What is the common message in Salman Taseer’s murder and Justice Javed Iqbal’s parents’ murder?
چند روز پہلے تک حکومتی اتحاد میں کوئی دراڑ نہیں تھی۔ مگر اچانک مولانا فضل الرحمن نے حکومت سے علیحدگی کا اعلان کر کے سیاسی ہلچل بھی پیدا کر دی۔ ہرچند حکومت اس میں سے عارضی طور پر بچ گئی ہے‘ مگر ایم کیو ایم سے ایک جھٹکا لگنے کے بعد اس کی بے بسی نمایاں ہو کر سامنے آ گئی تھی۔ ہرچند ایم کیو ایم کی حمایت دوبارہ حاصل کر لی گئی‘ مگر پیٹ سے پردہ اٹھ چکا ہے۔ دیکھنے والوں نے دیکھ لیا ہے کہ اس سیاسی نظام میں کتنا دم ہے؟
مولانا کے حکومت سے نکلتے وقت آسیہ بی بی کا معاملہ ایک تکرار تک محدود تھا۔ گورنر سلمان تاثیر اور صوبائی حکومت کے مابین تعلقات کشیدہ تھے اور عام طور سے یہی سمجھا جا رہا تھا کہ آسیہ بی بی کا معاملہ بھی سیاسی کشمکش کا حصہ ہے۔ کسی کی اس پر خاص توجہ نہیں تھی۔ لیکن مولانا نے پہلی ہی کانفرنس میں ناموس رسالت کا مسئلہ نمایاں کر کے پیش کیا اور احتجاجی تحریک پیش کرنے کا اعلان کر دیا۔ دیکھتے ہی دیکھتے ایک مہم چلی اور پھر جذبات کا ایسا طوفان اٹھ کھڑا ہواکہ گورنر تاثیر کے اپنے ہی محافظ نے انہیں گولیوں سے بھون ڈالا۔ اسی پر بس نہیں‘ ان کی موت پر بعض طبقوں میں خوشی کے شادیانے بجائے گئے اور ان کے قاتل کو ہیرو بنا کر پھولوں سے لادا جا رہا ہے۔
دلیل اور منطق کا دورختم ہو چکا ہے۔ قانون ہاتھ میں لینے کا رواج پھیل رہا ہے۔ کیا یہ سب کچھ اتفاق ہے؟ میرے خیال میں نہیں۔ یہ ایک سوچے سمجھے منصوبے کے مطابق ہو رہا ہے اور اس طرح کے سارے واقعات تاریک راستوں پر ہمارے سفر کی رفتار تیز کر رہے ہیں۔
کل رات سپریم کورٹ کے سینئر ترین جج مسٹر جسٹس جاوید اقبال کے والدین کو قتل کر دیا گیا۔ پاکستان بار کونسل کی صدر عاصمہ جہانگیر نے کہا ”ہم یہ سمجھتے ہیں کہ اس قتل میں ججوں کے لئے کوئی پیغام نہیں ہے۔ لیکن ہم اس امکان کو رد بھی نہیں کر سکتے۔ وہ ان دنوں بڑے حساس مقدمات سن رہے ہیں۔“ یہ حساس مقدمات ہم سب کے علم میں ہیں۔ سلمان تاثیر کے قتل سے جمہوریت پسندوں کو ایک پیغام دیا گیا ہے‘ تو اس قتل میں‘ عدلیہ کے لئے کوئی اور پیغام مضمر لگتا ہے۔
میں ججوں کی بحالی کی تحریک کے دوران جب بے لگام خواہشوں پر مبنی نعرے سنتا تھا‘ تو بار بار لکھا کرتا تھا پاکستانی معاشرے میں اتنا بڑا انقلاب نہیں آیاکہ ہمارے ہاں طاقت کے مراکز عدلیہ کی بالادستی کو اس حد تک تسلیم کر لیں ۔ کسی نہ کسی دن طاقت کے مراکز پلٹ کر ضرور جھپٹیں گے۔ ایک عزت مآب جج کے والدین کا قتل اسی سلسلے کی ابتدا نہ ہو؟ میں ابھی سے بتا سکتا ہوں کہ ان دو بزرگ ہستیوں کے قاتل کبھی نہیں پکڑے جائیں گے۔ ایسی مہارت کے ساتھ قتل کرنے والے کبھی کسی کے ہاتھ نہیں آئے۔
دنیا میں ہمارے تاریک مستقبل کے بارے میں قیاس آرائیاں ہو رہی تھیں‘ تو کچھ دانشور اور مدبر ایسے بھی تھے جو روشنی کی کرن دیکھ لیا کرتے تھے اور جواب میں کہتے تھے کہ پاکستان میں سنبھل کر دوبارہ اپنے پیروں پر کھڑے ہونے کی بھرپور صلاحیتیں موجود ہیں اور یہ ملک دوبارہ مستحکم ہو گا۔ لیکن سلمان تاثیر کے قتل کے بعد وہ بھی مایوس ہو گئے۔
فرید زکریا انہی میں سے ہیں۔کل انہوں نے ”واشنگٹن پوسٹ“ میں لکھا۔ ”میرا ہمیشہ سے یقین تھا کہ معاملات پاکستان کے گورننگ ایلیٹ کے کنٹرول میں ہیں۔ اس ملک کی فوج ملک کو ڈوبنے نہیں دے گی اور اس کے ایٹمی اثاثے محفوظ ہیں۔ لیکن گذشتہ ہفتے کے بعد میں پریقین نہیں رہ گیا۔
“
ملک کے ممتاز ماہر اقتصادیات شاہد جاوید برکی پاکستان کی اقتصادی حالت پر بہت پریشان ہیں۔ انہیں اندیشہ ہے کہ ”ہمارے ہاں نوجوانوں کی بڑھتی ہوئی تعداد اور ان کی بیروزگاری حالات کو مزید بگاڑے گی۔ پیداواری نوکریاں نہیں ملیں گی‘ تو وہ انتہاپسندوں کو طاقت مہیا کریں گے۔“
پاکستانی امور کے ماہر سٹیفن پی کوہن بھی ان لوگوں میں شامل ہیں‘ جو ہمارے مستقبل کے بارے میں پرامید تھے۔ لیکن اپنے ایک حالیہ انٹرویو میں انہوں نے کہا ”امید کوئی پالیسی نہیں ہوتی لیکن مایوسی بھی کوئی پالیسی نہیں ہے۔ ہم وہی کچھ کرتے ہیں‘ جو کچھ ہم کر سکتے ہیں اور اب ہمیں پاکستان کی ناکامی کے لئے تیاری کرنا ہو گی‘ جو کہ (خاکم بدہن) پانچ یا چھ سال میں ہو جائے گی۔“ہمارے فیصلے ہمارے ہاتھ میں نہیں رہ گئے۔ یہ فیصلے اب وقت کرے گا۔
Source: Nazir Naji, Jang, 13 Jan 2011
Real or imagined message of malice?
The shocking discovery of the Supreme Court’s (SC’s) Justice Javed Iqbal’s murdered parents in their home is being scrutinised through many different lenses. Initial eyewitness reports indicated that they had offered resistance to a robbery and were made to pay the price by being shot dead. However, some reports indicate that the old couple was found to have been strangled. It is too early to say what exactly happened as the facts are still murky but it goes without saying that this is a very tragic incident indeed. The lawyers’ community is up in arms and have announced a strike to protest this gruesome act.
This horrific murder of a defenceless elderly couple is also being made grounds for a suspicion most unsettling. Justice Javed heads the three-man SC bench hearing the sensitive missing persons’ case — a case that has caused widespread agitation and disturbance for the masses because of the cloak of non-transparency it is wrapped in. On Monday, the SC declared that 2011 would be the year of the missing persons. Just one day after this statement by the SC, Justice Javed’s parents have been murdered. Now their death could most certainly be the result of a robbery gone horribly wrong but, in conspiracy-fuelled Pakistan, the link is adding fuel to a fire that has been raging for too long now.
What has given this suspicion grounds to breed is the fact that a glaring culture of impunity exists within our security and intelligence apparatus. For too long now there has been no closure given to the many families who have had loved ones disappear without a trace. For too long now there have been rumours of the agencies whisking people away for reasons unknown. Any attempts to investigate this matter have been met with staunch resistance by the agencies. It is probably because of these very reasons that, even without evidence, people are pointing to a supposed link between the missing persons’ case and the murder of Justice Javed’s parents.
Even though we cannot rush to judgment, it is extremely troubling that such thoughts even exist. Even if such a link does not exist, such a baseless rumour would be enough to serve as a scare tactic for anyone willing to take a tough stand on the missing persons.
Source: Daily Times, 13 Jan 2011
Missing persons case angle to be probed
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
By our correspondent
RAWALPINDI: Official investigative agencies, legal fraternity and responsible government officials were hinting late night that the aspect of hearing of missing persons case by Senior SC Judge Justice Javed Iqbal, whose parents were murdered Tuesday night in Lahore, will also be examined along with other aspects during the probe.
A day earlier Justice Javed Iqbal during the hearing of the missing persons case declared 2011 the year of the recovery of missing persons. Justice Javed Iqbal, along with other judges of the apex court, has time and again expressed his determination to help recover the missing persons and implement law in letter and spirit in this regard.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=3251&Cat=13&dt=1/12/2011
…….
Second gruesome murder related to SC judges
Thursday, January 13, 2011
By Umar Cheema
ISLAMABAD: The gruesome killing of the parents of Justice Javed Iqbal is the second high profile murder of individuals relating the superior judiciary after that of Syed Hammad Raza, a close aide of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who had refused filing any affidavit that could incriminate the CJ during his deposition.
Hammad, an additional registrar of the Supreme Court, was shot at point-blank range by gunmen in the wee hours at his residence on May 14, 2007. His assassins had broken into his home through the kitchen window and was killed during resistance to the dacoits.
His murder occurred on the day when Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday-led larger bench of the Supreme Court had to start public hearing of the reference filed against the then deposed CJ Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
Hammad was considered an important man in the case filed against Justice Chaudhry. Hammad’s wife, Shabana, in her initial reaction had said that a strong message has been sent to judiciary through the murder of her husband.
Likewise, Justice Javed Iqbal’s parents were killed in their Lahore’s residence late Tuesday. Initial reports said they were killed while resisting dacoits. Later, the post-mortem report said they were suffocated to death with marks of torture on their bodies.
Their murder coincides with the resumed hearing of missing persons case by a bench led by Justice Javed Iqbal. Legal fraternity and media are co-relating the case with this murder as Justice Javed Iqbal, in his remarks, had stressed on legislation for keeping under check the intelligence agencies and declared 2011 as the year of the recovery of the missing persons.
Like Hammad’s case, the initial reaction by all and sundry is that strong message has been sent to the independent judiciary not cross the ‘red-line’. Asma Jehangir, the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, echoed the same line while talking to media in the Supreme Court’s premises that such speculations can’t be ruled out.
However, analysts say that it is difficult to conclude about the assassins and their mastermind until they are arrested. They cite Hammad’s case in support of their argument. Contrary to initial theories, it was found out having been carried out by the professional criminals from Lahore who were arrested by the police.
Hammad’s widow had recognized the assassins during identity parade carried out in Adiyala Jail. Later she also told the court that her initial reaction and guess turned out to be false. The Supreme Court of Pakistan that had taken suo moto notice on this case with six-member bench hearing the case that was later disposed of, as the court expressed satisfaction on the criminal investigation.
A police officer, who was the part of Hammad’s murder investigation process, believed that had the assassins of Justice Javed Iqbal parents are ordinary criminals with no official backing, they will be arrested sooner than later. In case of failure in their arrests, the suspicions about the involvement of hidden hands will further increase. The investigator’s last word: “The rule of thumb is that dubious cases are hard to trace out.”
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=3284&Cat=13&dt=1/13/2011
Murder mystery
killing of the parents of Justice Javed Iqbal a criminal act no different to those that occur on an almost daily basis in times of growing lawlessness
Is the killing of the parents of Justice Javed Iqbal a criminal act no different to those that occur on an almost daily basis in times of growing lawlessness, or is the purpose to send out a message of some kind? Either motive is possible in times when the force of fear is used frequently to silence those who dare to speak on controversial issues or to disturb a hornet’s nest that has been left untouched for years. As a result, it has grown larger and larger, threatening anyone who veers too close. Could the angry buzzing have turned into a deadly sting?
The fact that the strangulated bodies of Malik Abdul Hameed, ironically enough a former deputy inspector general of police, and his wife Amna Bibi were found in their living room — a day after Justice Iqbal had made some tough comments while hearing the missing person’s case as part of the three-member Supreme Court bench — has raised suspicion. This doubt is in itself testimony to the times we live in, when people can be targeted simply for doing the right thing. Investigation will focus on this sinister possibility too.
It is also worrying that the killing took place in a high security zone, with cameras installed along many streets in the Cavalry Grounds area where many army officers reside. Contradictory versions from police officers, with suggestions made that robbers may have shot the couple, add to the confusion. Other accounts say they were smothered using pillows. It is unclear if there were any signs of robbery. The murder has sinister connotations. A thorough investigation is needed. The fact that we are even discussing the possibility that it may have been carried out to influence the verdict in a case that has repeatedly created waves is a frightening thought. It indicates the fact that law no longer has any meaning in our land and that the state is increasingly incapable of guaranteeing security of life.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2011.
President Supreme Court Bar Association Asma Jehangir on Wednesday did not rule out the tragic incident of murder of the parents of Justice Javed Iqbal, the senior most judge of the Supreme Court, as a kind of message to the judiciary not to take up important cases like that of missing persons.
“It is premature to speculate that the killings were a kind of message given to the judiciary for not taking up important cases like missing persons, however, we cannot rule out this as well,” she told reporters in the Supreme Court.
She said they would not tolerate any message of this kind to any member of the judiciary. She added that as per rights guaranteed in the Constitution, the state is bound to provide adequate security to every individual of the country.
The SCBA president demanded of the government to conduct an accurate high-level investigation into the gruesome murders of parents of senior most Judge of the Supreme Court Justice Javed Iqbal. The parents of Justice Javed Iqbal were found murdered on Tuesday night at their Cavalry Ground residence in Lahore. “We would closely watch the results of the investigation and would demand an assurance form the government of an accurate probe in the tragic incident”, she said. The SCBA president said that they would be looking into all the parameters of the process of investigation as she said that normally certain important things are not taken into account during such investigations. “We have certain reservations about the kind of investigation being conducted in murder cases as various aspects are not taken into consideration while probing a case”, Asma said recalling the investigation made into the killing of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. To a question, the SCBA president said that judges of the apex court and other officials must be provided adequate security and a balance should be maintained. She expressed grief over the tragic killings and said that they have restrained from giving a strike call to legal fraternity, as they do not want the litigants to suffer. She said that after the incident, they had consulted with the judges of the apex court and resolved that instead of announcing strike of the lawyers, they would observe a day of mourning against the murder of parents of Justice Javed Iqbal.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=25474&Cat=2&dt=1/13/2011
Missing persons are mostly persons in ISI custody or enrolled by ISI to fight it’s proxy war. So it’s muder by ISI, straight and simple.