The Emergency Times

The Emergency Times - A Farewell Note

2008-06-25T05:10:00.005+06:00

Dear all,

It is with great consternation and sorrow that I announce the temporary closure of The Emergency Times blog until such time as its services are required and can be fulfilled with the dilegence required, again. Due to a combination of my personal difficulties and the evolving nature of our country's political scenario, The Emergency Times no longer serves the exemplar purpose it did following its birth on the 5th of November, 2007. I find I can no longer maintain the quality and regularity that used to be the cornerstone of our guiding principles.

The days and months following the the 5th of November were, in addition to other things, an unbelievable example of how committed citizen journalism can mould the shape of society in a significant way. Beginning from a merely informative on-campus handout, to this date, The Emergency Times has reached an audience of around 150,000 people in around 100 countries. It served, for a long time, as one of the most reliable and regular sources of information and material on the post-Nov 3 people's struggles against the injustices being perpetrated in our country (though, I will readily and unapologetically admit, with a significant editorial bent :). All of this, of course, was made possible by all of you, our committed contributors and readership.

And of course, my editorial team...Madiha, who started it with me, helping me come up with the idea (though she was unable to continue for very long), Moulvi, my ever-reliable assistant-ed, helping me keep the exhaustive schedules, Omer. G, for his powerful, moving articles and accounts, and Samad Khurram (now a national hero :-), in particular, for contributing and distributing from day one and keeping it alive when I had become encumbered with personal dilemmas..

All the thousands of people who distributed and forwarded our issues on their campuses, the streets, their mailing lists..thank you all..this wouldn't have been possible without you.

I hope (as our disclaimer used to state) that The Emergency Times was truly able to make a difference in these troubled times by 'inspiring and making aware'. If the need shall arise, we will be there to report, inform and inspire once again. But for now, I feel it is time to call it a day.

Our archives and back-issues remain on the site for perusal and records. Our email contact remains theemergencytimes@gmail.com.

May Allah guide our country and its people through these rigorous times unscathed.

As always, In Complete Unity..

Ammar Rashid

Editor-in-Chief

The Emergency Times

Islamabad falls to the people

2008-06-16T12:43:00.002+06:00

- Thoughts on the magnificant rally in Islamabad at the conclusion of long march..

Of the many rallies and conventions that I have been to, during the course of the Movement for the Restoration of Judiciary and Rule of Law, last night’s rally was the most impressive. The magic was not in the numbers, although they were the highest ever; it wasn’t because of the fervor or valour because the records set on Nov 5 at Lahore High Court remain unbeaten. Yesterday’s rally stood apart from all the earlier protests t because of its sheer awami nature. It wasn’t a lawyer’s, or student’s rally or civil society’s rally; it was a people’s rally.

Of late, the movement has been drawing increasing criticism from political pundits for being elitist in its genesis and structure. Critics have been saying that, amidst worsening food and electricity shortage, the movement has lost popular support. If anything, last night, standing amidst tens if not hundreds of thousands of ordinary Pakistanis of various classes and political and religious backgrounds, I saw the critics fall and their wisdom go down with them. I thought about all that I have missed in a few months of inaction. Amidst the milling crowds, I felt my old hope and strength return to and it made me happy.

For some reason, I have come to loathe the hyperbolic and frenzied( almost barbaric) sloganeering that is common on rallies, particularly among students. Yesterday, when I found myself standing once again amidst boys and girls shouting rhythmic slogan and looking as though engaged in a psychotic trance or some frenzied African dance, I felt sick. I felt that I didn’t belong there. And it wasn’t the first time I was feeling that way.

This time, however, I had an option.

I quietly slipped out of this small excited clique into the people. Out there, amidst a sea of ordinary Pakistanis, who sat listening to the speeches delivered from the stage, I felt at ease once again. Ordinary, modest, down-to-earth, anonymous Pakistanis, out in the open to decently sending a political message – I loved being amongst them. I loved knowing that I was one of them and was nothing less and nothing more. I loved the fact that now, at last, they were in charge of the movement.

The sober optimism of the lawyer leaders and politicians was appealing. Muhammad Nawaz Sharif told the mass of protesters that history was being written in Islamabad. He said that they were there at 4am in such large numbers and that this would never have happened if history were not to be written. I felt that even though Mr. Sharif had not been too articulate, I knew exactly what was meant. It was logic of destiny - an infectious, appealing, ecstatic logic. The hand of destiny had brought us there and it was not without purpose. Throughout the evening, there had been much talk on similar lines. Somebody else had said “One history was written in 1947; another we write today.”

Those words, I felt, ringed with truth. A new Pakistan was indeed taking shape amidst this congregation. A Pakistan for the people, I hoped. A Pakistan for everyone, I wished.
I have seen the roads in Islamabad expand. Now they look more like fields than passageways. Black bitumen fields where despotism grows. That night, however, the dreary bitumen fields in front of the Parliament swelled with so many people that the place actually looked like ‘Parliament Square’ buzzing with public. I had never thought of that oft-picturized part of Islamabad in these terms. Now the people provoked me to think of it that way. They set the terms.

I don’t know whether it was or was not D-day for Musharraf. But I feel that it was the day Islamabad fell. The day a country’s capital fell to its own people. That day, a new Pakistan was born.

*********

The last part of the night is always its most powerful. It is a time when God descends into the lowest of the heavens and implores human beings to call upon him. It is a time when destinies are written and rewritten. It was then that I experienced the most emotionally charged moment of the night. During his speech, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif recalled that many months ago, in this great, green city, young girls, students of the Qur’an had begged a man for a safe passage. They had begged for mercy but the man who felt that he could play God and get away with it showed none. Instead, he had them bombed and charred to the bones. Does he deserve a safe passage now when he denied it to them, not so long ago?

This mention of the tragedy of Jamia Hafsa had a great impact. I felt tears well up in my eyes. It must have been a very hard night. No one should have ever been burnt to death. Looking around, I thought about how long it had taken my city before it could mourn its dead. I recollected all the rationalizations of this tragedy that were, and to some extents still are, fashionable amongst the English-educated intellectual elite of the country. They would even let us mourn for dead kids. Yet, in that last hour of the night, not all those rationalizations could stop the tears falling. There are crimes that you just cannot forget. There are crimes that someone will have to pay for. And there are times when you just cannot forget that the God above is all-seeing and all-hearing.

That moment you could see it and know it. At long last, the people had come. They were so many. They had come to conquer the critics. They had come to revive the dying. They had come to mourn the city’s dead. And by the will of God, before the end, they will be back to finish the job.

Support the Students of Pakistan in their efforts

2008-06-05T18:29:00.001+06:00

We're here, the last battle for the restoration of the independent judiciary and the first one in the long war for overturning the old regime whose strings are pulled by domestic and foreign behind curtains. The struggle is long and the journey will not be easy but I am glad all of you been resolute for over 200 days now.

It were students who got led the movement in the streets in the late 60s for the ouster of Ayub Khan and the nation waits for the students again to get rid of Musharraf has killed and sold thousands of his own country men, destroyed Pakistani economy, created absence of law and order, destroyed institutions and was involved in mega scams such as Steel Mills (which thankfully got reversed), Islamabad farm houses or the property worth billions illegally distributed. Naturally not all should be blamed on one man but he was directly and indirectly involved in many of those.

Students have risen and have vowed to make the Long March HISTORIC. Please support them by donating to the cause generously.

The funds will be used for providing transport to underprivileged students who want to be part of the march to remove Musharraf and restore the judiciary but do not have financial means to do so. They will also be used to subsidize transport for all students as well.

You can donate through credit card (by clicking the donate button), cheques, wire-transfer or cash. The process is on the website. Permalink : http://saclahore.blogspot.com/2008/06/donate.html

To Donate Via Wire Transfer:

In Pakistan:
Beneficiary Name: Sundas Hurain
Bank name: Bank al-falah

Branch: 0033 defence branch lahore

Account number: 02018531

Make Checks payable to the above account

To Donate in person:

Contact:

Karachi:
Moneeza : 0333- 03082288572

Lahore:
Syed Ali Natiq : 0321-4572707

Islamabad:
Kamil : 0345-5104892

All donations will be confidential and will be used for Long March.

Your money will be put to use and you will be informed:
Accounts will be maintained and all activity will be made public for scrutiny. The process to be as transparent and accountable as possible. The students want to bring a system of checks and balances and will show by example how this is not only possible.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me or Tabinda Khan <tmk2107@columbia.edu>, We will respond to all your queries ASAP.

Please do contribute generously for the student initiative for rule of law and justice in Pakistan.

In total solidarity,

The Emergency Times Eds

Long March Schedule

2008-06-05T18:21:00.000+06:00

Lawyer's Coordination Committee and Lahore Bar Association announced the schedule of the long march for the restoration of Judiciary.

June 5 : Joint rally from Aiwan-e-Adal, Lahore to Faisal Chowk

June 6: Joint protest rally by doctors, professionals, teachers/professors, students, civil society, lawyers, scholars and the political parties to start at Data Darbar after the Jumma prayers and head to Nasir Bagh, Lahore.

June 7: Caravan for Restoration of Judiciary, consisting of 40 cars will tour around the Lahore city for mobilization and awareness.

June 8: Protest for restoration of Judiciary by the civil society at Governor House, Lahore. Judicial camp in front of RaceCourse Park from 3-10 PM for mobilization by SAC, FASTRising and YPL.

June 9: Mash'al bardar (torch-bearing) rally

June 10: Caravan for Restoration of Judiciary by all organizations of the mobilization committee of lawyers. Caravans from south Punjab and Sindh reach Multan for a long March from Multan to Lahore. Judicial camp at Nasir Bagh from 12-7 PM for mobilization by SAC, FASTRising and YPL.

June 11: Address of the CJP, Iftikhar Chaudry at the LHCBA

June 12: Long March from Lahore to Islamabad

June 13/14: Rally to reach at the Liaqat Bagh, Rawalpindi

June 13/14: Dharna at the Parliament

Pro-Judiciary and Long March posters in high resolution available here.

(Courtesy ALE Expressed)

President should quit or face impeachment: Zardari

2008-05-25T00:15:00.000+05:00

ISLAMABAD: Co-chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari Saturday said the President Pervez Musharraf should step down voluntarily if he (President) wants to avert impeachment.Addressing a press conference after the PPP’s Central Executive Committee here, Asif Zardari said his party never accepted General Musharraf as the constitutional President of the country.
He said consultations will be held with all the stakeholders on the draft constitutional package which the CEC meeting approved today.
He said the draft package also includes proposal regarding the tenure of judges but a final decision has not yet been made. The Parliament will be given the authority to deal with all the issues, he added.
To a question regarding the date of return of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain, he said MQM Chief did not say anything about this and “neither did I ask him as to when he plans to return home.”
Earlier, Federal Minister for Law, Farooq H Naek announced the significant points/ proposals contained in the 62-point draft constitutional package.
According to him the package proposes:
renaming NWFP as “Pukhtunkhwa”; anyone violating his oath to be declared to have committed treason; restriction on becoming President more than two times; barring government employees’ participation in elections; empowerment of Parliament; increasing minorities seats; restored judges to take fresh oath; National Finance Commission to meet in three years instead of five and; Prime Minister to appoint governors not the President.
(Courtesy GEO)

Dancing on broken glass

2008-05-25T00:13:00.001+05:00

By Beena Sarwar

(Courtesy DAWN)

PRESIDENT Pervez Musharraf’s appointment of businessman and media tycoon Salman Taseer — his friend and a former PPP parliamentarian — as governor, Punjab, set off howls of protest from the PPP’s chief coalition partner, PML-N, as well as from what some arbitrarily call ‘civil society’ and others term the ‘chattering classes’.

The controversial appointment followed the PML-N announcement that its federal ministers were resigning because the pre-Nov 3, 2007, judiciary had not been restored by the May 12 deadline announced after the Murree Declaration.More important than this deadline though, was the PML-N and PPP’s agreement that the judiciary must be restored. This is a goal that the two parties agree upon and it is significant for their continuing coalition. Their differences arise in the modalities. Nawaz Sharif wants a dramatic political gesture, an executive order that underscores his stated commitment to the cause while Asif Ali Zardari, embittered by his own experiences at the hands of some of these judges, wants a constitutional package that strengthens the institution — as envisaged by the proposed 18th Constitution Amendment Bill.

The Murree Declaration itself was greeted with the incredulity reminiscent of the amazement that followed an earlier pact between the PPP and PML-N: the Charter of Democracy of May 14, 2006, signed in London by Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, envisaging a joint struggle to rid the country of military rule. The second significant point for the coalition is that the two major parties realise the importance of ending the military’s interference in politics.

There are powerful forces at work playing up their differences and trying to drive a wedge between them. These include western powers like the US and the UK who are more comfortable with their man Musharraf and the PML-Q, than the wild card PML-N. Also ranged against the coalition are the Pakistani ‘establishment’ and its allies in the media where speculation is often presented as news. Together, these forces keep pushing the PPP towards the president and his ‘Q’ League.Zardari appears to be merrily playing into their hands, letting two deadlines lapse without restoring the judges and appointing non-elected persons to positions of power. And then he showed Sharif the proverbial stick with the Taseer appointment (the president reportedly rejected the other nominees).

The PML-N had until now been riding high, feasting on carrots in the high-stakes Punjab province where it remains in government as the senior coalition partner and has made thousands of transfers and postings. But the coalition remains intact as the PML-N remains on the treasury benches rather than the opposition in the National Assembly.The game of politics continues with Zardari requesting the prime minister not to accept the federal minister resignations and asking Taseer to curb his anti-Nawaz rhetoric. The third significant point about the coalition is that the PML-N needs it as much as the PPP does.

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, reiterating that the deposed judges will be restored as soon as the modalities are worked out, termed the Pakistani people as ‘mature, intelligent and patient’, wanting ‘to give the government time’. He may well be correct but for most people, sky-rocketing prices are the most pressing issues and the description sounds like wishful thinking when it comes to ‘civil society’ and the lawyers.Certainly, pressure must be maintained on the government to fulfil its promises but grand rhetoric, dramatic gestures and street agitations will only endanger the coalition. This will make the PML-Q very happy as well as the foreign and domestic powers who want Zardari to join hands with Musharraf and the Q League.

In this situation, the All Pakistan Democratic Movement’s announcement of a national moot on June 1 to strategise about the government’s ‘failure to restore the deposed judiciary’ appears provocative and premature. What is needed at this juncture is a little more patience. It is unrealistic to expect that a mess which was in the making for years will be satisfactorily resolved within a couple of months.

Had the PPP not agreed to a deadline the PML-N would not have joined the federal cabinet to share its burden. The PML-N may privately hope for mid-term polls, but has commendably taken the public position of supporting the government and saying it should complete its tenure. After all, going along with the PPP pressure has proved beneficial before, since Benazir Bhutto convinced Nawaz Sharif to contest the elections instead of boycotting them.

Zardari has a tough act to follow. Thrown into the deep end by Benazir Bhutto’s murder, he does not have her experience, stature or statesmanship (her detractors maintain that she herself lacked the last two). He demonstrated flexibility and sagacity after her assassination, countering the slogans of ‘Pakistan na khapey’ and keeping the party together. He proved central in cobbling together a coalition government, countering the establishment’s old machinations of dividing the politicians and confounding critics who couldn’t even envisage a Sharif-Zardari alliance.

Persistent rumours about Zardari’s prime ministerial or presidential ambitions are still unfounded. Perceptions that the National Reconciliation Ordinance provides a cover to corruption persist even in cases that have nothing to do with the NRO. In any case, with the PPP in power, the Ordinance is irrelevant since the cases it waived were instituted by the government of the time.In the current fraught political atmosphere, a bit of breathing space to the main coalition partners may have long-term benefits. It is worth bearing in mind a plea Zardari made to a group of journalists, lawyers, artists and writers visiting Naudero to condole with him soon after Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. “If we slip up and make mistakes, please be patient with us,” he said. “We are dancing on broken glass.”

Why Zardari's logic about constitutional reform of judiciary is flawed

2008-05-19T13:35:00.000+05:00

Why Zardari's logic about constitutional reform of judiciary is flawed

Allen Hafman

PPP head honcho Asif Ali Zardari says he has been a victim of politicized judiciary, that politically motivated judges kept him behind bars on baseless charges. Zardari claims he wants to reform judiciary through a constitutional amendment, so that others would not have to suffer like he did. Not sure who Zardari is trying to fool with such convoluted logic. Zardari was a victim of a subservient judiciary, judges who acted under the duress of the ruler of the land. Contrary to his stated logic, an independent judiciary would have been more fair to him. That is why Zardari should be doing his part in making Pakistani judiciary independent, free of any executive pressure. But Zardari will not do that. And there is a good reason why he won’t. Zardari has rows after rows of skeletons hidden in his closet. He does not want to put independent-minded judges in the Supreme Court who may decide to open suo moto cases against him, a judiciary that may ask Zardari to explain how he, from being a co-owner of a small family business in Karachi in 1987, became a multi-millionaire during a short span of 3 years--coincidentally his wife was the Prime Minister of Pakistan during that time.

And who does not remember November 1997 when Nawaz Sharif being in power sent hoodlums to raid the Supreme Court and deal with an independent-minded judge? Presently Sharif appears to be the wise man who has a high regard for an independent judiciary. In reality Nawaz Sharif is only driven by a strong desire for revenge; he wants to get even with Pervez Musharraf, the evil man who removed Sharif from his advantageous position of pilferage.

Pakistanis must also ask why in January 2000 Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry took oath under the provisional constitutional order of General Pervez Musharraf, but not in 2007? The answer is, the oath in 2000 was to Chaudhry’s benefit—he was getting promoted because his seniors being more principled than Chaudhry had refused to accept the legality of the military coup. In 2007 Chaudhry was already the top man in the Supreme Court and taking a fresh oath did not make any sense; moreover, his friend Aitzaz Ahsan had told him how much glory Chaudhry would earn by challenging Pervez Musharraf.

Pakistanis must understand that each player they are currently dealing with has his own flaws, but these characters must be made, nay FORCED to go through the motions, to act on principled stands that are universal. With free press, independent judiciary, and strong democratic institutions, Pakistanis would ultimately be able to reform their system.

Is the judges issue impeding progress on the economy?

2008-05-18T05:53:00.001+05:00

It is being said by some people that the present economic crisis is a result of the uncertainty created by the lawyers movement. Some other people are saying that the judges issue is diverting attention from more pressing national issues. Such arguments are being given for ignoreing the judges issue so that the economy can be put back on track. Below, I will try to address these arguments.

A closer scrutiny of the economy shows that the present economic crisis has nothing to do with the lawyers movement that started on March 9.

Load shedding due to power shortage started in 2006 and any well informed person knew that it was only going to get worse since the Musharraf government had made no serious attempt to address the problem. For example, we can check this news report from 2006:

http://www.dawn.com/2006/06/24/ebr4.htm

(Pakistan needs to tackle energy crisis)

or this one from Jan 9, 2007:

http://tdworld.com/news/pakistan-energy-crisis/

(Pakistan's Energy Crisis to Worsen in Next Two Years)

Similarly, the pressure on the foreign reserves and the rupee was also very much expected due to the record trade deficit. This again, had nothing to do with the lawyers struggle, as we can see from the following report dated Jan 2007:

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=6&section=0&article=90974&d=15&m=1&y=2007

(Pakistan Trade Deficit Widens as Imports Rise)

and the following from March 9, 2007 (the day Musharraf sacked the CJ):

http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/09/ebr2.htm

(Trade gap widens to record $8.89bn)

Likewise, many analysts were saying well before March 9, 2007 that the economic growth momentum was not sustainable. For example, check the following piece dated May 1, 2006 from daily times (now more appropriately called chamcha times for overtly supporting Musharraf's Nov 3 martial law and running an editorial campaign against the judges who have refused to accept the Nov 3 PCO):

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C05%5C01%5Cstory_1-5-2006_pg3_5

(Is GDP growth sustainable?)

In light of the above, it should be clear that our present economic crisis is a result of gross mismanagement by the Musharraf govt, and it could be clearly seen coming well before March 9, even when Musharraf was comfortably entrenched in power. The lawyers movement and the related political uncertainty is definitely not an important contributing factor in this crisis.

Is the judges issue delaying a resolution to the economic crisis? Should the civil society give up its demand for the restoration of the judiciary? Again, I believe the answer is clearly in the negative for the following reasons:

1. The PPP can simply restore the deposed judges while removing those who have taken oath under the Nov 3 PCO and then we would not have this political uncertainty. The blame for any political uncertainty therefore lies on the shoulders of the Musharraf-Zardari-Rehman trio and their foreign backers.

2. The judges issue does not stop the government from working on the other issues.

3. A solid institutional basis is needed to put the country on a sustainable path of progress. We keep on having these political crises because we do not have sound institutions. Ignoring the judges issue in the name of the economy will therefore only bring temporary relief if at all. But if the judiciary does get restored, then we might have a better institution which should help the country in the long-run.

4. An independent and credible judiciary is also needed to keep the excesses of the government under check. We all know how large scale corruption and nepotism seriously damages the economy. In the steel mills case alone, the government was giving away billions of rupees to the buyer by selling this national asset well below its value. The supreme court headed by honourable Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry prevented this big loss to the nation by stopping the loot sail. It would therefore be totally ridiculous to argue that the civil society's emphasis on the restoration of the judiciary is a hurdle in improving our economy. Those who care about eliminating corruption so that our resources can be directed towards the development of Pakistan and the well-being of the people must come out strongly on the side of the legitimate judiciary. They should not side with those who are only trying to protect their power and loot through the NRO.

5. Our governments are usually unresponsive to the needs and demands of the people. This is because they face very limited pressure from the electorate and the civil society. Zardari and co are also thinking that they can get away without restoring the judges and the people will not be able to do anything about it.

If the civil society backs down on this issue for any reason, it will only make people like Musharraf and Zardari feel bolder. On the other hand, if the civil society wins this battle, it might allow the people of Pakistan to assert themselves more strongly on other issues too. Whether it's food security, inflation, law and order, education, healthcare, or any other such issue, our leaders will feel that they can not totally ignore the wishes of the people and get away with it. For this reason, even if one is not sure whether the judges issue ought to be the no 1 priority, one should put one's full weight behind it. Such a national consensus on an issue provides a rare opportunity for establishing the power of the people which might not come again in our entire life time. We must not lose such a golden opportunity by getting into petty squabbles over whether issue x is more urgent than issue y.

Govt makes offer to 'reappoint' deposed judges

2008-05-14T14:31:00.000+05:00

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
By Ansar Abbasi

(Courtesy The News)

ISLAMABAD: In yet another controversial move, the government has contacted several deposed judges of the provincial high courts with an offer to reappoint them as judges of their respective high courts but at the cost of compromising their pre-Nov 3 seniority.
This new initiative, if implemented, would make those judges of the provincial high courts who had refused to take oath under General Musharraf's PCO on Nov 3, 2007, junior to their colleagues who preferred to work with a military strongman under the PCO. Almost all those deposed judges, approached with this new recipe for their restoration, have reportedly refused to accept this bizarre offer.
Sources said that through this move the government would be rewarding the judges who had taken oath under the PCO on Nov 3, and punishing those who had refused to show allegiance to the military dictator in violation of the Constitution.
These sources said that the PPP government, which has repeatedly reversed its stand on the judges issue despite public commitments, wanted to retain the incumbent chief justices of the provincial high courts even if the deposed judges were restored.
Sources said that some senior government functionaries, including a federal minister and a top official of the prime minister's secretariat, held a marathon meeting with a few "important persons" in the vicinity of Punjab House last night to finalise the plan. According to sources,†the plan has been authored by the presidency.
The meeting, which started late at night, continued till 4:00 a.m. Some provincial governors, the sources said, were also consulted while a few pre-Nov 3 colleagues of the judges were assigned the task of contacting the deposed judges of the high courts with this unusual offer.
A source lamented that the PPP, which is a signatory to the Charter of Democracy, whose article 3(b) clearly reads that no judge shall take oath under the PCO, will be seriously deviatiing from the document if the plan goes ahead.
The PPP has already decided that it would retain the PCO judges and even those who were appointed in the post-Nov 3 situation and were not part of the Nov 2 judiciary. The latest move goes a step further. It was the judges restoration issue that forced the PML(N) to quit the cabinet after the PPP backtracked from the Murree Declaration and insisted that all the judges of the present superior judiciary would be retained as regular judges. The PML(N) had compromised to the extent that the PCO judges, appointed after Nov 3 in the Supreme Court, would be made ad hoc judges.

Restoration of the Judges in line with Charter of Democracy

2008-05-13T21:27:00.001+05:00

Today Asif Zardari claimed on GEO TV that those who had taken oath under the PCO once could not be restored under the Charter of Democracy. I would like to point out that this statement is blatantly incorrect and comes across as a deliberate attempt to derail the restoration of the judges. The restoration of the deposed judges is directly in line with the Charter of Democracy and it is a legal, moral and political responsibility on the current government to reinstate them as soon as possible.

Please forward this to all media persons so that they can expose this latest lie being propagated to impede the restoration of the deposed judges.

Thankfully this time the people of Pakistan are well informed on the Charter of Democracy. According to Article 3 (b) of the said document:

"No judge shall take oath under any Provisional Constitutional Order or any other oath that is contradictory to the exact language of the original oath prescribed in the Constitution of 1973."

I would like to point out two things in this:

1.1) Please note that that the wording makes it clear that judges were not to take oath under PCO AFTER the signing of the Charter of Democracy in 2006. "Shall" clearly talks only about the future. All those who did take oath on 3rd Nov, including PPP's favorite Mr. Dogar, have violated the charter of democracy.

1.2) It does not mention the removal of any judges who had taken oath under the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2000 (No. 1 of 2000).

1.3) Article 3(a) and all its sub-articles discuss future appointments and not current ones. These are the articles which deal with the constitutional committee on judges and deals with future appointments only. Current judges are not affected by this committee.
Under the Amendments to Article 270-AA through the 17th Amendment, oaths taken under the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2000 (No. 1 of 2000) would be treated as if they had been taken under the Constitution of Pakistan.

2.1) The Supremacy of the Constitution binds us to accept an act passed by 2/3rd majority, irrespective of our opinion on it.

2.2) The oath of the judges taken under the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2000 (No. 1 of 2000) after passing of the 17th Amendment is not in conflict with the Charter of Democracy. This was well understood by both the PPP and PML-N as they specifically talked about events from the signing of the Charter of Democracy.

2.3) No such indemnity has been given to Musharraf's actions of Nov 3rd and all PCO judges are unacceptable according to the Charter of Democracy.

2.4) Like the PPP accepts Musharraf having 58-2(b) which was included in the 17th Amendment, the PPP must also accept that the Oath taken in under Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2000 (No. 1 of 2000) of the 2000 PCO is to be treated as it were taken under the Constitution. It can not selectively choose to accept or reject parts of amendments the way it pleases.
The inductees after PCO can not be accepted if the Charter of Democracy is followed. PPP is going against the Charter of Democracy by including their retention in its demands.
To overturn Musharraf's illegal actions of 3rd Nov, a simple executive order is needed. This is the opinion of 22 former judges of the Supreme Court and 5 former Chief Justices (including many of those who did not take oath under any PCO).

4.1) The only reason why a 2/3rd majority would be needed is if Musharraf's actions of Nov 3rd were considered legal, which he himself has confessed were illegal many a times.

4.2) The argument for needing 2/3rd majority for overturning illegal actions of Musharraf is in conflict with the Charter of Democracy.

4.3) The PPP already has overdone some of Musharraf's illegal actions through executive orders. For instance the incarceration of the deposed judges was illegal and was overturned with an executive order. In the very same way the deposed judges can be restored through a simple executive order.
Public sentiment is strongly supportive of this. According to the IRI statistics:
- 73 % of Pakistanis oppose the PCO judges.
- 81 % of Pakistanis want the CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry back to his rightful office.
- 72 % want IMMEDIATE removal of Musharraf.
- 66 % of Pakistanis support lawyers, students and civil society in their protests.
There are many PPP leaders who are on record for promising to restore the judges if elected to power. There are many more who had promised removal of Musharraf. Even Benazir Bhutto also promised to reinstate Chief Justice and the deposed judges, a statement that has not been retracted and stays on the record. By going eating its own words, the PPP has undermined its credibility in the eyes of the people. IRI polls suggested that the PPP would get more than 50% of the votes but ended up getting only 31% because it did not take a stance on the restoration of the judges.
PPP was actively involved in the restoration of the Chief Justice after March 9th, 2007. They had organized rallies, protests, hunger strikes and welcome receptions for him. The first major demonstration demanding immediate restoration of the Chief Justice was held in Islamabad on Friday, March 16th and was attended by Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Raza Rabbani, Yousaf Raza Gillani, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Jehangir Badar, Nisar Khoro, Naheed Khan, Sherry Rehman, Safdar Abbasi, Latif Khosa, Fauzia Wahab, Fehmida Mirza, Azra Fazal, Nayyar Bokhari and Enver Baig of the PPP. When it was not in power the PPP actively engaged in public pressure against Musharraf for the reinstatement of one person. After coming in power it has categorically said that it will not reinstate "personalities" which tarnishes its credibility further and desecrates the blood of 40 of its workers who gave their live in Karachi for the restoration of one person, the Chief Justice.

If the PPP is ditching the movement after coming to power should we believe that the PPP merely hijacked the movement for its own political gains?
Civil society all across Pakistan is unanimous in their position. They have been silent to give PPP more time as had requested by Mr. Asif Zardari. However we will return to the streets very soon now.

Our position:
- Our struggle is for complete restitution of the Pre-Nov 3rd judiciary with all its powers and members. There will be no compromise on that.
- We believe a simple executive order is enough to overrule the illegal actions of Musharraf.
- For moral backing a parliamentary resolution may be called for to show the will of the people of Pakistan. Once a resolution is passed, the executive will be bound under article 5 and 190 of the Constitution to take immediate measures restoring all chief justices and judges removed on 3 November 2007 and issue necessary directions to concerned law enforcement agencies enabling the deposed judges to resume their judicial duties.
- All the deposed judges are still the real judges of Pakistan. Honorable Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is still the real Chief Justice of Pakistan.
- We do not accept those who were inducted after the PCO (commonly known as PCO judges but it is really a disgrace to call them judges). Accepting the PCO judges will also be against the Charter of Democracy. The PPP must not go against the Charter of Democracy.
- Our stance is in line with the opinion of all of the lawyers and bar councils of Pakistan, 21 former judges of the Supreme Court, 5 former Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and the vast majority of Pakistanis.
- We do not accept Musharraf as a legal ruler of Pakistan and all his actions of 3rd Nov are acts of high treason to be punished by the strictest possible punishment under article 6 of the Constitution.
- We will always work for rule of law and democracy in Pakistan. We believe this can not be done without the restoration of the judiciary.
- Supremacy of the Constitution and the Parliament must always be respected. However we deserve the right to criticize and expose any elected or unelected member for any undemocratic or inappropriate actions.

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References:

Text of Charter of Democracy: http://www.dawn.com/2006/05/16/local23.htm

IRI Polls of November 2007: http://www.iri.org/mena/pakistan/2007-12-13-pakistan.asp

IRI Polls of January 2008: http://www.iri.org/mena/pakistan/2008-02-11-pakistan.asp

People's Party Workers Preparing for Welcome of CJP: http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/06/nat4.htm

PPP's MNAs and other key figures at rally demanding reinstatement of a personality: http://www.dawn.com/2007/03/17/top1.htm

PPP demanding to include PCO judges: http://www.dawn.com/2008/05/12/top6.htm

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In Solidarity,
Samad
--
**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^**^
Samad Khurram
Harvard College
394 Winthrop House Mail Center
Cambridge, MA 02138
E-Mail: skhurram@fas.harvard.edu
Cell(US): +1-(617)960-7289
Cell(PK): +92-300-5599085

Nationwide Protests for the immediate restoration of the deposed judges

2008-05-11T10:10:00.001+05:00

Friends,

One more day to go for the deadline and it does not seem like the judges are going to be restored. Hence there will be protests in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad on Sunday, May 11th 2008 for the immediate restoration of the deposed judges and for purging the judiciary free from the PCO inductees and conspirators of the Nov 3rd coup. Please come to the protest in whichever city you are based in and also inform all your friends in Pakistan.

The battle for the judiciary will go on. AZAAD ADLIYA KO BAHAAL KERO!

Karachi

Parking area in front of Rahat Milk Corner, Khadda Market
6:15 - 7: 30 pm
Walk to the legal CJ of SHC, Justice Sabiuddin's house

Lahore

Governor House, Lahore
6:00 - 7:30 pm
CCP Rally

Islamabad

Outside the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Constitution Avenue
5:30 - 6: 30 pm
Candlelight vigil and peaceful protest.

OUR DEMANDS

1. We demand the complete restitution of the pre-Nov. 3rd judiciary with all its powers and members.
2. We believe a simple executive order is enough to overrule the illegal actions of Musharraf. The delay is becoming unbearable.
3. We do not accept those judges who were inducted after the PCO.

Our stance is in line with the opinion of all of the lawyers and bar councils of Pakistan, 21 former judges of the Supreme Court, 5 former Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and the vast majority of Pakistanis.

Looking forward to your wholehearted participation:
People's Resistance
Student Action Committee
Awami Jamhoori Itehad
Insani Haqooq Itehad
FAST Rising
Young Professionals Lahore
Concerned Citizens of Pakistan
and many other groups of concerned Pakistanis across the country.

"Aisay dastoor ko, subh-e baynoor ko, mai nahin manta, mai nahin janta" - Habib Jalib

The Establishment's B team: The PPP

2008-05-09T15:16:00.000+05:00

By Samad Khurram and Aqil Sajjad

PPP sympathisers complain about the mysterious "Establishment" and their alleged role in destroying democracy in Pakistan for decades now. The Establishment, as defined by them, is a collection of dark, mystifying hands that apparently have many vested interests in upholding the status quo. This inexplicable group comprises rich army officers, the intelligence agencies and foreign hands who scheme together for their own economic and geo-strategic interests. To support this argument, examples of the Mullah-Military Alliance from the 1980s are repeated. The Establishment supposedly destroys institutions, murders politicians, blackmails judges and leaders, and sustains the Military Inc.

One major threat to the Establishment's hold would be an independent judiciary – a judiciary that will not bow down to pressure, sticks or carrots. Historically, many verdicts of our courts were not independent but extorted by threats and intimidation. Judges had regularly fallen victim to blackmail and "sex tapes" and received dictations from the Establishment. Judges who were bold enough not to obey the whims of the Establishment were conveniently removed.

Things changed considerably when Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry took charge and reoriented the judiciary's direction in favour of the people. He was becoming increasingly independent and was beginning to check the excesses of the establishment. Among the most noted examples in this regard were the attempted loot privatisation of the Steel Mills well below their real worth and the case of the missing people illegally abducted and detained by the intelligence agencies.

As he became a growing threat to the Establishment, Iftikhar Chaudhry was summoned to General Musharraf's camp office in the presence of serving military officers and the infamous Brig (r) Ejaz Shah on March 9, 2007. When he refused to resign, the nation stood up in his defence. This was unprecedented in the history of Pakistan and soon Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry became a national hero, arguably the most popular Pakistani alive today.

After his reinstatement with the support of lawyers, students and civil society the judiciary was able to exercise its powers with increasing independence. Naturally, the Establishment could not allow such a judiciary to flourish, as their dirty games could now be brought to justice before an independent tribunal.

Pervez Musharraf struck back with his Nov 3 martial law and 60 judges refused to recognise it as legitimate. New cronies were appointed in the place of those who refused to bow down and the judiciary was tamed once again.

The results of the Feb 18 elections, however, have presented the PPP and PML-N with a golden opportunity to undo the illegal actions of Nov 3 and restore the real judiciary. Unfortunately, while the PML-N has maintained a clear stance in favour of restoring the judiciary, the PPP has been acting as the "B team" of the Establishment.

It is commonly believed that the NRO prevented the PPP from including the widely popular demand for restoration of the judges in its manifesto. The IRI polls of November suggested that an overwhelming majority (73 per cent) of Pakistanis opposed the PCO judges and Musharraf's re-election (72 per cent). In addition, 61 per cent of Pakistanis and more than half of PPP voters opposed a Musharraf-Bhutto deal in November 2007. By going against popular opinion and supporting an unconstitutional and widely hated president, the PPP was starting its political decline.

Public sentiment swayed towards the PPP after the tragic assassination of Benazir Bhutto. IRI's January polls suggested that 50 per cent of Pakistan would vote for the PPP in the elections, up from 30 per cent in November. When the PPP refused to take a clear position for the restoration of the judiciary, its success was reduced to 31 per cent of the total votes in the country and 35 per cent of National Assembly seats. Many people still voted for the PPP in the hope that the absence of an unequivocal stance was only a reflection of different priorities and not as part of the Musharraf-Bhutto deal. The PML-N, on the other hand, gained 5 per cent more seats than earlier calculated -- a reward from the people of Pakistan for clearly declaring a no-compromise policy on the restoration of the heroes of Pakistan.

The stance for the restoration of the judges is not only popular but also in the greater interests of Pakistan. By restoring all judges who refused to take oath under the Nov 3 PCO, the judiciary would be cleared of those who could be bought or blackmailed. The judges would only be those who had refused to obey the Establishment's instructions and stood for principles over positions or money. If the PPP plans to bring to justice the killers of Benazir Bhutto, this independent judiciary will be its best hope for the punishment of the culprits.

Unfortunately, instead of standing up for such a judiciary, the PPP is deliberately confusing a straightforward issue when all that is needed is to provide administrative support to Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and the other deposed judges so that they can go to their chambers and resume their duties. Legally, they are still the real judges since the Nov 3 action was a clear violation of the Constitution.

In the same way, the judges who agreed to collaborate with Pervez Musharraf in this conspiracy can and should be made dysfunctional and tried by a supreme judicial council in light of the last order by the real Supreme Court on Nov 3 barring any judge from taking oath under the new PCO. This is the constitutional position and there is no need to deliberately find excuses for retaining these PCO judges, as the PPP is doing.

The PPP's delaying tactics and the minus-one, minus-two formulas are seriously undermining its credibility among the people of Pakistan. This is not only threatening its vote bank and creating rifts within the party, it also suggests that the PPP of today is no longer the party of Zulfikar Bhutto – a party that promised justice to all. And worse, by not purging the Nov 3 conspirators from the courts, it is implicitly welcoming similar future takeovers. If an act of the Establishment were to be taken to a court dominated by PCO-powered scions we can easily tell in whose favour they would vote.

We firmly believe that the only way for the PPP to put Pakistan on a sustainable path of democracy is to strengthen institutions and submit to the will of the real rulers -- the people of Pakistan. As we had pointed out earlier, an overwhelming majority of Pakistanis not only wants an immediate restoration of the deposed judges but also the dismissal of the Nov 3 PCO judges. By not doing so and aligning itself with the Establishment, the PPP is committing political suicide which, as well as affecting its votes, will leave open the way for future coups by the military establishment.

The writers are students at Harvard University and members of the Student Action Committees (SAC) of Islamabad and the US. Emails: skhurram@fas.harvard.edu & aqil_sajjad@yahoo.ca

Nationwide Protests for the immediate restoration of the deposed judges

2008-05-08T05:04:00.000+05:00

Friends,

There will be protests in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad on Thursday, May 8th 2008 for the immediate restoration of the deposed judges and for purging the judiciary free from the PCO inductees and conspirators of the Nov 3rd coup. Please come to the protest in whichever city you are based in and also inform all your friends in Pakistan.

The battle for the judiciary will go on. AZAAD ADLIYA KO BAHAAL KERO!

Karachi

Parking area in front of Rahat Milk Corner, Khadda Market
6:15 - 7: 30 pm
Walk to the legal CJ of SHC, Justice Sabiuddin's house

Lahore

Outside the PPP Secretariat, 25-A, Faisal Town (near FAST)
6:30 - 7:30 pm
Candlelight vigil and peaceful protest.

Islamabad

Outside the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Constitution Avenue
5:30 - 6: 30 pm
Candlelight vigil and peaceful protest.

OUR DEMANDS

______________________________

Emergency mailing list
http://lists.hcs.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/emergency

Zardari's Great Game ? ? ? ?

2008-05-04T14:47:00.000+05:00

Not a big fan of speculative politics but events have been really worrying. Zardari does not seem reliable. If you look at the track of events, it does seem like Zardari is only buying time so that he is able to replace PML-N in the center. The establishment has been rewarding him as well with swift disposal of cases. The last time this happened, PML-Q emerged. I am listing down all the works of Zardari and the establishment and trying to see if other people I trust find it to be suspicious and thinking about exposing this all formally.

The works of the establishment:

Zardari's murder cases dropped
Zardari's corruption cases dropped
BA requirement dropped
By-elections delayed
Attacks on lawyers, another massacre in Karachi and attack on Sher Afgan to divert attention
Petition put in SC when the count down is nearing its end to stop the restoration
Food, electricity, Oil crises (might not be intentional but do divert focus from the movement).
Supporting Negotiations between MQM and PPP; PML-Q and PPP (http://www.pakistanlink.com/Headlines/May08/02/09.htm)

The works of Zardari:

No question of impeachment raised by Zardari (and his wife in an email to CNN said she would blame Musharraf for her murder!)
PPP members have even called Musharraf "an asset" for Pakistan
Needless delay over the judges. Creation of a issue out of a non issue.
Active hostility towards the judiciary and lawyers (the only lucky ones to have been issued a charge sheet)
Telling Aitzaz to shut up and go on with his agitation; as if he cared. Also ridiculing the whole deadline with "yeh ulti ginti walay baaz aa jayain."
Creation of confusion by offering indecent offers such as minus one, minus two and offering to make CJ the governor of Balochistan
Deliberate confusion over the date of countdown, by Zardari, Sherry Rehman, etc
Trying to find replacement for pro-judiciary PML-N through MQM and others in the guise of "national reconciliation".
Constitutional Package.
Backdoor meetings between PPP and Musharraf
Retention of Malik Qayyum as AG and his clear shift to becoming pro-Zardari and also supporting many court decisions that were pro-Zardari.
Delaying the issue of restoration from the first parliament session to 30 days.
Then creation of a committee which leads to deadlock.
Deadline about to pass and Zardari mysteriously runs out of the country.
Another deadline set. 12 more days bought.
Zardari says this deadline not binding either (http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200805031521.htm)
Media bashing by the PPP (http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=110426)
Forward bloc of PML-Q formed, will support PPP
MQM who was responsible for 40 odd deaths of PPP workers on 12the May alone. joins PPP govt. (However it is also true that its hard to rule Sindh without MQM).
Zardari willing to accept PML-Q if Shujaat and Elahi are removed.
Today's news: Musharraf meets with Shujaat and discusses new leadership for PML-United, all cronies under one banner.
Pir Pagaro most likely candidate to lead the party. Pir Pagaro will be acceptable to PPP workers who jootafied Arbab Ghulam Rahim.
Zardari trying to include PCO-judges as well as later appointments, which neither takes the judiciary to pre-Nov 3rd position nor will be acceptable by any of us or the lawyers or PML-N

Foreign Influence:
US Still supporting Musharraf.
Peterson meeting Zardari Nawaz every other day
EU foreign policy chief claims Mush to stay till his end of tenure!

I don't know how you guys see it but it seems pretty clear to me that Zardari is only trying to buy time to be able to replace PML-N. The PCO judges and the later appointments will lead to another deadlock and the coalition will end up breaking.

-SK

Restitution of judges: A case for constitutional survival

2008-05-04T11:27:00.000+05:00

Huzaima Bukhari & Dr. Ikramul Haq

After lapse of mutually-agreed and self-imposed condition of 30 days on April 30, 2008 for the restitution of judges announced in Bhurban on March 9, 2008, a new deadline of May 12, 2008 has been announced by Mian Nawaz Sharif in Lahore on May 2, 2008. This delay once again proved the lack of political commitment on the part of majority party. Their leadership may have many pretexts, valid or invalid, for not following the deadline or deviating from the original declaration promising the restoration of status quo ante of November 2, 2007 without any conditionality.

The long-drawn parleys between Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari for implementation of Murree Declaration of March 9, 2008 on restitution of judges has serious implication for determining whether 8-year-long dictatorial rule in Pakistan will end or not. The issue of restitution of judges (reinstatement is wrong notion as they are still judges) is in fact a question of great important vis-à-vis constitutional rule in Pakistan. In parleys between leaders of coalition partners in Karachi, Dubai and elsewhere, the issue reportedly was to devise a “correct legal methodology” to counter the strategy of Musharraf camp to block the move through a stay order from apex court. One wonder why the political forces are not uprooting the root-cause by impeaching the unconstitutionally-imposed President, rather than waiting for his purported further illegal actions.

Illegally removed judge, in fact, never ceased as judges. The question is not that of their reinstatement but ordering of status quo ante existing on November 2, 2007. The Parliament unquestionably and unambiguously under the Constitution has full authority to do so. Unfortunately, the Musharraf camp, with the connivance of certain elements in judiciary and political parties, has managed to create confusion in this regard. The Musharraf’s propaganda machine using certain quarters, including some members of legal fraternity, started a debate that in the presence of judgements, namely, Tika Iqbal Muhammad Khan v General Pervez Musharraf and 2 others (PLD 2008 Supreme Court 6) and Tika Iqbal Muhammad Khan v General Pervez Musharraf and others (PLD 2008 Supreme Court 178), it is not possible to restore the judges through passing of a resolution in the Parliament and/or an executive order.

These quarters conveniently ignore the fact that these judgements are coram non judice, issued after seven-member bench declared action of November 3, 2007 illegal. These judgements also have no binding force as reached per incuriam in view of ratio decided by the apex court in PLD 1997 SC 351. On the one hand, it has been recorded that “Prime Minister apprised the President of the situation through the letter of 3rd November 2007” for imposition of emergency, and on the other order passed by the Chief of Army Staff is approved, which is self-contradictory. The decision does not elaborate under what authority of law Chief of Army Staff could impose emergency on the advice of Prime Minister. It is held that judges “who have not been given, and who have not made, oath under the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007, have ceased to hold their offices on the 3rd day of November, 2007.” Since the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007 is void ab initio, any proceedings taken in pursuance of the same are nullity in the eye of law. No judge can be removed except the method provided in Article 209 of the Constitution.

Since the judgements of apex court, issued after seven-member bench declaring action of November 3, 2007, are untenable, the restitution of judges, deposed through a law violative of express provisions of the Constitution, poses no problem. The newly-elected parliament by refusing to validate Article 270AAA and passing an Act nullifying the judgement of Supreme Court can restitute the pre-November 3, 2007 judiciary. The matter is of simple legal nature and should be solved through a legal procedure rather than entering into political polemics and undue controversies. This will not be the first time that the Parliament will nullify a judgement of apex court; it was done in the past by passing a law through simple majority. Numerous precedents are available to this effect, which Mr. Farooq H Naik certainly knows. The act of Parliament will restore the rule of law in its real sense in the country and all the deposed judges will be restituted without any interference on the part of executive. If done through an executive order, it will set as bad an example as by the Musharraf on November 3, 2007. In future, any Chief of Army Staff or government can resort to such an illegality.
There, however, is no need for any constitutional amendment, for which two-third majority is required, as propounded by Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, Rashid Quershi, Malik Qayyum, Waseem Sajjad, Khalid Ranjha, and Ahmad Raza Kasuri et al. The Supreme Court after restitution of pre-November 3, 2007 judiciary will certainly take cognizance of the matter suo moto or on the initiation of aggrieved party [which is public at large] to correct the mistakes committed by their learned colleagues. It will restore the rule of law in its real sense in the country. All the judges [illegally removed] are still judges as action of November 3, 2007 was declared void ab initio by seven-member bench. The illegally removed judges must assume their offices immediately an Act is passed by the parliament nullifying the above-referred judgements. In addition, in terms of Article 190 of Constitution, all executive and judicial authorities throughout Pakistan are legally required to act in the aid of Supreme Court. Thus, the new government is duty bound to implement the order of seven-member bench of apex court of November 3, 2007.

However, the issue of ousting of judges, their house arrests, denying them right of free speech and movement and now hindrances in their restitution cannot be examined in isolation. This confirms that as a nation even after 61 years of existence, we have miserably failed to abide by rule of law. At the heart of the concept of democracy is the assurance for the citizens that their affairs are going to be managed by a ‘Responsible Government’ and rule of law will be ensured. If we analyse the Pakistani scenario in the light of the above basic principle, there will be utter disappointment and frustration. The conduct of each government after the death of Father of the Nation was to waste or plunder public money, force the people into international debt enslavement and mercilessly flout all rules and laws. Therefore, if we have failed to establish independent judiciary, true democracy or a responsible Government, it is not surprising. Dispensation of justice is the main pillar of democracy, which is not possible without ensuring independence of judiciary.
The Parliament, irrespective of allegiance of individual members, must rise to the occasion—which is their historic challenge—to take the following steps for the restitution of illegally deposed judges, which also take care of Mr. Zardari’s concern (sic) for “real change” and “truly independent judiciary”:

In its resolution, newly-elected parliament denounces all the acts taken on November 3, 2007 and resolves that for a true democratic and constitutional rule, a strong and independent judiciary is a sine qua non. Thereafter, the following bills should be tabled and passed:
Bill for ‘High Treason Act 1973 (Amendment Act 2008).
This Act amending High Treason Act, 1973 should provide that that in case of violation of Article 6 of Constitution, it will be incumbent upon the apex court to take immediate cognizance and direct the Attorney General of Pakistan to initiate trial of offender. Thus in future, the apex court instead of validating any violation of Article 6 will be legally obliged to punish the offender(s). It will send clear message to imposer of emergency on November 3, 2007 to step down voluntarily or face trial for his admitted extra-constitutional acts.
Bill for ‘Oath of Judges, Act, 2008’ (invalidating Oath of Office (Judges) Order 2007).
By Passing this Act, the National Assembly will pave the way for reinstatement of November 2, 2007 Judiciary and nullify the judgements of apex court, namely, Tika Iqbal Muhammad Khan v General Pervez Musharraf and others (PLD 2008 Supreme Court 178) and Tika Iqbal Muhammad Khan v General Pervez Musharraf and 2 others (PLD 2008 Supreme Court 6). With the passing of this Act, in future no judge will be removed through any executive order or through any law related to oath of judges.
Bill for National Reconciliation Act 2008 (NRA)
In National Reconciliation Ordinance 2007, Musharraf intentionally excluded cases registered after 12 October 1999 for ulterior motives to exclude Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif. In order to create a genuine atmosphere of national reconciliation and put an end to political victimization, this new Act should be passed immediately removing all the time-specific and person-specific provisions in NRO, 2007, which are in direct conflict with Constitution, and extending its scope to all the persons affected.

The above measures will pave the way for a new beginning in this country ensuring the rule of law, constitutionalism, democracy and justice through an independent judiciary.
_______________________________________________________

The writers (ikram@huzaimaikram.com), tax advisers, legal historians and authors, are visiting Professors of
DR. IKRAMUL HAQLLD, MA, LLBInternational Tax Counsel

Open letter to Asif Zardari- By Ghazala Minallah

2008-05-03T02:09:00.000+05:00

Open letter to Asif Zardari

By Ghazala Minallah
Dear Mr Asif Ali Zardari,

THE election result was an answer to the prayers of the nation. However, the forces of evil forces have been bending over backwards trying to sabotage the democratic process and incite the lawyers into entering into a confrontation with the new government.

They need to be told that we are not the gullible sheep of the past. I am a born optimist, and while writing this, a part of me tells me not to be silly. I want to believe that the Bhurban accord will be honoured and that the tenure will be as it was on Nov 2.

The nation is absolutely not prepared to consider such a humiliating option. It is humiliating for the deposed judges, who for the sake of this ravaged country, put their families at risk. You must have experienced that fear too when Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan last October.

It will be an insult to her memory because she risked her life for democracy, and she, above all, knew what an independent judge meant.

It is trivialising the sacrifices of the lawyers, who, despite all odds, have stood their ground for over a year. The world has already accepted Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and the 60 honourable judges as icons of the struggle for an independent judiciary. Theirs and the names of thousands of brave lawyers have already gone down in history for all times.

A compromised restoration will be an insult to the memory of Hammad Raza, the first precious life lost after March 9, 2007. What about the massacre on May 12, the carnage the day Benazir landed in Karachi, the brutality unleashed on lawyers and civil society, the inhuman act of burning lawyers alive in Karachi? It will be insulting the memory of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, whose mission was to restore democracy, and who better than her knew the value of an independent judge. The nation lost a great leader on that tragic day.

Too much water has flowed under the bridge, and it is unthinkable that after getting this far, there can be talk about actually penalising the judges. Because that's exactly what this act would be.

Mr Zardari, I am fully aware of your sufferings, the brutal act of cutting your tongue, your long years in prison, and the fact that you did not have a pleasant experience with the judiciary at the time. We condemned it then and we condemn it now. But, sir, it was a different Pakistan then, which I say with regret. As I said earlier, we were a nation of sheep. Why am I not writing to President Musharraf? Because one pleads before someone who you have faith will relate to you — and that's the beauty of democracy.

My late father, Justice Safdar Shah, was a victim of an amendment in the Constitution by Mr Z.A. Bhutto when he was chief justice of the Peshawar High Court, identical to the one I am writing about. An ideal person to be appointed judge of the Supreme Court by Gen Zia and to be party to the judicial murder of the very same man. Fortunately, he refused to sell his soul, and the rest is history. At least today I can hold my head up high.

Many other honourable judges have stood up for the independence of the judiciary in the past, but they were not supported the way these judges were.

The nation has suffered long enough. The president has ravaged the country for nine years and wants five more. Yet time is being wasted on whether the deposed judges (real for me) should have their wings clipped. The president uses words such as 'scum of the earth' for a man whom the world has honoured, and gets away with it. We are stuck with an attorney-general whose father was party to the judicial murder of Mr Bhutto. Certain ministers are visiting the man who wrote in his book that the worst thing that happened to this country was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Why is there intrigue and jealousy against the likes of Aitzaz Ahsan? Should we forget how Muneer Malik was tortured? Men of principle like Ali Ahmad Kurd, Justice Tariq Mehmood and so many others who led this movement are a rare commodity. Why are people like Sharifuddin Pirzada and Maulvi Iqbal Haider allowed to assist the Supreme Court in mutilating the Constitution?

Yet priceless assets like the honourable Justices Wajihuddin and Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim are ignored. Mr Zardari, I recall clearly the conversation between late Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and my late father just before she returned to Pakistan in 1986. Amongst other things, he repeatedly told her not to surround herself with sycophants, and that Mr Bhutto's fate was because of such elements.

Mr Zardari, do you realise the importance of the opportunity God has given you? In the past we have had independent judges but never an independent judiciary.

The hearts of the nation are with you in the torment you must feel for your children since the loss of their mother. You can either prove yourself to be a selfless, pragmatic leader, rising above personal grudges, or you can go down in history as the man who deprived this nation of an opportunity that can come only once in a lifetime.

Sir, I have confidence that inshallah you will do the right thing, and that you will put the wishes of the people and the salvation of Pakistan first.

Thirty nine persons recorded disappeared during the first quarter of 2008

2008-05-01T23:10:00.001+05:00

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

Thirty nine (39) persons, mostly young people, remain missing after arrest during the first quarter of 2008; their whereabouts are unknown to their families. The state intelligence agencies are still operative in arbitrarily arresting people, keeping them in custody for several months and torturing them to confess their involvement in crimes against the state. After the general elections of February 2008, about 27 persons disappeared after arrests by the Elite Force, a state intelligence agency working under the Pakistan Army. According to the reports collected by the Defence of Human Rights, an organization working on the recovery of disappeared persons, and Baloch Rights Council, an umbrella organization of several Baloch nationalist organizations, more than 65 persons have been disappeared after the imposition of the state of emergency by President Musharraf, (who was then General Musharraf) on November 3, 2007.

The latest disappearance is that of Mr. Asad Ali Shah, a 24 year old teacher of Saint Paul, Rawalpindi, who was arrested on March 22, 2008, just two days before the new elected assembly took oaths. Mr. Shah's mother and father who were interviewed by the BBC said he was arrested by the Elite Force. He was taken from his home in the early hours of the morning by personnel from the Elite Force who told his parents that they would return him within 15 minutes as they wanted him to support a statement. However, until now there is no news about him. His family is afraid that wherever he is, he is being severely tortured. The Baloch Rights Council claims that 23 persons are missing from districts of Dera Bugti and Sui, Balochistan province after their arrest by plain clothes men driving in police vans since the start of March 2008, just weeks after the general elections of February 18.

Since 2001, when the war on terror began, it is reported by the several nationalists and religious groups that about 5000 persons remain disappeared after arrests. In the southern province of Balochistan, nationalist groups and political parties are claiming that about 4000 persons are missing since the military operation began in the province in year 2001 and that the Pakistan Army has killed several hundred persons in aerial bombardments. In the North Western Frontier Province, where the Pakistani military and foreign forces are carrying out operations against militants, the media and political parties are claiming that more than 1000 persons are missing and that their whereabouts remain unknown. The nationalist forces of Sindh province claim that about 100 persons have been disappeared but that some of them were released after the intervention of the Supreme Court and Sindh High Court. In Punjab province most of those arrested were from some religious groups working in southern and north western areas of the Punjab province. The figure goes to more than 100 persons.

The newly formed civilian government of Pakistan particularly, the Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani have still not mentioned about the fate of disappeared persons after their arrests by the state intelligence agencies. The issue of the disappearances was one of the main issues which caused the dismissal of the deposed Chief Justice and whole higher judiciary by the military rulers. The state agencies are still operating freely to arrest any one with out any legal authority and keeping persons incommunicado for several months during which time they are tortured. The new government must realise that their indifferent attitude towards the issue of disappearances will only strengthened the resolve of the intelligence agencies of the army to run a parallel rule of law contrary to constitution and civilian laws.

This is the time for the newly formed coalition government to take the issue of disappeared person as one of the priority issue for their government's 100 days task, which was announced by the prime minister after formation of his government. The government of Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani should announce policy statement about the fate of disappeared persons and their release and make a committee of parliamentarians to record statement from all those persons who were released from the captivity of intelligence agencies. The government should also seriously take the notice of the testimonies of the released persons about the military torture camps in all big cities of the country and immediately start a probe of them.

The Changing Face of the PPP

2008-05-01T23:09:00.000+05:00

Ayaz

At this juncture, we, the members of the civil society, must not be disheartened. Looking back over the last year, it would have been unthinkable to foresee that democratic forces would be in power and the much-maligned political parties, who also were responsible for their demise, would be provided with one more opportunity to undo the blunders of the past and to provide this nation of ours a bright future.
The struggle has been marked with uphill battles yet slowly but surely, the status quo is crumbling. With this respect, the Pakistan People's Party and the Muslim league Nawaz benefited considerably. We may recall that prior to the Feb 18 elections, Mr Zardari's criticism of Musharraf and the Q league was as harsh as that coming out of the Nawaz camp. Since the elections, the PPP's public statements and private conducts have been in complete odds with each other. PPP continuously stated in the media that the roomers of linking the restoration with a minus 1 formula or the reduction in the tenure of the CJ are unfounded and are a conspiracy. When it was repeatedly reported that senior PPP leaders were holding late night meetings with the establishment, including secret meetings with the present illegal judges, the party dismissed these also. Everything is crystal clear now, isn't it? The unprecedented speed with which the cases has been finalized in Zardari's favor are secret to no one. The recent attack on the CJ, specifically in reference to Mr Zardari's case from 2004 supposedly in his court. We must also remember that justice Iftikhar Chaudhry assumed the office of the CJ on July 1, 2005 and was just one of 17 judges prior to that date.
As seen in Mr Zardari's interview with Dr. Shahid, he discredited the lawyers and the civil society's movement. It appeared as if Musharraf is speaking and not the leader of Pakistan People's party. Many honest Pakistanis admired Zulfikar Bhutto and his sacrifices. However, do you think Mr Bhutto would at any point side with the dictator? His movement was driven by the people of this country. Can, the son in law, who never perhaps met Bhutto, blackmail the nation by citing the sacrifices of the party leaders whenever any substantive issue comes up? Maybe we should ask this question of Ms Fatima Bhutto, the daughter of Mir Martaza Bhutto.
It certainly is a decision for the party about what role is given to Mr Zardari according to some will. However, can the struggle of this nation be held hostage to one man's tittering one it comes to the issues that matter? PPP is suggesting that there is a conspiracy against them. Let us be clear-
The PPP's stance of diluting the powers of the independent judges is perfectly aligned with that of Musharraf and the USA.
So, on one hand are the forces that want a significantly weakened judiciary and on the other hand are the students and the lawyers. And despite the enormous might of the powerful, Musharraf and the United States are crumbling in the eyes of the nation. A sincere request to all the pro PPP persons, whose side are you on?

Student Action Committee takes to the streets for judiciary again

2008-05-01T23:03:00.002+05:00

In light of the fact that the issue of the restoration of the judiciary once again lies in peril, and with the 30 day countdown finally coming to an end. The students organized a rally that proceeded from Fast University to the PPP Secretariat. The protest brought together the students once more to send the message that the youth of the country are still active and will not sit idly by. The slogans chanted were pro-judiciary and anti-musharraf. A new variety of slogans from pre-election days were directed at zardari saying be loyal to us [the people] zardari, do not betray us (ker hum se wafadari, zardari zardai; na ker tu hum se ghuddary, zardari zardari) and musharraf-zardari alliance is not acceptable (musharraf zardari ittehad, na manzoor na manzoor).
The message was loud and clear, as repeated over and over by the various speakers. "You the politicians are the representatives of the people, you are answerable to us. We have elected you. You have come on our mandate, and you must stick to the task entrusted on you. We, the people, elected you to restore our judiciary. A restoration that comes with no strings attached. A minus one formula or the reduction of judicial tenures; no such side policies will be appreciated and will be tantamount to a betrayal of the public's trust."
The students made a human chain around the intersection along the rally's way, followed by a picket line around the PPP secretariat. The rally lasted for about an hour and a half, with the students peacefully dispersing as has become the tradition of these student-led protests.

Walk in Karachi for Judiciary - 30th April

2008-04-30T07:05:00.001+05:00

Peoples Resistance shall hold a demonstration for restoration of judiciary on Wednesday April 30, 2008, at 6 pm at Dalton Market DHA, (in front of Rahat milk shop). Participants will walk down to the Legal Chief Justice of SHC, Mr. Sabihuddin Ahmed’s house for a 30 minute protest.

PR expresses its disappointment that this important issue has not been addressed as promised and would like to reiterate the demand for urgent and unconditional restoration of judiciary. April 30th is the last day of 30-day period committed by two major political parties in Bhurban Declaration for the resolution of this issue.

All concerned citizens /groups are requested to join and show solidarity for the cause of restoration of original judges.

People’s Resistance is a coalition of students, teachers, NGOs, journalists and citizens concerned with restoration of judiciary, freedom of media and restoration of constitution.

Bring banners, placards, flags, T-shirts and your friends!
In a rare quirk of fate if the judiciary is restored on that day, we will mark it as a celebration!

All those in Karachi are requested to join. Please inform all your friends in Karachi.

Habib Jalib - Mainay Uss Say Yeh Kaha - Laal

2008-04-28T14:40:00.005+05:00

A poem by Habib Jalib called “Musheer” (advisor) [lyrics]. Jalib wrote it as a satirical piece against Hafiz Jalandari in the period of Ayub Khan. It is equally valid today.

Credits:

Habib Jalib - Mainay Uss Say Yeh Kaha
Shahram Azhar - Vocals
Taimur Rahman - Music
Mahvash Waqar - Backing Vocals
Taimur Khan - Director Producer
Dita Peskova - Assistant Director
Jamie Mill - Recording Director
Laal & Taimur Khan - Music Producer
WIDEi Films - Production Company

Zardari ditching the nation on the judges

2008-04-27T14:29:00.003+05:00

Please find the transcript of Zardari's interview with BBC below. Alternatively you can listen to it here: Listen 3 mins 35 secs

Summary:

Zardari accuses the CJ of playing politics. Mr. Zardari himself is known as 10% before the Nation while the CJ Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry is the Second most popular figure in history of Pakistan after Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. A renowned convict in courts domestically and abroad should refrain from issuing such statements lest he brings forth the wrath of the people.
Zardari also accuses that the CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry refused to grant him bail when the only case pending against him was the BMW case. This is baseless. There were still numerous corruption, murder, narcotics and money laundering cases against him. As an example read this report: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSISL12558720080417
Pakistan court acquits Bhutto's widower in second murder case

HYDERABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - A Pakistani court acquitted Asif Ali Zardari, widower of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, in the murder of a civil servant in 1997, his lawyer said on Thursday, the second such exoneration for Zardari this month.

Please note that Fatima Bhutto, the daughter of Shaheed Murtaza Bhutto still blames Zardari for the murder. Perhaps we should ask for a UN investigation into the murder of her father as well?
http://www.despardes.com/articles/2007/20070920-fatima-bhutto.htm
Zardari lies that the ball is not in his hand when asked. Anyone with a bit of basic common sense and respect for rule of law would realize that the 7 member bench of the Supreme Court had issued a stay order against the declaration of Emergency and PCO in the country. Hence all actions of Musharraf under the state of emergency and PCO are illegal. The deposed judges are still the real judges of Pakistan. It would require ONE order from the PM for the judges to go back to their offices and PM Gilani has already promised to issue it once the coalition asks him: http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=14265
We know from the news stories that its Zardari who is the hindrance to the restoration not anyone else.
He further argues consensus in parliament is needed. LIE! Majority is needed. All acts need simple majority to be approved. If we had to move ahead with 100% consensus in the parliament there would be no need to have an opposition leader. Why was a consensus not sought for asking for UN inquiry in the assassination probe of Mohtarma Shaheed (which we support, by the way). Mr. Zardari you can not be selectively choose different routes on your liking.
His overall tone is not encouraging. "Think so" "hope so" are not synonymous with "Yes". I hope the people are aware enough to realize it.
Zardari had shown his true moral character earlier by offering to make the CJ Governor of Balochistan:
http://pakistanmartiallaw.blogspot.com/2008/04/zardari-offers-gubernatorial-post-to.html

Not everyone is looking for positions, fame or money Mr. Zardari.
Complete details of the possible script of Zardari and the Establishment can be seen here:
http://www.pakspectator.com/zardari-dancing-to-the-tunes-of-the-establishment/

There are 4 more days left in the Bhurban Declaration Deadline that was set by the members of the parliament themselves. If the elected representatives do not get us justice through the parliament people of Pakistan will need to figure out other ways of getting justice even if it includes getting hands on the NAB files and hiring lawyers to re-pursue the cases of Mr. 10% in a court abroad that can give us justice. The current Supreme and High Court of cronies is not a court the people of Pakistan trust.

In solidarity,

Saif Rasheed Khan

Transcript of Part of Owen Bennett-Jones's interview of the co-chairman of the Pakistan People's Party, Asif Zardari

Zardari: All of them have played politics. Iftikhar Chaudhry had played politics before, and he's playing politics even now. And we're going to restore the judiciary.

Interviewer: Will you restore him?

Zardari: Hopefully. It's part of it.

Interviewer: Hopefully?

Zardari: Yeah, it depends on the parliament. Not me, I cannot restore or not restore anybody else.

Interviewer: Well, you said… I mean, Nawaz Sharif, the other big political leader is absolutely committed to the restoration of this man.

Zardari: Why do you think I'm not?

Interviewer: Because you've just told me it's not up to you when it is up to you. If you ask the parliament to do this, it will happen tomorrow. It can happen in half an hour.

Zardari: No it cannot happen in half an hour. Even if Mr. Sharif wants it, it can't happen in half an hour.

Interviewer: Why not?

Zardari: There has to be a consensus in the parliament, right? For that there has to be a bill drafted which is being drafted today and its being looked at. I have come to power, People's Party has come to power, we have lost our leader to politics; the fourth leader we're losing to politics! We intend to change the system. I'm not interested in restoring only the judges, I'm interested in restoring the judiciary, the rule of law, the majesty of law, so that no other Asif Zardari stays in prison under trial for eight years and Mr. Iftikhar Chaudhry does not say: "I have not read the case so I cannot hear the case." That was my last case. What was the case? A BMW case. Less duty has been paid. The law of the land is: if duty is unpaid, you take the car, you don't take the man! In that case I was languishing in prison for two years and I went to Chaudhry Iftikhar five times. So we do not allow the judiciary again to do that. The judiciary is on record. They have killed my father-in-law. They admit their judicious murder!

Interviewer: If I can say so, your whole demeanor has just changed in the last minutes. You're angry, and it seems to me that you're angry with this man, this chief justice. (Zardari interrupts: No!) And well, the difficulty of course is that the vast bulk of Pakistan wants this man restored to office.

Zardari: Ok, let me correct you. I'm not angry. If I'm not angry with the people I'm sitting in politics with, who I have marks on my body of.

Interviewer: You're referring to the fact that many of your coalition partners played a role in putting you in prison. I mean, that's true!

Zardari: I was the prisoner of Mr. Musharraf for five years. So if I'm not angry at them, if I haven't asked for the death sentence for the killing of my wife, I don't believe in anger. It's a wasted energy.

Interviewer: Ok, but nonetheless, you've just been very critical of a man who…

Zardari: No no, not a man, but (of) the system.

Interviewer: Would you feel comfortable with this man as Chief Justice again?

Zardari: You will feel comfortable. Pakistan will feel comfortable with the new laws that the parliament brings in, the package that I bring in. It will be to strengthen the judiciary so that they can do justice and not politics.

Interviewer: And as part of that, will Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry be restored?

Zardari: I think so.

Judicial reforms: reconsidering CJ's role

2008-04-26T23:36:00.001+05:00

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Babar Sattar

What is wrong with the PPP? Has it still not learnt that Pakistan in 2008 is an assertive, impatient place unwilling to suffer politicians who try to feed the nation with equivocal commitments and platitudes? How many more coalition meetings, special-committee negotiations and expert consultations will it take to conclude that the wrongs inflicted on the judiciary since November 3 must be corrected unconditionally? Hypothetically speaking, had the general not illegally dismissed the judges, and by some miracle of nature the general election had still resulted in the creation of the coalition government that we presently have, would slashing the tenure of the Chief Justice still top the PPP's constitution-amendment agenda? Is it honourable for a popular mainstream political party to derive leverage from the unconstitutional and condemned acts of the general and seek partisan gains in agreeing to support a principal?

Asif Zardari's trite speech on the PPP's commitment to strengthen the 'institution of judiciary' and animate the 'majesty of law' is not comforting due to his party's hectic behind-the-scene efforts to exclude Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry from the bench. A constitutional package fixing the tenure of the chief justice to ease CJ Chaudhry out of office before he reaches the age of superannuation will be rightly viewed as another naked assault on the independence of the judiciary. If Mr Zardari is focused on institution building and not stuck on individuals as he claims, what better way to manifest such principled commitment than by restoring and strengthening all the deposed judges including the Chief Justice who he finds disturbingly independent and unpredictable. The PPP must realize that feet-dragging on the issue of restoration, while smugly deriving benefits from the Dogar Court and keeping compromised wheeler-dealers such as Attorney General Malik Qayyum in office, are all factors compounding its image problem.

It is understandable that the PPP is confronted with a dilemma when it comes to the judiciary. It has now assumed partial control of a malfunctioning justice system that serves the powerful. Now that it is on the right side of the system, there are massive gains to be reaped so long as it is in the power seat. So should it make hay while the sun shines or resist the temptation and make the system less vulnerable to abuse in the larger interest of the nation and to be dealt a fair hand if the party gets the wrong end of the stick in future? The swiftness with which cases pending against Mr. Zardari have been wound up by the courts over the last few months puts the concept of rule of law to shame. This is not a comment on the merit of the cases, but instead the timing and the manner in which they have been handled. It is a well-known adage that justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done.

What suddenly shook the conscience of our dispensers of justice to arrest the gargantuan wrongs being inflicted upon Mr Zardari for years? How come it dawned on the Dogar Court only last week that requiring elected public representatives to be graduates violated their constitutionally protected right to freedom of association and equal protection of law. Pro-democracy forces have been crying hoarse for the last six years that the graduation condition makes a mockery of democracy, equal rights and majority rule; it is elitist and constitutes a grave infringement of citizens' fundamental rights by proponents of 'controlled-democracy'. The Supreme Court hearings in the matter suggest that the court could not previously fathom the discriminatory effect of this disenfranchising law due to lack of empirical evidence (in a country where even the exaggerated literacy rate is around 50 per cent and those able to read papers are deemed literate!). Is it merely coincidental that while general election were held under the graduation condition, the Doger Court struck down the law prior to the by-election wherein Mr Zardari – reportedly a non-graduate – wishes to contest?

One marvels at the compulsions that force individuals, bestowed with the divine calling to mete out justice, to stoop to shameful levels of partiality. Notwithstanding the psychological profiles of those at the helm of our institutions of justice, opportunistic decisions of the Dogar Court and the surrounding circumstances in which they are rendered emphasize the urgent need to reassemble an independent judiciary. It is true that no other court can possibly provide the kind of predictable legal service that the PPP or any ruling party can desire. But in conjuring up the image of a desirable court, considerations of autonomy, fairness and impartiality must override those of predictability and spineless loyalty. For spineless loyalty can change sooner than the weather. And in any event the majesty of a legal system cannot be enthroned if the law means different things at different times depending on whether the litigant is powerful or dispossessed.

If Mr Zardari is serious about strengthening the judiciary as an institution, he can sponsor process-driven reforms and initiatives that could even address the PPP's misconceived fears that if unconditionally restored CJ Chaudhry might be beholden and partial to the PML-N.

The coalition partners can agree to reconsider the administrative authority of the chief justices of the Supreme Court and High Courts. The independence of the judiciary is actually a means to create an impartial judiciary, as explained at length by Justice Asif Khosa of the Lahore High Court, while speaking at the International Judicial Conference held in Islamabad in 2006 during the golden jubilee celebrations of Pakistan's Supreme Court. Such judicial independence and impartiality can be threatened not only by the executive -- as has historically happened in Pakistan -- but also by chief justices to the extent that they exercise their administrative powers to influence the judicial function of other members of the court.

As Justice Khosa elaborated in his paper: "Concentration of powers in the hands of the head of a judicial institution regarding constitution of benches, allocation and distribution of cases among benches, attaching priority to different kinds of cases and geographical transfers of judges is an issue which has raised eyebrows in the past and can also resurface in the future. A possible misuse of such powers by the head of a judicial institution can effectively render the independence of an individual judge to be of no practical utility or benefit to the citizens at large." The chief justice as the head of the court is first among equals and his judicial authority is no more than that of any other member of the bench. However, by virtue of his administrative powers to determine the composition of benches as well as which bench hears what cases, he can single-handedly influence the judicial outcome of important cases being adjudicated by the court.
Judicial independence implies independence of a judicial officer from all extraneous considerations and influences, including freedom from the coercive influence of seniors on the bench. Conventional wisdom suggests that the best protection against abuse of arbitrary authority is to distribute it widely. In the US all justices of the Supreme Court have a vote in determining which matters are to be fixed before the court, just as they have an equal vote in determining the outcome of a legal dispute. Given the size of our court and the number of cases heard by the apex court, a voting system involving all justices might not work for us. But our Supreme Court should have an executive committee comprising the five senior most judges who collectively exercise the administrative functions of the court, with the chief justice functioning as the committee chair.

Such an approach to judicial reform will be rooted in principle, as opposed to being outcome-driven, unlike the proposed reduction in CJ Chaudhry tenure aimed at seeing him off as soon as possible. One the one hand it will guard against the whimsical exercise of authority as well the partisan affiliations of all chief justices, and on the other it will make it harder for a ruling executive to solicit favourable decisions from the court in a matter of days by liaising with an all-powerful chief justice. Effective statesmanship requires of a leader to conceive a vision larger than the immediate partisan goals of his clique. In order to establish that the PPP's commitment to judicial independence and reform transcends its love for the NRO, Asif Zardari must opt for a principled approach to reform that makes the judiciary impervious to partisan executive manipulation – even the PPP's.

The writer is a lawyer based in Islamabad. He is a Rhodes scholar and has an LL.M from Harvard Law School.

Pakistan closing in on pact with militant's Mehsud tribe

2008-04-26T04:47:00.000+05:00

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, April 25 (Reuters) - Pakistan is close to clinching a peace pact with the Mehsuds, one of the most recalcitrant tribes in its tribal region bordering Afghanistan. “It's now a matter of days before we have an agreement. The talks are in a very advanced stage,” a senior government official involved in the negotiations told Reuters. A draft of the 15-point accord with the Mehsud tribal elders was shown to Reuters. It included a call for an end to militant activity, exchange of prisoners and gradual withdrawal of the army from South Waziristan. The draft did not explicitly say whether militants should stop cross-border attacks into neighbouring Afghanistan. But it did say Mehsud tribesmen should expel al Qaeda and other foreign fighters from their area within a month and stop their lands being used as a base for attacks. While the authorities and tribal elders made final touches to the pact, Baitullah Mehsud, who was declared as the leader of the Pakistani Taliban late last year, on Wednesday ordered his followers to stop attacks inside Pakistan. A government official described the ceasefire as part of a series of confidence building measures that will be taken before the agreement is signed. He said the government also planned to lift blockade of Mehsud territory by the military.

Zardari dancing to the tunes of the Establishment?

2008-04-25T14:10:00.000+05:00

Suppose The Establishment and Zardari were to team up, how would the script have rolled?

Zardari would have wanted to become PM.
For that he would need to have all his murder, corruption, money laundering charges dropped.
Requirement for BA would be dropped (though according to some sources Zardari is a graduate)
By elections would be delayed.

The establishment would have wanted to delay the whole issue using attrition to wear down the movement.
They would have liked Musharraf to stay.
And of course the judges restoration be delayed or avoided.

What do we see right now?

The works of the establishment:

Zardari’s murder cases dropped
Zardari’s corruption cases dropped
BA requirement dropped
By-elections delayed
Attacks on lawyers, another massacre in Karachi and attack on Sher Afgan
Petition put in SC when the count down is nearing its end to stop the restoration

The works of Zardari:

No question of impeachment raised by Zardari
PPP members have even called Musharraf “an asset” for Pakistan
Needless delay over the judges
Active hostility towards the judiciary and lawyers (the only lucky ones to have been issued a charge sheet)
Telling Aitzaz to shut up and go on with his agitation; as if he cared. Also said kay yeh ulti ginti walay baaz aa jayain.
Creation of confusion by offering indecent offers such as minus one, minus two and offering to make CJ the governor of Balochistan
Deliberate confusion over the date of countdown, by Zardari and Sherry Rehman.
Trying to find replacement for pro-judiciary PML-N through MQM and others in the guise of “national reconciliation”.
Constitutional Package.
Backdoor meetings between PPP and Musharraf
Retention of Malik Qayyum as AG and his clear shift to becoming pro-Zardari.
Delaying the issue of restoration from the first parliament session to 30 days.
Then creation of a committee which leads to deadlock.
Then the establishment puts a petition when the count down is about to end.

The issue of the judges:
The deposed judges are still the real judges. A simple order by the PM or a resolution in the parliament telling them to return to their offices would have been enough.

Suppose Zardari wanted to restore the judges and listen to our demands, how would the script have looked?

First session would have asked the judges to return to office.
Impeachment case put against Musharraf so he could not use 58-2(b)

Which of the two scripts do we see being played?

Can we still trust Zardari (or the PPP) after all this?

Politics of student unions

2008-04-24T06:03:00.001+05:00

Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Syed Saad Rizvi

The removal of ban on student unions by the present government is a welcome sign for the establishment of a strong democracy in Pakistan but there is still a lot that needs to be done. Much damage has already been done to the image of politics and its effectiveness among the post-1984 generation – especially present students – because of the long-standing ban on student unions.

General Ziaul Haq banned student unions, learning from his Turkish counterparts, in an attempt to subdue politics. The decision was further compounded by his ideological leanings because that mean that progressive student bodies were effectively rooted out but Islamic student's organizations such as the Islami Jamiat-e-Tulaba (IJT) were in fact strengthened during his time. As a result, these Islamic student unions gained a monopoly in the universities and frequently resorted to militancy and violence to harass students at campuses to coerce them into following the student wing's own agenda. Furthermore, the state support, even if covert, to these student organizations made them immune to any action from law-enforcement agencies and this only served to embolden them. In many cases, members of the faculty at various universities felt their moral duty to support these militant student organizations to the extent that they became their de facto members and/or patrons.

Also, in the aftermath of the ban, some student organizations arose along ethnic lines while others, remnants of former unions, associated themselves with political parties. The student organizations that organised along ethnic lines were armed and did not hesitate to engage in violence to safeguard their interests. These student organizations also represented and reflected the resentment of local ethnic groups against the policies of the central government and also the state itself.

The ban on student unions did not stem the violence on campuses, which only continued to grow. Adamjee Government Science College, apparently the best intermediate college in Karachi with a student body that is among the brightest in the country, was often scene of many violent incidents. On the very first day for new students who join the college, the above-mentioned student organizations have their representatives at the college door, all trying to lure the new students to join their student wings. They are attracted by what later turn out to be bogus promises of helping with academics or even with the registration process. Some even go to the extent of claiming themselves to be saviours against campus violence and pledge to protect their members from it. As for those students who manage to somehow avoid joining a student union, they still are affected by violence. It is this violence which greatly affected how most students see and perceive student unions on campus – usually as things to be avoided. The power of the student wings was, as is, such that usually even the head of the college, the principal, is unable to do much about the violence, except to call in the Rangers of the police, as and when it happens. And this state of affairs is found across the length and breadth of the country.

So, while the step to lift the ban on student unions is good that it may allow some genuine politics to take place and could help reduce the incidents of violence, it needs to be followed by a stringent deweaponization campaign in all colleges and universities. If done without favouring any particular student wing it could restore a certain level of confidence in student politics and would also contribute towards the establishment of a level playing field for all student organizations. Reducing violence in politics at national level would also serve as motivation for those students who may already be interested in political activism.

In addition to this, courses in civics should be taught to secondary school students. Political science, history and geography should all be offered as separate subjects instead of the hodgepodge that one finds in the form of Pakistan Studies. In addition, seminars and conferences should be held to explain to students the real role of student unions and how they can be used as a platform for airing and reflecting the wishes and aspirations, as well as grievances, of students to the administration and even to the government of the day. Politicians could be invited to campuses to engage with students in dialogue and this could help remove some of the faulty notions that many students have of politics and politicians.

Students need representation at some level. All developed and democratic nations have student platforms and organizations and these usually serve as breeding grounds for future leaders. Besides, if an interest in politics is not encouraged or developed during one's student years, this country could face a grave leadership crisis – the signs of which are already becoming visible.

The writer is a student at the University of Connecticut in the US. Email: syed.mustafa@uconn.edu

Zardari's statements and the Murree Declaration: Contradictions..?

2008-04-23T06:47:00.001+05:00

Countdown has not begun: Zardari (Courtesy The Daily Times)

LAHORE: The countdown for the restoration of judges sacked on November 3, 2007, has not begun, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari told Aaj Television on Monday. Zardari said the countdown for the restoration of the sacked judges would begin after the formation of all four provincial governments. The PPP co-chairman said he was developing a consensus among coalition partners on the draft resolution for the restoration of the sacked judges, adding that the PPP was committed to restoring the sacked judges under the Murree Declaration. Zardari said he did not want a judiciary that would succumb to the pressure of the government.

Text of the Murree Declaration:

http://www.hindu.com/nic/pakistan-murree.htm

1-Allied parties, the Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (N) resolve to form a coalition government for giving a practical shape to the mandate, which was given to the democratic forces by the people of Pakistan on February 18, 2008.

2-This has been decided in today's summit between the PPP and the PML (N) that the deposed judges would be restored, on the position as they were on November 2, 2007, within 30 days of the formation of the federal government through a parliamentary resolution.

3-The parties agreed that all allied parties would fully support the candidate for the position of the prime minister, nominated by the PPP. The PML (N) suggested that the candidate for prime minister should be such person who can take ahead the common agenda of the allied parties.

4-The parties agreed that the speaker and the deputy speaker of the national assembly would be from the PPP while the speaker and the deputy speaker of the Punjab assembly would be from the PML (N).

5-Both the parties agreed that the PML (N) would be a part of the federal government while the PPP would be a part of the Punjab government.

6-This is the solid opinion of the leaderships of both the parties that the allied parties are ready for forming the governments and the sessions of the national and provincial assemblies be summoned immediately.

PML-N may quit federal ministries

2008-04-22T04:05:00.001+05:00

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) has decided Monday night to quit all the federal ministries if the deadlock among their party and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) over the restoration of judges persists.According to details, PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif held consultations with the party leaders and arrived on the decision that his party ministers will leave the federal ministries if the deadlock with the ruling PPP persists over the judges restoration.It was said however that PML-N will continue supporting PPP in the federation.

Nawaz-Zardari meeting again today

2008-04-22T04:00:00.000+05:00

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) spokesman Siddique Al Farooq said that the previous negotiations between PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari have failed to achieve results.
Talking to media outside Punjab House here, he said that no party could withstand the failure in the negotiations over the restoration of judges. Responding a question regarding the judges restoration, Siddique Al Farooq said that there is consensus and constructive approach present between PPP and PML-N.
He said the negotiations process will continue even today.

(Courtesy GEO)

Impasse in PDA over judges restoration

2008-04-22T03:56:00.000+05:00

ISLAMABAD: There is a deadlock among ruling parties in connection with the finalization of draft resolutions for restoration of judges and Constitutional Package to be presented before National Assembly.
Geo News, citing source, said the Pakistan Democratic Alliance came to a stalemate over some points of the draft resolution including mainly the retirement age of judges and date of their restoration.
Had the parties reached an agreement in today’s negotiations, the Awami National Party (ANP) would have also joined them. However, the negotiations will resume tomorrow.It may be mentioned here that the spokesman of Pakistan Muslim League (N), Siddique Al-Farooq said the talks between PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif and PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari over the draft resolution could not be completed today. The negotiations will be resumed on Tuesday, he added.

(Courtesy GEO)

Draft resolution on judges issue ready

2008-04-22T00:50:00.001+05:00

By Syed Irfan Raza

ISLAMABAD, April 20: The government has finalised the draft of a resolution for reinstatement of all deposed judges, including Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, PPP sources told Dawn on Sunday.

The sources said that the resolution would be presented in the National Assembly within a week and all deposed judges of superior courts would be reinstated.

They said the coalition partners had made some changes in the draft of the resolution prepared by former justice Fakharuddin G. Ibrahim.According to the agreed draft, the strength of the Supreme Court would be enhanced and no existing judge of the apex court would be removed.

The original draft had sought removal of the judges who had taken oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). The new draft suggests that the deposed chief justice would work till reaching the age of superannuation.

When contacted, information minister Sherry Rehman said that the coalition partners were very actively working for the reinstatement of deposed judges and a final announcement would be made soon.“We want the best possible solution to this problem,” she said.

Another senior leader of PPP said that PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif, Awami National Party President Asfandyar Wali and Maulana Fazlur Rehman would make a formal announcement of the agreed resolution.

The author of the resolution, Justice Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim, has stressed the need for early reinstatement of judges in accordance with the Constitution, and advised against politicising the matter.

He said that he had sent the draft of the resolution some three weeks ago and pleaded forcefully that the coalition government could easily reinstate the judges without any constitutional amendment because the judges had been deposed unconstitutionally.

The resolution also had the backing of 15 former superior court judges, four chief justices among them, who had supported Justice Ibrahim’s contention that the removal of judges under the emergency decree on Nov 3 was unconstitutional and that a resolution in the National Assembly would be sufficient for their reinstatement.

(Courtesy DAWN)

Zardari hints at becoming PM, says judges acted in 'self-interest'

2008-04-20T06:55:00.000+05:00

LONDON: Co-chairman Pakistan People's Party Asif Ali Zardari has announced that he will be taking part in the coming by-elections and, if need be, he can become the prime minister.

In an interview with a British news channel, Zardari said he and his sister Faryal Talpur would submit their nomination papers to contest the by-elections from Benazir Bhutto's constituency NA-270.

Responding to a question, he said it was not necessary that the party chairman must become the prime minister but he could be the PM if need be.

He said his party would maintain the status quo with the president but would think about his accountability if they got a two-thirds majority in parliament. He said the prime minister had secured more than two-thirds of the votes in the National Assembly but some members might not vote for the president's accountability.

Zardari said the establishment brought President Musharraf into power and "these are the same forces which are now hatching conspiracies against the democratic government." He said the establishment had also asked Benazir Bhutto to boycott the elections.

He alleged that the judges did not start the war because of any danger to democracy but they did so in their self-interest. He said even then, he was in favour of reinstating the deposed judges.

(Courtesy The News)

Parliamentary sovereignty… a fine notion

2008-04-20T06:39:00.002+05:00

Ayaz Amir

(Courtesy The News)

Friday, April 18, 2008

And so far in this blessed country, where form has always reigned over substance, parliamentary sovereignty is just that: a fine notion, to be spoken of in thundering terms. That's about it. In actual practice it is rather a threadbare notion. You would expect the members of this 'sovereign' National Assembly to be well-informed about the nation's affairs. They are certainly not better informed than newsmen.

Ask most of the members and perhaps most of them wouldn't have a clue about what's really cooking over the judges' issue. They get their information from the newspapers and newspapers too, such being the standards of reporting, can be dodgy, the headlines suggesting one thing while deep in the story would lie buried something completely different.

Take the recent meeting between Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad to discuss the restoration of the deposed judges. The headlines said unambiguously that they were in complete agreement and that they had reiterated their commitment to the Bhurban declaration or accord. But the later paragraphs of the same story suggested that no agreement had been struck on the actual mechanics of getting the legitimate Supreme Court, and high courts, back.

Every time I now hear about another reiteration of commitment to the Bhurban accord I feel like wiping my nose, or reaching for my gun. Why is the National Assembly, attired in the robes of its yet-to-be-proven sovereignty, being so foolish? Restoring the rightful Supreme Court is not a matter of partisan politics, although this is what many in the PPP seem convinced of, that the judges' issue deep down is a conspiracy between the PML-N and My Lord Chaudhry.

We are familiar with silly things but this takes the cake. No, it is not a partisan issue. It concerns all of us and, on the pragmatic plane, it concerns the National Assembly most of all because the sovereignty of the National Assembly will remain a pipedream unless buttressed by an independent and powerful judiciary.

There was a time, lasting for much of our history, when there was a compact between generals and judges and together they made a fine thing of our democracy. Today we have a chance to build something new: a compact between the judiciary and parliament.

This will not open the floodgates of prosperity. Let's not kid ourselves on that score. But it will be good for democracy and that is something worth striving for because with all its shortcomings democracy is a whole lot better than the rotten military dictatorships we have endured.

If the political leadership doesn't get this, if it doesn't grasp the importance of an independent judiciary, then God help us. The stories we are getting to read about committees to examine the judges' issue, the seniority of Justice Falak Sher over the seniority of My Lord Chaudhry, are getting a bit too much because even if most of these stories amount to kite-flying, they at least suggest that there are worthies uneasy at the prospect of seeing Justice Chaudhry back in the Supreme Court.

The word conspiracy is much in vogue these days. Anything happens and it is put down to a conspiracy. But on the judges' issue if there is any conspiracy to see the last of Justice Chaudhry and ensure that he doesn't stay long in the Supreme Court it is arising not from the walls behind which the once-powerful generalissimo, President Pervez Musharraf, lies besieged but from the redoubts of democracy. Ironic but grimly true. Justice Chaudhry and his brother judges may be popular with the masses. Alas, they are not so popular with the political class or with the political leadership.

For obvious reasons I am drawing no distinction between the PPP and the PML-N but when I say the political leadership I think my meaning is pretty clear.

In an email from distant Singapore Dr Noeen Arshad makes a rather telling point: "I have…noted that even since Feb 18 elections, there is directly or indirectly a mention of Musharraf in your articles. Agreed he was bad for the country. But do we have to keep on talking about him all the time? I am sure you will agree that even if one talks in negative of another it means that the person is on one's mind. Let's get him off our minds, let's not talk about him…I just hope that we have learnt from our mistakes and I would not like to read about the present government in future like we read about Musharraf today!!"

Touche! Musharraf did what he did and he is paying the price of his many failures. But now the reins of power are in different hands. How long do we propose living in the past? We should now be asking ourselves what Bastille walls have we pulled down, what bright morn are we ushering in?

The judges' issue may be taking forever but how quick the new interior boss, Herr Rehman Malik, has been with a measure which, had it been proposed during the Musharraf era, would have triggered a national uproar. As you must have read in the papers, anyone wanting to hold a public meeting or take out a rally would have to seek permission three days in advance. Provincial governments, we are informed, have also been asked to select a 'people's corner' in every tehsil and district headquarters where public meetings will be held on a 'first come first serve' basis.

You might have thought that such a sweeping measure, which amounts to restricting political activity, would have been debated in the sovereign National Assembly. But the sovereign National Assembly heard about it on the evening news or read about it in next morning's newspapers.

As I say, had anything like it been mooted before Feb 18 all hell would have broken loose, column writers and TV anchors going blue in the face denouncing another draconian (another word we have fallen in love with) measure. But since we have stepped into another era of democracy our reaction, I guess, will be more restrained.

Anyway, does the permission clause mean that if another Bushra with her two minor kids, driven to despair by poverty, lies down in the path of an incoming train in order to put an end to her miserable life, and if, on account of this, the people of her locality, also children of despair, are roused to fury, they would first have to put in a request to their local police station before taking out a rally? Or would they be expected to travel to their 'People's Corner' at tehsil headquarters, there to deliver angry speeches?

One Abdul Basit died the other day in Lahore because of police torture. This happened in the Baghbanpura police station. Incensed, as they had every right to be, the people of the locality came out to protest. They beat two policemen in plainclothes and burnt their motorcycle. What else could they do? On what or whom else could they have vented their anger? But under the new Herr Rehman decree people like the incensed citizens of Baghbanpura would have to give three day's prior notice before taking out a procession.

I think no provincial government, except perhaps the good government of Syed Qaim Ali Shah in Sindh, will be silly enough to go along with this exercise in creative fancy. Be that as it may, it surely deserves some kind of a prize for unintended comedy.

I think the most momentous event in the country since Feb 18 has been the suicide of Bushra and her two minor kids because it tells us of what we truly are and what we pretend or profess to be. I am sure it will shake none of us out of our complacency. But such things are taken note of in the skies above. Such are the events that drive the avenging angels to fury.

The prime minister went to Bushra's house, or the hovel that passes for her parent's house, bearing a gift of two lakh rupees. At least he went there which is more than can be said of those who occupied high office during the past eight years when suicides as a result of poverty became a pretty frequent affair.

But I liked what Bushra's father said before the television cameras: to how many people will you go giving one or two lakh rupees? The more important thing is to do something about inflation. A professor of economics could not have put it more succinctly. There was pain on his face as he said this but, surprisingly, not much bitterness in his tone.

I am reading a life of the young Stalin. Stalin too grew up in poverty. The question to ask is why the conditions of life in Tsarist Russia produced a Stalin, and so many others like him, and why with us, poverty and oppression give rise only to acceptance and resignation…and endless visits to mazars and khanqahs, of which we have more than any other country in the world.

Email: chakwal@comsats.net.pk

HRCP welcomes the ratification and signatures of

2008-04-20T06:23:00.000+05:00

April 18, 2008

Karachi: In a statement issued to the press, Iqbal Haider, Co-Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan welcomes the ratification and signatures of three core UN human rights instruments by Pakistan

On Thursday, Pakistan ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESR), which is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16,
1966, and in force from January 3, 1976. It commits its parties to work toward the granting of economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCR) to individuals, including labour rights and rights to health, education, and an adequate standard of living. The ICESCR is part of the International Bill of Human Rights, along with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the latter's first and second Optional Protocols.

HRCP notes with appreciation that the truly elected Government of Pakistan has accepted the long outstanding demand of the human rights activists by signing and rectifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as well as Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). CAT is an international human rights instrument, under the purview of the United Nations, that aims to prevent torture around the world. The Convention advises states to take effective measures to prevent torture within their borders, and forbids states to return people to their home country if there is reason to believe they will be tortured. The text of the Convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December
1984 and, following ratification by the 20th state party, it came into force on 26 June 1987; 26 June is now recognised as the International Day in Support of Torture Victims, in honour of the Convention

Mr. Haider said that the ratification and signatures of these three crucial UN human rights instruments are indeed significant step forward by the present elected Government of Pakistan in fulfilling its pledges and commitment to promote human rights of the people of Pakistan in accordance with international human rights law. Joining the main international human rights instruments reflects the commitment of the democratic Government to promote and further strengthen the mechanism to protect the human rights of the people in Pakistan, including the rights of women, children, minorities and the unprivileged.

Mr Haider emphasized that implementation of these very important UN human rights conventions, is an equally important task of the present Government and he hoped it will follow and abide by these UN instruments, in their letter and spirit.

Rendition of Jalib by 'Laal'

2008-04-20T06:16:00.003+05:00

This is a rendition of Habib Jalib's famous 'Meinay Uss Say Yeh Kaha' by the band 'Laal' comprised of Taimur Rehman and Shahram Azhar. Brilliant job, guys.

Seminar: "Do Countries Sell Their Own People?" April 17, Islamabad, Pakistan

2008-04-20T06:04:00.002+05:00

A seminar entitled "Do Countries Sell Their Own People: A Discussion on Civil Liberties in the Age of War on Terror" was held on 17 April, 2008, at Embassy Lodges in Islamabad. The event presented the plight of the families of the victims of state-sponsored terrorism. The seminar was organized by Pakistan Professionals Forum, FASTRising and Pakistan Youth Alliance and attracted representation from a broad cross-section of general public including students, professionals, human rights activists and lawyers. Families of more than 60 missing persons were present.

The event started with the screening of the documentary "Missing in Pakistan". This was followed by a speech from Pakistan Professionals Forum spokesperson. He condemned the government for terrorizing its own people and wondered how Sehba Musharraf should feel if her son, Bilal Musharraf, went missing. K.Asif, a student representative, condemned the intelligence outfits for their role in extra-judicial arrests and vowed completed support to the families of missing persons on behalf of the students of Islamabad.

Next, Zafar Jan, the Baloch relative of missing person, claimed that around 12,000 Balochis have been abducted. He lamented the fact the media had no access to Balochistan. Shahid Kamal Khan, ex-president Mailsee Bar Association, said that armed forces have no legal right to intervene on its own in the affairs of the country until unless requested by a civil government. Furthermore, armed forces or intelligence outfits have no right to detain or kill its own people. He vowed to register an FIR for murder against Pervez Musharraf.

This was followed by a talk by Mrs. Amina Janjua – the wife of Masood Janjua, missing since May 2005, anchorperson of the organization 'Defence of Human Rights' and spokesperson of the families of the missing persons. She related their struggle to win the release of their family members, through street demonstrations as well as their meetings with various politicians. She implored civil society activists, lawyers, professionals to continue supporting the cause of the missing persons. Furthermore, she expressed her gratitude to lawyers in UK and US as well as the chief counsel of missing persons, Shaukat Siddiqui, for their support. The civil society activist, Ghazala Minallah, empathized with the unrelenting pain of the families of the missing persons and deplored the hypocrisy of world powers. She assured the families of her continual support. Sardar Asmatullah, president Rawalpindi High Court Bar Association, reiterated the civil liberties guaranteed to the citizens of Pakistan by its constitution. He condemned Pervez Musharraf for illegally imposing martial law and rendering the Chief Justice non-functional, and demanded the impeachment of the President for subverting the constitution. Hameed Gul, ex-head ISI, condemned the collusion of successive governments in selling their own citizens to world powers. He demanded justice for the students of Jamia Hafsa and highlighted the importance of a strong and independent judiciary to safeguard the rights of citizens. He further demanded that Pervez Musharraf be court-martialed and charged for high-treason. President PTI, Imran Khan, challenged Pervez Musharraf to declare the number of Pakistanis killed in the war on terror and called for his impeachment. later, Justice (R) Wajihuddin pointed out the weakness of courts to curtail extra-judicial detention. He called for investigating the perpetrators of extra-judicial detention. Furthermore, he opined that Pervez Musharaf's regime is dwindling and that Musharraf's removal will have critical impact on the results of US election. Finally Qazi Hussain Ahmed, president JI, condemned the acts of Parvez Musharaf and his allies and made dua for the families of missing persons.

Almost more than 500 people from all walks of life were present there to show solidarity with the cause and with the aggrieved families.

National Textile University Student Strike Against Military VC, APTMA (All Pakistan Textile Mills Association) and for recognition by PEC

2008-04-20T05:53:00.002+05:00

Since Feb 18 a wide range of student and workers protests are taking place across Pakistan. Among them is a protest campaign by a large number of students of National Textile University in Faisalabad city largest province of Pakistan, Punjab. They are protesting against maltreatment and denial of engineering council recognition. The following is their press release.

The students have been protesting peacefully before the press club, Faisalabad and before the university administration for more than six years but after April 2nd 2008 incident things became rough when more than 250 students on April 15th held a demonstration before parliament under highly unfavorable weather conditions. They also came before the National press & media by holding a press conference in Islamabad press club the same day. One of the student leaders of the student action committee of NTU told me that one of the senators had agreed to put this issue before the senate and has taken the file about this issue to the senate. He also said that some parliamentarians have also promised to highlight the issue in the parliament.

National Textile university was founded by General Ayub Khan on the 12th October 1959. It was named Lyallpur textile Institute. In 1965 the institute was granted affiliation with the university of engineering & technology Lahore. The first batch of Graduates engineers passed out in 1966. In 1973 the administrative control of the institute was transferred to federal government and it was renamed as National College of textile & Engineering. In 1983 through a presidential ordinance the institute was placed under the control Of Board of Governors which was supposed to consist of the Federal Minister of Industries as its chairman with seven other members from the Federal/Provincial governments and three members from All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA). In 1992 the institute received an aid of worth ¥ 650 million from the Japanese government, through JICA program, in the form of latest machinery & equipment for all departments of the institution.

All this was before September 1993, when the institute was placed under complete control of APTMA, the board of governors was reconstituted. Taking seven out of eleven members from APTMA. The following years carried serious problems for the students and the temperature rose when the temporary accreditation ended in 2002 after which he university Administration proclaimed that re accreditation process is underway.

Meanwhile the federal cabinet on November 15th 2002 upgraded the college as National Textile University. The president of Pakistan is the Chancellor of the university but still no convincing measures taken to recognize NTU as a Professional Engineering Institute.

The simple and only solution to all problems, according to the students is to transfer the Institute’s Management and charge to the federal Government specifically under the regulation of Ministry of Textile Industries, Pakistan and accreditation by Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC).

Concerns of the Students:

Students are seriously concerned and feel that their future is at stake as long as the Management of the university remains in the hands of APTMA which may be an effective business organization but certainly it is not an academic organization and so the university under the control of Federal Ministry of textile and Industry or Ministry of Education. At one of the recent protests I heard one of the students saying “APTMA wants to develop technologists not engineers by concentrating on non-textile basic sciences rather than masters and PhD program in textile subjects so that the students of NTU could be forced to work on minimum wages in Textile mills since they are not officially recognized as engineers”. Students believe that accreditation with PEC is their genuine right that the university Administration has not taken required steps to fulfill PEC requirements.

April 2nd 2008 Student Mistreatment & Harassment:

The students of NTU were under protest right after 2002-03 for their right of accreditation with PEC. This was a constant irritation for university administration which was concentration more on pressurizing students to bring this protest to an end rather than negotiating with the PEC to resolve the issue.

The attitude of the university administration became stubborn, ignorant & irresponsible and on April 2nd 2008 a student of first year fell victim to the heinous behavior of one of the faculty members. The student was physically tortured on a baseless issue injuring him and then blaming him for an offence he did not commit. The enraged the students and re-energized the protests which then came out of the university premises with full force. Unexpectedly University administration started a blame game against students by issuing false press releases blaming innocent students of indiscipline against female students, to weaken the movement.

Demands of the Students are:

Transfer of the university management to Federal Ministry of Textile from APTMA.
Immediate accreditation by Pakistan Engineering Council.
Removal of corrupt Management and non-professional staff from the university so that the confidence of the students on Management can be restored.
Introduction of Masters and phd programs instead of concentrating on non-textile fields.
Officials of the disciplinary committee responsible for student harassment and injustice should be penalized by the laws of disciplinary committee.
Restoration of student unions and provision of basic student facilities as per other reputed universities.
Restoration of scholarships.
Expansion of hostels.
Academic activities should resume from the instant they were boycotted by the students.

In the middle of all activity one must not get carried away with the response of the MNAs as it is not a new practice for them to make promises but fulfilling their promises is a separate issue. The MNAs who have met student delegations have promised to take the issue before the parliament in two days but there is a question…….what if they do not fulfill their promise? Students have exhausted by the activities of last 2 months, especially the students present in Islamabad have been under severe stress due to unfavorable weather conditions. SAC NTU should think of alternate ways so that the momentum and effectiveness of the protests does not break.

(Click here for more)

Power Crisis in Pakistan: workers’ anger shakes Multan

2008-04-20T05:49:00.002+05:00

By Harris Azhar, Aslam Ansari, PTUDC Multan

Pakistan has been plagued by shortages and a crisis of basic necessities of life for a long time, but the situation exploded on the eve of the last elections while General Musharraf and his team were blowing the trumpet about "unprecedented economic development". After eight years of ruthless capitalist policies, which were implemented by the IMF's puppet prime minister Shaukat Aziz, the already fragile basic economic structure went into a state of general collapse. Suddenly there was no wheat flour [which is the staple diet in Pakistan]. People were on the streets demonstrating for bread. This was happening in the Punjab which was once regarded as the food basket of undivided India. On top of this there was no electricity. For the last three months Pakistan has been paralysed by severe power shortages. WAPDA [The national electricity company] is carrying out "load-shedding" of 10 to 20 hours per day.

When there is no electricity for 18 hours in 24 hours one can understand what this means for workers who get their wages on a daily basis. No industry is working. The worse affected are people who work in small scale "cottage industries". One such cottage industry is in the Power Loom sector which produces cloth at household level using electrical motors. For the last few months the life of these workers has been destroyed due to power shortages. Many of them have lost their entire livelihood due to lack of work. The Power Loom Association is a trade union of these small "owner-workers". They have been protesting throughout Pakistan over the last few months urging WAPDA to give them a schedule of power cuts. Due to numerous hunger strikes and demonstrations WAPDA in Multan, which is the home town of new Prime minister Gillani, offered a deal to the workers which assured them that electricity would be provided to them for at least 12 hours and there would be no unannounced power cuts.

But instead of honouring the agreement, they increased the load-shedding to 20 hours. Today, April 15, the unions announced a siege of MEPCO [the Multan office of WAPDA] unless the electricity company honours the agreement. Hundreds of workers surrounded the offices of the electricity company but the authorities refused to listen to the workers. This sparked off a wave of anger in the crowd and the workers started destroying the cars and properties of the bosses. A bank was burned as well as parts of MEPCO head office. The arrogant authorities instead of listening to the genuine grievances of the workers, most of whom literally have no bread in their kitchen, started firing on the unarmed workers. This further angered the workers who took over the premises, virtually paralysing life in the city, blocking the roads and demanding their right to earn a decent living.

The whole episode was shown live all across Pakistan through the media channels. The government and others intellectuals of the media immediately started describing the workers as "miscreants" and "lawless criminals". The police and the authorities arrested more than 50 workers and charged all the central leadership of the Power Loom Association under the "Anti Terrorism Laws".

The comrades of our tendency have a strong presence in the Power Loom sector. The PTDUC is in the forefront of the movement of the Power Loom workers. The movement of this group of workers is no longer under the control of the state. The capitalist system has brought Pakistan on the verge of famine and now workers are on the streets demanding that the People's Party led government deliver its promises to the poor masses. Today in Multan they have demonstrated their power and their militant mood and have warned the Prime minister that the workers will not accept empty slogans. This system has no life left in it if it cannot give bread and electric power to the people. Such was the outrage that the Prime Minister was forced to announce the sacking of the MEPCO chief but this is too little too late. The police have not released the workers and the crackdown continues.

The PTUDC had held a successful labour conference last year in Multan and their Joint Action Committee (JAC) was formed in which representatives from all trade unions, including the Power Looms Association, were present. Now the PTDUC and JAC has contacted the local trade unions throughout Pakistan and Multan to express solidarity to the masses. We appeal to workers of the world to raise solidarity activity for the release of all the imprisoned workers in Multan.

Muneer Malik awarded the 2008 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights

2008-04-18T03:59:00.000+05:00

The May 18 Memorial Foundation in Gwangju, Korea proclaimed Mr. Muneer A. Malik as the winner for the 2008 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights.
Mr. Muneer A. Malik was the former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association who has played an enormous role in the struggle of the lawyers, judges and the rest of the citizens of Pakistan for the independence of the judiciary. Under his leadership he was able to mobilize lawyers and the people to fight the repression imposed by President Musharraf when he declared an emergency and ousted several chief justices and judges. In the 1980's Mr. Malik had been in the forefront of the struggle against the military rule of then President Zia Ul Haq. Mr. Malik was recipient of the 2006 Dorab Patel Award given by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.
On May 18, 2008 the award will be conferred to Mr. Muneer A. Malik on a ceremony to commemorate the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising. The prize award includes a good medal, a certificate of achievement and US $ 50,000.00.
The Gwangju Prize for Human Rights is an award given to individuals, groups or institutions in Korea and abroad that have contributed in promoting and advancing human rights, democracy and peace in their work. The award is given by the Gwangju people in the spirit of solidarity and gratitude from those whom they have received help in their struggle for democratization and search for truth.
The Gwangju Prize is administered by The May 18 Memorial Foundation, a non-profit organization established on August 30, 1994. It was organized by surviving victims of the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising, the victims' families, and the citizens of Gwangju. The Foundation aims to commemorate and continue the spirit of struggle and solidarity of the May 18 Uprising, contribute to the peaceful reunification of Korea, and work towards peace and human rights throughout the world. Since its establishment, the Foundation has carried out numerous projects in varying fields, including organizing memorial events, establishing scholarships, fostering research, disseminating public information, publishing relevant materials, dispensing charity and welfare benefits, building international solidarity, and awarding the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights.

Exporting Rights Violations

2008-04-16T06:44:00.002+05:00

Exporting Rights Violations
America should be cautious lest it reaps what it sows

By SAMAD KHURRAM

The Bill of Rights—the essence of American civil liberties—contains crucial provisions for protecting free speech, due process, and a fair and speedy trial among other things. The U.S. Constitution, in turn, was arguably a precedent for Universal Declaration of Human Rights. One might assume that as the descendants of this tradition, the people and the government of the United States would believe in the universal application of human rights around the world.

However, the opposite is the case–at least for now. Ever since the War on Terror began, the Bush administration has been infringing on the civil liberties and rights of American citizens. It started off with a bill with an unnecessarily long and now infamous name: the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. After a series of bills, the Military Commission Acts was adopted in 2006 and gave the U.S. President absolute powers to label a non-American citizen an enemy of the state, imprison him without charging him with a crime, and deny him the right to due process. In view of the fact that this act is obvious breach of the Bill of Rights, The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has called it a rejection of core American values.

Since this does not affect American citizens’ right to habeas corpus and a fair trial directly, perhaps they should not be worried too much about it. Many would argue that with the unprecedented complexities of determining enemy actions in the War on Terror, the ordinary procedures of establishing crime may not be effective and that some liberties must be forsaken for increased homeland security. Perhaps allowing the government to monitor your phone calls is prudent if it prevents future terrorist attacks.

However, American citizens should be aware of the record of its government’s record abroad when there is no constitutional or judicial oversight over their actions. A government that disregards human values abroad, engages in torture, and arbitrarily detains people without a fair trial would have serious credibility question marks. How could citizens trust such a regime for their protection?

The Bush administration is such a regime. As Guantánamo Bay enters its seventh reprehensible year, it seems unlikely that truth about it will ever come out. The only reports of what happens inside of Guantánamo are leaked memos and words of some of captives who are lucky enough to be released. Most of these in detention inside Guantánamo are likely to remain there forever—lest they come out and speak of their torture ordeals, claims an attorney at the ACLU.

Guantánamo is only one small part of a series of serious human rights violations around the world. The CIA has been actively involved in an “extraordinary rendition” program under which possible suspects are arrested and flown to territories outside U.S. jurisdiction and interrogated by U.S. and foreign officials. The ACLU claims that one German citizen, El-Masri, was kidnapped by the CIA, taken to a “black site” in Afghanistan, tortured for two months, and eventually abandoned on a hillside in Albania without any explanation or charges.

And this is not an isolated example. Just in Pakistan, over 4,000 people have been arrested in connection with suspected terrorism. Half of them were handed over to foreign countries, and some of them resurfaced in Guantanamo Bay after being missing for months. Many of them were picked up without the knowledge of their families and hence were simply termed as “missing people”. After having her husband disappear mysteriously, a brave woman, Amina Janjua, was able to identify that her husband was indeed in the custody of the intelligence agencies in Pakistan. She challenged his detention, as well as that of the other Pakistanis, to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The Supreme Court was hardly able to get a handful of these people brought to court, but then President Musharraf of Pakistan sacked over 60 of the judges of the High and Supreme courts of Pakistan. Most Pakistanis see this coming with American blessing and anti-American sentiment in Pakistan is at a record high.

As a result of the lack of due process, transparency, and judicial oversight, policy assessments and analysis have become increasingly suspect. Are these often pre-emptive arrests preventing terrorism? Are they really needed? Policy debates are difficult without access to information and media inquiries.

Furthermore, the Bush Administration does not take into account the fact that detainees are real humans who have real families. By denying these captives a fair trial, the U.S. government is only further antagonizing many people—each of these extraordinary renditions may result in thousands of people turning against the U.S. If one of the reasons behind terrorist attacks against the U.S. is anti-American sentiment, one must wonder why such an antagonizing step is constantly used.

Not everyone is as noble as Amina Janjua. Some will equate justice to revenge, and in the absence of a judiciary they can trust will take matters in their own hands. The Bush Administration would be partially responsible if a family member of any of these “missing people” ends up attacking a U.S. embassy.

Samad Khurram ’09 is a government concentrator in Winthrop House. His column appears on alternate Tuesdays.

Judges to be restored in 30 days

2008-04-16T01:17:00.000+05:00

ISLAMABAD: An important meeting of the leaders of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Awami National Party (ANP) Tuesday decided to act upon the 30-day deadline for the restoration of deposed judiciary.According to the reports, the meeting decided that the resolution regarding the restoration of the deposed judges would not be included in the constitutional package.It was also agreed upon that the Murree Declaration would be fully implemented.The meeting that occurred at Zardari House here, was attended by PPP leaders Raja Pervez Ashraf, Raza Rabbani, Khurshid Shah, Farooque Naik, Sherry Rehman and Naveed Qamar and PML (N)’s Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, Khawaja Asif, Chaudhry Nisar Ali and Ahsan Iqbal.Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman could not attend the meeting, as he is ailing.

12th May Anniversary, new challenges

2008-04-14T20:34:00.001+05:00

By: Amjad Malik

April was a month to celebrate the birthday of our national poet Sir Allama Mohammad Iqbal who with his visionary poetry tried to wake our long slept nation as well as ummah and declared our youth ‘eagles’ who with their strong character, will and intelligence will earn repute for their country in the community of nation. However those eagles were burning people alive in the chambers of Tahir Plaza on the sad day and Karachites saw the vivid reminder of them all of the 12th May massacre when Chief Justice was returned from airport and his colleagues were expelled, dead bodies were lying in the streets and goons were operating for good 6 hours shutting down all accesses to justice and by silencing the voice of channels through bullets. The answers to unsolved mystery are yet to be answered by a high powered commission.

England too saw northern Ireland conflict where people of Ireland fought for their rights and struggled with their political faction (Sin Fein) and advanced their argument with violence wherever they thought through IRA (Irish Republican Army), however in the end to get accepted nobly they had to lay their weapons to sit with the loyalists of the country to make a strong political argument.

I believe that drive of MQM to canvass nationally for elections was a way forward to get accepted nationally that they have a role to play in national politics and it would have been a service to the country if that had happened. However 12^th May was a day which badly damaged their national role and all thanks to the policy of one man. If on that day the party had refused to do dirty what Choudharies already rejected on 5^th May in Lahore, Mutaheda would have secured reputation as well as some stance that they have an independent position in the ranking. However, rather than renouncing violence, arson, blackmailing, harassment and subjugating the will of free people, they have failed to protect the public on the 9^th of April 2008 and people witnessed the worst of its kinds atrocities in the form of burring law chambers as well as burning human beings alive.

Whatever the argument for or against operations against a political party, it was a wrong one, political matters are best to be dealt with politically on negotiation tables. However, when one tries to solve problems with might, it always backfires and same applies to Karachi. People of Karachi are under siege devoid of free will and a voice as their voice is nipped and they are portrayed as victims. This internationally renowned city has a lot to offer to the country in its national development. All the commercial business as well as the main port for transportation of goods is situated in the city. Quaid e Azam international airport is one of the biggest of the country and its time that the people of the city are served the way they truly deserves.

People of Karachi despite having talent, skill and intelligence have housing as well as employment issues. Multi story flats are housing millions without proper care and national service facilities despite the fact that Altaf Hussain have read the blue print of UK public service system where in 6 minutes police, ambulance and fire brigade come at the door of a person who dials 999 and hospital treatment, education and most of the services are free. Why similar treatment is not offered to the people of Karachi in last 9 years is questionable. The estate of the art development which is offered in last nine years falls a victim to the atrocities or riots at the hands of one or the other political rivalries and rather than youth competing with Indian counterparts in contributing national development, art, science, and IT they have guns ion their hands and mask on their faces fighting politics of lost cause.

MQM is a political reality in Pakistan and has a lot to offer. Time has come to learn from the mistakes and experiments in the west where no one could win the struggles of their rights by using might or weapons example of Sin Fein in Ireland, and role of Nelson Mandela in apartheid is a clear path to follow if people of veteran Altaf Hussain truly wishes to translate his majority into achieving physical objectives. National reconciliation is not a box of chocolates limited for ruling elites it applies to MQM, BNP,ANP and all others who have nationalist instincts the only condition is that time has come to abandon militant outfits of the political party as Pakistan does not afford any confrontation. In this light, MQM’s decision to sit in opposition will promote democratic spirit and their role must be accepted and protected too.

Quaid e Azam in his tomb must be seeking answers to the very question that if he has not achieved independence, at least it would not be Muslims who would burn each other in Karachi as the blame would have gone to opposition like in Gujarat riots. Is it not time that we all transform this country into Quaid’s Pakistan and policy of live and let live is followed in its true spirit. At this twilight a decision needs to be made that Karachi will talk of national politics but not through bullets, and that’s what people desires from public representatives to protect and represent the people.

Amjad Malik is a Solicitor-Advocate of the Supreme Court (England) and a political analyst based in UK

14 April 2008

Protest Against MQM's actions

2008-04-13T04:03:00.002+05:00

DEAR ALL

JOIN US FOR A PROTEST OUTSIDE THE MQM OFFICES TO CONDEMN THE ATROCITIES COMMITTED IN KARACHI AGAINST CIVIL SOCIETY AND LAWYERS.

THIS IS ONE OF THE KEY GOALS THAT WE AS A PARTY HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING FOR - JUSTICE !!!

CIVIL SOCIETY, POLITICAL PARTIES, STUDENTS & OTHERS WILL BE GATHERING OUTSIDE THE MQM OFFICES IN LONDON ON APRIL 13TH. AT 1PM AT ELIZABETH HOUSE, 54-58 HIGH STREET, EDGWARE, MIDDLESEX, HA8 7EJ.

WE WOULD LIKE TO INVITE ALL THOSE WHO ARE AGAINST VIOLENT KILLINGS, ANTI- DEMOCRATIC FORCES IN PAKISTAN AND WHO ARE STRIVING FOR THE RESTORATION OF AN INDEPENDENT JUDICIARY TO JOIN US IN SOLIDARITY FOR THIS DEMONSTRATION.

PLEASE DO MAKE THE EFFORT - EVERY SINGLE NUMBER COUNTS !!

MAP: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=ha8+7ej+high+street+edgware&f=p&rl=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=il

For additional information contact Mr. Ahmed Nawaz Wattoo 07799214021 or Rabia Zia 07515549541

Let's not lose the Judiciary to the PPP now

2008-04-12T22:12:00.000+05:00

Dear All,

The B-Team of the establishment, aka the lotas in PPP, are about to undertake a very serious and detrimental action for the restoration of the judges. According to the Constitution of Pakistan, any ordinance, unless ratified falls after 4 months. There is no need to send a bill to the parliament: a mere notification to PEMRA is enough.

By sending this to the parliament, the elected government will be accepting Musharraf's amendments as legitimate (please see detailed analysis by Advocate Faisal Siddiqi) and would damage the judges cause irreparably. WE CAN NOT LET THIS HAPPEN!

Campaign actions:

- Contact the ones responsible:

Please contact Senator Naek and MNA Sherry Rehman at their contact information below and ask them for an IMMEDIATE RETRACTION of their resolution. Instead urge them to have PEMRA retracted through a simple notification of its expiration.

Senator Farooq H. Naek Advocate
Suite-5, 3rd Floor, Shafiq Plaza, Block-A
Sarwar Shaheed Road, Karachi
021-5687931-3, 0300-8232527, Fax: 5687979 E-mail: naek_law786@hotmail.com

Address: H.No.8 St. 19 F-8/2 Islamabad.

Ms Sherry Rehman
Information Secretary
49-Old Clifton, Karachi
021-5834663, 0300-8222881, 0300-5001420, 051-9224129
E-mail : sherryrehman@gmail.com; srehman@sat.net.pk
PPP E-mail: centralinformationsecretary@gmail.com

- Contact PPP CEC representatives and urge them to STOP this conspiracy:

Central Executive Committee (CEC)

Office Bearers of CEC

Asif Ali Zardari
Co-Chairman
H. No. 8, St. 19, F-8/2, Islamabad
051-2282781, 2255264, Fax 2282741. E-mail: ppp@comsats.net.pk

Makhdoom Amin Fahim
Vice Chairman
11-A, 2nd Sun Set Street, DHA, Karachi, 021-5842140, 0228-31199, 051-2840588, 0300-9221234
E-mail: csppp@comsats.net.pk

Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani
Vice Chairman
Gilani House, Ghaus-al-Azam Road, Multan, 155-B, Phase-I, Defence, Lahore
061-542424, 0300-8448141, 8730662; 042-5723234. E-mail : makhdoomyrgillani@hotmail.com

Mr. Jehangir Bader
Secretary General
140/107 Karim Block, Allama Iqbal Town, Lahore. 042-5414990-1, 0300-8470402; 051-2276014, Fax 051-2276016
E-mail: bader@brain.net.pk

Mian Raza Rabbani
Deputy Secretary General
H. No. 14/II, St. 31, Phase-V, Ext. DHA, Karachi:
021-5865841-2, 0300-9291624, 051-9223854. E-mail: rrabbani@cyber.net.pk

Ms Sherry Rehman
Information Secretary
49-Old Clifton, Karachi
021-5834663, 0300-8222881, 0300-5001420, 051-9224129
E-mail : sherryrehman@gmail.com; srehman@sat.net.pk

Mr. Sajjad Bokhari
Deputy Information Secretary
8 - Davis Road, Lahore - Tel: 042-63714559, 0300-8446754, E-mail: pppintl@lhr.paknet.com.pk

Mr. Babar Awan
Treasurer
27-E, Ali Plaza, Blue Area, Islamabad. 051-2823778, 2276540, 0320-4265000
E-mail: drbabarawan@hotmail.com

Punjab

Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi
President (Ex Officio Member)
H. No.445, Bab-ul-Quresh, Muhallah Daulat Gate, Multan
061-4514666, 042-5712289, 0300-8634453 E-mail: smhq148@hotmail.com

Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar
4-A Main Gulberg-II, Main Blvd. Lahore Tel: 042-5870106, 0300-8467744, E-mail : amservis@hotmail.com

Ch. Aitzaz Ahsan
5- Kanal Bank, Zaman Park, Lahore.
042-6369725; 6361800, 6305327,

Haji Aziz-ur-Rehman Chan
President Lahore (Ex-Officio Member)
110 - Suriyya Jabeen Park, Main GT Road, Baghbanpura, Lahore.
Tel: 042-6819739, 6815300, 0303-7351276 E-mail: chanppplahore@hotmail.com

Makhdoom Shahabuddin
1 - Mianwali Qureshian, R. Y. Khan.
0731-65555, 042-6651613, 0300-8459101

Mr. Mohammed Afzal Sandhu
Room No. 1, 2^nd Floor, Naqi Arcade, The Mall, Lahore.
042-7589878, 6371508, 0631-51300, 72639, 72339, 0300-42440384

Ch. M. Zaka Ashraf
128 Tufail Road, Lahore Cantt.
042-6655002-3, 0300-8459215; 051-2825777. E-mail: asmllhr@hotmail.com

Nawabzada Ghazanfar Gul
Kothi Nawab Sahib, Gujrat City.
0300-451222; 04331 523131; 523231, E-mail: ghazanfarali@hotmail.com

Senator (R) Dr. Akbar Khawaja (Special Invitee)
38A, Johar Town, Lahore
0300-4234089; (001) 703-725-6786. E-mail: ak2mbb@aol.com

Mr. Qasim Zia
16-Sarwar Road Lahore Cantt.
042-6664110-11, 9200315, 0300-8442317, E-mail: qasim@brain.net.pk

Rana Aftab Ahmad
D-613, Peoples Colony, Faisalabad - 041-712555, 612444, 0303-7362852
E-mail: aftabirshad@hotmail.com

Dr A. Rehman Malik
H. No. 419, St. 38, Sector G-10/4, Islamabad - Cell: 0321-2033383
E-mail: president@dmdigitalt.co.uk

Mr Sultan Mahmood Qazi
H. No. 50 / 8, Taimor House, Lane 3 Gulistan Colony, Rawalpindi - Tel: 051-5511579, 0333-5145179

Dr. Israr Shah
Address : Attabak Pharmaceuticals, Block C, Industrial Area, I-10/3, Islamabad
Tele: 051-4434124, 44342901, 0300-8562032 - E-mail : attabak@brain.net.pk

Sindh

Syed Qaim Ali Shah
President PPP Sindh (Ex-Officio Member)
H. No. 50, St. No. 14, Khayaban-e-Mujahid, Phase-I, DHS, Karachi
021-5850308; 0792-52481; 52219, 552900, 051-9207477 - E-mail: pppsindh@yahoo.com

Mr Nisar Ahmed Khuhro
7^th - Gizri Street DHA Karachi
021-9212031, 0333-2113388 - E-mail: nisarpppsindh@hotmail.com

Syed Naveed Qamar
Unit No. 2, Latifabad, Hyderabad;
0221-860892, 021-5874751, 5868850, 0300-5000222, E-mail: naveedqamar@yahoo.com

Nawab Mohammed Yousaf Talpur
6-A, North Circular Avenue, Phase-I, DHS, Karachi
021-5882841-2, 0300-8236468. E-mail : talpur_nawab@hotmail.com

Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah
Manzil Gah Road, Sukkur. 071-30870, 30875
40/1, St. A, Khayaban Shujaat, Phase-V, DHA, Karachi Tel: 021-5845941, 5846941, 051-9208370, 9221147

Senator Dr. Safdar Ali Abbasi
D-42, Block-4, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi
021-4983169, 5838102, 510832, 513981, 051-9209307 - E-mail: benazir@zab.net.pk

Sardar Nabeel Ahmad Gabol
32/2 Khayaban Hilal, Phase-VI, DHA, Karachi
021-5850371, 0300-8241441, 8563296, 051-9221880 - E-mail: nabilgabol@hotmail.com

Mr. Rashid Hussain Rabbani
President Karachi (Ex-officio member)
C-57, Block D, North Nazimabad, Karachi. 021-6632469, 6674949, 0321-223869
E-mail: rabbani_52@hotmail.com

Mr. Murad Ali Shah
A-15-A/2 Central Ave. DHA, Karachi. 021-58997931, 0300-8210080 - E-mail: murad@wahur.com

Dr. Fehmida Mirza
Information Secretary - Sindh
38/I, 23^rd Street, Khayaban Mujahid, Phase-V, DHA, Karachi. 021-5846509

E-mails: fehmida_m2000@yahoo.com; fehmidam_2000@yahoo.com

Senator Farooq H. Naek Advocate
Suite-5, 3rd Floor, Shafiq Plaza, Block-A
Sarwar Shaheed Road, Karachi
021-5687931-3, 0300-8232527, Fax: 5687979 E-mail: naek_law786@hotmail.com

Pir Mazharul Haq
Pir Colony, Dadu
22-B Lalazar, Off Boat Club Road, MT Khan Road, Karachi
Tele: 0254-710002, 021-5612298, 0300-3279135 E-mail : pmhaqdadu@gmail.com

NWFP

Mr. Rahimdad Khan
President (Ex Officio Member)
Village Hathian, Mardan. 0931-820155, 0303-7820435. E-mail: hathianhouse@hotmail.com

Mr. Abdul Akbar Khan
Spinkati, Bakhshali, Mardan.
0931-61001, 091-819131, 0300-9177021. E-mail : bhutto79@hotmail.com

Balochistan

Nawabzada Mir Lashkari Raisani
President (Ex Officio Member)
Sarawan House, Raisani Road, Quetta
081-449582, 440661, 0300-9384197, 3830334 E-mail: mirlashkari@yahoo.com

Mr. Javaid Ahmed
20-B/2 Railway Housing Society, Quetta
081-441404, 442643, 0300-9384199. E-mail: kamran@paknet3.ptc.pk

Mir Baz Mohammed Khan Khetran
H. No. 281-B, St. 40, F-10/4, Islamabad
051-2292225, 0333-5123923, 0641-688011 - E-mail: khetran786@yahoo.com

Mr. Sadiq Umrani
124-Block 5, Satellite Town, Quetta
0300-2126233, 0740-710553

AJ&K

Ch. Abdul Majeed
President (Ex Officio Member)
Village Tangduon, Tehsil & District Mirpur, AJK
Tele: 058610-44808, 0300-5191384

Northern Areas

Syed Jaffar Shah
President (Ex Officio Member)
Khazana Road, Gilgit. 058811-52995, 52634

Mr. Mohammed Musa
Tehsil Gilgit - 058811-2936, 55540, 55142, 051-9224871-2

- Use your activism group/political party to issue a statement and/or put pressure:
- Please get a statement from your group ASAP so the pressure can be sustained to have this resolution withdrawn before it reaches the parliament.

- Spread the word ASAP:
- Forward this to your contacts
- Urge your family and friends to put take up the campaign
- Publish this on blogs and email to Newspapers so this can be exposed.

Our SPECIAL thanks to Advocate Faisal Siddiqi and to CCP for bringing this to the nation's attention.

- Ryzwan

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Analysis by Faisal Siddiqi

It has been stated by the information minister today that a bill has
been moved in the parliament which seeks to repeal the November 3rd,
2007, amendments in the Pemra Ordinance, 2007. For the reasons stated
herein below, this move will damage the stance of the lawyers that no
constitutional amendment is required to restore the deposed judges.

1. Through PEMRA (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2007, 10 darconian
amendments were brought about in the PEMRA Ordinance, 2002.

2. Under Article 89(2)(a)(i) of the Constitution, an Ordinance will
automatically expire/repealed after 4 months. Therefore, under the
Constitution, the PEMRA (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2007, expired on
or about March 3rd, 2007 [this is in addition to the argument that
none of these amendments could even otherwise be made by a Chief of
Army Staff/President in pursuant to a unconsitutional
emergency/martial law].

3. If the PEMRA (Third Amendment) Ordinance, 2007, has
expired/repealed on or about March 3rd, 2007, then there is no need
for a bill in parliament to repeal it.

4. Musharraf's Argument: Article 270-AAA was a (illegal) purported
amendment made in the Constitution by Musharraf on 21-11-2007. It is
the same 270-AAA which alllegedly protects all the unconstitutional
acts [including the removal of judges] of the November 3rd, 2007,
Martial law. All Ordinances including the PEMRA (Third Amendment)
Ordinance, 2007 Dated: 3-11-2007, are allegedly protected by Article
270-AAA(3) which ensures that the Ordinances [like the PEMRA (Third
Amendment) Ordinance, 2007] will not expire after 4 months and these
Ordinances can only be revoked by parliament.

5. In view of the above, if a bill is moved in parliament seeking the
repeal of the November 3rd, 2007, amendments in the PEMRA Ordinance,
2002, then the Parliament WOULD BE ACCEPTING THAT ARTICLE 270-AAA IS A
PART OF THE CONSTITUTION.

6. This bill needs to be opposed as this might irreparably damage the
restoration of the judges movement.

7. As to the question of the legal status of the PEMRA (Third
Amendment) Ordinance, 2007, it is simple. These amendments (even if
valid) have expired/repealed. Mere Instructions have to be given to
the PEMRA Authorities not to enfore these amendments.

Best Wishes,
Faisal Siddiqi,
Advocate

Update: Altaf Hussain's resignation

2008-04-11T21:33:00.002+05:00

Update: Altaf Hussain has retracted his resignation.

However we still need to continue with the pressure campaign to try to make him resign.

-SK

2008-04-11T21:31:00.005+05:00

What the 'thella-wala' saw that day in Karachi - Eyewitness account

2008-04-11T14:11:00.000+05:00

By Amar GuriroKARACHI: For 30-year-old fruit vender Babu Bhai, it was a new experience to witness armed men attack an office building and set it on fire in no time with several people still trapped inside. “It was like a scene from an English movie. Armed men, the majority of whom were in their youth, with a blatant disregard for law and order, firing and setting the building on fire at will,” he said. Babu sells fruit on a pushcart near Tahir Plaza, the six-storey building that was set on fire during the Wednesday riots, and, in which at least six people were burnt alive. A shopkeeper selling detergent also saw what happened. “We knew since morning that the lawyers were protesting over something, but we took it lightly, thinking it was like any other protest where they shout slogans and give speeches before taking it back to the courts, but all of the sudden riots broke out. It was like someone had pressed the play button setting off a chain of unfortunate events,” he said. He saw at least 10 people with guns running into the building. “Some of the rioters came from the court while others came on motorcycles, and it seemed that they all knew what to do,” he said.

PM blames 'conspiracy' for Karachi violence

2008-04-10T20:40:00.000+05:00

ISLAMABAD, April 10 (AFP): Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Thursday blamed a conspiracy for political violence that left eight people dead in Karachi, saying that “dictatorship” threatened the new democratic government. Gilani said the government would not let the sacrifice by former premier Benazir Bhutto, for the cause of democracy, “to be compromised at the behest of dictatorship, conspiracy and violence.” ”We must take notice of these unjustified, mischievous and definitely conspiratorial acts,” Gilani told parliament. “These acts I am convinced are being fuelled by those who do not want democracy to flourish."

Pakistani lawyers protest against violence

2008-04-10T20:34:00.001+05:00

LAHORE, Pakistan, April 10 (AFP): Thousands of lawyers rallied in Lahore Thursday to protest against the killings in Karachi in which eight people, including five attorneys died, witnesses said. Around 2,500 lawyers marched along the main city streets waving flags and chanting slogans against the pro-Musharraf Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM). Earlier the lawyers passed a resolution demanding that the government should publicly hang the perpetrators of Wednesday's clashes. Lawyers in some other cities, including the central Punjab city of Multan, held similar protest meetings, private television channels reported.

"Not You! You!": Tibet and Palestine

2008-04-10T05:19:00.003+05:00

(Though unrelated to the Pakistani political paradigm, this article is a compelling articulation of the hypocrisies underlying the foundational principles of many contemporary social movements and causes. Gives one considerable food - albeit distasteful and gut-wrenching - for thought)

By URI AVNERY

(www.counterpunch.org)

"Hey! Take your hands off me! Not you! You!!!"--the voice of a young woman in the darkened cinema, an old joke.
"Hey! Take your hands off Tibet!" the international chorus is crying out, "But not from Chechnya! Not from the Basque homeland! And certainly not from Palestine!" And that is not a joke.
* * *
LIKE EVERYBODY else, I support the right of the Tibetan people to independence, or at least autonomy. Like everybody else, I condemn the actions of the Chinese government there. But unlike everybody else, I am not ready to join in the demonstrations.
Why? Because I have an uneasy feeling that somebody is washing my brain, that what is going on is an exercise in hypocrisy.
I don't mind a bit of manipulation. After all, it is not by accident that the riots started in Tibet on the eve of the Olympic Games in Beijing. That's alright. A people fighting for their freedom have the right to use any opportunity that presents itself to further their struggle.
I support the Tibetans in spite of it being obvious that the Americans are exploiting the struggle for their own purposes. Clearly, the CIA has planned and organized the riots, and the American media are leading the world-wide campaign. It is a part of the hidden struggle between the US, the reigning super-power, and China, the rising super-power - a new version of the "Great Game" that was played in central Asia in the 19th century by the British Empire and Russia. Tibet is a token in this game.

I am even ready to ignore the fact that the gentle Tibetans have carried out a murderous pogrom against innocent Chinese, killing women and men and burning homes and shops. Such detestable excesses do happen during a liberation struggle.
No, what is really bugging me is the hypocrisy of the world media. They storm and thunder about Tibet. In thousands of editorials and talk-shows they heap curses and invective on the evil China. It seems as if the Tibetans are the only people on earth whose right to independence is being denied by brutal force, that if only Beijing would take its dirty hands off the saffron-robed monks, everything would be alright in this, the best of all possible worlds.
* * *
THERE IS no doubt that the Tibetan people are entitled to rule their own country, to nurture their unique culture, to promote their religious institutions and to prevent foreign settlers from submerging them.
But are not the Kurds in Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria entitled to the same? The inhabitants of Western Sahara, whose territory is occupied by Morocco? The Basques in Spain? The Corsicans off the coast of France? And the list is long.
Why do the world's media adopt one independence struggle, but often cynically ignore another independence struggle? What makes the blood of one Tibetan redder than the blood of a thousand Africans in East Congo?
Again and again I try to find a satisfactory answer to this enigma. In vain.
Immanuel Kant demanded of us: "Act as if the principle by which you act were about to be turned into a universal law of nature." (Being a German philosopher, he expressed it in much more convoluted language.) Does the attitude towards the Tibetan problem conform to this rule? Does it reflect our attitude towards the struggle for independence of all other oppressed peoples?

Not at all.
* * *
WHAT, THEN, causes the international media to discriminate between the various liberation struggles that are going on throughout the world?
Here are some of the relevant considerations:
- Do the people seeking independence have an especially exotic culture?
- Are they an attractive people, i.e. "sexy" in the view of the media?
- Is the struggle headed by a charismatic personality who is liked by the media?
- It the oppressing government disliked by the media?
- Does the oppressing government belong to the pro-American camp? This is an important factor, since the United States dominates a large part of the international media, and its news agencies and TV networks largely define the agenda and the terminology of the news coverage.
- Are economic interests involved in the conflict?
- Does the oppressed people have gifted spokespersons, who are able to attract attention and manipulate the media?
* * *
FROM THESE points of view, there is nobody like the Tibetans. They enjoy ideal conditions.
Fringed by the Himalayas, they are located in one of the most beautiful landscapes on earth. For centuries, just to get there was an adventure. Their unique religion arouses curiosity and sympathy. Its non-violence is very attractive and elastic enough to cover even the ugliest atrocities, like the recent pogrom. The exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, is a romantic figure, a media rock-star. The Chinese regime is hated by many - by capitalists because it is a Communist dictatorship, by Communists because it has become capitalist. It promotes a crass and ugly materialism, the very opposite of the spiritual Buddhist monks, who spend their time in prayer and meditation.

When China builds a railway to the Tibetan capital over a thousand inhospitable kilometers, the West does not admire the engineering feat, but sees (quite rightly) an iron monster that brings hundreds of thousands of Han-Chinese settlers to the occupied territory.
And of course, China is a rising power, whose economic success threatens America's hegemony in the world. A large part of the ailing American economy already belongs directly or indirectly to China. The huge American Empire is sinking hopelessly into debt, and China may soon be the biggest lender. American manufacturing industry is moving to China, taking millions of jobs with it.
Compared to these factors, what have the Basques, for example, to offer? Like the Tibetans, they inhabit a contiguous territory, most of it in Spain, some of it in France. They, too, are an ancient people with their own language and culture. But these are not exotic and do not attract special notice. No prayer wheels. No robed monks.
The Basques do not have a romantic leader, like Nelson Mandela or the Dalai Lama. The Spanish state, which arose from the ruins of Franco's detested dictatorship, enjoys great popularity around the world. Spain belongs to the European Union, which is more or less in the American camp, sometimes more, sometimes less.
The armed struggle of the Basque underground is abhorred by many and is considered "terrorism", especially after Spain has accorded the Basques a far-reaching autonomy. In these circumstances, the Basques have no chance at all of gaining world support for independence.
The Chechnyans should have been in a better position. They, too, are a separate people, who have for a long time been oppressed by the Czars of the Russian Empire, including Stalin and Putin. But alas, they are Muslims - and in the Western world, Islamophobia now occupies the place that had for centuries been reserved for anti-Semitism. Islam has turned into a synonym for terrorism, it is seen as a religion of blood and murder. Soon it will be revealed that Muslims slaughter Christian children and use their blood for baking Pitta. (In reality it is, of course, the religion of dozens of vastly different peoples, from Indonesia to Morocco and from Kosova to Zanzibar.
The US does not fear Moscow as it fears Beijing. Unlike China, Russia does not look like a country that could dominate the 21st century. The West has no interest in renewing the Cold War, as it has in renewing the Crusades against Islam. The poor Chechnyans, who have no charismatic leader or outstanding spokespersons, have been banished from the headlines. For all the world cares, Putin can hit them as much as he wants, kill thousands and obliterate whole towns.
That does not prevent Putin from supporting the demands of Abkhazia and South Ossetia for separation from Georgia, a country which infuriates Russia.
* * *
IF IMMANUEL KANT knew what's going on in Kosova, he would be scratching his head.
The province demanded its independence from Serbia, and I, for one, supported that with all my heart. This is a separate people, with a different culture (Albanian) and its own religion (Islam). After the popular Serbian leader, Slobodan Milosevic, tried to drive them out of their country, the world rose and provided moral and material support for their struggle for independence.

The Albanian Kosovars make up 90% of the citizens of the new state, which has a population of two million. The other 10% are Serbs, who want no part of the new Kosova. They want the areas they live in to be annexed to Serbia. According to Kant's maxim, are they entitled to this?
I would propose a pragmatic moral principle: Every population that inhabits a defined territory and has a clear national character is entitled to independence. A state that wants to keep such a population must see to it that they feel comfortable, that they receive their full rights, enjoy equality and have an autonomy that satisfies their aspirations. In short: that they have no reason to desire separation.
That applies to the French in Canada, the Scots in Britain, the Kurds in Turkey and elsewhere, the various ethnic groups in Africa, the indigenous peoples in Latin America, the Tamils in Sri Lanka and many others. Each has a right to choose between full equality, autonomy and independence.
* * *
THIS LEADS us, of course, to the Palestinian issue.
In the competition for the sympathy of the world media, the Palestinians are unlucky. According to all the objective standards, they have a right to full independence, exactly like the Tibetans. They inhabit a defined territory, they are a specific nation, a clear border exists between them and Israel. One must really have a crooked mind to deny these facts.
But the Palestinians are suffering from several cruel strokes of fate: The people that oppress them claim for themselves the crown of ultimate victimhood. The whole world sympathizes with the Israelis because the Jews were the victims of the most horrific crime of the Western world. That creates a strange situation: the oppressor is more popular than the victim. Anyone who supports the Palestinians is automatically suspected of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

Also, the great majority of the Palestinians are Muslims (nobody pays attention to the Palestinian Christians). Since Islam arouses fear and abhorrence in the West, the Palestinian struggle has automatically become a part of that shapeless, sinister threat, "international terrorism". And since the murders of Yasser Arafat and Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the Palestinians have no particularly impressive leader - neither in Fatah nor in Hamas.
The world media are shedding tears for the Tibetan people, whose land is taken from them by Chinese settlers. Who cares about the Palestinians, whose land is taken from them by our settlers?
In the world-wide tumult about Tibet, the Israeli spokespersons compare themselves - strange as it sounds - to the poor Tibetans, not to the evil Chinese. Many think this quite logical.
If Kant were dug up tomorrow and asked about the Palestinians, he would probably answer: "Give them what you think should be given to everybody, and don't wake me up again to ask silly questions."
Uri Avnery is an Israeli writer and peace activist with Gush Shalom. He is o a contributor to CounterPunch's book The Politics of Anti-Semitism.

People's Resistance statement on violence in Lahore and Karachi

2008-04-10T04:55:00.000+05:00

People's Resistance (Karachi) has taken serious note of recent events of uncivilized and violent behaviour in the country's politics. All stakeholders must take concrete steps to identify and punish perpetrators of these crimes, regardless of their affiliation with a party or association. If this is not done, their own profiles will be tarnished and anti-democratic forces in the country will gain strength.

People's Resistance condemns the recent spate of violence in Karachi and Lahore at a critical time when new assemblies are being formed.
People's Resistance condemns the use of force against Arbab Ghulam Rahim in the Sindh Assembly, Karachi and against Sher Afgan Niazi in Lahore. Mr Afgan and Mr Rahim have consistently stood with a dictator and supported the suppression of rights of the citizens of Pakistan. They must be held accountable to the people politically and legally, and not through violent mobs.
People's Resistance condemns the uncivilized manner in which the PML House in Karachi
was taken over.
People's Resistance demands an independent inquiry through a parliamentary commission with representation from all parties and associations.
People's Resistance stands by the lawyers movement which has been a non-violent movement.
People's Resistance requests Aitzaz Ahsan to reconsider his decision to resign at this point in time.
In this emotionally charged atmosphere, People's Resistance reiterates its support for supremacy of Constitution and rule of Law, which is applicable to every citizen of the land without discrimination at all times.

People's Resistance also believes that in these critical times the office of the president has to play its constitutional as a symbol of the unity of the federation. People's Resistance believes that this may not possible until the representatives of people elected in the 18 February elections bring a legitimately elected president to the President House.

Breaking the Cycle

2008-04-10T04:34:00.002+05:00

By Rukhe Zehra Zaidi

Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party

It seems that recycling storylines and repeatperformances are not solely the prerogative of cinemaand theatre. In Pakistan, the plot of politics is often repeated and rehashed until the performance has become a fine tuned and much rehearsed drama on theo ngoing tussle between democracy and the military.Dictators replace democrats, democrats negotiate and bargain with each other and the army, and the masses stand by much like the citizens of fair Verona caught in the crossfire of the fighting between the Montagues and the Capulets. And although the actors change on a seasonal basis, the transition is now almost seamless and perfect. Costume changes require minimal refitting as the Ayubs make way for the Zias and Musharrafs, and the MMA of today steps into the shoes of the Islamic Democratic Alliance of yesterday. And repeated though it might be, the performance is by no means dull as bloody assassinations, behind the scenes plotting and scheming, horse-trading, and even exploding helicopters all add to the political experience in Pakistan.
One feature of this repertoire of action is the role played by the much maligned MQM. Only treading onto the stage in 1984, the MQM under its Quaid-e-Tehreek Altaf Hussain has undergone qualitative transformations since its debut. Initially enjoying significant support from the Muhajirs that it represented, the party focused on targeting the local Pushtun and Sindhi population it saw as its opposition. Later, it came under direct attack from the army for its militancy and terrorism in the province, resulting in the formation of the equally notorious Haqiqi splinter group. Today, the fortunes of the MQM have changed and the party now plays the part of the establishment's mini mafia in Sindh, promising electoral and political support to Musharraf and his cronies.
But despite these functional transformations, the defining characteristic of the MQM has remained constant over the years: widespread political violence and terrorism. Forced public strikes, extortion, political intimidation, drug trafficking for raising party funds, vigilantism and public repression to promote party influence have all emerged as tactics of the MQM's political arsenal. In 1986, over 124 people were killed in just one night of street violence in response to the news of Altaf Hussain's arrest by the authorities, ironically, for instigating violence.
In a crackdown on militants in 1992, the Sindhi government found several torture sites that had allegedly been used by the MQM to torture and even kill dissident members and rival activists. Inter-factional and ethnically charged gun battles involving the MQM became commonplace on the streets of Karachi and in1995 alone, an estimated 1,800 people died as a result of the growing violence in the city.
Amnesty International, the Human Rights Watch, and even the UNHCR have internationally condemned the rights abuses perpetrated by the MQM. The party also openly attacked critical elements in the press, frequently targeting journalists and even vendors of newspapers carrying criticisms the party.
Most famously, in 1990 Altaf Hussain issued public threats to the editor of Newsline magazine for printing an article accusing the MQM of torture and political killings. There is blood on the hands of the MQM, and its there for all to see.The ongoing violence and mob like behaviour of the MQM has paralysed the life of Pakistan's largest city on innumerable occasions and their new role as the gangsters of the establishment in Sindh continues to overshadow and suppress free thought and action in Karachi. Whether it is May 12th 2007 or 9th April 2008, the goons of MQM are called in to stamp out any efforts to oppose the state; like loyal attack dogs providing a violent distraction and warning to the people of the city.
Today's events point to yet another occasion where the MQM has, with carte blanche impunity, attacked, burnt,looted and killed on the streets of Karachi. People have been shot and murdered, and lawyers burnt alive till their remains have been rendered unrecognizable. But the cycle cannot continue endlessly and the violence must end. The lawyer's movement, with all its imperfections, appears to have disturbed the oppressive power structures of the country and promises better things to come in our political future. Benazir's assassination and the subsequent strengthening of the PPP and democratic institutions in the country have also challenged the authority ofthe MQM on a local level.
The recent elections in Sindh have been a rude reminder to the MQM of its waning electoral support. It has had to rely on widespread rigging, political harassment, and armed coercion to maintain its hold on the province. Despite all its ammunition and weaponry, it is not immune to the popular discontent and condemnation of its constituents. We must not allow the manipulations of the establishment and the violence of the MQM to distract us from our demand for true democracy, or weaken our support for the lawyers struggle. We must condemn all efforts to discredit and break the lawyer's movement, and use every opportunity to expose the ugly face of the MQM and the dictator who hides behind it. We must demonstrate, lobby, protest and appeal to our democratic leaders to not let the MQM get away with its actions of today as it did on the 12th of May.
But most of all, we must continue our demand for a free press, a free judiciary, and the end of a dictator who has been responsible for the worst human rights record in all of Pakistan's history.The show must go on, but isn't it time we stopped being spectators and took charge of directing it?

Hidden hand involved, lawyers not behind thrashing of Sher Afgan: President LHCBA

2008-04-10T04:33:00.000+05:00

RAWALPINDI, April 9 (APP): Rawalpindi-Islamabad Lawyers Association have jointly condemned the brutal and shameful act of thrashing the former federal minister for parliamentary affairs Dr. Sher Afgan Khan.
This was stated by the President Lahore High Court Bar Association (HCBA) Rawalpindi bench, Sardar Asmatullah Khan while addressing a press conference here on Wednesday.
Besides others, President District Bar Association Sardar Tariq Masood, Joint Secretary Sadiq Awan,Vice President Babar Ali, Additional Secretary Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Abdul Rashid were also present on occasion.
Sardar Asmatullah said that lawyers’ community strongly denounce and condemn this brutal act of assaulting a former Federal Minister and senior politician like Dr. Sher Afgan Niazi saying that the element involved in this crime and conspiracy would defiantly face consequences.
He opined a hidden hand could be involved in hatching conspiracies to destabilize the elected democratic government.
He informed that President Supreme Court bar Association (SCBA) Chaudhry Aitizaz Ahsan submitted his resignation from his office in the protest for humiliation of Dr. Sher Afgan Niazi.
He said the deposed chief justice Ifthikar Muhammad Chaudhry has asked Aeitaz Ahsan to take back his resignation.
Sardar AsmatUllah also informed the media about the holding of all Pakistan lawyers convention in Karachi on May 12.

Eleven killed in riots in Karachi

2008-04-10T04:13:00.000+05:00

KARACHI: The number of deceased in the Karachi violence has risen to eleven on Wednesday night, following the armed clashes erupted outside Malir Bar, where two groups entered into gun battle.
At least seven injured including a child have been brought to Civil Hospital, according to media on Wednesday afternoon.
Over 50 vehicles have been torched in several areas of Karachi. There are reports of aerial firing from parts of Karachi and people are seen panicked.
Earlier, the armed clashes erupted outside Malir Bar, where two groups entered into gun battle in reaction to the manhandling of an MQM leader.
At least seven injured including a child have been brought to Civil Hospital, according to media on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the latest reports at least 60 vehicles have been torched around the city so far. A building Tahir Plaza at MA Jinnah Road with lawyers offices there was torched in the recent clashes. No fatalities were reported from the plaza.
At least five charred bodies including one of a woman were found from Tahir Plaza, M.A. Jinnah Road which was set ablaze following the incident at Malir Bar earlier today, Chhipa sources said. The building of Malir Bar Association also has been gutted with intense firing there. Heavy contingents of police arrived on the spot. The angry people have blocked MA Jinnah Road, after which the massive traffic jams are being observed around the area.
There are reports of heavy firing from various areas of Karachi including Shah Faisal Colony, Malir, Burns Road, Jamia Cloth Market.

(Courtesy GEO)

Dr. Afgan manhandled, rescued by Aitzaz

2008-04-08T23:35:00.001+05:00

LAHORE: Former federal minister, Dr. Sher Afgan Niazi has been rescued safely by President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Aitzaz Ahsan. Enraged lawyers tore up Dr. Afgan’s clothes and attacked him by throwing stones and shoes. They also shaterred the windows of the ambulance in which Dr. Afgan was being taken away from the site of the incident.
Earlier, a large number of lawyers laid a siege around the office of Dr. Afgan’s lawyer when he came to visit him. The police present at the scene failed to create a safe passage for Dr. Afgan and he remained confined in the office for about three hours.
Later, President SCBA Aitzaz Ahsan arrived here to control the situation and disperse the lawyers. Although he asked the enraged lawyers and others to leave the place, they continued to wait for Dr. Afgan to come out.
Eventually, Dr. Afgan came out of the building and escorted by Aitzaz Ahsan. Struggling through the crowd they made their way to an Edhi ambulance with the help of police.As soon as Dr. Afgan got inside the ambulance, Aitzaz Ahsan mounted the rooftop of the vehicle which was then driven slowly away from the crowd.
Later, Aitzaz Ahsan resigned from the post of SCBA President.

(Courtesy GEO)

SAC and workers stage demo against price hike

2008-04-08T22:37:00.000+05:00

In the first step of hopefully a long lasting and fair alliance, students and workers stood as one outside Data Darbar on Sunday.
The Student Action Committee alongside trade unions, the CMKP, and the Labor party organized a demonstration on the price hike. Starting at 4 pm sharp, adjacent to the main Data Sahib entrance, the entrancing sound of the dhols, accompanying loud impassioned slogans could be heard. Ranging from “bhukaay reh gayay mein teh tou, lutt keh laigaya GHQ” to “Roti mehengi hai hai...kafan bhi mehenga hai hai” the slogans highlighted the problems that the country was facing with the constantly rising food inflation, energy crisis, expensive education and low wage rates.
While the police tried to separate the passerby’s from the demonstration, students actively tried to cross the physical barricades present and tried engaging the watching populace with rousing slogans and highlighting that this demonstration was for everyone. That it was a platform for every citizen to use to make his or her voice heard.
Communist Mazdoor Kisaan Party member and Student Action Committee representative Ali Jan delivered a rousing speech where he delineated reasons behind the fiscal problems that nation as a people were facing. “…state needs to enter the economy and control the free hand of the multinational companies, the World Bank and the IMF” said the leftist student.
Abdullah Malik, a seasoned lawyer who has been at the forefront of the lawyers movement and has supported the f students and other segments of society who have been fighting against the regime also spoke at this demonstration. He said “The polices of the previous government regarding the IMF and the World Bank reduced the people to the point of suicide because of poverty”. According to Abdullah Malik, the new government should make policies keeping the debilitating poverty in mind, and the promises made to reinstate student unions, trade unions, free media and restoration of the judiciary should be fulfilled. While lawyers, media, students and concerned people from all walks of life will work together as a watch dog and will laud positive polices; these very factions of society will wage a war against policies that harm any segment of society.
Representing the Student Action Committee, Sundas Hurrain reached out to the people in a speech that emphasized that there was no such thing as an aam admi as everyone was equal and in order to get rid of socio economic disparity, students and workers will need to collaborate and join forces against injustices and poverty.
The demonstration lasted an hour and engaged people who were initially just bystanders and eventually crossed the barriers and participated full throatedly in the price hike demonstration.

Report on Work done for restoration of judiciary in Hazara by Omar Asghar Foundation

2008-04-07T19:10:00.003+05:00

Omar Asghar Foundation has done a lot of good work for the restoration of the judiciary. The document[PDF] can be see here

Ansar Burney (Singh): The Human Rights Minister for Indians

2008-04-07T18:54:00.001+05:00

Ansar Burney completed his tenure as the first ever caretaker minister of human rights. During his four months stint in the Ministry of Law, Burney worked hard tirelessly for providing a safe passage for suspected and convicted enemies of Pakistan while completely disregarding Pakistanis. He even went a step further by actively trying to dissuade Pakistanis from fighting for their own rights. As this article will show, Burney’s work would make any Indian proud of him and hence he will be referred more appropriately as Burney (Singh).

Burney (Singh)’s personal website boasts that he had refused repeated offers to become a minister or be part of a government citing time and conflict of interest issues. Finally he accepted an offer to become a minister when he thought the time was appropriate - when safeguards of fundamental human rights in Pakistan had been suspended. His oath did not require him to protect Pakistanis from human rights violations. Instead, he could focus on a higher, much nobler objective of releasing state enemies and shamelessly self promoting himself.

We, the people of Pakistan, as naive as we always have been, still thought we could go to Burney (Singh) for help and protection from state oppression. With fellow members of Islamabad Civil Society, I suggested contacting Burney (Singh), asking him for the release the heroes of Pakistan, particularly the Honorable Chief Justice. Older fellow members of the resistance movement against Musharraf’s martial law suggested that such moves would be futile: they argued that if Burney (Singh) really cared for the rights of Pakistanis, he would not have acquiesced to the unconstitutional Nov 3^rd actions by becoming a part of the caretaker government.

Nonetheless, we called him. He responded in a half concerned tone, promising good news in a few days. According to him, the CJP was under “protective and preventive custody” and he would be allowed to leave his home very soon. He also promised us to do whatever possible for the swift release of all the political prisoners.

As it later transpired, Mr. Burney (Singh) was a step ahead and had already tried to mediate the release of some judges and lawyers. In his meeting with Aitzaz Ahsan, Burney (Singh) offered a proposal: release from the illegal incarceration if Mr. Ahsan would promise not to fight for the Pakistani people’s demand for the restoration of THE independent judiciary. Other detained lawyers and judges were offered the same terms. The Minster of Human Rights of Pakistan would release these innocent captives ONLY if they gave up their human rights in return!

Burney (Singh) did not stop for a moment to think about the immorality and shamelessness of his act. No where in the history of any country has a human rights minister asked the people under his protection to give up their rights. It is amazing how he can still proclaim to be a champion of human rights after these incidents. Is Burney (Singh) trying to make a fool out of his own self? Perhaps a dictionary and a job in India would have been a good farewell present for him.

Newspapers and independent televisions channels reported police brutality on protesters regularly since Nov 3^rd. His own caretaker government was ordering baton charge and tear gas on protestors. Many were arrested and manhandled; some even joined the ‘missing in Pakistan’. Women and children were beaten, mistreated and harassed. Did Burney (Singh) take ONE notice of all of this?

After the lifting of the “state of emergency”, a version of the constitution replaced the PCO. Even this mutilated form of the constitution had basic provisions of human rights. However two days after the lifting of state of emergency, police thrashed members of Student Action Committee, many of them women and juvenile. This was covered in all local and major international newspapers. A letter was sent to Burney (Singh) urging him to take action against police brutality. Pictures of women and children being hammered by police batons were attached. A copy was also sent to Burney (Singh)’s private email incase he did not read the news or letters sent to him. He wasn’t even courteous enough to send a two-lined response to us.

In the following weeks protests heading towards the CJ’s house were always tear gassed and covered in the news. Burney (Singh) never took any notice of the police brutality or what the protesters were demanding. Instead he blatantly slandered the Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan claiming that Iftikhar Chaudry had illegally occupied the house and there were no bars on his movement! This barefaced perjury is voluble of Burney (Singh)’s credibility.

So what did Burney (Singh) do during his four months as caretaker minister? Surely it must get boring having nothing to do. He continued with his earlier work of trying to arrange for release of Indian prisoners lurking in Pakistani jails. His biggest efforts towards shameless self-promotion were the months and state resources spent trying to locate an item for quick promotion. He soon got it in the form of Kashmir Singh and the media monotone on him the next few days. The hero’s departure given to a former spy who was engaged in anti-Pakistan activities was quite disturbing. Kashmir Singh was first of the many enemies of Pakistan Burney (Singh) is working diligently for. For instance, Burney (Singh) is now involved in preventing the execution of Sarabjit Singh. Sarabjit confessed his involvement in bomb blasts in Pakistan before the Supreme Court in 2005.

The above works of Burney (Singh) would make Shiv Sina proud. One tends to wonder on whose agenda Burney (Singh) and his trust work?

Samad Khurram is a student of Government in Harvard University. He is a columnist for the Harvard Crimson, is also an active member of the Student Action Committee.

Workers and SAC demo tomorrow at Data Darbar at 4 pm

2008-04-05T19:47:00.002+05:00

The Student Action Committee in collaboration with trade unions, working women’s unions, political parties and various groups of society is holding a demonstration regarding the recent price hike.

An alliance forged after years of alienation, students and laborers will stand together for the same cause: the pressure on the average Pakistani to acquire and maintain basic necessities like food and energy.

Sunday 6^th April at 4 pm outside the Data Sahib Mazaar, the SAC alongside workers and other concerned individuals will present their demands to the newly formed government to find a sustainable solution to persistent food inflation and energy shortages.

Recognizing that the interim government as well as the eight year regime contributed mostly to the rising costs of living, this alliance between students and workers aims to highlight the power that the new government possesses via the mandate of the people.

Representatives from various workers unions and such have been invited to come and give short talks on the present price hike in the country. An issue like inflation and energy crisis spans across the countries ethnic and socioeconomic boundaries and allows people to stand up for their rights from a grass roots level.

Those participating in this demonstration will aim to engage as many people from the surrounding areas as a part of the effort to work together to resolve national problems rather than outlining them in isolated meetings.

The Student Action Committee is planning to work towards expanding nationwide with chapters in all universities and eventually participate in upcoming union elections. Student unions world wide provide a platform for young leaders to explore their political identities without having to work under a mainstream political party or follow a party agenda: the SAC will work towards the purification of student politics in Pakistan and will follow a non partisan and non violent approach towards the newly re-established student unions.

Musharraf's survival strategy: remain low-key

2008-04-05T18:50:00.000+05:00

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has no plans to quit despite the formation of hostile government and will play a low-key role as part of a strategy framed a long time ago, a presidential aide has said. The "perceived isolation" of Musharraf and his sidelining after the swearing-in of the new government had not happened in a "haphazard way but is the result of a well thought out strategy", the aide claimed.

"It was decided a long time ago that Musharraf would take a backseat after the 2008 general election and he has done so as per the plan," the unnamed aide told The News daily. "Everything was executed as per the script," the aide claimed, adding that Musharraf's moves were part of the plan for the "phased restoration of democracy".

"There is no shock for the president in the new milieu except for the defeat of the (PML-Q)," he said. The Pakistan People's Party and PML-N have formed a coalition government with the backing of two smaller parties and independent lawmakers following the defeat of pro-Musharraf PML (Q)in the February 18 polls.

He categorically said Musharraf had no plans to step down. Everything went as per the strategy, though considerable disruption was caused by the "judicial crisis" following the sacking of 60 members of the superior judiciary during last year's emergency, the aide said.

Zardari offers gubernatorial post to Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry

2008-04-05T18:40:00.001+05:00

From ANI

Lahore, Apr 4: PPP co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari has reportedly offered a gubernatorial post to the country's deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Choudhary, after forcing him "retire" on superannuation in June.

He is learnt to have been offered the position of Balochistan Governor.

Zardari made the offer through Iftikhar's counsels Aitzaz Ahsan, Athar Minallah, and Munir A Malik at a dinner last night, reported the Daily Times.

Reliable sources say that the new PPP-led government was planning to bring a new law restricting the Chief Justice's term to three years, as a result of which Justice Choudhary's services would superannuate in June, as he completes his three years in the post in the same month.

Had Choudhary not picked a fight with President Pervez Musharraf last year, he would have continued as Chief Justice till 2013. Musharraf wants to see Justice Choudhary's service to be terminated because the latter has repeatedly said that he would reinstate the pre-November 7 Constitution if reinstalled in the post.

A section to Pakistani press today reported that the new Pakistan government was planning to bring a new legislation to ease out the Chief Justice, though it would reinstate other Supreme Court judges.

Zardari issues 'charge-sheet'

2008-04-05T18:36:00.000+05:00

By Ansar Abbasi

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has issued a long charge-sheet against the deposed superior court judges, saying they never came to his rescue and were responsible for his eight years in jail.

In the clearest indication that the PPP may not stand by the Murree Declaration to restore the judges, the PPP leader told his central executive committee in Naudero that he was not interested in the restoration of personalities but wanted a judicial reforms package.

Analysts said things were getting complicated for Zardari, both within the PPP and outside, as he was moving closer to allies of President Musharraf and drifting away from his coalition partner Nawaz Sharif.

As Zardari issued his charge-sheet against the judges, Makhdoom Amin Fahim demanded the disbandment of the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians which he heads. Others in the PPP blasted the party leadership's decision to join hands with the MQM.

On the other hand, the PML-N is determined not to compromise on the issue of restoration of the deposed judges through a resolution in the National Assembly. The party says it seeks strict adherence to the Murree Declaration and would not accept any formula or constitutional amendment that restores all the deposed judges minus chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

"After gaining so much because of the political initiative that Zardari has taken in the recent weeks, the PPP co-chairperson is on the verge of losing all," a senior PPP leader told this correspondent from Naudero, revealing the situation in the interior Sindh was extremely tense after Zardari's visit to the MQM headquarters popularly known as Nine Zero.

In a post-dinner gathering of the PPP's central executive committee, the source said, many PPP leaders minced no words in criticising Zardari's decision to woo the MQM. PPP MNA Shugufta Jamani and Sethi Ishaq were among those who expressed strong resentment and wondered how the PPP could join hands with the MQM, which was responsible for the killing of PPP workers.

"The Sindhi people have not given a mandate to Zardari to thrust upon them his personal agenda of humiliation in the name of reconciliation," a PPP leader told The News, adding, "We strongly oppose and condemn the PPP-MQM coalition in Sindh."

The leader asked: "Who caused the May 12th incident? Who was behind the Oct 18 blast? Who killed Murad Baloch and Munawar Suhrawardy? But you still went to the Nine Zero to express solidarity with the MQM against the wishes of the nation. Now it's time for us to rethink our support for you, Mr Zardari," said the source, who sounded quite disturbed.

"There is a wave of anger," a PPP leader said. The likes of Raja Pervez Ashraf, Shah Mehmud Qureshi, Jahangir Badr, however, showered Zardari with praises and called him a great leader. Badr even crossed all limits by saying that the PPP had become more popular under Zardari.

Zardari, however, defended his party's rapprochement with the MQM and termed it a sensible political move having far-reaching impact. He said he wanted to open all political avenues for his son, Bilawal, and never liked to see the doors of Nine Zero closed for him. He said the MQM would be forming a government with the PPP.

Aitzaz Ahsan, who sought the restoration of the deposed judges, told the meeting that it would be in the interest of the party to get the judges restored.

Zardari, according to sources, came hard on the issue of the judges� restoration. According to one source, Zardari snubbed the widely-respected lawyer leader and said he knew the worth of the judges whose restoration was being sought by the lawyers' community.

Zardari said these were the same judges who had earlier taken oath under the PCO and validated the military rule. Referring to his jail life, a source quoted him as saying that he was let down by these judges, who had even refused to release him on parole to attend the funeral of his nephew. He said he was allowed only a two-hour parole despite Farooq H Naek's pleading before the same judges.

He said the then Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed had also refused him a parole. He termed the same judiciary biased, which he said was responsible for his eight years in jail. Party sources reported that Asif Ali Zardari was quite emotional while speaking on the judges' issue. One source said he talked of the restoration of the judges but linked it to a constitutional package. He said the party was interested in the independence of the judiciary and not in personalities.

A party leader said he was disappointed to hear what he termed the charge-sheet issued by the PPP co-chairperson against the deposed judges. According to him, almost 60 per cent of the co-chairman's speech was on Aitzaz Ahsan and the judges.

While the PPP is clearly seen connecting the judges restoration issue with a constitutional package, the PML-N is determined not to budge from what had been agreed between the two parties in Murree on March 9, 2008.

"We don't accept the 'Minus-One Formula' or any such solution that excludes Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry," PML-N minister Ahsan Iqbal told this correspondent, adding the "Minus-One Formula" would mean accepting March 9, 2007 Gen Musharraf's action of suspending chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as legitimate.

Ahsan said as per the Murree Declaration, the deposed judges would be restored through a resolution. Ahsan categorically said that the question of any constitutional amendment for the judges' restoration did not arise.

Ahsan said the coalition was committed to the Murree Declaration and clarified that the PML-N was not averse to a mutually-agreed constitutional package having no link with the restoration of the judges.

(Courtesy The News)

Brutalization of a University Professor

2008-04-04T22:00:00.000+05:00

Dr. Zahoor H. Baber

It was unbelievable to see a university professor Dr. Riaz Ahmed of the University of Karachi, standing severely injured inside the campus gate few days ago. His associates and students who saw his condition were appalled, many eyes became wet. Innumerable questions were raised; the academic mind was in great turmoil. How can this happen? Why? And for what purpose? And so on.

The inquiry was set forth, procedures started following, committees began forming. The crisscross of defenders and offenders is the norm of the situation now. Protests are launched by teaching communities and civil society through out the country. However, the incident has left deep wounds in the hearts and minds of associates of Dr.Riaz, who is known for his commitments towards the teaching community, academic institutions, and a liberal society.

The deplorable state of affairs in the academic world of Pakistan
demands a revaluation of the whole academic setup and its authentication. The cruel behavior towards a vigilant and profound thinker, a brilliant researcher and a highly conscientious member of the society, within the premises of his institution, reveals the hidden facts. It exposes the anti-intellectual and irrational mind-set working against any one who is committed towards liberalism, open-mindedness, justice, and freedom.

Dr. Riaz Ahmed’s incident symbolizes the conflict of a society struggling against itself, and thus never being able to come out of its own nostalgia. Where as the high profile educationists and policy makers will keep on falsely intellectualizing their success in bringing the academic world at par with the west, the really committed people like Dr. Riaz Ahmed will always be condemned and crushed for their courage and wisdom in their struggle against authoritarianism, and in their fight to bring the working class up to the standards of humanization and freedom; thus defeating imperialist structures imposed on a developing nations.

Judges’ scrutiny by parliament panel after reinstatement

2008-04-04T21:51:00.001+05:00

By Nasir Iqbal

(Courtesy DAWN)

ISLAMABAD, April 3: A draft constitutional package envisages subjecting all judges of the superior judiciary to scrutiny by a parliamentary committee after reinstatement of the judges sent home upon proclamation of the emergency on Nov 3.According to a reliable source, the government had “almost finalised” the “omnibus” constitutional amendment package.

“The constitutional package, being finalised with the consent of all the allied parties in the coalition government, is getting the final touches,” the source said.The proposal is in conflict with the Murree declaration, signed by the People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-N last month, that spoke about the judges’ reinstatement through a parliamentary resolution within 30 days of government formation at the centre.

“Now the judges would be reinstated first in respect of the commitment made, but then the case of every judge, including the deposed and the incumbent, would be reviewed by a parliamentary committee to make a decision about their retention in the superior judiciary,” the source said.

The President of Supreme Court Bar Association, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, has already warned political parties against giving their assent to a package “prepared by the presidency”. The package is the brainchild of Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum, Aitzaz Ahsan has alleged. He said President Pervez Musharraf wanted to make Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry very controversial so that he could be removed after the scrutiny process. Any such attempt would open a Pandora’s Box, he said, adding that every judge would then become controversial and the entire judiciary would be thrown into turmoil.

Former SCBA president Hamid Khan was also critical of the package, recalling that the Murree declaration only suggested en bloc reinstatement of all those judges who refused to take oath under the PCO. He suggested that the draft copy of any constitutional package should be circulated among bar councils and associations.

About Justice Iftikhar, Hamid Khan alleged that conspiracies were being hatched to get rid of him. He, however, warned that any proposal that spoke of reinstating judges minus Justice Iftikhar would not be accepted by the legal fraternity.

Asif ticks off Aitzaz

2008-04-04T21:44:00.002+05:00

(Courtesy The Daily Times)

NAUDERO: PPP Co-chairman Asif Zardari is reported to have ticked off Aitzaz Ahsan in an after-dinner gathering of the PPP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) members in Naudero on the subject of the restoration of the judges, independence of the judiciary and the threatened long march by Aitzaz and his supporters. According to sources present on the occasion, Zardari took Aitzaz to task for constantly threatening to launch a long march to force parliament to restore Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and the other deposed judges.

Zardari advised Aitzaz to go ahead with his long march if he was so keen on it instead of constantly threatening the PPP about it. He told Aitzaz that he was wrong to think that the lawyers movement had forced General Pervez Musharraf to take off his uniform or hold the elections. He said that honour belonged to Benazir Bhutto who had compelled Musharraf to do so and paid for it with her life. He said the entire credit for restoration of democracy went to Ms Bhutto and Aitzaz and the judges and lawyers could not rob her of her victory.

Zardari also reminded Aitzaz that while he was incarcerated for eight long years none of these heroic judges had given him justice, even when he had asked for one day’s reprieve to attend a funeral of a close relative. Zardari is reported to have said that Justice Chaudhry had politicised himself overtly and ruined his case as an advocate for an independent judiciary. He also cited other instances when some of these judges had not conducted themselves with any degree of integrity or independence in the past. Aitzaz tried a feeble defence but could not deflect Zardari’s irritation. “I thought Aitzaz would get up and leave but he just sat there,” said the source. staff report

(After reading this news report one would definitely start worrying the prospects of the restoration of judiciary - it may be time to start worrying - and planning)

Musharraf's capacity to bear indignities

2008-04-04T18:31:00.003+05:00

Musharraf's capacity to bear indignities

Aziz-ud-Din Ahmad

President Musharraf's capacity to bear indignities, provided he is allowed to retain his office, seems to be unlimited. While he has repeatedly said he is willing to work with the new government, he continues to be conveyed through unambiguous gestures that he is not acceptable to the newcomers.

On Monday he administered oath to federal ministers, nine of whom wore black armbands to indicate they would rather see his back than face. They told the protocol officer they would not stand up on the arrival of the president to slight him. It took the ceremony to be over in seven minutes after which they walked out without shaking hands with him. Earlier on March 24, at the election of the new prime minister, the National Assembly had resounded with slogans of "Go Musharraf, Go" and at Mr Gillani's oath taking ceremony, attended by military top brass command and foreign diplomatic corps, there were again slogans that made Musharraf squirm.

On Tuesday there was another embarrassment waiting for him. None of the newly appointed cabinet members turned up at 13th Comstech General Assembly, the first international function attended by diplomats from the Islamic countries after take over by the new government to be addressed by Musharraf. As invitations had been duly dispatched to all the ministers this amounted to a calculated boycott. The unmistakable message was, well, we have other important things to do.

As if to give a lie to Rashid Qureshi's claim that everyone other than Mian Nawaz Sharif was dying to work with Musharraf, all top leaders of the four party alliance boycotted the two oath taking ceremonies. And if this was not enough, he has reportedly been told by Dr Fehmida Mirza that the speaker's chamber in the parliament under Musharraf's use since 2005, would no more be available to him.

For full five years Musharraf refused to address the previous National Assembly despite its having been turned into a rubber stamp. He called it ill-mannered because the opposition which was being constantly steam-rollered occasionally resorted to anti-Musharraf slogans. He felt at home in the meetings of a pliant ruling party that he frequently co-chaired. He wielded the COAS baton like the magician's wand to remove and install prime ministers at will. This is all a dream now. Used to playing with lapdogs Musharraf will have to live with pit bulls.

Majority of those who were administered oath on Monday have been unjustly targeted by Musharraf in the past. The idea had been to change their loyalties through pressure. The prime minister spent five years in jail on false accusations and was honourably acquitted by the court. Navid Qamar spent over a year behind the bars, Ahmad Mukhtar a year and half. Senior Minister Nisar Ali Khan was kept under detention for a year and a half, Ishaq Dar for a similar period, Khwaja Asif for over a year and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for seventeen months. How can Musharraf build up rapport with his victims who have returned to power against his wishes on the basis of a historic verdict?

February elections have brought a seismic change in Pakistan's politics. Prime Minister Gillani says his relations with the president would be strictly in accordance with the constitution. In other words, the new prime minister would not allow him to make intrusions into his turf as he has been doing in the past. Henceforth the prime minister would deal with Bush, Gordon Brown, Manmohan Singh, Hamid Karzai, Wen Jiabao and others. It is he rather than the president who would address the UN sessions, Davos moots and attend summits. Gone are the foreign junkets and visits abroad to play bridge with friends that cost the national exchequer heavily. The voluntary reduction of expenses of the Prime Minister House by 40 percent is a signal that the presidency too is going to be required to follow suit.

The lawyers have vowed to converge on the Army House after the thirty-day countdown to evict him for being an unauthorised occupant, accusing him of using the premises for conspiracies against the elected government. Their leaders have already accused Musharraf of indulging in games to sabotage the Murree Accord. An unquenchable thirst for power has led Musharraf pocket one insult after another. It remains to be seen if his capacity to take indignities has any limits.

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Comments:

General (r) Musharraf promised in an interview that: I can exit anytime if I want to. If I feel that nation does not want me and I have become unpopular, nation does not require me, I'll be the first person to exit.

Polls, Surveys and even General Elections in Pakistan won't make him leave his seat. How shameless can he be?

Pakistan Demonstrates the Wisdom of America’s Founding Fathers

2008-04-03T14:31:00.001+05:00

Jacob G. Hornberger

The situation in Pakistan provides another good reason why the American people should put a stop to the U.S. government’s meddling in the affairs of other countries.

For years, U.S. officials have had a close, working partnership with Pakistan’s president Pervez Musharraf, which has included the delivery to him of millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer money. Keep in mind one important fact: Musharraf is a dictator. A brutal military dictator who has ruled over Pakistan with an iron fist for many years. He took power in a coup and refused to allow democratic elections in the country.

U.S. officials have known all of this. Yet, despite all their glorious talk about the virtues of democracy, especially in Iraq, they have nonetheless been funneling U.S. taxpayer money into the coffers of Musharraf and the military goons that have kept him in power.

Several months ago, Musharraf dissolved the country’s Supreme Court and began jailing lawyers and judges? Why? Because the judiciary and the attorneys believed in an independent judiciary. That is, they believed in the same type of judicial system that we have here in the United States, one in which the Supreme Court is the ultimate arbiter of what is constitutional and unconstitutional.

Like all dictators, Musharraf could not countenance a constitutional order. When a dictator issues an order, he expects everyone, including the lawyers and the judges, to obey it. If they don’t, that’s what the military and the police are for — to round up those who don’t understand and appreciate the nature of dictatorship and put them in jail until they do.

Through it all, including Musharraf’s crackdown on the judiciary and the lawyers, the U.S. government has remained loyal to Musharraf, continuing to funnel U.S. taxpayer money into his coffers (even while killing untold numbers of people in Iraq for the sake of democracy). But why should that surprise anyone, especially given the Bush administration’s and Pentagon’s denigration of lawyers and the U.S. Supreme Court with respect to such issues as torture, rendition, Guantanamo Bay, and the “war on terrorism”?

What U.S. officials never counted on, however, is that the Pakistani people hated Musharraf’s military dictatorship. In the recent parliamentary elections in Pakistan, the vote was so overwhelming against Musharraf that even the dictator could not rig the outcome. Of course, in the process the Pakistani people also implicitly rebuked the dictator’s loyal partner, the U.S. government.

Let’s recall that this isn’t the first time that the United States has experienced this type of blowback from its foreign policy of interventionism. In Iran, the CIA ousted the democratically elected prime minister from office and installed a brutal dictator, the Shah of Iran, in his stead. After decades of brutal dictatorial rule, including the torture of his own people, the Shah was ousted from power by the Iranian people. Not surprisingly, the Iranian people resented not just the Shah but also his loyal partner and supporter, the U.S. government.

What does the U.S. government now do in Pakistan as part of its foreign policy of interventionism? Does it continue supporting its loyal partner, a dictator, and continue funneling U.S. taxpayer money into his coffers? Or does it align itself with the citizenry who are trying to restore democracy and a constitutional order to their land?

Such questions arise for one — and only one — reason: the U.S. government’s foreign policy of intervening and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. If the United States had a policy of non-intervention, then the rebuke of a dictator by his own citizens would be not simultaneously serve as a rebuke against the United States.

In other words, at the risk of belaboring the obvious the reason that Pakistanis who have risen up against Musharraf also resent the United States is because the U.S. government is Musharraf’s partner, a partner that has financed much of his brutal dictatorial rule. In the absence of intervention, the Pakistani people would resent their dictator without also resenting the United States.

Once again, we are learning the wisdom of our nation’s Founding Fathers, who counseled in favor of friendly relations with all nations but entangling alliances with none. The key to America’s future — the key to freedom, peace, prosperity, morality, and harmony — lies in liberating the private sector of America to freely engage with the people of the world while, at the same time, prohibiting the federal government from interfering with the internal affairs of other countries.

Mr. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation.

U.S. Must Quit Bush's Chicken Little Politics in Pakistan, Cold Turkey

2008-04-03T14:28:00.001+05:00

Lisa Gans

Ever since the September 11th attacks, the Bush administration has been warning Americans that, but for the rule of military dictator General Pervez Musharraf, the sky would be falling. Musharraf, we were told, was what was standing between us and a flood of Islamic extremists who would unleash acts of terrorism around the world. In the war on terror, leaders were either with us or against us, and Bush knew, after talking with Musharraf, that the man was in our corner. He would keep the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in check. It's now time for the U.S. to recognize that events on the ground have proven Bush wrong, and to change the way we conduct our relations with Pakistan lest we hamper the chances of the newly-elected government for successful democratic rule.

Since the initial decision to back Musharraf, the Bush administration has developed tunnel vision in Pakistan and failed to examine the conduct of U.S. foreign policy and what we were getting in return for our support. Never mind that ISI, Pakistan's intelligence service, under Musharraf's direction, had helped to keep the Taliban in power in Afghanistan. Never mind that, despite the billions of dollars in aid the U.S. has given to Pakistan over the past six years, mostly to its military, Musharraf has failed to explain exactly what specific benefit he has provided to the U.S. In fact, he has been widely criticized by U.S. policy-makers, scholars, and even NATO commanders who have been concerned that Musharraf has not done enough to combat al-Qaeda and has been giving sanctuary to extremists in Pakistan's tribal areas that border Afghanistan. Much has been written about whether the U.S. has actually benefited from its relationship with Musharraf, and exactly how much has been spent with astonishingly little oversight. Despite this, the Bush administration has continued to deliver enormous sums of money to Musharraf and tout him as a great U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism.

The U.S.'s backing of Musharraf has had two sets of consequences, one on the world stage, and the other within Pakistan itself. In the international arena, the U.S. has lost credibility as a purveyor of democracy. With no sense of irony, it has backed a military dictator, even as he suspended the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, cracked down on the media, jailed lawyers and opposition leaders, suspended the country's constitution, and, despite the massive aid to his military, failed to provide adequate security to Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated in Rawalpindi, a Musharraf stronghold. In addition, the U.S. has placed unnecessary stress on its relationship with India and failed to consider the potential consequences for the region of the influx of so much money with so little scrutiny given to its use. Within Pakistan, overt U.S. support of Musharraf has diminished respect for him and made him a caricature to the people -- a puppet who sold his loyalty to a bullying super-power. Many who were not necessarily anti-U.S. became polarized by Bush's message to Musharraf that he had to be for us or against us. The thinking for many was, "Well, if I'm not entirely for you, then I guess I must be against you." And, because U.S. money and influence protected Musharraf even when he disregarded the most basic human, civil and political rights of Pakistani citizens, those abuses were attributed by the people to the U.S. Living under a dictatorship and living under U.S. influence became for many, one and the same.

Recent events in Pakistan show that the Bush administration was wrong to say that Musharraf was the country's and the world's best hope for fighting extremism in Pakistan. They also show that the U.S. must and should change its foreign policy approach in Pakistan if it is to achieve its goals of fostering democracy in the region and combating terrorism. Despite what we were told, the sky did not fall when Musharraf lost his grip on power. Instead, an effort to restore democracy and national institutions has begun amid cautious optimism. In spite of Musharraf's best efforts to prevent elections, they were held with relatively little violence and declared free and fair. The media, freed from recent restrictions, reached out to the people and encouraged them to vote, not according to the instructions of their village leaders, but rather in their own interests. According to one landowner in southern Punjab "our villagers didn't vote according to our wishes this time -- they voted for their own candidates -- something they haven't done in the past."

This sense of accomplishment by the people should buffer the new government from some criticism and skepticism, even if acts of terrorism are used to unseat or disturb it. Unlike the previous government, this one has at least the temporary good-will of many Pakistanis who are willing to give these politicians the benefit of the doubt and a chance to prove themselves. Despite Bush's warnings, the county has not been engulfed by radical terrorists, and the new government has committed itself to continuing the fight against terrorism, and opened the door for counter-insurgency tactics by reaching out to militants who are willing to lay down their arms. This tactic has been praised in the past by NATO and other military commanders but condemned by the Bush administration as an unacceptable way to deal with extremists. It shows that there may a uniquely Pakistani approach to addressing concerns of terrorism, while also promoting democracy and good governance within Pakistan.

The new government has wasted no time in letting Washington know that its heavy-handed diplomacy was a thing of the past. When the U.S. sent its Deputy secretary of state John Negroponte and assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher to meet with General Musharraf on the very day that the new Pakistani Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gillani, took office, high-level Pakistani lawyers and government officials immediately made it clear that this was a mistake, and that the new government, not Musharraf, would be making decisions in the country from now on. With unprecedented candor, high-level Pakistanis told Negraponte that his visit and its timing were unwelcome, as was the implication that the U.S. intends to micro-manage the political fall-out of the recent elections.

Washington should now listen to what they were told, take a lesson from Pakistan's democratically elected government and focus on the needs and the will of the people. Up until now, U.S. relations with Pakistan have been largely centralized and impersonal. Pakistanis have felt the presence of the U.S. through coercion exercised by and on their central government. Rather than take a prominent role in programs to assist with access to medical care, schooling, shelter, livelihoods and other staples of social welfare, the U.S. has poured most of its aid into Pakistan's military, and left non-governmental organizations to address the overwhelming needs of the people in what is still a relatively poor country. (Pakistan ranks 136th out of 177 on the 2007/2008 Human Development Index.)

Rather than continue its prominent role in supporting one person within the Pakistani government, the U.S. should now assume a low profile as the new-elected order establishes itself. At the same time, the U.S. should lend its assistance on the humanitarian front in order to allow the new government to achieve the credibility it needs to fight extremism, and diminish animosity among Pakistanis towards the U.S. Finally, the U.S. should show respect for and assist Pakistan in strengthening its core governmental institutions, so that they can be safeguarded through checks and balances, and become less vulnerable to corruption and extremism.

The U.S. should recognize that it is not betraying American security interests by allowing the new government space to develop without the appearance of being shackled to outside interests. Those recently elected and their supporters have reasons and will of their own to combat terrorism and extremism. Some in the country may not be for or against the U.S., but may be dedicated to the preservation of a safer and more prosperous Pakistan. Thus, the U.S. can best serve its own interests by helping the new leadership to win hearts and minds, boost the people's standard of living, and foster the sense of ownership many Pakistanis now have in their newly elected government. We have allowed our fears to dictate our policy in Pakistan, but recent events demonstrate that we do not need to sacrifice our ideals and standing around the world to secure our security.

Lisa Gans is a human rights lawyer who has worked with non-governmental organizations in Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Swalizand and Iraq. She specializes in legal and constitutional development, civil society development, women's rights, refugee issues.

Why Musharraf must go

2008-04-02T22:24:00.000+05:00

Aasim Sajjad Akhtar

LAHORE: On February 18, Pakistanis voted against the regime of Pervez Musharraf. For more than eight years the now retired general has ruled the country with an iron fist, brooking no dissent. But when push came to shove, the Pakistani people made it clear that they would rather their country be ruled by politicians - however flawed - than an army general dancing to Washington's tune.

In the immediate aftermath of the polls, the victors - the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of late Benazir Bhutto and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) of Nawaz Sharif, the man Musharraf ousted in his October 1999 coup - have called on Musharraf to resign. But the man who has been a Bush administration favourite is clinging on for dear life, and so long as he does, a smooth transition to democracy is unlikely.

It is perhaps difficult for observers outside Pakistan to actually understand the depth of the crisis that Musharraf's government faced in the lead-up to the polls. Even now, the worsening security situation is not the biggest problem that the regime is up against. The vote against the incumbent regime in fact was the fallout of an acute economic crisis that has beset the country.
Over the past few weeks, Pakistanis have been suffering from prolonged power outages, a major reduction in the supply of gas, and a dramatic shortage of wheat flour. The situation reached crisis-like proportions about two weeks before February 18 and while things have not deteriorated further, they have not got much better either.

This is ironic given that the regime's most celebrated success has been the 'economic revival' that it has engineered. Since October 1999 the government has initiated a series of economic 'reform' measures, which have met with the approval of the IMF and World Bank. The regime has been rewarded, particularly after the September 11 attacks in America, with massive inflows of financial assistance.

In subsequent years, foreign exchange reserves reached record levels, export earnings improved and growth rates increased to the point that Pakistan's economy was said to be the second fastest growing economy in Asia, second only to China. However, very little structural change has taken place beneath the surface. There has been no asset redistribution, the tax net has remained woefully small, and foreign investment has been limited to non-employment generating sectors such as real estate, telecommunications and the stock market.

Pakistan's has always been an aid-dependent economy that looks a lot more robust than it actually is when the aid is flowing in. In recent times, the underlying weaknesses of the regime's economic 'miracle' have become painfully apparent. There is not enough electricity and gas to meet the burgeoning demand. The need to generate foreign exchange through wheat exports has given rise to a bizarre situation in which a record bumper crop has proved insufficient in meeting internal demand.

Development spending is being cut as means of creating fiscal space. The list could go on. With the support of western governments under the guise of prosecuting the so-called 'war on terror', the regime has succeeded in suppressing political challenges to it, most obviously by dismissing activist supreme court judges and arresting thousands of democracy-demanding lawyers and political activists.

The electorate has taken revenge for these deeply unpopular measures by voting Musharraf's clients out of power, but the imperative of the 'war on terror' is seemingly too acute for Musharraf's patrons in Washington to accept the people's mandate. Notwithstanding rhetoric to the contrary, the Bush administration has not played its cards in Pakistan well, or at least not well enough to win the hearts and minds of its people. The solution does not lie in dumping Musharraf and backing his successor - Pervez Kiyani - to the post of army chief. It lies in finally accepting that the Pakistani people are best equipped to decide how to address the problems that their country is beset with.

The election result should be seen as the culmination of a year-long struggle to dislodge the incumbent regime. Of course in most cases, voters reinstated many who have been in power before and in doing so have thrown down the gauntlet to the two big parties, the PPP and the PML-N. On the one hand the election result is, in many ways, a mandate for them to really take on the military. If, instead, they buckle to the demands of the army - and the United States - the many possible gains from the politicisation that has taken place over the past year will be lost.
On the other hand, serious policy changes are necessary if the coalition wants to avoid being swept away by a tidal wave of anti-government sentiment in the way that the Musharraf regime has. For example, free market orthodoxy of the kind championed by the Musharraf government is likely to subject working people to even more acute hardship whilst not necessarily achieving macroeconomic stability.

The PPP and PML-N are now immersed in a battle to maintain the goodwill they have regained by virtue of their stance against a deeply unpopular military regime. The initial period will be crucial, and the international community would do well to honour the wishes of the Pakistani people and stop backing Musharraf and the policies that have taken Pakistan to the brink of implosion.

The writer teaches colonial history and political economy at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Pakistan's media - responsibility must anchor freedom

2008-04-02T00:14:00.001+05:00

By Raza Rumi

IT is a truism that media freedom in Pakistan today has been earned after a long struggle which will perhaps continue in the years to come.

Deepening of democratic traditions and their permeation in society are sine qua non for a free media. Whilst there can be no two opinions on the independence of the media, the need for greater responsibility and professionalism has to be articulated in no uncertain terms. Such is the confusion and chaos triggered by an overgrown executive that the issue of responsibility has been sidelined by the overwhelming noises for media freedom especially since the tinkering with the text and application of Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) Ordinance.

We are now getting used to a television culture that imitates the life of Pakistani tharras, chai-khanas and drawing-rooms where politics is discussed ad nauseum. Rare exceptions include issue oriented talk-shows but they appear bland unless their all knowing hosts inject some political spice into them. Expertise is taken for granted; new-age generalists judge every subject under the sun and occasionally take themselves a bit too seriously. Yes, the commercial imperative of the media dictates programming patterns. But there has to be a method to this disorderliness.

The most recent occasion of electronic media wizardry was the announcement of the Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition candidate for the unenviable job of the prime minister. The moment the announcement was made, a leading channel played a popular Indian film song that lamented broken promises. In this case, the fabled promise of the prime ministerial cookie for Makhdoom Amin Fahim.

Admittedly, the party of the people and its allies were secretive about the process. The principle of transparency, ideally, is germane to elected institutions. However, this is neither an ideal world nor is it going to turn into one overnight. The way a momentous decision was trivialised was not in good taste. The news industry forgot that this was a party still recovering from the brutal murder of its omnipresent leader less than three months ago.

And then the vulnerable Makhdoom was grilled into a line of questioning by many channels anticipating that he would put the fissures within the party into the public domain. Much to their consternation, nothing of the sort came about. In fact, the icy Makhdoom, disappointed as he must be, maintained his dignity and decorum in the face of a media that desperately hoped for catchy breaking news.

Earlier, the guessing game on the PM nomination was played up into teacup hype, was also, to a certain extent, unwarranted. For instance, the delay in requisitioning the session of the National Assembly was far less analysed than why the PPP was unable to settle for Makhdoom. The discourse on the issue focused on ‘loyalty’, ‘honour’ and such other terms that may go well with the patriarchal-authoritarian society but not with the difficult task of inculcating democratic values.

Alas, the level of analysis was such that the ‘potential’ candidates were rarely compared in terms of merit, competence or likelihood of pulling together a difficult coalition. And no one bothered to check how this process was managed in the region especially India where coalitions are now a norm. Sadly, the chequered history of PPP media trials continues even when plural and relatively free voices abound.

Well, this is the beginning of a new journey. We have a mature political class that is willing to jointly challenge the historic ascendancy of non-elected institutions. This is something that is central to the future of all freedoms including that of the media. As the first speech of the prime minister proved, democracy —truncated as it might be — is the only way of ensuring the independence of the judiciary.

The release of deposed judges came about ironically through the parliament. The sweet irony of it all is that this was a scene not envisaged by those who were urging all and sundry to boycott the elections. That a president sans uniform had limits to his powers was a nuance not debated.
The channel gurus were more inclined towards the ‘purity’ of political positions. Considerable airtime was devoted to the Faustian ‘deal’ that was perhaps the last grand sin of Bhutto in the eyes of our puritans. She had of course to pay with her life for redemption.

In a similar vein, television debates on suicide bombings and war on terror reinforce the populism that endangers critical introspection, and reduces the discourse to a level that, simply put, is simplistic. We all know that the demons of extremism have been nurtured for decades. They existed prior to the American invasion of Afghanistan and our frontline status. But discussions about the slow Talibanisation of Pakistan being a reality are taboo; as the overwhelming majority of ‘experts’ consider this a ‘reaction’ thereby according a subtle legitimacy to the gruesome acts perpetrated in the name of religion.

Unwittingly, the agenda of the suicide brigades gets a helping hand when TV channels relay images of human limbs, severed heads and trucks ramming into security guards. I recall the ugly evening when bombs exploded prior to the chief justice’s arrival at a rally in Islamabad last summer. This was the first time that at least I experienced the disturbing visuals betraying lack of scrutiny. As violence is always gripping, it attracted the attention of my five-year-old and eventually we had to turn off the television.

Popular channels ran notifications urging parental guidance as if this would gloss the evident dearth of punctiliousness. However, this continued as a trend — entrenched, sensational — sadly when Pakistan was witnessing the worst spate of suicide bombings in our recent history. Chopped heads metaphorically are embedded in our histories: from the Baghdad tales of minarets out of severed heads, to Mongol invasions of Delhi and Lahore and the famed anecdote of Emperor Aurangzeb sending the head of Dara Shikoh to Shah Jahan.

But a modern, progressive Pakistan has to overcome this legacy of medieval barbarity and a free, mature media needs to assist in this process and condemn what is utterly condemnable.
Thus emerges the urgent need for self-regulation, codes of conduct and internal accountability. Let the media shun all ‘advisories’, this should be done of their own volition. Globally, there are several examples to follow and the capable ones within the media are well aware of them. There would be no point in listing them here. Suffice to say here that we, the engaged TV viewers, want a free media that is equally responsible; and challenges the stereotype and half-truth instead of reinforcing it.

A glorious future lies ahead for the electronic media — for we have a powerful agent of change, when we had almost given up on the hope for a change.

First published in DAWN on March 31, 2008.

People's Resistance condemns assault on Dr. Riaz

2008-04-02T00:02:00.001+05:00

KARACHI, April 1: The People's Resistance, a coalition of pro-democracy individuals and groups, joins organisations like HRCP, AHRC and others in strongly condemning and demanding immediate inquiry into the manhandling and beating up of Dr Riaz Ahmed, Assistant Professor of Applied Chemistry at Karachi University by Pakistan Rangers.

On Monday, March 31, Dr Riaz attempted to drive out of the campus from the Silver Jubilee gate. Rangers deployed in the campus had closed all entry and exit gates following a clash between two student groups and refused to open the gate for Dr Riaz's car. After some harsh words they dragged him out of the car, abused him, kicked him with their boots, and severely beat him with their fists, batons and rifle butts. They dragged up to two meters in the presence of their Commandant Colonel Iftekhar. Students who tried to protect Dr Riaz were also injured. Some teachers and students took the injured professor to the Aga Khan Hospital where a medico-legal exam was carried out.

At a time when the new government has announced the welcome step of reviving student unions and our politics are hopefully being de-militarised, with the military going back to the barracks, it is also time to remove para-military forces from our educational institutes. It should be noted that Dr. Riaz was among the university professors and staff who have consistently opposed the deployment of Rangers at the university, since the ban on student unions in the 1980s. The Rangers' deployment at KU has not only made the security situation worse at the institution, but also resulted in a disruption of the academic atmosphere.

Some months ago, Dr Riaz had berated the Rangers for kicking students' book-bags; one of the Rangers involved in that incident was among the four who maltreated him yesterday. We condemn the continuing presence of para-military forces in our educational institutes and demand that the Vice Chancellor play his due role in upholding principles rather than continuing to make compromises with anti-democratic forces. We demand:

- An immediate, full-scale and high level inquiry into the incident

- Removal of Rangers from university

- The registration of an FIR against the Rangers involved in brutalising the Karachi University professor and the due process of law to punish the culprits.

FC Pol-Sci Society Seminar: Targeting Iran - with David Barsamian

2008-04-01T23:58:00.003+05:00

FC (college) University cordially invites you to a Seminar in honor of FCC alumnus Eqbal Ahmad

"Targeting Iran: Imperialism the Next Phase"
with
David Barsamian

Date: Wednesday April 2nd, 2008

Time: 3 to 5 PM

Venue : E331, EBlock, F.C.College

David Barsamian is an American radio broadcaster, writer, and the founder and director of Alternative Radio, the Boulder, Colorado-based syndicated weekly talk program heard on some 125 radio stations in various countries. Barsamian started working in radio in 1978 at KGNU in Boulder, Colorado. His interviews and articles appear regularly in The Progressive and Z Magazine. He is also the author of several books, including The Decline and Fall of Public Broadcasting, Eqbal Ahmad: Confronting Empire and Propaganda and the Public Mind: Conversations with Noam Chomsky.

Directions: Please tell the security at the gate your institution & that you are attending the seminar.

Any Questions: qalandarmemon@googlemail.com

Naked Punch www.nakedpunch.com

HRCP Strongly Condemns Assault on Dr. Riaz by Pakistan Rangers

2008-04-01T23:58:00.001+05:00

Press Release, April 1, 2008 Karachi: In a joint statement issued to the press, Iqbal Haider, Co-Chairperson, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Ghazi Salahuddin, the Vice Chairperson of HRCP Sindh Chapter, has strongly condemned the assault on Monday on Dr. Riaz, Professor of Applied Chemistry in Karachi University by Pakistan Rangers, deployed at the university. The incident occurred following a clash between two student groups.

The Rangers deployed in the campus closed all entry and exit gates after the clash. When Dr Riaz was leaving the campus at 5 p.m., the Rangers stopped his car at Silver Jubilee gate and after some harsh words they brutally hit him with batons, causing severe injuries. He was then taken to the Aga Khan Hospital by a group of teachers and students.

HRCP demands stern action against the culprits, and urges the Karachi University authorities to immediately file an FIR against them to ensure justice for the honorable professor of the university.

Iqbal Haider, Co-Chairperson

Ghazi Salahuddin, Vice Chairperson, Sindh Chapter

KARACHI: Rangers beat up KU teacher

2008-04-01T23:55:00.001+05:00

By Meera Jamal

KARACHI, March 31: A professor of the applied chemistry department at the University of Karachi was severely beaten up by Rangers personnel on the campus on Monday afternoon, university officials told Dawn.

The incident took place following the tightening of security by university authorities after a clash between two rival groups of students.KU campus adviser Dr Majeedullah Qadri told Dawn that Prof (Dr) Riaz Ahmed of the applied chemistry department was beaten up by the Rangers. “Security was tightened and the campus gates were closed to outsiders after two student groups clashed with each other at around 1.30pm,” he said.A few hours later, Prof Ahmed was stopped by Rangers personnel when he was leaving the campus through what is known as the Silver Jubilee Gate, Dr Qadri said.

“He tried to explain that he should not be stopped as he is a teacher. At this, the Rangers personnel misbehaved and started beating him up.”He said when he reached the spot he found Rangers Commandant Colonel Iftikhar present there and Dr Ahmed had been beaten up “quite badly”.KU Vice-Chancellor Dr Pirzada Qasim also reached the place of incident and later called the Rangers’ commandant to his office.

The VC reportedly told the commandant to take immediate action against those involved and said that the university administration would not tolerate misconduct with teachers.Colonel Iftikhar told Dawn that he could not comment on the issue as he was conducting an inquiry. However, the campus security adviser said that four Rangers personnel involved in the incident had been suspended. They had been put in the ‘campus jail’, he added.

Meanwhile, university teachers announced a boycott of classes on Tuesday in protest against the incident. “Karachi University Teachers Society has called an emergency meeting on Tuesday in which the future line of action will be decided,” said a KUTS spokesman.

(Courtesy DAWN)

Student Unions Restored! What Do You Think?

2008-03-30T03:57:00.003+05:00

The Post reports: Gillani also announced the lifting of ban on student unions. First ban on student unions was implemented on February 9, 1984 in General Ziaul Haq era which was lifted in 1988 by late prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Second time Mian Nawaz Sharif banned the student unions and now the PPP has again lifted the ban.

What Do You Think About This? Please comment expressing your opinions.

Pakistan's Nelson Mandela

2008-03-29T21:51:00.002+05:00

Pakistan's continued detention of the Baluch nationalist hero, Akhtar Mengal, is fanning the flames of insurrection

By Peter Tatchell

(Courtesy The Guardian)

The years of western-backed dictatorship in Pakistan are coming to an end. Candidates supporting the tyrant Pervez Musharraf were trounced in last month's elections. Now, the democratically elected government of Pakistan's new prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, has ordered the release of the judges that Musharraf deposed and detained. They were dismissed because they dared uphold the rule of law and challenge his regime's systemic violation of human rights.

The next big democratisation step being urged by the people of Pakistan is the release of the vast, unknown numbers of political prisoners. As well as the hundreds of people who are known to be detained, there are thousands more who have simply disappeared into hidden detention centres.

One of Pakistan's most celebrated political prisoners is the former chief minister of Pakistan-ruled Baluchistan, Akhtar Mengal, the president of the Baluchistan national party.

To the people of Baluchistan he is a nationalist hero. Many see him as their Nelson Mandela - unjustly jailed for defending the human rights of the oppressed Baluch people. His continuing detention without trial is fanning the flames of nationalist resentment and popular insurrection against Islamabad's tyranny.

According to Amnesty International and the Asian human rights commission, Mengal is illegally detained. Held in solitary confinement in Karachi prison since December 2006, he has been denied justice by the use of delaying tactics. In all this time, he has never been tried in an open court. Cursory court hearings have been conducted inside prison. No one, except one family member, has been allowed to witness any of the legal proceedings against him.

Mr Iqbal Haider, secretary-general of the human rights commission of Pakistan, was present at the first hearing of Mengal's case in Karachi prison and this is what he saw: "Mr Mengal was brought into the courtroom and shoved into an iron cage with bars all around that stood in a corner away from his counsel."

Akhtar Mengal has not been arrested on corruption charges nor has he been charged with the abuse of power. He is facing trial for the alleged "abduction" of two undercover agents of Pakistan's security forces.

He was arrested, along with 500 party activists, in November 2006, the day before President Musharraf was due to visit Baluchistan. The mass arrests were apparently intended to stop party members from protesting against the savage Pakistani military operations on Baluch territory, and against the widespread arrests of Baluch human rights activists and their enforced "disappearance".

The events that led to his arrest began in April 2006. Mr Mengal reports that he and his family had been receiving threatening phone calls at the time. Because of these threats, he personally chauffeured his children to school.

On April 5, two men on a motorbike followed his car as he was taking his kids to school. Feeling menaced, Mengal stopped his car and asked the men who they were. They refused to explain themselves. Fearing for his safety, Mengal's security guards detained the two men and took them back to the Mengal residence, intending to hand them over to the police. By this stage, the two men admitted being army personnel.

The Pakistani senator, Sanaullah Baloch, recently recounted what happened next:

"Almost immediately, a large party of law-enforcement agency men arrived on the spot and took away their two colleagues who had been picked up, and laid siege to the house and its occupants.

On the intervention of the Sindh chief minister, it was agreed that no case would be filed if Mr Mengal's guards who were involved in the case were handed over to the police for questioning ... Akhtar Mengal remained free till November 28, 2006, when the Baluchistan police arrested him, along with senior members of his party.

Since then, all proceedings are being conducted in camera. Repeated humiliation of the Baluch and their political representatives will intensify the animosity felt by the troubled Baluch population. The judiciary's tilted role and the unproductive hearings ... have already shattered the credibility of the bench."

Akhtar Mengal is not the only political prisoner. Many other leaders from Pakistan's minority nationalities - Baluch, Sindhi and Pashtun - have been detained and abused on trumped up charges.

Veteran Baluch nationalists Sardar Attaullah Mengal, Nawab Khair Bux Khan Marri, Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Mir Ghous Bux Bizenjo, Sher Mohammed Marri and Mir Gul Khan Naseer have spent many years in prison for defending the human rights of the Baluch people and refusing to act as quislings for the Punjabi-dominated political and military establishment in Islamabad.

Senator Sanaullah Baloch has noted:

"Mengal's prolonged detention, mortification and the delay in the dispensation of justice has exposed the inequality that characterises our system. They also point to the inability of our courts to act independently without being influenced by the powers that be.

The (Pakistan) constitution guarantees that 'all citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law'. The international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination also emphasises 'the right to equal treatment before the tribunals and all other organs administering justice'. However, the Baluch have not been treated according to national and international laws. Constitutional guarantees and the courts have failed to protect their fundamental rights.

Akhtar Mengal, as a senior leader of a political party, is entitled to all basic rights and facilities. But he has been denied basic legal and human rights because of his political affiliations. The large number of political activists in Baluchistan, who have been detained and denied legal and prison rights, are entitled to just treatment in accordance with UN conventions. The government of Pakistan must abide by the laws of the country and international law and respect the rights of the Baluch. There should be an end to the injustice, intimidation and harassment being meted out to them."

PM outlines new policies in revolutionary speech: details

2008-03-29T15:44:00.001+05:00

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani has announced revolutionary steps in his policy speech at the floor of National Assembly after getting unanimous vote of confidence from the house on Saturday.

The prime minister in his landmark speech increased the support price of wheat from Rs. 510 to 625 per 40 kilograms. He announced lifting of ban on student and trade unions, while changed the status of PEMRA to make it a subsidiary of the ministry of information.

Muslim League (Q), Functional League, People’s Party Sherpao and Muttahida Qaumi Movement announced to support the prime minister.

The prime minister in his speech thanked Almighty Allah for his election in this holy month.

He also expressed his gratitude to People’s Party’s slain leaders Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto, party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, co-chairman Asif Zardari and the party workers, leaders of allied parties Nawaz Sharif, Asfandyar Wali, Altaf Hussain, Pir Pagara, independent members and other parties that voted to him for confidence.

Prime Minister Gillani promised to take along all sides and work for the best interest of the country.

He vowed to strengthen the institutions and to improve law and order in the country. Talking about his government’s priorities he said terrorism and extremism is the most serious problem faced by the country. He called the militants to shun the path of violence and initiate dialogue with the government.

Price hike and unemployment are other key problems faced by the country, he said. The government would provide jobs to jobless, he said.

The prime minister welcomed the COAS decision of withdrawal of the on duty military officers from the civilian departments adding that it has boosted the prestige of the armed forces.

The Prime Minister announced repealing of the draconian Pemra laws of Nov 3, 2007 adding the Parliamentary Reconciliation Committee recommendations will be introduced.

The prime minister said media would be allowed to witness proceedings of the parliament.

Gillani said he would take along the APDM parties with him adding that all provinces have confidence over his government.

Speaking in the National Assembly after taking vote of confidence, he said maintaining law and order in the country would be the top priority of his government for which terrorism needs to be rooted out.

“We are ready to talk to all those who are ready to lay down their arms and wanted peace,” he said.

He said he would announce a special package for tribal areas to give them employment and to remove their backwardness and other social evils.

The Prime Minister also announced to revoke FCR.

He welcomed the announcement of the Chief of the Army Staff that all army personnel from the civil departments will be called back.

“This announcement by the COAS will enhance the dignity, respect and honour of the army.”

He expressed the hope that all the army personnel from civilian departments will be called back within two weeks.

The Prime Minister said his government will take steps for the restoration of deposed judges. As a first step, these judges have already been freed from detention.

Referring to power, flour and water crises in the country, Prime Minister Gilani said these problems were not easy to tackle. He said there was a possibility of more load shedding in the country during the summer season.

He said to overcome the electricity shortage in the country, which at present stands at 3000 megawatt, new power units will be set up and PEPCO has been asked to issue 10 million energy saver bulbs at discounted prices.

The shortage next year, he added, is expected to reach 4000 MW.

He said in the first phase of Thar Coal Project the electricity generation will be 5,000 mw which will increase to 20,000 mw in the next phase.

He said Wapda has been asked to complete the feasibility of large dams and investment in the project of Keti Bandar will be invited again and lighting on government buildings has been stopped.

To save the wastage of water, he added, canals will be brick lined and small dams constructed to ensure supply of water for irrigation and drinking purposes.

He said the budget of the Prime Minister House will be cut by 40 percent and hoped that other departments too will follow the example.

The cabinet members will not use a vehicle of more than 1600 cc and they will only be allowed Economy Plus class during air travel.

He said like many other democratic countries, during the Question Hour the Prime Minister would also be present in the house to answer questions.

To provide employment to the fresh graduates, Prime Minister announced the setting up of Literacy and Health Commission. It will also ensure employment to one person in a household.

He said a Madrassa Welfare Authority will be set up to carry out the audit of the accounts of all madrassas in the country. The authority will be responsible to ensure that curricula of all madrassas are uniform.

The Prime Minister said that every year one million housing units will be constructed in the country. He also announced the launch of 5-marla housing scheme in rural areas for the poor besides provision of houses on 80 square meters and flats in the cities for the general public.

He said all retiring government servants will be given flats or houses and the provinces have also been directed to launch similar schemes for the retired persons.

SAC-Islamabad Seminar on Student Politics on Sunday

2008-03-29T15:07:00.000+05:00

SAC Isb-Rwp is holding a seminar on the students' role in politics -what it has been in the past and what it should be in the future- particularly with reference to the current political context, and why its important to begin a revival of student politics. The most time will be given to Q&A and participation from the floor.

To repeat:

The seminar is on Saturday, 29 March,

Rawalpindi Press Club (next to Liaqat Bagh)

3:00pm.

ML-N, PPP resolve matters relating to ministries

2008-03-29T14:34:00.000+05:00

ISLAMABAD: The Muslim League (ML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) have finalized matters relating to the ministries and all appears set for its announcement today.

ML-N and PPP had constituted committee for the distribution of ministries in centre, which continued its deliberations for the last three weeks. Ishaq Dar, Khawaja Asif and Chaudhry Nisar on behalf of the ML-N, while Syed Naveed Qamar, Raza Rabbani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Sherry Rahman, Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar and Qamruzzaman Kaira from PPP represented in the committee. The committee agreed on keeping the size of the cabinet small—in the first phase there would be 22 ministries, while in the second phase it could go up to 40.

(Courtesy GEO)

Gillani passes vote of confidence unanimously

2008-03-29T14:23:00.002+05:00

Announces new policies, including new anti-terror policies, price relief package, student and trade union legalization, among others

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly expressed its confidence in Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani Saturday by passing a resolution for vote of confidence unanimously.

Earlier Prime Minister Gillani requested the opposition benches to support the motion for vote of confidence. In response Muslim League (Q), Functional League, Peoples Party Sherpao and Muttahida Qaumi Movement announced to support the PM.

Later Asfandyar Wali said that now the vote count is not required and asked the speaker to announce that the house has passed the resolution for vote of confidence.

The speaker announced that the National Assembly has passed the vote of confidence unanimously.

Prime Minister Gillani later in his speech thanked the allied parties and Muslim League (Q), Functional League, Peoples Party Sherpao and Muttahida Qaumi Movement for their support.

In his policy speech after the vote of confidence Prime Minister Gillani promised to take along all sides and work for the best interest of the country.

He vowed to strengthen institutions and to improve law and order in the country. Talking about his government’s priorities he said terrorism and extremism is the most serious problem faced by the country. He called the militants to shun the path of violence and initiate dialogue with the government.

Price hike and unemployment are other key problems faced by the country, he said. The government would provide jobs to jobless, he said. He also announced a lifting of the ban on student and trade unions. He also announced that the restrictions on the media would be reviewed, but stopped short of lifting them immediately.

PM Gilani asks militants to abandon path of violence

2008-03-29T14:09:00.000+05:00

ISLAMABAD, March 29 (AFP): Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Saturday urged militants to renounce violence and offered to hold talks with those who give up arms and join the new democratic era. Addressing the parliament after wining a unanimous vote of confidence, Gilani said terrorism was the biggest threat undermining Pakistan's stability. “Our first priority will be restoration of law and order and elimination of terrorism from the country,” said Gilani.

“The fight against terrorism is our own fight because it has claimed innocent lives of children and young men of Pakistan…unfortunately some people have made violence a means to express their views. I appeal to all those people to abandon the path of violence and join us in the journey of democracy.” Gilani promised a special package of political and economic reforms in tribal areas as part of government strategy to fight terrorism and extremism.

The War on Terror: Another Grisly Tale, still Shrouded in Mystery

2008-03-28T17:30:00.004+05:00

- Suspect in 'Lahore FIA blast' dies in custody: Torture, Poisoning... ?

How many people will have to be killed or debilitated or simply 'vanished' in police custody before the War on Terror can be won? That is a question we as a nation need to ask ourselves. If law enforcers insist upon gouging out 'voluminous confessions of truth' even from the depths of bruised entrails, they do nothing but destroy the legitimacy of law. No matter how many esteemed judgest, lawyers and activists rally behind the slogan of rule of law, and no matter how many movies and dramas are made to eulogize the agents of the law, incidents like the one reported below simply destory the foundations of respect for law.

In the eyes of the law, the deceased was no more than a mere suspect, innocent until proven guilty, duly protected from all torture. His life and well-being were no less than law's sacred trust - a trust that has been tragically betrayed. Largely unmourned and unbemoaned remains the violated deceased. Amidst all these tragedies, we do not even have a Mir Anis who may befittingly record the 'marsia of our times' so that we may sit together and weep over it.

Read on. From today's "The Nation".

**************

ASIF CHAUDHRYLAHORE - The mystery surrounding the death of the owner of mini-truck in police custody which, according to the police officials was the only ray of hope, has begun to unwind now. A medical board of Mian Munshi Hospital in its post mortem report ruled that the death was caused by suffocation or strangulation, sources disclosed.

The board which declared the death of the truck driver as caused by strangulation included MS Mian Munshi Hospital, Dr Shafqat Ali who is chairman of the board, senior surgeon Dr Muhammad Khalid, District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Muhammad Ishaq and District Medicolegal Officer (DMLO) Dr Muhammad Tanveer.

Afzal was being interrogated by the Sabzazar Police when he was found dead mysteriously in the police lock up. The police tried to hush up the issue, claiming it was a natural death. However, relatives of the deceased claimed that he was tortured in the police custody that led to his death. Meanwhile, Mian Munshi Hospital’s senior doctor told The Nation seeking anonymity that while examining the body of Muhammad Afzal, the experts found some marks on his throat which revealed that the cause of death was ‘asphyxiation’.To a query, he said that no torture marks were found on any other part of the deceased. The marks on the throat of the deceased has confirmed that he was suffocated to death, he said.The source said that after compiling the initial report, the medical board has sent some parts of stomach, lungs and liver of the deceased for chemical examination to establish presence of any poisonous substance. The source claimed that two members of the medical board expressed their apprehension that the deceased might have been administered poisonous substance before suffocating him to death. After thoroughly discussing this point, the participants agreed to sent some body parts of the deceased for further chemical examination.The dead body of mini truck driver Muhammad Afzal, 25, was shifted to the city morgue for autopsy after he was found dead mysteriously under the custody of Sabzazar Police on last Wednesday.

According to the rules, if a person dies in the police custody, the case is referred to the Medical Board of the Mian Munshi Hospital to establish real cause of the death. His death in police custody is also considered a great loss for the investigators.The post mortem report establishing that he was killed through suffocation would crop up further problems for the police leaders. They will have to address questions that why and how he was killed.It is pertinent to mention here that Muhammad Afzal was arrested by the law enforcement agencies after the Excise and Taxation Department established his ownership of the mini truck used in blowing up the FIA headquarters in the city. He was the only accused so far arrested by the police. Muhammad Afzal was interrogated in various police stations to seek his arrest.

The police handed over the dead body to its relatives on Thursday. It is also learnt that dozens of close relatives, friends and locals held demonstration against the death of youth Muhammad Afzal in the police custody. The protestors placed the dead body of the deceased on the road outside Press Club and chanted slogans against the police.The protestors were carrying placards inscribed with appeal to the prime minister, chief minister Punjab and other high ups to hold inquiry against Afzal’s arrest and his death claiming that he was innocent.

Judiciary's Restoration through Parliament - Justice (R) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim's Draft

2008-03-28T15:29:00.002+05:00

Below is the text of the draft prepared for Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari by Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim for the restoration of the judiciary through the parliament.

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF PAKISTAN

WHEREAS, We the elected representatives of the people of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan acknowledge and honor the long and arduous struggle for the return to democracy and rule of law by the legal fraternity, civil society and the ordinary citizens of our beloved country.

AND WHEREAS, We pay tribute to Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and thousands of brave political activists across the country who made the ultimate sacrifice and laid down their lives or suffered imprisonment for the cause of restoration of parliamentary democracy and the rule of law in Pakistan. We shall not let their sacrifices go in vain.

AND WHEREAS, this Assembly is mindful that the foundation of democracy cannot survive without a return to the rule of law. We are mindful, that the rule of law cannot survive the rule of the gun unless we have an independent judiciary. And, we are cognizant that we shall never have an independent judiciary if the Judges of the Superior Court's of this country are imprisoned at the whims of a lone individual.

AND WHEREAS, we as Members of the National Assembly have taken oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan" and we shall not waiver from this oath.

AND WHEREAS, Article 209(7) of the Constitution provides in no uncertain terms that "A Judge of the Supreme Court of or of a High Court shall not be removed from office except as provided in this article." Therefore, as opined unanimously by leading former Chief Justices and Judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the actions of 3rd November 2007, seeking to remove and restrain the Chief Justices and Judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Provincial High Courts is void ab initio and has no sanctity in law.

WE, THEREFORE, bound by our Constitutional Oath and the mandate given by the people of Pakistan on February 18, 2008 do hereby RESOLVE and call upon the Federal Government to remove all illegal restrictions placed on the Chief Justices and Judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the provincial High Courts on and after 3
rd November 2007 with immediate effect.

History shall not forgive those, who even now, may seek to obstruct the irreversible path to constitutional rule in our great country.

THEREFORE, WE FURTHER RESOLVE, and call upon the Federal Government to perform its obligation under Article 190 of the Constitution and act in aid of the Chief Justices and the Judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Provincial High Courts who were illegally restrained on and after 3rd November 2007 so that they may resume their Judicial functions in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

Islamabad

Dated: [] March 2008

A Chill Ushers in a New Diplomatic Order in Pakistan

2008-03-28T15:21:00.001+05:00

By JANE PERLEZ

(The New York Times)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — If it was not yet clear to Washington that a new political order prevailed here, the three-day visit this week by America's chief diplomat dealing with Pakistan should put any doubt to rest.
The visit by Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte turned out to be series of indignities and chilly, almost hostile, receptions as he bore the brunt of the full range of complaints that Pakistanis now feel freer to air with the end of military rule by Washington's favored ally, President Pervez Musharraf.
Faced with a new democratic lineup that is demanding talks, not force, in the fight against terrorism, Mr. Negroponte publicly swallowed a bitter pill at his final news conference on Thursday, acknowledging that there would now be some real differences in strategy between the United States and Pakistan.
He was upbraided at an American Embassy residence during a reception in his honor by lawyers furious that the Bush administration had refused to support the restoration of the dismissed judiciary by Mr. Musharraf last year.
Mr. Negroponte once told Congress that Mr. Musharraf was an "indispensable" ally, but the diplomat was finally forced to set some distance after months of standing stolidly by his friend. Mr. Musharraf's future, he said, would be settled by Pakistan's new democratic government.
Perhaps the most startling encounter for the 68-year-old career diplomat was the deliberately pointed question by Farrukh Saleem, executive director of the Center for Research and Security Studies, at the reception Wednesday evening.
"How is Pakistan different to Honduras?" Mr. Saleem asked, a query clearly intended to tweak Mr. Negroponte about his time as ambassador to Honduras in the 1980s, when he was in charge of the American effort to train and arm a guerrilla force aimed at overthrowing the leftist government in Nicaragua. He was later criticized for meddling in the region and overlooking human rights abuses in pursuit of United States foreign policy goals.
The diplomat demurred, according to Mr. Saleem, saying, "You have put me on the spot."
Mr. Negroponte had no reply to his next question, either, Mr. Saleem said. "I asked him, 'What do you know about our chief justice that we don't know?' "
That question was meant to reflect, Mr. Saleem recounted afterward, that the Bush administration had refused to recognize the illegality of the firing of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, and that many Pakistanis were angered that the United States had signaled it did not favor the reinstatement of Mr. Chaudhry who, it appeared, was too opposed to Mr. Musharraf for Washington's taste.
Mr. Negroponte and the Bush administration were tone deaf, Mr. Saleem and others said, to the changes in Pakistan, though the message of the tune seemed inescapable.
As they stood on the lawn of a diplomatic residence here in the spring evening, the chairman of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Aitzaz Ahsan, who has led the campaign to restore Mr. Chaudhry, picked up the challenge to Mr. Negroponte.
First, Mr. Ahsan said he told the diplomat, the lawyers were miffed that Mr. Negroponte had not included them on his planned round of meetings. When the lawyers asked for an appointment on Tuesday, they were rebuffed by the American Embassy, Mr. Ahsan said.
Then, Mr. Ahsan, a graduate of Cambridge and one of Pakistan's most talented orators, gave Mr. Negroponte a 10- to 15-minute discourse on why an independent judiciary was important to fight terrorism.
"I told him that the most effective weapon on the war against terror is a people who have enforceable rights — then they have a stake in the system," Mr. Ahsan said of his conversation with Mr. Negroponte.
Mr. Ahsan said he argued that an independent judiciary was "a middle ground" between the military and religious fanatics.
When Mr. Negroponte countered that the new Parliament had pledged to deal with the question of the restoration of the judges within 30 days, Mr. Ahsan said he retorted: "I said you can't build a Parliament on the debris of the judiciary."
In contrast to Mr. Negroponte, a delegation of legislators, led by Rep. John F. Tierney, Democrat of Massachusetts, chairman of the National Security Subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee, visited Mr. Chaudhry at his home on Thursday. They were the first foreigners to see the judge since police barricades were removed Tuesday after four months of house arrest.
"He believes the Parliament has a vote in the next 30 days and the judges will go back to work," Mr. Tierney said after talking to Mr. Chaudhry. "That's his position, and they're sticking with it."
Although he had little to do with the lawyers or the judiciary, Mr. Negroponte, accustomed to seeing a limited circuit of figures, starting with Mr. Musharraf, had to widen his contact list this time.
He met with the leaders of the two main parties in the new coalition government, Nawaz Sharif, and Asif Ali Zardari. They were both in exile for much of Mr. Musharraf's rule. He also met with prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, who was an unknown politician until this week, and the speaker of the National Assembly, Dr. Fehmida Mirza.
Mr. Zardari and Mr. Sharif have said they want to change the military approach of Mr. Musharraf toward the extremists, and work toward talks.
At a news conference in Karachi before leaving, Mr. Negroponte said Washington could work with the new government, but drew the line at negotiations with extremists. "Security measures are obviously necessary when one is dealing with irreconcilable elements who want to destroy our very way of life," he said. "I don't see how you can talk with those kinds of people."
There was some hope, however, he said, of working with "reconcilable elements" who "can be persuaded to participate in the democratic political process."
In a marked change of tone from the Musharraf era, the new prime minister, Mr. Gilani, said after meeting Mr. Negroponte on Wednesday that Parliament was now the supreme decision-making body. Pakistan supported its long alliance with the United States, but the fight against terrorism would be discussed in the legislature, he said.
Mr. Negroponte's visit was generally poorly received. Coming in the week that the government was still being formed — a cabinet has yet to be announced — it was widely interpreted as an act of interference, a last effort to prop up a vastly weakened Mr. Musharraf. One television commentator called the visit "crude diplomacy."
Others said Mr. Negroponte did not understand that Mr. Musharraf was a disappearing figure, isolated and with little power. One of his last loyal aides, Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum, resigned Thursday.
By the end of his trip, Mr. Negroponte indicated that perhaps Mr. Musharraf's usefulness to Washington had diminished. The future of Mr. Musharraf was up to the Pakistanis. "Any debate or any disposition as regards his status will have to be addressed by the internal Pakistani political process," he said.

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