Convicted teacher of terror training acquitted by whom? Justice Khwaja Sharif
"Come to my court, I'll give you freedom"
When in times of despair, turn to your biggest ally. That is what religious extremists are doing. Who else to turn to? Our azad adliya and if you have the likes of Justice Khwaja Sharif listening to your case, be ready to smell the free air. An already convicted terrorist has been acquitted. Well done Khwaja Sharif. Let us also have Sufi Mohammad of Tehrik-e-Nifaz Shariat-e-Mohammadi be presented in his court.
Teacher acquitted of terror training
Dawn 30th June, 2010
LAHORE, June 29: A Lahore High Court division bench on Tuesday acquitted a schoolteacher convicted of training students for carrying out terrorist activities.
An anti-terrorism court of Sargodha had convicted Muhammad Rafique, a government schoolteacher of Khushab, handing him down five-year imprisonment, besides Rs50,000 fine.
The prosecution had alleged Rafique had set up a private religious madressah where he imparted terrorism training to students. The convict, through his counsel, pleaded he was framed in a fake case at the behest of his rivals. He said the prosecution could not produce any cogent evidence against him and also failed to prove his link with any defunct organisation.
He said the madressah where he was accused of training terrorists was still functional and no such activity could be proved against it.
It was further pleaded the police registered a case against the appellant only on suspicion as he had no criminal record even.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Khwaja Muhammad Sharif and Justice Waqar Hasan Mir, admitting the arguments of the counsel, set aside sentence of the appellant and ordered his release.—Staff Reporter
For honest citizens who only want to get some small amount of justice in their lives, the wait can be forever. For militants, though, it is always a speedy trial and ‘get out of jail free’. What kind of a topsy-turvy legal system is it that gives more rights to terrorists than to honest citizens?
Defence lawyer Suhil Aziz told The Star newspaper (Canada), “When you have to wait years for your case to even begin, that is not justice”. This may be the case for honest citizens, but Hafiz Saeed and Muhammad Rafique have no complaints.
http://new-pakistan.com/2010/6/29/why-do-terrorists-have-more-legal-rights-than-honest-citizens
Whilst right minded people were sleeping the institutions of the State were taken over by Salafists/Deobandis/Islamists/Hizb u Tahrir/ Maudoodists – call it what you will. The results are unfolding. My prediction is that we are witnessing a semi bloodless coup d’etat. The Pakistani public are either sleep walking into darkness or sympathising with it. See as we reach new depths of the destruction of our society.
Militants threat witnesses, police, judges to be silent in Pakistan
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/7045822.html
Militants threat witnesses, police, judges to be silent in Pakistan
22:07, June 29, 2010
Militants groups in Pakistan are being proven so strong that they manage the acquittal of their colleagues from cases and proceedings against them in courts by threatening the families of judges, witnesses and police officers, local media reported on Tuesday.
According to reports, hundreds of militants have been successfully released from jails due to non-availability of witnesses and proofs enough to sentence them according to law.
Recently Pakistan’s Lahore High Court took a strict notice about the acquittal of a criminal from a lower court who was arrested red-handed with a grenade during a terrorism attack on a police training academy in March 2009.
In another case family of anti-terrorism judge Mohammad Asim Imam performing duty in Pakistan’s northwestern Malakand Division, received threats from the armed Taliban, who visited their residence few days back.
The judge is currently dealing with terrorism cases of Sufi Mohammad, Pakistani Taliban’s spiritually whip, arrested last year during the military operation in the area.
Taliban visited their place, left a message for the family and the judge to fall in line or be ready for the consequences. They also ordered the family cook to tell the judge that they were after him and would soon sort him out.
This is the first time since the completion of the military operation in Swat last year that a judge dealing with the anti- terrorism cases has received threats from the Taliban.
The family of anti-terrorism judge Imam lives in Peshawar, capital of the northwestern province Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where his wife works as senior research officer at the provincial assembly secretariat.
Immediately after the incident, the government has provided security to the family but they are still worried about the safety as they are living in the danger zone.
“This is a common practice in Pakistan, not only Taliban even small criminal groups use these tricks to get their friends free from the courts, when there is no proof or witness, the court will have to free them,” said Khalid Mahmood, a former police office in Punjab Province.
“Now in some cases, judges’ names are kept secret and they hear the case proceeding in jail with covered faces to avoid any recognition by the accused,” Khalid told Xinhua.
Source:Xinhua
REAL FACE OF A JUDGE
BARELY days after the Punjab chief minister was caught playing to the Taliban gallery, another high official from the province is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. This time, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Khawaja Mohammad Sharif has sparked outrage for reportedly saying that Hindus were responsible for financing acts of terrorism in Pakistan. The remarks came while the judge was hearing two identical petitions against the possible extradition of Afghan Taliban suspects. It may well have been a slip of the tongue by Mr Sharif, who might have mistakenly said ‘Hindu’ instead of ‘India’ — nevertheless it was a tasteless remark to say the least. Although such remarks warrant criticism what makes them worse is the position of the person who makes them. These sort of comments are the last thing one expects to hear from a judge, that too the chief justice of a provincial high court. What sort of message are we sending to our minorities, as well as to the world, when the holder of such a respected public office makes comments that come across as thoughtless? The Hindu members of the National Assembly walked out of the house on Tuesday to protest the remarks. The members said the comments had hurt the feelings of Pakistani Hindus — and there is no doubt that they had. REFERENCE: Tactless remarks Dawn Editorial Thursday, 18 Mar, 2010 http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/editorial/14-tactless-remarks-830-zj-10
What a Joke?
If Flogging is not Islamic as LHC Judge says then what about “Milad”??? Is Milad Islamic and if it is then where it is ordered in Sunnah to hold Milad Processions and Gatherings. Without even verification the Lahore High Court says that Flogging is not True Picture of Islam [Sunnah says it is very much Islamic to flog who is guilty]. I wonder if CJ [LHC) Khawaja Mohammad Sharif does even know about the Bida’at [Innovation] of celebrating of Prophet Mohammad [PBUH]’s Milad in the light of Quran and Sunnah for which Judiciary has suddenly found a place in every decision making particularly in any proccedding related with Zardari, Politicians and Elected Parliament.
RAWALPINDI, April 11: The flogging of a teenage girl in Swat does not portray the true picture of Islam as it is not clear whether or not the exact procedure for convicting her under religious laws was adopted and who had issued the Hadd and under what authority. This was stated by senior most judge of the Lahore High Court Justice Khwaja Mohammad Sharif while addressing a Mehfil-i-Milad arranged by the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHBA) here on Saturday. The recently reinstated judge of the LHC said irrespective of the fact whether the video was real or fake, it was a conspiracy to malign Islam and bring a bad name to Pakistan showing the world that Islam was a religion of extremism. Mr Sharif, who was called chief justice of the LHC by the bar representatives, said Islam had laid very strict procedure to implement Hudood laws, almost making it impossible to apply. He questioned under what authority the girl was flogged and what procedure was adopted to declare her guilty. The justice said Islam demanded four witnesses with immaculate character for conviction or the confession of the accused person. The president of the HCBA highlighted the role of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) as a legislator and a judge, saying the whole world has been taking benefit of the Islamic laws. The bar also arranged a Naat competition taking one lawyer from every district of Rawalpindi division. The competition was won by Chaudhry Zubair from Chakwal. The function was attended among others by four judges of the LHC, four session judges and lawyers. The HCBA had also invited Justice Maulvi Anwarul Haq, Justice Syed Sajjad Husain Shah and Justice Mazhar Hussain Minhas of the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench, earning the ire of the DBA Rawalpindi. REFERENCE: Girl’s flogging not true picture of Islam, says LHC judge By Our Reporter Sunday, 12 Apr, 2009 http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/girls-flogging-not-true-picture-of-islam,-says-lhc-judge
Justice Sharif’s remarks Dawn Editorial Friday, 02 Jul, 2010
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/editorial/21-justice-sharifs-remarks-270-sk-08
There is valid concern at the report that the Lahore High Court chief justice, Khwaja Sharif, asked the PPP to quit the Punjab government if the party had objections to the appointment of Rana Maqbool as the provincial secretary prosecution. True, we are no longer living in the era when judges shunned public appearances. Judges these days are far more visible and are often seen to use their person and office to further the cause of justice and reform.
But even in a judiciary as active as Pakistan’s, for a sitting chief justice to so openly deride one political party in favour of another is no less than shocking. The question of Rana Maqbool’s background is another matter altogether. A much bigger issue at the heart of the controversy, emanating from Justice Sharif’s remarks in Hafizabad on Wednesday, relates to the polarisation in the country and to the fear that this polarisation may have affected the judiciary as well.
There are two views in Pakistan about the tensions that currently exist between the executive (the federal government under President Zardari) and the judiciary. There are people who look at it as purely a struggle for authority between the executive and the judiciary. There is another group, however, which holds that what we have in the country at the moment is a fight between two political alliances represented by the PPP and Mr Zardari on the one hand and the PML-N and its allies on the other. In this situation it is absolutely imperative that an independent institution such as the judiciary favours no side and is also perceived as favouring none. Chief Justice Sharif’s speech in Hafizabad, in which he also talked about his long friendship with the Sharifs of PML-N, carried references that could have been left out.