My salute to Asma Jahangir – by Sikandar Mehdi
Pride of the nation, Asma Jahangir
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Congratulations, Asma Jahangir won the SCBA elections – by pejamistri
Asma Jahangir becomes first female SCBA president; success of democracy in Pakistan
Asma Jahangir’s victory is a loss for Jang Group’s yellow journalism – by Ahmed Iqbalabadi
Too much has been written on the LUBP to praise Asma Jehangir. First I thought of moving on but could not resist and decided to contribute my two cents about what she had to face to be a winner. I am not even sure if editor will even post it as too much has already been posted on her victory. All what has been written on this blog about Asma Jehangir is well written and praise worthy. I just wanted to contribute a couple of lines in her praise and the odds she faced.
Asma Jehangir is a well established human rights activist and lawyer. She has worked hard to be where she is today. One of greatness is that she is an honest person and can keep the status quo like many lawyers before have done. She does not mince words when she sees wrong. Supposedly lions of the CJ movement Aitizaz Ahsan, Munir Malik, Justice Tariq Mehmood and baby lion Ali Ahmed Kurd couldn’t say what she has said on many occasions. The lions kept their mouths shut even when CJ was making the mockery of justice by playing in the hands of Media and crony lawyers who wanted to de-rail fragile democracy. She was not only the first one but the only one to have spoken on TV talk shows about how LHC judges were chosen and whose chamber did they belong too.
She was twice the man than all the men combined in the lawyers community to speak against the judgment of SC against NRO at the time when male lions were hiding with their tails behind their legs. The lions kept mum at what the CJ was doing because they were responsible for bringing one eyed devil back to the coziness of SC chair. The lions knew what wrong they had committed. They made a hero out of a traitor. If I have to go on the person and abilities I wouldn’t even hire Iftikhar Choudhry to be my driver but God works in mysterious ways and same can be said about Iftikhar Choudhry that, he is a CJ of Pakistan. I always see it as Iftikhar Choudhry is the CJ because God is punishing us for our sins in this world.
This lioness Asma Jehangir time and again proved to be much powerful than the lions surrounding her. She roared only when it was required. She did not become hunter of cheap publicity on talk show circuits. She always hunted on her own and never prayed on others. She is a damn good woman of impeccable integrity.
I salute you (Asma) and your credibility, your honour,your professionalism and your up rightness and the principles you stood for all your life. She is a poster child for liberalism taking hold in Pakistan and vioce of silent liberal majority. Asma is a woman who has gained so much prestige and respect which is not matched by any woman in the country and I hardly see even any man in this country coming close to her.
Her opponents when they saw that the defeat is staring them in the eyes, they fell beneath the low standards that they had set for themselves. Ahmed Awais Khan, a candidate of Hamid Khan who is a poodle of judiciary and a close relative of General Hamid Gul of the ISI, started a ridiculous malicious campaign that she is a Qadiani. He had said that in his bar room meetings and even Qazi Anwar had to come forward and defend her that it is wrong to bring sectarianism in the bar elections.
Another malicious campaign that was launched was by Jang & Geo group (JG). They viciously campaigned that she was candidate of government. Even Asma Jehangir had said that Jang & Geo campaign has not worked. Today’s THE NEWS gave a story with a heavy heart on the front page about her victory. In the story they couldn’t keep themselves from stinging her by writing that :
“Sources have revealed that Law Miniter Babar Awan had played a significant role in the victory of Asma. His five day long stay in Lahore and his previous visits to Abbottabad, Karachi and other centers also made a significant impact on October 27 elections”.
I will change my opinion the media if ever these newsmen ever name their source. Even when they have a dream at night it becomes a source.
The News also went onto say and praise the small victory of Ahmed Awais
“The world reputed Human Rights activist, however, could not defeat her rival Ahmed Awais in Islamabad”.
To this she was quick to reply that Islamabad is the city of establishment, so that is why she couldn’t beat their candidate.
I know that her one year in the office will stand for what she has said “She will never speak the language of the judges and the politicians but will follow the law”
Kudos to Asma Jahangir. The whole Pakistani nation is proud of you today!
WE ARE WHOLE THE NATION PROUD OF ASMA JAHAGIR PERSONALITY !
She is a critical supporter of the secular and democratic forces, the most outspoken women over the hypocrite religio political class and the discriminatory laws speaking their minds as blasphemy, hudud ordinance and all forms of such laws, after BiBi, I have seen her speaking against all this openly, in Pakistan
Judiciary-executive: the Asma factor
By Nasim Zehra
There are many reasons to celebrate Asma Jehangir’s election to the office of the Supreme Court Bar Association president. Without prejudice to class, colour and religion or political creed, she has consistently fought for democracy, human rights, rule of law and entitlement of Pakistan’s underprivileged. She fought for all this as an individual and in an institutional context within and outside Pakistan.
She has believed in tolerance and also lived by it. Her liberal views made her believe in debate. Forever ready to engage people of any ideological orientation, Asma has always understood the rationale and the value of debate and tolerance, without prejudice. She has never demanded that only people of her choice be brought on to TV channels to debate with her.
Today, Asma appears before the Supreme Court petitioning for the rights of missing persons, irrespective of their ideological affiliation. A strong opponent of the Taliban, Asma still continued to ?question the decision to conduct army operations in Swat and the Tribal Areas from the standpoint of human rights violations.
A firm believer in democracy, Asma consistently opposed martial law regimes, strongly criticised political exclusion and marginalisation of people from Balochistan and Sindh. She stood up for the minorities, was at the forefront of Pakistan’s brave women who stood up against the military with a diabolical political agenda, including reducing women to half a status, legalising persecution of minorities, fanning sectarian hate, etc.
Asma’s achievements are hard to summarise but she is a courageous, committed and honest woman — indeed the conscience of Pakistan. A trailblazer in much that she did, learning of course from those who fought before her, she acknowledged her teachers such as IA Rehman and the late Nisar Osmani with grace and humility. She was in the forefront in questioning the militarised definition of national security when many of us saw national security in narrower terms.
Much of the old wisdom promoted by the establishment and supported by mandarins in the political class, the media and the academia, has been waylaid in the face of our crisis-ridden context. ?We are paying the wages of dehumanisation at the ideological, material and intellectual level of those whose fundamental rights the state and executive are bound to protect.
But now everyone acknowledges these facts as Asma takes over the challenge as the SCBA president, at a time when relations between the bench and bar have become disturbingly close. Therefore, she will have to lead a graceful and non-confrontationalist, yet firm pullback.
Asma’s victory is a victory of that school of though that does not believe in the lawyers being foot soldiers of the bench; neither should they be there to ensure that SC judgements are implemented. Similarly, under Asma, the SCBA will not give itself the task of ensuring independence of the judiciary.
Instead, the SCBA will focus on its actual mandate – of principally ensuring that the legal fraternity adheres to the highest ethical standards in the performance of its role in administration of justice, and thus contributes to the elimination of inefficiency, incapacity and corruption in the Pakistani judicial institutions.
Asma’s job will not be easy. Her victory came with a narrow margin. Those who believe they are the judiciary’s foot soldiers will still continue in that vein. Asma’s challenge will be to not only lead the lawyers towards a non-anarchical and non-partisan professional mode but also remind the judiciary of its own code of behaviour, of ensuring that there is a level playing field where application of law is concerned. That no selective toughness or leniency be shown to any position or institution. Equally, the SCBA will have to remind the executive and the Presidency that the law minister and the law ministry do not mess around with law, in fact they uphold law in the highest tradition of a democratic society.
Asma’s voice will carry weight as a constitutionally valid voice in spelling out the correct place of parliament, executive and judiciary within Pakistan’s constitutional framework. As the president of the SCBA, the mettle of this homegrown lawyer, human rights activist and the conscience of Pakistan will be put to test.
http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\10\29\story_29-10-2010_pg1_6
A historic win
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections on Wednesday saw Asma Jahangir win despite the fact that her opponents had started a maligning campaign against her. Ms Jahangir secured 834 votes while her main opponent Ahmed Awais got 796 votes. She has become the first woman president of the SCBA. Ms Jahangir’s victory was celebrated all across the country. Ms Jahangir is not just a leading light of the legal fraternity, she is one of the most vocal advocates of human rights, women’s rights, minority rights, democracy and justice.
One of the reasons for those opposing Ms Jahangir in the legal fraternity is because of her criticism of the bar and bench for getting embroiled in politics. After the successful movement led by the lawyers for the restoration of the judiciary, it was expected that the lawyers would go back to practicing law and the judiciary would work towards strengthening its institution. Instead, we saw them encroaching on the space of other state institutions, especially the executive. It was in this backdrop that the core leadership of the lawyers’ movement like Ali Ahmad Kurd, Munir A Malik, Justice (retd) Tariq Mehmood, etc, correctly distanced themselves from the restored judiciary. Except for Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Ms Jahangir was supported by all the leading lights of the lawyers’ movement. Mr Ahsan’s role was dubious in these SCBA elections because he surreptitiously supported Ahmed Awais. Ms Jahangir was accused of being the PPP’s candidate even though there is no truth to such allegations.
The judiciary’s newfound assertive activism has been a cause of concern and controversy lately, especially in the NRO and the 18th Amendment cases. The SCBA’s role during this time was also criticised since former president SCBA, Qazi Anwar, openly opposed the government and sided with the judiciary instead of remaining neutral, which is what is expected of any bar association. Some sections of the legal fraternity have tried to use the judiciary to destabilise the PPP government and some of the lawyers from the bars have been accused of trying to take advantage of their closeness to the restored judiciary. This may not be the judges’ fault, but the attitude of the bar was questionable. Qazi Anwar damaged the credibility of the SCBA by being partisan even though a bar is not supposed to be an appendage of the bench.
After her victory, Ms Jahangir asserted that she would not take dictation from anyone, be it the government or the judges. It is hoped that with Ms Jahangir’s victory, the bar would re-establish its independence and keep an appropriate distance from the bench. During her tenure, it is expected that the imbalance created by her predecessor would be done away with and the dignity of the bar restored.
http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\10\29\story_29-10-2010_pg3_1
It appears that the right wing circus had prepared to party in the guise of a “seerat conference” in LHC, but alas, Asma won with a narrow majority. Hameed Gul, Munawwar Hasan etc probably had their speeches ready about the qadiani connections and how zionist conspirators are out to destroy Pak judiciary.
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