unit into the Pakistan to disarm its nuclear arsenal. The special unit which was trained to slip into foreign countries to ferret out and disarm nuclear weapons and operated under Pentagon control with CIA assistance and would be getting special help from Israel’s Sayeret Matkal also known as Unit 262.

In December 2001 Indian PM, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, while addressing the parliament said, “the question was not whether there should be or should not be a war, the question was under what circumstances there will be war … and whether there will be a war.”

In December 2001 Benazir Bhutto while visiting India said in her interviews, “President, Musharraf, as an army general, had planned the Kargil invasion in Jammu and Kashmir while I was the PM.” Later she also said, “Pakistan army as an institution had brought back Osama bin Laden”.

This rhetoric of Benazir Bhutto was perfectly in line with the agreement signed by US and India in 2002. Late in 2002 US and India signed an agreement on cooperation in disarming Pakistan’s nuclear assets and the two player offensive team of Operation Blue Tulsi found a third partner in the form of CIA. As a result of this deal Abdullah Mehsud was freed from Guantanamo Bay and returned to Pakistan with millions in cash.

Benazir Bhutto’s statements in India were the major reason Musharraf’s declaration of Benazir Bhutto as a “security risk” during a chat with Pakistan’s leading editors and correspondents in April 2002. Pakistani security agencies already had a great deal of intelligence regarding Benazir Bhutto, Asif Zardari and Rehman Malik’s involvement with Mossad and India in 1995-96 and their collaboration against Pakistan’s nuclear assets.

In January 2002 under orders from L. K. Advani RAW and other intelligence agencies submited a detailed report on military options for solving Kashmir issue and in case of a full-fledged war, for neutralizing Pakistan’s nuclear assets. One major outcome of the report was creation of Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in March 2002 with the authority to conduct external operations supported by a huge budget.

Also, a Lawyers’ Struggle surfaced in October 2003 under the leadership of Hamid Ali Khan (now drowned under the infamous Lawyers’ Movement). The first prominent protest of the “struggle” was held on 15 October 2003 in which the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Hamid Ali Khan said, “Musharraf’s very presence within the army and holding of other important offices and Shaikh Riaz Ahmad’s continuation as chief justice after his retirement are undoubtedly illegal and unconstitutional… Let’s think collectively, move forward collectively and act collectively to outs usurper generals and judges (who had collaborated with Musharraf including Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. However, like a B-grade movie twist, four years later Iftikhar Chaudry becomes the hero to these same lawyers who wanted to oust him. Like a script from past, this protest had followed a “Long March”. And the “struggle” then moved to other cities one by one asking Musharraf, Riaz Ahamad and among others Iftikhar Chaudhry’s removal from office. At this point along with Hamid Ali Khan, Kazim Khan was at the forefront. Lacking the charisma and cunning of their successors, assassination of a leader, and shortage of “unlimited” billions of rupees their names and their Lawyers’ Struggles has been confined to the dusty pages of history with their names ascribed against the words, “traitors”.

Also, there is no evidence to support that assassination attempts on Pervez Musharraf were somehow related to the timing of the Lawyers’ Struggle.

By mid 2004 the government had ample evidence that BLA and some Baloch leaders were conspiring against the government, aided by foreign countries.

On 13th August 2004 the Chief Minister of Baluchistan, Jam Muhammad Yousaf is quoted by The Herald (Sep 2004-Karachi): “Indian secret services (RAW) are maintaining 40 terrorist camps all over the Baluch territory”. While this was happening on ground, there was talk of “Peace Talks” everywhere in the air. And Jan Muhammad Jamali had become a laughing stock of the media for his suggestion of foreign agents operating in Balochistan, which despite the ground facts forcefully opposed such thoughts.

Operation Blue Tulsi: Start

1st January 2005 was the starting date. The local agents got the signal and the operation started with the ominous rape of a female doctor in Sui on 2nd January 2005. As expected the incident created headlines all round and culprits not being found created a much supported backlash. This was shortly followed by rocketing of gas installation at Sui on 7th January which put a hole in Pakistan’s gas supply for nearly a week.

2005 was a busy year with Baloch terrorists continuously creating havoc in Balochistan and adjacent areas and ended with assassination attempts on Musharraf in December. After President Musharraf escapes a rocket attack on his life in December 2005 and the Inspector General Frontier Corps survives an assassination attempt, Navtej Sarna, the Indian External Affairs Ministry’s spokesman said, “The Government of India has been watching with concern the spiralling violence in Balochistan and the heavy military action, including use of helicopter gun-ships and jet fighters by the Government of Pakistan to quell it… We hope the Government of Pakistan will exercise restraint and take recourse to peaceful discussions to address the grievances of the people of Balochistan”.
The Indian Government had realized that the two assassination attempts would surely result in backfire on the Indian assets in Balochistan, which it needed to safeguard for its final aim, especially Akbar Bugti. Just as suspected, the Government of Pakistan intensifies its operation against Baloch militants.

And in April 2006 Government of Balochistan is setup with its offices in Jerusalem under Azaad Khan Baloch. In a laughingly stupid mistake, Azaad Khan Baloch who is representing Balochis of Pakistan decided to spell his name according to Hindi transliteration with double “a” in Az”aa”d, rather than a single “a” as used in Pakistan, i.e. Azad. Or more probable, “Azad Khan Baloch” is not a Pakistani.

Meanwhile in Balochistan the government operation against Akbar Bugti intensified who took shelter in the rugged mountain range and coordinated the activities of his militants from there. Ultimately the military found him and during the process of capture Akbar Bugti died because of cave-roof collapse on 26 August 2006.

Starting March 2007, every incident occurring in the country was tied to the aim of ousting Musharraf, including the much profitable Lawyers’ Movement. Intelligence agencies were having a field-day bringing in pile after pile of reports proving involvement of CIA, RAW, Mossad and MI6 towards Musharraf’s ouster. True to some extent but unlike analyzed, ouster of Musharraf was just one milestone towards the main goal, which every agency completely missed. Thus, all their efforts went into controlling the situation to secure Musharraf, while in the backdrop, silently the wheels kept turning. While Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan were burning Swat was sitting quietly, unnoticed and out of radar. Within a period of few months, the numbers of “Pakistani Taliban” in Swat surged and just as well their ammunition, latest military equipment a country like Pakistan would dream of. A portion of this ended up in the ill-fated Lal Masjid. While intelligence and military were busy keeping Musharraf’s seat safe in Pakistan, a new political game started in UAE.

Rehman Malik enthusiastically started pursuing the goal of National Reconciliation Ordinance. He became instrumental in the final deal between Benazir Bhutto, US and Pervez Musharraf and NRO. Since Benazir Bhutto did not have much to lose without NRO she was never  interested in it. That was the reason two options were thrown at Musharraf, i.e. either eliminating the two term condition or NRO. Rehman Malik on the other hand was vehemently pursuing NRO, as of the three (Asif Zardari, Benazir Bhutto and Rehman Malik) the Government of Pakistan only had clear evidence against Rehman Malik and it was enough to put him in jail for life (i.e. involvement in espionage and working with Mossad and RAW). However, at that point no one knew the real motivations of Rehman Malik other than that he was working to get the path clear for Benazir’s return. Amazingly, FBI also was putting its weight behind NRO rather than eliminating the two term condition. While, if US had really wanted Benazir Bhutto as PM, logic dictates that they would want the two term condition eliminated to assure her easy succession to the premiership. It needs to be noted here that Rehman Malik had also tried to do a similar deal in 2005, which never materialized. This time it did.

Near the end of 2007, intelligence and military were convinced that a conspiracy had been hatched in the country with the sole aim of removing Musharraf from power. Assassination of Benazir Bhutto, simultaneous rioting throughout the country, terrorist activities occurring in every province had considerable similarities to the Bush Administration backed Color Revolutions. In order to keep Musharraf in power the government kept giving into one demand after the other. As a result Rehman Malik becomes head of Interior Ministry, Yusuf Raza Gilani becomes the PM and sweeping changes are made in the security and intelligence community. Still, the government saw the war finally over when in one move Gilani puts ISI under Interior Minister on 27 July 2008. Until that time ISI and top brass had thought all Rehman Malik wanted was to get-rid of extremist elements from ISI and Pakistan’s establishment.

It was the end of July 2008 when the alarm bells started ringing again in the high echelons. Intelligence machinery went into extra high gear and millions later it came back with the name: Operation Blue Tulsi.

Operation Blue Tulsi: the Revelation

The Establishment, only now realized the full extent of the operation which they had been witnessing since the beginning of 2000. More worryingly, the current operation had eerily similar modus operandi to the 1995-96 debacle – which left the country tethering onto its nuclear assets – just that this time it was vastly more sophisticated and greater in size. In matter of hours the priorities changed. Keeping Musharraf in power suddenly paled in comparison to the real threat.

In 1995-96 India came up with a plan to destroy Pakistan’s nuclear facilities before that Pakistan developed a nuclear capability. The plan was prepared by a RAW agent Alok Tiwari (who has recently been compromised). At that time Mossad was already active in Pakistan and once it heard about the project for elimination of Pakistan’s nuclear facilities jumped in by first streamlining the project further and then using its assets in Pakistan. Somewhere in early 1996 the operation was given go-ahead. At that point FIA Director General Ghulam Asghar and his ADG Rehman Malik in a deal with India and Israel were hunting down Pakistan based Kashmiri and Arab militants. These two proved to be the front line in the operation and when contacted by Indian agents fully agreed to supply all the necessary information regarding Kahuta and A. Q. Khan’s operations. Towards mid 96 demonstrations and chaos erupted throughout the country. The aim was to destabilize the country enough that when the two confirmed Pakistan did not have any nuclear capabilities India would go-ahead with all out assault. General Jehangir Karamat who was already weary of the two chaps and Asif Zardari’s complicity took immediate action and Benazir Bhutto’s government was dissolved. The duo of Asghar and Malik and Zardari had already come into military’s radar the year before when they tried to lure General Abdul Wahed Kakar.

Then five years later, Alok Tiwari submited an updated version of his older report. Israel was again consulted and this time L. K. Advani vehemently pursued it. Towards the end of 2000 a delegation of top Mossad brass visited India and the combined operation titled: Operation Blue Tulsi was finalized and put into operation which had only one aim:

Destroy Pakistan’s nuclear assets followed by its Balkanization.

Approach

Resurrect Baloch insurgency. Pakistan was fine with it, as it had 30 years of experience with it, starting with the Afghan-Soviet War.

Buy officials in military, bureaucracy, politics and law. ISI was fine with it, as it had 60 years of experience in dealing with traitors.

Plant agents in top positions in Taliban, FATA and NWFP. A shocker for everyone.

Taliban were the foster child of ISI and the agency had no contingency for enemy agents in top positions. The best option they came up with was to buy back the agents with more money and as a result they were deceived time and again and again. Top on the list, Baitullah Mehsud. The twenty million dollars he got in suitcases was one of the stupidest moves in the world espionage history and ISI top brass to this day are vengefully pursuing him.

Milestones

Friendly political government. Asif Zardari in place, Aslam Raisani in Balochistan (though first choice Akbar Bugti unfortunately dead, MQM’s omnipresence in Sindh, Fazlur Rehman and ANP in NWFP)

Friendly judiciay. Iftikhar Chaudhry, Munir A. Malik, Atizaz Ahsan

Friendly Civil Society. Ansar Burney, Asma Jehangir

Unrest in NWFP and immediate threat of Taliban taking control of Islamabad. Back in 2002 US had agreed with India that if ever Pakistan seemed to destabilize or falling into the hands of extremists, it would help India in destroying Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities. The situation they agreed upon is well defined by the Pakistani media’s current theme song of “Taliban are coming to Islamabad”

Immediate Countermeasures

By August 2008 the operation was too deep rooted and it was clear if attention was diverted towards saving Musharraf there was more than a probability of loosing nuclear capability in near future. With Musharraf gone, ISI estimated a window of opportunity of 18 to 20 months before either Taliban or Asif Zardari with his shenanigans destabilized Pakistan. In the greater interest Musharraf decided to step down peacefully.

Operation Blue Tulsi: In Operation

Musharraf stepped down and Asif Ali Zardari took over, but by then the order had been sent and the agents in Swat Valley and FATA who had been preparing for the day for the last eight years launched an all out assault on the military with a single aim of destabilizing Pakistan.

In the eventful month of December 2007 Baitullah Mehsud had already announced officially the formation of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. Although right after the victory of PPP Baitullah Mehsud has negotiated peace with the government which led to the great debacle of US$ 20 million by August 2008 he was again involved with the military in a full on battle. ISI and military by this time had realized the foremost importance of ridding the Taliban off foreign agents and assets by any means and costs.

At one end Pakistan military still is trying to safeguard its own assets while tracing out and eliminating foreign agents, while at the other end US is trying its best to safeguard its prime asset of Baitullah Meshud who had taken over after the death of Abullah Mehsud. Until  recently, there had been not a single drone attack on Baitullah Mehsud, while ISI aligned Taliban had been bombed repeatedly, as a result of which many have turned their backs against Pakistan. Only in the recent months four drone attacks on Baitullah Mehsud’s territory have been reported.

Operation Blue Tulsi and Future

Currently the entire country is gripped by the ongoing operations of military against the Taliban. Media which once championed itself as the sympathizers of the Taliban and were chanting “Taliban are coming to Islamabad” have suddenly changed their tunes, especially after being declared by the Taliban as kafirs and thus “killable”.

The economy is in doldrums and corruption is rampantly high but the top brass knows Pakistan is first and for Pakistan nuclear assets come first. Thus, until the country is cleansed of all the foreign agents in FATA and Taliban, the military and intelligence has only one goal, to stop Operation Blue Tulsi at this stage, making sure it never goes into Phase TWO – attacking and destroying Pakistan’s nuclear assets because extremist elements have destabilized Pakistan. 

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How Much Paid to Lawyers to Defend Musharraf?

June 25, 2009 at 8:44 am · Filed under Lawyers' Agitation, Musharraf ·Tagged ,

By Ansar Abbasi

!cid_2.2420478486@web56605.mail.re3PM Gilani’s government appears hell-bent upon keeping under wraps the hefty fees paid from the taxpayers’ money to the Pirzadas, Bukharis, Qayyums of this world during the tenure of the ousted dictator, Gen Musharraf.

The government is steadfastly resisting a formal request to unveil the identity of all those lawyers who made fortunes during Musharraf’s tenure.

Of late even an order from the Federal Ombudsman directing the Law Ministry to provide the said information to an applicant is not being honoured as the ministry preferred to approach the incumbent president to get a decision in its favour to keep the tracks of his predecessor covered. The applicant had sought a certified copy of the list containing the names and addresses of lawyers, along with the total amount paid to them, hired by the federal government/ federation of Pakistan in the Supreme Court of Pakistan from Oct 1, 2002 to March 20, 2008. But the Law Ministry in its representation to the president insists that if the required information is provided to the application then it would open a Pandora’s box, besides creating unnecessary problems and embarrassing situations.

The applicant after failing to get information from the Law Ministry by invoking the Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 had approached the Federal Ombudsman last year. Early this month, the Federal Ombudsman decided in the applicant’s favour after rejecting the Law Ministry’s request, but now the ministry has filed a representation against the Ombudsman’s findings with the president, who is requested to set aside Ombudsman’s decision “in the interest of justice”.

In its argument, the Law Ministry wrote to the president that for the purpose of hiring advocates from outside the existing central law officers or the panel of advocates, the ministry had a Legal Advisers Committee comprising the law minister as its chairman and the attorney-general and the law secretary as its members.

It explained the cases of hiring of advocates were decided by the then-Legal Advisors Committee through a meeting which was held for the purpose and the decisions were reflected in the minutes of the meeting. The disclosure of such information, the ministry said, is not covered under the Freedom of Information Ordinance, though the Federal Ombudsman did not agree with the ministry on this point.

“Even otherwise, this record is confidential and classified in nature and was excluded from the purview of the ordinance under the provisions of Section 8 (f) & (i) of the ordinance.

Moreover, if the required information was provided to the requester then it would create unnecessary problems, embarrassing situation, and open a Pandora’s box, further it would be a direct interference in the internal working of this division,” the Law Ministry said, lamenting, “The Wafaqi Mohtasib vide his recommendation dated 4-5-2009 has decided the said complaint in the favour of complainant and directed this division to provide the requisite documents to the complainant within 30 days.”

Now it is for the president to decide whether he would side with the Law Ministry to keep it a secret as who amongst the lawyers made their fortunes while serving the dictator of the past or would he direct the government to make this information public; thus, allowing the taxpayers to judge how their money was squandered by the ousted dictator to perpetuate his unconstitutional rule. The Mohtasib has already given his mind and the ball is now in President Zardari’s court

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Lawyers’ Movement was Given Rs 30 Billion?

June 12, 2009 at 9:27 am · Filed under Lawyers' Agitation, Musharraf ·Tagged , ,

The Lawyers’ Movement initially began as a result of the actions taken by General Musharraf on 9th March, 2007. Musharraf, after getting intelligence that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was conspiring with Nawaz Sharif to overthrow the government called for a meeting and asking him to resign or face “charges of misconduct”. The Chief Justice refused to resign and preferred to defend the charges. Within two months the movement took the path of Color Revolution, getting enormous funds from USA and other countries with the main aim of destabilizing Pakistan and forcing Musharraf out of office. The organization and publicity of the entire campaign is calculated to have cost around Rs 30 billion. How much did this cost Pakistan? There is no work done, however, a good estimate would be around US$ 100 billion. 

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Why America?

Although the movement was jump started by Nawaz Sharif, on the way it became the main vehicle for USA to remove Musharraf who was not going for US backed Central Asian pipelines but leaning towards China. Bush Administration was convinced by Dick Cheney that if Musharraf stays in power China will get the Central Asian fuels. After Dick Cheney’s February 2007 visit of Islamabad and Kabul CIA starts working with RAW in Afghanistan to arm the suicide bombers and militants in the Red Mosque in Islamabad as the first phase. The process takes nearly a month during which time in a separate incident Musharraf dismisses the Chief Justice. Seeing the Lawyers Movement as a better vehicle, the American and Indian efforts turn from Red Mosque to the movement. 

Another aspect of ousting Musharraf was his decision to clamp down on the drug trade through Pakistan. This would have affected above all, Ahmad Wali Karzai (younger brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai) who earns an annual profit of US$ 1 billion (10% of total Afghan drug money), CIA’s black operations wing and its related US personnel. Thus it was the personal agenda of many in Bush Administration and Pakistan and Afghanistan’s US Embassies to get Musharraf out before he puts a stop to the highly lucrative drug trade. 

Why Dick Cheney?

Early 2007 Musharraf had decided not to go for Unocal (now Chevron Corporation) and Halliburton backed Central Asian pipeline which would have cost Vice President Dick Cheney great sums of money. Thus a personal agenda was turned into a revolution. He tried all in his power to get Musharraf out within the tenure of his Vice Presidency and get Pakistani Government’s approval for the billions of dollars worth Central Asian pipeline to be built by Unocal and Halliburon. 

Timeline of Lawyers’ Movement

04 Feb 2000: Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, then 52, is appointed to Pakistan’s Supreme Court. He supports President Parvez Musharraf, voting to ratify the general’s 1999 military coup. 

30 Jun 2005: Mr Chaudhry is appointed chief justice, makes a speech talking of a “serious crisis of confidence between the people and the judiciary”.

March 2005: the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) tries to acquire Unocal with a bid that valued Unocal at between $16 billion and $18 billion. Following a vote in the United States House of Representatives, the bid was referred to President George Bush, on the grounds that its implications for national security needed to be reviewed. CNOOC withdrew its bid. Soon after, Unocal merged with Chevron. 

18 Jul 2005: The Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement, known also as the Indo-US Nuclear Deal, refers to a bilateral accord on civil nuclear cooperation between the United States of America and the Republic of India. 

23 Jun 2006: Supreme Court of Pakistan stops privatization of Pakistan Steel Mills. 

26 Feb 2007: Dick Cheney visits Pakistan for few hours [1]. Mr. Cheney traveled with the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Steve Kappes. Just hours after Vice President Dick Cheney delivered a stiff private message to President Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan, the Pakistani government lashed out with a series of statements insisting that “Pakistan does not accept dictation from any side or any source”. 

9 Mar 2007: Musharraf removes Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, after the agencies find sufficient proof that he was conspiring with Nawaz Sharif against the government. Nawaz Sharif had promised to make him the President of Pakistan once he becomes the PM.

12 Mar 2007: Lawyers begin boycott of court cases and protests in support of Mr Chaudhry. Nawaz Sharif pumps millions of his own dollars into the lawyers protests. A major portion of this booty goes to Munir A. Malik and Aitzaz Ahsan as their “consultation fee”. 

13 Mar 2007: Mr Chaudhry appears before a closed hearing of senior judges to answer allegations against him. 

15 Mar 2007: An accute shortage of black colored jackets and coats appear throughout the country. Prices of black colored cloths and coats sky rocket because of the demand. (The Reason: Thousands of people are buying black coats which represent lawyers uniform ahead of the protests in the country). 

16 Mar 2007: Violence breaks out at Islamabad rally in support of Mr Chaudhry. 

27 Mar 2007: President Musharraf tells rally in Rawalpindi that no one will be allowed to politically exploit Mr Chaudhry’s suspension. 

27 Mar 2007: Burqa-clad female students from the mosque’s Jamia Hafsa school abduct three women they accuse of running a brothel. The women are released after they “repent”. 

30 Mar 2007: Authorities shut down an illegal FM radio station set up by the students and hardline clerics to propagate their strict version of Islam. 

12 May 2007: Riots erupted across Karachi (2007 Karachi Riots), capital of the province of Sindh and the most populous city in Pakistan, spurred by the arrival of deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan.

18 May 2007: Red Mosque students seize four policemen and demand that authorities release 11 comrades being held in detention. The four policemen are later freed. 

9 Jun 2007: Benazir summoned senior party members to Dubai on 9 June 2007 for a ‘briefing’ by a team from the US Democratic Party’s National Democratic Institute (NDI), ostensibly on the subject of elections in Pakistan. The ruling Republican Party’s International Republican Institute (IRI) had conducted the previous four ‘briefings’ in June and September 2006 and March and April 2007. Benazir leaned towards the Democratic Party in the last one no doubt as a hedge against the party’s possible victory at the forthcoming US Presidential Election. 

23 Jun 2007: Students kidnap nine people, including six Chinese women, and accuse them of running a brothel. They are released after about 17 hours. 

29 Jun 2007: President Musharraf says suicide bombers from an al Qaeda-linked militant group are in Lal Masjid. 

3 Jul 2007: the stand-off between the students barricaded inside the Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) and the government results in bloody gun battles. 

4 Jul 2007: Abdul Aziz, chief cleric of Lal Masjid is caught while trying to flee in a burqa. Thousands of students surrender for Rs 5000 and safe passage each. 

8 Jul 2007: The standoff between the Pakistani government and the clerics of the Lal Masjid in Islamabad finally broke down on the morning of 8 July 2007. Government storms the mosque. The government managed to recover 1,300 men, women and children during the operation. Some of these women, who were recovered safely on the last day of the operation, had their written death wishes with them. Six hundred suicide bombers are present in Karachi revealed Qasim Toori and Danish alias Talha during interrogations by law-enforcement agencies. Most of the suicide bombers are also former students of Islamabad’s Lal Masjid. 

17 Jul 2007: Assassination attempt is made on Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry however, he escapes. 

20 Jul 2007: the Supreme Court of Pakistan restored the Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry with full dignity and authority. 

24 Jul 2007: Abdullah Mehsud is killed by Pakistani security forces. 

20 Aug 2007: Ifikhar Mohammad threatened Tariq Pervez (the director-general of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency) with jail if he did not produce ghost detainee Hafiz Abdul Basit. Chief Justice Chaudhry ordered “He must be produced today or you will be sent to the lock-up.” Under this threat he was released by the intelligence agencies. Hafiz Basit was later implicated by Musharaff government in the assassination of Ms Bhutto. 

Sep 2007: Benazir visited the Senate in September 2007, she had convinced the Bush Administration of her unswerving loyalty; for ’she received a standing ovation from a select gathering of US lawmakers, diplomats, academics and media representatives. This contrasted sharply with her previous visits to the US capital when she received little attention.’

Three weeks later Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made it appear the Bush Administration wished to bring together ‘moderate’ forces, implying a scenario in which Musharraf and Benazir would join forces as President and Prime Minister respectively; and Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte corroborated Rice: ‘Our message’, he intoned, ‘is that we want to work with the government and people of Pakistan’. 

18 Oct 2007: An assassination attempt on Benazir Bhutto is made (2007 Karachi Bombing) but she survives. President Parvez Gen Musharraf calls the attack on Ms Bhutto’s convoy was a “conspiracy against democracy”(hinting towards the US involvement towards overthrowing the government). 

3 Nov 2007: Musharraf imposed state of emergency. Constitution was suspended. Sixty independent judges were dismissed. Intelligence agencies start systematically killing behind the scene key players in the conspiracy to overthrow the government. Some of these include: Zubair Ahmed Mujahid (shot dead 23 Nov). 

5 Nov 2007: Police raided the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA). After baton charging and throwing tear gas into the premises, arrested more than 800 lawyers.

In the wake of the imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan, on November 14, 2007, the Harvard Law School Association decided to award its highest honour, the Medal of Freedom, to Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, following the military crackdown the previous week. He becomes the first Pakistani to be presented with such honour.

The National Law Journal picked Mr. Chaudhry as the lawyer of the year for 2007.

The Association of the Bar of the City of New York granted Iftikhar Chaudhry an honorary membership in the association on Nov. 17, 2008, recognizing him as a “symbol of the movement for judicial and lawyer independence in Pakistan.” 

27 Dec 2007: Benazir Bhutto is assassinated while Nawaz Sharif escapes an assassination attempt. The two attempts are very different in nature. Benazir Bhutto is assassinated in a typical CIA style while Nawaz Sharif’s attack was more like a domestic killing. It is obvious that Asif Ali Zardari acted on his own to carry out Nawaz Sharif’s assassination. Following Benazir’s assassination planned riots, looting and chaos errupts simultaneously throughout the country. Within a week the country looses nearly 10 billion dollars. 

9 Mar 2008: leaders of political parties Asif Ali Zardari , Pakistan Peoples Party and Nawaz Sharif Pakistan Muslim League signed an agreement to restore the judges within 300 days of formation of national government. Zardari backed out and the coalition failed to restore the judges. 

24 Mar 2008: Yousuf Raza Gilani ordered, soon after being elected Prime Minister, that all detained judges be released. 

12 Mar 2008: was another deadline for restoring the judges but nothing was done. This was the second commitment the government backed out from after the initial deadline of ‘within 30 days of formation of government’ which ended on 30 April, 2008. 

14 Jun 2008: A long march is held by the lawyers. 

7 Jul 2008: ISI explodes a bomb outside Indian Embassy in Kabul killing Brigadier Ravi Datt Mehta who had coordinated the mayhem in Pakistan in December 2007. 

3 Aug 2008: PM Yusuf Raza Gillani visits US. 

8 Aug 2008: ruling coalition leaders Sharif and Zardari once more agree to restore Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry as the chief justice if Musharraf resigns. But when Musharraf steped down, Zardari backed out of the deal for the third time. 

18 Aug 2008: Musharraf resigns.

Foreign investment and funds in the revolution stops at this point. 

25 Aug 2008: PML-N leaves the coalition government. 

6 Sept 2008: Asif Ali Zardari is elected the President of Pakistan by the parliament. 

25 Feb 2009: Supreme Court disqualifies Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif from holding or contesting public offices. 

11 Mar 2009: Several hundred lawyers and opposition party’s political workers and leaders were arrested. Ban was placed on rallies and protests in two of the Pakistan’s four provinces. 

12 Mar 2009: Lawyers, political workers and civil society gather in several cities for the Long March to Islamabad. Scuffle with police, hundred of arrests were made, none allowed to leave their cities for Islamabad. 

15 Mar 2009: authorities placed Nawaz Shairf, Atizaz Ahsan and many other leaders under house arrest. Shairf broke through the road blocks with his supporters and came out on the roads in Lahore to begin the Long March. This is believed to be the turning point of the movement Thousands of people joined the rally.

Midnight 15/16 March, 2009 government gave when thousands of people moved towards Islamabad lead by Nawaz Sharif. Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was restored as Chief Justice of Pakistan and other judges dismissed by Musharraf.

US and Canadian Involvement

During the Lawyers’ Movement a completely new dimension of indrect involvement of USA in overthrowing a government was seen. The prominent of these were:

33 US Senators wrote to President Musharraf to release Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan immediately.

The US magazine Foreign Policy named Aitzaz Ahsan as one of the top 100 public intellectuals in the world in May 2008.

In early 2007, Musharraf was extremely popular. According to a US survey, IRI President General Musharraf was more popular in Pakistan than opposition leaders Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. Around 37 per cent of the respondents were of the view that Musharraf’s supported PML-Q deserved to be re-elected. However, by August 2007, after the lawyers Judicial Activism started, Musharraf became slightly unpopular in Pakistan due to persistent media efforts and anti-Musharraf talk shows. An International Republican Institute survey, taken of 3000 people, showed that 64 percent of the population did not want another term to be granted to Musharraf as the president of Pakistan. 

USAID spent more than US$ 150 million (part of the American fund on terrorism which is “given” to Pakistan) within a year on helpding the movement. 

GEO TV which charges Rs. 100,000 per minute of air time showed continued transmissions of upto 30 hours. During the year the channel was spending more money than it showed in its tax returns. The only unaccounted profit was for “Voice of America” show. But whatever GEO TV was getting for airing the show it was enough to turn higher profits than airing aids for 30 hours (=Rs. 180,000,000 or US$ 3 million). And we are taking about this much money every day.

Why was Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) distributing funds during the movement is anybody’s guess? 

Impact of Lawyers’ Movement

Pakistan’s economy suffered gravely, government focus shifted from work and economy to non-violent solution for the lawyers. PML-N was already fully involved from the onset, however, other political parties also jumped on the band wagon causing more disruption in daily life. The poorest and daily labourers suffered the most because of strike calls and road blockages.

The real story on the road was that poorest don’t wake up every morning to see Iftikhar Choudhry wearing a black suite, sunglasses, sitting in a new car parading on the streets of Pakistan, the poorest wake up and hope for a better day, a day in which they can increase their earnings and support their family, bring food to the table, they don’t want to see the roads blocked and strikes called which stop them from earning their daily livelihoods. 

As the riots and protests were held in the summer months, the intense head resulted in numerous deaths and hospital admissions because of heat exhaustion, nearly all of which were small time lawyers and their family members travelling either on foot or in non-airconditioned cars.

However, the behind the scene aim of ousting Parvez Musharraf was achieved at the end. 

!cid_image001Go Musharraf Go

Interestingly enough the salogans along the protests were not anything like “bring back Iftikhar Chaudhry” but they were “Go Musharraf Go, Go Musharraf Go.” The questions need to be answered that if the lawyers really wanted Iftikhar Chaudhry reinstated then why were they continuously chanting “Go Musharraf Go”.

Also, there were sixty judges dismissed however, only one was being paraded around and continuously given coverage and publicity.

End Result

Dick Cheney achieved the milestone of ousting Pervez Musharraf however, his final goal of getting the pipeline deals for his company did not materialize even after the change of the regime.

Winners 

Asif Ali Zardari – became President of Pakistan and had doubled his wealth within a year

Asif Zardari’s friends

Aitzaz Ahsan – earned world-wide fame, became a hero in Pakistan – monetary benefits yet to come

Munir A. Malik – earned tens of millions of dollars

Indirect Beneficiaries

There were some indirect beneficiaries of the entire movement such as:

Imran Munir

Collateral

Or in other words, Losers.

Benazir Bhutto (assassinated 27 December 2007) – she was in for power

Pervez Musharraf – out of office

Syed Hammad Raza (shot dead 14 May 2007) – he was in to get an important political seat

Kenneth Scott Andrew (murdered 8 April 2007) – to get promoted

Zubair Ahmed Mujahid (shot dead 23 Nov) – to get promoted

Dick Cheney – did not get the pipeline deal

Brigadier Ravi Datt Mehta (assassinated 7 July 2008) – to get promoted to Major General

Lesson

Unless you are as cunning and conniving as Munir A. Malik or Aitzaz Ahsan in a high level and stakes conspiracy you are very probable to end up dead. Don’t play for emotions or ego, play for money and you will win.

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Chief Justice Met Musharraf Before Announcing Steel Mills Judgment

March 27, 2009 at 9:15 am · Filed under Lawyers' Agitation, Musharraf ·Tagged , , ,

iftikhar_chaudhry_agencies(By Nayyar Afaq)

March 17, 2009

 

On one hand, terrorism and extremism is getting their roots deep in society, while on the other, the country is suffering a worst form of financial meltdown. On one side, armed forces and intelligence agencies are getting maligned through international campaign, and on the other, an

environment is getting set that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are not in safe hands.

 

This time when nation needs to be united to face and defeat the challenges, there is a cat and mouse game in play among the political parties and a vast majority is considering Lawyers’ Movement as the only solution to the problems of Pakistan.

 

When a Long March and sit in (Dharna) for indefinite period was announced by the lawyers’ leaderships, and when a worst form of law and order crisis was emerging on the streets, embarrassing Pakistan in the international community, the government of Pakistan surrendered to the demands of lawyers, and announced the restoration of Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry. This is a right moment to take another look at the so-called lawyers’ Movement.

This movement is based on the perceptions that Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry is the symbol of an independent and free judiciary, and that all the mess is created by President Musharraf, who was not happy by him over his suo moto actions, and that the reference against the judge was forwarded by the Prime Minister Shoukat Aziz due to his personal grudges with Chief Justice, over the decision against Steels Mills issue. The reality, through information that is revealed here for the first time, is a little different.

 

Steels Mills Issue-Unspoken Facts

A day before the judgment of Steels Mills, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry rang the military secretary of President Musharraf and asked for a sitting with him at Army House to discuss the details of the judgment. President allowed him to come and also did call Attorney General of Pakistan. When all three sat together, President said, “I don’t know the legalities, but all what I would like to say is that you took suo-moto action against the privatisation of Steels Mills. I believe in the dignity and honour of the Supreme Court. So, whatever be the judgment, it must not lower your dignity and honour, but remember government is doing a good job for privatisation. Please don’t try to hamper this process.”

 

Then both the attorney General and Chief Justice discussed the legalities and came out with a mid way solution. Chief Justice himself told President Musharraf that a good via media is brought out and he is going to give this as a decision the next day. Then Chief justice went to the bench and told that President himself has decided to cancel the privatisation of Steels Mills. So, without any idea of betrayal, 12 member bench of Supreme Court gave exactly the opposite decision to what expected by the government.

 

In 1985, soon after being established, it was planned to increase the productive capacity of Pakistan Steels Mills Corporation (PSMC) to 2.2 million tons annually to make it economically feasible. Unfortunately, the successive governments did not take personal interests and concerns in this project and finally the debt over Steels Mills reached to 19 billion rupees till year 2000 and the amount required for increasing its productive capability reached more than 200 billion rupees. The biggest challenge after 12th October 1999 coup was to bring Economic stability in the country. Musharraf did manage to convince Shoukat Aziz to resign from City Bank and to come back to Pakistan and serve the homeland. The economic situation was like a nightmare. Foreign reserves were remained only 0.7 billion dollars and sanctions were upon Pakistan due to nuclear explosions. No one was willing to take ‘risk’ of investing in Pakistan. After military coup, the situation was even more difficult. It worried Shoukat Aziz, but he accepted the challenge. He made a win-win policy for economic revival. The core of the policy was deregulation, liberalisation and privatisation. It worked well, and a confidence of investors recovered in Pakistan. Even during those months after 9/11, when Pakistan and Indian armed forces were alert stand by on borders with eye to eye balls contact, investment did not stop coming in Pakistan and Stock Markets shown good trends. Things were going fine and in the positive direction, but the suo moto action by Chief Justice hampered the overall process by shaking the confidence of the investors.

 

The day when decision came out was surely very shocking for the government. President Musharraf himself had visited China and Saudi Arabia to convince them to invest on PSMC. Finally after many years, his efforts bore fruits and he got able to convince Saudi Arabia based Al Tawairqi Group of Companies to invest in PSMC. In May 2006, an open auction held in Islamabad and Al Tuwairqi Group submitted a winning bid of $362 million for a 75 per cent stake in PSMC. It was being privatized in the profit of $ 13 million (without solding the land of Steels Mills). Due to the opposite decision of Supreme Court, hundred million of dollars which were lying in our banks by Mr. Tuwairqi to invest on PSMC and to establish another steels mills were brought out of Pakistan. Disappointed by the decision, Mr. Tuwairqi told everyone to wind up and went out, as investing in this country is not safe. This was again a great shock for Pakistan’s Economy. Without wasting a single moment, President Musharraf rung up Mr. Tuwairqi and requested him not to change his mind for investing in PSMC. Unfortunately, after having a bitter experience of Supreme Court’s decision, Mr. Tuwairqi excused to invest on PSMC. This was what Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry did with the Economy of Pakistan, but his ‘media managers’ applaud his decision as his national achievement.

 

Presidential Reference against Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP)

Print and electronic media in Pakistan is used to remain very active and in search of any thrilling story soon after its independence given by President Musharraf. Ansar Abbasi (The News) investigated about the Chief justice and found that always a favour was given to his son Dr. Arsalan Chaudhry, directly by the orders of CJP himself, which were mostly not on merit at all. Due to unknown reasons, he did not public this story. However, he slipped his tongue in Geo’s famous ‘Capital Talk’ in early 2007. Kamran Khan, from Geo, also brought Dr. Arsalan on telephone call in early 2007, asking about the news against him. Dr. Arsalan, the son of CJP denied the news and told media that he is going to Court to defend these allegations. CJP anxious about media reports raised this matter to President Musharraf in his meeting with him on 13th February 2007. President instructed the investigation agencies to explore the realities behind these reports. The famous letter from Naeem Bukhari stimulated the issue even more. When the investigation completed, the findings were very shocking for President. They all were going against CJP. It revealed that not even the allegations of media about his son are true but also more serious findings were brought into notice of President Musharraf, including his personal corruption and greed for protocol, for which he was not entitled for. It all worried President. CJP had been used to visit President in his office and house many times, even with his family. There was nothing wrong in the personal terms and relations between the both. President Musharraf, at this moment, however had to decide what to select. Either he had to prefer personal relations or to follow the legal course of actions.

 

On 7th march 2007, Prime Minister Shoukat Aziz advised him to send the findings to Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) in the form of reference to decide for the fate of CJP. Justice Jehanzeb Rahim of Peshawar High Court also filed a reference against CJP in his letter to President. This was the time, when CJP highly informed about this progress, rung DG MI, Major General Mian Nadeem Ijaz on 7th March 2007, and requested him to get the copy of reference and to hand over it to him. Next day, CJP called Abdullah Yousaf, Chairman CBR in his chamber at Supreme Court to discuss the same issue of reference being filed by Justice Jehanzeb. CJP asked Chairman CBR to favour him by making clarification to President that he was not at fault over the allegations written by Justice Jehanzeb. On the same 8th march, CJP also rang military secretary (MS) of President Musharraf to arrange an urgent meeting with President the next day. Although President was due to leave for Karachi on 9th March, to participate in the Pakistan Navy exercise “Aman 2007”, but MS rescheduled the program and asked CJP to visit by 1130 hours on 9th March at camp office of the President’s secretariat. The same night, CJP rang DG MI to be present in camp office to assist him. On 9th March, during meeting, President informed CJP about all the findings of investigations, and asked for the clarification of his position. President told CJP that he is going to forward the findings to Supreme judicial Council. Realising that the findings are embarrassing for CJP, he gave him a way out as a courtesy move, saying, “If you find the hearings of SJC below your dignity and honour, then you can resign to avoid the case.” CJP said that he would face the allegations in SJC and would defend himself. President then signed the reference and officially it was sent to SJC for hearings.

 

This was what happened. Unfortunately, the media and political parties developed strange perceptions and vicious hype was created all around the country. No one on media ever read and present the material filed in reference. There were serious allegations against the CJP. Question is whether CJP above law? Should there be no forum for his accountability? Even President is not above law. There is a procedure written clear in constitution regarding his impeachment. The media and the lawyers of CJP escaped themselves out of hearings of SJC, by using the political and media fronts, making false perceptions. By claiming that a ’dictator’ sitting in ‘Army House’ has ‘summoned’ CJP and ‘threat’ him to resign, totally wrong environment developed, which hijacked the minds of public, and a civil disobedience sort of movement sponsored in streets and roads of Pakistan, labelled under ‘lawyers Movement’, powered by political parties and media.

Let us check whether President Musharraf had followed the constitutional path or not.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Article 48

(1) – In the exercise of his functions, the President shall act in accordance with the advice of the Cabinet (or the Prime Minister).

………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Article 209

(1) There shall be a Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan, in this Chapter referred to as the Council.

(5) If, on information [from any source, the Council or] the President is of the opinion that a Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court,

(a) May be incapable of properly performing the duties of his office be reason of physical or mental incapacity; or

(b) May have been guilty of misconduct,

The President shall direct the Council to [or the Council may, on its own motion] inquire into the matter.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Article 180

At any time when-

(a) The office of Chief justice is vacant; or

(b) The Chief justice of Pakistan is absent or unable to perform the functions of his office due to any other cause,

The President shall appoint [the most senior of the other judges of the Supreme Court] to act as Chief justice of Pakistan.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

So, what President Musharraf did was simply the constitutional route followed. There were media allegations about the misconduct of CJP. CJP even himself asked President to make enquiry about them. The investigations were being made. Prime Minister advised Mr. President to send the findings to Supreme Judicial Council. Under article 48 of constitution, President was bound to act upon the advice of Prime Minister. Meanwhile CJP himself asked to visit President at Camp Office of President’s Secretariat. CJP was informed about the findings. He was willing to face the charges in SJC. Under the article 209, it was mandatory for President to send the reference to SJC, which he did.

 

What was unconstitutional in all that? Is Chief Justice above law? Or constitution can be hijacked by the rallies and public movements.

 

Unfortunately, what happened next made the social fabric of our society turned towards the worst and more worst. Supreme Judicial Council started hearings. CJP and his lawyers escaped the hearings by few excuses. They claimed that the judges of SJC are biased against CJP, and hence they must be changed. Media started campaign that President has nominated his own judges in SJC which was clearly wrong and false perceptions. The SJC was composed exactly according to the constitution, including the acting Chief Justice, two next most senior judges of High Court and two next most senior judges of Supreme Court. Then highly politicised and vocalised Aitzaz Ahsan, being invited frequently on the media channels used every tactics to provoke the feelings of public against President Musharraf and turning public in favour of CJP. The issue was sub judice and it was the contempt of court to speak about such issues live on TV channels, but everyone utilised the media forum to stimulate the public sentiments towards the movement of civil disobedience. There happened a chaos and anarchy everywhere in Pakistan. President Musharraf said hundreds of times, that whatever be the decision, would be acceptable to the government. Taking this as a weakness of him, the highly politicised lawyers of CJP made such an environment that the hearings of SJC paused and the petition to stop its hearing was brought into the Supreme Court. Finally, after much mess, Supreme Court gave a verdict in the favour of CJP and he was reinstated on 20th July. Everyone applaud it well, not mentioning that Supreme Court had not given any importance to the charges filed under the reference. It was not fair at all, but being a verdict of Supreme Court, President Musharraf welcomed the decision.

Besides the ‘victory’ of reinstating CJP, the track record of so called ‘Lawyers Movement’ is so embarrassing. Let us have a brief over view how this ‘victory’ is being made and how throughout, lawyers have behaved;

 

1- Lawyers hijacked the accountability of CJP in SJC bypassing the Article 209.

2- Contempt of Court, being made every day by speaking live on TV channels against a sub judice issue.

3- Making allegations on the brother judges of biasness and personal interests just to escape the hearings of SJC.

4- Climbing at and breaking the gates of Supreme Court, just to pressurize the government and creating law and order situation by fighting with security forces and police.

5- President Supreme Court Bar Association Muneer A. Mailk forced the lawyers to join the so called Lawyers’ Movement by starting cancelling the membership of Bar Association of those lawyers who were not joining this brigade.

6- Attack on Khalid Ranjha (Government’s counsel) by lawyers when he was stepping out of hearing of SJC.

7- Attack on the car of Waseem Sajjad (Government’s counsel) by the lawyers when he was on his way to attend SJC hearing.

8- Attacking and beating a journalist ‘Khalil Malik’ by lawyers in the square of Supreme Court, just because he had published some material against the CJP.

9- Attacking and beating Advocate Naeem Bukhari in the quad of Supreme Court by lawyers, just because he exposed the ‘corruption’ of CJP in his letter.

10- When Prime Minister Shoukat Aziz went to submit the nomination papers of President Musharraf in Election Commission for Presidential elections 2007, lawyers surrounded the election commission, and Prime Minister remained under siege by these lawyers’ brigade for hours.

11- Throwing black poisonous acid on the face of Mr. Ahmed Raza Qasuri (Government’s Council) by a lawyer in the premises of Supreme Court. If he had no eye glasses on face, God willing, he might lose his sightedness.

12- Attack of hundreds of lawyers on Sher Afgan Niazi. God saved his life in this horrible incident.

13- Strikes by the lawyers of the courts. Common people suffered by much inconvenience waiting for judges and lawyers to entertain their cases.

14- Long rallies (extending even to 40 hours) by CJP and lawyers turning a sub judice issue to highly politicised campaign.

 

After few days of apparent silence, the restored CJP again started making personal bravado against President Musharraf, security agencies and intelligence agencies. A long list of suo moto actions were made every day to paralyse the functioning of executive, legislative and law enforcement agencies. Knowing that people and media of Pakistan were supporting the actions of CJP, he did every possible thing to embarrass the government. Suo-moto action against the traffic jam in Karachi is just an example of the attitude of a person who has nothing to care about the ills growing in own judicial system. He did nothing for making improvement in the courts. Cases still are going for 20, 20 years but he did not take any steps for betterment. Once, Geo TV’s famous show “Gumnaam” showed a spy camera video of the case of bribery by one judge, but CJP did not take any action against this judge. On the other hand, the channel was charged by the contempt of court and asked to make open apologies. CJP did not take any notice of any of the illegal activities of lawyers, like beating and attacking on Naeem Bokhari or spraying of acid on Ahmed Raza Qasuri’s face. He did nothing to stop the illegal activities of Qabza mafia or No. 2 drugs etc. He never took suo moto actions against those militants who were threatening the barber shops or Cds shops. He never did care of those extremists who were blasting girls’ schools. Not caring of his own rallies, which even extended over 40 hours, he however did take suo moto actions of traffic jams. Then, he started embarrassing the chiefs of intelligence agencies in courts. Once he said, “Not only you, I would even bring General [Musharraf] in my court.” He released first so called missing person after being reinstated, named Qari Abdul Basit, who was charged of the assassination attempt on General Musharraf. Supreme Court took suo moto action against Red Mosque operation. CJP in open and strong words spoke against President of this operation. Government, law enforcement forces and intelligence agencies were highly demoralised. Supreme Court started hearing the petition against the eligibility of President Musharraf to be a candidate for next term of President. Earlier, Supreme Court rejected the petition but later again started hearing the same like petition. Then, Supreme Court allowed President to be a candidate for Presidency, but bound the election commission not to announce the result. The sword of uncertainty remained hanging over the heads of the nation. After Presidential elections, Supreme Court tried to extend the decision by all possible excuses. It seems a mockery with the nation, that the hearing of petition against president’s eligibility was announced to be pending for even 10 days, just because one of the judges of the bench was going to attend the wedding of his daughter. Not only this, three times, CJP changed the compositions of bench listening the case of eligibility. It all was self evident that Supreme Court was simply planning not to allow President Musharraf to continue holding his office any more. Supreme Court was just delaying the decision against him till 15th November 2007, till the term of National assembly get completed and President Musharraf then had remained by no chance of making any amendment in constitution by the assembly. It all was nerve stressing and alarming for President. He had waited long for the full decision regarding the reinstatement of CJP to be announced by Supreme Court. Supreme Court was bound legally to release full decision in 90 days, but this period also passed without having the issuance of the full decision. Moreover, constitutionally Supreme Court was even not given by the mandate to entertain any petition against the President’s elections.

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Article 41 (Clause 6)

The validity of election of the President shall not be called in question by or before any court or other authority.

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Making the clear violation of constitution, Supreme Court was entertaining the petitions against President and was trying much to delay the decision till 15th November. Meanwhile, a bloody campaign of suicide attacks stimulated with so much acceleration in settled districts of Pakistan. Intelligence agencies and law enforcement forces were cornered by Supreme Court and all the fragments of the society. A form of civil war was going to develop in Pakistan. Government was in the state of semi paralysis. The general elections were near in few months. All the self exiled politicians were returning back to Pakistan with having strong lobbies behind in West. Under such state of affairs, ISI reported something very important and alarming. It was about the secret meeting of Aitzaz Ahsan with Mr. Khalil ur Rehman Ramday in the Geneva, Switzerland. This meeting was very meaningful in understanding what Supreme Court was planning to do with Musharraf. The case of eligibility of President was in court. Khalil Ramday was heading the bench. Aitzaz Ahsan was representing himself in court against the eligibility of Musharraf. It was legally very undesirable to set secret meetings between the judge and a lawyer. There were also various indications and reports about the foreign money involved to promote all that lawyers’ campaign. Reportedly this money was going to Aitzaz Ahsan through various channels, mostly including few NGOs and human rights’ activists. There were also the reports of Aitzaz’s undisclosed visits to India during all that campaign. Justice Rana Bhahwandas’ famous statement in very start of all that reference’s episode, “Soon, we would give good news to nation” was also something important to read between the lines.

 

All of a sudden, suspicions against the role of Pakistan in war against terror were being floated in international media. International community started speaking against Pakistan and starting asking for restoration of Democracy in Pakistan. To promote the dangerous agenda against Pakistan, ‘Newsweek’ magazine came out with a title story, “Most dangerous nation in the world is not Iraq or Afghanistan. It’s Pakistan”. Pakistan’s nuclear status was under a deadly threat. Ground field was well set to announce by world powers that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are not safe and that terrorists could take control of them. Although IAEA had already announced that chapter of nuclear proliferation is closed for Pakistan, but Benazir Bhutto coined a strange statement that she could allow the access of international agencies to Dr. A.Q. Khan and that she could allow American forces to operate in Pakistan’s tribal areas. On one side, a well planned campaign was going on, and on the other hand Economy of Pakistan started suffering negative trends for the first time in last many years.

 

President Musharraf tolerated all that but finally when he found that things are slipping away from the hands of Pakistan, and that inaction at that time would lead to total chaos and destruction and the irrecoverable damage to Pakistan, he finally decided to impose the state of emergency on 3rd November 2007. Judges were offered to take oath under new PCO. Many judges accepted this offer and many refused. Those who refused, including Iftikhar Chaudhry, started a new version of Lawyers’ movement.

 

Let us see what constitution allowed President Musharraf at that time.

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Article 232 (1)

If the President is satisfied that a grave emergency exists in which the security of Pakistan, or any part thereof, is threatened by war or external aggression, or by internal disturbance beyond the power of a Provincial Government to control, he may issue a Proclamation of Emergency.

Article 270 AA (3)

All proclamations, President’s orders, Ordinances, Chief Executive’s orders, laws, regulations, enactments, including amendments in the Constitution, notifications, rules, orders or bye-laws enforce immediately before the date on the date which this Article comes into force shall continue in force until altered, repealed or altered by the competent authority.

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What more to be lost?

We must see what Pakistan has achieved so far and what has been lost after the campaign of lawyers. Unfortunately, it seems that we have lost everything, and achieved nothing. Pakistan’s Economy is out of business now. Pakistan is now on the list of most insecure countries. Pakistan’s institutions are breaking up. Rotten politicians are back on stage. Most corrupt and incompetent leadership is on the charge of government. Pakistan’s armed forces and intelligence services are maligned nationally and internationally. Pakistan’s nuclear status is at stake. What more wrong and what more horrible can be expected.

 

So far no movement or strong demonstration is made against the extremists and terrorists. Civil society and human rights activists are used to speak against them in very soft words, usually on TV screens, but not on roads. All the focus is to speak against former President, armed forces and intelligence services, which indirectly is meant to strengthen the anti-state elements. The duality of Pakistani media  is well exposed since 2007. First, it was said that General Musharraf is not going to remove his military uniform etc, but he appointed new army chief. Then, was said that he is not going to lift state of emergency, but he lifted it up. Then, was said that general elections would be rigged for favourable results, but the entire world observed that elections were the most free, fair and peaceful. Media broke much news that former President is going to fly away from Pakistan in 48 hours, but all was bogus. Then it was said that President is going to dissolve the assemblies, but even it did not happen. On the other hand, political parties are well naked as well. The same PPP, which supported Lawyers’ Movement with full energy, started speaking against this movement after being elected. Mr. Zardari signed thrice the agreements for restoration of judges, but then refused it. The time, when Lawyers’ Movement was having last breaths, the decision of Supreme Court regarding the disqualification of Sharif brothers, ignited it again. Things are crystal clear. Lawyers used the politicians and later PML-N used the lawyers for their vested interests.

 

All patriotic Pakistanis must open their eyes and must smell the conspiracy behind. CIA and RAW are fully active and involved behind all that mess. They had set well their assets in media to promote anarchy and disinformation in Pakistan. Media has done nothing in discouraging the extremism and terrorism. Media has promoted the international campaign more than them. The focus and concern is shifted from the issues of national interests. No one cares of the economic fall down. No one asked where the foreign reserve of 16.7 Billion dollars has gone down to 5 billion dollars in few months under democratic government. No one asks for the reason why we are forced to beg IMF. No one asks why Dr. Samar Mubarik had been forced to leave his seat. No one cares of the funds of Nuclear and missile research program being cut by more than 50 %. No one cares from where Baitullah Mehsud of Waziristan is getting satellite information and weapons and suicide jackets. No one is caring of the separatist organisations in Baluchistan. Media is not telling us that for 7 months, the funds of paramilitary and police of NWFP are stopped by the government and that Pakistan armed forces are supplying weapons to them. Media would never tell about the holiday being announced by Chief Minister Balochistan, Aslam Raeesani on 15th August 2008 to synchronise it with Indian Independence Day. Media is not focussing about the drones attacks on tribal areas. What media is speaking for is just about the lawyers’ movement. So that Pakistani nation never get able to think of any other issues, which are far important for the sovereignty of Pakistan.

It’s all a psychological war. Nation must open their eyes. We must not been misguided by the propagandas and perceptions. Our enemies have played a dangerous double game. We must not give them any impression that Pakistan is going through a situation of civil war and disintegration. We must not suffer paralysis through analysis. We must stand for Pakistan armed forces in such state of affairs. Pakistan is not ready for British form of democracy. Pakistan is more important than democracy or constitution. Human rights, civil liberties, democracy and constitution are just the part of nation. Nation is not the part of them. We must safeguard Pakistan. Pakistan comes first.

 

Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry is back in his office as a chief justice. PML-N’s pressure tactics win. Army Chief again has shown patience and resolution to avoid playing any role in politics. But game is not ended. It’s just a start. Time not always remain the same. Future would decide about it and about the role of Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry. There still are many constitutional and legal issues. What would be the fate of those judges who have taken fresh oath under PCO? Would he give the favour to those, who supported him or would he demonstrate the neutrality? Would he take the notice over NRO, when the case against it would re-start in Supreme Court? Would he take actions against those judges who took oath under PCO on 3rd November 2007? Would he like to reform the session courts, high courts and Supreme Court? Above all, would he like to proof that the findings in Presidential reference were not correct and that he is not guilty of anything wrong. What if the disqualification of Sharif brothers remain hold? Would PML-N again start the violent campaign? What about those countries and the guarantees, which made reconciliation just before sit in (Dharna), instead of possible Martial Law.

 

Let us end this article by the last words of letter of Naeem Bukhari to CJP,

 

“My Lord, we all live in the womb of time and are judged, both by the present and by history. The judgment about you, being rendered in the present, is adverse in the extreme.”

(www.geocities.com/nayyarafaq)

 

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Beginning of a New Era in Pakistan

March 21, 2009 at 9:12 am · Filed under Lawyers' Agitation ·Tagged , ,

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Dr. V.P. Vaidik*

 

What happened in  Pakistan recently is beyond one’s imagination. Reinstating of Chief Justice Iftikar Choudhary and legal restoration of Sharif Brothers is no less than a political miracle. One can only imagine the repercussions, if Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani would not have made the declaration of reinstating the judges. Many American political gurus and Pakistan-specialists were sharing their fear with me last week in Washington, DC about the possibility of either a military coup or the balkanization of Pakistan. The specter of Bangladesh had once again started haunting Pakistan. Many political movements have taken place earlier in Pakistan’s history but the present movement was really unique in the sense that many police and civil officials just ignored the Central Government’s orders. The Lahore police refused to put Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif under house arrest. Police and Administrative officers preferred to resign rather than obey the government. Sharif brothers’ ‘long march’ actually turned out to be a ‘National Movement’. Not only Sharifs’ Muslim League but many famous leaders and workers from PPP, government officials, lawyers, retired army officers and ordinary people from all walks of life also joined the movement.

 

Surrounded from all sides Zardari looked much more vulnerable than Musharraf during his last days in office. 

Pakistani army and America also did not come to Zardari’s rescue. The third savior of Pakistan, the Allah, perhaps observed perfect neutrality. On the one hand, Hillary Clinton remained tough and, on the other, Gen. A.P. Kayani did some straight-talking with Prime Minister Y.R. Gilani, who was wise enough to move quickly. Gilani took charge of the sensitive situation and announced the reinstatment of the Judges. The fact that in this entire episode Gilani gained an upper hand over Zardari, has the potential of creating bad blood between both of them. This has inadvertently created a natural premise for downsizing the powers of the President of Pakistan. All political parties are ready to put an end to the 17th amendment of the constitution. In other words, one can look forward to a happy outcome to this political crisis.  Circumscribing the constitutional powers of the President and re-establishing those of the Prime Minister will definitely reenergize Pakistan’s democracy.

 

Had this tug-of-war not been resolved, the army would have been the real political beneficiary. The army would have risen several notches in public estimation and the democratic leaders would have once again proven to be a dismal failure. Although America is an ardent advocate of democracy in Pakistan, however, in the above scenario, America would have been forced to support the army. No country can afford to sacrifice its national interest for the sake of other country’s supposed democracy. The political quarrel between Muslim League and PPP would have jeopardized the American interests and the fight against terrorism would have been totally sidetracked. In the end, America’s straight talking augured well for Pakistan and resolved the dangerous crisis but in this entire affair, one major issue received very little attention, i.e., the issue of Pakistan’s sovereignty. India and China, in their own case, would have seen the same role played by America as an abject outside interference. They would have never allowed or tolerated it. Pakistan’s inability to perceive America’s role as ‘interference’ demonstrates the country’s lack of sense of sovereignty and   it’s puppet-like status. 

 

In the end, Chief Justice Iftikar Chaudhary and about other 60 judges will be reinstated. One can only hope that Choudhary holds his balance and does not start settling old scores. Choudhary has constitutional power to declare the last elections as ultra vires, which brought Zardari to power and he can also declare the political amnesty extended to Benazir Bhutto and Zardari during Musharrf’s regime as unlawful. This could be ominus for the future of democracy in Pakistan. Greater restraint and farsightedness is expected of Choudhary. As far as Sharif brothers are concerned, they will come out clean from Choudhary’s court and one can safely assume that Shahbaz Sharif will be the Chief Minister of Punjab once again. This is not enough. Much more is required of the democratic leaders of Pakistan. Muslim League and PPP have no option but to stop their political quarrels and join forces to set up a strong Coalition government in Punjab as well as at the Center. This is the only way they can keep the army on leash and fight terrorism at the same time. The unity of these two major political parties is a sure guarantee of good relation with India. The Coatition can successfully satisfy India on the question of Mumbai attack without the fear of loosing their popularity by getting into the futile rival posturing. Improved relations with India can also help Pakistan reduce its military expenditure. What Pakistan needs most toady is the early economic recovery. Nawaz Sharif has earned a great deal of political capital in this event and Prime Minister Gilani has displayed statesman-like acumen. If these two leaders desire, they can start a new era in Pakistan’s politics. There is no doubt that they will be arch rivals in the next elections but until then is it not possible that both work towards fulfilling the dream of  Quaid-e-Azam, M.A. Jinnah of a democratic and  prosperous Pakistan.

 

Dr. V.P. Vaidik, A-19 Press Enclave New Delhi 110 017, (Phone) (0091-11) 2686 7700, 2651 7295

Mob. : (0091)98-9171-1947, e-mail : dr.vaidik@gmail.com

 

 

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CJ Ifthikar Chaudhry Cooperated with Musharraf

March 19, 2009 at 8:40 am · Filed under Lawyers' Agitation ·Tagged ,

clip_19The whole Pakistani nation is jubilant over the announcement by the Prime Minister of the reinstatement of the judges. But our memories are short. Let us look at the following facts:

In January 2000, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, then a serving judge on the Balochistan High Court (BHC), was one of the first judges to take the oath on the PCO. This allowed him to be elevated to the Supreme Court to fill one of the vacancies left by the 11 judges who had resigned in protest at taking this oath.

On May 13, 2000, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was one of the 12 Supreme Court judges who validated the military coup of Gen Pervez Musharraf. They ruled that the removal of the elected government of Nawaz Sharif was legal on the basis of the ‘doctrine of necessity’.

In June 2001, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was one of two judges who visited the President House to convince the then President Rafiq Tarrar to resign, and make way for Gen Pervez Musharraf to assume that office.

On April 13, 2005 in the ‘Judgment on 17th Amendment and President’s Uniform Case’, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was one of five Supreme Court judges who dismissed all petitions challenging President Musharraf’s consistitutional amendments.

In a wide ranging judgment they declared that the Legal Framework Order (LFO) instituted by Gen Musharraf after his suspension of the Constitution, the 17th Amendment which gave this constitutional backing, and the two offices bill which allowed Musharraf to retain his military uniform whilst being President were all legal.

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Beena Sarwar’s Criticism of Tahira Abdullah Criticised

March 18, 2009 at 12:31 pm · Filed under Lawyers' Agitation ·Tagged , ,

clip_29In response to Beena Sarwar’s article ‘ Long March- A Long View’

 

Dear Beena, I regret the aspersions and doubts appearing in your article for the IPS about human rights activist Tahira Abdullah’s left wing credentials. She has been the most committed activist in the lawyers’ movement. It is ironic when liberal, progressive secular activists like yourself join the chorus of RIGHT WING taking over, and it is shocking when you write the following:

 

‘There is also irony in progressive, secular activists like Abdullah joining hands with the emerging right-wing coalition to achieve a shared goal – the restoration of Chaudhry Ifikhar’.

 

KINDLY STOP DISTORTING FACTS. It is not about THE PERSON OF CJ Iftikhar Chaudhary. It is about the symbolism he embodies. It is to reverse the legitimacy given to the illegal action of dictator Musharraf on 3, November 2007. It is against the continuation of the same ‘Prostitution of Constitution’, and continuation of the same messy policies of the Establishment.

 

So who is LEFT WING in Pakistan ? This PPP and ANP lot who:

 

Joined hands with ultra Islamist Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, gave his JUI(F) federal ministries

To get Fazl-ur-Rehman’s support, re-opened the extremist Madrassah Fareediya

Made jirga, Karo Kari, burying women alive notorious Bijrani and Zehri federal ministers

Bartered away Swat, Malakand, part of Hazara, Dir and Chitral to the Taliban

Enforced Shariah through Nizam-i- Adl.

 

The Right Wing was there when the lawyers movement started in 2007, so what was the leftist PPP doing supporting the lawyers then and why were you a part of it?  You know very well the lawyers have been supported not JUST by the PML(N) and the MMA parties, but also LARGELY by an assorted array of progressive, left-oriented political organizations and civil society groups, including the Anjuman Mazarain Pakistan, Awami Party, Awami Jamhuri Party, Awami Jamhuri Ittehad, Communist Party, Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party, Labour Party Pakistan,  Insani Huqooq Ittehad,  Khudai Khidmatgaar, People’s Rights Movement, Joint Action Committee for Citizens Rights, Women’s Action Forum , Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Aurat Foundation, ASR, AGHS, Christian Study Centre, Omar Asghar Khan Development Foundation, PIPFPD, PODA, Sungi Development Foundation, Strengthening Participatory Organisation, Simorgh, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Shirkat Gah and most of all the miorities leader J.Salik.

 

Tahira has always stood for progressive values and principles. If  she is there in the movement, she is fully aware of and committed to the principles involved. In this she  is not alone; she is in good company with progressive and leftist stalwarts like Kishwar Naheed, Asma Jehangir, Shehnaz Ahmad, Amina Piracha (a die-hard PPP member) and hosts of others.

 

This article presents an intentional  distorted view of the reality of the lawyers’ movement. It would be sad if such distorted views were to undermine the lawyers’ movement at this critical juncture.And for what? Zardari led ‘PPP?’ Where Benazir’s closest allies Naheed Khan and Safdar Abbassi are actively taking part in the Long March, Raza Rabbani and Sherry Rehman have resigned,  Aitezaz Ahsan and Enwar Baig have been side lined from the party.

 

The greatest Left Wing Coalition is un-elected Zardari-Salman Taseer- Farooq Naek sharing the same bed with Maulana Faz lu Rehman???? 

 

Analysis by Beena Sarwar

Mar 12, 2009 (IPS) – Barely a year after being elected, the Pakistan government faces a political storm involving a street agitation spearheaded by lawyers and opposition political parties allied with religious parties.

Lurking on the sidelines is an army unused to civilian command even as religious militants create havoc around the country.

None of this is new to Pakistan but many find it all the more painful given the hopes built up by last year’s general elections. On Feb 18, 2009, Pakistani voters overwhelmingly supported non-religious parties and rejected those that had been propped up by the army.

The electorate’s rejection of the religious parties and the joining hands of the late Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and her former rival Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) raised expectations of an end to political confrontation and religion-based politics – and the army moving away from politics.

These expectations followed decades of misrule and exploitation of religion for political purposes. The Pakistani establishment, at Washington’s behest, strengthened armed militancy, exploiting religious sentiments to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan during the 1980s. In the process they created `Jihad International’ , as the late scholar Dr Eqbal Ahmad termed it.

This may now be the biggest threat facing Pakistan – and the world – since the attack on the World Trade Center on Sep. 11 2001. Since then Washington has pushed Islamabad to fight the very forces of militant Islam that both together had fostered and strengthened.
Resultantly, this country has, as Pakistanis point out, suffered the most from militant attacks.

In this situation, political instability is distracting at best and dangerous at worst. The `long march’ demanding the reinstatement of chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Choudhry, spearheaded by the legal fraternity and sections of civil society, has ready allies among the right-wing political opposition.

This includes Sharif’s PML-N and the Jamaat-e-Islami, a mainstream religious party sympathetic to militant Islam, as well as others sympathetic to the Taliban, like ex-chief Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and anti-India hawk Gen. (retd.) Hamid Gul, retired bureaucrat Roedad Khan who brutally quashed political opposition during the Zia years, and cricket hero-turned politician Imran Khan, chief of the Tehrik-e-Insaaf (Movement for Justice).

All these forces boycotted the 2008 polls, except Sharif who rescinded his boycott decision after Bhutto convinced him that elections were the only way forward.

Long-festering tensions between the PPP and PML-N came to a head with a Supreme Court ruling of Feb 25 barring Sharif and his brother Shahbaz Sharif from holding elected office. Bhutto’s widower, President Asif Ali Zardari is widely believed to be behind this controversial ruling.

The disgruntled Sharifs, already pushing to restore Chief Justice Choudhry, have flung themselves wholeheartedly into the long march – a move that observers do not see as entirely altruistic since their stated aims include effecting regime change.

“Sharif’s attempts to paint himself as a radical, grassroots activist are at odds with his political origins,” commented former lawyer and Australia-based analyst Mustafa Qadri, writing about the opportunity Pakistan’s politicians of all hues have wasted in their “refusal to look beyond personal power games and provincialism to develop the nation’s still embryonic democracy”.

The Sharifs gained prominence as businessmen patronised by General Zia -ul-Haq who was behind Pakistan’s “transformation from majority-Muslim nation to Islamic state with more conservative religious seminaries per capita than any other country in the world,” as Qadri put it (`Long march to nowhere’, The Guardian, Mar 10, 2009).

The current imbroglio comes on the heels of loaded statements by Gen. (retd) Pervez Musharraf who during a visit to India last week, gave several talks and interviews in which he hinted at a possible political comeback.

Curiously Musharraf, who stepped down as president in August 2008, urged New Delhi to stop `bashing’ the Pakistan army and the shadowy ISI since, according to him, they were the best defence against the growth of the Taliban and militancy in Pakistan.
President Zardari has invited comparisons to Musharraf because of his government’s use of police force and mass arrests to prevent the long march, as Musharraf did after suspending Choudhry in March 2007 and imposing Emergency rule in Nov 2007.

The irony is illustrated by the recent three-hour detention of the firebrand women’s rights and political activist, Tahira Abdullah, who has been mobilising the lawyers’ movement from her home in Islamabad.

She faced police batons and tear gas in the Zia and Musharraf eras. A day before the long march began, a police contingent arrived at her house and virtually broke down her kitchen door.

However, her arrest attracted media attention, embarrassing the government into quickly ordering her release. An undeterred Abdullah immediately resumed mobilising for the agitation.

“It is sad and ironic that the PPP government has come to this,” she told IPS. “They said it was preventive detention. They can’t catch people like (Taliban leaders) Baitullah Mehsud and Maulvi Fazlullah but they send police after me, a very ordinary person.”

There is also irony in progressive, secular activists like Abdullah joining hands with the emerging right-wing coalition to achieve a shared goal, the restoration of Choudhry.

Civil society activists privately admit that otherwise their numbers are too small to reach the critical mass needed to effect political change.

“There are only a handful of us,” one of them told IPS. “And there are no more than 100,000 lawyers in the country. So we have to join hands with political forces who agree with us on this matter even if we don’t agree on other matters. We know they are using us, but we are also using them.”

Observers like the political economist and former student activist S.M. Naseem fear that this kind of mutual `using’ could push Pakistan further towards right-wing forces.

Disappointed by the performance of the government as well as the opposition, he holds that the lawyers’ movement has missed the opportunity of creating a new polity in the country. “They should have broadened the agenda to create a new political system,” he told IPS. “Two years for the restoration of one person (Choudhry), however, honest and bold, is a bit too much.”

PM Gillani has said that he cannot, in all conscience, oppose the long march. “We have also participated in street agitations and long marches,” he said. “How can we stop anyone else from exercising their democratic right to do so?”

This stand appears to pit him against President Zardari, holding an office strengthened by pas t military dictators. The President’s powers include being able to dismiss the prime minister and dissolve government – as several presidents before him have done. This is unlikely to happen now. For Zardari to take such a step would mean dismissing his own government.

Having recently obtained a majority in the Senate, the PPP can conceivably push through the constitutional amendments it proposed in May 2008 for which a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly and the Senate is required. These amendments include the removal of the 17th amendment that allows the President to dismiss government.

Moves towards reconciliation between the PPP and the PML-N continue behind the scenes, even as the long march kicks off with lawyers and political activists from various cities heading towards Islamabad to converge by Mar. 6 for a dharna (or sit-in) `until the Chief Justice is restored’.

Observers fear a breakout of violence even though the long march leaders have promised to keep matters peaceful.

Observers fear a breakout of violence even though the long march leaders have promised to keep matters peaceful.

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CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry Not Going to Solve Pakistan’s Problems

January 29, 2009 at 10:58 am · Filed under Asif Ali Zardari, Lawyers' Agitation ·Tagged , ,

cid_image001Chaudhry Iftikhar, the former chief justice, was used and thrown away when the PPP needed the NRO. Nawaz Sharif used him against Musharraf and forgot him later. Now all the enemies of President Zardari have suddenly remembered Iftikhar Chaudhry, the perpetual fall guy. But I am more stunned at some Pakistanis who think they’ll have free judiciary if Mr. Iftikhar is ‘restored’. Well, fat chance.

 

It’s almost two years. Iftikhar Chaudhry, the former Chief Justice of Pakistan, has not been restored to his old job. And chances are he will never be, at least not in any real sense. But meanwhile, his ’cause’ – better known as the ‘lawyers’ movement’ – has single-handedly resulted in a list of unintended side effects:

 

His cause helped Dr. Condi Rice and her lieutenant, Richard Boucher, twist the arm of former President Pervez Musharraf to give better terms and concessions to the late Benazir Bhutto [and Asif Zardari] on the ‘deal’ that helped them return to power.

In this sense, Justice Iftikhar became one of the causes of NRO, the so-called reconciliation bill that whitewashed the corruption money of Pakistani politicians. He can oppose the bill all he wants, but the fact is that the lawyers’ movement created enough panic and stir in the country to scare a weak ruler into submission to Ms. Bhutto and the Americans. In the NRO case, Justice Iftikhar is as guilty as President Musharraf. In fact, Chaudhry Iftikhar bears the sin of knowing the alternative to Musharraf and yet he went full speed ahead in destabilizing the Pakistani system.

Justice Iftikhar’s cause helped turn 2007 into the most dangerous year in Pakistani history, when several internal and external players came together – maybe by chance like the lawyers movement – to bring Pakistan down on its knees, destroy the promising gains in the economy, and make Pakistan the butt of international jokes as a country whose people simply don’t know how to run it. And why did Iftikhar Chaudhry and Aitzaz Ahsan do this? Answer: for the dubious and questionable goal of removing Mr. Musharraf. Granted that the former president had become unpopular and had ruined it for himself, yet the price the country is paying for removing him – in the shape of Zardari-Gilani government – paid to remove him is too high.

Mr. Iftikhar’s cause helped Nawaz Sharif play a sad version of ‘revenge politics’. Both Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry and Mr. Nawaz Sharif became so blinded by their personal hatred that they let Mr. Asif Zardari become a President, adding one more blot to the dirty record of Pakistani politics.

Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry’s supporters proudly repeat at every occasion that that he played the biggest role in removing Mr. Musharraf from power. The right thing for them to say, and more accurate, would be: ‘Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry played the biggest role in bringing Mr. Zardari to power.’ That’s the bitter truth.

Justice Chaudhry was a compromised judge, who took oath of office from a military dictator, stabbing other more honest judges in the back to secure his job. His supporters conveniently forget this fact. It is as if saying no to Musharraf’s demand for his resignation absolved Mr. Chaudhry of any and all accountability.

 

It was Mr. Iftikhar’s stubborn nature, and the natural urge to cling to his cushy job that made Mr. Chaudhry a hero. Principles came later when he suddenly found himself the darling of all those who opposed Mr. Musharraf.

In fact, with hindsight, it wouldn’t be too much to say that the honorable judge proved to be a fool in the end. First he was fooled by Aitzaz Ahsan, his politician-lawyer. Mr. Ahsan, deliberately or unknowingly, handed the street movement on a golden platter to Benazir Bhutto, Richard Boucher and Condi Rice to use it to extract NRO, the so-called reconciliation bill.

 

And now, once again, when another government needs to be destabilized, that of Mr. Zardari’s, Iftikhar Chaudhry and his movement is the tool of choice for all those who hate Mr. Zardari, including Mr. Nawaz Sharif, who used the lawyers to get back at Musharraf and will now use the lawyers to get back at Zardari.

And just like the first time, the politicians will throw away Iftikhar Chaudhry and the lawyers just like used napkins when the political scores are settled.

 

But no, tell this to Mr. Chaudhry or Aitzaz Ahsan or the lawyers and you will hear an earful about justice and how the country can’t live without it.

 

The only thing they forget is that the Pakistani judiciary, by and large, has been a compromised judiciary not because of dictators or anything else, but because of that disease that afflicts all third-world judicial systems: financial corruption.

 

Until bribes remain the order of the day, there cannot be a free judiciary in Pakistan. The corrupt politicians, feudal lords and the vested interest, who have enough money to buy judges, will ensure that the practice never dies.

After all, this is a country that rewards financial corruption with NROs. What stupid Pakistani judge won’t take the money, either before or after the ‘restoration’ of Iftikhar Chaudhry?

It is false and misleading to say that his ‘restoration’ will ensure free judiciary. Mr. Iftikhar’s ‘restoration’ will ensure only one thing: Revenge against Zardari. That’s the only real use left for Justice Chaudhry. Ask Nawaz Sharif and he’ll tell you. And if this is the real cause, then hurray to Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.

 

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Muneer Malik on the Pakistan Lawyers’ Movement

August 30, 2008 at 10:18 am · Filed under Lawyers' Agitation

Who would have thought on 8th March 2007 that General Musharrf’s grip on power could be seriously challenged? With confidence bordering on cockiness, his allies taunted the opposition parties that they would elect General Musharraf as President in uniform not once or twice but as long as it was expedient. The opposition was seemingly all at sea lacking the will to mobilize the people of Pakistan to stand up for the Rule of Law. All of a sudden, as if struck by a bolt of lightning, a defiant “No” changed the dynamics of the power game. Since 9th Match, the Black Coats of Pakistan waged a relentless struggle to change mindsets. We had to teach the common man what justice really meant, who was the oppressor and who could deliver them from oppression. We preached that the realization of their fundamental rights was inextricably intertwined with the existence of an independent judiciary in which every judge across the land is pro-people with the courage to say that enough is enough – that all men and women, no matter howsoever high or howsoever low, are equal in the eyes of the law; that it is no longer acceptable that the weaker sections of society should remain in bondage as if they were subjects of some colonial power, that the people were sovereign masters of their destiny and captains of their fate and that the rulers were there to serve them and not to lord over them.. Our fight was to change mindsets within the judiciary so that they may liberate themselves from the reviled and thoroughly discredited doctrines of the past that were used time and again to justify the militarization of the institutions of state. We had to change the mindsets of our politicians – that political power emanates from the people and not from foreign capitols; that they turn anti-people when they welcome military takeovers or share the crumbs of power with usurpers; that democracy and tolerance are inseparable twins and that they must strive to strengthen institutions and not men. We wanted our armed forces to know that we honour the soldier who has laid down his life for the defense of the country but that we are bounden to resist when the watchman forcibly takes over the master’s house and that their guns should be pointed outwards to defend the frontiers of our lands rather than pointing inwards at the people they have sworn to protect.

And indeed what an incredible movement it has been. Putting personal interest aside, the overwhelming majority of lawyers galvanized the masses and paved the way for the political leadership to assert the supremacy of civilian institutions. We did not rest with the restoration of the Chief Justice to his rightful position but went to met out the cause of the injustice that pervades our society. It is our position that this injustice rests on the foundations of arbitrary and dictatorial rule and in order to establish a just society we must uproot the old foundations.

I have often been asked that judges were sacked on previous occasions as well and why was it that only this time was such an incredible movement launched. My answer has always been that the legal fraternity has raised its pretest in the past as well but this time the turf was different. In the age of information -and globalization the media is a key player. Muzzle them if you want but you can never shut them off completely and when you muzzle them you only strengthen the belief that the truth is being suppressed. We acknowledge that but for the courageous media that carried our message to the people of Pakistan and abroad, ours would have been an extremely difficult if not impossible straggle. We gratefully acknowledge the role of civil society, the political leadership, and the political worker in strengthening our hands.

I am also asked whether the judiciary post – 20th July threw caution to the winds and moved too fast before consolidating its gains. My answer has been that it was a catch 22 situation in that the people’s expectations from the judiciary had never been higher, in fact so high that if it failed to deliver it risked being accused of regression and if its image suffered it risked being attacked again by the executive. Accordingly it had to grapple with some issues which the parliament tiled to look into though duty bound to do so. The case of missing persons is a classic example – when the judiciary intervened it was accused of releasing terrorists and this absurd charge became one of the bases for the imposition of Emergency and the resort to the extra-constitutional steps taken on 3rd November. History teaches us that a tottering dictatorship will use three to crush resistance to its will but it also teaches us that the just cause of the people will ultimately prevail. The results of the general elections are now in and we have seen the massive rejection of General Musharraf and his collaborators. We were buoyed with the victory of the democratic forces and were confident that together we would see the restoration of the pre 3rd November judiciary. We are dismayed at the breach of the Murree Declaration and the proposed constitutional package but we refuse to give up. The Long March has renewed our vigour and determination to press ahead with our movement

In the process of our struggle we have learnt some invaluable lessons too. We have learnt that we have no monopoly on wisdom and that it is for the Political leadership of this Country to navigate the ship of the state to the safety of the harbor. We are conscious of the dangers ahead and the need to consolidate our gains, to move forward but with unity of purpose and to tread with caution whilst we consolidate our gains.

The idea of penning my reflections came to me as I lay on my concrete mattress in a cell at Attock jail. As a chronicler who was in the midst of events, I cannot help being inundated with the emotional undercurrents of the Lawyer’s Movement. It is my perception of the events as I saw them and I will be the first to concede that others may disagree. My perception may be tainted by my belief in the righteousness of our cause.

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